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Girls and Boys, Meet Nature. Bring Your Gun.
NY Times ^ | September 18, 2005 | PAM BELLUCK

Posted on 09/17/2005 9:08:12 PM PDT by neverdem

GREEN MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST, Vt. - Chomping wad after wad of Bubblicious Strawberry Splash gum and giggling as she tickled people's necks with a piece of grass she pretended was a spider, Samantha Marley could have been any 9-year-old girl.

A couple of things set her apart, though. She was cloaked in camouflage from boots to baseball cap. And propped next to her on the seat of a truck was her very own 20-gauge shotgun.

Samantha, a freckle-faced, pony-tailed fourth grader, was on a bear hunt. Not the pretend kind memorialized in picture books and summer-camp chants, but a real one for black bears that live in the woods of southwestern Vermont and can weigh 150 pounds or more.

She had won a "dream hunt" given away by a Vermont man whose goal is to get more children to hunt, and she had traveled about 200 miles from her home in Bellingham, Mass., and was missing three days of school to take him up on his offer.

"Almost everything you hunt is pretty fun," said Samantha, grinning and perfectly at home with a group of five men, the youngest of whom was nearly three times her age.

At one point, as the group crossed a wooden bridge, Samantha's father, Scott, who had accompanied her - and had filled out her application for the hunting contest - teased her that trolls lived under the bridge.

"Dad," Samantha said with bravado, "I got a gun."

The dream hunt - all expenses paid, including taxidermy - was the brainchild of Kevin Hoyt, a 35-year-old hunting instructor who quit a job as a structural steel draftsman a few years ago and decided to dedicate himself to getting children across the country interested in hunting.

His efforts reflect...

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Extended News; Front Page News; Government; Politics/Elections; US: Colorado
KEYWORDS: banglist; hunting; juvenilehunting
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To: strategofr

Military history is one of my passions.


361 posted on 09/19/2005 1:46:18 PM PDT by R. Scott (Humanity i love you because when you're hard up you pawn your Intelligence to buy a drink.)
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To: Donald Meaker

"Black bears are slobs. The dogs tree the beast, and then you walk up to the tree and try to miss the dogs."


Doesn't sound very sporting, but I don't have any big qualms about it as long as there is no shortage of black bears. I do hope they try to avoid killing nursing mothers, though.


362 posted on 09/19/2005 1:54:59 PM PDT by -YYZ-
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To: Lazamataz

I don't eat meat Laz. Welcome back btw.


363 posted on 09/19/2005 2:01:22 PM PDT by cyborg (Thank you dear Lord for my new job and the breath in my lungs.)
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To: stevio

I agree.


364 posted on 09/19/2005 2:03:14 PM PDT by cyborg (Thank you dear Lord for my new job and the breath in my lungs.)
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To: cyborg

No porn, no meat...what do you do?


365 posted on 09/19/2005 2:03:28 PM PDT by Lazamataz (Islam is merely Nazism without the snappy fashion sense.)
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To: cyborg
I would rather someone who is hungry hunt their own meat than buy that processed crap in the stores.

I like dogfishing. You sit on the edge of a tall building with a fishing pole, and bait a hook with meat. When you get a strike, reel it in. But be sure to only catch as many as you intend to eat.

366 posted on 09/19/2005 2:06:27 PM PDT by Lazamataz (Islam is merely Nazism without the snappy fashion sense.)
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To: Lazamataz

LOL


367 posted on 09/19/2005 2:08:07 PM PDT by cyborg (Thank you dear Lord for my new job and the breath in my lungs.)
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To: 1rudeboy

A 20 gauge shotgun slug has WAY more energy than a .44 magnum bullet. I've never hunted bear, but if I did and had my choice between the two, I'd choose the 20 gauge hands down. I'd prefer a repeater, though, maybe one of those nice slug guns made by Savage. I'm sure her ADULT SUPERVISION is armed, also.


368 posted on 09/19/2005 2:13:41 PM PDT by OKSooner
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To: -YYZ-

The sport is mostly in handling the dogs. But as far as the little girl goes, one walks before one runs.

I was in ROTC doing some exercises in Mark Twain Natl Forest. Our group was trying to perform a recon patrol of a fixed point at night. We got jumped, and back then I could run pretty well. I tried to outrun the opposition, and darn it, it seemed like a bunch of them not only kept right up with me, but didn't lose a step. I turned up a hill, and could plainly hear them crunching through dead leaves just a few steps behind me.

I finally ran out of gas, and swung up into a tree.

Looking down- full moon- I saw two dogs. About half an hour later the racoon hunters caught up to the dogs and called them off. I swear, my face was shining red, brighter than the moon.


