By: Ted Nugent
Happy happy October everybody! Ain’t it grand! Ain’t it special! Ain’t it wonderful! Ain’t it beautiful! Ain’t it ours!
Celebrate October 2019 every day like you mean it! I guarantee I’m going to!
Many hunters around the world kicked off the season back in August and September, but you have to admit, there is something rather special about the effervescent month of October.
Since my earliest youth, October 1st always represented that much anticipated magic opening day of our Michigan bowseason, and it was celebrated with mucho gusto by the Nugent family and the growing army of deerhunting archers inspired by his majesty, Mr. Fred Bear.
So many states have initiated earlier openers and I not only fully support such increased opportunities, but I fight like mad to create such increased attractions for hunter retention and recruitment in every state.
The more opportunities, bang for your buck so to speak, the better for the future of conservation participation across America.
Not everybody likes to get out in the warmer weather of early seasons, but a big backstrap bloodbrother SALUTE to those that do.
I am certainly one of them.
I am always so let down when the loudest voice of resistance to increased hunting opportunities seems to come from fellow hunters and hunter organizations.
For the life of me, I cannot believe our own team would think they have the right to dictate individual choice when it comes to proven hunting systems and methodologies.
And so goes my relentless battlecry for uniting our American hunting brotherhood, encouraging respect for every imaginable individual legal hunting choice in our sport when based on proven sound science.
I recently read an editorial by an old, otherwise respected outdoor writer in a national bowhunting publication where this experienced gentleman outright condemned his fellow hunters who joyfully high five and passionately celebrate a good kill with laughter and uppity spirit.
I must admit I could hardly believe my eyes that anyone in our hunting community would be so small minded and judgmental to think that their way of celebrating this very personal sport could possibly be better than the various choices of his fellow hunters.
How can we not be over the top excited and thrilled when we finally put all our efforts, planning and strategizing together for our primary goal of venison success?
I suppose if it doesn’t excite you and you react unemotionally, that’s your individual prerogative, but quite honestly, I would call that sort of weird.
But again, to each his own.
I guide and hunt with hundreds of great hunters from across America each season and I have never met a single person who isn’t genuinely excited about the prospects and hope of tagging a deer.
In our hunting camps the spirit can best be described as goosebump city giddy!
That uppity excitement about our love of the hunt is contagious and has always proven to be the best promotional tool we have to enthuse newcomers to join our beloved sport.
There aren’t many things in life that bring on the intense joys of the deerhunting experience, and to downplay that enthusiasm can only be counterproductive.
So ultra-happy happy October to everyone, and let us all dedicate ourselves to be united in supporting all the legal methodologies in the great outdoors.
Longbows, recurves, compounds, crossbows, black powder, flintlocks, centerfire rifles, shotguns, handguns, atlatl’s, spears, you name it. If it makes you happy and brings you joy while performing our stewardship duties of balancing the herds, have at it and celebrate the spirit of the wild dynamo as you see fit.
Aim small miss small and backstrap like you mean it! This is the only October 2019 we will ever have! Don’t let a minute of it get away from you!