December 9, 2025 • 37 mins
Award-winning outdoor writer Brandon Butler, Outdoor Indiana Magazine and Captain Jet Quillen on staying safe on ice this winter.
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Speaker 1 (00:28):
All right, we are here the studios. Bells, whistles, SI sounds.
What a day it's already been. It's too early. It's
Christmas season. I can't even talk. We're having a great
time in the studio, That's what I was trying to say.
And we've got a great, big show today. It's hard
to believe. There's still a whole lot of outdoor activity,
(00:49):
a whole lot of honey going on. We're going to
kind of cover the gamut on this Indiana Outdoors episode.
Hold your hats because Brandon Butler's going to be with us.
You never know what Brandon's got on his mind. Word
winning outdoor writer, good friend and contributor, and he's always
got some gripe. We're going to find out what he's
(01:09):
got going on. It's always a great conversation. Also, I
know we've been talking about gifts, but I just I
love this one. Outdoor Indiana Magazine, our Department of Natural
Resources award winning you can get the calendar. We're going
to find out about that. There's a calendar issue coming
up and I love that stuff. Plus Ice Safety Captain
(01:29):
Jet Quillan. I don't want to take any more time
because Brandon Butler's always got great stories. When we come back,
Brandon Butler joins us, it's the Indiana Outdoor Show, brought
to you by Indiana Donor Network driven to Save Lives
dot org back right after this.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
And.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
What a great way to kick off the Indiana Outdoor Show.
Each and every week. We appreciate you as well. Always
thank the stations, especially this time of the year. Couldn't
do it without you, couldn't do it without them, so
many many thanks. And when I say it's a great
way to kick off the Indiana Outdoor Show, that's because
I your host, Brian Pointer, were brought to you by
Indiana Donor Network driven two Save Lives sign up to
(02:17):
be that all important organ and tissue donor when you
buy your hunting and fishing license. Couldn't be any easier.
And it's a great show because it's been a minute,
but we're catching up with our good friend and regular
contributor here to Indiana Outdoors, Brandon Butler. Award winning outdoor writer,
longtime conservationist, your jack of all trades, Brandon, how you been.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I've been good. I've been great.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Actually year students winding down, I'm starting to put things away,
which is kind of crazy, but been doing great.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Now, why would you do that? My stuff just lays
stays in the big bag until next year because there's
always that Oh I don't want to unpack because I
may go out again and then you don't, and then
that's why my that's why my hunting room is just
a mess.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
Well, my hunting room's getting better. I'm in that period
of life where i have two daughters in college, so
I'm kind of empty nesting right now, although I think
they're home as much as they used to be. But
I built a new new property, new home. In my barn,
I put a forty foot long so it's thirty by
forty barn. So the loft is a forty foot by
(03:28):
twelve foot attic that is just now my hunting room.
So I've actually built lockers, so I've got my turkey locker,
my duck locker, my deer locker, and trying to maintain
that is not easy.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
But it is kind of a dream come true.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Man man, and that just makes me a little excited.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
I've got it segmented out, like someday they might do
a Cribs.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Episode at my place, you know. Mediata rolls through and
wants to see my barn.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
I'd be happy to show it off.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Well, it's not like you didn't have institutional perspective from
I'm sure all your buddy's an input, because this is
one of those things if I was going to do
this myself, you have the benefit of seeing and experiencing
so many different places. You just built what you wanted,
and I like that.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Good for you.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Yeah, And this morning I actually was online trying to figure.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Out how to do a personal auction. You know, I
get hit every day with.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
Like a different conservation organization doing an auction, Like how
do we do an auction that declutters?
Speaker 3 (04:18):
And like the cause is to raise money for me?
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Yeah, GoFundMe.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Yeah, it's a garage sale.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
I just want to do a digital auction garage stale
because my stuff is too nice to just go in
a garage sale and there's all kinds of logistics to
handle here. But I'm in the declutter mode. I've got
a lot of cool stuff. So now you look for
the fourthcoming Brandon Butler auction.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Well, I don't know that I have enough stuff to auction,
but I like to purge every now and I shouldn't
say that I am the world's worst. Meaning, if you
go down and look at my clothes, I have closed
that I haven't worn in twenty years, because someday I'll
be able to fit in them. Right, you know the
old camouflage pattern that you loved and it's just sat there,
Or you got sixty five pairs of boots and you
(05:04):
wear one. I've had some luck on like a Facebook,
marketplace or next door, just minor stuff. But if you
get into some heavier things, you may have to go
the bigger route, because that's the way you roll, I
know it. What's going on your neck of the woods?
By the way, you've always got some stories. What have
you been talking to people writing about? Tell us about
your organization. It's always I'm sure you could use some
(05:25):
donations at the end of the year. Maybe we've got
some philanthropists out there. Give us an update.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
So, Retrieving Freedom is the organization or service off organization
for disabled veterans and children with autism. We play some
Labrador retrievers with those people. Every one of our retrievers
is fifty thousand dollars invested by the.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Time they go out the door.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
We're doing great is I'm coming up on my two
year anniversary January first, and we just had a big
holiday party last week.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
The Board of directors was.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
In our end of year revenue is up significant, which
means we can breathe a little bit and start planning
for a better future, helping more people, whittling.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Down our wait list.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
Went to a Delta Waterfowl banquet on Saturday where we
have a partnership with Delta Waterfowl and we auction off
duck calls and it brought twenty one hundred dollars and
we split that fifty to fifty, which is a pretty
average amount that we can get for those and it's
just great to see the generosity of people. So, yeah,
if you have a place in your heart for veterans
(06:30):
in our country, we serve nationwide and as well as
children with autism. The correlation there is sometimes asked, and
it has a lot to do with kind of the
emotional flare ups that occur when when you have a
child having a fit with autism or you have a
veteran suffering from a PTSD episode all the anxiety that
comes with that. The dogs can really help. They also
(06:52):
do physical tasks, so Yeah, if you're looking for a
place to shield a little your money from taxes, we
would gladly take a donation and put it to great
use trying to change the live of somebody that served
our country or a special needs child and their family.
So that's retrievingfreedom dot Org.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
I was going to say, that's good to know because
it is that time of the year and you never
know who's listening because you do such great work and
you are always on top of it, and we appreciate that.
So always an open phone and voice for you here.
How was your dear season.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
Deer season was good. Yeah, so I've got some news.
I am married, So yes, that's I have. We have
not publicly announced. I don't know if we're even married
since we haven't gone Facebook official yet, but I did
get married to my best friend, wonderful, wonderful woman named Lauren,
(07:51):
and she is a big time outdoors person, works in
the industry, does processing for the Missouri Department of Conservation,
Ontario Game and Fish, Arkansas Game and Fish. Works for
a company that handles kind of the back end deal
on outdoor agency websites and stuff.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
So my dear scene was really good. I killed a beautiful.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
Eleven pointer, a lot of masks, thinking pretty highly on
myself until Lauren comes in and just absolutely dropped a
thumper on me. She killed a ten pointer. Oh man,
you know you can always play the what if game.
We green scored it like right at one fifty five.
And I'm not a big score guy, but this one
was big enough to where everybody kept asking. And it
(08:37):
just shows how much an inch matters, you know. So
it had a twenty one inch inside spread. We didn't
do a good job on the mask, which is why
I think the score could.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Go up a little bit.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
But if you just gave another inch to every time
that it had just one inch per time, you know,
you're now pushing a booner. It's right there. It has
the look of a booner. I mean, it was incredible.
She killed it at twelve fifteen pm. She was frustrated
because she hunts right in the middle of a four
hundred acre property. We had four different groups hunting that day.
