April 17, 2025 • 58 mins
Gear reviews and elk hunting go hand in hand. This week Dirk and Gabe Gerrish of Backwoods Pursuit talk about behind the scenes of his recent elk hunting film, "Chasing Tradition," and also the ins and outs of reviewing hunting gear.
Link to Gabe's website: https://backwoodspursuit.com/
Connect with Jason, Dirk, and Phelps Game Calls
MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Youtube Clips
Subscribe to The MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube
Shop Phelps Merch
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Welcome back to another episode of Cutting the Distance podcast.
I'm your host Dirk Durham and this week's episode, I
have a good friend who I've been watching his gear
reviews for quite some time now and I finally got
to meet him face to face when I moved to
the Boys area a few years ago. Backwoods Pursuit host
Gabe Garish, welcome to Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
It's good to be here, and good to meet up
and meet you face face. To watch your stuff for
a long time as well videos and whatnot.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
And so great to meet you. Yeah, I had a.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Coffee a few times and I got to hang out
and whatnot. So yeah, it's been great.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Yeah we've got to talk talk business, Yeah, video production stuff,
all sorts of stuff. So yeah, it's been It's been
fun getting to know you the last few years.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Here.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
I was watching your your elk cutting film. It's called
Chasing Tradition.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Yep, and excellent film.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
If if the listeners haven't watched this, go to YouTube,
go to Backwards Backwoods Pursuits channel and look up Chasing Tradition.
And if you like el cutting films, you're gonna love it.
I really enjoyed it. I don't want to want to
give too much away, but I did.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
I did.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
My mind had a little tear in my eye at
the end. So yeah, it's that good.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Yeah, well, thank you appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Yeah, I probably offended my wife by, uh, some of
the emotions on the film, you know, just because I'm
not an emotional person, but some of those events just
kind of, you know, took hold and laid out and
played out the way that it did. And you know,
sometimes life happens like that.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
So it was.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
It was a good, a fun one to make, and yeah,
a real personal story and everything that went along with it.
So yeah, it was a special film to make.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yeah, absolutely, it's funny. You know, your wife probably was saying, hey,
I've never seen that sign. I see these these these
reels on Instagram or Facebook. It'll show pictures of like
a man and a wife together and they're smiling for
pictures and he's got like this half hearted smile, and
then it'll show it'll flash to him like with a
(02:22):
big fish, or like him hunting with like he's got
some pheasants or he's got a big elk or something.
And the guy has a gigantic smile. You know, it's
just like you know, time after time after time, but
him him with her and his smile looks kind of
like okay, and then the smile with the with a
with an animal, then it's like undoubtedly super super excited.
(02:45):
So that that kind of reminds me of that for sure.
Her wives are like, hey, you don't talk like that.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Sometimes.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
You know, when we're in the elk woods, you know,
things happen and it brings out a different Yeah, it
certainly can. So my wife will say, Dirk is known
to bugle any sleep sometimes.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Oh, that could get awkward.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Some people are sleep talkers.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I'm asleep buglers.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
So hopefully you don't have a bugle tube in your
night stand next to the in the diaphragm.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
No, I keep those well out of there. I just
do it with my mouth and probably I can't imagine
how good it sound.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Probably sounds like somebody calling hogs or something.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
But uh, yeah, I got some weird sleep happens. One
time she caught me, I was kind of walking around
and kind of pacing around. She's like, what are you doing.
I'm like, I got to get these horns on the wall, right,
and I had to set of deer antlers I had
taken off the wall and I was trying to put
them back up, and finally I got frustrated and set
them down. So the next day I wake up like,
why are those antlers just sitting there on the dresser?
(03:48):
And she's like, you don't remember this now, but I
had stumbling around trying to hang on them in the
dark in the middle of the night.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
So that's good stuff, the things we're doing and we're sleeping.
That's needs to usually stay.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
In the middle of the night and talk about yeah later.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Probably shouldn't have brought that up. So you've been a
lifelong hunter. At what age did you realize when you
were a kid that you wanted to go hunting or
that you wanted to be a hunter?
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Gosh, you know, Dad grew up hunting, you know, from
as long as I can remember, So we grew up
with him heading out to the you know, deer and
elk hunting, waterfowl hunting, you know, up on game, bird hunting,
all those things throughout.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Gosh, as long as I can remember.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
So growing up, I actually liked waterfowl hunting and bird
hunting a lot more than big game hunting, even though
I enjoyed big game hunting, probably because my kid no
attention span. And so you can go for a morning
and shoot a bunch of ducks and you know, shoot
a box of shells, and then come back with some
birds and deer in elk honey. Sometimes you can go
(04:56):
a long time without even seeing animals or chasing animal
and so I liked a bird hunting quite a bit
growing up. But as I got a little older, a
little more mature, at least I like to think, so
I got more into the big game honting and enjoy
that certainly a lot more now. But yeah, from a
very as long as I can remember. But you know,
(05:18):
I started going with dad big game hunting. I think
he let me come first time when I was eleven,
I think.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
It was eleven.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
And back then, you know in Idaho here you could
start hunting you or twelve. So that was the first
trip I got to go on. And Dad got a
five point bowl on that trip, so I was pretty
pretty special. Yeah, oh yeah, yeah. So but ever since then,
you don't think I've missed a season that I can
remember going out big game honey during el hunting. So
(05:47):
it's been pretty pretty special.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
That's awesome. Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
So you spend a lot of time in the woods
with your kids as well. How did you get them
interested in honeting or did they just kind of take
to it?
Speaker 3 (06:00):
No, And you know some are certainly more than others.
Have five kids, and yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
We got a crew.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
So the oldest is he'll, you know, he'll come. Sometimes
he's not really his thing, but he'll come, you know.
Sometimes he came this year, and he was there when
my youngest got got a buck and so they were
excited to experience that together. And and so sometimes he'll come,
sometimes he won't, but it's not really his thing, but
so kind of let him come whenever he wants to
(06:28):
and and come along. And I have two daughters. One's
probably never gonna come and that's not her thing for sure,
and the other one has she she went out first time,
you know, when she got her license and couldn't pull
the trigger on a dough that she had tagged for
so sure, but she's shown an interest again. And and
my youngest is is all about it. So he's a
(06:49):
little hunt buddy, and and he's all about you know,
the gear and the preparation and hiking in the mornings,
you know, training and everything and whatnot. So he's he's
the one that's the most into it of all of them.
But they'll have varying degrees of interest and whatnot. So yeah,
didn't really necessarily try to get them into it other
than you're giving them the opportunity and the you know,
(07:11):
the welcoming to come along if they wanted to, and
try to make it fun when they're there and have
it to be an enjoyable experience, so not too miserable. Sometimes,
you know, weather and things like that can make trips
a little more challenging, and so do best we can
to make it an enjoyable trip, something they want to
come back to and and kind of let their interests develop,
(07:32):
you know, however they're going.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
To Yeah, yeah, I feel like I feel like I
might have burnt my kids out a little bit whenever,
because I've you know, I've always been such a passionate hunter,
and especially when my kids were young, I had to
I had very limited time to hunt, you know, I
was weekends and sometimes I'd get a week off to
go hunting, and man, you want to cram as much
(07:53):
in that weekend as you can. And yeah, and with kids,
they don't like tolerate so much of that, right, you know.
To me, it's it's I'm having a blast. To them,
it's it's like a death marching.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
The certainly can be.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
I found that, like if I kept you know, Snickers,
candy bars, things like that readily available anytime we kind
of takes it out and get take a break and
they're getting a little bit, a little bit of poopy mouth.
They're like, hey, look at this, and they kind of
boost him up a little bit until the next time
we set out.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
But oh, that's that was one of the notes I saw.
The question. You know, how do you keep kids interested?
Is you know, food?
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Yeah, bribe them.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Here's an entire box of raspberry filled donuts for when
we get to the top of the mountain.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
You but have you been talking to my camera guy, Dusty,
because that's how he bribes me. Come on, Dirk, you
can do it. There's raspberry donuts in the truck.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
I love those things. I know they're terrible.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
They're so good though, but yeah, yeah, try to keep
a fun interesting. I'm not you push him too hard.
You know, there's a balance, so you don't want them
to to be too easy. You want to push them,
you know, push what their physical limits are and mentally
and whatnot.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
But it's a process of you know, obviously.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
I didn't get to where I'm at now by going
out and burning out the first time it went out,
you know. Yeah, so you kind of grow into it
and engaging their level of interest and their willingness to
push themselves and and all that. It's you know, I'm
sure you mess up more than you get it right,
but you know, it's always trying to assess that and
keep them, keep them there if they want to be
(09:31):
and having a good time, and knowing when to call
it even if it's not what I want to call
it right, you know, or knowing when not to go
over the next ridge when I really want to.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Yeah, sometimes you got to make those calls. But yeah, absolutely, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
My son, he he's he can either kind of take
it or leave it.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Right.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
In the last couple of years he's kind of got
back into it. And in fact, last year him and
I were able to go out and he was able
to get an ELK and but you know, before it
was always a struggle to get him, like hey, practice
your boat, shoot your ball practice, you know, you got
all your stuff. And and last year he kind of
had his crap together. He'd been practicing, and his wife,
(10:14):
she likes to shoot bows, so we gave we gave
her his old bow from when he was like thirteen fourteen,
and she starts shooting that thing, and she actually really
likes shooting both. So I think that makes him want
to shoot both some more.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
So.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Then he kind of practiced and got his crap together
and came to I didn't have to like do everything
for it, right, Okay, let's let's go through your path.
You got all your stuff, you know. He kind of
had already gotten his crap together, so that was good
to see. He's twenty I think he was twenty six
last fall, And so I feel like maybe as kid's age,
(10:51):
maybe they're going to come around to it.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
You know.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
I feel like there's a lot of adult onset hunters.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Yeah, for sure. So those things weren't door open.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Yeah, those things weren't import maybe when people were young,
but now that they're an adult, it's like I want
to do this.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
So yep, for sure, and there's certainly that side. And then,
like you said, my youngest is, he's all about it.
But the same time, I want to push him so
hard that he, you know, burn him out as well,
because he's he's really enjoys it and whatnot, and and
out there as much as as much as me, as.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
As much as he can be.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
And so but I want to be careful not to
just assume that he's always going to be, you know,
ready to go, ready to to be pushing it hard.
And you know, sometimes he's he's just thirteen, so sometimes
it's easy to think he's got well with no restrictions here,
let's go for it. And yeah, but you know it's
(11:48):
easy to take advantage of that too and not not
remember you got to keep that in mind and still
keep it, keep it fun and enjoyable and.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
And have a good time out there together. Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Now does your wife hunt or she goes with you sometimes,
but she doesn't.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Does she hunt? She does? Yeah? Did she into it?
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Yeah, she'll go as much as as much as we
can get her out there. You know, it's always a
little bit of a balancing act. The kids are a
little bit older now. Our youngest is thirteen, so it's
a little easier for her to get away obviously younger kids, like.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Who's gonna watch the kids? How are we gonna work
all that?
Speaker 3 (12:23):
And and uh, you know you'll get a bunch of
people out there and and different physical abilities and all
of that. You know, how much room do you have
to set up a camp and all that kind of thing.
So but yeah, she'll get out as much as we
can together and and she comes just about every year
on multiple trips and and uh, you know, try to
(12:46):
get her into animals as much as we can and
and yeah, she has a good time though, So yeah's
fun to be out there together.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Is that something that she got into after you guys
were married or did she have some background earlier?
Speaker 3 (12:59):
No, after we got married. So funny story she when
I met. When we met, she was borderline pushing towards vegetarian.
So we had to break her that really quick.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
You're looking at a life life of eating salad and tofu.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
This is not gonna work.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
So no, she her family was not into it at all.
And and so the first time she visited our house, uh,
when we were engaged, I think it was her dating. Uh.
She stayed in an old one of the old bedrooms
and I had taxidermy this uh, this Canadian goose that
shot and it was like in the you know, the
cupped in landing position right above the bed, and I'm
(13:43):
sure it freaked her out pretty bad.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
I was stared at all night long.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Waking up to this huge bird just about the land
on her. But yeah, so she's come a long way
and now she's just right in there with us, and
you know, we do a lot of backpack hunting together
and you know, she's been in there ultiple times. We've
gotten animals and jumps right in, help spiel dress and
pack out and all that to the to the most
of her physical abilities.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
So yeah, it's great to have her.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
I'll have to talk to you later about fitting packs
for women, because I know that's a struggle. My wife
has had a hard time trying to find a pack
that that's going to carry a load that will be
comfortable because they just fit girls different They have curves
in different places than we do.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Yeah, yeah, that was we went through that. She went
through a bunch of packs to find one that they
fit her well. So yeah, we can we can talk
about that and afterwards or whatnot.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Yeah, yeah, what would you if you had any advice.
What would your number one piece of advice for getting
kids and or your wife into hunting? And maybe you've
already said some of that, but do you have any
one piece of like major advice.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Yeah, I think what I looking back at what I
did right and what I did wrong, was took me
too long to kind of see where where they're at.
