Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Kamikaze Brew

Well, it seems that Brewer has been on a kamikaze mission as of lately. As I told you the other day he almost drowned/broke his leg. Today,while I was letting him get some exercise at the lake,I was looking over a concrete ledge that dropped off about 8 feet. He got a running start and jumped off the ledge, landing on wet concrete covered with algae. It wasnt pretty,and it happened so fast. I saw him hit the concrete before I realized what happened.Nothing broke his fall, there was just a loud thud on impact. He held his right front leg stiff for about 10 seconds and then started swimming so I knew he was fine, but what a scary jump! He still isnt showing any signs of being hurt.I will never know what he was thinking, there was nothing down there to attract him. Sunday, Steffi and I were visiting my parents for Christmas. There are woods in their back yard that create a buffer between their house and the city reservoir. I always take him back there to run around, it is a peninsula so there is only one way in and one way out. We were walking along the shoreline at a place where there was a steep drop off to the water. It was only about 1 foot of drop of though. Brewer was dying to get into the water, but I didnt feel like cleaning him up before we went back inside so I kept telling him no. Well he crept too close at one point and slid into the water face first, when this happened his back left leg went around a sapling and his foot got stuck under the bank at the same time. At first I laughed, but when I saw he was stuck and panicking I tried to help him. He was trying to swim away from the bank to free his leg and couldnt keep his head above water, he managed to turn his body around and bring his front half onto dry land, but this put his leg in a really bad bind(this all happened in about 3 seconds). I had to lay down the hill on the ground and break the sapling in order to get him unstuck. He was fine immediately afterwards, but I know it scared him. He was whimpering and whining and he gave me a face full of kisses before he continued playing in the woods. If I couldnt have gotten to him in time, who knows the outcome. I never let him get more then 75 0r 100 yards away unless we are in an open field for this reason. I would like to say he has learned something from these two events, but I am not so sure.
Deer season is coming to a close in the next few days (unless you are in an urban archery zone), so I will write a couple more deer hunting blogs. After that I want to concentrate on waterfowl and upland hunting for a while. I will cover a lot about dogs and birds in the weeks to come. While I have learned a great deal about training and raising a gun dog over the last few years, I do not consider my self an expert by any means.Hopefully I can get a few guys to weigh in on those topics when we get there.
As long as the rain holds off until dark I will be hunting tomorrow afternoon. I would normally head to my favorite spot, where I took Keith the other day, but rumor has it that might not be a great decision. Keith went back to that spot on Monday morning( I had to work). When he got there he saw 2 guys on 4 wheelers beyond where any vehicles are allowed. Keith approached them and said they wreaked of alcohol and were acting very strange.Keep in mind it is 5:45 in the morning and completely dark. The guys said they were waiting to put up some fence posts in a nearby pasture. I call B.S. I would say those guys were drinking and spotlighting deer all night, probably shooting at them and leaving them to rot.If I hadnt seen this play out other places before I would not be so condemning. Needless to say Keith saw 2 deer that morning, they were not really close. I know there will always be morons like this, but it still makes me angry. We do not need to fuel the fire of non sportsmen by doing stupid mindless things like that. Even if those guys werent spotlighting and shooting deer, they were drunk and driving 4 wheelers in an illegal area. Get a clue you ignants(my new word), dont ruin it for the good guys. I dont know where I will go tomorrow, probably back out to that spot, I will let you know how it goes.

-Andrew

Sunday, December 27, 2009

The time is now





Not the whole family , just the ones I have pictures of. It is hard to find a good picture of my mom, she is the one always taking the family pictures. That is her with my brother and me in Baltimore down by the water.


