Father & 2 Sons New to Hunting - Looking for Help

[silverdalesauer]

Hey Everyone,

So, I've been helping fathers and sons get into hunting over the past couple years. Last year, I was able to get a dad and his 2 sons into some waterfowl hunting. Their family had a tragedy, where his wife and the boys' mother died during a vacation event last summer in 2019. The outcome of the hunt in December was a remarkable healing opportunity for the boys and their dad.

Well, now, I've another friend who's a father of 2 teens who are looking for some help getting started with deer & turkey hunting. He's disabled, has a prosthetic leg due to an accident and his sons are 14 and 16. They've all taken and passed their hunter's certification this past winter, but have yet to get out and hunt (due to COVID cutting the spring turkey season).

I'm reaching out to the forum to ask for some help.

I know that time is limited and private land is extremely hard to come by, unless paying for a guide. Unfortunately, the ability to pay for a guided hunt for this father and his two sons is out of the question. He's a full-time Youth for Christ director (a.k.a. support-raising ministry leader) who just can't afford such luxuries. And public land, which is what most of us hunt, is usually the best place to start for new hunters. But, with a disability, like his, with a prosthetic leg and knee, makes this more difficult. Thus, the reason I'm searching for some help.

Part of my work entails supporting pastors and missionaries, including getting them out into the outdoors to enjoy fishing, hunting, etc. and helping them build lasting memories with their families. So, I'm working to help this guy, who's invested in teenagers in Kitsap county. His work is to invest in impoverished teens and giving them support, help, and sharing the love of Jesus with their families. And it's my job to come alongside of him and support his work, his personal life, and his emotional health.

I'm looking for some key needs:

  1. Land access for a disabled hunter and his two sons (14, 16).  I'm looking for someone who might be willing to put the trio on their private land for deer/turkey hunting with easy to access locations and a high expectancy of most certain success. (Modern Firearm season).  Land access found, thanks to our partners at YJ Guide Service!

  2. Gear - Like most new hunters, finding gear is so difficult. But add kids to the mix and it's even harder. I'd like to help this family get some essentials in hand, so they can focus on the hunt. I've asked for their clothing sizes and here's what they need:

  - Father:
      - Hunting pants sized 38x32 inseam
      - Hunting shirt or jacket sized XL
      - Hunting boots sized 13
      - Hunting gloves, hat, etc.  (accessories)
      - Orange blaze vest size XL
      - Orange blaze stocking cap

  - Son age 14:
      - Hunting pants sized 32x34 inseam
      - Hunting shirt or jacket sized L
      - Hunting boots sized 11
      - Hunting gloves, hat, etc. (accessories)
      - Orange blaze vest or jacket size L
      - Orange blaze stocking cap

   - Son age 16:
      - Hunting pants sized 32x32 inseam
      - Hunting shirt or jacket sized L
      - Hunting boots sized 13
      - Hunting gloves, hat, etc.  (accessories)
      - Orange blaze vest or jacket size L
      - Orange blaze stocking cap

   3.   Other Gear Needed:  
 
     - Shotgun cases (3)
     - Turkey hunting accessories
           - Face coverings
           - Calls
           - Shotgun shells
     - Hunting knives
     - Deer processing gear
     - Shooting tripod
     - Camo Facepaint
     - Backpacks (camo or blaze orange)
         - 1 Camo Backpack donated


4. Lodging - If anyone has a cabin or a home available for use, it would sure help them save money for other hunting costs. Even better, if you have a cabin on hunting property available for use, this would help greatly. Lodging found, thanks to our partners at YJ Guide Service!

5. Ultimately, if a guide were willing to donate or give a generous discount to host this family of 3, I'd certainly love to hear from you. I have already offered to pay for this family's gas, lodging, and meals to help them get out and find success. But if a guided trip were offered with lodging, meals, and land access + help from a guide, I'd really like to hear from you. Thank you to YJ Guide Service for giving us an incredible deal! The father and his 2 sons are STOKED for their coming trip!

6. Donations (give a tax-free donation) to help make this trip happen. Yes, as a full-time missionary, I have a ministry fund that can be used to cover costs for this type of retreat. Simply click here to make a tax-free donation: https://www.paraclete.net/project/the-ministry-care-fund/

Thanks for listening and considering. If you'd like to help with this project, please reply. Thank you!

