Hunting and Firearms

By Melissa J. Oleen Rowan Public Library

                When the zombie apocalypse begins, I want my friend Ansley in my group.  Ansley is comfortable navigating in the woods, can hunt and fish with the best of them and better yet, can field dress a deer.  These are skills you need when you are directly responsible for your own survival, but even if armageddon does not happen during our lifetime, these skills also build confidence, character and resourcefulness.  Ansley was taught these skills from a young age by a father who also happens to be a Wildlife Officer.  But for those of you who do not have a Daryl Dixon to assist you with hunting and navigating outdoors, might I offer up some new titles in the Children’s Collection at the library.  Open Season is a series by PowerKids Press best suited for children aged 9 – 13 years.  Titles in the series include Bow Hunting, Hunting with Shotguns, Hunting with Rifles, Hunting Gear, Know Your Quarry and Hunting Laws and Safety.

First and foremost, all of the Open Season books emphasize safety and responsible, ethical hunting.  The author, Annie Wendt Hemstock, stresses finding out what the hunting laws are in your state and county and the types of training and licenses hunters must have.  If you think Duck Stamps are only for envelopes or a subplot in the movie Fargo, this series is for you. The books have good photos, colorful graphics and feature hunters of all ages, male and female.  

Bow Hunting, Hunting with Shotguns and Hunting with Rifles discuss the different kinds and parts of bows, shotguns and rifles.  Each title discusses when and why hunters will select one type of firearm or bow over another and which are best for young adults.  Hunting Gear discusses the equipment hunters may use including lures, scents, decoys and the importance of picking the right clothes to wear based on when and where you will be hunting.  

                Know Your Quarry introduces the types of game that are hunted: big and small mammals, waterfowl, and birds.  The book explains why knowing the habitats for each species will help you determine where to look for them.  Spoor, the signs animals leave behind, is explained as is how spoor allows you to track your quarry.

PowerPress has developed an online list of websites related to the subject matter of each title.  At the end of each book, a website with related internet links is listed.  The folks at PowerPress keep these links updated.  For example, the website in Hunting Laws and Safety will connect you to sites where up to date information for each state’s hunting and fishing licenses, permits, applications, hunter education and classes, law and regulations can be located.  You will learn that a duck stamp is the federal license required to hunt migratory waterfowl.  Ninety-eight cents of every dollar generated by the sale of Federal Duck Stamps goes directly to purchase or lease wetland habitat for protection in the National Wildlife Refuge System. 

                When you are ready to go hunting, the Open Season series recommends you take a map.  Hunting on the Map by Alix Wood, is a great way to introduce map skills to children within the context of hunting.  This fun book has in-book activities and puzzles that teach readers about following tracks, mapping the land, habitat maps, scale, longitude, latitude and what belongs on a map.  It is part of the series Fun with Map Skills.  Other books in the series teach maps in the context of the military and pirates.

Hunters and non-hunters alike will find that the information presented in these volumes provides a good foundation for the sport and the skills and equipment involved. These books are great discussion starters and an excellent way to begin talking about hunting and firearms with your children.