EP 105: Big Deer Tips and Tactics with Tony Trietch. In this episode of The Epic Outdoors Podcast Jason talks with Tony Trietch about his experiences in hunting big deer. Tony shares some of his insight into how he has learned and become more efficient over the years. Tony also shares some of his favorite stories of bucks he has hunted.
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I spotted, I mean, went into a little crick bottom. I snuck down to it.
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They were vulnerable. There was no pressure. They were still in their summer pattern,
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Triple drop times. I can still see ’em clear as day in my head. Anything
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To do with Western? Big Game.
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Welcome
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To the Epic Outdoors Podcast, powered by Under Armour.
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Hey everybody. Jason Carter here with the Epic Outdoors Podcast coming at you from Southern Utah. Got an awesome guest. Got Tony Treach on the line. But right before we get started here, I do wanna thank Under Armour for sponsoring this podcast. All they do for us here at Epic, and as well as a lot of hunters out there that are wearing their gear, they got some incredible gear and a lot of different models for 2018. 2019 will be much the same. They’re gonna keep after it and keep producing great gear. So we’re excited for that and, and appreciate them and their support. I do want to also thank another advertiser of ours, Thompson Long Range, mark and Scotty Thompson up in northern Utah. And Logan, they introduced me to Long Range Hunting. They were one of the first major companies to, to take on the long range thing and do it in a way that was what we consider to be ethical. It was one of those things where you could actually, you know, count on your gun doing what it was supposed to do. And so, anyway, don’t hesitate to give ’em a call. It’s thompson long range.com or 4 3 5 7 1 3 4 2 4 8. So appreciate them and their support of Epic. But anyway, Tony, you on the line?
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You betcha I’m here.
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Right on. So anyway, I’ve caught Tony, he’s in the middle of Nebraska. What’s going on, Tony? Oh,
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I am somewhere in Nebraska. I can’t tell ’cause the signs sell to the town here. Covered in blowing sticky snow. It’s a mess.
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Well, you seeing any milder out there?
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I, I can barely see the road. It’s,
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It’s,
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It’s ugly right now. It went from freezing rain to, well, I went from rain to freezing rain to now it’s just, I just pulled in to get some diesel and there’s, there’s two foot drifts in the parking lot, so, geez.
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Crazy. You might have to use those snowshoes you were posting on social media to Yeah, yeah, to get gas.
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I got chains to the truck. I was, I wasn’t thinking I’d need ’em until I got down to New Mexico, but who knows.
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Yeah, right on. So is that where you’re headed right now is to New Mexico?
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Yeah. Yep. Yep.
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That’s awesome. I’ve heard it’s actually pretty good weather down there. Of course, the snow may turn off crunchy, which is, yeah, a bummer. I don’t know, it might be a little bit tough stalking ’em.
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You know, I’ve been hearing the same things. It’s from the locals that I know that are, aren’t too far from there, that have went down to just watch deer. They said there’s already more migration than there’s been in the last couple years, so,
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Yeah, I’ve heard that too. They’re all out of the forest and down on the BLM is what I’m hearing.
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Yep. They’ll, it’ll be exciting no matter what, I guess.
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Oh, give us a little bit of your background. I know, I mean, you know, you’re, you’re known as a milder hunter and everything else, but just give us kind of that background of where you were raised, how you, how you grew up hunting big mules and then, you know, other species or, or whatever. What makes Tony, Tony
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Grew up in the Midwest, actually. And, you know, went, went to college long enough to get a degree and realized I didn’t wanna do anything outside and went into construction. And it, it really, it worked well for me and it’s, I’ve built a small business that, you know, over the last 20 years, it’s allowed me to, to take off every, every fall and, and head west. That started with just hunting in the Midwest, you know, I hunting in Illinois and Ohio and Iowa when I could get a tag. And then it just, I gradually kept moving further away from home, and I started hunting Kansas and then Montana, Eastern Montana. I started for white tails and, and I just got, I just got the mul deer bug and the next thing you know, I’m, I’m diving into backpack hunting and, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s evolved to now. I just, now it’s just a search for wherever, wherever I can find a good tag and wherever I can maybe find a, a hidden gem. Yeah. Yeah. It’s,
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But just chasing big deer wherever they live. Huh?
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Deer elk. Yeah, I’m, I’m an equal opportunity guy.
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Oh, that’s good. That’s good. Yeah, I’ll kill big Bulls wherever you can, you know, whenever you can get a tag. And actually, people sometimes say that, you know, these giant Mueller the toughest thing to kill and maybe fine, but, you know, my response is, I challenge you to go out and sit and kill, kill yourselves, you know, Boone and Cro Elk and get, get the tag and then make it happen. I don’t know, it, it’s just as tough. It feels like
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I’ve heard that same thing for, for years that, you know, a a boon and crockett meal, typical mul deer. Maybe it’s just a typical part of it, but that’s the hardest critter to find. I tell you what, I, I’ve seen a lot more 200 inch mul than I’ve seen three 80 bulls. Yeah. So I’m not, I’m not exactly as sure I agree with that. So Yeah, no, maybe I’m looking at the wrong spot.
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Yeah. I don’t know. It’s tough. It is tough. And then to, and then to get a tag and, and, you know, get a, get the right elk tag on the right year without drought or whatever, and then have it come together. And of course, a lot of it’s public land anyway. Same with our milder hunting, but it is, it’s, it’s tough. So anyway, so you chase these white tails as you got cranking. I mean, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, you know, you were saying Eastern Montana, Kansas, but did you kill some great big white tails are and then just Oh, yeah. Kind of get tired of it and, and or just that meales are better.
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You know, I, I, I did, I I’ve got, I I, I’ve got a lot of big bucks that I’ve a big white tail that I’ve killed, and well
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Brag a little, like, let’s talk about that
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Some, I’ve got some booers, I’ve got a lot of pope and young bucks. You know, the first couple years I hunted Kansas was with a farm, but pretty much everything else has been with a bow. Sure. And I, I, I really don’t know, I don’t know how many deer I’ve got, you know, on the wall, like mature bucks at home. I don’t, I’m, I’ve never had any officially scored. I’m guessing there’s probably 30, 40, 50 of them at the house.
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That’s awesome.
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There was, you know, there’d be years where I’d get a mature buck in every, every state that I went to, and there’d be years where I’d only get one or two, but it’s, yeah, I got good at it, but it’s, but I, and I grew up hunting in a tree stand. Right. I’m from Michigan, so that’s just what you do. But man, I’m, I’m, I, it just, I’m, I’m not the, the hold still type of guy. So once I discovered, you know, like hunting in Kansas out in the open hunting in eastern Montana, out in the open, that just, that, that just settled on it with me. So much better than, than sitting in one spot in a blind or a tree stand for, you know, 12 hours in a day. And I still have all the connections with my buddies, the, the farmers back in the Midwest, but I haven’t been back since 2011 or 12.
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Yeah. And it’s just hunting, the hunting the west, whether it be mules or white tail, it just spot in, stalk, ambush, pun hunting on my feet. I think I’m, I’m just more, I’m more effective. Yeah. And, and I, and I got buddies that aren’t and can’t, you know, it’s to them that they’d much rather, you know, sit, sit on their butt. And boy, it’s, that’s just not my style. No. And I think it’s more, I work more to my strengths when I’m, when I’m, when I’m mobile and it just, my game has kind of, as I’ve gotten older, I think I’m actually probably more suited for hunting muley and I am white tail. So. Yeah.
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Well, I had guys, I went out with a buddy of mine, and he’s killed a lot of, a lot of really good white tails too, even on the eastern plains of Colorado, and of course Iowa and, and a lot of the places that have big white tails. And I went to Kansas with him and, and you know, of course you, you sit in a blind and do your thing, and I couldn’t take it anymore. And I got out and started glassing them. I started g glassing ’em with fifteens, and I did so much better than sitting in a park. Oh, yeah. You know? Yeah.
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I, I had the same experience my first year in Kansas. I was invited with some friends and I, we showed up to meet the rancher and he’s gonna give us a tour of all the properties that either owned or leased, and we stopped at the first one, and this is West Central Kansas, and we get outta the truck and he’s like, well, I got this section and this section, he points, you know, to two of the north. I’m like, I’m looking around, I did like a 360, like looking around. I’m like, where, where, where are we gonna hunt? There’s no, there’s, there’s no trees. There’s not a bush. Yeah. There’s nothing. And then it isn’t until you start walking out there, you realize there’s little grassy draws. And it might only be a, you know, a change of topography of just 10 feet in these draws, but it’s something, you know, it gives us a spot where the farmer doesn’t cultivate the ground and there’s some brush there, a little bit of grass, and that’s all they need. Yeah. And it’s, it was a whole new game. And I, I think we, we hunted that first year of our first couple days out of blinds, kinda like we thought we needed to, and before we realized we need to get out and get moving and Yeah.
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And it worked. They were, it’s a different game. Sure.
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Get on the highest rolling heel you can and glass with fifteens, you know. Yeah. That’s what I was doing. And, and it is amazing to me what, what they can live in. I was, I did the same thing. I was out there and like, I think it was unit 16, and I mean, I’m just looking around and I’m like, you know, I don’t know what I’m doing here. And I, and I don’t, I don’t see that there’s any game, but then when you start, you start applying yourself a little bit anyways, it’s a whole different ball game. But I still, I have a, I have a need for a 200 inch white tail. I don’t know why. I don’t know how I’m ever gonna kill one. They, you don’t, it’s like giving away a 200 inch mule deer or two 10 or two 20. You don’t, nobody’s gonna, nobody’s gonna a sell you one or give you one.
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And so you’ve gotta earn it and you’ve gotta start working it. Yeah. And the closest place for me would be Kansas. And then now I’ve gotta run the trail cam trap line and figure out property and, and gotta engage yourself so much that it’s, I just have to give up mule deer. I have to give up elk or, or both. Yep. You know what I mean? And then you gotta do that for 10, 10 years. Absolutely. And, and watch a butt grow up. And just like we do mule deer. And so I just resolved myself that I’m not gonna kill one. I’m not, probably not gonna kill a 200 inch white tail. You know, I, because you’ve gotta apply yourself so much.
