December 24, 2024 • 34 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
To get you ready for this hunting season or maybe
excited about this hunting season. We've talked to Ted Nugent.
Now we'll talk to Stephanie Mallory, who wrote a piece
that came to our attention. We thought it was interesting
ten mistakes adults make when hunting with kids. Now, before
we start, Stephanie, we're having to get over the idea
(00:21):
that we're getting hunting advice from a woman.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Oh come on, now, I need.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
I mean, we need some bona fides here. How did
you get to the point that you were giving hunting advice?
I love it. I think it's cool.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Well I get Alabama girl.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Become an expert on hunting.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
I am no expert on hunting. I am an expert
on mistakes. And that is actually why I wrote this article.
It's because I made so many mistakes when taking my
kids hunting that I wanted to learn or figure out
what I was doing wrong. And so I decided to
get out and talk to some people and see, thank
(01:01):
you giving me some advice on how I can make
my kids hunting adventures a little bit better for all
of us. And that's what I did. So this is
you know, more of the advice of other experts, and
a little bit about my personal experiences and the mistakes
that I made.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I love it. Thanks. Yeah, of course I'm kidding you.
But one of the reasons in doing our research it
was we I think that there are, as I've said
on the show a number of times, I think there
are a lot of folks that want to have a
father son, a daughter son a daughter daughter hunting trip
and they don't know how to get started. Because, you know,
reading your biography, you grew up it said roaming the
(01:43):
Bankhead Forest with your father, who instilled a passion for
the outdoors. Some people didn't have that experience, and I
want to make sure that they feel comfortable starting out
doing this and they get out there and start making
some memories with their kids. So I'm glad you did this.
Let's talk about the ten mistakes at all to make
when hunting with their kids. I'm going to take all
one by one. Unrealistic expectations starting Yeah, that that was
(02:08):
my biggest problem.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
And I don't know why I had such unrealistic expectations,
because my dad, when he took me hunting, he did
it just right. We you know, would get out and
just and roam. Essentially, like I said in my bio,
we would roam the bankheads. For us, there were no
real expectations other than to have a good time. So,
(02:31):
you know, for some reason I decided that, you know,
my first hunt with my boys at the time, my
oldest was eight and my younger one was four, that
you know, we were going to kill a bird. I mean,
come high, you know, hell or high water, We're going
to kill a bird. And that was the wrong attitude
to have. It should have been we were going to
(02:51):
have fun. And so that was my mistake. I sped
up the blind. I expected everyone to be super quiet
and sit there for hours and hours and wait for
this bird to show up. And that is not at
all what happened. Instead, we got in a big fight.
We argued, we fussed, we created all kinds of noise
and commotion, and of course the en didn't hear a bird.
(03:13):
And you know, it was my fault. We should have,
you know, just focused on having fun, gotten out in
the woods a little bit, listened to the birds and
not made such a big deal to actually kill one.
So and I think other people have or make that
mistake as well. Their expectations are just you know, unrealistic.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I like it, and I think that's fair. You know,
one of the being a parent. My boys are nine
and ten. Being a parent has taught me a great
deal of patience because I tend to think going into
an activity that they're going to have the same passion
or skill or patience or appreciation for an activity that
(03:56):
I do. And I realized that at that age I
didn't remembering that makes my experience, but forget their experience,
It makes my experience better. So I think you're right.
Your second item, which as you say, should be the
number one priority, safety. Talk about safety and how you
taught your kids the safety of a hunt.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Yeah, I mean safety is definitely the number one priority.
And you know I have spent a lot of time
on the shooting range with my kids, and not just shooting,
but just talking about gun safety in general, how they're
to behave that you know, where they should stand when
someone is shooting, how they should hold a gun. And
(04:39):
of course I'm always right there with them. I mean,
accidents can happen so quickly, no one is I mean,
no matter you know how prepared you think you are,
there's there's, you know, always something that could happen. So
I mean, I think you just really have to drive
home the importance of safety and you know, talk about
all the different scenarios your child may encounter out on
(05:03):
that hunt and how they should behave or respond in
these different scenarios.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Well, and speaking for myself, when we shoot on the
weekends we have a ranch out in the country, my
children do not have they don't both have a gun
at the same time exactly. I don't know if I
sound like a helicopter parent or not, but I'm not
going to let a mistake be made. And the second
thing is they're not going to be away from my
(05:29):
ability to solve the problem if there becomes a safety problem.
And I just as you say it's priority number one,
I think it's priority one, two, and three. I don't
think you can be you can emphasize safety too much
with your children because you're not going to have a
fun hunt if safety is not I it's not maintained.
Number three is putting other goals ahead of fun. Talk
(05:51):
to me about that.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Well, again, you know that that kind of goes back
to the first goal as well as having an unrealistic
expectation fun should be top priority. If they if they
don't have fun, they're not gonna want to hunt again,
So that should be that should be number one. And
you know, it's not a whole lot of fun for
(06:12):
kids to just sit there and be quiet and not
move and wait and wait and wait, So you can't expect,
especially young children to do that. Instead, you need to
look for hunting opportunities where they can get out and move.
That's why small game hunt's right ideal for young children.
Squirrel hunting, dove hunting. We're actually taking my one of
my son's dove hunting tomorrow as as you mentioned, you're
(06:33):
taking your children too, So yeah, fun, fun is number
one because you want them to want to go hunting
and to continue hunting, you know, in their future.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Now you're in Birmingham, will you all dove hunt there?
In Birmingham?
Speaker 2 (06:46):
It's it's we're going south. My husband is through my
husband's work then some hunting land and we're headed down south,
So South Alabamas, where will be hunting?
Speaker 1 (06:55):
I like it? I like it. Number four. Being inadequately
prepared is one of the ten mistakes people make. Talk
to me about that.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Yeah, comfort is key here. You want your your children
to be warm, not hungry, not thirsty. And that's that's
the thing about kids, is you know, I mean, they
get hungry and thirsty and we'll ask for food and water,
food and drinks constantly. So make sure you have all
of those items. Bring a cooler or whatever whatever you
(07:26):
need to make sure that they have plenty of snacks,
plenty of food. And you also want to, you know,
have band aids and antibiotic ointment in case, you know,
somebody gets a booboo. You just want to make sure
that I guess all of their creature comforts are covered.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Stephanie Mallory is our guest. Top ten mistakes adults make
when hunting with kids. Number five Expecting kids to shoot
before they're ready.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yes, you know, different children are going to mature at
different ages. Don't push it. Let your child tell you
when he or she is ready to shoot an animal.
And some children may never be ready to and that's okay.
So just you know, have that conversation with them. Don't
feel or don't put the pressure on them, because that
takes away from the fun, like we spoke about earlier.
(08:14):
So so let them tell you when they are ready
and then you know, and then lead them and guide
them to make the best shot they possibly can.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Well, this this generation didn't grow up with Bambi, but
the idea of understanding conservation and why we shoot animals.