And there's probably more for my wife than my my
youngest son. He's like I said, he's right, there's a
gearhead with me. We're out there looking at you know,
you know, reloading and looking for all that you know,
(15:13):
the perfect loads and whatnot and trying to get the
groups as tight as we can. And he's right there
and he likes that kind of stuff, is the way
his mind works.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
But not so much. My wife. She's kind of the
opposite of that. She is here is a work, Is
it easy? Let's do it. Let's not change anything once
we find something that works, you know.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
So a different mindset than myself, so that I was
always of the mindset like, well, you should be like me, right,
you should prepare in all these certain ways and do
it the same way I do it. And so that
would frustrate me rather than saying, you know, that's that's
never going to be her. That's never going to be
the way she prepares for a hunt. And so just
(15:47):
coming to terms with what that looks like, and you know,
meeting them where they are, whether it's in their physical
abilities there where they are, and how they like to
prepare being different than than where I'm matt and and
you know, really looking at that in a way to
what do I need to do to help and support that,
and and that just helps the hunt go better, you know.
(16:11):
And and for me, you know, she's always been more
like you know, I'm She's not going to go out
there and spend days at the range like I will.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Right, It's just I enjoy that, you know, but that's
not really her.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
So she wants something that's going to be easier to
manage and whatnot. And so it for me it's like, okay,
I can I can do that, and I can make
that so it's easier for and and that's just going
to be the way it is. I can tell my
my my youngest son, hey, you know there's a deer
four years away, get set up, get your tripod, get
your rear support.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
You'll just do it. Right.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
I don't have to I don't have to do anything,
but I have to switch my mind says like if
it's if it's someone else like my oldest son or her.
Just if someone sets the shot out for you know, set
the shot at for him, and that's fine, you know,
just but I think coming to terms with that sooner
would have been better for me, right, rather than get frustrated.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Like why did you set up already? I told you
to be quick. That doesn't go.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
So well, you know, and so yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
well that's great advice. That's uh. I feel like I
need to take some of that advice sometimes too. It's
just I one hundred percent can see what you're saying.
I find myself with my kids. You know, you know,
you expect, you know that this is honting. This is
what it is. Yeah, you're prepared, your practice all the
(17:31):
time you do this, and that you have all you're
you're ready and YadA, YadA YadA. But that's not what.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Honting is to everyone. Right, It's different for people.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
So it's hard to and it's hard to like accept that.
I think, yeah, yeah, but yeah, that's that's really good advice.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
So I just learned that this year. This is all.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Still trying to put that into place. You know, I
hurry up and get up a little earlier.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
And.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
I'm the one that's usually she's out the door quicker
than I am when we're back back into what you know.
But my excuse here is that, well, I'm making sure
everything is ready and prepped for everybody, not just myself, right, sure,
so I tell myself that make myself feel.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
That you're slow moving in the morning.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
So how long?
Speaker 1 (18:18):
So on Backwoods Pursuit you new gear gear reviews, hunting
gear reviews. How long have you been doing that?
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Gosh?
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Over seven years? I think November seven years ago would
be the first time I published a review, So I
guess we're pushing seven and a half now, Holy ca. Yeah,
So it's it's been a been a long, long stretch here,
but it's it's been a ton of fun to grow
and and build it from the ground up. And you know,
I was not the not the you know, zero experience
(18:49):
in developing a website or even knowing how to do
that or run a camera or any of that. So
so don't go watch the first few videos. I've stumbled
across a few of those and you know it auto
plays or something.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
I'm like, ah, why did I do that?
Speaker 1 (19:09):
What did I talk that way?
Speaker 2 (19:11):
What was I so uncomfortable? Right?
Speaker 3 (19:14):
But no, it's just a it's a growing process, you know.
But yeah, seven and seven a half years almost now.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
That's amazing. That's a long time, you know. And there's
a lot to it. It's it's one thing to like,
no gear inside and out and look at gear and
be like, oh I like this and that and there
the thing, and then it's taking those thoughts and putting
those into words. Right, that's digestible for people to understand
in a format. It's good for people to understand because
(19:40):
I feel I feel like if I was going to
do a gear review, I'd be all over the place
like a soup sandwich, man, I would I would have
to like write it all down and like really in
this like really and really spell it out. And but
and you probably do some of that too, But but yeah,
you do really great on the scary reviews.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Appreciated it.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
What kind of gear? What category of gear is your
favorite reviewed? Do you have any favorites type things?
Speaker 3 (20:08):
Probably probably optics all right up there. I love playing
with optics. I mean, you know, you can only there's
only so many pairs of binoculars and spotty scopes.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Whatnot out there.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
But but to do you know, to to cover just that?
I mean literally, I could say I'm only doing optics
reviews and that would keep me busy and keep the
team busy, because there's just there's so much you can
do with with that. You know, we did a big review,
didn't put twenty six pairs next to each other, and
pulled the team out and everybody was, you know, grading
(20:41):
different aspects of binoculars. We did have spotty scopes and
rangefinders and range finding monoculars and those kinds of things.
But then you have you can't get into a lot
of detail with each individual piece. Doing that, you can
get to some degree, but but gosh, I think that
article was thirty thousand words or some crazy.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
It was so long.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
It was a heavy read.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
So you try to obviously keep them shorter than that.
But you can get into more individual detail, which which
you know, the comparisons are great. You can kind of
see how what features are going to fit your particular
needs and uh and needs that you have when you hunt.
But then if you're kind of narrowing it down. You
may want a little more detail on some of those
individual optics or pieces of gear, and so try to
(21:27):
cover as much of that as possible.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
But it's impossible to cover everything out there.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
So oh yeah, I remember watching your review of stabilizing binoculars,
and as I watched, I'm like, man, you brought up
(21:53):
a whole bunch of stuff that was I would even
not even not even thought about. That's like, man, this
is really this is a good review. So yeah, I
encourage anybody if you're into like gear and you like
to tinker a little bit, you know, and you're curious
about gear, I definitely get on back What's Pursuit channel
and YouTube channel, watch the videos and then you also
(22:15):
have articles on your support on your.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Website as well. Yeah, we do back What's pursuit dot com. Yeah,
so we do try to do a compilation of both, uh,
because some products are better reviewed on video. Sure, some
are better reviewed in articles, and you know, some it
doesn't matter, but but yeah, we try to publish. The
goal is to publish a video each week in an
(22:39):
article each week, and so it's a lot to get
that put out there. But most of the time, we're
able to get that done, and sometimes, you know, we
miss a few, but that's typically the goal. And and
and yeah, so it's it's a little easier to get
into details in articles without making you know, a video
that's really really long and hard to digest. So sometimes
(23:02):
you know, try to compliment each other and bed the
video in the article if it's if it's a complimentary
kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Mm hm.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
But yeah, cover them, cover them both as much as
we can. And and uh, you know, build out charts.
Things are visual are helpfult least for me to see
comparisons and you know, field of view comparisons between a
few pairs or whatever we're looking at and put that
into articles and or videos.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
So yeah, I can imagine doing all these reviews you have.
You probably go into it with a thought in your
head like, oh, I'm really gonna like these ones. Yeah,
and then as you start, you know, dissecting and evaluating
and stuff and like what I like them, but right,
and I really like these other ones more I thought
I didn't know I would like this other you know
(23:46):
thing what more you know brand x y Z.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
So yeah, yeah, it's kind of a.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Something I learned over the years to go into any
review regardless of brand, just kind of with an open mind,
or even if it's a product there's no way I'm
gonna like this.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Yeah, I just don't. I can't see it.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
And but just say give it a fair shake, you know,
because the reviews themselves. We don't accept sponsorship, money or
anything for the reviews, and so the products just have
to speak for themselves and do our best to bring
that objectively and and you know, call it like we
see it and don't always get it right for sure,
you know, but try to bring it in a way
that's helpful for every consumer researching a particular products. So
(24:29):
if it's you know, something's important to me, Let's say,
in optics of binocular I need a super big field
of view because of the type of hunting or glass
thing I do, But someone else doesn't really matter, you know,
Stabilized binoculars have a much smaller field of view. So
is that a big deal for you or is it not?
You know, I can say it is for me or
if it isn't, but for you maybe not, And maybe
(24:51):
it is, you know, So try to just give that
information and data in a way that's it gives you
the the the ammunition you need to make a good
decision on the on a purchase.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
So yeah, yeah, it's good to be able to put
all that information there for people to kind of get
behind the driver's seat without getting behind the driver's seat,
to think about like the things are important.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
To them, and then have you highlight it.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
And then then you know, some some folks, some of us,
we just don't live around an area where we can
run down a local sporting good store and pick up
any brand of optic or whatever it is that you're evaluating,
right and look at through them, you know, at the store,
or even handle them or try to try on the
gear or whatever. So it's good to have someone you
know do that depth.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
Way or even a part of the country, right. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
So and you know, back east, I've noticed there's a
lot of folks feel say, oh, this optic has you know,
great edge of edge clarity, and I've looked at it
and like, no, it doesn't, you know. And then but say, well,
how far were you looking? Oh, yeah, I was looking
at my back, my back porch to two hundred yards.
You can't tell much at two hundred yards, right, versus
two miles up in the foothills where you can tell
(25:58):
you get outstretched out there, you can really see those differences,
and so some of it's relative to where you're at,
and so in in back east, you know, maybe some
of those things aren't really that important versus out here
where you're looking at wide space and big spaces, it's
much more important.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Yeah, definitely a different application for sure. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Has there ever been a category of gear that was
really challenging You're like, man, okay, you're really gonna have
to dig in deep and like understand this, and you know,
is there anything that was that stood out that was
really tough? I know, I didn't put that on.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Yeah, that's fine, that's a good question to put you
on the spot.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
Yeah, I mean there's anything that I'm not that I
by default don't really know well obviously, And some things
are are a lot more technical than others. So like
those when we we did a couple of videos on
those Zeice thermal monoculars, those are there were something that
hadn't played much with thermals because just I don't use
(27:03):
them a whole lot. So that was there's a big
learning curve. You know, what do some of these terms
mean that are associated with with thermal optics. I've always been,
like I mentioned in the film, grew up hunting with
a rifle, but it was more of, you know, go
out shoot a few times before season, make sure we're
you know, shooting three inches high at one hundred, and
(27:24):
then we're good to go.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
Yeah, you know, it's.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
Like a lot of people, which is fine, But in
the last couple of years started you know, diving more
deeply into rifles and custom builds and those kinds of things.
So that's a big learning curve to could you know,
the folks in that do a lot of custom builds
and really know the rifles. They know the rifles, and
(27:47):
they are going to know if you don't know what
you're talking about. And so try try the best to
to cover those things in an educated way and do
my homework so that can present good data for folks.
And so that that's been a big learning curve there,
and it's been awesome to get into that and have
some good team members that are helpful and help walking
(28:08):
me through some of those things. And and so I
can always say, hey, Roger, how do we go through
this process or what is what are these some of
these terms mean I'm not quite familiar with them or
you know, somewhere. They're just good to have some people
to lean on that they know more than I do
in some areas that if it's not my wheelhouse and
I can call someone.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Yeah, you really have to invest a lot of time
and efforts on some of these products. I'm sure to
like fully understand them. It's not just you can't just
like but open a box and do an unboxing video.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Yeah, here's the box.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
So it's got a caringcreational lanyard. Oh I look through it.
There's stuff in the dark there. Right, It's got to
be like very in depth and you have to have
a good understanding of it.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
So yeah, for sure, and appreciate the.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Amount of time I'm sure you invest in yeah, and
getting to know these different products.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
Yeah, yeah, it can take a while sometimes depending on
what it is right right now.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Speaking of people saying, hey, you don't know what you're
talking about? Do you ever have any negative nancies comment
on your videos? Ever?
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Ever? Such a nice guy?
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Why do that?
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Oh? Yeah, it's inevitable.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
You know, you always get some folks that are you know,
say oh this you know this review was sponsored, like
well it wasn't the reviews aren't sponsored, or just because
my favorite brand wasn't in there, you know, or whatever
those kinds of things. And sometimes brands just say yeah,
we don't want to we don't want to be a
part of that review. It's like okay, you know, that's
that's fine. And so yeah, sometimes you get some of
(29:36):
that and it's like, well, yeah, we'll do what we
can do the best we can to include that X
y Z brand next time, you know, m So, you know,
there's sometimes there's ability to try to look at any
of those negative comments and see if it's just some
controlling or if it's there's legitimate motive behind it to say,
you know, this product should have been in there, And
sometimes like yeah, I probably should have, but they didn't
(29:57):
want to be or should we miss that?
Speaker 2 (29:59):
You know, we'll get it next time, you know.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
So, Yeah, sometimes there's some good information, try to pull
whatever I can from that. And sometimes it's just people
being mean.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
So do you ever just like like turn off or
hide those people from your channel that are extra mean
or you just let them talk and just like we'll
let the algorithm pick it up and let maybe somebody
will hey man, quite being a jerky You know, what
do you what do you do in a situation like if.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
It's someone that's just clearly trying to stir something up,
and you know, cause problems, just don't respond, you know.
I try to respond to the comments, and and for
the most part, definitely been blessed to not have much
of that, you know, But I just, you know, don't
I'm just not going to engage in that keyboard warrior stuff.
