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Finding Her Way: Alexa Dusenbury’s Journey into Hunting and Tricer
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In this episode of the Tricer Podcast, host Drew Miles sits down with Alexa Dusenbury, Tricer’s social media manager, to discuss her inspiring journey from newcomer to hunting to becoming an essential part of the Tricer team. Alexa shares how she went from a plant-based lifestyle and limited outdoor experience to embracing the hunting lifestyle alongside her husband, Luke, one of the industry’s leading filmmakers and photographers. The conversation dives into what it’s like to learn hunting from the ground up, navigate online criticism, and help build an authentic, community-focused brand. Alexa opens up about her first hunts, the ethics of harvesting animals, and what it means to find confidence in a male-dominated space. Listeners will hear honest reflections on mental toughness, personal growth, and the moments that make the hunting journey so rewarding.
ALEXA DUSENBURY
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/alexa.dusenbury/
TRICER USA
Website – https://tricerusa.com/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tricerusa/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/tricerusa/
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@tricer6985
#tricer #tricerpodcast #tricergear #westernhunting #huntlikeagirl #womenwhohunt #outdoorwomen #newhunter #bowhunting #huntingcommunity #backcountryhunting #hunttoeat #westernhunter #outdoorlifestyle #archerylife #huntinspired #fieldtotable #huntingjourney #huntress #ethicalhunting #mindsetmatters #publiclandhunter #tricerteam #huntingstory #outdooradventure #huntwithpurpose
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Transcript
Introduction and Prayer
00:00:00
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.
00:00:17
Speaker
We lay Tricer and this podcast at your feet Amen. All
Meet Alexa and Luke Dusenberry
00:00:22
Speaker
right. I have a fun one with one of my favorite people in the world who is married to one of my favorite people in the world.
00:00:28
Speaker
So I am going to start kind of featuring some of the Tricer staff because I actually have like employees now or like a legitimate company as of you know the last year. And i have Alexa Dusenberry on today who runs all our social medias, helps run my customer service team.
00:00:44
Speaker
And her husband is Luke Dusenberry, who I met about four years ago, who I consider probably the best filmer and photographer in the industry. And I'm just stoked to have both Luke and Alexa on the team. And Alexa has become a killer last couple of years and she's become a hunter and she kind of
Building Tricer's Brand Voice
00:01:02
Speaker
transitioned into that. So we're going to about that. goingnna talk about Everything Tracer and Alexa's journey as a hunter. Alexa, how are you doing?
00:01:10
Speaker
Good. Thanks for having me. So you have been crushing our social media. um You took over social media in i think, March or April this year. i was doing it all before then, but then just it was too much for me to handle all the stuff I was doing, traveling so much.
00:01:27
Speaker
And honestly, I don't like all the negative comments. So I was like, i need someone to run this for me. Yeah, yeah, it's fun to scroll through the page. Now I do feel like it, it has a little bit more of a brand voice now, like, obviously, still trying to every now and then highlight you sharing, you know, i statements because you know, you still are kind of like the spearhead behind tricers innovation and design and stuff like that. But trying to make the page feel more like, you know, there is a team kind of behind it and there's, you know, there's a lot more people making tracks for what it is now. So.
00:02:04
Speaker
Yeah. My goal was, and i told you guys, just mc king is I don't want to be the only face anymore. Yeah. Like I'm already, I mean, I am, i' no matter what, I'll always be like the primary face for the brand, but I like having like, there's more people using our stuff than just me.
00:02:18
Speaker
And we're like, just on the mustache all the time. Isn't going to cut it, you know, as we grow, and like we've been growing the last couple of years. Yeah. And I think it's important for, you know, there'd be multiple like lead faces at a brand for like customers to identify with. Like that's what you see at other brands, like, you know, GoHunt as an example, like people identify not just with the owners, but with the staff who do filmed hunts as well and are on the social and gear test and are using this stuff. Right. So i feel like they're one of the best examples. Right. But yeah. So trying to like kind of just follow suit and
00:02:52
Speaker
create more characters at Tracer like Mike Hearn and our new sales guy Alex who came from Peak Refuel and Luke and our new marketing guy Weston who's in the East Coast hunting space and like just trying to bring those people in and um as well as our customers right because I've tried to highlight a lot of their success as well because people love to share about our products with me on social so I've been trying to highlight that.
Social Media Challenges and Customer Interaction
00:03:17
Speaker
How do you keep up with all the RP Gripping Grins? Like there's no way we're sharing them all. There's no way. Cause like I get text messages almost daily right now of dead animals with the RP. Oh yeah. So I think some people, if they just tag us in a story, then I just reshare their story. But some guys will DM me like seriously, like a carousel or, you know, six to eight images of photos. And I'll be like, can you email these to, you know, the creative email and,
00:03:47
Speaker
And then I'll make an actual post out of it. So like nine times out of 10, if you send me photos that are like your grip and grin plus, you know, for like product type shots, like I'll get them posted on a carousel. Like definitely been trying to do that. So yeah, I mean, it's, I will say, i definitely understand why you wanted to take a break from social. Cause it is like, yeah, now I have more notifications on my phone than ever. And it's like,
00:04:15
Speaker
It's just one of those things like I enjoy it, but I can definitely see why you would want to take a break. I don't think it was necessarily like not enjoying it. It was just this, like the comments that got me like people coming in, like there's like pages dedicated to hating me now, like forums and all this stuff. was like, man, I don't need that. Like, honestly, I don't read.
00:04:35
Speaker
So like there's articles being written in like guns, America. And I mean, there's a bunch of outdoor life. I think we're an article. There's just all these articles are being written about Tracer now and they're great articles. I don't read them.
00:04:46
Speaker
like I don't read the good ones. i just don't want to... like I have my sphere of influence that I want to talk to and like people in the industry that like I really look up to, you like you know Cody Nelson, Jay Scott, um just you know Brady Miller, just a bunch of guys who I talk to and I want to get feedback from. Cody Rich is a great example.
00:05:03
Speaker
But then like the other stuff, like I just don't even want to read it because it just affects me. I think it affects my designing as well. No, definitely. like I think like being married to a creative, like I kind of understand like how quickly...
00:05:16
Speaker
those types of things can get to you and like affect your creativity. So like, I totally get what you're saying. And I, from a customer service standpoint, I started that a few months ago. And so it is hard when you get comments, like hate comments that are kind of customer service related. And you find out like these people hadn't even tried to reach out to customers. Cause it's like, so, you know, I'm always just coming back. Like,
00:05:41
Speaker
shoot me a DM on Facebook. I'll get you connected to customer service or email us at info.at tricer.com. But the point is, it's like, it's like, I know how good like Kat, we only have two customers feel. So it's like Cassie's full time. I am like super part time, but we have three Dylan as well.
00:05:56
Speaker
Oh yeah. Yeah. do Yeah. So, so it's frustrating because it's like, they're so awesome. And it's like, if these people would just reach out to customer service, like we'll totally, i'll you know, take care of you. So I think it's kind of hard when you just,
00:06:09
Speaker
people are just so quick to just like say their opinions on Facebook. And it's just annoying. Cause it's like, maybe if it took a few extra moments to actually try and get help or like talk to us, then like, we wouldn't have that like front facing, like hate on a ad.
00:06:23
Speaker
So it's just like, the worst, the worst part is, is like half the time it's their fault. Like, you what i mean? Like some these people are just doing things that are totally dumb with our stuff. And like, then they'll bash us and you're like,
00:06:35
Speaker
did he use a set screw? What's that screw? You know, and you call them. And with Tricer, one cool thing about us is we have three Americans answering phone calls, doing emails and stuff. Like we will call you directly. I get on the phone with people all the time.
00:06:47
Speaker
Still, I finally pass it off to Dylan because the problem with me is like, I call my personal phone and now i get gripping grins on my phone every day from people that I, I appreciate it, I don't know them. Right. Like, so kind of like, I need to separate myself from this because then once people have an issue, they're calling me directly rather than customer service. and We need to have like,
00:07:02
Speaker
some sort of barriers or we're just selling too much stuff to have my phone, cell phone number out there to everybody in the world. Yeah. a People are very cool. Like maybe they just didn't fully understand how to use the products and they're already commenting angrily. And it's just as simple as like, yeah, like, did you check on the set screws or like just different stuff? So it's, yeah, I do wish customers would slow down a little bit and, and, and maybe try and get help or even people who like, there's a lot of people who will break stuff because they,
00:07:31
Speaker
didn't fully know how to work the product. So they're forcing things and then they break it. And then it's like, Oh, your product broke. But it's like, no, like, like you missed, you know what I mean? So but we always replace it for anyone watching the podcast, like info at tricer.com, we would love to help you before you break your panhead.