(09:11):
Me and a Hannah Bell, my daughter, were in a blind,
Lauren was in her stand, Shaggs and his uncle were
in a blind, and then the landowner, Steve was in
a blind. Oh and his wife was in a blind,
so we had five groups hunting that day. Lauren's right
in the middle. Steve, the landowner, forgot his phone, so
at first light he had to go back past her
to get his phone and go back to his blind.
Then uncle Steve shags his uncle. He's a main standard
(09:34):
drift foot outdoors podcast. He killed the buck so they
had to go past Lauren to get the four wheeler
drive back past her, get the deer drive back past her.
Finally she just said, I quit, I'm done. I got
a pee, I'm getting down. I said, well, just don't
get down yet, Annabel and I just saw a good one.
This was at like eleven thirty. I said, just pee
under your stand and she's like, I'm not doing that.
(09:55):
And I said, well, just hang tight, I'll pick you
up at twelve thirty and and she killed that bucket
twelve fifteen.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
I love it. It sounds like you had the same experience.
Have you ever had an opening weekend experience where everything
just goes flawlessly, no issues, Weather's great, bucks and Doze
are moving all over No forgetting phones. No, I mean
this year was as close as it could get, But
it was seventy five degrees and thirty mile an hour
(10:25):
winds and beautiful to be out in the woods, but man,
that wind was rough. We had similar stories. I saw
some weird things too. We saw we didn't see any
dose all weekend, and we saw two bucks that were
killed on Saturday night. Nice they could have looked like
(10:47):
they were twin brothers. But two different stands within ninety
seconds of each other in the last ten minutes. And
what had happened was? I thought to myself, Huh, it
got awfully quiet, no wind, right before the end of
legal shooting time, and within ninety seconds we had a
couple on the ground, but saw bachelor groups. I saw
(11:08):
a group of three this little button bucks together, which
I thought was kind of strange for this time of
the year. But all in all, it was great, and
it sounds like you had a wonderful season as well.
I saw that picture when you posted it with your
daughter Anna, and that one's a nice nice dear, my.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Friend, well, thank you. Yeah, he's a great buck.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
What's funny about that is our podcast is sponsored by
a taxidermist in Missouri, Phoenic Rivers Taxidermy, and part of
the deal is we get our head mounds taken care of.
So when I killed that buck, Lauren said, you know,
it's a good one, but we got to start getting
more selective on what we mount. We've only got so
much room in the shop. And now she's being a
(11:50):
little little picky there because I got plenty of room
in a thirty by forty garage and a thirty by
forty shop, so there's no slowing down on head mounts
for me. But she made her point clear, and I
was like, well, okay, you know, and I got to
the I got to the CWD check station and they
don't cut your deer to get into lymph nodes if
you're going to mount it. So by that time, she'd
(12:12):
convinced me to get a euro mount because all my
euromounts burned up in my cabin. I've replaced a couple
now and I'm starting to build back a euro wall.
And we do have maybe fifteen shoulder mounts or so,
and some Africa stuff, and I got the World Slam
a Turkey, so she's to give her credit. She does
have a point and the wall space, and I've got
(12:34):
a really nice mule deer a moose from Montana, A K. Buffalo,
but only one white tail euro mounted, so I was like,
you know what, this one will be great because he's
so massive, he's not that wide.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
It'll make it look bigger.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
So she'd convinced me by the time I got to
the CWD check station and I pull in and they're like, oh, man,
you're mounting that one, right, And I was like yeah,
And then then I left to go to the so
they didn't cut it. And I got to the CWD,
went there to the to the deer processor, and I
had reconvinced myself to just get a year amount so
I didn't have to pay for the caping, which I
would normally do myself. And I got there and they're like, ooh,
(13:09):
you need that one cape for them out, don't you.
And I was like, yeah, I do, so mine's going
on the wall. And now fast forward to the following
weekend when she killed hers, and immediately the joke started
coming like, Hey, Lauren, I just don't think there's a
room in your guys's house anymore.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
You know, we don't think there's any more room for
a head mount.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
So it's a long story short. We had We had
a great time. We had a great season. But man,
that just opens up a whole nother conversation, like you
just said on how much deer hunting has changed and
how much social media has changed deer hunting. Brian, I
go back to my first youth license in Indiana. I
(13:50):
think I was it was nineteen ninety, maybe nineteen eighty nine.
I have one from nineteen ninety that I have in
my possession. Seven bucks gave you everything, you know. There
were no turkeys at the time in my part of
the world, Northwest Indiana, but it was deer ducks. Everything
you could do for seven dollars, and it took I
didn't kill my first deer until I finally had a
(14:11):
dough tag when I was fourteen, killed a deer with
a side hammer hawkin fifty calimber, you know, and got
it done. And that was like the greatest thing I
ever did in my life. Was fourteen years old, out
on my own down by Rose Lawn, killed this deer.
And today, you know, it's like if you're not there's
(14:32):
like a segment that if you're not killing you know,
one hundred and fifty.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
In buck, like what are you doing in the woods?
Speaker 4 (14:39):
And I've watched these silos grow to the point where
I had a guy actually text me this morning. He's
a good friend. He is the most accomplished hunter I've
ever met. I mean it's his trophy room. He's a
wealthy guy, but he's he earned it all himself. I
mean he grew up dirt poor, didn't have indoor plumbing
in his youth. I mean, dirt poor grew up, made
his way. Now he's lions and elephants and fifty bucks
(15:03):
over one hundred and fifty inches. And he is so
frustrated with like the game management because in Missouri we
can still kill bucks during the rout with rifle. You know,
he hates crossbows in the bow season and one hundred
percent for him, it comes down to we're not managing
for the greatest trophy potential of white tails. And he
(15:24):
made this post about a guy that killed like a
two hundred and seventy inch non typical deer up in Aisle,
and he's like, see what Missouri could be. And it
turned into this like online battle of this. I know
this guy he hunts three thousand and eight He owns
and hunts three thousand acres by himself, and and some
people are like you know that's my dream, and like
(15:45):
it just makes my heart sink because because I worked
for a guy like that, you know, and he was
generous to an extent, but mostly if there was a
financial outcome at the end, you know, like killed with
somebody on his property if they're gonna cut a million
dollar deal. But the guys that are there, like sweat
and toiling on the daily weren't getting permission. And it's like,
that's great, you got three grant, three thousand acres to hunt,
(16:05):
and good for you that you killed a two hundred
and seventy inch buck, but.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
You kind of bought it.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
And I would much rather see ten people kill a
buck or a dough or a deer whatever, then I'd
rather see one guy kill a two seventy I agree.
And you've got these two. You've got all kinds of
different silos.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Now.
Speaker 5 (16:26):
You got the.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
Crossbow hunters, you got the compound hunters, you got the trad.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Bow guys, you got rifle guys.
Speaker 4 (16:31):
You got to move the gun season out of the
ruck guys. You got the extended gun season two more weeks, guys.
And everybody can find a place on social media where
others agree with them.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Well, just as if you ask a deer hunter, ask
that you're going to get two hundred and fifty thousand
different opinions for the number one.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
Else they're all convinced that they're right and everybody else
is wrong. You know, at the end of the day,
at the end of the day, you have to remember
that hunting, aside from being this incredible tradition and aside
from being this incredible pastime, it's a concert tool. Like
we as humans have come on to this landscape and completely.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
Manipulated it and made it our own.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
And you can go back to the Bible as to
why that is, or you can just look and right, wow,
like you can look at you know.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Biology as to why why don't we do this?
Speaker 1 (17:15):
The reason why don't we do this? Because I love
this conversation, but duty calls, Let's save this conversation for
the next time we talk after the first of the year.
How's that? I love this?
Speaker 6 (17:27):
All right?
Speaker 1 (17:27):
My friend?
