The man that brought me into the world of hunting is the very same man that brought me into this world, my father.

From the very beginning I wanted nothing else but to be just like him… I would follow him with my little Fischer Price lawn mower as he mowed our lawn, I wore flannels just like him, and I eventually picked up my first bow and arrow, just like he had done.

From what I can gather, my first bow was a long bow from Wal-Mart. With my dad there guiding my every maneuver, I was able to nock an arrow, drawback, and release, completely missing the bail of straw at 10 yards. No matter how many times I missed, my dad always would whisper into my ear, “Don’t worry, you’ll get ‘em next time”.

I later “upgraded” to a nice little compound that couldn’t have had a draw weight of more than 10 lbs., but to me it was the coolest fricken thing on earth. Especially since it had those cool “circle things” on either end like dads’ did [8D]. From there my accuracy increased as did my self-confidence.

My dad would bring me for walks in the woods, and allow me to bring my Red Rider, just in case Black Bart and his wild posse were on the war path again . From those simple walks my love of the outdoors grew and grew. Sometime around the age of eight I asked my dad to take me hunting. He had never pressured me into it, and allowed me to be the first to ask.

That fall he brought me to his “secret spot”, I was all bundled up in my winter outfit, not a hint of camo, and hidden inside my sleeping bag, just hoping to see a deer. Even though the deer didn’t cooperate, that single trip sealed my fate as a hunter, and outdoorsman.

From there I graduated to hunting camp by the age of twelve, and finally to bowhunter at the age of fourteen. My dad was there, in the same tree as me, when I harvested my first buck, a beautiful three pointer. The look on my dad’s face when we walked up together on the downed buck is something that I will forever treasure. I am lucky enough to have the greatest man in my life, not only my father, but also by hunting partner.

If I could tell my dad one thing, it would be: You've probably had the greatest impact on my life over anybody else I know. The things you have tought me directly and indirectly, I cannot thank you enough. I hope that I do you proud. Oh, and I'll pay for our semi-guided bowhunttrip to CO for Elk oneday when I'm rich .
Some pics...



Here he is with his '05 kill