Our weekend hunt was over and I was walking the road back to our camp. It was obvious to anyone that I was a hunter because I was wearing my camo clothing and carrying a rifle.

Two cars approached me. The first car braked and came to a stop next to me. A woman, I’m guessing to be in her mid to late 30s, rolled down her window, stuck her head out and asked me “is it safe here?”

She must have read the puzzled look on my face because almost immediately she followed that with “I’m taking my kids for a hike up Sleeping Beauty Mountain and want to know if it’s safe?”

Once again I stood silent trying to figure out exactly what she was asking me.  She then said, “I see you guys are hunting here and I want to know if it is safe for us to hike up the mountain.”

Bang! The light finally went on in my brain. I tried not to give her one of my usual flippant answers since it was very obvious that she was as serious and she could be with her concerns.

So I said to her, “Ma’am, we’re more than three miles away from Sleeping Beauty Mountain.  There may be other hunters up there, but I’m sure it’s safe even if there are.”

She drove off seeming to be satisfied with my assurance.

Less than an hour later, I was packing the last of my gear and much to my surprise and delight, my son and his wife, and my absolutely beautiful 9-year-old granddaughter, pulled into the camp’s driveway. The ole’ gramps was there and decided to stop and say. When I asked them what they where doing way up here in no man’s land, they said, “We’re on our way up to hike Sleeping Beauty Mountain.”

The threat of any danger to them never entered my mind.

It wasn’t until during my drive home that I connected the concerned woman with her children and my son and his family. Both were planning on hiking the same beautiful mountain trail on the same lovely day with the exact same conditions in the middle of hunting season.  The difference was that one harbored concerns bordering on fear, while my son and his wife where totally unconcerned with that fact that it was hunting season and they were in the same woods with guys like me carrying guns.

I became increasingly bothered by this incident as the day went on.  I can’t blame the woman who stopped to talk to me, but it is difficult for me to absorb and appreciate her concerns. I have to really stop and force myself to remember and rationalize that everyone’s experiences and backgrounds are not the same and that I needed to put myself in her place to appreciate her feelings and her concerns.

To me, it is totally acceptable to see and to be in the woods with men and women carrying guns and have little if any concern that my safety might be at risk. To me, these are the safest people to encounter. After being one of them for over 50 years and also being a hunter safety instructor for the state, it is only natural that I see hunters with guns in a totally different way than this woman did.

To her, a gun is a threat and guys sneaking around in the woods wearing camo clothing to be un-seen creates a hostile environment. How do I dispel this fear? How do I educate her to understand and accept that hunters are the last people she needs to fear? How do I get her to accept that there is room for all of us in the great outdoors at all times during all seasons?  How do I get her to accept that just because I’m carrying a gun does not make me a threat or an uneducated “redneck” and all the negatives that go with that label? How do I get her to see all of this from my point of view?

Madam, should you be reading this article, I wish to apologize if I in any way, seemed to have given you anything but the reassurance that you could go forward and enjoy your day in the wilderness. I would ask you to contact me to share our experiences…together. See you outdoors!