November 25th was a much better day weather wise than the previous year but the host and location were once again superb destinations for the youth of the King George Outdoor Club. Kinlock Farm owner, Bruce Lee, and huntmaster Mac McLennan, run a great hunt. As in previous years, the youth that were invited were young aspiring hunters that had not harvested a deer yet. We were able to take 10 youth down from our club.
Once at the farm, the youth were given a safety brief after being checked in and then a demonstration was given by a hunter on how to skin a buck and quarter it up. The youth and adults watched closely as the gentleman explained why he was making the cuts he was making. Next, a brief by Cameron Dobyns, a VDGIF Conservation Police Officer, was given. Officer Dobyns held the attention of the youth with his quiet but professional voice that he spoke to the youth with. He encouraged them to not only be safe but make ethical choices today AND in the future. As his presentation was winding down, he got a call about an incident not too far away and as they say, "Duty calls!"
Things began to get exciting as a shooting competition was held by Mac. He runs a welcoming but safe competition. The competition was pretty tight, but once the smoke cleared, the muzzleloader bullets and slugs had punched their targets, there were three winners. Madison Long of King George had fired her trustworthy CVA muzzleloader and punched a bullet into the edge of the bullseye. Second place went to Nathan Lanham who won a knife set, and third went to Gavin Graves, who was using a borrowed Mossberg 20 gauge slug gun. He won a trail camera package.
A feast had been prepared by Mac who had arrived at 0630 to set things up. There was a huge pan of venison BBQ, mac and cheese, hot dogs, chips and assorted snacks and deserts.
A brief was then held by Mac and Bruce to discuss club hunting rules and shot placement. A quick poll was taken to determine who needed close shots due to the firearm limitations. Then stands were handed out with Mac's number on slips of paper for the mentors to call when a deer was taken.
I was fortunate enough to be able to mentor CJ Conroy whose older sister is also in our outdoor club. CJ and I drew Bruce's stand which overlooked a beautiful oat plot. A few hundred yards away from us was Gavin Graves and his stepdad in a box blind and also within our area was Alina Puentes and her stepdad Mike. CJ and Alina had visited my range a few days prior and actually sighted in two CVA WOLF muzzleloaders I was able to purchase with a grant I received from VDGIF and through a special deal I worked out with muzzle-loaders.com. These rifles are simple to operate but tack drivers to 100 yards. These two rifles came custom fitted with a youth stock and a 3x9 scope thanks to muzzle-loaders.com. Because of the attention to detail that they made before shipping them (bore sighting and torquing down everything very well) Alina and CJ were punching the bulls within a half dozen shots. The shots were touching and an intense but friendly competition was going between the two youth. And that practice paid off.
CJ took his first game animal ever with an 80 yard shot at a big spike buck. Alina took the biggest deer of the hunt with a 5.5 year old 5 point buck. Gavin was able to harvest a spike buck and Mason Long and Austin Sanders from our club also took deer.
The hard work of Bruce Lee, his club members, Mac McLennan and the youth paid off in a big way.
The Northern Neck Chapter of VDHA, Hounds F4R Heroes, Bruce Lee and his club members, and Mac McLennan are to be commended for furthering our traditions in such a great way. A thank you also goes out to VDGIF’s CPO Cameron Dobyns and the VDGIF for their grant that allowed the King George Outdoor Club members to be able to have a firearm that fit them be available to use. The parents and mentors were key in supervision and an integral part of the hunt. Last, Muzzle-loaders.com is thanked for working out a great deal on the muzzleloaders and accessories. All of us remember our first deer that we harvested and the memories we still have of it. Imagine how these young people felt that evening. With technology these days, photos of the deer were instantly shared with friends and family all over the country. Let’s hope the fire started turns into a roaring desire to hunt for the rest of their lives.
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