The Sporting Life Notebook

Listen at https://thesportinglifenotebook.com/chapters/podcast/

Same hand. Same dogs. Same fields. New page.

September 1, The Sporting Life Notebook comes back different. Eleven episodes on the things that were always underneath this show — the art, the teaching, the dogs, the land, and the new tools worth carrying into it.
There’s an episode on the book I wrote for people who were never handed this world. One on what watercolor taught me about reading a field. One on carrying a small camera through a whole season, composing instead of spraying. One on what a working dog’s body actually asks for. One on the Minority Outdoor Alliance my wife and I built. And the dogs run through every single one of them, because they always have.
I came for the birds and stayed for the dogs. I’m still staying.

New season starts 9.1. Follow along — the notebook’s open again.

Bringing the Unlikely to the Outdoors.

This is Oregon’s Owyhee Canyon — chukar country, big and unforgiving and worth every step.

Swipe through a few days out West. This is what the field guide gets you ready for: reading country you’ve never seen, standing behind your own dog when a wild bird holds, and falling in love with the whole life around it — the wall tent, the long drive to nowhere, the tired dog asleep by the cot.

Chukar in the West, bobwhite in the South — the moment is the same, and it’s earned. From “I’ve never held a sh***un” to a moonrise over your own camp.
The book that starts you down that road is in my bio. 🔗

publiclandhunting wingshooting thesportinglifenotebook

I’m a guide and a painter both, and the two feed each other. Swipe through the dogs, the birds, and the country — all watercolor and India ink. Every piece starts with a real dog and a real day in the field.

The cover of my book is my own painting; the book is in my bio.

Prints are available to collectors by email. 🔗

People ask what I feed my dogs. Here’s the honest answer:

On a three-hour hunt, Spade and Joker never slow down — a client watching them run said the same thing. Their weight stays right, too; I don’t see the hip and hind bones I used to see on other food.

I partnered with Pack Provisions for the formula. It’s akin to what a dog would actually eat in the wild — whole-animal, every part used, nothing wasted.

For me it comes down to showmanship: feeding my dogs right means they look and perform their best — so every client who hunts behind them gets that performance too.

🔗 packprovisionspet.com

I never grew up with a hunting mentor. No family tradition, no one to hand me a sh***un and say “here’s how it’s done.” I figured it out in the field - one mistake, one lesson, one unforgettable morning at a time.

The Unlikely Upland Hunter captures everything I learned as a first-generation upland hunter so you can step into the field with confidence from day one.

Swipe through and see what’s inside:

✔️ Gear basics that actually matter
✔️ Reading the land and finding birds
✔️ Training and hunting with your dog
✔️ The mindset that carries you through the field

This one’s for every first-gen hunter who felt like they didn’t belong out there. You do. And this book proves it.

Grab your copy - link in bio.

Tag someone who needs to get outside and discover upland hunting.

Buying your first sh***un? Don’t let the marketing talk you into the wrong gun.

Swipe for the 3 things that actually matter — and why the expensive one isn’t the answer. The fancy gun is a destination, not a starting line. Competence in this sport is walked into, not purchased.

Pulled straight from The Unlikely Upland Hunter, my start-from-zero field guide.

Link in bio. 🔗

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