3-8-26 - Guest Keith Mark, Founder of Hunternation.org

On tonight's show, Jim interviews Keith Mark, founder of hunternation.org. This is a national advocacy group for issues that affect outdoorsmen. For further information, go to hunternation.org.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
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(01:25):
Jim Straight or Outdoors right here on news Radio eight
forty whas was.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
A whole cent Milan River Outfitters on the Outdoor Channel
pursuit channels. He's currently Great American Tales on the Outdoor
Channel Pursuit channels. And most importantly, he has been a
long time supporter of our rights as outdoor people. It

(01:54):
doesn't matter whether you hunt fish. Uh. He's a guy
that's been into trenches, under stated it, and in that regard,
he has farmed an organization, hundred Nation. You can check
him out at hundred Nation dot org that is again
dedicated to help us understand how we as outdoor people

(02:19):
can galvanize, get our forces together and be a voice
for our lifestyle and our heritage. And that I think
in this day and time is extremely important. We're getting
cut and sliced and diced on both sides of the
isle by folks in the in the legislatures in Washington

(02:42):
and in various states across the nation. And Keith is
a guy that has put together the right kind of
people to help stay on top of that to lobby
for us as outdoor people, and in that regard he is
with us. Tonight, Ed Moore us who was kind enough

(03:02):
to introduce me to Keith. We were at a function
together and put together a Third District Federation banquet that
Keith was a keynote speaker and that's where I met him.
And I'm not shy, I said, I was very impressed
with Keith and his passion for it and what he

(03:25):
has is a focus for the organization. There's people involved
here like Donald Trump, Junior, Ted Nugent, Michael Whitdell, Craig Morgan.
I mean, you go across the board and people who
nationally have recognized their needs to be a national organization,

(03:45):
a national voice for the sportsman out there. So we're
going to interview Keith tonight and I think you're going
to be impressed. Was what they've accomplished so far. The
momentum they're gaining, they're looking and establishing a chapter KRE
in Kentucky is one of their next benchmark moves. They

(04:07):
recognize that we've had a lot of issues KAR in
Kentucky that have been very contentious. Ed Marshy and I
fought some of those issues, fought many of them tooth
and Klaw and uh so we're gonna we're gonna address
all those in Scott I know you're hanging on and
want to learn about this. Uh it's kind of new

(04:30):
to you, but I think you're gonna be pleased to
hear about how this is going to bring sportsmen a
unified voice to be able to push things in the
right direction. You know it should be.

Speaker 3 (04:44):
Looks like Keith trying to work basically through grassroots to
nationally look at what we need to do as hunters
in order to become more involved and understand the importance
of us getting to the polls to vote. I know
that he's really strived and trying to look at ways

(05:07):
in which he can advocate for just a general hunter
to make sure that they're not being taken advantage of
and trying to promote that hunting, heritage and conservation is
really good. So if it's as good as what it
sounds on the surface, then it's going to be a
pretty easy thing to get on board with.

Speaker 2 (05:27):
Yes, sir, well, we're going to go to break here,
but coming back from break, we're going to talk to
Keith about his outdoor experiences, why he became passionate about this,
why he formed this, the kind of people he's gotten
involved in, some of their success stories in various states
around the country during voting processes where there were things

(05:51):
like gun rights, hunter rights, trapping rights, things that were
on the political landscape that obviously, if we don't stand
for ourselves, we're divided and conquered. It's that simple, and
so we'll talk about that after the break. The break
is presented by sm my Marine that are eleven four

(06:13):
hundred Westport Road just north of the Gene Sneyder. Get
your boat in there, folks, if you hadn't noticed, spring
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lines of boats. And remember you never get sold by
my friends at SMI Hee's welcome aboard. I'm gonna let

(06:33):
you tell the audience a little bit about yourself and
why you started the hunder Nation and you're passionate about it,
and then we'll take it from there.

Speaker 4 (06:43):
Partner, Well, boys, thanks so much for having me. Really
appreciate that. And you know you mentioned something earlier about
when we first became acquainted. It was that that Wild
Game Feed y'all had down there, And you know, going
to events like that reminds me of exactly why I
spend so much time and works so dug on hard,

(07:04):
because I truly believe, guys that the hunters in this
in this country, men, women, young, old, it's the best
of America. And I really believe that, and you guys
proved it again when we were down there at that
while Game feed, and that's really what we're doing here
at Hunter Nation. We started Hunter Nation with the simple

(07:27):
idea that we wanted to be the united voice of
the American hunter. And you know, I know there's some
listeners out there that are saying, well, why do we
need another conservation organization?

Speaker 5 (07:38):
Well, here's why.

Speaker 4 (07:39):
You know, there's a lot of great organizations out there,
but if you think about it, they're only working about
or for one particular animal. One particular species, one particular
geographic area, each state's bow hunting associations or longbow hunters
or you know whatever. There's not one organization out there, Jim,

(08:02):
that actually is protecting the American hunter and our lifestyle.

Speaker 5 (08:07):
And that's what.

Speaker 4 (08:08):
Hunter Nation UH is really out here doing. And you know,
I love the comment your Psydekick there made earlier about
you know, things going on here or they're tough with
kerfuffles and legislatures here or there. And so for me,
it's kind of the chicken or the egg.

