From Flight School to the Woods: W/ Garrett Slippy

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What happens when a young university senior embraces the hunting world and turns his sights towards the elusive wild turkey? Meet Garrett Slippy, a 22-year-old from Kent State University, who transitioned from a novice squirrel hunter into a seasoned turkey enthusiast. Garrett takes us through his journey, fueled by the solitude of the pandemic, where he found adrenaline and a deeper connection with nature through turkey hunting in Ohio's diverse terrains. Join us as we explore not just the art but the heart of hunting, sharing stories of memorable hunts and the thrill of calling turkeys in their natural habitat.

Garrett and I share a captivating conversation about the challenges of bowhunting turkeys, recounting the triumph of bagging a turkey at 46 yards and the oddity of a triple-bearded turkey. From tales of deer season anticipation to the intricacies of Ohio's landscapes, we touch on Garrett's unique perspective from above as a flight student and explore Ohio's hunting dynamics, including its interaction with the Amish community. Our stories highlight the blend of traditional and advanced practices, like using trail cameras and the excitement of tracking a notable buck named "Sevens," showing the emotional highs and lows that make hunting such a compelling pursuit.

The episode wraps with a discussion on the intersection of sports and hunting, reflecting on how athletic skills translate into hunting strategies, and the unique pressures of hunting seasons. We talk about the thrilling prospect of a dream hunt, the strategic use of trail cameras, and the contrasting allure of hunting terrains in different states. Garrett even shares his aspirations for a Dall sheep hunt in Alaska, a rare yet fascinating choice. The dialogue is rich with insights and personal stories, offering a window into the world of hunting that promises to engage and inspire our listeners.

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Episode Transcript

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Hunting just got tactical.
Welcome back to the gardenstate outdoors and podcast

(01:02):
presented by boondocks hunting.
I'm your host, mike nitre, andtoday we have Garrett Slippy.
I said the last name correct.
Yes, you did Perfect.
Perfect, garrett.
Welcome to the show.
You know.
Give the listeners out there aquick you know backstory about
yourself and everything likethat before we get started.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Well, thank you first off, Mike, for having me on the
show.
I am 22 years old.
I'm a senior in college at KentState University.
I started hunting about five orsix years ago and I've just
become obsessed with it andloved every moment of it, had
some cool experiences and maybewe can go through some of them

(01:44):
yeah, no, uh, definitelydefinitely excited to get you on
it.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
It's cool.
So kent state's in a in ohio,correct?
correct all right, so I haveboarded there.
Uh, so I'm a hockey player, um,and we would go up there for
the like festival festival team.
It's like a select team andeverything like that.
And I've actually stayed inyour school.

(02:09):
When I and I actually turned Ican't remember how old, but I
spent my birthday in one of thedorms because we were playing
hockey at you know, around thereand everything like that um, so
I am actually familiar haven'tbeen back in a very long time,
but I'm actually familiar withum, with kent state and

(02:31):
everything like that, and I lovethe area.
How far away are you, how faraway do you live from from your
school?
And how far away are youhunting from your school?

Speaker 2 (02:41):
so I actually live about 20 minutes off campus.
I'm still with my parents um,just save money and that kind of
stuff.
I'm in the flight school anddoing a double major there, but
my hunting property is about 10minutes from the house.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
So it's probably about the same from campus, but
okay, all right yeah, it's got agreat sorry, go ahead no, no, I
was gonna say that's a greatarea.
Just from remember, when I'mremembering from driving through
there, it seems like you knowthere's a, there's a lot of um
hunting land in the area,whether it's private or public,

(03:19):
you know I could be.
You know, at the time when Iwas going up there I wasn't
really focusing on that, but now, like trying to run it back
through my head, it seems likesuch a good area.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, it's a great area if you're trying to hunt,
whether it's private or public.
I'm lucky that I've got a lotof public land options if I
wanted to, but I'm lucky that Ihave some permission spots that
I've been able to utilize andreally learn the habitat of
white tails in Ohio.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
Definitely, definitely.
You know what?
When did you start hunting,Like when did you know so you're
a baseball player right now.
When did when did hunting getinvolved, or is that something
that you've always kind of likelike done?

Speaker 2 (04:04):
Well, I really started hunting probably five
years ago it was just before thepandemic actually yeah, that
fall before the pandemic.
I was squirrel hunting thatkind of stuff, just kind of
having fun with it, and then Iwasn't really into it too much
per se until the spring whenCOVID hit and I got the turkey

(04:28):
bug and it all kind of fell outfrom there or fell in from there
.

Speaker 1 (04:35):
The turkey bug you.
You hear it a lot when we talkabout this, on this, on this
podcast of guys.
They absolutely fell in lovewith, you know, turkey hunting.
What was it for you thatgravitated you to turkey hunting
and got you that bug, that itch?

Speaker 2 (04:51):
uh, I don't even really know at this point.
Uh, it's been so long it'scrazy that that's already been
five years ago, but I think justsurfing through youtube and
that kind of stuff finding,finding videos, and then I was
like I'm going to try that out.
I started with public land alittle bit I don't even think I
heard a gobble out there butthen I was able to get the main

(05:14):
farm that I hunt now.
I was able to get permission onthere and I started getting
some encounters and stuff.
Um, I didn't end up having anyluck in terms of harvesting a
bird that year, but I really gota sense of respect for the
animals and I just becameobsessed with it ever since.

Speaker 1 (05:38):
Which is it's different, so different from
deer, and we just, I imagine,just like you, you probably just
wrapped up your turkey seasonseason, everything like that,
not too long ago.
It is such a different hunt andit's so unique and I got the
turkey itch this year, like Ifell in love with turkey hunting
this year.
I never, you know, dabble in it.

(05:59):
You know dabble in it and justlike, oh yeah, I'm turkey
hunting, when I really wasprobably like deer scouting or
whatever the case was.
But, um, the interaction thatyou get, like it's a different
type of adrenaline rush.
I don't think for me and Idon't know how it is for you.
I don't compare it as in, youknow, a big buck walking up, but

(06:20):
it's just so cool and justdifferent.
You know that you get tointeract with these birds.
They're your gob, you'recalling them, they're calling,
you know, reacting off you andyou know it's a.
It's just a different type ofhunting.
It's very hard to explain tosomeone who doesn't, you know,
understand, but I imagine youknow, since you're a turkey guy,

(06:41):
that you completely get it.
You know, if you could onlyhunt one, what would it be?
Would it be deer, or would itbe turkey, or would it be
waterfowl.
Oh wait, would it be waterfowl?

Speaker 2 (06:52):
It's definitely between turkeys and whitetails.
I'd say I'm more of a whitetailfanatic.
That's what I put a lot of mytime and effort into.
But it is hard, very hard, topass up turkeys too.
But I'd probably choose whitetails if I had to pick one pick
one.

Speaker 1 (07:12):
Um, how was your?
Uh, how was your turkey seasonthis year?
It was really good.

Speaker 2 (07:18):
Um, I was able to go down to Florida and harvest my
first Osceola, which was a crazyexperience in terms of turkey
hunting, you know, it's justfascinating how different the
animals are and they're in eachregion and how they act and that
kind of stuff.
I actually had to treat theseOsceolas more like

(07:44):
whitetailsails kind of.
They don't gobble much at all.
I mean, I don't even think Iheard a gobble the whole time
and I just patterned the birdsand one came through and was
able to get on them.

Speaker 1 (07:59):
And then, real quick, before we you know.
So you hunted them like youwould with whitetail and you
know you just patted them whenyou first originally went down
there.
You know what was your initialthought, like when you, when you
went to Florida and you'remaybe the night before the hunt
or whatever what did you startto pick up on?

(08:19):
Like, did you do any likepre-scouting or anything like
that before?

Speaker 2 (08:23):
So actually we used uh, I was with an outfitter um,
that leased a bunch of land downthere and that's pretty much.
If you're going to go toflorida, that's the way to do it
.
There's so many hunters onpublic land and stuff and then
you know how public land is,where it's pretty natural and
the gators are after you and allsorts of stuff.

(08:43):
So we were, I was with anoutfitter and we sorts of stuff.
So we were, I was with anoutfitter and we kind of they
had cameras set up and that kindof stuff, and the birds would
just come through and run thecameras and stuff.
And in the morning we didn'thave any luck, we didn't even
see anything.

