Mendes learned to hunt by following in his father Alvin’s footsteps. Today, he hunts right beside him (left). On this trip, they were joined by Mendes’ fiancee Abby Raines.
very young age. “At five years old, my father made us bows from the fiberglass poles that mount on ATVs,” Mendes recalls, laughing a little at the thought. “He made arrows, and we shot targets in the backyard. Later, it was BB guns, shooting cans off hay bales.” Mendes remembers going to school and waiting impatiently to get back home so he could shoot until darkness forced him indoors, where he would go to sleep anticipating the next day … and the next shot. Something else entered Mendes’ life at age five, and that was wrestling. He brought that same focus and dedication to the sport that he brought to shooting and hunting, and once again, his father was right beside him. “My father coached me in wrestling from the age of five through high 34
American Shooting Journal // September 2016
Mendes frequently fishes the Sacramento River near his home for fall Chinook and other species.