Speaker 1: 0:00

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Speaker 2: 1:22

Well, thank you first off, Mike, for having me on the show. I am 22 years old. I'm a senior in college at Kent State University. I started hunting about five or six years ago and I've just become obsessed with it and loved every moment of it, had some cool experiences and maybe we can go through some of them yeah, no, uh, definitely definitely excited to get you on it.

Speaker 1: 1:47

It's cool. So kent state's in a in ohio, correct?

Speaker 1: 1:51

correct all right, so I have boarded there. Uh, so I'm a hockey player, um, and we would go up there for the like festival festival team. It's like a select team and everything like that. And I've actually stayed in your school. When I and I actually turned I can't remember how old, but I spent my birthday in one of the dorms because we were playing hockey at you know, around there and everything like that um, so I am actually familiar haven't been back in a very long time, but I'm actually familiar with um, with kent state and everything like that, and I love the area. How far away are you, how far away do you live from from your school? And how far away are you hunting from your school?

Speaker 2: 2:41

so I actually live about 20 minutes off campus. I'm still with my parents um, just save money and that kind of stuff. I'm in the flight school and doing a double major there, but my hunting property is about 10 minutes from the house.

Speaker 1: 2:56

So it's probably about the same from campus, but okay, all right yeah, it's got a great sorry, go ahead no, no, I was gonna say that's a great area. Just from remember, when I'm remembering from driving through there, it seems like you know there's a, there's a lot of um hunting land in the area, whether it's private or public, you know I could be. You know, at the time when I was going up there I wasn't really focusing on that, but now, like trying to run it back through my head, it seems like such a good area.

Speaker 2: 3:29

Yeah, it's a great area if you're trying to hunt, whether it's private or public. I'm lucky that I've got a lot of public land options if I wanted to, but I'm lucky that I have some permission spots that I've been able to utilize and really learn the habitat of white tails in Ohio.

Speaker 1: 3:48

Definitely, definitely. You know what? When did you start hunting, Like when did you know so you're a baseball player right now. When did when did hunting get involved, or is that something that you've always kind of like like done?

Speaker 2: 4:04

Well, I really started hunting probably five years ago it was just before the pandemic actually yeah, that fall before the pandemic. I was squirrel hunting that kind of stuff, just kind of having fun with it, and then I wasn't really into it too much per se until the spring when COVID hit and I got the turkey bug and it all kind of fell out from there or fell in from there.

Speaker 1: 4:35

The turkey bug you. You hear it a lot when we talk about this, on this, on this podcast of guys. They absolutely fell in love with, you know, turkey hunting. What was it for you that gravitated you to turkey hunting and got you that bug, that itch?

Speaker 2: 4:51

uh, I don't even really know at this point. Uh, it's been so long it's crazy that that's already been five years ago, but I think just surfing through youtube and that kind of stuff finding, finding videos, and then I was like I'm going to try that out. I started with public land a little bit I don't even think I heard a gobble out there but then I was able to get the main farm that I hunt now. I was able to get permission on there and I started getting some encounters and stuff. Um, I didn't end up having any luck in terms of harvesting a bird that year, but I really got a sense of respect for the animals and I just became obsessed with it ever since.

Speaker 1: 5:38

Which is it's different, so different from deer, and we just, I imagine, just like you, you probably just wrapped up your turkey season season, everything like that, not too long ago. It is such a different hunt and it's so unique and I got the turkey itch this year, like I fell in love with turkey hunting this year. I never, you know, dabble in it. You know dabble in it and just like, oh yeah, I'm turkey hunting, when I really was probably like deer scouting or whatever the case was. But, um, the interaction that you get, like it's a different type of adrenaline rush. I don't think for me and I don't know how it is for you. I don't compare it as in, you know, a big buck walking up, but it's just so cool and just different.

Speaker 1: 6:24

You know that you get to interact with these birds. They're your gob, you're calling them, they're calling, you know, reacting off you and you know it's a. It's just a different type of hunting. It's very hard to explain to someone who doesn't, you know, understand, but I imagine you know, since you're a turkey guy, that you completely get it. You know, if you could only hunt one, what would it be? Would it be deer, or would it be turkey, or would it be waterfowl.

Speaker 1: 6:50

Oh wait, would it be waterfowl?

Speaker 2: 6:52

It's definitely between turkeys and whitetails. I'd say I'm more of a whitetail fanatic. That's what I put a lot of my time and effort into. But it is hard, very hard, to pass up turkeys too. But I'd probably choose white tails if I had to pick one pick one.

Speaker 1: 7:12

Um, how was your? Uh, how was your turkey season this year? It was really good.

Speaker 2: 7:18

Um, I was able to go down to Florida and harvest my first Osceola, which was a crazy experience in terms of turkey hunting, you know, it's just fascinating how different the animals are and they're in each region and how they act and that kind of stuff. I actually had to treat these Osceolas more like whitetailsails kind of. They don't gobble much at all. I mean, I don't even think I heard a gobble the whole time and I just patterned the birds and one came through and was able to get on them.

Speaker 1: 7:59

And then, real quick, before we you know. So you hunted them like you would with whitetail and you know you just patted them when you first originally went down there. You know what was your initial thought, like when you, when you went to Florida and you're maybe the night before the hunt or whatever what did you start to pick up on? Like, did you do any like pre-scouting or anything like that before?

Speaker 2: 8:23

So actually we used uh, I was with an outfitter um, that leased a bunch of land down there and that's pretty much. If you're going to go to florida, that's the way to do it. There's so many hunters on public land and stuff and then you know how public land is, where it's pretty natural and the gators are after you and all sorts of stuff. So we were, I was with an outfitter and we sorts of stuff. So we were, I was with an outfitter and we kind of they had cameras set up and that kind of stuff, and the birds would just come through and run the cameras and stuff. And in the morning we didn't have any luck, we didn't even see anything. But in the afternoon, the afternoon, we were expecting a bird to come through, at least one bird to come through this food plot where they would strut and that kind of stuff. And eventually one did come through and I was able to make a 40-yard shot with my shotgun.

Speaker 2: 9:23

And it was awesome.

Speaker 1: 9:30

That thing went down. It was so cool, you know, is this something that you? Are you going to be hunting florida more often? Or is this something that, hey, you know, this was the bucket list like, are you going for the? You know the slam, what, what, what's? What drew you to florida originally?

Speaker 2: 9:44

well, I actually my grandparents have a house down in Florida, in Daytona Beach, and we used to always have the Osceolas running through our yard and stuff. So it kind of gave me that bug for going down and getting the Osceola first after my Easter experience obviously, but the first step towards my slam and so that really piqued my interest. We see birds down there all the time strutting on spring break and stuff and yeah, I mean Such a beautiful bird, you know we don't get to.

Speaker 1: 10:23

I've never seen one, obviously, in person. It's, they're just so. They're just so different. Because you know you look at like Easterns and I mean it's, it's nothing like an Easter and you said, you know they're not vocal, they're not. You know, you got to hunt them in a different manner. Do you see it as a more of a challenging bird to hunt?

Speaker 2: 10:47

oh, absolutely, um, especially if you're doing public land or even if you have your own property and that kind of stuff. I was fortunate to have a good friend that is an outfitter and he started this was his second year, I believe down there leasing properties, but it would definitely.

