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
For September’s determined Bone Collector, Brent Williams, it’s all about the love for the outdoors and standing up for what you believe in. While serving his country he took a short break from hunting, but has returned back home to enjoy one of his favorite pastimes.
Brent says that he mostly enjoys hunting alone, although teaching younger generations the pride that comes with being outdoors is always worth losing that big buck. “I might pass up a perfect day in my stand to take a child hunting, and in the end, their smile makes it all worth it.” He understands that introducing someone new to hunting can be a great experience. Learning mostly from his father, Tom, and teaching himself through his own mistakes, he has gained invaluable knowledge for being on the hunt.
“My most memorable hunting experience would have to be my first deer kill with a bow. I was in my early teenage years, and had been having great success with rifle hunting. However, archery meant a lot more time in the field, so I decided to give it a shot. I was hunting hard, real hard. I hadn't really mastered, or fully understood, scent elimination. I was getting pretty frustrated by the lack of success I was having. I was using mostly makeshift ground blinds, and wasn't really paying much attention to the wind. Looking back, I was doing about everything wrong that was possible!“ He finally landed his trophy through trial and error, saying that it was worth it. “It was one of the greatest moments of my life!”
Standing up for the culture of the hunter also lies high on Brent’s priorities. He said being part of the Brotherhood is standing up for what you believe in. “I’m not scared to voice my opinion when it comes to the topic of hunting. I’m right there tactfully defending our right to hunt.”
“Thanks to all of those who have served and are still serving our country. They're the real reason that hunting is still even an option for us.”
August’s Bone Collector of the Month, Mathew Ritchison, from Indiana began hunting when he was only eight years old. Ever since then he has done his part to “keep the local deer population from getting over crowded,” he says. He enjoys hunting Whitetail deer the most, and that his proudest whitetail moment came last season when he bagged a 200lb. field dressed 142” 10 pt. Indiana buck. A “Hoosier Buck like Waddell,” he proudly points out, although Mathew’s dream would be to take a bowhunting trip on the Milk River in Montana.
This hunter-gatherer enjoys hunting to provide venison for his family and even an occasional thunderchicken in the spring, as well as collecting a little Bone along the way. Mathew takes pleasure in calling himself part of the brotherhood, because Bone Collectors are just “Good Ole Boys, down to Earth, and proud of what they do. Keep hunting Bone, I know I will.”
Army Specialist Jacob Dutton is back on US soil after two tours in Iraq. Growing up, his dream was to serve his country. After the tragedy of 9/11, Jacob, who was in high school at the time, decided the army was his future. A very family-oriented guy, Jacob left behind his mom, dad, brother, and fiancee to serve our country. His soon-to-be wife is a hunter herself (and a really good bass fisher), as well as a great listener. Jacob credits her with being the one that helped him through the rough times--listening to his complaints and frustrations as he worked tirelessly overseas.
What exactly IS going on over there? Jacob says the news tends to only show the negative side of the missions, and while there is lots of turmoil, America has "done a lot of good work in road repairs and humanitarian missions, basically cleaning up Iraq and teaching Iraqis how to repair their own roads and be more productive. I want people to see that we're doing a good thing in Iraq and it's not a waste of money and time."
Jacob's team of hunting partners are ready to hit the woods with him this season. His brother Josh, his father Gary, and his uncle Dennis taught him how to be a true hunter. Their lessons in his earliest years made him the hunter he is today.
Iraq doesn't offer many hunting opportunities, but Jacob was able to find one. During his last tour in Iraq, the flight line needed help so that incoming aircrafts would not get hit with birds and the pilots could make a safe landing. Jacob was called in to do the first hunting he'd been able to do in over three years. What a blast!
There's more hunting in his future. Next spring Jacob's heading up to Canada for a bear hunt. And he's looking to finish his degree and join a small town police force in his home state of Wisconsin.
Thanks for all your sacrifices, Jacob. God bless you, and God bless America!
June's Bone Collector of the month, Matt Baker,was born into a hunting family. Hunting deer and duck at his family's deer camp in Hermitage, Arkansas, is his favorite pastime, but he'll never pass up a chance to fish or hunt turkey, squirrel, or dove. Always up for some new challenge, Matt went pheasant hunting for the first time a couple of years ago with his uncle and grandpa in Kansas.
Matt's been blessed with a big family on his father's side, so he enjoys hunting with his grandpa, uncles, and cousins. However, his favorite hunting partner is definitely his dad. Every moment they get to spend in the outdoors together is cherished. Matt recently went to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation banquet in Little Rock, Arkansas, so an elk hunt is definitely in Matt’s future.
Matt tells us a story about killing his 8 pointer. About 3 years ago, he and his clan were rifle hunting at deer camp. Matt says, “One morning we surrounded a place we call the T-Road. We run dogs, which is pretty fun, and that morning we did not have much action so we decided to move over to another place called the McKinney Block. My two younger cousins decided to start the dogs in the woods, and within 5 minutes we had a race. The dogs were getting pretty hot and were heading between where I was sitting and where my other cousin was sitting. Suddenly I looked and could see a whitetail bouncing through the woods. When he came into the opening I couldn’t believe it when I saw his horns. He was low to the ground at full speed so I had to make a quick shot. I wasn't sure I hit him because he kept running, but the dogs passed by and it wasn't much longer they quit. I walked out in the woods with my cousin and about 75 yards in the woods there he was. He wasn't real wide but he had some pretty tall tines on him. It is one of my biggest deer I have killed so far.”
Every Thanksgiving, Matt’s family congregates at deer camp and they have a blast. They ride 4-wheelers, eat a bunch, and, of course, get some hunting in. Sounds like a lot to be thankful for!
