Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome back to the Garden State Outdoors and Podcast presented by Brewing Duck Hunting.

Speaker 2: 0:04

That's why your tagline Mike.

Speaker 3: 0:06

JCL Long perfect. You don't know what that mountain's going to bring you don't know what that mountain's going to bring.

Speaker 5: 0:12

I accidentally drifted my canoe between a sow and a cub and she charged and hit the back of the canoe. His head hit the ground before his ass did.

Speaker 3: 0:25

Begging and begging and crying to go with my grandfather, go with my father on these deer drives.

Speaker 6: 0:31

You know, the last trip over I shot a great Cape Buffalo with my bow, Charging bluegrass and then the whooping, and then you hear a body drop.

Speaker 7: 0:40

It was on fire. I was having like nine, ten different bucks roll through, a couple like mid-140 bucks roll through every day, and then the rut came and it just everything disappeared. I'm lucky if I get a couple of those that go through that property. No, it's just one of those pieces that I thought was going to be stellar and now it's just not.

Speaker 1: 1:04

It's certainly dried up for me a good bit, like I have one spot that it keeps getting. You know daylight actions whenever when I'm there, I'm. Honestly it's not, probably not good, but I'm already kind of starting to set my sights on late season, just because I don't have much on my plate right now that I'm confident in I love late season, that's like my favorite time.

Speaker 7: 1:26

And then you got alex over there. That, uh, just sees deer, sees giant deer every time he goes out in the woods, I can't shoot. The problem is it still too sore of a subject if I say you can't shoot them because you lost all of your camo, leaving your damn tailgate open? Is that still too sore or no? More about a subject? If I say you can't shoot them because you lost all of your camo, leaving your damn tailgate open, is that still too sore or no?

Speaker 2: 1:47

More about a month in. I'm ready to talk. Dude, I lost my saddle, my sticks, my camo, everything you can imagine. Look, this is my ear closet. This would be cool.

Speaker 5: 2:03

You unlocked a new fear for me, because now I make sure like I will get out of the car. I'll get back in the car and be like, oh wait, hold on, let me make sure that the tailgate is closed. And now I lock it every single time. I don't even drive like I lock it.

Speaker 2: 2:18

I can't believe they invented something where it tells you that your tailgate is open.

Speaker 4: 2:23

I know right. I my target to something where it tells you that your tailgate is open. I know right.

Speaker 5: 2:27

I target you Did, you shot a good one too right this year In the early season. What was that? What'd you?

Speaker 7: 2:34

say I said you shot a good one too up in the early season.

Speaker 4: 2:37

now who me yeah? Yeah, I hit a pretty good 10-pointer bucks yeah, it was literally like a week apart. Uh, I hit him high in the shoulder and I was just telling these guys he, he, uh, he showed back up. Saturday I had another encounter with him at 40 yards. He's got a big scar right above his shoulder. Actually, I showed mike the picture.

Speaker 3: 3:04

He looks almost fully healed. He made it yeah, yeah, he's pretty much fully healed.

Speaker 5: 3:07

He looks good. He looks good, so he's.

Speaker 7: 3:12

I said it before on Mike and Alex's podcast. I don't know if you guys remember telling me this story. I showed a Big Ten up in Pennsylvania. Do you guys remember that? I showed a Big Ten and I just got closure on that. The other day I saw one of the neighbors and they told me that they and I just asked out of curiosity. I was like, hey, you guys ever see a 10-pointer? Because they're big rifle hunters. I was like you guys ever shoot a 10-pointer with probably got four inches of arrow in his shoulder? He was like, yeah, we shot it on this shoulder. He was like, yeah, we shot it on this date. It was two days after I shouldered him, oh wow 147.

Speaker 7: 3:51

Jesus, that hurt bad. Yeah, I'm sure it hurt. It was good closure knowing that somebody told me do you want to come see the mount? He's in the lodge. I was like no, no, that's all right, yeah, I rather know, that's okay, but yeah, at least I know he didn't suffer so I was happy about that. They put a. They put a round in him pretty quick, so happy about it, but it didn't feel any better.

Speaker 7: 4:23

I'll tell you no, I'm sure it wasn't great. But now I'm gonna say I don't know. I don't know if this is gonna make it, but I'm gonna say I don't think I've seen a year where as many people as I know killing big bucks I feel like everybody's killing bucks this year.

Speaker 5: 4:40

Everyone's on them so not not only that, but, andrew, you probably know because you're you're talking, obviously talking to justin but that butcher has been full and not accepting deer. That was like the third or fourth time already this season. Every single time there's just deer constantly in the freezer, like so many people are killing deer, and I think that's part of it is because of we're finally rebounding from that really bad year of ehd, the really really bad year. We're finally getting back to, I think, how things were, which is a year ago. It's a great sign. Yeah, three years ago, yeah, I know what was it.

Speaker 7: 5:21

uh. So for the opener, I killed the doe. It was like literally four minutes into the season and it would have been like on the dot if we got in late. We got in as it was getting like shooting light, but I killed the doe. It was like literally within five minutes of the season and we got that doe there like two hours later and he already had 17 deer in the freezer. So before I think it was before nine o'clock in the morning he had 17.

Speaker 7: 5:53

I was number 18, wow what butcher is that and he had two guys that had shot a doe and then a buck in that same morning what butcher is that you go to?

Speaker 5: 6:03

do you go to the same one as us? Yeah, yeah, the game butcher. The game butcher in Lebanon.

Speaker 2: 6:10

Yeah, how far are all you guys from each other?

Speaker 7: 6:14

Well, now I live in.

Speaker 5: 6:18

Probably all an hour now, at least minimum.

Speaker 7: 6:25

Yeah, I, mike, I probably have more, like 40 minutes from here.

Speaker 5: 6:29

Yeah, you're probably the closest, Brian. I don't know where you're from and everything like that, but you're. Is it close?

Speaker 3: 6:35

Where Livingston?

Speaker 5: 6:38

It's by oh Mike, where's you? Okay, I live in Summit, so we're super close to each other. Yeah, I'm from Summit.

Speaker 7: 6:44

I. We're super close to each other yeah yeah, yeah, I'm from Summit, Okay.

Speaker 3: 6:47

I'm not sure where you got some big bucks in Summit there, buddy oh man, I hear it every single.

Speaker 5: 6:52

I trust you.

Speaker 3: 6:53

I know two guys that are after two of them. Right now it's a.

Speaker 5: 6:58

The cops have it locked down pretty tight there. Yeah, I know, I know I know One. Yeah, I know, I know I know um one of my best friends. He's a cop in summit and I know I don't know if they do it anymore. But before covet I know they did have a hunt going on and everything like that.

Speaker 5: 7:11

but it was like this thing, where you had to pick a specific, specific spot and you couldn't move from that spot and like I think it was crossbow and shotgun. Only I believe, yeah, it was some wild like thing, and I was like no, like I'm good, like that's not my cup of tea that year, with that ehd they shot a 185 in summit.

Speaker 3: 7:32

That was the one that everyone was going crazy for yep, uh, yeah, some giants over there I there's.

Speaker 7: 7:40

Uh, I don't know if you want to like edit this out or not, but in Edgewater there's a 200-incher in Edgewater.

Speaker 2: 7:49

We're dropping all these 180, 200-inch deer naming the location.

Speaker 7: 7:55

That's the thing In Edgewater. I don't think there's actually outside of baseball fields and stuff. I don't think there's actually a piece of wood that it could live on, so it's going to get killed by a car or something. But um, I just saw a video of it. It's got 18 scorable points and it's got like. It's got like 16 inch c2s I mean you know edgewater and I'm sure yeah yeah I mean, that's like, that's like new york city. It's pretty close to new york city yeah, but they can grow.

Speaker 5: 8:26

I mean same thing with summit like besides, like a very select few people, no one's hunting them. Like I have bucks going through you know my backyard and then I have the train where the train goes by and they're always cruising over there but there isn't, like there isn't much that you can do, so like I've seen some just absolute, just studs and summit and like chatham and and all these areas that just have such big deer. Um, it's just a shame, you know, unless you're like you know, a cop or something like that, you're really not, there isn't really much that you can do and you just have to watch them and just be like shit. I mean, I wish I I really do, it would. My life would be so much easier. First of all, if I could travel five minutes to go hunting, I mean that would, that would be the best thing in the world. But you know what? It's just one of those things you.

Speaker 7: 9:19

You say it'd be the best thing in the world. I walk like 400 yards to my stand where I live right now and you think it would be the best thing in the world. I walk like 400 yards to my stand where I live right now and you think it would be the best thing in the world. But you're you're out there so often that you start losing yeah, you start losing track of time.

Speaker 7: 9:35

It's uh, it's a little bit more unhealthy than you think. I mean, when you're forced to drive somewhere and it sounds stupid, like, trust me, I, I'm very fortunate, but it sounds dumb. But when you're forced to drive somewhere to go hunt, it's uh, it makes it a little bit more pleasurable, if that makes sense.

Speaker 5: 9:56

I know it definitely does. But, um, before we get too damn carried away, let's. Let's start officially. We're gonna keep this in, but let's officially start this 200th episode. Um, I think I'm moving from the, the traditional welcome to the garden state, outdoors and podcasts, uh, presented by boondocks hunting. I'm your host, mike nitrate thing. I think we are after 199. I think I'm going to be creating a brand new intro Moving forward. I say that now, but then you know we'll, we'll see. I got the. It looks like I got the whole week off of maybe not being able to hunt because I went down to Delaware today and got myself a huge flat tire and bent the rim and yeah, so the truck is in the shop currently right now. Won't get looked at till tomorrow. Um, so right now I'm sitting in a hotel room with my uh fiance and we are just, I guess, going to take a mini vacation instead and just relax until I get word that I can get my truck back, which hopefully does not cost me too much money.

Speaker 2: 11:06

So, um, put some blood in the back of that.

Speaker 7: 11:10

Yeah.

Speaker 5: 11:15

Bianca, we're driving here and she's basically like you know, if you got pulled over right now, like I have blood, just like everywhere, I don't know how like I, when I was gutting that deer I don't know what the hell I was was gutting that deer, I don't know what the hell I was doing, but I guess I had it all over me and I it's on the door, it's here, it's. She's like you look like a serial killer. Like she goes what did you say? You're the most confident serial killer out there because you just have blood everywhere and don't clean up.

Speaker 7: 11:41

Yeah, so um I think that's a compliment. I think that's a pretty nice, that's a sweet compliment, if you ask me it is.

Speaker 5: 11:49

You know, I I definitely appreciate it, but, um, you know one, one person everyone here is a is a og to this podcast, but we got a brand new person. I specifically wanted to bring him on today brian melvin from timber life outdoors. Who is it? Is it official yet or is it still? They still have to do all their thing. Shot a state record or world record black bear here in new jersey field dressed at 770 pounds. Correct, yep, correct. So I mean there there's so much to.

Speaker 5: 12:31

I mean bear hunting in New Jersey is such a such a crazy thing too and there's so much to digest and I know you've, you've done it a lot and everything like that and you. The funniest thing is before, obviously, brian told everyone that he knew and then he went to the check-in station. Everyone found out there, but I I'm pretty proud to say that we found out before a lot of people, because peyton was actually in line with him and I think the front of him when he goes guys, there's this giant bear here, and he sent us the picture and, holy hell, what, what the hell like? How does one even, how do you even find this bear? We need to hear the back, the full story on this bear all right.

Speaker 3: 13:18

So yeah, you were going back to what you just said. It is confirmed the new Jersey bow record largest bear. They haven't confirmed if it was the shotgun, but I know it's the bow the 770 gutted. They're giving me roughly between 880 and 900 for live weight. It is right now currently the world record for weight not Pope and Younghead, but for weight. Before that, 780 live weight was the largest fair shot with a bow in north america and he was 770 gutted. I'm waiting to see where they're going to land me with, uh, somewhere between 16 and 18 percent. You know, taking the guts into consideration, that I didn't have a choice. I had to get them gutted. We'll get into that in a little bit. But just answering your first question and where you guys were, what you were at with that, that, those are the stats and where we're at right now, I don't care about the records, but that's where we're sitting right now.