Well, Steffi and I just got back and unpacked from Christmas with the family. She wants to watch The Sound of Music, so what a great time to catch up on some stuff here. Brewer nearly drowned today, but we will get to that later. What I really want to talk about is how the family gatherings just arent the same since both of my grandfathers have passed away, and how I miss them both all the time. I probably think of my grandfathers more then most people do. They cross my mind several times a day, everyday. They were both great men in their own regard. They were both men of faith, one was more vocal about God then the other, but that didnt matter. They both faced health problems for a long time. One had his first heart attack when he was 39 and he lived well into his 70's fighting heart disease. The other battled emphysema for the last 10 years of his life. He literally struggled for every breath the last 3 or 4 years. I cannot imagine what that was like. I . Along with my dad, my grandfathers taught me to fish and play golf, the foundation of my passion for the outdoors. Neither was perfect, but through their struggles they taught me about perseverance, life, death, and leaving a legacy. I aspire to be like them, I feel a deep obligation to carry on what they started. To be a man of character, constantly reminded of my imperfections, yet rooted soundly in the grace of God, hell bent on not giving up until Im taken away. I see both grandfathers in me and I am proud of that. Steffi and I talk about life and our purpose all the time. I told her the other day that I am not afraid of death, but of not walking out my purpose before death comes, and of not continuing the legacy left to me. Jesus went before me and conquered death, my grandfathers knew that and were not afraid to die, neither am I. I always get charged up with purpose any time I go home and spend time with my family. Steffi and I are in desperate need of kick starting our life. We dont know exactly what its going to look like, but we know this isnt it for us. Neither one of us is built for the 9-5 for 30 years and retire. There is nothing wrong with that,actually there is lots of respect and honor in that, and part of me wishes I could just do it(My father and grandfathers did). I am just not built for going about it that way. We are both tired of having good ideas and taking no action. That is why I started this blog, it may never amount to much, but who knows. I am approaching 28 years old, I cannot afford to have another meaningless year, month, day, hour, minute... If I believe in God, and his purpose for my life, then at some point my circumstances just dont matter anymore, its now or never. To quote Pastor Reggie Hunt "at some point you got to start being whatever it is you are going to be, regardless of your circumstances"
How many great Sunday services or inspiring moments does it take to walk by faith. I have been here 10,000 times. I have a purpose to live out, I have a legacy to uphold, if I fail, so be it. I refuse to reach the end and wonder what might have been. To quote Teddy Roosevelt

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

I love my family and I am thankful for them , as well as Gods faithfulness and grace that is active in my life. Looking at the news right now, there is chaos and war throughout the world. We need visionaries and purpose filled people to step up and be leaders. Gods people need to make a difference. The time is now. Where do you fit in?

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Finally got back into the woods!

After over a week of no hunting, I spent the morning deer hunting with a friend of mine. We went to one of my game lands honey holes, and sure enough, we were the only ones there. I think we saw between 8 and 10 deer.Keith had a nice 8 pointer in his sights that wouldnt stop moving. He was following a doe that had come by a few minutes before. The buck hesitated at about 60 yards and was gone before we really knew what had happened. We also saw a spike, the rest were does. You would think with all of those deer around one of us could have managed a shot, but we couldnt. We sat together on the ground with opposite shooting lanes. For some reason, it was hard to identify which direction the deer were coming from. We could hear them walking, but by the time we pin pointed their exact location, There was really not shot. We sat looking down into a creek bottom that fed into a back cove of a lake. It was pretty thick all around us, but with no leaves on trees, we could see alright. The deer came from almost all directions. All in all, it was a great morning, aside from the constant need to blow my nose( just getting over that winter bug) and the usual cold toes. I love late season because it seems most of the other hunters have given up for the year. If I can get my honey do's done, I might take the Brew duck hunting this afternoon(Steffi has to work all day). Yall stay tuned and have a Merry Christmas..... eve

-Andrew

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Response to thedealer8




Thank you for your comments on the Antler Restriction piece. I know exactly what you are talking about. Many times it is very difficult to tell whether a deer has antlers or not at long distances. You are also correct when you mention antler points are more a product of good nutrition then an indicator of age.Generally I find that older bucks have more mass then younger bucks with impressive head gear. There is no doubt that the success of a program like this would face many challenges. First and foremost, hunters are basically operating on the honor system when it comes to how many deer we take, along with when and how we take them. There always has been and always will be people who think the law does not apply to them and people who lack the vision to understand its not all about them. As I mention in one of my entries about deer and hunter numbers, the NCWRC has in place a method used to calculate total deer harvested by hunters, killed in automobile crashes, by poachers and disease. I feel confident the NWRC is not as ignorant as some hunters think when they calculate these things. While we will never be able to get everyone in agreement, what if 50 or 60 percent of the states hunters jumped on board. What a difference that would make. To address another point you made,
Instead of issuing citations for killing an illegal buck, we could come up with another system. Perhaps we could count that one buck as a buck and a doe on the hunters big game tags. Maybe people get a free pass the first time. There are lots of things we could come up with. I would not be in favor of punishing any one except for people who are repeat offenders. Another option that may help to limit people shooting young bucks is to include more teaching on how to field age bucks and does as part of the Hunter Safety class.Sure people will mess up, misjudge or whatever, but as long as we begin to change hunters mentalities we are on the right track. This restriction would be a process just like any other big change in life, but I am confident that most people would adjust in time. I am still not all in favor of antler restrictions, more people are practicing quality deer management now then ever before. It is a great time to be a deer hunter any where. Thanks for bringing up some great points. All of these things you mentioned would be important considerations in creating such a drastic change.