(09:03):
But in the afternoon, theafternoon, we were expecting a
bird to come through, at leastone bird to come through this
food plot where they would strutand that kind of stuff.
And eventually one did comethrough and I was able to make a
40-yard shot with my shotgun.
And it was awesome.

Speaker 1 (09:30):
That thing went down.
It was so cool, you know, isthis something that you?
Are you going to be huntingflorida more often?
Or is this something that, hey,you know, this was the bucket
list like, are you going for the?
You know the slam, what, what,what's?
What drew you to floridaoriginally?

Speaker 2 (09:44):
well, I actually my grandparents have a house down
in Florida, in Daytona Beach,and we used to always have the
Osceolas running through ouryard and stuff.
So it kind of gave me that bugfor going down and getting the
Osceola first after my Easterexperience obviously, but the
first step towards my slam andso that really piqued my

(10:08):
interest.
We see birds down there all thetime strutting on spring break
and stuff and yeah, I mean Sucha beautiful bird, you know we
don't get to.

Speaker 1 (10:23):
I've never seen one, obviously, in person.
It's, they're just so.
They're just so different.
Because you know you look atlike Easterns and I mean it's,
it's nothing like an Easter andyou said, you know they're not
vocal, they're not.
You know, you got to hunt themin a different manner.
Do you see it as a more of achallenging bird to hunt?

Speaker 2 (10:47):
oh, absolutely, um, especially if you're doing
public land or even if you haveyour own property and that kind
of stuff.
I was fortunate to have a goodfriend that is an outfitter and
he started this was his secondyear, I believe down there
leasing properties, but it woulddefinitely.

Speaker 1 (11:05):
It's definitely a harder bird to go after, I
believe yeah, I mean just a youknow, I'm looking at the
pictures right now just anabsolute beautiful, beautiful
bird.
I mean, um, I also love thepicture in the tree.
Just let you know that is athat's.
That's a pretty cool.
That's a pretty cool pictureright there.
It must have taken some workgetting up there.

Speaker 2 (11:28):
Yeah, my buddy was surprised.
I wanted to do that, but Idon't know.
We had to get up on his bigDodge to get me up in there.

Speaker 1 (11:39):
And then you also closed the deal in Ohio this
year as well.

Speaker 2 (11:44):
Yes, I actually made it a.
Uh, I wanted to get a bird witha bow my first turkey with a
bow and so I made that mymission for this spring to do
that, and I shot him at 46 yardswith my bow, and he went right
down so go over that hunt.

Speaker 1 (12:04):
You know, first of all you're talking about a whole
completely different challenge.
You know, of getting it donewith the bow.
You know turkeys are hard tohunt as it is.
You know, um, what were, whatwas your preparation for an
archery turkey hunt?

Speaker 2 (12:22):
Well, usually I'm scouting the birds on.
This was on my permission farmthat I regularly hunt this.
I usually scout these birds forat least a month ahead of time
and I'm just getting intel,trying to get the pattern,
filming them and that kind ofstuff as well, stuff as well.

(12:50):
And so I went in, roosted themthe night before opening day and
several nights ahead of thatand I actually set a blind up
where they usually go in themorning to strut and I get in
there probably 30 minutes beforeshooting light and there were
probably six or seven differentgobblers.
This year there was a lot oftoms on the farm but it probably

(13:14):
as daylight broke they werejust gobbling their heads off
and they started going the otherway after they came down off
the roost and I probably didn't.
It was probably 11 o'clock orsomething I waited until and
then I I hear the drumming andspitting of one bird and he came
right in but I unfortunately Imissed the shot at 30 yards on

(13:39):
opening day.
But the next weekend that I wasable to make it up and I
actually ended up moving tocloser to where the birds were
roosted and where they were.
I throughout that week Ipatterned them and figured out
where they were going.
So I set up the next Saturdayand they originally went away

(14:04):
from me, probably 300 yards downto the opposite end of the
field, because a bunch of henswere down there and it was crazy
.
We were starting to get alittle thunderstorm and the
birds were just shock gobblingthat thunder and eventually they
started making their way backover to me and they came into

(14:25):
the decoy.
I had a decoy set up that dayand they came running in there
and I was able to make a shot ona triple beard.
Turkey this year.

Speaker 1 (14:37):
That's great.
A triple, that is great.
I mean, I had a double on, Ithink, a double on on camera.
I don't know, you know, if hehad triple, but you know you,
you always hear about that.
Like you know you, once you getthe, you know your long beard,
you know, I feel like it's socool to get a, you know, double

(14:59):
or triple or something like.
That's like getting a, a buckwith like a drop tine or or or
something like that and in thatnature, you know, and it's um,
oh man, I would love, love to.
You know, obviously, first ofall I want to get my first bird,
you know, but eventually to geta double or triple, or.

(15:19):
I think I saw somebody post it,I think we actually posted about
it.
Some, some kids sent me this, Ithink it.
This bird had eight, I think,like eight beards.
I don't want to be, you know,mistaken.
I would have to go through thepost, but it was something like
absolutely ridiculous amount ofof beards and this bird.

(15:41):
I was like how is that evenlike possible?
But then you see deer, yetagain with the crazy, and you
know, drop tines and you knoweverything like that all over
the place.
Um, so it's, it's definitelypossible.
But you know when you, when youfirst saw him right, what was
your initial like is yourreaction when you saw that, that

(16:02):
triple beard?

Speaker 2 (16:03):
well, honestly, I didn't even see it.
Um, I knew there was one on thefarm because I had been filming
all spring and I actually gothim on video a couple weeks
beforehand.
But I was just trying to shootone and he was the one that gave
me the best shot, because I wastrying to get my dad on one

(16:27):
this year and get his firstharvest since he got married to
my mom 30 years ago.
Um, he hasn't really beenhunting since he got married, so
I was trying to help him outwith that and so I was really
just trying to get my arrow inone of them.
I didn't really care which one.
There's one running around thefarm right now that's got a

(16:48):
beard.
That's probably 12 inches andthree inches.
Third, I mean it is apaintbrush jeez.

Speaker 1 (16:56):
Uh, well, hopefully you know that that long beard
can survive and you know you cantake a poke at them next year.
Um, you know, now you know,let's shift our focus to to the
deer talk.
That's what's coming up next is, you know, deer hunting and
that's something, something thatyou love to do and everything
like that.
What is your main focus thisyear in Ohio Harvest?

Speaker 2 (17:20):
mature buck.
This past year there was a buckthat was a four-year-old 11
point and he was probably 160sclass.
I know he made it through theseason because I was getting
pictures of him after season andstuff.
So as long as he didn't getsick or get hit by a car or
something, I'm expecting him tocome back and hopefully that

(17:45):
five-year will allow him to pushto get really big this year.
Right now I'm getting camerasout.
Finally, uh, our farm is prettymuch all soybeans this year too
, and the last time we hadsoybeans throughout the whole
farm I was chasing 186 inchwhitetail.

(18:06):
So I've got high hopes for thisyear.
Nothing showed up yet otherthan some small bucks, but
hopefully they start moving inPlenty, plenty of time.

Speaker 1 (18:17):
I mean, you know it's it's still.
I want to say it's still early,but I can't believe it's
already July 1st or.

Speaker 2 (18:24):
July 2nd.

Speaker 1 (18:26):
My bad, july 2nd.
You know that we're recordingthis, this podcast, this podcast
.
So, um, you know, I I keepsaying, oh it's early, we got
plenty of time, but, man, beforeyou know it, it's going to be
here.
When do you guys start in in?
Uh, what's your opening day inin ohio, september 28th?

Speaker 2 (18:44):
this year, so I'm really excited.
I posted a video this morningfor early goose season.
It's coming up in 67 daysalready, which is at the
beginning of september, so it'sapproaching quick.

Speaker 1 (19:00):
Yeah, we, we start september.
I want to say 14th, we're thesecond week of september is our
deer season.
I I don't want to be mistaken,but I think our waterfowl season
, or goose, I think it's eitherthat weekend or the week before
or something like that.
I can't you know exactly.
Remember, I usually don't huntgeese that early in the year.

(19:23):
My main focus is usually deerseason.
Up until you know, waterfowlreally kicks.
I like to hunt it cold, youknow I don't like being hot out
in those fields or anything likethat.
Uh, but, um, you know what isyou you're?
So you're on a farm right ohio,breakup ohio kind of.
For us and our and ourlisteners here, I know it's.

