00:00:00
Speaker 1: Thirty five yards down. He starts aiming straight towards in front of me and going like up the hill, trying to figure out where how is It’s like, no way this is gonna happen. I’m like, why is this working right now? I’m like this is awesome, but you know, competitive side.
00:00:15
Speaker 2: Of you is just like you’re locked in.
00:00:17
Speaker 1: I almost feel better in that motion than like when I went and shot with Dan. I was like nervous. I’m like, you know, I’m like, what is this? I felt pretty calm, pretty good, and I’m like okay, And he kind of crossed that aspen that was in front of me, so I drew back. He looks at me. I’m just like my twenties, right, he was only seventeen to twenty yards probably nice. Just I double lung and he turns and runs and I’m just telling my dad, I think I got it. It had to be a good shot. I think I got him. And I’m just like trying to like calm down. I’m like shaking now and.
00:00:50
Speaker 3: Out here. The steaks are real effective preparations starts with fitness, but it requires so much more. This show explores the tools college resilience and skills needed to be ready when it matters the most. Join me Rich Browning as we apply the decades of wisdom I’ve gained through training and competition to hunting in the back country. This is in Pursuit brought to you by Mouth Knocks in collaboration with Mayhem Hunt. We got Jake Dalton here, Olympian, former two time Olympian. Yeah, awesome. He came man London. Rio. Is that the two that I saw? He came in floor and vault?
00:01:34
Speaker 1: Was that?
00:01:34
Speaker 3: Your main things? Is that rings? Okay? Okay, so you can you know when everybody’s like, oh, muscle ups, they’re like, yeah, that’s what you have to get up. You have to do to get up into start your ring team, you know. Yeah, so sure, heck ca man, Well, glad to have you. You’re in town just up the road for kind of a gymnastics clinic or like camp. Yep, yeah, yeah, so we’ve been. Have you been You’ve been? No, it’s pretty cool. We went up there couple of times. And the Power Monkey guys. There’s a kind of a CrossFit camp I’m sure you know runs. They do two or three of them a year and they’ll come down to Mayhem.
00:02:09
Speaker 2: And he said he worked with Undo on a few things.
00:02:11
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, he was out there.
00:02:12
Speaker 3: Yeah, Kundu was always That’s kind of how we ran into Metundo and so, uh when we went up there, they have like a high ropes course, they’ve got a rope swing. They got the blob they do that. So we took kids up there one time. It was pretty broad.
00:02:25
Speaker 2: I’ve always want to try a blob. I’ve ever done that.
00:02:27
Speaker 3: It’s pretty cool. You’ve got to have some weight, some weight behind gotcha.
00:02:31
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, we’ll get two or three guys to jump it.
00:02:33
Speaker 3: Yeah, we’re a little bit more dense, not not emotionally but or maybe emotionally so but he can’t. Man, So you’ve been so what Rio was sixteen? Okay, so it’s been a little bunch. Okay, you’re doing any coaching with guys like those high level guys on or did you just kind of walk.
00:02:54
Speaker 1: Away at that point pretty much just kind of I don’t know after that. Yeah, it’s falling apart. So I’m which in all the time. But yeah, I’m sure you know, as you’re stretching when we come in here. But yeah, so more in just like the club level and the summer camps.
00:03:07
Speaker 3: Oka and stuff. Cool. Okay, So I mean tell us kind of what when did you start gymnastics at what age?
00:03:15
Speaker 1: It’s about five five years old. Got into it just through actually a baseball coach I said that I should do gymnastics for my pitching arm. Okay, so joined it and loved it, kind of kept going in about eight or nine years old, kind of had to decide are we sticking with this or what are we doing? Yeah, just decided stick with gymnastics, and we moved a little bit closer to the gym at that point, and then kind of.
00:03:37
Speaker 3: The rest you reno now where you raised, Okay, I’m back there.
00:03:41
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I’m sure. It’s similar to California where it’s like good. I mean, I guess it’s the indoor sport where it’s competitive three six five.
00:03:48
Speaker 1: Like, Yeah, there is a season. It’s usually like December to April May. Usually it’s kind of like the competition season. But yeah, you’re you’re training non stop all the time. Yeah, pair like club level then college is like January to April. But when you’re on national team, there’s international assignments throughout the world all year round. Gotcha, Yeah, pretty much once you get an assignment, you’ve got a couple of weeks kind of prepped for that, but you’re training year around round.
00:04:18
Speaker 3: Did you play any other sports or did you just hyper focus.
00:04:21
Speaker 1: On that once I was done with baseball and all that.
00:04:23
Speaker 3: It was at what age were you done with like five?
00:04:26
Speaker 1: Like nine? That’s crazy.
00:04:28
Speaker 2: Yeah, So imagine doing cross as your nine.
00:04:32
Speaker 3: So it’d be even worse shape than being good cardio shape. But not my joints and ligaments. I mean, I mean any sport though that you specialize in and you can you know, that is like it takes wear and tear on your body. It’s you know, I always tell people CrossFit is safe. Yeah, unless you’re competing, you know. Yeah, when you’re doing any chasing the game since you were nine, yeah, you’d be fried like Angelo, which she was basically chasing since he was thirteen.
00:04:56
Speaker 2: So yeah, awesome.
00:04:57
Speaker 3: So you do growing up, you did, you know club stuff, and then you end up going to Oklahoma for college gymnastics. That’s is that an NC.
00:05:06
Speaker 1: Double A or is that a club It’s a nah, I don’t know.
00:05:10
Speaker 3: Title nine. You never know which sports are I mean, there’s even club sports at the college level are like NC Double A or are professional sports, but they’re not n C Double A sanctioned, so right, yeah, it is.
00:05:22
Speaker 1: Yeah, and it’s struggling. It’s struggling, okay, I mean yeah, there’s only like I think thirteen to maybe fifteen schools now, okay, so you know, I think they’re trying to get more and trying to start more programs when it’s yeah, it’s.
00:05:33
Speaker 3: Tough, it’s tough.
00:05:34
Speaker 2: Yeah, that’s on the NC double A side. Yeah, for both men and women’s.
00:05:38
Speaker 1: I just know the women’s there’s probably one hundred. Women’s gymnastics is real popular. It’s the guy’s college side is definitely struggles. So we’re trying to do everything we can then highlight it, make it popular and what can we do. But yeah, it’s there’s not as many.
00:05:54
Speaker 3: Not as many programs, I guess for sure. So that’s shoot, what you’re was, you’re thirty mid thirties that I see thirty fourth okay, so four or five years younger than me. So you go to college and then Olympic trials from there or Olympic trials while you’re in college or how does that all work?
00:06:12
Speaker 1: Yeah? It was wild. Yeah, So when I got to college I just made the senior national team, which was top fifteen guys in the country, so I was pretty stoked on that. Made my first world team that year, and then from there my junior year was the first Olympics coming up, and it’s usually like six months before that are Olympic Trials, So if you’re on the national team, you’re pretty much making Olympic Trials. And then from there you have two two day competition at Olympic Trials and they take that and the US Championships, which is like a couple weeks before, and it’s kind of a committee. You can make them out of the Olympic team like automatically if you basically I think you have to be like top two in the all around and top three on three events, so there’s usually maybe one guy that might make that that yeah, and then the rest is selected based on a committee.
00:06:58
Speaker 3: And where you’re where your strengths are based.
00:07:01
Speaker 1: Strengths are, yeah, your hit percentages, all that.
00:07:03
Speaker 3: Kind of stuff. So guys, that sounds like the guys it’s probably gonna sound stupid, but I feel like the girls are all super young, very and so the guys may be a little bit older, not old, but like older than the girls for sure. The average age probably three or four years older. I would.