Speaker 1: 11:05

It's definitely a harder bird to go after, I believe yeah, I mean just a you know, I'm looking at the pictures right now just an absolute beautiful, beautiful bird. I mean, um, I also love the picture in the tree. Just let you know that is a that's. That's a pretty cool. That's a pretty cool picture right there. It must have taken some work getting up there.

Speaker 2: 11:28

Yeah, my buddy was surprised. I wanted to do that, but I don't know. We had to get up on his big Dodge to get me up in there.

Speaker 1: 11:39

And then you also closed the deal in Ohio this year as well.

Speaker 2: 11:44

Yes, I actually made it a. Uh, I wanted to get a bird with a bow my first turkey with a bow and so I made that my mission for this spring to do that, and I shot him at 46 yards with my bow, and he went right down so go over that hunt.

Speaker 1: 12:04

You know, first of all you're talking about a whole completely different challenge. You know, of getting it done with the bow. You know turkeys are hard to hunt as it is. You know, um, what were, what was your preparation for an archery turkey hunt?

Speaker 2: 12:22

Well, usually I'm scouting the birds on. This was on my permission farm that I regularly hunt this. I usually scout these birds for at least a month ahead of time and I'm just getting intel, trying to get the pattern, filming them and that kind of stuff as well, stuff as well. And so I went in, roosted them the night before opening day and several nights ahead of that and I actually set a blind up where they usually go in the morning to strut and I get in there probably 30 minutes before shooting light and there were probably six or seven different gobblers.

Speaker 2: 13:09

This year there was a lot of toms on the farm but it probably as daylight broke they were just gobbling their heads off and they started going the other way after they came down off the roost and I probably didn't. It was probably 11 o'clock or something I waited until and then I I hear the drumming and spitting of one bird and he came right in but I unfortunately I missed the shot at 30 yards on opening day. But the next weekend that I was able to make it up and I actually ended up moving to closer to where the birds were roosted and where they were. I throughout that week I patterned them and figured out where they were going. So I set up the next Saturday and they originally went away from me, probably 300 yards down to the opposite end of the field, because a bunch of hens were down there and it was crazy. We were starting to get a little thunderstorm and the birds were just shock gobbling that thunder and eventually they started making their way back over to me and they came into the decoy. I had a decoy set up that day and they came running in there and I was able to make a shot on a triple beard.

Speaker 2: 14:35

Turkey this year.

Speaker 1: 14:37

That's great. A triple, that is great. I mean, I had a double on, I think, a double on on camera. I don't know, you know, if he had triple, but you know you, you always hear about that. Like you know you, once you get the, you know your long beard, you know, I feel like it's so cool to get a, you know, double or triple or something like. That's like getting a, a buck with like a drop tine or or or something like that and in that nature, you know, and it's um, oh man, I would love, love to. You know, obviously, first of all I want to get my first bird, you know, but eventually to get a double or triple, or.

Speaker 1: 15:19

I think I saw somebody post it, I think we actually posted about it. Some, some kids sent me this, I think it. This bird had eight, I think, like eight beards. I don't want to be, you know, mistaken. I would have to go through the post, but it was something like absolutely ridiculous amount of of beards and this bird. I was like how is that even like possible? But then you see deer, yet again with the crazy, and you know, drop tines and you know everything like that all over the place. Um, so it's, it's definitely possible. But you know when you, when you first saw him right, what was your initial like is your reaction when you saw that, that triple beard?

Speaker 2: 16:03

well, honestly, I didn't even see it. Um, I knew there was one on the farm because I had been filming all spring and I actually got him on video a couple weeks beforehand. But I was just trying to shoot one and he was the one that gave me the best shot, because I was trying to get my dad on one this year and get his first harvest since he got married to my mom 30 years ago. Um, he hasn't really been hunting since he got married, so I was trying to help him out with that and so I was really just trying to get my arrow in one of them. I didn't really care which one. There's one running around the farm right now that's got a beard. That's probably 12 inches and three inches. Third, I mean it is a paintbrush jeez.

Speaker 1: 16:56

Uh, well, hopefully you know that that long beard can survive and you know you can take a poke at them next year. Um, you know, now you know, let's shift our focus to to the deer talk. That's what's coming up next is, you know, deer hunting and that's something, something that you love to do and everything like that. What is your main focus this year in Ohio Harvest?

Speaker 2: 17:20

mature buck. This past year there was a buck that was a four-year-old 11 point and he was probably 160s class. I know he made it through the season because I was getting pictures of him after season and stuff. So as long as he didn't get sick or get hit by a car or something, I'm expecting him to come back and hopefully that five-year will allow him to push to get really big this year. Right now I'm getting cameras out. Finally, uh, our farm is pretty much all soybeans this year too, and the last time we had soybeans throughout the whole farm I was chasing 186 inch whitetail. So I've got high hopes for this year. Nothing showed up yet other than some small bucks, but hopefully they start moving in Plenty, plenty of time.

Speaker 1: 18:17

I mean, you know it's it's still. I want to say it's still early, but I can't believe it's already July 1st or.

Speaker 2: 18:24

July 2nd.

Speaker 1: 18:26

My bad, july 2nd. You know that we're recording this, this podcast, this podcast. So, um, you know, I I keep saying, oh it's early, we got plenty of time, but, man, before you know it, it's going to be here. When do you guys start in in? Uh, what's your opening day in in ohio, september 28th?

Speaker 2: 18:44

this year, so I'm really excited. I posted a video this morning for early goose season. It's coming up in 67 days already, which is at the beginning of september, so it's approaching quick.

Speaker 1: 19:00

Yeah, we, we start september. I want to say 14th, we're the second week of september is our deer season. I I don't want to be mistaken, but I think our waterfowl season, or goose, I think it's either that weekend or the week before or something like that. I can't you know exactly. Remember, I usually don't hunt geese that early in the year. My main focus is usually deer season. Up until you know, waterfowl really kicks. I like to hunt it cold, you know I don't like being hot out in those fields or anything like that. Uh, but, um, you know what is you you're? So you're on a farm right ohio, breakup ohio kind of. For us and our and our listeners here, I know it's. Wherever you go, I guarantee it's going to be different, everything like you. I imagine you're more in the farmlands. There's woods and everything like that, like big woods and everything like that. So kind of break down Ohio and kind of what it looks like for the people out there who don't know so Ohio is very diverse in terms of landscape.

Speaker 2: 20:04

When you go further southeast it's definitely a lot more foresty and more hillish. I don't want to say mountains, but it's kind of that fringe of the Appalachian mountains. That's where a lot of the big deer, for some reason, like to go. My buddy has 900 acres down there and each year they just shoot 170, 160 inch plus deer and multiple of them. But where I'm at is kind of a mixture of between farmland and kind of the rocky appalachian outskirts, um, but as you get further towards the central and western portion of the state it's more kind of flat and kind of barren, without trees and stuff.

