I grew up in a small town on Lake Superior in NE MN. I fished a lot, mainly trout, walleye, smallies, and pike, and spent the fall hunting grouse and woodcock. College brought me to Univ. Wisconsin-Stevens Point (more trout and birds) and then I moved to AK with my future wife for 8 months following graduation, didn't hunt there but fished like crazy. After the AK stint we moved to OR, first Corvallis then Portland, and we're currently plotting our escape from the city.
Since moving to OR I have converted the majority of my outdoor time to focus on harvesting food...salmon/steelhead, crabbing, shellfish, mushrooms, and most recently, waterfowl and archery hunting. I am lucky enough to have friends that cut the learning curve for me on archery elk by teaching me tactics and putting me on a general area that held elk (all public lands). My first season was 2014, I had an amazing hunt and made a quick kill on a 4x5 raghorn bull in eastern Oregon. Bringing home enough meat to feed my wife, 2 daughters, and myself for nearly a year is the most gratifying feeling I've ever had. On top of that, I LOVE ELK HUNTING! I've never felt as much a part of nature as I do when I'm walking the woods with a bow looking for elk, and interacting (calling) with elk is otherworldly. I was lucky enough to tag a cow elk last fall after a completely crazy 7 days of hunting in which I had encounters nearly every day, including some close ones with decent bulls...I learned a TON.
I learned of Randy through listening to the meateater podcast and have since listened to all of Randy's podcasts and watched almost every video he's posted on youtube. Randy's stuff is especially relatable for me given our largely shared experience...growing up in small town MN, divorced parents, not much money, but still being immersed in the outdoors, then moving out west and getting hooked on the vast public lands and big game hunting it has to offer.
Sorry for the long winded intro...I tend to have a problem with that, though I'll do my best to keep it concise in the future.
Lastly, thanks to Randy for all you do for hunters, land, and wildlife!
Cheers
The Viking...aka Vik
Since moving to OR I have converted the majority of my outdoor time to focus on harvesting food...salmon/steelhead, crabbing, shellfish, mushrooms, and most recently, waterfowl and archery hunting. I am lucky enough to have friends that cut the learning curve for me on archery elk by teaching me tactics and putting me on a general area that held elk (all public lands). My first season was 2014, I had an amazing hunt and made a quick kill on a 4x5 raghorn bull in eastern Oregon. Bringing home enough meat to feed my wife, 2 daughters, and myself for nearly a year is the most gratifying feeling I've ever had. On top of that, I LOVE ELK HUNTING! I've never felt as much a part of nature as I do when I'm walking the woods with a bow looking for elk, and interacting (calling) with elk is otherworldly. I was lucky enough to tag a cow elk last fall after a completely crazy 7 days of hunting in which I had encounters nearly every day, including some close ones with decent bulls...I learned a TON.
I learned of Randy through listening to the meateater podcast and have since listened to all of Randy's podcasts and watched almost every video he's posted on youtube. Randy's stuff is especially relatable for me given our largely shared experience...growing up in small town MN, divorced parents, not much money, but still being immersed in the outdoors, then moving out west and getting hooked on the vast public lands and big game hunting it has to offer.
Sorry for the long winded intro...I tend to have a problem with that, though I'll do my best to keep it concise in the future.
Lastly, thanks to Randy for all you do for hunters, land, and wildlife!
Cheers
The Viking...aka Vik
