16th Annual Kinlock Hunt Creates New Hunters
Mark Fike
On November 13th, after a COVID year hiatus, Mac Mclennan, who was the Huntmaster along with Miss Wanda, Mac’s wife, landowner Bruce Lee, and Matt Lafley, President of Hounds F4R Heroes and sponsor of the hunt, held the sixteenth annual Kinloch Farm Youth Hunt. Sixteen youth showed up for the hunt, many from the King George Outdoor Club, and a few others that Matt Lafley and Bruce Lee knew also attended.
What makes the Kinlock Farm Youth Hunt different than any other youth hunt you might ask? I would answer with, “It is the organization of the people running it and how they run it.”
I have been part of numerous youth hunts. Many of them are quite well run and a few not well run at all. However, the youth hunt at Kinlock Farm is the best run youth deer hunt for new hunters in recent memory that I have been a part of.
For starters the hunting itself is done on a gorgeous 1400+ acre farm that is intensively managed by Bruce Lee and his hunt club members. They generously give of their time as well as their deer herd to allow the kids to enjoy an exciting day afield where prospects are always good that deer will be seen. This year Bruce offered Mac and the kids opening day to hunt when deer movement would be much better and coincide with the rut.
The location also includes a great venue in a big metal building with a restroom, sink, counter space, oven and plenty of space to fellowship. The club members allow the kids to use their personal box blinds and stands that are strategically placed all over the property.
Second, the order of the hunt events are perfect. Youth and their parents arrive at 10:30, check in with Mac or Miss Wanda and then fellowship while everyone arrives. Next Mac starts his safety brief and the youth all get to go outside to have a shooting competition to warm up and get their trigger fingers working for any potential shots at deer.
After the smoke clears and winners are announced back in the building, the local Conservation Police Officer, Officer Dobyns, gives a few safety and legal reminders for the youth and takes questions from the group before the eating began. Each year Mac and Miss Wanda make cowboy beans and BBQ and hot dogs and sides are available too. There is always some incredible mac and cheese to go with it. The meal is perfect to get bellies warm before the hunt begins.
This year’s shooting competition winners were as follows, Sydney Simmons first place. Second place was a tough one to figure out. Three youth tied for second after the first volley of shots. Mac was holding all three targets up together and I kid you not, each of those three targets had the same hole through all three of them as if the papers were stacked when one bullet went through them. Those shooters vying for the second place spot included Cameron Rexroud, Rebecca Abel and Joseph Karle. When the second set of targets were analyzed, Rebecca Abel won second place followed by Cameron Rexroud with third. A deer processing knife set, a ground blind and a trail camera were the prizes the youth were happy to receive. This is the first year where there was a three way tie for second place. There have been shoot offs to determine tie breakers before not for three youth!
After lunch, Bruce Lee and his club members began sorting out who was going to which stand for the afternoon hunt. Meanwhile, some last minute tweaking of sights was done by Zaccheus Ware and his father. This was a good thing as his scope on his brand new CVA Wolf rifle that his parents purchased for him was hitting a bit low. The adjustment made on the range proved to be wise and to the detriment to a nice buck later that evening. As hunters and mentors were heading out to their assigned stands I heard many of the youth wishing each other a great hunt, a sign of sportsmanship and excitement for sure.
I had the honor of sitting in a nice stand big enough to camp in with Sydney Simmons. He was on his first hunt ever and using a Traditions Buckstalker rifle that Muzzle-Loaders.com donated to the club for the hunt. While we were setting up shop in the enclosed stand, Syd asked me a few questions about hunting, how far the rifle could effectively be used etc… I ranged a few spots around us and called out those ranges to him so he had an idea where he could shoot and then I explained that although the most action would likely occur the last hour or so of daylight, it was the rut and we were on an intensively managed farm. I no sooner said that and glanced back over my shoulder to the clover patch and noticed a doe feeding in the middle of it. I hissed, “Deer!” to Syd and he got his rifle up while I ranged the animal. It was 95 yards out at that point but well within the range of the Traditions Buckstalker and Syd’s abilities.
