With a full cup of coffee and the tailgate down, I patiently wait. The parking lot at the Fish, Wildlife, and Parks headquarters is packed. I can see that I’m not the only parent waiting. Parents are sitting in their cars and playing on their phones. Some are outside pacing around. It is field test day for hunters safety class. My oldest daughter, Kennadie, is out on the course right now. She has been attending the class each night this week and passed the written exam with flying colors. By the time I finish writing this, she will have completed the field test as well. It has been a thrill studying and attending the classes alongside her. As I’m sitting here, waiting for her to finish up, I wonder if I have done this right. Does she realize that it’s more than just a class? Kennadie has grown up with me hunting and bringing wild game home. She’s helped process and take of it too. All of my girls know that they have to take hunters safety. That’s not an option. How to handle firearms safely is just important. Now, I’ve never told any of my girls that they must go hunting. That is and always will be their choice. Have I done the best job explaining to my girls why it has been my choice to hunt? Have I done a good enough job explaining why it is more than just a class their dad is making them take? These are some of the things racing through my head as I wait for her to finish.

I’ve thought about this day for many many years. Hunting and the outdoors has always been part of my life and was a big part of how I grew up. When my wife and I found out our firstborn was a girl, the comments started. What if she doesn’t like the outdoors? What if she is a girly girl and doesn’t like hunting? These comments weren’t going to change who I was and what I did. If anything, they sparked me to be more aware. I sort of felt like I needed to prove a point. It didn’t matter if I had boys or girls. It was all about how you raised them. I knew plenty of women who hunted and enjoyed the outdoors. That reminds me of the time when my brother-in-law and I were giving my wife a hard time about going hunting with us. She finally got fed up with it and made it a point to buy a tag and shoot a nice buck that year, but that’s a whole different story for another time. I certainly didn’t want my girls going with me out of spite. I also dread doing anything that would make them hold a grudge or turn them off. Now fast-forwarding twelve years from that moment we found out we were having a girl, I have three amazing girls who all love to be outside on adventures. We are now just to the point of really exploring this hunting thing with them. This last fall, I applied for a doe tag with intentions of finding an area suitable to take all three girls out. I wanted them to experience a hunt from start to finish. I didn’t want to make it too easy, but I also wanted them to want to come back out again. Remember, my girls are 12, 8, and 5, so not the easiest thing to do yet. It can’t be too much hiking or tough terrain. The weather can’t be too nasty. Which in Montana can be a challenge in its self. In the end, we made it happen. We found a good weekend with decent weather. There was a little walking with a creek to cross. We got to see a lot of deer with plenty of opportunities to teach along the way. It’s difficult for me to put into words everything that was going through my head that day. It was their first hunting experience, and I wanted all smiles. It was a blast. Then it hit me, that was the answer. During that day, my girls understood. They were having fun and enjoying the same things that drove me to hunt. The more they grow up, the more I need to be sure to include them. I can’t wait for many great years ahead.