Respecting Others: The Gift of the Grouse Feather
Montana hunter education instructor Randy Allen has been an instructor for 15 years, and now he always shares this story. He says, "This is something that happened to me and my son last year that I now tell my classes about as a part of my ethics section."
This is how I was raised to treat other people when in the outdoors. It is not about what I did—I am not tooting my own horn—but it is about the reciprocation of a kind of respectful action. Let's face it, we have all done something right at one time or another only to have the other person ignore or disregard your kind act. The mutual respect for one another is the best thing to remember.
One September afternoon, my son and I decided to ride our motorbikes. We like to ride dirt roads to see what we can see so I usually choose an out-of-the-way place. One such place for us was way up Lolo Creek off the highway. We had been there in the spring and summer with hardly anyone else around. Now this was September, when it is bow, grouse and wood season, so I half-expected for other people be around.
I like to park is down an old, unused road that crosses this neat little stream and just beyond that a short distance is a landing from an old logging operation where I usually unload the bikes. As I pulled down there, I noticed a Jeep parked along the trail, with a shotgun-toting lady and her dog walking down the road just about at the stream. I didn't think much of it as in my mind, person + gun + dog = heading up or down the creek to hunt grouse, and I was only going about another 100 yards or so to park.
Well, just then a truck slowly came down the road with a load of wood on. I pulled in behind the Jeep to let him go by; he passes her and goes by me. I start back down the road toward the lady and her dog, and when she sees me her shoulders just drop like she is bummed, thinking, "too much traffic."
Seeing this, I quickly deduce that she wants to hunt up this little road instead of the creek, but she has given up and turned back to her Jeep. I pull up alongside of her as she walks back and quickly explain that I didn't want to mess up her hunt. I told her I had intended to only go a short ways further to unload the bikes, but since she was hunting, I would back up and go park behind her. We would then unload the bikes and go riding, but in the opposite direction. Her surprise and happiness at this turn of events was obvious and a heartfelt se gave me a heartfelt "thank you!" We parted and my son and I went for a ride.
A couple of times during the ride, I thought about her, wondering if she got anything and hoping she did. When we got back to the truck, she was gone, so we rode up where she had hunted just to look around. I hadn't been that direction before and it was a very pretty area, perfect for grouse.
We rode back to the truck and loaded up. When I got in behind the wheel and looked out the windshield, I saw something under my wiper blade. It was a tail feather from a ruffed grouse. I thought, "All right, she did get one." Then I showed it to my son, and I said, "see son, this is how it should be. She appreciated what we did for her so much that this is her way of saying thank you and 'I got one.'" What a great day that was!
Hunter education instructor Randy Allen with his son and the grouse feather they received as a gift.
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