Speaker 5: 14:10

Um, so, real quick on on that because, like, I've never really had had this talk with, with somebody who has who's going through this process, you know is it do they? Do they initiate that process, like here, this is what we're going to do, like this is the weight and everything like do they start that or is that something that you have to do yourself?

Speaker 3: 14:31

the state was pretty open about it.

Speaker 3: 14:33

I got reached out to the director. He reached out to me and, you know, confirmed with me. Listen, we went back 20 plus years and everything. He's like you're the largest. He's like there's no one even close to you. Uh, he's like. We got to look back into the gun rule. Of the gun stuff he goes, there might be one or two that was larger for gun, he's like, but for bow you're 70 or 80 pounds over gutted, meaning the largest one was like 700 live weight and you're at 770 gutted. He's like you're not even close.

Speaker 3: 14:59

Um, the world record stuff's a little different with some people and again, that it's kind of that one's pretty loose right now, whether or not I, it gets confirmed or not. Again, it's not a Pope and young right, so let's just be clear on that. And some people like, oh, world record or skulls, yes, there is the. There's a record for bears with skulls. We all know how they get scored and then there's a weight record. Uh, so it's a little bit different. But yeah, some people reach out to you. You have conversations and I had a couple conversations with some people and they're like you know, unfortunately I don't even want to have this conversation with you, but you gutted the animal and I'm like, yeah, and I do it again in a heartbeat, you know it's the animal we had to do it.

Speaker 3: 15:36

I had multiple people telling me like dude, don't, don't gut this thing, don't do it. But it was getting to 60 degrees already at 8 30 in the morning. We were waiting to get to the check station. You know the check station opens at nine o'clock. I knew I was like if I get to this check station we don't have it gutted, pictures go crazy. It turns into a circus. It's going to be two or three hours till I get this thing gutted because I can't gut it. At the check station I was like there's no way it's going to last if you guys have bear hunted enough. You know big bears, they're just pressure cookers, right, they're just gonna. It just turns real fast. So and it was gonna be climbing up. There's no cover over there, we're out in broad sunlight. It was just not a bad. It was just a bad situation. So it was a no-brainer. Brought to a buddy's house, we got it hung up, we got it gutted and then we were able to take our time going to the check station, had the cavity open, it cooled off and was able to save everything, got the whole animal back and all that good stuff.

Speaker 3: 16:21

Um, the story behind it is a little bit uh different in the concept that I actually found him three years ago, uh, while skating scouting late season in the relative same area and I just happened to catch him on camera. I had heard about big, big bears in that area for years. Uh, guys have always shot some great, great bears here in New Jersey, right. Right, people don't don't necessarily appreciate the resource we have, but I just went into the area looking for bigger bears. I've shot bears before and I kind of wanted to progress to the next stage of maybe not shoot, you know looking for that next caliber of animal where you might. If you've ever gone to that next level, you realize it's a love-hate relationship, but we'll get into that afterwards as well. So three years ago, got him on camera, saw him in an area and that kind of sparked the obsession. I saw him, he was massive. I was like holy crap, that's a pig bear.

Speaker 3: 17:13

Started dialing into that area later in that summer trying to find out exactly where he was calling home, bouncing around from a whole bunch of swamps. Got him dialed in relatively easy, which was kind of surprising. Again, this was prior to last year's season, right, and about eight weeks before the season. I really started six or eight weeks before the season. I really focused on him and him alone. I had like two or three other baits going but he was so regular that I was like, oh man, this, what, what, you know, this isn't that hard. And then I was made to be a fool and he just bounced on me, just gone, and he did it to me three times over a six-week period where, for no apparent reason, nothing I really did wrong, as I thought and I'll explain to what I think I did now he would just vanish and go a thousand yards or a mile and just go to a new spot where there would be bait there to be bait present. No one else was pressuring him, relative. There was other guys in the area that had baits going, but again, it was six weeks before the season, it wasn't mayhem like the week before the season, right, and he disappeared on me three times, had to find him three times, had to knock on hundreds of doors, get permission on private properties, figure out what the state land he was going through, all the normal jazz that we've all done chasing big bucks or bears, right.

Speaker 3: 18:27

He gets to his final swamp or area that he wanted to be in and we're three or four days before the season. He is daylighting for multiple hours a day, sleeping on the bait. I'm like, all right, this is it. I got this the night before opener. He always showed up at the bait at like 10 o'clock at night and would stay there until like six or seven in the morning. So I knew morning hunt was toast. There was no way I could get in there. But he'd always come back middle of the day or the afternoon, six 30 in the morning of the opener of last year. He gets up and leaves and doesn't come back till May of the next year of this year.

Speaker 3: 18:55

I was like, come on, I spent that entire week of the season just absolutely out of my mind trying to find him. I I spent I don't even know how many hours running 30 to 40 cameras just trying to catch him, find him. Nothing Couldn't find him anywhere. Nobody heard from him, nobody saw him. Other guys in the area didn't see him. He just vanished and apparently he had done this for two guys for like six years. How he knows, we have no idea, but he did it multiple times this year.

Speaker 3: 19:21

I was like all right, let me approach this a little bit different, went back to where I'd normally been catching them, ran some cameras again, finally got him back in late or middle of spring and he showed up in the same exact area again. He started doing the exact same thing, showed up for a week or two and then he vanished on me. I'm like here we go again. This time he went to a completely different area of the uh, the location that he was kind of resting in, or about a five-square-mile area that he kept jumping around in. He ended up in a spot that I completely had overlooked.

Speaker 3: 19:53

For a long time I've been looking for bigger swamps, really nasty swamps. Now, this was a nasty swamp that he ended up in, but it was only about six acres. It was tiny. It was really tiny. It was surrounded by houses. He never really left the houses. He always wanted to be really tight to them. You know easy food, he knew. He knew not as much pressure. I don't know how old he is yet, we'll get that back soon but I knew I couldn't get into that six acres because it was total swamp. I mean literally almost to the road edge it was. It was not super huntable or super scoutable, it was all swamp but I knew he was in there.

Speaker 3: 20:25

I got the permission across the street at the 30 acre swamp that I had found and I was able to build a bait site that he was started transitioning and literally crossed the road every day and was just patterning back and forth and back and forth Right. And we all know, guys that are from Jersey, we can't hunt over bait. We got to cut them off either a hundred yards out or pick up your bait and you can hunt over your site or however you want to play it Right. This bear was not going to be able to be hunted over a site that had been baited. He just never came in the wrong way. He always came in the right wind. If it was the wrong wind and he couldn't get around it because of another road, there was a big road there, a big, really really, really, really busy road. He never came in on a southwest wind. He just wouldn't happen.

Speaker 3: 21:04

So the only option was to find a morning that had the right wind, which is a northwest wind, to get him on bait on camera, sell cameras that were going and try and slip in behind him tight to that swamp that he was sleeping in. That was the plan from day one. Of course, the week before we had northwest winds the entire week which were perfect. It was amazing. It was like, oh God, if he stays on this pattern it'll be perfect. He would literally walk down the same trail. I have four cameras on it. I knew exactly where he was stepping every single time.

Speaker 3: 21:33

And then, of course, opening day we had a Southwest wind, so I couldn't help. So he, uh and I. He wasn't going to show up anyway, but Tuesday morning was North going to be a Northwest wind, was going to wait for him to do what he normally did Came in at night that night at midnight, got on the bait. He was stayed on it for a couple hours. He would usually leave and then he'd come back around four, 35 o'clock, stay there until six, 37. He'd only daylight for like a half hour every other couple of days in that morning. He never came in on the afternoons ever. So I knew I only had about 30 minute window to make it happen. He did exactly what I was hoping he was going to do Got on the bait, I jumped in the tree, got across the road, went in about 30 yards on the edge of the swamp, got up in the tree around four o'clock 415, and tried to set up on his trail that I knew he was using.

Speaker 3: 22:21

I had never stepped foot in that little piece before that time. I purposely stayed away from him because I felt that years prior times before that time I purposely stayed away from him because I felt that years prior times I'd walked down his trails or sometimes that I tried to get close to his bedding. Maybe there was a reason that I was pushing him out of the area and he was vanishing on me. I didn't want him to do that this time, so I stayed completely out of there.

Speaker 3: 22:33

I literally scouted it from a road edge and got, went into the dark, picked out a tree in the dark, picked out my shooting lanes in the dark and just got up. We used the climber, didn't have a set in there, had nothing. Got up, got too high. I got up to my normal 18 feet, realized I was too high in the canopy because I was in a swamp. I got above the ground clearance but I got too high into the canopy. I was losing my shooting lanes. I had to come back down to about 10 feet, which is not exactly where I want to be. But when you got a Volkswagen walking at you but he and walking at you but he, uh he turned it was. It was just where I had to be in order to have shooting lanes. I had a pretty good headlamp.

Speaker 3: 23:06

I was picking out shooting lanes in the dark, found some good ones that 22, 25 yard mark on his trail. I was like, all right, if he gets anywhere on that trail, it's lights out. I got this sun came up. I'm taking pictures like an absolute fiend on my camera, just making sure he's still there right like every 10 seconds, just smashing the buttons, just seeing where he is, what he's doing and uh, 652, he turns and spins and leaves. It, leaves the site which I posted. That picture is the last one I got.

Speaker 3: 23:32

He came right to the road edge, checked the road, made sure there was no cars, came across, started walking down the trail. I was like, oh man, this is actually going to happen, like I'm seeing this freaking godzilla walk across the road right at me and he gets about 20 yards into the woods. Now he's about 35 yards from me. All he has to do is keep coming. Another 10 yards and it's we're golden. He stops dead, doesn't take another step and just freezes for like two minutes. I'm like no way I had a Northwest wind, a 10 mile an hour Northwest wind, hitting me pretty hard. It was. It was beating the thermal that I had over a slight hill off my left, my right hand shoulder. I know he didn't win me. I did not walk on that trail, I was downwind of the that trail in the woods.

Speaker 3: 24:10

When I came in I knew there was no way he winded me, but he just knew and they said the big guys know that well, it scared the hell out of me because he just stopped and didn't move. He turned directly a nine degree angle and started walking away from me and I was like no way, man, there goes all my shooting windows that I just picked out. He cooked a little bit like the 35, 40 yard mark and came to a shooting lane that I had, or that I found, at 45 yards and I only had one more before he got into the swamp. So I drew back, turned into like a little Cirque du Soleil in the tree, lean into it as much as I could and crouch down and smoked him at 45 and, uh, he ran about a. Yeah, he ran about 40. He ran about 100 yards. He crossed the road, ran up a bluff, a rock bluff, and and I I thought he died right there.

Speaker 3: 24:56

We get out, I get out of the tree. My buddy comes and meets me. I'm like, dude, I smoked him. But we're looking the ground, there's blood everywhere. I'm like there's no way he's toting. That I was shocked. He went as far as he did, actually, because bears usually don't run super far if you, if you pinwheel him right.

Speaker 3: 25:09

So, uh, we got up to the rock bluff and he's sitting there at 10 yards right when we poke our head up and I'm like oh no, that's not good, but he couldn't move. We put a second one in him right away and it got up and he moved like he walked like 35 yards. It was over, hit both lungs, didn't hit the heart, but he toted. I punched the first lung, sliced the whole bottom of the second lung, but he still went 130, 140 yards and pumped out more blood than any of us have in our body. And it was.

Speaker 3: 25:37

But he died in a pretty good spot, which was amazing because 900 pound animal getting out of the woods is daunting when you, when you walk up on that thing, but he ended up dying on top of a hill with a huge slope on it, that we were able to put him into the sled and the usually literally just use gravity to push him right down to the truck, which was a godsend. And I I'm going to tell you this one little piece and no one's going to believe me and I hear this, I have this conversation all the time. It was only two of us and we got him out of the woods and, uh, once we got him back to my buddy's house to get him hung up, that took seven or eight of us to actually lift him and have to do some work to get him back in. That was brutal, but to get him out of the woods it was just two of us.

