If you think you know everything there is to know about hunting, take a curious youngster hunting. With a little thought and patience, it can result in quite an education for both of you.

"What's that track?" Deer, probably a doe because of the small size.

"What's this?" Rabbit, running. See how the front legs hit here and the back legs landed clear up here.

"Are these raccoon tracks?" Yes, maybe. Let's follow it over to that mud to get a better look.

Talk about a refresher course.

Class work lays the foundation; fieldwork builds the walls. If you have a potential hunter — a daughter, son, niece, nephew, family friend, Little Brother or Little Sister — start your teaching/learning at the beginning. Attend a hunter-education class with your charge. It'll be educational even for the most experienced hunter. If you don't have a potential hunting student, do yourself a favor and find one. Let family members know you're willing to take someone under your wing. Contact local conservation and wildlife chapters, community and church groups, and social-service agencies and organizations.

Hunter-education courses should be approached as more than a legal prerequisite to hunting. View and present it as an opportunity. Be enthusiastic about attending. And be a good, attentive student, so your student sees you are there to learn, too. Volunteer instructors who teach and teach and teach class after class after class deserve our respect. Consider becoming one of them.

Lesson Plans
Teach:
Responsibility. Hunting is a good life lesson. Everyone is responsible for their own actions. If you hunt, you are responsible for what you do, when to pull the trigger. And when you do, you have set in motion events that cannot be stopped. The bullet or arrow cannot be called back. There is a terrible, wonderful finality to it.

Safety. If you don't want to shoot it, don't point the muzzle at it, and don't let the muzzle point at it. Nothing out there is worth someone getting injured or killed. Jazz up practice sessions with reactive targets such as plastic milk and pop bottles filled with water or overripe cantaloupes and watermelons. They'll visually illustrate the power of an unleashed bullet and emphasize the consequences of squeezing the trigger.

Etiquette. Just like in any aspect of life, there is always a place for etiquette. A polite, considerate hunter is a safe, welcomed hunter. Discuss landowner relationships. Many states have productive public hunting programs, some of them on privately owned property. Thank landowners for participating in programs that allow you hunting access. Without them, options would be much more limited. Courtesy is the key. Treat the property as if it was yours. No, treat it even better.

Ethics. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you — even if no one is watching. Be considerate of wildlife and resources as well as fellow hunters, landowners, anyone you encounter. A hunt can be successful but hold little lasting meaning if ethical corners are cut.

During the 2006 deer season, my son Jack could have shot a nice 10-point whitetail on the third to last day of the season when we jumped it early in the morning. We were in the truck, heading to the backside of a corn-stubble field. The deer, as surprised as we were, ran out a hundred or so yards and stopped to look back. Jack could have gotten an easy shot. He didn't.

The next day, we were hot on the same deer's trail. We jumped him on the edge of a rolling pasture and zigged on foot for about three miles trying to out-guess him, but he zagged and gave us the slip.

Then, on the last day of season, we got on his trail again, not far from where we had seen him the first time. He bounded off, disappearing into the hilly pasture. We started after him, then stopped and took stock of the wind and the terrain ahead. Then, we backed off, way off, and circled around about a mile downwind and walked in slowly. We spotted the deer at about 300 yards, grazing fitfully and watching upwind, the direction he had last seen us. We sneaked along a fenceline, slowly, quietly, covering the last 40 or so yards on hands and knees. Standing over the deer, Jack commented how much better it was to hunt him fairly, for two days, when he knew he was being pursued, than shooting him after bumping him with the truck. Now, Jack has memories of a deer well-hunted. Truly successful hunts are those you know in your heart were done within fair-chase parameters.

Natural history. Explain the life cycle of the animals you hunt and how they interact with other animals and the role hunting plays in the management and well-being of wildlife.

Fundamentals. Keep it basic and explain every step of the way. Just because you know it and do it automatically doesn't mean your student knows it. Think about each step, slow down and explain it.

My oldest son, Hunter, killed his first deer when he was 12. It was a doe, shot on a cold, windy day after a fairly long sneak. It was a lesson in playing the wind, blowing from the west-southwest, and our only approach on this pasture blow-out where we hoped deer were taking shelter was from the west. We planned our approach a bit from the north, hoping our scent would blow just enough north not to reach wary nostrils. We sidehilled low around the last hill and saw a herd of deer hunkered in out of the wind. From Steady-Stix, Hunter shot the doe, which took a couple of steps before dropping dead.

After the shot. While field-dressing Hunter's doe, I saw an embryo, maybe two inches long, amid the entrails. I moved to cover it, but Hunter saw it, too. A baby, he said. Yes, she was pregnant, and that is why we are hunting does this time of year. There are getting to be too many deer around here, and wildlife biologists want us to thin out does to help control the population. That's a big part of hunting — controlling wildlife populations. Hunter dug a hole in the sand, about six inches deep, and placed the embryo in the bottom, covering it with sand and packing it with his gloved hand.

Field-dressing can seem overwhelming to a kid. I always go about it matter-of-factly and encouraged them to don latex gloves of their own and pitch in, or at least hold this leg here, pull open the rib cage there. It's not gross, I said. It's really interesting to see how everything is put together. And it is all fairly logical. Everything inside has to come out so you just do what it takes to make everything come out. If something is stuck, carefully cut until it comes free. Give them illustrated field-dressing instructions and have them follow along.

The same approach works when it comes to butchering. Encourage them to be involved. At first, I had the boys watch, help skin, hold open freezer bags and do other chores to keep them busy and involved. Now, they've moved on to deboning, cutting steaks and other aspects of food preparation.

Comfort and proper outfitting. If a kid is uncomfortable, it could end the day early. Make sure boots fit correctly, that they have enough warm clothes and gloves if they may need them. And binoculars, water bottle, snacks, depending on the situation.

Observation. Help them see, hear and smell. Point out tracks, scat, interesting plants, insects and animals. Take notice of bird calls, wind whistling in the trees, animal sounds, the sound of footsteps running away. Sam, our youngest son, swears he has smelled downed deer before we have found them. They smell like the carcasses hanging in the garage when we're processing venison, he said.

Enthusiasm. Share yours. You hunt because, well, why? Tell them. Share your love of the outdoors, of each aspect of hunting that appeals to you. Tell stories of how and why you got involved in hunting.

Empowerment. Empower and encourage them to make decisions — which track to follow, how to work the wind on a stalk — and celebrate the little successes along the way. There are a lot of little successes that lead up to the taking of game. Bite your lip rather than saying anything negative. Let them do it. By doing it themselves, it'll sink in quicker. If you do everything for them, they learn to let you do everything for them.

Fun. Keep it fun. Don't try to outdo them. Don't turn it into a competition between you and them. Or between them, if you are accompanied by multiple students.

Independence. When the time comes, turn them loose. Give them their independence; their freedom. That's what you like about hunting.

Rewards. Trophies and photographs are tangible rewards. But more importantly, I remember the first deer each of my sons have killed, and their reaction, a combination of happiness, relief and pride. And their first pheasants. And ducks.

That is reason enough to teach — and learn.

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