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Yeah, yeah. I a 200 inch whitetail, I, I mean, I’ve seen a lot more 200 inch mul than I have 200 inch whitetails. Yeah. And I’ve spent, you know, more time hunting the white tails. I Yeah. I I think, I mean, the equivalent of a 200 inch
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Whitetail would tail be two 20
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And
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Two 30. Two 30,
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Yeah. Yep. Yep. Yeah,
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Absolutely. No, it is. And I’ve looked at some of these, you know, significant whitetail hunters and, and what they’ve killed and then, and some of ’em haven’t killed a 200 inch gross whitetail, but when you see ’em, they’re impressive. I love these gnar gnarly eye guards, and there’s just something, something about ’em. But I can’t, like my wife says, you get too many addictions as it is, don’t deal with the white tails, don’t deal with anything else, you know, and, and she’s Right. So anyway, where do you, so where do you live now? Like what, I’m not saying like, you know, publicize what, you know, what city, but what state are you in now versus when are you gonna, when are you gonna move out here?
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Yeah. Well that’s the thing. I, I am in, I’m in northern Michigan in a really touristy town. It’s no big deal. I shared, it’s Traverse City, so it’s a beautiful, you know, small Yeah. You know, medium sized city right. On Lake Michigan. It’s, yeah. The niche I have with my business, I don’t know if I, I mean, I’m sure there’s touristy little areas where I could come build big custom luxury homes out west, but, you know, I don’t advertise anymore. It’s, it’s just a matter of we’ve settled really well where, I mean, the builders that I work with and that I, that I help with, they, they cover me when I’m gone out fall, you know, hunting up out west. And it’s, I couldn’t ask for a better situation. So I think I, I think I hunt more out west than most of my buddies that live out west at this point right now. Yeah. And if I moved out west, it might change. So. Yeah. I,
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Well, it’s true. And, and too, coming from back east, you’re, you, when you’re out here, you’re a hundred percent engaged, where some of us that live out here Yeah. You know, we still, I still try to go to work each day in the middle of my scouting and, and maybe I’m not a hundred percent focused, where when you’re out here, like you’re a hundred percent focused, you came out here for that one sole purpose, you know? Yeah. And, and in large part can be more successful by doing that. Yep.
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I just come out of the, outta the mountain every couple weeks to do payroll for the guys and send an invoice once a month and Yeah. And, you know, yeah. That’s about it.
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Yeah. Sounds to me like you’re a retired mulder hunter. That’s what it sounds like.
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I’ve, I’ve been accused by friends and family of being semi-retired for the last 10 years. Yeah. But it’s, but I still work, I still work pretty hard. Yeah. My guys might argue that, but Oh
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Yeah. No,
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They don’t see everything. They don’t see everything I do. So.
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Right. And sometimes you gotta show ’em that you’re, you know, you gotta show ’em up here and there. It’s the way it is. That’s the way it is here in this office too, Tony. So, yeah. Let’s see. Let’s, so when did you get started? Like, when did, when do you feel like you made that switch from hunting, you know, obviously Kansas for white tails and, and the eastern side of Montana to, to starting to really put in the time on mule deer versus white tails?
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Boy, it wasn’t that long ago, I’d say six years ago. Okay. That I really, that I really made the commitment to say six, seven years ago that I, I was like, you know what? I’m just not gonna, you know, I haven’t applied for Iowa in since 2011, and it’s just, I just have no interest. I think the last buck I shot up a tree stand was in Illinois, was like 163 inch buck with triple I guards. And then I was like, you know what, that’s, it’s a good way to go out. I’m just gonna focus on going out west. Yeah. And it’s, it’s just too many, too many, I mean, even even a easy to draw a tag out west is just gets, gets me my blood going way more than a thought of sitting in a, in a tree stand or, you know Yeah. Up ground blind in the Midwest. Sure.
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So, sure. And so did you, have you ever hunted like that unit one, two, some of that country that’s got just some amazing milder genetics as well as a few big white tails, but any of those, you know, did you ever end up drawing that milder stamp or any of that? Any of that there in Kansas?
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No, I have not drawn one or two. Actually, I take that back. I think the first year we, we drew a two, would it be two 17? But no, I’ve, I’ve, I’ve, I’ve stayed mostly in the, in the southwest to Southwest Central.
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Okay. And did, and have you ended up, you know, hunting some big deer in some of that country as well?
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Oh, yeah. In Kansas. You bet. Yes. I’ve gotten, I think my biggest white tail. There’s mid one eighties and I’ve only drawn the mule deer stamp the last two years. And it’s, it literally has been the worst two years from, you know, spotting big Neil. They there the entire time I’ve been there. I mean, I, oh, it’s in a summer. I think the first five or the fi first five or six years I hunted Kansas. I mean, if had I had a mul deer stamp, I mean, I would’ve killed 200 inch plus bucks every year. Geez. Or at least I’d had had an opportunity, I would’ve had, I would’ve, you know, been hunting them. Yeah. Whereas the last two years I’ve killed the two biggest mul deer that I found. And they’re, you know, last year’s was like mid one eighties, and this year was just a big wide three point big old, gnarly, mature buck that wouldn’t score with the darn, but yeah. Great. But I’ve, you know, I, I’ve seen some mature or some mature the, I’ve seen some mule deer that had like a, a non-typical gene in that area, and I even, I still see ’em the last couple of years, but they’re young. Yeah. And, but it’s kind of, hope I keep drawing that tag.
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It’s tough. I know, know, it’s, it’s tough in Kansas, I’ve spent a little time in there. My dad had, you know, we hunted aggressive in there. My dad had a tag years ago and was working with a guy and ended up, you know, he ended up killing a two 20 buck. But it was an interesting deal. Like they’re betted out in the milo and, and of course we take lawn chairs out there and 30 mile an hour wind and we get close, and then we just sit and chill in hot weather and, and wait for him to stand up. Anyway, long story short, he ended up killing it. But I know the frustrating part, you know, in a lot of that is having those right of aways the roads around every six 40, where guys can, they know what each other has on their properties. You know what I mean? Yeah.
00:16:13:03 –> 00:16:53:05
Oh yeah. The, the biggest advantage where I’m hunting at is there’s just not many people hunt in the archery. Yeah. So the gun season is crazy and I’ve, I’ve discovered right away the first year, the Kansas locals don’t, don’t hunt if they can’t hunt from the road. Yeah. It’s, it’s, it’s silly. You just watch ’em drive around the block over and over and over until something runs out in front of ’em. Yeah. I, and, and that’s a big part of the reason why I only did it a couple years there before I was like, you know what, we gotta switch this up to Ry. And it’s been great. I mean, there’s way less pressure, permission is, you know, it’s much easier to gain permission and just much less hunters. So Yeah,
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You
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Bet. But that Milo, this year that Milo was all, all the crops were still in, it was too wet to harvest. And I mean, I know there was a ton of deer that I just, I just didn’t see. Yeah.
00:17:03:12 –> 00:17:06:16
They’re living out there, they’re living out in it. Oh yeah, yeah. Yep.
00:17:06:27 –> 00:17:11:10
It’s just like the cornfield and the Midwest when it’s still standing and they don’t, they don’t have to leave. Yeah.
00:17:12:13 –> 00:17:53:00
That’s kind of crazy. Yep. It was, it was in different experience we hunted with in that muzzle season in September, and man, they were, they were vulnerable. There was no pressure. They were still in their summer pattern. It was hot, but that keeps ’em in a su summer pattern. And so it was kind of interesting. It was awesome actually. But you kind of, you gotta be really engaged. Like anything you gotta be really engaged with or else rely on somebody that’s engaged to really do well. And it does seem like the last couple years I’ve seen very few big deer, it feels like everything with that’s coming on semi strong gets smoked. And, you know, before they truly mature, I don’t know, you probably saw the same thing, it sounds like.
00:17:53:05 –> 00:18:22:01
Yeah. I’m, I’m hoping this next tri be a little better. They, with, with the fact that the crops were in throughout most of the archery, the early archery and, and also the fact that they got just tons of moisture this summer and fall. It didn’t, it didn’t do anything for antler growth this year. But the ground is so, is more saturated right now than I, than I’ve ever seen it down there, so Wow. Hopefully next year we’ll be off the, off the charts for, for food and Yeah. A
00:18:22:01 –> 00:19:26:21
Of well, that’s way this whole west has been, you know, and I, and, and we can dive into some of the hunts you went on this year, if you’d like. But, you know, it feels like this whole west and, and I hunted, you know, I, I hunted Idaho General and it was, you know, it was tough to say the least that winter 1617 was brutal. And, and people are seeing that. I don’t think it was just me. I mean, people are seeing good bucks. Were, you know, big bucks were like 180 where, you know, in the past years you could find good deer, real good deer. And same thing with Wyoming. You know, Colorado was off New Mexico, obviously all their regular hunts that have come, come and gone have been off this hunt that you and I’ll be on. It’s, you know, well my kid, my kid drew it. But anyway, and, and you grew it, but I mean it, you know, you are getting some of that migration and, and you’ll get some of these Colorado bucks that may, or even off the Utes or, or off the Hickory or whatever you’re gonna, you, you know, it’s a little bit different. But the, the standard New Mexico hunts were tough with tough, tough antler grove. Same thing with Arizona and Nevada, Utah, just tough year Yeah. That you’ve kind of experienced overall.