Speaker 5: 26:15

So it's pretty we got a lot four of us to get in the bear out, and payton's was the direct opposite. Well, the first payton's bear, first payton's bear, there was like seven of us. The second one it was four of us. But where Peyton shot his this year's bear he goes oh, it's not too far away from where I shot it from last year. I was like, okay, like that's not that bad. This man leads us on a, just like a. We just keep going and we keep going and I'm like what the hell?

Speaker 5: 26:46

and then all of a sudden we start heading down and then you see this black thing, like at the end, like getting to the bottom, and we're just like how the hell. And he's like, he gets closer, he goes, oh, it's bigger than I thought and we're just like, oh my god, like this is and thank god there was four of us he created a super great way to get the bear out where it was. Like we look like, uh, dog sledding, we're literally like in line of each other and we just were able to tie the ropes around and we just we just we got it up the hill and got it all out and everything like that. But that's awesome fact that it was two of you guys and I mean, I get it. You guys went downhill and used that big, that big body of that bear's gravity to that's.

Speaker 3: 27:31

That was the best thing that could happen to you, because it was if we, if he had died 60 or 70 yards earlier and he literally went up a huge rock bluff, that was a rock cliff, if he had died in that rock cliff, I'd still be there like but he just happened to get up to the top of it, and that was the saving grace I, I gotta get, I gotta get going in a second.

Speaker 7: 27:54

But I I wanted to say just a couple things. First of all, payton texted me as soon as he got to the thing and he sent me a picture of just a bear, just this gigantic black blob, and and he goes, uh, he goes. Look at this bear. I said there's no way, you just killed a 900 pound bear. He goes, that's damn close, it's seven and you know whatever, yeah, and he goes and it's gutted and I was like, wow, that's an unbelievable. And I for a second I thought peyton killed it. So I was like you know, you just killed a world record bear. He goes. And then I didn't hear an answer from him and I'm like, oh my God, this is wild. And he goes no, it's the guy in front of me or behind me or whatever. And I was like that's crazy. And then I sent it to my dad within minutes of my of Peyton sent it to me because my father, he's killed 16 bears and he's got one fully mounted, mike's all fully mounted. Yeah, love that bear it's.

Speaker 7: 28:54

It's funny because that bear is actually missing like 200 pounds from the mount, because this was 25 years ago it ended up for like it was like 34 days. It was the world record um 30 years ago. And when he called the taxidermist he told him he was like listen, it's a, it's a 650 pound bear, so it's gonna need like at, I guess at that point I don't know how taxidermy was done then, but you know the taxidermist was like no, there's no, the black bears don't get that big, you must be misjudging them. And he was like no it it. You know he. He leveled out a 600 pound scale, completely leveled it.

Speaker 7: 29:23

So he's a, he's a 600 plus pound bear. He's like no, you must be reading it wrong. So he got him a form that fits a 400 pound bear and he ended up cutting off like two and a half feet of the cape from that bear, so that bear is actually missing like a foot and a half high and a foot and a half two feet wide. And it was. I showed that to my dad and as soon as I said that to him, he goes that bear will never be broken. It will never be broken. He was like you know, everyone talks about big bears and stuff like that. He goes that bear will never be broken with a bow. Like never in its, never in your guy's lifetime will that be broken. And I just when you think about it, it's wild, it's, it's a, it's a crazy thing, that's a big one talking to the taxidermist.

Speaker 7: 30:07

They're going to use a grizzly mount and shave off the hump well, so that's that's what that guy said, that you know my dad's tax service he goes. You know, a bear that big wouldn't need a grizzly man. He goes. There's no such thing as black bear that big, he goes. They just don't get that big and he was like no, it it is, and so that's how they ruined it. But I gotta, brian, I gotta send you a picture, mike. Mike has seen him. Um, the the pa record was shot like a couple hundred yards away from me and you know, just the next property over and he was uh, 700 and some odd pounds and I have pictures of him and it's, it's so unbelievable how big those animals could be. And, mike, I don't know if you remember him, the bus.

Speaker 5: 30:49

Oh, I remember. Oh, that bear. Yes, I will never forget that bear.

Speaker 7: 30:56

And I remember the first podcast I ever did with Mike. I told him about him and I was like his belly hangs on the ground, like it rubs up against the ground when he walks. And Mike's like no, no, that maybe not. And I was like he needs a skateboard underneath his stomach or he's gonna lose all this fur. And everyone started laughing. I said and, and that he was that big and he ended up being the pa record and I think that's. I don't bear hunt much but man, that's a wild story. When I saw that bear I thought that was the coolest thing in the world.

Speaker 3: 31:26

It was a good one and we got a couple others. We put a couple buddies on a 650 and a 550 that same week. So they're there. Man Jersey's got some monsters and there's some big ones out there that I know of right now that are still there, and I know of two that are going to be close to my bear. They're alive.

Speaker 7: 31:45

I are gonna rot, are gonna be close to my bear. They're alive. I I don't want to. I'm gonna stay the town. Mike, if you want to bleep it out, that'd be great because you don't have to say but there's a, there's a tank of a bear, one of the one no longer the biggest bear I've ever seen, the biggest bears I've ever seen. Um was in franklin, um right by like uh up Sussex County and my sister has.

Speaker 7: 32:07

Yeah, he's got the doorbell. She's got the ring doorbell up there next to her Volkswagen car and it's similar. If you make a group chat I'll send it to you guys. I don't know, Like I said, I'm not going to ask you where your bear was shot, but Everybody knows where my bear was shot.

Speaker 3: 32:23

At this point I'll tell you he ain't there anymore and there's there's some good ones in there. But it was shot in kenelon, in in the, in a very affluent area very big mansions everywhere like that.

Speaker 7: 32:36

That's where my taxidermist is, kenelon yeah that's wild.

Speaker 3: 32:40

Yeah, that's yeah it's just if he's, if you're, if you're taxidermist in Kinelon, then I guarantee you drove by where I shot that bear, like he literally the corner of Kinelon Road, kinelon Ave and the corner of Basin Lakes Road, and it's a major by uh. Not the Boonton.

Speaker 7: 32:57

Reservoir, but like Boonton Road, like on the opposite side of the Boonton Reservoir.

Speaker 3: 33:06

Yeah, I know exactly where that is.

Speaker 4: 33:07

That's so funny and it's cars like crazy and like absolutely yeah. Yeah, I live not too far from there yeah, that's the corner.

Speaker 7: 33:11

He literally was in that little tiny swamp on the corner I'm gonna tell you, though, andover, I beg people, um, I beg people to to come to andover and come shoot these the bears, because I want to. But then I get too tied up with white tails and then I just don't and the next thing I know I'm at nine, I think right now I'm at nine or ten days in white tails and I just can't. I just can't process hunting anything else other than white tails. But I tell everybody just come, come here and come shoot them, because they're everywhere, they're everywhere there's a lot of them and I it's important to to manage to manage those numbers.

Speaker 7: 33:47

So I'm glad, um, I'm glad one like that guy killed and I get to talk to the guy who did it yeah listen jersey and north carolina got fun.

Speaker 3: 33:57

It was a good ride yeah, north carolina that they had. That was the guy last year, 780 was the record and, uh, he actually hit me up on facebook. He's like like dude, really, he's like a year you gave me a year I was like all right, I was like, yeah, man, I was like you shot a monster. He's like, yeah, but you shot a 770 gutted dude, he's like.

Speaker 5: 34:24

That's depressing he was a good guy I gotta get going listen everyone congratulations success that you guys are having.

Speaker 7: 34:30

Um mike, congratulations on 200 episodes and thank you. Thank you, alex. Make sure you close your tailgate next time you go. I'll talk to your fellows soon. Good chatting with you guys later take care, thank you man, it's, and with whatever details I heard.

Speaker 5: 34:54

So everyone has known about this bear right, and that's the big thing that I hear everyone can you get into the, if you want to or not, the crazy story the night? Didn't something happen the night before?

Speaker 3: 35:07

Yeah, some, you know we're not going to get too deep into that, but we can talk about it briefly. Just, basically, some pressure for some other hunters that did or did not do something the night before that they maybe should or should not have done, or maybe it was the night before, maybe it was the morning before, whatever. Mean, I haven't, I have not, no confirmation, can't say it right, did not see them do it, uh, but apparently, yeah, they had tried to harvest the animal and it didn't work. So, um, but yeah, there had been some pressure previous to that and unfortunately, sometimes us as hunters are our own worst enemy. And I dealt with some issues from that group and, uh, you know, people that were just didn't want me in the area, even though I had perfect permission to be there.

Speaker 3: 35:54

I was doing nothing wrong, I was hunting on 30 acres, they were hunting on four and you know, it was just one of those things where I was told that if they don't get the bear, nobody's getting the bear. And uh, okay, I mean, yeah, whatever, you know, that's I just, I just stayed, you know, I just I didn't give him much thought, I just stayed the course, didn't buy into it, didn't play into it and, uh, figured out a way that I had to just kind of do my own thing. I had some bait sites that they were aware of, but they didn't know my real bait site. Um, I knew they knew of one bait site and they had focused on it. Pretty good, those guys, um, and I actually had my real one about 100 yards away, in a tucked away spot that the bear was actually hitting. So, uh, just let them focus on that.

Speaker 5: 36:40

It's, it's the, it's the unfortunate thing because it just. It's not only just with bear, it's with everything. Whenever you talk about especially big deer, like, yeah, man, people get so like, yeah, oh, my god over and just crazy, yeah, crazy. Where you know, I I've had incidents where people just they lie so badly and I'm just sitting there, just like you. Do you think I'm an idiot? Like, first of all, do you know how many trail cameras I'm running? Like I know, like what's it like?

Speaker 5: 37:11

Listen, I and I'm somebody who I re, I want everyone to succeed. I don't want just like, yes, you know what Do I want to kill a big buck, of course, but I, I put in so much work that eventually I'm going to kill a big buck. So if you want to go kill that big buck, listen, you don't have to try to screw me over. I will gladly help you drag the goddamn thing out. Like I love seeing other people kill stuff. I love, like experiencing that and having the conversations and everything like that. Like you don't need to lie to me, you don't need to try to screw me over. Like you don't need to try to screw me over. Like you don't need to steal my like I had a my first cell cam ever stolen this year. Like you don't need to do all that shit, like I, I don't.

Speaker 5: 37:50

To me it does. That's not. That's not what hunting is right. I go out there every day, I watch the sunrise, I watch the sunset, I see and listen. I'm having a blast just doing that. Yeah, the bonus is is yes, the bonus is you know what, when everything comes together, you know. But just what? This, this podcast. Here we're out, we're 200 episodes and I've met I don't know at least 150 great people at least, and and people and guests I never from, from all different types of backgrounds and everything like that that would never have met.

Speaker 5: 38:23

Like every, every one single person here I've met because of this podcast, that's all you know, and it's, it's great, like I, I love the community for that and I I love you know how everything has gone and that's what's important to me. It's, it's the camaraderie, it's. It's like you know, I called somebody. Oh, my god, like my buddy justin, he killed a buck yesterday and he called me at work and I knew the minute I missed his call. I was like this guy killed something and I called him back. He goes, I got it done, he goes. We did back-to-back and that is like and my patients are sitting there just listening to me because they know what I'm talking about and they're like, oh, somebody shot another buck, like you know. Or anytime I look at my phone, it's usually the guys like oh, frank's, like, hey, the 10 pointer was here, this big buck is here, like you know.