00:07:53
Speaker
And the cool thing is though, like even with us, like you can run your stuff over and we replace it. Like we don't, we don't advertise that. We don't advertise like this vortex warranty, but like we have never not replaced something. And like, I've had people like they'll lie. They're blatantly lying about how something happened.
00:08:06
Speaker
Like I had a guy one time, I think I've told a story before the podcast. And like, he's like, your butt tripod sucks. Both the legs broke. And I was like, what? Send me a picture. And he's like bashing us online and his legs were perfectly sheared off at the same height. And I called it and I was like, Hey man,
00:08:21
Speaker
I see your bachelors online. It looks like you put your tripod in front of a bench and shot like a 300 wind mag off it. He goes, watch what happened. And I'm like, well, that's not my fault, but I'll replace it for you. You know what mean? Like we'll replace it. Like he literally just, i mean, what do you expect? It's carbon fiber. You put it in front of a bench, shoot a gun. It recoiled back into the bench and shoot the legs perfectly in half. Like it wasn't like it broke it.
00:08:41
Speaker
yeah You know, and we don't have much stuff break, honestly. I mean, at this point now we're selling thousands and thousands of products a month. So things are going to break. I mean, it's going to happen. um And a lot of times it's something like, you know, my backpack fell off, you know, the truck and I ran my tripod over, bent my pan head or, you know, I had one the other day, this guy flew to Alaska and someone, he left his tripod on his backpack and the TSA dropped his backpack like 10 feet and it bent the PP pan head. I mean, it's not going to happen, you know, and we replaced the pan
Commitment to Customer Service
00:09:08
Speaker
head. Like, we don't care. We just replace it for you. And I'd rather like, my thing is like,
00:09:12
Speaker
We have great products and great customer service, and that's why we pay people in the States to actually do these emails and calls and have all this stuff in place to make sure we take care of people because the only thing we have is good products products and customer service.
00:09:23
Speaker
Yeah. So, yeah. And sometimes, um, sometimes people just jerks. mean, I don't know. It's just, sometimes people just want to be a jerk, but, uh, we do our best to help people wherever we can. Some people are just better. that's a Facebook's the worst. You notice that? Like it's not Instagram, it's Facebook. facebook Yeah. that's It's the older people.
00:09:42
Speaker
It's like Facebook comments are typically like they didn't try to get customer service help. And so they're just like quicking being quick to comment. And so it's just like, yeah, Facebook is where it's at.
00:09:53
Speaker
Yeah. There's something about like, i don't know why Instagram is not as bad, but Facebook is like where I think it's like where the older people are, people over 40 and they just like to say crappy things on Facebook, you know, whatever it is.
00:10:06
Speaker
Yeah. And yeah, the other ones that are like silly is like people who are like, this looks just like, or this is so-and-so is better like by that tripod. And like one guy commented like,
00:10:21
Speaker
we'll go buy that brand and like, you know, free market will sort out the rest. because it's like, it's just so annoying. Cause like, this is why America is literally so great. Like someone like you can start this business and create his own products. And like, if you don't want to buy them, that's fine. But like, you don't have a comment about it. Like, you know what I mean? Like the free market, sort it out. Like that's why it's so like, okay, well definitely if you want to, if you think another brand is better than like, you have the freedom to do that. And the people who think Tracer's awesome or,
00:10:49
Speaker
use our products and see that they're awesome, like then they'll support Tracer and like, that's what I think is funny is our people take the time to like, let us know that they're not gonna buy from us. And it's like, okay, like, that's totally cool. Like, because that's why we live in such an awesome country with so many options on the, you know what I mean?
00:11:06
Speaker
Well, that's why like all my stuff is universal. So you can run an outdoorsman's or a Subaru head on one of my tripods, or you can run an outdoorsman's tripod with one of my heads. Like I make it universal. Like I'm not a guy that's like, Hey, you have to use all my stuff, right If you want an ASIAC tripod, I don't care. on their tripod.
00:11:22
Speaker
Do I think my stuff's better? Of course I do. But um like if you want to run it, like I don't care. to Run it. like It's fine. i think a lot of times people will buy something. like We get a lot with the bipod, right? They'll go and buy a $1,000 bipod, and then they see our bipod for $350, and they're pissed off, so they have to like justify it by bashing us. And I'm like, dude, that's a great bipod. like Actually, like I'll just say MDT, right? like I'm friends with MDT. like They're running some of our tripods. I'm going to run their chassis. like it's not There's no... like like there's, there's like this weird loyalty within the hunting industry sometimes to like brands. And it's like, most of us brands get along very well.
00:11:58
Speaker
You know, we're not out there. I'm not out there bashing anybody. i want everyone to be successful. I want other brands to be, other bipods to be successful, every tripod country to be successful. Cause we all like rising tides raise all ships, but yeah, it is fun. It is fun being in the social media world and dealing with the toxicity of all that stuff. You know, the forums are a whole nother level, you know, can on some of the forums, but yeah.
Alexa’s Journey into Hunting
00:12:18
Speaker
Yeah, and that's a good segue, like because I am like new newer to like the industry. it's like and And as a new hunter myself, I'm not someone who knows everything or knows all the answers or whatever. like I'm a learning um person who like wants to like be here and learn and be a better hunter and that kind of stuff. So like I've been so surprised. like And I kind of knew this before I started working at Tricer, but I've like really felt it since working at being client-facing at Tricer, customer-facing.
00:12:47
Speaker
like This is a really harsh industry. like People are so... it' like i'm still have like love to be a part of and I'm a super big advocate for the hunting industry, but like I don't get like people who have been hunting for 40 years and just think they know everything and they know what products are better than others. like Some people are just so harsh. I just don't really get it.
00:13:08
Speaker
But yeah, like I don't know if other industries are like this, but it's definitely something i've observed. Yeah. And that kind of segues into what we're going to talk about. We're going to talk about you becoming a new hunter in a space that isn't always so welcoming to new hunters. Right. And especially female hunters. Right.
00:13:27
Speaker
um It's just, it can be difficult. Right. And so what does that look like for you? I mean, obviously you have one big in, and that is your husband has been hunting a long time and spends a lot of time in the back country. So you've got a really cool,
00:13:40
Speaker
husband. Um, but like, what is that like? What's, what's it look like becoming a new hunter? I mean, how did you decide you wanted to kill something? Yeah. And yeah, so I'm from North Carolina where you just duck hunt and whitetail hunt.
00:13:55
Speaker
And no one in my family really hunts, so I didn't grow up hunting. But that's just, that's basically what I thought hunting was. I didn't know about hunting in any other part of the country or the world. Like I wasn't educated on that.
00:14:06
Speaker
So I didn't really think hunting was that exciting and never really interested me. And then I moved out west after college to do a church fellowship. So I was living in Salt Lake and that's where I met Luke and everything. And so at the time in my life, I was just having been in Salt Lake for about three years and had my dog, like just normal, super REI outdoorsy person. Right. So then um loved hiking with my dog, loved backpacking, really got into all that kind of stuff. But so then I meet Luke and he's working at Mountain Ops.
00:14:37
Speaker
I'd never heard of Mountain Ops and I, this is embarrassing. And so like, you know what, I'm going to welcome the Facebook comments, but like, I did not know what an elk looked like. I did not know what it was. Like, I'm just saying like,
00:14:48
Speaker
I will like I and maybe there's some crunchy person out there who can correct me. But from my perspective, like the crunchy community that I was a part of, like they're not the most educated on like wildlife and stuff like that's just I'm just saying, like I didn't become more educated on the wildlife around me in Utah from being a part of that community for three years. So that's just my perspective. So like I genuinely did not know even really what an elk looked like.
00:15:14
Speaker
Like I'm just until I met Luke. So like, I've been in Utah for two and a half years or whatever. So like, yeah I mean, I'm just saying so. Yeah. yeah So anywho, and so kind of just getting to learn about like, so we meet and then he's just kind of sharing.
00:15:32
Speaker
Like one day i remember hanging out with him and we're going through his YouTube channel and he's just kind of showing me all the videos that we'd done um through work and stuff. And so I'm getting to like, like they had done like a hunt in Kodiak for mountain goats. And I remember him showing me that one and like, and then seeing some like elk hunting videos and stuff. So I was i was immediately just like, i was immediately I was immediately very just like, this is the coolest thing ever.
00:15:58
Speaker
Like I was already like, I was already super into like, hiking a lot and like challenging myself in that way. So i was like, these people are literally doing that, with but with like a lot heavier load and they're actually have a mission. like off Off trail in the most extreme places in the world.
