September 9, 2025 • 37 mins
We look ahead to the 2025 Fall Boat, Sport & Travel Show, plus: Armadillos in Indiana.
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Speaker 1 (00:29):
It is Indiana Outdoor Time. You know that because of
the catchy tune. Gosh. I love that makes me happy
to be here in the Indiana Outdoor Studio each and
every week and we have an interesting show. Interesting why,
mister Pointer, do you say that as host of Indiana Outdoors,
have you ever seen an armadillo in the state of
(00:50):
Indiana and armadilla I haven't even seen one where I
think they live, like in the south and Southwest. Yeah,
we're gonna find out. We've had several hundred sightings and
we have some armadillas living in the state of Indiana.
This has come up. We've talked about this before, but
this is kind of an interesting dynamic. Something got picked
(01:13):
up and people are starting to post these sightings. So
we're going to visit with Brad Westerritz. Now, Brad one
of my favorite people because he is our non game
mammalogist in the state. He works with all the critters
that we don't hunt, and for many months, many almost
two years, we were talking about potential black bears in
(01:34):
the state of Indiana and that falls under his guide
and I don't think he ever planned on being the
bear biologists, but I love that now is the Armadilla Wrangler.
We're going to talk to Brad about. I think it's
fantastic these critters expanding in their territory now, kind of
getting hit by cars and all that kind of good stuff.
(01:54):
We're going to find out what that means. Brent Wheat
always one of my favorites, the editor of Guns Magazine,
and I always am afraid to ask him what he's
been up to because he is sitting high atop the
throne of the gun industry. But not only that, he's
an award winning outdoor writer and just a darn good
guy to be here on Indiana Outdoors with us regularly,
(02:15):
So I don't want to take any time from all
of these folks. I hope you're as excited as I am.
It's the Indiana Outdoor Show, brought to you by Indiana
Donor Network driven Tuesday Lives dot Org. Don't go anywhere
back right after this in Indiana Outdoors. What a beautiful
(02:43):
time of the year. Every time, it's a beautiful time
of the year if you are in Indiana, and when
you look ato the fall, there's so many great traditions
and so many things. Much like the spring, you have
the Ford Boat Sport and Travel Show, which highlight of
everyone's winter. You also have the Fall RV Show, and
(03:07):
our good friends at Indiana Donor Network Driven two Save
Lives dot Org make this show possible and we appreciate
them for all that they do. And no better person
to talk about the FALLRV Show than our good friends
at Renfro Productions. Mitch Renfro always great to visit with
you and your family. There's no rest for the wicked.
(03:28):
You guys have this time of the year where you're
kind of round in the corner, you're peeking over the
edge and you're looking into a Cincinnati Boat Sport and
Travel show. You got the Ford Boat Sport and Travel
Show here in Indianapolis, but before that, you got some
business to take care of. Mitch Renfro Renfro Productions, Fall
RV Show, How you doing? It'd be helpful. It would
(03:50):
be helpful if I turned your voice up. So I'm sorry,
how are you doing, Mitch?
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Oh, I'm doing great, Brian, Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
I love it. At the end of the conversation, we
have not visited in a minute at least since the
last of the Ford Boat, Sport and Travel show. But
what do you guys do in the off season. I mean,
I know you don't have an off season, but February
have a big concentration of time your staff on overdrive.
What do you do between March and the rest of
(04:17):
the year.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Yeah, so that's a great question. A lot of people
ask that. And Real Quick is a fall boat and
r V show, So we'll have boats and r v's
in our fall show, and that's kind of like that
kind of leads into you know, during the summer, that's
the show we start kind of working on. I mean,
we definitely have some downtime in March and April May
where we spend a lot of time traveling and doing
all the things that actually our show is all about,
(04:39):
which is about beat outdoors. You know, my family and
I we do a lot of camping. We know, spring
Turkey season, spent a lot of time outdoors doing that.
So we get to do a lot of the things
that we love to do that the show is a
part of. And then you know, as the summer kind
of goes on, we start getting It's like I always
kind of use snowball. The snowball starts rolling down the
hill and gets bigger and bigger every day with things
(05:00):
to do and getting the shows ready for the next season.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
You know, I've had a peek behind the curtain working
with you and all your staff for several years at
the Boatsport and Travel Show. And for those that think
that they're just kind of open the doors and let
people move in is furthest thing from the truth. These
shows take and all your plan and preparation. Think of
(05:24):
it like planning the biggest event of your life and
then doing it again and again and again in multiple cities.
And that's what you guys do. But this fall r
V show is a great opportunity for Hoosiers to get
in there. I know, I know, we've been talking about
this for years, but the pandemic really sparked everybody's interest
(05:45):
in the RV business and we couldn't find them. Then
with things have kind of you know equilibrium so to speak.
What are the dealers saying, what's the market like?
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Yeah, so you know it's the RVs are still red hot,
and I think, you know, part of that was because
of the pandemic. Can introduce people to the camping world
where it's something very affordable for families to get into
you know far as, Like you know, maintenance isn't as
high when you don't have to pay for you know,
boat lands every time. And obviously when you're camping you
have you know, your fees for the campground and everything.
(06:15):
But once you're there, you're there. It's more accessible for
people typically and like I said, a little bit more
cost effective than a boat. So we've been seeing that
growth still going. Boats are still popular, you know, fiberglasses,
you know, tougher every year because people are finding the
pontoons are what everyone wants because you can take kids tubing,
you can ski behind it, and you can still take
(06:37):
the you know, everyone else out for the cocktail crews
at the end of the day. So they're all doing
great and I think, you know, it's great to see
people outdoors. But yeah, RVs are definitely still red hot
right now. And that's what makes the Fall Show so
great is it's the deal the of the year because
dealers are trying to get you know, their last of
the year inventory out the door so they have room
(06:58):
for their you know, only twenty six is coming in,
so they're going to be there willing to make deals
to get those RVs and those units moved. So if
you're serious or even considering buying a boat and RV,
it sounds weird, but September is the best time to buy.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
September is just a great month. You know it could be.
I've already read the Farmer's Almanac says it could potentially
use snow in September, So I'm all for that. You
and I both like to hunt. I've been up in
the tree stands on opening day of archery season in October.
Could have I've been snowed on in my tree. I
think this transition from early fall through the hunting seasons
(07:32):
is no better time to get out and experience great
Indiana outdoors. And I know a lot of people go
to our state parks and properties which have never looked better.
But this is the time of the year. Are there deals,
are their incentives? People don't realize that a lot of
these manufacturers are right here in Indiana. I'm just kind
of curious what the impact is.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Absolutely, And that's kind of as I was hitting on.
It is like that in September they have incentive to
move these units because again they want to get them
off their lot make room for the twenty twenty sixty
units that haven't come out yet, but our coming. So
they're there to make deals. And what's great about September two,
and you kind of hit on is Yeah, it's turned
a little bit cool, but you can still buy the
RV and have a couple more months to go out
(08:11):
and use it in comfortable weather. It's not like you're
just buying it to store it. You'll have plenty of
time to still take it out this year. So now
only are you getting the best deal, but you're also
being able to take it out and use it this year.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
So well, we live in Indiana, we all know that
it could be sixty five degrees in December. So I
wasn't meant to say that it's the end of the season.
It's the best part of the camping season because of
all the reasons that you just recommended. So this is
the big show opens this weekend. Give us some deets
about what people need to know to get tickets and
(08:41):
what to be prepared for and how to prepare for
coming to this show because it's a little different than
just a recreational show. How do people how do you
recommend people come prepared?
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Yeah, you know, be ready to just and shop. I mean,
and for us, it's you know, it's a week and
unlike our spring show, it's just one weekend, so it's Friday, Saturday, Sunday,
so you know, there's a little bit more of a
time to strain. So if they're coming to make a
deal or coming to be serious, it's like, you know,
it's that's why. And these dealers know that, you know,
they don't have two weekends to convince you to come back.