Speaker 3 (17:28):
It up real quick.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Keep in mind that hunting is personal. Do what you do,
enjoy what you do, and ethically follow the rules.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
No more better way to end, my friend, Merry Christmas
to you. We'll be back after the first of the year.
We're going to continue this conversation. Thanks for being with us,
my friend. Thank you all good it's the Indiana Outdoor Show.
We're going to be back right after this Indian Outdoors.
(18:07):
What a beautiful time of the year. It is my
throlle privilege. As we are approaching the turn of a
new year, it's hard to believe where in the world
did the time go. Of course, we're brought to you
by our good friends at Indiana Donor Network Driven to
Save Lives dot org and you can sign up to
(18:29):
be an organ and tissue donor very easily when you
go buy your hunting and fishing license. Everybody needs to
have a hunting and fishing license. No better place to
spend your money. But speaking of places to spend your money,
if you're looking for some great gifts, as I mentioned
at the top of the hour, one of my favorite people,
one of my favorite subjects, is to talk about Outdoor
(18:53):
Indiana magazine. Marty Benson is the editor. It's great to
have you back, Marty with our department a natural sources.
Busy time of the year for you, I know and
all the people over in the communications department, but you know,
one of the things. Just as recently as yesterday had
a conversation about Outdoor Indiana magazine when they were saying,
(19:14):
I don't know what to get to somebody, and I said, well,
they got gift packs and blah blah blah. And the
conversation is a very easy one to have, Marty, when
you talk about Outdoor Indiana, because it's such a great,
great gift that keeps on giving all your loans. So
thanks very much for being here. Have you been what
have you been up to?
Speaker 6 (19:35):
Well?
Speaker 5 (19:36):
Usual, We just recently sent the winter issue of Outdoor
Indiana to the printer. We've got on the cover a
John Maxwell beautiful photo of the northern lights above Indiana
Dunes State Park, which is eye catching, many different colors
(19:58):
in the sky there, along with some activity going on
along the beach at Indiana done State Park. That will
be one of the features in our calendar, which is
included in that issue.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
I was going to say that highlight this is the
calendar time of year.
Speaker 5 (20:22):
It certainly is, and that's the time for us to
highlight our outstanding two photographers, John being one of them,
and Brent Drinkett being our photo editor. And there's a
page through this there are some outstanding photos of goldfinch
(20:43):
taking a bath, which is a kind of an eye
catching cover of our calendar. We've got a spring mill
in in a little wintry scene for January. We've got
some sand hill cranes, We've got fire tower, all sorts
(21:05):
of cool things, and a lot of drone photography from
friend Drinkett, who is our drone specialist. And we try
to make these obviously seasonal for each month. And I
think we've come out mixing snow with sunshine and different
(21:27):
colors and different areas of the state that people will
want to visit, or at least we hope that the
calendar will encourage them to visit.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Well, you do such a great job, and you sold
it so well, because is there any better photographers anywhere
that takes out door photography? If there isn't. If there is,
I don't know about them. And we've got two of
them at Outdoor Indiana magazine that provides so many beautiful photographs,
award winning on so many levels, including the magazine itself.
(22:00):
I mean, it's the gift that keeps on giving throughout
the year. I can tell you it stays out on
my coffee table at home, and people always pick it
up because it is so captivating. But tell us about
how many times a year we talked about the calendar
kind of a bonus gift within a gift. But how
can people get the magazine and subscribe? It's of course
(22:20):
part of a gift pack that you can get through
our department a Natural resources. But tell us how and
how we do all this.
Speaker 5 (22:30):
Well, the talent the magazine comes out four times a
year to match the seasons.
Speaker 6 (22:39):
The best way to get it.
Speaker 5 (22:41):
Bundling is the keyword for Christmas, I guess and many
other promotions, and as you mentioned, the gift card or
gift pack for holidays is a great way to do that.
You can get that gift pack at Shopnstate Parks dot com. Again,
that's shop I Nstateparks dot com. That's one way to
(23:08):
get it. Another if you are interested in only the
magazine and we're happy to sell you that.
Speaker 6 (23:15):
If that's what you want, you.
Speaker 5 (23:17):
Can just call our own Amy Geyer at three one
seven two three three three zero four six or subscribe
online at outdoor Indiana dot org. And that's just fifteen
dollars for the entire year.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
I don't know, I don't know better. Fifteen dollars that
could cost you that much to go to Starbucks.
Speaker 6 (23:45):
That's right.
Speaker 5 (23:46):
You must be getting a different order than I get. Well,
let me just say fifteen dollars Starbucks.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
It's been a minute. I haven't been there in a minute,
but I hope you I know people that have their
issues with Starbucks, and they're very defensively.
Speaker 6 (23:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Anyway, So i'd love the fact. You know, we've highlighted
already the wonderful outdoor photography, and that's the thing that
does strike. But I always learned something. I've been doing
Indiana outdoors in this studio for well what will be
our twenty eighth year and next year, and I learned
(24:21):
something all the time, and it's something that you can
easily kind of read through, and it's a go to
and it's kind of timeless. You know, it doesn't really matter.
I know, you try to make them seasonal for what's
going ahead, and it requires a lot of effort and planning,
but they just stay out and you can pick one
up from a year ago and it's still as pertinent
as is today.
Speaker 5 (24:41):
That is definitely the case. A couple of interesting things
we have the new issue that's coming out soon is
in our News and Notes section.
Speaker 6 (24:51):
We've got two.
Speaker 5 (24:53):
Two record holders, if you will, in Indiana, one of
which is the nation's largest swamp chestnut oak tree, which
is on private property just outside of Cruggersville. So that's
one one interesting thing. And then also on private property,
(25:19):
we've got the sunflower world record holder for tallest sunflower.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
Well we covered that for a yeah, boy, you have that.
Alex was on my show many many times over the years,
and I have been following that from afar. But what
an accomplishment. And you know, not only did he grow
the big tall sunflowers to create the world record, but
(25:44):
have you seen what he puts in his garden, like
his beats and other things. I mean those things are
the size of like basketballs. I don't know what he's
got going on up in the soil up there, but
what a great thing to cover.
Speaker 5 (25:55):
He's a very interesting dude, no question about it.
Speaker 6 (25:58):
Well I have not seen though.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
He's quite He takes it very seriously and I know
it's in all your labor of love. So again, Marty,
it's always great to visit with you. Outdoor Indiana Magazine
Award winning Order it now and you get the calendar
for twenty twenty six. It's a great gift. Fifteen bucks.
My gosh, it's pocket change and you can get the
(26:21):
six issues plus the calendar. Marty, it's always great to
visit with you keep.
Speaker 6 (26:24):
A pack that would be for. It's for for, it's four.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
At four, six two, it doesn't matter, it's great and
you just want them all year long. So Marty as
thank you for all your help for Indiana with Indiana Outdoors,
helping with arranging so many guests, as well as your
duties as the editor of Outdoor Indiana. We appreciate you
as always and have a wonderful merry Christmas season here.
We'll talk to you probably after the first of the year.
Speaker 6 (26:48):
How's that sounds good?
Speaker 5 (26:51):
Same to you and to all your listeners.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Marty. Always great to visit with you our friends at
Outdoor Indiana Magazine. Fifteen bucks. Come on, great gift. It
is the Indian I'm the Outdoor show and I am
your host, Brian Pointer. Don't think about going anywhere. We're
going to be back right after.
Speaker 6 (27:04):
This and.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Indian Outdoors rolls on. What a great show. Many many
thanks to our good friend Brandon Butler, it's been a
while since we caught up with him, and of course
the award winning Outdoor Indiana magazine. But it wouldn't be
one of my it wouldn't be an Indian outdoor show
unless I talk to our good friends in Green our
friends in the Law Enforcement Division. Captain Jack Quillen joins me. Captain,
(27:44):
it's been a wonderful year. I can't thank you for
all of your contributions. But I'm going to turn to
a matter that I know is near and dear to
everybody's heart, and that is we had to blast of
that cold where a lot of things got icy and
people were getting a little excited, and then it gets
to warm again. That's just the nature of Indiana's weather.
