Chase The Unknown Podcast
Welcome to the Chase The Unknown Podcast, brought to you by the Boondocks Hunting Podcast family! This show is all about embracing the pure joy, excitement, and rush that comes from not knowing what lies just around the bend. To us, Chase The Unknown means the thrill of stepping into the wild with no guarantees—whether it’s locking eyes with a 200-inch whitetail, crossing paths with a 500-lb black bear, hearing the thunderous gobble of a turkey, or simply witnessing the beauty and unpredictability of nature. It’s about the anticipation, the adventure, and the stories that follow.
But what does Chase The Unknown mean to you? Is it the adrenaline of the hunt, the connection to nature, or the pursuit of something greater than yourself? Join us as we explore those questions, share incredible stories, and celebrate the thrill of the hunt—where the outcome is always unknown but the journey is unforgettable.
Let’s chase it together—one adventure at a time!
Chase The Unknown Podcast
Deer Don't Care About State Lines (But Game Wardens Do)
The woods go quiet, time slows down, and in that stillness, you realize hunting connects us to something far greater than ourselves. This conversation with Zach Spicher, founder of Echoes of the Hunt, reveals how hunting narratives preserve the soul of our outdoor traditions.
Zach's journey began unlike many in the hunting community - not as a child following family traditions, but as a teenager discovering the woods on his own terms. His first deer encounter resulted not in a harvest but in pure fascination as he watched the animals move, setting the stage for a lifelong passion. After joining the military, hunting evolved from an occasional pursuit during leave periods to becoming the cornerstone of his family's lifestyle.
"I feed my family through hunting," Zach explains, describing how harvesting game and tending their garden represents their commitment to living connected to the land. His recent transition to bowhunting demonstrates the hunter's eternal pursuit of greater challenge and deeper connection - bringing him literally face-to-face with the animals he pursues.
What truly separates this conversation from typical hunting discussions is Zach's mission to preserve hunting narratives through written storytelling. In a world dominated by short-form videos and diminishing attention spans, Echoes of the Hunt stands as a testament to the power of the written word. Zach meticulously crafts stories that capture not just the harvest moment but the sensory experiences, emotions, and meaningful connections that make hunting a transformative experience.
The most powerful moments come when Zach shares stories of taking his children hunting for the first time, creating memories that transcend any harvest. These narratives - of fathers and sons, mothers and daughters in the field together - represent the essence of why hunting traditions endure through generations.
Join us for this deeply thoughtful exploration of hunting's true meaning and discover why sometimes the best hunting stories aren't about what we take from the woods, but what the woods give to us.
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Every hunter has a moment when the woods go quiet, the air shifts and time slows down, and in that stillness you realize you're not chasing the game, you're chasing something bigger. Welcome to the Chase, the Unknown podcast, where we go beyond the saddle, past the trail cameras and deep into the stories that fuel the fire. Past the trail cameras and deep into the stories that fuel the fire. This show is for the ones who lose sleep over the rut, who hike miles into the public land for just a chance and who live for that silence before the shot. From the backcountry to the backroads, we sit down with hunters and trappers with the relentless stories, who live for the thrill, embrace the unknown and return with the stories we're telling. This is more than a podcast. This is the real moments and the raw truth behind the hunt. Today's episode is a special one, and we're here with Zach.
Speaker 2:My God, I just completely just Spiker dude, it's all good, and you?
Speaker 1:know what the crazy like. Let me finish the intro first from echoes of the hunt. If you don't already follow him, you're missing out. Zach's mission is all about giving real hunters a voice. No fluff, just authentic stories that deserve to be heard, from public land battles to heart-pounding moments in the stand. This is the kind of storytelling that keeps the hunting tradition alive. Listen, I don't think ever in the five years that I've been doing this have I fumbled a last name that badly, and I knew it too, but because I was, I don't know what. I just had a dirt moment doing 55 hours of work in four days.
Speaker 2:Dude, you're fine man. Hey, that happens. 55 hours is a long week for you, man.
Speaker 1:Zach, welcome to the show. Why don't you give everyone out there a quick intro and background about yourself?
Speaker 2:Hey. So yeah, zach Spiker, I decided to start this pagees of the Hunt not too long ago. I've been actually thinking about starting a page something similar to this a while ago. I just never had it really going um, but grew up not hunting at all. Um, I was about 15 16 when I started like really looking into hunting.
Speaker 2:And then I met my now wife back in high school and then, in 2008, her dad took me on my first hunt. So I was like, all right, try and figure this out. Didn't see anything, of course, cause you know, I didn't know what I was doing. But then I left for the military. So time went on and then, as I would go home on leave, that's when the hunts would start and that's when I started realizing like how how much I love this and then, just over the past 16 years, has become part of my family. I feed my family through hunting. We have our own garden and everything Like we're just trying to live off the land, if you will, and that's pretty much how it all started. Man, it's just been fun learning new things, meeting new people.
Speaker 1:That's that's what I love most is just meeting new people so you, you started hunting around 15, 16 later, later in life, you know, um, what was what was that like, so like, when you first, like, were driving to the woods or what like. What was going through your mind when you actually figured out that this is what you're going to be doing, going into your hunt. Do you remember your first expectation?
Speaker 2:oh, yeah, I remember my first day. I didn't know what to expect and I was just sitting there in the passenger seat just kind of like looking around, and I was like, all right, I guess this is it. Wake up at four in the morning for god knows what, and I remember, walking to my stand, I had my flashlight and I had my rifle in the other and I'm just like, what am I doing out here? And I hear a twig break like swing right over. I'm like, oh god, didn't know what to expect, got into the stand, sat there and, of course, what am I? What am I doing? I'm just, we didn't have the internet on our phones yet, really, so I'm just sitting there just looking around.
Speaker 1:Next, you know, I fall asleep, so I was, I was like, of course, classic classic, yes, yeah.
Speaker 2:And then, but I woke up and I see this deer and I'm like, oh cool, it's a deer Totally oblivious to what I'm doing. I looked down at my rifle. I'm like, oh yeah, I need to use this thing. I get the crosshairs on the deer and for some reason I just didn't pull the trigger. I was just so fascinated by nature at that moment, like everything just stopped and I just watched her move. She kept looking back and then this buck comes out right behind her and I was like, oh snap, it wasn't a big, it was like maybe a five pointer. But I was just like, this is really awesome. So I let them walk.
Speaker 2:Got into the truck, uh, talked to my my and I was just like, dude, that was fun. He was like, tell me about it. I told him the story of what I just told you and he just looked at me like I was an idiot, like, really, man, you missed that. Like take the shot. I'm like, I'm sorry, but then the next one was just went crazy, saw this doe, shot her down and, uh, one up to her. You know so thankful for her, and I just I like prayed over her, her body and everything, and just knowing that it was going to feed me a little bit and it was awesome. Never since then it was just like hitting the ground running. But I didn't fully get going into hunting until probably 18, 19 years old when into hunting until probably 18 19 years old when, uh, I met sarah and that's when it just just became part of my life.
Speaker 1:So now you I mean one, I don't really blame you at all, not for sure. And I know some people are like jesus and like I love watching just animals and like I think about hunting, like there's a lot of things, everything I basically love, even the stuff that I hate I love about hunting, but like when you're just sitting there and just you know nothing, none of these animals know that you're there, it's a whole different meaning of you know, relaxation, and not only you just pick up on so many things and you get to cue in on just everything that's around you and it's really what you, what we're meant to be, we're supposed to be yeah, we're supposed to be in nature, like you can't get any. You know any better than that. And then you know when you finally did shoot something, you walk up to a deer. Did you gut it or did you know? Did you watch somebody get it? What?
Speaker 2:was no I, so we took it to a processor. But I will be honest, the first time I actually truly field dressed a deer, or an animal in general, was this past year.
Speaker 1:Um and I'm 35 years old.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so like I've had the luxury of going to a processor every single time. But out here where I live now in Virginia, like there is no processor around, they don't have the hands to help them with it, so I had to learn not rather quickly- I already knew how to do it, but I would say last year the first time.
