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Levi Kari – Western Territory Podcast
145 Plays1 year ago
This week Drew has Levi Kari on the Tricer Podcast. Drew and Levi take a deep dive into duck hunting and especially skinny water duck hunting. Levi has his duck hunting dialed. He offers some guided hunts throughout the year. This show is packed with information, and you won’t want to miss it. We will find out if Drew gets the chance to go up to hunt with these guys in the future.
LEVI KARI – Western Territory Podcast
Instagram - @western_territory_pod
TRICER USA
Website – https://tricerusa.com/
Instagram - @tricerusa
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/tricerusa/
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Transcript
Introduction and Blessings
00:00:01
Speaker
You are listening to the Tricer Podcast, where we talk all things hunting, gear, and the great outdoors. Before we begin, let's start things out right and put God first. Lord Jesus, I thank you for Tricer, and I ask that you can use this podcast as a way to bring joy to all of our listeners. We lay Tricer and this podcast at your feet. Amen.
Guest Introduction: Levi Carey
00:00:22
Speaker
All right, I'm excited. We have Levi Carey from the Western Territories Podcast on the day, and he's kind of returned the favor to me because I was on his podcast when it was formed, the artist formerly known as the Pulling Feathers Podcast, how it's the Western Territories Podcast with just a really bitch and ram logo.
Spring Excitement and Bear Season
00:00:42
Speaker
Levi, how the heck are you, man? Doing great, man. Just excited about spring. It's finally starting to warm up here in Northwestern Wyoming.
00:00:50
Speaker
looking forward to bear season and whatever else it brings. Yeah. That's one nice thing about California, or at least so Cal, is we never wear more than a hoodie. So if you guys are texting me, I don't know if I'll section with you, like all the snow around your house and like,
00:01:08
Speaker
We don't know what snow, I went to the snow once this year and it was by accident and it snowed like not even a half snow. But yeah, we're, hoodie weather, t-shirts and shorts pretty much all the time down here. That's one nice thing other than the taxes and no gun rights and all the other crap they do to us. So one nice thing is that, but yeah, man, I'm excited to have you on. Yeah, man. I'm excited to be on. We've been kind of going back and forth for quite a while about getting this thing scheduled. And finally we got a date button down and made it work.
Full-Time Work Transition Challenges
00:01:39
Speaker
Yeah. Well, by the time this thing drops, I'll be full-time Tricer. I'm like eight days away. I've got the worst case of senioritis I've ever had because I quit my job and I'll be full-time Tricer. Then the podcast will be easier for me to schedule. But right now, I mean, I'm running on fumes, man. I've been up since four. Then I went to, I had a freaking union meeting, my last union meeting ever. Praise God. No more union meetings. Uh,
00:02:03
Speaker
had that until like 3.30. Then I went to the bow shop and I didn't even get to go to the gym. I wanted to go to the gym and it just didn't happen today. So now here we are 6.30 at night doing a podcast. I'll pretty much finish my day after this. We'll do some product videos and I'll have my day around 10 PM. They get up before am again tomorrow and do it all over again. So one more week. No rest for the wicked, right? No rest for the wicked dude. I would not have any other way. I love it.
00:02:25
Speaker
Dude, so you got a pretty sweet podcast, but you're also just a big hunter, right? And talk about that. So you big game hunt, you spring bear hunt now, which is bitch, we can go into that a little bit. But you're also a big duck guy, big waterfowl guy and a guide, big waterfowl guide. So talk about
Waterfowl Guiding Business Origins
00:02:48
Speaker
that.
00:02:48
Speaker
Um, so, I mean, I've been guiding for, I think this is going to be my fourth season. Um, my business partner and I started it up, um, just kind of out of the garage, basically. Um, that kind of is a unique situation and how that all came to fruition. But, um, we had a decoy company come up, um, and just like randomly decided to come up and hunt with us. We had made friends through Turkey hunting and stuff with one of their guys.
00:03:18
Speaker
And we were telling them about our special types of hunts that we do, a little bit different than what most people do. And it's called like skinny water duck hunts. And it's just blown up. The trend is just blown up. I don't want to say we created it, but we definitely put a big spotlight on it. And through that and through the videos with that decoy company, we just saw the need that we needed to kind of fill that niche.
00:03:48
Speaker
take people out and show them this type of hunting. Um, yes, we're, we are guiding and it is for money, but realistically to us, it's not about the money. It's more about sharing the experience and trying to show people how our style of hunting is different and why we think it's better. And it's just, it's not like your typical, like you get a whole bunch of guys showing up and everybody's just shooting and going crazy. Uh, our type of hunting is, is a little bit, uh,
00:04:17
Speaker
Um, smaller groups, like our max, uh, group is, is like, uh, five guys. And, uh, most of our shots are, are probably 20 yards, uh, on average. I mean, there are shots at eight feet, um, and stuff like that. And we, um, we actually make it to where all of our clients aren't allowed to bring, uh, anything bigger than a 20 gauge shotgun. So it's all sub gauge stuff. Um,
00:04:43
Speaker
And it's more of a gentleman's yeah. Yeah. It's more of a gentleman style hunt. So we take turns shooting. Um, some guys will only bring like two guns and they'll pass them up and down the blind. And it just makes for a really fun hunt because, um, when you miss everybody knows it and they're going to heckle you the entire time, especially me as the guide. I mean, I'm going to tell you kill them.
00:05:06
Speaker
And if you don't, you're going to hear about it, you know? So we have fun and it's just a totally different style of duck hunting than what most people kind of know. And it's a blast.
00:05:21
Speaker
Explain it to us. What is skinny water? In my mind, I imagine backwater channels. We have backwater channels in our rivers down here. What is skinny water hunting? What does it look like? Are you from a boat? Are you from laydown blinds? What does it look like from a ground blind? Typically, we're hunting out of an A-frame, is what they're called and stuff. It's just a blind that you sit into some chairs that's portable that breaks down, all that stuff. They're small creeks.
00:05:47
Speaker
or warm, or warm water sloughs. I mean, most of our water is maybe, you know, at most six foot wide. Um, and yeah, things are tight. I mean, there's, there's, how are you getting in there? Are you hiking into it? I mean, yeah, you walk down to it from like, you know, a little tiny road. I mean, most of the time it's at max, like a hundred yard walk for our furthest walk and stuff. It's pretty easy. Um, get into these little spots and,
00:06:16
Speaker
Yeah, we just sit back a little bit off the bank and let the birds do what they do. I mean, I don't know if you've heard of sky blasting and stuff, but I'm not.
00:06:30
Speaker
I'm not an expert duck kind of, but I've killed my fair share of ducks. I might get out once or twice a year. It's kind of gone downhill for me with the big game stuff. I don't think I killed a duck. I might have killed one or two ducks last year just jump shooting, but I've been in a bunch of blinds. I've done that stuff. I've got decoys. I got the jerk rigs and all that stuff. I get it. What does that look like? Are you running decoys?
00:06:56
Speaker
Oh yeah. Oh yeah. We'll run. I mean, small batches of decoys, even if I'm hunting our, our river, um, that's at most like 60 yards wide at its widest point. Um, I'm, I'm usually running like a dozen decoys, uh, you know, in the small water, I I'll string them way out and put an opening, uh, kind of in the kill hole, if you will. And, uh, that'll, that's usually like a dozen decoys that I'll throw out. Um, but I mean,
00:07:23
Speaker
You're getting in your face action. I mean, I've had ducks where their feet have scraped the top of my head before. I mean, it is insane. Uh, I'll have to show you some videos and it's like a flip top, a flip top blind. Is that what it is? No, no, it's just literally like an a frame. So, okay. So you shoot out the top of it. Okay. Stand up and just shoot out the top. Yep. I understand. I understand. Yep. So that's all all we really, uh,
00:07:48
Speaker
all we really typically run. I mean, it's just more comfortable that way and stuff, or we'll, we'll build our own, like kind of makeshift blinds and stuff like that too. Okay. All right. And then, uh, again, I mean, you guys should limit the duck doing this. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, most of the time, uh, I mean, we'll, we'll have big giant wads come in, but we won't, we won't shoot in the big wads. It's just, you're going to educate too many ducks. Um,
00:08:17
Speaker
and kind of foul it up. And, uh, it's just, it's just not good for, for our style of hunting. And when you're shooting, I mean, birds at that close a range, you're, you're, you're shooting windows pretty, pretty tight, you know, it's not as spread out, you know, your, your typical, like 10 to two, uh, that you have is, is a little bit more narrow, especially when, I mean, if they're banking left to right or right to left, those birds are going to be kind of coming past you pretty, pretty good, even though they're floating.
