airedale

I have a couple of those old Normark Rapala knives that I have used for years, don't even know if they still are made, they work good, hold an edge well and don't cost an arm and a leg. They also make great boning knives for butchering deer.

I grew up in the country in a hunting culture, my Dad was the biggest influence, grandfather, uncles and my Dad's best friends were all hunters and talked hunting all the time. My neighbors were hunters along with many of my friends I went to school with. It was easy to get hooked on hunting under all those influences and hunting tales. Al

I believe the biggest cause of the decline in hunting is the loss of viable hunting grounds. When I was a young fellow my area was populated by many family farms. Most farmers back then welcomed hunters as long as they asked for permission and behaved. Many farmers looked at game animals as a direct threat to their bottom line and saw hunting and trapping as way to keep things in check.Today most of those farms are long gone, when they go out of business many times the land is sold off for house building lots forever losing it to hunting. Most of the farms that are left now post their lands, leaving long drives to mostly crowded unproductive state lands for the newbies to hunt on. Take a kid fishing and never have catch anything is a sure fire formula for disinterest and quitting, the same will apply to hunting. Small game hunting which is the staple for young hunters starting out has been pretty much forgotten, I grew up coon hunting, rabbit and hare hunting, squirrel hunting, bird hunting. Unlike deer hunting where a hunter may not even fire a shot during the season, with small game action is generally the name of the game and I had and still today have a blast small game hunting. Success will generate interest and get the bug started even the the game might just be a squirrel. Why it has faded so dramatically I am not sure but it seems like the deer hunting craze has taken over the whole fall with some kind of special season for various weapons. I am a person that loves to hunt deer and I also like hunting small game especially with dogs, That being said there is no way I am going to take one of my dogs into the field during any deer season and as mentioned above that covers pretty much the whole fall when the weather here for hunting in lake effect snow country is at it's best. Bottom line I and others like me stay home. Al

Hello all, my name is Al Kranbuhl, joined this forum a while back and I just wanted to introduce myself. I have participated in all outdoor sports such as trapping, fishing and shooting, enjoy all the various types of hunting but like hunting with a dog the most, be it fur or feathers. Don't hunt nearly as much as I once did, I hate to admit it but age has slowed me down some. Anyhow hope to read some good hunting stories here. Al