(09:10):
It's like they've got to be ready and you've got
to be ready to pull the trigger. And uh, what's
great about too is you know this year, and like
last year, we moved to a different building where we
now have a c in it. So it's a very
comfortable building to be in because, like you said, Indiana
could be temperamental. It could either be snowing or it
could be ninety degrees in September. So with our new
building that we're using, it's air conditioned or you know,
(09:33):
depending on what the weekend is, but either way, it's
gonna be comfortable. We're open at ten am each day
and close at eight pm, except Sunday we close at five,
so you have a full day Friday Saturday and you
know most of day Sunday to come out and uh,
I mean, we have a great selection of both both
on r vs at this show. So it's a fun
one to bring out to the family. And it's it's
(09:53):
a cheap ticket too, So the best place to get
tickets is on our website at Indi Sports show dot com.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Well, you guys have served, he mastered the practice of
uh in the art of putting on these great shows.
How about looking ahead a little bit because you've got
to follow our v show. But UH for our neighbors
over in Ohio, Cincinnati back on track, give us some
deats and give us some ideas about the excitement level
for having that show back up and running.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Oh yeah, so that's a super exciting to be back.
And some people might be listening to know this that
the Convention Center was closed down last year, so we
weren't able to have our Votsporn Travel Show in twenty
twenty five, So now bring it back. We're going to
be the second event in the new renovated building. So
that's gonna be a fun thing that for everyone to
come and check out. See what you know, Cincinnati's done
(10:41):
with their convention Center.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
It looks beautiful.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
We've gone out a couple of times to check on it,
and every time we go there, it just looks better
and better. So we're super excited about being in a
new building. It's going to be clean, it's going to
have new features. It's just gonna be a really cool
place to be. On top of you know what, people
missed the show when it's gone for a year, and
we've got a lot of exciting things you know that
we're bringing into the show to add to it. We're
(11:03):
going to have more RVs than ever. All the boats
are going to be there. Of course, we've got Twiggy
to war see his quarrels. Obviously, yes, with everyone knows
that's the anchor, right, everyone comes to see this squall.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
We know that I interviewed Twiggy at the Boat Sport
and Travel show. It's it's memorialized somewhere on your indie
sports show pages. We had Twiggy and I believe it
was your sister who was playing the part of Twiggy
behind the curtains in our makeshift interview. But Twiggy pooped
on my shoulder, so I was not very happy.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
With Twiggy, I've heard that's actually a way a show
of affection.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Oh, just go ahead and get poop on your guy.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
You to get Yeah, and so the fact that you
got pooped on, man, that's I would have kept that
if I was you.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Well, Twiggy is we did have fun with that, the
fun that you have when you're on live Internet TV
or whatever we were doing. We had so much fun
with that, and I know he is a big draw
as we look around on the corner after that, then
you're coming back to Indianapolis. What year? Is this? A
great deal of pride goes into making this a big
(12:06):
event for the winner.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Yeah, absolutely, So this for Indie Show will be in
our seventy first year for the Bosporn Travel Show, our
thirty first year for our Motorcycle in Power Sports Expo,
and then the twenty eighth year for Indiana Deer Turkey
Waterfole Expo. So all the double digits all really, you know, we,
like you said, we take a lot of pride in
the fact that we've been around this long, and we
(12:27):
don't take that for granted. We work really hard at
making sure every show is just as good as the last.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Well you do indeed, and I've always said this here
the third generation of leadership that has taken this show
to really national heights. There's no other show like this,
and every year it always amazes me how you create
new shows within shows. You talk about the Motorcycle Expo
took a hiatus for a while, but it's back and furious,
(12:54):
and now you have all these new facilities out there.
That has to be like being a kid in a
candy store.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Yeah, you know, And I'm glad you brought up the
motorcycle being back because you know, last year we did
bring it back after being on hiatus, and the biggest
complaint we got was it wasn't big enough, and it
was because, you know, bringing a show back takes a
little bit of building time. But we heard that and
we've actually moved the Motorcycle Expo to another building, so
we are going to be double this square footage than
(13:19):
we were last year. So not only is it we
got it brought back, you know, last year, but now
we're doubling it, bringing it back to what it was
before the hiatus, even bigger than it was before the hiatus.
Were really excited about that show growing. It's a fan favorite.
It's all eight days, not just one weekend. We're going
to have trial bikes, We're going to have all sorts
of ATV side by sides. If you're in that industry
(13:42):
or you like to ride, there's gonna be something there
for you that's gonna be fun for the whole family. No.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
I remember when the first weekend was the the uh
Motorbike Show or the Power Sports Show, and then the
other weekend was the Deer Turkey Waterfowl and both of
those shows within shows standing room only. And it doesn't
surprise me because that the crowd that comes to that
are some of the most loyal. They love to come
(14:09):
down and see the new stuff and make deals, just
like the folks that like to hunt and fish and
RVs and camp and everything else. So that's a really
exciting addition. I can't believe that it's year seventy one already,
and we've already talked many times over the years about
your family's history and legacy. But you've got to be
very prideful in the fact that this is your baby
(14:29):
now moving forward in conjunction with not that your dad's
not there. But I'm sure you've got a different vision
and a different mindset going forward that's going to even
make this better and better.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Absolutely, my dad's given me the tools that have that
kind of vision, and he's it's been great about working.
You know, everyone who's in a family business knows that
sometimes it's not easy. But what's been great about my
dad and I working together is he's given me all
the tools to you know, have my own vision, and
he's let me kind of make those decisions as we've
as I've gotten more and I think there are things
(15:01):
that I think about as a younger person that he
sees the value in that and we run with it.
So that's what helps keep it fresh and it's exciting.
But I'm definitely ready for him to retire.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
You know, well, we already got rid of your uncle Mark,
so he's retired, so maybe he's on the way out.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
One one more we go.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
And now you've got the fourth generation on the way
already number one, you got a number two. Just like
producing these great, big shows, it's not like throwing in
a new a family member and a new addition and
a young family growing. Congratulations to you and your wife.
That's got adelaier complexity.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Oh yeah, you know it's my daughter's middle name is Maxine,
which is my grandma, and my grandma ran the show
for many years after my grandpa died and my dad
was too young, so, you know, being able to kind
of give that, you know, name where Maxine's heard on
the hallways again at the State Fairgrounds something I take.
You know, it was a big heartfelt moment. I got
(15:57):
to tell my dad that. And it's special to me
because this show and the reason why we live the
way we do is because of these shows, and they
mean the world to us. So and it is a
family thing. And again like just not forgetting that and
holding onto that's important and it's fun, man, And I
can't wait to watch my little kid grow up like
I did, running around the show, most likely causing trouble,
(16:17):
but eventually maybe we'll come around and be part of
the show as well.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
You're going to have to get her a tricked out
golf cart for her escorted visits, because I'm sure she's
going to be a favorite. Hey, very quickly go back
through the timeframes. This upcoming weekend is the Fall RV
and Boat Show. Give us how people can get tickets
and where they go to get the information on who's
going to be there.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Yep, absolutely so just go to Indie spots show dot com.
That's easy. That's our landing page. You'll see all of
our shows there. The Fall Show will be on there
where you'll have the buttons for buy tickets online. Buying
online does help, It just makes it easier.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
When you get there. There's no line.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
You just go right to the ticket person and they'll.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Scan you in.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
So that's definitely the best way. It's you know, it's
Friday through Sunday. We're excited. So Friday we kick off
at ten am and go to eight pm, Saturday ten
to eight as well, and Sundays ten to five and
hopefully you know whether will work for us and he'll
be nice.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
It's a lot more predictable than it is in the
winter time. We all know that. Listen, Mitch Renfro Productions.
Great to visit with you fall ourv and boat show
this weekend. Get nice preview coming around the corner. Something
to look forward to. We got a lot to deal
with between now and then, but as always, appreciate your
time on Indian Outdoor as always an open phone and
we look forward to talking to you again real soon
(17:32):
this fall. Good luck if I don't talk to you
when you get out and hunt this fall.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Hy Brian appreciate it. Always a pleasure being on here
and look forward to our next one.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Indeed, Mitch Renfo Renfo Production some of my favorite people.
