Crow Hunting and Gobbling Report

Yesterday I went out to do some crow hunting and got a very pleasant surprise not involving crows. It was late yesterday evening, sometime after four and I started in on my crow call. What happened next made me check the time of day, a gobbler and several hens started going off! They were paying so much attention to my crow calls that I had to listen to myself and make sure I hadn’t grabbed a turkey call. I did have a few crows call back to me and two flew to a tree about 100 yards away but none would come close enough to think about shooting them. I did have a big smile on my face from listening to the turkeys though. I was already getting excited about the upcoming turkey season but now I’m up another notch from that. Are any of you hearing any gobbling yet or seeing any strutting? Good luck in all your pursuits!

2011

Another year has arrived! I never did get any more deer on the ground but I had a blast deer hunting last season. Time to turn my attention to small game and predators now. How did your seasons go? Good luck in the new year!

Bowhunting Groundhogs

Here is a little of what I've been up to this summer!

Archery Talk

I get lots of technical questions emailed to me. I have to be honest I'm not the most technical minded guy in the world but I'll help you if I can! I will give anyone this tip though if you don't already know it... there is a wealth of knowledge to be had at www.archerytalk.com. Search the forums for almost anything archery related and you will probably have pages of responses! Sure there are some nuts on there but it's definitely worth checking out if you're not already a regular reader! Happy hunting!

Bow Madness Review *follow up*

I get a lot of emails regarding my review of my PSE Bow Madness MC. People want to know if I still like it after all this time. If it still shoots well and is still quiet. The answers are all yes! This bow should be renamed… Bow Sweetness because it is as sweet as honey!

I’m getting revved up to start doing a little predator hunting and some varmint hunting. Got to stay in shape physically and mentally for deer season! I hope all is well in your lives!

VA Spring Turkey Gobbling Report

Yup, misleading title for me... I've yet to be sure I've heard a gobble at this point this year. Dad and I have heard a few distant rumblings that we believe were gobbles but nothing that I would bet my life on. I've hunted as hard as I can so far this year and no luck at all. As frustrating as it can be at times it's also what I love about hunting. If it were easy it would be called killing lol. I love the challenge of these old gobblers but I wouldn't mind a break soon either! I put in some serious and hard miles on my boots Saturday and didn't hear or see anything but a couple of hens headed to roost. I'm going to keep hard at it though and eventually my luck will change! After all, luck is hard work and persistence meeting opportunity for the most part!

VA Spring Turkey Season 2010 Update

Spring Turkey season has been open for over a week now in Virginia and Dad and I have found time to go hunting three times now. We haven’t had much luck, we haven’t even heard one gobble anywhere near us but we did see one hen Saturday. We’ve not had very good weather once while we’ve been hunting either. With all of those negative things out of the way I can say we’ve had a good time though! We’ve been in places where we know there are turkeys at but it just hasn’t been the right time. We are going to persevere though and eventually we’ll catch the break we need and we’ll get a turkey or two down!

How are your seasons going? I hope well! Hunt hard and don’t give up!

Virginia Spring Turkey Season 2010

Spring turkey season is almost upon us! Are you ready? I think I am... went through my gear last night and I'm doing all of the scouting I can. I can't wait until I get in the woods Saturday morning. Good luck and God bless!

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!

Snow, Snow, Snow

There has been no small game hunting for me. All I seem to do is shovel snow. Oh well, life is good! I'm just trying to enjoy the white beauty that's outside! I should have some show announcements up soon!

Looking Forward

My last minute attempts at bagging a deer this year did not work out. I became ill this weekend and didn’t have the strength to hunt very hard. I did enjoy my time in the woods though, except for the extreme cold! It was beautiful in the mountains with all of the snow and it made getting a read on where the deer were moving easier as well but I couldn’t close the deal.

Now that deer season is probably over, unless I do some late season doe hunting further North, my focus will now move toward small game hunting, post-season scouting, indoor archery, and eventually turkey season! There is always something to look forward to! Stay warm!
PS – I forgot to mention that show season is coming up for the Mossy Oak ProStaff. There are some great shows coming up and I’ll have more on them soon!

Starting Over

My apologies for the lack of posts recently. I don’t want to turn this in to a sob story but I’ve been going through a lot of personal changes and I just haven’t had much time to hunt or blog. My long time girlfriend and I split up and I’ve been trying to find a new home and get my life back on track. It is a positive thing for both of us in the long-term but the short term was very time consuming. My financial situation also took a downturn as well and it’s just taken me a while to get everything back on track. The good news is we are all happier now and Harry has two loving parents and two houses to run around a play in! I’ve done a lot of soul searching the past few months and a lot of prioritizing as well. In the short term hunting and Mossy Oak had to take a step back on that list but both mean a lot to me and will slowly be heading back up that list as my life is coming back together! I really hope to get in a few days of deer hunting this week before the season closes and will definitely be doing some small game hunting in January! I’m really excited about getting back in to the woods with a whole new appreciation for the sport we all love. I did manage to get in a few hunts this year and even had a shot at a doe on Thanksgiving Day. Unfortunately I missed, but I was thankful for the opportunity. Having a chance at a shot is all I ask for while hunting and I got it. My new band has also taken up quite a bit of time. It’s been a necessary sacrifice for my personal life but the main portion of the work will be wrapped up soon and then the fun will begin.

