Deer season opened in my state and many others a few days ago and for the first time in the 17 years I’ve known him my friend David wasn’t in the woods opening morning.
I asked him why while already knowing the reason. Now in his 60s with some of the creeping health ailments and slowdowns that accompany one’s sixth decade he simply decided to stay at home.
The hunting population is graying, a fact that is lost on no one but is particularly concerning to state wildlife agencies, which seem to have one overriding sermon: Take a kid hunting (or fishing). Wonderful advice, to be sure, and one to be followed when possible.
Deer hunters and deer hunting often garner more than their share of bad press; hunting being frowned upon in some political and social circles. Here’s something that’s not often reported but should be: Hunters feed people.
In 2010, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, deer hunters donated 2.8 million pounds of venison to shelters, food banks and church kitchens across the country. That translated into 11 million meals for folks who needed them.
Who says there’s no good hunting news.
The Outdoor Notebook 