Speaker 2: 20:54

Definitely more out west on the western portion of the state, a lot more waterfowl and that kind of stuff. I personally think it's similar, very similar to Iowa in terms of not a lot of trees, but where there's trees there's a lot of bucks, a lot of deer and a lot of ag. But when I it's crazy when I'm going flying I'm a flight student so I fly a lot around the state and that kind of stuff and I can, once I get to, about the west side of Akron I don't know if you know that, yeah, um, but it's. Once you get west of there you can kind of see just a big diagonal line going through the center of the state where it's got vegetation and trees and stuff, to just flat barren farmland jeez, let's see.

Speaker 1: 21:47

Yeah, no. So it's kind of like over here, um, as as well. Um, you know, we, we have a lot of diversity over here too as well. But you know, something that we were talking about before um, we started recording is you know, this is one of the states that it's like if you don't want to go to iowa or something like that, this is the perfect place for you to go. If you're, you know, if maybe you don't want to spend all the money or anything like that, maybe you don't want to travel as far.

Speaker 1: 22:13

I think Ohio has gotten so popular and I mean, I imagine you guys got to get hit by the PA hunters, the West Virginia hunters, the, you know, new Jersey hunters, I imagine, go up there Like you guys are getting hit by kind of like everyone. So, public land, and you know it's got to be a wild, wild time. But because there is still so much land, especially in your, your big woods, right, I imagine it's it's still very much doable now with the private properties and everything like that, it's going to be. It's going to be harder and stuff like that. You know you're talking about a lot of the farmland and then you have these plots of trees. But the cool thing about hunting, that is, you know where the deer are. For the most part, it is, I imagine, getting set up and not blowing up that spot, so your access has to be very crucial how you access these spots in your wind correct and a lot of the deer, at least in my area, are bedding in a lot of marshes and that kind of stuff.

Speaker 2: 23:16

So you really have to be careful with the wind and that kind of stuff so you're not blowing your wind out over that marsh. In terms of public land and that kind of stuff, you know Ohio is kind of behind the eight ball in terms of compared to other states. We only have actually about 5% of the total land. In terms of compared to other states. We only have actually about five percent of the total land in ohio as public land and from my experience in terms of hunting public land, it's really thick. Um, one of my former teammates at kent state was from north carolina and he was telling me that he's just shocked at how thick it and overgrown it is and it's kind of turned away a lot of hunters just because it's hard to get shots off and that kind of stuff. And the other thing is the Amish really like to hunt public land and that kind of stuff. Ohio for some reason has the public lands and a lot of cases near amish communities. So you're you're got a lot of competition that's very interesting.

Speaker 1: 24:24

I wonder if that's done on on purpose, maybe a little bit know, just because it maybe makes it easier access for them. And this is what they do. You know that's a big portion, I imagine, of you know a huge diversity in in hunting, where you're going to get a lot of those you know, amish people, to hunt, which this is, you know from just their lifestyle. Like this is what they they have to do, you know, but that that's that's pretty unique. Have have you run into anyone that's amish while hunting when you've done public land, or anyone you know, one of your friends or anything like that? That that you know? Like I want, I want to know what it's like. Like what are they using I imagine they're not you using all the technology that we use? Like, are they, are they, you know, gun hunters? Are they bow hunters? Like, hey, you know I I don't know too much about amish people, you know, I know, you know usually when I see them, like, yes, I know they drive cars, but a lot of the times I've seen them with you know, still, the horse and buggy you know.

Speaker 1: 25:27

Or, um, you know, on certain days, like when we go up to the great american outdoor show. I believe it's sunday where they're not there because I think they have to do, you know, whatever stuff they have to do for religion or or whatever the case is, you know. But besides that, like they are filling up the show at the greater, like they love hunting and fishing in the, the, the outdoors, obviously, but a big part of the, the people that I see, I would say is a pretty big percentage of amish people. So I wonder how, what the percentage of amish people are hunting in you know, your state or pierre, something like that, and what it's like, you know, for them to hunt, like what, what are, what's their hunting style? You know, I mean, that they're not getting all the fancy stuff and everything. Like you know, like a lot of people are, you know, are they more that basic, you know, basic hunter?

Speaker 2: 26:20

well, actually, surprisingly, they're decked out in a lot of stuff. You know, I, really we, they're allowed to use trail cameras and benelli's. I see them showing up sometimes. My buddy's got a permission spot right next to public land and we'll see them cutting through there with the benelli's and sick of waiters and all sorts of stuff. I mean they've got, I think, a lot of loopholes and stuff where they're allowed to do. Yeah, yeah, I mean I, I want what's that?

Speaker 1: 26:51

I wonder if it's because they're going after. You know they're going after a food source and natural food source and you know, maybe that's somewhere in their loophole where it's like, hey, you know what, this is, what we can do, because it's going to provide for the whole entire family slash community that that they have for sure, and I I love having the Amish.

Speaker 2: 27:20

I don't have to deal with the public land, luckily, so I don't have to run into too much pressure and that kind of stuff. But the guy, the bow technician that works on my bow and stuff every year, he's Amish, he does. They know so much about all that technology and stuff and they're just incredible and very useful and helpful people and very nice as well. I've never had with them.

Speaker 1: 27:42

I, I agree, I've never, never had a issue with them. They usually kind of just, like, you know, state to themselves um, you know, and you know you're I've never seen them, you know. Know, as, of course, when you go out to places in public, they're never the, the drunk assholes that are, they're acting out. They're usually, you know, pretty reserved and they're just you know, they kind of mind their own business. They're there for, for a reason, they kind of have like an idea of what they want to do and they just go out and and do it. I mean, what they want to do and they just go out and and do it. I mean I imagine that's part of their, their lifestyle and everything like that.

Speaker 1: 28:19

Yet again, I don't, I don't know much about it, but you know, it seems like they're, for the most part, they're. They're pretty reserved, they're pretty simple and easygoing, which is which is pretty nice, because you never know who you're going to run out into, out in the real world. But if you run out to someone who's in the Amish community or something like that, they're pretty. I've never had a bad experience with them at all. Yeah, they're very good people, you know. So we go through that and you know we're looking at 2023,. You know, last season you shot a beautiful, beautiful buck.

Speaker 2: 28:56

You know, give give us the backstory to that and how it all went down. Well, the buck is I named him Sevens because he's always been a giant seven point. I actually tried getting my dad on him, not this past year, but the year before as a four-year-old, and he was just a giant then as a four-year-old and he was just a giant then. But I pretty much watched him the whole season and in 2022 and throughout the summer of last year I really didn't have a target buck picked out and on October 9th, I believe, he showed up on one of my cameras and I pretty much just honed in on him move. I'm I'm a big proponent to taking all my resources and including cell cams and stuff and putting them, infiltrating that certain area that I noticed where the deer are or the specific bucks that I'm hunting is. So I I uh going on after a few sits of sitting where I had seen him before, I was headed in the stand. I actually wasn't even gonna hunt that day. I was actually getting a film for my dad, but he he was kind of pissed at me excuse my, my language, but he was upset with me for not wanting to hunt that day and he, we were in the truck and he turned around, made me go get my bow and it had been raining off and on that day and you know how it is in mid to late October where deer are hitting scrapes finally and that pre-rut's starting to kick in and I had to go get a stand one of my tethered platforms out from another tree where I was doing an observation set the night before, and as I was walking down this path to go to my stand where I had been seeing him, he was actually on a scrape with some does and so I put everything down except for my bow and I was trying to creep up to behind some briar patches and stuff.