It is the Indiana Outdoor Show. I am your host,
Brian Pointer. Don't go anywhere. We're brought to you by
Indiana Donor Network Driven two Saved Lives Dot Org back
right after this and Indian Outdoors rolls on. It's a
(18:12):
beautiful time in mid September. All is good and for
that I am very grateful that you are joining us.
We couldn't do this without all of our affiliates to
carry Indiana Outdoors, and we couldn't do it without our sponsors,
Indiana Donor Network Driven to Save Lives. That's the number
two sign up to be an organ and tissue donor
(18:34):
when you buy your hunting and fishing license. It couldn't
be any easier. Well, as I'm going to do this,
this is a bad pun If you've lived under a
rock or you've lived in a shell, you probably have
heard that Armadillo's Armadella's are back in the news and
(18:54):
I love this. Joining me is Brad Westrich and Brad
is our non game mammal. Just you might know him
as our bear specialist. He's now our armadillo specialist. What
in the world, Brad. I've had more people say we
don't have armadillos in the state because they know what
I do, and I'm like, yeah, we do. Well, they're back.
They're back in the news. What's happening?
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Tell us more, Well, they're back in the news.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
They've been in Indiana for about twenty years now, but
they're back in the news right now because a collaborator
of ours working at the US Geological Survey was able
to publish some pretty cool information that sort of just
compiled an update on how far the armadillo has spread,
not only in Indiana but across the Midwest. So they
(19:40):
got that published, they uploaded on their USGS web page,
and that sort of sparked this. Someone picks it up
and said, wait, armadilla is in Indiana, and it got
the conversation rolling again.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
I love it. Now. The armadillo is a very unique creature,
and we know this from southern part of the United States,
and you've explained here in the past that there's no
reason that they couldn't live here except for the cold
weather and are changing of the seasons. I suppose you
might say, but can they thrive here? Is this something
(20:13):
that's going to continue?
Speaker 4 (20:15):
I think so, Yeah. I believe that armados will be
able to thrive here. They're going to sort of settle
in and find, you know, their niche where they fit
in with competitors, so other insectivores that they're going to
be competing for with food resources, They're going to be
competing with like groundhogs for space and burrows. They're going
(20:35):
to be competing with, you know, some predators too. There's
going to be coyotes and bobcats that elite some of
these unlucky ones. Not many of them, but unlucky ones
for sure. And I think they're really their biggest threat
in Indiana is just going to be vehicular collisions, you know,
people hitting them on the highways. That's going to be
their biggest source of mortality.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
So someone right now is waking up and they're rubbing
their eyes and go, what in the hell is when
you're talking about armadillo's in the state of Indiana. But
this is something we've talked about, but they're back in
You've explained why, and are we talking hundreds dozens all
over the state. Give us an idea of where these
things are being seen and what our population looks like today.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
Yeah, that's that's a great question. So I'll start off
with where we've seen them. Thanks to reports from Hoosiers
and people visiting Indiana, you know, we have seen them
primarily in the southern half of the state. That's where
the majority of our reports come from, So from Indianapolis
to south and I'm talking Posey County all the way
over to Switzerland County now, but we've also received reports
(21:38):
all the way up in northern Indiana too, so areas
like Warren and Benton County, all the way up to
Porter and even Stuben County. So we're finding them all
over the state. They're following you know, highways because it's
easy to move along those habitats. It's grassy along those habitats,
so there's lots of bugs for them to eat. But
they're also moving along you know, rivers, creeks, lake moving
(22:00):
from wetland to wetland, and so it's sort of facilitating
their move across the state.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
How many we have out there.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
I don't think I have a good answer for that.
You know, with most wildlife surveys, we get an estimate
rather than a census on how many animals are out there.
But I can tell you that we've confirmed through citizen
reports that we've had over two hundred and twenty nine
confirmed armadillos in the state since two thousand and three.
But we've had more than three hundred reports come in
(22:29):
and a lot of those are duplicates, people reporting the
same armadillo on the highway.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
So they are very interesting, you know, antique type creature.
They're dinosaurish, and I think they're no different than any
of our other critters that we have here. And I
just love how mother nature is allowing them to expand
and that we have them here much like you know,
we and I talked for a couple of years there
where it seemed like there was a bear coming across
(22:56):
the Ohio or across the border every year or so.
We haven't had any bears lately, have we.
Speaker 4 (23:02):
We haven't had any bears lately. There was one that
came close this summer. I don't know if anyone saw
the news, but there was one that came very close
to Cincinnati just about a month ago in July. But no,
we haven't had any bears since twenty twenty one.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Well, i'm you know me, I'm a fan of this.
I want to make sure that we make room for
all of God's creatures. I happen to be a fan
of the bear. But the armadillo, So they eat bugs,
and they're going to have some competition. And what about
the weather. We get some pretty darn cold here in
the winter. Do they burrow?
Speaker 3 (23:34):
Yeah, so they live in their burrows.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
Obviously, if you've seen an armadillo, you might see that
they don't have much fur. But if you haven't seen one,
you know they have this shell on the outside of
their body. It's made up of just sort of thickened
skin that has embedded bony plates in it. That makes
up that carapace, that shell that protects them. And because
of that, they don't have a lot of fat or hair,
(23:57):
and their heat transfer is very quick to the environment.
So they need to live in their burrows to seek
shelter from extreme weather, and the cold is their biggest threat.
But I think what we're seeing over these past twenty years,
I mean armadillos are. Evidence of this is that we've
had warmer winters. The winters are becoming less extreme. So
(24:20):
even though it might be cold out, if the ground
isn't frozen solid for like two weeks straight, armadillos can survive.
There might not be a lot of bugs for them
to find, but they will eat what they have to
to get by, and that includes things like fun guy
that they might find, or even roots of plants.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Brad, I love this conversation with you. I love the
work that you do, and I know that your non
game biology hat has a very diverse set of circumstances,
from bears to armadillos. What else you've been working on.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
I've been working on Allegheny wood wraps and Franklin ground squirrels.
They're both staatened, injured mammals on opposite sides of the state,
and I've been working with partners in our region and
across the US to either translocate individuals or work on
captive breeding programs for them.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Well, we covered that, We're going to look forward to
that again at another time. Brad Westrich, thank you for
all the work that you do as a non game biologist.
The Armadillos are coming, and I love it and I
want to see one of these things in the wild
and I want to hear people talking about it. So
thanks for giving us the update. Appreciate you as always
always an open home, open phone here, my friend.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
I appreciate it, my pleasure, great conversation. It is the
Indian Outdoor Show. I your host, Brian Pointer. Don't think
about going anywhere. It's Indian Outdoor Show. So so happy
(25:56):
to be here with you guys today. And what a
great show we've had. We've already talked about Armadilla's. Yep.
Brad Westrich, he was with us, are non game homologist.
If he's not talking about bears, we're talking about Armadilla's
and of course the fall Boat and RV show coming up.
But we saved the best for last, and that's our
great friend Brent Wheat, the editor of Guns Magazine. Why
(26:16):
are you laughing? I know you're smiling right now. The
best for last. See, you said you'd play me twenty
bucks if I said something nice.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
Oh it wasn't twenty I thought it was like five.
But no, I'm also laughing because all my friends thought
I was crazy. I was southbound at the one thirty
eight mile marker and I sixty five and I looked
over and I said, that's a dead armadillo. I've seen
many of them, you know, over the years. Yeah, it was.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
I've never seen one. I've never seen one in the
wild out west or south and certainly not been here.
And you're right. We just we just chatted with Brad
Westrich and he said the number one reason they probably won't.
They he hopes that they will. There's no reason that
they won't. We've had mild winners. But he said car collisions.
(27:01):
He said, that'll be the one thing they can fend
off some predators and they can scrap for food amongst
all the other scavengers, and there's enough bugs for everybody.
But he said, the cars are what's going to get him.
And the same thing with the bobcats. You know, when
you start having bobcats getting hit by cars, you got
a problem in Samarias. Nonetheless, I digress. I love talking
(27:21):
to him because I was so excited when we had
these bears coming into Indiana dating back to two thousand
and one, and you know, one came across the Ohio River.
