I bought my daughter a cute little easy to handle ruger .357 mag police special when she was in high school. We used to go out on weekends when ever time allowed to bust some caps. We spent a long time getting her comfortable shooting a hand gun. I taught her basic gun safety and handling and how to not be afraid of the noise and impact. I also tried to instill some concept of when to be afraid for your life and when to shoot and when not to shoot at another human being. When she went off to college it was a long time between visits with mom and dad. Usually when she came home for a long holiday weekend most of her time was spent catching up with friends.
One day my daughter called me and said "daddy, I'm coming home next weekend, I only have a little time but can we please go out and do some shooting, I really miss it"?
Well how can you say no to that?
It later hit me that as kids grow older they have less and less in common with the older folks and some one has to make the effort to keep those lines open.
How I wish I could revive and relive the days I spent hunting and fishing with my dad. I remember my dad carrying me across trout streams that were too deep for my 7 year old carcass to cross so I could get to a good fishing hole on Spring Creek or the North Fork of the Muscleshell or any number of streams in Montana. Or the day he deposited on the bank and moved off leaving me with a hand me down Zebco 202 rod and reel. I soon had a snag that I could not get loose or break. I was in tears when he came back to check on me only to find that I had a very large brown trout on the line thinking it was a snag. I was forever "hooked" from that point on. What are you doing with your kids to ensure they enjoy, appreciate and pass on the enviable privelege of growing up in Montana, "The Last Best Place"?