When he dropped the hammer, nothing happened. I was stunned. He cocked the rifle and again, nothing happened. It was then we determined I dropped the ball and forgot to tell him to put a primer in the rifle! Dumb me almost cost him his first deer. Syd took it in stride and calmly pulled out a primer and put it in his rifle and sent a round through the doe. I got down and walked to where I thought it was and after some communication back and forth could not find blood but I had complete confidence in his shooting. I knew he hit the doe and it had to be nearby. So, I found what looked like a deer trail going into the woods from the plot and advised Syd to follow it and see if he found blood or the deer piled up somewhere. He soon was able to notch a tag and learn to field dress his first deer with the knife set he won!
When we got back to the clubhouse other youth started showing up and several had their first deer. Mac’s phone rang with news of a deer down and club members went to help retrieve the deer. Tucker Fox got his first deer, a big doe. Zaccheus Ware shot a nice buck. Hannah Abel was hunting with her grandpa and I am not sure who was happier, him or Hannah! She got a big doe. Four of the youth harvested deer and most of the other youth saw deer to include some nice bucks.
The event was a success and the youth were all excited to gather around and see the deer their new friends got. The hunt club pulled jaw bones for DMAP purposes and weighed the deer as congratulations were said all around. Due to the efforts of the adults mentioned at the beginning of this article, many new hunters were made that day. While not all the youth were able to take home a deer, those that were not were excited to get back out there and keep at it. There is a rabbit and possibly a goose hunt for some of the youth being set up and who knows, maybe another chance at a deer.
A big thanks goes out to Mac, Miss Wanda, Bruce Lee and his club members, Matt Lafley and Hounds F4R Hereos for their sponsorship of the hunt as well as the parents for their support. Thanks also to Muzzle-Loaders.com and Mossberg for their donation of firearms for the youth to use on the hunt. Big Dog Outfitters in King George provided ammunition for some practice shoots prior to the hunt to get the youth acquainted with firearms. Last, this event was also supported by the 2019 Virginia Wildlife Grant

Friday, April 16th turned out to be a good weather day with just enough chill in the air to keep away mosquitoes and require a jacket or long sleeves. Sgt. Spuchesi of VDWR, a supervisor of conservation officers in the district, annually holds the fishing event with the intent of giving kids and their families a chance to try fishing and learn about the various gamefish that inhabit our local waters.
This year there were 30+ people that were able to attend the event. Entire families showed up to fish for free in a private pond for bass, bluegill, sunfish and crappie.  Some youth were able to reel in their first fish ever. The KG Outdoor Club had loaner rods on hand for those that needed to borrow them. Catfish Kelly’s in Stafford County donated the night crawlers and minnows for the event. Catfish Kelly’s has been a big supporter of the event over the past few years and their efforts are appreciated.
Experienced youth that previously attended, came out to fish as well and brought friends or family with them. Attendees were spread out all around the pond with plenty of space for all. Most of the fish caught were small sunfish but a few crappie and bass were caught too and a few of the sunfish were nice sized.
It was fun to hear some of the younger youth excitedly yelling about getting a bite or reeling one in. “I got one, I got one!” was the reason Sgt. Spuchesi and I enjoy having this event. Some youth learned how to safely hold the fish so as not to get punctured by the spines on the fish. A few were taught about holding the fish by the mouth, so the fish’s slime remains on the fish to protect it from bacteria and viruses in the water.
Some of the families made it an informal competition to see who could catch the most fish, but honestly the main goal that was most certainly achieved was getting people outdoors to enjoy some fishing and learn a little bit. Given the smiles on faces and the pleasant banter back and forth I would say that the event was a success.
This program is supported by the 2019 Virginia Wildlife Grant Program through a partnership between the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources and the Wildlife Foundation of Virginia.
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Youth are building the bird feeders and bluebird houses now and some photos are already coming in. With weather inbound, hopefully the birds will get to flock to feeders and the youth will watch their handiwork be used.
Youth and parents... please e-mail your photos to mfike@kgcs.k12.va.us so we can post them. We welcome birds using your feeder and houses and photos of you guys putting them together!
Thanks to Mr. Dishman at Central Park Lowes for helping us out with the wood and screws!
This program is supported by the 2019 Virginia Wildlife Grant Program through a partnership between the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources and the Wildlife Foundation of Virginia.