One came from the north. They laid here for a
little bit, got sick of us, no lady friends for
the big big young boars or young males, and they
moved on. But I asked him. He said, yeah, there
(27:43):
was one that almost got here over in the Cincinnati area.
So that's a new side of the front. But I
love it. Yeah, all right, Brent.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
And not to interrupt you, but we had a wolf too,
remember what well, yeah, it's been about ten years ago.
It was a young man.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
I do remember that.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
First, from like Minnesota. That's the big Yeah. The big
question was how did he get around Chicago? And he
was shot by a hunter. You thought it was a coyote,
and it turned out it was a full blooded and
documented wolf from up in like northern Wisconsin.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
I do remember this now. See I don't remember my
kid's birthdays, Brent, how are you supposed to remember ten
years ago? All right, we got some we got some
business to talk about. Because you are the editor of
Guns magazine. You said, hi atop the throne and anything new?
What's going out of Guns Magazine? The great podcast taking
off in so many ways, just wildly popular. What do
(28:40):
you got going?
Speaker 3 (28:41):
Oh, it would take the whole program to you all.
We've got going. But when we were talking, I was
thinking of a good topic to cover today. Is a
question I get every week, if not sometimes every day,
and it's real, it's real common. It's what's the best
handgun for concealed Carrie?
Speaker 1 (28:59):
And I know you're a concealed carrier, Brian, Yes, sir.
Speaker 3 (29:02):
Obviously I am. And I don't have to justify myself.
But if folks don't know me, I was a cop
for thirty years. I was on SWAT for I forget
sixteen seventeen years. By virtue of what I do. I
know most of the greatest shooters. I've trained with them
or under them, so I have some background in this.
I'm an adequate shooter. I don't claim to be great,
(29:24):
but I just hope folks understand that my advice isn't
just being picked out of a gun magazine or something
like that. But here's the simple answer.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
You you mean guns magazine the only source of this
type of question exactly.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
And we pride ourselves on being real deal kind of
know what we're talking about. That's that's kind of weird
to be that way, but yeah, we try to know
what we're talking about. So here here is the secret. Everybody,
get real close to your radio. I'm going to tell
you the secret to the best gun to carry for
concealed carry protection, and that is the gun that jorty.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
O Oh wait, I was going to give you a drum.
God love you and I love it. It's so obvious.
But like you, in the last five years, I've had
more people ask me this question than I had in
any other part of my life, meaning the gun ownership
in shooting sports, and especially women and younger folks. They're
(30:21):
not necessarily hunters, but they are very legitimately want to
get into this and that is a great way to
answer it because it's the one you have. But let's
say you don't have Let's see, I have nothing, I
don't know anything. Where's the first place you direct them
to go get questions?
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Well, I would either find a avid shooter, maybe a
competitor Uncle Billy Bob, or your next door neighbor that
owns two guns. They may be eminently qualified, but maybe
not so. Basically, my suggestion is the interwebs are full
of information, a lot of it not very good, some
(30:58):
of it really good. Just ask around. Usually the folks
that are selling guns at the retailers are pretty knowledgeable,
not always again, so it's kind of a buyer beware
and you may not get the perfect gun the first time.
And that's kind of going full circle to my semi
facetious answer is get a gun and practice with it,
(31:23):
and then eventually you're going to realize, Okay, I don't
like the way this does this, or I could do
better if I had something like this. But my point is,
get a gun, start shooting it, start training with it,
seek some training if you can, and become more educated.
Americans especially are so hung up on the idea of
(31:45):
they got to buy the perfect given you and our
sports fishing, hunting, voting, all that stuff. It's our fault
of the media, but it's also just our general outlook
on things. We've got to have the latest, greatest, fastest,
vestus and that's the big point I try to get
across the folks. Go get a gun, a decent quality gun,
(32:07):
because there's a bazilion on the market. There's no really
bad ones at this point. Get one, try it out,
take it to the range if it If you're not
comfortable with it after many many rounds, don't just shoot
a box and say I'm a gunfighter from hell now
and put it in the drawer and consider yourself. Train,
shoot a lot, understand the shortcomings and the positives, and
(32:30):
then you can go shopping as a more educated consumer.
But again, the bottom line is, get a gun and
shoot it, and don't try to be a maybe Delta
in Jasil right out of the gate.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
Okay, don't try to be Brent Wheat Swat member.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Oh yeah, I don't know about that, but you know,
I've talked to like the famous Louis Rabuck. He was
a well known trainer trained some I mean some of
the greatest military units in the world. He always said,
in this very laconic way that I don't know what
an advanced gunfight is because people always want to go
to advanced gunfight training. It's just the basics under a
(33:07):
lot more stress. And I love that analogy, and it
goes back to even you know, any sport, baseball, football,
they don't. Yeah, there's some tips and tricks that the
pros use, but it comes back to they're really good
at the fundamentals, and that's how you get to be
a good shooter. Do your fundamentals and marksmanship, be safe,
(33:27):
and practice practice practice. That's the simple formula. So I
know people are disappointed. They want me to recommend the
Master Blast.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
They have to subscribe to the magazine.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
Brent, come on, yes, I'm terrible with self promotion.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
Well, I can't thank you for that, because it is interesting.
People want to get the best of what they can
get right, whatever it is they can afford. Shooting sports
are absolutely one of the great joys. They're fun, they're
they're enjoyable, and some people just want to do that.
But if you're going to carry concealed, you just hit it.
Whatever you have, be efficient and proficient with it, and
(34:04):
I think you're gonna be good, and then you can
always take the next step because we all know we're
gonna get another one. Brent. I can't thank you enough
for being a part of Indian Outdoors. As always, we're
going to be back with you in the fall. I
want you to come up with some good travel stories.
We're gonna put you on the spot because you always
have some good ones. Next time with you. Okay, be good,
my friend. Okay, it is the Indian Outdoor Show. We
didn't even get to his award winning podcast but that's okay.
(34:26):
Guns Magazine check them out. It is the Indiana Outdoor Show.
I'm your host, Brian Pointer. Don't go anywhere. We're going
to be back. We're just having too much fun. Why
wouldn't we It's the Indian Outdoor Show. All right, you
(34:55):
learned it. You learned it here on the Indiana Outdoor Show.
We have Armadillo's coming and stay Indiana. Yeah, they're taking
up residency. Paying tax is the whole deal. They're going
to have a little struggle. But more and more and
more people are seeing Armadillos in our state. Brad Westrich
are non game minmalogists filled us in. I think this
is fantastic. We've talked to him for many, over, many
(35:17):
times about the potential bears that we have seen moving
in from Michigan and across the Ohio River. Now we're
talking about armadillos. I think it's fantastic. Mitch Renfro kicked
us off the Fall RV Show. No better time than now,
And we say that because it is true. They've got
deals to make and if you're out looking for an
(35:39):
RV or a boat, this is the opportunity because folks
are ready to make some deals as we move into
the fall, and don't think that we don't have enough time,
because this is the best time for the next couple
of months to be in Indiana's outdoors or wherever you
take it. So the Fall RV Show appreciate him and
Brent Wheat always great to visit with. Brent. He is
always full of story, talking about the wildly successful guns
(36:02):
magazine podcast, the largest magazine, uh, the old one of
the oldest guns only magazines. And you know, he even
brought up the fact that he swore he saw one
of these armadillas on the side of the road, and
I said, well, you're probably right. So I want you
to use this in a cocktail conversation this weekend. You know,
(36:22):
if you see me, what are we going to be
talking about? We're gonna be talking about armadillos. It makes
me sound, well, a lot more smart than I am.
But I just think anytime we can have these types
of critters coming to Indiana and expanding their territory, I
think this is good stuff. Now I've said it, we
also need to say thank you to our sponsors. Indiana
Donor network Driven to Save Lives dot org. Sign up
(36:44):
to be an organ in tissue donor when you buy
your hunting and fishing license. It couldn't be any easier.
Save lies, heal others and as we always do, folks,
remember to turn into Poacher one eight hundred, Tip I
d n R, Tip I d n R. It's a
free confidential call. Folks. I will see you in the
great Indian outdoors. I hope to see you outside somewhere.