00:08:46
Speaker
uh, down into the spread. But, um, uh, anyway, I forgot where I was going with that, but it's just, it's, it's really tight shooting. When are you really focusing on this hunting? I mean, are you starting to guide in October when the season opens up or you just got to wait until after season, start November, December and go on? So yeah, we don't, we don't even, um, offer, uh, client hunts until December. And then we go into like, you know, kind of, you don't want to screw up.
00:09:15
Speaker
Right. Exactly. I mean, my business partner and our, our hunting partners as well, uh, when it comes to big game stuff. So, I mean, we're pretty hard focused on, on elk and deer and, and antelope and all that stuff too. So we don't want to interfere with our, with our fun hunts. Um, but that's also when our, our better flights are our, we're getting more numbers in, in December to our, our mid to late January is when our season ends. So, uh, yeah, it's.
00:09:44
Speaker
We're, we're stacking up birds. I mean, that's not a hundred percent what it's about to us. Our, our kind of mantra is more about the experience and, and experiencing those birds working in tight and actually decoying, right. And, you know, taking turns shooting and shooting those sub gauges. Um, I mean, I don't know if you've ever shot like a 28 gauge out at ducks, but I mean, it's.
Unique 'Skinny Water' Hunting Method
00:10:10
Speaker
It's like swinging a broomstick, man. It's, it's nice and your head doesn't feel like it's been beat over the head, you know, with a, with a baseball bat, just cause the percussion of those 12 gauges all day. Um, it's just, it's just different and it's a kick in the pants. And you know what, if you're strictly out chasing limits, this is not the hunt for you. I'll tell you that right now or anybody else. Um, it's just, that's just not our cup of tea. I mean, we're.
00:10:36
Speaker
We're letting the big groups pass and they'll kind of bump off. They'll break up and they'll come in and in singles, pairs, triples. And those are the birds that we're going to shoot into. Are you shooting? Um, I want to go into a bunch of questions, but you guys getting geese as well doing this, uh, not on the small water. Typically there's been a couple of like our, our small warm water ponds that we'll hunt that we'll, we'll actually hit. We've decoyed some geese into it's it's pretty rare.
00:11:05
Speaker
But most of the time, like, um, most of the stuff that I'm guiding is, is the river hunts, the small river hunts. And yeah, we'll shoot geese. I mean, we killed a, uh, abandoned, uh, gander this year and, and stuff like that. So it's, it's different. So what kind of ducks are you guys getting mostly up there? You guys getting mostly mallards up there? Yep. Mostly mallards is the predominant species. Then you're getting into your widget. Um,
00:11:31
Speaker
very, very few pin tail, but man, that's my sickness. We're not like you guys in California where you guys got millions of them. It's so annoying. Limit's one and you're literally, you shoot your limit and you're like, oh, there's 60 of them. Down here, there's literally no joke. You'll go out and only thing available is pin tail.
00:11:51
Speaker
Oh yeah. And like, and it's like, Oh, that's it. And you get one bird because they keep it. It's like a nationwide, the way they do it. They don't do it like just California. You know, I did hear that California, this, this coming season is possibly being granted by the feds to up it to a three bird pintail limit.
00:12:09
Speaker
That's a good idea. I mean, no joke, there's so many pin tail. There's times where it's like, you get one pin tail, you're done. Maybe a pin tail and you might get a freaking shovel or that's it. Yeah. Our duck hunting gun in SoCal just sucks. It doesn't suck. It's fun. You have to work for it. There's one or two places you can really go hunt down here. It's like a refuge that's drying up by the salt and sea. Unless you're part of a club or something like that. It's part of a club. Even then, it's still... Yeah, exactly. It's your part of a club. Yeah.
00:12:39
Speaker
So mostly, mostly mallards. Um, that's a good time, man. That sounds fun. I might have to go through Wyoming now and go, Oh, I'll do all your 20 gauge. I have my, I'm left-handed. So I only have one left-handed gun and it's a 12 gauge finale. So I could, I do have an over under 12, but that's not 20. I have one 20 gauge semi auto that I can shoot. I don't mind shooting a semi. I've shot right-handed guys my whole life. So I can bring that up there and shoot that thing. Yeah. Bring that up.
00:13:09
Speaker
Yeah. Cause I, I mean, I shoot a 20 most of the time. I mean, I'm shooting my, my weather be, uh, 20 gauge and stuff. So that's what I'm usually rocking. How do you like that weather be shotgun? I love it. It's function for me. Fine. I mean, I've, I've shot that in, uh, negative 28 degrees, uh, last season and it cycled just fine. Um, but I run when it gets cold like that, I run my guns without any lubricant. I mean, I, I strip them down, spray them down with like carb cleaner and
00:13:39
Speaker
totally get all the lubricant out of it. Cause otherwise it just, it just bogs those guns up way too much. That sounds miserable. Dude, I was banking on my clients, like canceling on me because I mean, they were up here and everything. And they're, I mean, not talking ill of anybody from down South, but I mean, I was banking on those Southern boys being like, no, uh-uh, too, too cold for our Southern blood. And nope, they made me stick it out there all day. They stole all my Mr. Buddy heaters. So, I mean,
00:14:08
Speaker
I'm sitting over there just chattering, freezing, and they're just nice and toasty in front of the Mr. Buddy heater. Oh, man. So that weather bee, I'm kind of curious. I know that a lot of people are shooting weather bees really kind of man. I mean, weather has been around forever, but it's kind of really making a comeback in the industry. I feel like a lot of the companies are running them and people are using them. What's that gun? Like $1,500? How much does that gun cost? Oh, this gun? No.
00:14:37
Speaker
This gun was like, uh, I think it was like 800, like, what? Yeah. Strain at three inch or three and a half. Uh, it'll take a, what is it? This one, the weather beat element shared in Wyoming, three inch, two and three, three inch. Yeah. I mean, you don't need three and a half anymore. Now that the browser was shot shell talk technology anymore. I mean, you don't need it. I used to think you needed.
00:15:02
Speaker
You know, the only, I would shoot three and a half inch because they didn't make a four inch, you know, is what I used to be like, um, and stuff. But, uh, then I got to be a little bit better shot and, you know, pay a little bit more for shells and, and things like that and choose my, my shots better and, and, uh, also learn more about my chokes and, and how to, how to shoot, uh, the correct choke for the situation and things like that. And then.
00:15:28
Speaker
It changed things up big time, and my shoulder really thanks me for it at the end of the day. I mean, you have to be shooting like an improved cylinder, right? I mean, what are you shooting in that situation? Something way open. Yeah, I mean, it all depends on how people shoot, but yeah, usually an improved or an improved modified and stuff like that. So yeah, is usually what people shoot. I think if you're shooting that close, you're going to be wide open.