Each winter Conservation Police Officer Sgt. Spuchesi with VDWR, holds an annual youth rabbit hunt. He taps me to fill slots for the hunt as I know the kids well from school. Typically we choose youth that have attended our Hunter Education course and those that have participated in our introductory shooting events or other youth hunts we have held. Each year the demand from youth to get their name on the list for the hunt is quite high. This year I was hearing from youth that I was currently teaching that wanted to go on the rabbit hunt. As usual, interest was immediate and slots went fast.
Typically every youth gets shots at rabbits and often most will get a rabbit or sometimes more. Sgt. Spuchesi is very careful in how he hunts the property and how many rabbits he harvests from it. This year when he went to check the property out, he was a bit surprised to find that vegetation had grown quite tall, likely due to all the rain we had this year. Conditions on the ground were going to be tougher as visibility would be substantially less for the youth to spot a brown rabbit hopping in and out of dried brown weeds that were at times head high.
Despite that setback, Sgt. Spuchesi decided to give it a go. This is the hunt he really looks forward to each year. I could tell that he was disappointed that the terrain was so thick, but I could also tell he really wanted to see the youth get a chance to hunt.  His dogs are top notch and he knew they would not be slowed down chasing rabbits through the cover. The trick would be to get the youth decent shots.
We decided to choose youth that we knew well and could be completely trusted to double and triple check their target before throwing a load of shot downrange. With the cover so thick, we did not want a dog to unintentionally get hit.
The weather was very good for the hunt. Temperatures were cool, but not bitterly cold. The wind was not bad at all either. The sun came out and some clouds filtered in and out through the day.
After a prehunt safety brief by Sgt. Spuchesi which included a reminder about when it is safe to click safeties off, his daughter, Miss Katelyn, let the dogs roll out of the dog box and drop to the ground. They all immediately went looking for cover to put their noses in. They knew what their job was and were eager to do it.

Parents paired off with their youth hunter and scattered across the overgrown field to cover the area where the dogs historically had run rabbits. In less than five minutes a rabbit was jumped and the hunt was on. Rabbits were plentiful, but so was cover! The rabbits seemed to have a different tactic than in past youth hunts. On several occasions on this youth hunt the rabbits ran right over the feet of several of the youth. I thought TJ was going to do a rendition of the man in the Ray Stevens song, Mississippi Squirrel Revival.
In that song a squirrel runs up the pant leg of a man attending church. On our hunt I thought the rabbit was going to run up TJ’s pant leg! Then the rabbit stopped, looked up at TJ and threw on the afterburners. TJ got off a shot but it is nearly impossible to hit, but not destroy, a rabbit at that distance without ruining any meat. Later, another rabbit did the same thing to a different young hunter.
We had Grace, Chloe, TJ and Mason hunting with us that day. Grace had her grandpa observing her, Chloe’s stepdad stood with her, TJ had his stepdad and Mason’s dad came to hunt with him despite pulling an all night shift at his job.
The dogs ran extremely well. When the youth either did not get shots or missed, the pack of beagles including Dot, Little Man, Red, Little Red, Minnie Mouse and Artemis, all kept the rabbits moving and circled it back for another opportunity for the youth.
While the hunt was tougher due to the foliage, the youth stuck with it and ended up getting plenty of shots. A total of five rabbits were taken in a matter of a little over four hours of hunting.
I find it therapeutic to listen to the beagles run. They all have a distinct voice. Miss Katelyn was picking out which one was baying when I was standing near her. Any good houndsman or houndswoman, can tell you what is going on. They can tell the story of the hunt by listening to the dogs run. I could easily see that Katelyn enjoyed the dogs like her father as evidenced by her not even carrying a gun. She simply wanted to hear the dogs run.
The wagging tails gave away their position in the weeds as that was about all we could see much of the time. Some of the dogs are jump dogs or lead dogs and some run in the middle backing up the leaders and one or two dogs might be on the caboose of that four footed, tail wagging, train double checking the scent in the event the train gets off track or overruns the trail. It amazes me how the dogs work as a team and get the job done. Sgt. Spuchesi’s dogs are superb at their job and he expects no less.
