Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. – Genesis 27:3

For many reasons I haven’t hunted in years, but this time of year I remember some great times my dad and I had when we went hunting. It’s funny, but I live in Montana which is one the greatest states for hunting, but I don’t remember going once since I have lived here.

When I was a kid my dad and I would go hunting a lot. I grew up in a small town, so hunting and fishing were a big part of my life. September and October were the time to prepare for duck hunting season. We would spend a weekend or two before the season to work on our duck blind.

One of the funnier things I remember is back then we owned a 33 rpm record of duck calls that I listened to and used to practice and improve my skills. The scratchy old record came in handy to learn how to use the duck call.

It was always exciting to head to the duck blind on the first weekend after the season opened. We would walk through a corn field that had been recently harvested to a spot on this lake where we prepared our duck blind. We normally did well. Besides being the hunter, I was also the gatherer who would walk into the lake to grab the ducks we had shot (we did not have a bird dog). My dad bought me some chest waders so I would not get wet (he was a good guy) when I walked into the lake to harvest our ducks.

I do thank God that my dad taught me how to hunt. He taught me everything from gun safety to respect of the landowners to caring for the animals I was hunting.

Happy hunting!

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