00:07:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, the girls there, I mean they’re just peaking at such a younger age, so they’re usually like sixteen. It used to be like sixteen to twenty. Yeah, and now someone’s kind of yeah, she’s a little bit older and just so good. But yeah, the girls typically were like four years younger. Guys are twenty to twenty five. Usually you’re okay, kind of your peak.
00:07:37
Speaker 3: R right right, so traditional traditional men’s sports, Yeah, age for sure, gotcha. So you did that until twenty sixteen, so you were twenty four, Yeah, you were done. What was your favorite event floor and floor?
00:07:50
Speaker 1: Yeah, it’s gone, Yeah, flipping around it was good at it. Yeah, my air awareness was pretty good.
00:07:55
Speaker 3: That was that was your definitely your go to.
00:07:57
Speaker 2: Yeah. How do you go about like learning a new stunt stunt skill skill? Yeah, Like how do you like you go with the phone pit? Like, I’m just it’s so different from my world.
00:08:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean there’s a couple of different ways, depends on the event, but yeah, phone pit helps, which everyone thinks like poham pit is super safe if you land on your head, it is not you gotta be careful with that. But yeah, there’s just progressions. So it depends on like what skill you’re learning. But Matt slides. You know, if it’s a release on high bar, you’ll have a coach throwing a mat. So if you do land on the bar, which I’ve done plenty of times, at least there’s some cushion there. Yeah, and then yeah, learning it to pits and softer mats and then eventually kind of like your competition.
00:08:39
Speaker 3: Level, taking the seat belts off. Yeah that’s cool. Yeah, it’s fun, scary, it was your favorite move, I guess skill skillkill.
00:08:49
Speaker 1: There’s one on high bar that was real fun. It’s called it’s katchav. You’re kind of swinging around the bar right and you release in front and you pull yourself.
00:08:57
Speaker 3: Up oh back, okay, almost like a gainer on a because your momentums going.
00:09:01
Speaker 1: Forward, but you’re talk Yeah. Yeah. It’s basically, yeah, you’re going this way and you have to tap and move the bar so it throws you in the right way.
00:09:10
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:09:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, you come up and over and that’s pretty cool. It’s a fun one.
00:09:14
Speaker 2: People who watch and will throw a little video whatever looks.
00:09:16
Speaker 3: Like Yeah, I feel like that’s the one where you kind of like you come back over but you’re letting go right, Yeah, can.
00:09:21
Speaker 1: Go and come up and over and catch it.
00:09:23
Speaker 3: Man. I was just saying that, like I on a wakeboard, back when I used to wakeboard and had ligaments and tendons, and I could do like a back roll, I could do a tantrum, I could do a front roll, and some like other things. I could never on the ground or running off make myself go forward and then flip backwards. I just like back flat on my back always.
00:09:44
Speaker 1: So I was like the opposite. I couldn’t toe in. I just couldn’t time it, but heelside.
00:09:50
Speaker 3: Yeah, so it’s just like I cannot So that like sounds cool because I can’t make myself go forward, but also flip backwards makes sense. My brain’s like, nah, dude, you doing that? Yeah? So you do that for eight years essentially Olympics and then decide, all right, I’m done. What’s what’s kind of after that? What did you jump into?
00:10:10
Speaker 1: Move back to Nevada and we run a gymnastics club out there, and then from there just kind of got linked up with some old friends and started getting into all like the hobbies and things that I didn’t really do you missed growing up. Yeah, so kind of got enough like fly fishing and picked up a boat and there you go, dude. Fishing is like it was like kind of that first hobby that i’ll sick okay, dove into fully. So just got into that and outdoor, so you know, we run the gymnastics clubs. I coached the camps, but I’m trying to kind of like live a little bit more on the outdoor and camping. And now I got family. Take the kid.
00:10:44
Speaker 3: How many kids?
00:10:44
Speaker 1: You got two kids? Five year old daughter and a two year old son.
00:10:47
Speaker 3: You’re in Dodds’s stage. I’m about one stage ahead of you. I’m a little bit older. We’re in sports now. So I’ve got basketball camp to go to later. Well, not camp, it’s games, okay. I got eleven, nine and eight year old, so okay, fun. Yeah, it’s oh, it’s awesome. I love it. You know, like playing sports and doing those types of things which where you’ll be do they gymnastics? So they play sports? Were they doing?
00:11:06
Speaker 1: Yeah a little bit of gymnastics and then they just do swim.
00:11:09
Speaker 3: Okay, an activity. So that’s why I tell my kids I’m like, I don’t care what you do, but you’re going to do something.
00:11:14
Speaker 1: Yeah, just want them to be passed something to do.
00:11:17
Speaker 3: Yeah, well that And you know, I think youth sports one, you know, you have failure, you learn failure, learn how to respond to failure. On team sports, especially which even gymnastics, while as an individual, you also you’re on a team. You’re putting a score, and so like you have to deal with people that you like, people you don’t like, and then have a coach that you may like or coach that you may not like. And I think all those things are extremely valuable for kids, and so I hate to see when kids are like, I’m not going to play a sport. I’m going to concentrate on CrossFit per se. And I’m like, no, play sports as long as you can. Sure you get the rest of your life to do CrossFit.
00:11:51
Speaker 2: Remember when I was an early athlete, people like, oh, you know, the politics of the game, blah blah blah, the coach that, and they’re like, oh, it’s you know, that’s just life. And as an out there I’m like, it’s not life.
00:12:01
Speaker 3: It is like freaking life, it’s life. Yeah. Yeah, politics are everywhere everywhere man. Well, his personalities right and on different scales, right, So I think it’s great. Is there something that they like better gymnastics are swimming or they just like doing it, don’t matter.
00:12:18
Speaker 1: She likes both. The two year old’s a little young to do any Yeah, he just yeah, he swims with it. He’s just crazy. He just wants to play crazy and it’s gonna get worse. It’s a typical two yeah. Right, So but yeah, I know she just loves going in. It’s everyone’s like, oh, you’re gonna make her do gymna. Well I’m gonna put her in, but she doesn’t want to do it. Then I just want her to, like you said something in sports, like you’re not going to just hang out with friends all the time. That’s sports, athletics whatever. It is just passionate.
00:12:45
Speaker 3: Absolutely, Yeah. I don’t. I didn’t play basketball, So it’s kind of fun on that level with Lakeland where I I can’t really coach her. I’m like, just be more aggressive, you know, rebound better. Where she plays softball and then Trice plays baseball and starting to play some baseball and some flag football and so so I know those and so they’ll ask me to coach, which I never wanted that relationship until I saw some of these other coaches and I’m like, if they ask me to coach, then I’ll coach. And so I’ve coached all of them at some point, and with baseball and softball, like that’s what I played, and so I can. Lakeland will take some coaching from me, which is pretty cool. But we kind of have just like a it’s more of a tongue in cheek where at times I’m like, what are you doing on that? You know that fly ball? Or on you didn’t hit that cutoff man? She like, Dad, shut up. And then my wife will be like, just just tell her a good job, and Lakelan’s like, shut up, mom. He knows what he’s talking like, and I’m like, all right, at least, you know, but I’m not super hard on him, like try some. I guess I do push a little bit more because his attitude is a little bit worse. Lakeland wants to get better and tries us too, but he gets so just he’s so emotional for a boy.
00:13:45
Speaker 2: I’m like, what the heck, yeah for sure.
00:13:47
Speaker 3: And then Violet is just so just happy to be there. You know. She likes playing softball and she’s young, and she’s just like, you know, half the time. I’m like constantly, you know whatever, you know, So it’s fun. But yeah, kids, man, they’re they’re they’re awesome.
