Kids Want Results

I’ll admit, I struggle to take my kids hunting with me as much as I would like. It’s logistically challenging and not all situations are well suited for children under the age of five. Winter is tough and so is anything that involves a lot of hiking or long days. In the absence of coming along, they want me to produce. While stories of the one that got away or explaining that sometimes we just don’t see anything can work, bringing home something tangible is better.

For whatever reason cleaning birds has become popular at our house. Both kids love petting the birds, checking out the feathers, and then opening them up to see what’s inside. They like to find out what the birds have been eating, look at the organs and cut out the breasts, legs or whatever is appropriate for the species. In addition to packaging what we eat the kids always want to keep wings, feathers and feet. These items usually end up stashed next to their beds, along with stuffed animals, books and other found objects.

Any type of casing is also considered a prize souvenir. Recently, I was reading my son a bedtime story and my daughter came in with the brass from a 7mm Magnum. It was complete with a butterfly sticker and a hair band wrapped around it. My son took one look at it and said “Yaaah…that yours…it’s from Grandpa’s elk”. He was right and I thought the sticker was a nice touch.