These are never more apparent in Texas than when the temps start sniffin’ the 100 degree mark. When it’s too hot to fish, hunting seems a million miles away. Seems like forever too since I heard my last turkey gobble, and our annual trip to Las Vegas every June only serves to keep my mind off of that fact for a brief while. When I get back, there’ll be two long months before I can dust off the shotguns again staring me in the face. That’s one reason I’ve been trying to work out how to get a summer home in Montana (or somewhere) to keep from going all-the-way crazy. I’ll let ya know when I get it figured out. (Maybe I should get myself a lotto ticket!)

Thank goodness I drew a couple of deer tags this spring, one for whitetail in Kansas and the other for mule deer in New Mexico, to keep me busy while working out the trip details. After whiffing on everything I put in for last year, I was on the edge of busting if I didn’t get to go out-of-state again this year. I even put in a bid through one of my disabled hunter clubs on a 5-day bowhunt for the monster bucks that walk in Buffalo County, Wisconsin, just to make sure. Little did I know that the area produces twice as many B&C and P&Y bucks every year than the famed Pike County, Illinois. I won’t find out about that one though until August though, but it’s another something to look forward to, and for me, that means the world.

That brings me right back to the original problem, surviving the summer. I’ve done all I can with my trips and lining up all the inquiries I’ve received from disabled hunters across the country with the people who can help them get back into the outdoors. The bird dogs are listless, the doves are in the midst of breeding & the rice crops are still months from harvest. (Haven’t my numbers hit yet?)

To make matters worse, I just got through reading the Old Man and the Boy by Robert Ruark. It’s a great story about how I think every boy in this country ought to have the privilege of growing up, and I’d recommend it to all outdoorsmen, but it sure makes a man lonesome for going afield or fishing.

Lucky for me, I guess, that I took up writing, and had the bright idea to start an E-zine about disabled hunters. This feels like the perfect time to get busy on it. (There’s sure not much else to do.) With all the friends I’ve made across the country, it became clear that this was the next logical step for me. I’ve heard a lot of terrific stories that I believe everyone ought to know about. I only hope y’all will be as interested in reading it as I am writing it. (Are you sure my numbers didn’t hit yet!)

On a more serious subject, I recently was asked to attend a ‘functional group’ at a place called TIRR which is a rehab hospital in Houston. It’s one of the leading spinal cord rehabs in the country, and the summertime is their busy time. It’s where I found myself almost 25 years ago. Well, periodically, when they get enough guys in there that are into hunting & fishing, they give me a call to come in and show ‘em some of my adaptive ’stuff’.

And let me assure you, there’s no way anyone could come out of that place without a new appreciation for the life they have and everything they can do. If there’s anything I wish I could share with everyone reading this blog, it’s that. Didn’t take long for me to realize I was just marking time in between trips instead of enjoying every minute of every day like I should be doing. Now go have a good summer.

The thing about Goa is that it wants to make a man put his roots down. Even an essentially rootless person like myself. It is laid back (almost horizontal at times) and compared to the rest of this money mad country, a haven for the senses. Yep I could almost feel myself putting my roots down. But that is another story. Read the rest of this entry »

The World of Custom Rifles & Me

I feel I should preface this story by telling everybody that I know close to zero about custom guns, reloading and long distance shooting. I grew up a factory gun & ammo man, never shot anything else… until now. My first steps into this world came when I started to become aware that the guns I owned weren’t as accurate as I wanted them to be. Not nearly as consistent as I wanted them to be anyway, so while re-sighting in my rifle before a mule deer hunt one day, I decided I was ready to do it. Read the rest of this entry »

That seems to be my mantra now after so many years of working in the disabled hunting world.  I figure why stop a good thing now.  It’s going to be a long, fun year and I look forward to sharing it with you as it rolls on.  I’ve got an elk hunt in NM, mule deer hunt in CO and a whitetail hunt in KS planned for the fall, which is quite a lot for a quadriplegic hunter that isn’t independently wealthy.  I may even try to squeeze in an antelope hunt if I get lucky and draw a tag.

In 1996, I created a site called Follow Me Outdoors as an information source for anyone looking to get back into hunting & fishing.  That got me started on the path that leads me here today, writing.  From my own experiences, to finding a quality outfitter, tips on adaptive equipment, public draws, helpful sites or opportunities across the country, I’ll try to cover it all.

So, this will be the beginning for us.  The start of our journey together.  I hope to share with you everything I know and love about life in the outdoors along the way.

All fishermen, once they determine they’re going to get a kayak and set it up for fishing, need to select a model. Usually the fisherman has never been in a kayak or has paddled little. Often they have a misconception of kayaks based upon what they’ve read, seen, heard or experienced. It’s important to understand that not all kayaks are created equal. Read the rest of this entry »