Let's Go Scouting!



Troi Shade, Matthew Edmundson,
and Cooper Howard (back to front)
 during the hike to High Rock.

I promise to do my best to do my duty to God and my country, to help other people, and to obey the Law of the Pack.

As a child, that promise really meant something.  It fit right in with the Pledge of Allegiance and The Star Spangled Banner.  It built character, pride, values and achievement.  It was an exciting time.

At least once a week, we would see the Cub Scouts and the Brownies dressed in uniforms at school on the day of our den meetings.  We were all proud to be scouts.  We followed our promise, always trying to do the right thing.  We studied what electives and achievements we could accomplish so we could get new belt loops, badges or beads.

Daddy and son with their Camp Charles

Family Camp badges. (Yes I am happy,

it is just very difficult to press that dang

button on the camera with one hand and

hold the badge with the other!)

When camp came around, we learned things that we otherwise would have never been exposed to, and we usually did it with our parents there as well.  We were happy our parents were participating with us.  It was one of the few times we wanted our parents around.

My youngest son Cooper is a member of Pack 89.  We went on our first Cub Scout Family Campout a couple of weekends ago.  Me and Cooper and several hundred other young Cub Scouts and their parents and leaders.  Recipe for a migraine?  Quite the contrary.  Everyone had an absolute blast.

The scouts were able to participate in such activities as shooting bb guns, archery, slingshots, fishing and hiking.  We watched a great movie under the stars about the pinewood derby (Down and Derby) and finished off the evening roasting s’mores over the campfire.  We settled in to the tents shortly after.  Even with the cool weather in the 40’s everyone followed another scouting motto: Be Prepared.



S'mores over the campfire, a true scouting tradition!



Scouting often provides our first real taste of the outdoors.  Remarkably, with all the people at the camp, no one ever had a cross word, an altercation, or got mad about anything.  Sometimes the lines for some of the activities were long, but even with the young age groups, patience prevailed.  Patience was tested mind you, but yes, in the end, it prevailed.

Maybe us adults should look back on those days of our youth and remember the joy we had sharing the outdoors, sharing our relationships with our friends and our elders, and experiencing life.  You know that pledge at the beginning…even as adults, even if you were never in scouts, is not a bad thing to follow.

To learn more about scouting and if it is right for you, visit www.scouting.org.

Bill Howard writes a weekly outdoors column for the Wilson Times and Yancey County News and the bowhunting blog site GiveEmTheShaft.com. He is a Hunter Education and International Bowhunter Education instructor, lifetime member of the North Carolina Bowhunters Association, Bowhunter Certification Referral Service Chairman, member and official measurer of Pope and Young, and a regular contributor to North Carolina Bowhunter Magazine.

Few Things are Better than Opening Day of Dove Season

There are few things that I anticipate more than opening day of dove season.  The opening day is perfectly positioned as a precursor to all other seasons.  You know that after opening day, deer season is nearby, along with the appearance of the fall leaves, the chill of the autumn nights, the departure of the pesky gnats and mosquitoes, and the migrations of the various waterfowl.

I grew up dove hunting.  It was by far my favorite activity with a firearm.  Dove hunting provides the first classroom for many of our young hunters and new adult hunters.  First, it usually gives ample opportunity for shooting the shotgun.  You may have spells of no activity, but when they fly, it is constant and quick.  Usually within a few shots, you self correct and begin to understand how far to lead, what the maximum distances of a successful shot are, and when to take the shot.

It also teaches us patience.  During the waits between flights, we enhance our peripheral vision.  We spot the birds from great distances, able to recognize their flight pattern and silhouette.  Before ever hunting dove, that same bird would have gone unnoticed, not to mention unidentified.  These are skills needed as the novice hunter advances to other game.

Dove hunting teaches us how to be safe.  We quickly learn how to identify where other hunters are and instinctively know not to shoot in that direction.  We let low flying birds pass, shouting it out in order to make other hunters aware that a bird is too low to fire.

We learn the art of camouflage.  We use natural colors in our clothing.  We nestle in non-descript areas to help shield us from a flying bird’s view.

We recognize possible flight patterns and targets.  A lone tree makes a great point of reference for a fast moving bird, as well as a hiding place to dodge the flying lead.  This means it is a great location to set up as the birds will tend to target the location.