It's just it's not worth it. You know, You're not
gonna do any good there. But for the most part,
(30:44):
you know, people have been you know, in kind and
and uh just you know, try to stay humble and
look where you're where you're missing. Sometimes you miss it
on reviews, and sometimes you just don't get it right,
or you miss a critical area you should have covered.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
You know, I got Craps already published. What do I
do now I miss that? You know, dang it? Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
So yeah, but it's just always trying to learn and
and and get better and take the negative to get
used it to get better. And but I made I
had I don't think that I've really deleted comments on videos.
The only one other than if it's just you know,
something that's nefarious. It's like, we don't need we don't
need that link here, I don't think.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
So there's a lot of that weird scammy stuff out there. Yeah,
So for gear, are you actively contacting companies or companies
reaching out to you?
Speaker 2 (31:43):
How do you get your gear both? You know? So
it depends.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
I get multiple requests every day for reviews, and a
lot of them are maybe just one unboxing video on this,
and like, don't really do those. I mean, that's there's
not to me, there's not a lot of value in there.
There is some depending on on what it is. If
it's a brand new product and people like, hey, what's
this all about?
Speaker 2 (32:03):
What?
Speaker 3 (32:04):
Yeah, so there's there can be sometimes we'll do a
little bit of that, or you know, here's introducing this
new product, and if maybe get an early sample of
it and have a few weeks a few weeks with
it to play around and actually do a little bit
of of of comparison with it or something like that,
then you know, I'll try to put out a little
something on that. But for the most part, don't don't
(32:26):
entertain too much of that. You get a lot of
people it seems like when people reach out they'll say, hey,
can you do a video on this?
Speaker 2 (32:33):
Do review?
Speaker 3 (32:34):
We need it turned around in a month. It's like
that's just not enough time to get familiar with the product,
film something, edit it and get it put back, turn
it around in a month.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
That's just an unboxing video, you know.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
And so again, don't do a whole lot of that,
So try to keep the reviews, you know. Kind of
what we set out to do is to be in
depth and cover the product and get to know it
really well, be able to speak intelligently about it, and
and I put together a review that's going reflect that.
So so yeah, sometimes do get contacted by companies, and
companies are already have an established relationship with a lot
(33:07):
of times they'll reach out and say, hey, we got
this new project coming out, and you help us test
it before it launches and I'll get an early sample
of something, get to play with it, and be able
to put some content out around the time when they
launch it. So that sometimes we'll do that, Or if
I have a project that I'm working on, then say
(33:27):
I'm working on a compact spotiesco Privy right now and
have been for a while.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
So all the little lightweight ones, little teeny ones, you know, I've.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
Been working and playing on playing with those. So we've
been working on that. So but I'll reach out to
the companies say hey, this is a project we're working on.
You know, we'd love to have one of your products
in this if if you want to be a part
of that.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
So yeah, so both ways, yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:49):
Good, Well you probably make some good industry contacts that
way for sure, and some companies maybe you haven't worked with.
Is it sometimes hard to get through the just the
door and talk to the right person there to be
like you might have to talk to three different people, right,
it'll it'll just go to somebody's.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
In box and die. Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
It's it's gotten a lot easier over the years. Of course,
you know, started out, I think the first first product
reviewed was like a little backpacking pill or something that
probably wasn't even you know, worth the time of doing,
but it was you know, what was available, and and
and so as that's grown, Yeah, it's gotten. The contexts
have been made and and I know who to contact
now and have the email addresses or phone numbers to
(34:28):
to acquire product lot easier now for the reviews, but
still there's there's so many avenues and categories. You know,
one of my team members is back East, and he
does a lot in the you know, turkey hunting and
white tail hunting and and those those fields that that
I just are not my wheelhouse, and so I defer
to him on on those things. And and so breaking
(34:50):
into that is just getting to talk to someone is difficult,
right because it's a different it's not Western hunting right right,
So it's it takes a lot of time to make
that initial contact and find out who you need to
talk to and establish that relationship. But once once you
have that relationship build obviously, if as long as you
do good work and you're coming through on your promises,
(35:12):
what you're delivering, what you say you're going to do,
and then usually that gets easier along the way.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Yeah, yeah, that's good. And I'm sure probably with that
big network of people, you might say, hey, do you
know anybody that you know this other brand? You know,
I want to do this something completely unrelated to.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
What you do. Do you know anybody?
Speaker 1 (35:31):
Then oh, yeah, I know so and over there, because
like what I found is like the hunting industry, it
seems like it's big, but it's not really. Especially once
you start doing trade shows, whether it's consumer shows or
like vendor shows, pretty soon you start seeing the same
people every year, so you start getting to know a
few people, and it probably does make it a lot easier.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
For sure.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
I have guys that are on the team, or there's
I think fourteen of us now that that help write
articles and do videos and whatnot. A lot of times
the guy I will shoot me a message or phone call,
but not I say I've heard about this new product,
and like, no, actually I hadn't you know.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
So they'll you'll.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
Keep me on my toes that way too, which is
which is awesome because I certainly can't keep up on
everything myself.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
So oh yeah, that's cool. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
So filming, do you sell film? Do you have a
camera person? Do you have that you make one of
your kids, your wife run the camera.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
When for reviews.
Speaker 3 (36:31):
Most of the time of self film and tripod and
set the camera up and then go to work that way,
depending on the video. Sometimes if it's an active type video,
there a tent setup or something like that, I'll I'll
grab my youngest he likes to come out and help
with that and so have him run the camera and so.
But most of the time for the reviews, you know,
(36:51):
just do it in my studio. They're putting built in
the garage and or out in the field, depending on
what it is, and to sell film those for the
most part, and of course obviously the hunting films, I
don't do that. That's beyond my skill set to do
and do that that good equality.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
So yeah, so John John Abert Nethews, your camera guy
on your Help film. Yeah, he's such a good guy.
I've been around him on a few hunts and he's
just like always such a happy, go lucky fella. And
I've never seen anybody nerd out so much on cameras,
like and getting the shots and like he gets so
(37:28):
tickled and like, I just love being around that guy.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
Yeah, he's such a fun guy. Yeah him.
Speaker 3 (37:34):
So we're editing this film. You know, he did he
did most of the he did all the camera work,
and he was there for the hunt and then his
good friend and I've gotten to know him well over
the last several months here, Louke Canduzenbury. He films it
does with a bunch of folks, you know, in the industry,
you go hunting.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
Work as well.
Speaker 3 (37:56):
And and so he's he's there on not on retainer,
but he said he's like, I could call him up,
so if he's available to film any of my hunts
coming up, if he's available, he'll do it. And yeah,
but they they we all got together and we're doing
a bunch of the editing on this film and and
so they start talking camera gear and they nerding out
on that, and I'm just sitting there like that sounds
(38:16):
like a cool thing, but I don't know what you're
talking about.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
Just way over my head, way over my head. And
I like the talk cameras a little bit. Yeah, these guys,
it goes right over my Yeah. Yeah, they start talking
about bit rates and all this stuff.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
I was just like, I don't know what you're talking about, right, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
I can fake it a little bit. Yeah, I can
run a camera good enough to get myself in trouble.
Speaker 2 (38:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (38:39):
That's that's scary moment when you think you've gotten to
the point where I can run this on full manual.
You know, I don't need an auto, and so you
start messing with everything and and uh so yeah, that
was that's that's me. Just a few years ago. It's like,
I can run this on manual and that's an accomplishment
right there.
Speaker 1 (38:54):
Yeah, But for me, like you get to that point
and then it's like, oh dang, it's like a Rubert's
Q excue. How do you put it back? Everything looks
terrible now I can't get it back to where I started.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
Yeah, yeah, it's yeah, it's funny. Back to your elk
hunting field. Yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
So you said this was a draw tag here in Idaho.
What was your opinion on the hunting area? You know,
people always have this pre preconceived notion or notion about
draw tags, like they think, oh, man, there's gonna be
giant bowls running all over the place. Uh like where
there where the elk number is good and where they're
(39:33):
you know, the maturity level and balance of age class
of bowls.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
How was it? No, the elk numbers were not very good.
Speaker 3 (39:43):
In fact, going into the hunt, based on the time
it's spending the unit leading up to the hunt, I
was pretty nervous actually going you know, going into it,
you know, drawing the tag, I was like, oh, this
is gonna be awesome, right, you know, the the draw
I drew a tag kind of syndrome, and you know
it's going to be great, you know, leading up to
those that spending the time in the field out there,
(40:05):
you know, looking looking around, do a lot of glassing.
Just wasn't seeing what I was expecting and hoping for.
And so if you're if you have seen the film,
or if you're if you see that the bowl that
we see on opening morning, yeah, it was a nice bowl,
especially for for this area because it's not a monster
trophy unit.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
It's not.
Speaker 3 (40:27):
It's just it it's a draw tag. But if that
just means there's a fewer hunters. Sure, So that that
was that was the biggest bull it's seen the entire year.
And it's like, oh dang, opening morning right there, you know,
so I think that was actually bigger than the one
that they killed.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
Uh we were like two miles.
Speaker 3 (40:48):
Away, right, It's a long way is a way to
really be able to tell for sure. But that one
and then the one that I killed were the only
two six points we saw.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (40:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
And so we saw a few raghorns, you know, a
couple five points, some spikes, you.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
Know whatnot, But yeah, numbers overall were We're not very good.
And that's that.
Speaker 3 (41:07):
Uh they were better then than when I was in
the unit during September looking around and whatnot. So so
that was at least good because going in September, we're like, man,
there's what is wrong?
Speaker 2 (41:19):
Yeah, we're the elk you know. It was it was
they were so maybe it was just.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
A late rudder or whatnot, you know, and so that
helped us a little bit. But yeah, no, numbers were
not great and and uh so I was pretty thrilled
with with the bull ended up killing to to be
able to find find that goal. And this is only
the but the third day, fourth day whatever it was,
so it wasn't like a long Ruelly hunt, you know.
Speaker 4 (41:44):
Yeah, he was beautiful, this beautiful bold.
Speaker 2 (41:58):
Yeah, the film, the film was so time.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
It's just there's a lot of really great cinematography and yeah,
a lot of a lot of good scenery. And I
just encourage people, you got to you gotta watch it.
I don't want to give it. I don't want to
give it away, but you watch. This is such a
good film.
Speaker 2 (42:13):
Oh thank you.
Speaker 3 (42:14):
It's it's so much fun to make too. You know,
I think I mentioned in the film, Uh, you know,
we have like a lot of us these aspirations like
I should film someday, right, but as you know, it's
not very cheap to do it well, right, anybody can
(42:34):
film with the cell phone or whatnot and just have
fun doing that. That's that's totally fine. But to actually
have it professionally filmed, and and and there's a certain
amount of stress that goes along with it. You know,
you're thinking, it would be really good to kill something
on film. We can get the shot, you know, do
I shoot a small one just so you have a
kill shot on film. All those things go into it.
(42:56):
And and then this, you know, while we've had those
aspirations growing up up, how we can if we can
film hunt? You know, my brother's and I because we
always hunt together every year we have a family annual
family hunting trip that they come up from out of
state and well hunt together.
Speaker 2 (43:09):
And but.
Speaker 3 (43:11):
This is the first time though, that's actually a film
to hunt and and just pulled the trigger and done it,
you know.
Speaker 2 (43:17):
So it was a little bit like, Okay, I don't
know what to expect here.
Speaker 3 (43:21):
Yeah, because I've done a lot of film work for reviews,
but that's different than narrating. That's different than trying to
adequately relay what's going on with what just happened, and
you know, do it on the spot and not have
an outline that I'm going through for a review.
Speaker 2 (43:36):
So it's just different, you know. So but it came
together well.
Speaker 3 (43:41):
I'm sure John did a lot of editing to make
me look not so quite so so bad on film.
Speaker 1 (43:48):
Makes you look great, I think too. If if you're
comfortable with who you are, who's filming you, Yeah, that
means like a lot. I know my camera guy, Dusty,
and when I get along so good and we like
to giggle and joke. Man, if you could if we
could just film him and I as shnanigans and the
silly crap we laugh about and joke around. I don't
(44:10):
know if I don't know if anybody ever watch it,
but there'd be a lot of content. But they'd be
like these guys are like in their fifties and they
act like fifteen year old school boys.
Speaker 2 (44:21):
You know.
Speaker 3 (44:22):
Just it's fun though, you know, cause that's kind of us.
You know, My Brother's night and then Dad get together
and that we're just we're just constantly you know, horsing around.
You know, a few rocks may have been thrown down
mountains when we get frustrated and can't find it al
those kinds of things, you know, the old boulder roll,
you know, when we're thinking we're not coming back here.
(44:43):
Let's just we can't hunt these elk.
Speaker 2 (44:45):
Nobody can't.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
Never done that before, right, No, But now we have
a good time and you know, try to keep you know,
elkanning is fun, it's awesome. It's for for us and
for me, it's it's just much about the relationships and
the time spent out there as it is about chasing elk.
And even though that's that's why we're out there, you know,
but we keep it fun, keep it light, and try
(45:11):
not to take ourselves too terribly serious.