Speaker 2: 31:05

But there were a couple does in a cedar thicket right to my left and they blew and they cleared the whole field and I saw him run into the section of woods that I call the middle woods, but I figured he was going to come back out, so I actually I had I have permission to walk on the a certain portion of the farmer's property that's a neighbor to the farm I hunt, and so I crept in in there to the woods and went around into his field and there's like a divide of trees and my stand was in that divide of trees and so I crept in behind all those and climbed up into my stand real quick and it wasn't. I got the camera set up and it wasn't. Five minutes after he came walking back out and I shot him at 43 yards and he dropped within 20 seconds and didn't even clear the field. I have a video on my YouTube. The link is in my Instagram bio. It's the slip underscore tv if you want to search it up on youtube.

Speaker 1: 32:16

But I was so excited yeah, I mean, she's like, first of all, what an easy track job you I. The one of the things I always talk about is man, I wish my track jobs could be easy. I want to watch and I think I've I've seen like two or three of my deer fall down right in, like front of me or like where I can see it, and it's always like when you see that happen, it's even better, it's like all right, you don't have to worry, there's no. Like, oh my god, like you, like you know you're never wondering, you know, and yet again, you know, you and everyone else out there they've probably, you know, you've probably shot deer and everything like that, and you've heard deer crash, you know.

Speaker 1: 33:03

But you're like, oh, like I'm not sure, like I remember when I shot this guy right here, I smoked him and he took off and I was like 99% sure I heard him crash right and I'm excited and I'm pumped up. But then I walked back to the truck and like I'm calling everyone and you know I got people coming up, so I'm not going out on track, but it's that 1% here. It's like wait, wait, did I hear it? Like you know, did I really hear him? Maybe he was just ripping through something and it's like, like, until you find him you're not a hundred percent sure, right, but if you see that deer go down, at least you don't have to worry about anything else. You know he's dead, you know he's not going anywhere like. You know you don't have to worry about anything, and it's like it's always magical to me when you watch a deer go down, you know, and it's, it's also one.

Speaker 1: 33:55

You know the deer is not suffering, you know. You know there wasn't a bad shot there. There isn't any foul play or anything like that involved. You know it's quick, clean and ethical if they go down like right in front of you, you know there was really no suffering. You know, and that's always like the first, like great thing, um, you know, and then, especially if you're out in thick, thick country, it's like all right at least I don't have to track this deer.

Speaker 1: 34:21

Yeah, you don't have to go through that. There's been times where we're on hands and knees trying to find blood or something like that, or if you're trying to drag a deer out and you literally have to cut through. Like it can be. It can be tough, but to watch a deer fall in front of you or any animal, um, you know is is definitely quite thrilling and the perfect scenario that you can ask for.

Speaker 2: 34:50

Right, I've looked. I've only been able to do that twice where I've had been able to watch it drop. I've had far too many examples where I haven't been that lucky, and it's definitely.

Speaker 1: 35:03

It makes you appreciate the short tracking jobs for sure yeah, no, I, I agree with you, um, you know, and it's as a bow hunter I think you know like kind of like I, and it's as a bow hunter, I think you know, like kind of like I said, it's just, it's always nerve wracking, it just really is. I mean, it doesn't matter, you can be the best bow hunter in the world, like you know, it doesn't really matter. I think I was watching um, you know, heading to to England or um, I was been watching a lot of Cameron Hayes to england, or um, I've been watching a lot of cameron hayes, um, haynes, juice haynes, um, and I watched his, uh, his bear hunt and he thought he smoked it and it was, it was still alive and everything like that. And you know they had a, they had to shoot it with the gun and everything like that. But it's, it's that point where you, you never know, you think you smoke something, you think it was a great shot, you know, obviously, when you're talking about bears, it's, it's it's way way different than than a deer.

Speaker 1: 36:02

But you know, at the end of the day, you just want the quickest, cleanest, most ethical kill you can possibly get and you want no suffering and you know when you could see an animal go down. Listen it's, you got you, You're right, you got to appreciate it, because when it doesn't happen, oh man, it's, it could be gun wrenching, especially if you don't find that animal.

Speaker 2: 36:24

Right. Well, there's two scenarios where that's happened to me. Before my first buck Ohio buck who I named Splits he was the 186. My first buck Ohio buck who I named Splits he was the 186. I actually got a shot off on him back in January of 21. And I didn't actually end up finding the deer. I thought I had made a perfect shot on him and I think I did. I was using an expandable broadhead and I think I did. I just I was using an expandable broadhead and I think I shoulder shot him so, but I didn't end up finding that deer.

Speaker 2: 37:09

I did end up finding his sheds on Easter weekend, so luckily, I was able to find those. I don't know if he dropped right after that shot, since it was so late in the year, or not. They were kind of in that area where I had seen him run off to, but I've never seen him again and that was just a heartbreaker. And then my 2022 buck was kind of that same situation where I shot him. It felt like a good shot, but it ended up taking 200 yards later to find him. Yeah, and it's stressful and you feel like you want to quit, but yeah, there's always something that brings you right back into it. You know, luckily I was able to find my 22 buck but and get the tag on them. But it's definitely very stressful when you're thinking about or when you don't don't see them crash yeah, I mean now, you know going through, you know what we're talking about.

Speaker 1: 38:13

Like you know, I haven't talked about a lot on this podcast, I don't think, but two incidents I, you know, I can remember, is this one buck. I I thought I smoked and he actually ran out into an open field and he was just he was standing there and I was like I was like okay, like he's going to drop, like he's going to drop, and I literally I don't know what I did, but I took my eyes off of him for a second and he was gone Right. So I'm like all right, like maybe he walked off, he shouldn't be too far, and good blood, I mean really good blood. And then we got out into the open field and where he was standing, nothing, oh geez, it was like it was nothing and it was like a I always explain to people it was like a ufo came, picked up the deer and just disappeared because we found nothing. I mean we searched everywhere. I mean we swear we searched, we searched.

Speaker 1: 39:18

I went home, got more people came back because I wanted to give them time. So like I didn't push too much, I searched that area, like the initial impact area, out to where he was and just around in that field a little bit, not pushing where you know I thought he went because I didn't want to bump him, gosh forbid. And then I walked out, got more people, came back, I think at like one, twelve or one o'clock in the morning, with I think five or six other people, and we searched everything. Grid search um came out the next day. Um grid searched again. Um was looking in the air to see if I could find any, you know, buzzards or anything like that.

Speaker 1: 40:03

Nothing, um, and he just just disappeared, just didn't find his sheds, didn't find any bones, didn't? You know? I remember going back in the off season and you know, trying to find something. You know, just couldn't find anything. So I'm hoping that he did survive. Maybe it wasn't as good of a shot than I thought, but the blood, the initial blood, was like it was a lot. It was good blood, but it's one of those things like they're so resilient.

Speaker 1: 40:36

You know what I mean. It's, it's, it's never guaranteed. And then you know I, what was the second story? I was going to say I can't even, can't even remember right now what, what the second story was. But you know it happens to all of us. It's going to happen to the best of us. You know, no one is perfect. And they're so like when you're talking especially you're talking about bow hunting, like things just happen.