00:16:15
Speaker
Yeah. And there's an actual mission. Like at that point I had been like, okay, on all trails, I'm doing this out and back 10 miles. And you know, like, okay, you know, you're the five mile stopping point and you know, when you're going to trim, like you have it all populated and you know, it's going to take you four hours or whatever. Like, whereas like hunting is not like that. Like hunting, it's not like you wake up and you say, we're doing 10 miles today and this is the route we're doing. Like you'll start with a plan based off your e-scouting, but you can hear something or see something that's going to completely change how many miles you hike that day or get what I'm saying. It's shocking how many miles you can hike on a hunt. Like when you see a deer,
00:16:56
Speaker
And you get over there and that deer moved over here. and the next thing you know, you've done a 15 mile day. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So like kind of of fast forward, like at the time i was super plant-based. I just thought that was healthy. I've never been someone who's like animal rights.
00:17:12
Speaker
So what the, but we have this joke that like one of the first things that I like ate that was like meat in a few years after being like vegan kind of just because I thought it was healthy.
00:17:23
Speaker
Luke had just done ah cougar hunt in Park City and they had shared some of the meat with him. So he literally was like, I have this cougar, like, do you want to make it? And it's just the most like random meat. It's not, you know what I'm getting at? It's not like, oh, let's make a hamburger. It was like, he had this random cougar steaks and ground beef and we like made it.
00:17:43
Speaker
And anyway, and then, um and then we got married really fast. So I, I kind of quickly just Um, just from living together and shopping together was like vegan six months prior. And then all of a sudden now we're just shopping together and we're buying meat and he has meat from jobs. And I just slowly started eating meat again. It wasn't like this like thing. It was just like, meat's also kind of expensive as a single person. So it was honestly cheaper to like not eat meat. Like, I know.
00:18:09
Speaker
Now I realize how bad that is for me. And now like, we're like borderline, we're not like carnivore, but like low key, we eat so much meat. It's just funny. Like how drastically things have changed. Um,
00:18:20
Speaker
And I think, so anyway, so then basically like what got me in, what made me want to hunt though was, um so we dated for five months. We got married in five months and four days or something, but he went free. He quit mountain ops and went freelance in that timeframe. It's like 2018 or something, 2019?
00:18:42
Speaker
2020. 2020. So he quit mountain ops June of 2020. He'd been there over a year and a half, basically not two full years yet, but yeah. And then his first job was with GoHunt. That was his first, he got connected with GoHunt through an old coworker at Mountain Ops.
00:18:55
Speaker
I don't even remember what hunt that was. It was in August. That was his first freelance job. His second freelance job was Under Armour Hunt with Jess Byers. It was a New Mexico over the count, like DIY archery elk.
00:19:09
Speaker
So whatever. So he goes and does that in September. And then a few weeks later, he has like the draft, right? So we sit down in our living room and he shares the draft with me. And I immediately was like,
00:19:20
Speaker
that's what I want to do that. Like, I was very much like, I want to kill an elk with a bow. And like, I hadn't even like ever touched a bow. Like, I don't even have a bow at this point, but I was just very like, I guess it's a beautiful, so it's a beautiful film. Like he just makes that he does things so beautifully. and like it's her and her husband and she hasn't shot an elk in like five years so it's like she really feels like this is her chance that you know she's got this awesome new mexico tag and so she does shoot a huge elk and like the scene where they they've called it in and it's coming in and she's standing beside this tree you like hear it coming before you i always tell people like if you have like surround sound or anything like put this video on surround sound when if you watch it like because that you hear the feet so loud you hear his breathing so loud like
00:20:05
Speaker
he kind and then he comes And then he comes in, right? And she takes her shot, makes a great long shot. But like, um it's just that whole, like the whole, the sound and the effects and like the experience that you get from this little sequence.
00:20:18
Speaker
It was just like, that is so, it was just so cool. And so I just like, that's what I want to do So like, that's 2020, like whatever. i was like, i and so then we moved to the next year to Idaho.
00:20:30
Speaker
And then I didn't, um and so that was just kind of a crazy time. So he did a lot of hunting in 2021 and I didn't go on any of because we had just moved. Like I was getting settled with a new job and just all that kind of stuff. So then the next year, 2022 rolls around.
00:20:45
Speaker
i still don't have my hunting stuff at all. Like I'm just not making time to get it done, but he's going to go do an elk hunt in Oregon with one of his friends. And so I just tagged along for two weeks and it was like two full weeks of Um, like me and all these guys, I'm just hiking around with them. And Luke had bought me like all this Sitka, which is funny. Luke, like, I didn't know anything about Sitka patterns even, or like what the best pattern would be for like archery elk.
00:21:10
Speaker
So he was just like, oh, which one of these do you like the best? And I chose elevated two, which is the white tail, like snow pattern. Um, he bought me all this elevated two stuff. So I'm like out there in my deer camo, but I just thought that one was the prettiest, but anyway, so whatever. So, um but that was.
00:21:27
Speaker
That was the first time i went on a hunt was 2022 Archery Elk in Oregon. It was actually awful. Like basically the year before he had shot and missed a six by seven. So the whole year he was super focused on going back to this spot, killing the big elk that he missed the year before.
00:21:41
Speaker
And like two weeks out there, we literally only saw elk on day one and never saw another elk. can't make this up. And we were constantly moving around, switching spots. went hunting with some other friends who thought they had a good spot at one point like it was just hot it was just a hot first two weeks of september it was just bad but how did that differ from like that's how most hunts are right like isaac's hunt this year we saw two elk in 10 days finally or nine days finally killed bull on the ninth day two bulls um
00:22:14
Speaker
like as a non-hunter before, like you weren't necessarily, like you weren't liberal or anything, but like you were a little crunchy. Like what was your perspective on, oh, just got to kill things, right? Like what was your perspective? Like hunting was easiest, got to shoot deer, shoot animals, like yeah versus like what what what you've experienced out West. Cause like I, again, the same thing, those comments talked about the beginning, like we are a little snooty out West which towards the Eastern guys. Cause we're like, you don't understand what hunting is. it's Like we go hunting, right? So what's your perspective up until that point going on this hunt? Like you just go out and kill things, right?
00:22:42
Speaker
That's a great question. Yeah, as like a backtrack question. Like, yeah, so from my perspective, like East Coast, so in North Carolina, you get sick whitetail tag. So people just go out there and lay it down on these like little deer.
00:22:55
Speaker
So I honestly always just thought it was hunting was kind of redneck. was like, these people just don't shoot all these deer. They're not even like that big or like cool looking. Like I always honestly thought it super like hunting was super redneck.
00:23:08
Speaker
Um, so I just didn't have a respect. have a respect for it at all. So again, that's kind of like when Luke introduced me and started showing me content of Western hunting and explained to me like what his hunting life was like growing up in Oregon I was immediately like, oh, I can get behind that. like it's It is different out here.
00:23:29
Speaker
Not to say that everyone north in North Carolina is a redneck. I can tell you right now that the guys in North Carolina that are hunting out east, like when you start meeting real whitetail guys, they're more hardcore than we are.
00:23:40
Speaker
They're insane. like like I have like friends at Timber Ninja and like dude those guys... the amount of time they put into killing a deer there. I have so much, I couldn't do it. Like those guys are wild. So those Eastern guys are hardcore as well, but there is this weird perspective, especially back there where you're like running into a deer once we get your car anyways, like hunting's easy.
00:23:58
Speaker
He's got to shoot things. He's killed things. You don't. And there's also this perspective that hunters don't love animals. Yeah. Yeah. which is the most foulest thing I've ever heard of. Like is fouls word, uh, false thing I've ever heard of my life.
00:24:10
Speaker
Cause like I love animals. Like i love the adventure way more than the animal, right. Way more than the, than the kill. Um, so keep going with that. So you, at this point you think hunting's just going to go out there and shoot some animals. I mean, yeah, but like Luke quickly shed a different light from again, his Western perspective and growing up out West. So I quickly, like, again, I was just was like, oh, this is way different than what I'm used to. Like I can get, like, I can get behind this. And, and then 2020, like, as you know, was also just, it was a year where, you know, people start thinking about medical ethics and like the holistic side of medical and food. Like it was a huge turning point for like, right. So like,
00:24:48
Speaker
me who's someone who already is health conscious, even though I was like plant-based, I was trying, like I was plant-based because like, I thought that was like the best. The point is, is like, I'm already a health conscious person. So like 2020 was already a big year for me learning about how to be more holistically with medical and with food. So like, I quickly was like, once I, once I kind of got past the like mental block that I had with like thinking meat was like unhealthy or something, I was like,
00:25:15
Speaker
harvesting my own meat is quite literally like the, not only the coolest thing, but like the healthiest thing, like my family can like practice, like, you know what and i mean? Even if I never get out there and it's just Luke who's hunting for us, like as our family or whatever, like, so I don't know. I, I, but 2020 was just one of those years where you, you quickly, everyone, like, it was just one of the, like, I literally met Luke became like very conservative and so pro hunting like overnight. Like just cause once you, once you kind of like your eyes open to these truths, like it was just like, Oh yeah, this is like, this is what I want for my family. you know what I mean?
00:25:52
Speaker
A hundred percent. Yeah. twenty It's wild to think like it's been six years now since that chaos. And like to look back at like what a crazy time that was in history.