[fishngamereaper]

I go through some gear  that I have sitting around and meet up with ya next week.  I probably have enough clothes sitting around to cover some of the needs.

[silverdalesauer]

I go through some gear  that I have sitting around and meet up with ya next week.  I probably have enough clothes sitting around to cover some of the needs.

Thank you!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[havershap]

I have several hunting knives that I would be willing to donate, both folding and fixed blade.  I might have some other gear, too.  I'll have to go through my stuff and see.  IM me if there is interest and we can discuss further and arrange a meeting.  I'm on Camano Island.

[b0bbyg]

What options to you have open for folks to donate some $.  I don't know if I have any of the sizes needed laying around but could donate to help fill in the gaps.

Paypal, check, ... ?

[rainshadow1]

I may have some 13 boots in the barn... Too big for me by a size and a half but they were too good a deal to pass up. I'll go look and see if they're still there... I'll send a PM. Don't check it off the list yet....

[silverdalesauer]

I have several hunting knives that I would be willing to donate, both folding and fixed blade.  I might have some other gear, too.  I'll have to go through my stuff and see.  IM me if there is interest and we can discuss further and arrange a meeting.  I'm on Camano Island.

Thanks! IM sent.

[silverdalesauer]

What options to you have open for folks to donate some $.  I don't know if I have any of the sizes needed laying around but could donate to help fill in the gaps.

Paypal, check, ... ?

I'll send you a message.

[silverdalesauer]

I may have some 13 boots in the barn... Too big for me by a size and a half but they were too good a deal to pass up. I'll go look and see if they're still there... I'll send a PM. Don't check it off the list yet....

Thank you! Just sent you a message.

[silverdalesauer]

Big News: thanks to YJ Guide Service, we've booked an incredible 3-day hunt that includes deer and turkey for this father and his 2 sons. They're giving us an INCREDIBLE discount allowing for the trip to happen!!!

This trip will happen Oct 20-22nd and includes lodging, 3 days of hunting deer and turkey on private land.

If you would like to make a donation (tax-free) to support this hunt, please give here:  https://www.paraclete.net/project/the-ministry-care-fund/ . This trip is considered a "Restoration Retreat" which helps ministry leaders (pastors, missionaries, clergy) get out of their day-to-day work environments into a place where they can unwind, spend time with their family, enjoy nature, learn a new skill, or participate in restorative healing (emotional, physical, spiritual).

Currently, we need another $1500 in donations to cover the cost. Any gift is greatly appreciated!

Also, thank you to those who are donating gear, clothing, boots, etc.

[silverdalesauer]

I go through some gear  that I have sitting around and meet up with ya next week.  I probably have enough clothes sitting around to cover some of the needs.

Thanks fishngamereaper for connecting with me today. The gear you provided will be an awesome addition to the gear pile we're going to give this family!

[silverdalesauer]

I have several hunting knives that I would be willing to donate, both folding and fixed blade.  I might have some other gear, too.  I'll have to go through my stuff and see.  IM me if there is interest and we can discuss further and arrange a meeting.  I'm on Camano Island.

Havershap, did you get my message? I'd love to connect soon. I'll be in Jefferson county on Saturday near Port Townsend. I could meet up with you or if you wanted to ship me a box of stuff, that'd be great!

[wadu1]

I'll check what I have and bet back to you

[silverdalesauer]

I'll check what I have and bet back to you

THANKS!

[Alchase]

Hunting Washington, never ceases to amaze me with their ability to help their fellow hunters!

Damn Dale, realize what you have here 


PS; I am pretty sure you know perfectly well, 





Thank you

[b0bbyg]

Hunting Washington, never ceases to amaze me with their ability to help their fellow hunters!

Damn Dale, realize what you have here 

PS; I am pretty sure you know perfectly well, 
Thank you

   I agree this is a awesome group.  I sent my donation, we need a few more to kick in so we can get this family into the woods.

[silverdalesauer]

Hunting Washington, never ceases to amaze me with their ability to help their fellow hunters!

Damn Dale, realize what you have here 

PS; I am pretty sure you know perfectly well, 
Thank you

   I agree this is a awesome group.  I sent my donation, we need a few more to kick in so we can get this family into the woods.