Speaker 5: 39:12

It's like we're back in, you know, in the locker room again and playing sports and everything like that, like I love that for, and you know that's why I really do it, you know, yeah, and people need to understand that their jealousy is a part of it. You know, jealousy is just human nature, unfortunately, but it's not. It's not worth it and it's especially not worth to lose your license over, and that's why I always say, like I'll get out the woods, like a few, I'll start breaking down, maybe even a few minutes early, cause, you know, I don't, I don't ever want to put myself in a situation where, gosh forbid, a warden's watching me and I, I think it's, you know, I got a few more minutes and I don't, like you know, maybe my watch is on a different time than you and listen, I, I know it's crazy, but it's like you have to be like that, you have to be so conscious of what you're doing, because, just like that, they can take away your license.

Speaker 3: 40:05

As soon as I shot that thing, obviously the rumors, the craziness started and and I I'm connected with a couple of the wardens and I, you know, immediately sent over pictures. Listen, I got trail cameras about him at six, 52, alive, in daylight. Here you go. This is where he came across. I gave him the whole story, gave him everything, and it started right away's like I post that on, get it out. He's like post those pictures.

Speaker 5: 40:31

So everyone sees you know what the deal is and shut everybody up. So what was the feedback? I mean, what? First of all, for what was the family like what? You know, what did the family say like for for you? I mean, I imagine, three years of of chasing this beast. I mean, uh, mean, uh, it was, you know, it was a lot, it was a lot of time a lot of money.

Speaker 3: 40:48

I mean, I was running probably I ran probably close to 5,000 pounds of bait. I was buying pallets of you know custom uh trail mix blends from from Kelsey Burgess. I don't know if you guys know Kelsey, but he's got the best baits in the state by far for all the bear baits. Uh, and how you're going to run bear baits and what, how you're going to do it, you need you need a really good supply if you're going to run a lot of baits and some big bears so that just, you go through a lot, but anyway, a lot of time. My fiance will be able to tell you exactly how much time. I guarantee that. Uh, but it was constant. It was a lot of running around. I was baiting every day. It was. It was, uh, a little, but yeah, everyone was super pumped. Everyone was super happy for me. My best friend helped me out a lot running around, so we both just took a breath after. We're like we finally got it done. Man, that was epic.

Speaker 3: 41:32

But there was positives and then there was the big negative which everyone heard about. A lot of articles showed up and a lot of crazy stuff happened. That was I'm all for every minute I'll be able to voice those opinions right. It makes world go around. We should have conversations that maybe aren't comfortable, so we can learn something from both sides. I'm all for all of that. Where you lose me is when you're going to tell me that you know you're willing to hurt me or my family because you don't necessarily agree with something like that. Yeah, now you got. Now I got.

Speaker 2: 41:58

No patience for you now if you shoot any record animal like that, you're gonna get backlash, you're gonna get rumors, it's just nature bears are worse.

Speaker 3: 42:06

The bears are that much more sensitive.

Speaker 5: 42:08

Yeah, yeah, especially in jersey and jersey it is and and that was the unfortunate, but like I was so happy to to hear that everything, but I was like shit, like this is I. You know, when jersey bear comes up, it is the most controversial thing. Why one of the most controversial things in hunting, just period, like I can't.

Speaker 5: 42:30

It's like california, like how california wants a ban. You know a lot of things like that. We're on the east coast and it's kind of like jersey's the east coast of you know of where they focus on the the bear hunting. You know they look at bears and don't get me wrong, I love bears and I love bears for so many different reasons. They're honestly just amazing animals. I love the fur, I love to eat bears I think it's one of my favorite meats to have and everything. And it is such an accomplishment killing a bear, you know, and the work and everything that goes into it. And I know everyone here has killed a bear, except for alex. Hopefully he comes to new jersey next year to kill one what happened?

Speaker 5: 43:12

I've never even seen a damn bear well, you, you gotta come to jersey and listen you gotta change that next year.

Speaker 5: 43:20

Um, a lot of bears, yeah, yeah, we got plenty of bears to go around here, um, but you know, it's this thing that they look at them like cute, cuddly dogs and you know, and and pets where I actually it's crazy enough. I think yesterday at work, I'm on instagram and for some reason I there is this woman and I guess she's from new jersey, who bears come to her backyard and she will. She like was scratching this giant bear's back that had snow on it, and then I was like whoa, that like that's very interesting. I'm like what? Let me check out her profile and it's all bears, but and you were, you were on her page, oh, really, oh yeah, yeah, you were, you were on her page. I don't know if I have, if I can find her again, like, but you were on her page, like, and she's, she's calling out murphy and everything like that and this is what you do. But she's harassed hunters where there's.

Speaker 5: 44:20

I think the first year when we came back, there were two hunters that were carrying out a bear and she was recording them the whole entire way and just like this is now. This is disgusting. Like this, like this bear was in my yard the other day and listen, I get it. They're amazing animals, but these people don't see and don't understand the conservation part of it. Right, we cannot. And they tried to ban the hunt and look how horrible it went. Where you had a governor who vowed that. He said that he was never going to have a bear hunt while he was sitting in office in New Jersey, new Jersey, and I think two years after the full ban it came back because of how bad and how how much the population had had grown and how many bear encounters there were. And I remember that one summer it felt like everyone's damn dog was getting attacked by bears up in Sussex. It was, it was insane.

Speaker 5: 45:20

I think an old, elder, elderly man got attacked as well, trying to protect his dog and everything like that. So now you're talking about when is someone going to get killed again and for for our government or our in state of new jersey, I think that started where, holy shit, what is going to happen if a little kid is is attacked by a bear or something like that? And I think finally they had to like they just had no choice. I they really didn't, because it did not work, the what they set in motion and did not work.

Speaker 3: 45:54

You don't want to believe the biologists it's whatever's gonna happen and the other thing is that I've talked to multiple biologists the fact that there's there's nothing controlling the bears outside of this hunt, right, except for maybe you know, a soccer mom hitting them on 80. Yeah, but we're having bears that are having four and five cubs and they're making it every single year. That's not the way it's supposed to work. They're supposed to have four cubs and maybe two make it, and then we and that's a big maybe.

Speaker 3: 46:26

Right, yeah, no, I had 24 cubs on six barrels. It was insanity, pure insanity. That's just c?

Speaker 5: 46:35

cubs, that's not adult bears, that's just cubs so yeah, I've heard that the mothers having four has gotten really like, really popular lately. You see a lot of bears that have three to four cubs now. I don't really see too many that have one or two anymore. I do see often where it's three to four cubs now. I don't really see too many that have one or two anymore. I do see often where it's three to four cubs and that's, that's a um, I can't. That's not how nature is supposed to work. No, it's not.

Speaker 3: 47:05

It's not realistic, if you ask the biologists across the country. They have no answer. They don't understand it. They have no idea why it's happening here. They just other other than us having you know, a lot of food. We have good mass crops. We've had weak winters. There's a lot of you know garbage. There's whatever it is a lot of. There's baiting and stuff like that, but it still doesn't necessarily equate to why they're getting so many or their mortality rate is so low. Um, it just it blows their mind. But again we're seeing I had two, two, no, I three sows with five or more cubs and just crazy, just nuts man, and healthy, super healthy, super healthy well, hello steve, welcome brother, you finally put the kids to bed.

Speaker 5: 47:50

What's?

Speaker 6: 47:52

up fellas, how, how we doing.

Speaker 2: 47:53

They must be happy that you're home.

Speaker 6: 47:55

Oh man, yeah, it was awesome. 10 days Papa away for 10 days. It was a little rough, but I was super happy To be home. I missed the crap out of them, dude, but it was an amazing trip so it was all worth it. Nice, definitely.

Speaker 5: 48:14

Before we get into to to your situation and what you can tell, because I I don't know what you're you're allowed to talk about and everything like that. Um, brian, one one big question I I definitely have for you, because you know, I mean this whole entire topic is I, I just love bear hunting and next year we're going to get you on where we're just going to talk a whole episode about bears and everything like that. Um, have you gotten to eat them yet? What? What is that like? Because you know, a bear that big, you hear people say, oh, that might not be the best tasting bear. You know how do you compare it to. You know some of the other bears that you've shot that have been on the smaller size. You know, I bet he had a lot of fat on him and everything like that. Has there been a difference? Or, you know, has there? Have you not been able to tell the difference?

Speaker 3: 49:00

no difference. I'll be honest with you. Even speaking to my, my butcher, he was like he's like, first of all, dude, he's like, awesome job getting this thing out, man. He's like you saved everything. It came in so clean. He's like there was, there was nothing wrong with. You saved everything.

Speaker 3: 49:14

So the meat came out super, super, super perfect. The fat was ridiculous. He had nine inches of fat on either side of his body. Um, just two 200 pounds of fat came right off the top and that was. That's a whole nother ball game in itself. It's been donated.

Speaker 3: 49:27

They're making soap and candles. I can't wait to get a whole bunch of them back, cause everyone goes crazy for this bear soap. I had no idea that that was like that big of a thing, um, but it's a huge thing. So I'm looking forward to that. I haven't gotten that yet, but we got the meat and I really haven't seen any difference. I'll be completely honest with you. I have not had a backstrap yet. I haven't had a loin yet, just just to chop meat. So I'll have to report back to you when we, when we dig into that.

Speaker 3: 49:51

But the sausages chopped meat, everything's been great. Yeah, I've heard it multiple times. Like all the big bears aren't edible, and I mean I've eaten fours and sixes and never a problem. This is my first nine, so that's that. That'd probably be my last one. I don't think if I'll ever shoot anything this size again. But uh, but no, it's been great, it was all fantastic, it was all used and it's all looks beautiful. Even my butcher was like. You know, the meat came out beautiful, he's like, he's like. I don't know what you were feeding him, but do it again because it was great listen, for those of you who do not know, I mean bear.

Speaker 5: 50:25

To me, bear meat's very sweet and it smells and tastes just very sweet. It's like a pork. You know that that's what it reminds me of pork um, it is, but I mean I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. It reminds me of pork Um, it is, but I mean I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. It's one of my favorite bear. It is, it is one of the best meats I think I've ever had, by far.

Speaker 5: 50:45

I honestly think I would probably eat bear over deer. And then that's like saying that's saying a lot because I love deer meat. But we had um for Peyton's bear, we had the heart and like I don't know if it's the way that we cooked it, but even the heart was better than deer heart. And I don't think there's really I don't think that's a thing where there's a, there's a difference in it. I don't, I don't see how that could be a thing, but I'll tell you that that was the best heart I've ever had from an animal and it just happened to be a bear and like that was just like bear is just like it's above. Nothing compares to it. I, I, in my opinion, and I think in american life.

Speaker 3: 51:26

How many people don't know you can eat bear? I had so much hate because, like, you can't even eat it like says who, what are you talking about? Like what, what's the deal here? And then when joe rogan that's why I'm here too, yeah, yeah, when joe rogan popped up about it and he and that that got cool and that that opened up a whole nother big door to a whole bunch of stuff, and uh, but him talking about it, and then him, uh, and then a couple local talks and a couple radio things that I did which broadened the horizon for a couple people that didn't necessarily understand the full concept where, like all the meat's being used, you can eat bear, it's perfectly fine, you cook it the same way you cook pork. Just make sure you cook it, you know, to a good temperature and you're good to go. Um, that that kind of smoothed some things out. Some of the craziness that was going on, uh, that kind of died off, died off after that information had got out there. But I got dozens, if not hundreds, of messages.

Speaker 6: 52:15

You know I'm not gonna verbalize all of them, but to the point of you know, you're just shooting for for a trophy.

Speaker 3: 52:21

Blah, blah, blah. I'm like oh man, we're eating. I promise I got. I didn't answer. You know a quarter of them, but it was just so many people don't know. They're just not educated enough and that's a shame and and that's, and that's the thing.

Speaker 5: 52:31

Like I hear a lot, but you know, my experience is well. First of all, I've never shot a world record bear. But you know, when, when I tell people, especially at work and my patients are like you can eat bear, and I'm like one of the best things you know, and these are kids, so like when you tell them they're now they're starting to get educated on, we're like, okay, great, great, you could do these things. The people that have a problem they're not, they're older, they had no idea and you know, it's still a thing that I think is so frowned upon.