My Ted Nudgen interview I think was answered a lot
of those questions. Stephanie Mallory is our guest more with
her coming up next No Michael Berry's show. We're talking
to Stephanie Mallory. She's written ten mistakes adults make when
(08:46):
hunting with kids. So you go on your first hunting
trip with your kids, and she's made you think about
some things that you need to consider before that hunt.
Those first five if you missed the earlier part of
our interview, unrealistic expectations. Set up expectations to have fun
and don't worry as much about what you kill. That way,
(09:07):
if you set out to have fun, you can actually
accomplish that. Not emphasizing safety. Make sure that your kids
understand safety. I should hope that everybody understands. If nothing else,
that's the most important thing. Number three, putting other goals
ahead of fun. Number four being inadequately prepared. Make sure
especially food and drink, clothing, that sort of stuff. Number
(09:29):
five don't expect kids to be ready to shoot an
animal just because you are. It may take them longer
and if they're not ready, to give them some slack there.
Number six, taking your kids into harsh conditions for too long, Go.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Ahead, Yeah, this can be a biggie. And again it
has to do with the fun factor. It may be
fun to get outside and it's really really cold for
a little bit. I'm just the novelty of it. But
after a while, it's no longer fun when you're actually
in pain and you are freezing to death, or if
you're just too hot, your sweating, so you know, the
(10:03):
moment your kid is not having fun, it's time to
return home. And if you are taking them out into
harsh conditions like really cold weather or really hot weather,
make sure you have to gear necessary that you know
that they need for those conditions.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Number seven, unintentionally setting up for failure.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
You know, make sure that that you know, if you're
taking your child hunting, that they've had plenty of time
to practice, you know, with their bow or gun or
whatever they plan to use. You can't just put a
gun or you know, a gun into a child's hand
and expect them to make a great shot the first time,
and of course you certainly can't do that with a bow.
Nothing can run and experience more than winding an animal.
(10:47):
So you know, make sure that your child is is
prepared as the best that he or she can possibly
be to make a good shot when that time comes.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
I noticed, speaking of bows, that you co authored a
book Basic Essentials of Archery. You seem to be in
to the bow hunt.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
I am, and you know I'm not a great bow hunter.
I'm still in a learning process. But yes, I wrote
that book or co authored that book several years ago
and was able to interview some people who really are
archery experts, and they give a lot of great advice
in that book.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
It's interesting for me to see how archery has just
exploded over the last few years. I watched this weekend
show of these guys, these brothers, and go out and
all they hunt with is bow's and it is It's
interesting if you look at how many of the hunting
shows now are about that. And I'm noticing archery shops
around Greater Houston popping up, so obviously that's become a
(11:44):
lot more popular.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
It really has, and among kids, it has two of
the archery and the schools programs. I mean even my
son is constantly talking about archery opportunities in the cantcy
attends and he gets out shoots in the backyard. So
there's it, really is.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
I think this next bit of advice on number eight,
what what frequently made mistakes or people where they go wrong?
Ten mistakes adults make when they hunt with their kids.
I think this is true and everything not just hunting,
but doing everything for your kids. Don't do everything for
your kids, take it away, Stephanie.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Yeah, I mean, let your kids actively participate in the
planning of the hunt. Let your child you pack, who's
her own backpack or snacks, you know, let them have
actually have that experience. You want them to be an
active participant and not just an observer. Look at, you know,
opportunities or look for opportunities that provide them good learning experiences,
(12:43):
and that way they just feel more a part of
the opportunity or a part of the experience.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
How old are your children now?
Speaker 2 (12:50):
My oldest just turned thirteen last week, my middle son
is turning nine next week, and my twins are both seven.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Okay, so there are a few years into mommy and
presumably daddy taking them on these hunting trips.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Yes, well, my sons are my girls are just now
beginning to show interest. We've been taking them on various
outdoor adventures, hiking and backpacking and fishing and all that,
and they're just now beginning, as far as the girls go,
beginning to show interest in hunting. So we'll be taking
them on their first hunt this fall and spring.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Okay, but that's not what this this trip is, y'all
are going on right now.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
The one we're going tomorrow, we're taking our older son
on a dove hunt.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
All right, okay. Number nine in the ten mistakes adults
make when hunting with kids, shaming a child for feeling
sad after a kill.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Yeah, don't don't use terms like manu or you're being
a sissy, or you know, don't shame your child for
your for feeling you just a natural sadness for life
being taken. It's normal and you need to validate that
that feeling they have is okay and it's part of
the hunting experience. Use the opportunity to talk to your
(14:08):
child about you know, hunting contribute to conservation and provides
helping meat for the table, and how it's an opportunity
to enjoy the great outdoors. So use that as an
opportunity instead of shaming your child.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Well, and it's interesting, isn't it, because we are so
far removed from what our forefathers had to do to
put food on the table. So the idea of where
food comes from, and that it was alive, and that
it did have to be killed, and then it did
have to be slaughtered and prepared in all these things
that are very natural, but you know, come as quite
(14:41):
a shock. And here's that moment where they begin to
understand item number ten last on the list, pushing too
hard to go hunt.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Yeah, not every child is going to want to go hunting.
And I learned that with my oldest one. He is
just now getting back to where he wants to go.
He enjoyed it when he was little, and then he
kind of went through a phase where sports were more
you know, a big deal, and he's just now showing
some some more interest. So I mean, don't don't push
(15:12):
too much, you know, like I said, some kids to
want to go some don't. Just get them outdoors and
and let them tell you when they're ready. And plus,
you know, you need to use some basic psychology. The
more you push the kid to do something, the more
they're not going to want to do it right.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
And that's the truth, just because just because you're that.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Into it, they won't see exactly they don't want to
do it.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
I found that to be true also with sports, if
you let a kid fall in love with the sport.
If you expose them to the sport and let them
fall in love with it, they're more likely to have
fun with it and stick with it longer. But if
you make it something that you're going to do whether
you like it or not, it becomes like cleaning your room.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Right when it becomes work, it's no longer fun.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Yes, indeed, Stephanie Mallory, have fun on your hunt. Thank
you all right, and I hope you'll take your good
advice to heart. I appreciate that, all right, My dear
Stephanie Mallory, thank you for being with us. So what
we hoped to do was spark an interest in some folks,
maybe get you up off the couch and out into
(16:15):
the woods. Most importantly with your kids. I wanted to
focus not just on the fact that this is the
hunting season, this is when a number of seasons for birds,
migratory birds for instance, opens up in the state of
Texas and in many other places. It's the time when
people hunt deer, for instance. It's the time when they
(16:38):
get the bow out and start looking. It's the time
when they pull the guns out. It's the time when
they go away for the weekend to the lease or
to the weekend property. But I think that there is
more than anything else. I think that there is a lot.
