looking back on 2008

[skeeter]

Last year, I had one of the most memorable hunting seasons of my life...so far! I had the pleasure to share several hunts with some very special people. I have hunted with many different people over the years, but I will be hard pressed to top last years success.

I had been huntin quite a few times with Landrover, but had an outstanding time with him on our safari in South Africa. Thanks in part to LSBA and Dare to Bowhunt. If DTB would not have donated to membership drive hunt, I may have never seen the DTB website here on LSBA. And wouldnt you know, that lucky Landrover won the trip! We had a great time. Oscar and I took some awesome animals, met some truly great people in our hosts, Lammi and Allison Pottgeitter, and the memories will last a lifetime!

Due to work obligations, I didnt get to spend as much time in the woods as I would have liked. But, all that changed when a buddy at work volunteered to work my scheduled overtime. He was wanting some extra cash to buy a bow and knew I wanted to take my son Aaron hunting. Aaron and I got our chance to go hunting the week after Christmas. Santa had brought Aaron a shiny new Rossi .233 complete with scope and 2 boxes of shells. Well, 2 boxes of shells were way too many. Aaron shot his new rifle two times on that hunt and killed his first deer, a big, fat, flop earred hill country doe! One shot, dropped her in her tracks! The next day, Aaron killed his first buck! A 7 point cull that ran maybe 30 yards before piling up! The look on Aarons face was priceless! I will always cherish that hunt! Aaron had been hunting with me several times, but that was the first time he was the trigger man!

When Saltwaterslick invited me to go with him to Del Rio, I was pumped! Thinking back on all the stories I had read and the videos I had watched of Charlie and Chew stuck out in my mind. I couldnt wait to get down to Del Rio. Just being able to see this ranch and hear the stories and history of this place was reward enough. But to actually get to harvest 4 animals, all on video was unbelievable. The bucks I took are probably not trophies in most hunters eyes, but I believe memories are the true trophy, not the score of an animal.

Our time in the great outdoors should be measured by the memories we make. All too often we get caught up in how big, how much, how wide. Success shouldnt be measured in inches but in smiles!