00:15:54
Speaker
Yeah, you're wanting to spread that shot out a little bit more. And especially if you're wanting to take something home or put it on the wall, you know, uh, you need to open that thing up and, uh, you know, we might, uh, call the shot a little bit sooner than normal on a few birds, uh, just so that you can maybe have something to take home. Just, um, our mallards are a little bit different up here. I feel like they're just, they're huge, huge, big bodied birds. Oh man. They're like, they're.
00:16:22
Speaker
All of our, like most of our mallards are like the size of like a lesser or a cackler. They're just big, big bodied birds. So, um, you know, I've had a few clients that that's the whole reason they keep coming back is not only cause the experience, but they're like, geez, the size of your guys's birds is just something else. And they got, you know, they're just different.
00:16:44
Speaker
That's cool. So somebody wants to hunt with you and where are they going to hold you? Let's go on Instagram. Yeah. Hit me up on Instagram. Kind of shoot me some, some questions and I can kind of, you know, walk you through that whole process. But when it comes down to actual booking time, they'll go on to like three or seven foul play outfitters, um, onto their Instagram and they'll actually talk to my business partner, Kurt. And he's the one that takes care of the booking.
00:17:11
Speaker
So they could fly in, rent a car or fly, you know, fly into Cody, I guess you'd like to fly into Cody or I actually recommend Billings Montana just because the airport there is a little bit more reliable.
Client Logistics and Costs
00:17:23
Speaker
Cody can seem to shut down a lot for different weather, uh, kind of, you know, events and stuff like that, where Billings won't really shut down as, as easily. So that's where I usually recommend people to go. And then, you know, it's tell them to get an Airbnb or something. And.
00:17:38
Speaker
Uh, because we don't have a lodge, it's not feasible for us because the size of the groups that we're running is so small. I mean, we couldn't really make a lodge work for us. I mean, we're not making all that much money on our hunts to tell you the truth. Anyway, like I said, it's, it's to us, it's not a hundred percent about the money. Uh, it's more about sharing the experience and just showing our different types of honey. You guys do like a minimum two day or minimum three day.
00:18:05
Speaker
Uh, usually most, I mean, we've got guys that have come in for like a single day hunt before. I mean, those are kind of rare and, uh, we're kind of, we don't really like taking those guys, uh, notness. Like it's just harder to schedule, you know, that without one day or, um, but yeah, typically it's like a two to three day hunt. Uh, it's what guys come up and book and it's usually on the weekends. Cause I've got a real job too. What are you, what are you looking pain or something like that? Oddball, not oddball.
00:18:35
Speaker
600 bucks per gun per day. 600 bucks a hundred a day. Yep. So you can fly up there 1200 bucks for two days. That's the, it's like the going rate, honestly, pretty much everywhere now for that stuff. So yeah. Yep. Yep. So you provide all the ammo and all the guns. Nope. Nope. You got to bring all that stuff. Uh, but I do make it available that clients can mail their,
00:18:59
Speaker
Uh, or ship their, their, their shells to me and stuff. And I keep it sealed up and all of that. Just one less headache to really worry about, especially because you're only allowed three boxes of sealed shotgun shell, uh, boxes that you can fly with. So. No, it's fine, man. That's a, that's a good time. I might have to come up there and not with you guys in December. Depends on how I'm feeling. And my goal is to hunt.
00:19:26
Speaker
one week or two weeks a month from basically August on. One week in August and after that it's wide open. I'm going to be pretty much gone all September, October, October. Come to December, I probably won't have any tags. That might be a time for me to go up there and do some waterfowl hunting.
00:19:43
Speaker
January, come up in February, come up in February too. We'll go, uh, I mean, I don't guide for him, but we'll go kill just field honkers. We don't get snows really up here, but I mean, February, we're still going after big, big giant honkers out in the field. How long is that season run till? It runs till about like mid slash like kind of late February is when our, uh, goose season ends. So I might, I I've never shot a, shot a honker.
00:20:09
Speaker
We still get a lot down here. I'd love to come over there and do a honker. Maybe I have. I know I've killed spax and snows. Maybe I haven't killed a honker. But up in the central cow. But kill a lot of spax. We get a lot of spax and a lot of snows. We've had some gnarly snow days.
00:20:27
Speaker
Yeah, it'd be fun to do that. I just got to figure, I'm going to Sonora like the last week of January. And then it kind of depends on, you know, show it's show season for us too. But I mean, if we could find a way to get up there and do it, I mean, why not? Yeah. Cause usually the last weekend of goose season is the, the Western, um, hunting expo, hunting expo, uh, is the same weekend as our closed.
00:20:51
Speaker
So we're definitely going to be at that big old giant booth. We got a 20 by 10 booth going in. Heck yeah. Cool. Come up the week before that and we'll go goose hunting. Are you going, do you go to the expo? I want to go next year and there's a big possibility. I might go next year to, um, kind of, uh, do a booth with a guy that makes my hats and stuff like that, but also like kind of have like my podcast there.
00:21:21
Speaker
as well, but mainly I just want to go there for networking and meeting all these people that I've talked to on all these different podcasts and, and finally like shake some hands, you know. Yeah. We're, we got hammered. We couldn't get in. So we had to, we're in now, but we just couldn't get in. Um,
00:21:40
Speaker
But people, where are you at? Where are you at? Where are you at? And we had Gearful selling our stuff. And we had to restock Gearful four times. Wow. They sold out of our stuff four times. Thank God it's in Salt Lake. So that we ship out of Salt Lake, we were able to restock them. But they were just like every day sold out, sold out, sold out. It was fun. It was cool. They were stoked. They were pumped on what they sold. But yeah. So that's cool.
00:22:08
Speaker
All right, so you're doing the fat waterfowl stuff, which is fun. I haven't had a duck around in a while. I don't think that's cool to have a duck around here. Yeah. I'm always here. I mean, I, I'm always using optics to go scouting and stuff. So I mean, it's, it's related to Tricer in a way, you know, you've got to sit back from afar and observe things so that you're not disturbing the roosts and.
00:22:30
Speaker
And, you know, messing up those flight patterns and stuff. So, I mean, a lot of people don't realize how much duck hunting can be like big game hunting in that aspect. So just trying to tie it all together for you there. Yeah. I'm going to build a window mount for you too. I'm working on it. That's one of my goals this summer. I'm going to win them out. I'm just, I just don't want to build some freaking lame window mount that every other company has. I got to make it better and tricerie. I can't do, I can't do, I can't do me too. That's not my thing. I like to do better. And your guys is, uh,
00:22:58
Speaker
Your guys' fluid head and stuff, the one that collapses and extends out would be perfect to put on that window mount just because it bugs the heck out of me when you're on that window.
00:23:10
Speaker
That thing stabs you like right in the neck or something. Yeah, we also made that flute head is actually ARCA and then the LPs are actually ARCA now as well. So you'll actually be able to switch them between tripod to window mount real easy just like a plant. You know what I mean? So I'm just trying to figure it out. I just don't want to do me too. Yeah. So hashtag not me too. Hashtag Tracer is better than everybody.
Podcast Rebranding Decision: Why 'Western Territories'?
00:23:34
Speaker
So.
00:23:36
Speaker
You were the Pulling Feathers podcast, which kind of limits you to being a ducker. Right. And now you're the Western territories podcast, which is with a way more badass, uh, logo. So why, why'd you do that? Um, just, I mean, like you kind of touched on there, just pulling feathers just kind of really made my stuff a little too narrow of a scope. And I just love talking so much more stuff, whether it's, whether it's big game hunting or
00:24:05
Speaker
our Western style of, of waterfowl hunting or even just like off-roading stuff. I, I've loved to talk, um, like I, I built up a Toyota forerunner and, and done all these different things on it to go off-roading. And I like talking about that. So who's going to jump on to a waterfowl podcast and listen to a guy talk about off-roading? Like most, most people are going to be like, why am I even listening to this stuff?