(19:45):
Wherever you go, I guaranteeit's going to be different,
everything like you.
I imagine you're more in thefarmlands.
There's woods and everythinglike that, like big woods and
everything like that.
So kind of break down Ohio andkind of what it looks like for
the people out there who don'tknow so Ohio is very diverse in
terms of landscape.

Speaker 2 (20:04):
When you go further southeast it's definitely a lot
more foresty and more hillish.
I don't want to say mountains,but it's kind of that fringe of
the Appalachian mountains.
That's where a lot of the bigdeer, for some reason, like to
go.
My buddy has 900 acres downthere and each year they just

(20:30):
shoot 170, 160 inch plus deerand multiple of them.
But where I'm at is kind of amixture of between farmland and
kind of the rocky appalachianoutskirts, um, but as you get
further towards the central andwestern portion of the state
it's more kind of flat and kindof barren, without trees and

(20:53):
stuff.
Definitely more out west on thewestern portion of the state, a
lot more waterfowl and that kindof stuff.
I personally think it's similar, very similar to Iowa in terms

(21:13):
of not a lot of trees, but wherethere's trees there's a lot of
bucks, a lot of deer and a lotof ag.
But when I it's crazy when I'mgoing flying I'm a flight
student so I fly a lot aroundthe state and that kind of stuff
and I can, once I get to, aboutthe west side of Akron I don't
know if you know that, yeah, um,but it's.
Once you get west of there youcan kind of see just a big

(21:34):
diagonal line going through thecenter of the state where it's
got vegetation and trees andstuff, to just flat barren
farmland jeez, let's see.

Speaker 1 (21:47):
Yeah, no.
So it's kind of like over here,um, as as well.
Um, you know, we, we have a lotof diversity over here too as
well.
But you know, something that wewere talking about before um,
we started recording is you know, this is one of the states that
it's like if you don't want togo to iowa or something like
that, this is the perfect placefor you to go.

(22:08):
If you're, you know, if maybeyou don't want to spend all the
money or anything like that,maybe you don't want to travel
as far.
I think Ohio has gotten sopopular and I mean, I imagine
you guys got to get hit by thePA hunters, the West Virginia
hunters, the, you know, newJersey hunters, I imagine, go up
there Like you guys are gettinghit by kind of like everyone.

(22:29):
So, public land, and you knowit's got to be a wild, wild time
.
But because there is still somuch land, especially in your,
your big woods, right, I imagineit's it's still very much
doable now with the privateproperties and everything like
that, it's going to be.
It's going to be harder andstuff like that.
You know you're talking about alot of the farmland and then

(22:49):
you have these plots of trees.
But the cool thing abouthunting, that is, you know where
the deer are.
For the most part, it is, Iimagine, getting set up and not
blowing up that spot, so youraccess has to be very crucial
how you access these spots inyour wind correct and a lot of

(23:11):
the deer, at least in my area,are bedding in a lot of marshes
and that kind of stuff.

Speaker 2 (23:16):
So you really have to be careful with the wind and
that kind of stuff so you're notblowing your wind out over that
marsh.
In terms of public land andthat kind of stuff, you know
Ohio is kind of behind the eightball in terms of compared to
other states.
We only have actually about 5%of the total land.
In terms of compared to otherstates.
We only have actually aboutfive percent of the total land
in ohio as public land and frommy experience in terms of

(23:41):
hunting public land, it's reallythick.
Um, one of my former teammatesat kent state was from north
carolina and he was telling methat he's just shocked at how
thick it and overgrown it is andit's kind of turned away a lot
of hunters just because it'shard to get shots off and that

(24:03):
kind of stuff.
And the other thing is theAmish really like to hunt public
land and that kind of stuff.
Ohio for some reason has thepublic lands and a lot of cases
near amish communities.
So you're you're got a lot ofcompetition that's very

(24:24):
interesting.

Speaker 1 (24:24):
I wonder if that's done on on purpose, maybe a
little bit know, just because itmaybe makes it easier access
for them.
And this is what they do.
You know that's a big portion,I imagine, of you know a huge
diversity in in hunting, whereyou're going to get a lot of
those you know, amish people, tohunt, which this is, you know

(24:46):
from just their lifestyle.
Like this is what they theyhave to do, you know, but that
that's that's pretty unique.
Have have you run into anyonethat's amish while hunting when
you've done public land, oranyone you know, one of your
friends or anything like that?
That that you know?
Like I want, I want to knowwhat it's like.
Like what are they using Iimagine they're not you using

(25:09):
all the technology that we use?
Like, are they, are they, youknow, gun hunters?
Are they bow hunters?
Like, hey, you know I I don'tknow too much about amish people
, you know, I know, you knowusually when I see them, like,
yes, I know they drive cars, buta lot of the times I've seen
them with you know, still, thehorse and buggy you know.
Or, um, you know, on certaindays, like when we go up to the

(25:31):
great american outdoor show.
I believe it's sunday wherethey're not there because I
think they have to do, you know,whatever stuff they have to do
for religion or or whatever thecase is, you know.
But besides that, like they arefilling up the show at the
greater, like they love huntingand fishing in the, the, the

(25:51):
outdoors, obviously, but a bigpart of the, the people that I
see, I would say is a pretty bigpercentage of amish people.
So I wonder how, what thepercentage of amish people are
hunting in you know, your stateor pierre, something like that,
and what it's like, you know,for them to hunt, like what,
what are, what's their huntingstyle?
You know, I mean, that they'renot getting all the fancy stuff

(26:14):
and everything.
Like you know, like a lot ofpeople are, you know, are they
more that basic, you know, basichunter?

Speaker 2 (26:20):
well, actually, surprisingly, they're decked out
in a lot of stuff.
You know, I, really we, they'reallowed to use trail cameras
and benelli's.
I see them showing up sometimes.
My buddy's got a permissionspot right next to public land
and we'll see them cuttingthrough there with the benelli's
and sick of waiters and allsorts of stuff.

(26:40):
I mean they've got, I think, alot of loopholes and stuff where
they're allowed to do.
Yeah, yeah, I mean I, I wantwhat's that?

Speaker 1 (26:51):
I wonder if it's because they're going after.
You know they're going after afood source and natural food
source and you know, maybethat's somewhere in their
loophole where it's like, hey,you know what, this is, what we
can do, because it's going toprovide for the whole entire
family slash community that thatthey have for sure, and I I

(27:12):
love having the Amish.

Speaker 2 (27:20):
I don't have to deal with the public land, luckily,
so I don't have to run into toomuch pressure and that kind of
stuff.
But the guy, the bow technicianthat works on my bow and stuff
every year, he's Amish, he does.
They know so much about allthat technology and stuff and
they're just incredible and veryuseful and helpful people and
very nice as well.
I've never had with them.

Speaker 1 (27:42):
I, I agree, I've never, never had a issue with
them.
They usually kind of just, like, you know, state to themselves
um, you know, and you knowyou're I've never seen them, you
know.
Know, as, of course, when yougo out to places in public,
they're never the, the drunkassholes that are, they're
acting out.
They're usually, you know,pretty reserved and they're just

(28:03):
you know, they kind of mindtheir own business.
They're there for, for a reason, they kind of have like an idea
of what they want to do andthey just go out and and do it.
I mean, what they want to doand they just go out and and do
it.
I mean I imagine that's part oftheir, their lifestyle and
everything like that.
Yet again, I don't, I don't knowmuch about it, but you know, it
seems like they're, for themost part, they're.
They're pretty reserved,they're pretty simple and
easygoing, which is which ispretty nice, because you never

(28:26):
know who you're going to run outinto, out in the real world.
But if you run out to someonewho's in the Amish community or
something like that, they'repretty.
I've never had a bad experiencewith them at all.
Yeah, they're very good people,you know.
So we go through that and youknow we're looking at 2023,.

(28:47):
You know, last season you shota beautiful, beautiful buck.

Speaker 2 (28:56):
You know, give give us the backstory to that and how
it all went down.
Well, the buck is I named himSevens because he's always been
a giant seven point.
I actually tried getting my dadon him, not this past year, but
the year before as afour-year-old, and he was just a
giant then as a four-year-oldand he was just a giant then.