Sgt. Spuchesi and I would like to thank the youth for coming out, so he had a chance to work his dogs and I had a chance to listen to the music they made. We also want to thank the parents for supporting not only their youth, but the King George Outdoor Club. Finally, we want to be sure and mention that we could not do this without the support of the Rappahannock Spurs Chapter of National Wild Turkey Foundation (NWTF). They often provide supplies and other things we need. They sponsored this hunt as an outreach event and covered us with liability insurance.
If you are reading this story and care about wildlife, particularly turkeys, but other wildlife too, and/or you support hunting and youth, you really should consider joining the NWTF. They do a LOT of good work for conservation and wildlife and they hold youth, women and disabled outdoor programs too. NWTF online membership sign up
If you sign up now, you will get a $25 Bass Pro Shops gift card which replaces most of what you spent getting the $35 membership. You will also get 6 issues of Turkey Country Magazine. This is a top notch magazine with conservation news, recipes, readers’ stories, biology reports, and hunting tips as well as gear columns. NWTF online membership sign up
This program is supported by the 2019 Virginia Wildlife Grant Program through a partnership between the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Foundation of Virginia.

KG Outdoor Club Recruits and Retains Hunters in Partnership with NWTF
Mark Fike
Recruiting and retaining hunters is a high priority across the nation. VDGIF and outdoorsmen and women in Virginia are certainly doing their part to ensure our outdoor heritage gets passed to an ever evolving new generation that is drifting further from the outdoors.
Part of that effort is the King George Outdoor Club founded by Sgt. Frank Spuchesi of VDGIf and myself back in 2011. Each year we introduce kids to a variety of outdoor activities to include fishing and hunting. One of our annual hunts is the upland hunt where we have partnered with the NWTF local chapter, Rappahannock Spurs, Rose Hill Game Preserve near Culpeper, and Big Dog Outfitters in King George.
NWTF has raised funds to pay for the birds and hunt at Rose Hill Game Preserve while Rose Hill provides professional guiding and mentoring services, clay shooting practice and Big Dog Outfitters has provided shells for the hunt and practice either through a donation or at a great price.
For six years we have taken 6-8 youth out to “recruit” them into hunting by providing a place to hunt where the youth will definitely see birds and get a chance to shoot. Hunting upland birds is tricky because there are so many moving parts and that requires care when choosing youth to go on this hunt. It also requires strong safety training.
This year the Rappahannock Spurs continued their commitment to recruit hunters by again sponsoring the morning hunt. Six youth were chosen. There were three girls and three boys. All the kids had hunted before, but had very limited experience and were still learning. We always start our year with some clays practice in the weeks prior to the hunt so the kid have a chance to hit moving targets and more importantly, they develop habitual safety practices such as putting on their safety after each shot without even thinking about it.
The morning of our hunt, the weather was very chilly and misting rain. Dean Sheetz had the kids and parents sign in and then we all headed down the five stand range to warm the kids up on clays prior to the hunt. Matt, the farm manager, instructed the kids on their shooting technique, effectively fine tuning any instruction the parents or I had done prior to the trip.
Grace, a new hunter from King George, had just received a new over and under Savage 20 gauge that her father purchased for her. On the first few shots out of the gun she was busting clays. We knew at that point the gun fit her very well and she was destined to a great day. Layla and Chloe had hunted before but were still learning a lot about it. They were also knocking clays down with regularity.
Grant, TJ and Sam showed that their previous practices paid off well because they were also breaking clays and when a clay thrown from a certain direction gave them a challenge, they listened to what Matt told them and soon started breaking those too. We were ready to hit the fields and experience upland hunting for chukar!
After reloading game vests with shells and having a safety brief, the group dispersed in pairs with parents and the guides to the sorghum fields below. Soon the shots from the kids were heard followed occasionally by, “I got it!” or “Yeah!” or “Way to go!”
All of the youth harvested multiple birds that Rose Hill generously allotted for the kids. Then the youth arrived back at the cleaning station and began learning how to clean their own birds. The guides, Kirby, Kathy, and Mike gave a good tutoring session on how to dress out their harvest. They showed a lot of patience as the kids slowly worked through the process.
