- Joined
- Apr 9, 2012
- Messages
- 1,794
- Reaction score
- 3,377
A thread in another forum has received a lot of interesting responses. It concerns how to increase interest in Traditional Muzzle Loading. I want to address that in this forum [Trad ML Hunting] because I believe the answer has to do with our hunting practices, Looking through the entire forum, the overwhelming information relates to Large Game Animals; deer, bear, elk, hogs, etc. Yes, I know there are some posts about rabbits, squirrels, birds and non-game animals, but there is not much compared to large game, I began shooting when my rifle was taller than I. It was small game only. In Kansas, where I was born and raised, there were no deer, no bear, no elk, not even elephants. I became a good shot because I had to. It is one thing to shoot a deer and quite another to make a head shot on a rabbit [often running] or a squirrel high up on a tree. We were poor and I shot small game to provide meat for my family. Mom did not like a shoulder shot animal; it wasted too much meat. As I moved out West I still tried to make head shots, even on grouse. [Yes, rifles and pistols were legal]. Today there are still more opportunities to hunt small game than large. Many of my friends wait all year to have ten days or so to hunt. How foolish is that when most states have abundant small game. You can take your kids, or your neighbor's kids, and instill in them the delight of hunting. If not small game, then non-game animals like marmots, prairie dogs and coyotes. You might even get them to leave their phones and electric toys at home and enjoy the magnificent world in which we live. When my sons were about ten years old, I built them guns to fit. We hunted together in Idaho, Montana, California, Texas and probably places I've forgotten. I know this is long and rambling but … why an emphasis, on this forum and others, about large bore ML rifles? It is really hard to find a .36 or .40 caliber rifle [that does nor cost an arm and a leg] and that is where kids could learn best. You can do without that time on your computer .. or at the bar and go hunting year around … and take a young person [and a parent?], loan him or her a ML and teach them safety, and care. Try it … you might even make a life-long friend and hunting companion. BTW: One of my hunting mentors was Jesse Gilmore … and while I served in S.E. Asia guess who took my kids hunting … yep, Jesse was there for them, too. Polecat