Hunting Mentorship: Update

It’s been about a month and a half since I posted about a new hunting mentorship opportunity that I was availing myself of and now seems like a good time for an update.  Almost ten years ago I was the recipient of a hunting mentorship that changed the course and quality of my life. I’m excited to be able to pass on some of what I’ve learned.
Last summer I got an Instagram DM from Christopher Curry, stating that he was interested in learning to hunt and wondering if I could point him in the right direction.  Chris and I kind of peripherally knew each other through college associations, but we hadn’t seen each other in many years. I was interested, but incredibly busy trying to get Black Duck Revival open for it’s inaugural season.  Truth be told I only managed one pitiful bow hunting expedition last season. It didn’t work out last year, but this spring I messaged Chris back to see if learning to hunt was still something he wanted to pursue. He responded in the affirmative and I got to work putting together a program that would focus on the aspects of hunting that I found to be most important and most productive.
As a first step, I put together a “Hunting 101 Syllabus” and sent it to Chris.  My goal was to organize a program that could be largely self led by Chris, but allowed me plenty of room to help “steer the ship” as he came up against the unknown.  While Chris and I both live in Arkansas, we are in separate areas of the state. I’m in the central part of the state (essentially Little Rock) while he resides in Fayetteville ( far northwest Arkansas), where he and his wife own their own organic juice and smoothie bar, Berry Natural.  We both have families and own our own businesses, so getting together every weekend or after work for a beer isn’t really doable.   The goal has been to be able to introduce information to Chris in a manner that works for his busy lifestyle and then to supplement that information with in-depth phone conversations as well as getting together to do hands on field work.  Hunting is something that can’t be learned just from reading or internet research, it takes real experience and effort. This past weekend Chris and I were able to get together in northwest Arkansas and spend a few hours hiking through some public lands close to his house and start to do some of the hands on work that is necessary to become competent at the field craft of hunting.Wild plums in the Ozark National Forests.
For a concise outing I felt like we were able to cover a ton of important ground.  We worked on field identification of important mast producing plants. Plentiful examples of oaks, black walnut, hickory, dew berry, staghorn sumac, and wild plum were easy to find and we discussed the seasonality of food sources and the different species that rely on them.  We also spent quite a bit of time discussing and examining the different terrain features that influence cervid travel. The woods we were investigating were replete with the rolling hills and deep draws that the Ozark Mountains are known for. We were able to find long established game trails on the edges of the draws that serve as “highways” for the local deer population.  By traversing these trails I was also able to broach the subject of what and how deer eat and very quickly we were able to find lots of greenbriar and other browse that had the tender green shoots of new growth bitten off with the distinctive 45 degree angle of a deer nibble.  

Hunting is also about adjusting to the environment one finds themselves in.  After our outing and talking to Chris about more of what he’s looking for out of these experiences, I told him that I think we should really be focusing our efforts on getting him comfortable with archery tackle.  Here in Arkansas we are able to bow hunt deer from the end of September through the last day of February. Chris being able to use archery tackle will give him 5 months of season to explore and hone his skills on the WMA’s and national forests close to his home.  I’m on the hunt now for a serviceable crossbow that we can get him started with.

Beyond the how and why of hunting, I was struck by two existential thoughts while on our “walkabout.”  Initially, I was aware that somewhere along the line I had become a competent and reasonably knowledgeable woodsman.  I wasn’t really trying to find deer sign, I had put enough work in over the years that I naturally gravitated towards it.  I wasn’t trying to recall the differences in white oaks and red oaks, I knew it. I realized, as I rattled off biological traits of ungulates and discussed what foods squirrels were eating on a month to month basis, that I knew what I was talking about.  It’s an interesting experience to go from complete novice at an activity to gaining a level of prowess that allows you to teach someone else and it feels good to be able to share knowledge about something that you love.

I also became aware of what a beautiful experience I was taking part in.  Here we were, two black men, fathers, entrepreneurs, walking in the woods of the South, talking and learning and sharing in the natural world together.  We weren’t consumed with bravado, or ego or society's notions about who we were or how we are supposed to act. We were just being. As a person of color and in particular as a black man, just existing without unease is often a luxury.  I was glad to experience that feeling with a person of like experiences and ambition.

I’ve included a link to the syllabus I created and the document is enabled to allow comments from everyone.  I’d love to hear your thoughts and input on the aspects of hunting you think we should be covering or information you would want covered if you were just starting out on your hunting journey.  I’ll continue providing updates on our progress both here, on the BDR website, and on my Instagram page. If you are close by or going through NWA (northwest Arkansas) take a minute to stop by Chris’s juice bar and visit with him and his family for a bit.  I’m sure advice and encouragement from more established hunters would mean a lot to Chris as we work to take him from novice to successful hunter!