00:19:27:23 –> 00:20:06:04
Yep. Yeah, absolutely. I, I actually drew Nevada this year an archery gear tag, and went out about 10 days early before the, the archery started. And I backpacked into two different areas of the unit, both wilderness areas, didn’t see any people, and I didn’t see a single buck that I’d wanna shoot in. I mean, I, I think I saw three bucks that were over three and a half years old. Yeah. I saw hundreds of sheep, dozens of big bulls, elk, and not in like zero, zero deer that I would even put past, you know, they’re not even fully mature. Well,
00:20:06:04 –> 00:20:15:11
And I think you and I texted about that a little bit and you were Yeah. You were saying, Hey, w you know, am I dumb to, and I’m like, it’s a tough year. It was a tough year out there.
00:20:16:13 –> 00:20:31:29
Yeah. I ended up turning it in right before the season started, and I’m glad I did. It was, I haven’t really heard many good things from, from anybody that was in there. And yeah, they gave me a little bit more time to find the buck that I did up finding in Colorado. So it, it all worked out. So
00:20:31:29 –> 00:20:33:15
Talk to us a little bit about the Colorado hunt.
00:20:34:15 –> 00:21:35:00
Yeah, so that’s a new unit for me. I had never hunted that before. You know, it seems like more and more people are, are doing the backpack style hunts now. And especially the, the early above timberline type hunts, the high archery hunts are just becoming so popular. And the, you know, I used to hunt, it went from, you know, I’ve been drawing it with zero points for Yeah. I don’t know how many years. And this year or last year, I think I, I barely squeaked in looking at the odds. And then this year I just knew that it was basically, I had just about a zero chance. So I, I jumped to a new unit and, you know, a lot less demand for the unit and I could tell why. I mean, I, I found a lot less, you know, target bucks. But I, I did have enough time in there to, I, I found a couple good ones and, and one that, the one I ended up getting, he, he was spending time between two different units and basically, you know, every, every time I’d find him, he’d be in one the opposite side.
00:21:35:00 –> 00:22:30:28
So I, the first time I found him, he was on the, you know, one side. Then he was, next time I’d go, he is on the other. And of course, when the season started, he was, he was on the wrong side. It took him Yeah, for sure. Took him four, took him four days to, to get bumped over to my side. And then I was able to, I was able to sneak in and, and get an arrow through him. But it didn’t, it, I still don’t, you know, if if, if I had my choice of going back to my old unit, I probably would. Yeah. Just ’cause it was, it seemed more target rich. Yeah. And, but you know, you, I don’t, I, you know, I wouldn’t doubt it for the next couple years. I can’t draw this new unit I just hunted and then I’ll probably have to switch again. And Yeah. It’s, whatever, it, it’s, it’s fun to try new units as long as I have time to, to search ’em out, you know, scout ’em out a little bit beforehand. Yeah. I, you know, and I, and I’m lucky there that I can do that. I feel bad for the guys that only get a week off every year and they gotta, they gotta just go in there blind that don’t, without any scouting because
00:22:31:15 –> 00:22:33:18
Yeah, it’s critical scouting’s, it’s,
00:22:34:03 –> 00:22:35:17
It’s one of the most important things for sure.
00:22:35:25 –> 00:22:49:11
Yeah. Well that’s awesome. Even though you probably ended up with the same buck, same caliber, buck that you would’ve on your regular unit. Yeah. You know, you kind of made it happen. But like you said, the infamous train horn.
00:22:50:07 –> 00:22:55:18
Yeah. I can feel the train’s close enough. I can feel the truck vibrating, but I can, I still can’t see ’em. It’s snowing that hard.
00:22:55:28 –> 00:23:02:26
That’s hilarious. Well, we can hear your windshield wipers going, so I know you’re in a snowstorm. I know you’re not lying to us there. No, it’s,
00:23:02:26 –> 00:23:03:11
It’s pretty ugly.
00:23:03:19 –> 00:23:51:26
Good stuff. Well, anyway, so yeah, it’s, you know, and that trying new units, that’s the one thing I think is, is key. You know, I’ve, I’ve probably been on 20 or I don’t know, 20 some units there in Colorado over the years and, and you’d find the same thing. And that’s what’s funny about all this is I’ve got a lot of guys asking, you know, what’s the next best unit or what are you seeing for 2019? And if you base it off 2018, everything sucks. It doesn’t matter if it’s unit 21 or 44, any, any of these, the hottest units that everybody is common knowledge so to speak. Yeah. It was tough in, in dry, tough years. And I’m talking about the rifle hunts, just not your archery hunt, but then dry tough years, you know, the rifle hunts will give you 170 or 180 inch deer no matter what unit you’re in.
00:23:51:26 –> 00:24:38:11
And 44 guys are generally not seeing 200 inch deer if the weather’s not right. And then, like you’re finding, jumping in, in your archery stuff, same kind of thing. And a lot of your, like you said, jumping from one unit to the other. Those, and, and I’m not, and I’m not indicating this is where you are ’cause I actually don’t know where you were, but like units like 55, that border 43, that border 54, that border 53, a lot of these deer summer in the same basic country. And then, but where they spill off to winter is all different, you know? And so you can hunt those kind of genetics and you can hunt, you know, 43 genetics on the 55 side up high or whatever. That’s what’s kind of cool about some of these archery hunts is you can, you know, a lot of those summer ranges are shared by a lot of different bucks, you know, winter in different country.
00:24:39:12 –> 00:24:52:13
Yeah. So yeah, it’s, it’s, we’ll see, I guess I’ll find out what the, how, how, how easily I squeak the tag this year. And if it looks like I can do it again next year, I’ll probably try it again. But
00:24:52:20 –> 00:25:26:08
I’d say just change it up. Let’s hit a different unit every year. We were gonna do a pot, a pot here in the office and, and just kind of throw, throw a bunch of new stuff and then everybody draw and then do a kind of a reality show on, you know, have, have people see how people do and, and have a little camera and follow each, each guy around and, and what, what goes into starting a, you know, what go, what’s the process of starting to learn a new unit and then what the end, end results were. But anyway, we wanna incorporate you in that. And I’m gonna make sure you draw the toughest, worst brutal, most brutal hunt business. You’re right.
00:25:26:22 –> 00:25:30:08
Yeah. Just put me down in the desert where I gotta drink cow piss. I’ll be, I’ll be super happy.
00:25:31:05 –> 00:25:40:05
Speaking of that, do you prefer to, I mean, do you, do you hunt the desert country as much or high, mostly high country early archery stuff or what, what defines you, you
00:25:40:05 –> 00:26:06:01
Know? Well, I had the option this year, you know, where I was at in Nevada this year. I had some high and some low stuff and I probably in, in hindsight, would’ve been better off looking down low because I think there was more water down there. Yeah. But I didn’t, I went up high kind of where I feel comfortable and that, you know, that hurt me. I didn’t find anything. I hunt some low desert stuff in southern Utah and that’s where I get the drinking, the cow piss reference for was So
00:26:06:01 –> 00:26:07:03
You’ve done it, you’ve done it.
00:26:07:10 –> 00:26:47:16
I had to push cows out of the water hole to, to grab water, to filter, like literally push a moo cow, like my hand’s on her butt, like, get outta here. And, and luckily there, I i, I still filtered water, you know, to drink. But they, someone did pack in some wa some water for me and I, and I was super thankful for, for that. Yeah. But yeah, but that didn’t stop him from rolling, you know, rolling on my tent, the cows, him pissing and crapping all over it too, so. Geez. Geez. But, so I know I, I’ll actually probably be going back to that unit this year in Utah to try to, it’s just a general unit and try to try to redeem myself. ’cause that, that hunt didn’t, I didn’t, I didn’t end up connecting on that, but I
00:26:47:16 –> 00:26:50:14
Got so did do that this year. Did you do that 2018? No,
00:26:50:29 –> 00:27:43:18
That was 2017. Oh, okay. And, and I only gave it four or five days ’cause I wanted to get to Colorado. Yeah. To, to scout a couple more days before the hunt opened there. But yeah, so no, I’ll give it a shot again. And you know, I’ve hunted Arizona, but you know, where I hunted was, was more green than, than it was desert. So yeah. And that was, that was probably my most frustrating hunt that I’ve ever had. Just because it was, it, it was a, it was an early archery hunt and it was a lot tougher than I expected. I saw bigger bucks and than I’ve, I, I saw the biggest typical and the biggest non-typical I’ve ever seen in my life. Geez. On that, you know, in that two week period. And I, you know, getting close to him was, was, was really tough.
00:27:43:24 –> 00:28:52:02
And I, you know, I was 50 yards from the non, the non-typical and, you know, triple drop times. I can still see ’em clear as day in my head. I’ve been, I’ve been watching the pictures since this hunt for the last two years, just waiting for someone to kill him. But I yet to see the, anybody post a picture of him. I put him at probably 2 20, 2 30 and I had him at 50 yards. But we both, you know, he saw me, he knew I was there, he was betted. And as soon as I moved out to get, you know, a clear shot, he was, he stood up, just turned around and walked away and gone. I hunted him five more days and I never saw another deer in that, in that area, let alone in him. And the typical, I saw that that same hunt was ridiculous, but just, it was, it was too thick to, to really spot in stalk. And the only, I was finding him basically still hunting. And it was, it was just, it was so frustrating because I would find them, I mean, if, if it was a rifle, they’re gone, they’re done. But yeah, it was just too thick to, to get an arrow through, but can’t wait to get back. So
00:28:52:03 –> 00:28:56:14
You, yeah. So how long, I mean, when are you planning on doing that hunt again?
00:28:58:05 –> 00:29:00:23
It looks like I’m probably, I could probably draw every four or five years. Six years.
00:29:00:23 –> 00:29:01:08
Yeah. Okay.
00:29:01:14 –> 00:29:19:27
So, alright. You, I’ve, you know, I’ve done the loyalty point and all that stuff, or the hunter’s Ed point in Arizona. So I’m, I’ll be, I’ll do it as soon as I can that or I’ll hold out for maybe a, the easier to draw the first rifle hunt, which I know is a pain in the butt too. But Yeah, in my mind I’m thinking, you know, if I, if I could just do the same thing I did during the archery.