Speaker 1 (45:15):
Yeah, that's good. How much scouting you did? You talked
about preseason scouting. How much scouting did you do? Did
you do summer scouting? Did you do September scouting?
Speaker 3 (45:27):
So this year I didn't do any summer scouting. Because
there's some little bit of backstory for this film is
that this was apparently my year to draw tags. I
hadn't drawn any decent tags really ever, and then I
drew and early seas an archery mulder tag, Oh wow,
which was another new thing. I hadn't really dedicated much
(45:48):
time to archery mulder hunting, and it's you know, not easy,
you know, come on.
Speaker 1 (45:55):
To kill with the bow.
Speaker 3 (45:57):
So and this was a good unit, right that that
you're you're thinking, I've got a chance at a mature
buck with this unit. And so so I went into
that knowing that I was going to be taught lots
of lessons, blowing lots of stocks and that kind of thing.
So so I put more time into that because that
was a completely new area.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Never even gone there before.
Speaker 3 (46:17):
Oh yeah, I mean I'd been in this elk unit before,
so I kind of knew some areas, you knew it
a little bit, so so that was helpful to focus
more time on that. So but I did spend some
time you know, scouting for this on as well, and
so then that's why I was a little nervous about
what I was seeing.
Speaker 2 (46:35):
Oh yeah, So yeah.
Speaker 1 (46:36):
I would definitely be a little unnerving. Oh man, I've
finally got a chance with this tag.
Speaker 3 (46:42):
Yeah right right, And that's unfortunately seeing the numbers that
have come out with fishing game after that, and that
that's what what the numbers are saying to the numbers
are down, the blow objective, they're cutting tags back, Okay,
that kind of thing. So so it's an I wasn't
Sometimes you're out there like is it just me? Am
(47:02):
I just a terrible hunter? Can I not find animals right?
Or are they just not here?
Speaker 2 (47:06):
You know? So I think maybe.
Speaker 1 (47:09):
Both you guys made it look easier.
Speaker 2 (47:14):
We had a good time.
Speaker 1 (47:16):
So what's next? I imagine you keep on doing reviews now.
I know we talked before about some new things on
the website that are coming.
Speaker 2 (47:28):
Tell me about that. Yeah, So.
Speaker 3 (47:31):
Amongst you know, getting this film ready to go, been
working tirelessly to put together a membership portion of the site.
So I've been working on I had the idea a
while ago, but I've been putting that together for probably
better part of the last year, intermittently as I've.
Speaker 2 (47:48):
Been able to.
Speaker 3 (47:48):
So so yeah, we're kicking that off here shortly and
depending on when this podcast dropped and might already be live.
But but it's real close, so there can be a membership.
They're gonna be some cool things with memberships and some
great gear discounts and a kind of garage sale store
for some gear, great deals on gear. There some consultation
(48:09):
offers for gear consultation. So if you're really like really
wanting to dive deep into you know, picking the right
set of binoculars or whatever it is, then you set
up a consultation for that and and that kind of thing.
So we got a bunch of cool things there with
with that and a forum starting a forum, there's gonna
be a public forum for just gear discussion, discussion amongst unters,
(48:32):
that kind of thing, so that that'll be on the
on the website as well. So yeah, I a bunch
of stuff dropping over there and gear auctions and all
kinds of fun stuff.
Speaker 2 (48:42):
So yeah, that's exciting. Yeah, it'll be a little fun
of to finally launch that. It's been a long process.
That's so much work.
Speaker 1 (48:49):
I can only imagine how much time and effort you
have put into bringing that to fruition.
Speaker 2 (48:54):
So yeah, that's awesome, but yeah, it'll be fun. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (48:58):
I always wonder, like these guys that do gear reviews,
what do you do with all that gearty Soon I
can't move You've got so much. I just you know,
because I get a fair amount of gear not to review,
but you know, working with the Phelps team, you know,
first light. We get all the new gear that comes
out of here, and it's like, man, I'm just running
(49:18):
out of room, right these hunting clothes.
Speaker 2 (49:20):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, the same.
Speaker 3 (49:23):
It's so busy with writing reviews, editing, filming, editing, maintaining
the website, trying to you know, things break and go
wrong and try to fix that or contact my developer
or whatever the.
Speaker 2 (49:37):
Case may be.
Speaker 3 (49:38):
And then it's just you know, figuring out what to
do with stuff, the gear that I have that they
can't possibly use it.
Speaker 2 (49:45):
All that kind of comes very lowest priority, you know, right.
Speaker 3 (49:49):
So hopefully this will motivate me to to stay on
top of that little better and I have over the
last seven years.
Speaker 1 (49:54):
Oh yeah, that's that's exciting. And what about hunting films?
You got anything coming out or anything in the works
for more hunting films?
Speaker 2 (50:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (50:05):
Yeah, we're gonna continue on and we've got some more
planned for twenty twenty five. Here, I've burned my Colorado
points this year to Colorado, Mule Deer and Elk down there.
Speaker 2 (50:18):
That's the plan. We're gonna film that. John's gonna come down.
It'll be so fun. I'm gonna do a nine day hunt.
Oh wow. Yeah, it'll be a long tree rifle rifle.
Speaker 1 (50:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (50:26):
Oh yeah, so we're gonna do that and got another one, uh,
most likely depending on draws.
Speaker 2 (50:33):
You know, everything can change when.
Speaker 3 (50:34):
Draws come out here in a few weeks, months, whatever
it is. So some of the rest of it's holding
pretty loosely. But I've got the points for sure to
draw this tag, so so that that one's for sure
on the calendar, and one or two other possibilities depending
on draws and how that all comes out.
Speaker 1 (50:49):
So yeah, yeah, and even if you don't draw a
tag and I don't, I'm sure you'll have a hunt
of some kind. And yeah, you know, maybe they have
to film it.
Speaker 2 (50:59):
That's the plan.
Speaker 3 (51:00):
And I have a backup plan for if nobody drives
anything that that we really want to film. We'll get
some ideas there that I'm hoping to do to do
the Colorado Hunt, and and one other and and being
a nine day hunt, you know, let me you may
turn into two or or may just be one, depending
on how it plays out, and so we'll have it
should be fun though, It's gonna be a fun season.
Speaker 2 (51:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (51:21):
Colorado is amazing place. It's so pretty and depending on
where you go. It's it's one place is a different
kind of pretty compared to the next. So yeah, I've
only hunted there twice, but it's it's it's a beautiful place.
Speaker 2 (51:35):
I enjoyed it.
Speaker 3 (51:36):
Yeah, it'll be fun. I've been hunting there once and
it was that year with fires and so it was
just kind of a perfect storm of the fires came,
so consolidate everybody to one unit that that could hunt
one union in the group that we were hunting. And
then it was super cold, a cold snap hit, but
(51:59):
there was still a fire and from the fires, so
it was minus sixteen. Now you couldn't build a fire,
so we were we were suffering for that.
Speaker 2 (52:08):
Isn't that crazy? Yeah, So that was it was a
rough year.
Speaker 3 (52:11):
And then the hunters everywhere because you know, there were
three units conduncetne down to one and over the counter
kind of tag so it was.
Speaker 2 (52:19):
It was a tough hunt. So that sounds brutal.
Speaker 3 (52:21):
Yeah, So hopefully this this time is hopefully we call
round redemption hunt.
Speaker 1 (52:25):
Oh yeah, yeah, there you go. You got you got
a theme, right, you got you got you got a
storyline there?
Speaker 2 (52:31):
Yeah, Well, man, I look.
Speaker 1 (52:33):
I'm looking forward to your your videos, this this fall
and appreciate it and your video reviews and your website
updates and stuff, and it's a lot of exciting stuff.
And this is this is your site getting This is
not even what you do full time, You're what do
you do for full time?
Speaker 3 (52:48):
I was super super exciting compared to this in a
compliance right, so mortgage compliance. Yeah, so it's it's different
than gear review and website development and content creation. So
but you've been doing that for twenty two years now.
I think it is so wow a long time that.
Speaker 1 (53:08):
Compliance that you have to I feel like you have
to be a pretty patient person to work in the
field like that because there's so much stuff flying about it.
Speaker 3 (53:18):
Yeah, yeah, especially in regulated industries. Yeah, it's a lot
to deal with there. So yeah, that's it mixes things up,
which is good, you know. So I can stop working
and then start working, but it doesn't feel like I'm
starting working on the side gigs so yeah.
Speaker 1 (53:34):
Yeah, Well it's definitely a passion Yeah, passion project, I'm sure. Yeah,
or you wouldn't have been it wouldn't have done it
so long.
Speaker 2 (53:41):
No, No, I definitely don't do it for the money. Yeah. Yeah, Yeah,
that's awesome. Well where can people find you?
Speaker 3 (53:49):
The websites Backwards Pursuit dot com and uh YouTube channels
just backwards pursuit of course, Instagram, Facebook, if those are
all there as well, Backwards Pursuit, Yah, yeah, I think
I think we're on X as well, but I don't
do a whole lot over there, post reviews and whatnot.
But yeah, yeah, those are the main channels there.
Speaker 1 (54:11):
Yeah, I've never got on X. I don't know what
to do. Yeah, I don't know how tol it works.
Speaker 2 (54:18):
I don't know what you're supposed to do.
Speaker 1 (54:20):
Like you just get on there and it's funny, like yes,
like Elker better than Mule there changed my mind, right, yeah,
you know, and you just get on there to argue
with people. I don't know. But then I see where
some people will share something like you to share, you know,
just little tidbits information from a hunt or whatever, kind.
Speaker 2 (54:38):
Of like LinkedIn.
Speaker 1 (54:38):
LinkedIn is kind of weird too, so people share a
lot of stuff on there, and I never shared a
thing on there.
Speaker 3 (54:44):
But it's kind of like figuring out the difference between
the long form YouTube video and the shorts and what
makes them pop. Because I've done some shorts. I like
god to be cool and then it's like, nope, nope,
that did not hit the other hit.
Speaker 1 (54:56):
Yeah, yeah, shorts are crazy. My buddy Tom Schneider from
Stuck in the Rut, he was telling me that shorts
have been great for them. Of course they've got a
lot of bang flop type videos, you know, yeah, shoot
the animal goes down, and those are of course every
really click on those. But he's like, it's crazy, like
(55:17):
they've gotten some great track, like a million views on
some videos. He's like, some of the ones he thought
wouldn't even go good, yeah went gangbusters. So I feel
like once you find that recipe or capture that that moment,
you know, then it could go viral for you.
Speaker 2 (55:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (55:34):
So the only thing that I've been able to determine
the YouTube algorithms and what's going to make certain videos
do well or not. And this is sarcasm, but the
less time you spend on it, in the poorer quality
it is, seems to do better than the more time spend.
Speaker 1 (55:52):
Well. I think there could be something to that.
Speaker 2 (55:56):
I think there's a lot of people.
Speaker 1 (55:57):
They'll say it in the comments, like this is over
too much fancy, Yet it's I hate the music. It's like, okay,
well what was it about the music?
Speaker 3 (56:07):
Was it?
Speaker 2 (56:07):
The genre? Was it?
Speaker 1 (56:08):
The frequency was at the sound level? Was it? Because
I'm always looking like, well, what didn't you like about
music exactly? Could be specific or it looked at genre,
But okay, well that's you know, that's just personal taste
for sure. Some people like opera, some people like rap,
(56:28):
you know, tomato tomato.
Speaker 2 (56:30):
Right exactly.
Speaker 1 (56:31):
But but yeah, it's it's good to kind of figure
out what what makes a tick. But back to the point,
like I think a lot of people, like there's different
viewers on YouTube. There's the ones that like, you know,
fulfil feature film stuff like like your Elk hunt. And
then there's people that like just the quick and dirty,
you know, just like it quick edit, you know, eight
(56:52):
minutes long, nothing fancy, you know, music just you know,
maybe the camera's a little shaky. The place for both,
I think I think there is, yeah, and maybe maybe
we can maybe a filmmaker can do both. It's like,
all right, this is going to be the maybe I
shoot it myself and take you guys along with me
on the hunt. Yeah, and then this is the one
(57:12):
that I had my good friend John Abernathy Common film
and edit, and it's gonna be a work of art,
right right exactly. I like I like both.
Speaker 3 (57:20):
Yeah, there I do too too, So they're both fun
to watch in different ways, you know, yeah, in different ways.
Speaker 2 (57:27):
Yeah for sure.
Speaker 1 (57:28):
Well, man, I just keep rambling on here, but appreciate
the conversation absolutely, And yeah, good luck with this new
new next level on your on your website and reviews.
Speaker 3 (57:39):
Yeah, I appreciate it. Yeah, it's it'll be a lot
of fun. And I'm sure it'll be like everything, there's
learning curves with all of it. And just keep plugging
away and keep popping out the reviews. And got a
great team of guys that that I love doing the
reviews and help out a ton and and so that's
that's awesome to have them. And so when I need
to focus on you know, the we have inside of
(58:00):
things and they can't dive into reviews myself as much,
then they keep rolling on that too.
Speaker 2 (58:06):
And so yeah, it's been good.