Speaker 5 (08:27):
And I'll get.

Speaker 4 (08:28):
Into a story with actually Donald Trump here in a second.
But is does the hunting community not vote because it's
bad policy or is it because of bad policy making
that makes hunters not vote, or the other side of
that coin, If hunters vote in big numbers, does that

(08:50):
mean we're gonna get great hunting policy Or if we
get great hunting policy, is that what's going to get
hunters to go out to vote. So to me, it's
the chicken.

Speaker 5 (09:02):
And the egg.

Speaker 4 (09:03):
The bigger we get, the more we can develop grassroots
armies like you mentioned, you know, coming down there to Kentucky,
which is next on my wish list, we already have
state champions in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, just started in Michigan with
Ted Nugent's son Toby being my state director. Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Arizona,

(09:26):
and Kansas.

Speaker 5 (09:27):
And the whole idea, guys.

Speaker 4 (09:29):
Is if we can create a grassroots army in each
of these states, we can really have an impact, have
a voice in state politics, state policy making when it
comes to hunting and shooting and gun rights, and then
that rolls into national policy as well.

Speaker 5 (09:51):
So that's kind of in a nutshell, well, Keith, a thing.

Speaker 2 (09:56):
That appeals to me about it is a no brainer.
We are very very strong in numbers, but we are
also very disorganized in intent and our purpose. And what
a national organization like you are heading up can do

(10:18):
is keep us abreast of issues. You can help with
state initiatives which are harmful to our cause, and we
can move forward in a unified voice that quite frankly,
will shake the rafters. Because we are big numbers, it's
an amazing number. Like here in Kentucky, the numbers one

(10:41):
hundred and fishermen together are probably, if not the largest
voting block, certainly close to it. And when you add
all the rights that go along with hunting, whether it
be trapping or you know the folks that say, oh,
fishings crewel it involves a hook and a fish's mouth

(11:03):
and all that crazy stuff that you hear. It's apparent
to someone like me that's been in the industry and
been a advocate for sportsmen for so long that this
is really necessary. You've got to play the game, and
to play the game, you've got to get organized, and

(11:24):
you've got to have the right people on board. So
I guess talk about who's on your board and your foundation.
I mean, these are folks that are advocates and passionate.

Speaker 4 (11:40):
Yeah, before even name their names, this isn't just a
figurehead board. Everybody on our board works really hard to
promote and do the things in the trenches that Hunter
Nation is involved in. And our board includes my best
friend for twenty five plus years, Ted Nugent, Donald Trump,

(12:02):
junior country music legend, Craig Morgan, ben Ghazi hero Mark
ozgeis ed Mine's friend, Chuck Paddick, who's an entrepreneur out
of Indiana, Kansas's Attorney General Chris Kobok, Denise Welker, who
is an incredible woman hunter, her husband and her very

(12:23):
big in s in the sci world. I don't know
if I said Kansas Attorney General Chris kobok Uh. And
then the chairman of our board of directors is Rock
bord Alawn, who owns the Pursuit Channel. And Rock, I
don't know, I think with the umbrella of his companies,
but about a half a dozen to a dozen outdoor companies.

(12:45):
So he's put his money where his mouth is.

Speaker 5 (12:48):
And all of all these folks on the.

Speaker 4 (12:49):
Border are really hard workers and and and not only
put their money but their time uh involved in Hunter Nation.

Speaker 6 (13:00):
Keith tell us, let the listeners know a little bit
about you. I mean, I know you you're an attorney
and looks like two thirds of your family's attorneys and
you're based out of Kansas City. But uh, talk a
little bit about yourself and your background before we get
into some of the other stuff.

Speaker 5 (13:19):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (13:20):
No, I'd love to talk about you know, my family obviously,
I've been married for forty years to Genie and we
have three kids who all three are attorneys. I used
to say, you know, I was the best attorney I
knew because I was really the only attorney in my family.
My father didn't finish the eleventh grade. And then you

(13:41):
know we've turned out you know, Zach, my oldest, and
Jacob and Anna. You know, they're all just incredible attorneys.
And when we get together down at the office, trust me,
it's a barn burner every single day.

Speaker 5 (13:52):
I mean, it's just you.

Speaker 4 (13:53):
Know, and they're great, and they all have the passion
for the outdoors like I do. But I'll tell you, yeah,
you know, I was fortunate enough I got involved in
owning and outfitting business in the Yukon many many years ago,
late nineties, early two thousands and McMillan River Adventures. We
provide outdoor hunting experiences in a wilderness setting, a place

(14:17):
where there's literally no roads. It's exactly the one point
two million acres of the way God made it and
God intends it to stay. And we guide hunts for
the biggest moose in the world, stone sheep, Mountain, cariboo,
black and grizzly bears, and it's just I mean, it's
really the hunt of a lifetime for people if you

(14:38):
can go on it. I've been just so blessed to
share hunting camps up there with so many people from
Donald Trump Junior, Ted Nugent, Jeff Foxworthy, Ralph and Vicki
c and Sarula, Michael Waddell, and I mean the list
is just so long. Neil Armstrong hunted up there with us,
the Kabella's willis Reid from the NIXT. I mean, just

