July’s Bone Collector comes from a line of hunter’s that have full respect for what the culture can really provide. William McMahon tells bonecollector.com about his father having a great influence on hunting for him, as a teacher and caretaker for his family as well as other families in need.
June is the Month for celebrating father’s and all they have taught us. This month’s Bone Collector, William Foster, tells bonecollector.com that he father was the biggest influence when it comes to hunting. He began hunting with his father when he was just a young boy and has continued to hunt with him throughout his hunting career.
Chad Andrus embraces the outdoor life year round, as an Archery Technician for Cabela’s and that’s why we deemed him Bone Collector of the Month for May. Working in the outdoor industry, Chad enjoys teaching others about his experiences and introducing new comers to celebrate the spirit of the hunt, expanding the Brotherhood.
Here at bonecollector.com, we are gearing up for an eventful Turkey Season and that is why we thought Aprils Bone Collector of the Month should be a Thunder Chicken Lover as well. Michael Houser didn’t start out hunting Turkey until just few years ago but has been addicted ever since.
Although March’s Bone Collector of the month, Mary Mitchell got started hunting just a few years ago, she has been hooked on hunting ever since. A true Bone Collector that hunts whitetail with her Hoyt Bone Collector Special Edition Bow to close the coffin on large bucks.
After seeing his first deer on a muzzleloader hunt with his grandfather, Brent Lee Mullins started to understand just how addicting this sport of hunting really was. And even though he was only 5, Brent asked his grandfather to take him hunting any chance he could. And thankfully his grandfather did just that.
It’s a new year, a new beginning, and a chance to start over again. Our January Bone Collector knows this all to well, as he has recently started bow hunting again after an industrial accident in 2007.
Being a part of the Brotherhood is following a creed in which to live by, as does our December Bone Collector of the Month, Michael Schrader. He proudly tells Bone Collector about his way of carrying out being a provider, a caretaker, and a leader.
As Bone Collectors, we all share the excitement and passion of hunting with family and friends. After all, that’s what the Brotherhood is all about – people who still understand and know how to celebrate the spirit of the hunt to teach and introduce those who have been shielded from the predator that lies within their soul.
That’s why we chose November’s Bone Collector, Clint Womeldorff. When he was a boy, his father took him to hunt the first day of the season every year. Clint still remembers the first trip they had together. “My first deer hunt was with my dad back in 1992, he let me skip school on a Wednesday for the opening day of the Kansas rifle season. We didn’t have a clue what we were doing, which was probably the reason we only saw one doe that morning. Just sitting there with my dad in our homemade stand watching the sun come up through the timber on a cold December morning will be something that I will never forget.”
Clint now takes his eight year old son as often as he can. “He gets as pumped up as I do when a buck shows up. I hope that I can pass on to him the same values and passion that I have for a lifetime of memories.” Clint tells us that he believes that everyone should experience the thrill of a hunt, as well as the dedication it requires to be successful.
Although Clint has been hunting a while, he said he and his son’s favorite spot to hunt is his Grandfathers land in Kansas, called Hickory Timber. “It’s pretty hard to beat bow hunting whitetails in Kansas,” he says.
Clint wanted to let everyone in the Brotherhood know “Good luck this season and seasons to come…shoot straight and collect more bone!”
Now that October’s Bone Collector, Damien Macaluso, is all grown up, he wants to share with his oldest daughter, what his father shared with him – The love of the outdoors. As most Bone Collectors, Damien’s father was his first influence to the culture of the hunter. “My father was responsible for teaching me the basics of gun safety, marksmanship, and outdoorsmanship,” he tells us. “The Outdoor Channel and Bone Collector have inspired me to get out and hunt, and share my rekindled spirit with my daughter.”
As the owner of his own business, he views experiencing the outdoors with his daughter as an opportunity to escape the day-to-day, focus on the little things in life, and God’s creations. But as an Eye Surgeon, he also enjoys helping others regain their love for the hunt. “I feel a great sense of pleasure when patience returns to see me after surgery with a picture of their monster whitetail or gift of venison, after I’ve restored their sight!”
Damien shares a story of hunting his favorite game, Thunder chickens, with his daughter from 2007. “It’s a cool spring morning and I’m sitting in my hunting blind, bow hunting for turkeys with my 6 year-old daughter when she looks up to me and says, ‘Daddy, isn’t is strange that there is an animal named turkey and a food called turkey.’
“Hmmmmm. I have to carefully select my words for my daughter who has never seen an animal die, so I respond, ‘Well, the food that we eat is actually the same as the animal. We can eat the breast, the wings, and the drumsticks that you like so much are the legs.’ She remains quiet with a slightly perplexed look so I continue, ‘It’s kind of like how steaks and hamburger come from cows.’
“I can see the wheels turning in her head trying to make sense and she responds with an excited look in her eyes, ‘You mean we get to hunt cows too!’
“I had a little more explaining to do about what livestock is and we both learned quite a bit that day. We never did see any turkeys that day, but my first turkey with a bow was soon to come.
“About a week later we had two Toms and four hens come by and I let my arrow fly and it went right through the lungs of the largest Tom. My daughter was even more excited than I was. When we were driving home my daughter said to me, ‘Daddy, I am so proud of you for getting your first turkey and you did it on your first shot!’ I thanked her appropriately and then there was a pause…………’Daddy, I think I’m ready to hunt turkey with my recurve now’ (She had just got her first bow about a month earlier). How I love her enthusiasm.
“So that evening I was dressing the bird and then I put my daughter to bed. I was cleaning up the kitchen so my wife would have no complaints about any mess and I heard my daughter crying in her bed upstairs. My first thought was that my six year-old daughter just saw an animal die for the first time and this is a very natural reaction. I walked up the stairs thinking carefully about what I would say and I walked into her room, wiped away the tears and gave her a big hug and asked ‘What’s wrong honey?’
“She replied, still weeping, ‘Daddy, I’m just so sad that turkey season is over now and we don’t’ get to hunt together any more’… then I started to get a tear in my eye. God has truly blessed me. This is what being a Bone Collector means to me!”
“Like most people, I have many roles that I play in my life and those roles fall in line with my priorities of god, family, and country. All of my core values are consistent with and support these priorities. Being a Bone Collector is intertwined with all of my priorities and values and that is why I try to share my love of the outdoors and hunting with others. Values such as integrity, honesty, courage, and compassion are critical to instill at an early age and the outdoors provides an ideal opportunity to serve as a university to provide this education. Being a Bone Collector is an opportunity for me to teach and emphasize important values to our children in the mos