Speaker 2:It was also surreal because it was my first bow kill and my buddy Rodney, my best friend, was with me. So when we, when I hit this deer, I was like oh man, oh man, and I just heard him crash. It was a spike, nothing big people Like. It was just one of those like oh it's, it's got to go down because I got to get meat in the freezer.
Speaker 2:And but it was just so awesome having him with me there because I was able to actually go through the process myself pull out the heart, keep the heart, everything. And it was just awesome man, but I would say the. The first time I saw so dune field dressed as up, I was like what's that smell? Not realizing they hit the stomach and so it just smelled terrible. I was like, oh, but it is what it is I think like.
Speaker 1:So I want to definitely touch on Roku before we get into all the good stuff, cause I, I love you know first bow kill, you know doing it yourself. We definitely got to touch on that. So how long were after you? You know you killed something, got it to the process. Like what was the time limit on that? Like how quickly were you getting out of the woods and back?
Speaker 2:to the butcher. So my father-in-law has a four wheeler so we were able to hook it up very quickly, drag it down to his truck, load up on the trailer we're probably like at the processor and about 35 to 40 minutes after the kill yeah, 35 to 40 minutes after the kill.
Speaker 1:Perfect.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it was great. And of course you walk up. What do they do? They just come up, they check the teeth, they check the gap, looking to see if there's any chronic wasting disease. All that get the weight and you're signing the list log book. Next to you know it's in there, there's already in the freezer because the guy's already field dressed and you're just like, holy crap.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and yeah, and so different?
Speaker 2:I haven't had that experience yet yeah, they, um, they were quick, they had this. One guy had like I think there was like 15 deer in the parking lot just getting strung up and this dude was working so fast and I was just like he was like a whiz with the knife and by the time I was done I remember being like the sixth or seventh year in line and then next thing you know it's already in the freezer and I was like he's already washed it down. He's done everything. I'm like, oh my gosh, like awesome. But uh, now I'm just like curious if I did take it to a processor Is this fine, is this my deer?
Speaker 1:Is this the proper amount of meat? I don't even. I don't even know if we have the option to bring a deer with, you know, without it being gutted and everything like that. Like, I've never like even thought about it. First of all, it's a lot. You know where you got to go, track and drag and do all these things. I think, obviously, when you're a private property and you got the four wheelers and everything like it is definitely way easier. Or even if you have a public land that you can access with like a full four wheel or something like that, if there's any states that that do allow that to happen. But, um, you know it's, it's a completely different thing. Like, for us, it's everything's already gutted out and everything like that. So I mean, I've been doing it for for years and it's just it's second nature. Now I'm still not the fastest at it and the the best that, especially at night, like I'm brutal at night at night it is.
Speaker 1:It is ridiculous. Um, you know, and I feel like always at night I just get caught on like I'll get stuff out, but then trying to pull them like, oh wait, no, they're still, it's still connected. So you so yeah, like you can't really see your, and if you're by yourself too, it's like manning the light and you know, cutting and pulling, cutting and pulling and make sure everything's really clean is, and also, you know, now throwing in some filming and everything like that yeah it's a huge pain in the butt, but, um, I I've grown to really like, I think, love that part of it, like I really use.
Speaker 1:I used to not look forward to it. So when I first started bow hunting by myself, um, you know, I that was always make me like, oh, like I don't want to waste anything, like I don't want to ruin anything, like I want to to be able to harvest as much meat and I don't want to mess up gutting and everything like that. A lot of it is. I I didn't know what, as I didn't know what I know now now it's like boom, I'm looking forward to finding that deer.
Speaker 1:And all right, let's, let's just get it going, let's get them, let's get them gutted just like, right there, you just cut it open, you start going.
Speaker 2:The next thing you know you're already on the move with the animal and you're like, yeah, oh, there's the gut pile, gotta go.
Speaker 2:Like exactly yeah, but it's so fun like I've. I've learned more this past year I had I have. I was so blessed this year I I ended up, uh, harvesting eight deer. Uh, the majority were all does. I yeah, a lot of them were just does, but I was my buddy and I were able to go down to north carolina and hunt. I hunt here in virginia as well and it's just been a blessing to be able to so far live off all the venison that I've harvested this year. Like I don't think we bought. I think we bought two whole chickens this whole year, maybe three, and then a couple like pork chops in here and there, but nothing too crazy and it's yeah, man, the experience and the growth that I had this year was just surreal and I was very blessed about that.
Speaker 1:I love to hear that. So this was your first year bow hunting, correct?
Speaker 2:Yes, it was Well. Okay, last year was technically my first, but I didn't do anything. I didn't even get a kill. Last year I was skunked first year, bowhunting, but this is which I think, which I think is normal.
Speaker 1:I think that's like a normal thing to do. I think it's you're, you're getting into something completely new and it. Listen, bowhunting is challenging, like it is not an easy. It's not an easy, it's not an easy step and that's why I love so much about it. But the growth, and so really, from when you said you really started diving into 18, 19 to where you are now you're rifle hunting and everything like that, and now you've gotten to this boat, what made you be like all right, when did you realize that you wanted that next step of adventure? Adrenaline and just the passion was like all right, like I'm going to. And then also, when did you make the realization that was happening? And then also like, what were your first steps once you did buy the bow and how was that process?
Speaker 2:Well, this is a pretty awesome story actually. So my buddy matt, when we were, when I lived in california, um, he was really diving into, you know like listening to like the cam haines and listening to joe rogan and listen to all those other podcasts about bow hunting and stuff, and he had never hunted his entire life. He's like, oh, I'm gonna take a bow hunt. And I'm like, all right, cool dude. And he's like you should do it with me. I was like you know what, why not? So I bought a PSE, uh, a brute force, and that was in 20, 2021, I believe, um, and that thing only went up to 60 pounds. So I was like god, this is I had.
Speaker 2:I wasn't able to hunt in California because of where we were, um, but then I started realizing like I want something more. So I started going to this bow shop called OCR tree and man, I walked in and next, you know, I'm walking out with my first Hoyt and I ended up winning that Hoyt. It was like by chance. I was like, just went up to this line, they're having a little competition. I just started shooting a little bit and by this time I've only been shooting for a year, but, lo and behold, I'm walking out with the Hoyist that's right behind me, and that thing has been like ride or die I love it love always.
Speaker 1:I love a team point guy yeah.
Speaker 2:And then, um, when I got to north or virginia, that's when I was really able to start diving into hunting with my bow. Um, last year I did a mix, just so I can, because we were hunting huge open fields. Last year I did a mix, just so I can, because we were hunting huge open fields. But so when I got to the woods the first day, the opening day, that's when I took my bow and I was like, all right, I'm going to try to strictly do bow only. And then I realized how hard it was. I had a buck come by a solid eight point and I'm just.
Speaker 2:I remember he was so in tune with everything that was going on around him. As soon as I lifted a finger, he immediately eyeballed me and I'm like how do you see me right now? And I didn't move, I froze, like I just I wanted him to go back down, but he did like that fake down where he's going to go grab some food, but then pops back up and I knew what he was doing. And then, for some reason, he just got skittish and took off and I was like, how does that happen? And that's when I started realizing I need to use nature around me to cover, I need to use the trees, I need to use other timber. And that's when I'm just like okay, and that's when the challenge really started kicking in and I was like this is what it's all about.
Speaker 1:Because rifle hunting is fun but it's not as fun as a bow because you're getting personal with it. So, oh yeah, I, I agree it's. It's a whole different. It's a whole different avenue of, of style of hunting and just what you can get away with rifle or even, you know, shotgun hunting or something like that, versus a compound bow or a traditional, is just two completely different things.
Speaker 1:And I imagine all the people out there that you know shoot the recurve and and everything like that, like man, if you, you know, wait until you, you move to, you know, move to this, and everything like that, like then it's really gonna, which is yeah, which is gonna be, you know, another fun and challenging situation too as well.