00:14:02
Speaker 1: Yeah, it’s the best. Man. I was just doing a little speech over at the flip Fest and they’re like, you tried to do this little last thing the last day or there, and it’s like, I’ll just talk about my daughter’s her first time here. Of course you start getting like emotional. I can’t.
00:14:13
Speaker 3: I don’t get emotional except for my kids.
00:14:15
Speaker 1: Man, that’s what that’s saying here.
00:14:16
Speaker 3: Man. My wife gets so mad because I didn’t cry on our wedding day. I was like, I’ve never cried because I was happy, Like I’m never like I don’t understand that, you know, I was happy. But she’s like, you didn’t cry. It still is like a point of contention. You start talking about my kids. I’m like, oh, man, so cool.
00:14:32
Speaker 2: How women are so fixated on that one wedding day.
00:14:35
Speaker 3: Dude, fifteen years fifteen years next week and she still is like, you didn’t cry on our wedding And I’m like, okay, you know me now, you’re not over you know the track record. You’ve never she’s maybe seen me cry once or twice in our fifteen years, and it was never because I was so happy that I was crying, you know. So yeah, all right, so fly fishing, hunting. Yeah, we were just talking about the draw odds. So you did you draw in Nevada?
00:15:02
Speaker 1: I did Nevada or Nevada Nevada?
00:15:04
Speaker 3: Okay, Okay, I go back and forth. I don’t really have a There’s like, I’ve got some family in Michigan and they say Oregon. Yeah, I don’t know about I can’t get behind that one. But Nevada, Nevada. I go.
00:15:14
Speaker 1: My wife’s from Chicago, so she was like Oregon.
00:15:16
Speaker 2: I’m like, no, it’s Oregon.
00:15:20
Speaker 1: Uh yeah, Drew. This year, I’ll probably return one tag I drew actually mule deer, antelope, and cal el okay Stoke. But it’s like all in the same summer season where I’m busy, So I’ll probably return the antelope.
00:15:32
Speaker 3: Archery rifle arch. I was going to say, you’re a purist.
00:15:37
Speaker 1: I guess. I mean, I don’t know. It’s just like I never really actually hunted or grew up hunting. My family did, so I knew about it and I didn’t really have an interest. I was more about fishing, and then you know, just listening like podcasts and stuff got into it’s like I’ll get a bow, picked up a bow. And then my buddies were like, well you should put in for tags, and like I guess. And then I drew and I was like, okay, now it’s serious.
00:15:57
Speaker 3: We got to get rid.
00:15:58
Speaker 1: I’ve got to learn. I’ve got to pick it up. I don’t so this will be the first season, no fourth, okay?
00:16:05
Speaker 3: Cool? All right?
00:16:05
Speaker 1: So yeah, Drew, I got to hunt three years. On my third year, I was finally in there.
00:16:10
Speaker 3: Man there.
00:16:11
Speaker 2: Yeah, that’s a lot higher than a lot of to me.
00:16:15
Speaker 3: I guess it was our fourth year. It took me.
00:16:18
Speaker 2: Are you kind of the Montana year?
00:16:19
Speaker 3: Yeah? So I had Montana guy did Montana rifle. Didn’t see we heard one as soon as we stepped out of the truck. Didn’t see, didn’t hear the rest of the week. And I mean we hunted, We hunted hard, We hunted like we were bow hunting with a rifle. And then two years in Gunnison, we had a chance. We had a couple of chances. Uh, we had one chance on illegal ball early third day of the first year. And then we never had a lot.
00:16:45
Speaker 2: Of chances on illegal a lot of chances on spikes.
00:16:48
Speaker 3: On spikes, we won’t even call them illegals because we did not hunt them. We did not that we passed, We passed. I had a couple opportunities on and then one bull that just never quite showed his face. We had a bugle. But anyway, uh, and then it took us on our fourth year when we went to route on the last day last just a super lucky situation.
00:17:06
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, it was sometimes insane situation.
00:17:09
Speaker 3: So yeah, we’ve been there. It’s not a not an easy task. So always in Nevada.
00:17:14
Speaker 1: Yeah, Okay, I finally put in for Idaho this year just because I didn’t want to wait so long for the elk.
00:17:20
Speaker 2: But so, did you do all three years in Nevada?
00:17:24
Speaker 3: Yep?
00:17:24
Speaker 1: How is that?
00:17:25
Speaker 2: Since you have to draw every seven years.
00:17:27
Speaker 1: That’s just for elk cow, elk deer. I think you can put in every year. Yeah, an.
00:17:38
Speaker 3: It’s crazy.
00:17:38
Speaker 2: Yeah, at least you get to chase the cows.
00:17:41
Speaker 3: Though, Yeah.
00:17:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, and the opportunity.
00:17:43
Speaker 3: I feel like it’s really hard.
00:17:45
Speaker 2: A lot of eyes, yeah, a lot of eyes and they’re they’re on security alert for the bull.
00:17:49
Speaker 3: Yeah, they’re like Century alert basically. Yeah.
00:17:51
Speaker 1: Yeah, it’s definitely going to be a different hunt than.
00:17:54
Speaker 3: Yeah, and mule deer is buck Yeah, Okay, I’ve never I’ve never technically hunted. I’ve had like a mule deer tag in my pocket, but never, like that wasn’t the prime focus. And I think after this last year in Colorado, I was like, Okay, I hunt.
00:18:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, it is cool, it’s fun.
00:18:12
Speaker 3: I mean, it’s very similar to elk rifle hunting, but.
00:18:15
Speaker 2: That is home to some beautiful bucks man it is.
00:18:18
Speaker 1: And that’s one of the things is just even the country out there getting into countries, it’s awesome. I’m so much more country being just like on hunts than hard to just be like, hey, let’s go check out the mountains and with time and kids and families.
00:18:31
Speaker 3: So, yeah, you’re some cool spots. I’ve been in the wilderness of Nevada. Yeah, you haven’t only been Idaho, Colorado, Montana, Yeah, Utah.
00:18:43
Speaker 1: You’re right, Yeah, Okay, so sick, Yeah, you to some good Wyoming.
00:18:48
Speaker 3: Yeah, didn’t see much, but saw them, but we just they were far off last year grizzlies and wolves are hard to compete with. Turns out, yeah, with a bow, with a rifle. I think there was two or three we could have probably gotten into a situation with, but it was good.
00:19:05
Speaker 1: I think they’re starting to crossover into Nevada now if there’s some talk that there’s been some from like the Idaho dropping down into northern Nevada. But I haven’t luckily seen any so.
00:19:15
Speaker 3: Grizzly or wolves. Wolves. Okay, what’s their stance? What’s Nevada stance on wolves?
00:19:21
Speaker 2: I’m not sure.
00:19:22
Speaker 3: I feel like some states are like, hey, as soon as you cross, kill them all. Yeah, and then some states are real protectively mainly Colorado.
00:19:29
Speaker 1: Yeah. I think I don’t know, at least for the people I talked to, is like they don’t want.
00:19:32
Speaker 3: Them any hunters and nobody hunters, no hunters, and no farmers want them.
00:19:36
Speaker 1: Correct exactly.
00:19:37
Speaker 3: It’s everybody that doesn’t hunt, doesn’t farm, and has watched you made Disney movies, loves loves wolves.
00:19:43
Speaker 2: And bears, doesn’t understand management.
00:19:46
Speaker 3: Yep, all right, So why fishing and hunting after competing? I mean, I know why? For me?
