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!