There is a transfer of knowledge from one generation to
the next, which doesn't involve school teachers or schools, of
(17:02):
things that you learned from your parents. And I think
that the time that is spent, whether it's in a
lodge or in a little trailer out in the middle
of the woods, I think that that's such a healthy
and necessary thing in today's world to get those moments
where you unplug the phone and you unplug the computer,
(17:24):
and maybe you got to drive in the truck for
hours to get to that kind of place, but you
go to a place where it's just you and your
family and the deer hunting, the bird hunting. That's all
really secondary to doing things that are more natural and
more important, which is creating that bond, sharing time together
(17:45):
and making the memories. So hopefully we can inspire you
with our little hunting shows to do something in that way.
The Michael Berries Show continue use, use, use. When we
were preparing the show, one of the things that we
(18:06):
decided to do was we were going to talk to
Ted Nugan. Of course, we're going to talk to some experts,
but we were also going to take some ideas from
listeners and we were going to get some more how
do I say, average people, normal people, guys you might
be more likely to run into and talk about hunting with.
And so we found a guy named Robert Gokey. Do
you how do you pronounce your last name?
Speaker 3 (18:27):
Go Key?
Speaker 4 (18:28):
You got it right, Gokey who.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Runs a small guiding operation for ducks and wild hogs
on eight hundred and forty one acres that his family owns,
and we wanted to get some some inputs, some insight
from him. Where's your property? First of all, pecan by
you wrench? Where's that?
Speaker 3 (18:46):
Yeah, it's going to be located in northeast Texas. It's
about halfway between Paris and Texarcana on the Red River Bottom.
Speaker 4 (18:54):
Okay, all right, look at a map.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
You'd see Paris, you'd see Texarcana right in the center,
right up by the river. We don't have river frontage,
but we have around seven hundred and fifty acres in
the bottom. The rest is on a hill.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
So you are in full swing right now, Yes, sir.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
Actually, I just got back at last night at midnight
from from our ranch. I actually went up because we
were starting to finally fill the corn feeders again. We've
got a number of feeders. We put out one hundred
and sixty bags of corn in the last two days.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
I'm guessing that you know you're doing the hog hunting
year round. So let's talk about ducks for a moment.
How much are you doing? Are you doing a lot?
Of guy at duck hunts.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
What we do is around You've actually only got about
maybe ten weekends in the full season of duck hunting,
because it's not like deer. There's a first split which
happens in November, and it's usually around ten to fourteen
day season. Then it stops for a couple of weeks,
and it starts back up in mid December, and then
(20:00):
it runs all the way into the end of January. Well,
where we're at the ducks come later, so we don't
do any guided hunts during the first portion of the season.
We only focus on the second half, so it ends
up only being about a six weekend season for US
duck hunting. Okay, and within that we actually reserve Christmas
(20:23):
and New Year's for our family because in the end
it is a family piece of property. We do this
to help supplement the income we're not. I mean, we
all have day jobs in Houston area and this is
for fun.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
So for somebody that's never been duck hunting and this
sounds like a great idea. Talk about price. Let's say
you got two fathers who work together at the plant.
They have kids they want to take. They each want
to take one kid, so you got give give me
the pricing on something like that.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
What we typically ask for is seven hundred dollars a
person a weekend, and that'll get you two morning hunts.
That'll be a Sunday, a Saturday morning hunt, and a
Sunday morning hunt. We don't typically hunt in the evening
for ducks, but we do hawk hunt in the evening
environment hunts. So our typical weekend package would be show
(21:18):
up Friday afternoon. If you get there in time, we'll
put you in a blind for unlimited hogs environments, and
then we take care of everything. We do the guiding,
we take care of all the food. We've got a
nice lodge. It sleeps fourteen people. It's seven bedrooms, and
we ask for four people, so that'd be twenty eight
(21:41):
hundred a weekend, and we can accommodate comfortably up to ten. Okay,
so no, it is a little extensive, But.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
I actually honestly have no idea how that pricing fits
in with the marketplace.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
In the marketplace, you can use usually find a duck
hunt on the coast for a morning duck hunt for
somewhere in the two hundred dollars arrange per person. So
the rest of that, you know, that would you get
in two duck hunts. But we are throwing in lodging
full meals throughout the weekend. The only thing we don't
cover is alcohol, which you're welcome to bring as long
(22:21):
as you don't get crazy, of course, but we don't
do that because then you have to have TABC license
and everything else.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
Oh I know, yeah, but you could give them free alcohol,
you just can't sell it to them.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
That that is true. I could give them free alcohol.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
I don't know that I'd want to get into that.
So what do people need to do. Let's say that
they do it.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
What do they need to bring up their own The
only thing we would ask that you bring is your
own hunting equipment, your waiters, your knee boots.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
Because it isn't a river bottom, so it's always wet.
Even when we go on the hall hunts, we all
wear rubber boots, you know. I mean, we've got nice
blinds to see two people comfortably. We've got about ten
of them out them with property. And then we've got
some other blinds that are in trees and such for
bow hunting. But multiple blinds. They've all got nice comfortable
(23:14):
office chairs in them. They've you know, and they've all
got good feeders that sling twice a day. The hogs
come in and we shoot them.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
And what are you doing with your hogs after you
kill them?
Speaker 3 (23:28):
It depends on the size and who kills them, you know.
If it's a big old boar, you know, some people
want to mount them. And we've got some of them
on the wall land on the website that you can
see on the wall that came from the property. We've
killed some that were over three hundred pounds with nice
tusk on them, and we'll some people have played excuse
me to pay to taxidermy. Those other people just want
(23:48):
some good pictures and they want to skull. If they're smaller,
we'll process them, you know, personally, we eat them when
they're you know, the salves, and they're in the one
hundred pound range. You know, once they get much more
than that, I mean, by all means, it will help
you clean them.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
Our guide will help.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
You clean them and everything and everything else, but personal preferences.
We eat small ones.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
Yeah, no, I can, I can. I can fully understand
that is that is said to be not very good
meat when it gets like that eight hundred and forty
one acres and you can have you said you can
have ten. You can accommodate up to ten folks.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
Yes, sir, we can accommodate up to ten in the lodge.
And that that's the it's not actually the property can
hunt more. It's the where space constraints in the lodge,
the bedding and such, because we provide everything.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
What's the number one question you get from first time
duck hunters.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
What they need to bring in. You know what kind
of shells to shoot and what type of gun to bring,
and we can provide those things if we know in advance.
You know, so if it's a father's son trip and
you know you don't want to run out and spend
fifteen hundred dollars on guns, like I know you just
did it collectors.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
How'd you know that?
Speaker 3 (25:09):
Yeah? I listened sometimes.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Oh okay, all right, okay, all right, I'm up against
a break. It sounds like you're having a whole lot
of fun and uh, for somebody that's looking to go
on a first time hunt, or maybe you're experienced, find
somebody like this, a guide or a host like this
that seems to be as passionate about it as you are.