00:19:54
Speaker 1: Yeah, I want to ask you the same question that would be interested because I feel we were talking about it. I was. I feel like we kind of done the same things. Once you’re done, I just needed something, like another outlet and like something to Learning is my big thing. I love learning new stuff. When I’m in something new, it’s like the more I can learn about it. And then of course the competitive aspect is like I want to be good at it, you know. So I didn’t really realize there’s so much to learn about fishing, and then getting into hunting, there’s obviously a ton to learn there. And then the physical aspect. I think there’s more obviously physical aspects of hunting, especially with a boat, than there is fishing. That’s what held me different. That was one that drove me into there. But yeah, I don’t know. I just picked up fly fishing and I thought it was cool and the challenging aspect of it, and again trout living cool places and being in the West as well well to get out. Yeah, it just kind of drove me.
00:20:46
Speaker 3: Super similar for me, I think, one, yeah, sucking at anything I hate, so I want to get better at it. And then two I think, I mean, yes, there’s a competitive side if I want to get better at it, but also the competitive side and as you know, people are gonna be like, wow, it’s not fair because animal doesn’t have the defense against or you’re not getting shot at. Those things are pretty smart and pretty good at figuring out try and sneak like, and so that competitive Like for me, that’s the was the original competition, right, It’s like either you eat or you die. And so for me, that was the original competition. And that’s just where my head’s at now. I’m like all right, and I usually get to do it in a group of your buddies, you know, or my kids eventually, And so for me, I like the team aspect of stuff too, of like hanging out and trying to like work together and you know, agree to disagree or you know, go after something right. Yeah.
00:21:36
Speaker 2: What people don’t understand about hunting is like it’s for those animals, like it’s literally life or death. It’s on the line. People are like, man, it took you twenty days, Like that seems like a long time. Like I see them all the time in ESEs Parks.
00:21:52
Speaker 3: This park ruined me. I had a couple of guys there this week. We just got off of like a hunting prep camp. It was a ton of fun. We did some fitness and then we did some like breakouts and some real world scenarios should come next year and uh. And there were guys that were like, all right, so in estes Park, I was like, scrap everything you know about him?
00:22:10
Speaker 1: Yeap, Yeah, my sister got married nessas Park dude.
00:22:14
Speaker 3: We went to see them.
00:22:15
Speaker 1: It’s awesome.
00:22:16
Speaker 3: I think I want to say it might have been after the first or at least the second or third year we went hunting, and it.
00:22:22
Speaker 2: Was between first and second year.
00:22:24
Speaker 3: And and we I mean we were in one of those jeep tours and literally we’re driving down the road and there’s one and Trice is just you know, he was two or something at the time, and he’s like, that’s a big ol. And my wife is like, you guys can’t kill these things. You know, where are you gone for seven days? And they just walk up to you, and you know, there’s a betted bowl, big betted bowl, and you just walk right like within twenty yards ago.
00:22:48
Speaker 2: You’re like, yeah, people taking selfies with them.
00:22:52
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I’ll show you one of the pictures or videos. It’s literally like I could have if I had food in my hand it would have reached in and got it.
00:22:59
Speaker 1: Yeah, it like hurt. It hurts, but especially if you’ve been somewhere where you see nothing.
00:23:03
Speaker 2: Oh yeah yeah, Like are you kidd.
00:23:05
Speaker 3: These things aren’t real?
00:23:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, but people don’t understand that. Like, it’s life and death for these animals, and if if it was life and death for you and your family, you would do everything you can to protect them. And that’s the same way the animals are. So it’s freaking hard.
00:23:19
Speaker 1: That’s another aspect was you know, I wasn’t in it. It was kind of not anti hunting when I started, but I was like, I don’t really see the need to hunt. And then I was like, I eat mostly meat, so if I can do it in like the best way, then that was that was like another step.
00:23:36
Speaker 3: Yeah, oh yeah, for sure. That’s just a good byproduct.
00:23:38
Speaker 2: You know, have an epic adventure to put food on your plate. I’m okay with that.
00:23:43
Speaker 3: Are you a solo hunter or do you like to hunt with other people? What do you usually do?
00:23:46
Speaker 1: I typically go out with some people. My cousin’s one big one, my buddy, He’s coming out with me a couple of times. The elk hunt last year was cool. I had one buddy come out kind of helped me get on some elk, he had to go back to work. Another buddy came out to check it out. And then the day we actually got one, my dad came out, which my dad hasn’t hunted in so long. But for him to be up like on the mountain, be able to watch the whole thing go down, it was like a cool memory.
00:24:12
Speaker 3: This cool.
00:24:13
Speaker 1: Usually a couple of people, I think solo would be sick.
00:24:15
Speaker 3: I just I’m not a solo guy, like if I had one other person. Granted, everything we do is with a camera granted. Out here. You know what’s cool is I’ve got one hundred and sixty acres here, so I do go out a lot by myself in the stand. Yeah, but if I’m on a Western hunt, man, I like just growing out and hanging out and usually there’s at least two or three of us.
00:24:33
Speaker 1: Yeah, that’s cool. No, I’m the same way. I think solo would be cool. Maybe once or twice or something. And it is cool, but and it is a little lonely down there. You’re out in the woods. It’s like, I don’t know if Yeah, dude, it’s a little bit sketched sometimes so, but it’s fun, like you said, just getting back to camp at night and hanging out and getting up getting up early, and if someone’s like tired, I’m like, all right, we’re doing it. Let’s go.
00:24:54
Speaker 3: You don’t want to let anybody else down on the team, right, you know. I was never a raw, raw, fire him up guy, but I was a hey, I’ll get in the trenches and you know, I’m not gonna be the one to hold us up, or there was like a it was just an understood rule. If I was doing something, everybody else was doing something type thing.
00:25:10
Speaker 2: So I’ve been on both solo hunts and team hunts, and when you’re on a solo hunt, there’s definitely this idea or this I guess theme that you’re on your own time, which is good and bad.
00:25:22
Speaker 3: Right.
00:25:22
Speaker 2: It’s like, if you wanted to you can sleep in.
00:25:26
Speaker 1: No one would.
00:25:26
Speaker 2: Know, you know, like you could just have a nice siesta, like nobody’s gonna talk you out of it, exactly. But it’s that same with the gym. If you’re working out with guys, they’re gonna push you. Yeah, you know, you’re like, oh man, that I crushed me, But they’re gonna be up at three am ready to rock for tomorrow, and you better be there with them.
00:25:44
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, sure, yeah, that’s good.
00:25:48
Speaker 3: Uh. I know the answer to this. But Jeff has this question out here, says, do you wish you could have had more time in the outdoors while you’re competing? Do you think it would have slowed it would have slowed you down or grounded you.
00:26:00
Speaker 1: Oh, it’s a good question. I think I would have loved to have more time in the outdoors. But also it’s like I would have loved to go on vacation exactly, you know what I mean, Like it was just.
00:26:11
Speaker 3: Like the best in the world. That’s what I’m telling Anything to be the best in the world and anything, you have to like, there’s no such thing as balance. It’s selfish. It’s selfish with your time. It’s felt like it is, you know you I want I would have loved to That’s kind of when I got into hunting. Was towards the back half of my career. I got into turkey hunting. But even then, man, it was like, do I sacrifice getting up early, missing a training session and being stressed the rest of the day because I got to make up all this work that I usually get in before nine o’clock, and it really wasn’t that big a deal, but it was, you know, like you missed two or three hours of sleep. You then you know you’re out and doing whatever, and so man, I just I just didn’t enjoy it as much. I enjoyed it, but there was always that in the back of my mind, like, oh, I gotta get back or I gotta be doing whatever. So I think it would have added at a stress that’s me personally.