I thank all of you for your love and support and you’re going to be seeing a lot more of me again now that everything is moving in the right direction in my life.

Again, this was not meant to be a sad story. My life is great and I’ve been so very blessed. I just wanted to be honest and upfront about what’s been going on in my life and why I haven’t been posting. We all go through set backs in life but the important thing is to pick yourself up and keep moving forward, things will always get better! May God bless you all as he has blessed me!

Free NRA Memberships!

From Michael Waddell's blog...
The NRA is giving FREE 1-yr memberships to everyone who wants to join.

They are trying to build up their membership to fight pending legislation that impacts our right to keep and bear arms.
It is very important that anti-gun congressmen see how many people they will have to fight to get their legislation through.

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!

This can include spouses and children also
https://www.nrahq.org/nrabonus/accept-membership.asp

SIGN UP TODAY!! It only takes 2 minutes.

I have already done this and it is legit! Please take the time to register, it is quick and easy!

Elk Hunting in Virginia

According to HuntingLife.com we will soon have Elk on their way back in VA! The VDGIF has decided to let Elk reestablish their population in South Western VA. Read the article at HuntingLife.com. It's a great site with a wealth of information!

Archery Crow Season

I'm excited! Saturday kicks off crow season on private lands! The season is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays on private lands from August 15-March 20 and on public and department lands from September 1-March 10 "M, W, F, & S only". This will be my first year trying to take out some crows and I'm going to use my bow! I'm probably a little crazy but I've always wanted to shoot one with a bow but somehow I'm just now getting around to actually trying it! I have an area to hunt that they often frequent so hopefully I'll have a chance. Since squirrel season doesn't open until next month this is my best chance to fling some arrows. I'm also going to try to film this so it should either make some funny or some cool footage! I won't have long on Saturday as I also have some fishing planned for the evening and a scouting trip planned for the morning but I'll do all I can to make it count.

Keep on shootin'!

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!

Bicycling, Hunting, and Fitness

Try Something New Day 19 and Day 20

No Burn, No Earn, that’s what I kept telling myself on my way home yesterday evening. My legs were burning so bad and they felt like the muscle was about to pop through my skin. Knowing I had several miles left to go I wanted to stop and rest but I wouldn’t let myself. Stopping would have felt like failure and I hate failing as much as I hate losing. I hate losing a lot btw; ask anyone who knows me very well lol! I managed to keep going and finally made it home from my 13.1 mile ride home, making it a marathons length for the day. I beat Lance Armstrong too, on a bike! Well, I beat his (running) marathon running time anyway!

For my self-challenge I decided to bike the 13.1 miles to work and then back home in the evening yesterday. The ride to work was fairly easy as it was mostly downhill. Even though I knew the ride home would be much tougher I decided to do my usual lunch run as well. As I started home that evening I knew I was in trouble when my legs didn’t have much strength in them from the start. As I stated above about halfway home it got brutal for me. Biking is something I’ve done in the past but recently I’ve been starting again and I was not in shape enough for yesterdays undertaking but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger! I got through the day and I know that I’m stronger as I sit here typing! I burned and I earned!

As soon as I got home I grabbed a quick recovery drink and then grabbed my bow and shot. While I’m not exclusively a bowhunter it is a passion. I try to do something everyday to become a better hunter. I got started hunting later in life than most people and I feel I’m behind the curve sometimes. I don’t like that feeling much so I work twice as hard as the average eastern hunter to make up for the years that I spent “wasting my life away” doing drugs, smoking, drinking, and whatever else I could ruin my health with. Now that I’ve come to my senses and am living a healthy lifestyle I have a lot of catching up to do! I work hard on my physical fitness, hard on my hunting skills, and hard on my hunting knowledge! I want to be the very best I can be and I want to be a positive influence on my son and anyone else who will hear my message on God, Hunting, and the outdoors in general. To me, God, my son, and hunting saved my life! They gave me a new passion in my life that keeps me away from leading the unhealthy life I was leading before. I will never go back to that life and I thank God for what he has given me every day!

I got on a little tangent there so forgive me. Bicycling to me is a great hunting and fitness tool and I’m glad I took the time to get one day better at it yesterday! It was a tough but fun adventure and I would do it more often if I didn’t have to pick up my son from the babysitters in the evening. Every chance I do have though you can bet I’ll be doing it!

The day before that I accomplished another challenge, I learned my first rap song on the bass! It was a rock cover of the song but nonetheless it was a rap song! I’m keeping what song it was under wraps for now but if you live in this area come check out my new band when we get going and you can hear it for yourselves, I think you’ll dig it!

Women in the Outdoors July 11, 2009 Bastian Virginia

Don't forget about this great event! Come one come all and sign up soon. There will be great classes taught and plenty of fun to be had, I'm looking forward to seeing you all soon!

Mossy Oak Video Hunting

Josh Blevins and I have been partners on the Mossy Oak ProStaff for several months now. We've also become pretty good friends in the process and are in the process of forming a business partnership as well. With all that being said though we had never actually gotten to hunt together. That all finally changed yesterday! We didn't have the best of luck but we did have a good time and in my humble opinion we did seem to have good on camera chemistry. We checked out Josh's hunting lease and it is NICE! We're going to be doing some deer hunting there this year and I'm already excited about it!