It's pecan buy You ranch dot com. His name is
(25:33):
Robert Goki. Pecan buy You Ranch dot Com. More coming
up Southern Pride. Southern Pride to Michael Berry show. How
many people are hold up in an office all day
and as kids, they didn't get to hunt, They didn't
have an older brother and a bunch of friends who
(25:53):
could teach them the joys of hunting. And they want
to get out there and get started. Are they want
to become more active hunters. They want to be part
of the community of hunters, and so that was more
than anything else our idea behind doing this, and that's
why we brought in Ted Nugent, That's why we brought
in Stephanie to tell you about the ten mistakes that
people make when they take their kids hunting the first time.
(26:15):
One of the guys we chose to talk to his
name Brian Lynn. He's the vice president of Communications and
Marketing at the Sportsman's Alliance. Brian tell us what that is.
Speaker 5 (26:25):
Sportsman's Alliance. It's a organization has been around for about
forty years now. We defend hunting, fishing, and trapping in
all fifty state legislatures, at the court system and at
the ballot box, and we have several court cases and
balloting issues going on right now that we're trying to
protect everything from the animal rights movements specifically.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
And I'm sure you probably have big donors, but you
also have memberships, yes.
Speaker 5 (26:53):
Yes, and our membership growth is taking off right now.
Or having specials where you can get a buck knife
with our new life go on it and everything, but
membership in grassroots activism is really the heart of any
of these types of movements, you know, especially it's state legislatures.
Ten phone calls to a couple of legislators can stop
(27:15):
a bill from moving forward. And that's the big that's
the big piece right there.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
What have been the big attacks on outdoorsmen, on sportsmen
that that y'all are noticing across the country.
Speaker 5 (27:26):
Well, right now, I mean right now, it's the issue
qualified for the ballot in July and the vote is
in November. In Montana, there's a trapping initiative. They've tried
for the last six ten years to try to get
this ban on trapping past in Montana, Montana, of all places.
This is kind of like Texas, right wow. So they've
(27:48):
they've qualified it in July and November is the vote,
and this is a ballot initiative, you know, it's it's
a manipulation of of the initiative process, out of state
paid signature gatherers coming in collecting signatures to qualify something
for a ballot. This would end trapping on all public
land in Montana, and it would force private land owners
(28:11):
to try non lethal means of dealing with problem wildlife
for thirty days before they turn to trapping. It's just
a toe hold into controlling you know, ending trapping and
advancing this agenda. There's a lot of ramifications that come
from this, from you know, local municipalities having an increase
(28:34):
on you know, their taxes, and their problem animals, dealing
with wildlife such as beavers that will dam up things,
cause bridge destruction. But the other side is half of
the wolf's harvest in Montana takes place on public land
with trapping, so you eliminate half of the harvest, you're
going to have a growing wolf population, and it's already growing,
(28:56):
so it's going to be a compounding effect. Well, Dearn elk, right,
and then there's fewer deer and elk that means there's
also fewer tags for hunters, so it's eliminating state wildlife
management opportunities.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
You know, I want to go back and forth between
education and lobbying, which y'all do some of both. It's interesting,
you know, we had a problem in Texas with this
wasting disease which was like we described it as a
mad cow for deer, and it really exposed what a
delicate ecological balance you have between predator and prey and
(29:35):
how the conservation efforts of the hunter play into that.
But I hope, and I don't know the extent to
which y'all do this. I think we need more of
this in the schools. We need more of this in
public education because people have to understand this balance in
our ecological system and the role humans play in cutting
down some of these populations. It's very important, not just
(29:56):
for tourism, but for our food sources and for our
natural wild life.
Speaker 5 (30:01):
That's exactly right, you know. It is a balance, and
we are a piece of that. That's you know, one
of the great fallacies out there the animal rights movement
are those who you know, claim to be animal lovers
like to say, is natural balance itself. That's probably the
greatest biological fallacy there is. Nature doesn't balance itself. It's
rarely ever I balance. It's boom and bus cycles based
(30:23):
upon weather, based upon habitat that the prese species their
cycles boom and bust. Everything else is tied to that
above it. You know, we've impacted the land today to
such a degree with cities, arms, roads, systems, that there's
only a finite amount of land left. We have to
manage it. It's our responsibility not doing so would be irresponsible.
(30:46):
We have to mitigate those booms in cycles, in population cycles,
and try to protect it when they drop. You know,
otherwise the only three things that can happen are starvation, disease,
and conflict with humans. Every thing falls out of whack.
And you know that's the greatest thing that most people
miss and that hunters ourselves have to educate the non
(31:08):
hunting public about. You know, everythinks for these bloodthirsty trophy
hunters or whatever out there, and that's just not the case.
You know, if we don't do this, the animals are
still going to die. It's just going to be another
very inhumane, torturous way.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
Brian Lynn is the vice president of Communications and Marketing
for the Sportsman's Alliance. He's also served as senior editor
at ESPN Outdoors. He's been involved with hunting, fishing, and trapping.
We were talking about what was going on in Montana.
You wrote a piece, I think it's yours about the
Fish and Wildlife Service and changes that they've made to
(31:48):
National Wildlife Refuges refuges refuges in Alaska and talking about
y'all's opposition to that. Can you talk to me about that?
Speaker 5 (31:59):
You bet you. This is one of those bellweather you
items that took place, and it happens quietly, right like
people don't think about Alaska that much. They proposed rule changes,
nobody pays attention to it. What you're talking about here
is seventy seven million acres of land. If this was
a state, it would be the fifth largest state in
the Union. Okay, that's how much land we're talking about.
(32:20):
That's massive. And now on top of that, this is
in Alaska. It's guaranteed in three different federal documents, including
its statehood acts that made it a state, that agreed
that Alaska will control fishing game on all lands and
its borders, including National Wildlife refuges, and that says how
it is the Feds don't manage game species. Okay, So
(32:42):
it's protected in three different federal documents. It was debated
on the floor of Congress. They went in and made
a rule made rules changes backed by humans Society the
United States, that says they can double the length of
emergency closures from thirty days to sixty days. That's an
entire hunting season in Alaska, right right, a very short
(33:02):
season up there. They can eliminate public input on all
of those things, and then they can there's temporary closures.
There's there's no definitive end to a temporary closure. So
basically they can go in call an emergency closure of
a season or whatever, animal species, whatever, close it for
(33:26):
an emergency and without any input, and then leave it
closed for as long as they want. They can do
that in Alaska, they can do that in any state.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
That's the point, Brian, let me cut you off. Unfortunately,
I'm up against a break. Thank you very much for
what you do. If you're interested, it's sports men as
im plural, Sportsmen's Alliance dot org. Sportsmen's Alliance dot org.
