Personally I find it hard to catch up with friends and get out with them on a hunt. Itís because Iím often doing the Master Bowhunter Award thing. The awardís maths is done on a week by week basis because if I get behind on harvesting trophy class game it makes it near impossible later on in the year to catch up. Those years Iíve got the MB award Iíve always had to hunt deep into December. So sharing hunts with friends when Iím working on the MB award ñ it just doesnít happen. This year was a bit different though, a bit more casual and Iíve had the fun of introducing a few friends to bowhunting. Itís been really rewarding. So have a think about sharing your adventures with a non-hunter, I promise youíll have a great timeÖ

Jake is my neighbours young fella and heís always shooting his bow. Over the fence I asked if he was up for a fox. Next morning the lights were on in their house at 4am and he was waiting at my truck at 4.59am. One minute early – clearly keen. There was no point trying to beat the summer sunrise, this being a quiet farm, I knew weíd see a few even if we got there ëlateí. As it turned out two is not exactly a few, but itís a lot better than none. The last fox of the morning was moving through timber on its way to the old piggery sheds. Everything went textbook, I got Jake on the right spot, called the fox in to 12m like it was on a string and he got an arrow away. He missed, yes, but who cares, weíve all done that. An opportunity to convert is the job of the guide, so my job was done. Jake did really well and also did everything I asked of him and no doubt learned a thing or two about thing or two to get a fox next time.

It was good watching Jake get that shot away. I also enjoyed passing on those tricks you just have to know to have any chance at predator calling. And thereís lots of tricks. If you plan on taking someone out for their first hunt, use the road trip there to switch them on so they know what to expect. Remember rule number one – itís got to be fun. Iíve been on lots of guided hunts and all the good guides do the same thing ñ they work their tail off for their guest. But that doesnít mean you shouldnít hunt either. The recipe that works best for me is to take turns at each calling spot – only one hunter is on point. This way thereís little chance of spoiling an opportunity and thereís maximum freedom for the shooter to make their moves without having to factor in anotherís. The ëotherí guy has the camera and his/her bow is on the ground. The big plus with this recipe is now youíve got a camera catching all the action. As soon as one of you gets a result, that person is then out and all the remaining hunting opportunities for the day then go to the otherÖ until they score that isÖ