Growing up in central Pennsylvania, I spent easily over half of my time in the woods behind my house, sometimes getting lost for hours. Being outdoors and camping were my favorite things to do, and luckily my family had plenty of opportunities to do both up and down the east coast.

Being active duty in the Coast Guard, I have the advantage of moving to different places every few years and being able to see what they have to offer. My first duty station in Seattle took me on a patrol to Alaska and the Bering Sea in the spring of 2014, where I had the chance to hunt rabbits on Kodiak Island with some buddies. I was hooked. After moving to San Diego in 2015 I went on my first mule deer hunt to Colorado with my cousin, and that’s when I realized what I was getting myself into!

I started buying gear, reading books and articles, subscribing to podcasts, and adding all the hunting shows I could find to my watch lists trying to make up for lost time, as now I was in my mid-20s and couldn’t believe it had taken me this long to discover how freeing the world of hunting and fishing could be.

A few hunts later and a move to the Florida Keys saw my focus change, and more time on my hands meant more time planning, scouting, and hunting the land and sea around south Florida.

My next move is taking me back to the Pacific Northwest, where I will continue to learn more and more about the sport and stimulate my love for the outdoors.