Youth Hunt ‘09
 
 
      Members and friends of the Alamo San Antonio Chapter and the Texas Hill Country Kerrville Chapter of Safari Club International (SCI) conducted another hunt at the Cameron Ranch, Sabinal, Texas.  It was held in mid-January and again was for a special group of young men and women.  Those sponsoring the hunt were:
Curtis Cameron-- Ranch Owner               Doug Radcliffe – Group Coordinator
Ray Allred – Hunt Chairman                     Steve Moore – House Father
Scott Martin – Work Coordinator            Linda Moore – House Mother
 John Ward – Work Coordinator              Frank Proden -- Supervisor
Bill Crump – Range Officer                        Jake Nelson -- Supervisor                        
Other Support Staff
 
Students were:
 (Boys)                                                           (Girls)
Andy U-chupongamorn                              Sabrina Garcia
Wayne Nolte                                               Robyn Nieto-Reyes
 Jonathan Hernandez                                  Olivia Zimmerman
 Jaycob Hernandez            
 
South African Professional Hunters were:
Mof Venter – Adansonia Safaris
Scott Van Zyl -- SS Pro Safaris          
                                                                                
     These young students are all fine young boys and girls are residence of the Presbyterian Christian Home in San Antonio, Texas.  They were chosen to join us this weekend by their mentors.  In this home they are given a chance to develop into outstanding citizens.  This home is privately financed and no federal funds are available for the operations or maintenance.
     When the boys and girls arrived at the ranch a hearty meal consisting of hamburgers and cheeseburgers with all the fixings was prepared.  After they were then given a tour of the ranch,  Ray Allred called a meeting and welcomed the group to the ranch.  He also covered the schedule and administrative details for the weekend. A class on firearms safety, hunting, game recognition and hunting techniques followed. Bill Crump gave this class.
 
     The next morning after a hearty breakfast, Bill Crump held another class on the use and handling of firearms and shooting techniques.  A drawing to pair up the Supervisors with the  hunters followed – each youth had an experienced licensed hunter as a mentor for the next couple of days.
      We then moved to the range where the fun began.  Only one of the students had ever shot a rifle before and that was when he made the hunt with us last year.  So this was really a new experience for these young adults.
   Bill then opened the range and with the assistance of the Supervisors provided individual instruction the students as they shot two targets, one for practice and the other for competition.  The results of the competition were:
     1st Place – Robyn
     2nd Place – Jaycob
     After the shoot, Jake Nelson, Scott Martin and John Ward took the group out to teach them something about ranch work.   They gathered wood for the fireplaces, worked on the blinds and feeders.  They also did chores around the barn and the corral.  They learned a great deal about ranch life in a very short period of time.  This was a very willing and productive bunch.
      Several of us had just returned from the Dallas Safari Club annual fundraiser where we had the opportunity to visit with many of our friends in the hunting community.  During this visit we told both Mof and Scott about this hunt and suggested that they drop by the ranch on their way out to Reno for the big SCI event.  They did just that.  So after a quick mid-afternoon snack the group drew for hunting areas and a short time later departed on a hunt that was a first for all but one.  Two lucky kids got to hunt with two Professional Hunters from South Africa, Mof and Scott.  Both Jonathon and Jaycob collected animals that evening under the supervision of African PHs.  One could say, that experience was simply priceless.
     It was not long after all were settled in their blinds before the action began.  As we finished the hunt we repaired to the cleaning station to clean the many animals that were collected.     Another first – Only one had ever gutted, cleaned, or butchered an animal before.  They all joined in while John Ward, Bill Crump and Frank Proden supervised this on the job training.
    As with any group, one stands out when doing a hunting task, care and cleaning of the animals was no exception.  Wayne did the outstanding job that night.  
     When all the game was cleaned and put away, they gathered at the dinner table for a wonderful dinner of Tex-Mex dishes.  After the dinner, PH Scott gave a presentation on hunting in Africa.  This group was all ears and asked many questions.  Later, Steve Moore conducted a brief bible study class for the group.  Then it was to bed for a short night. The next morning a big buck came running through the house waking everybody up.  That happened about 0500 hours.
     The second day of hunting was another cold one.  It was in the mid-30s when we all struck out for our assigned hunting areas.  A little ice was on the windshields and the wind was blowing about 10 miles per hour, which made it even colder.  The moon was against us as it was very bright and provided a lot of light that the animals used for feeding during the night.  With this cold weather, the animals felt very comfortable remaining in their warm cover until the sun came up with its warming rays.
     The hunt was over about 0930 hours and again there was game to be cleaned and prepared for the trip to the processing plant.  Those that collected the animals had the pleasure of cleaning and quartering the animals for the trip.  As the night before, the students approached this chore in a somewhat timid fashion at first, but then caught on and took a great deal of pride in performing these required tasks.
     It was about 1000 hours when brunch was served.  That was followed by a major effort to clean the house and outside area.  Once completed, an Awards Ceremony was held, the following are the awards that were presented by Steve Moore and Ray Allred:
      The shooting awards were as identified above, Robyn and Jaycon received 1st and 2nd place medals for their shooting scores.  In the Hunting category, Jonathan and Sabrina received 1st and 2nd place medals.  In the Hunting Achievement category all the youths received a gold medal in recognition of their recent accomplishments.  Then there were several special awards for those that participated but were not part of this formal group.
     There was a special award this year for the youth voted to be the best all-around hunter participant.  The votes were based on all phases of the hunt.  Jonathon was awarded an engraved trophy buckle – the inscription read “ Buck and Boar -- Curtis Cameron Ranch Champion.”  Jonathon was also awarded a skinning knife.  Not bad for a weekend of fun.
     The boys and girls packed out and said their goodbyes, taking with them enough pork and venison to feed them for quite some time.  After their departure we sat around and discussed what a heartwarming experience we had had.  We also discussed future plans to accommodate young men and women who are in need of and would appreciate an outdoor experience.  Other benefits that we could make available to fine young men and women were also discussed -- scholarships, summer employment, tickets to sporting events, were a few that were mentioned.
     This was a win-win weekend for all.   You can bet that we are looking forward to continuing this effort and just perhaps one or more of these kids will have enjoyed this experience to the point that they will want to continue this wonderful endeavor.  More importantly, when tempted to take a wrong turn they will reflect on the great outdoors – the folks they have met through this activity -- and elect to do the correct thing rather to error in judgment.  Take a young person hunting every time you have an opportunity.  I promise you it is something you will not regret.
Again, many thanks to the PHs Moff and Scott, two true hunters who really made this a special hunt for some very special people.
 
 
 
Andy, Ray, PH Scott, Wayne, Frank, Sabrina, Antonio, Bill, Robyn, John, Jaycob, Scott, Olivia, PH Mof, Jonathan.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Presbyterian Christian Home Hunt Sabinal Again.