Seaweed,

I have taken two young relatives through the hunter education course, as the "guardian", and both times the kids passed the test on their own with no instruction from anyone during the test. I did help them both study, and quizzed them after every class.

I did this for a couple of reasons. Nobody in my family hunted or had firearms, but my uncle Wayne was nice enough to introduce me to both. He taught me how to shoot a muzzle loader at the age of 10, and after that, I just got hooked on the outdoors. He also was there when I got my first elk.

Both of the relatives I helped had nobody with hunting or firearms experience in their families, so I passed on the flame to these young men after they showed an interest at the age of 12. My uncle helped me, so I helped them.

Hunting and being in the out of doors has been one of the most impactful activities that I ever undertaken in my life. It is life and death, and deadly serious. I have also learned quite a lot about the world around me that I wouldn't have known without spending many a sunrise in a duckblind. It helped me to grow up, and for the most part, stay out of trouble.

I hope to help these boys realize that food doesn't just show up on the grocery store shelves. Someone must kill something for us to eat meat. I am teaching these boys that having a connection to what goes on all around us every day in nature is not a bad thing, and that some people go out and get their own meat, while others choose to hire someone else to kill on their behalf.

They are well on their way to becoming men, not these PC loving warm and fuzzy pussies that are being raised in our society today. One party wins, one loses. That is what nature is all about.

I know of one board member who visits from time to time who has two boys who at ages 8 and 11 passed their hunter ed tests and are quite squared away.

I have learned quite a few lessons watching these boys become young men, and I do not hunt when they are hunting. I am their guide and I teach them teamwork and trust.

Take a kid hunting, you'll be a better person for it.

Finally, I may have detected a bit of sarcasm or tone in your writing, not sure. I try to be a good human, and I hope that you are as well, and that I am just mistaken in what I think I read in your post.

Take care,

Andy