Speaker 1 (58:08):
Perfect, Well cool, Well we'll catch you and everybody else
on the flip flop.
Speaker 2 (58:13):
Awesome. Thank you appreciate you having me on.
Speaker 1 (58:15):
It's great chatting yet, thank you
Welcome back to another episode of Cutting the Distance podcast.
I'm your host Dirk Durham and this week's episode, I
have a good friend who I've been watching his gear
reviews for quite some time now and I finally got
to meet him face to face when I moved to
the Boys area a few years ago. Backwoods Pursuit host
Gabe Garish, welcome to Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
It's good to be here, and good to meet up
and meet you face face. To watch your stuff for
a long time as well videos and whatnot.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
And so great to meet you. Yeah, I had a.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Coffee a few times and I got to hang out
and whatnot. So yeah, it's been great.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Yeah we've got to talk talk business, Yeah, video production stuff,
all sorts of stuff. So yeah, it's been It's been
fun getting to know you the last few years.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Here.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
I was watching your your elk cutting film. It's called
Chasing Tradition.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Yep, and excellent film.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
If if the listeners haven't watched this, go to YouTube,
go to Backwards Backwoods Pursuits channel and look up Chasing Tradition.
And if you like el cutting films, you're gonna love it.
I really enjoyed it. I don't want to want to
give too much away, but I did.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
I did.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
My mind had a little tear in my eye at
the end. So yeah, it's that good.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Yeah, well, thank you appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Yeah, I probably offended my wife by, uh, some of
the emotions on the film, you know, just because I'm
not an emotional person, but some of those events just
kind of, you know, took hold and laid out and
played out the way that it did. And you know,
sometimes life happens like that.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
So it was.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
It was a good, a fun one to make, and yeah,
a real personal story and everything that went along with it.
So yeah, it was a special film to make.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yeah, absolutely, it's funny. You know, your wife probably was saying, hey,
I've never seen that sign. I see these these these
reels on Instagram or Facebook. It'll show pictures of like
a man and a wife together and they're smiling for
pictures and he's got like this half hearted smile, and
then it'll show it'll flash to him like with a
(02:22):
big fish, or like him hunting with like he's got
some pheasants or he's got a big elk or something.
And the guy has a gigantic smile. You know, it's
just like you know, time after time after time, but
him him with her and his smile looks kind of
like okay, and then the smile with the with a
with an animal, then it's like undoubtedly super super excited.
(02:45):
So that that kind of reminds me of that for sure.
Her wives are like, hey, you don't talk like that.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Sometimes.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
You know, when we're in the elk woods, you know,
things happen and it brings out a different Yeah, it
certainly can. So my wife will say, Dirk is known
to bugle any sleep sometimes.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Oh, that could get awkward.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Some people are sleep talkers.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I'm asleep buglers.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
So hopefully you don't have a bugle tube in your
night stand next to the in the diaphragm.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
No, I keep those well out of there. I just
do it with my mouth and probably I can't imagine
how good it sound.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Probably sounds like somebody calling hogs or something.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
But uh, yeah, I got some weird sleep happens. One
time she caught me, I was kind of walking around
and kind of pacing around. She's like, what are you doing.
I'm like, I got to get these horns on the wall, right,
and I had to set of deer antlers I had
taken off the wall and I was trying to put
them back up, and finally I got frustrated and set
them down. So the next day I wake up like,
why are those antlers just sitting there on the dresser?
(03:48):
And she's like, you don't remember this now, but I
had stumbling around trying to hang on them in the
dark in the middle of the night.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
So that's good stuff, the things we're doing and we're sleeping.
That's needs to usually stay.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
In the middle of the night and talk about yeah later.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Probably shouldn't have brought that up. So you've been a
lifelong hunter. At what age did you realize when you
were a kid that you wanted to go hunting or
that you wanted to be a hunter?
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Gosh, you know, Dad grew up hunting, you know, from
as long as I can remember, So we grew up
with him heading out to the you know, deer and
elk hunting, waterfowl hunting, you know, up on game, bird hunting,
all those things throughout.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Gosh, as long as I can remember.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
So growing up, I actually liked waterfowl hunting and bird
hunting a lot more than big game hunting, even though
I enjoyed big game hunting, probably because my kid no
attention span. And so you can go for a morning
and shoot a bunch of ducks and you know, shoot
a box of shells, and then come back with some
birds and deer in elk honey. Sometimes you can go
(04:56):
a long time without even seeing animals or chasing animal
and so I liked a bird hunting quite a bit
growing up. But as I got a little older, a
little more mature, at least I like to think, so
I got more into the big game honting and enjoy
that certainly a lot more now. But yeah, from a
very as long as I can remember. But you know,
(05:18):
I started going with dad big game hunting. I think
he let me come first time when I was eleven,
I think.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
It was eleven.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
And back then, you know in Idaho here you could
start hunting you or twelve. So that was the first
trip I got to go on. And Dad got a
five point bowl on that trip, so I was pretty
pretty special. Yeah, oh yeah, yeah. So but ever since then,
you don't think I've missed a season that I can
remember going out big game honey during el hunting. So
(05:47):
it's been pretty pretty special.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
That's awesome. Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
So you spend a lot of time in the woods
with your kids as well. How did you get them
interested in honeting or did they just kind of take
to it?
Speaker 3 (06:00):
No, And you know some are certainly more than others.
Have five kids, and yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
We got a crew.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
So the oldest is he'll, you know, he'll come. Sometimes
he's not really his thing, but he'll come, you know.
Sometimes he came this year, and he was there when
my youngest got got a buck and so they were
excited to experience that together. And and so sometimes he'll come,
sometimes he won't, but it's not really his thing, but
so kind of let him come whenever he wants to
(06:28):
and and come along. And I have two daughters. One's
probably never gonna come and that's not her thing for sure,
and the other one has she she went out first time,
you know, when she got her license and couldn't pull
the trigger on a dough that she had tagged for
so sure, but she's shown an interest again. And and
my youngest is is all about it. So he's a
(06:49):
little hunt buddy, and and he's all about you know,
the gear and the preparation and hiking in the mornings,
you know, training and everything and whatnot. So he's he's
the one that's the most into it of all of them.
But they'll have varying degrees of interest and whatnot. So yeah,
didn't really necessarily try to get them into it other
than you're giving them the opportunity and the you know,
(07:11):
the welcoming to come along if they wanted to, and
try to make it fun when they're there and have
it to be an enjoyable experience, so not too miserable. Sometimes,
you know, weather and things like that can make trips
a little more challenging, and so do best we can
to make it an enjoyable trip, something they want to
come back to and and kind of let their interests develop,
(07:32):
you know, however they're going.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
To Yeah, yeah, I feel like I feel like I
might have burnt my kids out a little bit whenever,
because I've you know, I've always been such a passionate hunter,
and especially when my kids were young, I had to
I had very limited time to hunt, you know, I
was weekends and sometimes I'd get a week off to
go hunting, and man, you want to cram as much
(07:53):
in that weekend as you can. And yeah, and with kids,
they don't like tolerate so much of that, right, you know.
To me, it's it's I'm having a blast. To them,
it's it's like a death marching.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
The certainly can be.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
I found that, like if I kept you know, Snickers,
candy bars, things like that readily available anytime we kind
of takes it out and get take a break and
they're getting a little bit, a little bit of poopy mouth.
They're like, hey, look at this, and they kind of
boost him up a little bit until the next time
we set out.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
But oh, that's that was one of the notes I saw.
The question. You know, how do you keep kids interested?
Is you know, food?
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Yeah, bribe them.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Here's an entire box of raspberry filled donuts for when
we get to the top of the mountain.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
You but have you been talking to my camera guy, Dusty,
because that's how he bribes me. Come on, Dirk, you
can do it. There's raspberry donuts in the truck.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
I love those things. I know they're terrible.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
They're so good though, but yeah, yeah, try to keep
a fun interesting. I'm not you push him too hard.
You know, there's a balance, so you don't want them
to to be too easy. You want to push them,
you know, push what their physical limits are and mentally
and whatnot.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
But it's a process of you know, obviously.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
I didn't get to where I'm at now by going
out and burning out the first time it went out,
you know. Yeah, so you kind of grow into it
and engaging their level of interest and their willingness to
push themselves and and all that. It's you know, I'm
sure you mess up more than you get it right,
but you know, it's always trying to assess that and
keep them, keep them there if they want to be
(09:31):
and having a good time, and knowing when to call
it even if it's not what I want to call
it right, you know, or knowing when not to go
over the next ridge when I really want to.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Yeah, sometimes you got to make those calls. But yeah, absolutely, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
My son, he he's he can either kind of take
it or leave it.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Right.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
In the last couple of years he's kind of got
back into it. And in fact, last year him and
I were able to go out and he was able
to get an ELK and but you know, before it
was always a struggle to get him, like hey, practice
your boat, shoot your ball practice, you know, you got
all your stuff. And and last year he kind of
had his crap together. He'd been practicing, and his wife,
(10:14):
she likes to shoot bows, so we gave we gave
her his old bow from when he was like thirteen fourteen,
and she starts shooting that thing, and she actually really
likes shooting both. So I think that makes him want
to shoot both some more.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
So.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Then he kind of practiced and got his crap together
and came to I didn't have to like do everything
for it, right, Okay, let's let's go through your path.
You got all your stuff, you know. He kind of
had already gotten his crap together, so that was good
to see. He's twenty I think he was twenty six
last fall, And so I feel like maybe as kid's age,
(10:51):
maybe they're going to come around to it.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
You know.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
I feel like there's a lot of adult onset hunters.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Yeah, for sure. So those things weren't door open.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Yeah, those things weren't import maybe when people were young,
but now that they're an adult, it's like I want
to do this.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
So yep, for sure, and there's certainly that side. And then,
like you said, my youngest is, he's all about it.
But the same time, I want to push him so
hard that he, you know, burn him out as well,
because he's he's really enjoys it and whatnot, and and
out there as much as as much as me, as.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
As much as he can be.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
And so but I want to be careful not to
just assume that he's always going to be, you know,
ready to go, ready to to be pushing it hard.
And you know, sometimes he's he's just thirteen, so sometimes
it's easy to think he's got well with no restrictions here,
let's go for it. And yeah, but you know it's
(11:48):
easy to take advantage of that too and not not
remember you got to keep that in mind and still
keep it, keep it fun and enjoyable and.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
And have a good time out there together. Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Now does your wife hunt or she goes with you sometimes,
but she doesn't.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Does she hunt? She does? Yeah? Did she into it?
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Yeah, she'll go as much as as much as we
can get her out there. You know, it's always a
little bit of a balancing act. The kids are a
little bit older now. Our youngest is thirteen, so it's
a little easier for her to get away obviously younger kids, like.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Who's gonna watch the kids? How are we gonna work
all that?
Speaker 3 (12:23):
And and uh, you know you'll get a bunch of
people out there and and different physical abilities and all
of that. You know, how much room do you have
to set up a camp and all that kind of thing.
So but yeah, she'll get out as much as we
can together and and she comes just about every year
on multiple trips and and uh, you know, try to
(12:46):
get her into animals as much as we can and
and yeah, she has a good time though, So yeah's
fun to be out there together.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Is that something that she got into after you guys
were married or did she have some background earlier?
Speaker 3 (12:59):
No, after we got married. So funny story she when
I met. When we met, she was borderline pushing towards vegetarian.
So we had to break her that really quick.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
You're looking at a life life of eating salad and tofu.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
This is not gonna work.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
So no, she her family was not into it at all.
And and so the first time she visited our house, uh,
when we were engaged, I think it was her dating. Uh.
She stayed in an old one of the old bedrooms
and I had taxidermy this uh, this Canadian goose that
shot and it was like in the you know, the
cupped in landing position right above the bed, and I'm
(13:43):
sure it freaked her out pretty bad.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
I was stared at all night long.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Waking up to this huge bird just about the land
on her. But yeah, so she's come a long way
and now she's just right in there with us, and
you know, we do a lot of backpack hunting together
and you know, she's been in there ultiple times. We've
gotten animals and jumps right in, help spiel dress and
pack out and all that to the to the most
of her physical abilities.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
So yeah, it's great to have her.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
I'll have to talk to you later about fitting packs
for women, because I know that's a struggle. My wife
has had a hard time trying to find a pack
that that's going to carry a load that will be
comfortable because they just fit girls different They have curves
in different places than we do.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Yeah, yeah, that was we went through that. She went
through a bunch of packs to find one that they
fit her well. So yeah, we can we can talk
about that and afterwards or whatnot.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Yeah, yeah, what would you if you had any advice.
What would your number one piece of advice for getting
kids and or your wife into hunting? And maybe you've
already said some of that, but do you have any
one piece of like major advice.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Yeah, I think what I looking back at what I
did right and what I did wrong, was took me
too long to kind of see where where they're at.