00:24:31
Speaker
So it just, uh, that and becoming a part of a, of a podcast network that I was invited to become part of. And they already had like a, uh, bird hunting kind of minded podcast. So it just, it was a perfect transition. Um, and it came at the right time. So, uh, it brought in a new breath for me too. I mean, I've been, I've been podcasting for probably six years now.
00:24:58
Speaker
at least at least five at least five years. So I mean, it's it was nice to get a different breath, breath of fresh air that way. And and it makes more sense when I start talking elk and and pronghorn like that on the podcast with a name like Western Territories.
00:25:14
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. I get it. I do it on here all the time because I ride dirt bikes. I'm building a 95 CR500 right now. It'll be done this week. It's freaking bitching. I don't care. You don't like what I'm doing. Don't listen. You know what I mean? I have a YouTube channel now and I just freaking post up whatever I want and I just be me.
00:25:31
Speaker
I find when you try and pigeonhole yourself, like, oh, I have to be the duck guy. It's not as fun. I just want to talk about what I want to talk about. If we want to go and talk about freaking border security right now, we will. I don't really like talking about politics, but I'm going to talk about whatever I talk about, and it's just fun. I just feel like it's more natural that way. I got to be me. I'm starting to vlog now, which is kind of gay.
00:25:54
Speaker
but I'm doing it and I'm vlogging and I was like, I'm a creative director. I'm like, don't tell me what I sound like because you know what, I'm just going to be me and that's it. And like, I'm just going to do it. And that's all I could do. And I'm cutting on myself. I bought like, got like a Apple's like editing software. I never remember the name of Final Cut Pro. So I'm cutting on myself, putting videos out and just kind of just recorded some of the stuff I'm doing. Cause I kind of feel like I'm doing some really bitch and stuff now with Tricer going full time. Like, dude, I'm flying to freaking, I got the invite today. Yeah.
00:26:23
Speaker
I'm flying to Arizona next Friday. I just found out today. And then we are going to drive to Sonora and we're going to hunt Elon and Oryx because this rancher wants him off his ranch. That's freaking cool, dude. That's like a dream. We're bow hunting, right? So I'm going to go down there and freaking bow hunt Elon and Oryx. I quit my job today to go there. And I think my boss would be like, you don't have a job when you get back. That's what he would tell me.
00:26:52
Speaker
So yeah, I'm just fine. I mean, that's like, that's cool stuff. So I'm just recording that and you just get what you get with it. And that's all you get, you know, and just, you gotta kind of be yourself. And it's nice that the pigeonhole yourself and the off-road stuff is fun too. And I think it kind of relates to our demographic too. Like, I mean, if you don't think building a bitch and forerunner is cool, like dude, there's something wrong with you.
00:27:13
Speaker
It's, it's an enclosed side by side that cost me way less than a side by side and it's quieter. I mean, yeah, I can get into it, but I mean, uh, you, we can easily, you know, loop it all back into hunting so easily. Did you put a, did you put a snorkel on it? No, not yet. But my, my, one of my hunting buddies, his, his, his forerunners got a snorkel on it though.
00:27:35
Speaker
Oh dude, unless he used it, he's gay. We do use it. We do use it to do some water crossings in the spring and stuff like that. I mean, it's not all the time. Cause I mean, it is Wyoming. We're pretty dry for the most part, but in the springtime, when you got those heavy runoffs and we're up in the mountains going across stuff and checking out your hood, your hood, your hood, deep in that thing.
00:27:58
Speaker
Oh yeah. Yeah. I feel like there's this like weird, like, there's so many people that just have it for looks overland thing is so lame. Like, I mean, like you, there's so many people in San Diego, like there's always like groups now and they're like going out overlanding and like, dude, their trucks look brand new. We call those mall crawlers.
00:28:22
Speaker
Dude. And it's like, they've got everything all whacked. There's freaking shovels and jacks and all this stuff. And like, they've never even used the thing. And like, you look at my truck, which I'm, it's a, it's a 2007 F and 50. I bought brand new.
00:28:37
Speaker
It has, there's not one door panel or one part of that truck is not dented, scratched and destroyed. It is like, I will take that truck more places than 90% of the $100,000 jeeps will go because I don't care. There's a bush right through it. It's a hunting rig, but these guys build these trucks. I mean, I get whatever you're into, right? They go out of their whole group and they go to the mountains and they go camp together in their overland little top thing. But it's like,
00:29:03
Speaker
I don't know, man. It's just kind of, I don't know. It's kind of like the rice burner of the 20s. We're in the 20s now. It's kind of weird to see. Yeah, when Fast and Furious came out or Need for Speed or whatever, one of them things, all tomato, tomato all came out. But yeah, I get it. But I mean, driving my big F250 crew cab long box up hunt is what made
00:29:43
Speaker
what made me
00:29:48
Speaker
I get nervous taking a four-wheeler down there. Like, what were you doing taking a full-size truck? I'll have to send you some of the crazy videos from that. Yeah, I finally lifted my truck. I have had never any money. I'm a big fan of not putting money into it because you put money into it and it brush breaking. I put it into training.
00:30:04
Speaker
But on this elk hunt this year, I didn't get it lifted, and I cracked the front differential for the second time. And I hit a cattle guard, ripped the whole subframe off. So I ended up sending four grand on the truck. And I was like, what are you doing? I'm like, I'm not going to build a... It's like 170,000 miles off if I think I can get another four years out of this truck. I don't care how ugly it is. I'll pull into... Honestly, it's kind of like indescribable. The partner's like, we need to get you a wrapped truck. I'm like, dude, I do not want a wrapped Tricer truck. I don't know where I'm going.
00:30:32
Speaker
It's too loud. Yeah, I don't want that. I want to be like, this is my truck. If you don't like my hunting truck, get out. I love it. I love it. I can care less about my suburban, my wife's van, whatever. When that truck finally goes, I'll probably cry because it's taken me to hell and back so many times. The Forerunner is a great truck for that. Honestly, my next rig is probably going to be a Tacoma.
00:30:59
Speaker
Yeah. But I'll probably just smack it in the door with a hammer when the first day I get it. The door is go hunting, you know, because it's a hunting rig, it's gonna get beat up. I might throw a wrap on it. I think it's just like a like a white wrap or something. So just who doesn't get so destroyed. But yeah, I got Wyoming pinstripes up and down everything I own and
00:31:22
Speaker
I mean, how my dad owns a body shop. So like most people are like, geez, your, your truck's all scratched up. You think you'd take better care of it with your dad owning a body shop or at least buff it up once in a while. I'm like.
00:31:34
Speaker
Why? So I can turn around next week and do the exact same thing. Exactly. Why? Just as long as it gets me there, that truck, man, I can't believe we came back from that Alka in Arizona. I mean, it was shaking and on the check engine light came on. Cause I, I mean, I had a cattle guard put my teeth to the back of my head. I mean, it was bad.
00:31:54
Speaker
It ended up being like a spark plug issue, whatever they have those weird, almost like coils on every spark plug now. One of those went bad from hitting that thing.
00:32:07
Speaker
And man, when we did it, it was like the second to last night, and I just told the truck, I was talking to my kid, I'm like, just get me out of here one more time. One more time, you got this. Rub the dash. I was. I was. I was. Rub the dash. Get me out one more time. Because where we were, it was like, this is going to suck getting out of here. We're going to have to... The truck might be getting burnt right here.
00:32:28
Speaker
We got out, man, and we got out, and she made it home, and cuck, cuck, cuck, cuck, cuck, you know, and she came home, and I was like, all right, you made it. Here's some money. You put a lift kit on it, put some 33s on it, and now we're used to 33s. I don't want to give her new. You don't want to spend too much money on them, because then they start expecting it. So you've got to keep it, you know, keep it down. So you're big game hunting, too. You said you suck at bear hunting. Have you killed one yet?