369 posted on 09/19/2005 8:39:17 PM PDT by Donald Meaker (You don't drive a car looking through the rear view mirror, but you do practic politics that way.)
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To: rock58seg

Cool stuff and very interesting. Thanks. I've mostly lived in Western PA, where wild patches are more pleasant, though we have our share of jaggers, as we call them. Must be quite a contrast from NYC!


One question.

"They can be trusted not to get on the trail of a rabbit or coon."

Are they specifically primed for coyote on this hunt or is coyote all they do?


370 posted on 09/19/2005 10:51:34 PM PDT by strategofr (What did happen to those 293 boxes of secret FBI files (esp on Senators) Hillary stole?)
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To: R. Scott

"Military history is one of my passions."

I've gone through a quiet period on it lately, but just started reading Battles of the Bible, by Chaim Herzog (former Pres of Israel) and Mordechai Gichon (military historian). Cool stuff.


371 posted on 09/19/2005 10:55:15 PM PDT by strategofr (What did happen to those 293 boxes of secret FBI files (esp on Senators) Hillary stole?)
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To: strategofr
Training a dog is part obedience trianing, aversion training and natural instinct on their part. These dogs are trained for coyotes only and exclusively when taken on a hunt. They might go chase a Jackrabbit for their own amusement when on their own, but after a few minutes let it drop.

As puppies they are allowed to chase anything their little old heart desires, just to get them use to the idea of hunting. At the age of about 6-8 months they start being admonished from chasing anything other than coyote. After that If a dog leaves a coyote track to chase a deer or rabbit they are severely admonished. If by the age of 1-1/2 years they are still not "rabbit broken" they are usually shot.

The Older Hunters have a real thing about blood lines and breeding. "Ain't nuthin worse than a worthless rabbit chasin dog," is a phrase you might hear often around a campfire. They will use very definite methods to eliminate a bloodline they do not want perpetuated. The sale or giving away of such a dog might, they believe, find it's way back to their pack if allowed to live.

I brought my NYC bride to Texas to meet all the family. I had told her about Jumping cactus. She thought it one of my Texas tall tales. So one of the first things on her list was to see this B.S. about jumping cactus. The bush of course does not jump as much as explodes when disturbed. I found a perticularly healthy looking bush, Shook it little and some of the leaves flew as far as ten feet in all directions. She just looked and said, "you are not bringing back any of that to NY."

372 posted on 09/20/2005 3:09:43 AM PDT by rock58seg ("Guest Workers," W's version of, "Read my lips." Secure our borders!)
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To: strategofr
I’m currently bouncing back and forth between 1812 by Walter R. Borneman – heavy on the political and social background of the war and God’s Warriors by Dr. Helen Nicholson and Dr. David Nicole – heavy on equipment and tactics, about the crusades to take Jerusalem.
373 posted on 09/20/2005 3:37:30 AM PDT by R. Scott (Humanity i love you because when you're hard up you pawn your Intelligence to buy a drink.)
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To: rock58seg

"She just looked and said, "you are not bringing back any of that to NY."

LOL! Thanks. It's all interesting.


374 posted on 09/20/2005 6:27:11 AM PDT by strategofr (What did happen to those 293 boxes of secret FBI files (esp on Senators) Hillary stole?)
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To: R. Scott

"God’s Warriors by Dr. Helen Nicholson and Dr. David Nicole – heavy on equipment and tactics, about the crusades to take Jerusalem."

Looks like we are both reading about the Holy Land, at the moment.


375 posted on 09/20/2005 6:28:23 AM PDT by strategofr (What did happen to those 293 boxes of secret FBI files (esp on Senators) Hillary stole?)
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To: strategofr

Some interesting differences between the two major cultures.


376 posted on 09/20/2005 8:34:39 AM PDT by R. Scott (Humanity i love you because when you're hard up you pawn your Intelligence to buy a drink.)
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To: Cannoneer No. 4

Hey I'm a prairie dog shooter. Grndpa says back in the old days they tasted good and they were greasy. Good skill to have.


377 posted on 09/20/2005 1:39:51 PM PDT by Redcitizen (This line intentionally left blank)
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To: cyborg; terabyte
Someday I am getting a shooting lesson from my fiance.

hehe... My lovely Terabyte and I went to the local range on our first date. She had a blast - in fact, she framed her target from that day. :)

378 posted on 09/20/2005 1:43:27 PM PDT by Terabitten (God grant me the strength to live a life worthy of those who have gone before me.)
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To: Salamander

Stop it.You are making me hungry. I will have to call home and find out when my relatives are gonna butcher a sheep. My coisins and I are good at it now.


379 posted on 09/20/2005 3:20:06 PM PDT by Redcitizen (This line intentionally left blank)
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To: Redcitizen

Sorry....:))


380 posted on 09/20/2005 3:56:01 PM PDT by Salamander (There's nothing that "MORE COWBELL!" can't fix.......)
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