Tis’ The Season Of Tradeshows

January marks the end of deer seasons across the country. For manufacturers in the hunting and shooting industry, January means trade shows, and lots of them.

January 6-8, 2011 hundreds, if not thousands of bow-geeks invaded Indianapolis for the Archery Trade Association Show (ATA).

I hung out with my buddy Carrie Z from Bowcast. If you have never heard of her or Bowcast, be sure to check them out! Carrie and I set out on a quest to find the latest and greatest the bow industry had to offer.

Carrie and the crew from Bowcast put together the video below, it gives you a small taste of what ATA 2011 offered. Stay tuned for coverage from the 2011 SHOT Show!

Why I Love my Backyard Part 2!

This guy made the mistake of walking by my treestand yesterday afternoon. And while he's not big by even South Carolina's modest standards, he's my first buck with a recurve and I'm more proud of him than any buck I've taken.....other than my very first.

If you're interested, I was shooting a Stalker recurve built by South Cox. Stalker Recurves

Despite getting a doe every year, it's taken 3 years of hard hunting to get a buck with my recurve. All the close calls, missed opportunities and missed shots have be worth it. I'm hooked forever.

Something about hunting with a recurve reminds me of when I first started bowhunting. Introduced by a neighbor and his wife, who both hunted and shot competitively, I bugged the heck out of them for stories and advice. I can still remember the way my first bow, an old Jennings T-star with a metal rise, felt in my hand. That bow is long gone as are a lot of the woods I used to roam, but it hooked me on bowhunting. Not a year has gone by that I don't spend as much time as possible chasing whitetails with a bow of some kind.

From failing my first period algebra class in 12th grade due to absences (still made honor society much to my mom's anger) or taking a semester or two off in college, I never let the less important things get in the way of hunting. It's good I landed a job in the outdoor industry sinc no doubt I'm unfit for any other form of employment.

We all hunt for the same reasons, but those reasons may not always apply to the same deer. And that's fine. For me, this little 6 pt, taken no more than 100-yards from my back door, from a stand I hung, near a plot I planted and no less than 30-minutes afterI stopped hearing my son and wife playing in the yard, sums up the reasons I hunt.