My dad thought The Beatles were responsible for the entire drug problem in the United States.

I’d say take them scouting as well as hunting when they start. Pre-season scouting puts the entire game plan together; while encountering all kinds of things besides a harvest at the end of the day. It enhances the senses to each ecological area in observation. Exercising those senses early (and often) will produce a feeling inside that they need to be exercised. Kind of like working out regularly; it becomes a craving to the body.
Ask yourself this; what are these little morons exercising the most in life today? There you go.

…and I dont mean go drive around. Get out, and go for a walk. Take a lunch!

Lol, I’ve done that 4 or 6 times already.

Funny that you mentioned it as I thought doing it would spur their interest a bit more.

Lol, I’ve done that 4 or 6 times already.

Funny that you mentioned it as I thought doing it would spur their interest a bit more.

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Yeah, bit late for them. I’d say…

“That ship has sailed”
“She’s a done deal”
“That dog won’t hunt”
(pile on here)

John Lennon’s existence is responsible for many reprehensible actions still echoing thru society today.

My Dad was the same way. I ordered a Yellow Submarine book from Scholastic book club at school and he confiscated it.

A few thoughts as I have boys that are in their early twenties. When many of us genXers or older grew up we had three tv channels a fishing pole 22 a shotgun of BB gun and a pellet gun a bike .... and that's what we went out and did with our days. They were really no rules and you went out and made some fun. Many of our kids grow up in the suburbs or city and don't have those opportunities. And if they tried, someone would be calling the cops with a kid riding down the street like we used to you with a pellet rifle or .22 across the handlebars.

My boys they played multiple team sports from 7 until now. There was never really any time to get them out hunting. They loved to shoot...targets, skeet, dove etc. But they never really wanted to go (drive 2 hours to hunt) because they were too worn out from sports or had other interests. I get that. Differnt time, place, distractions. What I noticed since they've been in college is the culture of the boys they hang out with they like to hunt. So they are more interested now and ask me to go..or go with their friends. I love that.

Now that they are graduated from college or in college, I've hunted more now than I have in my whole life. Because I love it and am making up for lost outings. My point is don't get too frustrated give them some room they may come back to it. ( sorry if that was sloppy... voice to text conversion)

Good post 71.

I think that is part of my issue with sports….it’s such a time suck kids don’t have time for anything else. All for something that has an expiration date for 97% of kids when they hit 18 years old. I quit all sports when it cut into my hunting and fishing time. I remember when I was in Jr. High playing football and our team went to playoffs. Our wide receiver went deer hunting the night we had a game…everyone was trashing him for not being there….hell I was jealous.

I quit all sports the following season so I didn’t miss any more woods time. These kids don’t have time to do a damn thing except practice sports ball or in my daughters case, tumble on a mat in a barn, Would drive me nuts but that’s what they want to do, so they do it.

Just a product of their environment. I bet most of the kids who live out where ya'll go just every few weekends play sports and still want to go hunt and be outdoors.

Kids who have a 4wheeler and .22 right out their backdoor they can go jump on anytime vs kids who have nothing but video games and a subdivision pool

My Nephew is in high school plays football and still hunts 24/7, even runs a trap line in the off-season. Let's just say he doesn't have neighbors 20' from his backdoor....

One trick pony.

Hey Tex, I think you and I are a lot alike. I didn't play high school sports not only because I was pretty weak in the weight room and would much rather have been in the woods or in the evenings out drinking or with the girls. Glad I'm over the second half of that statement.

Thing about sports or activities for our kids today is its all very accessible and socially the norm. And yes, the travel ball takes up the entire family's time and costs some bux. And at some point they're going to stop playing those sports or doing those activities. And I had to reconcile that in my mind that it would be okay. No regrets. Team sports has been an amazing transformation for my boys they are so adaptable and communicative and work well with adults and groups.

Back to whats different...If we gen xers and older wanted to go shoot a pellet gun or .22 or 12 gauge, we would just get get out from under our bed, hope on the bike and go to the woods or pasture. That experience was accessible to me at all times. Today, unless we're living out on acreage, that option ain't happening for most of our kids. So that's why I cut them slack. It's theirs if they want to come back to it one day.

