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John's Journal...
Entry 151,
Day 2
WHY, HOW AND WHERE TO TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO HUNT
Rush Cameron on Quail Hunting With Youngsters
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: How long have you been working on the
shooting preserve and training dogs?
Rush Cameron: Since I was three years old, my dad had me right
by his side, teaching me just like he taught the dogs. I learned to handle
dogs, take care of quail and make sure families had a good time when they
came to our preserve. I can't remember a time when I wasn't involved in
dog training and quail hunting.
Question: One of the big drawing cards for hunting
at your quail preserve is being able to ride the horses while you hunt
the quail. When a youngster comes to your hunting preserve for the very
first time, what do you teach them about the horses?
Rush Cameron: We teach them that a horse is not a toy. We teach
the children to respect the horses and to not be afraid of them. Usually
the first time a child gets on a horse, he or she is a little bit afraid
of the horse, but after they have been on the animal for five to 10 minutes
they think they are experts. We have very gentle horses that are accustomed
to children and adults who don't know how to ride. We make sure that the
children on the horses stay behind us at all times. That way we can control
the children and the horses and make sure that the hunt progresses the
way it should.
Question:
How do you teach the children to ride the horse?
Rush Cameron: There is not a lot of teaching that has to take place.
Most of the time, we can sit the child on the horse, show them how the
reins operate to steer the horse and stop the horse. After the child learns
to pull the right rein if he wants go right, or pull the reins left to
go left and pull back to stop he can pretty well figure out the rest.
Question: How important are riding the horses
to the children when they come on the hunt?
Rush Cameron: Most of the time, the horses are one of the main
reasons children want to go quail hunting. But then when they see that
covey come off the ground, and they shoot one or two quail, the fun of
the horseback riding takes a back seat to shooting the birds. Youngsters
like to shoot birds. They like to be successful shooting birds. Older
children seem to appreciate and enjoy watching the dogs and working with
the dogs. And the more time a child spends hunting, the more they get
into the dog handling and enjoying the dogs. Younger children and children
who haven't hunted as much usually prefer shooting the birds over any
other aspect of the quail preserve.
Question: So as the hunt progresses, do the children
get more involved in the dog hunt?
Rush Cameron: They sure do. The youngsters watch John and I talk
to the dogs, telling the dogs to "hunt dead," calling the dogs in to "hunt
close" and helping the dogs "find" the bird that has been shot. Before
long they start calling the dogs, working with the dogs and helping the
dogs to "hunt close" and find the birds. Usually midway through the hunt
or toward the end of the hunt, the youngsters start having as much fun
working with the dogs and finding the quail as they did at the first of
the hunt shooting the quail.
Question:
Why do parents bring children to a shooting preserve instead of taking
them on a wild bird hunt?
Rush Cameron: On a wild quail hunt, the youngsters will walk a
lot, see very few birds and have few, if any, chances to shoot. On a shooting
preserve, the youngsters are going to ride a horse or a mule-drawn wagon,
which means they don't have to walk and get worn-out. They will see plenty
of quail. And they will have many opportunities to shoot the quail. You
can tell a youngster about quail hunting, and you can tell him about how
to shoot. But here you take him out and show him a lot of quail and give
him the opportunity to shoot a lot. He will learn the sport and more importantly
learn to love the sport much quicker. Youngsters really get a kick out
of just riding, seeing the dogs, seeing the quail, watching what happens
when the quail come off the ground, finding dead birds, petting the dogs
and working with the dogs whether they ever fire shots or not. One of
the biggest advantages of going to a quail preserve is that we can teach
a child to be aware of everything around him, including the dogs, the
other hunters, the horses, the wagons and the terrain. They are able to
see and understand where everything is positioned before the covey of
quail is flushed. Teaching awareness before you shoot gives the child
a tremendous advantage and helps to keep him safe.
Question: Rush, do you feel that your teaching
the child to hunt and shoot the quail is better or does the parent do
better teaching them?
Rush Cameron: I believe that the actual instruction is better coming
from John or me than if the parent tries to teach the child. We are strangers
but authority figures. And we feel that the child will pay more attention
to us and be more likely to follow our instructions than they will their
parents. The other advantage to us teaching the child is that the parent
gets to hunt. Many times when an adult takes a youngster hunting, he can't
hunt, but the youngster will. Or, the adult has to compete with the youngster
to hunt. But on a quail preserve, if we coach the child, you and your
child can hunt together, and you can both take quail. And Mom and Dad
can have just as much fun if not more fun than the child has because the
parent don't have to worry about the child.
Question:
Are you seeing an increase in the number of parents bringing their children
to quail preserves to hunt?
Rush Cameron: Absolutely. We are in the memory-building business.
And a child will never forget the day he's ridden the horse, shot the
quail, worked with the dogs, picked up the quail and ridden on into the
sunset. We have found that some of the strongest memories and some of
the strongest family times that youngsters remember are the times they
have gone with Mom and Dad. We know that quail-preserve hunting builds
such strong memories because we have seen four generations of families
hunting together, the great grandpa, the grandpa, his son and the youngsters
that the son has. Preserve quail hunting is a sport you can participate
in with your family for the rest of your life. As you get older, you don't
have to give up this family event because you are in poor health or you
can't walk all day.
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 JOHN CAMERON ON HUNTING WITH KIDS
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