Speaker 1: 41:01

You know and it is a gut-wrenching feeling where you're right, you do want to just quit, but um, you can't. And actually now remember the story I was going to say um, it was the rut and I was hunting hard and I had this beautiful buck come cruising in and he was like 30 or 35 yards. I put my pin on him, perfectly quartering away, let it rip, my drop away, sight broke and it never went down, stripped my arrow and I remember I saw the arrow do this and dropped right Would. It was still kind of perfect, but I guess it just lost momentum when it, when it hit the rest and dropped I would say maybe a couple yards right in front of him, but would have been like. When I watched the video, it was like perfectly on where it would have smoked them if it wasn't the case.

Speaker 1: 42:05

And I think that was the the most difficult thing I've ever went through, because in my mind I did everything right, like everything right, and I remember just sitting there like just like why, me, like what, why, why did this have to happen? Um, and after maybe five minutes I was like you know what, this is bohemian, this is why you love it, like you know what. At the end of the day, like it's just full of raw emotion and you know, even though you want to quit and you want to give up, like this is, this is what we do, and you just can't quit and give up and you, you get right back on the horse. I mean, I remember I got down and I took my. I was like we're straight to the, to the bow shop, what the hell's going on? And everything like that.

Speaker 1: 42:53

Um, you know, and I actually ended up having to because we thought we fixed it and I went to the range and it kept on happening. I had to go to a whisker biscuit for the remainder of the year because I didn't want to. You know, I wanted to get back into the, into the stand right away. I didn't want to have to play around too much on getting a new drop away rest and everything like that. So we want the good old whisker biscuit and you know. But things happen, things, things happen. Your bow happens, everything go perfectly and it could just be a malfunction.

Speaker 2: 43:23

You know there's there's things that happen it's hunting's one of the only sports where every it has to be 100 for a torque out, it can't be 99, it has to be 100 and I've been saying that for years. Where it's got to be 100% for it to work out, it can't be 99%, it has to be 100% and I've been saying that for years. Where it's got to be 100% or it doesn't work out. I try and manage my deer and I try to be as secretly as possible and careful with what I say around certain people because if they go into those spots that I know they're a deer bedded, that could be the end of my season. Yeah, I've kind of had to adapt to that kind of secrecy, uh format in my hunting because I can't afford to have any hiccups and and my season potentially in terms of harvesting that one deer I mean the one deer is. Choosing one deer a season is a huge gamble and a high risk, high reward type of situation.

Speaker 1: 44:29

Has? Has that something in the past kind of screwed you over? Is that like something that you've you know, you've gone from experience where you've you've had to move to this um, kind of secrecy and kind of like keeping things on on the down low, um, or you're just saying in just in general, um, this is what you kind of know from just the area that you live in or like the pressure that that it's been like um, where, where you live in, Um, it's a little bit of both, but I have had people go in and look for my stands and setups and cameras and that kind of stuff and it actually turned out my one 86 was bedded.

Speaker 2: 45:08

I, I yarded, got a range on it yesterday. It was 60 yards away from where all my stuff was, where I caught embedded, and I mean that could have ended my whole season at that point and so I was like, all right, I'm just not gonna. I'm gonna be careful on who I talk to about it and that kind of stuff, because you know I take the deer hunting is what replaced baseball for me after I got hurt and stuff. So deer hunts, or hunting in general, is just my true passion and what I truly love doing yeah, no, I I've kind of like actually in the same boat as you.

Speaker 1: 45:51

Like hunting replaced hockey for me after I got injured and everything like that and became my end all be all, because I imagine, when you're, when you're playing sports at a high level, you're so used to. Okay, you wake up here, you do this, you work out, you go train, you do you watch film, you, you do all these things. Um, you know, you study that, you're studying the game, um, and it's a. It's exactly the the same thing with hunting. Like I've taking everything that I've done with hockey and put it into hunting and I mean the exact breakdown of everything from film.

Speaker 1: 46:33

Like a big part of why I film my hunts and I talk about this a lot is not to be like oh my god, look at this. You know I don't. You know, yeah, I post it on youtube and instagram and stuff like that, but a lot of it is for me that I break down my hunts. You know you miss a lot. You know you're sometimes your brain isn't, you know taking it all in and just going back and film like, oh okay, look at that detail. You, you notice those small little details that you've may have missed. You know you're able to align it with trail camera pictures or videos or scouting or whatever you've done.

Speaker 1: 47:08

And then you're you're hunting it and you're like, okay, you know what? Now I noticed that deer or that buck. He came from. You know this area, you know. And what I actually do is when I, when I see deer, I take my compass and I actually will be like, okay, he came from north, 126 degrees or whatever the case is, and I I kind of map everything out where it's like, well, why, why did that deer come from here? Right, and if it continues to happen, it's like, ok, now you're starting to see a pattern and now you can go back on the film or whatever the case is, and it's the same thing with baseball, you know if you're.

Speaker 2: 47:47

What position did you play? Mostly in high school I was a catcher and then as I got into college and stuff, they had me more switch over to pitching and that kind of stuff because of my injury, which is ironic.

Speaker 1: 47:59

So, honestly, you look at both the pitcher and catcher. They got to know each other Right. They share a Of how Each pitcher is different. You know the catcher needs to understand that. How else are you going to do that? You're you know a lot of it's film, or you're discussing discussing what the pitcher and everything like that, and then also for the pitcher you are watching film from, I imagine you know the team that you're going to play against these hitters. Where is their weakest point, and everything like that. It's the same exact thing that we're doing for hunting, right? You know what I mean. Where are we gonna have that slip up?

Speaker 2: 48:41

yep 100, even in terms of I I call my um archery practice more of my bullpen type stuff where I'll try and work counts and stuff in terms of pick a spot on the target and I just go around each you know how targets have the little dots and that kind of stuff and I try and get work hitters count in there and once I do like a full strikeout then I move to the next one and then over and so forth until I get it done and that kind of stuff. So it's just weird little things that I picked up from baseball in terms of and brought it into my hunting practices and that kind of stuff to make me better. But I have noticed where a lot of my buddies they were also college baseball players and stuff and or athletes and they've just picked up on hunting and become had success as well yeah, I, I think, um, also mentally too, I think.

Speaker 1: 49:44

Have you noticed that? Has it has being a athlete and everything that you go through in your athletics and you know a team sport and the grind of a season, or you know the ups and downs of of a game or a season. Has that helped you in the long term as well, of a hunting season and the grind of a hunting season and all the ups and downs and emotion that's going in a into a hunting season?

Speaker 2: 50:12

oh for sure.

Speaker 2: 50:13

Yeah, um, I definitely get very competitive in terms of against that deer or whatever it is.

Speaker 2: 50:19

I'm I'm trying to take all my resources that I can have available to me to outsmart those deer, whether it's picking up certain weather patterns in terms with winds especially being in aviation, winds are a huge thing that I pay attention to, as well as fronts and that kind of stuff. But I haven't had other than the most stressful portion of the season for me is after the shot, um, or if there's, like the farmer, he waterfowl hunts, uh, one of the marshes that's on the neighboring properties to the farm and a lot of deer bed in there. So I get, I have that kind of deadline where I want to be done and have my deer on the ground at all possible before waterfowl season and the guns start shooting and rifle season and all that kind of stuff. So usually around those key frames between gun seasons and that kind of stuff, those are a little more stressful. But early season and that kind of stuff and when there's no guns going off, it's not too bad. Um, I just have fun with it.