00:29:20:09 –> 00:29:34:08
Yeah. Well a lot of times those deer don’t move. A lot of times those deer haven’t moved by the first, you know, and everybody wants ’em to be on the winter range. ’cause it, they’re like you said, they’re glass, they’re, you know, versus stalking ’em in thick pines, you know, and
00:29:34:14 –> 00:29:40:27
I’ve, I’ve thought about that actually. And, and just hunt ’em like I did in that first archery, but this time have a little bit more reach.
00:29:41:08 –> 00:29:59:12
Yeah. So, yep. Make it happen. Who knows. So. And so do you, you know, kind of moving into that, do you muzzle it a rifle? Archery, anything goes obviously prefer maybe that early high country stuff with scouting and everything. Those deer will be in the same places, but, you know, and so comes into play or, you
00:29:59:14 –> 00:30:43:04
Know, I don’t, I don’t, you know, if if, if I had to pick between the early high country archery hunt and the late later season Rutt hunt in Kansas, it’d be tough. ’cause both are so fun. But they’re so far away from each other. You know, I started up the season backpack hunting for, for four or five weeks straight. Literally like not going home the entire time. And then I’m easily moved to a couple car camp type hunts. And then I go home for a little while, for a couple weeks to process this year. And then I come back out to the lap of luxury in Kansas where I actually have a, a garage or a house to sleep in. Yeah. I get to have like a, a, you know, a warm meal every day. And it’s, so it’s, and the quality of the game’s probably not the same, but it’s, it’s, it’s a fun one.
00:30:43:08 –> 00:31:40:21
I think that as far as weapons go, you know, I mean, I killed my first joint when I was 12 and, and, and every year in Michigan, I was filling both my archery and my, my rifle tag. And I, so it’s not like I have a, you know, I didn’t grow up with a preference over either. It just developed into how can I, okay, I wanna hunt here, which tag do I need to have to get that hunt sooner? Yeah. And that’s, and that’s basically the way I look at it, is I wanna, I wanna hunt good deer and what’s the best, the best opportunity to get it. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. Or, or to get the tag the best odds. Yeah. And I’ve definitely been guilty of applying for too many easy to draw tags. This year was a perfect example. I mean, I, you guys always joke around like, you can’t draw too many tags, don’t worry about it. Apply, apply whatever. But I did it this year and, you know, I I, I had too many tags and I was gone from home for, I, I mean, I literally slept in the a tent for three months straight without going home. And
00:31:41:12 –> 00:31:47:23
Couple questions. Are you married? Yeah. And then if you are, are you still married or if you were, when did that end?
00:31:49:04 –> 00:32:03:09
I I, I’ve, I’ve got a lovely lady that I’ve been with for a while Yeah. Long enough that I need to make her my wife and, and I, and I do love her like crazy. And, and that’s probably don’t, I hope she doesn’t listen to this, but it’s gonna probably hap hopefully happen soon. But Valenti
00:32:03:09 –> 00:32:13:22
Valenti’s, she was still there when I got home. Valentine’s day’s coming up. Well, you know, it’s, if it’s, if it’s, if it’s seven years, she’s got half your crap anyway, so at least, oh no, no. At least here. So
00:32:14:01 –> 00:32:15:28
No, it’s, it’s just been a couple years, but Oh,
00:32:15:28 –> 00:32:19:08
Okay. I you got five years before she, before she owns everything you got.
00:32:21:04 –> 00:32:23:21
I don’t think she’s gonna be around another year if I don’t. Okay.
00:32:23:21 –> 00:32:24:05
Yeah. I,
00:32:24:29 –> 00:32:34:14
She definitely does not like me being gone that long and it’s, you know, and I, I get it. I didn’t, I didn’t like being gone that long either, so. Yeah. I think, well, the good thing is figure out a way to break it up.
00:32:34:17 –> 00:33:35:26
Yeah. The good thing is she likes you, so, you know Yeah. If she wanted you to be gone, you might, might, might be concerned. So. Yeah. Well, well that’s, that’s the truth. Yeah. Well, that’s awesome. Yeah. It’s just, I’m the same way as basically whatever the best chance is to, you know, mostly whatever the best chance is to kill these big deer. And, and scouting wise, I had archery tags and, and like you, I don’t like to, some of these, some of this stuff is, is an ongoing battle with specific deer and named deer. And so, you know, I’m not talking about ’em too much yet, but they’re, you know, it’s a, it’s a challenge one way or another. But, but the end is, is so awesome. And some, and sometimes I’m finding, and you’re probably finding this, maybe, maybe these deer are only killable with a bow because you don’t know where they winter or you don’t know where they go or whatever. And so that, that’s, that’s your archery, you know what I mean? That’s your archery hunt for the year or two years or three years hunting specific deer, all the while you’re willing to kill some of these peripheral deer or whatever, you know?
00:33:35:28 –> 00:34:17:16
Yeah. I, I’ve, you know, I I, I haven’t really been fortunate enough to spend a lot of time in the same units that I archery hunt the early season. I haven’t been able to be there later in the season to, to see if those deer are there or not. I’ve toyed around with the idea in Colorado of, of doing a, you know, a second rifle just to, just to try it. There’s several units that I can, they’re easier. Yeah. And they’re easier to draw than some of the arch tags sometimes. But I don’t, you know, I don’t know. I, yeah. I get, I gotta, I probably need to talk to somebody like you before I do pull the trigger on something like that. ’cause I, yeah, I, I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna not hunt the archery if, if it’s not, if it doesn’t gonna mean an opportunity, so. Right,
00:34:17:20 –> 00:34:31:20
Right. Well, so six years isn’t long. Like how did you, who, who, who taught you, did you self-taught and then, and what have you learned and how have your tactics changed from year one to year six? I mean, kind of gimme that little bit.
00:34:32:17 –> 00:35:20:25
Well, I think, you know, I grew up in the woods. I mean, I grew up hunting. My dad is super diehard hunter is just a different, different fashion. Right. So it’s, it’s, I I think I’ve always been one of the guys that I, I have when when I get an opportunity, I usually can make it happen. I, I don’t, yeah. You know, it’s, I got the, I guess I’d say the killer instinct. I just had to transition to wide open territory and, you know, I grew up a, a ski, an alpine ski racer and, and ski coach, eventually a coach. And the mountains were always just my, I loved going out west of the mountains and it wasn’t, I don’t know why it wasn’t till later, you know, that I figured out I should be out here hunting as well. But I mean, I, I feel at home in the mountains, I feel at home stalking animals.
00:35:21:26 –> 00:36:23:04
I just, just didn’t, just didn’t pull the trigger on doing it for a long time. So I think that that was, it was a natural progression for me. And I, and I, I, I don’t even wanna say what kind of like, what my success rate is when once I find something that I want to kill, it’s, yeah. You know, I don’t wanna jinx my jinx myself. But it, I definitely spent too much time the first few years walking around instead of sitting down and, and, and using my glass. I, I’ll credit rock slide a lot. The, the one of the websites that I, that I write for a lot, rock slide.com was great for me to learn without having a mentor, without having someone to be like, Hey, what do I do when this happens? Because you can find out all about gear there and you can find a lot about tactics. Maybe not for killing giant bucks, but for at least staying alive in the mountains. Yeah. And, and what you don’t wanna do, you know, with gear and so on. So, but I definitely, I I, I bumped lots of deer. I, you know, I, I’m looking back now at you a hunt like that Arizona hunt.
00:36:25:07 –> 00:37:07:20
I mean, you, you think about big bucks that you screwed up on the, your whole life, I guess looking back. But, you know, I, I’m sure there are things I could have done differently. And I, I definitely spend way more time behind my glass now way, way less time moving around. And, you know, there was, there was, and I’ve killed, I’ve killed mature bucks still hunting with a bow in the mountains and, and in the Midwest. But it’s, you, you bump a lot more than you, than you then you, then you get a chance that, and if you’re trying to kill one particular buck, which, you know, I, I try to, I try to find the biggest buck in the area and, and focus on him. And, and it’s a lot harder to do that. Yeah. When you’re just looking for one. So what,
00:37:07:20 –> 00:37:22:03
What do you, like, what’s your benchmark? I mean, are you looking for 180 plus deer or is it depending on the weapon? It depending on the, on the unit. I mean, what’s your benchmark? Yeah. But like when do you, when do you hone in on this deer versus look for a bigger deer? When is big enough, big enough?
00:37:23:01 –> 00:37:36:00
Boy that’s that. I think it does depend on where I’m at. I mean, my biggest Michigan buck’s only 135 inches. Yeah. But he’s a monster for my county. That’s, I mean, there’s, there’s not many kill
00:37:36:01 –> 00:37:37:19
135 every year. If you could
00:37:38:16 –> 00:38:20:20
I Oh, in Michigan. You bet. Yeah. You know where I hunt in Colorado in the early season, I’m trying to stay above 180. The, I think that, you know, I see a mature buck and, and a and a, a guy that I hunted with long, long ago, and I don’t hunt. Most of my hunts are solo nowadays. But he, he basically told me he is like, you just, if it’s not already a buck that you’re chasing, you’ll either know it instantly or not. If there’s any question in your mind when you see that buck and you have to sit there and hem and haw about it, you’re probably gonna be disappointed. Yeah. The odd, the odds are not in your favor of being walking up there and be like, oh yeah, he is, he is all everything. I thought he was and he is. Yeah.
00:38:22:13 –> 00:38:59:13
But so that, that’s just something I think of, you know, when I see a buck, if it doesn’t trip my trigger right away, and you know, like my Kansas buck this year, he doesn’t score with a darn, but he’s 30 inches wide and he’s got thick bladed times and he was old and yeah. He was the best fuck I saw. And I was like, you know what, that’s I, let’s do it. You’re gonna kill it, dude. And I did. Yep. And that’s so, it, it’s just a matter of if, if it, if it tris my trigger, if it’s mature a lot like you, a a lot of deer have died in my hands because they had really cool brow tins. Yeah. I, I love nothing like it. I love extra points. Oh, love the ine
00:38:59:17 –> 00:39:02:19
For mass. If there’s 14 eye guards, there’s not enough, you know,
00:39:04:02 –> 00:39:06:13
Pipe No. Or extra, extra kickers are, they’re done.