00:26:04
Speaker
Like what a wild time in history where we just lost all our rights or forced to do a bunch of stuff. And it's just, it's wild to think that we actually went through that. It's just, it's it's hard to, it's hard to fathom even that whole time.
00:26:16
Speaker
but ah But they're putting mask mandates back in place in California in a few places. so I'm just like, you got to be kidding me. Yeah. Six years later. So anyways, back to it. You got run your first elk hunt in Oregon.
00:26:29
Speaker
Yeah, I didn't really care that much. I was super bummed for Luke because had talked about this one elk all year and then we couldn't find it. And so I was kind of bummed for him, obviously.
Hunting Ethics and Experiences
00:26:41
Speaker
But I'm still just like, I'm getting to hike every day. Like I'm not having to work. So I was still just like having, like I wasn't super phased by the fact that we didn't. I was a little, I was a little bummed because we went into that hunt with a lot of excitement and hype from his past season. So, but still, I think I wasn't at the end of the day, like, again, I just was getting to be outside for two weeks and hiking around.
00:27:04
Speaker
So like, it was still like, in i i don't know. But at that same time that right before we left for Oregon for that hunt, so like end of August, we went to the bow shop in Idaho Falls and I got a Matthews Mission, which is kind of a starter bow.
00:27:18
Speaker
Um, and so I had just gotten a bow, which was a super stressful day because I don't like doing things I'm not good at. So obviously shooting a bow for the first time is not like the way your hand has to be turned. Like, it's not just like this, like, and like, what's funny is, is like, i like,
00:27:36
Speaker
I like worked out and stuff. I thought I was like strong. And so they put me at a bow that was set to like 43 pounds and I couldn't pull it back initially. So I super, cause I know that 40 is like 40, I gotta have a bow that's 40. Like I can actually hunt with that.
00:27:50
Speaker
I was just immediately like, I couldn't pull the bow back. Like I hit my arm twice. Like I was just like, I literally had like an anxiety attack. We had to like, go take a break from the bow shop and get lunch and get like reset. Cause I was like pissed.
00:28:05
Speaker
I was like, I've been wanting a bow for like two years and I come to get this bow and i can't even pull back forth the minimum 40 pounds. Like I can't get my hand right. Like I was pissed cause I don't like doing things I'm not good at. Like I immediately like,
00:28:18
Speaker
So whatever, we kind of reset. And then I go back by the end of the, were at this bow shop for hours. By the end of the session, I was able to walk out with the mission tuned above 40 pounds, like 43 or something. Like I finally got to that by the end of the day. Cause you don't just pull, you also have to push. So like to push and pull it's different. It's not like, yeah, I like the movies.
00:28:38
Speaker
So anyway, so, and then I just, it was super fun because it was something I go do it like in our yard, we could set up, we had a big yard at that first house. We could go up the yard from corner to corner. So like, it was fun that like, it was just something i' go out the yard and do Um, and so.
00:28:54
Speaker
Anywho, so I had that bow for a whole year. So then like, and I'm also, i get cold really easily. So like after archery elk, I wasn't super like, like, I think Luke probably did some other hunts that year. I can't fully remember, honestly, in Idaho, but like, I wasn't super keen on like going in a colder season. So after going with him in Oregon, i didn't do any more joining along. You need to come south and come out with us in the desert.
00:29:19
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I cold so easily. Mule deer are way better than elk. Coos deer are the best. Go do deer. Do you really like coos deer the best? Oh, coos deer the best. 100%. Not even a question.
00:29:31
Speaker
Why is that? Because they're so hard to find and they're so magical. like they just You can be looking at them, you don't even see them. And you can see them and then not even see them again. like It's just like they are the most like elusive deer. I can't wait for and for Mexico in January.
00:29:44
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, you got to do that. Like elk are, elk are cool, but they're like giant school buses. I mean, what people, I know people will love them, but like deer, there's something about deer. That's just so magical.
00:29:57
Speaker
Like, especially when you find them. Any of them, right. They're all ah compared to an elk. They are all, you know, harder to spot and stalk. If you're doing archery, like they're harder to get on and more skittish in general. Right. So I can see why you could be like more alert by them.
00:30:14
Speaker
them all kind of being maybe a harder, a harder. I love elk hunting. love hunting everything. I love hunting everything. I just like, man, like if you you come down to the desert and look for a cruise here in Arizona or Mexico, it'll change your life.
00:30:28
Speaker
You'll start, you'll start a glassing company called Tracer. So cool for them, keep going. Sorry. Oh no. Yeah. You're good. So basically after that, like fall of 2022, I did again, didn't still have my hunter,
00:30:42
Speaker
um, stuff. So like that whole next year was like, I was like working on that. So then by the summer of 2023, I'd gotten my Hunter. what Why am I blanking? what hunter' that Hunter safety. Yeah.
00:30:54
Speaker
I got Hunter safety. I got my archery. So I was good to go for like, you know, fall 2023. And I was super stoked. So I'm like, so September 2023 was like the first time I'm out there with my bow with Luke and two other guy friends in Idaho, have my tags in my pocket. Like,
00:31:11
Speaker
Super excited. That was ah hard season too, because we found our friend found this awesome spot. There was tons of elk, but they literally, they weren't really talking and they were really good at like going into these like wind vortex spots where you literally couldn't get in on them. Like they knew, they knew this area so well that it like we could not get close to them. um Luke did shoot and miss two different elk on that trip twice.
00:31:39
Speaker
And that was really hard because I was with them both times. I will say that that year i was, i I went out there super like, oh, I've got it bow in my hand and tag in my pocket.
00:31:51
Speaker
But when it came time, when we were like close to an elk it was like, are me and Luke, me or Luke gonna like try and shoot this thing? I like chickened out. I was like, no, you go ahead. Cause like, I have, i I still have like, like I'm new to this. So like, I don't, I only want to, I,
00:32:09
Speaker
pet like I've had guys like, I've had guys like say like, you know, if you don't, if you don't let an arrow fly or you don't try that, and I'm like, no crap, nothing's going to die if I don't try.
00:32:21
Speaker
But the point is like, I just, I, I'm not at the point where I'm willing to like try for the sake of an animal's life. Like I'm just not like if I, I'm still very like me and Luke are both kind of this way. Like if we, he obviously is more experienced, so maybe he'll take more shots, but like,
00:32:39
Speaker
we're both just like, we're there for the adventure. Like we're there for whatever God puts in our place. Like we're just not like he's not, and I never want to turn into one of those people. Who's just like letting things fly for the sake of letting things fly and maybe injuring an animal.
00:32:54
Speaker
Like I saw that happen a lot this season with people who are hunting with. And I just like, Archery is brutal. But even with rifle, I've seen it. So it's just like, I just, archery is obviously more brutal, but even with rifle, people get all crazy and like, just want to shoot something. Like, I'm just saying people are that way. And like, I never want to do that. And so like, and I've had like guys be sassy to me about that. But if that's the way I want to hunt, I don't really know why didn't care. It's like, if I'm okay with like not tagging out, like that's my thing.
00:33:25
Speaker
Do you know what mean? Maybe that'll change over time, but like, Um, so it shouldn't, hopefully it doesn't. I feel like some of the most confident people are the ones who injure the most elk, honestly. So, I mean, you just, you send arrows through trees and, you know, in in the butt versus, you know, good shots. Like, no, don't take compromising shots. Hopefully it doesn't change. yeah I just mean like some people take shots they know aren't even bad before they even do it And it was like, well, what was the point? It's like, if you think,
00:33:55
Speaker
Tons of people will make a shot that they really felt good about and it still went wrong, but at least the ethics were still there. Do you know saying? Whereas like, yeah it's just like zero ethics. You're just like, I know this is bad, but here we go. Like, it's like, well, like that's the point. Like I, um I actually like this archery season.
00:34:14
Speaker
We were driving around, it's like day three. We're like driving around and there is a doe. I have a a deer tag as well. i can shoot doe or buck in this unit. So and There's a doe 50 yards right off the road and Nate slams on brakes. Like, oh, I said, shoot, shoot it. So I hop out of the truck, but it was definitely like, it was like, I felt very like rushed.
00:34:38
Speaker
And I actually made a good shot. Like we watched the video. This doe did this, even el Luke and Nate were like, I've never seen a deer do this. But like, she like, I literally shot her perfectly and she went like this.
00:34:52
Speaker
And so it like grazed her right here. There was no blood. There was a little bit of like meat and, um, all right ble hair on my arrow. Pretty sure she's more than I'm definitely, it just like, it just brushed her.