Each year at our recruitment hunt we have the guides watch the youth and determine who will receive a “Safe Hunter Award” which Julie Abel, Rappahannock Spurs president, has always provided. This year the guides simply could not choose which youth was the safest. They said EVERY youth had exercised great judgement in the field. No youth swung and took or attempted an unsafe shot. When a bird flew back over everyone’s head, they stopped swinging and let it go. Safeties were on, barrels kept pointed in safe directions, the whole nine yards.
That put me in a predicament as we had to choose someone. Thankfully, Julie Abel came to the rescue. She bought some cool looking NWTF shirts and outfitted every kid with one for showing great judgement and safety in the field. We definitely want the kids to have a good time and hope they harvest birds, but ultimately we want them to do this safely. All the kids were thrilled. Julie was a lifesaver for me!
Before the youth departed, they went and thanked their guides personally and they also provided each guide a tip for the time they spent with them and allowing them to see their dog work and retrieve birds for them. The whole experience was a winner all the way around. The cold, damp, mist did not dampen spirits one bit. Each youth left with a great memory shared with a parent, a bag of chukar to eat and a cool T shirt to cap off a wonderful experience.
No sooner had the “recruit” group departed, the “retain” group was getting their gear together as they had shown up as we were finishing up the post hunt brief from the morning. This time we had youth that had hunted before but either had never had a chance to harvest game despite trying multiple times, or they were about to go off to college next year and we wanted to encourage them to keep hunting in their life.
We went through the same procedure as the morning, only the shooting down at the clay range was even more on target and most of the clays were getting broken with regularity. After the safety brief by Matt, the youth and parents split into 2 groups and went afield with Kirby and Kathy.
I have to pause here in the account of the youth hunt and put in a shout out to the guides at Rose Hill. The guides are not just great guides. They are personable and they customize their hunts to fit the needs of the people. Kathy, Kirby and Mike take the time to educate their hunter on their dogs, the habitat, the birds and why they do things the way they do. They simply care about what they are doing and it shows. I could not ask for a better crew to work with the young people.
Shots soon were ringing out as the groups were walking the fields and enjoying the German Shorthaired Pointers work. Kathy had Pickles with her and Pickles, like any GSP, had a lot of energy and swept back and forth like a pro finding the birds and then retrieving them as they were taken down to include a few that were wounded and flew a distance from us.
At the end of this hunt, the youth excitedly cleaned their supper and thanked their guides after a group photo. There were three hunters out of the five in this group that had never harvested an animal before. This retention event made hunting a realistic venture for them in the future. They now knew they had the ability to take their own food, legally, safely and in a traditional, fun manner. They learned that hunting is a great pastime and I heard them all talking about going hunting again soon. I’d say that was mission accomplished!   
We could not have done this afternoon hunt without the assistance of the Virginia Wildlife Grant Program, https://www.dgif.virginia.gov/shopdgif/virginia-wildlife-grant-program/ Rose Hill Game Preserve https://www.rosehillgamepreserve.com/and staff, and Big Dog Outfitters http://www.bigdog-outfitters.com/ in King George. All three have been incredibly supportive in this hunt, so that the kids did not have to pay a dime other than their fuel to get to the hunt and a hunting license. We hope they will use that hunting license this fall too!
This program is supported by the 2019 Virginia Wildlife Grant Program through a partnership between the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Foundation of Virginia.

Senior Youth Hunters Enjoy Hunting with Conservation Police Officer
Mark Fike
Monday February 17th was MUCH warmer than our previous rabbit hunt put on by Sgt. Spuchesi of VDGIF. What a difference some warmer temperatures and less wind can make! As with our previous hunt, we met at the local Sheetz store near the King George Middle School and then followed Sgt. Spuchesi and his friend and our outdoor club mentor, Roger Summers, to the lease where Sgt. Spuchesi has held our rabbit hunts over the past few years.
This hunt was primarily held for the older youth that have been hunting with us for a few years with the hopes we will retain them in our tradition. Alina and her sister, Kayla, have taken rabbits, geese, pheasants, and deer with us over the past four years and they were enthusiastic in wanting to go afield again.  They are also good shots.