Speaker 5: 53:00

Where everyone thinks bears, or when you, when hunters, go to africa, how many people have we had on the show that go to africa and be like this is not trophy hunting, all that food, all that meat is used like the villages. That's what they, that's what they eat. First of all, you go back. They'll cut you, you know, and they will make you the food, but then the rest of it's donated to the villages. That's how they, you know, they, they eat and everything, they eat everything, they use everything and it's it's just people do not know that and they think that these rich people and they usually say rich are going over shooting something just for the sport of it, and but it's also I don't think they understand it is so difficult to bring, you can't bring all that back. We're legally not allowed to bring all that stuff back with us, you know.

Speaker 5: 53:52

And then if, if you, we, much money would it be? If you shoot a damn giraffe, Like, how are you going to bring that back? You know, you, you or you you shoot a. What did Chris shoot a? A water Buffalo, a water Buffalo, right, yeah, yeah, hey, buffalo. How the hell are you bringing that back? Those things are cute, just like the bear. Like, if you shot that bear, you know out alaska, or something like that.

Speaker 6: 54:16

Or you go do a grizzly hunt or anything like that, like you can't bring all that back, it's almost impossible the uh, the anthropomorphization of animals has really enshrined their place in people's minds, whether it's bambi or baloo or whoever you know, whatever it is yogi, bear to thinking that these animals can't be consumed or used for anything other than our imagination, and that's an unfortunate thing very true.

Speaker 5: 54:50

Speaking about, uh, bambi, I saw a post when I woke up this morning and it goes. When I have kids, I can't wait to re-watch bambi. And I saw a post when I woke up this morning and it goes when I have kids, I can't wait to re-watch Bambi and see Hunter sneak into his dad's 175-inch bedroom and kill him just like that.

Speaker 6: 55:06

Okay, as Hunter put that out today, that was fantastic.

Speaker 5: 55:10

Yes, that's who it was. Yes, that's who it was. But, steve, anyone else have any questions they want to ask on the bear topic? He'll be definitely back on. If you would like to come on, we can definitely dive more back into it and everything as well, because bear hunting is one of the best things.

Speaker 2: 55:34

I didn't even know that. I didn't know you killed the world record bear whenever I saw you on here. So that's awesome. Thanks, man.

Speaker 1: 55:41

I got one quick question Well, what was your bow set up?

Speaker 3: 55:45

Uh, I shoot in a Hoyt vector turbo, which is a little bit older, bow, but uh, shooting a 535 grain arrow, which is a, a, a victory extortion, which is the stainless steel ribbon, and with a 2.0 sever okay oh, yeah, there we go 72 yeah.

Speaker 3: 56:07

So I got a little bit of. So I've shot some elk with that same setup and you know, blew through, did no problem, you know handled all that. I shoot all my deer with that same setup and I was toying with the idea of going down to the 1.5 uh for better penetration. But I knew if you shot enough bear, that if you, if you shoot a bear well, they usually don't go very far, the deer will go farther right. So I knew if I could just get that, I wanted the two blade because I knew there was a good chance I might not get full pastor. Just there was. You know, it's nine inches of ballistic gel on either side of the body, right and then where everything was in the sun. I just needed to get two inches inside of his cavity and if he ran he would do more damage and eventually we would go. I didn't think he went farther than I thought. I did not think he was going to go over 100 yards, but it's a 900 pound animal.

Speaker 3: 56:57

So when you walk, up to your like and I, you know, I've shot, I've shot, I've shot a bull elk before and I've shot some other big stuff and they're big right, but they're not they. The magnitude is different, but uh, but it did work. It awesome. Penetration went pretty much right to the freaking all the way to the fletchings and the blood trail was epic. I mean, I could send you guys some, some footage and some stuff definitely that I have not posted.

Speaker 3: 57:21

Uh bus following the blood trail, and I mean stevie wonder, could have followed what was your thought process watching this thing walking in on you? Um, I mean, you gotta be, don't screw up. Um, pretty much the first thing that came to me was because he stopped and I was like what the what did I do wrong? Like he just paused and you know, in the woods, right like 10 seconds feels like five minutes, so three yeah, like an hour, man, I was like there's no way I did nothing wrong.

Speaker 3: 57:49

I'm feeling the wind, like just don't screw up right now. And again, I was on a climber in a tree that I picked out 45 minutes earlier because I hadn't gone in there. So I'm like second guessing everything. But it was just I knew if he could. Just I just needed to get a little bit of a window. And again, if he's there in a swamp and you know what you're shooting through, it's brutal, right, you're shooting like a little through, like pin saplings and stuff like that, but he gave me just enough.

Speaker 3: 58:11

But, man, I doubt the entire time. I'm not gonna lie to you, there's no, there was no point in the time until I had my hands on him, where I was like, oh, this is gonna happen. I was like I'm gonna screw this up somehow and it's huge. You see this massive ball just coming, walking through the woods and I'll tell you that was one of the big things too where, like, you settle on them, right, you settle your pin. You're like, wait, where am I? I'm like, all right, yeah, right, so, and then you have to come back a little bit and, uh, doubt the whole time until I got my hands on it. Man, super humbling, learned a ton from that animal, by far the smartest animal I've ever hunted. I've shot some pretty good deer and, uh, he smokes them all by far definitely yeah I know I, I definitely believe that you know.

Speaker 5: 58:52

Uh, the goal for me next is you know, I've killed one with the gun and I will. I don't want to hunt another one with the gun. I just it's bow for me and I will. Two years now with the bow and just keep striking out, so but it's going to come event. I mean, it's almost, it's. Your chances are so high in new jersey and, alex, that's like for for us here, like bears are so common that like you see bears and it's just like, okay, like I see it, you see all the time, yeah, all the, all the if you're, if you're in north jersey.

Speaker 5: 59:28

You're seeing, you're always gonna see them no it's gotten so common where people are like how do you stay so like, how do you not freak out? I don't know, it's a bear like. I've been five, six yards away from, from black bears and it's like. It's like, okay, I don't like. I remember the first time seeing them, like, yeah, when I, 10 years ago, I would be like, oh my god, like, and my adrenaline will pop up. Now it's just like hey bear, hey bear, like I literally got. I literally got stalked by a bear.

Speaker 5: 59:59

Then, like the day before, uh, the season right, where I was going to hunt a bear I guess I don't know if he was following us or not, but he walked right up on us and then kept walking towards us and that made me a little uncomfortable, because what I tell people is the big bears. I don't worry about the big bears, they don't. They don't do that, they don't. It's the teenage bears that you have to. And this was a. This was a teenager and he was very curious of what we were. I think my buddy scared him and then he started pospering and he kind of went at the ground. He was doing things where it's like all right, this is a young bear, this is the bear that you have to be careful of. So the big ones they don't show up.

Speaker 3: 1:00:41

I've seen so many. Yeah, they don't care about you.

Speaker 5: 1:00:47

No, they don't, they don't want to be bothered. I've seen big bears and the minute they know me I saw one and deer hunting. I think it was the last year that you could. It was the last year, the first year that you couldn't hunt on state land before they banned it fully on private, and I had this big bear coming and I was like hey, hey bear, get the hell out of here. And he literally just looks at me and just looks back, slowly, gets up and just slowly, like nothing even happened, like he was just like let me just get out of here because, like he, he doesn't want to be bothered but he doesn't run, he doesn't. He knows he's the biggest and baddest thing, yeah, and he's just gonna get up slowly and he's just gonna move on to whatever. Whatever he's gonna do, you know, and that's really about it.

Speaker 5: 1:01:37

Like the big ones, I love seeing big bears. I'll take big bears over moms and and cubs and and teenage bears. You know, big bears, big males are, yeah, big males. I I'll take seeing big males hey, uh, mike.

Speaker 1: 1:01:53

Yeah, hey, before uh, we continue on. I just want to let everyone know I gotta run um, I didn't realize what time it was and I gotta be up extra early for uh, for work tomorrow, but it was awesome, no problem, brother uh brian, appreciate you coming on.

Speaker 5: 1:02:07

Thanks, man, pleasure meeting you take care brother, take care guys so I guess, since steve one of one of the kids woke up, so steve had to go. He's going to try to get back on. Um, on our this, our 200th episode. It's also one of our field notes episodes, so I guess I'm the one with the latest news of I. I smoked a big buck and, uh, he's wide, he's very, he's very wide. Um, I have no history with this bear at all, like nothing, I mean bear deer at all, um, so I've.

Speaker 5: 1:02:47

Halloween was the last time I saw my number one hit list buck. He was there broad daylight. I decided, because it was 80 something degrees, to go hunt a waterhole. I was like, ah, he's not gonna show up, I'm gonna, I'm gonna go hunt a waterhole. There's a big buck or does will come through there. Nothing but turkeys. I almost shot a turkey and, of course, at 5 40 I get a picture of this big buck and I'm just like, oh my God. But I'm like, all right. Usually he stays around for a couple of days when he daylight. Once he daylights multiple times. He's my most consistent mature buck. He's probably at least four and a half years old where he daylights consistently like constantly.

Speaker 5: 1:03:32

So I'm like, all right, I'm going into this week. I'm like, yes, there, you know, no big bucks. I went from seeing big bucks constantly to seeing only does and spikes, and maybe like a three-pointer, and I was like what the hell's going on. So I'm like, all right, the week goes by, you know, I'm only seeing small stuff. I'm seeing does, but no bucks trailing. I'm like what the hell's going on? Like this is, this is bizarre. So I'm like, all right, let me go pop a camera. I, peyton and I scouted a spot that had a little stream going through it and we're like, all right, let me get back there and I hang up a camera right in the stream.

Speaker 5: 1:04:14

And the next day I'm out hunting nothing in the morning. I go out for the evening and I'm scouting and I bump a buck. So I set up Right. When I get set up, it's about like one o'clock. I check my phone at 1246. Two big bucks had went right past that camera and we're working in that camera chasing. Does I get down? I take literally all my gear down, I throw into the pack and I'm I'm hauling ass. I'm like, all right, I'm gonna get real aggressive like they're, they're, this is gonna work. I'm gonna get aggressive and I did.

Speaker 5: 1:04:49

I walked right into a a doe bedroom literally sat on top of doe beds. Basically don't advise that, but it worked for this for this exact moment. Um and mid set up, I had does being chased all around by bucks. I think I saw seven different bucks. None of the big boys, but seven different bucks. Deer were everywhere and I noticed that the bucks were coming in. There was a thicket that had a hole and they would check the doe bedding. Then, if they didn't see, obviously they'd move off. Whatever that day goes, none of the big boys come. I saw a couple bucks sparring and everything like that.

Speaker 5: 1:05:28

I'm like all right, tomorrow's going to be cold. I was like I need to get in this spot. I go. It's a little risky because I'm sitting on top of does, but hopefully they're not bedded in here when I get in.

Speaker 5: 1:05:40

I get in, I see does immediately when I'm driving in, when I'm pulling off, right where I was about to pull my truck off, there's does right by the side of the road. I'm like, oh shit, okay, let me pull down even further. So I pulled down even further and I get out and I, you know, I I get in, I get set up and deer just going crazy. I can hear. I can hear deer being chased, um, I saw a spike like before shooting light and then I heard two bucks going at it across the road. I'm like, all right, this is going to be a good hunt, like all right, this is gonna be a good hunt, like all right. I, I can feel it.

Speaker 5: 1:06:15

And the next thing I know I hear him. He's coming behind me. He comes in, he stops and, just like you were talking about, it's like going on forever. You a few, a few seconds feels like minutes and I'm like what? I'm like what? The hell I go, he didn't see me. There's no damn way he saw me, like he he's not looking at me and he's checking the. He's checking to see if he could see any. Does the bedding and everything like that. And he turned around and I'm like, oh my god damn, and I'm filming him and what I think he does is he caught scent of, um, the hot racket or hot trap that I spray on my boots and he picked up that scent and he walked on a perfect trail, 20 yards, absolutely smoked him. He ran 10 yards, didn't know what hit him. He was so like hyped up on adrenaline and it's just that time of the year that he just slowly just walked off. I got down. I found him maybe 60 yards. I mean this boy was leaking'm using um. I used, I've been using set.