Speaker 1:But man, I I think like bow hunting it's, it's addicted. Like I have spent, like today I actually just got my second point from for iowa, so I got two points in iowa. Right now I'm waiting to hear back from my main moose, if, if I would draw in moose uh, mainly for moose, I'm hoping me or somebody in my family draw for for that I'm bringing the bow, um, if I do, and then my sub, my sub, will, they will have the, the rifle, um, and then like just traveling around and just like doing all different types of. I've cannot wait to get the season and turkey season just ended here for us. I know I have been nothing but watching deer hunting videos and moose hunting videos. I am so fired up and it's like any time to go.
Speaker 2:I know and I'm sitting here. I was like man, my buddy. He set me up the other day. He's like man, 100 days. I was like I cannot wait. And he's like I know football's around the corner. I was like, oh, I thought we were talking about hunting man, like literally 100 days from now, like we just. He just started laughing at me. He's like you're addicted. I was like, yes, I am, and it's because just you have to be outside. You need to be outdoors. You have to do whatever you want. You just sit there and connect with nature.
Speaker 1:God, however you spend your time out there, but I just love it, man, it's so fun. Uh, yep, 100 agree with you that. When, when does uh, when do you guys start in virginia?
Speaker 2:so I'm the same where's delaware right? Yeah, somewhere between september 7th, for so I'm right on the border of north carolina, virginia, so I start bow season september 7th for north carolina, and then it's like october 7th for North Carolina and then it's like October 7th for Virginia. So, okay, I have a very long season for bow hunting, courtesy of North Carolina being right here, so yeah, and where I hunt. It's literally like I go. I literally bounce back and forth between the North Carolina property and the Virginia side.
Speaker 1:So it works out great gotcha, gotcha, gotcha. Now, listen, I extended my season going to Delaware now. So I start September 1st I I'll be in the woods and everything like that, hunting. So from September 1st the second week of February I'll be hunting pretty hard. But I mean it's thrown in all different animals there, like we get the waterfowl season there, we get bear season and and stuff like that. But yeah, I can deer, we can deer hunt.
Speaker 1:You know, basically in delaware is a two-hour drive for us and I think virginia is eventually on. I think, uh, I think one of our team guys, payton and uh steve, they've been in virginia and they've hunted and down in virginia and everything like that. I'm pretty sure steve was there for opening weekend last year and everything like that. But virginia is eventually on the bucket list too, um, especially because they do everything like that, like that opens earlier. So you know, eventually, hopefully, if things really work out, you know, yeah, dude, go from delaware straight to Virginia, then back up to Jersey and all those things, but you know it's coming.
Speaker 1:So where you live between the border, what is the environment, what is the habitat kind of like where you are?
Speaker 2:So it's more of a rural area. So I live right on the edge of a city, but as soon as you turn on my neighborhood farmlands, so just open terrain you could you can literally see not for miles, but like, oh, there's a tree line about 500 meters, this way, another tree line over here, that's about another 500 meters, and then the woods are just, they're not thick, it's just there's not a lot of pine, which is phenomenal, because pine trees I don't mind. But when you get that underbrush and you're trying to hunt through that, that's where you're just like this is not fun, because then, you're cutting, you're trying to climb and you're just like I'm done with it Because parts of North Carolina are like that.
Speaker 2:But man, it is so open here Like I have bald eagles that live in my tree in my backyard. Come Pretty cool, eagles that live in my tree in my backyard, uh, come pretty cool, usually like the fall time and yeah, which is really cool to see. And then, uh, what's? What I would say is probably the most amazing thing is just seeing the amount of deer that there are here, because you would, you would think they'd be far scarce, because the royal area, a lot of hunters and stuff. No, you, you turn a corner and your, your lights light up the field and you're looking at like 100 deer, like holy crap, they're everywhere.
Speaker 1:jesus, yeah, so it's so you guys have a high hunting pressure, so you guys have a lot of hunters but also just a lot of deer, and, you know, it sounds like a decent amount of of land that you guys can hunt on too as well yeah, well, my, my buddy rodney that I was talking about earlier, he's closing on a house here shortly and, uh, he just picked up about 15 acres of land.
Speaker 2:So next to it is another 150 acres of land and we're gonna be yeah, we're gonna be able to hunt it. So, and it's he and I are like our boys are gonna be out there in the woods with us. This is gonna be awesome and he's already yeah, we've already made plans, man and we're there's gonna be no pressure, but just from he and I. So that's what makes it even better. Yeah.
Speaker 1:That is, oh gosh, get me itching to. Can't wait to hear you know the stories and resent that from you in the upcoming year year. Um, so when you go to, so when you cross over the border, go to north carolina, you know what is kind of like. Do you see much of a big difference in like what it is like to hunt in north carolina versus the end, the deer and everything like that, or is it still close enough where it's kind of kind of remotely the same?
Speaker 2:it's relatively the same. Um, it's really cool going from one edge of the property to the other and seeing your target buck that you're going after and you're like, okay, now I know he's in this area and I know he's in that area and it's nice to be able to pinpoint him going back and forth from state to state. But the tricky part is you know how states are really skittish about you bringing an animal from one side to the other. Yeah, that's, that's the hard part. You're like well, I just I watched him. I shot him on virginia's side and he came to north carolina whoa, he died in north carolina side. So it's like all right, whatever. So it's nice being able to do everything yourself processing it and getting all the meat in the cooler and then just rushing home and getting it in the freezer. So I would say that is probably the the sticking point when it comes to like the game warden in that in the area.
Speaker 1:So that's kind of, that's not like, well, that is just absolutely just like. I couldn't even imagine, like, but it'd be that would be pretty cool too to be able to like. It's literally boom, one and and the other. Yeah, do you have to? So obviously do you have to get both, both tags and everything like yeah, so, yeah, yeah, fortunately, I guess it's fortunately, unfortunately, whichever way you want it, you do have to get both, both tags and everything like that. So say, you know, you, you shoot a deer on virginia's side and it ends up like you tag that because it was shot on virginia's side, you tag that under virginia's ag.
Speaker 2:Like how does that kind of work, so I tag it where it, where it dies, pretty much where it dies, okay yeah so if it, I remember one year this is actually last year shot this buck.
Speaker 2:It ran to virginia side, ran back onto north carolina. It's like I was hunting the border, like I was on the line, I was just watching it zigzag and then he finally just killed over and like I literally looked down at my gps, like this dude is literally in both, both states now. His head is in North Carolina, his bottom is in Virginia. So I was like I'm just going to tag him with North Carolina because I had two tags still left for Buck, virginia. I was tagged out for Buck and so I was just like whatever, I'll just do this here. So it was just kind of funny how it played out and I was like that's funny. But I called up Taylor, the game order, and I told him like hey, yo, this is what happened. He's like bro, that's wild.
Speaker 1:So he actually came out. What are the chances Like? What are the literal chances of that even happening?
Speaker 2:Dude, one in a billion. I'll tell you that.
Speaker 1:You should have went out and played the lottery right after.
Speaker 2:Dude.
Speaker 1:Everyone has told me that everyone has told me I was like you know, but with my luck I would spend like the five dollars on the ticket and I'd owe money. Like that's my life sometimes. Um, so when, when you, when you first found out that you're going to be hunting on a property that would have both, like what was it a pain in the butt? Like did you have to call both ward? Like did you have to reach out to virginia's uh wardens and also north carolina's and kind of like make sure that everything was? Hey, like this is what's going to be happening. I'm hunting this property. Like how, what was that kind of like just going back and forth between two? And I'll tell you, at least in new jersey, our hunting digest is confusing as hell. I couldn't imagine having to pay attention to another hunting digest while I'm hunting one other property. Like, kind of, go over what that's like.
Speaker 2:So I hold on a military installation being active duty. So that's very lucky. In my case the game morning is for the North Carolina side and the virginia side, so that works out great in our favor okay then I built like a personal relationship with him and he's such a great guy he's.
