Just got back from the Titan Outdoors annual ‘Lil Titans-Hunt for the Future’ banquet/fundraising event. I’ve posted before but this program is a hunt for youth in the age group of 9-15 years of age who submit a ‘video essay’ of themselves and why they would like to be chosen. Criteria is favored in kids that have never hunted but would like to try, kids that have hunted but never harvested a big game animal, or kids going through a rough time in life or have a disability.
We choose 14-16 kids every year who get to go, along with their parents and family to a 3 day camp at Four Aces Ranch in March for an expenses paid hunt. Kids harvest an exotic ram, are taught how to skin, cape (for taxidermy), process, and turn their ram into sausage with an on-site butcher/processor. During the course of the three days the youth participate in scavenger hunts, hunters education and certification including the field day, shooting classes, and other outdoor games. Each kid gets a backpack full of items such as binos, orange vest, swag, hunting hats, etc. During their time to hunt they choose/shoot their own ram on a guided hunt with a video crew and a parent on the 5500 square acre ranch. Rams are taken home to me and 2 other taxidermist for shoulder mounts, presented to them in the annual January banquet where we also do an auction/fundraiser for this registered 501c3 (non profit) program. This last year we had the 100th kid go through the program (the big 1/2 mount dark wooly ram with a WIDE headgear). It’s awesome to see a large majority of these youth continue on in a passion for hunting with many of them sending us photos of successful harvest of deer, elk, turkeys, etc the following year.
Pic shown is 13 of the 16 rams taken this year that I completed here at BRT. It’s truly one of the coolest events i participate in each year and it’s so enjoyable to see the youth learning about hunting, outdoors, and to see their faces light up when they get their rams back!