(14:58):
so many people have a hunting camps up there. It's incredible.
And then because of my buddy Nugent, I had the
opportunity back in two thousand and six to start hosting
a television show on the Outdoor Channel called McMillan River Adventures.
And then a couple of years into doing that, I
ran into and met and became friends with WWE superstar

(15:19):
Shawn Michaels and Sean and I went on a Buffalo
hunt together and hit it off so well. I said, Sewn,
you should literally come and join me on the show,
and he did, and so we did Shawn Michaels McMillan
River Adventures up until twenty sixteen, when you know, my
life kind of took a turn of events and I

(15:41):
knew it was time for me to do just a
little something different in the hunting world. Imagine this in
twenty sixteen, I'm living my very best life hosting this
TV show Hunting one hundred and fifty days a year,
all across the country with one of the coolest human
beings on the planet, Shawn Michaels. And then we were
doing as in Vegas at the Remington Booth with my

(16:02):
friend Mark Guist, who's also on the board, Great Bengazi hero,
American Patriot, and then Craig Morgan came up and said, Hey,
would you like to meet Donald Trump? Now, remember this
is January of twenty sixteen, there's still seventeen Republicans in
the primary, and you know, I'm at that time a
lifelong Democrat. And when he said you want to meet
Donald Trump, I go you talk about that dude from

(16:24):
the Apprentice, And everybody laughed and said, yeah, that guy,
And so I said, yeah.

Speaker 5 (16:29):
I'd like to meet him.

Speaker 4 (16:30):
And so I went to a very small gathering. It's
the first time i'd met Don Eric, and then talking
to Don and Eric, they were saying, hey, I watch
your show every week. You'd love the Moose Hunt with you,
and we exchanged numbers, and about that time Trump walked
in and somebody introduced him to me. Don did I
think and said he does a TV show on the
Outdoor Channel and President Trump, then Candidate Trump said, without hesitation,

(16:53):
he said, Hey, Keith, do you want to know why
politicians don't come to events like this hunting events? I said, sure,
he goes because hunters don't vote. Now, it's the first
time I've ever met the guy, and I thought he
was full of it, right because at that time I
was spending so much time around campfires, hunters. They all
shared this common core values of God, family, country, They

(17:15):
were up to date on current events. They weren't happy
at that time that the direction of the country was going.
In More importantly, they solved the world's problems every single
night around campfires. So I knew they had to be
voting those values. But the truth is, fellas they didn't,
and they don't. Once we got into this. Fifty percent

(17:38):
or less of American hunters vote on any given day,
So basically, think about this a fifty to fifty proposition
or maybe a little less. They just set out elections,
and you know, there's a whole lot more to tell.
You take your break here and then I'll come back
and I'll tell you what happened in that conversation with.

Speaker 2 (17:57):
The President fantastic. I deeply appreciate it. And again this
isn't part of this is about our rights and what
we as hunters and outdoor people can bring to the
plate and why we've really been missing the opportunity that
is before us. And from my standpoint, very grateful that

(18:20):
Keith is heading up something where we can understand better
how to do it. All right, folks kind of go
to break. This break is presented by Massil Property Heart Realty.
Paul Thomas is a broker. Got all kinds of great listings.
Check them out m O p h A R T
Realty dot com. Keith, you know, there's a point in

(18:42):
life where folks like us that have been fortunate enough
to make a living in outdoors, like Wydell and Craig Morgan.
You know he's obviously country music, but he is enjoying
a ride here. Uh, we realized that we got to
give back. You know, there's a point at which in

(19:04):
your career you gotta if you're really grateful for what
you've been able to accomplish and or enjoy that you
got to get back. Tell us about the genesis of
hunter Nation for you and your vision for it.

Speaker 4 (19:20):
Well, you know, when I heard hunters weren't voting, Jim,
it was like a gut punch, you know. And then
when we actually figured out that that was true, then
I knew right then. And Sean and I had a
long talk that very night, and you know, at that point,
he was thinking about going back to the WW anyway,
and he's actually gone back and he's running the training

(19:41):
facility for NXT down there in Orlando. And then I
decided I was going to figure out how to get
hunters to actually start voting, because in my mind, I thought,
if hunters would vote, as I pointed out earlier in
the visit, I think hunters are the best that America
has to offer. And if American hunters would simply go

(20:04):
vote their values of God, family, country, the Constitution, and
our hunting lifestyle, then we would elect leaders who would
reflect those values. And so, really, since that conversation in
January of twenty sixteen, that's what I've set out to do.
And as we've gotten deeper down this trail, I'm starting

(20:26):
to see kind of the connection between good policy and
hunters voting. President Trump said hunters don't pay or politicians
don't pay attention to hunters because they don't vote. Hunters
say they don't go vote because they don't want to
get involved and it doesn't impact them, and both of
those things need to be fixed.

Speaker 5 (20:47):
Hunters need to.