Speaker 2:He's all about, you know, making sure people are picking up the trash. He tries the community together and where we all just come together have like break bread and everything, and so it's really fun to do that. And then, um, but the biggest worry that I had was how did the tags work? Well, north Carolina is two and four and then Virginia is two and four, so it works out. And I was like, oh, that's easy.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I was like sweet Um. And then of course, virginia has earn a buck. So if you tag out on two bucks, you could technically earn a buck through some way or another. I don't know how that works yet, but I'm looking into that this year because I'm chasing this beast of a buck this year like last year. His body, he was at least 210 on the hoof and I'm like that's my target buck, yeah. So I hope I get them, but if not, I mean I'll continue chasing them. It's, I can't wait to write that story out. I have have notes on it and everything.
Speaker 1:So oh man, yeah, no, I'm definitely looking forward to that one when, when you post it up. So why don't we, for for a little bit, get into you know the page and this is something that you said you've wanted to do, and everything like incredible idea. I mean, I absolutely just in love with just the idea and what you do here. Where did the idea like, have you always done stuff? Where, excuse me, where you're, you're writing, and everything like that? Or did this just one day like this? Is it? Well, how did this kind of come about?
Speaker 2:yeah. So, being in the military, I have to do a lot of writing uh just for like after action reports. You know people getting put up on meritorious boards to get promoted and whatnot. So I have to do like I have to do a lot of fluff with the, with these uh writings and everything. But I've noticed that a lot of hunting digest reading material uh magazines have kind of gotten away from just the roots of what reading was all about when it came to hunting, and a lot of it is now. You know video, which is awesome.
Speaker 2:But I'm kind of like old school and I was like saying the thing. I was like man, there's really no in detailed written out hunts anymore and so unless if you go to like Eastman's and read through there. But I was just sitting there talking to my wife about it one day and she's like why don't you start a page? And I was like you know what? Why not?
Speaker 2:So I was sitting there and I was like thinking of a name and then one of my sons he was screaming something and I noticed it was echoing off the wall really loud and I was like that's when it like kind of hit me and I was like I got it echoes of the hunt and, uh, ever since then it took me about five months to really start this because I had to get through hunting season, I had to get through some other stuff and then finally I sat down. I was like, okay, I'm gonna start this, I'm going to write my first story and I'm just going to see how it goes. Start off slow, typical, like that's how it is. And then, by chance, I messaged Joe, the owner and founder of Osseo, and I said hey man, I would like to write a story on one of your deer if you got a minute.
Speaker 2:And he was like, yeah sure, what do you need? And I told him I was like to write a story on one of your deer if you got a minute. And he was like, yeah sure, what do you need? And I told him I was like, if you could just send me like three to five photos and like a quick summary of your hunt, I would love to rewrite it and post it. Well, I did, and that really took off and then raised a hunt. They wanted me to do a story for them. So I did a story for them, but I'm really focused on Osseo because a lot of the guys have very similar stories to mine that I just like to share. So it's it's kind of been like a rollercoaster of emotions, but that's kind of like how it came about. My wife really encouraged me to just start it. She's been my rock and she's very supportive of it and I can't appreciate her enough. Yeah, I mean just absolutely.
Speaker 1:I mean I'm going to the page right now too as just absolutely incredible stuff, but it does like everything starts out slow and then, but it just takes that one time where, once it catches it, it just catches and I mean, yeah, what you've done so far is just like. I remember when I can't remember how you know, once I found it and it popped up and I you know everything like that, I was like, oh, I was like what is this? And I, I think it was right in the beginning I was like all right, like cool, cool, cool and you know reading the stuff and it's right. Like everything I see now is video, video, video. Yeah, look at, we do everything we do, we, we do video and then we do audio. Like we don't do really much writing and I've always been interested in like it's still nice to read stuff. Like I'm a big book guy, I read a lot of books, um, but, being on social media, everything I see is video.
Speaker 1:So, like it was and you have 15 seconds to catch somebody's attention, because after that which is crazy tick tock is real which is true, like I've and it's tough because I'll make a video and it will be between, like, say, 30 and 60 seconds and I'm like it's too long and that's crazy to say that it's too long and it's it's known, because my best videos are usually shorter and they do just so much better. And it's like, well, what the hell do I like if I cut everything out, then it's literally just going to be like I don't want to just get right to the point. I like the build up.
Speaker 1:I like watching videos and movies and tv and books where it's all about the build up and that's what these stories are. It's literally a build-up and what you do is you you drop the pre, like kind of like a little teaser. You're building up and then you get into the story and if you read the story, it's building the titles, everything like that catches your, your attention. But if you do video and have like the video, so it has to be like short, but at least you have the the written stuff down to you as well and it's yeah, social media has a lot of good stuff. That is one thing that is completely screwed. Everyone's attention spans is no one watches anything fully yeah, and it's.
Speaker 2:It's kind of a shame. And we do a really good job at reading to our children every night and I'm very thankful for that, because they just sit there and they just listen and they want to learn, they're eager, and but when I just sit behind my computer and I just start typing away, it's just like I definitely do not type how I, how I speak. I sit there, I literally take my time and I was like, okay, if I was in the woods, if I was this person, what exactly am I feeling? What does it smell like, what does the area look like around me? And I just start, you know, like putting notes to the side. There are even times where I'm just sitting at a restaurant and a thought comes to mind.
Speaker 2:I'll just start writing on a napkin or I'll write on my pant leg because I don't have anything to write with. And then my wife's just like use your phone, bonehead. I'm like, oh yeah, that's right, I'm just like duh. But I'm just like duh. But yeah, I've ruined a pair of pants or two just from writing notes on them. I'm like, what am I doing? That's military stuff that I've always done and it just correlates over to my civilian life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you guys are always writing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but it's true, if I take a video and I break it down to about 14 seconds is my max, I'm going to catch someone's attention, because I remember one time I had like a 30 second video. My wife just looked at me. She's like I'm out of it already. This is boring. I'm you, you're taking too long to get to the climax. And I was like all right. And that's when I started focusing on like okay, quick snippets, teaser, and then the story later on down the road. So that's, that's kind of like how I like to do it, yeah.
Speaker 1:I know I, I like I said I love it. Now, how, like, once it started, what is it like? I imagine you got backed up on stories. So how do you balance you know, work life, family life and also having time to cause you're what at a, you're at a post or a story. It seems like a day right now. So like, yeah, how do you balance it all? What, what's that kind of like? Because we got a lot of people out there that listen and follow in, that they always are interested in started pages and that's always my biggest question that people, how do I balance you know life and everything like that so kind of you know, how do you find the balance?
Speaker 2:well, yeah, that's actually an awesome question. So it started off where it took me a while to really balance it out. But when I'm at work we end up working like 60 to 70 hours a week, depending on what type of rotation we have going on. When it comes to having, I'm at a schoolhouse, so I have students coming in and students going out, but I'm in a position now where I can kind of just like sit back and watch the instructors take it. But while I'm doing that, that's where I'm able to really chime in and get on my on the notes on my phone and start plugging away at some stuff, and then I have it already connected to my computer. So when I pop up my computer, it's all my notes right there. I don't have to send it through email or anything. So that's, I would say that's probably how I'm able to balance it. It's just where I am right now in my career because I'm on the back end of it. So it's starting to slow down drastically.
Speaker 2:So I do it when I'm not as busy around my children. Like if I'm just sitting there watching them run around real quick. That's when I usually post. I'm like like, oh yeah, I should probably post this and it doesn't take any time at all. It's just a couple clicks, a couple tags and send it out.
Speaker 1:Um but, yes, it's been very easy to balance because of my current position. Yep, yep, got that. That makes that makes sense. Um, the titles, and it's always the I love titles. I think titles is one of the most important things, especially like when I'm talking about like in podcasting and everything like that. Where do and it's always the I love titles. I think titles is one of the most important things, especially like when I'm talking about like in podcasting and everything like that. Where do you come up with titles and has there been so far a story that you had where it's kind of like stumped you?