Yes! Thank you so much!

If we could get another $1000 to $1500 in donations, the major parts of this trip will be 100% covered. Anything over that could be used to purchase any gear needed. Please pass the word to your hunting buddies or friends. Anyone can give a tax-free donation here: https://www.paraclete.net/project/the-ministry-care-fund/

[silverdalesauer]

Just connected with 2 more donors who are sending gear!

And today I got two $100 donations towards the guide service!

This group never ceases to amaze me.

What I really need now are 10 more donors who might like to chip in $25, $50, or $100 to help cover the guide service costs. YJ Guide Service is giving this project a sweet deal. So, anything helps. If you'd like to give online, you can send me a check, cash, or use PayPal or make a tax-free donation here: https://www.paraclete.net/project/the-ministry-care-fund/

Thanks everyone!

[wadu1]

What length of shotgun do they need?

[silverdalesauer]

What length of shotgun do they need?

I'll send you a PM.

[silverdalesauer]

Bump

[Jingles]

Let me go through some more of my excess and I believe I can outfit at least the shotgun cases as long as soft cases are acceptable

[silverdalesauer]

Let me go through some more of my excess and I believe I can outfit at least the shotgun cases as long as soft cases are acceptable

I'll send you a PM.

[silverdalesauer]

All right everyone, this trip is all set up and ready to go! They leave next Monday!

I've met with the dad and his two sons, provided them with a ton of donations - THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT HAS DONATED - and have worked through all the details with Craig at YJ Guide Service.

If you'd still like to make a financial donation to help provide funds to cover the costs or to help future hunts for pastors/missionaries, please click here to give a tax-free donation: https://www.paraclete.net/project/the-ministry-care-fund/

Thanks Everyone!!

[b0bbyg]

Awesome news!  Glad they are able to have some time in the woods and hopefully can hang a tag as well.

[silverdalesauer]

Brief Update:

  The 3 new hunters made it to their hunt accommodations on Monday, got set up, met with Craig, spent some time getting acquainted with the set up there and how things work. Then, they set out for a hunt on Tuesday. I didn't hear anything from them all day until about 7pm: "Deer down! Pics coming later."

  That was all I've heard since. I'm sure they're having a great time. Thank you everyone, for your involvement.

  More updates forthcoming.

[rainshadow1]

 

Brief Update:

  The 3 new hunters made it to their hunt accommodations on Monday, got set up, met with Craig, spent some time getting acquainted with the set up there and how things work. Then, they set out for a hunt on Tuesday. I didn't hear anything from them all day until about 7pm: "Deer down! Pics coming later."

  That was all I've heard since. I'm sure they're having a great time. Thank you everyone, for your involvement.

  More updates forthcoming.

[b0bbyg]

Brief Update:

  The 3 new hunters made it to their hunt accommodations on Monday, got set up, met with Craig, spent some time getting acquainted with the set up there and how things work. Then, they set out for a hunt on Tuesday. I didn't hear anything from them all day until about 7pm: "Deer down! Pics coming later."

  That was all I've heard since. I'm sure they're having a great time. Thank you everyone, for your involvement.

  More updates forthcoming.

Hopefully they are busy getting or processing another already!  Glad you were able to get this all setup for them.

[huntnfmly]

Great news
Craig runs a great outfit been out there a few times

[silverdalesauer]

Update: Here's a story written by the father who went out with his boys.

Written on his blog: https://bartlesco.wordpress.com/2020/11/24/the-law-of-the-last-minute/

The Law of the Last Minute

Usually I am the procrastinator, I am not used to the animal kingdom playing the same game.

Several years ago my oldest son told me that he really wanted to hunt. This followed closely with my youngest son telling me that he would like to as well. I was not opposed to this, but it is not as simple as grabbing a sling shot and walking out into the woods. I had to admit that I missed hunting. I went several times when I was in high school and college and truly enjoyed it. My dad was taking more of a passive interest in hunting at the time and I was moving around quite a bit so hunting went by the wayside.

Many people think that the angst of shooting an animal or learning how to stalk or actually hitting something is the biggest hurdle with hunting. The biggest issue, in my opinion, is knowing where to go and getting access. When you move from Wyoming to South Dakota to Puerto Rico back to Wyoming over to Oregon back to South Dakota and finally over to Washington you tend to lose track of where to go if you want to hunt deer.