Thanks for being our guests.
To get you ready for this hunting season or maybe
excited about this hunting season. We've talked to Ted Nugent.
Now we'll talk to Stephanie Mallory, who wrote a piece
that came to our attention. We thought it was interesting
ten mistakes adults make when hunting with kids. Now, before
we start, Stephanie, we're having to get over the idea
(00:21):
that we're getting hunting advice from a woman.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Oh come on, now, I need.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
I mean, we need some bona fides here. How did
you get to the point that you were giving hunting advice?
I love it. I think it's cool.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Well I get Alabama girl.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Become an expert on hunting.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
I am no expert on hunting. I am an expert
on mistakes. And that is actually why I wrote this article.
It's because I made so many mistakes when taking my
kids hunting that I wanted to learn or figure out
what I was doing wrong. And so I decided to
get out and talk to some people and see, thank
(01:01):
you giving me some advice on how I can make
my kids hunting adventures a little bit better for all
of us. And that's what I did. So this is
you know, more of the advice of other experts, and
a little bit about my personal experiences and the mistakes
that I made.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I love it. Thanks. Yeah, of course I'm kidding you.
But one of the reasons in doing our research it
was we I think that there are, as I've said
on the show a number of times, I think there
are a lot of folks that want to have a
father son, a daughter son a daughter daughter hunting trip
and they don't know how to get started. Because, you know,
reading your biography, you grew up it said roaming the
(01:43):
Bankhead Forest with your father, who instilled a passion for
the outdoors. Some people didn't have that experience, and I
want to make sure that they feel comfortable starting out
doing this and they get out there and start making
some memories with their kids. So I'm glad you did this.
Let's talk about the ten mistakes at all to make
when hunting with their kids. I'm going to take all
one by one. Unrealistic expectations starting Yeah, that that was
(02:08):
my biggest problem.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
And I don't know why I had such unrealistic expectations,
because my dad, when he took me hunting, he did
it just right. We you know, would get out and
just and roam. Essentially, like I said in my bio,
we would roam the bankheads. For us, there were no
real expectations other than to have a good time. So,
(02:31):
you know, for some reason I decided that, you know,
my first hunt with my boys at the time, my
oldest was eight and my younger one was four, that
you know, we were going to kill a bird. I mean,
come high, you know, hell or high water, We're going
to kill a bird. And that was the wrong attitude
to have. It should have been we were going to
(02:51):
have fun. And so that was my mistake. I sped
up the blind. I expected everyone to be super quiet
and sit there for hours and hours and wait for
this bird to show up. And that is not at
all what happened. Instead, we got in a big fight.
We argued, we fussed, we created all kinds of noise
and commotion, and of course the en didn't hear a bird.
(03:13):
And you know, it was my fault. We should have,
you know, just focused on having fun, gotten out in
the woods a little bit, listened to the birds and
not made such a big deal to actually kill one.
So and I think other people have or make that
mistake as well. Their expectations are just you know, unrealistic.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I like it, and I think that's fair. You know,
one of the being a parent. My boys are nine
and ten. Being a parent has taught me a great
deal of patience because I tend to think going into
an activity that they're going to have the same passion
or skill or patience or appreciation for an activity that
(03:56):
I do. And I realized that at that age I
didn't remembering that makes my experience, but forget their experience,
It makes my experience better. So I think you're right.
Your second item, which as you say, should be the
number one priority, safety. Talk about safety and how you
taught your kids the safety of a hunt.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Yeah, I mean safety is definitely the number one priority.
And you know I have spent a lot of time
on the shooting range with my kids, and not just shooting,
but just talking about gun safety in general, how they're
to behave that you know, where they should stand when
someone is shooting, how they should hold a gun. And
(04:39):
of course I'm always right there with them. I mean,
accidents can happen so quickly, no one is I mean,
no matter you know how prepared you think you are,
there's there's, you know, always something that could happen. So
I mean, I think you just really have to drive
home the importance of safety and you know, talk about
all the different scenarios your child may encounter out on
(05:03):
that hunt and how they should behave or respond in
these different scenarios.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Well, and speaking for myself, when we shoot on the
weekends we have a ranch out in the country, my
children do not have they don't both have a gun
at the same time exactly. I don't know if I
sound like a helicopter parent or not, but I'm not
going to let a mistake be made. And the second
thing is they're not going to be away from my
(05:29):
ability to solve the problem if there becomes a safety problem.
And I just as you say it's priority number one,
I think it's priority one, two, and three. I don't
think you can be you can emphasize safety too much
with your children because you're not going to have a
fun hunt if safety is not I it's not maintained.
Number three is putting other goals ahead of fun. Talk
(05:51):
to me about that.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Well, again, you know that that kind of goes back
to the first goal as well as having an unrealistic
expectation fun should be top priority. If they if they
don't have fun, they're not gonna want to hunt again,
So that should be that should be number one. And
you know, it's not a whole lot of fun for
(06:12):
kids to just sit there and be quiet and not
move and wait and wait and wait, So you can't expect,
especially young children to do that. Instead, you need to
look for hunting opportunities where they can get out and move.
That's why small game hunt's right ideal for young children.
Squirrel hunting, dove hunting. We're actually taking my one of
my son's dove hunting tomorrow as as you mentioned, you're
(06:33):
taking your children too, So yeah, fun, fun is number
one because you want them to want to go hunting
and to continue hunting, you know, in their future.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Now you're in Birmingham, will you all dove hunt there?
In Birmingham?
Speaker 2 (06:46):
It's it's we're going south. My husband is through my
husband's work then some hunting land and we're headed down south,
So South Alabamas, where will be hunting?
Speaker 1 (06:55):
I like it? I like it. Number four. Being inadequately
prepared is one of the ten mistakes people make. Talk
to me about that.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Yeah, comfort is key here. You want your your children
to be warm, not hungry, not thirsty. And that's that's
the thing about kids, is you know, I mean, they
get hungry and thirsty and we'll ask for food and water,
food and drinks constantly. So make sure you have all
of those items. Bring a cooler or whatever whatever you
(07:26):
need to make sure that they have plenty of snacks,
plenty of food. And you also want to, you know,
have band aids and antibiotic ointment in case, you know,
somebody gets a booboo. You just want to make sure
that I guess all of their creature comforts are covered.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Stephanie Mallory is our guest. Top ten mistakes adults make
when hunting with kids. Number five Expecting kids to shoot
before they're ready.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yes, you know, different children are going to mature at
different ages. Don't push it. Let your child tell you
when he or she is ready to shoot an animal.
And some children may never be ready to and that's okay.
So just you know, have that conversation with them. Don't
feel or don't put the pressure on them, because that
takes away from the fun, like we spoke about earlier.
(08:14):
So so let them tell you when they are ready
and then you know, and then lead them and guide
them to make the best shot they possibly can.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Well, this this generation didn't grow up with Bambi, but
the idea of understanding conservation and why we shoot animals.