Speaker 4 (20:48):
Realize that the time to set out elections is long gone,
because if you're not out there voting your values of God, family, country,
the Constitution, and really all the traditional American values including hunting,
the far left woke anti American hate hunting and gun
crowds thanks you for your apathy.

Speaker 5 (21:11):
On the other side of the equation, if.

Speaker 4 (21:13):
Hunters actually do, you know, galvanize, get themselves in form,
and get active, then all of a sudden you've got
politicians that say, hey, look, this is a tremendous voting
block of conservatives, and if they vote we don't listen
to them and heed their kind of lifestyle, they're going

(21:35):
to vote us out because in the end there are
elected employees. Tell you just a story you said earlier, Jim,
how powerful the hunting block could be. You know the
story back when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, their plan was,
some of their general's plan were to land ground troops

(21:57):
in California because they knew that our navy was going
to be decimated and they'd be able to reach the shores.
And they ultimately decided against that because of the old
TV Westerns, their fear that there were would be a
gun behind every tree and in every house in America.
They'd literally have to fight all Americans. So keep that thought,

(22:19):
because when do you know how many people are in
the Chinese army. It's about two point two million in
the Chinese standing army. America has about one point eight
sometimes up Russia between one point eight and two million,
and then it goes down from there.

Speaker 5 (22:36):
There are fifteen to.

Speaker 4 (22:39):
Eighteen million hunters in America. Let that sink in the
largest standing army in the world. Two point two million,
over fifteen million American hunters. And I'm not talking about
that doesn't include those people that take black guns and
shoot paper.

Speaker 5 (22:54):
Because there's a difference.

Speaker 4 (22:55):
As you guys know, you have friends that they know
they can take their bow out in the woods, out
and shoot targets all day long, but when the animal
stands in front of them, they get the buck fever
and they're not quite as you know guys like us
that have done it for a long time. So if
you think about that, how powerful is the American hunter.

(23:16):
We're so much larger than any standing army in the world,
and if we would simply vote in any sort of
large numbers, we would control the narrative, the policy setting
that impacts our families every single day in every single state.
There's zero doubt in my mind, Fellas that if hunters

(23:38):
would vote in large numbers and we made a big
progress in that, I know we're going to talk about
that a little bit in twenty twenty four and some
other elections along the way. If hunters will turn out
and vote in twenty twenty six, I have no doubt
that when the midterm results come in that the party
or whoever that reflects the part of your candidate that

(24:02):
most reflects our values of God, family, country, values, the constitution,
law and order, and our hunting lifestyle. That's who's going
to be in power. And that's as simple as is.
And whether if you have a D behind your name
or an R behind your name, if those are your values,
the hunting community is going to vote for you. And

(24:24):
right now, you know, there seems to be a little
bit of a divide between those people that share our values.
But we simply encourage the hunters to go out and
vote their values and so what happens when we do that,
and the success is that we had in twenty twenty four,
we literally have been able to get into every room

(24:44):
in Washington, d C. To talk policy. I'll be back
in DC on Tuesday of this week. I'll be meeting
in the Interior about some things that we're trying to
get done, from delisting the wolf in the Continental forty
eight to these public land issues that are going around.
I'm going to be meeting in the EPA about how
to better educate our next generation of people as opposed

(25:07):
to woke a climate activists that have been in charge
for a while. We're going to teach him about hands
on conservation, the value of stewardship.

Speaker 5 (25:17):
And I believe if.

Speaker 4 (25:18):
You're invested in something like hands on, you actually participate
in conservation, you're going to be a much better steward
and so a lot of good things. But the point is,
because hunters voted in bigger numbers, not great, but bigger,
we're able to get in these rooms and start impacting
policy to the benefit of the American hunter.

Speaker 5 (25:38):
It's awesome.

Speaker 2 (25:40):
Well, and Keith, here's what I'd like to do. I
gotta go to break. But coming back from break, I'd
like for you to talk about some success stories with
political races where the chips were down, hunters' rights, we're
being tread upon, gun rights were being threatened, and it

(26:01):
illustrates what can happen in a big way in swing situations.
And if we don't organize, if we do not buy
into these concepts that you are promoting, well we can't
gripe if we get our butts beat. I mean, you know,
I'm a bottom line kind of guy. I don't mince

(26:23):
words about stuff like that. So I'm very pleased to
allow you to tell folks what's happened and where you
all benefacted, because it's not some pie in the sky ideals.
So let me go to break.

Speaker 5 (26:39):
Here.

Speaker 2 (26:39):
This break is presented by SMI Marine. Go see them.
They'll take great care of your boat getting ready for spring.
And remember, you never get something by my friends at
SMI peithe. You know, it's not as if you all
don't have a few success stories under your belt. Talk

(27:00):
about you know how this works and how you all
had initiatives where it's been a significant impact, and how
that you know what that pretends for the everage sportsman
to understand what you're doing.

Speaker 4 (27:17):
Yeah, no, I appreciate that. I would encourage your listeners
to check us out at hunternation dot org and hunter
nation dot org. You can see a lot of the
stuff that I'm telling you about in more detail. But
you know, from back when I met the president in
twenty sixteen, you know, it was just an idea. And
then about twenty eighteen, I was moose hunting with Don

(27:39):
Junior and we were talking about how could we replicate
this on a more long term basis, And then conversations
with Nugent and Mark Guys and so on, and then
the idea of hunter Nation was actually formed in twenty eighteen,
and we tried to figure out how best we could
get involved in getting hunters to go out and vote,
and then trying to figure out how to fight for hunters.