And there's probably more for my wife than my my
youngest son. He's like I said, he's right, there's a
gearhead with me. We're out there looking at you know,
you know, reloading and looking for all that you know,
(15:13):
the perfect loads and whatnot and trying to get the
groups as tight as we can. And he's right there
and he likes that kind of stuff, is the way
his mind works.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
But not so much. My wife. She's kind of the
opposite of that. She is here is a work, Is
it easy? Let's do it. Let's not change anything once
we find something that works, you know.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
So a different mindset than myself, so that I was
always of the mindset like, well, you should be like me, right,
you should prepare in all these certain ways and do
it the same way I do it. And so that
would frustrate me rather than saying, you know, that's that's
never going to be her. That's never going to be
the way she prepares for a hunt. And so just
(15:47):
coming to terms with what that looks like, and you know,
meeting them where they are, whether it's in their physical
abilities there where they are, and how they like to
prepare being different than than where I'm matt and and
you know, really looking at that in a way to
what do I need to do to help and support that,
and and that just helps the hunt go better, you know.
(16:11):
And and for me, you know, she's always been more
like you know, I'm She's not going to go out
there and spend days at the range like I will.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Right, It's just I enjoy that, you know, but that's
not really her.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
So she wants something that's going to be easier to
manage and whatnot. And so it for me it's like, okay,
I can I can do that, and I can make
that so it's easier for and and that's just going
to be the way it is. I can tell my
my my youngest son, hey, you know there's a deer
four years away, get set up, get your tripod, get
your rear support.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
You'll just do it. Right.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
I don't have to I don't have to do anything,
but I have to switch my mind says like if
it's if it's someone else like my oldest son or her.
Just if someone sets the shot out for you know, set
the shot at for him, and that's fine, you know,
just but I think coming to terms with that sooner
would have been better for me, right, rather than get frustrated.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Like why did you set up already? I told you
to be quick. That doesn't go.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
So well, you know, and so yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
well that's great advice. That's uh. I feel like I
need to take some of that advice sometimes too. It's
just I one hundred percent can see what you're saying.
I find myself with my kids. You know, you know,
you expect, you know that this is honting. This is
what it is. Yeah, you're prepared, your practice all the
(17:31):
time you do this, and that you have all you're
you're ready and YadA, YadA YadA. But that's not what.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Honting is to everyone. Right, It's different for people.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
So it's hard to and it's hard to like accept that.
I think, yeah, yeah, but yeah, that's that's really good advice.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
So I just learned that this year. This is all.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Still trying to put that into place. You know, I
hurry up and get up a little earlier.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
And.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
I'm the one that's usually she's out the door quicker
than I am when we're back back into what you know.
But my excuse here is that, well, I'm making sure
everything is ready and prepped for everybody, not just myself, right, sure,
so I tell myself that make myself feel.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
That you're slow moving in the morning.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
So how long?
Speaker 1 (18:18):
So on Backwoods Pursuit you new gear gear reviews, hunting
gear reviews. How long have you been doing that?
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Gosh?
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Over seven years? I think November seven years ago would
be the first time I published a review, So I
guess we're pushing seven and a half now, Holy ca. Yeah,
So it's it's been a been a long, long stretch here,
but it's it's been a ton of fun to grow
and and build it from the ground up. And you know,
I was not the not the you know, zero experience
(18:49):
in developing a website or even knowing how to do
that or run a camera or any of that. So
so don't go watch the first few videos. I've stumbled
across a few of those and you know it auto
plays or something.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
I'm like, ah, why did I do that?
Speaker 1 (19:09):
What did I talk that way?
Speaker 2 (19:11):
What was I so uncomfortable? Right?
Speaker 3 (19:14):
But no, it's just a it's a growing process, you know.
But yeah, seven and seven a half years almost now.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
That's amazing. That's a long time, you know. And there's
a lot to it. It's it's one thing to like,
no gear inside and out and look at gear and
be like, oh I like this and that and there
the thing, and then it's taking those thoughts and putting
those into words. Right, that's digestible for people to understand
in a format. It's good for people to understand because
(19:40):
I feel I feel like if I was going to
do a gear review, I'd be all over the place
like a soup sandwich, man, I would I would have
to like write it all down and like really in
this like really and really spell it out. And but
and you probably do some of that too, But but yeah,
you do really great on the scary reviews.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Appreciated it.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
What kind of gear? What category of gear is your
favorite reviewed? Do you have any favorites type things?
Speaker 3 (20:08):
Probably probably optics all right up there. I love playing
with optics. I mean, you know, you can only there's
only so many pairs of binoculars and spotty scopes.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Whatnot out there.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
But but to do you know, to to cover just that?
I mean literally, I could say I'm only doing optics
reviews and that would keep me busy and keep the
team busy, because there's just there's so much you can
do with with that. You know, we did a big review,
didn't put twenty six pairs next to each other, and
pulled the team out and everybody was, you know, grading
(20:41):
different aspects of binoculars. We did have spotty scopes and
rangefinders and range finding monoculars and those kinds of things.
But then you have you can't get into a lot
of detail with each individual piece. Doing that, you can
get to some degree, but but gosh, I think that
article was thirty thousand words or some crazy.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
It was so long.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
It was a heavy read.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
So you try to obviously keep them shorter than that.
But you can get into more individual detail, which which
you know, the comparisons are great. You can kind of
see how what features are going to fit your particular
needs and uh and needs that you have when you hunt.
But then if you're kind of narrowing it down. You
may want a little more detail on some of those
individual optics or pieces of gear, and so try to
(21:27):
cover as much of that as possible.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
But it's impossible to cover everything out there.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
So oh yeah, I remember watching your review of stabilizing binoculars,
and as I watched, I'm like, man, you brought up
(21:53):
a whole bunch of stuff that was I would even
not even not even thought about. That's like, man, this
is really this is a good review. So yeah, I
encourage anybody if you're into like gear and you like
to tinker a little bit, you know, and you're curious
about gear, I definitely get on back What's Pursuit channel
and YouTube channel, watch the videos and then you also
(22:15):
have articles on your support on your.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Website as well. Yeah, we do back What's pursuit dot com. Yeah,
so we do try to do a compilation of both, uh,
because some products are better reviewed on video. Sure, some
are better reviewed in articles, and you know, some it
doesn't matter, but but yeah, we try to publish. The
goal is to publish a video each week in an
(22:39):
article each week, and so it's a lot to get
that put out there. But most of the time, we're
able to get that done, and sometimes, you know, we
miss a few, but that's typically the goal. And and
and yeah, so it's it's a little easier to get
into details in articles without making you know, a video
that's really really long and hard to digest. So sometimes
(23:02):
you know, try to compliment each other and bed the
video in the article if it's if it's a complimentary
kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Mm hm.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
But yeah, cover them, cover them both as much as
we can. And and uh, you know, build out charts.
Things are visual are helpfult least for me to see
comparisons and you know, field of view comparisons between a
few pairs or whatever we're looking at and put that
into articles and or videos.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
So yeah, I can imagine doing all these reviews you have.
You probably go into it with a thought in your
head like, oh, I'm really gonna like these ones. Yeah,
and then as you start, you know, dissecting and evaluating
and stuff and like what I like them, but right,
and I really like these other ones more I thought
I didn't know I would like this other you know
(23:46):
thing what more you know brand x y Z.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
So yeah, yeah, it's kind of a.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Something I learned over the years to go into any
review regardless of brand, just kind of with an open mind,
or even if it's a product there's no way I'm
gonna like this.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Yeah, I just don't. I can't see it.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
And but just say give it a fair shake, you know,
because the reviews themselves. We don't accept sponsorship, money or
anything for the reviews, and so the products just have
to speak for themselves and do our best to bring
that objectively and and you know, call it like we
see it and don't always get it right for sure,
you know, but try to bring it in a way
that's helpful for every consumer researching a particular products. So
(24:29):
if it's you know, something's important to me, Let's say,
in optics of binocular I need a super big field
of view because of the type of hunting or glass
thing I do, But someone else doesn't really matter, you know,
Stabilized binoculars have a much smaller field of view. So
is that a big deal for you or is it not?
You know, I can say it is for me or
if it isn't, but for you maybe not, And maybe
(24:51):
it is, you know, So try to just give that
information and data in a way that's it gives you
the the the ammunition you need to make a good
decision on the on a purchase.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
So yeah, yeah, it's good to be able to put
all that information there for people to kind of get
behind the driver's seat without getting behind the driver's seat,
to think about like the things are important.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
To them, and then have you highlight it.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
And then then you know, some some folks, some of us,
we just don't live around an area where we can
run down a local sporting good store and pick up
any brand of optic or whatever it is that you're evaluating,
right and look at through them, you know, at the store,
or even handle them or try to try on the
gear or whatever. So it's good to have someone you
know do that depth.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
Way or even a part of the country, right. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
So and you know, back east, I've noticed there's a
lot of folks feel say, oh, this optic has you know,
great edge of edge clarity, and I've looked at it
and like, no, it doesn't, you know. And then but say, well,
how far were you looking? Oh, yeah, I was looking
at my back, my back porch to two hundred yards.
You can't tell much at two hundred yards, right, versus
two miles up in the foothills where you can tell
(25:58):
you get outstretched out there, you can really see those differences,
and so some of it's relative to where you're at,
and so in in back east, you know, maybe some
of those things aren't really that important versus out here
where you're looking at wide space and big spaces, it's
much more important.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Yeah, definitely a different application for sure. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Has there ever been a category of gear that was
really challenging You're like, man, okay, you're really gonna have
to dig in deep and like understand this, and you know,
is there anything that was that stood out that was
really tough? I know, I didn't put that on.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Yeah, that's fine, that's a good question to put you
on the spot.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
Yeah, I mean there's anything that I'm not that I
by default don't really know well obviously, And some things
are are a lot more technical than others. So like
those when we we did a couple of videos on
those Zeice thermal monoculars, those are there were something that
hadn't played much with thermals because just I don't use
(27:03):
them a whole lot. So that was there's a big
learning curve. You know, what do some of these terms
mean that are associated with with thermal optics. I've always been,
like I mentioned in the film, grew up hunting with
a rifle, but it was more of, you know, go
out shoot a few times before season, make sure we're
you know, shooting three inches high at one hundred, and
(27:24):
then we're good to go.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
Yeah, you know, it's.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
Like a lot of people, which is fine, But in
the last couple of years started you know, diving more
deeply into rifles and custom builds and those kinds of things.
So that's a big learning curve to could you know,
the folks in that do a lot of custom builds
and really know the rifles. They know the rifles, and
(27:47):
they are going to know if you don't know what
you're talking about. And so try try the best to
to cover those things in an educated way and do
my homework so that can present good data for folks.
And so that that's been a big learning curve there,
and it's been awesome to get into that and have
some good team members that are helpful and help walking
(28:08):
me through some of those things. And and so I
can always say, hey, Roger, how do we go through
this process or what is what are these some of
these terms mean I'm not quite familiar with them or
you know, somewhere. They're just good to have some people
to lean on that they know more than I do
in some areas that if it's not my wheelhouse and
I can call someone.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Yeah, you really have to invest a lot of time
and efforts on some of these products. I'm sure to
like fully understand them. It's not just you can't just
like but open a box and do an unboxing video.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Yeah, here's the box.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
So it's got a caringcreational lanyard. Oh I look through it.
There's stuff in the dark there. Right, It's got to
be like very in depth and you have to have
a good understanding of it.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
So yeah, for sure, and appreciate the.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Amount of time I'm sure you invest in yeah, and
getting to know these different products.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
Yeah, yeah, it can take a while sometimes depending on
what it is right right now.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Speaking of people saying, hey, you don't know what you're
talking about? Do you ever have any negative nancies comment
on your videos? Ever?
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Ever? Such a nice guy?
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Why do that?
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Oh? Yeah, it's inevitable.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
You know, you always get some folks that are you know,
say oh this you know this review was sponsored, like
well it wasn't the reviews aren't sponsored, or just because
my favorite brand wasn't in there, you know, or whatever
those kinds of things. And sometimes brands just say yeah,
we don't want to we don't want to be a
part of that review. It's like okay, you know, that's
that's fine. And so yeah, sometimes you get some of
(29:36):
that and it's like, well, yeah, we'll do what we
can do the best we can to include that X
y Z brand next time, you know, m So, you know,
there's sometimes there's ability to try to look at any
of those negative comments and see if it's just some
controlling or if it's there's legitimate motive behind it to say,
you know, this product should have been in there, And
sometimes like yeah, I probably should have, but they didn't
(29:57):
want to be or should we miss that?
Speaker 2 (29:59):
You know, we'll get it next time, you know.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
So, Yeah, sometimes there's some good information, try to pull
whatever I can from that. And sometimes it's just people
being mean.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
So do you ever just like like turn off or
hide those people from your channel that are extra mean
or you just let them talk and just like we'll
let the algorithm pick it up and let maybe somebody
will hey man, quite being a jerky You know, what
do you what do you do in a situation like if.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
It's someone that's just clearly trying to stir something up,
and you know, cause problems, just don't respond, you know.
I try to respond to the comments, and and for
the most part, definitely been blessed to not have much
of that, you know, But I just, you know, don't
I'm just not going to engage in that keyboard warrior stuff.
