Queen Angela – Raising a Prince of Camo

I’m a 36 year old mother of 4. My husband has a daughter and I have three sons. All of our boys hunt and participate in outdoor activities. They bow shoot, fish, noodle, and shoot firearms.
I began hunting with my dad and uncle at a very young age. I developed quite an addiction very quickly. It wasn’t until about 5 years ago I got my first bow. From there my addiction grew more than before. So of course my boys had to have bows as well. I loved the adrenaline coursing through my body to have creature in that close to you. The beauty, the grace, all within mere feet. There isn’t a hunter alive that couldn’t respect any of that. Just to have the opportunity to participate is amazing.
Taking little ones hunting is always tough. They get restless. It’s all about the memories made. If you end up with a harvest that’s wonderful, but if it’s only a new memory that’s made that’s even better. My youngest’s first trip out was quite hilarious. He brought his cap gun. He was not quite 2. While glossing a field we spotted a doe across the field. While waiting for this beautiful doe to come closer about 10 geese flew over head. I was only worried about watching the doe and showing Christian. Within seconds Christian began to fire his cap gun over and over yelling BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!! Then squealing with excitement he proclaimed, “Got him Mom!!!!” Hahaha what more can you do besides laugh and finish enjoying your outing? We hung out a while longer and enjoyed the day and discussed how important it was to be quiet while hunting. He was so young he didn’t understand that part. There wasn’t an animal within a 10 mile radius of us any longer. So we roamed the woods and he shot birds with his cap gun a while longer. My kids smiling faces beside me in the woods is well worth the lack of a harvest that day.
It’s never too early to get your kids started on hunting. We’ve hunted as a family since my boys were old enough to walk. They’ve all come a long ways from bringing their caps guns to the woods to actually helping rattle, call, and drag game out of the woods. My oldest has already taken the opportunity to fill the freezer many times. Our children are the future of hunting and the outdoors. It’s important to involve them any way possible.