Hailing from a long lineage of fisherman within his family, Russ spent his youth chasing bass and sac-a-lait throughout many of the local ponds and canals near his hometown of Berwick, Louisiana. He never considered hunting deer until the age of 24, when a friend convinced him to make a bow hunting trip down at the Atchafalaya Delta WMA. After borrowing a bow and taking a few practice shots, Russ knew he was ready for the hunt. Later that day he found himself hiding in some roseau cane, and 45 minutes before dark a doe stepped out into an opening at 15 yards. During a self-described “pathetic attempt” at shooting the deer, he watched as his arrow lodged squarely into the ground 10 feet in front of him. On the brink of hyperventilation and in a nervous moment of uncontrollable shaking, Russ knew his life had just changed forever.

Long outings on the water chasing sac-a-lait were quickly replaced by a “non-stop, relentless pursuit” of the whitetail deer. Having no one in his family to teach him, Russ quickly learned from his own mistakes and scored his first deer by bow-and-arrow four years after that first attempt. Since that day Russell’s walked a long road, with many sleepless nights spent wondering how to better himself. His dedication and confidence have grown exponentially, and much of what he’s learned through bow hunting he applies to life: “Never give up, and never let down. You can accomplish anything.”

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