Under Wing: A Hunting Mentor Story | Savage Journeys

We all have our “first hunt” story. Maybe it wasn’t your very first hunt, but it was the one that got you hooked. Ask any hunter and they’ll tell their story. For some, it’s a vivid sensory memory -- right down to the sights and sounds of specific events that transpired to the end result…a breeze moving through the trees, twigs snapping, birds chirping loudly, rustling jackets, crisp air filling your lungs, the unmistakable odor of wet dog, your heart pounding in your ears as you exhale before squeezing the trigger. For others, it’s an adventurous tale or simply how they’ve always been. But before that first hunt happened, how did you get there? What sparked your hunting journey?

Maybe hunting has been a family tradition for as long as anyone can remember, a classic “coming of age” practice, a way to provide food for your family, or simply a part of life in your community.  Maybe you were searching for a way to consume lean, organic-as-it-gets meat for health reasons. Maybe you were looking to expand your love of the outdoors and experience something new. No matter how you arrived, Savage is glad that something lit a flame within you to start your hunting journey. 

That first hunt often ignites a flame of passion in our guts, but flames need to be stoked to start a fire.  No matter what initially sparked your passion for hunting, most of us need some guidance in our hunting journey – someone to help fuel the flame and set us up for a lifetime of hunting and living with nature. Ask yourself – who is responsible for helping you sustain your passion for hunting? Who took you on your first hunt? Was it your grandfather, uncle, mother, father, best friend…? And are you that person for someone else? 

The Hunt for Mentors

It takes a special person to fuel that flame. A mentor. A hunting mentor takes you under their wing, teaches you the ins and outs of hunting, wants you to have the best experience, passes on knowledge learned from making mistakes, and tries their hardest to set you up for success – it’s not an easy task! But it’s one that a mentor is willing to do. 

Hunting mentors deserve a sincere thank you and a pat on the back. On a small scale, they are responsible for stoking the flames of a fulfilling lifelong passion within each of us. On a large scale, they are responsible for spreading a love of the outdoors in every corner of the world. Without a hunting mentor, the journey ends…our passion for hunting can easily fizzle out and die.

At Savage, we love working with people who value being a mentor just as much as they love hunting. They get as much, or more happiness from coaching, teaching, preparing, guiding, and celebrating with others as they do from sitting in a field by themselves and doing the hard work for their reward. We go out of our way to find these individuals and help them in any way that we can. 

A Trip North Lights the Way

To shine a spotlight on the importance of hunting mentors, we traveled to Alberta, Canada for a bucket list waterfowl hunt and asked two women who have made it their mission to foster a passion for hunting in others to come with us. We also asked them to each bring an individual who was interested in hunting but had never hunted waterfowl before. 

We set them up for success with our friends from Ole Dog Outfitters and plenty of shells for their Renegauge shotguns. Between the “snownado” of ducks and geese and incredible views of the Northern Lights, the skies were indeed calling! Four women and a cameraman – to say it was an adventure would be an understatement! 

Passion for Mentoring

Allison Hunter Voges and Courtney Nicolson are both experienced hunters. Between the two of them, they have hunted big game across North America and turned their eyes to the sky at every opportunity. Mentorship is important to each of them, and their hunting journeys follow similar paths leading to organizations and groups where they have connected with other women – some who have served as their own mentors, and some whom they have taken under their wings in turn.

Allison’s journey into waterfowl hunting started with the American Daughters of Conservation when she was able to join a group of women for a waterfowl hunt in Tennessee. Her involvement in the ADC has sparked her love for waterfowl and mentoring new hunters. “I love bringing in new hunters because the experience as a whole can be life changing. It can give you a sense of pride and accomplishment,” says Allison. Through mutual friends and the ADC is how she met Olivia and developed a friendship that has fostered both of their passions for the outdoors. 

Olivia Stanley grew up in the outdoors and has hunted whitetail deer with her family her entire life but has never hunted waterfowl…until now. “It is definitely game changing to get to experience this,” says Olivia. We may have spoiled her on an incredible first waterfowl experience…oops! Sorry, not sorry.

Courtney Nicolson didn’t grow up in a hunting family and started hunting as an adult. “I’ve had a lot of incredible mentors along the way that if they hadn’t shown me the ropes, I’d probably still be sitting in a marsh puddle,” says Courtney. Mentoring was a gift she knew she had to share with others. Her hunting journey has crisscrossed the country chasing big game and waterfowl, teaching hunter education, and volunteering with mentorship programs along the way. Through her involvement with mentoring programs, she met Lyndsey on a women’s hunt in Montana and became fast friends.

Lyndsey Braun grew up in Alaska where her family hunted as a way of life and to provide food for their table, but she lost touch with it after moving to Washington state. Her respect for the environment and conservation never waned though, and it became important for her to reconnect with her hunting roots. “I really didn’t know what to expect because this is my first time,” Lyndsey says of her experience in Alberta hunting waterfowl. “Seeing it all has been pretty epic.”  

Sharing the Passion

One of our favorite things about hunting mentors specifically, is that sharing their passion with someone new and showing them the ropes is just as important to them as hunting is. “People want to share their passions with you. They want you to ask questions. They want to show you things they know. They want to pass that on because they are excited about it and want you to be excited about it too,” says Allison. 

Finding a hunting mentor comes easy for some – a friend or family member. For others, it’s putting yourself out there. Finding a group online – making contacts and meeting new people. “I think it’s really important to have someone like Courtney guiding you along,” says Lyndsey. 

Think about this - without your hunting mentor where would you be? Still trying to navigate the outdoors by reading Google reviews and watching YouTube videos? Sitting back and waiting for someone to invite you to go hunting? Yes, those are good ways to gain knowledge, but you can only get so far doing those things. You need to get out there, experience it, take it all in. Courtney offers this piece of advice for new hunters, “Ask a lot of questions and volunteer to help with everything.” 

You will gain so much more knowledge about hunting when you get out there. And the more you do it the more comfortable you’ll become. You just have to start. “I’m definitely hooked on waterfowl hunting. I want to continue to learn and grow. Hopefully I’ll get to the point where I can take someone new and get them into it,” said Olivia. 

So, here’s our challenge to you. Put yourselves out there – on both sides. Find a group, ask a friend, take a new hunter under your wing. Share your hunting passion with your family, friends, neighbors, and community. Pass your flame to someone new to help them ignite a new interest in the outdoors. You never know…they might pass that same flame to another up-and-coming hunter and continue the journey!