-Andrew

Monday, December 21, 2009

Looking at the numbers part II

Nice gamelands deer taken with Up-close Outfitters in Western NC.

I meant to elaborate more in part 1 of this write up. However I didnt because it was getting late and I couldnt really think well. To sum up what we talked about, I believe, according to the numbers, there are more mature trophy class bucks in North Carolina then the state gets credit for.I suppose that depends on your definition of a trophy buck though. I think mine is a mature buck with a rack of around 120 inches or better. I believe we are slowly becoming a sleeper state when it comes to hunting the big boys. Give it 5, maybe 10 years and more people will begin to realize there is some great hunting to be found right here. Certain areas of the state have produced bigger bucks for many years, other areas have produced spikes and forkies(I made that word up) at best.If the current trends continue,I expect to see a more even spread of good bucks throughout most areas.This is due to hunters becoming more concerned with deer management, since humans are now the single biggest factor involved in controling the deer population. In the mean time,lets find the good bucks now.Here is what I plan to do. Since most of the deer killed by hunters are taken with rifles in NC, I plan to bow hunt more early season,(I like to bow hunt all the time) and not give up late in the season when everyone else has. Concentrating on early and late season will set you apart from most of the other hunters.The goal is to be hunting unpressured deer,or to find the pressured deer. While you may not think this is possible on public land, I know it is. Sure I will hunt during the rut,but it wont be my bread and butter. NCWRC has outstanding resources for studying when and where to hunt. The 1.8 million acres of game lands covers most, if not all regions and habitats of the state. Some places are only accessible through lottery, most are open to all. Our state is divided into 17 river basins.A map of this is available at the NCWRC website. Study the river basins around the areas you choose to hunt. What vegitation/crops are prevelant? What is the make up of the land? Usually areas deer travel can be located on a property with the use of a topographic map. These are easy to obtain.There are many websites online that allow you to customize a topographic map.It usually costs around $10 dollars. What is the deer population density, harvest history? What types of hunting are allowed(dogs or no dogs)? Get to know your area, scout out places in the spring and summer.Take note of wind direction every time out.Shed hunt, I am currently trying to train Brewer to find shed antlers. All of this does not take as much time as it may sound like. A couple afternoons of scouting a month is it. Get out and turkey hunt, or small game hunt a day or two. Deer learn to pattern hunters, how we enter and exit a piece of land, where we choose to hunt.If you pay attention, you will notice that most hunters flock to the same spots on any given property. Take advantage of this, come up with alternate routes, find new areas off the beaten path.I read an article a while back that said something like 80 or 90 percent of hunters dont go further then 1/4 mile from their vehicle.Venture just a little further. By doing these things you will continue to set your self apart from other hunters and increase your odds of finding the big boy.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Looking at the numbers





