Game Dinners

Serving wild game to family and friends just might be the oldest tradition in the world. We've been doing it since early man first hunted. And managing, harvesting, and consuming wild game is biblical. Maybe this is why game dinners were also traditional back in the 1940's-1960's. Then, for some reason, such dinners died out. However, today there is a resurgence in church game dinners. Two of Dave's very good friends in bowhunting-outdoor media, are doing many Christian game dinners and leading men and women to Christ at the same time. Charles Alsheimer (www.CharlesAlsheimer.com) and Wade Nolan (www.Wadenolan.com) convinced Dave to start doing these dinners, and what a blessing they have been in his life.

"Dr. Samuel, His Role, The Purpose of Game Dinners"

Dr. Samuel was born in Windber, Pennsylvania, grew up in the Church of the Brethren in Johnstown, and along with his identical twin brother, went to Juniata College in Huntington, Pennsylvania. He and his brother then went to Penn State for masters degrees in wildlife. After a doctorate at West Virginia University, he remained there on the wildlife faculty for thirty years. In 1971 he began writing for Bowhunter magazine and still does today. Obviously, bowhunting, and fighting for the future of all hunting, have been major priorities in Dave's life.

In 1976 he rededicated his life to Christ, and was married to Cathy in 1979. Since retiring from his professorship in 1998, he has been writing, bow hunting, traveling, working on various pro-wildlife, pro-hunting boards, and for the past 4 years has been doing game dinners. "The game dinners give me a chance to talk bowhunting, deer and bear biology and hunting, and bowhunting in Africa to hunters. But even more important, they allow me to witness about how the Lord has blessed my life." Dave had a minor surgical procedure go bad in December, 2007, where a mistake led to loss of much of his breathing, subsequent surgery to repair other damage done, and constant pain.  Those problems will always be present and have greatly limited all physical activities including bowhunting.  Still, Dave believes that God has a plan for him (and for all of us), using his expertise in the outdoor writing arena to bring God's message to hunters and others. "My walk is an every day learning experience, where I continue to develop my relationship with the Lord."

"Dave's Presentations, The Requirements, and Planning For A Successful Event"

First, understand that nothing that follows is cast in cement.  Dave can alter his program to any needs.  What he normally does is to begin with a prayer, followed by a 15 minute video.  He can use either a video that discusses deer behaviors, especially aggressive and breeding behaviors. It also covers calling, especially the "Can" call, which is a doe estrus call. It also covers some of the most common deer grunts, plus the grunt-snort-wheeze, and how best to use these calls when hunting. The video then shows the effectiveness of the bow on big animals; moose, brown bear. Some amazing footage. Or he can show a black bear video that helps hunters learn how to tell a big bear from an average one.  It also shows footage of the second largest black bear ever harvested with a bow in the world, the bow harvest of the world record brown bear, the recurve bow harvest of a charging grizzly, and some other entertaining footage of bears.  

After the video, we have the wild game dinner. This is followed by one of several options.

Option 1. A Power Point program on the latest deer research and how hunters can use this to their advantage (Whitetail Myths That Mean Something). Exactly how and what deer see. Why old bucks smell you better than young bucks. Which bucks come to scrapes and when. How to find traditional rubs and scrapes. Where bucks go during the rut. Buck excursions in daylight during the rut. What really controls antler growth.  Why you get non typical antlers.  Should we shoot spikes, the final answer. And much, much more.

Option 2. A power point presentation on bow hunting in Africa (Bowhunting Adventures in  Africa). Dave has been bow hunting in southern Africa eight times. These slides take you through all the in and outs of a bow hunt to southern Africa. Lots of fun. Some great stories. A little danger thrown in. Plenty of adventure for all ages.

Option 3. A power point program on bow hunting for black bears (Complete Guide to Hunting Black Bears). Dave has bow hunted for bear 40 times, in 5 states and 5 provinces of Canada. He has taken over twenty bears with the bow including the #1 bow-killed bear in Alberta (taken in 1991, no longer #1, but still way up there), and several other monster bears. This talk covers some interesting encounters, including once being jumped on by a bear, how to select a guide, where to bow hunt, costs, how to tell a big bear, where to find color-phased bears, etc.

As noted above, the sequence and content of the above program can be modified to suit the needs of any group. Equipment must be provided to show the CD and the Power Point presentations. A sound system, microphone, is a distinct advantage for the presentation. A small table for Dr. Samuel's display, books for sale ("Whitetail Advantage: Understand Deer Behavior for Hunting Success" and "Whitetail Racks") will be needed.

Because of the loss of breathing, Dave cannot fly, but will accept engagements most anywhere.  He requires all travel expenses which include gas, food and lodging while traveling.  

Example of Response to Presentations

"The Sportsmen's Committee wants to thank  you for coming to Bethany Wesleyan Church in spite of all the tragedies that have affected you and your family in the immediate past.  You certainly could have chosen not to come but 128 people who made a first-time decision to accept Christ are glad you came."

"You have been a blessing and an inspiration to this church family and we thank you again for partnering with us to win people to Jesus."

"We had a great response after the dinner at Morning Star.  Many expressed their desire to reconnect with Christ."

How to Reach "Dr Dave" 

Contact Dave about his speaking fee (304-594-3082 or drdave4@comcast.net). Email is the best way to reach him due to many traveling obligations.

To have a successful event, it is helpful to have a steering committee and at least 3 months to make it work. At some events, the group or church provides all the game. At other events, attendees are invited to bring a game cover dish. Some events are totally sponsored, free, by the church. Most times there is a fee involved. However, the idea is to encourage hunters to bring non-Christian friends to the event. At all the events Dr. Dave has worked there is a name card asking for information from each participant to be filled out and handed in at the end of the event. In this way the sponsors can determine who wishes to be called by the church, who wants more information, etc. Get the cards filled out before door prize drawings and use them for the drawings. Makes for a better response.

Please contact Dr. Samuel for any information needed. He wants to participate in your event!