(29:18):
But I pretty much watched himthe whole season and in 2022 and
throughout the summer of lastyear I really didn't have a
target buck picked out and onOctober 9th, I believe, he
showed up on one of my camerasand I pretty much just honed in
on him move.
I'm I'm a big proponent totaking all my resources and

(29:42):
including cell cams and stuffand putting them, infiltrating
that certain area that I noticedwhere the deer are or the
specific bucks that I'm huntingis.
So I I uh going on after a fewsits of sitting where I had seen
him before, I was headed in thestand.

(30:04):
I actually wasn't even gonnahunt that day.
I was actually getting a filmfor my dad, but he he was kind
of pissed at me excuse my, mylanguage, but he was upset with
me for not wanting to hunt thatday and he, we were in the truck
and he turned around, made mego get my bow and it had been

(30:26):
raining off and on that day andyou know how it is in mid to
late October where deer arehitting scrapes finally and that
pre-rut's starting to kick inand I had to go get a stand one
of my tethered platforms outfrom another tree where I was
doing an observation set thenight before, and as I was

(30:48):
walking down this path to go tomy stand where I had been seeing
him, he was actually on ascrape with some does and so I
put everything down except formy bow and I was trying to creep
up to behind some briar patchesand stuff.
But there were a couple does ina cedar thicket right to my left

(31:09):
and they blew and they clearedthe whole field and I saw him
run into the section of woodsthat I call the middle woods,
but I figured he was going tocome back out, so I actually I
had I have permission to walk onthe a certain portion of the
farmer's property that's aneighbor to the farm I hunt, and

(31:33):
so I crept in in there to thewoods and went around into his
field and there's like a divideof trees and my stand was in
that divide of trees and so Icrept in behind all those and
climbed up into my stand realquick and it wasn't.
I got the camera set up and itwasn't.
Five minutes after he camewalking back out and I shot him

(31:56):
at 43 yards and he droppedwithin 20 seconds and didn't
even clear the field.
I have a video on my YouTube.
The link is in my Instagram bio.
It's the slip underscore tv ifyou want to search it up on
youtube.

Speaker 1 (32:16):
But I was so excited yeah, I mean, she's like, first
of all, what an easy track jobyou I.
The one of the things I alwaystalk about is man, I wish my
track jobs could be easy.
I want to watch and I thinkI've I've seen like two or three

(32:38):
of my deer fall down right in,like front of me or like where I
can see it, and it's alwayslike when you see that happen,
it's even better, it's like allright, you don't have to worry,
there's no.
Like, oh my god, like you, likeyou know you're never wondering
, you know, and yet again, youknow, you and everyone else out
there they've probably, you know, you've probably shot deer and

(33:00):
everything like that, and you'veheard deer crash, you know.
But you're like, oh, like I'mnot sure, like I remember when I
shot this guy right here, Ismoked him and he took off and I
was like 99% sure I heard himcrash right and I'm excited and
I'm pumped up.
But then I walked back to thetruck and like I'm calling

(33:22):
everyone and you know I gotpeople coming up, so I'm not
going out on track, but it'sthat 1% here.
It's like wait, wait, did Ihear it?
Like you know, did I reallyhear him?
Maybe he was just rippingthrough something and it's like,
like, until you find him you'renot a hundred percent sure,

(33:42):
right, but if you see that deergo down, at least you don't have
to worry about anything else.
You know he's dead, you knowhe's not going anywhere like.
You know you don't have toworry about anything, and it's
like it's always magical to mewhen you watch a deer go down,
you know, and it's, it's alsoone.
You know the deer is notsuffering, you know.
You know there wasn't a badshot there.
There isn't any foul play oranything like that involved.
You know it's quick, clean andethical if they go down like

(34:06):
right in front of you, you knowthere was really no suffering.
You know, and that's alwayslike the first, like great thing
, um, you know, and then,especially if you're out in
thick, thick country, it's likeall right at least I don't have
to track this deer.
Yeah, you don't have to gothrough that.
There's been times where we'reon hands and knees trying to

(34:27):
find blood or something likethat, or if you're trying to
drag a deer out and youliterally have to cut through.
Like it can be.
It can be tough, but to watch adeer fall in front of you or
any animal, um, you know is isdefinitely quite thrilling and
the perfect scenario that youcan ask for.

Speaker 2 (34:50):
Right, I've looked.
I've only been able to do thattwice where I've had been able
to watch it drop.
I've had far too many exampleswhere I haven't been that lucky,
and it's definitely.

Speaker 1 (35:03):
It makes you appreciate the short tracking
jobs for sure yeah, no, I, Iagree with you, um, you know,
and it's as a bow hunter I thinkyou know like kind of like I,
and it's as a bow hunter, Ithink you know, like kind of
like I said, it's just, it'salways nerve wracking, it just
really is.
I mean, it doesn't matter, youcan be the best bow hunter in
the world, like you know, itdoesn't really matter.

(35:25):
I think I was watching um, youknow, heading to to England or
um, I was been watching a lot ofCameron Hayes to england, or um
, I've been watching a lot ofcameron hayes, um, haynes, juice
haynes, um, and I watched his,uh, his bear hunt and he thought
he smoked it and it was, it wasstill alive and everything like

(35:45):
that.
And you know they had a, theyhad to shoot it with the gun and
everything like that.
But it's, it's that point whereyou, you never know, you think
you smoke something, you thinkit was a great shot, you know,
obviously, when you're talkingabout bears, it's, it's it's way
way different than than a deer.
But you know, at the end of theday, you just want the quickest,

(36:06):
cleanest, most ethical kill youcan possibly get and you want
no suffering and you know whenyou could see an animal go down.
Listen it's, you got you,You're right, you got to
appreciate it, because when itdoesn't happen, oh man, it's, it
could be gun wrenching,especially if you don't find
that animal.

Speaker 2 (36:24):
Right.
Well, there's two scenarioswhere that's happened to me.
Before my first buck Ohio buckwho I named Splits he was the
186.
My first buck Ohio buck who Inamed Splits he was the 186.
I actually got a shot off onhim back in January of 21.
And I didn't actually end upfinding the deer.

(36:47):
I thought I had made a perfectshot on him and I think I did.
I was using an expandablebroadhead and I think I did.
I just I was using anexpandable broadhead and I think
I shoulder shot him so, but Ididn't end up finding that deer.

(37:09):
I did end up finding his shedson Easter weekend, so luckily, I
was able to find those.
I don't know if he droppedright after that shot, since it
was so late in the year, or not.
They were kind of in that areawhere I had seen him run off to,
but I've never seen him againand that was just a heartbreaker
.
And then my 2022 buck was kindof that same situation where I

(37:32):
shot him.
It felt like a good shot, butit ended up taking 200 yards
later to find him.
Yeah, and it's stressful andyou feel like you want to quit,
but yeah, there's alwayssomething that brings you right
back into it.
You know, luckily I was able tofind my 22 buck but and get the

(37:56):
tag on them.
But it's definitely verystressful when you're thinking
about or when you don't don'tsee them crash yeah, I mean now,
you know going through, youknow what we're talking about.

Speaker 1 (38:13):
Like you know, I haven't talked about a lot on
this podcast, I don't think, buttwo incidents I, you know, I
can remember, is this one buck.
I I thought I smoked and heactually ran out into an open
field and he was just he wasstanding there and I was like I

(38:33):
was like okay, like he's goingto drop, like he's going to drop
, and I literally I don't knowwhat I did, but I took my eyes
off of him for a second and hewas gone Right.
So I'm like all right, likemaybe he walked off, he
shouldn't be too far, and goodblood, I mean really good blood.
And then we got out into theopen field and where he was

(38:55):
standing, nothing, oh geez, itwas like it was nothing and it
was like a I always explain topeople it was like a ufo came,
picked up the deer and justdisappeared because we found
nothing.
I mean we searched everywhere.
I mean we swear we searched, wesearched.

(39:18):
I went home, got more peoplecame back because I wanted to
give them time.
So like I didn't push too much,I searched that area, like the
initial impact area, out towhere he was and just around in
that field a little bit, notpushing where you know I thought
he went because I didn't wantto bump him, gosh forbid.
And then I walked out, got morepeople, came back, I think at

(39:42):
like one, twelve or one o'clockin the morning, with I think
five or six other people, and wesearched everything.
Grid search um came out thenext day.
Um grid searched again.
Um was looking in the air tosee if I could find any, you
know, buzzards or anything likethat.

