Plains youth gets hunt of a lifetime

A Plains girl and her father were given the hunting opportunity of a lifetime, getting to stay at the Boone and Crockett Club's Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch near Dupuyer, Montana, and hunt for her first deer on one of the surrounding ranches. Karissa French was one of five first-time hunters selected for this year's First Hunt on the Front event through the First Hunt Foundation. This was the third year the organization has held the hunt, and it brought in families from across Montana to help first-time hunters get a premier hunting experience, at no cost to them.

French was joined by her father, Beau French, and they were given four days free lodging with food, gas and travel expenses. "It is just really something that a group can host this kind of event for free. It's just really special," said Beau, speaking about the incredible opportunity his daughter was given. Since Karissa is 10 years old, her father had to act as her mentor to allow her to hunt through Montana's Apprentice program, which allowed her to harvest a deer. According to Beau, it was "more than just the lessons that can be learned while they are out there hunting," referring to the young hunters. He explained that to him there are a lot of important life lessons a young hunter can learn. He explained that hunting allows for important family time.

The space opened for Karissa because two other first-time hunters backed out less than a month prior to the event. Rich Cotte, a mentor through First Hunt Foundation and director of the foundation's Connecting Heroes and Hunters program, reached out to the community for first-time hunters interested in jumping on the opportunity. When asked about her experience, Karissa said that she could not wait to go hunting again next year.

The event included lessons in sighting rifles, conservation, bear safety, meeting with landowners, stalking, field dressing and much more. Participants could either bring their own rifles or use ones provided by the foundation along with the provided ammunition. Hunts like this can cost upwards of thousands of dollars, and after donations, the foundation president Rick Brazell said the event cost around $3,500.

Brazell was assigned as a second mentor to Karissa through the foundation and was able to help her harvest a doe from a nearby ranch. "This was really kind of a once in a lifetime thing. How many people get to go to the Boone and Crockett Ranch for their first hunt?" said Brazell, who worked for the Forest Service in Idaho for more than 36 years. He started the foundation in 2015. He was also a scout master, which he believes is what prompted him to start the program for youth, however it has grown far past youth. The foundation now targets first-time hunters of all ages. It operates in 35 states and has programs focusing on everyone from women to veterans. "We're thinking long term," said Brazell, speaking about the declining numbers of hunters in the future. Brazell is worried, not because current numbers of hunters are low, but the average age of hunters is very high, and after they start to pass away not many will be left to carry on the traditions of hunting and conservation.

Brazell said a goal for the foundation is to teach thousands of people each year, and in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said there were over 6,000 registered mentor days through the program. According to the foundation, last year they had over 450 registered mentors. That number has grown to more than 620 this year nationwide.

The foundation receives help from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and donations from numerous other organizations, programs and companies. They have mentors in most states and can be contacted through a simple phone call or email. For more information, go to firsthuntfoundation.org. For those in Montana interested in learning more about First Hunt Foundation in Montana, the new state director is Scott Ball, and he can be reached at [email protected] or (406) 396-9409.