I wanted to take a moment to post a very public thank you to Paul Askew for the incredible amount of generosity he exhibited helping me get out in the field and gain some experience this season. I posted a question about hunting in Oregon a while back and Paul went out of his way to get in touch with me and offer to show me the ropes of blacktail hunting in OR. We were in touch for many weeks in preparation for my trip north and last week I was able to get up and hit the woods with him.
To say the trip would have been a near total waste of time without him is to put it mildly. He set up stands, bait, checked the weather, checked in on my shooting, etc, etc. He is a gem of a man an excellent example of the caliber of person I've met in the tradbow community. Although I did not come home with deer in the cooler, that was 100% operator error. Paul's preparation provided me with many encounters with deer, (one very impressive buck in particular) as well as some opportunities on the last day when one young buck got close enough that I was able to let two arrows fly. This was a very exciting first in my hunting experience! Apparently angled shots from a standing position are much more comfortable than shooting from a stand as my first arrow went under the buck and my second went over... In short, I need more specific practice in that scenario. One more thing to practice in the off season, I guess.
In any event, this post is not about my shortcomings but rather of Paul's incredible generosity both of time, energy and information. As a guy who lives in an area where there isn't even a hunting shop, much less an archery shop with traditional gear, I am always on the hunt (pun intended) for folks willing to share their knowledge. Paul is exactly that guy.
Thank you, Paul! I hope to repay the favor somehow, someday.