00:35:06
Speaker
But I was still like, oh my gosh. Like I just, I was like, i hope she's okay. Like, you know what I mean? Like I immediately was like, and I even did really feel like it was like 50 yards. That's not far for me at this point. Like,
00:35:19
Speaker
It was going right where it was supposed to. She did this crazy thing. But I still was just like, yeah. And it was like kind of a rushed thing. but Like it was like, oh my God, there's a thing. Shoot it, Alexa. And it was like, oh, I should shoot it. I don't know. It was like, so I don't know. it's It's neither here nor there, but it's just like at the end of the day, I want to like,
00:35:39
Speaker
definitely try to be doing things that I feel confident doing and what. Yeah. There is something to be said about, um and those rush shots. We've all done it. We've all killed animals like that. And, you know, and yeah one popped up, you shoot it.
00:35:52
Speaker
Something said about like when they don't know you're there and you shoot them. I mean, like it's, it just, it's something that's really cool about it. It's kind of like what you want it to be done, right? You want to sneak up on it. It's feeding. doesn't know you're there. It steps out behind a bush, your full draw, you let go. and then that deer, you know, gets an arrow and and doesn't even know, it never even knew you were there versus like jumping out and you it knows you're there and it's kind of rushed. And it's like, okay, you can just throw, I'm gonna do the matrix and try and dodge your arrow, you know? Yeah. um So yeah. And i immediately like regretted it.
00:36:20
Speaker
So I just was like, And it she definitely just had a good cut. She's way more than fine, but it was just like, yeah, I love that feeling. And that was, yeah. that was the first time I had kind of experienced that, I guess.
00:36:34
Speaker
Um, I always tell my kids that you can't take it back. Remember that like you can't call a bullet back So once you pull that trigger like we're in it, right? Whether you injure the animal or not and we've had a few right especially hunt with kids you had a few where you attract an animal down or things went wrong and You used to tell them like well you you shouldn't have pulled the trigger You what mean? Like wait for him to stop do whatever you rush it sometimes something goes wrong and sometimes they've missed me They've had a lot of misses. i mean we've got three boys hunting now We you know, it's gonna happen when you're trying to teach kids how to hunt But you can never call that bullet back.
00:37:05
Speaker
Right. And there's something to be said about like, even me as somebody who's killed a lot of stuff now, like sometimes you get, get excited you make the wrong decision, you know, you're getting ready to pull the trigger on something. What do I do? it What, come on.
00:37:17
Speaker
Why, we why do we rush this? You know, you know, the end result's going to be. Yeah. I do think like, like Luke's hunted a lot with Brady Miller or the, um, Nate from Western Hunter, who's another just like absolute killer, but very patient guys. And like Luke really tries to emulate that too. Cause it's like, we were we were watching Brady's film from last year, two years ago, sorry, two years ago, Luke filmed it.
00:37:42
Speaker
ah He's right. He's muzzleloader hunting in Nevada for elk. And I mean, it takes him a long time to finally even go on a stalk, not because he didn't have opportunities before, but he's just like,
00:37:57
Speaker
He's just like super patient. He knows he's there for two weeks and he still absolutely kills an absolutely huge elk at the end on like day 10 or something. But it's like he never once sees elk and just loses his mind. You know what mean? And so it's just like there's times to be aggressive. I mean, there's times to be where you're you're confident enough in your abilities that you're just enjoying the glassing or enjoying the time with your friends the woods. Like,
00:38:26
Speaker
I don't know. So that's kind of where I'm at. I feel like this season really honed that in for me because there was a lot, we were hunting with different personnel, different hunting personalities this season. And so there was a lot of time for me to kind of reflect on this idea.
00:38:42
Speaker
But yeah. But yeah. but So before we go into this season, though, I mean, like, you've kind of like come into your own with women in the space as well, right? Like you started hanging out with Courtney, you did some stuff as well. Like, how did that work for you? Like doing some of Courtney's stuff and like her outdoor adventures and getting involved with like a community of women?
00:39:01
Speaker
How did that, did that shore you up or... Yeah, that was an interesting experience for me. So, so basically, yeah. So to like recap, so I went elk hunting in 2023 with Luke for like 10 days, you know, neither one of us killed anything. Our friend shot a, our friend shot something on that trip.
00:39:18
Speaker
Last year, Luke was injured for archery elk, right? He got injured at the beginning of September. So we, I hunted just with his friend for like 10 days. We both had, i had like ah we both had shot opportunities and missed, but that was super exciting for me because I actually got to draw and shoot it on a bull last year.
00:39:37
Speaker
And what happened was um my Matthew's mission was only sided up to, we had the biggest issue. My Matthew's mission was shooting so slow. So I'm pulling 55 pounds now, um which like is decent enough to shoot decently far, but we could not get that thing sided past 50 yards.
00:39:54
Speaker
So like last year, I, that was the last pin I had. We like, whatever. So Basically I had got an elk at 45 yards. Then they ran uphill a little bit. I rushed, didn't take the time to rearrange, assumed that they were but were further.
00:40:09
Speaker
i was like, they're above 50 yards now. And I only can shoot the yards. So I held my bow way too high. it was, it was like, it was a question of me. It was maybe if we're going back to this question, like question of ethics, but it was the last, this is the last day of the season. This is like morning of September 30th.
00:40:25
Speaker
And I've been there for 10 days. So i was like, I'm going to shoot an arrow of this thing to say I freaking tried. Like, so whatever. So I held, I think I held my bow too high. Um, and it shot over its back because this year, day one, I wanted to go back out and reassess the situation. So me and Luke go back to the same spot.
00:40:43
Speaker
I put him where the elk is. I range him. He was 45 yards. And honestly was like, That really pissed me. That really got in my head this season because was like, oh my God, I could have killed the elk last year. All I had to do was put my 40 and and low. I missed twice in Africa. Same thing.
00:40:59
Speaker
Same thing. Had them set up. had a water rifle and a zebra. both set up at 40 and it took off and I rushed a shot and then missed both animals. And it was just like a rush thing rather than calm down, rearrange, shoot. It was just like, oh, right. It's just like, that's a cool thing about archery, man. It's like, it's on you, right? And something happens in you where it's like, I guarantee if I put a target at 45 yards for you, you're going to hit that thing 10 out of 10 times.
00:41:23
Speaker
Yeah. But you put a giant school bus out in front of antlers on its head and you miss. I mean, like I missed a freaking zebra and I just pushed it way left on him because i rushed it because it took off and I like, um the elevation pretty, but rushed the shot and i I pulled it. I'm like, how do I miss a freaking horse? Yeah.
00:41:39
Speaker
Yeah. Same thing. Water buffalo or not water buffalo, um, wildebeest. It ran and I guess went over his back. Cause just like, Oh crap, I gotta, gotta shoot. I gotta shoot. And I have just took my time, you know, and take the shot. It just it gets you. yeah So to put more, just cause this story is so cool. We had this, it was like an ambush spot.
00:41:57
Speaker
Basically these elk came up from private every morning and we would ambush them every morning. And it's just like a 50, 50 chance. Something walks close to you and you're able to get kind of close, but there, so actually in this situation,
00:42:08
Speaker
There was three bulls. I can't make this up there. I range all, I range one of them 45. They move up. So when I go to take my shot, I have a pick of three different bulls.
00:42:19
Speaker
Like you can't make this up side by side, just like there. And I shot at the middle one. Cause that seemed the smartest thing right in the middle, but it was just crazy. I'm like, there's three bulls standing right here and Like what the heck?
00:42:33
Speaker
And so basically it's just been annoying because year I've been saying, oh, my Matthews mission wasn't sighted out far enough. And that's why I missed. And now now that I know it was 45 yards and it should have been so easy to get those pins with his vitals in between. Like I just, it's been like, I've had an excuse all year. And then when I realized actually I was still sighted in to make that shot, I've been pretty pissed because this year I got the Matthews lift RS and So now like my Matthew's mission was shooting at 209.
00:43:04
Speaker
Is it feet per second? all really Now I'm shooting 265 feet per second. So like I'm sighted out to like 95 yards, like more than I need. And it's awesome. Yeah. So you've heard the expression, don't miss, it'll haunt your dreams.
00:43:18
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I see. can relive, you can relive every miss in your head. Like I can, I don't remember many of my hits. Like I remember my misses. The misses, especially with a bow, you're just like, why did I, every time you lose it, you're just why did i do that?
00:43:33
Speaker
Why did I do that? I know better. Right. And it's just like, I could make that shot 10 out of 10 times. It's such an easy shot. And then you miss it. It's just like, what the heck? Yeah. Yeah. So just re I was just, yeah. So just recapping like that was like my hunting experience. And then, so then basically I met Courtney at a sporting, at a show this year, um, in February.
00:43:53
Speaker
Um, Courtney is her outdoor journey. She leads, um, hunting trips for women. And um so anyway, I met her at in February. We went to Portland because there's a new show in Portland. It was super small this year, but I think they did a really good job. They're probably going to try and grow.