Speaker 1: 51:34

I agree with you and I like that concept and that's something that Peyton and I one of our team guys we were talking about this year.

Speaker 1: 51:42

You know, we want to have a lot of our deer down so when that waterfowl season really starts to kick off, we can go out and waterfowl hunt.

Speaker 1: 51:51

We don't have to worry about anything else, like we like to do everything. You know, when you haven't capitalized on your deer hunting, it puts this big pressure on you and it kind of negatively affects all the other things because, in my opinion, I don't get to go out and do what I, you know the other things, because I still need to get it done for for deer hunting, it's the most important thing to me, right, we still have to go achieve that goal, you know, um, so it's, it's tough, it's a lot of pressure and I agree with you like get it, get it done earlier so you can now, you don't have to worry, you can go out waterfowl hunting. You can now, you don't have to worry, you can go out waterfowl hunting. You know you don't have to worry about, you know, people walking around or busting your spots or shooting up spots and everything like that you need. You can also now go and focus on. You know, the waterfowl hunting aspect.

Speaker 1: 52:45

If you're a predator hunter, you could start you know, predator hunting or trapping or pheasant hunting or out of state hunting, things like that, and that's another thing I told you like I always plan on going to ohio, but if it's not done when it needs to be done here, how can I go to another? In my opinion, how can I go to another state when I still got to get it done in my, in my home state?

Speaker 2: 53:08

yeah, because how it usually works is you take a day off and then your 200 inch deers under your stand or in front of your camera right there. I can't tell you how many times I've had to miss a sit because of class and stuff. And then that deer has been nocturnal the last two weeks and then he shows up six o'clock broad daylight, two hours before dark, and then that's the only time they show up and of course my birthday is around the time of opening day, so those deer are sometimes still in their pattern and sometimes moving over to their rut range and that kind of stuff. And so I've had I've had birthday events and the deer at my stand broad daylight, and that was the first time the whole season. Oh man, and it's just like, oh my gosh.

Speaker 1: 54:04

I'm happy. I don't like. My birthday is in August, so I don't have to deal with that. It's a love-hate relationship, because I would always like to hunt on my birthday. I feel like that would be such a cool birthday, like to myself, but also, you know, especially being younger like now I'm 30, um, being in my early 20s I don't think I could could do it. I would, I'd be somewhere else, I'd be enjoying myself. I wouldn't, I couldn't imagine like being in my early 20s and having to to figure out if I want to go out or if I want to, you know, go hunting. I didn't have that option, thank god, um, because it's. If I saw a deer, a buck, show up on my birthday when I was at, like you know, whatever event I was doing for her, I would, I would be. I think that'd make my birthday miserable. I'd be so mad.

Speaker 2: 54:59

I'll be hunting on my birthday. This year it's opening day, so I'll be getting after it, that's perfect, perfect, um.

Speaker 1: 55:07

You know, garrett, we we got a few more, a few more questions for you and everything like that. We're about to get into our, our quick response topic that we always do with um, with all the newcomers onto our show, um, so let's, we're gonna start that off in a, in a second. Let me pull it up, all right, my notes. The most important question that we're about to ask I'm gonna give you a little bit to think about. Usually, most people don't get a chance to think about it, but I got to pull it up on my phone Is if, what is your dream hunt? You can hunt anywhere and any animal for two weeks. Money's not an option, doesn't matter. What is your dream hunt? And I will take the answer in a second. I'll give you a second to think about it. Where the hell is this thing? Okay, okay.

Speaker 2: 56:12

You know I think about this a lot too is a dream hunt, and obviously white tails are my bread and butter. I mean, that's what I love. I do like the thought of doing a mule deer hunt or an elk hunt, um, but in terms of a dream dream hunt, it would be a doll sheep in alaska.

Speaker 1: 56:35

I think that would just be so wow, okay, that is, oh, sheep in alaska. I think that might be the first of 2024 of of sheep. Um, I would have to go over the notes, but that, honestly, we haven't gotten that too much. We've been. We've been asking this question for since the start of our show, so for four years now. We have only maybe a handful of times have gotten that one, maybe not even 10, like I would probably put that in the five range. Um, so a very unique one. I like that one. I, I like that one. I dig that one.

Speaker 2: 57:22

Um, uh, the next question um, traditional or non-traditional whitetail oh I, I like a, I like a typical buck, a big, wide, typical, you can't beat it no, you definitely, definitely can't.

Speaker 1: 57:45

Um, if you can have property in any state in in the country or in any state, yeah, any state in the country, what state would it be in?

Speaker 2: 57:57

definitely Iowa. My goal is to be based, once I get to the airlines, in Iowa. You just can't beat the two bucks and that kind of stuff. Ohio is a one buck state and once my seat. Once I shoot my buck, my season's over in Ohio, so it'd be nice to get two bucks, big bucks.

Speaker 1: 58:19

I love that. Yeah, no, definitely. If you could get sponsored by one company, what company would that be?

Speaker 2: 58:34

Just one. Just one, just just one for now now I gotta be honest, the uh trail trail cameras, the cell cams, are definitely starting to show their price. Um, so, definitely like moultrie. Moultrie is who I use and I I love moultrie products. Um, some of my outfitting buddies and guide buddies are sponsored by. Moultrie is who I use and I love Moultrie products. Some of my outfitting buddies and guide buddies are sponsored by Moultrie and they love their service and love working with them, so it would definitely be Moultrie or something like that.

Speaker 1: 59:05

I'm glad you said that one, because it wouldn't have been, because we are on the field staff team here for Moultrie and everything like that. So you know we use Moultrie products, field staff team here for for Moultrie and everything like that. So you know we use Moultrie products. Um, and honestly, I was a big um, I have no problem with saying this. Everyone knows I was a big, uh, tacticam guy. Um, I was using Tacticam for a couple years and then I'll never forget I think it was it was two years ago where one of my buddies I'm not sure which one who picked up a mulchery and like they started raving about like hey, dude, you got to try this. I know you, you know you're, you're hooked on reveal and everything like that. But just, you know, try it out.

Speaker 1: 59:45

And we went to the great american outdoor show and I picked up two and I was like all right, like you know what? I'm a huge cell cam guy, like I love, I love cameras. Let me try this thing out. I was very skeptical about it because like, oh, what could be better than Tacticam? Honestly, because they were the best at that point in my opinion, and I put it out there. I set it up. First of all, the fact that you could put 16 batteries I love that and you don't need an SD card. I was like, all right, like this is great. And then like the fact that my camera was running on video mode for as long as it was and everything like that. I mean it, just that that got me hooked.

