With this being the season of giving, I thought it would be a good chance to talk about how outdoorsman give the gift of education.
Sportsmen go through several stages of development in their outdoor lifestyles. For most, after years of success, the routine may become less stimulating. Some say when a sport is no longer exciting, you should quit or get a new one. I believe this is your signal to switch into teacher- or pass- it-on mode. If you really think about it, it’s not the sport you no longer enjoy, but the the lack of excitement created by something that once seem thrilling. By taking a new sportsman afield you are able to share in their excitement and enjoy being appreciated for your mentoring. For this reason I have taken a new hunter on the first day of bow, rifle and turkey season for the past five years.
I especially enjoy taking out parents and their children on the special youth hunts. For most, the first few hunts will be unsuccessful because of a lack in experience. Even worse, many of us will make a bad shot on our first hunts. Having an experienced hunter in tow offers a new hunter the benefit of a follow-up shooter. The method of tracking a hit animal can be passed on, along with the knowledge of when to back out if there is a chance the animals not down. The memories of past failures drive me to educate new sportsmen. As with most other aspects of life, it’s nice to prevent someone from making the same mistakes you have.
This season was my most successful as an outdoor mentor thus far. Three of my four students were able to harvest their first deer, the youngest with a bow in his first season. The other two are adult hunters, and harvested on their second season. It’s so rewarding to have someone call and thank you for your help when you weren’t even with them. Kody, the youth hunter, mentioned he would like to return the favor somehow. I informed him I would appreciate it if he could write about our meeting and his hunting experience. I was sent this wonderful letter and picture the day of his successful hunt and thought it should be shared with others.
“The first thing I would like to say is I love you dad for all the things you have done for me in my life, taking me fishing, swimming, looking for Native American artifacts, the Herkimer Diamond Mine, and tubing at Greek Peak. I first met “Josh Sheldon” at the Chenango Lake Ice Fishing Derby. “Josh” was trying to raise money for the “Bob McNitt Foundation,” which at the time was raising money for the National Archery in the Schools Program. “Josh” was raffling off a hand-made necklace and a hand-made knifewhich he had crafted, and they were both appraised for $300. I ended up winning the necklace. The next day, my dad, “Josh,” and I went ice fishing and he gave me the necklace. Over that summer, Josh, my dad, and I looked for Native American artifacts and found 15 of them. A few months later, hunting season came, and I had just gotten my small game and my bow licenses. Josh said he would take me out and try to get me my first deer. We went out three or four times, and I saw four deer, three does and one six-poin,t but I didn’t get any of them. My dad and I went out hunting Dec. 14 and I shot a mature doe, but we had to leave and come back the next morning because it was getting dark. When I got home and told “Josh” what had happened, I was so excited. The next morning, my dad and I went out and looked for the deer, but it went on to posted property. So I asked the owner if I could go get the deer, and she said, “No, you hunters kill too many deer. How can you kill a creature God created?” Then she said, “Get off my property!” So, we left and I called “Josh” and told him what happened. He was so disappointed for me. That afternoon, my dad and I went out hunting, even though I didn’t want to go, but I did. We walked into the woods, and got set up in a spot where we had seen deer the last time out. There was a big buck and five does. My dad saw the buck, but I didn’t. The does ran over to me, I pulled my bow back, and four out of the five does ran away. I shot the last doe, it only ran about 30 yards, wobbled and dropped. My dad and I cleaned and dragged it out. When we got home, I called “Josh” and told him. I was so happy I got my first deer. I thanked “Josh” for teaching me how to bow hunt. This is how I met “Josh Sheldon,” and how I got my first deer.”
– Kody Olsen.