00:39:06:13 –> 00:39:23:08
Yeah. Yeah. And pipe mass and big, just, they’re just, it’s just amazing. I mean, and, and I, and I used to like the, you know, why deer and I, of course I like white deer. I mean I like all of, but there’s nothing like mass and I guards for me, I just, I don’t know. Yeah. I don’t know why, but
00:39:23:20 –> 00:39:26:28
That’s, yeah. It’s probably my number, number one too. Yeah. Mass. Yep.
00:39:27:12 –> 00:39:39:25
What are, what are some of your goals or bucket list items? I mean, you know, milder wise too. I mean, have you got, you know, any size wise or what do you, you know, what would be the ultimate for you to kill?
00:39:41:04 –> 00:40:33:17
I’m a lot about the experience too. I mean, I, yeah, but I, I’ve never had a, I’ve never had a ridiculously good tag of, of any nature. Yeah. The, the best tag I’ve ever had. I drew a once in a lifetime sheep or a moose tag last year in Idaho, and it’s arguably one of the worst tons in Idaho for moose. And I busted to find one mature bull the entire season. And not, it wasn’t near the whole season, but I mean, I, I mean I’ve never spent, well, this, this year would’ve that seven points I would’ve burned in Nevada would’ve been the most I’ve ever burned on a deer tag. Yeah. I’ve never, I, my my philosophy philosophy’s always been just hunt more. And so I’ve, I’ve yet to ever draw that just ridiculously good tag. So if there’s one thing that I really just wanna do, that’s probably it. It’s just, I wanna, I wanna have a hunt where there’s low pressure and just a good chance of I to find something good.
00:40:33:27 –> 00:40:36:19
Great man. For big, big old mature bucks.
00:40:37:12 –> 00:40:39:25
Yeah. It’s tough. I’m pretty, I impatient too, so
00:40:40:13 –> 00:40:40:22
No, and
00:40:40:22 –> 00:40:43:07
I don’t, I’m probably gonna applying for that lower tag and I don’t
00:40:43:07 –> 00:41:47:25
Blame you and I’m doing, I I’m doing a lot what you’re doing. But, and, and I have too. I have, I drew too many tags and I draw too many tags regular. And I guess when we talk about drawing too many tags, it’s a lot of, a lot of it’s coming from the trophy perspective. Guys are applying for one to 5% type drawing odds. And they’re scared to do, you know, apply for more than two or three of those thinking they’re gonna draw two or three. And, and you will, if you, if you apply for something easy to draw and you do it too many times, you’re gonna have too many tags. But yeah, you know, I kind of developed that strategy of, I always have tags in my pocket and, and want to go do, you know, like General Utah, general Idaho, you know, some of these that are just a little bit easier. I know I’ve got, I could, you could make something happen if you, if worst case scenario you don’t have any tags, you know, then you could fall back on those and make something happen, happen and then, and then kind of save points in, in a few key places. You just, you kind of use that as your, you know, maybe your once in a lifetime or two or three times in a lifetime, you know, type tag and, and hopefully make it happen somehow. So
00:41:48:23 –> 00:42:02:04
Yeah, no, that’s, that’s, that’s, you know, this year I, I think I drew three tags. I had a, well, the lowest percentage was, which was for sure this New Mexico late archery hunt. But that’s a tough tag to draw a couple of them in the
00:42:02:12 –> 00:42:11:26
Yeah. I would say this is, you know, better than maybe that Nevada tag, you know, even though that New Mexico doesn’t have points percentage wise, that is extremely tough to draw.
00:42:12:21 –> 00:42:42:18
Yeah. Yeah. I, I think, I dunno, I, I’ll probably still end up applying for, you know, and that’s, that’s, that’s been my mo as I just look at what can I draw and, and that’s why I applied for that move tag last year. That’s why I applied for the deer hunt that I went for in Nevada this year. I knew I’d draw it with that many points and I just, I just wanna hunt. Yeah. And, but that’s probably the, that’s probably the reason that I, I still haven’t been patient enough to wait to draw one of those great tags. Yeah. I haven’t given enough years. Yeah. So
00:42:42:20 –> 00:42:48:07
What about this news? I didn’t, I need to go check out your social media, but like it turned out all right, like,
00:42:48:15 –> 00:43:34:24
Yeah, no, it was, it was, I mean, I think there was seven tags in the unit last year. Only two of us were successful. So, I mean, that tells you how Yeah. On the hunting was brutal. I saw I think five, five or six moves the entire nine or 10 days I was there. Luckily there was, we were getting rain or just a little skiff of snow every day. And I was able to basically track drive roads until I found a track Yep. And get on a track and just walk ’em, walk em, walk ’em down. Wow. And I figured out where they were kind of, I, I, the only ones I ever tracked down were just little dink yearly. I mean, like, I mean, literally I had wrecks size my hands or they were just cow giant cows. And, but I found kind of where they were all the center area, I guess you wanna say, where they were criss sing through.
00:43:34:24 –> 00:44:13:17
And I, I sat up in there and called, and a friend of mine who kept bugging me, he is like, just sit down and call for two days and you’re gonna, something will come in. And, and I hadn’t, I hadn’t sat there for a half hour and I had had some come in and, but they did come in right now win. And I ended up, you know, making like a giant loop. And I, I had split him from his cow. They both came in together and I, and I ended up finding him again and he was 42 inches wide and, you know, wouldn’t score with the, doesn’t have much for fronts, but he was thick and mature and you know, I, when I checked him in, they were the, you know, co told me he hadn’t seen anything bigger than, you know, all years. So.
00:44:13:20 –> 00:44:32:12
That’s awesome. Yeah. That’s awesome. Yeah. Same tactics, you know, basically. Same. I mean, you gotta be able to be versatile and track when you need to or call when you need to. Yeah. Or glass when you need to. I mean, I think that’s part of the, even with deer or elk or anything, is being able to be versatile and, and change up the pain plan. Yes. You know?
00:44:32:23 –> 00:45:00:17
Oh, absolutely. No, that’s, I’ve, yeah, there’s, there’s been last times I figured that, you know, figured out a deer’s just living too close to, to thick cover for me, but to, to, you know, I’m not gonna see him bed. It’s just, it’s, he’s not gonna gimme an, a chance. And basically the only chance is to, to be there first thing in the morning or last thing at night, and Yeah. Be there tight and you’re risking, risking swirling winds, you’re risking, you know, it’s, you just gotta kinda roll the dice sometimes and yeah.
00:45:01:12 –> 00:45:15:13
So tell me, now we’re talking about a little bit on spot and stock again, just what are some of the things you’ve learned? Like what are the tactics? So what, what are the do’s and don’ts or things that you’ve found that help you be more successful in making a successful stock?
00:45:16:15 –> 00:46:23:14
Well, I think one of the things I don’t hear anybody else talking about, and I, they almost, I hear ’em talking about kind of the opposite, the way I approach it is the wind and it, and it depends, you know, if you’re in, if you’re in real steep mountains or a big canyon area, this doesn’t work. But if you’re in Eastern Montana, if you’re in Kansas where it’s a little bit flatter, more consistent winds, certain areas of Wyoming where there’s, you’re, you’re getting more of a directional wind Sure. Or at least a consistent, you know, wind with, with, with the thermals, I don’t, once I got embedded, I don’t, I don’t put the wind in my favor. I, I put it almost in their favor. And I, I love to come in from, you know, a quartering behind them wind. So basically if the wind’s blowing 25, 30 degrees off from them, and if it, if it changed a little bit, I’m screwed. But what happens if they’re alone usually is they’re, they’re facing downwind at their weak spot, and they don’t, they don’t see me coming. And it’s, you know, I don’t, I don’t, yeah, I don’t blow up, I don’t blow up nearly as many bucks doing that. Versus if I, if I just get downwind of ’em and come straight at ’em from downwind or
00:46:24:13 –> 00:46:29:15
Come come from, they’re watching you. They’re just sitting there chewing the t watching you. I mean, that’s all they’ve gotta do. Yeah. And they, they pick you out
00:46:30:13 –> 00:46:54:13
And Yeah. And it’s just, and sometimes it doesn’t really matter because, you know, where I hunt in Colorado, most of, most of the spot times, it’s, there’s so much terrain changes. You can use most of that. It’s not a big deal. But like in Kansas sometimes I’m, I’m exposed for hundred hundreds of yards and I’ve basically just got a belly crawl in or, or stay low. And, you know, if you’re trying to do that in the direction he’s looking, it’s, you’re not gonna pull it off very often. Yeah.
00:46:54:20 –> 00:46:54:29
Yeah.
00:46:54:29 –> 00:46:55:26
It’s just, so it’s,
00:46:56:14 –> 00:47:01:02
Yeah. And then do you, what about decoys? What do you I mean,
00:47:02:05 –> 00:47:51:03
There are certain spots I’ve found decoys work fantastic. And I think, I think what I’ve came down, what I’ve, what I’ve came down to, what I think makes it work or not work is the buck to door ratio. If, if, if they’re used to having a fight for breeding rights, it works fantastic. So, Kansas white tail and mule deer, it works great. I had good luck when I was hunting in the Midwest, in Iowa, in certain counties of Illinois, you know, using decoys where, you know, mature buck sees a, a, a decoy that he, that pops up in his home turf. And he is pissed because he has to fight for every one of his, you know, every one of his doughs. Whereas, you know, certain other areas where you’ve got a horrible buck to dough ratio. Yeah. There’s plenty enough doors to go around and they just, they’ll fight if they have to.
