Opening Doors for New Hunters
By Pastor Kevin
This month we are taking a look at how God has used our friend and new mentor Aaron to serve in Kicking Bear over this past year. Last month I shared how God has equipped me to serve in this ministry, this month we hear about how God uses the already equipped to serve with KB too. Read on to find out how Aaron did taking out not just one brand new hunter to chase a dream, but two first time hunters this past year!!
Brother Aaron remembers being the little brother who grew up with a hunger in his belly to go out hunting with his Dad and older brother. Growing up in Onalaska, Wisconsin he had to wait patiently for his 12th birthday when he finally was old enough to head out into the woods with the big guys. He fell in love with the sport of hunting, describing it this way, “I really, really took a love to God’s gift of nature and being outside. The fresh air. The planning, the trying, and the learning of the hunt, I loved it all.” Aaron shared that back when he was so hungry for learning it was a little different back then. With no YouTube videos or social media yet a young Aaron would pick up hunting magazines or books and faithfully tune into Jim Carlson’s Outdoors every Sunday night to add to his skill set. Aaron realized at a young age he loved the planning and execution that goes into a good hunt, testing out much of what he learned out with his buddy on public land. As a teenager he found early success hunting ducks, geese and pheasants, but after harvesting deer with both a rifle and bow, he was hooked on chasing whitetails!
Fast foward and Aaron got introduced to Kicking Bear in 2022 when he brought his family out to our camp at Justin Trails in Sparta. They all had a blast and Aaron was hungry to learn more about Kicking Bear. On New Year’s Day last year Aaron joined us as we helped take down the rotary lights in La Crosse, WI. It was a great opportunity to get to know him better as we teamed up rolling thousands of lights on a giant spool. I quickly realized that Aaron had a real passion for hunting and as I explained how our mentorship program helps many kiddos get out on their first hunt, he was all in! He reflected on our early conversation like this, “I could tell there was an opportunity to help other kids who may not have the opportunities I had learning how to hunt growing up. They might not have someone to help them build that foundation to be in the outdoors and learn how to hunt and fish. I want to be that person.” That was music to my ears and we wasted no time getting Aaron plugged in. He started volunteering at events right away and also gave a big “yes” to help guide on our upcoming youth hunts.
Aaron’s “yes” was just what we needed as we planned the spring turkey hunt last year with some new hunters on the roster. We do our absolute best to get all kiddos interested out into the field for our hunts, so having so many awesome godly men and women step up each season is a HUGE blessing, thank you all so much!! I paired Aaron up with a kiddo we all knew named Johnny, you may know Johhnny too, he is the youngest of the Mobley family who have been a part of Kicking Bear for many years. His older brother Gray and sisters Vicky and Catherine had been on hunts in the past and it was time for young ten year old Johnny to go on his first one.
Aaron did a great job guiding on Johnny’s first hunt. They all met the weekend before as we set blinds and Johnny got to shoot a shotgun for the first time. The next weekend they were ready to go! Aaron shares that as they settled into the blind on Saturday morning young Johnny was not the only one experiencing firsts on this trip, “I did something new to me, it was the first time I had ever prayed with other people in a blind to open a hunt. So with Johnny and my son Luke with me, we prayed that morning for health, saftey, thanks for the wilderness and of course for a successful hunt.” That morning sit was a success as they heard lots of birds and it was a great opportunity for Aaron to share wisdom with the boys about hunting and life. No turkey for Johnny yet, but spirits were high and things were just getting started. The boys headed back out for the afternoon sit and after getting settled in and gazing across the field for about 20 minutes Johnny spotted a bird!!
“This turkey comes into the decoys and stops. I whisper to Johnny that it might be a jake and we can wait for another if we want to, but he was having none of that. He put the sights on that turkey and that was it, he made the perfect shot. Johnny drops this turkey and we go running out, high fiving and chest bumps, then take some pictures. These kids were having fun and here on Johnny’s first day of hunting, he was lucky enough to shoot a turkey!”. This was exactly the type of dream that Aaron had felt called to help kids chase back on that cold morning wrapping lights with me. He had helped Johnny chase his dream of going hunting and they were successful!
Next up was our big Wisconsin Youth Deer Hunt and again I was in a tight spot trying to find enough guides for all our eager hunters. The way things turned out I needed Aaron to take another first time hunter out, this time a young nine year old named Rylee. Again, Aaron started things out with Rylee by hitting the gun range and getting him comfortable shooting. He did great and Aaron was excited to have him using the same .243 rifle that his father had taught him on back in the day. To add to the camaraderie of the hunt Aaron again brought his own boy Luke along for the hunt and as all three got settled into the blind that morning they again prayed over the hunt and it was go time. Their prayers were answered pretty quick that day as it wasn’t too long into that first sit and two bucks came right down the trail toward their blind. After the excitement of watching them spar a bit they got set up for a shot, but neither buck would quite turn broadside for them. Rylee was all smiles though and the boys were locked in now! About an hour later a big ole doe comes walking down that same path and turns broadside. Rylee took the perfect shot and after a 30 yard scamper she went down. The boys shared a quick celebration and then they decide to see if Luke could maybe get a shot on one too. Sure enough, 15 minutes later a small buck comes down that trail. Luke scoped him up and takes his shot, the deer stood for several seconds and then bounded off into the brush. Aaron knew the gun was locked in, and they all thought Luke had made a great shot, but unlike the doe earlier they didn’t see it go down.
After waiting for about an hour so as not to spook a wounded deer they ventured out of the blind. Aaron explained, “We got out of the blind and headed to Rylee’s doe first. He lit up!! Big smile, high fives and pictures with his deer. It was awesome!”. Now to find that buck. They headed to the last spot they saw him and found blood, but no deer. So they backed out and headed back to camp after gutting Rylee’s doe. Back at camp a large group of young hunters gathered around as Aaron showed them all how to skin and butcher a deer. “It was really cool that these kids were so into this part of the process. With all the YouTube and video games out there it was awesome to see them so focused and so into learning how to gut, skin and quarter up this deer.” The lessons were not over though, they still had a deer to track. Brothers Ray and Mark headed out with Aaron and the boys to see if they could find Luke’s deer. Aaron shared, “Sure enough after about 10 minutes they all heard Ray’s “owl hoot” and if you have ever been around Ray Howell, you know that when he hoots it is either because something awesome has happened or he wants to get the kid’s attention. This time it was both! Ray called the boys down and showed them some blood, letting them know he thought they must be close. With Ray guiding them on the blood trail it took just a couple minutes and they saw a nice six point buck laying there!” Both young hunters had success! On a year when the overall success rate for youth weekend in Wisconsin actually dropped by 8%, Aaron had guided not just one young deer hunter to success, but two in one sit!!
I have since let Aaron know that he may just have to take out all of our first time hunters since he seems to have the touch for rookies! He just smiled and in his humble way shared how thankful he was, “Just being with these kids means the world. It brings me so much joy to see their smiles and guide them through their first hunt, it really means so much more than any hunt for myself anymore.
Sometimes kids don’t have these opportunities to get out and go hunting. I have realized that the hunting and fishing knowledge and gifts God has given me are meant to be passed on, I am called to serve. And if we don’t open our hearts and minds and lives to these children we might miss the opportunity to open these doors and give them these chances.”
Well Aaron, God has definitely used you to open some doors for young hunters and we are incredibly thankful for that!
If you would like to give your “yes” to helping kiddos chase their dreams in the outdoors please email us at info@kickingbear.org.