I also only had one hunting rifle which was not going to be enough to take me and my two boys hunting. Two years ago my father decided it was time to pass on his other rifles and his shotgun. Now, at least I was able to say I was on the way to arming the team for the hunt.

For those that enjoy hunting I am sure you may have picked up on a subtle omission that has been present thus far. Saying you want to go hunting does not clarify the ever important “what?”

There is big game hunting, all the way from antelope to moose. The most popular of which is the deer. Then you have to narrow that down because in this part of the world there is a black tail, white tail, and mule deer.

Then there is waterfowl hunting which includes, but is not limited to ducks and geese. As I found out, there are people that will only hunt one or the other. Then there are those that have the audacity to hunt both. Then there are what I would term “dryland” birds. Pheasants, Sage Hens, Turkeys, etc.

When my boys told me they wanted to hunt I had to ask the question “what?” So I did some research. I grew up shooting rabbits and deer. Rabbits are something that you shoot while looking for other things normally. Deer is something that you have to plan and prepare for. I really enjoyed Mule Deer Hunting, but the thought of the expense, field dressing, and processing and packaging the meat was not energizing. I have to confess that 20 years out from hunting and I was not that excited about all the stuff that comes after shooting the animal.

Then I looked at waterfowl and was not convinced. Sitting in the wet and cold for hours, spending lots of money on water gear, dogs, boats, etc. As I was contemplating this I looked at my dog, my pathetic, afraid-of-the-dark, herd dog. She was not built for the task and I was not going to invest in buying a dog, paying to train it, only to have it learn from my current dog how to make me feel guilty for not exercising her enough. My friend Jeff would disagree with this, but I will tell you more about him later.

Then I thought about turkeys. Now that was interesting.

A sport that involved me getting back to country that I was familiar with, mountains and high plains. A sport that involved some stalking. A sport that did not involve all that was involved fitting a large animal carcass into my freezer. A sport that was not an option back when I was a kid. And for those of you that know me, I like to try new things.

Interesting side note about turkeys. Most people don’t realize that there are more turkeys in the US now than is believed to have been here during the first Thanksgiving. That has not always been so, in the 1950’s the North American Turkey was on the brink of being on the endangered species list. Now you can hunt it in 48 states and in some places farmers and ranchers will let you come and hunt for nothing so that they can get rid of them.

I tried to convince my boys that turkey hunting was the sport for us. Plentiful, somewhat difficult, fairly inexpensive, and nostalgic. The family chipped in as well, the boys got shotguns for Christmas; Thank you grandparents. But deer did not come off the table, especially for my oldest, he wanted to shoot both but deer was higher on the list.

For those of you keeping score, the hurdles were starting to get cleared. Hunting guns, check. Quarry, check.

When I was a kid there was one thing that I did not like about hunting, the kick. Hunting rifles are loud powerful. Specifically when a gun is shot the energy that propels the bullet forward creates a corresponding movement backward that kicks the butt of the rifle into your collarbone. I actually hated to shoot the guns on the range because of this. Interestingly, when you are hunting many times you won’t even remember hearing or feeling it, especially if you hit what you were aiming at.

Because of my concern I wanted to take the boys out and have them shoot the shotguns to see how they would respond. To my delight they both looked at me like they did not understand what the big deal was. So being a good father I put some buck shot in the shotgun. One might think that I was trying to be mean, but they were being cocky, so…

On one hand I always hate when the government tries to tell me that I have to be “cleared” to do something. On the other hand, the amount of information that the Hunter’s Safety Course taught my boys was great. There was a lot that I knew that I did not think about telling them. Now I could just be angry that I had to pay for it.

The only think left at this point was to buy our hunting gear, buy our licenses, and figure our where we were going. As I stated earlier this was the hardest part to hunting.

The “where?”

Enter my friend Jeff. A man with a passion for hunting and a passion for people that are in ministry like myself. Also a man with two sons that he loves to hunt with. I told Jeff one day that I was excited about getting my boys into hunting, I did not realize what this casual conversation would do to answer the rest of my questions.