00:44:10
Speaker
And Luke's from Oregon, so we just like made a trip out of it. His parents came up. We got an Airbnb in Portland, and we all went to this show on Saturday. But I met Courtney there, actually. And the reason I even like went to her booth was because previous, like a month earlier, I'd connected with her social media gal on Facebook because her social media gal had just moved to Boise and had posted in like a group I'm in um, being like, I just moved to Boise and I worked for her outdoor journey. And I was like, what the heck?
00:44:37
Speaker
But so I had gone to the booth to kind of meet Hannah because we both live in Boise. And then I got to meet Courtney and stuff. So I met both of them there. And this Hannah girl, um, actually now works for Eberle stock, but she's one of my best friends in, uh, in Boise. But Um, so anyways, I met Courtney and then we kind of stayed in touch and then she, she basically didn't have anyone book her Hawaii trip. So she was like, I still want to go hunting in Hawaii. So like, I just, I got invited to go with her and some other girls that she knows to go, which was super awesome and super scary because like, like hunting with like, well, I guess last year I didn't hunt with Luke, but I was hunting with a really lifelong friend of ours.
00:45:20
Speaker
So I feel like just maybe hunting with Luke or hunting with that one guy. i don't know. It may be comfort zone thing. So I'm like, so it was really scary going like on this trip with, I didn't know anyone.
00:45:31
Speaker
well, okay. I knew Courtney and I knew this other gal who's a personal trainer in Portland that I'd connected with and met in person in Portland once. Um, so I knew her, but then there were some other girls I didn't know, but yeah. So that was super like,
00:45:45
Speaker
scary for me and I had just gotten my new bow and had got it all sighted in. So I was super excited to use it. But um yeah, it was, it was weird. Like getting to make my own decisions. Like I had my Onyx, I'm out there making my own decisions. Like that was good. I needed to go do that and I should be doing more of that. But yeah, i like it was weird. Like I got really frustrated at times. Basically. I mean, there's a lot of goats, lots of pigs on like day two, two girls shot pigs.
00:46:13
Speaker
And we only had like five days to hunt. And then I remember when those two girls shot pigs on Tuesday, i was like, oh, I like really want to shoot something. But, and like I know people are starting to get things down, but you know, what's funny.
Unique Hunting Adventures
00:46:26
Speaker
I'm the only girl that week saw an access deer and had a shot on an access deer. So not like, it's just luck, not trying to brag. It happened most or anything, but I felt super special. I was like, I'm the only girl who got, and got like, got to see and experience an access deer.
00:46:42
Speaker
um I only had a neck shot and I was not going to shoot that before I shot him in the neck. With a rifle, it's a sick shot. With a bow, very questionable. With a rifle, I've taken that shot a few times and it's been on deer, not elk.
00:46:58
Speaker
It's been pretty money. um You put it in there and they drop right there. Yeah. so day four, I got to shoot a goat and it was awesome because I'd had so many chances. And i what's crazy is like the night before,
00:47:11
Speaker
there was a huge goat, like probably double the size of the one that I shot at 60 yards. My friend who had shot a pig the day before. and she wasn't, she shot a lot of stuff. Like she's very experienced. So I think she wasn't really caring how much she got to kill in her time in Hawaii. So she was like, she was really sweet. And she was Alexa, shoot this goat. And it was, it was 60 yards, which isn't too bad for me, but it was super downhill. Like And I was super high up and I couldn't get comfortable with the, like it was at an angle. So I felt like I couldn't like get a sure footing. And I like, I like, think I'm like trying to get comfortable. And basically he walks out of like, it I just was like fumbling, like, and I felt super horrible. Cause I was like, Kelsey could have shot that and nailed it.
00:47:58
Speaker
And I just took that opportunity from her and I felt super horrible. Until you smell them. Then you're like, Oh, I don't really mind. Oh yeah, that was horrible. They smell terrible. I killed a bunch of this year. they killed They smell terrible. They're fun to kill though.
00:48:10
Speaker
They're fun to kill. Great practice. Great. If you want to go get some practice, go to Hawaii, go to the big Island, especially there's goats and sheep everywhere. It is fun. Yeah. So then the next day i I got back out there and shot one mid morning. And so that was, it was super fun. And one of the girls helped me get them out. And that was your first bow kill.
00:48:28
Speaker
So actually no, cause I did. oh you did kill a bear and You didn't even talk about your bear that you killed. So the bear was awesome because so that was, um it was September 2023. It was literally the week before we were going to go out elk hunting. So this is again, like first season out with my bow with the tag, right? I had just gotten my hunter safety months prior that summer. three We meet this guy on Facebook.
00:48:52
Speaker
I'm like, we had bought that old house and we were like fixing it up and I needed someone to put a new storm door and new front doors this is that one over like Preston, right? Or whatever? In like Teton. Teton. Okay. I've been in that house. Yeah.
00:49:04
Speaker
So I post on Facebook looking for a handyman to put new doors on the house. And this guy reaches out and he comes over. He's awesome. And him and Luke, it was um him and Luke get talking and like come to find out he's like a big houndsman in the area.
00:49:19
Speaker
So he baits bears. He's got dogs that he are really like, he runs those dogs like every day. Like they're very well trained. He knows what he's doing. And he's like, well, you, anytime you to shoot a bear, like I have bears every day, like my dogs tree bears every day, you know, cause he goes out there and they just tree stuff for practice for fun. Like he's constantly.
00:49:38
Speaker
So we like, like we literally went like the next weekend or something. And like, um, we get out there super early and like within 30 minutes, he has all the GPSs, you know, on his dogs, they all their own collar. It's the little screen and there's all their little names.
00:49:52
Speaker
Um, And within 30 minutes, they treat a bear, but obviously you don't know what, well, they treat something. I mean, you don't even know if it's a bear, I guess. Like it could have been guess. But they tree something. So we immediately go for it But what's crazy was it was 1600 feet in point eight of a mile.
00:50:08
Speaker
It was like yeah had to like it was not too far. Obviously, it was less than a mile away, but it was so steep. And it felt like it was taking us forever to get there because it was just like and the whole time, like once we were out halfway there, you started to hear the dogs going psycho.
00:50:25
Speaker
And I honestly was just, I was so anxious because as, as a human, we just move so freaking slow and it's steep. And I just feel like I couldn't get there fast enough. Right. I was like, that animal is going to be gone. And it's like having to listen to the dogs for like a whole hour while you're like, like,
00:50:41
Speaker
heavy breathing and dying trying to get there is just like so horrible. And then like we get right on top of them and Gavin's the name of the guy, the guy, I guess. And he, he goes up first and he's like, oh my gosh, the bear's coming down.
00:50:53
Speaker
And then I'm like, I'm pissed because at this point we are literally probably 50 yards from the tree. and We just can't see it because there's all this brush and I'm pissed. I'm like, I've been hiking for like an hour and a half and Now the bear is going to run out of the tree right when we're here.
00:51:07
Speaker
And then Gavin's like, he's going back up. And so we're like, it's like ah like hustling for our lives to like get there. And then the best part is when we get there, it's, it's a 20 yard shot. I'm like, right. like I go uphill a little bit. So I honestly don't have that steep of a shot. that like love And then Luke, and I'm like, just like ready to shoot this thing. Cause I'm just like, I don't want to wait another second. And then Luke is like, hold on. i need to take photos.
00:51:32
Speaker
And he's like, Oh, camera guys suck. And then he's like, he's like taking photos of the bear in the tree and I'm pissed. Like, and then, and then it's, I mean, it didn't, it feels like forever in the moment. I'm sure Luke took like an extra 60 seconds. Like he's very efficient at his job. Like, but in the moment it felt like, like what the heck? And then anyway, and then I literally shot it.
00:51:55
Speaker
I shot it and I thought it was perfect. And, and it was, but I look back at Luke out of like, oh my gosh, I just made a perfect shot. And he's screaming at me. knock another arrow. So then I'm really confused, which basically, and then, and just imagine like, it's like all, there's like 10 dogs like barking right now.
00:52:18
Speaker
And he's like screaming at me to knock another arrow. So I'm, then I'm not even efficient at it. Cause I'm like, following and then he's yelling, Oh, he's dead. And what's funny is like, I never even see the bear once because I literally shoot it, see it make contact, look at Luke, he's screaming at me. I'm like looking down.
00:52:38
Speaker
And then he's like, oh, he's dead. So then now we have it on film in slow-mo and it's awesome. It's like, he basically, Luke was yelling because the first thing the bear did was like scurry up the tree. like And so Luke thought maybe he wasn't dead.
00:52:52
Speaker
And then he literally just goes like, Like he like down and he like falls out of the tree. Cause I literally shot it right in the heart and it was awesome. And then I was like crying and Luke was crying.