But ice safety is paramount for people to understand. And
(28:07):
I know you've been preaching this, So what's your message.
Speaker 7 (28:10):
Yeah, it's always unpredictable here in Indiana. It seems like
every year we try to get this message out kind
of coinciding with that first cold burst, and it seems
like it changes every year. But this year we've seen
it come in Northern Indiana. Waterways are already seeing ice.
We've already actually had a one ice fatality where someone
(28:30):
felt the the ice in northern Indiana. So it's really
getting this message out there and reminding people the dangers
of waterways that have ice on them.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
You know, as I'm going to steal one of your lines,
I steal many of them when you originally got me on.
You're not out to steal anybody's fun pie. I use
that all the time. But no ice is safe ice.
Ice has petrified me. And I didn't have any incidences,
I don't have any trauma, but there's just something sketchy
to me about ice. So I'm real, real hesitant. And
(29:02):
yet I know ice fishing is a great thing to
do this time of year, snowmobiling. The poor gentleman that
I read about in the news was out trying to,
you know, save his dog who fell through the ice,
and he lost his life. I mean, it's just a mess.
So I know this message is one worth repeating because,
as you say, no ice is safe ice, but what
(29:24):
is generally acceptable?
Speaker 7 (29:26):
Yeah, So we want everybody to kind of remember and
realize that if you don't know the thickness of the ice,
do not go out on it. If you're going to
check the ice and check it safely. We recommend four
inches would be considered safe ice for someone to walk
out on, so you know, if you're going to do that,
(29:46):
make sure you're wearing your life jacket or your float coat.
There's a lot of tools out there to make sure
that you can enjoy ice in a safe way. I mean,
we want to make sure everybody's taking all those proper precautions.
But you know, checking the ice and looking for at
least four inches if you're around the bottle.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
On the ice always a good advice. And I know
that the officers this time of the year, there are
a lot of folks still in the woods. We've got
a lot of hunting opportunities. Fishing where there is open
water is great. We've gotten some reports from up north,
et cetera, and a lot of outdoor activities still to
(30:22):
be had. And tree stands safety is still a concern.
The ice, the weather, blah blah blah.
Speaker 7 (30:30):
Yeah, yeah, just because this cold weather comes in, it
doesn't stop outdoors. So our officers are out there, they're
they're they're making sure they's doing things a safe way.
But yeah, the tree stand safety is another big one
we try to hit on just because it's all these
these these injuries and deaths we see related to tree
(30:51):
stand accidents are are preventable if we wear our full
body these safety harnesses when we go up and come
down and while we're in the stands, they should never
come off. And if we practice that, you know, religiously,
we will see a drastic decrease in these type of
injuries and death.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
You know, accidents happen. Nobody ever goes out for anything
and say, oh, today's the day we're going to have
a car wreck. Today's the day I'm going to fall
out of my tree. It happens. I fell out of
a tree probably twenty years ago, and it was one
of the old homemade you climb up the tree stakes
and you have a platform that you'd built up there,
and it was slick and my rubber boots and fell
(31:32):
about fourteen feet and I'm still here to tell about it.
But there's so many stories of people that didn't have
the same fate. And since that day, I don't get
up in trees anymore. But I absolutely understand, and I
preach this at my own deer camp with my friends,
and most of them get it without any sort of nudging.
Put the safety harness on. It's a lot different than
(31:54):
it used to be when I started hunting forty years ago.
These are you know, doesn't take much to get used
to them. They're comfortable, and I know you'd agree with that.
Speaker 7 (32:02):
Yeah, absolutely, they they they've came a long way in
development of these harnesses, and we luckily we've seen a
little bit less of the the homemade stands, and because
you know, tree stands are getting to be more affordable,
we see the the the manufactured stands are just a
better quality and have safety beachures built into them. So, uh,
(32:22):
you know, everything is progressing in the right way. We
just need to make sure that that everybody's remembering that
when they go out in the field.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
What else is top of mind for law enforcement these
days as we look into the new year.
Speaker 7 (32:33):
Yeah, well, tip is always a big thing for us.
You know, our our hunters and even our non hunters
are are our eyes and ears out there in the field.
So if if anyone hears or sees anything that just
doesn't look right or just strikes them wrong, you know,
call our one hundred tip ID in our hotline, give
provide that information. We will dispatch that out to our officers.
(32:55):
To look into. And you know, we we we are
all responsible for maintaining and managing our natural resources and
we just want to encourage our citizens here in Indiana
to be involved in that. And you're even eligible for
a five hundred dollars reward if that leads to an
arrest or you can remain anonymous. So it's a win
win for everybody. And it's just a great way to
(33:17):
be involved.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
It sure is. And you know, I think people sometimes
have this mystery that well, I don't really know, I
shouldn't get involved. And this is and can be an
anonymous call. But you never know when that tip in
every sense of the image of the word, is meant
that it could be that one thing that that officer's
been waiting. And let them go out and do their work.
(33:39):
So don't be intimidated. Everybody's got their phone. One eight
hundred tip ID in R put it in your phone
and that way you have it and you just let
them do their work.
Speaker 7 (33:48):
And yeah, and what we do see in some instances
where where officers are already you know, kind of working
a case and they just need that last bit of
information that can help them. Really you'll get deeper into
that case or make a case on something, and you
know that little short of evidence that you might have
or information can go a long way.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
Captain, It's been a wonderful year. We appreciate all your contributions.
Your contract was renewed for next year, so you're in
for next year and we look forward to chat and
as always after the first and have a Merry Christmas,
my friend. It is the Indiana Outdoor Show. I your host,
Brian Pointer. We're brought to you by Indiana Donor Network,
Driven to Save Lives dot org. Don't go anywhere. We're
(34:29):
gonna wrap it up when we return right after this.
(34:50):
Days like today make the Indiana Outdoor Show fun for
me and hopefully for you too. It is a beautiful
time of the year. I love the cold weather, I
love all the winter activities. So much hunting, so much fishing.
So many things to talk about at this time of
the year. And before long, heck, we're going to be
talking about the upcoming forward boat, Sport and Travel show.
(35:13):
We got the all the show season, if you will,
in the first quarter of next year. We got a
lot to look forward to, but many, many thanks to
all the contributors that have made Indiana Outdoors a success
this year. We rely on folks like Marty Benson, who
is the editor of Outdoor Indiana magazine. Fifteen bucks gets
you four great issues and it is worth every penny
(35:37):
for stocking stuffer or a well meaning gift for somebody
who is anything to do with the outdoors. Appreciate him
as always. He behind the scenes throughout the months helps
me with arranging different specialty guests that are making Indiana
Outdoors so pertinent. Brandon Butler, as usual, didn't disappoint, always
(36:01):
giving us great stories and he's got some well thought
out ideas. We're gonna have to ferret those out. The
argument about trophy hunting versus management, et cetera. It's a
classic age old story. I love our conversations, love his
contributions as well as Captain Jet Quillen with our Law
Enforcement division and he too throughout the year, and all
(36:25):
of our conservation officers who come on Indiana Outdoors mean
so much to carry the message today ice safety we
know it to be. Yeah, it's just that time of
the year. It's be careful. I'm not the best person
to talk about ice because I'm petrified of it, but
I know So many people enjoy the fall, the winter,
(36:48):
good ice, so theyn get out and do some bang
up ice fishing. We're going to bring it all here.
