Bass Pro Shops Turkey Event

Come out and hang out with us Mossy Oak ProStaffers this weekend in Concord NC! We will be there attending the Bass Pro Shops Turkey Event! See you there!

Western Virginia Sports Show & The Greater Virginia Sports and Big Game Show

Two great events coming up at the end of this month! The Western Virginia Sports Show and The Greater Virginia Sports and Big Game Show, click on links for more information!

Abingdon, VA Hunting and Fishing Expo

It’s that time of year again! Deer hunting is almost upon us and the Hunting and Fishing Expo in Abingdon Virginia is next weekend. Several of us Mossy Oak ProStaffers worked at this event last year and we had an absolute blast! This years event looks to easily top last years so you should definitely come out and join us! I’ll be working at the archery range so be sure to come by and say hello!

Don’t forget to be out shooting and prepping your bows as archery season begins on October 3rd here in Virginia unless you’re in one of the early opening areas. Check out the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries for more information.

Bass Pro Shops Fall Hunting Classic - Wrap-up

Josh and I headed to Charlotte North Carolina after work Friday. . It was a beautiful day and we rolled the windows down and enjoyed the ride! We arrived just as Ronnie "Cuz" Strickland was starting his presentation. We enjoyed Cuz' emphasis on people enjoying the hunt and his emphasizing of the fact that the enjoyment and not the size of the antlers was what this sport is all about! Cuz, Hal Schaefer, and Brenda Valentine were there as well and they came in and watched Cuz's presentation and hung out with fans afterwards. After the presentation we hung out and chatted for a while, got checked in to our hotel and then took in a little of Charlotte's night life. We had a good time and met some great people before turning in for the night.

Saturday we actually got to sleep in a little before heading over to the BPS at 9AM. Charlotte never ceases to amaze me at the quality of people that we meet when attending events there. I always end up in great conversations and always find myself learning something. Several other ProStaffers were there including our Regional Director Bucky Hauser. Bucky and the rest of the guys are friendly and knowledgeable and I always enjoy seeing them! Bass Pro Shops had all of the newest goodies and it was all I could do to walk out with any money in my pocket. I did buy myself some Treestand pattern gloves and a Treestand Scentblocker face mask but that was it... oh, I almost forgot about my Mossy Oak car air freshener!

Despite a big traffic jam we made it bag safe and sound and I managed to hang with Harry for a few minutes and get some arrows in to the target before dark. All in all it was a great couple of days.

Sunday Jessica, Harry and I hung out at home for a while and then headed to Christiansburg to do a little shopping. Jessica needed some new clothes and I wanted to check out the new hunting gear at Dick's. Jessica was successful on her meeting but much to my dismay Dick's didn't have their fall gear out yet. That was disappointing but we had a great time and a great weekend anyway!

Outdoor Classic in Roanoke Virginia,

Josh Blevins and I worked at the Outdoor Classic in Roanoke Virginia this weekend and we had a great time! We started off helping the Boone & Crockett scorer check-in and score deer and then I was asked to become the door greeter as whoever was scheduled to do so never arrived. I was slightly nervous at first but it ended up being the best job there as I got to see everyone come and go! Everyone seemed to enjoy the show and there were some very large bucks brought in. It was nice practice myself and the other prostaffers present as we would guess what the deer would score and then have our guesses professionally approved. I did fair but I consistently scored the big daddies low.

After the show was wrapped up Josh and I headed to Gander Mountain to check out the newest hunting gear. I have to say the new Scentlok/Mossy Oak vertigo looks pretty cool! There wasn't much on sale that I wanted so this poor boy had to leave without filling up the shopping cart. We headed to Christiansburg and had a good meal before heading home though and that wrapped up a great day!

Sunday was spent relaxing at home with Jessica and Harry. Next weekend starts the Fall Classic at your local Bass Pro Shops, be sure to go out and check out the seminars and sales! Josh and I will be out at the Charlotte North Carolina show so if you're in the neighborhood stop by and say hello!

Women in the Outdoors *Recap*

Try Something New Day 15 and Day 16

Today at the Women in the Outdoors event(my first ever) in Bastian VA, Josh Blevins and I had a blast! I have to honestly say it was one of the most fun events that we have worked. We helped out with a shotgun instruction course and then later an archery course and seeing the ladies faces was one of the most fun things I’ve been a part of. All of the women had great attitudes and were great students and days like today are what being a ProStaffer is all about in my humble opinion! I highly recommend that you all check out www.blandvanwtf.com and keep an eye out for the great events they put on.

As far as my 30 day challenge goes I have to admit that I failed yesterday. The day before however I did something that may not be exactly with the rules I set in the challenge but definitely falls within the spirit so I’m keeping it…

In today’s Internet society social contact sometimes gets lost. I have to admit I’m one of the worlds worst for this. An example. When I used to get gas I would always go inside to pay. Now I never go inside to pay. I always use my card and get out of there as quickly as possible. The other day I thought about that and I made sure to go to a gas station here in Rural Retreat that doesn’t even have a card machine at the pumps. I paid my gas, walked in, and tried to be as social as possible. I live in a great community and I want to do all I can to be a part of it. It’s just like any change in live it all starts one step at a time!

Women in the Outdoors Reminder and General Update

Try Something New Day 13 and Day 14
Not much to report from Monday except that I enjoyed spending time with my family and friends... also Harry got his 2nd haircut ever and I ordered ribs at a restaurant for the first time. I don't think I'll do that again as I really didn't get enough to eat.

Yesterday wasn’t much more eventful but then that’s not the idea behind my challenge anyway. I had another great evening hanging with my family and Jessica and I watched “Mr. Woodcock”. The movie was pretty funny and we snacked on banana pudding, which I made. Yup, I took my first stab at making banana pudding and it actually came out tasting pretty darn good!

I don’t know what’s on tap for the rest of this week. Probably nothing to crazy but I am enjoying this whole process! Don’t forget about this upcoming Saturday’s Women in the Outdoors event in Bastian VA, it’s going to be a lot of fun!

Reminders and Recommendations

Just to remind you I'll be attending some really cool events in August and I would love to see some of you out there! These events will last for several days, at the least, and will be well worth your time to attend! Also, on a non-hunting related note, if you haven't seen "The Dark Knight" do yourself a favor and go see it! Jessica and I watched it Sunday and we both agreed it was one of the best movies we've seen in a long time! And let me tell ya, we don't agree on movies all of the time so when we do its something special!

Below are links to the events I will personally be attending, for more info see my sidebar...

Bass Pro Shops Fall Hunting Classic, Concord, NC

The Virginia Outdoor Sportsman's Classic
August 22 - 24 Salem VA