00:53:05
Speaker
Yeah, it's ah it's pretty neat. You learn that now, right? Like, you probably know now you've done it more. Like, it's always rack another round. um Yes. Knock another arrow. It's like, it's always kind of like, I stand there with my kids, put another one in just in case. Like, like I shot that deer. I think you saw the video. I shot that one at like 600 yards this year in Alaska.
00:53:20
Speaker
Instantly, another one's in the chamber and I'm watching it. Right? Just if I can put another one in just in case, right? Like, even if it's on its feet, you know it's going to die. Sometimes you just want to put it. We always say, shoot they're on the ground, right? Shoot till they're down. Yeah. Especially with elk.
00:53:32
Speaker
i think that's a good example because it's like, i am brand new to this. So like, I feel again, it's just like, this is an industry where like, so we have a little seven minute film on YouTube. Luke's never publicized it. So no one's ever watched it, but it's super nice to just look at and have for my memory.
Women in Hunting and Learning Curve
00:53:49
Speaker
But um it's like, let's say that was like a live film or something dumb. Like people might be like, Oh, this girl sucks. Cause she doesn't know to knock another arrow. Like this is just the kind of community that we have sometimes.
00:54:02
Speaker
And it's just like, I never like, like as a face at Tricer or as Luke's wife who might be filmed doing something like, I never want to come off as like someone who's just like, oh, they're filming her. And this girl has only been hanging for three years and she knows she's trying to act like she knows what she's doing. Like, I hope that my platform, whatever it might be small or big, like it's always like, I'm literally just someone who's trying to like,
00:54:29
Speaker
trying to learn and trying to do something that I think is like the best thing for my family and just trying to learn a new skill and like challenge myself. Like that's kind of like, that's kind of like my platform on top of the fact that like, this is like, um like every industry is like maybe male, male heavy. So it's just like, there's not a lot of, there's a lot of guys who hunt, there's not a lot of wives who go hunting too. So it's like, so that's just kind of my thing. Like I'm just trying to spend time with my husband or whatever friends are out there. I'm just trying to learn I'm just trying to challenge myself. I'm just trying to learn new skills. Like that's kind of like my platform because there's a lot of people.
00:55:05
Speaker
There's a lot of like this coming from there like the like influencer stuff too, since helping at Tracer, like there's a lot of people that I know who don't know what they're doing, who try to pretend they know what they're doing for the sake of being an influencer.
00:55:20
Speaker
I'm just being honest. And like, never want, because people just like want to have a platform. They want to be filmed. They want this, they want that. It is shocking. And the same thing too, you realize is that most these guys take the same shots, do the same things, just not getting filmed, right? Like, it's like, these armchair quarterbacks are terrible, right? Like, i i have a filmer on me all the time. I've had a couple hunts here with no, like, I went out locally by myself for coyotes one day, killed a dog, and it was the best morning I had all year because I had no camera guy.
00:55:53
Speaker
And like, it's hard to always be on. And when people come on and criticize you, it's like, you don't understand what it's like to have a camera on you from the time you wake up, you're waking up and like Luke has a camera in your face, right? and you're a Brad has a camera on my face. And I'm like,
00:56:06
Speaker
I'm trying to make coffee. Like, and you're always having be on. um It's nice not having a camera there. It really is nice, but it's part of what we do, right? We kind of, I kind of have to do that now, right? like I get to have the coolest shot in the world. i get to hunt all over the world, there's gonna be a camera on me when I do so right?
00:56:19
Speaker
But um anyone who like criticizes a shot, like they made the same shot. They've all, we've all made the same. We've all been in this situation where we rushed. Things went wrong. The deer's all my are true. You got to take the shot. You start panicking. just start sending bullets. Like it just, it just happens.
00:56:32
Speaker
Some things go wrong. And I can tell you this about the hunting industry as a whole is a lot of things don't make it on camera. So, so trust me, a lot of things I'm making on camera, right? I know that for my, for a fact for myself, right? Like for my, so hunts I've been on like, that's not going on camera.
00:56:47
Speaker
Like that miss ain't making it like that. Does that was why I was I, why did pull the trigger? Like, don't put that on there. um So anyways, we got to kind of wrap it up here, but I want to hear about this season. So let's get to this season. Cause I got another pod in like 20 minutes. So,
00:57:01
Speaker
Let's hear about this season because now we've we've got the goat kilt. We've got the Sitka gear. We've got everything. we've We're learning. where We've got the Matthews lift. I mean, like you're pretty much dialed now, right?
00:57:12
Speaker
got Alpine this year, so I actually have the right camo. Yeah. I don't even wear camo, so... Which we need to talk about Yolanda because she's dialed don't know if you know this or not, but you've inspired.
00:57:24
Speaker
Yolanda's got a full. So like you've inspired people, right? Like like our operations manager at Tricer, she jokes around. She's like, I'm a Democrat from Colorado. Well, she's also now she's just got a full. She wants to get a bow.
00:57:38
Speaker
like i think you've inspired her right and she's she's out in the field and she's seeing elk and she's seeing elk now she's like i want to eat that elk which is funny to hear and he texted me and sean last night my um coo and he's she's like check out my gear and we we had sean had reached first light they sent yolanda a full kit just i mean yolanda's dialed with like thousands of dollars in first like year now like all cam on out out and like it's cool to see like you guys like trend like doing that, right? Like, again, like, I want you guys to be the face of this company, right? Like, I want the whole brand as a whole to be represented by my whole team, not just by me.
00:58:10
Speaker
you need to see, like, every aspect of it from, like, people with more experience, people who are just learning. like I want all of those those things right. Um, within the company. And I think it's neat. And I think when I film my stuff, you'll see a lot in my films. I actually say like, I'm not a good hunter.
00:58:25
Speaker
Like I just love hunting. Like I am not Brady Miller. I never will be like, I'm not just same way. I'm not Tom Brady. I'm not Brady Miller. Like I, do I kill things now? Yes. But am i those guys? No, I'll never be like, I just, there's there's a whole nother level of this thing that those guys are.
00:58:39
Speaker
Um, But gosh, we love it. And at Tricer, we all love hunting. We all love getting out there. And that's why everyone who works at Tricer, I encourage them to be in the field. That's why all September was annoying for all of us because none of us were together at the same time. We're all like on Starlink or satellite messages. Like it's just constantly trying to get ahold of each other was a nightmare, but it worked. We got it through it.
00:58:59
Speaker
But um so you got to this year. So now we're this year, you're going to kill your first elk is the goal. Yeah. And I have been... Basically, ever since I got my new bow and I felt super confident, I also got like the thumb release now. Like I don't have the wrist. So much better.
00:59:14
Speaker
had a lot issues with my wrist getting my anchor low enough. And like, you know, i've just, I just really felt like I just knew that this was going to be the year because like, I've never been more confident with the weapon.
00:59:27
Speaker
Right. So it's like, and because Luke was injured last year. It was like this year we're hunting all month. He took one job. It was super chill. He went to the Deseret film for little pole for six days, but it was like, he took one job to pay the bills. But then we like, you know, it was like, we've got, we had 24 days out of September, which is an insane amount.
00:59:48
Speaker
And now even looking back, we're like, okay, that was too much because then we were burnt out. So like, So any who, yeah. So we're like, maybe like 14 is like, cause I've done like seven to 10 and then this year was 24. So maybe like 14 is like the good, set but yeah.
01:00:03
Speaker
So basically we to the same unit or the same zone that has multiple units in it that we were in last year. um Just because me and the son, John had such an, we were only out there like 10 days or whatever, maybe less.
01:00:17
Speaker
And we had such an insane time, like constantly in elk, you know, we both got to shoot and miss. Um, we had a, we both one day had cows at 20 yards and we could have been like one, two, three and actually like genuinely they were like, right. They walked past us and didn't know we were there. was insane.
01:00:34
Speaker
And that was like early on. And we just were like, Oh, we're going to wait. And now we were talking about this year. We were like, we freaking should have shot those cows those days. You know what i mean? So like, i don't know, last year was so awesome. So we go back to the same unit. We're like camping in the same spot.
01:00:48
Speaker
Um, we find some really awesome new spots. We were hunting with Nate Illingsworth, who is a huge asset because the guy will talk to anyone. And so every time went to the gas station, he got more Intel.
01:01:00
Speaker
So seriously, Luke's not going to do that. Luke is not going to go bother someone about what are they doing? And Nate's not like rude. He's not like, he's not like intrusive and like getting like, he just becomes friends with people so fast and they share a little bit with them. So like,
01:01:14
Speaker
just saying he was constantly getting us Intel. We were just like, we know this unit's so good. Like, I don't know. It's just, and I don't really, there, i had a chance to shoot a cow at 33 that didn't take, like didn't learn my lesson from last year. That was the only shot opportunity I had in 24 days. And it was just, it was just even Luke, Luke had a cow at 60 he,
01:01:38
Speaker
ah we had these little Rocky talkies that were awesome. Cause we could like, someone could glass while two people went in and you could like guide them. And we use those a lot more awesome for some dumb reason. Luke takes a stock on these cows, literally is about to shoot them and doesn't turn his walkie off.