Speaker 1: 1:00:26

So then I think I got, like I got three more that season and now like I think I'm at like I don't even know how many I'm at, like I, I think I'm at, like I don't even know how am I am at, like I think I got I got one sitting right there. I think I got five out in the woods. I got two solar panels right there. So I've become a huge, huge fan and that's why I was like you know what, let me, let me join the Moultrie team and you know I very, uh, very happy and their customer service is. It's phenomenal. Actually, out of a can I gotta send one of my cameras back, because I actually had a issue with my camera, um, and I called them. Mid in the woods, it's like 100 degrees out. I'm sitting in a like a riverbank, so it's nice and cool and they answered me right away. We tried everything and then like, hey, you know what, send the back, we'll send you out a new one. You know, no problem at all.

Speaker 1: 1:01:17

And you know my first experience with SpyPoint because SpyPoint was the first cell camera I used Worse, and you know anyone who uses them. Everyone has different experiences. For me it was the worst customer service I've had. You know I haven't had to use Tacticams. I don't think I've had. You know I haven't had to use tacticams. I don't think, um, but just absolutely, just, just wasn't my thing. And just, you know I'm happy where I'm at now on the camera. I'm actually gonna. We got a spy point right there.

Speaker 2: 1:01:46

I gotta actually remove that um, my buddies have tried the spy points. I've never really gotten into them. I've thought they were kind of cheap. And I tried the tactic cams probably three years ago and I tried one of them along with some of my mulchries and the thing died within like a month and it just would send black pictures like the camera quit working. So I just returned that because luckily it was still on the Warranty yeah, warranty so I was able to send that back and get my money. And then I bought a couple more Moultries with it. Moultries are definitely the best in terms of camera quality and the videos on those things are amazing, the best. I think they're way better than tacticams. I do too. I'll use moultrie for as long as they're creating a good product yep, yep, I agree, I agree with that.

Speaker 1: 1:02:49

um, obviously and I'm not only saying it, you know everyone out there all. I'm not saying that because you, you know I'm on their team. The reason why I wanted to be a part of their team was because you know how much I believe in this product. You know, and it's Cell cams have been such a I love them. I really do, and I know right now, like even in Iowa, they just banned them. I think they actually just overturned that a couple days. Oh, they did yeah because I was.

Speaker 2: 1:03:16

I was reading up on that a lot because I mean that's where I want to potentially move to. I'm torn between either staying here, kentucky, or Iowa, and I saw that probably two days ago where they overturned it. So that's a good thing, cause what's the point of? I mean, if you can't use trail cameras, you're not learning anything about the deer and it's definitely going to turn a lot of people away and from going to Iowa at that point because they feel like they have no chance, especially with a lot of new hunters and stuff going on that have never experienced a hunt without trail cameras. I've been fortunate to be able to go out of state and to buddy other buddies, properties and stuff and not have to use trail cameras, and so it's fine.

Speaker 1: 1:04:05

But in terms of managing deer and that kind of stuff, you want to have cameras to help build that age class, I believe I think I I agree a hundred percent, especially when you're talking about if you're trying to grow the outdoors and get new hunters into it. I think I think, yes, there is a point where it's becoming too much. I don't think we should continue. You know, I think, where we are with trail cameras right now. This is where it needs to be. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 1:04:38

I don't think you should be coming out with some other new technology where you can do live feeds or and I think there is one that you can, I think or part in one yeah, you can, I think, barton, one, yeah, you can. I think that's a little too much, right? And also, how much is that really going to cost, right? I think, where we are right now, that's great. If A state I don't think a state should fully ban them, I think if they were to come up with something like say with you, do a, you know, public versus private thing, I think, if you have private, how are you going to tell somebody that they can't run trail cameras on their, on their private property?

Speaker 2: 1:05:19

you know what I?

Speaker 1: 1:05:20

mean, um, you know, over here in new jersey we can run them, except for, I think, on federal land. I think there's certain, like certain areas that we cannot run them, which, okay, I'm completely cool with. You know, we plan on hunting one of those areas this year and I'm really excited to hunt it without any trail cameras, you know. I mean it gives another aspect, but you know what, look at what we've done compared to someone who's new.

Speaker 1: 1:05:46

When you're new, you want to get every advantage you want. I think it's a whole. It's a really cool aspect of hunting that you're scouting, you do whatever you put a camera and if you get deer, you get like that's so cool, like going and seeing the videos or the pictures, like and seeing how they interact and everything like that. It's a tool to learn, um, you know, and that's what I think it does a very good job at. And for the new hunters, I think it's especially important that you keep it for for somebody who's getting into hunting, for the new hunters, they don't need cell cameras, no, but you know what, sd cameras or make it like that. Hey, you know what on this land you can't use cell cameras, sd camera, you, you know, make it a little more fair, or whatever the case is, is what they're trying to argue um, but to ban it fully? I don't, I, I definitely don't agree exactly.

Speaker 2: 1:06:38

Yeah, me too. Going off on the SD card cameras on public land. I think that's a great thing. Um, you don't really I don't mind the sell cams on public land either. However, you know you got the issue with privacy and that kind of stuff, obviously with other hunters and that kind of stuff, but I think it's neat to be able to go out and still use regular sd cameras on public land. Uh, one of my buddies that lives out in colorado. He goes up and sets up his regular SD card cameras up in the mountains and stuff for elk and mule deer and he gets all sorts of stuff on there mountain lions, everything and the videos are just incredible and it's just so neat to go see him and go through all the videos that he's collected over the year, him, and go through all the videos that he's collected over the year.

Speaker 1: 1:07:31

No, I I think it's, um, like you said, that that's something like how are you gonna tell someone that they can't, you know, especially when you, when you're gonna be out in the mountains like that or or something like that, or very far, or you know, you don't have the time to just go up and travel a couple hours, or whatever the case is, to to an area?

Speaker 1: 1:07:50

Um, I think it's also I've noticed and you know I don't want to, I'm going to knock on wood here I think it's a huge deterrent, also for people who might be stealing your stuff or breaking into your stuff. Um, my sds, you know, and I run a bunch of sds in the summertime because I I don't need to be running cell cameras right now, you know. I mean, um, a lot more of those get broken into, but that I think when you see a cell camera, when someone sees, they're like, oh wait, did they just get my picture? Is that, is that already on the? You know, is my face on the phone, whatever? Whatever the case is, so I do think of it of a deterrent. I also put my cameras usually up in a tree right that.

Speaker 2: 1:08:35

I've heard a lot of people do that. I've done that a little bit on my farm. Um, I haven't had to put any cameras out on public land, but I I usually try to get a minimum of five to six feet on my cameras yeah, I, I do um on my, on my.

Speaker 1: 1:08:55

I even do it now on private too, not all the time, because it depends where we're hunting, but we have bears. You know, I don't do you, do you guys have bears in Ohio?

Speaker 2: 1:09:06

Very occasionally We'll get some that kind of migrate from Pennsylvania to, or they migrate from Pennsylvania and West Virginia, but very seldom do we see them. Okay, usually once or twice every spring. That's pretty much it though.

Speaker 1: 1:09:25

So they get. I mean, they could get destroyed by bears. Um, so I usually put them up in a tree. That's another reason why I put them up in a tree. I actually put one up in a tree during, you know, when I was baiting for bear season, and it actually climbed up into the tree and still got it. That's the only time I've had a bear climb up for a camera, um, you know, but besides that, no issues, issues at all. Um, but a few more before before I let you go here. Um, what is your go-to hunting snack? Are you? Are you a snack guy?