00:32:55
Speaker
I haven't ever killed one. I'm like the anti bear, but not like in the way that you might think. Like I hate bears. It's more like I just, unless it's a grizzly bear, I can't come across them. I don't see them. It's just.
00:33:08
Speaker
It's, I'm bad luck. I have, I have like Joe Kondila is the president of the American bear foundation. He has given me every pointer there is out there because I mean, he's, he's bad for you. Yeah. And he's from here. I mean, I know Joe personally. And then, um, another buddy of mine who's a big time bear hunter, he's like, he heard me saying this stuff last year and he's like, all right, I've got a really big bear on camera on a bait. It's like a slam dunk, dude. And so he calls me up. He's like,
00:33:37
Speaker
pack up your stuff, let's go. He's, he's, he's showing up on camera consistently. Now's the time. So I go up there and we sit and he's like, the bait hasn't been hit. He goes, you do suck. Like he goes, I've never in my life ever been, you know, had a shirt thing like this, taking somebody up and they didn't at least even see a bear and we didn't see one. And yeah. So now he's helping me set up my own two bait sites this year. And we're going through that. Um,
00:34:06
Speaker
But last year I did at least have, um, a very young bear at 15 yards. Um, Oh, it was so cool. Um, it was like bow hunter magazine picture. Uh, I came up on a cliff, it was spot in stock and I was following his tracks and I came up to this cliff and I was expecting him to be across the way from me, uh, across the drainage. And I kind of caught this little black speck out of the corner of my eye.
00:34:34
Speaker
And I looked down and he's 15 yards below me sleeping, had his paws crossed and his head sleep laying on top of the, off of his paws. And so I ranged in 15 yards. I hook on and right as I get ready to like, I'm pulling back, the wind hits me on the back of my neck and that thing just leapt up from its sleep and just gone. It was, he was gone right away.
00:34:56
Speaker
It was a tiny bear, but it would have been so cool. Just that, that high angle shot. And just, it would have been really cool. And my first bear, who cares? I'm really, but, um, yeah, that's my vendetta this year is to go after a bear and of course, uh, stick a stick an elk with my boat too. I mean, I've been fortunate enough to kill some.
00:35:18
Speaker
I'm looking at them right now, some pretty nice, some pretty nice bulls with my, with my rifle, but I've never killed a bull with, with my bow. Um, I'm fairly new to the whole archery scene within the past only like three years, four years. So I have killed a few bulls, my bull, I'm in a part of a bunch of them. I feel like when you, when you go out as a group and you kill a bull, it's kind of like you, it's kind of like a team team effort. So I've been a part of a bunch of them, but, um,
00:35:47
Speaker
I am going to kill them with my bow this year. I am so hooked on my bow right now, dude. I don't know if you see me posting about it, but I'm shooting every day. I'm shooting tournaments every weekend, 3D shoots. I am so freaking head over shoulders geeked out on my bow right now. I'm building my own arrows, doing my own like, fletching, putting my inserts in.
00:36:11
Speaker
Oh, we went and got our own boat press and a draw board this year. Oh, did you do that? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we went full out. My boat shop's like 10 minutes away, and they're really cool, so I can use their stuff. That's good. But man, so I'm shooting these four millimeter skinny shaft arrows that I got on Eastern. Yeah. And then I'm running a 55-grade insert with a 125-grade broadhead, so I'm up at
00:36:40
Speaker
Uh, I think it's one 63 now upfront or total, total arrow weight, like an FOC of like 16. I'm going, I've never even cared about FOC before. Now I'm like all into the FOC stuff and the weights, uh, the front of center impact and this like, I'm excited, man. And then I'm, now I'm going to run down and go to Mexico and use it next weekend to kill. I'm just, I'm so amped on shooting, shooting that thing. I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to rifle anymore.
00:37:06
Speaker
Yeah, that's where I'm at. I'm like, no, if I can't get it done with the bow, I don't really want to do it. Aside from this year is a little bit different. I got, you know, another event that I'm trying to do that. I just got done doing a few weeks ago and stuff. I'm going to make it an annual thing. And, uh, uh, this year I'm going to introduce like a wild game, kind of a free wild game dinner where there's going to be like three different, uh, main courses that you can choose from. You'll either choose like elk.
00:37:35
Speaker
uh, whatever, um, bear, whatever, and like, uh, antelope, you know, whatever kind of dish. And that's my whole idea. So with the whole elk thing, I'm sure more people are going to pick elk than, than, you know, bear or whatever else. Uh, you know, if I do goose or something, more people are going to pick it elk. So I'm going to need to pick up a couple cow elk tags and I'm just going to need to do a rifle with that. But, uh, I guess I digress there. Um,
00:38:02
Speaker
Yeah, I'm going I'm going to hunt rifle this year I will I'm gonna hunt antelope with you. I'm not with you up and up in Wyoming. We'll give that a minute But but I'm just like probably the unit that I've that I told him about to tell you the truth I'll tell you it off-air, but I can tell you right now. Oh, you want to go in this want to go to both? We'll talk about both first Let's finish up really quick. Yeah, I don't want to go into sort of ragging on freak I'm going to
00:38:30
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. You're going to. I don't blame you. All right. So. But yeah, but I mean, Bo, I mean, I even I'm changing up my setup this year. I mean, last year, last few years, I've been shooting like a 540 grain total arrow weight arrow and stuff like that. Good and good and heavy. Right. I mean, most people say you need a minimum 500 grain arrow to shoot at an elk is kind of what the old wives tale has been. This year I went to a five millimeter shaft. So I went smaller shaft size.
00:39:01
Speaker
Um, I'm, um, 300 spine or 250 spine, 300 spine. Um, nine, five, nine, five, an inch or something like that. Uh, it's, I think like an eight, eight, eight, something like that. Okay. Yeah, a little lighter. So, I mean, right now the way my arrow builds backing out to look like, and I'll finish it up like next week, um, it should be sitting at about four 75.
00:39:31
Speaker
is what my total aero weight will be. So still, I mean, like good and decently heavy, especially if you're talking like white, excuse me, white tail people, you know, they're saying like, that's plenty big, plenty heavy, but I mean, I'm hunting everything, you know, pronghorn, deer, elk. I'm hoping to pick up more speed, which I will, with that lighter setup. What are you, what poundage are you drawing? I'm shooting a 75 pounds.
00:40:00
Speaker
I'm going to shoot 75 pounds. Yeah, I'm going to shoot 70. I'm jumping to 70 right now, which sucks. I was planning on going to Mexico a month from now, and then it's going to call a day like, hey, we're going next week. Now we have to go. This is right here. It's down there. And I'm like, oh, well, it looks like I'm going to have to get dialed in in one week with these broad heads and go down there and do it. But I'll figure it out. It'll be fun. Once you've done it enough, it's going to get easier to set that stuff up. Right. So you're pulling 75. What's your draw length?
00:40:29
Speaker
Uh, 28 and a half is my drawing. Yeah. I'm 29 and a half. So you're probably shooting those 475s at like, well, like maybe 270. I have no clue what we're shooting. I know. So my, my business partner and my hunting buddy, um, he set his up pretty, pretty similar and he's shooting. Where did he shot his, he chronoed his at 310.
00:40:58
Speaker
How far, how much? 310 feet per second is what he chronoed his at. And it's almost the identical setup. Like it is. Really? Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, he's 75 pounds. I think he's shooting a, um, uh, the, the newer, uh, phase four is what he's shooting and stuff like that. But I mean, him and I have got similar draw length. I mean, it's, it's kind of crazy that him and I never even talked about our arrow setup or how we're setting stuff up this year.
00:41:28
Speaker
And it just like, all of a sudden it's like, well, that's what I'm doing. Well, that's what I'm doing. And then he's already chronoed his and he's shooting three 10 feet. What kind of boat you guys shooting? He, he, he's shooting that, that phase four, the Matthews phase four. Okay. Yeah. And then I'm just shooting a Matthews V three. So a couple, you know, models behind his, but still, and then we're, we're shooting some, some different bow strings, uh, that, that.