Speaker 2:So I will use some people's titles that they send me because it just fits the narrative. There is one story I got to pull it up. That just the narrative. Okay, there was one story, um, I gotta pull it up that just.
Speaker 2:I was sitting there and I was like why can I not come up with this? I've had a I actually had a writer's block on this one, um, and it was driving me nuts. I just couldn't figure out for the life of me. It's actually very recent too um, echoes in the stillness. That story, man, I love that story. That was such a fun read. Um, after I finished it, but yeah, that one, I don't know why I just could not come up with a title at all and ask my wife, like what do you think I should do for a title? She's just like I don't know, just sit there and be still about it, just think about it, and I was just like duh, yeah, and then it just it like hits. But man, that that story. I was probably up till about two in the morning, two or three in the morning, and I had to be at work at five and I'm just like this is stumped.
Speaker 1:Couldn't do it. What do I do? Yeah, well, what do I do? Like how? Yeah, it gets like that. It definitely does.
Speaker 2:It's a, but once you get it, it's like all right oh yeah, that was easy like duh yeah, like I was on the way to, uh, to the gym that morning and it it was starting like I was just thinking about it and then, but post-workout, that's when it started like I think I got through that mental fatigue, was able to actually get going and just started writing in my little notebook in my car.
Speaker 2:I should have used my phone, because then I had to translate it later or transfer it over to the computer later. But when I just see a pen and paper, it's right there, fresh, I'm not going to take out my phone and then I'm going to be like, wait, what was I just thinking about? So I was just going, I was a little late to work, got a little talking to about it, but I didn't really care. I was like no one shows up on time here anyway, so whatever. But yeah, echoes of the stillness was definitely the the one that I had a a big writer's block with, but it turned out to being an amazing story now, do you, do you have a story?
Speaker 1:because and this is yet again, I I'm gonna understand a hundred percent I imagine I have an idea what you're gonna say, because people always, oh, what's your favorite episode? That that I do on it, so everyone's different. But do you have a story? That one either really stuck out to you or like the minute you read it, you're like holy shit, like this is like way better than I thought, like it was, it was going to be dude, it's.
Speaker 2:Every story sticks out to me and I can't say there's one of the other. But the ones that really stick out to me are when it's the fathers and sons, the daughters and sons, or sorry, the, the mothers and sons, and just the family ones. Um, I'm writing one right now that is coming out in wednesday, it's july. Um, I it's a father and son they went turkey hunting and I cannot wait for that one to come out.
Speaker 2:But that one's sticking out to me because my son, my sons, are almost to that age and it's just like oh, I can't wait to write their story for them and present it to them later in life, where they just are so thankful for it and just over the moon about it and it's just so they can look back and just remember in detail. I think those are the stories that stick out most. For me are definitely the ones with the um, just because of my own children. Like I took my, my oldest hunting for the first time this year, knew I wasn't going to see anything, but it was the experience that I got with him. Just I remember walking up on our trail cam and I'm just like this and he's got his little bow and arrow and he's got the oversized orange on and he's just like all right, so this is hunting.
Speaker 2:We get into the blind and he can't see over the blind. So I put him in my lap. He goes dad, look a deer. I'm like yep, no, there's not, but it's just. It was just like the innocence of it, the oh man, like just being with him in that setting was just so honorable and just so amazing and I loved every second of it. But I will never forget the face he made when we were walking out. He walked right into the spider web and he just goes. Hey, he starts yelling like someone did it to him and I'm just laughing. I know there's another hunter over there and I can see him just shaking his head and I'm just like I'm sorry, dude, I'm bad dude, like bad he.
Speaker 1:He's getting the like he. Walking into the spider web might be one of the worst, though like I hate that shit right there, oh my god, when you're early in the season. So I don't blame him at all and it's so much better that he could just like makes it seem like somebody pushed him into web or someone draped the web over him or something like that. It's like I don't want to look like I just did this by myself, but I don't blame him. He probably handles it better than me, because there used to be times where I would start freaking out.
Speaker 2:I was going out at the end. I was just trying to get it off of me. Yeah, I've been there Multiple times this past year.
Speaker 1:I once had a spider. I think it was opening. It was somewhere around. If it was an opening day, it was like within the first couple days, and it was early morning and the sun just came up and it was still a little dark and everything like that. And I saw this jumping spider on the tree right next to me, just on this branch, and I'm just staring at it and all of a sudden it jumps and leaves and hits me right in the forehead. You're just like, really, I'm like what I was like what the hell are the odds of like why is the spider just thinking, hmm, let me just jump on this thing that keeps moving in it. You know it's definitely not a tree or anything like that Cause like a thousand times bigger than I am.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Right, plop right out right on my foot.
Speaker 1:I'll never Cause it was like when it jumped, it was like it was in slow-mo and you just see watching it and you just watch it and just like, literally just smacking right in the head, but just smacking right in the head, but, um, you know, and that's the other thing, like the stories are great and you know, that's something I'm looking forward to when you know, when I have my own kids and everything like that.
Speaker 1:And just taking other people out to to hunt, even if it, even if it's somebody who doesn't have kids or anything like that, like embracing what we do with people who've never done it before, who are new to it, who want to try it, who are, you know, younger, older, doesn't matter. That is like that right, there is so much fun and I think oh, I know it needs more to I would say, almost every hunter that I've ever met or talked to. Getting somebody else on deer or their first year, their first experience, means so much more to them than, like their own personal goals oh, dude, today, yeah, my buddy rob came over.
Speaker 2:He lives down the street and he and I met a couple months ago, um, but he's always talking about how he's been interested in bow hunting and I don't believe he's ever hunted a day in his life and the first thing he wants to do is bow hunt. And I'm like dude, yes. So I take him to oceans east, literally. This past week we pick up a bow. He got a prime um camera I know it's a prime camera the name of the bow but today he is in my backyard and I'm just trying to get him sighted in and, of course, like the, it's only up to 40 pounds, not that heavy he's. He's still trying to hang of it, but he is over the moon and he is just having a blast with it. It takes me back to when I first picked up a bow and that's what I love about most of it. It's just like it's like a blast of the past and you're just like this is awesome. Yeah, I'm doing it with my fiancee right now oh, dude, that's awesome she's.
Speaker 1:Oh, that girl can shoot, she's a, she's gonna be a killer a little once. Hopefully she will be a killer. I'm not pushing, this has been in years in the making. But like I know what, like going through all the steps all over again and you know what, I even I for your buddy you 100, like I remember I think I was only on like 40 pounds too when I, when I first started everything like that and it's such a, if you don't do it, it's such an awkward, yeah thing and it's actually really unnatural, especially like now I've listened to a bunch of guys when you, when you're releasing everything like that, your body's just staying here.
Speaker 1:It's not like you're pulling back and then letting back down, like you just pull and then that's it where it's just it's, it's just not too natural and it's something that you know I've learned is there's people out there that, yes, they don't, they don't work out and they don't keep. But for me, bow hunting, the type of bow hunting that I do and the style that I do, like I made very clear early, early-ish into my my hunting career that like I had to work out and I had to stay in shape because it is a awkward situation and you know, the big thing is the shrugging of the shoulders, like people just naturally, when they're in that place, want to shrug their shoulders instead of keeping their their shoulder blades down and everything like that. And you know, it's, it's yeah, it's just not not a natural. So 40 pounds is perfect, like that's the perfect practice, and it also doesn't wear and tear.
Speaker 2:It's a lot of wear and tear on our shoulder, oh, yeah, and I could tell like he was getting a little fatigued after a while and I was like let's just take a moment, just relax for a minute, get loose. But it was just so amazing to watch because like he's just trying to figure out where his anchor point is and I noticed that, like you know, like a lot of guys like death grip the bow when they're pulled back.