00:26:59
Speaker 2: Yeah, there’s definitely, like even with any regular day life, there’s this kind this idea that when you go on a hunt, you want to be present to the hunts. That’s tough, right, And if you’re out on that hunt or that fishing trip and you’re thinking about all the things you should be doing at home, it sucks.
00:27:15
Speaker 1: It kind of loses that appeal totally.
00:27:17
Speaker 3: Yeah. What I’m learning, and especially with us when we did that, we were going for ten to eleven days between Emillo and the hunt, is like when Trice was there. I don’t want to say I could justify being away from my girls, but it made it like, Okay, I’m getting some some time with Trice and whatever. So now I’m like that, I think we’re gonna do first season Rifle in Colorado, and I think I’m gonna bring Lakelan because she’s on fall break, and so like maybe let her sleep in the mornings because we have some cabins we can sleep in. It’s a lease that we have, and so then like an afternoon she could go, or midday hunts she could go. And I think, I’m like, you know, because I do have that, you have that guilt or or you know, like, oh, man, I’m missing six days of their life, which in the grand scheme, they don’t. I mean, they care, but they’re not like, you know, it’s not that big of a deal. But I think would be cool. That’s my big thing is like get as good as I can now, so when they get old enough that we can all participate in it together. I’m really looking forward to those times.
00:28:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was thinking. I was thinking the same thing with my daughter. This was the first time I brought her out to this camp, and I was like, usually, you know, after a couple of days, you’re like, man, I really am missing the family. Want to get back. And it’s like not that I don’t miss my son and my wife, of course, but we’ve been in this special time with her and I was like, I could stay a little bit longer. Now, it’s like this will be so same thing. I was like, I want to try to get one scouting trip with her, and just got a rooftop tent on my truck and she we’ve already gone to camp in it. I was like, now I’m looking forward to taking her out and she wants to help her and it. Yeah, you can bring them along and make those memories.
00:28:44
Speaker 3: That’s my big push is like getting them to do that stuff. And my dad was really good about, you know, involving us and stuff. But he was super impatient. He didn’t hunt. He did. I remember seeing him like when I think back, I remember seeing him come out of the woods once or twice, but he never took me one. I was super impatient. Wasn’t gonna sit still, and he was super impatient. Could barely get him to sit still. And so you know, there was that. And then I had some uncles that kind of I grew up with. In one we actually that was my uncle that we killed the bull with last year. He was he that was fired up. And so I just want my kids to if they want to be there with me. For sure.
00:29:20
Speaker 2: It excites me when I hear Trice saying like, oh I can be twelve when I shoot my first hotel. My dad just fires me up as a friend of Rich’s and a dad just because we’re doing it, like we’re passing it down to the next generation. Like that’s what it’s all about.
00:29:33
Speaker 3: Right, Yeah, We’re out there hiking and you know, doing all this stuff at camp and he’s like, no, Dad, when can I shoot mine? And I’m like, all right, that’s cool. And then you know they’re it’s probably not legal, but whatever. They didn’t end up killing one, so it doesn’t matter. They’re they’re like trying to kill chipmunks with rocks. So like at one point I look out and we’re at camp and Trice is sitting over like the cabin is here, and then there’s a little like patio concrete patio, and he’s got a like a plastic chair and he’s just sitting there with a rock. I’m like, I walked by at one point, I’m like, what are you doing? And he’s like trying to kill a chipmunk. I was like what He’s like, he keeps poking his head out of here. So he was just thinking he was gonna like drop the rock on this chipmunks. It was so funny. They tried to make traps, they tried to do like catch him with rocks, like it was so funny.
00:30:24
Speaker 2: It’s cool because like Trice is a pretty wild kid, wild kid, like he was losing patience controlled like everyone’s like stop, like he’s shushing people.
00:30:37
Speaker 3: It was. It was hilarious. And then we get him up on top of that mountain. He’s just chucking rocks off the hill. So at first I was like, oh, dude, he could you know, cause he hiked up there and crocs and was fine. But then as soon as we get up here, he’s just like rock chuck it off the mountain. I’m like, hey, we’re trying to watch these out because we were glass in the one night and he’s just chucking rocks, just chucking rocks. I’m like, all right, maybe he’s not ready.
00:30:57
Speaker 1: The same thing when we go fishing, though, like can I do rocks in him?
00:31:00
Speaker 3: We’re fishing? What are you?
00:31:02
Speaker 1: Then you feel bad?
00:31:03
Speaker 3: All right, doesn’t matter. Yeah, I’ve got it. We’ve got that pond out in the back. I need to clear out us a little bank right there because they love fishing back there. But I just I didn’t grow up fishing, and fishing is so slow for me. That’s what everybody said. Everybody said fly fishing would be way more fun. But I like, I stocked that back pond. So it’s got bass catfish that’s what Jason crappy whatever there, And so it’s a it’s a cool little pond back there, and there’s a good trail to it, so we need to get the bank cleaned up a little bit. There’s a bunch of like thick trees and stuff. But yeah, he loves it.
00:31:36
Speaker 2: I have a question for both of you guys, as ex professional athletes, when you guys, there’s a I guess the theme out in the mountains that when you’re hiking or when you’re looking over a pasture or a meadow whatever, your mind is outside of time. So your mind has this like I don’t know, idea that you’re thinking of. You could be thinking of three months before, you can be thinking of ten years before. Is anything that you guys, when you’re hunting or slowed time while fishing, that you naturally think about in your I don’t know, competitive career like timeline or time frame or like events or missus or championships.
00:32:17
Speaker 3: Uh, I don’t think so. I think I’m pretty just locked like that. Life for me is so so far away that I mean, when I look back at it, even individual videos, I’m like, I don’t even know that person anymore, you know, because my last seven years was all on a team, and I enjoyed those years a lot more because you have to share it with people. And I think, yeah, I don’t think my mind goes back to competing, honestly. I think, you know, obviously you’ve got the task at hand, thinking about you know, the family or whatever. You know, there’s like a game in my head. I’m like, I wish time would hurry up, because usually it’s like the last thirty or forty five minutes before dark, and then in that last thirty or forty five minutes before dark, you want time to slow down. But if that makes sense, so that’s usually where my mind goes. I’m like, man, hurry up, this the good time to get there, sure, And then when the good time gets there and you’re not seeing anything, you’re like, all right, slow down. And so there’s this weird time warp.
00:33:10
Speaker 2: So you’re just thinking about the hunt.
00:33:12
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, I might be. You know, if we’re with a group kind of hanging out talking, I would say, my mind just goes to my family and like if I’m missing something or whatever.
00:33:21
Speaker 1: Sure, yeah, yeah, I would say the same as usually just family, I would say. The one difference, And I don’t know if it’s just because I was just at this camp and we were just talking about it, but I’d say if something like that does come up, it’d probably be like just not getting that dream of the Olympic medal. That was always the goal, was to get a medal as a team, right, like the individual I didn’t really care, Like I won NCAA Championships as a individual all around, which is a cool feat. I would have much rather won as an Olympic yeah, and then yeah, and then an Olympic medal. That was kind of like the goal. So and we were just talking about how that is, like, you know, being a professional athlete. I’m sure you know exactly how that feels of going like everything, the selfishness of it, every nothing else matters, like that’s the only goal. And we were just I was like, man, that Olympic medal is the one thing that I just didn’t get it and get right there. And as cliche as it is, it’s just more. It was more about the journey, the things you learned. And I said that. I was like, I know that sounds so stupid, but getting older now, yeah, realize.