We learn the feeling of success.  One bird or a limit, you will remember the shots made.  You replay them, sometimes many years later.

Doves are easy to clean and fairly tasty.  Because of this, it is the ideal game for the new hunter to get their hands dirty.  Processing your own game, taking it from field to grill, makes the meal that much better.  You worked for the nourishment.  It was not bought at the store in shrink wrap in the cooler section.  It is exactly as God intended.  It was taken by man from the land.

And lastly, dove hunting provides the memories for which you never wish to relinquish.  The bridge of generations, hunting together, learning from one another.  Few other activities can teach so much.  Few classrooms can provide so much enjoyment.

If you enjoyed this column, try Bill Howard's Outdoors: Why Hunt?

Bill Howard writes a weekly outdoors column for the Wilson Times and Yancey County News and the bowhunting blog site GiveEmTheShaft.com. He is a Hunter Education and International Bowhunter Education instructor, lifetime member of the North Carolina Bowhunters Association, Bowhunter Certification Referral Service Chairman, member and official measurer of Pope and Young, and a regular contributor to North Carolina Bowhunter Magazine.

Safety First!

"No person, regardless of age, may procure a hunting license in this state without first producing a Certificate of Competency showing completion of a hunter safety course..."  2010-2011 North Carolina Inland Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Regulations Digest.

My wife was not really big on firearms.  With our first son, we had many conversations as to when he would be allowed to get a BB gun for instance.  I firmly believe curiosity and unfamiliarity are the two biggest dangers for a child and a firearm.  Once one starts actually using a firearm, the top dangers typically go to safety rules violations.  I handled firearms at a very early age, so I did not have that urge to grab one of Dad's guns and experiment or show it off.  It was kind of like 'yep, I've held that one, know how that one works too...'  I learned to respect the power that a firearm has.  For safety reasons, even the BB gun was not allowed to be aimed at a person, pet, or building.  Learn that early, even with a BB gun, and you'll learn to watch where you point the bigger weapons.

I've been told in the past that a BB gun won't hurt you, and most pellet guns cannot even kill a squirrel.  Unfortunately, North Carolina has learned the hard way this is not the case.  We have had three tragedies involving youth in the last week that I am aware of, and two of them were with either a BB or pellet gun.

In the hunter education classes we teach, the number one rule is always have the muzzle (the opening at the end of the barrel where the projectile exits) pointed in a safe direction. We say it constantly and consistently throughout the 10 hour course.  If the firearm is pointed in a safe direction, and there is an accidental firing of the weapon, there is no harm other than the scare it gives you.  There are other rules we go through as well.  Treat every firearm as if it were loaded.  Keep your finger away from the trigger until ready to shoot.  Know what is in front of and behind your target.  In the class, we have firearms for the students to handle, some of each type of firearm, so the student will at least have a basic familiarity of the firearm.  When we hand the firearm from one person to another, we do it with the action (the part that does the work that loads and fires the ammunition) open so that all can see it is unloaded.  Even with 'dummy' guns, we do this, and keep them pointed in safe directions, and explain what safe directions are.

Of course this is what we teach those that attend the hunter education classes.  It does not help much when you have a young child who may be too young to go through a course like this.  This is where my other suggestion comes in.  As soon as a child shows interest, you need to start teaching them how the firearm works, and let them know they can only handle it when a responsible adult (you) is there with them.  Practice keeping it pointed in a safe direction, with the action open, even with toy guns. The more the child handles the firearm, the less curious they are.

However, there is still another problem.  Now the neighbor's kid comes over, and has never held a firearm.  Curiosity is there.  Peer pressure sets in, and now your child has succumb to pulling out your firearm to show.  Do not ever let it get to that point.  Keep the firearm locked up, and keep the ammunition locked up in a separate location.

So, in review once more, unload your firearms but treat them as if they were loaded.  Keep them pointed in a safe direction.  Keep them stored separate from the ammunition and locked.  And based on the last week's news, treat every firearm as if it is powerful enough to kill.  Even a BB or pellet gun. 


Bill Howard is a Hunter Education and Bowhunter Education Instructor , a Wildlife Representative and BCRS Program Chairman for the North Carolina Bowhunters Association, and an avid outdoorsman.  Please forward any pictures or stories you would like shared to billhowardoutdoors@gmail.com.