Speaker 2:I was just like telling him like just relax your hand, just let it hang there, and I know it sounds awkward, but when you pull back you want all that pressure right there in the palm of your hand. You don't want it anywhere else, you don't want to be death gripping it, because then you're gonna be shaking, you're gonna be torquing the bow a different way. And he was sitting there just listening and taking it all and soaking it in like a sponge. So when by the time he was out the door heading home tonight, he was working it, he was hitting the target. Yes, we were only 10 yards in, but we're also trying to get his, his bow, sighted in perfectly to start off at 10, 15 to 20 and then I threw on one of my old sights for him because we maxed out his other site because it I don't know what was up with it.
Speaker 2:Um, so I just gave him a site. So, like here, use this. This will be better. There's five pens for you. Like, now, he's able to actually use it up to 50 yards or 60 yards or whatever, instead of getting a slider like. So he's. He's very intrigued about the whole process and it's fun watching him like I'm.
Speaker 1:I'm excited for him, so yeah, I got a guy, actually our show's producer. He was supposed to make it today but his uh, his girlfriend scheduled something, so he's like yeah, I'm pretty mad.
Speaker 1:I couldn't make it, but it'll be his first year. And I got, I got a crossbow here. He was like oh, like, should I buy a bow? That I couldn't make it, but it'll be his first year. And I got a crossbow here. He was like oh, like, should I buy a bow? I was like no, I was like we're going to get your apprentice license. We're going to find that I want to make sure that this is really what you want to do.
Speaker 1:Then you can get the bow and everything like that. But there's no listen. First year You're first new to hunting, trying to get into hunting. I have no issues with the crossbow. No issues, right? I not the best cross. I hate using people. I was like why don't you use a crossbow every once in a while? Why don't you shoot with a gun? Like I really try not to. Yeah, because I love bow hunting and I'm obsessed with just like bow hunting. I get killed my bear back behind me with the gun.
Speaker 2:Never really want to kill one again with the gun, the adrenaline rush isn't the same. No, if it's past like 300 yards. Like this one doe I killed this year I think she was at 350 plus smacked her and I thought I missed because I was an idiot and I lifted my head off of my stock and reloaded that way so I could keep my head down and reloading.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And my bolt game was so bad at that moment but I did. I see her like trot off. I'm like there's no way I missed. So I get down and I I go over to where I believed I shot her and I just kept looking.
Speaker 2:I saw the dirt kicked up and then I found blood and I was like, oh yes, when I got to her it was a perfect hit, like she ran 20 yards into the woods but it sucked because it was downhill and the slope was pretty slopage and I was like this is not good, so dragging her out was just yeah, I can believe it. I was like this sucks there's. I have a video of myself just like oh, this is this, is not it.
Speaker 1:So there it's it's just a different adrenaline rush and I, I'm and yet again, I got, I got the 30-06 in there. I got, you know, the slug gun in there. You know, I think each weapon has its time where I will 100 use it, but from september till the rut and a little bit, I am a strictly bow hunter. Like that's all I'll do. Then you get into waterfowl. I will have a goal to shoot a bird eventually with the good old bow. I would like to kill a goose with the bow and everything like that at some point. Two different adrenaline rushes. Now, obviously you go to Alaska or something like that and hunting, you know, caribou or something, yeah, or like yeah, like you, I've seen the caribou hunts. Like I, you know, I love watching stuff like that like, yeah, to kill one with the bow would be almost and I'm not spending all that goddamn money and not.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean yeah and not getting a shot. And you're like, you go out there, it's like 10 days. You're like, well, just drop 10 grand for nothing yeah, right, but then people also got to realize, though, you didn't just drop 10 grand for nothing.
Speaker 2:Like you, you went out there and you got the experience. You got to see what people don't get to see every day, and you get to spend time with yourself and nature, and that's yeah. You spent 10 grand, but, like, in the end, it is so self rewarding and you're like kind of self soothing a little bit, just like decompression, being in the woods, and it's just like just I loved you, I loved being in the woods.
Speaker 1:I would be happy, I would be a hundred percent happy. I would just need to see an animal. I think that's a success to me, but the fiancee would not be. Her words would be so you spent all this money and all this time away from us and you didn't even kill anything. Yeah, I would have you right. Anybody would be like well, I saw a bunch of. I saw a bunch of caribou or moose or something like that.
Speaker 2:And you couldn't get a shot off.
Speaker 1:I brought you a feather, I brought you this souvenir, I brought you a shot glass. Don't be mad at me. I booked another hunt in two years.
Speaker 2:It's like you went to Alaska and brought back this shot glass. This is so expensive.
Speaker 1:You better like it, here's your $ ten thousand dollar shot glass yes, you're welcome I love you.
Speaker 2:Nothing else says I love you more than a ten thousand dollar shot but I, when I went to alaska in 2009, I didn't go on a hunt. I went with, uh, world changers and we ran into a moose. And I will tell you what. I've never been so petrified in my life. I ran up a tree yeah, this thing was 20 yards and closing like just walking, and I was like that is a moose and this thing was so wise. First time I ever saw moose. It probably wasn't even a big one, but to me it was a monster and I was like I need to get up in this tree. So I climbed this tree with my buddy, eric, and we're just looking down at the sand. He just walks right underneath us and I was like I can't believe that just happened.
Speaker 2:I was like man that could have been really bad, but it was such a great experience.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I remember taking my fiancee to see her first moose and everything. We have a lake house up and I grew up camping in Maine and everything like that, so I'm so used to seeing them. But to see an Alaskan moose I've seen Maine moose and they're big, but to see an Alaskan moose that would be like it's like our New Jersey deer and us going to.
Speaker 1:Iowa or Muley or Kansas or Iowa or a state like that. I's like, oh, because I'll tell you, main deer are huge, at least all the ones that I've seen. I've seen some. Does that rival the size of some of our bucks? And I'm just, I have a.
Speaker 2:I have a story that I'm about to write and this girl killed this buck. That was, I believe she says, 267 field dressed.
Speaker 1:Sheesh.
Speaker 2:And I was like that is a big, big animal. And she sent me the pictures. I'm going to find it real quick and show you. But she just sat next to this thing and this animal just made her look like this big.
Speaker 1:It was unreal, yeah I hope it was private property. I hope they didn't have to drag it out. I'd be calling everybody if I shot a deer that big on public and I mind you like whenever a teen guy's killed back-to-back year holy, isn't that crazy, jesus christ. I I know that looks like the body of a moose. That is so big Canadian whitetail, Ah there you go.
Speaker 2:Now, if that was here in Virginia, I would be like, okay, first off, why did you kill it? I would have let him breed forever, forever out here. But that thing is a monster. I couldn't imagine trying to drag that thing out that that's.
Speaker 1:That's a place canada, I will. I will say where. When we talk about white-tailed deer, everyone says iowa, iowa like the Midwest, yeah, but Jesus Christ, the deer in Canada are absolute monsters.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and the few stories I've had are from Canadian bucks and they are just absolutely huge.
Speaker 1:Can only imagine Anyone out there I'm going to have to put this on a post, you know when it comes out but anyone out there. Why does no one ever mention canada really for for deer hunting, like it's one thing? Like whenever you hear white-tailed deer hunting you always said, which is, it's great, like midwest I, but like there's some big, big monsters out in british columbia and like everything like that and you know yeah you could bear hunt you can do.
Speaker 1:I wonder if it is like travel you know, international, everything. I wonder, I wonder if that's what kind of hesitates people you know I mean you it's a lot easier to go to the midwest, you know, you don't have to fly in or whatever, cross a border. I wonder, I wonder if that's like the big reason because even all these, all these guys that we follow on youtube I imagine everything like that you know they all stay in america. None of them go, you know to, to canada and everything like that you would have to like it's obviously the big hunting shows that were on the tv and sportsmanship, like they do, but like none of, I would say, the you, the big YouTube theories, guys like you know, the hunting public, bow hunter, die or like any of those guys like I've never seen them go to Canada and do something like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's usually just like big name individuals that I see do that, but I believe there has something to do with certain laws that have to do with going over the border, and then the other one has to do with you're taking a weapon across the border. That's the biggest thing, I believe, is what's the hold up for a lot of people, but, of course, the travel, how much it costs. That's just unbelievable it's not easy.