(37:05):
Be safe,
It is Indiana Outdoor Time. You know that because of
the catchy tune. Gosh. I love that makes me happy
to be here in the Indiana Outdoor Studio each and
every week and we have an interesting show. Interesting why,
mister Pointer, do you say that as host of Indiana Outdoors,
have you ever seen an armadillo in the state of
(00:50):
Indiana and armadilla I haven't even seen one where I
think they live, like in the south and Southwest. Yeah,
we're gonna find out. We've had several hundred sightings and
we have some armadillas living in the state of Indiana.
This has come up. We've talked about this before, but
this is kind of an interesting dynamic. Something got picked
(01:13):
up and people are starting to post these sightings. So
we're going to visit with Brad Westerritz. Now, Brad one
of my favorite people because he is our non game
mammalogist in the state. He works with all the critters
that we don't hunt, and for many months, many almost
two years, we were talking about potential black bears in
(01:34):
the state of Indiana and that falls under his guide
and I don't think he ever planned on being the
bear biologists, but I love that now is the Armadilla Wrangler.
We're going to talk to Brad about. I think it's
fantastic these critters expanding in their territory now, kind of
getting hit by cars and all that kind of good stuff.
(01:54):
We're going to find out what that means. Brent Wheat
always one of my favorites, the editor of Guns Magazine,
and I always am afraid to ask him what he's
been up to because he is sitting high atop the
throne of the gun industry. But not only that, he's
an award winning outdoor writer and just a darn good
guy to be here on Indiana Outdoors with us regularly,
(02:15):
So I don't want to take any time from all
of these folks. I hope you're as excited as I am.
It's the Indiana Outdoor Show, brought to you by Indiana
Donor Network driven Tuesday Lives dot Org. Don't go anywhere
back right after this in Indiana Outdoors. What a beautiful
(02:43):
time of the year. Every time, it's a beautiful time
of the year if you are in Indiana, and when
you look ato the fall, there's so many great traditions
and so many things. Much like the spring, you have
the Ford Boat Sport and Travel Show, which highlight of
everyone's winter. You also have the Fall RV Show, and
(03:07):
our good friends at Indiana Donor Network Driven two Save
Lives dot Org make this show possible and we appreciate
them for all that they do. And no better person
to talk about the FALLRV Show than our good friends
at Renfro Productions. Mitch Renfro always great to visit with
you and your family. There's no rest for the wicked.
(03:28):
You guys have this time of the year where you're
kind of round in the corner, you're peeking over the
edge and you're looking into a Cincinnati Boat Sport and
Travel show. You got the Ford Boat Sport and Travel
Show here in Indianapolis, but before that, you got some
business to take care of. Mitch Renfro Renfro Productions, Fall
RV Show, How you doing? It'd be helpful. It would
(03:50):
be helpful if I turned your voice up. So I'm sorry,
how are you doing, Mitch?
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Oh, I'm doing great, Brian, Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
I love it. At the end of the conversation, we
have not visited in a minute at least since the
last of the Ford Boat, Sport and Travel show. But
what do you guys do in the off season. I mean,
I know you don't have an off season, but February
have a big concentration of time your staff on overdrive.
What do you do between March and the rest of
(04:17):
the year.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Yeah, so that's a great question. A lot of people
ask that. And Real Quick is a fall boat and
r V show, So we'll have boats and r v's
in our fall show, and that's kind of like that
kind of leads into you know, during the summer, that's
the show we start kind of working on. I mean,
we definitely have some downtime in March and April May
where we spend a lot of time traveling and doing
all the things that actually our show is all about,
(04:39):
which is about beat outdoors. You know, my family and
I we do a lot of camping. We know, spring
Turkey season, spent a lot of time outdoors doing that.
So we get to do a lot of the things
that we love to do that the show is a
part of. And then you know, as the summer kind
of goes on, we start getting It's like I always
kind of use snowball. The snowball starts rolling down the
hill and gets bigger and bigger every day with things
(05:00):
to do and getting the shows ready for the next season.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
You know, I've had a peek behind the curtain working
with you and all your staff for several years at
the Boatsport and Travel Show. And for those that think
that they're just kind of open the doors and let
people move in is furthest thing from the truth. These
shows take and all your plan and preparation. Think of
(05:24):
it like planning the biggest event of your life and
then doing it again and again and again in multiple cities.
And that's what you guys do. But this fall r
V show is a great opportunity for Hoosiers to get
in there. I know, I know, we've been talking about
this for years, but the pandemic really sparked everybody's interest
(05:45):
in the RV business and we couldn't find them. Then
with things have kind of you know equilibrium so to speak.
What are the dealers saying, what's the market like?
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Yeah, so you know it's the RVs are still red hot,
and I think, you know, part of that was because
of the pandemic. Can introduce people to the camping world
where it's something very affordable for families to get into
you know far as, Like you know, maintenance isn't as
high when you don't have to pay for you know,
boat lands every time. And obviously when you're camping you
have you know, your fees for the campground and everything.
(06:15):
But once you're there, you're there. It's more accessible for
people typically and like I said, a little bit more
cost effective than a boat. So we've been seeing that
growth still going. Boats are still popular, you know, fiberglasses,
you know, tougher every year because people are finding the
pontoons are what everyone wants because you can take kids tubing,
you can ski behind it, and you can still take
(06:37):
the you know, everyone else out for the cocktail crews
at the end of the day. So they're all doing
great and I think, you know, it's great to see
people outdoors. But yeah, RVs are definitely still red hot
right now. And that's what makes the Fall Show so
great is it's the deal the of the year because
dealers are trying to get you know, their last of
the year inventory out the door so they have room
(06:58):
for their you know, only twenty six is coming in,
so they're going to be there willing to make deals
to get those RVs and those units moved. So if
you're serious or even considering buying a boat and RV,
it sounds weird, but September is the best time to buy.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
September is just a great month. You know it could be.
I've already read the Farmer's Almanac says it could potentially
use snow in September, So I'm all for that. You
and I both like to hunt. I've been up in
the tree stands on opening day of archery season in October.
Could have I've been snowed on in my tree. I
think this transition from early fall through the hunting seasons
(07:32):
is no better time to get out and experience great
Indiana outdoors. And I know a lot of people go
to our state parks and properties which have never looked better.
But this is the time of the year. Are there deals,
are their incentives? People don't realize that a lot of
these manufacturers are right here in Indiana. I'm just kind
of curious what the impact is.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Absolutely, And that's kind of as I was hitting on.
It is like that in September they have incentive to
move these units because again they want to get them
off their lot make room for the twenty twenty sixty
units that haven't come out yet, but our coming. So
they're there to make deals. And what's great about September two,
and you kind of hit on is Yeah, it's turned
a little bit cool, but you can still buy the
RV and have a couple more months to go out
(08:11):
and use it in comfortable weather. It's not like you're
just buying it to store it. You'll have plenty of
time to still take it out this year. So now
only are you getting the best deal, but you're also
being able to take it out and use it this year.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
So well, we live in Indiana, we all know that
it could be sixty five degrees in December. So I
wasn't meant to say that it's the end of the season.
It's the best part of the camping season because of
all the reasons that you just recommended. So this is
the big show opens this weekend. Give us some deets
about what people need to know to get tickets and
(08:41):
what to be prepared for and how to prepare for
coming to this show because it's a little different than
just a recreational show. How do people how do you
recommend people come prepared?
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Yeah, you know, be ready to just and shop. I mean,
and for us, it's you know, it's a week and
unlike our spring show, it's just one weekend, so it's Friday, Saturday, Sunday,
so you know, there's a little bit more of a
time to strain. So if they're coming to make a
deal or coming to be serious, it's like, you know,
it's that's why. And these dealers know that, you know,
they don't have two weekends to convince you to come back.