It's the Indiana Outdoor Show. As we say each and
every week, remember turn in a post sure one eight
hundred tip I D n R and we will be
back next week. Look forward to it. Be safer by
outside
All right, we are here the studios. Bells, whistles, SI sounds.
What a day it's already been. It's too early. It's
Christmas season. I can't even talk. We're having a great
time in the studio, That's what I was trying to say.
And we've got a great, big show today. It's hard
to believe. There's still a whole lot of outdoor activity,
(00:49):
a whole lot of honey going on. We're going to
kind of cover the gamut on this Indiana Outdoors episode.
Hold your hats because Brandon Butler's going to be with us.
You never know what Brandon's got on his mind. Word
winning outdoor writer, good friend and contributor, and he's always
got some gripe. We're going to find out what he's
(01:09):
got going on. It's always a great conversation. Also, I
know we've been talking about gifts, but I just I
love this one. Outdoor Indiana Magazine, our Department of Natural
Resources award winning you can get the calendar. We're going
to find out about that. There's a calendar issue coming
up and I love that stuff. Plus Ice Safety Captain
(01:29):
Jet Quillan. I don't want to take any more time
because Brandon Butler's always got great stories. When we come back,
Brandon Butler joins us, it's the Indiana Outdoor Show, brought
to you by Indiana Donor Network driven to Save Lives
dot org back right after this.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
And.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
What a great way to kick off the Indiana Outdoor Show.
Each and every week. We appreciate you as well. Always
thank the stations, especially this time of the year. Couldn't
do it without you, couldn't do it without them, so
many many thanks. And when I say it's a great
way to kick off the Indiana Outdoor Show, that's because
I your host, Brian Pointer, were brought to you by
Indiana Donor Network driven two Save Lives sign up to
(02:17):
be that all important organ and tissue donor when you
buy your hunting and fishing license. Couldn't be any easier.
And it's a great show because it's been a minute,
but we're catching up with our good friend and regular
contributor here to Indiana Outdoors, Brandon Butler. Award winning outdoor writer,
longtime conservationist, your jack of all trades, Brandon, how you been.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I've been good. I've been great.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Actually year students winding down, I'm starting to put things away,
which is kind of crazy, but been doing great.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Now, why would you do that? My stuff just lays
stays in the big bag until next year because there's
always that Oh I don't want to unpack because I
may go out again and then you don't, and then
that's why my that's why my hunting room is just
a mess.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
Well, my hunting room's getting better. I'm in that period
of life where i have two daughters in college, so
I'm kind of empty nesting right now, although I think
they're home as much as they used to be. But
I built a new new property, new home. In my barn,
I put a forty foot long so it's thirty by
forty barn. So the loft is a forty foot by
(03:28):
twelve foot attic that is just now my hunting room.
So I've actually built lockers, so I've got my turkey locker,
my duck locker, my deer locker, and trying to maintain
that is not easy.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
But it is kind of a dream come true.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Man man, and that just makes me a little excited.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
I've got it segmented out, like someday they might do
a Cribs.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Episode at my place, you know. Mediata rolls through and
wants to see my barn.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
I'd be happy to show it off.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Well, it's not like you didn't have institutional perspective from
I'm sure all your buddy's an input, because this is
one of those things if I was going to do
this myself, you have the benefit of seeing and experiencing
so many different places. You just built what you wanted,
and I like that.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Good for you.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Yeah, And this morning I actually was online trying to figure.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Out how to do a personal auction. You know, I
get hit every day with.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
Like a different conservation organization doing an auction, Like how
do we do an auction that declutters?
Speaker 3 (04:18):
And like the cause is to raise money for me?
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Yeah, GoFundMe.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Yeah, it's a garage sale.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
I just want to do a digital auction garage stale
because my stuff is too nice to just go in
a garage sale and there's all kinds of logistics to
handle here. But I'm in the declutter mode. I've got
a lot of cool stuff. So now you look for
the fourthcoming Brandon Butler auction.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Well, I don't know that I have enough stuff to auction,
but I like to purge every now and I shouldn't
say that I am the world's worst. Meaning, if you
go down and look at my clothes, I have closed
that I haven't worn in twenty years, because someday I'll
be able to fit in them. Right, you know the
old camouflage pattern that you loved and it's just sat there,
Or you got sixty five pairs of boots and you
(05:04):
wear one. I've had some luck on like a Facebook,
marketplace or next door, just minor stuff. But if you
get into some heavier things, you may have to go
the bigger route, because that's the way you roll, I
know it. What's going on your neck of the woods?
By the way, you've always got some stories. What have
you been talking to people writing about? Tell us about
your organization. It's always I'm sure you could use some
(05:25):
donations at the end of the year. Maybe we've got
some philanthropists out there. Give us an update.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
So, Retrieving Freedom is the organization or service off organization
for disabled veterans and children with autism. We play some
Labrador retrievers with those people. Every one of our retrievers
is fifty thousand dollars invested by the.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Time they go out the door.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
We're doing great is I'm coming up on my two
year anniversary January first, and we just had a big
holiday party last week.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
The Board of directors was.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
In our end of year revenue is up significant, which
means we can breathe a little bit and start planning
for a better future, helping more people, whittling.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Down our wait list.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
Went to a Delta Waterfowl banquet on Saturday where we
have a partnership with Delta Waterfowl and we auction off
duck calls and it brought twenty one hundred dollars and
we split that fifty to fifty, which is a pretty
average amount that we can get for those and it's
just great to see the generosity of people. So, yeah,
if you have a place in your heart for veterans
(06:30):
in our country, we serve nationwide and as well as
children with autism. The correlation there is sometimes asked, and
it has a lot to do with kind of the
emotional flare ups that occur when when you have a
child having a fit with autism or you have a
veteran suffering from a PTSD episode all the anxiety that
comes with that. The dogs can really help. They also
(06:52):
do physical tasks, so Yeah, if you're looking for a
place to shield a little your money from taxes, we
would gladly take a donation and put it to great
use trying to change the live of somebody that served
our country or a special needs child and their family.
So that's retrievingfreedom dot Org.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
I was going to say, that's good to know because
it is that time of the year and you never
know who's listening because you do such great work and
you are always on top of it, and we appreciate that.
So always an open phone and voice for you here.
How was your dear season.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
Deer season was good. Yeah, so I've got some news.
I am married, So yes, that's I have. We have
not publicly announced. I don't know if we're even married
since we haven't gone Facebook official yet, but I did
get married to my best friend, wonderful, wonderful woman named Lauren,
(07:51):
and she is a big time outdoors person, works in
the industry, does processing for the Missouri Department of Conservation,
Ontario Game and Fish, Arkansas Game and Fish. Works for
a company that handles kind of the back end deal
on outdoor agency websites and stuff.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
So my dear scene was really good. I killed a beautiful.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
Eleven pointer, a lot of masks, thinking pretty highly on
myself until Lauren comes in and just absolutely dropped a
thumper on me. She killed a ten pointer. Oh man,
you know you can always play the what if game.
We green scored it like right at one fifty five.
And I'm not a big score guy, but this one
was big enough to where everybody kept asking. And it
(08:37):
just shows how much an inch matters, you know. So
it had a twenty one inch inside spread. We didn't
do a good job on the mask, which is why
I think the score could.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Go up a little bit.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
But if you just gave another inch to every time
that it had just one inch per time, you know,
you're now pushing a booner. It's right there. It has
the look of a booner. I mean, it was incredible.
She killed it at twelve fifteen pm. She was frustrated
because she hunts right in the middle of a four
hundred acre property. We had four different groups hunting that day.
(09:11):
Me and a Hannah Bell, my daughter, were in a blind,
Lauren was in her stand, Shaggs and his uncle were
in a blind, and then the landowner, Steve was in
a blind. Oh and his wife was in a blind,
so we had five groups hunting that day. Lauren's right
in the middle. Steve, the landowner, forgot his phone, so
at first light he had to go back past her
to get his phone and go back to his blind.
