Field to Fork: recruiting new hunters in Kentucky

[welsh]

Here's a story on a great program running in Kentucky, taking advantage of the interest in local, healthy food to recruit new hunters.

http://www.realtree.com/timber-2-tab...ecruit-hunters

Something a little more complete than a hunter safety course. Not everyone has the benefit of family who hunt, and not everyone has a mentor. I'd love to see the OFAH promoting a similar program in Ontario.

[Hunter John]

Agreed.

[MikePal]

a demonstration was given covering both traditional and gutless methods of field dressing.

Great idea, far better than what happens now.

But I think they need to more than demonstrate the field dressing aspect....we've lost two potential new hunters at our camp over the years when we made them clean their own deer. One lad has never done it, makes his Dad do it for him, refuses to get 'dirty'.

We call it the " It's all fun till you pull the trigger" syndrome

All round though, something like this is sorely missing in the Hunt community and with old family camps closing it's something that is needed even more.

[excal-rookie]

The play off the "localvore" movement is genius, doesn't get much more local than a deer you personally killed within driving range from your house. Great program, hopefully other groups across the continent will choose to follow suit.

[Waftrudnir]

great!
I don't know what I really think about our hunter education anyway: On one hand, it's crap. On the other, how much can you do in 3 days with someone who has no idea what the instructor talks about? The total cost for a new hunter are significant by now and I feel that a significant increase will show in fewer new hunters. However, the minimal approach of the hunters ed; i.e. basic safety and how to read the convoluted regs, is not suitable for anyone without a mentor/family history. Just think of how many newbies are accomplished marksman before they take the hunter ed (I guess not that many). And of those who aren’t, how many will start investing in building shooting skills. Looking at the number of public shooting facilities around cities, I would think it's safe to say not many.
Relying on family traditions doesn't work anymore and courses like this (an many others) would be a good way, but those cost money and time. As much as we want lots of new hunters (as long as they don't hunt where we hunt...), we need to decide at what point to raise the bar and focus on quality over quantity when it comes to new hunters...

[skypilot]

A great way to eat healthy, remove some of the misinformation that exists and promote hunting.

X2 on getting it going via OFAH.