So the snow never really came, dangit (say it like Hank Hill). Oh well, lots of winter still to come. I didnt get to go hunting at all this week. Between Christmas shopping and coming down with this horrible cold, it just didnt happen. I decided last night that if I was smart, I would have finished all of my shopping a long time ago.I mean, it is the responsible thing to do right, get it all done early so it doesnt interfere with my hunting. That might eliminate the grouch in me. Sometimes Steffi calls me Oscar, as in Oscar the grouch, when I dont get to go hunting. Any ways, on to what I want to talk about.
According to the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission, North Carolina has a White tail deer population of about 1.1 million. I have read some reports that put the number closer to 1.3 million. Either way, that is a lot of deer. Also the NCWRC reports that there are around 250,000 deer hunters in North Carolina. While this number seems small to me, I can't find any other data to dispute it. In 2008 the NCWRC says that 176,297 deer were taken by hunters. According to the 2008 Deer hunters Almanac, North Carolina averaged an annual harvest of just under 140,000 deer between 2000 and 2004. From 2005 through the present the state has seen a steady incline in the harvest numbers. According to both the NCWRC and D&D Hunting, the vast majority of these deer are consistently taken during gun season. This number does not account for deer killed by poachers,vehicles, disease or anything else but hunters. When these other factors are considered, the NCWRC estimates that around 250,000 deer are killed each year in NC. Breaking down the numbers a little further we see that NC hunters are beginning to adopt stricter deer management tactics in an effort to increase the quality of antlered deer taken in our state. In the past, the majority of bucks taken in our state have generally been yearlings.In many cases yearling bucks accounted for as much as 80% of the total annual buck harvest. This article from North Carolina Game and Fish magazine goes into detail about this. http://www.ncgameandfish.com/hunting/whitetail-deer-hunting/NC_1109_01/index3.html
(Once again I cannot get this link to work, so you will have to copy and paste it) It encourages me to know that other NC hunters are beginning to pass up smaller bucks and take more does. As the article above mentions, bucks and does are recruited equally into the herd, so they must also be taken equally to produce a well balanced herd. That is deer management 101, but we will save that discussion for another day. My original thought, when I came across these numbers of hunters and deer was that with such a large herd in North Carolina, it seems there would have to be a very large number of mature bucks that reside in our state. If approximately 250,000 deer are killed annually, and our estimated deer population is around 1.2 million, you do the math. That leaves a heck of a lot of deer to grow one year bigger and wiser. Things that influence antler growth are nutrients, age , and genetics, in that order.I do not believe genetics play nearly as big a role in antler size as most hunters think. According to NC wildlife biologists, the states deer herd is stabalizing, meaning it is healthy. In other words there are enough nutrients and habitat to support the deer.I personally believe we could probably increase our annual harvest by 25% with no harm done. I know that each year many trophy class bucks are taken, but these numbers tell us there are probably many more to be found. I am not saying that 500,000 of the remaining deer each year are trophy bucks, not even 100,000 for that matter. Lets say that in 2009 180,000 deer will be taken by hunters,85,000 bucks, 95,000 does.Of those 85,000 bucks, lets say 1%(850) are trophy class. Another 70,000 deer will die from car accidents, poachers, disease etc... Of the remaining popuation, 1 million. Conservatively, lets say that 1% of these deer are trophy bucks. That means that roughly 10,000 trophy bucks are still around. I am no wildlife biologist, I have no data to back up this theory. I just believe that we may have more great bucks here then people realize. Where are they hiding?

Friday, December 18, 2009

COME ON SNOW!!!


What is this weather gonna do? I want a heavy snow, probably wont get it though. I dont have much time now to write, so let me send a shout out to Armanti Edwards, senior quarterback at Appstate. Last night you became the first person ever to win the back to back Walter Payton awards. The FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. No one deserves it more.Your courage,coolness under fire and ridiculous set of skills are unmatched. We all hate to see you leave, but cant wait to watch you play on Sundays next year. We may never see any one like Armanti Edwards again at APP or in the FCS, hopefully I am wrong. (We got some studs waiting in the wings) but I cannot wait until next season. Thanks #14 for giving your all for Appstate. GO APPS

