Editor’s Note: Paul Connelly of Gillette, Wyoming, a Mossy Oak Pro Staffer, actively works with the PCBA (Physically Challenged Bowhunters of America). Mossy Oak Pro Staffers are far more than just hunters, seminar speakers and representatives for Mossy Oak. They're also heavily involved in community service. Often no one knows what these men and women of the Mossy Oak Pro Staff do for others. A hunt of a lifetime doesn’t always have to involve someone taking an animal. Connelly, his friends and his community have learned that providing a hunt of a hunt of a lifetime is far more rewarding than receiving a hunt of a lifetime.
The three young men who bagged antelopes took their processed meat home with them and took the heads for mounting or the horns for European mounting. The heads had been skinned out by the meat processor, the hides frozen, and the horns had been removed from the skulls.Besides the financial help we received from the PCBA, my friends and I held several fund raisers to help pay for all the other incidentals and the food we needed to make the hunt a success. All of our volunteers - the guides, the people who prepared the meals, the folks at Arbuckle Lodge, and our processor were all excited about how well the hunt had gone. When some of my guides had problems and weren’t able to show up, other local archers stepped in and took their places. The entire community pitched in to make this hunt a success. We had so much fun with these young people and their families, and we already have scheduled to host the hunt with 5 young people next year. With that number, we easily can move hunters from one blind to another if the antelope aren’t showing up.
The volunteers were all excited, and the young bowhunters and their families who attended were very appreciative and enjoyed the hunt. Also, they enjoyed getting to know the people in our community, seeing the coal mine and eating delicious food at every meal. While they were here, some of the hunters and their families went to see sights and other attractions close by. We enjoyed the hunt in 2014, and we’re looking forward to members of the PCBA coming and hunting with us again next year. I think the hunt has become a community event that we all will enjoy.
To learn more about hunting, check out John E. Phillips’ new eBook and print book, “Bowhunting Deer: Mossy Oak Pros Know Bucks and Bows.” You also can download a free Kindle app that enables you to read the book on your iPad, computer or Smartphone.
For information on making jerky from your deer to provide a protein-rich snack, you can download a free book from http://johninthewild.com/free-books.