Then uncle Steve shags his uncle. He's a main standard
(09:34):
drift foot outdoors podcast. He killed the buck so they
had to go past Lauren to get the four wheeler
drive back past her, get the deer drive back past her.
Finally she just said, I quit, I'm done. I got
a pee, I'm getting down. I said, well, just don't
get down yet, Annabel and I just saw a good one.
This was at like eleven thirty. I said, just pee
under your stand and she's like, I'm not doing that.
(09:55):
And I said, well, just hang tight, I'll pick you
up at twelve thirty and and she killed that bucket
twelve fifteen.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
I love it. It sounds like you had the same experience.
Have you ever had an opening weekend experience where everything
just goes flawlessly, no issues, Weather's great, bucks and Doze
are moving all over No forgetting phones. No, I mean
this year was as close as it could get, But
it was seventy five degrees and thirty mile an hour
(10:25):
winds and beautiful to be out in the woods, but man,
that wind was rough. We had similar stories. I saw
some weird things too. We saw we didn't see any
dose all weekend, and we saw two bucks that were
killed on Saturday night. Nice they could have looked like
(10:47):
they were twin brothers. But two different stands within ninety
seconds of each other in the last ten minutes. And
what had happened was? I thought to myself, Huh, it
got awfully quiet, no wind, right before the end of
legal shooting time, and within ninety seconds we had a
couple on the ground, but saw bachelor groups. I saw
(11:08):
a group of three this little button bucks together, which
I thought was kind of strange for this time of
the year. But all in all, it was great, and
it sounds like you had a wonderful season as well.
I saw that picture when you posted it with your
daughter Anna, and that one's a nice nice dear, my.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Friend, well, thank you. Yeah, he's a great buck.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
What's funny about that is our podcast is sponsored by
a taxidermist in Missouri, Phoenic Rivers Taxidermy, and part of
the deal is we get our head mounds taken care of.
So when I killed that buck, Lauren said, you know,
it's a good one, but we got to start getting
more selective on what we mount. We've only got so
much room in the shop. And now she's being a
(11:50):
little little picky there because I got plenty of room
in a thirty by forty garage and a thirty by
forty shop, so there's no slowing down on head mounts
for me. But she made her point clear, and I
was like, well, okay, you know, and I got to
the I got to the CWD check station and they
don't cut your deer to get into lymph nodes if
you're going to mount it. So by that time, she'd
(12:12):
convinced me to get a euro mount because all my
euromounts burned up in my cabin. I've replaced a couple
now and I'm starting to build back a euro wall.
And we do have maybe fifteen shoulder mounts or so,
and some Africa stuff, and I got the World Slam
a Turkey, so she's to give her credit. She does
have a point and the wall space, and I've got
(12:34):
a really nice mule deer a moose from Montana, A K. Buffalo,
but only one white tail euro mounted, so I was like,
you know what, this one will be great because he's
so massive, he's not that wide.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
It'll make it look bigger.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
So she'd convinced me by the time I got to
the CWD check station and I pull in and they're like, oh, man,
you're mounting that one, right, And I was like yeah,
And then then I left to go to the so
they didn't cut it. And I got to the CWD,
went there to the to the deer processor, and I
had reconvinced myself to just get a year amount so
I didn't have to pay for the caping, which I
would normally do myself. And I got there and they're like, ooh,
(13:09):
you need that one cape for them out, don't you.
And I was like, yeah, I do, so mine's going
on the wall. And now fast forward to the following
weekend when she killed hers, and immediately the joke started
coming like, Hey, Lauren, I just don't think there's a
room in your guys's house anymore.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
You know, we don't think there's any more room for
a head mount.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
So it's a long story short. We had We had
a great time. We had a great season. But man,
that just opens up a whole nother conversation, like you
just said on how much deer hunting has changed and
how much social media has changed deer hunting. Brian, I
go back to my first youth license in Indiana. I
(13:50):
think I was it was nineteen ninety, maybe nineteen eighty nine.
I have one from nineteen ninety that I have in
my possession. Seven bucks gave you everything, you know. There
were no turkeys at the time in my part of
the world, Northwest Indiana, but it was deer ducks. Everything
you could do for seven dollars, and it took I
didn't kill my first deer until I finally had a
(14:11):
dough tag when I was fourteen, killed a deer with
a side hammer hawkin fifty calimber, you know, and got
it done. And that was like the greatest thing I
ever did in my life. Was fourteen years old, out
on my own down by Rose Lawn, killed this deer.
And today, you know, it's like if you're not there's
(14:32):
like a segment that if you're not killing you know,
one hundred and fifty.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
In buck, like what are you doing in the woods?
Speaker 4 (14:39):
And I've watched these silos grow to the point where
I had a guy actually text me this morning. He's
a good friend. He is the most accomplished hunter I've
ever met. I mean it's his trophy room. He's a
wealthy guy, but he's he earned it all himself. I
mean he grew up dirt poor, didn't have indoor plumbing
in his youth. I mean, dirt poor grew up, made
his way. Now he's lions and elephants and fifty bucks
(15:03):
over one hundred and fifty inches. And he is so
frustrated with like the game management because in Missouri we
can still kill bucks during the rout with rifle. You know,
he hates crossbows in the bow season and one hundred
percent for him, it comes down to we're not managing
for the greatest trophy potential of white tails. And he
(15:24):
made this post about a guy that killed like a
two hundred and seventy inch non typical deer up in Aisle,
and he's like, see what Missouri could be. And it
turned into this like online battle of this. I know
this guy he hunts three thousand and eight He owns
and hunts three thousand acres by himself, and and some
people are like you know that's my dream, and like
(15:45):
it just makes my heart sink because because I worked
for a guy like that, you know, and he was
generous to an extent, but mostly if there was a
financial outcome at the end, you know, like killed with
somebody on his property if they're gonna cut a million
dollar deal. But the guys that are there, like sweat
and toiling on the daily weren't getting permission. And it's like,
that's great, you got three grant, three thousand acres to hunt,
(16:05):
and good for you that you killed a two hundred
and seventy inch buck, but.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
You kind of bought it.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
And I would much rather see ten people kill a
buck or a dough or a deer whatever, then I'd
rather see one guy kill a two seventy I agree.
And you've got these two. You've got all kinds of
different silos.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Now.
Speaker 5 (16:26):
You got the.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
Crossbow hunters, you got the compound hunters, you got the trad.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Bow guys, you got rifle guys.
Speaker 4 (16:31):
You got to move the gun season out of the
ruck guys. You got the extended gun season two more weeks, guys.
And everybody can find a place on social media where
others agree with them.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Well, just as if you ask a deer hunter, ask
that you're going to get two hundred and fifty thousand
different opinions for the number one.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
Else they're all convinced that they're right and everybody else
is wrong. You know, at the end of the day,
at the end of the day, you have to remember
that hunting, aside from being this incredible tradition and aside
from being this incredible pastime, it's a concert tool. Like
we as humans have come on to this landscape and completely.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
Manipulated it and made it our own.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
And you can go back to the Bible as to
why that is, or you can just look and right, wow,
like you can look at you know.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Biology as to why why don't we do this?
Speaker 1 (17:15):
The reason why don't we do this? Because I love
this conversation, but duty calls, Let's save this conversation for
the next time we talk after the first of the year.
How's that? I love this?
Speaker 6 (17:27):
All right?
Speaker 1 (17:27):
My friend?
Speaker 3 (17:28):
It up real quick.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Keep in mind that hunting is personal. Do what you do,
enjoy what you do, and ethically follow the rules.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
No more better way to end, my friend, Merry Christmas
to you. We'll be back after the first of the year.
