“Hunting is a huge part of self-reliance

James Walton Hunting is a huge part of self-reliance. So I’ve always been so attracted to traditions and those things that have been passed through generation to generation and fishing is big in my family, it always has been but we didn’t do much hunting. We didn’t do any hunting. James Walton Hunting is a huge part of self-reliance

So I’m the head bull at this table of tradition of my family, hoping that it transfers from generation to generation. And that really is what it was about for me, the training of the woodsmanship and stalking those animals, it’s just something that fits into my lifestyle so I really wanted to get into it. And then I started thinking about tradition and I have two little sons right now and one day they’re going to want to be doing the same thing and I hope that that is handed down and never forgotten. James Walton Hunting is a huge part of self-reliance

transfers from generation to generation.

Well, it’s easy when you have two boys because they want to do what dad does anyway. 95% of the time. But we’re getting out already and doing some fishing with the four-year-old, he loves the woods, it feels like something that if you immersed them in it, it just comes naturally as long as they can understand that this equals fun they’re going to continue to do it.   James Walton Hunting is a huge part of self-reliance

Well, I can tell you that I know video games get a bad rap from people and one of the best ways that I got my sons out into the woods was we started camping first because all kids love fire. Boys love fire that’s just a natural thing. But I did start to play with him and take him into imaginary places in the woods and show him it can be a lot like what other options you have out there for fun right now. And actually, it’s much less to what I’m looking for, less predictable than a video game. So every so often that’s what we do. We go out and camp, sometimes we just camp out back in the yard even. I have a pretty nice yard but we’ve got a little fire pit back there and he loves that. You know what he loves? My older son? He loves to make those hot meals, like the Mountain House meals.

He loves to make those hot meals, like the Mountain House meals.

Well like I said, hunting never really crossed my mind and I can be 100% honest with you I wasn’t so sure, this wasn’t physical, this was more mental, I wasn’t sure for most of my life if I’d be able to pull the trigger. If I’d be able to kill something of that size. When your young brain tells that it would be sad and it would be, you know all that stuff, so I never really got into it. I said I’m going to go out here with a fly rod, catch some trout and have a good time. I had no problem bringing them home and cutting their poor little heads off and filet them. But I don’t know there was always something like that.   I actually bought the recurve before I even thought about hunting. I bought the recurve first just because it fit into my lifestyle. You talk about things like self-reliance and preparedness and survival it fit.

I said, well why not learn how to shoot a bow it’s awesome it’s an awesome skill. So I went and bought this bow and when I go into this guy’s shed he was selling it on Craig’s List for  bucks it was almost like a dollar a pound in draw weight. So I go into his garage and it actually has a torque and axle up in the roof that when you turn those on it was amazing. He had all these ancient metal working tools run by this giant axle in the roof.   And I couldn’t believe this guy. He was making knives out of files and files out of raw material and it was an amazing scenario. So I buy this recurve from him for  bucks and then from then on it was just a slow progression.

well why not learn how to shoot a bow it’s awesome it’s an awesome skill.

I stacked some hay bales on top of one another and backed them up with a pallet and just shot. I shot. I lost more hours than I could ever imagine, but I just started from scratch. I watched some YouTube videos and I got my draw points right and I spend a lot more time shooting than I do hunting if you know what I mean.

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