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Im an amateur waterfowler



So to be perfectly honest with yall. I have only been duck hunting a handful of times. However it didnt take long for me to really love gettin after those birds. All of my life I have wanted a dog of my own. Growing up we had 2 family dogs. Holly, a Cocker Spaniel, who really didnt have a fair life, and Quincy the miniature Dachshund. Holly was kept in a pen out in the back yard and as much as we loved her, we didnt play with her or let her out nearly enough. One day she dug under the fence and got hit by a car. We were all upset. Quincy was a great dog, he used to get loose and run up and down our street. (not where Holly got hit) He was so long that his rear end would start catching up to his head until he was running almost sideways. He was an indoor dog that got a lot more attention then Holly. He used to lay with me on the couch and watch tv on his back like a person. Quincy, aka The Quinster aka The Stir, developed spinal problems from being so long and we eventually had to put him to sleep after he became paralyzed.Despite always wanting another dog, it wasnt until I got into hunting, and more specifically bird hunting a little, that I really considered it. I originally wanted a lab, but my wife has a slight allergy to labs. I think it has something to do with their hair. After much debate, we compromised on a German Shorthaired Pointer.What an awesome breed!! I have much more to say about Brewer later, but to get to the point, I dont have a ton of knowledge when it comes to waterfowl. I know enough to look like I know what I am doing and maybe shoot a few birds, and thats it. Some people call a lot, some people just a little, how long do you like to sit in the blind ? I dont know how many people are reading this blog, maybe just a few people. If you are a duck hunter or goose hunter, come up with some tips, maybe a top 5 or top 3 things to remember when waterfowling or something like that. I want to hear from yall. Leave me a comment or email me and I will post it. I am always interested to hear peoples tips, secrets, tricks etc.. I have been seeing a lot of ducks in the last week on small ponds and such.I have not been duck hunting yet this year, give me some hunting reports, send me some pics to post. I am hoping to go next week. Brewer is 7 months old, he sits well, stays well, and responds to my instruction via whistle really well. He just doesnt like to sit still very long. He loves the water, and retrieves great from the water. I am more confident in his abilities to retrieve birds then my ability to shoot them. I have REALLY got to get him on some birds though. I havent done it nearly enough. If I do take him duck hunting, it will have to be for him and not for me. A friend of mine invited me to take Brewer out to some local game lands on Saturday with him and his Beagle. I know that is unconventional, rabbit dog and bird dog running together. We didnt locate any quail but the Beagle caught scent of a rabbit a few times. It was a great time, we ran ourselves and the dogs ragged, and I found some great new hunting spots in the process.Have any of yall found a good population of quail on gamelands? You dont have to answer that, I wouldnt tell either. Well I could go on and on, but it is late, and I promised Steffi I would clean the kitchen. Plus she needs the computer back. Speaking of Brewer, he just got kenneled for eating the Christmas tree and licking spackle off the wall. Trust me, he knows better.Haha


-Andrew

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Antler Restrictions for NC


This is an often debated topic among hunters from all around the country. Should antler restrictions be imposed on hunters.This would only allow bucks to be taken that met a certain criteria. No more spikes or small 4 pointers,does and bigger bucks only. What do yall think? Could the hunters of North Carolina Benefit from such a law, or is that imposing too much ? Pennsylvania is the only state that I am aware of to create such a law.From what I gather, in some parts of the state a buck must have at least 3 points on one side of his rack. In other parts of the state 4 points on one side of the rack are required. I found a very interesting article on how things have played out in PA since these restrictions were put into place in 2002 :http://www.northamericanwhitetail.com/huntingtactics/NAW_0907_10/ (you have to copy and paste the link, I cant get it to work right at this moment)
I am not sure where I stand on this topic. The first buck I ever killed was a spike, and I was very proud of it. Though I have killed several other bucks since then, I have never killed what most people would consider a trophy class buck. I have had a few close encounters with really good bucks, but never sealed the deal. The idea of antler restrictions raises a few questions in my mind, some are touched on in that article above.
1. Are antlers really the most important thing? Maybe so
2. Will these restrictions help to recruit new hunters?
3. How will this affect the overall deer population of our state?
4. With tougher restrictions in place, could we get a few more weeks of deer season?

If I dont kill a deer this season, it will make 3 straight years of no deer. This is not because Im lacking the opportunity. This year I have seen deer(within bow range) almost every time out. The 2 years before that I lived in Maryland and while I didnt get to hunt as much as I would have liked, I still passed up plenty of deer waiting for the big boy. I realize now that I probably should be taking a few does each season. Since I have now stuck my foot in my mouth saying I always see deer, I will not see another deer this season. However if I do have the opportunity to take a doe I will. I have taken enough smaller bucks to hold off now, although my heart still pounds when they walk by. Antler restrictions or not, I want to take mature bucks. It doesnt even matter to me that they have eye popping antlers, I am after the smart ones who have survived a few seasons. While I feel that I may have rambled a bit, and forgotten a few points I meant to make, hopefully this will make you think about the next deer you take. Once again, I have no problem with people taking smaller bucks, but hopefully hunters begin to evolve, and as seasons pass they become more selective. I just want to get the ball rolling on this topic, plenty more to come later, as we take a look at different aspects of deer hunting in North Carolina.
By the way, the antlers in the daily photo were from a buck found dead this fall in Winston Salem, NC. I havent seen them in person but I am told the inside spread is over 25 inches!!! I didnt get to go hunting today like a said I would. My wife was supposed to get off of work early, so we planned to spend the afternoon together. She is walking in the door right now at 7:30 pm. It must be tough being the worlds best nurse. It is really tough being the husband who messed up dinner.