00:41:57
Speaker
they're actually getting an extra 15 feet per second is what they average, 15 to 20 feet per second and stuff like that. Just the type of material that they're using in that string and stuff. So, and then they don't, they're like water resistant, abrasion resistant. I mean, all that crap, you know, stretch resistant, things like that. Cause I had to go down that road
00:42:24
Speaker
two seasons ago when I was full draw on a really nice bull, um, about three 35, uh, bull at 25 yards. And I've never felt so good about a shot in my life, even with a rifle. And right as I, I squeezed my release, my bow blew up on me and the speed noise. Oh, I'll send you the article. I wrote an article on it. Um,
00:42:51
Speaker
Uh, my speed knocks on those, those strings. Um, and it ended up being like an actual pretty common issue. Um, with those, that brand of spring strings, uh, the speed knocks were, were wearing out, um, on the strings, but it's in that side, that shrink wrap. So you can't, can't ever see it. And, um, yeah, it just so happened to blow up at that point in time. I mean, I'd shot it.
00:43:17
Speaker
a ton that year, 3D and, uh, killed my, my antelope with it, all that stuff. And, uh, yeah, it blew up at that time. So I remember just like, what the heck happened? And I, I just didn't think I was like, okay, well, I don't know really where that arrow went. And I, I go to grab, grab another arrow and re-knock it. And then I'm just like, Oh, it's loose. And I mean, I, I'd be lying to you if I didn't say I just
00:43:51
Speaker
I looked down at that 45, I was like, no. Yeah. I mean, you could, but no, that's really illegal. Yeah. It's not worth it, man. It's not worth it. No, no, but. I'm not saying you don't have these thoughts go through your head. I talked to us the other day about having a giant black bear like the night before season, you know? Right. And then he's like, there are hard yards in front of me for
00:44:05
Speaker
You know, we're here in Wyoming at Scripps Country. You're walking around with a .45 on your chest. Or at least I am.
00:44:16
Speaker
half an hour. But you just have to go through your head, but it's like, it's just not worth it, man, especially with like that. I mean, no matter what, especially with the ethically, especially with kids, it's just like, man, there's you, there's your license for years in every state, like 48 states and stuff. It's just not something you can do, you know? Yeah. Well, not only that. Yeah, exactly. There'll be another elk and it's just not worth it. And that, and I mean, I'm a
00:44:40
Speaker
I'm a wildlife, uh, I'm an ambassador for Wyoming wildlife Federation, which is a conservation group. I mean, like that would look really good as a, as a headline, you know, uh, Wyoming wildlife Federation ambassador Levi Carey, you know, gets arrested for this and loses his pickup and his horse trailer. And, uh, that would have been bad deal. I mean, you guys just had this freaking gay who that captured a wolf.
00:45:04
Speaker
Dude, talk about that stuff. So there's a, all of you, I judge all of you on this. I'm just like, I assume all of you guys are like this now your whole state, right? Yeah. Tell me what happened up there. I just tell the story, dude. I mean, I don't, I mean, Wyoming's a small town. The whole state's basically one small town. Um, but I don't know the guy, but I, I, I just don't stand for what he did. I'm take running down a wolf on a snowmobile and, and, and running it over and basically
00:45:35
Speaker
totally immobilizing the, the, the wolf. And, and I'm not a, Oh, that's how he did it. I thought he caught it in a trap. He ran it down. He ran it down. And then basically, yeah, basically knocked it out and almost basically paralyzed it by running it down on his snowmobile. And, um, anyway, and, and, uh, tape its mouth shut and decided to parade it through the local bar and, and stuff like that. And there's pictures of him.
00:46:04
Speaker
You know, grab our videos now that they've released, um, of him grabbing the wolf's head and you can see the wolf snarl a little bit, but it's, I mean, it's paralyzed. It can't do anything. And he, you know, kissing it and just.
00:46:18
Speaker
Torturing the sucker and I don't love wolves by any means but no Wildlife no living thing needs to be tortured
Controversial Wolf Incident in Wyoming
00:46:27
Speaker
like that. I mean that's what kind of Sportsman is that so I mean there's there's a ton of people taking it's not you're right. Um It's just somebody that's that's insane if you ask me But there's a whole bunch of people taking a stance on it one of our
00:46:46
Speaker
people that, that's, uh, that's involved with Wyoming wildlife Federation. She's actually taking charge on a lot of it in front of like with how for wildlife and stuff like that, those people, um, she's the one that's actually talking to legislature and possibly pushing through law that can help keep this from happening. Cause basically the way that the laws are written right now in Wyoming through the Senate, not through, um, the game and fish committee.
00:47:17
Speaker
Um, basically says because it is a predator, you can kind of do whatever you want. It doesn't matter. Uh, because where that, that wolf was located, it was in our predator zone rather than in our, as a game and fish calls a trophy zone. No, he got, he got a $200 ticket. Oh man. That's, that's all he got was a $200 ticket. And that was for, um, taking a.
00:47:46
Speaker
uh, taking possession of a live, warm blooded animal. And that's, that's it. And did he, um, he took it behind the bar, shot it right in the end. Uh, I know that he, he had killed it, whether he shot it or whatever, but yeah, he took it behind the bar afterwards, after hours of parading this thing around. And people were in the bar and no one was like, Hey, hey buddy, this is not cool.
00:48:15
Speaker
I don't know that information necessarily, but I think there was some people that were ha ha funny and in the moment and video on it.
00:48:30
Speaker
I was driving down the street. I fought the guy right then and there, man. I was driving down the street today and we have a big homeless problem down here. And this guy's beaten up this woman against the wall of 711 and I free everyone's watching. And so here here, I can walk with their phones out, come across two lanes, park my truck, get out like, let's go.
00:48:50
Speaker
You want to punch somebody? He was, when I got out of the car, I realized how small he was. He was not trying to fight me. I'm not a pig by any means, but I would have just worked this guy over and his girlfriend's, and I'm like, no, you go. She left. They were probably hugging five minutes later, but it's like, men are not supposed to watch injustice happen.
00:49:12
Speaker
We were not created for that. And it's just, we're just, we're in a world full of pussies right now. And it's just like, you need, you see a guy come over the wolf, you punch that guy in the mouth and this is not okay. You take that dog out and put that dog to sleep. You know what I mean? Put that, shoot that dog in the head. And it's just like, that's what needs to happen. It's just like, we're just in a world full of pussies that are afraid to say anything. And I'm sorry for using that word, but it's, they think they could be at a bar and have this guy come in and not get upset. It's just not okay. It just, it's such a bad look.
00:49:42
Speaker
for hunters and for us trying to... Hey, let's stop wolves in Colorado. Good luck now. Well, now they're talking about basically using this as fuel to relist the wolf as an endangered species again. The special interest groups. Yeah. They're trying every which way there is about it. Meanwhile, we're trying to gain traction back with the grizzly bears and stuff like that here in Wyoming. Oh, good luck.