It's just it's not worth it. You know, You're not
gonna do any good there. But for the most part,
(30:44):
you know, people have been you know, in kind and
and uh just you know, try to stay humble and
look where you're where you're missing. Sometimes you miss it
on reviews, and sometimes you just don't get it right,
or you miss a critical area you should have covered.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
You know, I got Craps already published. What do I
do now I miss that? You know, dang it? Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
So yeah, but it's just always trying to learn and
and and get better and take the negative to get
used it to get better. And but I made I
had I don't think that I've really deleted comments on videos.
The only one other than if it's just you know,
something that's nefarious. It's like, we don't need we don't
need that link here, I don't think.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
So there's a lot of that weird scammy stuff out there. Yeah,
So for gear, are you actively contacting companies or companies
reaching out to you?
Speaker 2 (31:43):
How do you get your gear both? You know? So
it depends.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
I get multiple requests every day for reviews, and a
lot of them are maybe just one unboxing video on this,
and like, don't really do those. I mean, that's there's
not to me, there's not a lot of value in there.
There is some depending on on what it is. If
it's a brand new product and people like, hey, what's
this all about?
Speaker 2 (32:03):
What?
Speaker 3 (32:04):
Yeah, so there's there can be sometimes we'll do a
little bit of that, or you know, here's introducing this
new product, and if maybe get an early sample of
it and have a few weeks a few weeks with
it to play around and actually do a little bit
of of of comparison with it or something like that,
then you know, I'll try to put out a little
something on that. But for the most part, don't don't
(32:26):
entertain too much of that. You get a lot of
people it seems like when people reach out they'll say, hey,
can you do a video on this?
Speaker 2 (32:33):
Do review?
Speaker 3 (32:34):
We need it turned around in a month. It's like
that's just not enough time to get familiar with the product,
film something, edit it and get it put back, turn
it around in a month.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
That's just an unboxing video, you know.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
And so again, don't do a whole lot of that,
So try to keep the reviews, you know. Kind of
what we set out to do is to be in
depth and cover the product and get to know it
really well, be able to speak intelligently about it, and
and I put together a review that's going reflect that.
So so yeah, sometimes do get contacted by companies, and
companies are already have an established relationship with a lot
(33:07):
of times they'll reach out and say, hey, we got
this new project coming out, and you help us test
it before it launches and I'll get an early sample
of something, get to play with it, and be able
to put some content out around the time when they
launch it. So that sometimes we'll do that, Or if
I have a project that I'm working on, then say
(33:27):
I'm working on a compact spotiesco Privy right now and
have been for a while.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
So all the little lightweight ones, little teeny ones, you know, I've.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
Been working and playing on playing with those. So we've
been working on that. So but I'll reach out to
the companies say hey, this is a project we're working on.
You know, we'd love to have one of your products
in this if if you want to be a part
of that.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
So yeah, so both ways, yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:49):
Good, Well you probably make some good industry contacts that
way for sure, and some companies maybe you haven't worked with.
Is it sometimes hard to get through the just the
door and talk to the right person there to be
like you might have to talk to three different people, right,
it'll it'll just go to somebody's.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
In box and die. Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
It's it's gotten a lot easier over the years. Of course,
you know, started out, I think the first first product
reviewed was like a little backpacking pill or something that
probably wasn't even you know, worth the time of doing,
but it was you know, what was available, and and
and so as that's grown, Yeah, it's gotten. The contexts
have been made and and I know who to contact
now and have the email addresses or phone numbers to
(34:28):
to acquire product lot easier now for the reviews, but
still there's there's so many avenues and categories. You know,
one of my team members is back East, and he
does a lot in the you know, turkey hunting and
white tail hunting and and those those fields that that
I just are not my wheelhouse, and so I defer
to him on on those things. And and so breaking
(34:50):
into that is just getting to talk to someone is difficult,
right because it's a different it's not Western hunting right right,
So it's it takes a lot of time to make
that initial contact and find out who you need to
talk to and establish that relationship. But once once you
have that relationship build obviously, if as long as you
do good work and you're coming through on your promises,
(35:12):
what you're delivering, what you say you're going to do,
and then usually that gets easier along the way.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Yeah, yeah, that's good. And I'm sure probably with that
big network of people, you might say, hey, do you
know anybody that you know this other brand? You know,
I want to do this something completely unrelated to.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
What you do. Do you know anybody?
Speaker 1 (35:31):
Then oh, yeah, I know so and over there, because
like what I found is like the hunting industry, it
seems like it's big, but it's not really. Especially once
you start doing trade shows, whether it's consumer shows or
like vendor shows, pretty soon you start seeing the same
people every year, so you start getting to know a
few people, and it probably does make it a lot easier.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
For sure.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
I have guys that are on the team, or there's
I think fourteen of us now that that help write
articles and do videos and whatnot. A lot of times
the guy I will shoot me a message or phone call,
but not I say I've heard about this new product,
and like, no, actually I hadn't you know.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
So they'll you'll.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
Keep me on my toes that way too, which is
which is awesome because I certainly can't keep up on
everything myself.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
So oh yeah, that's cool. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
So filming, do you sell film? Do you have a
camera person? Do you have that you make one of
your kids, your wife run the camera.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
When for reviews.
Speaker 3 (36:31):
Most of the time of self film and tripod and
set the camera up and then go to work that way,
depending on the video. Sometimes if it's an active type video,
there a tent setup or something like that, I'll I'll
grab my youngest he likes to come out and help
with that and so have him run the camera and so.
But most of the time for the reviews, you know,
(36:51):
just do it in my studio. They're putting built in
the garage and or out in the field, depending on
what it is, and to sell film those for the
most part, and of course obviously the hunting films, I
don't do that. That's beyond my skill set to do
and do that that good equality.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
So yeah, so John John Abert Nethews, your camera guy
on your Help film. Yeah, he's such a good guy.
I've been around him on a few hunts and he's
just like always such a happy, go lucky fella. And
I've never seen anybody nerd out so much on cameras,
like and getting the shots and like he gets so
(37:28):
tickled and like, I just love being around that guy.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
Yeah, he's such a fun guy. Yeah him.
Speaker 3 (37:34):
So we're editing this film. You know, he did he
did most of the he did all the camera work,
and he was there for the hunt and then his
good friend and I've gotten to know him well over
the last several months here, Louke Canduzenbury. He films it
does with a bunch of folks, you know, in the industry,
you go hunting.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
Work as well.
Speaker 3 (37:56):
And and so he's he's there on not on retainer,
but he said he's like, I could call him up,
so if he's available to film any of my hunts
coming up, if he's available, he'll do it. And yeah,
but they they we all got together and we're doing
a bunch of the editing on this film and and
so they start talking camera gear and they nerding out
on that, and I'm just sitting there like that sounds
(38:16):
like a cool thing, but I don't know what you're
talking about.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
Just way over my head, way over my head. And
I like the talk cameras a little bit. Yeah, these guys,
it goes right over my Yeah. Yeah, they start talking
about bit rates and all this stuff.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
I was just like, I don't know what you're talking about, right, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
I can fake it a little bit. Yeah, I can
run a camera good enough to get myself in trouble.
Speaker 2 (38:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (38:39):
That's that's scary moment when you think you've gotten to
the point where I can run this on full manual.
You know, I don't need an auto, and so you
start messing with everything and and uh so yeah, that
was that's that's me. Just a few years ago. It's like,
I can run this on manual and that's an accomplishment
right there.
Speaker 1 (38:54):
Yeah, But for me, like you get to that point
and then it's like, oh dang, it's like a Rubert's
Q excue. How do you put it back? Everything looks
terrible now I can't get it back to where I started.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
Yeah, yeah, it's yeah, it's funny. Back to your elk
hunting field. Yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
So you said this was a draw tag here in Idaho.
What was your opinion on the hunting area? You know,
people always have this pre preconceived notion or notion about
draw tags, like they think, oh, man, there's gonna be
giant bowls running all over the place. Uh like where
there where the elk number is good and where they're
(39:33):
you know, the maturity level and balance of age class
of bowls.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
How was it? No, the elk numbers were not very good.
Speaker 3 (39:43):
In fact, going into the hunt, based on the time
it's spending the unit leading up to the hunt, I
was pretty nervous actually going you know, going into it,
you know, drawing the tag, I was like, oh, this
is gonna be awesome, right, you know, the the draw
I drew a tag kind of syndrome, and you know
it's going to be great, you know, leading up to
those that spending the time in the field out there,
(40:05):
you know, looking looking around, do a lot of glassing.
Just wasn't seeing what I was expecting and hoping for.
And so if you're if you have seen the film,
or if you're if you see that the bowl that
we see on opening morning, yeah, it was a nice bowl,
especially for for this area because it's not a monster
trophy unit.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
It's not.
Speaker 3 (40:27):
It's just it it's a draw tag. But if that
just means there's a fewer hunters. Sure, So that that
was that was the biggest bull it's seen the entire year.
And it's like, oh dang, opening morning right there, you know,
so I think that was actually bigger than the one
that they killed.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
Uh we were like two miles.
Speaker 3 (40:48):
Away, right, It's a long way is a way to
really be able to tell for sure. But that one
and then the one that I killed were the only
two six points we saw.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (40:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
And so we saw a few raghorns, you know, a
couple five points, some spikes, you.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
Know whatnot, But yeah, numbers overall were We're not very good.
And that's that.
Speaker 3 (41:07):
Uh they were better then than when I was in
the unit during September looking around and whatnot. So so
that was at least good because going in September, we're like, man,
there's what is wrong?
Speaker 2 (41:19):
Yeah, we're the elk you know. It was it was
they were so maybe it was just.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
A late rudder or whatnot, you know, and so that
helped us a little bit. But yeah, no, numbers were
not great and and uh so I was pretty thrilled
with with the bull ended up killing to to be
able to find find that goal. And this is only
the but the third day, fourth day whatever it was,
so it wasn't like a long Ruelly hunt, you know.
Speaker 4 (41:44):
Yeah, he was beautiful, this beautiful bold.
Speaker 2 (41:58):
Yeah, the film, the film was so time.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
It's just there's a lot of really great cinematography and yeah,
a lot of a lot of good scenery. And I
just encourage people, you got to you gotta watch it.
I don't want to give it. I don't want to
give it away, but you watch. This is such a
good film.
Speaker 2 (42:13):
Oh thank you.
Speaker 3 (42:14):
It's it's so much fun to make too. You know,
I think I mentioned in the film, Uh, you know,
we have like a lot of us these aspirations like
I should film someday, right, but as you know, it's
not very cheap to do it well, right, anybody can
(42:34):
film with the cell phone or whatnot and just have
fun doing that. That's that's totally fine. But to actually
have it professionally filmed, and and and there's a certain
amount of stress that goes along with it. You know,
you're thinking, it would be really good to kill something
on film. We can get the shot, you know, do
I shoot a small one just so you have a
kill shot on film. All those things go into it.
(42:56):
And and then this, you know, while we've had those
aspirations growing up up, how we can if we can
film hunt? You know, my brother's and I because we
always hunt together every year we have a family annual
family hunting trip that they come up from out of
state and well hunt together.
Speaker 2 (43:09):
And but.
Speaker 3 (43:11):
This is the first time though, that's actually a film
to hunt and and just pulled the trigger and done it,
you know.
Speaker 2 (43:17):
So it was a little bit like, Okay, I don't
know what to expect here.
Speaker 3 (43:21):
Yeah, because I've done a lot of film work for reviews,
but that's different than narrating. That's different than trying to
adequately relay what's going on with what just happened, and
you know, do it on the spot and not have
an outline that I'm going through for a review.
Speaker 2 (43:36):
So it's just different, you know. So but it came
together well.
Speaker 3 (43:41):
I'm sure John did a lot of editing to make
me look not so quite so so bad on film.
Speaker 1 (43:48):
Makes you look great, I think too. If if you're
comfortable with who you are, who's filming you, Yeah, that
means like a lot. I know my camera guy, Dusty,
and when I get along so good and we like
to giggle and joke. Man, if you could if we
could just film him and I as shnanigans and the
silly crap we laugh about and joke around. I don't
(44:10):
know if I don't know if anybody ever watch it,
but there'd be a lot of content. But they'd be
like these guys are like in their fifties and they
act like fifteen year old school boys.
Speaker 2 (44:21):
You know.
Speaker 3 (44:22):
Just it's fun though, you know, cause that's kind of us.
You know, My Brother's night and then Dad get together
and that we're just we're just constantly you know, horsing around.
You know, a few rocks may have been thrown down
mountains when we get frustrated and can't find it al
those kinds of things, you know, the old boulder roll,
you know, when we're thinking we're not coming back here.
(44:43):
Let's just we can't hunt these elk.
Speaker 2 (44:45):
Nobody can't.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
Never done that before, right, No, But now we have
a good time and you know, try to keep you know,
elkanning is fun, it's awesome. It's for for us and
for me, it's it's just much about the relationships and
the time spent out there as it is about chasing elk.
And even though that's that's why we're out there, you know,
but we keep it fun, keep it light, and try
(45:11):
not to take ourselves too terribly serious.
Speaker 1 (45:15):
Yeah, that's good. How much scouting you did? You talked
about preseason scouting. How much scouting did you do? Did
you do summer scouting? Did you do September scouting?
