Reaching out
Hunter recruitment starts with each and every one of us
By Doug Burt, public information officer, Arizona Game and Fish Department

The buzzwords “recruitment and retention” keep making their way into the outdoor community. Much of this driving force is derived from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s reports of declining hunter and angler numbers. Throughout wildlife agencies, including the Arizona Game and Fish Department, it is at the forefront of everything we do. Like most sportsmen and sportswomen, many employees of the department live and breathe hunting and fishing. We recently asked some department employees to share experiences with introducing or passing on our hunting and outdoor heritage to youth and families. Here are some of their stories..

Jim Heffelfinger, Tucson regional game specialist,
with the department for 16 years.

Jim is married and has four boys, ages 4, 11, 13, and 16.

He is well known in the wildlife community, has his masters degree, teaches at University of Arizona, and is the author of “Deer of the Southwest, A Complete Guide to the Natural History, Biology, and Management of Southwestern Mule Deer and White-Tailed Deer.”

How Jim finds time to do anything outside of his careers and family life is still a mystery. However, he recently took several young people out on a rabbit hunt. Hunting rabbits and other small game is a great way to introduce youngsters and beginners to hunting.

Jim said everyone had a great time. In fact, he states, “How is this for Hunter Recruitment? We brought my son’s girlfriend and her younger brother out rabbit hunting. She’s a vegetarian – that should count for two!”

Jim is currently putting ideas together to sponsor a “Junior Jack Kamp” sometime between January and March next year. At the camp, Jackrabbit Jim will show you how to “hunt ’em and grill ’em” as well as provide jackrabbit ecology discussions around the campfire. We will keep you posted on the development of this introductory program.

Robert S. Price, Arizona Strip wildlife manager supervisor,
with the department for 18 years.

Robert is married and has two children, a teenage daughter and an adult son who is an Army Ranger currently deployed in Iraq. Both of them are accomplished and enthusiastic hunters and anglers.

Robert is a member of the the department’s Hunter Heritage Working Group, and has introduced many kids, on an informal basis, to hunting and fishing over the years. He submitted the following story:

“Greetings! Yesterday Selena, Ernie and I decided to go rabbit hunting. We were all sporting our .17HMRs, and excited to “go get ‘em”. So, off we went. The rabbit population was pretty healthy, and we did have a most excellent time!

However, Selena abandoned her Camelbak® pack and needed to go back to get it. I suggested she walk parallel to the road and take her gun. I asked, “Do you want to take more bullets?” She said she was okay and took off (with five bullets in her rifle).

She didn’t get 20 yards and two rabbits took off. There were a number of shots, punctuated by humorous “anecdotes” related to her ability to hit anything. I calmly asked her, “Need more bullets?” The response was a 13-year-old’s version of “no kidding.” She came back all fired up, and we loaded her up with more ammo, followed by some fatherly advice to take more time, squeeze the trigger, and to sit or kneel.

This time, her aim was true, and by the time she retrieved her backpack and returned, she had as many rabbits as dad, and she reminded me of this several times!

Ernie commented that we were hitting some of those rabbits further out than you get most deer, and he told Selena, “Hey, deer hunting will be no problem for you!”

As stated before, we had a most excellent time yesterday. Rabbit hunting is fun, even for us old guys, and especially when you take a kid. Here’s a photo of Selena with some of the day’s harvest.”

Darren Tucker, Prescott-area wildlife manager,
with the department for 15 years.

Darren, a committee member with the department’s Hunting Heritage Work Group, works with the Sportsman’s Roundtable, and Hunter Awareness and Appreciation clinics. Darren shared this story of a very early introduction to hunting big game:

Attached is a photo of my recent pig hunt with my girls (ages 4 and 6).

I haven’t even applied in several years because to be honest with you, I’m not a huge fan of javelina as table-fare. However, my older daughter has been bugging me to take her hunting for something besides ducks and coyotes for several years now.

Anyway, with pig tag and rifle in hand, the three of us headed out last Monday after school. They both made the three-fourths of a mile stalk with me and even used their little Bushnell binoculars to look at him.

It was awesome – they were able to witness the entire hunt firsthand.”

Kathy Boyer, Phoenix headquarters customer service representative, with the department for 8 years.

If you ever visited the old department office on Greenway Road, you probably met or saw Kathy. She is extremely knowledgable in most department policies, licenses, regulations, draw processes, boating registration and more! Kathy has shot firearms and hunted small game, but this year was her first big game hunt. When she shared her story she was beyond excited, especially since her and her son both harvested pigs the same day of the past general javelina season. She recounts her feelings saying:

“We were just about done for the day. We had not seen any sign or any javelina all day and we were about to give up. We went up one more hill when my husband said, ‘there they are’.

It was about a 200-yard shot and was almost the most exciting thing I have dealt with. We all had a great time on the hunt.”