Speaker 2: 1:10:04

um, depends on what I'm hunting. If I'm white tailitetail hunting, I don't eat anything. I'm I can sit all day and not eat anything. For whitetails and stuff For turkey I gotta go with like a cosmic brownie or Welch's makes these little like blueberry, uh, greek yogurt things and waterfowl. I bought a blackstone, or I got a blackstone for christmas this year and we like to make all sorts of stuff, whether it's egg, bologna sandwiches type things or whatever.

Speaker 1: 1:10:43

So that's the cool thing about waterfall that I love. Like I plan on, you know, this year getting something like that and just cooking Taylor and Megan cheese, just cooking up some hot meals in between birds coming in and just being able to eat, drink some hot chocolate or coffee and blast birds away.

Speaker 2: 1:11:04

It's definitely a good time, no matter where you go with that now the last, last one.

Speaker 1: 1:11:13

I'll ask you on on this and it, if you could hunt with anyone, whether they're they're dead or alive, whether they're from back in the day or whatever the case is, and I'll do. Um, if you want to do a family member and also somebody else, um, you could do that as well. Or if you just have one, one specific person, you know we've we've heard all different ones uh, fred bear's one, uh, teddy roosevelt's one, and then we've had a couple of, you know, football players or sports athletes or whoever, whoever likes to hunt. You know, you know, um, whoever, who would it be?

Speaker 2: 1:11:53

um, I loved getting to hunt with my dad, but luckily I am able to do that in terms of someone that I really look up to in the hunting industry is donnie vincent. Um, he he's kind of who got me into the filming because I just think his films are incredible, so I definitely have to choose Donnie. I think he's got a lot of information that is very valuable and he's had some incredible experiences in his life that the stories would just be so unique to, yeah, and just so fascinating. I actually have a uh, one of his quotes over here. Um, I'm just a huge fan of Donnie Vincent and his work.

Speaker 1: 1:12:42

Love it, love it. That's a. That's a good one as as well. Um, you know. And also one one thing I want to to you know, what is it like going through flight school? Like what? What is that? What is your plan like, do you want to, what do you want to fly when, when you graduate, and everything like that, like, what is that like?

Speaker 2: 1:13:00

oh, flight school, it's a. It's a whirlwind of stuff or emotions, um, going through flight. The first six months of flight training I flew maybe six times the whole semester. There's just a lot of kids going through it now. They really pushed it because of that pilot shortage and now they're halting new hires for airlines because they don't have enough planes and now they have too many pilots. But flight school I'm usually at the airport. Kent State is big enough so they have their own airport so I'm usually there every day. I got to go there this afternoon and fly Typically, depending on which flight course you're in, the furthest you'll go is about 45 minutes away Because each flight is about an hour and a half, but there are days where you'll do kind of like a cross country, where it's 25 nautical miles or greater.

Speaker 2: 1:13:58

So, like a couple of weeks ago I was just down in Charleston, west Virginia, and then flew back to Columbus, ohio, and then back to Kent.

Speaker 2: 1:14:07

Here in a couple of weeks, when I start my commercial, after I get my instrument rating and I start my commercial rating, uh, training I will be doing, I believe, to chicago and back, or chicago to pittsburgh and then back, and so I've gotten to see some really cool airports.

Speaker 2: 1:14:24

I've been able to fly into the big airports as well as small, other small airports and that kind of stuff, and I like the thought of being. I chose aviation because I'd always been interested in flying you know, going down to florida and traveling stuff when I was younger and I like the idea of being able to set my own schedule and for the most part the airlines are pretty forgiving on oh, you got to do this that day and that kind of stuff and I'm able to work around what I need to do. And as you get further on in your career, you get even more time off and have an even looser schedule and stuff, which is really nice and appealing, and you get flight benefits so I can travel wherever I want once I get to the airlines yeah, no, that's.

Speaker 2: 1:15:16

That's pretty cool yeah, I'm torn between the airlines and then potentially going up to alaska and doing like bush, piloting or something.

Speaker 1: 1:15:24

I think that'd be really cool too yeah, I was gonna ask uh, ask that as well, and that seems pretty cool. I'll give you lots of credit. I mean, I've never been a flyer. I was good this time going there and back, you know no issues at it, and I actually enjoyed it. I was never a flyer. I always hated flying, but this time it was very like all right, like this is this is doable. And then it's like okay, like I wonder what it would be like to work for airline and just be able to fly and do all these things. Like it's never. I think I've.

Speaker 1: 1:16:04

I don't think I know any pilots. I think someone I went to school with they're in the Navy and I think they fly a fighter pilot, but I don't really talk to them. But to be one of those guys and to fly, you know, across country or over the ocean or whatever, like it seems like a pretty, pretty cool job. Like if you could, if you could pick something, if I could pick that a pretty, pretty cool job. Like if you could, if you could pick something, if I could pick, that would be pretty cool to do. Like if you'd love to travel.

Speaker 1: 1:16:33

We're just with someone um in england and um bianca's brother-in-law, um his buddy. He just he gets on every flight and he's a traveler, he just likes to travel um, and he literally, I think, went from la to england just because you know he knows somebody who who works in the um for united and I think he gets um, he gets to go on like almost any stand standby um. So he was like yeah, he was like I just he's like I just got here. He was like I'm like what I was like and he's like I'm going to germany tomorrow, like what the hell like that's.

Speaker 2: 1:17:11

That's absolutely insane yeah, it's definitely a good industry to be in, especially now because everyone's traveling stuff yeah, no, I, I, I definitely agree.

Speaker 1: 1:17:24

But, um, garrett, any, any last, any last words, anything else you you want to touch on before we, we sign off here?

Speaker 2: 1:17:32

um, I think it's whatever you want to do. I mean, if you've got any more questions about any of the trips that I've had, uh, in the last several years, or any other experiences, or camera setups or bow setups or whatever well, what we could, we'll definitely do.

Speaker 1: 1:17:51

Well, listen, there's always so much to talk about. We will get you back on. I would definitely love to talk some waterfowl hunting once we get close to waterfowl. We do something where, um, we do a round table segment where I actually get a bunch of guys on too as well, probably like five, six, seven, eight up to, I think, 10 guys that we can have up on this and we just go over different topics and everything like that.

Speaker 1: 1:18:13

Um, you know, it was definitely a pleasure. I mean I, yet again, I know there there's just so much to talk to and it's the one tough thing is is getting everything. You can't get everything in within an hour to two hours of of talking, you know. So I always tell people usually, hey, listen, you're going to have to come back on because there's, you know, there there's just so much to talk about and everything like that. And I try not to make these too, too long, but it was an absolute pleasure. Loved, you know, our our conversation Loved. I love the fact that you actually go to school, and at kent. I find that really, really cool and unique, that that's where I used to to play hockey and I spent some some time too as as well, um at, but um looking forward definitely to the, to the next time talking yeah, me too.

Speaker 1: 1:19:06

I appreciate you having me on no problem, and uh everyone, go check out his his instagram page. His youtube will also be down in the link below. Go give him a follow and uh, garrett will will definitely be talking soon. And uh, everyone out there. I hope you guys enjoy this episode and we'll see you guys next time. Thanks for having me.