(09:10):
It's like they've got to be ready and you've got
to be ready to pull the trigger. And uh, what's
great about too is you know this year, and like
last year, we moved to a different building where we
now have a c in it. So it's a very
comfortable building to be in because, like you said, Indiana
could be temperamental. It could either be snowing or it
could be ninety degrees in September. So with our new
building that we're using, it's air conditioned or you know,
(09:33):
depending on what the weekend is, but either way, it's
gonna be comfortable. We're open at ten am each day
and close at eight pm, except Sunday we close at five,
so you have a full day Friday Saturday and you
know most of day Sunday to come out and uh,
I mean, we have a great selection of both both
on r vs at this show. So it's a fun
one to bring out to the family. And it's it's
(09:53):
a cheap ticket too, So the best place to get
tickets is on our website at Indi Sports show dot com.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Well, you guys have served, he mastered the practice of
uh in the art of putting on these great shows.
How about looking ahead a little bit because you've got
to follow our v show. But UH for our neighbors
over in Ohio, Cincinnati back on track, give us some
deats and give us some ideas about the excitement level
for having that show back up and running.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Oh yeah, so that's a super exciting to be back.
And some people might be listening to know this that
the Convention Center was closed down last year, so we
weren't able to have our Votsporn Travel Show in twenty
twenty five, So now bring it back. We're going to
be the second event in the new renovated building. So
that's gonna be a fun thing that for everyone to
come and check out. See what you know, Cincinnati's done
(10:41):
with their convention Center.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
It looks beautiful.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
We've gone out a couple of times to check on it,
and every time we go there, it just looks better
and better. So we're super excited about being in a
new building. It's going to be clean, it's going to
have new features. It's just gonna be a really cool
place to be. On top of you know what, people
missed the show when it's gone for a year, and
we've got a lot of exciting things you know that
we're bringing into the show to add to it. We're
(11:03):
going to have more RVs than ever. All the boats
are going to be there. Of course, we've got Twiggy
to war see his quarrels. Obviously, yes, with everyone knows
that's the anchor, right, everyone comes to see this squall.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
We know that I interviewed Twiggy at the Boat Sport
and Travel show. It's it's memorialized somewhere on your indie
sports show pages. We had Twiggy and I believe it
was your sister who was playing the part of Twiggy
behind the curtains in our makeshift interview. But Twiggy pooped
on my shoulder, so I was not very happy.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
With Twiggy, I've heard that's actually a way a show
of affection.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Oh, just go ahead and get poop on your guy.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
You to get Yeah, and so the fact that you
got pooped on, man, that's I would have kept that
if I was you.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Well, Twiggy is we did have fun with that, the
fun that you have when you're on live Internet TV
or whatever we were doing. We had so much fun
with that, and I know he is a big draw
as we look around on the corner after that, then
you're coming back to Indianapolis. What year? Is this? A
great deal of pride goes into making this a big
(12:06):
event for the winner.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Yeah, absolutely, So this for Indie Show will be in
our seventy first year for the Bosporn Travel Show, our
thirty first year for our Motorcycle in Power Sports Expo,
and then the twenty eighth year for Indiana Deer Turkey
Waterfole Expo. So all the double digits all really, you know, we,
like you said, we take a lot of pride in
the fact that we've been around this long, and we
(12:27):
don't take that for granted. We work really hard at
making sure every show is just as good as the last.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Well you do indeed, and I've always said this here
the third generation of leadership that has taken this show
to really national heights. There's no other show like this,
and every year it always amazes me how you create
new shows within shows. You talk about the Motorcycle Expo
took a hiatus for a while, but it's back and furious,
(12:54):
and now you have all these new facilities out there.
That has to be like being a kid in a
candy store.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Yeah, you know, And I'm glad you brought up the
motorcycle being back because you know, last year we did
bring it back after being on hiatus, and the biggest
complaint we got was it wasn't big enough, and it
was because, you know, bringing a show back takes a
little bit of building time. But we heard that and
we've actually moved the Motorcycle Expo to another building, so
we are going to be double this square footage than
(13:19):
we were last year. So not only is it we
got it brought back, you know, last year, but now
we're doubling it, bringing it back to what it was
before the hiatus, even bigger than it was before the hiatus.
Were really excited about that show growing. It's a fan favorite.
It's all eight days, not just one weekend. We're going
to have trial bikes, We're going to have all sorts
of ATV side by sides. If you're in that industry
(13:42):
or you like to ride, there's gonna be something there
for you that's gonna be fun for the whole family. No.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
I remember when the first weekend was the the uh
Motorbike Show or the Power Sports Show, and then the
other weekend was the Deer Turkey Waterfowl and both of
those shows within shows standing room only. And it doesn't
surprise me because that the crowd that comes to that
are some of the most loyal. They love to come
(14:09):
down and see the new stuff and make deals, just
like the folks that like to hunt and fish and
RVs and camp and everything else. So that's a really
exciting addition. I can't believe that it's year seventy one already,
and we've already talked many times over the years about
your family's history and legacy. But you've got to be
very prideful in the fact that this is your baby
(14:29):
now moving forward in conjunction with not that your dad's
not there. But I'm sure you've got a different vision
and a different mindset going forward that's going to even
make this better and better.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Absolutely, my dad's given me the tools that have that
kind of vision, and he's it's been great about working.
You know, everyone who's in a family business knows that
sometimes it's not easy. But what's been great about my
dad and I working together is he's given me all
the tools to you know, have my own vision, and
he's let me kind of make those decisions as we've
as I've gotten more and I think there are things
(15:01):
that I think about as a younger person that he
sees the value in that and we run with it.
So that's what helps keep it fresh and it's exciting.
But I'm definitely ready for him to retire.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
You know, well, we already got rid of your uncle Mark,
so he's retired, so maybe he's on the way out.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
One one more we go.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
And now you've got the fourth generation on the way
already number one, you got a number two. Just like
producing these great, big shows, it's not like throwing in
a new a family member and a new addition and
a young family growing. Congratulations to you and your wife.
That's got adelaier complexity.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Oh yeah, you know it's my daughter's middle name is Maxine,
which is my grandma, and my grandma ran the show
for many years after my grandpa died and my dad
was too young, so, you know, being able to kind
of give that, you know, name where Maxine's heard on
the hallways again at the State Fairgrounds something I take.
You know, it was a big heartfelt moment. I got
(15:57):
to tell my dad that. And it's special to me
because this show and the reason why we live the
way we do is because of these shows, and they
mean the world to us. So and it is a
family thing. And again like just not forgetting that and
holding onto that's important and it's fun, man, And I
can't wait to watch my little kid grow up like
I did, running around the show, most likely causing trouble,
(16:17):
but eventually maybe we'll come around and be part of
the show as well.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
You're going to have to get her a tricked out
golf cart for her escorted visits, because I'm sure she's
going to be a favorite. Hey, very quickly go back
through the timeframes. This upcoming weekend is the Fall RV
and Boat Show. Give us how people can get tickets
and where they go to get the information on who's
going to be there.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Yep, absolutely so just go to Indie spots show dot com.
That's easy. That's our landing page. You'll see all of
our shows there. The Fall Show will be on there
where you'll have the buttons for buy tickets online. Buying
online does help, It just makes it easier.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
When you get there. There's no line.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
You just go right to the ticket person and they'll.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Scan you in.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
So that's definitely the best way. It's you know, it's
Friday through Sunday. We're excited. So Friday we kick off
at ten am and go to eight pm, Saturday ten
to eight as well, and Sundays ten to five and
hopefully you know whether will work for us and he'll
be nice.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
It's a lot more predictable than it is in the
winter time. We all know that. Listen, Mitch Renfro Productions.
Great to visit with you fall ourv and boat show
this weekend. Get nice preview coming around the corner. Something
to look forward to. We got a lot to deal
with between now and then, but as always, appreciate your
time on Indian Outdoor as always an open phone and
we look forward to talking to you again real soon
(17:32):
this fall. Good luck if I don't talk to you
when you get out and hunt this fall.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Hy Brian appreciate it. Always a pleasure being on here
and look forward to our next one.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Indeed, Mitch Renfo Renfo Production some of my favorite people.
It is the Indiana Outdoor Show. I am your host,
Brian Pointer. Don't go anywhere. We're brought to you by
Indiana Donor Network Driven two Saved Lives Dot Org back
right after this and Indian Outdoors rolls on. It's a
(18:12):
beautiful time in mid September. All is good and for
that I am very grateful that you are joining us.