Speaker 5: 1:07:18

I've been shooting sever everyone knows, for the past like six years I'm a huge sever guy, but I switched to the the new hybrids and those things get damaged and I mean the blood trail was like you said, stevie wonder could have freaking like anyone could have found this. My buddy came out who doesn't hunt, because everyone else was in the woods. I was like, hey, listen, I need you. You live close by, he's not a hunter, he's this big like just buff guy that he's goofy as hell and he had no problem following the blood.

Speaker 5: 1:07:47

So, like you know, I it was the it was the perfect hunt and you know I had a hunter come by and I I told him I go if you're going to get aggressive, now is the time to get aggressive. Like I don't. I don't, I'm not worried about screwing up a hunt right now. The bucks have one thing on their mind and that is chasing does and trying to get some tail, and that's 100% what it is. I go my, my wind wind was. He came downwind of me and everything like that. He didn't care about anything else. He either wants to fight or he wants, does. And if you're going to get aggressive, this is the time to get aggressive.

Speaker 5: 1:08:30

And I usually don't get that aggressive where I set up literally on top of dough beds, but I did and it paid off and it's something that's like where you hear people like oh, you don't, you know you want to be 30 or 40 and you definitely do.

Speaker 5: 1:08:44

But there are times where you can get aggressive because, like I said, they just don't know, they don't care, they have one focus and when they're running a thousand miles per hour chasing does nothing else matters to them. And it worked out and it w, it w, it was the perfect thing. And then I was completely exhausted and drained after that and it felt a huge weight off my shoulders after last year's terrible, terrible season. But you know, I'm very grateful, very thankful to the fiance and the family and and and everything like that, because without them I mean I wouldn't have the I'm what I'm on sit number 43 this year. The goal is to get to a hundred. I'm trying to get, and that's with bear, that's with waterfowl, that's with everything that I do, trying, I'm trying to get to 100 this year. Once we have kids, I don't think I'll be able to get to 100 again, so I'm trying to do as much as I can now, because that won't be possible once the children are involved.

Speaker 5: 1:09:54

So very good, very successful, um, and then I came, like I said, I came to delaware and you know grind is on what you got anywhere up through delaware.

Speaker 2: 1:10:03

Are you just going to delaware next?

Speaker 5: 1:10:05

honestly I'll probably if say, if I can't hunt tomorrow or anything, I'll probably I may come back down, um, but also, like I'm at 40 something sets already, I really want to start focusing. We got six day gun season. Everyone knows I'm not a really gun hunter, but it's a change of pace. I would like to relax this. From september 1st, since we came down to delaware till the other day, it's a complete grind. And uh, you know, you know American Mike, he, he texted me, he goes, dude, you like he goes.

Speaker 5: 1:10:39

I'm proud of you because not only that, he said something he's like you get into the mindset of like you're like a deer and like that's kind of like, that's kind of how I like to try to hunt. And you know I I hunt a lot and I'm scouting and I probably drive my fiance freaking crazy. That's the only thing I care about at this time of the year and I know everyone listening and you know talking or definitely can, can relate thank god for a significant others. But you know you kind of have to get in that mindset of if you're gonna like do this to the point that you know we're doing it like you just kind of gotta you just go, you just go and you grind and grind and grind. So I'm looking forward to that, uh, like to that gun hunting, because, like then, I just I don't care what I see I've tagged out, like if I I just want to be for the fun and like hanging out with people.

Speaker 5: 1:11:29

We're gonna go to we call uh beer camp, where it's for deer and bear, and honestly, we just drink all in our time. We're gonna make go to we call it a beer camp where it's for deer and bear, and, honestly, we just drink all of our time. We're going to make we'll do a podcast. I'll be wild and everything like that, and we eat, bianca will cook and everything like that, and we're just going to have fun.

Speaker 5: 1:11:46

And then it's waterfowl time and I, shooting waterfowl, has become a such a passion of mine that it's, it's absolutely insane. And passion of mine that it's, it's absolutely insane. Um, and this is exactly what I want to do. I wanted to be tagged out so I didn't have to to be like, oh, do I go waterfowl hunting or do I go deer hunting? And it's still always going to be deer hunting, you know. But now I could be like, okay, now, now I could go waterfowl hunt and not have to worry about anything else, you know. And then when winter boat comes back around, depending on pressure, you know, especially with this competition too, you know. And then when winter bow comes back around, depending on pressure, you know, especially with this competition too, you know, I, I still got it people are starting to shoot freaking deer all over the place. So this, this competition is definitely heated up where, um, I've got five days.

Speaker 5: 1:12:28

I'm feeling so yeah, I mean, it's still a lot. And you know, for, like I said, for those of you guys who don't know, we're going to be doing this every year. Where we actually hold a hunting competition, it's throughout all the states here in the United States, it's through the whole entire hunting season. It's archery only, but it's just another thing where everyone gets to connect and have fun with each other and, just like you know, we're all competitive but it's all like fun because we all support each other too. Like it's like every post is. Like, you know, when someone kills something and everyone says congratulations, you know, shout out to Meg who, um, who had a successful uh, spine surgery to her after killing her, her big buck and everything like that, and um, you know.

Speaker 5: 1:13:12

So it is a, it is a great thing which we will end the year of. Also, every year, we'll end it with a game dinner that we'll be doing. Make sure you guys get there, especially you over there, so we can finally meet you. Alex, I'll be over. We're looking at what date are we looking at? April 1st, april 2nd, first weekend of April.

Speaker 2: 1:13:38

There's never anything going on in April. I should be good yeah.

Speaker 5: 1:13:41

And that's and that's what we're. We try to do it when there's where there's really nothing else going on. But, alex, I know we've talked on your podcast, but we you haven't been on and I don't think he's called it your season so far. So how's it going for you? I know you killed a good one.

Speaker 2: 1:13:59

I want to know in a pa on the second, and, uh, I actually just went there for to check a camera and for an observation sit and I was going through my camera it was an sd cam and I brought my laptop to work that day, so I threw my laptop in my pack. I'm going through the photos and it's like there's nothing really good. And there was one deer on there that I had last year. He was a six point. He was big, he's an older deer, for sure. I'm thinking five and a half, six years old.

Speaker 2: 1:14:28

And uh, this, I'm like I'm going to sit down, went into this scrape and I was set up in a Creek. Basically, there was like a tree coming out of the Creek on like the bank and like five. I don't know what time it was probably 30 minutes before last light. I look behind me and there he is and I I never range a deer right with a range finder and I finally got to pull it off and range him and it was 35 yards and I'm glad I did, because I thought he was at like 50 yards. So I'm like, oh, I'm nailing them. And I had one shot window before he came through another thicket and I just put one right through him, right through the lungs, man, he. He ran 10 yards and dropped it was.

Speaker 2: 1:15:08

Couldn't have been any more perfect, but it's nice, though I usually, like Mikey said, it's like a grind all season right. It's like man hunt, hunt. It's nice taking a little bit of break. I've been taking a break on the dough too, just kind of relaxing, and it's it's nice. But ohio's been kicking my butt man poison, sumac or something all over my arms.

Speaker 5: 1:15:34

it's, it's dude I've gotten poison ivy like crazy this year. Every tree has poison like has poison. It's wild, like all the good trees that I want to get into have poison ivy in it and it's like, do I risk it? Like, and sometimes I'm like I'm so tired of just looking for a tree that doesn't have it where I'll just like I'm just going to get up real quick and just pray that I don't, that I don't get it, um, you know. But, but I will say it's such a grind and I was just on the phone with Justin um before we rolled in and you know he was like like I'm so happy but I'm also sad too because, like the cat and mouse game, like it's over, you know, and if you're someone who and you know, if you're someone who's not going to another state or something like that, it's like it's nice you miss it and I like a hundred percent, like I'm so happy I'm tagged out.

Speaker 5: 1:16:29

But I love chasing deer, like it is figuring out deer and even just when you set up in a new spot and you see that first deer and it's like that's my first win, right there, like yeah, this is success. And it's like it's such an adrenaline rush that like when you kill, you're yeah, you're happy as shit. And then when you slow down and you take your break and it's like I'm bored, yeah, like what do I do now? Like you see, everyone else is still out hunting. Or you have all my trail cameras out. I'm getting pictures of deer and I'm just like I'm freaking out this deer until January 1st we still got gun season that's coming. Who knows if he's even going to survive.

Speaker 2: 1:17:09

It's like that's why I went straight to Ohio I'm going to sit for a little bit, take a couple weeks off and just I've been doing a lot of ground hunting for the farm we have. Where there's dough, he's got like, oh it's overpopulated of dough and um, I, just I, I enjoy it so much of sitting in the corn waiting for a doe to come by and try shooting it. Then it's crazy when you have 10 eyes on you and you're sitting, you're sitting on the ground and it looks so easy, but it's so hard when there's to try that there is a font.

Speaker 2: 1:17:42

There were deer 10 yards behind. You can hear them munching on cut corn and you're just like you're trying to make a shot but you can't.

Speaker 5: 1:17:49

Yeah yeah, no, I think the the ground game is gonna like. I think it when I get back home to jersey especially like if I can't go out for delaware or whatever the case is like I think I'm gonna go to one of my og spots and just do something I haven't done in a while, go spot and stalker or do something like do something I miss. I miss spot and stalking. You know, I hear the plan was the game plan in delaware was to get all my saddle stuff and go scout and go see what I can find. And if I decide to get in a tree, get in a tree. If I decided to stay on the ground, stay on the ground. Because yet again I'm going with minimal intel.

Speaker 5: 1:18:30

I haven't been here since second week of september. Yeah, so much change in these woods and this is my first year being here, hunting pressure I think they already had a gun season already rolling here and everything like that. So what does that do to the deer? So now I can't be this. Oh, I'm going to set up here or whatever. I only got limited time here, I don't live here, so you have to really just go out and get it. And that's why today I was driving around like a maniac trying to get to all these damn spots to go get a scout and try to, you know, see what I can do, and like that was a plan. But you know, things happen. And I told me I go, at least at least I tagged out in Jersey. We're now like gosh forbid, knock on wood. Least at least I tagged out in jersey, where now like gosh forbid, knock on wood, like I drop a shit ton of money tomorrow on this damn truck like.

Speaker 5: 1:19:19

I feel like now I'll be hunting for a while, so I'll just be working.

Speaker 2: 1:19:23

I feel like spot and stalking now is like during this time frame. I don't know if you guys call a lot. I'm big in the calling during this yeah, I call a lot. Yeah, me too. If you can glass like where potential betting is, slowly walk, do a couple grunts, wait 30 minutes, see if something comes out curious. You know, it's just easier to get them out now versus september. You want to?

Speaker 5: 1:19:45

hear something crazy that I do. And I started doing this last year because I mean, yet again, I'm a huge hunting public fan and I just love what they do, especially when they're on the ground. But I love hunting up in a tree so much and it's a very, very risky move. I actually get down and I'll rattle. But I'll do everything make it as realistic as possible. Slapping leaves around, you know, branches around. I'm making it actually try to seem like a big butt. Big butt, the big buck is they're fighting. And then I get right back up and yes, of course, I mean if there's a deer right there, I mean I'm kind of screwed. But I'm at this point like it's all about taking the risk, but it's also about trying new things and having fun with it.