My Ted Nudgen interview I think was answered a lot
of those questions. Stephanie Mallory is our guest more with
her coming up next No Michael Berry's show. We're talking
to Stephanie Mallory. She's written ten mistakes adults make when
(08:46):
hunting with kids. So you go on your first hunting
trip with your kids, and she's made you think about
some things that you need to consider before that hunt.
Those first five if you missed the earlier part of
our interview, unrealistic expectations. Set up expectations to have fun
and don't worry as much about what you kill. That way,
(09:07):
if you set out to have fun, you can actually
accomplish that. Not emphasizing safety. Make sure that your kids
understand safety. I should hope that everybody understands. If nothing else,
that's the most important thing. Number three, putting other goals
ahead of fun. Number four being inadequately prepared. Make sure
especially food and drink, clothing, that sort of stuff. Number
(09:29):
five don't expect kids to be ready to shoot an
animal just because you are. It may take them longer
and if they're not ready, to give them some slack there.
Number six, taking your kids into harsh conditions for too long, Go.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Ahead, Yeah, this can be a biggie. And again it
has to do with the fun factor. It may be
fun to get outside and it's really really cold for
a little bit. I'm just the novelty of it. But
after a while, it's no longer fun when you're actually
in pain and you are freezing to death, or if
you're just too hot, your sweating, so you know, the
(10:03):
moment your kid is not having fun, it's time to
return home. And if you are taking them out into
harsh conditions like really cold weather or really hot weather,
make sure you have to gear necessary that you know
that they need for those conditions.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Number seven, unintentionally setting up for failure.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
You know, make sure that that you know, if you're
taking your child hunting, that they've had plenty of time
to practice, you know, with their bow or gun or
whatever they plan to use. You can't just put a
gun or you know, a gun into a child's hand
and expect them to make a great shot the first time,
and of course you certainly can't do that with a bow.
Nothing can run and experience more than winding an animal.
(10:47):
So you know, make sure that your child is is
prepared as the best that he or she can possibly
be to make a good shot when that time comes.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
I noticed, speaking of bows, that you co authored a
book Basic Essentials of Archery. You seem to be in
to the bow hunt.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
I am, and you know I'm not a great bow hunter.
I'm still in a learning process. But yes, I wrote
that book or co authored that book several years ago
and was able to interview some people who really are
archery experts, and they give a lot of great advice
in that book.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
It's interesting for me to see how archery has just
exploded over the last few years. I watched this weekend
show of these guys, these brothers, and go out and
all they hunt with is bow's and it is It's
interesting if you look at how many of the hunting
shows now are about that. And I'm noticing archery shops
around Greater Houston popping up, so obviously that's become a
(11:44):
lot more popular.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
It really has, and among kids, it has two of
the archery and the schools programs. I mean even my
son is constantly talking about archery opportunities in the cantcy
attends and he gets out shoots in the backyard. So
there's it, really is.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
I think this next bit of advice on number eight,
what what frequently made mistakes or people where they go wrong?
Ten mistakes adults make when they hunt with their kids.
I think this is true and everything not just hunting,
but doing everything for your kids. Don't do everything for
your kids, take it away, Stephanie.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Yeah, I mean, let your kids actively participate in the
planning of the hunt. Let your child you pack, who's
her own backpack or snacks, you know, let them have
actually have that experience. You want them to be an
active participant and not just an observer. Look at, you know,
opportunities or look for opportunities that provide them good learning experiences,
(12:43):
and that way they just feel more a part of
the opportunity or a part of the experience.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
How old are your children now?
Speaker 2 (12:50):
My oldest just turned thirteen last week, my middle son
is turning nine next week, and my twins are both seven.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Okay, so there are a few years into mommy and
presumably daddy taking them on these hunting trips.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Yes, well, my sons are my girls are just now
beginning to show interest. We've been taking them on various
outdoor adventures, hiking and backpacking and fishing and all that,
and they're just now beginning, as far as the girls go,
beginning to show interest in hunting. So we'll be taking
them on their first hunt this fall and spring.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Okay, but that's not what this this trip is, y'all
are going on right now.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
The one we're going tomorrow, we're taking our older son
on a dove hunt.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
All right, okay. Number nine in the ten mistakes adults
make when hunting with kids, shaming a child for feeling
sad after a kill.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Yeah, don't don't use terms like manu or you're being
a sissy, or you know, don't shame your child for
your for feeling you just a natural sadness for life
being taken. It's normal and you need to validate that
that feeling they have is okay and it's part of
the hunting experience. Use the opportunity to talk to your
(14:08):
child about you know, hunting contribute to conservation and provides
helping meat for the table, and how it's an opportunity
to enjoy the great outdoors. So use that as an
opportunity instead of shaming your child.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Well, and it's interesting, isn't it, because we are so
far removed from what our forefathers had to do to
put food on the table. So the idea of where
food comes from, and that it was alive, and that
it did have to be killed, and then it did
have to be slaughtered and prepared in all these things
that are very natural, but you know, come as quite
(14:41):
a shock. And here's that moment where they begin to
understand item number ten last on the list, pushing too
hard to go hunt.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Yeah, not every child is going to want to go hunting.
And I learned that with my oldest one. He is
just now getting back to where he wants to go.
He enjoyed it when he was little, and then he
kind of went through a phase where sports were more
you know, a big deal, and he's just now showing
some some more interest. So I mean, don't don't push
(15:12):
too much, you know, like I said, some kids to
want to go some don't. Just get them outdoors and
and let them tell you when they're ready. And plus,
you know, you need to use some basic psychology. The
more you push the kid to do something, the more
they're not going to want to do it right.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
And that's the truth, just because just because you're that.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Into it, they won't see exactly they don't want to
do it.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
I found that to be true also with sports, if
you let a kid fall in love with the sport.
If you expose them to the sport and let them
fall in love with it, they're more likely to have
fun with it and stick with it longer. But if
you make it something that you're going to do whether
you like it or not, it becomes like cleaning your room.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Right when it becomes work, it's no longer fun.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Yes, indeed, Stephanie Mallory, have fun on your hunt. Thank
you all right, and I hope you'll take your good
advice to heart. I appreciate that, all right, My dear
Stephanie Mallory, thank you for being with us. So what
we hoped to do was spark an interest in some folks,
maybe get you up off the couch and out into
(16:15):
the woods. Most importantly with your kids. I wanted to
focus not just on the fact that this is the
hunting season, this is when a number of seasons for birds,
migratory birds for instance, opens up in the state of
Texas and in many other places. It's the time when
people hunt deer, for instance. It's the time when they
(16:38):
get the bow out and start looking. It's the time
when they pull the guns out. It's the time when
they go away for the weekend to the lease or
to the weekend property. But I think that there is
more than anything else. I think that there is a lot.