00:47:51:10 –> 00:48:41:18
But in open areas too, it’s, you know, you, you take a look, you take an equal buck to door ratio in Kansas versus, say Montana, where it’s just a little bit roll terrain in the, you know, breaky terrain in Montana, they don’t, they don’t get a chance when they’re walking 400 yards apart from each other, a lot of times to see each other. Whereas in Kansas, they’re a couple hundred yards away from each other. They see each other. It’s on, they’re, that’s why I think there’s so many bro more broken times. They, they fight more. So maybe, you know, I think decoys in general are gonna work better in areas where you have a, a higher buck to door ratio. And the more they fight, the more they’re gonna, you know, if you, if you’re in an area that always has broken up times on your bucks, I, it’s, it’s so much fun. Both the Kansas mule deer that I’ve got the last two years came with the decoy and it is so cool. I mean, wow.
00:48:42:03 –> 00:48:47:14
Are just, are you grunting? Are you doing anything or you just No, no. Just chilling out there. Just chilling.
00:48:47:21 –> 00:48:52:10
No, nothing. Get close and just, and show it to ’em. And
00:48:52:23 –> 00:48:55:00
A buck decoy. D decoy, buck decoy.
00:48:55:08 –> 00:49:36:18
For the mule deer. I’ve been using the, the heads up decoy. The, the dough. Yeah. And for the white tails, it’s the opposite. Like, so with the mule deer, the dough seems to work better. And with the white tails, the buck seems to work better. Yeah. My biggest Kansas buck a hundred and eighty four, five inches. I had been thinking been three years ago. I, I spawned, I mean, he went into a little crick bottom. I snuck down to it, but I, I couldn’t tell if he went up, up the creek bottom or down the creek bottom or if he was still there. So I got to that point and just as I got up there, I, I saw, I could see two other mature bucks off the distance. One of ’em, which I thought was him, he was an, he was an another one 70 plus white tail. And I crashed my rail antler as as hard as I could together.
00:49:36:18 –> 00:50:13:22
And he turned around and looked at me like, and he just stood there. He just looked out late. I mean, like, I’m not, I’m not coming, coming back there because he was walking away. And meanwhile the other, so I’ve got two mature bucks watching me as I’m, as I’m on this little corner of tumbleweeds, rattling, flashing the decoy at him. And neither of ’em will move. And something just told me to turn around. And that buck that I’d seen going in the crick bottom, he was there the entire time, a hundred yards away. And he was coming up outta that crick bottom. I, the thing I can presume is that they were, they had already fought that night. Yeah. And he had already scared him off. And basically he was coming out to say, you, you want some more? Yeah. And he had already seen, he had already seen that heads up decoy on my bow.
00:50:14:01 –> 00:50:52:19
His head was down and he was coming in like a bull moose and ruts just swaying back and forth, come on. And I watched him from, from 80 yards away. Geez. Come all the way to 20 yards. He never even picked up his head or looked, looked at me again. I, I pivoted around, turned around because he was coming right behind me. And I mean, I’d hate to think of, and he went, he didn’t make any sound. He was just coming through a, a wheat field, a freshly planted wheat field. I mean, he would’ve could’ve took the boat outta my hands with that decoy on it had I not turned around. But it was a point blank shot that they just, in areas where they fight a lot, those decoys are so much fun.
00:50:53:08 –> 00:51:20:17
Well, I, and, and I’m bad that I get buck fever if I, if I can just kill ’em. I, I, and then I, then I shake after. But if I’m watching them come like from 80 to 20 or to point blank, I’m, I’m freaked out. I, I would, I would be shaken and just my teeth would be chattering. ’cause it’s just the anticipation. It’s gonna happen. It’s obvious it’s gonna happen. He’s, he’s stupid. And I don’t know. Is that, did it, did it come across you that way? Or you just, you just
00:51:20:25 –> 00:51:24:00
No, I just black out. You just just black out and then I wake up and they’re dead.
00:51:26:19 –> 00:51:27:20
Oh man.
00:51:27:25 –> 00:51:40:10
I’ve, I’ve had, I’ve had times where I, I’ve messed up because I, I think elk have gotten me more that way Yeah. Than Deere have. Yeah. Just ’cause I probably grew up in the Midwest. Yeah. And, but no, I, when it’s, when I know the opportunities coming on the buck, it’s
00:51:40:19 –> 00:51:50:29
Well, and if you have experiences like that, I don’t know how you quit hunting whitetail, really. I mean, that’s, that’s the ultimate, having a deer do that come in like that. Yeah. That’s just gotta be the ultimate.
00:51:51:17 –> 00:52:25:10
But well, that’s with that either species tag in Kansas and you kind of enter the season thinking, okay, if what my goal is is either deal boat or tail or big or Yeah, it’s what, what am I gonna find? And this year I didn’t see a, a shooter, what I would call a white tail that I’d shoot, you know, something that’s over one 70 until the, the last day. And I was actually pheasant hunting and, and he was, as I, as I was driving back to the ranch to pack up, he ran across the road. Wow. But that was the only one I saw. It was, it was tough. Like I said, the crops were all in and hopefully, hopefully it means someone will make it through.
00:52:25:22 –> 00:52:36:19
That’s crazy. So did you find, like in Kansas, do you feel like that there was, it was tough white tail and mule deer wise to find trophy bucks, whether it be anner growth or age Oh yeah. Or whatever. Both of them suffered.
00:52:38:01 –> 00:52:58:23
Absolutely. It, I mean it’s, it just, I mean, this is the first year they’ve had good moisture. I mean, this rain that they just got this summer is probably the first year that they’re, it’s gonna knock ’em out of being a, a drought, you know, you know, a drought state. Yeah. You know, add to the fact that the crops were still up. I think that, I think that a lot of guys are, were struggling this year to, to find them.
00:52:59:26 –> 00:53:04:13
Are you, are you hunting the walk-in stuff or mostly private or how are you
00:53:04:20 –> 00:53:39:18
I have hunted the, I’ve, I’ve got, I’ve got a, I’ve killed bucks, big mature bucks on, on the walk-in there. Like I said before, a lot of guys in Kansas, and I’m sure that there’s, there’s areas and there’s some bow hunters. I know some bow hunters that are in Kansas that are pretty diehard guys that get after it. But a lot of the guys in Kansas, that rifle hunt, hint some that bow hunt don’t, you know, if that walk-in unit’s a, a strip that’s a half mile wide, but two miles deep. Yeah. And there’s no road access to the backside. I doubt there’s been too many people to the backside of it. And that’s, those, those kind of spots I’ve, it’s amazing what you find just by walking a little bit. Yeah, yeah,
00:53:40:05 –> 00:53:47:07
Yeah. Not physical, not even light color. Not even close to light Colorado, but just, just take some no kind of effort. Just take some kind effort.
00:53:47:07 –> 00:54:08:00
Yeah. And it’s, yeah, it’s flat and it doesn’t look like much either too. That’s another thing too from, you know, from the road, your glass in it, you’re thinking, eh, you get back there, you look at Google Earth at it, and it’s like, holy crap, there’s three different draws in there. And you go back there and there’s Yeah, there’s brush and, and you know, there’s, there’s tumbleweed, there’s tumbleweed piles that are 10 foot high and they almost have tunnels underneath them that you’re deer bed in. Yeah. So it’s, yeah,
00:54:08:29 –> 00:54:09:06
You
00:54:09:06 –> 00:54:09:18
Just gotta put in
00:54:09:18 –> 00:54:50:29
The effort. Speaking of Google Earth, how much are you using that versus, you know, I mean, and I use it a little bit, but there’s some guys that like to use it a lot, but I’m not sure that I’m not seeing ’em be super successful with it as much as I think, you know, it’s good to use it, but then there’s something about seeing it with your own eyes and, you know, well, yeah, you gotta, you have a feel when you see something you just, there’s, you can see whether you’re seeing the feed or you’re seeing the train or like you’re saying with some of those Kansas draws and different things. But I mean, for me, I’m not, I’m not looking at Google Earth and saying, I’m gonna find my next giant right there. I’m looking at Google Earth to how to get into stuff or, or exactly. Supplement what I’ve seen. Yeah. Is that how you’re using it?
00:54:51:27 –> 00:55:34:04
Yeah, I, I mean, I, I listen to certain guys talk about, you know, maybe more so with elk, but they’re like, listen, you know, you, you look for this, this and this, and this is how I find my spots, and I mark ’em and then I go check ’em out. It’s like I, I’m looking for glass and knobs. How can I get to that spot? The easiest you? How do I not cliff myself out? And I use it for that probably more than anything. I don’t really, you know, there I’m, yeah. And spots like Kansas where you can’t see or flatter spots, like the breaks. You, you can’t see all the little nooks and crannies from, from a, you know, and there are no glassy knobs. There are no great high spots. Yeah. And you end up find yourself climbing up oil wells and, and farmer’s barns more than you do, than than climbing up on top of a big hill.
00:55:34:16 –> 00:56:14:05
I think that it can be pretty useful then for seeing little hidden draws. But yeah, I basically, you know, I, I’ll use it more from like this time of the year until the application season’s done. And then again, once I, once I draw whatever I draw, maybe if it’s summer I haven’t been before, I’ll, I’ll really locate all the trailheads, glassy knobs, possible camping spots. But once I get in there, it’s, everything always changes. You know, it seems like, you know, where you think you’ll find water, you don’t find water, and then you gotta, you know, and next thing you know, you, you glass something up in a spot you thought, well, I wasn’t expecting to go over there. But you go over there and then that’s where everything’s at. You know? I, yeah. It’s once, everything always changes once you get boots on the ground. So
00:56:14:05 –> 00:56:28:14
Yeah. Everything does. Yep. I’ve found the same stuff. What, what’s your some of your most memorable stuff, like, like your most memorable deer or something that really stands out as in your mind of one of the best experiences you’ve had?
