Erik Petersen’s youngest son, Kasa, holds tight to their one-year-old german shorthair’s collar. His brother, Henry, tosses a frozen pheasant 20 yards out in front of them and tells the pup, “fetch!” Kasa releases the eager Zeek from his grip, but lets go just a moment too late. He’s pulled onto his knees as the young dog lurches forward after the bird.
Regaining his balance, Kasa laughs, his entire face lighting up. At 11-years-old, his favorite part about bird hunting is the dogs. “I love watching how much fun they’re having,” he says. “They’re out here living their best lives.”
Growing up in Minnesota, Erik’s earliest memories are of being outside with his dad and three brothers. “My dad is a passionate hunter,” says Erik. “He was raised spending a lot of time outdoors and ended up becoming a biology teacher. He passed that love and respect for wild places and wildlife on to the four of us boys. I’m trying to do the same for mine.”
Erik shot his first deer when he was 12, a bear at 13, and an elk at 15. “When I was growing up it was kind of like the measuring stick,” he says.
It wasn’t just about hunting success though, it was also the character-building and the lessons intrinsic to that lifestyle. Erik didn’t wait long to follow in the footsteps of his father – taking his own young boys out as soon as they were old enough to tag along.
“I wanted to pass down the values I learned as a young hunter to my kids,” Erik says. There’s the aspect of being outside and active, and then there’s procuring our own meat. Most of what our family eats is venison, pheasant and fish. I think it’s important that kids grow up being part of that process and knowing where their food comes from…not just that eggs and bacon come from the grocery store.”
For Erik and his family, it all revolves around tradition, and how they spend time together. This past spring, Henry and Kasa’s grandfather helped Henry get a turkey, and then showed him how to cook it.
“Spending time outdoors together is how I’ve always connected with my dad, how my boys connect with me, and how they connect with their grandfather,” Erik says.
Every year he takes a picture of his two boys and the dogs. The first one he took is from when Henry was six and Kasa was five, accompanied by their pudelpointer Gus, the older of the two dogs they have now. “We do a boys hunting trip every year, and that was probably the year we started the tradition – when they were old enough to walk along with me,” he says.
The transition from being a weekend warrior and putting in as much time and miles into stocking the fridge as possible, to teaching Henry and Kasa to hunt, has been a big change, but one that is now starting to pay off. The boys can now go out on longer days with fewer snack breaks, and have started carrying their own guns.
“It has been a balance between wanting to get game for food, and wanting the kids to have a great experience that will get them hooked on this thing that I love so much,” Erik says.
“Certainly the first couple of years there was not much procuring of meats, it was more about making sure the donut collection was strong, and that they were having fun while teaching them along the way. Lately it has been great to have them driving the stoke. The fun is just beginning.”
Henry has spent the last couple of years carrying his own .410 under Montana’s apprenticeship program. He recently shot his first bird, a pheasant, and will be trying for a deer this fall.
“Watching Henry shoot his first bird last year was probably the highlight of my hunting career,” Erik says.
It takes a lot of patience to teach two boys, full of boundless energy, the value of slowing down and putting in hard work that doesn’t always come with instantaneous reward.
Erik knows his patience will pay off, just as his own father did. Kneeling in the grass, he shows his boys how to clean a knife off on his pant leg. “My dad always told me to swipe across – away from yourself and toward your buddy,” he laughs. His sons are inquisitive, and quick to fire off a handful of questions about skinning a deer versus fileting a fish.
“I think one of the most important things hunting teaches us is an appreciation for nature,” Erik says. “I want my boys to be wowed by the sound of an elk bugling, or the site of a sunset over the prairie, like I am. I want to teach them, like my dad taught me, the importance of being connected to the cycle of life.”