Speaker 1:I mean, I'm definitely interested. I have a venture. I want to go to Canada and I have come close to pulling the trigger a few times but definitely go hunt some bears out in Canada and everything like that. Bear hunting is one of our favorite things to do. Yet again, everyone who listens to both our shows the Garden State Outdoors podcast and now this show are probably rolling their eyes because, like, how much we mentioned bear hunting and everything like that. But canada is definitely and like maybe like do a spring bear hunt or something like that like destination that like I need to do at least once yeah, I've, I hunted a bear last year, black bear, um.
Speaker 2:It's unfortunate, though. What happened this past? Uh, I think it was last week. So there's this well-known black bear that everyone tries to go after. He is huge when I mean huge, he is the size of a volkswagen beetle and um, but he got hit by a car this past week and it killed him, and that thing was a unit.
Speaker 2:And yeah, like when I captured him on camera two years ago, I was like I'm going to take that there. I've had him 15 yards from me two years ago and I just could not get the angle. I always had his backside to me. I'm like just turn, just turn, just give me a little sliver. But he ended up just staying with his back to me and just kept walking straight and I'm like you've got to be kidding me, man. But man, this guy, like I'll have, I'll just send it to you on um instagram or something. But when we found out, like I remember I was just driving to work and I see this, what I thought was a turned over trash can from the distance. And as I'm getting closer, I'm like is that a car in a ditch? No, it was the black bear. I was like, oh my gosh, I get to work and everyone's talking about it.
Speaker 2:And I was like I can't believe you got hit by a car and it was like the city was in mourning because of how this black bear was hit by a car.
Speaker 1:It's tough. I hate when, especially big animals like that, they deserve to be. If they're going, if they're not going to die naturally yeah, I would like them to to be harvested you know, I don't want it to. I don't want it to be hit by a car like that sucks and to to kill a big mature black bear like that with the vehicle that that car must have been a total.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, it totaled the car. Um, they found a thread on Facebook and the people were like yeah, that was our car. They put a picture and everything and this thing was totaled and it was just unfortunate, but no one was hurt, which was good, thank.
Speaker 1:God.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was just unfortunate that the bear was killed.
Speaker 1:And that's pretty lucky. I would say that no one was hurt of the sheer size of of the bear, like you never know. I wonder if it's because they're lower to the ground, like I know when people hit like moose and stuff like that, like the big part is their legs are so high up so when you hit them they kind of go straight into into the windshield and everything like that and can absolutely so, like I imagine, because bears are lower to the ground and everything like that. That was the saving, saving grace and and things like that. Because, yeah, hitting I I've seen them up close and personal, you know, we've yeah shot a couple over over the years and everything like that, and it's an animal that like and I can't even imagine what a grizzly would be like oh, dude that video that yeah, that shoots the revolver at that grizzly that's coming down on him.
Speaker 2:I'm like I I would have had the fastest draw in the west, like that thing was hauling towards that guy.
Speaker 1:Like that hits me every time after the whole situation I would probably would have like, yeah, I needed new pants and everything like that absolutely, but it's, really it's.
Speaker 2:But yeah, it was a shame to see that bear killed that way. Um, and this past year is like a bunch of firsts for me. Uh, I, I shot a doe and I hit her low and the arrow went out the other side but it like kicked up. So I'm guessing it rode the rib cage and the arrow went out the other side, but it like kicked up, so I'm guessing it rode the rib cage and the knock, the aluminum knock, was still in her body, but she took off running. Blood was everywhere and I was like good, good blood. I watched her. I assumed it was a liver shock, so it was a little farther forward and a little low, but I was like, ah, I saw her lay down and I assumed that was it. So I waited another 15 minutes, went up to her or tried to walk up to her. She took off running.
Speaker 2:I'm like what is going on here? I tracked her for four hours in the woods and could not find her and I was beating myself up and I was like I can't believe I missed, I can't believe I messed that up and I felt terrible that she was suffering. But then, two weeks later, this just goes to show how resilient these animals are. She shows up on one of my cameras and I'm like there she is, she's alive and well, and I was like thank God. So it was eating me alive for a while. And I actually had a couple of buddies go out that night in the woods because I had just got home. I told them I lost it. They went out and tried to find her. They ended up finding her but she picked up and ran again and she was still bleeding a little bit. So I was just like that's wild and I'm just glad that she was out there kicking still.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they're super, super resilient. I mean, today I watched a video of a guy shooting a doe with a .50 cal and it was the craziest. First of all I couldn't believe it. I was like I thought that was too much. I was like this is oh yeah, but. But then actually, like he shot it and the thing ran and I was like that would never happen to a human, like never in a million years but the thing ran.
Speaker 1:It didn't run far but it ran. If I find the video, I'll send it. Running dead for sure it, this thing ran in the, the blood trail and everything like that. Like at the end of the day, like it's still, like yeah, I don't believe in that, like that's yeah, that's op, and just for clout and just for your clicks and everything like yeah, no, I don't, that's not, that's not cool. And actually I think that gives us more of a bad rep than than every anything.
Speaker 2:If somebody anti-hunters or whoever is against it sees that shit like oh, I've, I've turned down a couple of uh stories that people have like done some outlandish stuff towards animals. I'm like no, I'm not gonna write right, that's really appreciate it. Yeah, like um, I'm not gonna say who, I'm not gonna get any of it.
Speaker 2:But like this, this one guy was literally running dogs and just like tearing this animal apart and I'm like I'm not. You just stood there and he's like, yeah, I was like I'm not. I appreciate it, that's your style of hunting, but I'm not gonna. That's suffering towards that animal. I'm not going to write about that.
Speaker 1:Hunting with dogs, and I don't want to say too, because I'm not experienced enough in it, I'm somebody who believes anything legal. If it's legal in your state, I'm all for it. I may not be the biggest fan of it and I will never say that I will never try it.
Speaker 1:So like if I do a mountain lion hunt, like I may want to die yeah like I I made you know, I've, I've always I would want to experience stuff like you hear about, you know, down south of where you know, getting closer to to your neck of the woods, like the, the hound, hunting with, with black bears and everything, everything like that. Like, would I try it? I'd probably try it once. What I do, I think I would really like it. No, but then I have another opinion like the dogs with with hogs, like I'm a huge fan of that, like I, I do love, love that and I also love how a lot of hunters will get in there with a knife too and just try to. And it's a connection and yet again, that's what a lot of people tell me you guys have a connect the dogs and it's this one big connection. So I'm not gonna I can't judge it really before I do it, but it's never been something that it's like that's what I want to do.
Speaker 1:I would try it. I. I may not fully believe in it, but I'm gonna let. Hopefully my experience would be able to do it like at least once or twice. That will be what really gets. But I don't want to see, yeah, I don't want to see, you know, the dogs just tearing into something like I'm gonna go finish, I'm gonna go finish it off, go put it out of its misery. The dogs did their job. Now it's time for us, as hunters, to to do our job.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's I'm all for. If you want to hunt with hounds, I'm all for it, especially if it's legal, like I mean, I poke fun at one of my Marines for that all the time, but that's just like it's a style of hunting that I'm not used to and I don't understand. But when it comes to someone just standing over a dog, a couple dogs tearing apart another animal and you're not doing anything, that's that's what gets me. It's like, ah, that's not really hunting.
Speaker 1:It's like, while um, african wild dogs watching them tear apart their prey is like that's metal everything in africa is just in a whole different, like realm, and like that's something that we'll definitely talk, because I definitely got to get you back on another time. We're doing, actually, a roundtable segment. If you're available, I'd definitely love. I think it's gonna be next monday, a whole bunch of guys and everything like that, because these are topics that we would be talking about. But like, yeah, hunting africa and animals in africa everything in africa is just on a whole completely different style.
