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July 09, 2009
Come On In! - 12
Hi. Come on in. Set your gun in the rack and pull up a chair. Get comfortable. We have a lot to talk about. Welcome to your new hangout. Plan to stay awhile. Doesn’t matter whether you hunt elk with a bow, squirrels with a rifle, grouse with a shotgun or gophers with a rock, you’re welcome here. I think you’ll find it’s a pretty lively place. You’re going to agree some of the time. You’re going to get mad some of the time, and hopefully you’ll learn a thing or two along the way just as I hope you contribute to our discussions. There are plenty of chairs to go around. There are a few recliners, rocking chairs, maybe even a soapbox or two. I know what you’re thinking: The world needs another blog like it needs another gas station. But think of this space as an old corner store, with chairs around a stove and the coffee always on. Or like that old tavern down by the tracks, where there’s always an empty stool at the bar and a joke to be told. I’ll be here most days. For those who don’t know me, I’m Outdoor Life’s Hunting Editor, and I hope this blog reflects a little of me and a little of the magazine. I am what you’d call a passionate generalist. I hunt with a bow and with a rifle. I love bird hunting over my yellow Lab, Willow. I’m nuts about turkeys. I get deeper into coyote and varmint hunting each year. I grew up hunting whitetails and rabbits on a Missouri farm. I have a hard time sitting still in a tree stand. I love mule deer. I really want to shoot a big bull elk and a Coues deer and a Spanish ibex. I love leaving my pickup in the morning and hunting alone all day, covering miles of public ground and looking over dozens of animals. Accurate rifles and bright binoculars turn my crank. I live on a little farm outside Glasgow, Montana, which may be the best town in America for a hunter. The Missouri River Breaks and their elk, mule deer, antelope and bighorn sheep are just to the south. I’m covered up with quality whitetails here on the Milk River. There is world-class wing shooting here—pheasants, prairie grouse and waterfowl—and we’re working on increasing the turkey population. I’m a lonely 5-hour drive from the nearest airport and just 60 miles from Canada. I have a young family that brings me more joy even than my job. My twin boys, Ellis and Merlin, are 8 years old and can’t get enough shooting with their BB guns, .22 single-shot and fiberglass recurve (which was my own first bow when I was their age). My 5-year-old daughter Iris loves going hunting with her dad. And my wife, Lih-An, somehow manages to keep everyone clothed and fed when I’m on the road. I hope this blog reflects a little of those passions and perspectives. It’s going to be a grab bag. We’re going to kick around politics and track trends. We’re going to tell you where the biggest deer and elk are being killed and what gear is hot (and what’s not). I’ll keep you in the loop on my travels just as I hope you’ll contribute your trips, tips, opinions and perspective. So pull up a chair. We have a lot to talk about. |
Comments (12)
lookin forward to the conversations
Welcome Andrew! I look forward to the discussions on this board...it sounds like my type of place.
Damn, thats a nice deer...
Andrew, I look forward to reading your stories. I am spending too much time hunting money these days and my passions for the real hunt have been put on hold. So, not unlike many of your readers, I find myself living the hunt vicariously thru the adventures of people like yourself. Make no mistake, when I succeed in reaching my goals and you find yourself covering those college expenses for your grown children, the roles will likely be reversed and it will be you reading of my adventures. It will be my pleasure to provide you with tall tales at that time.
Greetings All - Thanks for reading, and responding. charlie elk, you nailed it with your observation that we hunting generalists are getting more rare. Seems like the trend is toward specialization - treestand archer, trophy whitetail, pointing-dog upland, long-range rifle. Nothing wrong with any of those pursuits (in fact, I participate in all of them) but there's much more to our world and often when you focus so narrowly on one interest, you become intolerant of other folks who might have different interests. So I'll continue to be a jack of all trades, master of some...
This is a theme worth some more discussion later. In the meantime, keep reading, and get out there with those kids (or grandkids).
- mckean
Welcome to you Mr. McKean(From one "Ozark Boy" to another). I'll take a recliner to start(gettin' old), I may try out the ol' "soap box" later if I get to feelin' "roudy". Look forward to hearing more from you.
No kids of my own, but do have 8 kids of my two brothers, 2 step-sons, and 3 Grand-kids(Newest is just about to turn two months old.
Sounds like I should be checking in often!
Hunting generalist, thought maybe we were a dying breed. If it has the word hunt in the title or description count me in.
Andrew,
Sounds like we have alot in common,but in very different enviroment.I am also a farm boy and have twin boys which are five.Around here everybody knows everybody for good and bad.Deer hunting and corp growing are always the main topic around the hangouts and turkey hunting is an obsession of mine,but the hunting in Montana is a world apart from Florida but hey it's still hunting.
Later,
BRBB
Glad I found you all. If this blog is anything like the 30 inch mulie pictured above, I'll be here every day.
Can't wait to hear some stories and discuss the successes and failures we've had, and issues we'll face in the future. I feel like I just arrived at camp. Thanks Andrew!
This will def. be my new hangout, sounds good!
Sounds good Andrew!
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This will def. be my new hangout, sounds good!
Can't wait to hear some stories and discuss the successes and failures we've had, and issues we'll face in the future. I feel like I just arrived at camp. Thanks Andrew!
Glad I found you all. If this blog is anything like the 30 inch mulie pictured above, I'll be here every day.
Andrew,
Sounds like we have alot in common,but in very different enviroment.I am also a farm boy and have twin boys which are five.Around here everybody knows everybody for good and bad.Deer hunting and corp growing are always the main topic around the hangouts and turkey hunting is an obsession of mine,but the hunting in Montana is a world apart from Florida but hey it's still hunting.
Later,
BRBB
Sounds good Andrew!
Hunting generalist, thought maybe we were a dying breed. If it has the word hunt in the title or description count me in.
Sounds like I should be checking in often!
Welcome to you Mr. McKean(From one "Ozark Boy" to another). I'll take a recliner to start(gettin' old), I may try out the ol' "soap box" later if I get to feelin' "roudy". Look forward to hearing more from you.
No kids of my own, but do have 8 kids of my two brothers, 2 step-sons, and 3 Grand-kids(Newest is just about to turn two months old.
Greetings All - Thanks for reading, and responding. charlie elk, you nailed it with your observation that we hunting generalists are getting more rare. Seems like the trend is toward specialization - treestand archer, trophy whitetail, pointing-dog upland, long-range rifle. Nothing wrong with any of those pursuits (in fact, I participate in all of them) but there's much more to our world and often when you focus so narrowly on one interest, you become intolerant of other folks who might have different interests. So I'll continue to be a jack of all trades, master of some...
This is a theme worth some more discussion later. In the meantime, keep reading, and get out there with those kids (or grandkids).
- mckean
Andrew, I look forward to reading your stories. I am spending too much time hunting money these days and my passions for the real hunt have been put on hold. So, not unlike many of your readers, I find myself living the hunt vicariously thru the adventures of people like yourself. Make no mistake, when I succeed in reaching my goals and you find yourself covering those college expenses for your grown children, the roles will likely be reversed and it will be you reading of my adventures. It will be my pleasure to provide you with tall tales at that time.
Welcome Andrew! I look forward to the discussions on this board...it sounds like my type of place.
Damn, thats a nice deer...
lookin forward to the conversations
Post a Comment (200 characters or less)