Mason Long has taken rabbits, pheasant, and deer with us (we need to get him on a goose hunt) and he is a very mature and trustworthy young man. Scott Mendenhall is currently in my science class and is a good student. Even though he has not hunted with us before and had not harvested an animal prior to our hunt I knew he would fit in just fine.
Sgt. Spuchesi’s beagles did not disappoint. I stood with Alina at the upper end of the cover we were hunting. The dogs were running towards us when Alina commented that her eyesight was not that great. I never remembered her saying that before, so I turned toward her to be sure I heard her correctly. Apparently she thought she would have a hard time picking out a rabbit moving through the brown brush and briars ahead of us. I knew she was a safe hunter and I never doubted her decision making when it came to shooting or not in the previous years.
Well, it turns out she was playing a trick on me even though she adamantly denies snookering me on her eyesight. I say that because I spotted a rabbit tearing through the brush some 25 yards out. The brush was thick and I was losing it briefly and spotting it again, and I have hunted rabbits a lot over the years.
I noticed the rabbit burst out of the briar patch and it was speeding through some brown grass when Alina pulled her 870 up and rolled him in a split second as if it were nothing. I was ecstatic and jumped up and down before giving her a one armed hug and a “Way to shoot!”
Her sister and Mason soon joined in the fun from their position over a hundred yards away when rabbits made the mistake of going by them. They got busy adding to the supper pile. Next, Scott was able to get in on the action and set up not far from Alina. A rabbit was scooting ahead of the dogs and made the mistake to pause just long enough to let Scott send a load of shot to him putting another rabbit in the bag.
As the morning ticked away, the dogs kept the rabbits hopping everywhere. We had rabbits running behind us, to the sides and in front of us. Sometimes the dogs would split tracks when two rabbits got jumped at the same time. They were superb and kept the action going. Every once in a while we would see a rabbit burst out of the cover and hightail it across the field for the next county. Sgt. Spuchesi would bring the dogs back around to get on another of the numerous rabbits in the cover.
As I stated in the last article, the youth get his full attention on these hunts. He leaves these spots alone just so the kids can get the best chance at having a great time afield. This is a very unselfish act on his part and additionally to his credit, he commented that the youth hunts have become his favorite hunts of the year to include comparing to his own personal hunts. Seeing a young person enjoy being outside, their smiles as they heft up their rabbits, or hearing their comments as they retell how the dogs ran by them chasing the rabbit is sweet to his ears and the mentors’ too.
We are grateful for the opportunity to take the kids out and see them have a great time. Sgt. Spuchesi and Rogers Summers are excellent mentors with the rabbit hunts. I think they have as much fun or more than the kids sometimes.
Each youth bagged multiple rabbits which we cleaned at the end of the day so they could enjoy them at home.
We would like to also thank NWTF Rappahannock Spurs for supporting this hunt.  This program is supported by the 2019 Virginia Wildlife Grant Program through a partnership between the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Foundation of Virginia.

January 20th was one of the few really cold days we have experienced thus far in 2020. With temperatures below freezing and a windchill definitely below freezing, it took a hardy soul and a motivated individual to want to go stand in the weather and wind all day long to hunt.
The annual Sgt. Spuchesi youth rabbit hunt had a number of interested young hunters. In fact, we had a waiting list. In the end, the four chosen youth did not give up their spots to anyone on standby and they arrived at the meeting spot to convoy over to the property where we were to hunt.
Meghan Marchetti, VDGIF Media Outreach Specialist, and professional photographer, also tagged along to document this incredible hunt. Upon arriving at the property and disembarking the trucks, we all layered up with clothing, donned blaze orange and pulled our gear out before gathering around Sgt. Spuchesi.
Sgt. Spuchesi gave a safety brief, discussed the plan of the day and reviewed regulations regarding rabbit hunting. Everyone understood what we were about to do and excitement rose as our huntmaster went over to his truck and dropped the tailgate.
Beagles had been whining with pent up energy with the anticipation of the job they were about to do and eagerly went to work with their anxious tails wagging as their noses snorted up the scents off the cold ground. When that gates on the dog boxes opened, the four legged tracking pros dropped off and instantly began to go to work. They fanned out to some nearby briars and a thicket which resulted in a rabbit jumped. I glanced at my watch. A mere few minutes had passed since the thud of the tailgate dropping. Sgt. Spuchesi’s dogs are amazing!