(28:02):
And by the time twenty twenty two rolled around, we
had kind of figured out how to do it. And
what I will tell you is, if you guys, if
I invited you guys to come up here to Kansas
and go on a duck hunt with me and you
brought an elk call, You're not going to kill any ducks.
And this is really what hunters understand that the animals

(28:25):
that were hunting, they speak their own language and hunters
are So it's so true when it comes to hunters.
If you want to message hunters, you better do it
in a way they understand it. Deliver the message with
a messenger that they trust, and do it at a
place where people where hunters get their content, like this

(28:47):
show right here. The people that listen to your show, Jim,
they know you're going to talk about hunting and fishing
and outdoor outdoor activity, those type of issues in life.
And if I wanted to go reach hunters and I
was running an ad in GQ magazine, You're not going
to reach them. And so what we figured out is

(29:09):
that hunters will listen to an Ed Morris or a
Jim Strader, or a Michael Waddell, or a Ralph and
Vicki san Cerula or a Craig Morgan or somebody that
has the credentials that they trust, and so that's what
we use the message people. So fast forward to twenty
twenty three, we were looking at the.

Speaker 5 (29:28):
Race down in Louisiana.

Speaker 4 (29:31):
There has been a lot of erosion of the you know,
the sportsman's paradise state over the years, and so we
were very concerned that politicians may win in those elections
down there that would be anti gun, anti hunting, and
so we got involved. We took everything that we had
learned in the last five years. I had to move

(29:52):
these hunters, and we primarily target what we call low
and no propensity hunter voters. I no propensity we mean
the hunter's register but hadn't voted in sixteen years. Low
propensity means they'd voted in fifty percent or less of
the elections in the last sixteen years. And down in

(30:13):
that Louisiana governor's race, we turned out sixty two thousand,
five hundred in that low propensity class and twenty one thousand,
six hundred hunters that had never cast a vote in
the past sixteen years in the governor's race. And so
basically that's about eighty four thousand votes in an election

(30:35):
that was decided by seventeen thousand votes. And here's the
beauty of it. What we know historically the hunting population
votes below what the state average is. So if fifty
percent of the average registered voter votes, hunters will be
twenty fifteen to twenty percent below that. In that Louisiana

(31:00):
election win, thirty six percent was the turnout numbers. Statewide,
Hunters turned out at fifty six point eight percent. We
turned out twenty percent more than the regular average hunter
average voter in that state.

Speaker 5 (31:15):
That's when we realized we.

Speaker 4 (31:17):
Knew proof positive that our formula works message messenger and medium.
We used the Swamp people down there, the Landryes, we
used the Duck dynasty guys down in Louisiana. We used
Nugent and Don Junior and some other people message hunters
down there. And the turnout, I mean, there's just the
proof was in the putting. It was pretty remarkable. So

(31:40):
that's when we knew we really had the secret.

Speaker 5 (31:42):
Sauce Fellows and you mar Strong from there well.

Speaker 4 (31:47):
Twenty four, twenty twenty four, Jim, you know, we worked
in primarily five those five key swing states Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania,
and Wisconsin. And just in the those five states we
turned out enough in the low and no propensity categories,
not talking about all the other categories.

Speaker 5 (32:08):
We worked.

Speaker 4 (32:08):
Just hunters that I talked mentioned before had not voted
in sixteen years or had voted fifty percent or less.
The elections in four of the five swing states, we
turned out more hunters than the margin of the presidential victory.
So what that means is hunters that had been apathetic
and set on the sidelines for sixteen years, four presidential cycles,

(32:34):
they got up off of their tree stands and duck
marshes and wherever they were, and they actually went and
cast a vote. And because they did that, they swung
the balance of power in the presidential election in four
of the five swing states Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

(32:55):
And that's pretty damn impressive. And I salute all the
hunters out there that actually went out and voted because
they said, Hey, we want candidates that support God, family, country,
the Constitution, and our hunting lifestyle to make our policy.

Speaker 5 (33:12):
And that puts us to where we are today.

Speaker 2 (33:15):
How is the outreach accomplished? I know that's a complicated question,
but basically what you are doing is running numbers and
doing an outreach. How do you communicate that to them
so they can understand, you know, in future elections coming forward.

Speaker 4 (33:39):
Yeah, So what we do is we try to reach
hunters where we know they're getting their outdoor content. So
we'll run ads on the TV channels that you guys,
everybody knows, Pursuit Channel, Outdoor Channel, Sportsman's Channel. We do
connect TV ads. So you're watching Netflix or you're watching
Hulu and well, we know you're hunter, we'll drop an

(34:01):
ad in on you there. We use social media Facebook X.
We do direct mailers. Hunters love to get a mailer
in their mailbox has a big picture of a deer
or something. They'll read it, especially if it's something they
want to hear about or the threat of their hunting
lifestyle or guns. We do text, We do text video,

(34:24):
and we do emails and really all the above. We
actually run television commercials and we've got a whole series
that we're going to do leading into the two fifty
anniversary celebrating two hundred and fifty years of America's freedoms
on Real America's Voice and Pursuit Channel.

