in his own words:
I am 38 and married to a great lady who lets me hunt and fish all year long. I am a father of two, Hunter 4 and Zoë one month old and am looking forward so much to have the 5th generation of hunters hunting soon.
My favorite type of hunting is for turkeys and a very close second is bow hunting for whitetails. I grew up hunting duck and geese about 5 days a week. I am lucky to have some great properties to hunt with great land owners who have become good friends
Great optics have proven to be a large part of my success. I am happy to be a part of the Vortex Pro Staff. As well lucky enough to also be Pro Staff for Gobble Staker Calls and Trophyline USA.
The nickname that I have earned over the years is the "Turkey Guy" because I live with turkeys, as well as eat sleep and breathe turkeys 365 days a year. Turkey hunting is never far from my mind.
location: Hamilton, ON
email: Rob.Pade@halton.ca
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Vortex A life time memory
Well where to start this story…….
Let’s go back to last years Toronto Sportsman show where I was lucky enough to be helping Vortex at their booth. While helping one of their customers I tried a pair of the compact Vipers and knew right then and there that I had to have a pair!
Now lets fast forward to the start of deer season - I had two goals: one - get my 6 year old son Hunter (who loves video games, riding bikes, ATV riding and all the stuff that goes along with being a 6 year old boy) to get up early and freeze his butt off to sit still and quiet for hours. I knew it was going to be tough to get him out and keep him happy, warm, and excited about hunting - the sport I love so much. Second was to have some close encounter with a few of the bucks that I have been chasing for myself.
Well both goals worked out perfect. Of the two the one I will remember for the rest of my life went like this…..
It was a real warm night in early November and I had my son up the tree with me in his saddle. I had given him the pair of Vipers and he was up the tree just an arms length away and he says “Dad look hear comes a bunch of deer”. I could not take my eyes off him as he watched 5 does move in closer with the Vipers. The smile on his face said it all as I’m sure the smile on my face did watching him see the first deer come in. He kept saying “Dad, get your bow ready. They’re coming right to you! getting more excited with every passing second. “Come on Dad, Come on Dad take one!” A whole pile of thoughts ran through my mind. “Do I want him to see his first deer come down?” With his encouragement with and a ton of excitement in the air I drew the bow and made a great shot on one of the does and again watched my son as she ran away. “Did you get it dad? DAD, DAD, DAD you got her; she’s lying just over there. DAD THIS IS THE COOLEST THING EVER - CAN WE GO AGAIN?”
So here I sit writing this story and I find myself looking at that same pair of Vipers and the memory of that day is bringing a smile to my face. It’s funny how certain things bring back memories and, for me those Vipers will always remind me of that night.
Thanks Vortex for all you do!
Sincerely,
Rob Pade
A Hunter's Tale - Train Tracks
Three years ago, I ran into this bird that would fly from his roost to a set of train tracks, gobble his head off, and go the other way to a place I can't hunt.
Me and a couple of friends tried for two years to kill this bird that earned a nick name "Train Tracks", and he was what we call a Bad Bird.
So now it is open week of the 2010 season. I went to the property again and there was Tracks at his old tricks and I couldn't resist the urge to try the old boy again. Four more days went by with me changing everything I could.
Well on this morning one thing changed. The bird flew onto a stump in the lake when the train came. That's when I had my game plan for the next morning.
At 4:40 the next morning, bow in hand, I was sitting on the stump. Light comes up, bird's doing his same old, same old, gobbling from his roost, then flies down, right to the tracks, about 100 yards away. So, I started belly crawling to him. I closed the the distance to 50 yards. At this point I had to get up to the same level as the bird. So I started belly crawling 5 to 6 feet to the tracks. Don't know how I did it, but somehow in the process crawling up, I stuck a 2" thorn in my nose from a hawthorn tree I was using for cover.
At this point the bird was 40 yards and closing. I had to draw set and shoot with the thorn sticking out of my nose (please see picture 3 above). I was so happy to get the thorn out of my nose and what a special moment getting "Train Tracks".
Stats are 21.3lbs, 10 3/4" beard and the best spurs I've ever gotten matching 1.5" (see picture 4 above).
Vortex Canada
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