We couldn't do this without all of our affiliates to
carry Indiana Outdoors, and we couldn't do it without our sponsors,
Indiana Donor Network Driven to Save Lives. That's the number
two sign up to be an organ and tissue donor
(18:34):
when you buy your hunting and fishing license. It couldn't
be any easier. Well, as I'm going to do this,
this is a bad pun If you've lived under a
rock or you've lived in a shell, you probably have
heard that Armadillo's Armadella's are back in the news and
(18:54):
I love this. Joining me is Brad Westrich and Brad
is our non game mammal. Just you might know him
as our bear specialist. He's now our armadillo specialist. What
in the world, Brad. I've had more people say we
don't have armadillos in the state because they know what
I do, and I'm like, yeah, we do. Well, they're back.
They're back in the news. What's happening?
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Tell us more, Well, they're back in the news.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
They've been in Indiana for about twenty years now, but
they're back in the news right now because a collaborator
of ours working at the US Geological Survey was able
to publish some pretty cool information that sort of just
compiled an update on how far the armadillo has spread,
not only in Indiana but across the Midwest. So they
(19:40):
got that published, they uploaded on their USGS web page,
and that sort of sparked this. Someone picks it up
and said, wait, armadilla is in Indiana, and it got
the conversation rolling again.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
I love it. Now. The armadillo is a very unique creature,
and we know this from southern part of the United States,
and you've explained here in the past that there's no
reason that they couldn't live here except for the cold
weather and are changing of the seasons. I suppose you
might say, but can they thrive here? Is this something
(20:13):
that's going to continue?
Speaker 4 (20:15):
I think so, Yeah. I believe that armados will be
able to thrive here. They're going to sort of settle
in and find, you know, their niche where they fit
in with competitors, so other insectivores that they're going to
be competing for with food resources, They're going to be
competing with like groundhogs for space and burrows. They're going
(20:35):
to be competing with, you know, some predators too. There's
going to be coyotes and bobcats that elite some of
these unlucky ones. Not many of them, but unlucky ones
for sure. And I think they're really their biggest threat
in Indiana is just going to be vehicular collisions, you know,
people hitting them on the highways. That's going to be
their biggest source of mortality.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
So someone right now is waking up and they're rubbing
their eyes and go, what in the hell is when
you're talking about armadillo's in the state of Indiana. But
this is something we've talked about, but they're back in
You've explained why, and are we talking hundreds dozens all
over the state. Give us an idea of where these
things are being seen and what our population looks like today.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
Yeah, that's that's a great question. So I'll start off
with where we've seen them. Thanks to reports from Hoosiers
and people visiting Indiana, you know, we have seen them
primarily in the southern half of the state. That's where
the majority of our reports come from, So from Indianapolis
to south and I'm talking Posey County all the way
over to Switzerland County now, but we've also received reports
(21:38):
all the way up in northern Indiana too, so areas
like Warren and Benton County, all the way up to
Porter and even Stuben County. So we're finding them all
over the state. They're following you know, highways because it's
easy to move along those habitats. It's grassy along those habitats,
so there's lots of bugs for them to eat. But
they're also moving along you know, rivers, creeks, lake moving
(22:00):
from wetland to wetland, and so it's sort of facilitating
their move across the state.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
How many we have out there.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
I don't think I have a good answer for that.
You know, with most wildlife surveys, we get an estimate
rather than a census on how many animals are out there.
But I can tell you that we've confirmed through citizen
reports that we've had over two hundred and twenty nine
confirmed armadillos in the state since two thousand and three.
But we've had more than three hundred reports come in
(22:29):
and a lot of those are duplicates, people reporting the
same armadillo on the highway.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
So they are very interesting, you know, antique type creature.
They're dinosaurish, and I think they're no different than any
of our other critters that we have here. And I
just love how mother nature is allowing them to expand
and that we have them here much like you know,
we and I talked for a couple of years there
where it seemed like there was a bear coming across
(22:56):
the Ohio or across the border every year or so.
We haven't had any bears lately, have we.
Speaker 4 (23:02):
We haven't had any bears lately. There was one that
came close this summer. I don't know if anyone saw
the news, but there was one that came very close
to Cincinnati just about a month ago in July. But no,
we haven't had any bears since twenty twenty one.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Well, i'm you know me, I'm a fan of this.
I want to make sure that we make room for
all of God's creatures. I happen to be a fan
of the bear. But the armadillo, So they eat bugs,
and they're going to have some competition. And what about
the weather. We get some pretty darn cold here in
the winter. Do they burrow?
Speaker 3 (23:34):
Yeah, so they live in their burrows.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
Obviously, if you've seen an armadillo, you might see that
they don't have much fur. But if you haven't seen one,
you know they have this shell on the outside of
their body. It's made up of just sort of thickened
skin that has embedded bony plates in it. That makes
up that carapace, that shell that protects them. And because
of that, they don't have a lot of fat or hair,
(23:57):
and their heat transfer is very quick to the environment.
So they need to live in their burrows to seek
shelter from extreme weather, and the cold is their biggest threat.
But I think what we're seeing over these past twenty years,
I mean armadillos are. Evidence of this is that we've
had warmer winters. The winters are becoming less extreme. So
(24:20):
even though it might be cold out, if the ground
isn't frozen solid for like two weeks straight, armadillos can survive.
There might not be a lot of bugs for them
to find, but they will eat what they have to
to get by, and that includes things like fun guy
that they might find, or even roots of plants.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Brad, I love this conversation with you. I love the
work that you do, and I know that your non
game biology hat has a very diverse set of circumstances,
from bears to armadillos. What else you've been working on.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
I've been working on Allegheny wood wraps and Franklin ground squirrels.
They're both staatened, injured mammals on opposite sides of the state,
and I've been working with partners in our region and
across the US to either translocate individuals or work on
captive breeding programs for them.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Well, we covered that, We're going to look forward to
that again at another time. Brad Westrich, thank you for
all the work that you do as a non game biologist.
The Armadillos are coming, and I love it and I
want to see one of these things in the wild
and I want to hear people talking about it. So
thanks for giving us the update. Appreciate you as always
always an open home, open phone here, my friend.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
I appreciate it, my pleasure, great conversation. It is the
Indian Outdoor Show. I your host, Brian Pointer. Don't think
about going anywhere. It's Indian Outdoor Show. So so happy
(25:56):
to be here with you guys today. And what a
great show we've had. We've already talked about Armadilla's. Yep.
Brad Westrich, he was with us, are non game homologist.
If he's not talking about bears, we're talking about Armadilla's
and of course the fall Boat and RV show coming up.
But we saved the best for last, and that's our
great friend Brent Wheat, the editor of Guns Magazine. Why
(26:16):
are you laughing? I know you're smiling right now. The
best for last. See, you said you'd play me twenty
bucks if I said something nice.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
Oh it wasn't twenty I thought it was like five.
But no, I'm also laughing because all my friends thought
I was crazy. I was southbound at the one thirty
eight mile marker and I sixty five and I looked
over and I said, that's a dead armadillo. I've seen
many of them, you know, over the years. Yeah, it was.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
I've never seen one. I've never seen one in the
wild out west or south and certainly not been here.
And you're right. We just we just chatted with Brad
Westrich and he said the number one reason they probably won't.
They he hopes that they will. There's no reason that
they won't. We've had mild winners. But he said car collisions.
(27:01):
He said, that'll be the one thing they can fend
off some predators and they can scrap for food amongst
all the other scavengers, and there's enough bugs for everybody.
But he said, the cars are what's going to get him.
And the same thing with the bobcats. You know, when
you start having bobcats getting hit by cars, you got
a problem in Samarias. Nonetheless, I digress. I love talking
(27:21):
to him because I was so excited when we had
these bears coming into Indiana dating back to two thousand
and one, and you know, one came across the Ohio River.
