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John's Journal... Entry 151, Day 3

WHY, HOW AND WHERE TO TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO HUNT

More With John Cameron On Hunting With Kids

EDITOR'S NOTE: Don't ask a youngster to sit still and quiet and like it. As a matter of fact they hate sitting still and quiet. For this reason, young children sometimes don't enjoy hunting deer and turkeys. But, you'll have kids wired if you show them some action. For an all-together different idea, try hunting quail at a shooting preserve. Shooting preserves have horses or mule-drawn wagons kids can ride. At a shooting preserve, you will have non-stop action to occupy the youngsters. They'll enjoy riding the wagons or the horses, watching the dogs, shooting the birds, finding the birds and petting the dogs. You can't find any sport better for wired youngsters than preserve quail hunting. This week let's look at Cameron's Hunting Preserve in Panola, Alabama, in west/central Alabama and learn how to build memories with your family. Bubber Cameron started Cameron's Quail Preserve in the late 60s. John Cameron and his older brother Rush Cameron, Bubber's sons, now operate the preserve.

Question: Would quail preserve hunting be a good sport for a single parent?
John Cameron: Yes, sir. All you have to do really is show up with a shotgun and some shells, and we take care of the rest. If a Mom or Dad has never hunted before, they can have a great time at a shooting preserve. We teach Mom and Dad and the child how to hunt and shoot. The time on the wagon between the coveys is an opportunity for the single parent and the child to really bond. Then hunting opens-up many doors and creates common ground for the parent and the child to talk. And even if a single parent knows absolutely nothing about horses, dogs, quail or hunting, the parent and his or her child can be successful and build tremendous memories at a shooting preserve. If you take your child deer hunting or turkey hunting, you and the child have to be still and quiet. But on a shooting preserve, talking, laughing, discussing problems and shooting quail are various aspects of the hunt. I think one of the main reasons that I enjoy taking out families is that I get to enjoy watching families spending quality time together and having fun together.

Question: John, if you have a single parent who wants to bring her son or daughter on a quail hunt, can you teach that single Mom or that single Dad how to ride, hunt, and have a good time on a quail hunt just like you do the child?
John Cameron: We teach parents every year. Many times the child will know more about hunting than the parent will. But on a shooting preserve, they can both learn together while having a lot of fun enjoying each other. The shooting preserve is exciting for both the young and the old. More importantly it is a sport they can both participate in and enjoy together.

Question: How old does a child have to be before you would recommend he go to a shooting preserve with his parents?
John Cameron: Age is not the most important factor. How well the child will listen to you and do what you ask him to do are the most critical keys in determining at what age a youngster should come to a shooting preserve. I've had some 40-year-old children out on the shooting preserve who couldn't or wouldn't take some instructions. And I've had some three and four-year-olds who would do anything I asked them to do when I asked them to do it and were extremely safe. Given the option, I would rather have a three or four-year-old who knows how to mind and can follow instructions than a 40-year-old who won't pay attention and can't take direction.

Question: What age of child do you usually prefer?
John Cameron: If the child is going to be shooting and hunting, they need to be able to hold the gun up and control it. We have found that eight and nine-year-olds seem to be strong enough to hunt and shoot accurately. However, younger children can still come to the shooting preserve. But most of the time they prefer to ride the horses, ride the wagon and play with the dogs than actually shoot the birds. When a youngster is strong enough to hold the gun up and be safe with it, he is old enough to go to a shooting preserve.

Question: What do you do to make the hunt more exciting and more fun for a youngster and parent than they'll find when wild-bird hunting?
John Cameron: We take the sting of walking all day and getting absolutely worn-out out of the quail hunt. The family can ride between points instead of having to walk. We also ensure excitement. In a half a day of hunting, the family will locate 10 to 20 coveys that will have 20 to 100 birds in each covey. So we can provide non-stop action. The family is not going to get too thirsty because there is always something to drink on the wagon or on the horses. The mode of transportation that we use while you are on the preserve is also fun. Riding a mule-drawn wagon is very enjoyable and riding a horse is something a family doesn't do every day. The one element of hunting that most children don't enjoy is boredom, and we do all that we can to keep that from ever happening. I don't believe that I have ever had a youngster tell me or hear a youngster tell his parents that 'I'm bored I want to go home.'

Question: What do you teach the children about the dogs?
John Cameron: I teach the youngsters how to help a dog find a dead quail, how to get the dog to bring a bird to them and how to get the dog to release the bird into their hands. The youngsters really seem to enjoy learning how to control a dog. You have to remember that through most of his or her life, someone has always been telling that youngster what he or she does or does not have to do. Youngsters are always under someone else's control. But when they can go to a shooting preserve and learn how to control a dog and get that dog to do what they want him to do, finally they have someone else to tell what to do, and finally they are in a position of authority and control. They really seem to enjoy that. With older children, I teach them how to make the dogs stop (or roll). I let them talk to the dog as we walk up to the covey and teach them how to help control the dog when he is on point. As the youngsters get more and more into the dog work, they often have more fun working with the dogs than they do shooting the quail.

For more information on Cameron's Quail Preserve, you can write John Cameron at 1001 Brockway Road #4, Aliceville, Alabama 35442. Or, email John or Rush Cameron at cameron@froglevel.net or call (205) 455-2420.

TOMORROW: MORE WITH RUSH CAMERON

 

 

Check back each day this week for more WHY, HOW AND WHERE TO TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO HUNT ...

Day 1 - John Cameron on Quail Hunting With Youngsters
Day 2 - Rush Cameron on Quail Hunting With Youngsters
Day 3 - More With John Cameron On Hunting With Kids
Day 4 - More With Rush Cameron
Day 5 - The Camerons Answer Questions


John's Journal