Speaker 3 (45:27):
So this year I didn't do any summer scouting. Because
there's some little bit of backstory for this film is
that this was apparently my year to draw tags. I
hadn't drawn any decent tags really ever, and then I
drew and early seas an archery mulder tag, Oh wow,
which was another new thing. I hadn't really dedicated much
(45:48):
time to archery mulder hunting, and it's you know, not easy,
you know, come on.
Speaker 1 (45:55):
To kill with the bow.
Speaker 3 (45:57):
So and this was a good unit, right that that
you're you're thinking, I've got a chance at a mature
buck with this unit. And so so I went into
that knowing that I was going to be taught lots
of lessons, blowing lots of stocks and that kind of thing.
So so I put more time into that because that
was a completely new area.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Never even gone there before.
Speaker 3 (46:17):
Oh yeah, I mean I'd been in this elk unit before,
so I kind of knew some areas, you knew it
a little bit, so so that was helpful to focus
more time on that. So but I did spend some
time you know, scouting for this on as well, and
so then that's why I was a little nervous about
what I was seeing.
Speaker 2 (46:35):
Oh yeah, So yeah.
Speaker 1 (46:36):
I would definitely be a little unnerving. Oh man, I've
finally got a chance with this tag.
Speaker 3 (46:42):
Yeah right right, And that's unfortunately seeing the numbers that
have come out with fishing game after that, and that
that's what what the numbers are saying to the numbers
are down, the blow objective, they're cutting tags back, Okay,
that kind of thing. So so it's an I wasn't
Sometimes you're out there like is it just me? Am
(47:02):
I just a terrible hunter? Can I not find animals right?
Or are they just not here?
Speaker 2 (47:06):
You know? So I think maybe.
Speaker 1 (47:09):
Both you guys made it look easier.
Speaker 2 (47:14):
We had a good time.
Speaker 1 (47:16):
So what's next? I imagine you keep on doing reviews now.
I know we talked before about some new things on
the website that are coming.
Speaker 2 (47:28):
Tell me about that. Yeah, So.
Speaker 3 (47:31):
Amongst you know, getting this film ready to go, been
working tirelessly to put together a membership portion of the site.
So I've been working on I had the idea a
while ago, but I've been putting that together for probably
better part of the last year, intermittently as I've.
Speaker 2 (47:48):
Been able to.
Speaker 3 (47:48):
So so yeah, we're kicking that off here shortly and
depending on when this podcast dropped and might already be live.
But but it's real close, so there can be a membership.
They're gonna be some cool things with memberships and some
great gear discounts and a kind of garage sale store
for some gear, great deals on gear. There some consultation
(48:09):
offers for gear consultation. So if you're really like really
wanting to dive deep into you know, picking the right
set of binoculars or whatever it is, then you set
up a consultation for that and and that kind of thing.
So we got a bunch of cool things there with
with that and a forum starting a forum, there's gonna
be a public forum for just gear discussion, discussion amongst unters,
(48:32):
that kind of thing, so that that'll be on the
on the website as well. So yeah, I a bunch
of stuff dropping over there and gear auctions and all
kinds of fun stuff.
Speaker 2 (48:42):
So yeah, that's exciting. Yeah, it'll be a little fun
of to finally launch that. It's been a long process.
That's so much work.
Speaker 1 (48:49):
I can only imagine how much time and effort you
have put into bringing that to fruition.
Speaker 2 (48:54):
So yeah, that's awesome, but yeah, it'll be fun. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (48:58):
I always wonder, like these guys that do gear reviews,
what do you do with all that gearty Soon I
can't move You've got so much. I just you know,
because I get a fair amount of gear not to review,
but you know, working with the Phelps team, you know,
first light. We get all the new gear that comes
out of here, and it's like, man, I'm just running
(49:18):
out of room, right these hunting clothes.
Speaker 2 (49:20):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, the same.
Speaker 3 (49:23):
It's so busy with writing reviews, editing, filming, editing, maintaining
the website, trying to you know, things break and go
wrong and try to fix that or contact my developer
or whatever the.
Speaker 2 (49:37):
Case may be.
Speaker 3 (49:38):
And then it's just you know, figuring out what to
do with stuff, the gear that I have that they
can't possibly use it.
Speaker 2 (49:45):
All that kind of comes very lowest priority, you know, right.
Speaker 3 (49:49):
So hopefully this will motivate me to to stay on
top of that little better and I have over the
last seven years.
Speaker 1 (49:54):
Oh yeah, that's that's exciting. And what about hunting films?
You got anything coming out or anything in the works
for more hunting films?
Speaker 2 (50:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (50:05):
Yeah, we're gonna continue on and we've got some more
planned for twenty twenty five. Here, I've burned my Colorado
points this year to Colorado, Mule Deer and Elk down there.
Speaker 2 (50:18):
That's the plan. We're gonna film that. John's gonna come down.
It'll be so fun. I'm gonna do a nine day hunt.
Oh wow. Yeah, it'll be a long tree rifle rifle.
Speaker 1 (50:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (50:26):
Oh yeah, so we're gonna do that and got another one, uh,
most likely depending on draws.
Speaker 2 (50:33):
You know, everything can change when.
Speaker 3 (50:34):
Draws come out here in a few weeks, months, whatever
it is. So some of the rest of it's holding
pretty loosely. But I've got the points for sure to
draw this tag, so so that that one's for sure
on the calendar, and one or two other possibilities depending
on draws and how that all comes out.
Speaker 1 (50:49):
So yeah, yeah, and even if you don't draw a
tag and I don't, I'm sure you'll have a hunt
of some kind. And yeah, you know, maybe they have
to film it.
Speaker 2 (50:59):
That's the plan.
Speaker 3 (51:00):
And I have a backup plan for if nobody drives
anything that that we really want to film. We'll get
some ideas there that I'm hoping to do to do
the Colorado Hunt, and and one other and and being
a nine day hunt, you know, let me you may
turn into two or or may just be one, depending
on how it plays out, and so we'll have it
should be fun though, It's gonna be a fun season.
Speaker 2 (51:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (51:21):
Colorado is amazing place. It's so pretty and depending on
where you go. It's it's one place is a different
kind of pretty compared to the next. So yeah, I've
only hunted there twice, but it's it's it's a beautiful place.
Speaker 2 (51:35):
I enjoyed it.
Speaker 3 (51:36):
Yeah, it'll be fun. I've been hunting there once and
it was that year with fires and so it was
just kind of a perfect storm of the fires came,
so consolidate everybody to one unit that that could hunt
one union in the group that we were hunting. And
then it was super cold, a cold snap hit, but
(51:59):
there was still a fire and from the fires, so
it was minus sixteen. Now you couldn't build a fire,
so we were we were suffering for that.
Speaker 2 (52:08):
Isn't that crazy? Yeah, So that was it was a
rough year.
Speaker 3 (52:11):
And then the hunters everywhere because you know, there were
three units conduncetne down to one and over the counter
kind of tag so it was.
Speaker 2 (52:19):
It was a tough hunt. So that sounds brutal.
Speaker 3 (52:21):
Yeah, So hopefully this this time is hopefully we call
round redemption hunt.
Speaker 1 (52:25):
Oh yeah, yeah, there you go. You got you got
a theme, right, you got you got you got a
storyline there?
Speaker 2 (52:31):
Yeah, Well, man, I look.
Speaker 1 (52:33):
I'm looking forward to your your videos, this this fall
and appreciate it and your video reviews and your website
updates and stuff, and it's a lot of exciting stuff.
And this is this is your site getting This is
not even what you do full time, You're what do
you do for full time?
Speaker 3 (52:48):
I was super super exciting compared to this in a
compliance right, so mortgage compliance. Yeah, so it's it's different
than gear review and website development and content creation. So
but you've been doing that for twenty two years now.
I think it is so wow a long time that.
Speaker 1 (53:08):
Compliance that you have to I feel like you have
to be a pretty patient person to work in the
field like that because there's so much stuff flying about it.
Speaker 3 (53:18):
Yeah, yeah, especially in regulated industries. Yeah, it's a lot
to deal with there. So yeah, that's it mixes things up,
which is good, you know. So I can stop working
and then start working, but it doesn't feel like I'm
starting working on the side gigs so yeah.
Speaker 1 (53:34):
Yeah, Well it's definitely a passion Yeah, passion project, I'm sure. Yeah,
or you wouldn't have been it wouldn't have done it
so long.
Speaker 2 (53:41):
No, No, I definitely don't do it for the money. Yeah. Yeah, Yeah,
that's awesome. Well where can people find you?
Speaker 3 (53:49):
The websites Backwards Pursuit dot com and uh YouTube channels
just backwards pursuit of course, Instagram, Facebook, if those are
all there as well, Backwards Pursuit, Yah, yeah, I think
I think we're on X as well, but I don't
do a whole lot over there, post reviews and whatnot.
But yeah, yeah, those are the main channels there.
Speaker 1 (54:11):
Yeah, I've never got on X. I don't know what
to do. Yeah, I don't know how tol it works.
Speaker 2 (54:18):
I don't know what you're supposed to do.
Speaker 1 (54:20):
Like you just get on there and it's funny, like yes,
like Elker better than Mule there changed my mind, right, yeah,
you know, and you just get on there to argue
with people. I don't know. But then I see where
some people will share something like you to share, you know,
just little tidbits information from a hunt or whatever, kind.
Speaker 2 (54:38):
Of like LinkedIn.
Speaker 1 (54:38):
LinkedIn is kind of weird too, so people share a
lot of stuff on there, and I never shared a
thing on there.
Speaker 3 (54:44):
But it's kind of like figuring out the difference between
the long form YouTube video and the shorts and what
makes them pop. Because I've done some shorts. I like
god to be cool and then it's like, nope, nope,
that did not hit the other hit.
Speaker 1 (54:56):
Yeah, yeah, shorts are crazy. My buddy Tom Schneider from
Stuck in the Rut, he was telling me that shorts
have been great for them. Of course they've got a
lot of bang flop type videos, you know, yeah, shoot
the animal goes down, and those are of course every
really click on those. But he's like, it's crazy, like
(55:17):
they've gotten some great track, like a million views on
some videos. He's like, some of the ones he thought
wouldn't even go good, yeah went gangbusters. So I feel
like once you find that recipe or capture that that moment,
you know, then it could go viral for you.
Speaker 2 (55:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (55:34):
So the only thing that I've been able to determine
the YouTube algorithms and what's going to make certain videos
do well or not. And this is sarcasm, but the
less time you spend on it, in the poorer quality
it is, seems to do better than the more time spend.
Speaker 1 (55:52):
Well. I think there could be something to that.
Speaker 2 (55:56):
I think there's a lot of people.
Speaker 1 (55:57):
They'll say it in the comments, like this is over
too much fancy, Yet it's I hate the music. It's like, okay,
well what was it about the music?
Speaker 3 (56:07):
Was it?
Speaker 2 (56:07):
The genre? Was it?
Speaker 1 (56:08):
The frequency was at the sound level? Was it? Because
I'm always looking like, well, what didn't you like about
music exactly? Could be specific or it looked at genre,
But okay, well that's you know, that's just personal taste
for sure. Some people like opera, some people like rap,
(56:28):
you know, tomato tomato.
Speaker 2 (56:30):
Right exactly.
Speaker 1 (56:31):
But but yeah, it's it's good to kind of figure
out what what makes a tick. But back to the point,
like I think a lot of people, like there's different
viewers on YouTube. There's the ones that like, you know,
fulfil feature film stuff like like your Elk hunt. And
then there's people that like just the quick and dirty,
you know, just like it quick edit, you know, eight
(56:52):
minutes long, nothing fancy, you know, music just you know,
maybe the camera's a little shaky. The place for both,
I think I think there is, yeah, and maybe maybe
we can maybe a filmmaker can do both. It's like,
all right, this is going to be the maybe I
shoot it myself and take you guys along with me
on the hunt. Yeah, and then this is the one
(57:12):
that I had my good friend John Abernathy Common film
and edit, and it's gonna be a work of art,
right right exactly. I like I like both.
Speaker 3 (57:20):
Yeah, there I do too too, So they're both fun
to watch in different ways, you know, yeah, in different ways.
Speaker 2 (57:27):
Yeah for sure.
Speaker 1 (57:28):
Well, man, I just keep rambling on here, but appreciate
the conversation absolutely, And yeah, good luck with this new
new next level on your on your website and reviews.
Speaker 3 (57:39):
Yeah, I appreciate it. Yeah, it's it'll be a lot
of fun. And I'm sure it'll be like everything, there's
learning curves with all of it. And just keep plugging
away and keep popping out the reviews. And got a
great team of guys that that I love doing the
reviews and help out a ton and and so that's
that's awesome to have them. And so when I need
to focus on you know, the we have inside of
(58:00):
things and they can't dive into reviews myself as much,
then they keep rolling on that too.
Speaker 2 (58:06):
And so yeah, it's been good.
Speaker 1 (58:08):
Perfect, Well cool, Well we'll catch you and everybody else
on the flip flop.
Speaker 2 (58:13):
Awesome. Thank you appreciate you having me on.
Speaker 1 (58:15):
It's great chatting yet, thank you
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com