As much as I laud the credit to the dogs and their master’s training, I have to also point toward the fact that Sgt. Spuchesi also takes care to save this piece of property he leases just for the youth to have a great hunt. He does not hunt the parcel until the kids get a chance at it first. Then he still is very careful to limit rabbit harvests so that future youth hunts will be spectacular.
This particular hunt was just that. Layla, Grace, Grant and Sam were spaced apart and the dogs were quick to run a rabbit to the two girls. The rabbits were fast and the first few shots were missed, but the dogs kept working the rabbits and bringing them back around to the youth. As experience grew, the youth understood what was about to happen and the next time a rabbit darted past Grace she bagged it. In fact, Grace bagged several rabbits. The dogs would chase a rabbit through the thick cover, Grace would check to see if it was a safe shot and if not, the dogs moved the rabbit up the hill, through some cover and back down in a few minutes. Layla would also shoot a time or two and then she connected and learned how the hunt was done.
This pattern continued for a few hours as the youth began learning how rabbit hunting worked. Sgt. Spuchesi and his friend, Roger Summers, worked the cover and kept the dogs moving. The dogs were determined and kept driving rabbits through the briars despite the cold and wind.
The wind chill definitely bit us and we frequently had to put our trigger fingers in our pockets. I am proud to say I never heard the young people complain at all. They kept alert like hawks watching for movement, checking for safe shooting corridors and taking shots when they saw an opportunity.
Every youth on the hunt got at least one rabbit thanks to their adult mentors, their dogged determination, the hard work of Sgt. Spuchesi and Roger Summers, and obviously the noses and baying of the best rabbit dogs I have ever seen.
When the hunt was over, Sgt. Spuchesi and I showed the kids how to dress out a rabbit and we let the youth try cleaning their own rabbits too. No one was squeamish at all. The parents looked on as this played out.
Over the next few days I heard from the youth how good the rabbit was for supper. In fact, Grace brought a container of the rabbit stew she made with her mom and gave it to me for lunch. She said the stew was so good she had to share. I was very honored to share in her first rabbit hunt meal.
We are very proud of the youth and very thankful our local Conservation Police Officer and his friend were willing to use their day off to unselfishly share a great rabbit hunting spot with the youth of our region. This is an incredible opportunity for the youth and they were very appreciative also. A total of 8 rabbits were bagged in a few hours of hunting.
VDGIF CPOs put a lot of hours in interacting with the public. Efforts like this youth hunt that Sgt. Spuchesi hosts is a great example of positive publicity and one that the kids will never forget. How many kids can say they got to go hunt with a CPO?
This program is supported by the 2019 Virginia Wildlife Grant Program through a partnership between the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Foundation of Virginia.

The King George Outdoor Club youth recently met at King George Middle School after classes to learn more about birds wintering in our area. Assistant leader, K.D. Fike, presented a PowerPoint on identifying birds to the students.
She went over the basic types of birds, how to tell what the birds feed on by beak type and also how to ID them by markings and their feet type. Some markings are on the wings, head, crests and neck. Students were presented with field guides provided by a grant from VDGIF and the Wildlife Foundation of Virginia for learning how to identify birds.
At the end of the PowerPoint Presentation, K.D. challenged the students to ID the various birds that are commonly in Virginia on her remaining slides. The youth with the greatest amount of correct identifications won a pair of binoculars. The young man that won was Zach Pardee and the young lady that won was Emma Thomas but there were several youth that were tied resulting in a run off challenge.
After the PowerPoint, students chose between a bird feeder or a squirrel house to build and take home. The wood and screws were donated by Lowes at Central Park in Fredericksburg. Students were given basic safety instruction to keep moms happy and Urgent Care doctors less busy, and then a prototype of the bird feeder and the squirrel house were left as examples on tables. Students were also given a run down on the process and order in which to build each project correctly.
VDGIF’s CPO Matt Dean was in attendance and assisted with helping the kids line up edges and assemble the precut pieces and safely screw them together. CPO Dean was able to work with several students throughout the few hours we spent with the kids.
