USA Today: Deer hunting is dying. That should worry you even if you don't hunt.
I can see my dad’s gun. That old Remington .30-06, swinging from his side to his shoulder in pursuit of a deer bounding uphill through the trees. He looked through the scope and fired, and everyone – even a little boy like me – could see he’d hit his target.
This is when I first remember knowing how special November is on our farm.
If this memory does anything other than inspire awe (perhaps anger, fear or disdain) then we need to talk about what hunting means to rural America as gun deer season starts Saturday in Wisconsin. Because it’s not really about guns. Or even antlers on a wall. What deer hunting is really about is teaching kids self-worth, in a rural culture that society has cast aside in so many ways. And we should all care about that.