There is a transfer of knowledge from one generation to
the next, which doesn't involve school teachers or schools, of
(17:02):
things that you learned from your parents. And I think
that the time that is spent, whether it's in a
lodge or in a little trailer out in the middle
of the woods, I think that that's such a healthy
and necessary thing in today's world to get those moments
where you unplug the phone and you unplug the computer,
(17:24):
and maybe you got to drive in the truck for
hours to get to that kind of place, but you
go to a place where it's just you and your
family and the deer hunting, the bird hunting. That's all
really secondary to doing things that are more natural and
more important, which is creating that bond, sharing time together
(17:45):
and making the memories. So hopefully we can inspire you
with our little hunting shows to do something in that way.
The Michael Berries Show continue use, use, use. When we
were preparing the show, one of the things that we
(18:06):
decided to do was we were going to talk to
Ted Nugan. Of course, we're going to talk to some experts,
but we were also going to take some ideas from
listeners and we were going to get some more how
do I say, average people, normal people, guys you might
be more likely to run into and talk about hunting with.
And so we found a guy named Robert Gokey. Do
you how do you pronounce your last name?
Speaker 3 (18:27):
Go Key?
Speaker 4 (18:28):
You got it right, Gokey who.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Runs a small guiding operation for ducks and wild hogs
on eight hundred and forty one acres that his family owns,
and we wanted to get some some inputs, some insight
from him. Where's your property? First of all, pecan by
you wrench? Where's that?
Speaker 3 (18:46):
Yeah, it's going to be located in northeast Texas. It's
about halfway between Paris and Texarcana on the Red River Bottom.
Speaker 4 (18:54):
Okay, all right, look at a map.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
You'd see Paris, you'd see Texarcana right in the center,
right up by the river. We don't have river frontage,
but we have around seven hundred and fifty acres in
the bottom. The rest is on a hill.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
So you are in full swing right now, Yes, sir.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
Actually, I just got back at last night at midnight
from from our ranch. I actually went up because we
were starting to finally fill the corn feeders again. We've
got a number of feeders. We put out one hundred
and sixty bags of corn in the last two days.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
I'm guessing that you know you're doing the hog hunting
year round. So let's talk about ducks for a moment.
How much are you doing? Are you doing a lot?
Of guy at duck hunts.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
What we do is around You've actually only got about
maybe ten weekends in the full season of duck hunting,
because it's not like deer. There's a first split which
happens in November, and it's usually around ten to fourteen
day season. Then it stops for a couple of weeks,
and it starts back up in mid December, and then
(20:00):
it runs all the way into the end of January. Well,
where we're at the ducks come later, so we don't
do any guided hunts during the first portion of the season.
We only focus on the second half, so it ends
up only being about a six weekend season for US
duck hunting. Okay, and within that we actually reserve Christmas
(20:23):
and New Year's for our family because in the end
it is a family piece of property. We do this
to help supplement the income we're not. I mean, we
all have day jobs in Houston area and this is
for fun.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
So for somebody that's never been duck hunting and this
sounds like a great idea. Talk about price. Let's say
you got two fathers who work together at the plant.
They have kids they want to take. They each want
to take one kid, so you got give give me
the pricing on something like that.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
What we typically ask for is seven hundred dollars a
person a weekend, and that'll get you two morning hunts.
That'll be a Sunday, a Saturday morning hunt, and a
Sunday morning hunt. We don't typically hunt in the evening
for ducks, but we do hawk hunt in the evening
environment hunts. So our typical weekend package would be show
(21:18):
up Friday afternoon. If you get there in time, we'll
put you in a blind for unlimited hogs environments, and
then we take care of everything. We do the guiding,
we take care of all the food. We've got a
nice lodge. It sleeps fourteen people. It's seven bedrooms, and
we ask for four people, so that'd be twenty eight
(21:41):
hundred a weekend, and we can accommodate comfortably up to ten. Okay,
so no, it is a little extensive, But.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
I actually honestly have no idea how that pricing fits
in with the marketplace.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
In the marketplace, you can use usually find a duck
hunt on the coast for a morning duck hunt for
somewhere in the two hundred dollars arrange per person. So
the rest of that, you know, that would you get
in two duck hunts. But we are throwing in lodging
full meals throughout the weekend. The only thing we don't
cover is alcohol, which you're welcome to bring as long
(22:21):
as you don't get crazy, of course, but we don't
do that because then you have to have TABC license
and everything else.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
Oh I know, yeah, but you could give them free alcohol,
you just can't sell it to them.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
That that is true. I could give them free alcohol.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
I don't know that I'd want to get into that.
So what do people need to do. Let's say that
they do it.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
What do they need to bring up their own The
only thing we would ask that you bring is your
own hunting equipment, your waiters, your knee boots.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
Because it isn't a river bottom, so it's always wet.
Even when we go on the hall hunts, we all
wear rubber boots, you know. I mean, we've got nice
blinds to see two people comfortably. We've got about ten
of them out them with property. And then we've got
some other blinds that are in trees and such for
bow hunting. But multiple blinds. They've all got nice comfortable
(23:14):
office chairs in them. They've you know, and they've all
got good feeders that sling twice a day. The hogs
come in and we shoot them.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
And what are you doing with your hogs after you
kill them?
Speaker 3 (23:28):
It depends on the size and who kills them, you know.
If it's a big old boar, you know, some people
want to mount them. And we've got some of them
on the wall land on the website that you can
see on the wall that came from the property. We've
killed some that were over three hundred pounds with nice
tusk on them, and we'll some people have played excuse
me to pay to taxidermy. Those other people just want
(23:48):
some good pictures and they want to skull. If they're smaller,
we'll process them, you know, personally, we eat them when
they're you know, the salves, and they're in the one
hundred pound range. You know, once they get much more
than that, I mean, by all means, it will help
you clean them.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
Our guide will help.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
You clean them and everything and everything else, but personal preferences.
We eat small ones.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
Yeah, no, I can, I can. I can fully understand
that is that is said to be not very good
meat when it gets like that eight hundred and forty
one acres and you can have you said you can
have ten. You can accommodate up to ten folks.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
Yes, sir, we can accommodate up to ten in the lodge.
And that that's the it's not actually the property can
hunt more. It's the where space constraints in the lodge,
the bedding and such, because we provide everything.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
What's the number one question you get from first time
duck hunters.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
What they need to bring in. You know what kind
of shells to shoot and what type of gun to bring,
and we can provide those things if we know in advance.
You know, so if it's a father's son trip and
you know you don't want to run out and spend
fifteen hundred dollars on guns, like I know you just
did it collectors.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
How'd you know that?
Speaker 3 (25:09):
Yeah? I listened sometimes.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Oh okay, all right, okay, all right, I'm up against
a break. It sounds like you're having a whole lot
of fun and uh, for somebody that's looking to go
on a first time hunt, or maybe you're experienced, find
somebody like this, a guide or a host like this
that seems to be as passionate about it as you are.