One came from the north. They laid here for a
little bit, got sick of us, no lady friends for
the big big young boars or young males, and they
moved on. But I asked him. He said, yeah, there
(27:43):
was one that almost got here over in the Cincinnati area.
So that's a new side of the front. But I
love it. Yeah, all right, Brent.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
And not to interrupt you, but we had a wolf too,
remember what well, yeah, it's been about ten years ago.
It was a young man.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
I do remember that.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
First, from like Minnesota. That's the big Yeah. The big
question was how did he get around Chicago? And he
was shot by a hunter. You thought it was a coyote,
and it turned out it was a full blooded and
documented wolf from up in like northern Wisconsin.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
I do remember this now. See I don't remember my
kid's birthdays, Brent, how are you supposed to remember ten
years ago? All right, we got some we got some
business to talk about. Because you are the editor of
Guns magazine. You said, hi atop the throne and anything new?
What's going out of Guns Magazine? The great podcast taking
off in so many ways, just wildly popular. What do
(28:40):
you got going?
Speaker 3 (28:41):
Oh, it would take the whole program to you all.
We've got going. But when we were talking, I was
thinking of a good topic to cover today. Is a
question I get every week, if not sometimes every day,
and it's real, it's real common. It's what's the best
handgun for concealed Carrie?
Speaker 1 (28:59):
And I know you're a concealed carrier, Brian, Yes, sir.
Speaker 3 (29:02):
Obviously I am. And I don't have to justify myself.
But if folks don't know me, I was a cop
for thirty years. I was on SWAT for I forget
sixteen seventeen years. By virtue of what I do. I
know most of the greatest shooters. I've trained with them
or under them, so I have some background in this.
I'm an adequate shooter. I don't claim to be great,
(29:24):
but I just hope folks understand that my advice isn't
just being picked out of a gun magazine or something
like that. But here's the simple answer.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
You you mean guns magazine the only source of this
type of question exactly.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
And we pride ourselves on being real deal kind of
know what we're talking about. That's that's kind of weird
to be that way, but yeah, we try to know
what we're talking about. So here here is the secret. Everybody,
get real close to your radio. I'm going to tell
you the secret to the best gun to carry for
concealed carry protection, and that is the gun that jorty.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
O Oh wait, I was going to give you a drum.
God love you and I love it. It's so obvious.
But like you, in the last five years, I've had
more people ask me this question than I had in
any other part of my life, meaning the gun ownership
in shooting sports, and especially women and younger folks. They're
(30:21):
not necessarily hunters, but they are very legitimately want to
get into this and that is a great way to
answer it because it's the one you have. But let's
say you don't have Let's see, I have nothing, I
don't know anything. Where's the first place you direct them
to go get questions?
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Well, I would either find a avid shooter, maybe a
competitor Uncle Billy Bob, or your next door neighbor that
owns two guns. They may be eminently qualified, but maybe
not so. Basically, my suggestion is the interwebs are full
of information, a lot of it not very good, some
(30:58):
of it really good. Just ask around. Usually the folks
that are selling guns at the retailers are pretty knowledgeable,
not always again, so it's kind of a buyer beware
and you may not get the perfect gun the first time.
And that's kind of going full circle to my semi
facetious answer is get a gun and practice with it,
(31:23):
and then eventually you're going to realize, Okay, I don't
like the way this does this, or I could do
better if I had something like this. But my point is,
get a gun, start shooting it, start training with it,
seek some training if you can, and become more educated.
Americans especially are so hung up on the idea of
(31:45):
they got to buy the perfect given you and our
sports fishing, hunting, voting, all that stuff. It's our fault
of the media, but it's also just our general outlook
on things. We've got to have the latest, greatest, fastest,
vestus and that's the big point I try to get
across the folks. Go get a gun, a decent quality gun,
(32:07):
because there's a bazilion on the market. There's no really
bad ones at this point. Get one, try it out,
take it to the range if it If you're not
comfortable with it after many many rounds, don't just shoot
a box and say I'm a gunfighter from hell now
and put it in the drawer and consider yourself. Train,
shoot a lot, understand the shortcomings and the positives, and
(32:30):
then you can go shopping as a more educated consumer.
But again, the bottom line is, get a gun and
shoot it, and don't try to be a maybe Delta
in Jasil right out of the gate.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
Okay, don't try to be Brent Wheat Swat member.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Oh yeah, I don't know about that, but you know,
I've talked to like the famous Louis Rabuck. He was
a well known trainer trained some I mean some of
the greatest military units in the world. He always said,
in this very laconic way that I don't know what
an advanced gunfight is because people always want to go
to advanced gunfight training. It's just the basics under a
(33:07):
lot more stress. And I love that analogy, and it
goes back to even you know, any sport, baseball, football,
they don't. Yeah, there's some tips and tricks that the
pros use, but it comes back to they're really good
at the fundamentals, and that's how you get to be
a good shooter. Do your fundamentals and marksmanship, be safe,
(33:27):
and practice practice practice. That's the simple formula. So I
know people are disappointed. They want me to recommend the
Master Blast.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
They have to subscribe to the magazine.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
Brent, come on, yes, I'm terrible with self promotion.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
Well, I can't thank you for that, because it is interesting.
People want to get the best of what they can
get right, whatever it is they can afford. Shooting sports
are absolutely one of the great joys. They're fun, they're
they're enjoyable, and some people just want to do that.
But if you're going to carry concealed, you just hit it.
Whatever you have, be efficient and proficient with it, and
(34:04):
I think you're gonna be good, and then you can
always take the next step because we all know we're
gonna get another one. Brent. I can't thank you enough
for being a part of Indian Outdoors. As always, we're
going to be back with you in the fall. I
want you to come up with some good travel stories.
We're gonna put you on the spot because you always
have some good ones. Next time with you. Okay, be good,
my friend. Okay, it is the Indian Outdoor Show. We
didn't even get to his award winning podcast but that's okay.
(34:26):
Guns Magazine check them out. It is the Indiana Outdoor Show.
I'm your host, Brian Pointer. Don't go anywhere. We're going
to be back. We're just having too much fun. Why
wouldn't we It's the Indian Outdoor Show. All right, you
(34:55):
learned it. You learned it here on the Indiana Outdoor Show.
We have Armadillo's coming and stay Indiana. Yeah, they're taking
up residency. Paying tax is the whole deal. They're going
to have a little struggle. But more and more and
more people are seeing Armadillos in our state. Brad Westrich
are non game minmalogists filled us in. I think this
is fantastic. We've talked to him for many, over, many
(35:17):
times about the potential bears that we have seen moving
in from Michigan and across the Ohio River. Now we're
talking about armadillos. I think it's fantastic. Mitch Renfro kicked
us off the Fall RV Show. No better time than now,
And we say that because it is true. They've got
deals to make and if you're out looking for an
(35:39):
RV or a boat, this is the opportunity because folks
are ready to make some deals as we move into
the fall, and don't think that we don't have enough time,
because this is the best time for the next couple
of months to be in Indiana's outdoors or wherever you
take it. So the Fall RV Show appreciate him and
Brent Wheat always great to visit with. Brent. He is
always full of story, talking about the wildly successful guns
(36:02):
magazine podcast, the largest magazine, uh, the old one of
the oldest guns only magazines. And you know, he even
brought up the fact that he swore he saw one
of these armadillas on the side of the road, and
I said, well, you're probably right. So I want you
to use this in a cocktail conversation this weekend. You know,
(36:22):
if you see me, what are we going to be
talking about? We're gonna be talking about armadillos. It makes
me sound, well, a lot more smart than I am.
But I just think anytime we can have these types
of critters coming to Indiana and expanding their territory, I
think this is good stuff. Now I've said it, we
also need to say thank you to our sponsors. Indiana
Donor network Driven to Save Lives dot org. Sign up
(36:44):
to be an organ in tissue donor when you buy
your hunting and fishing license. It couldn't be any easier.
Save lies, heal others and as we always do, folks,
remember to turn into Poacher one eight hundred, Tip I
d n R, Tip I d n R. It's a
free confidential call. Folks. I will see you in the
great Indian outdoors. I hope to see you outside somewhere.
(37:05):
Be safe,
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