Passing on the tradition of hunting

When Bergen Love shot his first sage grouse, he was whooping and hollering. He was that excited.

Bergen is 10 years old and this year was the first year he could hunt birds. Friday night he was hoping to get another sage grouse.

His grandfather, Wildon Ward, was 10 years old when he hunted his first sage grouse and Ward is thrilled to pass on the family tradition.

Bergen seems to have inherited his grandfather’s love for all things outdoors, as he is climbing over tree roots and running around his grandfather's yard during the interview.

“My dad started me out hunting sage grouse,” Ward said.

He is all smiles when he talks about taking his grandson out.

Bergen was into hunting before he was old enough to hunt. He watches a hunting show called “The Meat Eater.” The show features Steven Rinella who is a gourmet chef for wild game, Ward said. Bergen likes the show because Rinella draws different animals every year and he eats what he hunts. Ward went on to explain that Rinella talks about the meat aspect of wild game.

Bergen said “The Meat Eater” is his favorite hunting show. Watching the hunting shows and going out with friends and his grandpa got him interested in hunting.

Bergen has been working on his shooting skills through the 4-H Shooting Program taught by Randy Stern and Roger Cox. He practices shooting clay disks at the Saratoga Gun Range.

Bergen hasn’t had a chance to eat the grouse yet, as it was eaten before he was able to get to his grandfather’s house.

“He missed out,” Ward said.

Bergen is not old enough to hunt large game—he has to be 12—but he is looking forward to it, he said. He has eaten deer and elk. He prefers the elk.

Until he can’t hunt large game, he will hunt birds.

Bergen tagged along with his grandfather for two years before he got to hunt himself.

Ward signed up for the mentor program to take his grandson on his first hunt. He had not taken a hunter safety class, and this mentor program has a one-year exception.

“To hunt next year, he will have to take hunter safety for bird hunting,” Ward said.

Ward said he wasn’t aware of the program, as it wasn’t required when he was a kid.

“My dad was the best safety teacher there ever was,” said Ward.

Ward and Bergen come from a long line of hunters. Ward’s grandfather came to the Valley to homestead in 1925.

“My dad was a year old at the time,” Ward said.

Jim Ward passed away when Ward was just 25 years old, but he taught him the lifetime skill of hunting safely. Ward’s maternal grandparents also homestead in the late 1920’s on Bennett Peak.

Ward said from the age of 4 or 5 years old, he was tagging along with his dad, his grandparents and his uncle.

”I was always allowed to go along and I don’t remember a time they didn’t let me go hunting with them,” Ward said.

Ward said he is very proud of Bergen carrying on the family tradition.

“My dad really liked bird hunting, which meant we had to be out in the fields very early in the morning when they were moving at first light,” said Ward.

Bergen used a.410, which was the same gun Ward shot his first sage grouse with when he was 10 years old.

”There was an Army surplus store in town called Speedy Joes and we traded in the family.22 for the.410,” Ward said.

For Ward, hunting is an important American institution.

“From what I have read, the number of youth participation is down,” Ward said. “I think it is very important to get our youth involved in [hunting]. The life lessons I learned from my dad were by example.”

Ward said his dad was not a big talker, but he alway went by the hunting laws and respected the game.

“He always did it the right way because it was the right thing to do,” Ward said.

Ward’s dad took Ward’s older sister hunting when she was 14. She got a fork horn buck. It wasn’t normal for women to hunt like it is now.

Ward tried to get his daughters Ashlie and Shana into hunting, but it didn’t really stick. Ashlie loves the outdoors, but enjoys shooting wildlife with a camera rather than a gun.

“She's really good at it, too,” Ward said.

Ward has been taking Bergen on his bow hunts. Bergen was pretty excited to see an elk so close up.

“I could see his eyeballs and I could hear him breathing,” Bergen said.

They were within 25 yards, Ward said. Bergen also got to hear the elk bugle.

Ward hopes to instill in Bergen the excitement and work of the hunt. He hunts for meat and enjoys walks in nature while hunting.

For Ward, family and hunting are one and the same.