A New Adventure

My husband, Josh, has been into bow hunting for a couple years now. He originally became interested when researching different methods of hunting in Washington. He really enjoys it and has gotten a deer every year since he started. My dad, who used to bow hunt for many years when we lived in California, got caught up in Josh's enthusiasm and decided to start bow hunting again himself. Our youngest son has shown a lot of interest in bow hunting and archery in general. He sits with Papa watching bow hunting shows on TV and begging Papa to let him shoot the bow. Jay has a youth practice bow that we got him for Christmas one year. He would shoot it all day long if allowed. This summer, while camping, Papa made Jay a bow out of a tree limb and a piece of string. The arrow, a sharpened marshmallow roasting stick. The suprise was when Papa put his block target out for Jay to practice and wouldn't you know? Jay was actually hitting the target over and over again! Papa was so impressed that he is now looking at bows that are designed for youth and beginners that start at a low draw weight and can be adjusted up to a legal hunting draw weight.

And of course, Josh is wanting me to start bow hunting, too. I've always liked hunting and always wanted to start again. Especially considering I have never gotten a deer. I really enjoy watching the hunting shows on TV of all the husband and wife teams, especially The Archer's Choice with Ralph and Vickie. They are my favorite hunting couple. I really enjoy how they portray hunting as a family affair.

But the one thing that had kept me from being able to hunt in Washington was I couldn't find my hunter's safety certificate. I had looked into taking the course again, but it never lined up with our schedules and I have to admit, the online/self-directed course intimidated me. I had given up and resigned myself to going along with Josh on his hunts. But I felt sad because I wanted to be hunting, too. I want to get my first deer!

While looking up the age requirements for the course for Jay, I read about how to get a duplicate hunter's safety certificate for Washington. I wondered if California might have something like that and looked it up. Low and behold, California does! The kicker was they didn't start keep records until 1989. I couldn't remember what year it was that I took the class but figured it couldn't hurt to call. The worst thing is that I wouldn't be in the database and I'd be right back at square one, trying to find a class to take.

I was happily suprised to find out that I am in the database and it will only cost $5 to get a copy! So I put in my request and am waiting for the duplicate to arrive. Next year, I will be joining my husband in the field!