01:01:55
Speaker
Cause he should have turned it off the minute he went on that stock. You know what I mean? It's like, we don't need to talk to you. And then John radios him. And it's just like, Hey dude, like, where are you at? What's going on? And elk bugger. So it's like,
01:02:07
Speaker
That was like one of Luke's only chances. And that's totally his fault. I don't know why he kept his video. But like, I don't know. i honestly, looking back, I think there was a lot of times that we were all so stressed about trying to kill something that we weren't working very well as a team, like just being honest.
Team Dynamics and Stress
01:02:26
Speaker
So like, like Nate really wanted to kill because like, he is kind of due and like, I'm just like dead set on this being my year. And then Luke was more chill, but I think we were just like, sometimes we didn't work as well as a team, like just being honest. And like, I think there might've been some lost opportunities, but ah also like the elk were just not talking.
01:02:47
Speaker
Like last year, me and John had a lot of midday plays and like, that was just not happening this year. um They were just not talking. It was kind of hot.
01:02:58
Speaker
and We had a lot of really cool close encounters. Like there's some like, there's like so many like handful close encounters. Um, and just, just nothing lined up for anyone.
01:03:10
Speaker
And it was really rough. And then I would say like the last, it was also hard because again, 24 days was a big commitment. So that last six, five days was just like, I'm, I was just like getting mentally checked out.
01:03:23
Speaker
Like, I was just like, it's not happening. And I was like, I was kind of like losing it a little bit. And, um, and then, and Luke is awesome. Like Luke is literally like the most optimistic person.
01:03:36
Speaker
Like he's never like every morning he wakes up. It's like, he's like, you can't be like that. Like every morning you wake up, it's like a fresh opportunity. Like you can't, you never know. Mental is the hardest part about hunting.
01:03:49
Speaker
You have to be, and people don't understand that you have to be like, today's the day, let's do it every day. Yeah. And that's, I think that this was the first year I experienced, like the last two years, we didn't hunt long enough for me to get that. I was always excited, I guess.
01:04:03
Speaker
So this year was the first year that I realized like, I was really struggling like
Reflecting on a Challenging Hunting Year
01:04:07
Speaker
mentally. Cause I just like, I just like you're in this, like I've been in the same tent for 20 days. smell bad. Yeah. yeah And I just, it was just hard. And it's, you're, you're like going to the same areas that you've already walked bumped elk on and busted them out last week. And like, I don't know, like i would just say it was just, it was this year was weird.
01:04:28
Speaker
it was honestly just weird. Like there was a lot of highs and a lot of lows. It was kind of weird. I don't know. And I don't know if like, I don't know if we didn't kill anything because it was our own fault or because again, Luke will honestly say like, okay, like we watched Dylan Dietz's video. He self filmed his elk this year, which he, from my, from the perspective of the filming, like he was constantly hearing elk all day long. Like me and Luke were watching that video and we were like, this is not how it was for us. Like Luke was like, this is how, like, this is how it should be like,
01:05:01
Speaker
He was constantly, and like elk were like, Dylan was just like doing cow calls and these elk were actually responding. Like we had none of that. The elk could be 40 yards. We literally one day bumped elk that we didn't think they were there because it was quiet and you just had no reason to think they were there.
01:05:18
Speaker
And we'd been cow calling and stuff like nothing. And then we completely bump them just walking on this road and they're all there, but it's just like, they're just not talking at all. They're not. And so, yeah. So basically we hunt all this time.
01:05:30
Speaker
And we didn't even know last year our tags didn't do this, but I think Idaho just changed it because one of the units in this zone has too many elk or has enough for them to do this. So the tag turned into a cow tag.
01:05:43
Speaker
So it got, we were just, we had, we had, time we had another week. So when October 1st hit. Turned into a rifle cow tag. Yes. Sorry. It turned into a rifle cow tag. So um we were like, well, let's stay a few days and try and actually like still try and fill the tag. So what's funny is this little town we were in that had like a post office and a gas station and that's it.
01:06:04
Speaker
They had a motel we didn't even know about. There was four rooms. Somehow I found it like at that last week. So we were like, we booked a room at this motel, which was actually so awesome. And we stayed there for like a whole week and Nate came back.
01:06:17
Speaker
And we were able to fill the tags. But like, what's funny is basically we made friends with this ranch hand. i was like petting his dogs at the gas station. We make friends with him and we get permission to like, heard this.
01:06:31
Speaker
Yeah, we get permission to like drive through his property so that we can get to the elk because was just a quicker drive and stalk if we could go through their property. And what's funny is he he tries to like help, I guess. He's like, oh, you should take this road that's not on Onyx, but it'll get you to where you need
Hunting Milestones and Tools
01:06:47
Speaker
to be faster. and we're like, great.
01:06:49
Speaker
So we didn't check it out the night before or anything. So like 5 a.m., whatever time it is, 6 a.m. in the dark, we like find this road and we go up it. And quite literally, it drives us through the private pivot that the elk are on.
01:07:05
Speaker
So we drive, form we literally drive into the herd and they are like super spooked, super pissed. They run into the timber on the public in the dark. Like basically the play was trying to get them at first light so public, right? But they run right in and Luke's pissed because we have no, like the morning's ruined because They go into the timber before the light ever comes up. So it was just like, well, they're gone now. And so anyway, so Luke was super pissed. just so funny. We got, we thought we had like an upper hand from this guy and then he kind of like messed us up and we don't know why he told us to take that road. So anyway, we're like, forget that.
01:07:43
Speaker
So we're like, well, let's keep scouting and see if we can find other pivots that might have elk. So we go to this other pivot that he finds 20 minutes up the road on Onyx. And we come up this hill in the truck.
01:07:55
Speaker
And right at that point, these elk are crossing into the part ah the public. And we basically spook them with our truck and they take off running. and this happens So it was just like the morning, which is the cluster.
01:08:06
Speaker
But this was a good spot. So we were like, we're coming back here tomorrow morning. We're going to be ready. So the next day we parked the car super far back. We got a mile to where those elk were the morning before. And just and perfectly, like 45 minutes later, they start coming And I'm able to shoot a cow at 300 yards with the tricer RP. So off therapyp yeah. So yeah. And to like preface, I've never shot an animal with a gun. So that was my first animal with a gun. So that was super awesome. And Luke, I just got a new rifle this year. Like I have my own gun. So that's six, five PRC, right?
01:08:41
Speaker
Yes. I have a Tika shooting with the one 43 LDX is I imagine or something, or are we shooting copper?
01:08:49
Speaker
Shooting bullets, six, five PRC off the tricer RP. And I think you told me that the RP made it possible, right? Cause it was this taller, taller sage rush. Oh yeah. So legit. So like basically we're on this Ridge, the elk are on a Ridge lower who and they're sage.
01:09:04
Speaker
So like we had to lift, we had the long legs on, but they had to be higher. know what I'm saying? So like, yeah, like a short bipod would not have worked. Like that's why the RP, like it is is so versatile. Like people think it has too many, they think it has too much range or too much configurations. And we're like, we're not saying this is the best short bipod or the best tall bipod. It's like, it's just the most versatile, right? it's right for every situation yeah It's like, yeah. So I know like, like, I mean, as far as I'm educated, like ah bipods Some bipods are like very like, they're just the small legs. You pay a thousand dollars for like that small leg size. Like I, I would have had to also have a tripod.
01:09:44
Speaker
So we didn't have to have a tripod in that situation. Right. We were able just to. Yeah. So yeah. Anyway, so, um, Yeah. so that was awesome. And then the next morning Luke went out with Nate and they both got in the same spot.
01:09:58
Speaker
So yeah, I mean, yeah, they got to, I'll get out on the phone with them the night before and they're like, we gotta to go, gotta go go, and they got off and they they didn't get it done. And they got the next morning. They both killed elk. So it was pretty cool for him me get them done.
01:10:09
Speaker
But ah that was an awesome podcast.
Conclusion and Social Media Handles
01:10:11
Speaker
ah You guys already follow Alexa on Tricer, but Alexa, do you have an Instagram you want people to follow you on? you public or you're not? Oh yeah, I am. It's alexa.dusenberry. It's easy because Luke is luke.dusenberry and I'm alexa.dusenberry. So our handles are identical. So you can find me there. Follow Alexa, follow Luke. If you are a woman listening to this podcast, say Alexa up. We want to help you with getting space, make you're hooked with Courtney and some other stuff.
01:10:36
Speaker
Alexa, you are awesome. I am so appreciative of you and your husband I for my company. We're going to jump off now because another pod to go, but thank you so much. You're welcome. Thanks for having me.
01:10:48
Speaker
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.
01:11:04
Speaker
Until next time, shoot straight, have fun, and always put God first.