Speaker 5: 1:20:33

Listen, sometimes sitting in a goddamn tree for all hours of the day. Sometimes it's also about trying new things and having fun with it. Listen, sometimes sitting in a goddamn tree all hours of the day, sometimes it's the most boring thing that you're possibly going to go through. So you got to change it up. You got to have some fun and be different from everybody else, because no one else I guarantee you, most people are not going to do that. Yeah, so just try something different. That's what I'm trying to do, you know, and it, like I said, it is fun because then when you get back on the ground it's like, oh, feels good, stretch my legs, like you know, let me, let me have some fun, let me work up a sweat real quick and, you know, make myself look a crazy ass person in the woods. If someone was videoing me they'd be like what, what the hell is this guy doing?

Speaker 2: 1:21:14

it's, it's. It's crazy how much more like you can get away with, too, on the ground. I feel like sometimes, like I, on the opening day, the buck came down, I I saw it and it started running away from me and it was cut corn but it was like hand-picked and I'm like, screw this, I'm going after this deer and I crawled after it and was following it for 30 minutes and it never knew I was there and like before I would have been like no, that's stupid, I don't want to do that, I don't want to scare it away, but I got away with a lot more than I thought I would that's cool yeah, no, I it's, and that's a cool thing.

Speaker 5: 1:21:50

Like you got to try new things and I'm stubborn as hell, like I just love being up in a tree, like I said. But oh yeah, you also have to. You have to get out of your comfort zone because you know what all these different methods of hunting, they work and sometimes you're just not going to get it done in a tree. You know, you, especially if you're chasing, if you're, you're chasing a big buck, a specific buck, and you know, or say even a bear, like you had to get creative of what you did. And when you, when you got it done, is when you kind of like, hmm, look at how small that swamp is, why the hell would he be over there? But then then it makes so much sense and deer do the same thing.

Speaker 5: 1:22:35

Like I've found so many big bucks that love to be close to houses, oh yeah, that love to be on those really small pieces where it's like most people are going to think drive past. I'm like, ah, there's nothing in there, there's nothing big in there, but literally I know it's the biggest bear that you know in New Jersey or the biggest deer, like wherever you're going to be, and you just have to. You have to be comfortable with also maybe even failing too. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. Yeah, but that's life, like shit happens. You know some things are going to work, some things are not going to work. Just go out and do it, try it, and you know when it does work. Yes, you may have caught on to a new, a new thing.

Speaker 2: 1:23:21

Yeah, change it up a little bit. Yeah, definitely Gets you doing new things.

Speaker 5: 1:23:30

Boys, we, we, you know I I do want to. You know, usually for our two-line episode, we'll, we'll, we'll go over some things. You know I'll go over the top five most downloaded ever. For all you guys out there curious, we actually have a new King of of what is there and it's actually probably one of my favorite episodes that I've actually ever done. And of course, it features Kyle.

Speaker 5: 1:23:53

Whoever doesn't know who kyle is, this guy is a turkey killing savage um and he, he like turkey hunting is his thing and I was hoping he can get on tonight, but he's with the kids. But um, and he kills some big deer too, but he is a turkey hunting menace. But 90 it's number one most downloaded episode is 99 Problems, but a Buck Ain't One, and I cannot remember how we came up with that name. I think both him and I like tagged out or something like that. I don't know where that name came from and I think a lot of people click on that just because of the damn name. It is definitely a catchy one.

Speaker 5: 1:24:35

Number two most downloaded episode would be our original episode with gerard from from racketter. Our number three episode is actually another favorite of mine. Um is from main outdoor productions and that that was a great one. That was the first time I ever talked to them and everything like that, and being a a guy who grew up in the summer in mean and everything like that, mean holds a special place in in my heart. So, um, that was a a great one to to do.

Speaker 5: 1:25:05

Um, number four would, uh, and merrick and mike I. I can't wait to tell him this one because he's gonna say, of course, this is this. Is it because people are nosy as hell, but it's his, it's his breaking news episode that that we did with him when he unfortunately lost his license for for hunting because of a complete mistake. Everything was done correctly, you know, except for maybe one thing that he didn't know that he had to do. You know, except for maybe one thing that he didn't know that he had to do and we've talked about it a lot on here is New Jersey. You have to do it online and then also fill it out, fill it out on the green piece of paper, and then now also you have to do the transportation tag, that transportation tag, and then keep a log too. So you have to keep a log of all yeah.

Speaker 5: 1:25:53

Technically, I think they're getting rid of it next year because they had too many complaints. But technically, you're supposed to keep a log of all your kills throughout the year and the reasoning from what I heard um is because if, um the internet goes down in in the um, in a warden's car or something like that, at least they, you know you could show that you have. This is what you've killed and everything like that. I don't know how true that is, that's just something that I've heard, but I did hear. Hopefully in 2025 they are going to be getting rid of it because it just was not a.

Speaker 3: 1:26:28

That's not in the digest.

Speaker 2: 1:26:33

If it ain't in the digest it ain't no roll.

Speaker 5: 1:26:34

I know it was in the role I know it was in the digest last year. I don't know who's in digest, yeah, it was. I know for fact it was. It was in the digest last year. I don't know if it's in there this year, but I remember even seeing your your harvest card in there and you had to copy it. Um, yeah, I remember that and if american mike was he, he would 100 tell you like yeah, he got, he got. Um, wow, he got dinged up for for that a couple years.

Speaker 5: 1:27:06

Yeah and he even said it he goes, you know, because he asked the warden once. He he called the warden and or warden was there and he goes hey, yeah, you know, just fill it, just do it online and then you're good to go. So he went from his whole entire hunting career. He filled it out online but didn't know he had to fill it out on the green card.

Speaker 2: 1:27:28

Real quick. That's one thing. Like reading the digest, like the hunter digest, that's like, even if it's a couple changes west virginia, I still don't understand but that's like I feel like every hunter should do the respective at least, at least skimming through it, like read, reading, because those little rules will they can bite you in the butt. And I try to emphasize to everyone, like just read through it, because there's laws in there. I'm pretty sure in the pa digest it still says you can't use like cellular or radios to notify hunters around the or a deer or something is coming in. You know what I mean really, yeah, and like, and I don't care what people do, I, I mean I just laugh at it. It's like an inside joke for me. But like you're always supposed to tag a deer in the ear in Pennsylvania, every time I see a PA person tag a deer in the antler, it's just like one of those things that stick out. I'm like I'll be tagged it wrong. I don't give a crap at all.

Speaker 5: 1:28:30

It is the little things that what sucks it's the little things that like, and this is what I said, and you know I don't want to get too much into this, but I always tell and I go it sucks because that makes people not want to hunt. It really does. It's going to make new people not want to get into it. At the end of the day, if I get pulled over for an infraction, right, I'm getting a ticket, but I'm not losing my license. And in New Jersey it's it is two strikes and then you lose your license. I don't know what it is like in Pierre or whatever that, but if you get, it's not only, you also lose your license through the whole entire country. Yeah, the only thing you're allowed to do, I think, is hunt hogs and saltwater fish. You can't do any freshwater, or no, or no. Uh, what's based hunting? You can only think only endangered ant species or or not endangered species, but um, you know, um, I'm getting right now invasive species, thank you, and like saltwater fishing.

Speaker 5: 1:29:32

So it's a, it's a thing where I would like them to start focusing on, like I don't want to be in the same situation as a poacher because, like I said, if I make a small tiny mistake, because you literally need a lawyer to go through the digest to understand it correctly. Then how do you expect people not to make a mistake? Because it is, it is confusing, and it seems like it's confusing every state that you go into. Yeah, and that just makes people walk on eggshells and then when they get in trouble, it's like well, then it causes a bigger, an even bigger problem. Now you're punishing someone and they can't hunt for two years, where you're taking money from the state as well.

Speaker 5: 1:30:17

You, you know, you look at new jersey. I mean, look at how much you don't hunt for two years. How much money do you think you're actually saving so much, so much that you would that. You and you know you got people who you know like I could speak on american mike big bear hunter, you know what I mean and he couldn't hunt bears, you know, two years ago, and he's done such a great job getting people into the outdoors of different ethnicities and everything like that, so you're taken away from from that as as well, where that's not, that's not the best look.

Speaker 2: 1:30:49

Yeah, and, like you said, one thing can make you the media or make you look like a poacher, right? So this guy I hunt in this public land in Ohio and I asked if I can park in his driveway and I'm like here's a permission slip, I just need you to sign. He's like, oh, it's my private land, I don't need to sign anything. Really good guy. And I'm like no, just, can you please just sign this? He's like what's it for? And I'm like listen, If I shoot the world record buck right now and I don't have a permission slip, I'm gonna be a poacher. You know what I mean? Because I don't have that written permission Stating I can access your property or through your property. So he signed it. But, um, I told him I'm like I'm like what if I shoot a world record buck in here? Like I just, please, can you just sign this?

Speaker 5: 1:31:34

and he's like it's my property, yeah but and which is true too it's like, if this is my property, I don't, I don't need to do it, but then it puts you in a very awkward situation. Yeah, what if? What would it? You know there's so much, uh, so much unknown into to what we do. Um, and then one of the the the other episodes, that's one of our, our top number five is actually, uh, our uncle larry, the outdoor episode.

Speaker 5: 1:32:03

So if anyone who doesn't know who uncle larry's are, there are these. They grew up in my town and we went to school together and they are the biggest fishermen and they, straight up I know johnny quit his job in new york city and they all moved to florida to fish and I think now they exploded. Where they're at? Um, I think they're at like 53 000 followers on on instagram and a lot of you might know them from a certain video where I think johnny catches a fish and then kai, there, you know I'll, he's in the background and he catches this giant bass and he starts absolutely freaking out. I know it's gone through social media and everything like that. I'll send it to you guys when I, when I get a chance, but that video went viral and was just like one of the coolest things ever.

Speaker 5: 1:32:56

And you know, they, this was them before they, I mean, I think when they were on, they had this was back in 2021. They, they had maybe I don't know 2 000 followers and now they're at 50, like 52,000 followers, and they are such they're. They're great guys. I mean I, I absolutely love them. I, I they keep telling me to go down from Bianca and I to go down and everything like that. We've just been busy, but I can't wait to go visit them down in Florida and hang out with them and go alligator hunting. I told them I'm going down and going alligator hunting like that.

Speaker 3: 1:33:27

That's what. I do alligator hunting.

Speaker 6: 1:33:28

I told them I'm going down, I'm going alligator hunting Like that.

Speaker 5: 1:33:30

That's what I want to do, that's what I, that's what I've been waiting to do, um, so that's, that's definitely a plan, um, for me. But, um, you know, I guess we soon we could, we could start wrapping up because getting a long episode. But you know one thing I definitely like I want to thank everyone, um who's listened to our podcast, who supported us through the last four years. Of this, 200 episodes, I mean that's a milestone, that I went from not having no idea I was ever going to start a podcast to doing it. And then all the guests and and the, the friendships that that I've made through that, that that definitely makes it the, the most and and the best part that I, that I love about it getting talked to new hunters and now the same guys over and over again. And you know constantly, now you know alex has a podcast and you know frank frank's joined the team and everything like that. And you know, now, now we, now we got you, you know you, you know you're, you're, you're, you're at the top of the hunting world for for New Jersey right now, I mean, and it is, it's, it's an amazing story of just like I never, me personally, I never thought like this is, this is where we're going to go. Like you know and it does mean a lot to me A lot of hard work has been put into this.

Speaker 5: 1:34:54

Now, at this point and listen, we're going to keep on continuing. We're going to keep on going. You know, we're probably going to have some big things coming continue. We are going to be doing a giveaway with, with this, our 200 episode, and it's going to be a lot of different things that I'll be announcing soon. I can definitely say we we do have a summer release being given away. We do have iron. Will broadheads get? I think we have like three different broadheads being being given away. I imagine we'll be probably giving away a ghillie puck. We'll probably do a racket or give away. This is. This is going to be a be a big one. We're also reaching almost at 4 000 followers on instagram, too as well, so it's probably going to go coincide with with each other and everything like that.

