Volunteers Making It Happen

Volunteers Making It Happen
Volunteers Making It Happen
Pass It On - Outdoor Mentors
Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors

Fall River, KS -(Ammoland.com)- Last week, Michael Pearce, outdoor writer for the Wichita Eagle, called to say that he wanted to take a couple of kids on a turkey hunt on Saturday.

Michael knew a landowner near El Dorado who had agreed to let Michael bring some kids in to hunt. I called Andrea and Ben who are matched with young Laquante. They had not been able to go with us on an earlier hunt and readily accepted the invitation as did Frank and young Anthony.

Michael set up in a blind with Andrea, Ben and Laquante. This would be Andrea and Laquante’s first turkey hunt. They had gone through hunter ed together last March. Almost as soon as it was legal to shoot, Laquante had a shot at a big tom, but missed. Fortunately, the birds kept coming and soon there were several jakes within range. Michael coached Laquante to wait for a bird to separate and gave him the go when one of the jakes had stepped to the side. Just as the shot was fired, another jake stepped out and Laquante had a double!

Andrea had her shotgun at the ready and was rewarded with an opportunity as some of the birds came to give their opinion of the downed jakes. Again, Michael coached Andrea to wait for a bird to separate so that she could take just one. But just as with Laquante, as the shot was fired, another bird stepped into the line of fire and Andrea had a double as well! 4 birds down before 7am!

While all of this was going on, Frank and Anthony were in another blind about 400 yards away, guided by Jake, the youngster Michael has been mentoring for the last 18 months. Jake made a few soft calls and it wasn’t long before a nice tom was headed Anthony’s way. Anthony made a nice shot and while he didn’t knock down 2 birds, his bird did have 2 beards!

All in all, a most memorable hunt for everyone involved. All make possible thanks to the generosity of the landowner making his property available to these kids. And thanks to Michael and Jake for guiding them on the hunt.

Making a difference….

About Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors

Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors is a Wichita, Kansas-based national organization dedicated to providing children with mentors who will share with them the experiences of traditional outdoor activities. The heart of the group’s mission is to give children opportunities to connect with nature that they more than likely won’t have without a mentor showing them the way. Partnering with organizations with like-minded conservation and youth participation efforts like Big Brothers Big Sisters, Pheasants Forever, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Delta Waterfowl, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the National Wild Turkey Federation, among others, volunteers with a passion for the outdoors can give a child the chance to go fish, hunt, or simply spend time in the fields with a caring adult.

For more information about Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors, please visit www.OutdoorMentors.org.