Speaker 2 (34:41):
Well cool. I will say one thing before we go
this break. If it weren't for the squirrel owners with rifles,
we wouldn't have won the Revolutionary War. Where the like
you say, we're the hundred nation, and that is a
perfect monitor or sedatory. If you will for what you

(35:03):
all are doing, We'll get more of this after break.
This break is presented by Monsial Properties Are Realty. Check
out their current listenings at mp H E r trealty
dot com. Keith, I'm not wanting to put you on
the spot. Being who I am and what I stand for,

(35:24):
I'm going to put you on the spot. Okay. There
was a political situation recently up there in Washington about
public lands. Senator Mike Lee from Utah Republican was attempted
to sell off those public LANs. I know you're passionate

(35:45):
about that. I want you to explain to people how
that kind of stuff rolls and where you all, as
Hunter Nation, would try to protect us.

Speaker 5 (35:56):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (35:57):
So, senatorly great patriot can conservative guy out of Utah,
Senator out of Utah, he wanted to put a provision
in the big beautiful Bill that would be kind of
a hostsale sale of some public lands. And Senator Lee,
I understand where he was coming from, but we wholeheartily

(36:19):
disagreed with that, and so we reached out to Senator
Lee and wanted to talk through kind of what the
consequences of the proposed language would be.

Speaker 5 (36:32):
While we're doing that, a lot.

Speaker 4 (36:34):
Of people on our side of the equation literally started
blowing Senator Lee up. Social media was on fire. We've
got to vote Senator Lee out. Senator Lee is the
devil and this is terrible and blah blah blah. We
didn't take that approach at Hunter Nation. We took the
approach to tell the truth. Senator Lee is a great patriot.

(36:57):
In fact, I think people might have just recently saw
Senator is the Senator that proposed the National Conceal and
Carry Reciprocity Bill. So I'll see any of those same
people that were yelling that we were, they're they're not
dogging him now.

Speaker 5 (37:11):
But in the end, I had.

Speaker 4 (37:13):
Multiple phone calls with Senator Lee, and then I actually
flew back to DC and spent several days and with
several meetings with the Senator and some other Senators as
well in the Senator staff. The decision was made to
pull the provision to sell lands out of the big
beautiful bill, which was great. We were very happy with that.

(37:33):
We were thankful. I think Don Junior wrote an op
ed or at least a long thank you on social
media to Senator Lee for listening and wanting to be
informed on the deal. I think this is an issue
that hunters and outdoors individuals need to be concerned with
because there is some appetite at the federal level to
diverse some of the federal estate. You know, my home

(37:57):
state of Kansas, I think there's less than four of
publicly owned land, so we don't have it here. But
in the Western States, the vast majority of the Western
States is owned by the federal government. And I will
admit there is a number of those lands that are worthless.
They're worthless for mineral rights, oil gas, they're worthless for farming,

(38:20):
they're worthless for grazing, they're worthless for hunting. And if
the government would take enough time to sort through those
properties carefully, I think you could divest of some very
valuable real estate because they'll be closer into metropolitan areas.
And then if they if the bill was structured correctly,

(38:41):
if they were forced to turn around and then by
by land, equal acreage of good land for either minerals,
grazing or hunting, or in fact multiple use would be better.
And what I proposed, and we'll see how far this
gets down the trail that if you sell one hundred

(39:02):
thousand acres of land, let's say in Utah, that you
don't have to buy back the land in Utah. You
can actually come east of the Mississippi or here in
the Midwest where public land is scarce, And if we
could get some more public land, it will open up
hunting opportunities for people in eastern United States and midwest
of the United States that may don't have they don't

(39:26):
have the opportunities to public hunt like some of our
friends in the Western States, in some places back east.
So I think there's a solution to it, but I
just don't think the right solution unless it's the last
resort is to blow up somebody that you agree with
ninety eight percent of the time. And what I try
to tell my fellow sportsman that we're saying, oh, you're

(39:49):
coddling a guy that's trying to destroy blah blah blah.
Well in the end, we were right. So and I'm
glad Senator Lee hasn't forgot that he is a great patriot.
And like I said, with this recent bill, and I
oh my friends, missus Mark and I've been married for
forty years and we only agree on six or seven
of ten things. But the key is that it's the
seven most critical things. And we might disagree on the

(40:12):
color of the drapes or napkins, but you understand where
I'm going with that. I mean, by and large, we
can't get all bent out of shape over one issue.
But by that same token, we have to figure out
how we stay together. And maybe folks in Kentucky aren't
worried about the unmanaged wolf problem that they're having in
the Great Lakes and out west, but they ought to be,

(40:33):
because if you just look at what the unmanaged wolf
population is done to deer hunting in Wisconsin, it's really appalling.
Back in the year two thousand, over six hundred and
fifteen thousand deer were harvested during rifle season, but there
were only about two hundred and forty wolves. Well, fast

(40:53):
forward up to twenty twenty four. Now wolves are I
mean the DNR up there, which they're not very truthful.
They say there's only about a thousand wolfs, but I
think it's three to five times more than that. But
the truth is deer harvest has gone from six hundred
and fifteen thousand to less than two hundred and ninety
thousand and so on that trajectory, there's gonna be no

(41:16):
deer hunting in Wisconsin in ten years if we don't
get the wolf it problem solved. And just like we
talked about earlier, you know, we're only strong by the numbers.
So if that fifteen million gets knocked down to thirteen million,
Oh and then they come in and they do away
with hound hunting because not very many people hound hunt,
so that's an easy target. Well I don't hound hunt.

