Of all the groups that have come to the reserve, it’s been especially great to see families visiting. Moms, dads, and children as well as parent/child pairs have made up a big portion of our visitors. Many are bringing a child for his or her first hunt.
The opportunity to come hunt is as much as about spending time together as a family as it is about the wild hogs.
A re-introduction the outdoors
Some of our young visitors have been begging mom and dad to let them go hunting for years. They show up excited and ready to hunt.
To be honest, not all of the kids who come out show up excited though. Some have been pulled out of their comfort zone, away from video games and TV. They’ll show up shoulders hunched and a little mopey.
It’s fun to watch their attitude change as they get involved in the day. They begin to perk up as we go through safety training and rifle practice. By the time we’re out in the forest, they’ve completely forgotten about their XBOX.
When it comes time to head home, they’re grinning from ear to ear and begging their parents to bring them back.
Time together
As exciting as it is to take down a wild hog, most of the kids seem just as excited to be spending time with their parents, free of distraction. They’d probably never admit it, but it’s as much about quality time as it is the actual hunt.
Many families discover a new way to spend time together through hunting, especially those that are bringing out first time hunters. They build new bonds while out on the hunt and in many cases, discover a new family activity.
It might start with a single hog hunt, but more often than not, families catch the hunting bug and it becomes a lifelong shared activity. Even after the kids leave home, they’ll often come back to go out to the woods with mom and dad.
Want to build a tradition?
If you’ve been searching for ways to get your children more engaged with the family, hog hunting may be a good choice.
Since Hog Wild is just 15 minutes from the OKC metro, we provide a convenient opportunity to enjoy hunting without having to orchestrate a big road trip. For many people, the difficulty of organizing a hunting trip is what keeps them from going hunting. The convenience of our reserve takes that challenge away.
If you’re interested in visiting the reserve for a hunt with your family, give us a call and we’ll answer any questions or concerns you have.