00:50:11
Speaker
Well, we had it passed. We had it passed at one point. And then that federal judge in Missoula, who thinks his spirit animals, an owl, decided to overturn the ruling. So that's anyway, that's something else I'm I'm really active about is is pushing, you know, that biological science backed kind of laws and stuff through the American Bear Foundation is is trying to push that. I mean, there's
00:50:41
Speaker
There's territories over here. Um, if anybody knows anything about the Bighorn mountains, uh, here in Wyoming, it's no secret that, that, that grizzly bears don't, they're not there. Well, the game and fish finally this year said, okay, they're here. They're in the Bighorns, uh, a habitat they've never really been in, you know, since like the, the 1900s and, uh,
00:51:07
Speaker
they're here again. And they already had to, they had to put one down because it was attacking livestock. So, I mean, they're, they're spreading out like crazy. Man, I would have, uh, I would like to have that guy on the podcast just to talk to him. I don't think he's going to talk to anybody now. Oh, I'm sure he's, he's not popular from both sides right now. I mean, I'd love to see like,
00:51:36
Speaker
What kind of stupid are you? What was going through your head when you saw that wolf and you decided to run it over? And then once you ran it over,
00:51:47
Speaker
You decide to duct tape its mouth and bring it to a bar. Like what was like, what kind of like third cousin, my dad's, my brother, redneck argue that does this. You know what I mean? It's just, I'm sorry, but it's just like, there's something mentally wrong with you.
The Ethics of Hunting
00:52:03
Speaker
There's something to treat an animal that way. I just, man, I feel bad shooting a coyote is still alive. I put other bold in it. You know what I mean? Or shooting a deer. I'm the guy that like,
00:52:13
Speaker
I want them to die as fast as possible. When they don't die as fast as possible, it sucks. And I don't like it at all. Any person that's a true sportsman and a true hunter in their own right wants that. I mean, you want the quick, the quickest, most merciful death that you can provide. I mean, it's, it, I mean, death has to come with this stuff. I mean, conservation, all that stuff, uh, for me to feed my family, everything.
00:52:40
Speaker
but I still want it to be quick and merciful. I don't want to sit there and listen to it, you know, gargle its own blood or whatever have you. I don't want that. I want it to be done, lights out. Just, I mean, the way that I honestly wish I could go quick and painful, painless and, you know, nothing, nothing to worry about instead of, you know, rotting away in a, sorry, but rotting away in a, in a senior center or something like that. I, I, that's not how I want to go.
00:53:10
Speaker
I'll tell you what, I'll tell you how I'm gonna go. I already told my wife she doesn't like it. The kids don't like it. But I'm gonna, I'm gonna get it like a buck 110. Because that's the best, like the all time knife. Maybe a buck 111. It's gonna be a buck. It can't be one of the, it can't be like a bench maid or a mother's head knife. It needs to be like a buck. And I'm just gonna walk out in a grizzly country. And you're gonna, I'm gonna be like 85 years old. You're gonna find me dead, but there's gonna be a grizzly bear dead too as well. Kind of like, like in a,
00:53:36
Speaker
What's that movie called? Like, is River Run Stewart or whatever? Or The Last of the Mohicans? One of those, that movie. Tristan, where he dies with the wolf bear. That's going to be me. I'm going to go out there. I'm just going to fight America's. Man, I had my, like my dad. I mean, I loved him to death. And I actually mentor his grandson now and take care of his daughter.
00:53:56
Speaker
Um, he got cancer and man, he went from 220 pounds strong 75 year old dude down to like 90 pounds and he was just a fraction of himself and it was just in diapers and the whole thing. And I'm just like, man, I never want to do this. I don't, I never, I don't want to go. I would much rather.
00:54:18
Speaker
get hit by a bus than do this. Yeah. I'm doing the same thing. Take a broad head than do this. That's for sure. Oh yeah. I'm watching my grandfather, you know, same kind of thing.
Reflections on Aging and Family
00:54:30
Speaker
Six, I mean, I'm not that tall, but he's, he's six three. I mean, he was just a big, big man. And now he's withered away to nothing. And you know, he's, he's battling Parkinson's and then through the Parkinson's progressing, he he's, he's battling a,
00:54:46
Speaker
Or, I mean, I wouldn't say battling, but he's living with dementia and Alzheimer's, those kinds of things as a result of his Parkinson's. And I think, honestly, grandpa's just slowly dying of a broken heart because my grandma passed away two years ago on Thursday and stuff from cancer too.
00:55:12
Speaker
What I'm saying is I don't want to see, I don't want to have myself go through that. I don't want to put my family through that. Um, you know, I'm, I'm worried about losing my mind that way as I get older and stuff. And I don't want to put my wife through that and my kids and my future grandkids and stuff. It's just, I'll tell you, we're taking a dark turn here on this podcast. I can tell you what, that's why I tell people all the time, like Randy Newberg says it right.
00:55:41
Speaker
You're going to run out of time way before round of money. You can always make more money. Like go enjoy life. Go take your kids fishing. My kid's going to be going to college next year. You know, he's out right now at his senior prom or whatever this, not prom, whatever it is. Homecoming winter formal. I don't know what it is. You know what I mean? Like it's, it's over. He's gone. Like I can't get this year, but these years back, like go fishing, go hunting, find a way to go to Alaska, find a way to do your dream hunts. Cause you're going to run out of time way before. And you know what I mean? You don't want to die with those.
00:56:11
Speaker
You know what I mean? You don't want to go out and do it now because you're never going to get it back. You could get that agent. You could always work for someone. You can always have a job. Go do some crazy stuff. Yeah, you can make more money, but you can't make more time. You can make more money, but you can't make more time, exactly, and your buy is going to break down. So, we're pushing that hour mark. I always like to have a hunt story on this podcast.
00:56:34
Speaker
Ooh. So you got to give me, give me a, I could be a funny one. It could be a hard one. It could be, it doesn't need to be like, it doesn't have to be like a crazy, you know, gritty Bowman type hunt. It could be any hunt you've done. Just tell us a hot story. Um, I guess one that comes in mind, uh, I I've, I've got all sorts of crazy, stupid ones, but one that comes in mind, uh, that really sticks out to me is, uh, back in 2016,
00:57:05
Speaker
Uh, it was the year that I found out, um, that my, my wife was pregnant with my
Memorable Mule Deer Hunt
00:57:09
Speaker
oldest daughter. Um, when I got back from this hunt, um, I drew a very, very highly sought after covenant, Wyoming late season mule deer hunt. Um, I think draw, draw odds for that are like 0.5%. Wow. Yeah, it's, it's a tough one. And my, my dumb butt is had it three times.
00:57:33
Speaker
And that was the the third time making it finally count I'd gone up Excuse me, you guys don't get points you guys residents don't get points of their no. No, it's just random draw. Yep random draw So I had gone up a couple times Looking around and stuff and I came across a really nice buck and I actually had cell service of all things like where I was at called my dad up and I'm like dude dad this I
00:58:02
Speaker
This bucket, he's this big, you know, he's this wide and his forks are this be, you know, deep and talking to him and, and dad's like, uh, he knows me. I tell stories and he's like, yeah, there'll be another buck, bud. Just, just hold out. It's still early in your season. Just hold out the migration hasn't even started yet. So just, just wait. So I snuck up on this buck and I got a picture of him and I get, I get back.
00:58:28
Speaker
And I show the picture of the buck to my dad and his job just drops and he just like quickly grabs it back up. He's like, um, there, there'll be other deer, man. You know, you're, you're fine, but I could tell dad's like, Oh crap. Yeah. What did I do? I just told my son not to shoot like this big, big buck. Um, anyway, so season starts keeps just peeling by and I'm like, Oh no. Am I gonna, am I going to shoot a deer like a half decent buck and dad's even sweating now and you could
00:58:55
Speaker
He kept bringing up that other buck from time to time. And anyway, so dad and I, we kind of hunted out throughout the day, didn't see much, and we had the horses down at the trailhead. So we had to take the horses to water, water them up before we kind of went back for the evening. So we water up the horses. And I'm kind of skipping around here, but anyway.
00:59:25
Speaker
we water the horses and we're driving back. And we, we had bumped a buck earlier that day that we didn't get a super good look at, but it was like one of those like, Oh man. Um, but we couldn't get it. I couldn't get set up for a shot anyway. So we're, we're driving back and we're about to camp or camp I say, but it's, it's, it's our family friend's cabin.
