1. Write at least one gear/product review per month. – Wow, I actually did one or two for every month except for November. Not too shabby! I still have a few to post in the coming weeks.
2. Plan a 2011 out-of-state archery elk hunt. – I have already begun chatting with my friends over at DIYbowhunter.com for the 2011 hunt. It will happen!
3. Have at least one giveaway/contest per month. – This didn’t quite come to fruition like I had hope. Instead, I gave away some gear over at DIYbowhunter.com. Maybe this year will be different. If any of you manufacturers want a review done and want to do a giveaway, well, feel free to send away.
4. Meet with at least two archery product manufacturers. – I met with reps from two manufacturers. One was in person and the other was through email, phone calls, texts and it was great.
5. Attend and write about more hunting workshops as they become available. – I attended a couple and did publish a few on here. Not as many as I would have hoped for.
6. Shoot at least 5 different manufacturers bows. – Ouch, this one hurts the most. I checked out quite a few, but I have to be honest as I only shot two different manufacturers bows. I had the opportunity to shoot more and didn’t seize the moment.
7. Buy a trail cam (or more) and utilize it. – I bought three! I sent two of them to my dad and brother in NY and utilized the other out here. It didn’t work too well, so I still have some learning to do.
8. Arrow my first wild hog. – This didn’t happen. I went a couple of times and didn’t have any more opportunities. I hope 2011 will be the year!
9. Teach someone how to shoot a bow. – I didn’t teach someone from start to finish. What I was able to do was help a new friend out by answering his questions, shooting with him and in turn i was able to learn some new things. You are never too old to learn. I helped a few other people out with technique. I have a friend who does want to learn to shoot, so this year I plan on getting him to the range.
10. Take someone new out hunting for either mulies or wild hogs. – I took a couple of people out hunting for pacific-hybrids (mulies) and we had a blast. No kills, but we still had a great time.
11. Meet more of the guys from DIYbowhunter.com. – I did get to meet a few more of the guys from DIY. Great group of guys on there.
12. Host a hunting seminar – I was able to assist Eric Welsh, DIYbowhunter.com, with two of his bear hunting seminars at Bass Pro Shops. I covered gear and safety. It was a great experience and I hope to be able to help out with more.
13. Video an actual kill on camera. – Does a bug count? That was about the only tag I filled this year. Bummer for me, but I did have a great season (believe it or not).
14. Video someones hunt. – I videoed my brother’s hunt in NY this past Fall. He didn’t fill his tag on camera, but I did get some cool footage.
15. Try not to spend too much on new archery gear! – I did a great job on this! I spent very little money on archery specific gear. Now, when it came to new camo, gadgets and fun stuff I spent a bit more because I just had to, you know?
I’ll be compiling my goals for 2011 here shortly. Like I said, not resolutions, but honest-to-goodness goals. This is going to be one fantastic year and I am very excited.
Sounds like a productive and fun year! It's always interesting to look back out our goals for the year and see how close we came.
It's too late for 2011, but it sounds like you'd do well to start hitting the ATA show ever year. I know it can be a challenge with a real job to tend to, but the trade shows are really the ticket for networking with manufacturers, other archers, and likeminded folks. It's great exposure for your blog as well (and reporting direct from a trade show like that tends to launch your hit count into the clouds).
As far as killing that wild hog with a bow, I'm still waiting to mark that one off my list too. I've got some plans for Tejon Ranch, so we'll see if I can put it all together. That's definitely one of the best places I can think of to stick one with a bow (unless you get access to a killer property).
I'd say with the amount of goals you had and what you achieved, that you did pretty darn good!
Looking forward to seeing this years bunch when they're up as I'm sure it will be a good list!
@Phillip – Thanks! I am looking forward to 2011 for sure. I just got off the phone with ATA and I'll be looking at attending next year. Should be some good stuff! It seems that everyone who was there this year has said it's been on of the best in the past few years.
@Kari – I am working on my 2011 list right now. It'll be a few days until I narrow everything down, but it should raise the bar again.
This year I'm going to put together a few ideas like yours to accomplish.
Best Regards,
Albert A Rasch
Albert Rasch In Afghanistan™