(40:03):
Nothing, um, and he just justdisappeared, just didn't find
his sheds, didn't find any bones, didn't?
You know?
I remember going back in theoff season and you know, trying
to find something.
You know, just couldn't findanything.
So I'm hoping that he didsurvive.
Maybe it wasn't as good of ashot than I thought, but the

(40:26):
blood, the initial blood, waslike it was a lot.
It was good blood, but it's oneof those things like they're so
resilient.
You know what I mean.
It's, it's, it's neverguaranteed.
And then you know I, what wasthe second story?
I was going to say I can't even, can't even remember right now

(40:49):
what, what the second story was.
But you know it happens to allof us.
It's going to happen to thebest of us.
You know, no one is perfect.
And they're so like when you'retalking especially you're
talking about bow hunting, likethings just happen.
You know and it is agut-wrenching feeling where
you're right, you do want tojust quit, but um, you can't.

(41:09):
And actually now remember thestory I was going to say um, it
was the rut and I was huntinghard and I had this beautiful
buck come cruising in and he waslike 30 or 35 yards.
I put my pin on him, perfectlyquartering away, let it rip, my

(41:31):
drop away, sight broke and itnever went down, stripped my
arrow and I remember I saw thearrow do this and dropped right
Would.
It was still kind of perfect,but I guess it just lost
momentum when it, when it hitthe rest and dropped I would say
maybe a couple yards right infront of him, but would have

(41:56):
been like.
When I watched the video, itwas like perfectly on where it
would have smoked them if itwasn't the case.
And I think that was the themost difficult thing I've ever
went through, because in my mindI did everything right, like
everything right, and I rememberjust sitting there like just

(42:19):
like why, me, like what, why,why did this have to happen?
Um, and after maybe fiveminutes I was like you know what
, this is bohemian, this is whyyou love it, like you know what.
At the end of the day, likeit's just full of raw emotion
and you know, even though youwant to quit and you want to
give up, like this is, this iswhat we do, and you just can't

(42:41):
quit and give up and you, youget right back on the horse.
I mean, I remember I got downand I took my.
I was like we're straight tothe, to the bow shop, what the
hell's going on?
And everything like that.
Um, you know, and I actuallyended up having to because we
thought we fixed it and I wentto the range and it kept on
happening.
I had to go to a whiskerbiscuit for the remainder of the

(43:02):
year because I didn't want to.
You know, I wanted to get backinto the, into the stand right
away.
I didn't want to have to playaround too much on getting a new
drop away rest and everythinglike that.
So we want the good old whiskerbiscuit and you know.
But things happen, things,things happen.
Your bow happens, everything goperfectly and it could just be

(43:22):
a malfunction.

Speaker 2 (43:23):
You know there's there's things that happen it's
hunting's one of the only sportswhere every it has to be 100
for a torque out, it can't be 99, it has to be 100 and I've been
saying that for years.
Where it's got to be 100% forit to work out, it can't be 99%,
it has to be 100% and I've beensaying that for years.
Where it's got to be 100% or itdoesn't work out.
I try and manage my deer and Itry to be as secretly as

(43:46):
possible and careful with what Isay around certain people
because if they go into thosespots that I know they're a deer
bedded, that could be the endof my season.
Yeah, I've kind of had to adaptto that kind of secrecy, uh
format in my hunting because Ican't afford to have any hiccups

(44:13):
and and my season potentiallyin terms of harvesting that one
deer I mean the one deer is.
Choosing one deer a season is ahuge gamble and a high risk,
high reward type of situation.

Speaker 1 (44:29):
Has?
Has that something in the pastkind of screwed you over?
Is that like something thatyou've you know, you've gone
from experience where you'veyou've had to move to this um,
kind of secrecy and kind of likekeeping things on on the down
low, um, or you're just sayingin just in general, um, this is
what you kind of know from justthe area that you live in or

(44:52):
like the pressure that that it'sbeen like um, where, where you
live in, Um, it's a little bitof both, but I have had people
go in and look for my stands andsetups and cameras and that
kind of stuff and it actuallyturned out my one 86 was bedded.

Speaker 2 (45:08):
I, I yarded, got a range on it yesterday.
It was 60 yards away from whereall my stuff was, where I
caught embedded, and I mean thatcould have ended my whole
season at that point and so Iwas like, all right, I'm just
not gonna.
I'm gonna be careful on who Italk to about it and that kind

(45:30):
of stuff, because you know Itake the deer hunting is what
replaced baseball for me after Igot hurt and stuff.
So deer hunts, or hunting ingeneral, is just my true passion
and what I truly love doingyeah, no, I I've kind of like

(45:50):
actually in the same boat as you.

Speaker 1 (45:51):
Like hunting replaced hockey for me after I got
injured and everything like thatand became my end all be all,
because I imagine, when you're,when you're playing sports at a
high level, you're so used to.
Okay, you wake up here, you dothis, you work out, you go train
, you do you watch film, you,you do all these things.
Um, you know, you study that,you're studying the game, um,

(46:16):
and it's a.
It's exactly the the same thingwith hunting.
Like I've taking everythingthat I've done with hockey and
put it into hunting and I meanthe exact breakdown of
everything from film.
Like a big part of why I film myhunts and I talk about this a

(46:36):
lot is not to be like oh my god,look at this.
You know I don't.
You know, yeah, I post it onyoutube and instagram and stuff
like that, but a lot of it isfor me that I break down my
hunts.
You know you miss a lot.
You know you're sometimes yourbrain isn't, you know taking it
all in and just going back andfilm like, oh okay, look at that

(46:58):
detail.
You, you notice those smalllittle details that you've may
have missed.
You know you're able to alignit with trail camera pictures or
videos or scouting or whateveryou've done.
And then you're you're huntingit and you're like, okay, you
know what?
Now I noticed that deer or thatbuck.
He came from.
You know this area, you know.

(47:18):
And what I actually do is whenI, when I see deer, I take my
compass and I actually will belike, okay, he came from north,
126 degrees or whatever the caseis, and I I kind of map
everything out where it's like,well, why, why did that deer
come from here?
Right, and if it continues tohappen, it's like, ok, now
you're starting to see a patternand now you can go back on the

(47:41):
film or whatever the case is,and it's the same thing with
baseball, you know if you're.

Speaker 2 (47:47):
What position did you play?
Mostly in high school I was acatcher and then as I got into
college and stuff, they had memore switch over to pitching and
that kind of stuff because ofmy injury, which is ironic.

Speaker 1 (47:59):
So, honestly, you look at both the pitcher and
catcher.
They got to know each otherRight.
They share a Of how Eachpitcher is different.
You know the catcher needs tounderstand that.
How else are you going to dothat?
You're you know a lot of it'sfilm, or you're discussing

(48:19):
discussing what the pitcher andeverything like that, and then
also for the pitcher you arewatching film from, I imagine
you know the team that you'regoing to play against these
hitters.
Where is their weakest point,and everything like that.
It's the same exact thing thatwe're doing for hunting, right?
You know what I mean.
Where are we gonna have thatslip up?

Speaker 2 (48:41):
yep 100, even in terms of I I call my um archery
practice more of my bullpen typestuff where I'll try and work
counts and stuff in terms ofpick a spot on the target and I
just go around each you know howtargets have the little dots
and that kind of stuff and I tryand get work hitters count in

(49:05):
there and once I do like a fullstrikeout then I move to the
next one and then over and soforth until I get it done and
that kind of stuff.
So it's just weird littlethings that I picked up from
baseball in terms of and broughtit into my hunting practices
and that kind of stuff to makeme better.
But I have noticed where a lotof my buddies they were also

(49:29):
college baseball players andstuff and or athletes and
they've just picked up onhunting and become had success
as well yeah, I, I think, um,also mentally too, I think.

Speaker 1 (49:44):
Have you noticed that ?
Has it has being a athlete andeverything that you go through
in your athletics and you know ateam sport and the grind of a
season, or you know the ups anddowns of of a game or a season.
Has that helped you in the longterm as well, of a hunting

(50:04):
season and the grind of ahunting season and all the ups
and downs and emotion that'sgoing in a into a hunting season
?