It seems the older they get the more cool they think their old man is (who can skin a buck run a trotline reload his own bullets fix the car and the house, pay for college, drive a cash vehicle, live debt free...). And I haven't changed at all other than my deepening faith and awe of Christ our savior.

Again sorry for any sloppiness of voice to text conversion above

i dont think it has todo with location. I grew up a large part of my youth essentially unsupervised on 100 plus sections. Me and my cousins all hunted , infact lost our 22’s to the GW at age 10 do to a difference in opinion on legal duck and pheasant limits and seasons. Long story short, Im only one out of 6 that hunts any more. It either resonates or it doesnt.

Really? Pick ANY community up in the Panhandle. Do you think the percentage of 16-18 yo's that hunt/enjoy outdoors is the same as it is in Grapevine?

People with no kids don't have a clue...and aren't relevant to the conversation.

Hey one thing I wanted to add to my two posts above. My dad never hunted in his life and never owned a gun...took me hunting but once. I learned all of that outdoors stuff on my own or through my teenage/college buddies. No adults.

Point is our boys may be learning their love for the outdoors not from us but from their peers. And that's awesome.

My son is a senior this year and he is still eat up with hunting and fishing. He’s in a blind now on the other side of the creek from me. He will be off to college next year but I hope we still get to share the weekends hunting. Hopefully his new found life won’t change him lol

My dad never went hunting as a youth, and his dad left Austin on Christmas Day every year and hunted for two weeks in Webb County, in the 1920s and 30s. I don't think they took "boys" as much back then. He died when Dad was 16 and it wasn't until he got married and moved to San Antonio that his father-in-law helped him get into it.

Im in Colleyville.

With that said to answer your question No but the percentage of those that grew up hunting and dont hunt any more is exponentially higher around my ranch then colleyville, and I would suspect its that way for most rural communities. Ones here in Colleyville that that grew up hunting still hunt alot, including a bunch that got into it later in life. Its also a very different means

Just because you live in the panhandle or any where rural doesn’t mean you actually have hunting access either. I image very few rural counties in Texas have more resident hunters then non resident hunters.

txtrophy85, I don't think they are lazy and unmotivated. I think they have different interests than you at this point in their lives. I know as a little boy, I loved hunting deer with my dad. Come high school I was hunting other stuff, not deer. Then, I came back around. That boy that has other plans for Saturday night with his buddy is motivated, just not for deer. Likely beer and skirts. Be paitent, they'll come back around.

Playing sports has nothing to do with whether a kid enjoys the outdoors or likes to hunt. I was blessed with my son. He was and still is a respectable athlete. 4 year starter and a difference maker in 3 varsity sports. He chose not to participate in travel ball so he could do other things but excelled in sports because of athleticism. My opinion is in many instances travel ball is more about parents hoping their kids become what they are not than kids taking their game to the next level. Sports kept him pretty busy. It also kept him around the right group of kids and out of trouble. He loved to compete and to this day hates to lose. He also hunted with me all over the place. He is 24 now. He still feeds his love for athletics and does both Jiu Jitsu and Tae Kwon do. An accomplished outdoorsman and still loves to hunt. He has told me he enjoys bird hunting with good dogs more than deer hunting, but so do I. We still hunt together some but not like we used to. He already has a diy mule deer hunt planned in Idaho for next year.

In short: Our kids have to pick their own path to commit to it. If they are healthy, well adjusted, and successful, as a parent you are blessed.

FWIW, in my experience there is some truth to what Wallace posted. Kids gravitate to what they know they are good at.

My experience as well.

Kids have far more distractions and choices today. When I grew up there was no such thing as virtual. Kids can escape these days. No effort is required for a lot of their activities. Think about how much easier it was to hunt and fish. Now a limited number of places to go, the expense, and time it takes to get to a quality location. Anything remotely close to a major city has become unaffordable for most.

I don’t give my son an option to be lazy.