00:34:22
Speaker 3: You can you can uh yeah, you can well and you can be proud of what you put in and you know, like I honestly, all my medals are sitting in uh in my sock drawer. They almost got thrown away one time when they move, you know. But was it me and you that were talking about this weekend where uh, you know, somebody was like, did you get burnt out? Is why you quit or retired?
00:34:46
Speaker 2: I was in the conversation, but I was just listening.
00:34:48
Speaker 3: Yeah, I forgot Maybe it was Zach, but I said, I just got to the point where it wasn’t enjoyable anymore because and I and I heard I think his man in the arena, Brady, talking about it where it was like when you won, it was expected and so there was no real celebration. It was like relief where you’re like, okay, thank God, and so we then you know, there was no It got to the point where it wasn’t I don’t want to say it wasn’t fun to win or you know, compete, but it was like it was so expected, and once again, I like, we did that to ourselves and I did that to myself that it was expected, and it’s not a complaint, but it just got to the point where you’re like, Okay, I’m done just being like content with finishing. First, as lame as that sounds, because that’s where we were at competing, and then you’re just like it’s almost like, and I’ve said it multiple times, like as a kid at Christmas, you get most of the things you want and then you’re all you’re like, oh man, it’s a year till Christmas next year, you know. And so like that was early on in my career, and then towards the end, it was like when we would finish, I’m like, oh, thank god, you know, because even when we’d lose an event, people are like, oh, you know whatever, but you know, we’d win the games and it’s still people were just like, ah, man was supposed to win, but if we lost, then it was going to be some big thing. And so I just got tired of that, and it was time, you know, I was old.
00:36:05
Speaker 1: I was going to say, what was the Did that make it more stressful? Because I was never at a point kind of like where you I remember watching as do that, and it was it was as like an outside perspective was.
00:36:14
Speaker 3: Like, there we go again.
00:36:16
Speaker 1: Win, you know, like cool, and it wasn’t like roading against you, but you knew, oh yeah, he’s gonna win. He’s like he’s so good. Right. Did that put more pressure on you?
00:36:23
Speaker 3: Oh?
00:36:24
Speaker 1: Throughout the years, I.
00:36:26
Speaker 3: Liked the pressure, you know, like it is you know, you want to be that person versus the person you know. Early on the first year or two, it was like I was aiming for something, and then after that it was like don’t anybody catch you? Yeah, and you know for ten years that’s it just takes not a bad toll. But you’re just like, all right, I’m done. You know, I’m done. I’m done. Yeah. Yeah, no, man, I mean there was that was the pressure of like, and I it was good pressure. I don’t want to say, you know, there’d be worse pressure of like trying to win. Yeah, it was good pressure, but yeah, it just got to the point where you’re like it was relief instead of celebration, if that makes sense. And so you’re just like, all right, I’m done. I had enough, and so it was time for new challenges and new things to like, you know, Leadville doing that twice. Jeff knows how that is. And it’s just so far out of my comfort zone and who I am as an athlete, and you’re probably the same where we’re power output athletes. And then you’re like, all right, go ride a bike for nine hours and ten thousand feet of altitude. It’s so far out of who I am, and so you know, and then now hunting and then doing these other random which did a twenty four hour mountain bike in Amarillo, and you know, I still need challenges. I’m not sure where you are on your faith, but I’m like, like David in the Bible, like I connect with so much because you know, there’s the verse in Second Samuel where says at a time when kings normally go to war, David stayed back or he sent his generals, and you’re that’s when the bath cheapest stuff happened. And you’re just like, I need to have a focus or a target or something to train for because or else I’m just kind of worthless, like wandering around like with my tail between my legs, like, oh, you know, like what am I doing? What? You know? So I need purpose. I think men in general need purpose. Joby Martin, who I listen to a lot, you know, he talks about a semi without a load is the most dangerous vehicle on the road. And so like men need, we need like people complaining and all this mental health stuff of like oh pressure and men supporting. That’s what we’re supposed to do. That’s what we’re called to do. It’s what we were made to do, is support and and give me more, right, And that was that way as a competitor. I was like more events, the better, you know, Like I’m I’m a mule, right Like I’m just gonna keep taking stuff. And I’m like I need to keep doing that in life too, where it’s like don’t ask for less as for more.
00:38:40
Speaker 2: Every timesponsibility and come across guys men that like don’t really have a purpose and aren’t really like looking for one. It did, like it it doesn’t click with me, Like I’m like, how is that possible? I am always searching for them, always searching.
00:38:57
Speaker 3: Yeah. Well, and then we talk about doing hard things and doing things outside our comfort zone, and like people that are just like, oh, I’m good, Yeah I quit, and I’m just like twenty four hour challenge. You’re gonna do the twenty four hours, you know, like and it’s terrible, Like, don’t get me wrong, Like the last six to eight hours or like even the middle six to eight are probably the worst. You’re like, why am I doing this? And I’m not doing this next year? And then you finish it and you’re like, all right, we’ll do it next year. This you know, like it’s it’s almost a privilege to get to do that, right and and get outside the comfort zone because guess what, it has an end. There’s people out there that there is no end to that suffering, right, So I don’t know, man, I just it’s first world problems for sure. Of Like, hey, I get to go seek Out Challenge and that’s the way I look at hunting for sure. Yeah, exactly, Yeah.
00:39:44
Speaker 1: I agree one hundred percent. There’s a run in Reno and you run actually all the way around Tahou so you’re start and know you go up, oh you have like south Lake, Carson City back to a Rena. It’s gonna beautiful and it’s it’s really cool, and you can do it in an ultra where you have six people or a regular team where you have twelve. I think our team had twelve. One person dropped out. My buddy’s called me like the day before and like, hey, do you want to come run this race? I was sorry, let’s go, and it was it was like Emerald Day up in Tahoe, ten thirty at night and I’m running up this hill and I’m like, what the.
00:40:18
Speaker 3: What am I doing doing?
00:40:19
Speaker 1: Like why am I doing this? I’m like, just don’t stop. And then you get there and it was like, what are you ever going to run at ten thirty at night in the middle of Tahoe, like and the cool lights. I was like, as long as I’m getting by a bear And it’s one of those things. You finished and you’re exhausted and you’re like, that was awesome.
00:40:36
Speaker 3: That was man. Middle of the night. You’re in this beautiful canyon, the moon is just bright, and you’re just like this is awfully awesome. You know, it’s so bad, but it’s so good at the same time. And then we did that twenty four hour run here so we’ll get your contact. You have to jump in on Oh my gosh, I do a bunch of random stuff at this point now where it’s just you know, stupid but.
00:40:59
Speaker 2: Keeps the nice sharp Yeah it does.
00:41:01
Speaker 3: Yeah, sure that’s mentally. You need to have those every once in a while to be like, all right, can I still you know, can I still battle those demons? We joked, you know, like I always joke it. And at night the demons come out because they do, like at something about that dark time. You’re like, man, I can’t do this, and the sun comes up, You’re like, okay, I’m back.
00:41:18
Speaker 2: The demons come out during that solo when you’re in.
00:41:20
Speaker 3: That see that’s me. I’m like, I need I need one other person to fall back on, at least complain to, you know, like jokingly, like I’ve never quit, but I’m gonna complain about it. You know.
00:41:30
Speaker 1: It sucks elk here?
00:41:31
Speaker 3: What are we doing here? You know? And then you know I’m back. You know, you need it. One complaint every couple of days, like usually every third day, like this sucks? Why am I doing this? I’m spending this money away from my family. What are we doing out here? And then you get one like spot of an elk and you’re like, Okay, I’m back one.
00:41:48
Speaker 1: Get one bullshit, Like when you’re fishing, you get a bite, I’m back.
