Today, it’s pretty easy to find yourself insulated from real outdoors and hunting experiences if it isn’t a part of your family’s lifestyle. This is especially true if you’re a kid and you don’t have a guiding figure to introduce you to the life outside.

That’s where Outdoors Network International has found a way it can make an impact. As part of their services to the community, they provide immersive hunting and fishing opportunities in austere locations to kids who may not normally get that chance back at home. Their goal is to pass along the idea of our American outdoors heritage and inspire the next generation of outdoors enthusiasts. On top of their support to kids, they provide wounded veterans the chance to attend and help mentor these enthusiasts in training by pairing them up with the kids to teach them how to operate and thrive in the outdoors. A few of us from Magpul were fortunate enough to take some time off to help out with their latest trip to northern Montana for some big game hunting.

It’s cold in Montana, and the temps drop down close to zero every few days, adding an extra layer to the experience. Snow comes and goes, but mostly it just blows around and repositions itself every night. The small stoves in everyone’s tents have to be fed throughout the night, so there’s a lot of replenishing the woodpile, and the children and adults both take turns chopping it for the next meal or the next cold night. The phones don’t work out there, so the focus on the experience is total. Groups of twos or more show up for a few days and then move on; they share the opportunity to spend some real time away with strangers and walk away with new friends and stories their friends will hardly believe.

Zeroing your rifle. Transportation. Deciding a plan of action. All things necessary to having a successful hunt.

 

Over the course of two weeks, children and adults come and go from the base camp, where everyone lives in canvas tents and takes their meals from the small but well-stocked chow hall. Throughout the day, hunters head out in small groups and set out into the wilderness for a few hours or the whole day, looking for mule deer, whitetail, antelope and elk. Few come back without a story to tell of long stalks, exciting action, and the long haul back with their quarry. The barn where their bounty is stored quickly fills with enough meat to feed everyone for months, and no one leaves in the end empty-handed.

Outdoors Network International has found a crossroad between children wanting to experience hunting and military veterans looking to continue serving their fellow man. They’ve established a simple, yet effective program dedicated to allowing veterans to share their knowledge and expertise with these children. With its one-of-a-kind environment, Montana is the perfect backdrop for this outdoor classroom.