Speaker 2:Africa, australia, just different, different everything in australia will kill you. Yes, everything, everything in australia is poisonous. Like why would I want to go to australia?
Speaker 1:literally, literally everything's big and kill you, even the smallest non-threatening thing that you think can kill you. Without a, without a hesitation. But, um, I got, I got two more kind of for you. Uh, just quick ones. Um, you had two weeks in the um, two weeks, any hunt anywhere in the world. What would your dream animal be?
Speaker 2:Elk any hunt anywhere in the world. What would your dream animal be? Elk um, I have a passion to go tag out a bull elk and I know a lot of people like, oh, that's just so common. But to me it's not. It's. It's something that I would chase after in a heartbeat and my buddy rodney's tagged out on his own elk. It wasn't't a bull, but it was a cow and I envy that Like I want that. If it was something else besides an elk, it would be a caribou, definitely.
Speaker 1:Yeah, everything's great. I love all of them. Everyone knows what mine is, so I'm not going to even say it. I don't want people rolling their eyes. Everyone kind of knows.
Speaker 1:Um, elk is up there for me, I think elk, elk would probably be like my number three or four, and the only reason why I say this is because there's just a few animals that I don't even know if I'll ever get a chance to to go hunt like. I'm pretty sure, like I've had the chance to go help, uh, hunt elk. I've had to turn it down just because timing wasn't. Yeah, okay, but I know it's, it's going to happen at some point. Like, and a lot like, moose is not my number one, obviously, but like anything in alaska, like I, I don't like a grizzly bear I want to do, I would love to do caribou.
Speaker 1:Am I gonna get a chance to do caribou? I don't know. I may only get the chance to go to alaska once, so I'm gonna have to pick very carefully tags like you know what I mean, like that is something you know and then that's why, for me, elk goes right there, but elk watching them, listening to them when they bugle, man, man it's. I think that and I don't want to do it quite yet because I don't want to get so hooked on where it's like I don't care about nothing else, I just want to go chase elk for the rest of my life. That bugle has got to be so mesmerizing, that hearing that every day, especially in the morning when the sun's coming up on the mountain, and everything like that Like I couldn't imagine that's something that you would never want to not do again, and I could see why people are so obsessed with hunting.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah that, that is just something that I I don't know it's. I get addicted to hunting really quickly and different it's a tough one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure it's. It's just something that I am so glad that I I listened to my father-in-law Cause he said I would love it and damn it. He's right and I am so hooked to it. I can't wait to get my kids hooked onto it and it's just such a blessing to be able to go out into the outdoors.
Speaker 1:Man that's my, my favorite thing is being out in nature and so last one, for the page where where do you want to see yourself? And you know, since you're new, I won't do the five-year spiel like where do you want to see yourself in the next like year, where do you want to go with the storytelling and things like that? What is the aspirations for for that? Because you, like I said, you've grown. I mean, we're almost, you're almost at 1k followers and everything like that. The growth has been absolutely amazing. The stories are great. So what do you see for yourself in the next year?
Speaker 2:um, just to continue to to grow community where people just share stories, and and I don't really have a specific goal, I would say the biggest goal, though, is to grow the community where people just feel welcome to just share and talk and connect like that's, that's all I want, man, and I love the stories, but they I could stop writing today, and I would love if. If that were the case, I hope that I have put enough into this community where people still talk about each other's stories that I've written and how awesome that is, like that's all I really care about. But if I had to say a goal, though shoot, had to say a goal, though Shoot, I would really enjoy to not just film my own hunts but also write more about my own, my own style of hunting, and share those as well, but I I'm very fond of sharing other people's stories.
Speaker 1:That's what I enjoy most. Now I got one more quick Cause. It came on the top of my head. So you know, with this and I think, starting the community and getting people comfortable and everything, have you gotten? Yeah, and we all know how social media is. Has there been any hate that you've got? Not maybe you've gotten, or maybe you've gotten, but also like hate of other hunters stories or animals or anything like that. Or is it just for?
Speaker 2:you Just towards me. Really, everyone has been so uplifting and helpful and very encouraging and I love it. It makes me so happy to get that type of camaraderie in this community. But there's just one person I'll never forget. She like tagged pita and all this stuff and she said I'm gonna kill you if I ever come across you. I'm like, who are you? I was like you know what I? I responded with just a simple I was like all right, well, I'm sorry you feel that way. I'll be praying for you and I hope that someday you'll understand that this is just me writing and sharing people's adventures in their own life, just like how you have your own adventure. So I left it at that. I blocked her and reported her because like it's just there's no place for that in the world so I don't know.
Speaker 2:Hopefully someday she opens her eyes and I think she's just being a little ignorant to what?
Speaker 1:hunting is, of course. Of course Everyone sees what's on Disney and this is like because of where I work and everything like that like people have this image of hunting that they usually get from the movies, from Disney, from, and when you actually tell them what really goes into our hunts and the preparation and the time, and just the mental, physical oh my gosh Emotional nature in it, and just how we really feel and how much we really care not only about the land but ourselves but the animals. No one wants animals. Not, 99% of us do not want animals to suffer. 99 of us are the good, you know, that follow the rules, that that love all of god's creation.
Speaker 1:Like I yes, I'm a big like, sometimes it does get like I feel like a bond and sometimes I do like I get this like, oh man, like I, I really sometimes don't want to kill certain animal, but then it's like I also like eating and I like trying new things and, you know, being able to know that I can provide if anything was to happen, and and just having the, the experience and you know, I I think it doesn't mean a lot. Even you know people who don't believe in killing certain animals if you're not going to eat them, but there's always a place like with coyotes or raccoons, and I mean we eat raccoons. So I can't even, but like a lot of people don't, but like it's really good to get to kill for the turkey. There's this conservation. We do more conservation than anybody else in the world, more than PETita does, more than all these anti.
Speaker 1:Oh, I know hunters we are conservation and I always that's like my biggest thing like, oh, you kill animals. Now I kill maybe one percent of the animals that I actually see in a year the amount of deer bear, whatever we across, you're only shooting such a small little amount.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:No, that's not what hunting is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's such a shame how people perceive hunters as bad individuals and it's just that is not the case. Like, so much time and effort goes into protecting these animals. So, yes, we can hunt them. But like, for instance, you're going after your target buck and you've been targeting him for the last four years, it's come, it's going to come, to a point where you draw back on your bow and you're going to be like nope, and you just put it back down and you're just like I'm not, not, I'm going to let him walk, it's, you are connected to him and it's just one of those things where you have just are so fond of his ability to thrive and survive in nature and you just don't, you just can't pull that trigger or you can't let that arrow fly.
Speaker 1:But yeah, perfectly said. I agree with you. But, zach, I think we're going to end it right there. I mean, this was a phenomenal Show. I mean I had so much Fun.
Speaker 1:We're getting you back on, hopefully Next week, to be on the the roundtable Segment and everything like that. We'd love to get you on. You know more and everything like that. And you know it's been great so Far with connecting with you and you know all the post and I I got another, you know buck that I gotta I gotta send you and everything like that. Um, sometime here soon, um, that was one of my favorite hunts actually. Um, this deer and everything like that. So, um, absolutely incredible. But love what you're doing. I hope you keep it up, hope you, you know you stay connected and everything like that. If, if you ever want to come to to Jersey and hunt, listen, you got the invite. Uh, we, we love you know, when people come up and travel in to us and hunt, you know we, we host events and everything like that. We would really want to, uh, a part of that and things like that. So, um, looking forward to everything.
Speaker 2:Thanks, man. Yeah, thanks for having me on. I really appreciate it. I enjoyed this very much.
Speaker 1:No problem, and everybody, I hope you guys enjoyed this episode. Everything is going to be down in in the description below. Make sure you go check them out. If you got any stories that you want to send, please send his way I he'll. He'll get it out for you. Any questions for either?