-Andrew

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The Second Rut ?

I just got back from an outing with Brewer(my dog). I would normally have hunted this afternoon. However I had to make a trip to the dentist office to get a cavity filled. Should have listened to my wife when she said to floss. Any who, sore jaw and all, I took Brew out to one of our favorite romping grounds. There is large neighborhood just a few minutes from our house.Only a small portion of it has been developed, so we love to go out there and just explore the little patches of woods that are still there. Deer sign is always abundant, and usually we cant make it through a trip there without Brewer chasing a few deer. He is a bird dog, but I dont mind,GSP's were bred to be versatile dogs,plus he is very obedient to my whistle so he doesnt go far. Any who, to get back to the point. This is one of my favorite things to do, I love to go exploring the woods, finding deer sign, scouting out new places, its great. Having Brew there with me makes it even better. Today, we encountered a few things, the first was a man walking with his two small dogs, they were fiesty. Seconds after we passed the man with the dogs, I noticed I white tail shoot up and take off from a cleared lot that was elevated 10 ft or so above the road we were on. I did a double take, did I really just see a deer right there, with all these dogs and people within maybe 75 yards. I ran up the hill to investigate, the deer was no where to be found, however, fresh tracks in the mud told me I wasnt seeing things. There were 2 sets of tracks. A doe and a buck.The deer appeared to be following each other. I walked the tracks backwards to a small but thick patch of woods, maybe 50 yards by 30 yards. A friend of mine was hunting yesterday afternoon and saw a nice buck with a doe and found fresh new scrapes near his stand. I mean the rut has been over for a few weeks now. I have read lots of opinions on the second phase of the rut, or the second rut, but I never really knew what I thought about it. What do yall think? I plan on hunting tomorrow afternoon,if today is any indication of things to come, it might be a good day. I havent fired a shot all season, bow or rifle.I've had some close encounters, but for the most part I have just been picky, but the season is almost over and I am craving back straps.I will be hunting on public land. You have to love the state of North Carolina, 1.8 million acres of gamelands and growing. Most of my hunting is done on gamelands. If you havent explored NC's public lands yet, you are missing out. More to come on this later. Until next time. Happy hunting

-Andrew

Monday, December 14, 2009

MY FIRST HUNT

The sky was crystal clear and still completely dark. It must have been about 20 degrees. I was bundled up in some make shift camo with my buddies .243 in hand. I was 20 years old & had never been hunting before. I didnt know much about my life up to that point. One thing was for sure though. In that moment I realized I was a hunter. I was all in, hook line and sinker. We sat up against a big rock out in a field watched the sun rise while we scanned the field. We saw plenty of deer that day, my buddy shot a doe that afternoon.I never got a shot off. We had each picked out a doe from a group in the field we hunted that morning, I couldnt find the deer in the scope and he shot as the deer caught our scent and ran. It didnt really matter though, I had never experienced anything like this before. From the moment we walked out into the moonlit field, cold gear on, rifle in hand, I could think of nothing finer, and still cannot. Among other things, I was born to be a hunter. It is part of who I am and I am proud of it. I believe that God created each of us with a specific & unique purpose. I also believe that when we walk in that purpose and we are aligned to Gods word, it makes us passionate, confident, and influential people. While this quote from St Iraneus is not from the Bible, it is one of my favorite qoutes. "The glory of God is man fully alive" Remember today that you are fearfully and wonderfully made,align yourself to Gods word and his heart, pursue your passions. What makes you come alive?

I make no claim to be a master of grammer, forgive me in advance for my rambling, non flowing non-articulate blog entries. So much to say, sometimes I just shutdown or lose my self, my wife says I have A-D-D. I am pretty sure she is right. Hopefully this is the first of many entries. this blog is dedicated to all of the outdoorsman here in North Carolina and the surrounding states.( My first hunt was in Virginia) Gonna be posting lots of hunting and fishing pictures/stories/tips and other cool stuff. I hope you stay tuned.

-Andrew

P.S. My heart goes out to all the Appstate football players and coaches. What a great season,we came so close. You cannot replace our seniors,they will be missed, but I cant wait till next season. Any team with Coach Jerry Moore at the helm is SOLID in my opinion. GO APPS