00:56:28:19 –> 00:57:22:16
Boy, well, this, this year’s deer was pretty good. But I killed a, a Colorado book a couple years ago that was right at that 200 inch mark. And I found them, I drew a, a pretty good Wyoming tag that year as well. Regardless, I didn’t get back to Colorado from my scouting trip in Wyoming until I only had a couple days before the season to, to scout. And that’s where it was. And then went into the area that I had done good before with really, I hadn’t, I mean, I’d found a couple 180 type bucks and, but nothing, nothing giant. And the night before the season, or two nights before the season just found him laying, I mean, in a, in a, in a spot, you don’t wanna find him laying because he’s visible for everybody to see. And that night and the next, I watched him and I really thought for sure, I’m like, I don’t, I’ve gone to myself opening tomorrow morning, I’m, I’m on ’em.
00:57:22:16 –> 00:58:14:23
And that last night, that last evening before the opener, I turn around and there were two guys glass and a four oh yards behind me on the same ridge. And your heart sinks. You’re like, oh, crap. You know? Yeah. And, but I wasn’t camped too far away. And so at first light, the next, the next morning I’m up and just hoping I found him right away. He was working his way down to get a, get a drink. And I, I was presuming before he terminated back around and go back up and in bed in the same spot he was at. And those guys were working their way, walking right up the center of the basin. And I don’t, I don’t think they had found him. I don’t know what, maybe they were trying to work up to where he had been yesterday, but they hadn’t spent the time to, to locate him, to figure out Sure. Whatever. But they blew him around the corner and all the rest of his bucks that was probably, I don’t know, five or six, seven of ’em, I don’t remember now.
00:58:17:07 –> 00:59:00:20
But for me it was a matter of, you know, they, they ran around the corner. It’s just in it’s big country. Well, those guys plopped their butt down in the willows, literally like made a little ground blind where he had fed out that the, the night before him, like, sat there. I’m thinking, well, I don’t, I don’t, I mean, they, and they were, they were wearing whatever it looked like they were wearing just black coveralls. I mean, they, they stuck out like a sore thumb. I’m thinking anything, if he does, if he does come back, it’s over. Yeah. So I, I actually hiked down a big canyon and up the other side probably about, it’s gotta be at least two miles, two and a half miles to be able to glass back over the top of them and around the kinda the corner where that bucket went.
00:59:00:20 –> 00:59:35:09
And by about four o’clock, 3 30, 4 o’clock in the afternoon, I, I’d picked him up and he, he’d only went a few hundred yards around the corner and, and beded down. And it, I knew I only had, you know, so much daylight left. And those guys were, boy, they weren’t, I don’t think they were 500 yards from ’em. Wow. And I knew that, that if, if, if dark came and they were still there, the thermals were gonna drift right down to ’em. And Yeah. You know, at that point he hadn’t, he hadn’t smelled anybody. He just saw them working up the basin in the morning when the thermals were still going down. So I, and, and started, you know, did the, the normal Colorado
00:59:36:02 –> 00:59:37:01
Yeah. Afternoon
00:59:37:02 –> 01:00:05:18
Rain shower on me, and it got soaked running over there, but I made it to him, used the landmarks, came up the, the, the cliff just popped out right where I thought it would, and I, I got, I got close. Yeah. And I waited till the thermal started to switch, and sure enough, those deer started popping up like, you know, jack in the box. As soon as that wind started coming down, they smelled those our guys. And Wow. I, I didn’t give him a chance to, to take off. And as soon as he turned, I, I had narrow on the way and
01:00:06:04 –> 01:00:06:11
Wow.
01:00:07:23 –> 01:00:12:09
The, he didn’t, he didn’t make it 30 yards and piled up. And I stood up out of the, out of the willows and
01:00:12:19 –> 01:00:14:05
Guys were guys looked at me and shocked.
01:00:14:11 –> 01:00:16:20
They looked at me like, what the hell are you doing over there? So
01:00:16:20 –> 01:00:22:02
Where did you come from? Right. And you’re looking at them like, where’s your camo?
01:00:22:29 –> 01:00:29:02
Oh, well, yeah, I think that was that old school Moss really doesn’t do very well in, in the
01:00:29:20 –> 01:00:29:26
No,
01:00:29:27 –> 01:00:31:17
It was like a big black blob. Oh,
01:00:32:15 –> 01:00:39:27
Wow. And they watched your dead guy, or basically, you know, probably came over. I don’t he to come visit with you. Yeah. He,
01:00:40:08 –> 01:01:07:10
When he, when, you know, I, he jumped up the, the deer went, you know, where he jumped and took off to the willows, and I’m sure they heard him and maybe even saw a flash of him before he Yeah. Went down, but he didn’t go far. And, you know, I stood up and I think I shot him actually from my knees. And they, I stood up and did the, you know, I’m, I’m a pretty excitable guy. I, I, and I don’t have my emotions very well, so I’m like high fiving myself, you know, high, high fiv myself, no friends type thing. And
01:01:07:26 –> 01:01:08:05
Yeah.
01:01:08:06 –> 01:01:20:20
You know, my bows in the air and I’m just like, I can’t believe that worked. And they’re just like standing, like statues staring at me. And I, I waved and kind of like threw my hands up like, like big, but the universal big butt. Yeah. You know, and they just turned around and walked away.
01:01:22:17 –> 01:01:23:27
They read me, I’ve
01:01:23:27 –> 01:01:25:02
Have been excited to go see it, but
01:01:25:08 –> 01:01:34:02
They read that like you were flipping ’em off basically. So yeah, I was just happy. I you’re just happy. You wanna share the excitement and they’re not so happy. So
01:01:34:09 –> 01:01:38:18
It wasn’t the first time I’ve been, you know, mis or confused on what I was trying to signal,
01:01:38:26 –> 01:01:40:11
So. Right, right. Yeah. Right.
01:01:40:23 –> 01:01:41:12
I won’t to last.
01:01:42:00 –> 01:01:46:10
So let’s see. I know you done, you’ve done a little bit of your own European mounts, haven’t you?
01:01:47:11 –> 01:02:43:28
Yeah, I’ve been doing that for a long time. Especially now that I have to, you know, with all these out-of-state hunts. Yeah. Yeah. It’s not even legal. You can’t even, you can’t take the brain matter across a bunch of state lines. So I started doing it a few years ago and several of the, the, the velvet bucks, I’ve just been skull caping ’em and then treating the, treating the velvet and then having, you know, putting like a, the fake skull on it, but I just don’t, I just don’t like it as, as well as the real thing. And so this year I tried to, I tried to treat the velvet first and, and then do the euro mount and it all worked except for I did miss a couple of pockets. He, his, my bucks G fours this year were just ridiculous. And yeah, I, there was a couple pockets at the base of each one that ended up spoiling on me. So it’s, it’s, it’s kind of a, a bad story, but I did end up having to peel that buck off his velvet. Oh.
01:02:44:19 –> 01:02:48:23
So are you using, are you injecting formaldehyde or how you, what do you mean by treating it? I’ve been
01:02:48:23 –> 01:03:43:26
Using, I’ve been using the velvet tan. Okay. And I’ve had, I’ve had great luck with it. Yeah. I, it, you know, it’s within, you know, hopefully the same day, if not the next day, get that thing hung up and start work, you know, upside down and start injecting at the base. Yeah. And working, working it out, finding the veins. And, and I’ve never had any of ’em even have the slightest stink after they, after that velvet tan dries, you know. And I, after injecting it too, I also just painted it on too and let it dry. Yeah. But you know, you gotta get all that blood out. ’cause if you don’t, I mean that, and that’s what happened. I, you know, by the time I got out with my Colorado elk hunt this year, the, the guy that was storming my, my freezer with my, with my Colorado deer in it, and he had, you know, smother gear and extra coolers and my European kit and that rack from my Colorado deer, he’s like, I think he might have some issues with that velvet. And I opened up the trailer door and to his vet Yeah. Looked in cargo trailer’s, like, whoa, it, it went bad. So, well,
01:03:44:20 –> 01:03:46:29
You’ll you’ll refine it. There’s no question. Yeah,
01:03:47:14 –> 01:04:02:24
Yeah, yeah. And so, yeah, this year I’m, and I was, I, I struggled with, you know, do you, you know, you kill a bucking velvet and if the velvet goes bad, do you just peel it off and let it be stay in the antlers? Or do you send it to one of those fake velvet places? Yeah. And
01:04:04:14 –> 01:04:34:17
I don’t know, I, I did that. I, I did that. I, I killed a big deer with a bow and, you know, anyway, velvet wise, he was like two 20 gross. And, and he, but he had, he had raked on it a little bit and there was some big, big marring like strips of velvet gone mostly. ’cause he had raked it, but it was still attached. And anyway, I wish, and I stripped it and I shouldn’t have. And then when I got it stripped, I mean, it’s this white deer that didn’t even look like the deer I shot. You know what I mean? Yeah. That’s what you’re looking at.
01:04:34:17 –> 01:04:36:01
That’s exactly where I’m at now. Yeah.
01:04:36:01 –> 01:05:16:08
And you’re like, eh, it doesn’t even look like the deer I shot. So I sent him away and got it put on. And it’s not, it’s not right. And I was just, it’s not the same. And, and I would’ve left him stripped. And really, if I had to do it over again, I wouldn’t have stripped him. And, ’cause it’s just not even the same deer. I mean, it’s, it’s the same deer, but it’s not, you know, and, and yeah. Anyway, it, it’s a bummer. It’s a bummer. ’cause it’s, yep. When I look at him, I don’t, it’s almost like I don’t think of that hunt. I think, man, I wish that veau was still on there. That’s the first thing I think. Yeah. Every time I see him, you know? Yep. And so, anyway, for what it’s worth, I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t know how to tell you to fix it, if that helps you. Right. Have at it.
01:05:17:09 –> 01:05:34:29
Yeah. Well, might have, you know, might have, when I shot him, he had skidded down through some rocks and messed up both sides of the main beams pretty good. And I’m wondering now, you know, when I injected it, if it maybe the breathings at those spots that went bad, they were on the outside Yeah. Just past where it was scuffed up. Maybe that’s why.