As the students were working on their projects they soon found that teamwork was much more efficient and easier for them than going it alone in assembling their bird feeders and squirrel houses.
By the end of the hour, bird feeders were coming together nicely and students were quickly gaining skills in using basic power tools. As we came to the end of our event, students were given bird seed to stock their feeders or they were given pine shavings to start their squirrel houses.
We could see the sense of accomplishment in their eyes as they left and many stopped to thank us for holding the event. CPO Dean was a big help and the kids were thrilled to have him with us. His laid back demeanor was a good fit with the teenagers. His help with the project building was invaluable too.
We also want to thank Mrs. Pardee, a mathematics teacher at KGMS for stopping in and helping us too. She stuck with one of our students assisting him after the event until his feeder was complete.
National Wild Turkey Federation’s Rappahannock Spurs Chapter insured our event, Lowes donated the wood and screws for the kids and the K.G. Middle School allowed us to meet at the school and use the room.
“This program is supported by the 2019 Virginia Wildlife Grant Program through a partnership between the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Foundation of Virginia.” 

King George Outdoor Club Paints Decoys
Mark Fike
As part of our club’s outdoor education goal, we took on a new event this year. We have done some waterfowl hunting presentations in the past, but we have not focused on waterfowl and the physiology of the birds.
This year Matt Limbrick (teacher and outdoor club leader) and I decided that we would get some decoys for the youth to paint and also provide a fact sheet for kids to learn about the particular species that they were going to paint. Limbrick is part of a waterfowling forum online and he put the word out what we were planning on doing and immediately got a response from a generous hunter who provided us with primed and unpainted decoys for the youth to paint.
I was able to contact Autumn Wings, a company in Minnesota, that makes finished and unfinished decoys.  They were able to provide us with some mallard, gadwall, pintail, Oldsquaw and harlequin decoys for the kids to learn about and paint. wwww.autumnwings.com
Fortunately for us, a local company provided us with a great assortment of brushes for the kids to use. Home Depot stores in Fredericksburg supported us in a huge way with paint for the kids to use on the Autumn Wings decoys which called for a specific type of paint.
VDGIF and the Virginia Wildlife Foundation awarded us a grant last year that included funds for the mallard decoy paint for the plastic decoys.
The half dozen students that joined us for the event were really into the painting and were amazed at how many different colors and hues that ducks have on them. They took their time painting and wanted to have a second meeting to do the job correctly. To that point, now we are planning a third and last session to actually finalize the painting. Students were very meticulous in their painting which is not easy like some might think.
I want to thank my daughters, KD and Kristy, for taking off school and work to come help out and assist as needed. Without them we could not have the club.
 
This program is supported by the 2018 Virginia Wildlife Grant Program through a partnership between the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Wildlife Foundation of Virginia.

We had our annual spring fun shoot today. Although not all the youth were able to make it, a lot of our regular youth were able to make it. Alina, Kayla, William, Mason, Madison, Ashleigh, Lia, Elmery, Grant and a few others came over to shoot rimfire and shotgun. We also had Alina crank off a few muzzleloader rifle bullets. Alina took a huge buck two seasons ago with the muzzeloader and she has not lost her touch shooting the rifle at all.
Sgt. Frank Spuchesi, KGOC founder, Stephen Long, KD, and Kristy worked the ranges. Mr. Cahn and Mr. and Mrs. Berdeguez also pitched in to provide overwatch (THANK YOU!) and Miss Kitty came to support her two young ladies who are quite the shooters too.  Mrs. Paz joined her girls learning to shoot as well!
We had a FUN and SAFE time. I want to thank the young people for being safe and listening to the adults instructing them.
We want to give a HUGE thanks to Big Dog Outfitters in King George for supporting the youth of King George County by providing ammunition for this shoot. No way we could do this without you guys! https://www.facebook.com/BigDogOutfitters
This program is supported by the 2018 Virginia Wildlife Grant Program through a partnership between the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Wildlife Foundation of Virginia.
Thanks to Julie Abel and the Rappahannock Spurs Chapter of NWTF for always supporting and making these events a possibility.