When you were young, you really did not know what a pheasant hunt was.
From you, the event was all about getting up very early and making the 90 minute drive to your grandmother’s. You and your sister simply crawled in the back seat of whatever car, van, or pickup was being used for the trip. You fell asleep, and your dad and one or two of his friends visited quietly. Once you arrived at Grandma’s house, the pheasant hunt morning meant fried eggs, bacon, Swede pancakes, and homemade syrup. You liked the thin, crepe-like pancakes with just a small amount of butter and then two to three tablespoons of syrup. Although Grandma always made sure that the pheasant hunters were fed first before they headed out the door, you and your sister could have as many of the rolled pancake treats that you wanted. Your grandmother always made sure that she had plenty of batter made, and as delicious as the pancakes were, the hunters did not take a lot of time to eat the time consuming sweet breakfast treat.
For you, that is what a pheasant hunt looked like. You never rode with your dad to the fields, you rarely saw the birds they shot, and your dad always let his friends take the game. He was simply happy to host the event. It was a chance for you girls to spend more time with his mom, and those weekends were the best. The hunters always headed back home at the end of one day of hunting, but you girls stayed for the weekend, having the tasty Swede pancakes again on Sunday morning.
Hunting Traditions Often Carry Through Generations of Family Memebers
In many cases, you are either a hunter or you are not. If, for instance, you grew up in a family that hunted, you may be more likely to be a hunter yourself. If your family planned big weekends around the opening day of pheasant hunting season, you may continue this tradition. Today, though, even people who have never hunted are enjoying pheasant hunting, archery hunting, and other outdoor events. Perhaps to make sure that they get out to enjoy nature, or perhaps as a planned hunting expedition with coworkers, the fact that Americans hunt a combined 282 million days a year means an average of 21 days for each hunter.
If you have not ever hunted with a member of your family, you may have been introduced to hunting experiences through corporate events that include shooting instructions and hunting on private preserves. Consider some of these facts and figures about the increase in hunting, fishing, and archery numbers in America:
- The numbers of people who love to spend time outdoors fishing and hunting continue to do so in an effort to make sure that they have planned time away from the office and work.
- Hunting and fishing is enjoyed by as many as 38 million Americans.
- Estimates indicate that 72% more women are hunting with firearms today than just five years ago.
- Getting teenagers enrolled in Hunter Safety classes is the best way to introduce youth to hunting.
- Ring-necked pheasants were introduced to the state of Wisconsin as a game bird as early as the late 19th century. As a result, pheasant hunting is a long-standing tradition in Wisconsin.
- Enjoying the outdoors is a major draw for hunters and fishing enthusiasts.
- Archery participation in the U.S. increased about 20% between the years 2012 and 2015, boosting the number of archers to 23.8 million, according to the Archery Trade Association (ATA).
- The chance to spent a long, silent afternoon at a favorite fishing spot is the perfect way to spend a day away from the office.
- Over one-third of all adult archery participants in the U.S. bowhunt.
- Until you take an archery class, you likely do not understand the strength this sport takes.
- The most highly attended state championship activity in the state of Nebraska is trapshooting, showing the high interest in the sport of achieving accuracy in shooting clay pigeons.
- Days away from the office should be well spent.
- One way to bond with workers is to engage in outdoor activities.
- One more day until . . .
- Relaxing at your favorite . . .
- Sports camp with friends and family!