We're going to continue this conversation. Thanks for being with us,
my friend. Thank you all good it's the Indiana Outdoor Show.
We're going to be back right after this Indian Outdoors.
(18:07):
What a beautiful time of the year. It is my
throlle privilege. As we are approaching the turn of a
new year, it's hard to believe where in the world
did the time go. Of course, we're brought to you
by our good friends at Indiana Donor Network Driven to
Save Lives dot org and you can sign up to
(18:29):
be an organ and tissue donor very easily when you
go buy your hunting and fishing license. Everybody needs to
have a hunting and fishing license. No better place to
spend your money. But speaking of places to spend your money,
if you're looking for some great gifts, as I mentioned
at the top of the hour, one of my favorite people,
one of my favorite subjects, is to talk about Outdoor
(18:53):
Indiana magazine. Marty Benson is the editor. It's great to
have you back, Marty with our department a natural sources.
Busy time of the year for you, I know and
all the people over in the communications department, but you know,
one of the things. Just as recently as yesterday had
a conversation about Outdoor Indiana magazine when they were saying,
(19:14):
I don't know what to get to somebody, and I said, well,
they got gift packs and blah blah blah. And the
conversation is a very easy one to have, Marty, when
you talk about Outdoor Indiana, because it's such a great,
great gift that keeps on giving all your loans. So
thanks very much for being here. Have you been what
have you been up to?
Speaker 6 (19:35):
Well?
Speaker 5 (19:36):
Usual, We just recently sent the winter issue of Outdoor
Indiana to the printer. We've got on the cover a
John Maxwell beautiful photo of the northern lights above Indiana
Dunes State Park, which is eye catching, many different colors
(19:58):
in the sky there, along with some activity going on
along the beach at Indiana done State Park. That will
be one of the features in our calendar, which is
included in that issue.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
I was going to say that highlight this is the
calendar time of year.
Speaker 5 (20:22):
It certainly is, and that's the time for us to
highlight our outstanding two photographers, John being one of them,
and Brent Drinkett being our photo editor. And there's a
page through this there are some outstanding photos of goldfinch
(20:43):
taking a bath, which is a kind of an eye
catching cover of our calendar. We've got a spring mill
in in a little wintry scene for January. We've got
some sand hill cranes, We've got fire tower, all sorts
(21:05):
of cool things, and a lot of drone photography from
friend Drinkett, who is our drone specialist. And we try
to make these obviously seasonal for each month. And I
think we've come out mixing snow with sunshine and different
(21:27):
colors and different areas of the state that people will
want to visit, or at least we hope that the
calendar will encourage them to visit.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Well, you do such a great job, and you sold
it so well, because is there any better photographers anywhere
that takes out door photography? If there isn't. If there is,
I don't know about them. And we've got two of
them at Outdoor Indiana magazine that provides so many beautiful photographs,
award winning on so many levels, including the magazine itself.
(22:00):
I mean, it's the gift that keeps on giving throughout
the year. I can tell you it stays out on
my coffee table at home, and people always pick it
up because it is so captivating. But tell us about
how many times a year we talked about the calendar
kind of a bonus gift within a gift. But how
can people get the magazine and subscribe? It's of course
(22:20):
part of a gift pack that you can get through
our department a Natural resources. But tell us how and
how we do all this.
Speaker 5 (22:30):
Well, the talent the magazine comes out four times a
year to match the seasons.
Speaker 6 (22:39):
The best way to get it.
Speaker 5 (22:41):
Bundling is the keyword for Christmas, I guess and many
other promotions, and as you mentioned, the gift card or
gift pack for holidays is a great way to do that.
You can get that gift pack at Shopnstate Parks dot com. Again,
that's shop I Nstateparks dot com. That's one way to
(23:08):
get it. Another if you are interested in only the
magazine and we're happy to sell you that.
Speaker 6 (23:15):
If that's what you want, you.
Speaker 5 (23:17):
Can just call our own Amy Geyer at three one
seven two three three three zero four six or subscribe
online at outdoor Indiana dot org. And that's just fifteen
dollars for the entire year.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
I don't know, I don't know better. Fifteen dollars that
could cost you that much to go to Starbucks.
Speaker 6 (23:45):
That's right.
Speaker 5 (23:46):
You must be getting a different order than I get. Well,
let me just say fifteen dollars Starbucks.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
It's been a minute. I haven't been there in a minute,
but I hope you I know people that have their
issues with Starbucks, and they're very defensively.
Speaker 6 (23:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Anyway, So i'd love the fact. You know, we've highlighted
already the wonderful outdoor photography, and that's the thing that
does strike. But I always learned something. I've been doing
Indiana outdoors in this studio for well what will be
our twenty eighth year and next year, and I learned
(24:21):
something all the time, and it's something that you can
easily kind of read through, and it's a go to
and it's kind of timeless. You know, it doesn't really matter.
I know, you try to make them seasonal for what's
going ahead, and it requires a lot of effort and planning,
but they just stay out and you can pick one
up from a year ago and it's still as pertinent
as is today.
Speaker 5 (24:41):
That is definitely the case. A couple of interesting things
we have the new issue that's coming out soon is
in our News and Notes section.
Speaker 6 (24:51):
We've got two.
Speaker 5 (24:53):
Two record holders, if you will, in Indiana, one of
which is the nation's largest swamp chestnut oak tree, which
is on private property just outside of Cruggersville. So that's
one one interesting thing. And then also on private property,
(25:19):
we've got the sunflower world record holder for tallest sunflower.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
Well we covered that for a yeah, boy, you have that.
Alex was on my show many many times over the years,
and I have been following that from afar. But what
an accomplishment. And you know, not only did he grow
the big tall sunflowers to create the world record, but
(25:44):
have you seen what he puts in his garden, like
his beats and other things. I mean those things are
the size of like basketballs. I don't know what he's
got going on up in the soil up there, but
what a great thing to cover.
Speaker 5 (25:55):
He's a very interesting dude, no question about it.
Speaker 6 (25:58):
Well I have not seen though.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
He's quite He takes it very seriously and I know
it's in all your labor of love. So again, Marty,
it's always great to visit with you. Outdoor Indiana Magazine
Award winning Order it now and you get the calendar
for twenty twenty six. It's a great gift. Fifteen bucks.
My gosh, it's pocket change and you can get the
(26:21):
six issues plus the calendar. Marty, it's always great to
visit with you keep.
Speaker 6 (26:24):
A pack that would be for. It's for for, it's four.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
At four, six two, it doesn't matter, it's great and
you just want them all year long. So Marty as
thank you for all your help for Indiana with Indiana Outdoors,
helping with arranging so many guests, as well as your
duties as the editor of Outdoor Indiana. We appreciate you
as always and have a wonderful merry Christmas season here.
We'll talk to you probably after the first of the year.
Speaker 6 (26:48):
How's that sounds good?
Speaker 5 (26:51):
Same to you and to all your listeners.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Marty. Always great to visit with you our friends at
Outdoor Indiana Magazine. Fifteen bucks. Come on, great gift. It
is the Indian I'm the Outdoor show and I am
your host, Brian Pointer. Don't think about going anywhere. We're
going to be back right after.
Speaker 6 (27:04):
This and.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Indian Outdoors rolls on. What a great show. Many many
thanks to our good friend Brandon Butler, it's been a
while since we caught up with him, and of course
the award winning Outdoor Indiana magazine. But it wouldn't be
one of my it wouldn't be an Indian outdoor show
unless I talk to our good friends in Green our
friends in the Law Enforcement Division. Captain Jack Quillen joins me. Captain,
(27:44):
it's been a wonderful year. I can't thank you for
all of your contributions. But I'm going to turn to
a matter that I know is near and dear to
everybody's heart, and that is we had to blast of
that cold where a lot of things got icy and
people were getting a little excited, and then it gets
to warm again. That's just the nature of Indiana's weather.