00:59:55
Speaker
and we're pulling up the driveway and I see this aspen tree just shaking like crazy. Sure enough, here's this buck and I'm like, dad, that's him. That's him. He's like, just calm down. Everything's fine. I'm an adult man, you know? This is the buck. This is the buck from my opening day. What? No, it's not this buck. It's a totally different buck, but I mean, this is the way you're going to shoot. This is him. I got to kill him.
01:00:22
Speaker
Yeah, this is a buck you're going. This is, this isn't a buck. Okay. Okay. I got you. I got you. Um, anyway, so dad's like, okay, this is okay. We need to come around like this and, and this is how we're going to get on this buck is, and, and so, uh, dad, dad's right behind me and, uh, we're actually sneaking underneath the neighbor's like porch of his cabin to try and get on this deer.
01:00:51
Speaker
And it's just so stupid. It's like, we're, we're underneath the neighbor's cabins porch. Like anyway, so he, we feel like that, that buck can kind of sense us there and you can kind of see that he pushes into the timber. So we back out a little bit and there's a rim rock. So the buck can only go left or right. So we go back over to where the cabin that we're staying at and we go just right underneath that rim rock. And we start kind of following that rim rock to.
01:01:20
Speaker
to where that buck was and where he had started kind of moving up into the timber. And we get there to this spot and we're like, okay, it's kind of open right here a little bit. Um, we need to sit and pretty soon we see like four or five does funneling out. We're like, okay, this, he's going to be in with the, they're rutting right now. Yeah. Cause it's, it's late enough. Yeah. Yep. They're rotten. And, uh, okay, just wait, just wait. And sure enough, here he comes just hot on those does and dad's like, okay,
01:01:50
Speaker
That's him. Make it happen. And I shoot, miss, shoot, miss. And anyway, I shoot to where I've only got one shell left in my, my six and I'm talking about, Hey man, that's gas station caliber. It's the way to go. Um, dad, dad goes, damn it. Levi make it happen. And from that, from that point on, I mean, I've got it written on my bow. Make it happen. Um,
01:02:18
Speaker
That's just what I need somebody to grab me and say, make it happen. Um, I took a deep breath and centered it up on him shot. He tips over backwards. Just, I mean, like, it was like a, like a rodeo horse wreck tips over backwards. Yeah, exactly. And, and dad just, whoa. I mean, dad screamed. I feel like everybody in Montana and you know, Utah could hear dad just, oh, dad was so excited for me.
01:02:49
Speaker
I mean, I dumped him. Uh, we go up to this buck and, um, I mean, we're both elated. He, he's a cool, cool buck. I'll, I'll send you a picture of, of him. And you will use the gripping grin for the podcast. So you can make her. Yeah, I'll send you, I'll send you that for him, um, for it. Uh, but anyway, we're, we're taking all these pictures and, and, uh, and, um, dad, dad always jokes around boys don't kiss boys. And, uh,
01:03:19
Speaker
Dad, I've got this picture of my dad giving me a big old kiss right on the cheek, you know, as we're both holding this, this buck. And, uh, it was, give me that one. Yeah, I'll send you that one. Um, anyway, so, uh, we're sitting there and, and dad's like, well, what do we do now? How are we going to get him out? And I was like, well, we're going to drag him. Dad. So we drag him and.
01:03:44
Speaker
And, uh, you're right above, you're right above the cabin you're staying in. Yeah, we're right above the cabin that we're staying in. So dad backs up the truck and he's like, Oh man, I don't really like the way I'm parked. It's going to be, you know, kind of really crappy to, to load this thing up. I said, dad, are you really whining to me about loading this deer up hole in the back of a pickup? I said, usually we have to chop this thing up into 20 pieces and then we've got a,
01:04:13
Speaker
Then we've got a four or five hour horse ride out. I mean, you're really, he's like, yeah, you're right. So we joke around about that still to this day, but that, that buck, it took me probably six, six years to put tape to him. Uh, but he ended up, he ended up grossing over 200 inches. Really? Why six years? He didn't want, he didn't want to ruin it. I was scared. I was scared that.
01:04:41
Speaker
I was scared that he wasn't going to break 180. I was like, yeah, he's at least 180. He's a good buck. He's at least 180. I can tell everybody that confidently and not feel like I was fibbing.
01:04:56
Speaker
And, uh, so I was scared and it took me getting really drunk with my brother-in-law one night to first put tape to him. And then, then we sobered up and remajored him just to double check ourselves. I feel like most of the, like most of the hunt stories we get on here.
01:05:16
Speaker
involve me and dad, or me and my brother. And that is really good to show what hunting's about, you know, and doing it with someone because like those memories, like I helped my father-in-law a lot. And yeah, he's getting up there. He's 75 now.
01:05:30
Speaker
He's my best hunting partner, him
Rekindling Family Bonds Through Hunting
01:05:33
Speaker
and my kids. I wouldn't trade him for nothing. He's slower to get around and kind of a pain in the butt because I got to set him up and get him in there. Those are the best times is doing it with somebody. It's such a communal sport. What a cool story, dude. What a fun podcast to do with you.
01:05:53
Speaker
I do want to add something else like to that, just in that I'm, I'm sorry. I know we're, we're kind of running over time a little bit, but that, that couldn't have come out a better time in my life because prior to that, I had, I'd gotten totally away from hunting. I had gotten into some legal trouble. I had gone through some personal trouble and my dad and I, I mean, we were like practically fisticuffs gonna fight.
01:06:22
Speaker
I mean, dad and I didn't have a very good relationship. Then I got back into hunting and that's when our relationship rekindled. And this buck was kind of like the signature of our eyes were back. We're back. So I just had to add that into there. So that's one reason that hunt means a heck of a lot to me that, and then I get back from that awesome hunt and find out my wife's pregnant with our first kid.
01:06:46
Speaker
So yeah, you gotta run it right at the right time. She had that maybe in what, like July, I was doing the math earlier. June. Yep. June. Yep. Perfect. Good job. I was doing the math. Like good job. You got it. You did it right. You didn't do it by Jake and have three kids in September. So a good job.
Where to Find the Podcast
01:07:00
Speaker
Yeah. Well, so where'd, uh, where can we find it? Now you want us to find you, you got this talk about the podcast, talk about your Instagram, YouTube, all stuff. What do you got?
01:07:10
Speaker
Yeah, just mainly, uh, the, the, the Instagram, which is our podcast Instagram and stuff, which is Western underscore territory underscore pod. And, uh, yeah, check me out there and message me whatever. And that's, that's my main thing. Um, I we're, we're possibly going to start launching the podcast on a YouTube at some point and, uh, do a couple of things there. So.
01:07:35
Speaker
Sweet. I run all my podcasts for YouTube. We get like 25 views. It's great. I'm famous. It's something, man. It's something, man. We got a bunch of videos on there. Like and subscribe me on YouTube, too, by the way. I'm just getting some good stuff up there.
Hunting Trip Planning Excitement
01:07:50
Speaker
But, man, thank you for coming out. Let's do it again, bro. It's always fun. I'm going to come up there, and I'm going to use your 28 gauge. I'm going to kill some ducks. Yeah, let's do it. And I'm going to have a good time, man. Maybe we'll do some goose. I'll bring my 12 gauge. So I'll bring that up there. We'll do some goose. Yeah. That sounds like a good time.
01:08:06
Speaker
fly in there and go shoot some hawkers with you and just have a blast. Thanks, bro.
Conclusion and Listener Appreciation
01:08:10
Speaker
Let's do it again. Yeah, of course. Thanks. Thank you for listening to the Tricer Podcast. Do us a favor and like and subscribe on whatever platform you're listening on. Give us a follow on Instagram and Facebook at TricerUSA and go and check out all of our innovative gear at www.tricerusa.com. Until next time, shoot straight, have fun, and always put God first.