(41:38):
I'm not I do, but I'm just saying somebody might say, well,
I don't hound hunt, so it doesn't matter to me.

Speaker 5 (41:43):
Do away with hound hunting. It doesn't matter. Well, next thing,
you know, there's no hound hunting. Oh, well, by the way.

Speaker 4 (41:49):
We don't think you ought to be able to use
filling the weapon blank and then that's gone. Or no
lion hunting. Hey, let's do away with predator hunting. There's
no lion or bear hunting. Look at what they're doing
in Callao right now. They've banned the fur trade. You
can't trap, you can't sell any furs in Colorado. Oh
what about Oregon. They've got a bill right now out

(42:11):
there they're gonna ban not only hunting and fishing. They're
gonna ban ranching and anything that has to do with
the killing of animals. It's the craziest thing ever, but
there's some real legs to that, and so if they
can do that out there, that knocks out another how
many hunters of our army. And so the point I'm

(42:33):
trying to make in this segment, Fellas, is that we
have to stick together. And even though maybe I'm not
doing any alligator hunting here, but if there's some threat
to alligator hunting down in the Bayou, I should be
interested to help my fellow hunters. And that's what Hunter
Nation is trying to do. We're trying to make sure
by having these robust state chapters.

Speaker 5 (42:55):
That we're up to date on issues.

Speaker 4 (42:58):
Critical issues that negatively impact our hunting lifestyle or our
conservative values in any state. And if we can build
up a large enough state chapter in these states, then
we're going to be able to beat back bad policy.

Speaker 5 (43:13):
I mean, just like that.

Speaker 4 (43:15):
And so that's what Hunter Nation is really all about
from a policy and strength standpoint.

Speaker 2 (43:22):
Yes, sir, I don't think there's any better way to
say that. I'm very aware of what happened with the
deer up there in Wisconsin. I hunted there, I saw
the wolves come in. I know exactly what happened, and
it's just crazy. I mean, but the thing is, without
a unification, without a unified voice, we're in a void,

(43:45):
and hopefully you all can can fill that void. I've
got to go to break here. This break is presented
by SMI Marine eleven, four hundred Westport Road. Go see them.
You never get soaked by my friends at SMI, Ed Morris.
There's several reasons you brought this to my attention, because
we've seen attacks here in Kentucky, and our legislature on

(44:09):
trapping and and you know, rights of hunters, etc. I mean,
we can go up and down the list. Longtime listeners
know where I stand on this stuff. But talk a
little bit about this from your perspective and in regards
to maybe helping Keith get this established here in Kentucky.

Speaker 6 (44:30):
Well, what what we've had here, especially Keith, is just
exactly what you talked about previously. When when the state
decided to open bear hunting here in Kentucky, which now
we're overrun with bears in the eastern part of the state.
They're actually become a huge problem. They're impacting the deer herd.

(44:51):
The elk heard. But back when they were opening it up,
of course all the anti hunters and the pdfolks and
the hsus and everybody came in and Jem.

Speaker 2 (45:00):
And I actually went up.

Speaker 6 (45:01):
We had to testify in front of the Senate up
there to see and we were successful. The same way
with the sand hill cranes. What we've had here is
exactly what you talked about, is that the antis, they
go after the low hanging fruit. There's not a lot
of trappers, so let's go after trappers. There's not a
lot of housemen. Let's go after the houndsmen. They stay

(45:22):
away from the deer hunters and turkey hunters. Kentucky's a
very very conservative state, so gun laws here are very
the pro sportsmen. But we've had a lot of those
issues here. You mentioned the wolf issue. I've got two
friends of mine in particular, that have had family farms
in the up of Michigan for over one hundred years.

Speaker 2 (45:46):
And they don't see a deer anymore.

Speaker 6 (45:47):
They go up burn Out to play cards and drink beer,
and that's about it. During deer season they might see
one occasionally. People here in Kentucky. We need to realize
what's going on on in these other states, because if
we don't, once they get success there, then all of
a sudden, they're here in our back door and we're like, well,

(46:08):
where do these guys come from? Which is part of
what Hunter Nation and why we want to get Hunter
Nation here in Kentucky is to educate people as to
what's going on all over the country so that we
can be prepared when they come here.

