LAST UPDATED: May 8th, 2015
When seasons are closed and the weather is foul, nothing beats some quality time honing shooting skills before the next big-game schedule opens on a new year. However, there exist a different kind of off-season shooting that shouldn’t be neglected. And, in the grand scheme of things, could quite possible be the most important training you and I will ever partake in. I’m talking about getting a child involved in this sport that means so much to us and has provided so many lifelong memories.
Like myself, I am sure you owe your love of bowhunting to someone special who took the time to introduce you to the romance of the stick and string. Personally, I can never repay my father for taking the time to expose me to bowhunting and the outdoors. I guess the best way to show my appreciation would be to make certain that the cycle doesn’t end by passing my passion for bowhunting on to my children.
A few days ago, with the weather finally breaking, I enthusiastically removed my bow from its case and prepared to nock some dust off of my shooting and the lonely target at the edge of the lawn. Then it occurred to me that there were two little guys who were just as anxious as I was to experience the mystical flight of the arrow. Without hesitation, I re-cased my bow and proceeded to more important matters. The smiles were good medicine indeed. More so than any 12 ring or P&Y buck my arrows have ever managed to find.
They may have just been standing, bow in hand, on a small lot in the middle of “no-where” USA, but I can already see them, sitting patiently, in a reclusive stand, tucked away somewhere in the middle of a large forest; waiting for just the right opportunity to come to full draw. And with the release of the string, all of their hopes, all of their dreams will come true—-as will mine.
This off-season, do your best not to neglect this type of practice. The rewards can be greater than any of us can possibly fathom.
