THis is for my first post and the reason I'm on this forum is to quickly learn as much as possible about hunting. I've read lots and went hunting years ago. I appreciate any advise others can give as well as constructive criticism.
I'm a 44 year old father of 7.5 year old twins living in Bergen County in the Soviet Socialist Replublic of New Jersey. Yes, I'm a die hard republican leaning libertarian at heard Conservative american that voted for trump and is proud of it. I have rifle permit and frequent the shooting range. A group of like minded fathers in the area and I would like to take our kids on a hunting trip to the wilds of Pennsylvania. Here is my plan and I thank anyone in advance who can provide feedback and advise.
My main plan is to get a Penn hunting license for a day and take the group of 4 kids and 3 fathers and one or two rifles to a private land or public land and shoot some hogs. The goal is to each our children about hunting, respecting the animals and possibly field dress the animals, collect the meat and donate the meat to a local food bank, charity,etc. We want to teach the children that killing is not a sport but a way of life that used to be and that we use the meat to respect the animals and what it means to hunt. At the same time we want to focus on safety, awareness and respect for nature, teach what it really means to hunt and to be humane in dispatching the wild animal. TO add to this whole plan, I want to only hunt for feral hogs. They are a pest and I want to impress upon my children the fact that hunting these animals protects other animals and people as the hogs are a significant danger and are destroying property and the balance in nature. Some of you must be wonderin, why the heck isn't he going to stock up his freezer with all the meat. Well, I don't eat pork/ham/pig so that's out of the question but I want to provide the meat to others. Killing the animals without a positive outcome is even an option.
So with all that, I've searched on google and found some private locations that have a whole menu of hunting game and some insane $$$ for each. THere is no way I'm going to shell out good money to have a simulated fake hunting experience. So can anyone give some advice of where a hunting party can go to hunt for free? Any fathers out there do this with their young kids?
Thanks again and happy hunting to all,
ARiK