Nebraska Hunting Property

It's not always about the money! I have been hunting since I was 6 years old with my dad and my trusty Daisy. He would take me with him when he went hunting and would always use a single shot shotgun no matter what he hunted. He reasoned he should only take 1 shot because the first shot was the most important. If he missed he figured he didn't make a good shot and the animal deserved to live. That's my dad.

We would go hunting on some farmer's property where he'd gotten permission. We would generally hunt a part of the day and return to the farm house with a few birds having only taken a few shots. The low number of birds goes hand in hand with another "dadism," "never take more than you need, son."

So you would think we would jump in the car and go home. No way! Instead we would go into the farmer's garden and pick ripe vegetables into 3 bags, one for the farmer, one small one for us, and one large one to go to the local market to sell. Along with picking the vegetables, we would bring the vegetables to the market and hoe the garden for him. Sometimes we would shovel out the barn, drive one of the trucks somewhere, help fix a fence, or do anything the farmer needed done. It all depended on the day.

What did this accomplish? The farmer did not have to pick vegetables, hoe his garden or go to the market which saved some of his precious time. In return, we received a great hunting experience and some vegetables to go with our birds.

This is a very simple example, I know, but there are 101 things that always need to be done around a farm or ranch. And a lot of them can be fun especially if you or your kids have never done them before. So, the next time you knock on that farmer's door or make a call, don't start out saying "I was wondering if I could get permission to hunt". Instead say "I was wondering if there is something I could help you with around your place in exchange for permission to hunt". I think you will be pleasantly surprised and the next time you go there, don't be surprised by the hand shake and the smile you get. I'll leave you with the "Dadisms" that sums this idea up, "What goes around comes around."