00:41:53
Speaker 3: I’m take that little hit. Maybe we’re just addicts, that’s funny.
00:41:57
Speaker 1: I tell my dad the same thing, that do the hard things, you know, and he’s I love him to death. He runs desin cardio. I’m trying to get him to do more weights. You know. He loves stock market, so he’s always kind of like, you know, he’s a finance guy, very financial guy, and he’s awesome. And he when he came on my elk hunt, we both have the meat on the back and it was not far from where our side by side was. It was three hundred yards. Three hundred yards was directly up and so we’re like literally on our hands and feet trying to like get up the slippery rock and it’s most frustrating part of dude. It was so and he just I remember, he’s like sweating and pulling over and he’s like, looks at me. He’s like does this count as hard things? And I was like, yes, that’s why we do it. It was hilarious.
00:42:41
Speaker 3: Check in.
00:42:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, Yeah, it was awesome.
00:42:42
Speaker 2: So walk me through. I don’t know this success of your first that hunt, like how it happened, like you know, walks through it.
00:42:51
Speaker 1: Yeah. My first one was the meal Deer. So I had meal Deer and bull Elk last year, so I knew it was a big year. And I almost turned in my bull Elk because I was in a party tag with cow Elk with some buddies and they’re like, we drew cow tag and I’m like mine says like unsuccessful, Like I don’t what we were in a party U.
00:43:07
Speaker 3: Yeah. The Western draw system is a is freaking like Zach Galfanakis and just like I don’t understand it.
00:43:18
Speaker 1: See that’s I understand it now that I’ve been in it. It’s all the other ones. Like he was just saying, oh, you got to put in my.
00:43:22
Speaker 3: Why we hire something we used the draw because this is what it is.
00:43:26
Speaker 1: That’s sick.
00:43:26
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:43:27
Speaker 1: But so then I looked down and it’s like bull Elk successful and I was like, oh, ship, that’s why. It’s because I got bull Elk. But I’m like I should turn it in. They’re like, no, we’ren’t doing it. I was like okay, cool. So I really geared up. But the first one was U the old deer and I went out with my cousin and my uncle there from the area. So they put us on some some good deer and he had a deer he was kind of going after, and so it was fun. Man. We were in the deer like every day, which was I was not used.
00:43:53
Speaker 2: To with a bow. Dang, that’s cool.
00:43:55
Speaker 1: It was. It was cool, like at least seeing gear, you know. And then we finally would put on a few stops here and there, and I was just like, I just want to be successful, and he’s like I.
00:44:03
Speaker 3: Want, I want that giant deer and yeah.
00:44:06
Speaker 1: You know. So it was cool. Finally day like three or four, I think day four, and I only had two more days after that.
00:44:13
Speaker 2: Okay, back up stocks, how many stocks are you in at this point. I don’t care about days. I care about.
00:44:17
Speaker 1: Unsuccessful probably like at least like three or four.
00:44:23
Speaker 2: Dang, all right, cool and.
00:44:24
Speaker 1: One was kind of cool. There’s this big like I know it sounds stupid. It was like a fok and horn, but he was really wide.
00:44:31
Speaker 3: Yeah, you were talking to somebody that like, if it’s legal, I’m gonna shoot it.
00:44:35
Speaker 2: And especially at that point right I was telling Angela this the other day. I told him like, no, I think about it. I don’t think I’ve actually successfully passed.
00:44:43
Speaker 3: Legal animal shot.
00:44:46
Speaker 1: If you don’t take the opportunity, you’re never going to be successful.
00:44:50
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:44:51
Speaker 1: I was on that one and I got in probably they were in this little like ravine and I thought I aimed or I you know, I got my range and it was like fifty sixty yards and I saw one bedded here and one here, and I’m like, okay, they’re in here somewhere right of course. Like I just try to like pop up over this rock and just take another peek, and he’s just looking at it.
00:45:11
Speaker 3: I’m like, that’s not a good feeling.
00:45:13
Speaker 1: Dang it. And he stands up and I just slowly sit down, you know, I’m trying to be calm, like all right, I’ll give him fifteen minutes. Two minutes later out here, you know, I’m like busted. And then a couple of minutes later they’re all running over something.
00:45:27
Speaker 3: Oh.
00:45:28
Speaker 1: So I was getting to the point where they’re like, I just want to be successful.
00:45:32
Speaker 2: Sure.
00:45:33
Speaker 1: In that day, we woke up, we’re out just kind of cruising around and I spot some in velvet, which was cool. Couple like they think there’s like three or four in this little little group, and there was one small four by four. So it’s like, all right, that’s I’ll go for at least the biggest one of this this group. Pretty cool. They went and bedded in some real thick, big sage brush brush, and so I went with my uncle. My uncle’s like, okay, I’m gonna go with you until you want to show you, you know, And so we you know, we’re making landmarks and stuff, and we get up on this ridge and he’s like, okay, we’re going to get in like probably like ten feet above these things. So he’s like, when you’re shooting at like three yards just shooting your thirty five, you’re forty, what are you shooting? I’m like, I mean usually if it’s a couple of yards a way, I’m using my twenty yard pin. He’s like really, I’m like, now you’re making me nervous. I mean, there’s some science, there’s some science to it, right, but I’ve shot some close targets with my twenty and it was like it if it’s not right in front of me, I’ll be okay. So I was nervous about that, but we get right on top of them.
00:46:34
Speaker 3: Do you think in the arch the arch at first?
00:46:37
Speaker 2: Yeah, so it starts high. So when I’ve done this attack events where there’s this there’s three yards like all the way standing down, I put my top pin at fifty yards and it just gave me a true bullet.
00:46:49
Speaker 3: Yeah. Isn’t there some science behind if you use your fifty pin on from like an aim low anyway? We can get into that, but.
00:46:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, the artist story, it’s it’s the the gap in the arrow flight is always going to be within a vital of an animal if you.
00:47:06
Speaker 3: Aim at the armpit basically from fifty from twenty to fifty or.
00:47:10
Speaker 2: Something like that or that practice this fall.
00:47:14
Speaker 3: Sorry, go ahead, So you’re above these things.
00:47:16
Speaker 1: Yeah, So we’re right over him. So I’m up on like this cliff face and I’m just kneeling down. And at this point I had a tearing my meniscus from jiu jitsu in there, right, So I’m trying to kneel and I can can’t, but I can’t because I don’t slide out. I’m like, oh man, So I get as comfortable as I can. I’m sitting on the boot of my Crispy and one foot’s up and and we’re just ranging everything and he’s like shoot, like what trying to look over and he’s standing. He’s standing staring at me. So I draw back. They run. You try to get him to stop. They stop it, look at me and he luckily, he was smart enough to range more than I did, and he’s like thirty five yards. So I just put my thirty up a little high on the back and shot. Unfortunately. I don’t know if it was like my third access or what, but I shot back. So but it smoked him, like elevation was good, just back, and I was like left, dang it. It was actually a little bit right because he was going straight away and I was like, dang it. So we wait, we wait. We see him going over this hill and he beds down, we assumed, so we try to track him. Can’t really find a lot of track. We’re looking, and all of a sudden, boom, we bust him and he runs to this other part of the hill. I’m like, all right, like we gotta get him or we’re gonna keep pushing him, you know, So we take I think I took one more shot from there and it hit him back again, and I was like this is just terrible. Like I’m feeling bad. I’m like, I shouldn’t have even done this, I mean, and I went to I went to tax I was shooting all it, you know, and so you’re just like, I should have just never done this. I feeling killed. And then again finally, you know, he’s obviously hurting, and a lot of people were like, if you just let him like sit with the backshot the first one, he probably would have died. I’m like, I don’t know, probably right, and I just want him to end fast and appropriate.
