It has been quite a while since I have written a blog post for the website. Life over the last year has been pretty crazy to say the least. Both Chris and I moved last year and had to settle into a new place and new assignments. Chris moved out to Camp Pendleton, California and was promoted to Master Sergeant. Garrett received a promotion to Master Gunnery Sergeant and reassigned to the Pentagon and now lives in Northern Virginia. The COVID-19 pandemic has definitely had some impacts on our ability to get out and do some of the things we would like and has certainly had its affect at work. Fortunately, both of us and our families have not had COVID and that is a blessing. There have been plenty out there that have not fared so well and our hearts go out to all those that have been affected by this pandemic.
Anyone who has been following along with us on social media (Facebook and Instagram) or YouTube know that Chris and I have been busy working on our education. We have both been working towards bachelor degrees and I finally finished mine in April. Chris should be done next year hopefully but it has definitely consumed a lot of our time. I was doubled up on classes, which included my capstone, the first few months of the year. Needless to say, I spent a lot of weekends sitting behind a computer instead of being out in the woods. Had planned on getting out and doing a lot of turkey scouting but homework always comes first.
Speaking of Turkey season, that didn’t go so well for either of us. Chris was dealing with the challenges of learning to hunt Turkeys in Southern California, which proved to be much harder than he planned on it being. As for I, the best laid plans fell apart on me. Had some important tasks arise at work that had me traveling and just generally tied up during the majority of the Virginia Turkey season. I did get out three times at least and on one of those hunts called in my first bird to about 60 – 70 yards. Just couldn’t get him to come the rest of the way in so I could close the deal. There is always next year and hopefully I can get my first Turkey. If all goes well, I hope to be able to get some hunts in up at the family farm in Pennsylvania as well.
The summer is upon us and we’ve been busy. Chris has been out scouting for SoCal Mule Deer hard. So far, he’s had some pretty good success in locating deer. He has scouted some new areas he hopes will pay off as well as going back and spending some more time in the areas he hunted last year. My summer is a bit off unfortunately. If you have been following us you know I have some significant foot and ankle problems. Well, I had to have another surgery on my left ankle on June 11th. That has put a big wrinkle in my summer plans. I did get out with the family over Memorial Day weekend with our new camper though. Hopefully, I will be up and moving soon enough and can start doing some hiking and scouting for deer season.
If aren’t familiar with the Backcountry Hunter & Anglers annual Hike to Hunt Challenge be sure to check it out. Chris and I are participating for the second year in a row. He’s going to crank out the miles again this year and as for me I’ll be pretty limited. However, they changed the format this year and they have added cycling and paddling. So, I will be hitting the water with my kayak as soon as I can. Figure least that way I can get out and participate a little sooner than waiting to be able to hike serious miles. If you can support us with some donations for the fundraiser, please check out the Hike to Hunt button on the home page. We would really appreciate any donation you can provide. We are looking forward to the year ahead. This summer marks two years since we launched Old Breed Outdoors and as we enter year three, we are really excited. As we did last year, we will be headed back to Oregon in September for archery Elk. This is the last year we will be able to get over the counter tags for that hunt and want to take advantage of the opportunity. I am putting in for the general Elk season in Pennsylvania again. Keeping my fingers crossed that I can actually get drawn this year. While I’m grinding away in the Whitetail woods Chris and his wife will be chasing the Mule Deer in SoCal again. Of course, I will be back in Pennsylvania on the farm chasing some big bucks as I did last year. After that we both will be out chasing ducks and then cap off the season with another Southern Arizona Coues Deer hunt in January. It’s going to be another fun packed adventure so be sure to follow along. Tell your friends, neighbors and anyone else who enjoys the outdoors to join us on the journey.