But ice safety is paramount for people to understand. And
(28:07):
I know you've been preaching this, So what's your message.
Speaker 7 (28:10):
Yeah, it's always unpredictable here in Indiana. It seems like
every year we try to get this message out kind
of coinciding with that first cold burst, and it seems
like it changes every year. But this year we've seen
it come in Northern Indiana. Waterways are already seeing ice.
We've already actually had a one ice fatality where someone
(28:30):
felt the the ice in northern Indiana. So it's really
getting this message out there and reminding people the dangers
of waterways that have ice on them.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
You know, as I'm going to steal one of your lines,
I steal many of them when you originally got me on.
You're not out to steal anybody's fun pie. I use
that all the time. But no ice is safe ice.
Ice has petrified me. And I didn't have any incidences,
I don't have any trauma, but there's just something sketchy
to me about ice. So I'm real, real hesitant. And
(29:02):
yet I know ice fishing is a great thing to
do this time of year, snowmobiling. The poor gentleman that
I read about in the news was out trying to,
you know, save his dog who fell through the ice,
and he lost his life. I mean, it's just a mess.
So I know this message is one worth repeating because,
as you say, no ice is safe ice, but what
(29:24):
is generally acceptable?
Speaker 7 (29:26):
Yeah, So we want everybody to kind of remember and
realize that if you don't know the thickness of the ice,
do not go out on it. If you're going to
check the ice and check it safely. We recommend four
inches would be considered safe ice for someone to walk
out on, so you know, if you're going to do that,
(29:46):
make sure you're wearing your life jacket or your float coat.
There's a lot of tools out there to make sure
that you can enjoy ice in a safe way. I mean,
we want to make sure everybody's taking all those proper precautions.
But you know, checking the ice and looking for at
least four inches if you're around the bottle.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
On the ice always a good advice. And I know
that the officers this time of the year, there are
a lot of folks still in the woods. We've got
a lot of hunting opportunities. Fishing where there is open
water is great. We've gotten some reports from up north,
et cetera, and a lot of outdoor activities still to
(30:22):
be had. And tree stands safety is still a concern.
The ice, the weather, blah blah blah.
Speaker 7 (30:30):
Yeah, yeah, just because this cold weather comes in, it
doesn't stop outdoors. So our officers are out there, they're
they're they're making sure they's doing things a safe way.
But yeah, the tree stand safety is another big one
we try to hit on just because it's all these
these these injuries and deaths we see related to tree
(30:51):
stand accidents are are preventable if we wear our full
body these safety harnesses when we go up and come
down and while we're in the stands, they should never
come off. And if we practice that, you know, religiously,
we will see a drastic decrease in these type of
injuries and death.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
You know, accidents happen. Nobody ever goes out for anything
and say, oh, today's the day we're going to have
a car wreck. Today's the day I'm going to fall
out of my tree. It happens. I fell out of
a tree probably twenty years ago, and it was one
of the old homemade you climb up the tree stakes
and you have a platform that you'd built up there,
and it was slick and my rubber boots and fell
(31:32):
about fourteen feet and I'm still here to tell about it.
But there's so many stories of people that didn't have
the same fate. And since that day, I don't get
up in trees anymore. But I absolutely understand, and I
preach this at my own deer camp with my friends,
and most of them get it without any sort of nudging.
Put the safety harness on. It's a lot different than
(31:54):
it used to be when I started hunting forty years ago.
These are you know, doesn't take much to get used
to them. They're comfortable, and I know you'd agree with that.
Speaker 7 (32:02):
Yeah, absolutely, they they they've came a long way in
development of these harnesses, and we luckily we've seen a
little bit less of the the homemade stands, and because
you know, tree stands are getting to be more affordable,
we see the the the manufactured stands are just a
better quality and have safety beachures built into them. So, uh,
(32:22):
you know, everything is progressing in the right way. We
just need to make sure that that everybody's remembering that
when they go out in the field.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
What else is top of mind for law enforcement these
days as we look into the new year.
Speaker 7 (32:33):
Yeah, well, tip is always a big thing for us.
You know, our our hunters and even our non hunters
are are our eyes and ears out there in the field.
So if if anyone hears or sees anything that just
doesn't look right or just strikes them wrong, you know,
call our one hundred tip ID in our hotline, give
provide that information. We will dispatch that out to our officers.
(32:55):
To look into. And you know, we we we are
all responsible for maintaining and managing our natural resources and
we just want to encourage our citizens here in Indiana
to be involved in that. And you're even eligible for
a five hundred dollars reward if that leads to an
arrest or you can remain anonymous. So it's a win
win for everybody. And it's just a great way to
(33:17):
be involved.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
It sure is. And you know, I think people sometimes
have this mystery that well, I don't really know, I
shouldn't get involved. And this is and can be an
anonymous call. But you never know when that tip in
every sense of the image of the word, is meant
that it could be that one thing that that officer's
been waiting. And let them go out and do their work.
(33:39):
So don't be intimidated. Everybody's got their phone. One eight
hundred tip ID in R put it in your phone
and that way you have it and you just let
them do their work.
Speaker 7 (33:48):
And yeah, and what we do see in some instances
where where officers are already you know, kind of working
a case and they just need that last bit of
information that can help them. Really you'll get deeper into
that case or make a case on something, and you
know that little short of evidence that you might have
or information can go a long way.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
Captain, It's been a wonderful year. We appreciate all your contributions.
Your contract was renewed for next year, so you're in
for next year and we look forward to chat and
as always after the first and have a Merry Christmas,
my friend. It is the Indiana Outdoor Show. I your host,
Brian Pointer. We're brought to you by Indiana Donor Network,
Driven to Save Lives dot org. Don't go anywhere. We're
(34:29):
gonna wrap it up when we return right after this.
(34:50):
Days like today make the Indiana Outdoor Show fun for
me and hopefully for you too. It is a beautiful
time of the year. I love the cold weather, I
love all the winter activities. So much hunting, so much fishing.
So many things to talk about at this time of
the year. And before long, heck, we're going to be
talking about the upcoming forward boat, Sport and Travel show.
(35:13):
We got the all the show season, if you will,
in the first quarter of next year. We got a
lot to look forward to, but many, many thanks to
all the contributors that have made Indiana Outdoors a success
this year. We rely on folks like Marty Benson, who
is the editor of Outdoor Indiana magazine. Fifteen bucks gets
you four great issues and it is worth every penny
(35:37):
for stocking stuffer or a well meaning gift for somebody
who is anything to do with the outdoors. Appreciate him
as always. He behind the scenes throughout the months helps
me with arranging different specialty guests that are making Indiana
Outdoors so pertinent. Brandon Butler, as usual, didn't disappoint, always
(36:01):
giving us great stories and he's got some well thought
out ideas. We're gonna have to ferret those out. The
argument about trophy hunting versus management, et cetera. It's a
classic age old story. I love our conversations, love his
contributions as well as Captain Jet Quillen with our Law
Enforcement division and he too throughout the year, and all
(36:25):
of our conservation officers who come on Indiana Outdoors mean
so much to carry the message today ice safety we
know it to be. Yeah, it's just that time of
the year. It's be careful. I'm not the best person
to talk about ice because I'm petrified of it, but
I know So many people enjoy the fall, the winter,
(36:48):
good ice, so theyn get out and do some bang
up ice fishing. We're going to bring it all here.
It's the Indiana Outdoor Show. As we say each and
every week, remember turn in a post sure one eight
hundred tip I D n R and we will be
back next week. Look forward to it. Be safer by
outside
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