It's pecan buy You ranch dot com. His name is
(25:33):
Robert Goki. Pecan buy You Ranch dot Com. More coming
up Southern Pride. Southern Pride to Michael Berry show. How
many people are hold up in an office all day
and as kids, they didn't get to hunt, They didn't
have an older brother and a bunch of friends who
(25:53):
could teach them the joys of hunting. And they want
to get out there and get started. Are they want
to become more active hunters. They want to be part
of the community of hunters, and so that was more
than anything else our idea behind doing this, and that's
why we brought in Ted Nugent, That's why we brought
in Stephanie to tell you about the ten mistakes that
people make when they take their kids hunting the first time.
(26:15):
One of the guys we chose to talk to his
name Brian Lynn. He's the vice president of Communications and
Marketing at the Sportsman's Alliance. Brian tell us what that is.
Speaker 5 (26:25):
Sportsman's Alliance. It's a organization has been around for about
forty years now. We defend hunting, fishing, and trapping in
all fifty state legislatures, at the court system and at
the ballot box, and we have several court cases and
balloting issues going on right now that we're trying to
protect everything from the animal rights movements specifically.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
And I'm sure you probably have big donors, but you
also have memberships, yes.
Speaker 5 (26:53):
Yes, and our membership growth is taking off right now.
Or having specials where you can get a buck knife
with our new life go on it and everything, but
membership in grassroots activism is really the heart of any
of these types of movements, you know, especially it's state legislatures.
Ten phone calls to a couple of legislators can stop
(27:15):
a bill from moving forward. And that's the big that's
the big piece right there.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
What have been the big attacks on outdoorsmen, on sportsmen
that that y'all are noticing across the country.
Speaker 5 (27:26):
Well, right now, I mean right now, it's the issue
qualified for the ballot in July and the vote is
in November. In Montana, there's a trapping initiative. They've tried
for the last six ten years to try to get
this ban on trapping past in Montana, Montana, of all places.
This is kind of like Texas, right wow. So they've
(27:48):
they've qualified it in July and November is the vote,
and this is a ballot initiative, you know, it's it's
a manipulation of of the initiative process, out of state
paid signature gatherers coming in collecting signatures to qualify something
for a ballot. This would end trapping on all public
land in Montana, and it would force private land owners
(28:11):
to try non lethal means of dealing with problem wildlife
for thirty days before they turn to trapping. It's just
a toe hold into controlling you know, ending trapping and
advancing this agenda. There's a lot of ramifications that come
from this, from you know, local municipalities having an increase
(28:34):
on you know, their taxes, and their problem animals, dealing
with wildlife such as beavers that will dam up things,
cause bridge destruction. But the other side is half of
the wolf's harvest in Montana takes place on public land
with trapping, so you eliminate half of the harvest, you're
going to have a growing wolf population, and it's already growing,
(28:56):
so it's going to be a compounding effect. Well, Dearn elk, right,
and then there's fewer deer and elk that means there's
also fewer tags for hunters, so it's eliminating state wildlife
management opportunities.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
You know, I want to go back and forth between
education and lobbying, which y'all do some of both. It's interesting,
you know, we had a problem in Texas with this
wasting disease which was like we described it as a
mad cow for deer, and it really exposed what a
delicate ecological balance you have between predator and prey and
(29:35):
how the conservation efforts of the hunter play into that.
But I hope, and I don't know the extent to
which y'all do this. I think we need more of
this in the schools. We need more of this in
public education because people have to understand this balance in
our ecological system and the role humans play in cutting
down some of these populations. It's very important, not just
(29:56):
for tourism, but for our food sources and for our
natural wild life.
Speaker 5 (30:01):
That's exactly right, you know. It is a balance, and
we are a piece of that. That's you know, one
of the great fallacies out there the animal rights movement
are those who you know, claim to be animal lovers
like to say, is natural balance itself. That's probably the
greatest biological fallacy there is. Nature doesn't balance itself. It's
rarely ever I balance. It's boom and bus cycles based
(30:23):
upon weather, based upon habitat that the prese species their
cycles boom and bust. Everything else is tied to that
above it. You know, we've impacted the land today to
such a degree with cities, arms, roads, systems, that there's
only a finite amount of land left. We have to
manage it. It's our responsibility not doing so would be irresponsible.
(30:46):
We have to mitigate those booms in cycles, in population cycles,
and try to protect it when they drop. You know,
otherwise the only three things that can happen are starvation, disease,
and conflict with humans. Every thing falls out of whack.
And you know that's the greatest thing that most people
miss and that hunters ourselves have to educate the non
(31:08):
hunting public about. You know, everythinks for these bloodthirsty trophy
hunters or whatever out there, and that's just not the case.
You know, if we don't do this, the animals are
still going to die. It's just going to be another
very inhumane, torturous way.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
Brian Lynn is the vice president of Communications and Marketing
for the Sportsman's Alliance. He's also served as senior editor
at ESPN Outdoors. He's been involved with hunting, fishing, and trapping.
We were talking about what was going on in Montana.
You wrote a piece, I think it's yours about the
Fish and Wildlife Service and changes that they've made to
(31:48):
National Wildlife Refuges refuges refuges in Alaska and talking about
y'all's opposition to that. Can you talk to me about that?
Speaker 5 (31:59):
You bet you. This is one of those bellweather you
items that took place, and it happens quietly, right like
people don't think about Alaska that much. They proposed rule changes,
nobody pays attention to it. What you're talking about here
is seventy seven million acres of land. If this was
a state, it would be the fifth largest state in
the Union. Okay, that's how much land we're talking about.
(32:20):
That's massive. And now on top of that, this is
in Alaska. It's guaranteed in three different federal documents, including
its statehood acts that made it a state, that agreed
that Alaska will control fishing game on all lands and
its borders, including National Wildlife refuges, and that says how
it is the Feds don't manage game species. Okay, So
(32:42):
it's protected in three different federal documents. It was debated
on the floor of Congress. They went in and made
a rule made rules changes backed by humans Society the
United States, that says they can double the length of
emergency closures from thirty days to sixty days. That's an
entire hunting season in Alaska, right right, a very short
(33:02):
season up there. They can eliminate public input on all
of those things, and then they can there's temporary closures.
There's there's no definitive end to a temporary closure. So
basically they can go in call an emergency closure of
a season or whatever, animal species, whatever, close it for
(33:26):
an emergency and without any input, and then leave it
closed for as long as they want. They can do
that in Alaska, they can do that in any state.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
That's the point, Brian, let me cut you off. Unfortunately,
I'm up against a break. Thank you very much for
what you do. If you're interested, it's sports men as
im plural, Sportsmen's Alliance dot org. Sportsmen's Alliance dot org.
Thanks for being our guests.
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