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Our family is not your all-camo, high-end optics, quads and winches type hunters. We’ve come to love hunting as an extension of what we already love to do – just being outside and trying to spot wildlife or even just wildlife sign. This was instilled in me as a young person when hunting with my family. I remember seeing weasels, moose, porcupine, grouse, rabbit and of course, deer. I remember watching perfect snowflakes remain unmelted on my dark coat as I waited (and waited) for deer. We’ve certainly spent time in the woods with our kids (recently they came across a mink) but hunting was something I wanted to share with them, for all the benefits that come with it. We use only our feet to carry us anywhere off-road and out again with whatever we may have taken with us. It’s slow going but landowners like this, and should give them no cause for complaint if we mind our manners. We don’t use much in the way of equipment but it’s sufficient and gives us opportunity to be creative. With young ones to care for, our family has to be flexible in our hunting style. Our five children, my husband and I work as a team, as we try to accomplish a successful deer hunting season.
We only hunt close to home (or at home) and in the last two seasons, we’ve managed to fill our five collective whitetail tags. I’ve learned to prepare the wild meat in a way that everyone always enjoys so there’s no reason not to fill our freezer.
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| Leanne and Jack with 'their' buck. |
My sons and I enjoyed a good season together in 2018. My then 12-year-old took his first deer while hunting with his uncle, but my younger son really wanted to hunt. Since he had taken the hunter education course but was too young to have his licence, I told him that I would get one for him and I did, less that a 1/4-mile from our house. Jack told everyone – not untruthfully – that it was “his” deer. I had officially given my boys the hunting bug and couldn’t have quit then if I wanted to. My husband started shopping for a rifle that would be easier for us to handle and I took that to mean I was back in the game!
My husband is excellent in teaching the kids good marksmanship, doing the optics set up, cleaning and sighting in the rifles. My new knife, boxes of ammunition, field technique books, and keeping my knife razor sharp are all compliments of my guy. Being our equipment specialist suits him fine, as he doesn’t actually care to go hunting himself, and I, quite honestly, wouldn’t get much done without him.
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| Sonora poses with her buck. |
My sons have eagle eyes when it comes to spotting deer. I like having my 11-year-old son along, as he has great eyes, lots of patience, and a strong back. When he’s old enough to get his licence in a couple years, he’ll have some good experience under his belt. My 13-year-old son is a natural in the woods and has good ideas in hunt strategies. My 15-year-old daughter took an interest in hunting after watching us the year before, so she also completed the requirements and joined our deer hunting efforts in 2019. My two oldest and I had purchased tags so my hunting days increased with trying to get them each a chance behind the rifle.
One particular November morning, my oldest daughter, Sonora, was staying home to watch over our two little girls. She had already been out with me when I took my deer and I was going out with my boys to try to fill Erik’s tag. We saw a nice group of does and I instructed him to take the biggest one. Jack was using the binoculars and confirmed Erik’s choice of the lead doe. He made a nice shot and we dragged it out of the wind where we could later field dress it when I returned with the girls.
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| Erik trying a recipe for breaded game heart. |
Leaving the boys to watch the carcass, I hiked out to the truck and drove the 1/2-mile home to get my daughters and the dog. The weather couldn’t have been nicer; it was a gorgeous, warm day for a hunt. I was pleased because I didn’t worry about my little ones getting cold or my hands freezing during the gutting process. (Even though it’s warm inside a deer, this does happen to me.) I’m hoping one of my children will learn to love this gutting job so I can eventually get out of it!
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| Erik and his brother hauling out Erik’s doe. |
Everyone who wasn’t actively learning to field dress, (my 6-year-old declares that guts look like giant slugs) played in the snow until we were ready to pull the deer out on a calf sled. This being where the strong backs are such a blessing. It was my favourite hunt of the season because everyone had a part. My 5-year-old was overheard exclaiming, “I got to go hunting and I don’t even have a tag!” We texted pictures to Dad at work and started for home.
My son was disappointed to learn that this year he developed an allergy to deer hair. As skinning is one of his favourite jobs, he decided to persevere and used ski goggles and rubber gloves to curb the itch. The butchering process is also a family affair, and everyone helps with meat cutting and wrapping. Pepper stir-fry is one of my favourites and we often have it over rice for a satisfying meal.
Our daughter got her chance the following week when a broken-antlered buck crossed the gravel road. We have excellent neighbours and plenty of land access, so we ducked the barbed wire, army-crawled to the top of a rise, and she took her first deer as he came up the field toward her. (We aren’t trophy hunters, or he would still be running the fields.)
With the older two children having some experience with the field dressing now, we made a clean job of it and brought the meat out in great condition.
I encourage you to take your family hunting – even with cameras in place of rifles. Teach them to respect other people’s property, to be responsible, to take the time to make good decisions, and appreciate all that goes into a good hunt. They will learn to love the land and its creatures, and you’ll make wonderful memories to last a lifetime. ■
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