So the outdoors is a large part of your life?

"Yes, very much so, The outdoors is a part of my life that I'll be passing down to my kids and am doing so now," John Michael Montgomery said. "My son and I will get the bows out and shoot them together, and I'll take him down to the lake and we will catch some crappie. But the hunting and fishing is in between his basketball and football and school; of course all of that comes first."

"She's got ruby red lips, blond hair, blue eyes, and I'm about to bid my heart goodbye ..."

What about your daughter, does she hunt?

"Not so much on the hunting," he said. "She became interested in the Olympic archery events and the female competition. She actually said, 'Dad, I think I would really enjoy shooting a bow in archery competition. I told her that would be great, so we will go look at some bows used for competitive archery. Of course I was excited that she was interested in the archery competition. She will turn 16 this month. She is very focused on academics and she will be getting her driver's license this month."'

What other activities hold your interest?

"Actually I'm a closet RC (remote control) kinda guy," Montogomery said. "I'm one of those kind who will get into the mood for about a month and will build some planes, fly them and crash them and try to fix them up again. I've always loved remote control stuff like that. I've still got two or three RC planes in my barn that I've got to get out and shake the dust off of them and get them goin' again."

"Pick up my gun and get back to work, And it keeps me drivin' on ..."

What is your favorite rifle?

"Well, I'm a big Browning fan. The first rifle I bought was a Browning 30-06," he said. "My favorite rifles to shoot will have to be between my 22.250 and my 7mm mag. So 22.250 for varmint hunting and the 7mm mag will be used when I get to go to Alaska and go for some of the big game up there."

What is your favorite big game?

"I just love to hunt elk ... But if you mean big game to eat, my all-time favorite is elk," Montgomery said. "But, when we fix burgers, the famliy like buffalo meat."

So what is your favorite fish?

"Well, I don't know if you call it a game fish, but my favorite pan fish is Crappie ... I just love to eat crappie," he said. "I also have a fly rod and enjoy fly fishing for trout. Of course, the best eating fish is walleye."

"Let me broaden your horizons, Teach you bout the finer things in life ..."

What is your favorite John Michael Montgomery song?

"Ya know, it would be a hard one to pick. I tell people when you cut songs for an album and have hits with them it is like your kids, you just don't have one you can say is your favorite," he said. "I have a sentimental favorite obviously with "Life's a Dance." It was my firt record and my first No. 1 hit. What it says about life is so true. I'm very lucky in the fact my very first song is one I've lived and am still living today."

After his concert Aug. 18, my wife Garnet and I spent a few minutes with him. We presented him with a Buck Knife, the Folding Hunter model.

He was appreciative, yes, but what really caught his immediate fancy were two packages of pepper sticks from a mule deer I shot north of Odessa.

"I look forward to eating this," he said.