Speaker 2 (50:12):
oh for sure.
Yeah, um, I definitely get verycompetitive in terms of against
that deer or whatever it is.
I'm I'm trying to take all myresources that I can have
available to me to outsmartthose deer, whether it's picking
up certain weather patterns interms with winds especially

(50:33):
being in aviation, winds are ahuge thing that I pay attention
to, as well as fronts and thatkind of stuff.
But I haven't had other thanthe most stressful portion of
the season for me is after theshot, um, or if there's, like

(50:55):
the farmer, he waterfowl hunts,uh, one of the marshes that's on
the neighboring properties tothe farm and a lot of deer bed
in there.
So I get, I have that kind ofdeadline where I want to be done
and have my deer on the groundat all possible before waterfowl
season and the guns startshooting and rifle season and
all that kind of stuff.

(51:15):
So usually around those keyframes between gun seasons and
that kind of stuff, those are alittle more stressful.
But early season and that kindof stuff and when there's no
guns going off, it's not too bad.
Um, I just have fun with it.

Speaker 1 (51:34):
I agree with you and I like that concept and that's
something that Peyton and I oneof our team guys we were talking
about this year.
You know, we want to have a lotof our deer down so when that
waterfowl season really startsto kick off, we can go out and
waterfowl hunt.
We don't have to worry aboutanything else, like we like to
do everything.

(51:55):
You know, when you haven'tcapitalized on your deer hunting
, it puts this big pressure onyou and it kind of negatively
affects all the other thingsbecause, in my opinion, I don't
get to go out and do what I, youknow the other things, because
I still need to get it done forfor deer hunting, it's the most

(52:16):
important thing to me, right, westill have to go achieve that
goal, you know, um, so it's,it's tough, it's a lot of
pressure and I agree with youlike get it, get it done earlier
so you can now, you don't haveto worry, you can go out
waterfowl hunting.
You can now, you don't have toworry, you can go out waterfowl
hunting.
You know you don't have toworry about, you know, people

(52:36):
walking around or busting yourspots or shooting up spots and
everything like that you need.
You can also now go and focuson.
You know, the waterfowl huntingaspect.
If you're a predator hunter, youcould start you know, predator
hunting or trapping or pheasanthunting or out of state hunting,
things like that, and that'sanother thing I told you like I
always plan on going to ohio,but if it's not done when it

(52:59):
needs to be done here, how can Igo to another?
In my opinion, how can I go toanother state when I still got
to get it done in my, in my homestate?

Speaker 2 (53:08):
yeah, because how it usually works is you take a day
off and then your 200 inch deersunder your stand or in front of
your camera right there.
I can't tell you how many timesI've had to miss a sit because
of class and stuff.
And then that deer has beennocturnal the last two weeks and

(53:29):
then he shows up six o'clockbroad daylight, two hours before
dark, and then that's the onlytime they show up and of course
my birthday is around the timeof opening day, so those deer
are sometimes still in theirpattern and sometimes moving
over to their rut range and thatkind of stuff.
And so I've had I've hadbirthday events and the deer at

(53:54):
my stand broad daylight, andthat was the first time the
whole season.
Oh man, and it's just like, ohmy gosh.

Speaker 1 (54:04):
I'm happy.
I don't like.
My birthday is in August, so Idon't have to deal with that.
It's a love-hate relationship,because I would always like to
hunt on my birthday.
I feel like that would be sucha cool birthday, like to myself,
but also, you know, especiallybeing younger like now I'm 30,
um, being in my early 20s Idon't think I could could do it.

(54:27):
I would, I'd be somewhere else,I'd be enjoying myself.
I wouldn't, I couldn't imaginelike being in my early 20s and
having to to figure out if Iwant to go out or if I want to,
you know, go hunting.
I didn't have that option,thank god, um, because it's.
If I saw a deer, a buck, showup on my birthday when I was at,

(54:50):
like you know, whatever event Iwas doing for her, I would, I
would be.
I think that'd make my birthdaymiserable.
I'd be so mad.

Speaker 2 (54:59):
I'll be hunting on my birthday.
This year it's opening day, soI'll be getting after it, that's
perfect, perfect, um.

Speaker 1 (55:07):
You know, garrett, we we got a few more, a few more
questions for you and everythinglike that.
We're about to get into our,our quick response topic that we
always do with um, with all thenewcomers onto our show, um, so
let's, we're gonna start thatoff in a, in a second.
Let me pull it up, all right,my notes.

(55:28):
The most important questionthat we're about to ask I'm
gonna give you a little bit tothink about.
Usually, most people don't geta chance to think about it, but
I got to pull it up on my phoneIs if, what is your dream hunt?
You can hunt anywhere and anyanimal for two weeks.
Money's not an option, doesn'tmatter.
What is your dream hunt?

(55:49):
And I will take the answer in asecond.
I'll give you a second to thinkabout it.
Where the hell is this thing?
Okay, okay.

Speaker 2 (56:12):
You know I think about this a lot too is a dream
hunt, and obviously white tailsare my bread and butter.
I mean, that's what I love.
I do like the thought of doinga mule deer hunt or an elk hunt,
um, but in terms of a dreamdream hunt, it would be a doll

(56:33):
sheep in alaska.

Speaker 1 (56:35):
I think that would just be so wow, okay, that is,
oh, sheep in alaska.
I think that might be the firstof 2024 of of sheep.
Um, I would have to go over thenotes, but that, honestly, we

(56:56):
haven't gotten that too much.
We've been.
We've been asking this questionfor since the start of our show
, so for four years now.
We have only maybe a handful oftimes have gotten that one,
maybe not even 10, like I wouldprobably put that in the five
range.
Um, so a very unique one.

(57:19):
I like that one.
I, I like that one.
I dig that one.

Speaker 2 (57:22):
Um, uh, the next question um, traditional or
non-traditional whitetail oh I,I like a, I like a typical buck,
a big, wide, typical, you can'tbeat it no, you definitely,

(57:44):
definitely can't.

Speaker 1 (57:45):
Um, if you can have property in any state in in the
country or in any state, yeah,any state in the country, what
state would it be in?

Speaker 2 (57:57):
definitely Iowa.
My goal is to be based, once Iget to the airlines, in Iowa.
You just can't beat the twobucks and that kind of stuff.
Ohio is a one buck state andonce my seat.
Once I shoot my buck, myseason's over in Ohio, so it'd
be nice to get two bucks, bigbucks.

Speaker 1 (58:19):
I love that.
Yeah, no, definitely.
If you could get sponsored byone company, what company would
that be?

Speaker 2 (58:34):
Just one.
Just one, just just one for nownow I gotta be honest, the uh
trail trail cameras, the cellcams, are definitely starting to
show their price.
Um, so, definitely likemoultrie.
Moultrie is who I use and I Ilove moultrie products.
Um, some of my outfittingbuddies and guide buddies are
sponsored by.
Moultrie is who I use and Ilove Moultrie products.

(58:55):
Some of my outfitting buddiesand guide buddies are sponsored
by Moultrie and they love theirservice and love working with
them, so it would definitely beMoultrie or something like that.

Speaker 1 (59:05):
I'm glad you said that one, because it wouldn't
have been, because we are on thefield staff team here for
Moultrie and everything likethat.
So you know we use Moultrieproducts, field staff team here
for for Moultrie and everythinglike that.
So you know we use Moultrieproducts.
Um, and honestly, I was a bigum, I have no problem with
saying this.
Everyone knows I was a big, uh,tacticam guy.
Um, I was using Tacticam for acouple years and then I'll never

(59:28):
forget I think it was it wastwo years ago where one of my
buddies I'm not sure which onewho picked up a mulchery and
like they started raving aboutlike hey, dude, you got to try
this.
I know you, you know you're,you're hooked on reveal and
everything like that.
But just, you know, try it out.
And we went to the greatamerican outdoor show and I
picked up two and I was like allright, like you know what?