The reality of the hunting blind is not just about waiting for your prey to walk by unaware of your presence. The reality of a hunting blind is time with people that you care about, lots of time. I was talking to my friend Brande yesterday about ministry and windshield time and she said something interesting. She told me that there is something about having your eyes focused somewhere else that allows you to be more able to talk. That is why riding in cars with people can be some of the richest times in life. The same is true of a hunting blind, the eyes are focused and our guard can relax, and you can have some, very quiet, great, conversations.

This is why Jeff was so passionate about seeing me take my boys hunting. Rites of passage, shared experiences, conversations that might not take place otherwise.

Here is where the Law of the Last Minute starts to enter back into this story. I had no idea where I was going to take my boys to get their hunt. Honestly money started to be a factor because when you add the guns and ammo, hunting gear, transportation, accommodations, licenses, and everything else together the price of the meat is about five times that of just going to the store.

Hunting is not about saving money on groceries, oh how I wish it were so.

We were going hunting, that much was for sure. Especially during the times of Covid, using this inordinate amount of family time and extra time that we have in our lives right now meant that I was going to find a way, but how?

As I met with Jeff he told me that he was going to make this happen for us. He had some contacts of people that might allow us to hunt, and he had some guys that wanted to donate to a guy that wanted to take his boys hunting for the first time.

The hunting community can be very generous.

By the time that my boys crammed all of our stuff into my extremely high miles Tundra, we had over $1000 worth of hunting gear donated and a guided hunting trip with accomodations paid for by friends that wanted me and my boys to go hunt.

Thank you Jeff, and thank you to all those that believe that this is not just about hunting, this is about fathers and sons.

So you might be asking at this point whether we shot anything? Well, I got a deer. With my dad’s old hunting rifle.

I was asked about our trip recently by a woman who was in a hunting family whether my boys got anything. I told her that they did not. She said “good, they are not supposed to shoot anything the first time. You don’t want them to think it is easy.”

I know it sucks for for my boys but it might be true.

At 6:19 my son Asher and I were packing up to head back to the truck. 6:20 is the latest that he could legally take a shot. When what to my wondering eyes should appear? A tail that was white on a female deer. (like what I did there? Merry Christmas!)

In my mind I said “Oh my, look at that deer Asher”. What I said was “Oh S**t!” Followed by “Asher I want to tell you not to hurry your shot, but you have about 30 seconds before we are not legal.”

He took the shot.

He missed.

Our last day I sent my boys, and our two shotguns to a hunting blind in the woods to see if we could get some turkey before we left. I used my truck to drive around and try to scare turkeys toward the boys. While I was driving I saw two turkeys. Praying that they would run toward the boys I was repeating my same opening line from the night before because I DIDN’T HAVE A SHOTGUN!!

While I was kicking myself I also told myself that I would not have had a good shot anyway, only to be further mocked by these stupid birds. “How?” you might ask. Because when I came around the corner to park right back where the truck had been parked there were 20 turkeys waiting for me. And to make matters worse, when I pulled in, they just looked at me like they knew that I had no shotgun.

So when the boys came out of the woods a half hour later I asked if they saw the turkeys that I flushed toward them.

Nope.

We then loaded up and proceeded to take one final trip around the property before we had to head back home. My son Isaac was sitting shotgun(literally, he had a shotgun in the passenger seat) at the ready in case he needed to jump out. At the last possible minute before we headed home we saw a group (flock, tribe, herd, I don’t know) of turkeys.

Isaac jumped out and took a shot.

He missed.

As we processed the deer that I had shot (thank you Youtube) I talked to my boys about the redemption of this moment.

They took the shot.

Many people when faced with the moment that they had prepared for failed to follow through because of fear or other factors. My boys, when faced with the moment that they had prepared for had found out that they were up to the task, that they were hunters. They were capable of doing the thing that they might not have been sure they could do several years ago when they told their dad they wanted to hunt.

I am going to find more ways to get out there and help them succeed. But this trip was anything but a failure.
-------------------

Thank you to all who donated, invested, and helped make this happen.

A very special thank you to YJ Guide Service for making this hunt a reality!

[huntnfmly]

Congrats on the deer and getting the kids out
Great right up
Any chance that cabin you stayed in had pieces of foam sleeping mat stuffed in some of the crevices?
My daughters stayed in one I think it would put a smile on their face if it was still in there
Congrats again

[b0bbyg]

Great write up!

[Dan-o]

Great share.