Helping New Hunters Is Not Selfless

And here’s why I'm not afraid to admit that.

I spend a fair amount of my core hunting season helping new hunters, which typically means sacrificing a whole day or weekend when I could otherwise be filling my own freezer.

Helping new hunters is work: finding loaner gear for them, monitoring their gun handling to keep everyone safe, explaining what we’re doing and why, coaching them toward success, helping them understand that failure is hella normal. If we are successful in the field, it also means teaching them how to process game.

As much as I’d love to tell you that I do this because I’m a noble, selfless human being, I can’t. I’m neither noble nor selfless. For me, this work has more than a little self-interest.

Case in point: