Curious about kid's first guns

[SHOOTALL]

The idea of a beef being cheap is a bit off base ! by the time you raise a beef you will see the cost of 1- the calf , 2- the fence , 3 the food ( no they don't get enough from grazing ) , water , transport the calf to field and the beef to the butcher and meat back home , did we mention the cost of a fence ? if it is electric then add for current unless you get a solar one then plan on replacement every couple years ! how do i know ? cause i do it ! guess the truck is a wash out !
now if we want our children to become good , well grounded adults then we should teach them reality and how to deal with it ! The idea of making hunting some sport without consequence at some point will have the same effect that the personification of wild animals has had on the adult world ! just take a min. and look at the Bambi attitude we see every day . every year people die because they think the bears and other wild animals can tell they mean them no harm " like the animals in the movies "
when i started hunting at age 8 my dad and uncles hunted to put game in the freezer and made no bones about it ! They had taken me for many walks in the woods by then . The act of hunting was not a walk in the woods !
They instilled a respect for the critters we hunted and nature in general in me that last to this day ! Take only a good shot , don't waste game , and the feeling of both a gain and a loss with the taking of any game !
to hear some

 preach it sounds like hunting to them is little more than reenacting hunting much like the guys at the civil war shows do !

[sportsman223]

SHOOTALL: Quote:They instilled a respect for the critters we hunted and nature in general in me that last to this day ! Take only a good shot , don't waste game , and the feeling of both a gain and a loss with the taking of any game !

  That's exactly my point, as for the filling of the freezer we will have to agree to disagree

SHOOTALL: On one of your last posts you said after teaching your sons to hunt you did not have to be there with them, you were part of the hunt cause the way they were taught the right way.  My hope is when mine are old enough to hunt solo I will feel the same way

[SHOOTALL]

WE CAN DISAGREE ! that's fine , we are closer to agreement than some !
but can i ask with out upsetting anyone , why carry a gun if the goal is not taking a critter ( filling the freezer ) ?

[sportsman223]

For me anyways now the hunt is about getting close slipping in & out without the animal any wiser of my intentions. The taking of the animal is secondary some of my most memorable hunts I never fired a shot all though it was present.
Don't get me wrong I have killed more deer than most when I was younger,but know I look at things different.
The killing of the deer is the least important part for me, but it is an essential part as well.  Meat & population control
  Maybe that's why it's called Hunting and not Killing, when my kids start to hunt solo I doubt I will ever pull the trigger again that doesn't mean I won't be Deerhunting I just won't be taking any deer myself I will leave that to them If they choose to do so
 Maybe that will be my hunting evolution

[SHOOTALL]

WELL PUT !
but for me each hunt is part of a hunting lifestyle and although i now more often than not choose to hold my shot i reserve the right to take a shot as i wish to .
I have this really nice buck near my home , the land i can hunt him on is limited which makes it a hard hunt ! i see this critter in my yard often after dark . for the last three seasons i have hunted him , I can say with all honesty it has been and is a good hunt but if the option to shoot was removed i'm not sure the thrill would still be as strong !
i hope ya'll understand if a kill is not made the hunt is still rewarding , i only feel we should not play games with the purpose of hunting .

[sportsman223]

  That's a Great point I am with you on the thrill would not be as strong without the option to shoot. I stand Corrected!
  We are both getting to the top of the mountain just going on different paths.
I hunted a very nice 4 or 5 year old buck for the last 2 yr's the shot has been there two time's but for some reason that I can't explain it just didn't feel right with the angle or distance.I have made some long shots before but for this deer it's different.  Maybe he was ment to humble me.  I will still put a nice doe in the meat locker before the end of season.
 

[SHOOTALL]

stick to the supermarket , i raise beef and with the cost of feed , fence , elec. for fence ,salt , seed to replant pasture , lime , fertilizer and transport of cow to field when you get it and to butcher and home when you kill it not to mention cost of cow to start ( these are the big items ) , do you have a place to pasture it ? to water ?
to hunt i can walk out my back door ! the fence cost more than an 870 and for the money spent in feed alone i could hunt for years on the shells i could buy !
oh yea i only raise 3 cows at a time for my use , not a large operation !
consider the 3 cows eat a $ 25.00 round bale and about $ 10.00 worth of feed every week and a half , they cost about $ 450.00 delivered and reach 800-900 lbs when butchered 20-24 mos. later you end up with about 375 lbs of good cuts maybe read alot of hamburger and a roast or 2 and some steaks the rest is cuts you never see in a store read tuff !
so if i harvest the 6 deer i am allowed in VA. and don't buy any extra doe tags and process the meat at home , you can see that hunting to fill the freezer is a worth while and cost effective way to bring home the meat !
last night there were 7 deer in the back yard and we are 7 weeks into hunting season so the supply is there !