(Don’t forget to check the photos at the bottom of this page – Click on the picture for a full-sized image)
The end of the season Junior Waterfowl Hunt/Event was, as always, outstanding and the Junior Hunters in attendance enjoyed very good waterfowl hunting. As usual, besides the hunting, the lunch event/prize giveaway was again outstanding also. Many great prizes were given out at the lunch giveaway at mid-day.
This year a great breakfast of doughnuts, coffee, and chocolate milk was provided to the Junior Hunters and their adults. Quail Forever provided the doughnuts for the hungry Junior Hunters.
After a quick breakfast, the Juniors and their accompanying adults headed out to their assigned hunting spots to get set up and await the sound of the starting time horn. The hunting was good this year and several of the Junior Hunters even scored limits. There were even a couple of geese harvested by the Junior Hunters.
(In case you missed it you can read the hunt results here… https://socalhunt.wordpress.com/2022/02/08/hunt-results-for-san-jacinto-wildlife-areas-28th-annual-junior-hunt-saturday-2-5-22/ )
When lunchtime rolled around everyone assembled back at the Check Station workshop for lunch and the prize giveaway. Lunch was great, consisting of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, pulled pork (donated by John Ross of Dee’z Boy’z BBQ in Hemet), chips, and even a large pot of Tom Trakes’ Special Chili.
There was a great deal of support for this year’s Junior Hunt and most of the Junior Hunters received at least two prizes each! The prizes ranged from gun cases, decoys, fishing rods, blind bags, and other assorted hunting and outdoor gear. Needless to say, all the junior hunters went away happy. There were several “Grand Prizes”. Two shotguns (one donated by Blue Collar and the other purchased from Bass Pro Shops using some of the funds from the earlier raffle of two shotguns, one of which was provided by Bass Pro, the other by Quail Forever), two bird mounts (from Simon’s Taxidermy), a rifle and two puppies (one donated by Chaz Prato, the other by Brian Crosby). I’m sure all the Juniors went away happy this year.
After the lunch and prize giveaway, most of the Junior Hunters who hadn’t already limited out went back to their blinds to finish their day’s hunting.
The Junior Hunt was, as it always is, an outstanding event for our Junior Hunters, the future of our sport. It is vital to keep our Junior Hunters interested and involved in waterfowl hunting and the San Jacinto Wildlife Area’s Annual Junior Waterfowl Hunt is a great way to keep them interested. Every year I hear adult hunters reminiscing about their days participating in the SJWA Junior Hunt, and even some that are now bringing their kids to carry on the tradition.
Tom told me he’d like to thank, as well as I would myself, everyone who donated prizes, food, labor or anything else towards this event. We all should also thank the San Jacinto crew for going the extra mile to help make this event happen we all appreciate all your hard work.
Tom also asked me to extend a special thanks to Bass Pro Shops. Bass Pro made several donations, donated a shotgun to the shotgun raffle, and assisted with the shotgun raffle prior to the event to raise money for prizes. Also, thanks to Toni Bever of Quail Forever for donating a shotgun for the raffle at Bass Pro Shops to raise money for prizes, as well as donating the morning doughnuts, and also putting in a full day+ working the event from start to finish. Also, thanks go out to Valley Wide Recreation Center for once more providing the chairs and tables for the event. The money raised by the BPS Shotgun raffle was used to purchase more prizes for the Juniors.
So, the 28th Annual San Jacinto Junior Waterfowl Hunt is in the books. Check out the pictures below, which are only a small sample of this great event. Of course, due to space, there’s no way to post every picture but the below images should give you a really good idea of how this superb event for our Junior Hunters went down.
I’ve tried to mention everyone who donated items or volunteered to work the event. There were so many great sponsors and so many that supported the Junior Hunt event with prizes, assistance, and food that I’m sure I’ve missed a few so please forgive me and know that it wasn’t intentional. I’ve posted a picture of the sponsors’ banner below so you can check it out.
Here’s a heads up for everybody also! The first post-season SJWA volunteer clean-up work day is tentatively set for Saturday, March 12th. Mark your calendars and watch for the “official” notice with time and details here on SoCalHunt very soon. This is the first step in a long process to get San Jacinto ready for our next waterfowl season so here’s hoping we can get a good turnout for the clean-up day.
Now, check out the pictures of the Junior Hunt event below. I’ll just let the pictures do the talking.
SoCalHunt 
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