Speaker 5: 1:35:42

Um, but yeah, I like I said thank you, thank you everyone, I mean it. It does mean the mean the world to me and I wish, uh, we could keep going hours and I could talk hours and hours about hunting. Um, you know, um, so it it's. It's the best time of the year, too, and that that's what's best. Like I'm so happy that 200 episodes came at at this point of the year and then I, freaking, killed a deer to a buck to two days ago, like it's all perfect right, what? What are the uh?

Speaker 5: 1:36:14

what are, what are the chances you know at that. So, um, you know we, we're in a good place, everyone's in a good place and, um, yeah, congrats, really excited, thank you, thank you. And we'll be bringing trivia night back, don't, don't worry. Trivia night everyone who's been wondering it will be back. It will be back in the off season. I just do not have the time to get it done right now. The round table segment that we'll be back to as well, probably once the season's over, and everything like that.

Speaker 5: 1:36:42

So we're we're looking forward to that. We're looking forward to our events. Be the lookout for our game dinner. We're looking forward to our events. Be the lookout for our game dinner. We're going to be doing that as usual. And, of course, sometime in the summer, we'll be doing our archery shoot. We should be at the Empire State Show this year as well. And then, of course, bianca and I, and whoever else is going to be tagging along with us we're going to be at the great american outdoor show, as usual. Um, we'll be there, um, probably for a couple days, because bianca likes to spend more time there than I do. Um, she's obsessed with that place, obsessed. This has become like our, our ritual where she'll even tell me like, hey, what are the dates? Like she's on it more than I am, I'm more of just like yeah, we'll.

Speaker 5: 1:37:29

You know we'll go. We'll go, don't worry, and she's like I. More than I am, I'm more of just like we'll go, we'll go, don't worry, and she's like I need to know. Can we stay? Can we stay longer? And I was like girl, we're trying to get married and buy a house are you trying to kill me here, like what's going on? I don't have that type of money, but yeah, guys, any last words.

Speaker 2: 1:37:47

I know. Just congrats to all you guys yeah, yeah, thanks, yeah, same here. If you guys actually one thing, if you guys.

Speaker 3: 1:37:55

If you guys are ever in the area or you're in jersey or whatever, you need anyone to film, let me know guys. I dumped a ton. That's the whole point of my timber life thing. We dumped a, we got some sponsors, we got some stuff and I dumped, you know, 15 grand into the the best hunting, the best. What do you? Videography equipment you can buy pretty much. So we're putting out some. We're going to hopefully put out some big stuff. So if you need someone in the tree, give me a shout. Man, I'll be filming for the next six weeks.

Speaker 2: 1:38:17

You come to PA too.

Speaker 3: 1:38:19

I'll come to PA if it's on the close end.

Speaker 5: 1:38:24

Alex, are you going to be coming to Jersey for late season? I know you kicked around that idea. Yes, alex, are you going to?

Speaker 2: 1:38:29

be coming to Jersey for late season. I know you kicked around that idea. Yes, if I get one in Ohio, then yes, I will, and you can mark my word.

Speaker 5: 1:38:36

All right, just let me. I mean, obviously I'll know if you kill one in Ohio, but, like you know, we'll definitely talk about it. Yeah, I mean, I definitely listen. I self film like crazy. I've been self filmingfilming for years now, but I am definitely getting to the point also where I think I'm going to need someone in the woods with me more often. I'm actually honestly looking to get like a, like an intern, honestly, which is sounds crazy. Yet again, I didn't think I'd be at this point. But just to run with everything that we're doing now, from just the hunting content with the social media, with the podcasts and constantly like I remember, alex, you asked me like how the hell do you do it?

Speaker 5: 1:39:21

like you're we, we put out, I don't know, I think yeah we'll find out how many episodes that we put out this year, but I think we're we'll be close to that like 50 or put out this year, but I think we'll be close to that 50 or 60 mark this year. I'm pretty sure we're at one something to start the new year and we kick out so many damn episodes that it's insane. And I'm so far behind too. All the episodes we're supposed to be putting on YouTube now, but once hunting season started, it's like nothing else matters. You know the fact that I didn't get a podcast out like I'll. I'll get them out, but YouTube, like I don't. I want to get the whole YouTube there and everything like that and all this out on YouTube. But it'll come, it's just going to become later. So it's just a lot. It's a grind Really.

Speaker 2: 1:40:08

Question when is opening day in New Jersey Typically?

Speaker 5: 1:40:12

Like what we can second week, second week of September, yeah.

Speaker 2: 1:40:16

Okay.

Speaker 5: 1:40:16

Second week of September we were, we were at um, we were Delaware the first week, I think the first two weeks, cause I think September, I think for us Atlanta went a little later.

Speaker 6: 1:40:29

I know it was a second Saturday, but I think how it worked is here.

Speaker 5: 1:40:34

It started on a Monday. Yeah, so it started on a Monday. We were here Monday Tuesday in Delaware, went home, came back that weekend because you guys went for a bear in New York and then we started the next year. We're so we have a long season. You can get most in new jersey from second week of september to the second week of february. Okay, we have a very long season. Seven bucks, unlimited, dose unlimited, which is crazy, which is which most of the state is unlimited.

Speaker 5: 1:41:06

Yeah, yeah, most to say. And if it's not, it's like five. You get like five per season, which is our seasons are. We have a lot of seasons. It's. It's crazy how they do it. I'm in delaware right now where I'm still hunting and I I was talking to justin I'm still using the same tag that I bought from the beginning and I love it. It's from september to february 2nd. I buy the one tag. I think I could kill two bucks and I think four does, and that's perfect. I wish New Jersey would just move to that. We don't need seven, two bucks, any weapon, perfect, there you go, that's it. You don't need seven goddamn bucks killed. Who's killing?

Speaker 3: 1:41:50

seven. But there are guys that will cause they buy their tags. They're like oh, I got to kill a buck cause I got a tag.

Speaker 5: 1:41:55

I'm like and that's that's. That's the thing, like I, and I get it whatever you do, and I I am whatever. But New Jersey same thing with the bear yes, has a big, big deer too. Yeah, we're not io, we're not, you know ohio and stuff like that. But there are some monsters obviously. Look at, you know, in summit, look at what's killed in summit. Look at, you know, look at these, these, these areas, that there are big deer like I've seen them, we've all seen them.

Speaker 5: 1:42:26

You know it's a different class in the midwest, but it's still really big in new jersey has such a great potential of being just this hidden gem, just like delaware is, you know, and it's just, it's never going to get there and they'll probably never get there because of just they don't see it, as we all know exactly, and that's a part, I think, what less than one percent of people hunt in new jersey, right, what?

Speaker 5: 1:42:55

no, yeah, yeah, it's a crazy like it's. Yeah, it's not even, yeah, I don't even think it's like actually one percent, I think it's less than one, it's less, yeah, yeah, which is which is wild crazy. And then you, I mean for you, alex, you're coming in what the most densely populated hunting state, I think it's like 13 hunters per square mile.

Speaker 5: 1:43:13

I could be low, I could be high, I don't know yeah, I think you're, you guys are just like and you guys are not that far away from us. You really you know people. Yeah, come to jersey to hunt, so like.

Speaker 2: 1:43:26

Hopefully they're right. Man, it's like you gotta find a pocket of private within public to not see anybody. Like you gotta like growing up I was always I hated seeing other hunters grow. Growing up going out with my dad, I hated it. I'm like this is the worst.

Speaker 5: 1:43:43

So now it's like I'm going in, like a little, I'm going where no one's at somewhere I'll be up in pa this year with ethan, I think, at the end of november we're at just for joes I, I can't remember I do. I have the tag at home, I'll let you know. Um, I think it's closer to us and our, our border and everything like that. I don't think it's anything crazy, but I want, I wanted to do a pa hunt. I was like, screw it, why not? I got the rifle, might as well, might as well. You know what I mean and I know Frank, you're going to be out this weekend to get it done, hopefully in New York.

Speaker 4: 1:44:18

Yeah, opening day Saturday for rifles, so going up to our property upstate so we'll see what happens. Good luck.

Speaker 5: 1:44:32

Thank, happened, thank you, thank you, um, you know a lot of good things, brian. Any any more plans for you? You're tagged out. You know you got any plans or you're just gonna kind of just sit and relax, maybe catch up on some work and some family life? Are you still after?

Speaker 3: 1:44:41

yeah, I'll be filming them almost every day we're out we're gonna be chasing. I got a whole crew guys that are chasing bucks right now and uh, I still got. I got two good ones that the one I shot was pretty good, he was pretty nice. The 160 class deer for Jersey, that's pretty nice. But we got a couple of better ones right now that are that haven't been super patterned, but we might go after them during buck week when we get an extra tag. But we'll see. But no, no, rest for the weary if they will, but it's gonna be all right.

Speaker 5: 1:45:11

Do you bow hunt all? Do you guys bow hunt all year round? Are you guys selling the guns, too, as well?

Speaker 3: 1:45:16

so for deer it's pretty much all bow, uh. But we're huge water foul guys like we. I compete with my dogs up and down the coast and we we do a lot of water foul, so it's game on coming saturday. We were out today scouting, checking, checking pockets, looking for birds because we got no water. Right now it's a little rough in jersey.

Speaker 5: 1:45:31

It's crazy, yeah, it is crazy, yeah we're I've turned like I said I told you I turned into a big, big waterfowl guy where it's like I'm now obsessed with waterfowl. I I think about it constantly. Yeah, no, it's very addicting. Um, that that's a grind. It's, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's interesting. I mean I'm happy. The reason why I started hunting geese last year for the first time because we're we're doing ducks before it, obviously hunting ducks and everything like that but the reason why I never got to geese earlier, because it had that one limit, you know, and you know they moved it to three and my buddy was like, dude, you got all right. Now it's worth it. Like let's, let's, let's go out. And I had a ball, I loved it.

Speaker 5: 1:46:15

So, yeah, it was amazing, like I, late season is the best too, because you get and that's usually, and that's usually when we, you know, that's usually a big time point when we, uh, when we're hunting and everything like that, um, because I'm deer hunting the whole entire time yeah, through um, but well, if you ever need help with any of the waterfowl stuff, I got a pretty, pretty extensive network in jersey, pretty much all the guides, pretty much all the dog guys.

Speaker 3: 1:46:38

I'm pretty dialed in with that definitely, definitely, definitely, um, alex.

Speaker 5: 1:46:44

Well, I'll be. I'll be on your show next week that's's right, then you'll be looking forward to that.

Speaker 2: 1:46:51

You're the first third timer.

Speaker 5: 1:46:53

Yeah, it's, it's. Uh, I enjoy going on, like I enjoy going on other podcasts at this point, like I love doing ours, but like I just love not having to carry the conversation.

Speaker 5: 1:47:05

Like I love just sit with my feet up whenever I do other podcasts and I'm like, you know, it's nice, just like not having to think of stuff, just not have to worry about editing, not having to worry about nothing. I don't care, I am so relaxed, free. I'm just like ah, this is, this is nice, where you know when you're recording, it's like you got to make sure everything goes right. Yeah, boys, I mean I, it's like you got to make sure everything goes right. Yep, yeah, um, boys, I mean I, like I said, I want to appreciate everyone coming on, everyone. I hope you guys enjoyed this episode.

Speaker 5: 1:47:38

We are 200 episodes in. I am absolutely thrilled. I cannot wait to get to episode 300. Um, we'll probably be there in about a year and a half. It's gonna take some time, um, but uh, yeah, we're, we're definitely looking forward to that and you know I mean thanksgiving's right around the corner, christmas, new year, so our new big new year's day episodes coming up and everything like that. So we got a lot of things on the menu. I'll keep you guys updated and everyone on the podcast updated about my truck. Hopefully I didn't fuck it up too bad, um, you know, and hopefully we'll be hearing from everyone again in the next week, at least from from our team and and everything like that. Hopefully we got some more hot streak from Frank and Squash can get his first one of the year and everything like that too as well, so we're really looking forward to it. Things are heating up, best time of the year, sweet November, and thank you guys for coming on and we'll see you guys next time.