(59:49):
I'm a huge cell cam guy, like Ilove, I love cameras.
Let me try this thing out.
I was very skeptical about itbecause like, oh, what could be
better than Tacticam?
Honestly, because they were thebest at that point in my
opinion, and I put it out there.
I set it up.
First of all, the fact that youcould put 16 batteries I love

(01:00:10):
that and you don't need an SDcard.
I was like, all right, likethis is great.
And then like the fact that mycamera was running on video mode
for as long as it was andeverything like that.
I mean it, just that that gotme hooked.
So then I think I got, like Igot three more that season and

(01:00:30):
now like I think I'm at like Idon't even know how many I'm at,
like I, I think I'm at, like Idon't even know how am I am at,
like I think I got I got onesitting right there.
I think I got five out in thewoods.
I got two solar panels rightthere.
So I've become a huge, huge fanand that's why I was like you
know what, let me, let me jointhe Moultrie team and you know I

(01:00:51):
very, uh, very happy and theircustomer service is.
It's phenomenal.
Actually, out of a can I gottasend one of my cameras back,
because I actually had a issuewith my camera, um, and I called
them.
Mid in the woods, it's like 100degrees out.
I'm sitting in a like ariverbank, so it's nice and cool
and they answered me right away.
We tried everything and thenlike, hey, you know what, send

(01:01:12):
the back, we'll send you out anew one.
You know, no problem at all.
And you know my first experiencewith SpyPoint because SpyPoint
was the first cell camera I usedWorse, and you know anyone who
uses them.
Everyone has differentexperiences.
For me it was the worstcustomer service I've had.
You know I haven't had to useTacticams.

(01:01:32):
I don't think I've had.
You know I haven't had to usetacticams.
I don't think, um, but justabsolutely, just, just wasn't my
thing.
And just, you know I'm happywhere I'm at now on the camera.
I'm actually gonna.
We got a spy point right there.

Speaker 2 (01:01:46):
I gotta actually remove that um, my buddies have
tried the spy points.
I've never really gotten intothem.
I've thought they were kind ofcheap.
And I tried the tactic camsprobably three years ago and I
tried one of them along withsome of my mulchries and the

(01:02:07):
thing died within like a monthand it just would send black
pictures like the camera quitworking.
So I just returned that becauseluckily it was still on the
Warranty yeah, warranty so I wasable to send that back and get
my money.
And then I bought a couple moreMoultries with it.
Moultries are definitely thebest in terms of camera quality

(01:02:32):
and the videos on those thingsare amazing, the best.
I think they're way better thantacticams.
I do too.
I'll use moultrie for as longas they're creating a good
product yep, yep, I agree, Iagree with that.

Speaker 1 (01:02:49):
um, obviously and I'm not only saying it, you know
everyone out there all.
I'm not saying that because you, you know I'm on their team.
The reason why I wanted to be apart of their team was because
you know how much I believe inthis product.
You know, and it's Cell camshave been such a I love them.
I really do, and I know rightnow, like even in Iowa, they

(01:03:10):
just banned them.
I think they actually justoverturned that a couple days.
Oh, they did yeah because I was.

Speaker 2 (01:03:16):
I was reading up on that a lot because I mean that's
where I want to potentiallymove to.
I'm torn between either stayinghere, kentucky, or Iowa, and I
saw that probably two days agowhere they overturned it.
So that's a good thing, causewhat's the point of?
I mean, if you can't use trailcameras, you're not learning

(01:03:39):
anything about the deer and it'sdefinitely going to turn a lot
of people away and from going toIowa at that point because they
feel like they have no chance,especially with a lot of new
hunters and stuff going on thathave never experienced a hunt
without trail cameras.
I've been fortunate to be ableto go out of state and to buddy

(01:04:01):
other buddies, properties andstuff and not have to use trail
cameras, and so it's fine.

Speaker 1 (01:04:05):
But in terms of managing deer and that kind of
stuff, you want to have camerasto help build that age class, I
believe I think I I agree ahundred percent, especially when
you're talking about if you'retrying to grow the outdoors and
get new hunters into it.
I think I think, yes, there isa point where it's becoming too

(01:04:29):
much.
I don't think we shouldcontinue.
You know, I think, where we arewith trail cameras right now.
This is where it needs to be.
You know what I mean.
I don't think you should becoming out with some other new
technology where you can do livefeeds or and I think there is
one that you can, I think orpart in one yeah, you can, I

(01:04:49):
think, barton, one, yeah, youcan.
I think that's a little toomuch, right?
And also, how much is thatreally going to cost, right?
I think, where we are right now, that's great.
If A state I don't think astate should fully ban them, I

(01:05:12):
think if they were to come upwith something like say with you
, do a, you know, public versusprivate thing, I think, if you
have private, how are you goingto tell somebody that they can't
run trail cameras on their, ontheir private property?

Speaker 2 (01:05:19):
you know what I?

Speaker 1 (01:05:20):
mean, um, you know, over here in new jersey we can
run them, except for, I think,on federal land.
I think there's certain, likecertain areas that we cannot run
them, which, okay, I'mcompletely cool with.
You know, we plan on huntingone of those areas this year and
I'm really excited to hunt itwithout any trail cameras, you

(01:05:41):
know.
I mean it gives another aspect,but you know what, look at what
we've done compared to someonewho's new.
When you're new, you want to getevery advantage you want.
I think it's a whole.
It's a really cool aspect ofhunting that you're scouting,
you do whatever you put a cameraand if you get deer, you get
like that's so cool, like goingand seeing the videos or the
pictures, like and seeing howthey interact and everything

(01:06:03):
like that.
It's a tool to learn, um, youknow, and that's what I think it
does a very good job at.
And for the new hunters, Ithink it's especially important
that you keep it for forsomebody who's getting into
hunting, for the new hunters,they don't need cell cameras, no
, but you know what, sd camerasor make it like that.
Hey, you know what on this landyou can't use cell cameras, sd

(01:06:26):
camera, you, you know, make it alittle more fair, or whatever
the case is, is what they'retrying to argue um, but to ban
it fully?
I don't, I, I definitely don'tagree exactly.

Speaker 2 (01:06:38):
Yeah, me too.
Going off on the SD cardcameras on public land.
I think that's a great thing.
Um, you don't really I don'tmind the sell cams on public
land either.
However, you know you got theissue with privacy and that kind
of stuff, obviously with otherhunters and that kind of stuff,
but I think it's neat to be ableto go out and still use regular

(01:07:01):
sd cameras on public land.
Uh, one of my buddies thatlives out in colorado.
He goes up and sets up hisregular SD card cameras up in
the mountains and stuff for elkand mule deer and he gets all
sorts of stuff on there mountainlions, everything and the
videos are just incredible andit's just so neat to go see him

(01:07:24):
and go through all the videosthat he's collected over the
year, him, and go through allthe videos that he's collected
over the year.

Speaker 1 (01:07:31):
No, I I think it's, um, like you said, that that's
something like how are you gonnatell someone that they can't,
you know, especially when you,when you're gonna be out in the
mountains like that or orsomething like that, or very far
, or you know, you don't havethe time to just go up and
travel a couple hours, orwhatever the case is, to to an
area?
Um, I think it's also I'venoticed and you know I don't

(01:07:54):
want to, I'm going to knock onwood here I think it's a huge
deterrent, also for people whomight be stealing your stuff or
breaking into your stuff.
Um, my sds, you know, and I runa bunch of sds in the
summertime because I I don'tneed to be running cell cameras
right now, you know.
I mean, um, a lot more of thoseget broken into, but that I

(01:08:18):
think when you see a cell camera, when someone sees, they're
like, oh wait, did they just getmy picture?
Is that, is that already on the?
You know, is my face on thephone, whatever?
Whatever the case is, so I dothink of it of a deterrent.
I also put my cameras usuallyup in a tree right that.

Speaker 2 (01:08:35):
I've heard a lot of people do that.
I've done that a little bit onmy farm.
Um, I haven't had to put anycameras out on public land, but
I I usually try to get a minimumof five to six feet on my
cameras yeah, I, I do um on my,on my.

Speaker 1 (01:08:55):
I even do it now on private too, not all the time,
because it depends where we'rehunting, but we have bears.
You know, I don't do you, doyou guys have bears in Ohio?

Speaker 2 (01:09:06):
Very occasionally We'll get some that kind of
migrate from Pennsylvania to, orthey migrate from Pennsylvania
and West Virginia, but veryseldom do we see them.
Okay, usually once or twiceevery spring.
That's pretty much it though.

