NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/853309
42 NEBRASKAland • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2017 How did you begin introducing your sons to hunting? Caden was first. Teal hunting was his first hunting trip. [Terry showed me a photo of the hunt on his phone.] There he is blowing the duck call while sitting in the weeds with Bub. I had his sleeves rolled up so high because his camouflage sweatshirt was way too big for him. He was only 4. Of course, he wasn't shooting or anything, but he was still along for the hunt. What did he think about the hunt? I killed three ducks, and he carried all of them out to the truck. He just loved it. He kept asking me questions. "Dad, what's this?" He was pointing to the eyes and the beak … Cody went duck hunting with me, too. He got to hunt with me in the boat blind. It was warm out – that early teal season. Take advantage of that early teal season. They've also gone pheasant hunting with me. One day, they walked a long ways. My buddies and I hunted all day, and the boys walked the whole time with us. Whatever it took to get through it, we just did it. Sometimes they get tired – normal 3-year-old, 4-year-old stuff. I try to keep them motivated. You know, "Come on guys, hang in there. Let's go!" [Terry pulled out his phone again and showed me a photo of his boys smiling and standing in front of a truck with many dead roosters. They were holding toy shotguns.] I've heard that they shot turkeys this spring. Turkey was the first game they shot. I had the gun set up on a shooting stick, and then I would get behind them and look down the barrel as they pulled the trigger. Caden shot his first turkey when he was 5. He shot a second one this spring. Cody shot his first turkey this year. What does it mean for you to have your sons hunting with you? This past season, I posted a picture of my sons with their turkeys on Facebook. My uncle, who just recently passed away, commented: "Teach them to hunt, and they'll never get into trouble." That really resonated with me. I do everything with them. My sons are my whole world. Through hunting, I want to teach them responsibility and to never shoot over their limits. I want to teach them to hunt ethically – to make clean shots, and to take care of their game and process it properly. At home, they help with lots of the cleaning and cooking. Most importantly, like Steve Bott taught me, you don't "road" it. You get permission from the landowner. And when you shoot an animal, you go find it. You don't shoot another one until you find the first one. Steve was a stickler about that. You don't run around shooting a bunch of stuff and count numbers and act cool. You have to do it the right way. My sons will never do that. What do you have planned for the boys next? Caden will get his first rooster this fall and with Bub, hopefully. Cody, probably next year. We practice with plastic bottles as targets. Once they get a feel for the gun, I'll start throwing the bottle. They have little youth model Left to right: Terry Bisgard of Omaha, Spencer Brooks and Steve Bott of Bennington with Labrador retrievers Bub and Piper after a waterfowl hunt in Tekamah.