01:05:35:19 –> 01:05:37:06
Yeah. It, it ruined the, I wasn’t
01:05:37:06 –> 01:05:37:26
Able to pump the blood
01:05:37:26 –> 01:05:41:19
Out the vein, the vein was severed or whatever. Yep, yep. Yeah. And didn’t get in there.
01:05:42:16 –> 01:05:43:19
I bet that’s it. And
01:05:43:27 –> 01:05:44:29
Yeah. Anyway,
01:05:45:06 –> 01:05:51:10
I’ll probably, I’ll probably try one of those fake velvet things, but Yeah, I know what you mean. I look at ’em now and it’s like, it’s just not the same. It’s not the deer.
01:05:51:10 –> 01:06:08:20
Like that’s not the deer I killed. That’s not the deal hunter. But any advice for other eastern guys that are wanting to do with, I mean, let’s be honest, you’re, let’s just say you’re gonna get married and you’re not gonna hunt much anymore. So any might as well just be free with the advice and help the next day that’s
01:06:08:25 –> 01:06:09:08
Come along.
01:06:11:19 –> 01:06:40:06
You know, I’ve, I’ve actually, oh, I, I, I, I’ve had that talk with Jody. It’s like, listen, if we do this marriage thing and, and she’s talking kids too. I’m, I’m like, I need, I need your, your promise that you’re gonna let me Yeah. You know, I, I won’t be gone for three months straight anymore, but I I maybe it’ll just be a bunch of little trips. Yeah. And I, I, because it’s, and she knows it’s who I am and Yeah. She knew. Yeah. She knew when we met and it’ll, it’ll stay that way. But I think
01:06:40:06 –> 01:06:43:05
That just, yeah, you just need to have it in riding pretty much. Yeah.
01:06:46:07 –> 01:06:50:16
Is has anyone ever done that? Deer, deer hunting rights and prenuptial
01:06:50:16 –> 01:07:21:11
Agreements? I call, I, it doesn’t matter if it’s been done, it should be done. I, I think I’m, I, my wife, wife, I, my wife told me she’d give me 90 days and it’s never, it’s always been more bless her heart and I love her forever because it’s, it’s, but, but I’ve also made a living at it and it’s built what’s built our house. It’s what’s built our life. And so, and and she’s awesome that way and wouldn’t, wouldn’t have any other weight. It does get hard. Yeah. Midstream, you guys, I don’t know how old, how old are you? Just roughly, you
01:07:21:11 –> 01:07:23:23
Know, I am, I’ll be 45 this summer. Yeah. So
01:07:23:23 –> 01:08:30:26
Like, basically you’re set in your ways. She’s sitting her ways. It’s just tough. And you’re, no, I’m just teasing. I am just teasing. But honestly, it’s, it’s, it’s a tough, it’s a tough deal. I think, you know, anyway, it, it’s, it’s never like when you’re, it’s never probably gonna be like, like it once was, but not that it nec this is probably gonna be a better time in your life anyway. And, and you’ve learned enough now you’re gonna be able to get the job done quicker. I’m, I’m more efficient. I, I’m, yeah. I’m more efficient than I ever was when I was young and we were newlyweds and, you know, it took more time to, it just took more time. I was learning, I was learning what deer feed looked like. I was learning, you know, I hunted a lot of country. I thought, you know, it was useless and I thought it was awesome and it wasn’t. And just because there’s a long ways between roads doesn’t mean there’s big deer there. And, and so I had to Yeah. Get an eye for it and, and you’ll, you’ll make it happen. And you, you’re probably out there doing stuff because a lot of it, like maybe like Colorado elk, I mean, you know, if it’s something you really love, fine. But you might cut off the, you might cut the fat, you know what I mean? You might cut the excess hunts that maybe aren’t so near and dear to your heart.
01:08:31:15 –> 01:09:27:23
Yep. Oh, I know what you mean. I think to answer your question though, as far as what I tell other Eastern guys, you, you gotta do the research, you know, starting right now, you know, you hire a hunting service like yourselves, talk to people who know and have been there and are willing to help you. I think that, you know, I was lucky because I was already leaving home for months at a time and, and hunting, I, it was just a matter of, okay, I’m gonna just go further out west. And so, but I still, but I still use, you know, I still use services to, to kind of like, Hey, I, I run ideas past people and, and you know, it’s, I I you, you, if you don’t have a mentor or if you’re not going with buddies and don’t be, don’t be too proud to, to ask questions and, you know, try to, you know Yeah. There’s nothing worse than, than putting all your eggs in a basket and, and finding out, you know, you get there and it’s, you just blew your whole vacation time. Right,
01:09:28:10 –> 01:09:29:06
Right. But
01:09:29:16 –> 01:10:27:06
You also have to have your, you know, make sure you got your, if you’re gonna do backpack, hunts, backpack before your hunt, get, do some trips during the summer and make sure all your gear, you know, make sure everything works. Yeah, yeah. Don’t pull your bow out until, you know, a month before the season shoot all summer. Yeah. I mean, I, I don’t share a lot of the distances that I, that I kill animals because I don’t want any, you know, hate. Yeah. But, you know, I, I, I’ve, I, I’m pretty confident with a bow and I, it’s because I practice all year long and I know my equipment, I do all my own tuning. I, I I know that thing inside and out, and it’s part of my arm. Yeah. It’s, and I, you are gonna be more successful if you don’t have to think about, you know, you know, am I gonna make this shot? If you have to think back, well, you’re already done. It’s right. You know. Right. Get, get your equipment dialed in and, and then try to try to get more time off from work, then you, then you think you can get away with.
01:10:28:06 –> 01:10:42:25
That’s right. A hundred percent. There’s no substitute for time. And then, like you said, time, time with your gear and stuff. So anything else that you want to cover before we wrap it up? Anything that maybe you, you know, that I didn’t ask you or, or we didn’t dive into?
01:10:44:02 –> 01:10:53:24
No, I think covered quite a bit. I mean, I’m, I’m always available for questions if anybody’s got one, but I mean, if they’re listening to this, they can just call you and that’s what I do anyways. So
01:10:54:04 –> 01:11:03:29
Yeah. Well give it, give us where, where can they, where can they find you? Obviously Rock slide, which is Yep. What is R Okay, slide right Do
01:11:03:29 –> 01:11:22:04
Com. Yep. Yep. R O K S L I D e.com. I do gear reviews for them and there’s all kinds of stuff to learn on there. I’ve got a, I’ve got a Facebook page, but basically I just share stuff to it from Instagram. Okay. My Instagram is just Tony Treach, it’s T R I E T C h.
01:11:22:17 –> 01:11:39:17
Well, that’s awesome. Well, I sure appreciate you taking time with us. I know, you know, you were trying to find good service and find an exit and this and that, and it was last minute, but I just wanted to grab you before you dive into this next hunt, you know, that starts on the first and don’t wish you the best out there. You’re gonna, you’re gonna do great. So,
01:11:40:22 –> 01:11:44:25
Well thank you. And yeah, I hope I can catch up with you while we’re down there and
01:11:45:07 –> 01:12:09:20
All right, Tony, well I wish you the best this next year and thanks again for the time and, and being willing to visit about Big deer and tips and tactics and, and I know there’s a lot of guys out there that’ll be listening that that’ll learn quite a bit from you as well. So thanks for that and good luck in this new relationship or, well, I guess not new relationship, but let’s call it a new marriage for 2019, the next step. Yeah. How about that? The next step? The next step. So,
01:12:09:22 –> 01:12:11:08
Well she has to say yes yet, so
01:12:11:18 –> 01:12:12:15
Oh, she will remember.
01:12:12:21 –> 01:12:15:05
Yeah. And if anybody’s listening that knows her, don’t tell her to listen to this.
01:12:16:28 –> 01:12:24:21
Yeah. Just say, honey, this is boring. It’s hunting stuff. Yeah. It’s, anyway. Oh yeah. Alright, Tony. Okay, sounds good buddy, buddy. Appreciate you. Catch up you later.
01:12:24:21 –> 01:12:25:08
You bet. Yep. Bye
01:12:25:12 –> 01:13:15:13
Bye. We do wanna throw a little shout out to Kent’s optics. David and Jeff Harrell, good friends of ours. They have great prices. The best of anywhere I’ve seen. Anyway, these guys are awesome. They’re hunters themselves and, and they appreciate your business. That’s one thing I do like about ’em as well as they have a huge variety in stock. They have a, an incredible supply of optics in their back room and, and have I’d imagine anything you need. So whether it be Vortex or night four, whatever you want to use, they’ll have it. So anyway, give these guys a call. It’s 4 3 5 2 5 7 7 0 1 4. Tell ’em Jason and Adam sent you, I’m sure they’ll make you a screaming deal. You can also go to kens optics.com. Really appreciate Q You they were the first advertiser on board with us here at Epic Outdoors. Jason Harrison was a good friend of all of ours and we appreciate Q You’s support Brendan Burns as well.
01:13:15:14 –> 01:14:10:04
Super good guy. He’s out there doing what he says he does. He’s an incredible hunter and does a great job. And so they know gear. They’re making some of the best gear out there. Check out what they got [email protected]. So let’s talk about outdoor edge knives. We’ve partnered with Outdoor Edge, they’ve got some incredible knives coming out. We’ve all, we all like the razor knives, so the outdoor edge, they do have the long, fairly stiff blade along with kind of a half blade that goes with it that you attach it to. And so it makes it really sturdy. You don’t have to worry about breaking your blades, razors, whatever you wanna call ’em near as often and, and jabbing one into, into your leg or something like that. Have a little more control on some of that. And the, the easy to change in and out just been awesome. They’re a great partner of ours. We really appreciate ’em and what a great product. And so anyway, you can check out the different knives they [email protected] or ask an Outdoor Edge dealer at your local sporting its stores store.
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