00:49:08
Speaker 3: Right.
00:49:09
Speaker 1: So then he goes in beds again about forty five and we got the job done, guys, and they’re like, oh, there you go. And I was like that sucked, and he’s like, yeah, that was a little wild, you know, but he’s like congrats, man like, and eventually I kind of calmed down, like motion of it. Yeah, and it was like okay, like it was an experience and he’s like, if you can deal with that, you can bow hunt. You’ll be good. And he’s like so, but then, I mean, and it made me go back and want to train, you know, even more, shoot more uncomfortable all of it, you know, and went and shot with dan shape. That was uncomfortable and that’s kind of how we got linked up and stuff. But yeah, so that was that one. Unfortunately, ELK a lot better. So we were, you know, we had gotten some stocks on and when my buddies were there, we knew they were in the area. They just were quiet, like they would tarely quiet. So you see him in the morning for an hour maybe, and then they disappear in the pine trees and they’re just gone. And so we were getting some stocks. We still hunted. One still hunt. We’re down there and I’m being real quiet, just cow calling, caw call, move stop, cow cal stop, you know, and just waiting, and all of a sudden, my buddy puts his hand on me and we just duck down under this tree investigating thirteen yards away, big like five by six or six by six, just staring at us. And I’m like, and I had no shot because there was a branch in the way and there slowly walks away.
00:50:35
Speaker 2: He just came out of nowhere.
00:50:36
Speaker 1: Didn’t hear him nothing.
00:50:38
Speaker 3: About the middle of the day, probably checking on seeing what’s going on.
00:50:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, and that’s what he said. He’s like, they’re either gonna come barreling in. You’re not going to hear anything in there right there, and that it was. He was right on yep and in there. Yeah, that was.
00:50:50
Speaker 3: I would hate to hearbod when people are like, oh, thirteen yards you didn’t have a shot.
00:50:55
Speaker 1: In there, dude, And yeah it was thick you know, your thick country smoke brush or whatever. Yeah, it was a wall. I was up in pine trees and aspens and it was or you can’t get a shot. You can see right if you’re in there. You can kind of see once you’re looking out. It’s hard. But yeah, then that last day, super awesome. My dad gets there. We actually had some work to do, and he stayed up a little later, finished some of that. I’m we get up early. I’m like, all right, we’re going to this spot, this is where we’ve seen him. And luckily that morning we get there and we hear and I’m like, yes, they’re like talking. Now we had some cold weather come in. I was like perfect, and so I’m cow calling and he calls back, but he’s like two or three ridges over, and I’m like, I think he’s I think he’s hearing me. So I keep doing it and it’s getting louder and louder, and finally I see there’s two one big big bull and one I think satellite bowl behind him, and uh, I was like sweet, like, I think they’re coming in and they come on this ridge. They kind of go around and I got a right bugle mount, which is kind of cool. Uh, just because as he was going back into this kind of like valley, a cow call, he looks back and I have it on video and a few goals at me. But then he keeps walking. I’m like, dang, so we got to get over here. More so we move over. We’re watching them, these two bulls. I’m like that it’s gonna take me an hour to get around to the top of that ridge and then drop down and they’re probably not gonna be there or I was just like, I don’t know. Kept cow calling, and then he starts coming back. I’m like, okay, this is cool. It was like, if he hits those trees, he’s coming down and he’s coming to me. I think this guy’s playing. That’s exactly what happened. He just kept coming, kept coming, and so I dropped down into the aspens where there was kind of an open field where I could get a shot ranged everything, and I’m hiding behind some pine tree right here with the open sagebrush in front of me, and Sure’s crap. My Dad’s like he’s down in there somewhere, and I’m like, cause he’s up top, just you know, radioing me. Sure thirty five yards away straight on. He pops out and I’m like, well, I’m thinking, crap, he’s gonna come right right right to me. Yeah, you know so. I right before he’d popped out, I did one more cow call, trying to make it turn a little sound over there a little bit, and it was just perfect. He just walks, you know, thirty five yards down. He starts angling straight towards in front of me and going like up the hill, trying to figure out where this is. How is It’s like, no way this is gonna happen. I’m like, why is this working right now? I’m like this is awesome, but you know, competitive side of you is just like you’re locked in. I almost feel better in that motion then, Like when I went and shot with Dan, I was like nervous. I’m like, you know, I’m like, what is this? I felt pretty calm, pretty good, and I’m like okay, and he kind of crossed that aspen that was in front of me. So I drew back and little he looks at me, and I’m just like my twenties, right, and he was only seventeen to twenty yards probably nice. Just I double lung and he turns and runs, and I’m just telling my dad, like I think I got him. It had to be a good shot. I think I got him. And I’m just like trying to like calm down. I’m like shaking, you know, and it’s like downhill. So I’m like, if he gets out of here, he’s gone, like if he’s not hurt, you know. And so I gave it some time and kind of hike out and around to see if I could spot him. And I see his antlers kind of look like he’s laying down, and so I’m giving some cow call, see if there’s any movement. I wait, and I’m like, Dad, I think we got him. Man, like, can you bring empty my pack and just bring it down? Bring the knives? And my dad, I love him to death. But he was slow, and I was like I can’t do this, Dad, and like I’m going in. So I just slowly sneak in. Got some video of that, and he was, yeah, he was out perfect. Oh yeah, it was, Yeah, it was. It was so cool. It was like picture perfect, like a movie. And my dad was there to watch it. He’s like, he’s like he was so impressed. He’s like, I can’t believe you just did that. He’s like that was insane, Like everything you said he did and it worked. I was like, it doesn’t work. I had plenty of yeah, but it was. It was pretty sick. So it was fun.
00:54:50
Speaker 2: The last question for both of you guys, when it finally comes together, right, how does it come like compare to I don’t know, winning an event or winning the games, or sticking sticking the skill that you finally how does it compare?
00:55:02
Speaker 3: I think just the same. To me, it was like, yeah, and nobody’s watching, right, it’s yeah, you don’t well, you don’t have the failure. Like people don’t see the failure as much. But dude, man, every time I’ve killed a bull or killed even white tail at I’m like, this is awesome and that’s what keeps you coming back to one percent?
00:55:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, same thing. I was just like, I don’t like you said, you don’t really get it. I didn’t necessarily cry I was close to it now, but I was just like, you know, especially with the seven year wead all that kind of stuff, I was like, you.
00:55:32
Speaker 3: Got it done.
00:55:34
Speaker 2: Yeah, hopefully with seven years at least the hunting’s good like you would think in theory. Yeah, people aren’t in there as much. The hunting’s higher quality for sure, but it was awesome.
00:55:44
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:55:45
Speaker 2: For me, it’s always like right after the the air was shot or the gun is shot, that’s like the big relief, like, oh my gosh, well yeah the hunt is over and you can like start or like go find it. And then obviously the after the pack out is like the big relief.
00:56:05
Speaker 3: Yeah. I don’t mind the pack out. I’m like, I don’t care, I’ll pack my out.
00:56:08
Speaker 1: It sucks, but this is worth every.
00:56:11
Speaker 3: Second, every step of it. Yeah. Sweet well, Jake Man, it’s been awesome. Yeah, thank you to get on a hunt together and it’ll be fun. That would like you’d be one of our people.
00:56:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, that’d be super fun. Appreciate it. Thanks for having me absolutely awesome.
00:56:22
Speaker 3: Yeah heck yeah, dude, appreciate it.
00:56:23
Speaker 1: Thank you guys so much
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