Tree Rat Classic

[Markus]

Today we hosted our annual youth squirrel hunt. We bring in the kids and pair them up with a mentor and do "outdoor" stuff with them The kids are a combination of our own, our friends. The idea is to get them excited about hunting and our way of life in the woods. Today we did a few things...snoe shoeing, squirrel hunt, target shooting, cook up and just had some fun.

Check out these cupcakes one of the wives whipped up for them....camo squirrel cakes. lol



We give them all a gift bag with assorted goodies in them and this year the big hit were the slingshots. We gave them all knives last year and the mothers all complained...I'm sure these will make them just as happy. lol





At the end of the day, our smallest and youngest participant was awarded champ status and the tree rat classic trophy and goodies that came with it. He was a proud kid!



Next year we're going to try and host it earlier before all the snow comes. The snow shoeing was a hit, but it limits a lot of mobility too. Great bunch of kids.

[smitty55]

Excellent stuff Markus. Always great to see someone promoting the outdoor lifestyle to our young ones. I'm sure they have a riot and learn some valuable lessons.
As for the mothers, well that's just too bad then ain't it? I'm sure the hubby will set them straight. I'm lucky with my two girls. My grandkids have gotten fishing tackle, filleting knives, a bb gun, a survival knife last year to the 11 year old and other outdoor gear. A hell of a lot better than some of the electronic junk they get from some others. One granddaughter turned 9 today and got a bb gun from her pops. She spends time in the deer and turkey stands with him and loves it.

I agree with you about doing it in the fall after the leaves are down. I think the kids would have that much more fun. If I recall, that's when you did your last one.

Cheers

[Markus]

Last years was late too. We had planned to go early this year...right after the deer season, but due to some scheduling problems with core participants, we decided to push it out and then we got hammered by snow storm after snow storm.

It'll be earlier next year for sure and we'll add a full targeting shooting event as well as a scavenger hunt for them.

[banjo]

Cupcakes, deer head slingshots, and some shooting. That would've sounded awesome as a kid... heck it sounds awesome now.

Years ago, I got my hands on a bunch of used arrows cheap, and I used to do a late year squirrel bowhunt. After hearing squirrels that sound like monster bucks during deer season, it felt good to get some... but I probably lost more arrows than shot squirrels. When I went for spring walks looking for sheds, I would keep my eyes out for arrows... believe it or not I found most built into beaver dams... and these were aluminum arrows. Haven't done it in years... might just reboot that day this year.

[Wallyboss]

Great day Markus that's the way to get kids interested in hunting. That's the way I started, there wasn't a squirrel that was safe around our cottage. One actually ran around for a few years after getting it's tail cutoff by a bad arrow shot. He got to be a bit skittish after that day.