The Big 8! - Thanks - And Happy New Year Wishes!

Nathan Theriault with the "Big 8"

Every now and then you wonder where the time goes. Life becomes busy and time to create your own adventures gets lost in the mix of all the other of life’s activities. 

After guiding my last November moose hunt, I took time for two separate personal adventures each with a one-of-a-kind friend. One adventure started with a friend’s trail camera over two years ago! It led to an arrow shot which put down a coveted “Big 8”! (I will share the second adventure in another blog.)

Over the many years of guiding I find clients often become friends. A few are hard to describe without creating a comic book character. Joe Shepard is one such character. He started hunting with me ten years ago. As an animal control officer his patrol covers the area around Framingham, Massachusetts. Joe has lived here his whole life, hunted, fished and has managed through the area’s housing and population boom to continue his outdoors traditions. These traditions have become apparent to me and without a doubt Joe is the best hunter and trapper I have ever met. Just taking a look at the bucks on his wall, and the racks that are not, are a true testament.

Joe’s a quiet legend, one who doesn't need to show his success nor does he need to boast about his life as a great outdoors-man. Joe loves to teach and has taught me to be the ultimate predator. 

Joe Shephard with Maine Black Bear

On many occasions, I have been blessed to be able to spend time with Joe and his wife Judy at their home on the lake in Framingham. When I arrived this December, Joe and I worked animal control calls for Joe's personal business and scouted a few areas for deer.  

Joe had his eyes on one particular buck before my visit. Trail camera pictures collected two years prior showed the buck would have great potential. For this reason, the area had not been hunted. While scouting we noticed a fresh scrape by Joe’s stand set in a cedar tree that had grown beside a dense and unkempt road. The rest is history. Thank you Joe.

Without a doubt, 2013 has been a year that has been filled with many opportunities and blessings. Whether it's the filming of new television productions, planning hunts abroad, outfitting in different destinations, or as discussed above putting down the “Big 8”, truly the year was a gift from God. I will continue to thank God for opening doors and His astute direction of my path. Also, thank you to all my family, friends, teachers, and clients who all contribute in a wonderful way to the adventure of life. 

Happy New Year!
Nathan