Speaker 1 (01:09:25):
So they get.
I mean, they could getdestroyed by bears.
Um, so I usually put them up ina tree.
That's another reason why I putthem up in a tree.
I actually put one up in a treeduring, you know, when I was
baiting for bear season, and itactually climbed up into the
tree and still got it.
That's the only time I've had abear climb up for a camera, um,

(01:09:46):
you know, but besides that, noissues, issues at all.
Um, but a few more beforebefore I let you go here.
Um, what is your go-to huntingsnack?
Are you?
Are you a snack guy?

Speaker 2 (01:10:04):
um, depends on what I'm hunting.
If I'm white tailitetailhunting, I don't eat anything.
I'm I can sit all day and noteat anything.
For whitetails and stuff Forturkey I gotta go with like a
cosmic brownie or Welch's makesthese little like blueberry, uh,
greek yogurt things andwaterfowl.

(01:10:27):
I bought a blackstone, or I gota blackstone for christmas this
year and we like to make allsorts of stuff, whether it's egg
, bologna sandwiches type thingsor whatever.

Speaker 1 (01:10:43):
So that's the cool thing about waterfall that I
love.
Like I plan on, you know, thisyear getting something like that
and just cooking Taylor andMegan cheese, just cooking up
some hot meals in between birdscoming in and just being able to
eat, drink some hot chocolateor coffee and blast birds away.

Speaker 2 (01:11:04):
It's definitely a good time, no matter where you
go with that now the last, lastone.

Speaker 1 (01:11:13):
I'll ask you on on this and it, if you could hunt
with anyone, whether they'rethey're dead or alive, whether
they're from back in the day orwhatever the case is, and I'll
do.
Um, if you want to do a familymember and also somebody else,
um, you could do that as well.
Or if you just have one, onespecific person, you know we've

(01:11:36):
we've heard all different onesuh, fred bear's one, uh, teddy
roosevelt's one, and then we'vehad a couple of, you know,
football players or sportsathletes or whoever, whoever
likes to hunt.
You know, you know, um, whoever, who would it be?

Speaker 2 (01:11:53):
um, I loved getting to hunt with my dad, but luckily
I am able to do that in termsof someone that I really look up
to in the hunting industry isdonnie vincent.
Um, he he's kind of who got meinto the filming because I just
think his films are incredible,so I definitely have to choose

(01:12:16):
Donnie.
I think he's got a lot ofinformation that is very
valuable and he's had someincredible experiences in his
life that the stories would justbe so unique to, yeah, and just
so fascinating.
I actually have a uh, one ofhis quotes over here.
Um, I'm just a huge fan ofDonnie Vincent and his work.

Speaker 1 (01:12:42):
Love it, love it.
That's a.
That's a good one as as well.
Um, you know.
And also one one thing I wantto to you know, what is it like
going through flight school?
Like what?
What is that?
What is your plan like, do youwant to, what do you want to fly
when, when you graduate, andeverything like that, like, what
is that like?

Speaker 2 (01:13:00):
oh, flight school, it's a.
It's a whirlwind of stuff oremotions, um, going through
flight.
The first six months of flighttraining I flew maybe six times
the whole semester.
There's just a lot of kidsgoing through it now.
They really pushed it becauseof that pilot shortage and now

(01:13:20):
they're halting new hires forairlines because they don't have
enough planes and now they havetoo many pilots.
But flight school I'm usuallyat the airport.
Kent State is big enough sothey have their own airport so
I'm usually there every day.
I got to go there thisafternoon and fly Typically,

(01:13:43):
depending on which flight courseyou're in, the furthest you'll
go is about 45 minutes awayBecause each flight is about an
hour and a half, but there aredays where you'll do kind of
like a cross country, where it's25 nautical miles or greater.
So, like a couple of weeks ago Iwas just down in Charleston,
west Virginia, and then flewback to Columbus, ohio, and then

(01:14:06):
back to Kent.
Here in a couple of weeks, whenI start my commercial, after I
get my instrument rating and Istart my commercial rating, uh,
training I will be doing, Ibelieve, to chicago and back, or
chicago to pittsburgh and thenback, and so I've gotten to see
some really cool airports.
I've been able to fly into thebig airports as well as small,

(01:14:28):
other small airports and thatkind of stuff, and I like the
thought of being.
I chose aviation because I'dalways been interested in flying
you know, going down to floridaand traveling stuff when I was
younger and I like the idea ofbeing able to set my own

(01:14:49):
schedule and for the most partthe airlines are pretty
forgiving on oh, you got to dothis that day and that kind of
stuff and I'm able to workaround what I need to do.
And as you get further on inyour career, you get even more
time off and have an even looserschedule and stuff, which is
really nice and appealing, andyou get flight benefits so I can

(01:15:12):
travel wherever I want once Iget to the airlines yeah, no,
that's.
That's pretty cool yeah, I'mtorn between the airlines and
then potentially going up toalaska and doing like bush,
piloting or something.

Speaker 1 (01:15:24):
I think that'd be really cool too yeah, I was
gonna ask uh, ask that as well,and that seems pretty cool.
I'll give you lots of credit.
I mean, I've never been a flyer.
I was good this time goingthere and back, you know no
issues at it, and I actuallyenjoyed it.
I was never a flyer.

(01:15:46):
I always hated flying, but thistime it was very like all right
, like this is this is doable.
And then it's like okay, like Iwonder what it would be like to
work for airline and just beable to fly and do all these
things.
Like it's never.
I think I've.
I don't think I know any pilots.

(01:16:06):
I think someone I went toschool with they're in the Navy
and I think they fly a fighterpilot, but I don't really talk
to them.
But to be one of those guys andto fly, you know, across
country or over the ocean orwhatever, like it seems like a
pretty, pretty cool job.

(01:16:28):
Like if you could, if you couldpick something, if I could pick
that a pretty, pretty cool job.
Like if you could, if you couldpick something, if I could pick
, that would be pretty cool todo.
Like if you'd love to travel.
We're just with someone um inengland and um bianca's
brother-in-law, um his buddy.
He just he gets on every flightand he's a traveler, he just
likes to travel um, and heliterally, I think, went from la

(01:16:49):
to england just because youknow he knows somebody who who
works in the um for united and Ithink he gets um, he gets to go
on like almost any standstandby um.
So he was like yeah, he waslike I just he's like I just got
here.
He was like I'm like what I waslike and he's like I'm going to
germany tomorrow, like what thehell like that's.

Speaker 2 (01:17:11):
That's absolutely insane yeah, it's definitely a
good industry to be in,especially now because
everyone's traveling stuff yeah,no, I, I, I definitely agree.

Speaker 1 (01:17:24):
But, um, garrett, any , any last, any last words,
anything else you you want totouch on before we, we sign off
here?

Speaker 2 (01:17:32):
um, I think it's whatever you want to do.
I mean, if you've got any morequestions about any of the trips
that I've had, uh, in the lastseveral years, or any other
experiences, or camera setups orbow setups or whatever well,
what we could, we'll definitelydo.

Speaker 1 (01:17:51):
Well, listen, there's always so much to talk about.
We will get you back on.
I would definitely love to talksome waterfowl hunting once we
get close to waterfowl.
We do something where, um, wedo a round table segment where I
actually get a bunch of guys ontoo as well, probably like five
, six, seven, eight up to, Ithink, 10 guys that we can have
up on this and we just go overdifferent topics and everything

(01:18:13):
like that.
Um, you know, it was definitelya pleasure.
I mean I, yet again, I knowthere there's just so much to
talk to and it's the one toughthing is is getting everything.
You can't get everything inwithin an hour to two hours of
of talking, you know.
So I always tell people usually, hey, listen, you're going to

(01:18:34):
have to come back on becausethere's, you know, there there's
just so much to talk about andeverything like that.
And I try not to make these too, too long, but it was an
absolute pleasure.
Loved, you know, our ourconversation Loved.
I love the fact that youactually go to school, and at
kent.
I find that really, really cooland unique, that that's where I

(01:18:55):
used to to play hockey and Ispent some some time too as as
well, um at, but um lookingforward definitely to the, to
the next time talking yeah, metoo.
I appreciate you having me on noproblem, and uh everyone, go
check out his his instagram page.
His youtube will also be downin the link below.

(01:19:15):
Go give him a follow and uh,garrett will will definitely be
talking soon.
And uh, everyone out there.
I hope you guys enjoy thisepisode and we'll see you guys
next time.
Thanks for having me.