Northwest Sportsman – August 2019

148 Northwest Sportsman AUGUST 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com

HUNTING

quite often with new hunters, and

it’s OK. In fact, it’s quite preferable

to having your charge go to the plug,

turn around, and ask, “What was

that?” Or worse, turn around after

having fired two of three rounds,

point the gun in your chest, and say,

“Dude! How did I miss!!??”

It all goes back to basic firearm

safety, coupled with you taking the

time to dissect thoroughly each and

every shoot/don’t shoot situation.

No, it doesn’t have to be boring. You

don’t have to come across as The

Bad Guy or a horse’s ass. But you

need to be firm and complete in your

explanation of each instance.

DON’T LIKE QUESTIONS? You might not

be a good mentor, because you’re

going to face a barrage of them.

If you don’t get them, something’s

wrong. Maybe a young person is too

shy to ask. Or doesn’t know what to

ask. Or maybe, with an adult, it’s a

pride issue. “I don’t wanna look like

an idiot,” they’re thinking.

Well, another of your roles as

mentor is to squash those bugs

immediately. Encourage questions.

Ask open-ended questions of your

mentee, those that can’t simply be

answered with a “yes” or a “no.”

Make these new folks feel comfortable

asking this or that. If you have to use

the old cliché – there are no dumb

questions – then use it. The only way

they’re going to learn is to ask.

And to have them do it. It’s

important to remember that your role

as teacher involves teaching, and not

simply doing everything because the

pace isn’t what you think it should be.

There was a time, and not too

long ago, when I didn’t possess the

patience I have now. Yes, and for

those who know me, I’m sure that’s

tough to believe, but it’s true. So,

and as a man o’ little patience, I often

found it quicker just to do things,

e.g. set a decoy spread, position the

boat, stubble the blinds, build a blind,

pluck a duck, and so on, as opposed

to 1) teaching the art, and 2) watching

someone struggle with something it’s

taken me 40 years to do correctly at

least 50 percent of the time.

So either learn to have patience, or

build in a little bit of extra time when

you’re afield. Or better yet, do both.

Whichever you choose, explain the

process, perhaps with the disclaimer,

“There are many ways of doing this;

however, this is the way I do it in this

particular situation,” and explain it

well. Then answer the questions. As

’fowling veterans, it’s easy for you

and I to take things for granted, to

assume that people, especially adults,

understand what we’re doing and

why we’re doing it that way.

HERE’S A FOR-INSTANCE, and a teaching

tactic I used recently. During the

2018-19 goose season, I began taking

a young man – one of my sophomores

at a Lower Columbia high school –

goose hunting. Ashden had a bit of

self-taught duck hunting experience,

but because his people were big game

Don’t like questions? Mentoring might not be for you, because there will

• and should – be a ton from your charge, from the time you head afield
  until you pick up the dekes, and beyond, and that’s a good thing and
  opportunity for you to explain why we do what we do. (JULIA JOHNSON)