Speaker 4 (46:25):
Yeah, you know that's really right, Ed. I can't say
it any better than that, And I would just say this,
if you've got a bunch of Kentucky listeners out there,
which I'm sure you do, if you go to hunter
Nation dot org and you sign up and become a
member of Hunter Nation at any level, I will make
sure that our board member Ted Nugent will send you

(46:46):
a signed autograph card. If we see a Kentucky address
come across the the membership desk here this week, we
will send my buddy, Ted will sign and send a
Hunter Nation card to every new member that comes from
the state of Kentucky. And boys, I got to tell you,
I got a couple of texts when I was mentioning

(47:06):
my board of directors, I left off my dear friend
Tim Rupley, who is the president of the US Olympic
Shooting Sports Teams. And Tim, I mean, you know, obviously
which one of us don't get the greatest pride when
we see how great our American shooters are doing in
the Olympics. And so I would be a miss if
I didn't say, you know, Tim Rupley, I mean I

(47:28):
just did. We did an event with the US Hunter
Nation combined with the US Olympic Shooting Sports down at
in Florida and had a big event at mar A Lago.
And watching Tim, I mean, he is so fastidious when
it comes to his guns and his equipment.

Speaker 5 (47:44):
It's just kind of fun to watch him.

Speaker 4 (47:45):
He is a tremendous shot, and he has made such
tremendous progress with not only was he's done on our board,
but with the US Olympic Shooting team. So it's pretty cool.

Speaker 5 (47:55):
I didn't want to leave you out. Tim. Apologize for that,
but yeah.

Speaker 4 (47:58):
Ed, if you can talk afew Kentucky folks into becoming
members here at Hunter Nation, daughter we'll send them an
autographed card special in addition to whatever membership package you
signed up for. From our friend Ted Nugent.

Speaker 2 (48:12):
Keith something that happened here. It was a momentous thing,
and Ed I had help from I can't tell you
how many people, but my good friend Greg Stumbo, when
he was in the legislature did a bill to protect
our hunting and fishing rights and it basically cemented our

(48:39):
right to hunt fish. And I said, Greg, hang on, buddy,
and we're dove hunting buddies. You know I've done great
for dozens and dozens of years. I said, we need
to include trapping. And this is to your point about everything,
You've got to look at the big picture. He said, well,
why wouldn't need traffic? I said, because that's where they're

(49:01):
going to attack us first, and that is a heritage trappers.
If we didn't have trappers, where we would be in
the United States today? Good grief they opened the West. Dude.
It's like, uh, come on, guys. And so what I'm
getting at here is you all are a spear point

(49:22):
organization to help folks as we move forward state by
state to realize for their people, for the people in
each state. What is on the plate, What is your
legislature getting ready to do that could hurt you. How
can we help? Isn't that the true focus? How can

(49:44):
you all help people understand what the issue is and
how to vault helping the gate these crazy, sneaky things
to slip through legislatively.

Speaker 5 (49:58):
You know.

Speaker 4 (49:59):
I mean in my own home state of Kansas. You know,
our Parks and Wildlife Board was seriously considering banning deer feeding,
deer baiting, call it what you want, and boy, we
started a very robust program and we not only beat

(50:19):
that back, but we changed the law on how our
Parks and Wildlife Commission is seated. It used to be
seven members were all chosen by the governor, but depending
on the party that was in power, you may get
seven people on that commission that never hunted in their lives.

Speaker 5 (50:40):
And that should never be like that.

Speaker 4 (50:42):
So we changed the law. Four picked by the governor,
one by the Senate, one by the House, and one
by the Attorney General. And the Attorney General just happens
to be on our Hunter Nation board and he picked me,
so I now said, on the Can's Apartment of Wildlife
and Parks. But that's just one example. You know, down
in Georgia, Waddell's home county. They were going to ban
bow hunting unless you had like ten acres or something.

(51:06):
So basically urban bow hunting would been gone. And so
we went down there and blew up a city council
meeting and they said, hey, off the agenda indefinitely. And
so that's the kind of impact that hunter nation and
really that's a misstatement. That's the kind of impact that
hunters can have in their own communities.

Speaker 5 (51:28):
If we know we joined together.

Speaker 4 (51:31):
We get informed and get active. In the importance of
having state chapters where you have the grassroots armies in
the state is one. If the chapters built correctly, like
Ed and I were talking the other day, you have
your top ten influencers and people that you rely on,
advisors that ED would have if ED it would be
so gracious as to be our first state director in Kentucky.

(51:54):
And then below that ten is twenty more and that
gives you all the coverage in the state that you need,
so nothing slips past you if it comes to a
violation of our hunting rights or gun rights, and you
can be very quick to respond. And if you have
the numbers of the membership numbers and you show up
at a city hall or a town council or the capital,

(52:17):
and that you've got an army of orange in that gallery. Hey, listen, brothers,
they're going to pay attention. And this is what we're
all about. It's a grassroots hunting, traditional American value activist organization.
And I can't wait to get into Kentucky.

Speaker 2 (52:35):
Well, I can't wait to walk with you here because
we do need help here. And I will close this
segment with a bold statement. Money gravitates to power more
than power gravitates to money. Where does power come from
the voting booth? Boys and girls, We need to get organized.

(52:57):
We need to realize that we can preserve our heritage
and do what we need to do if we just
start to pay attention and can get the right information
to understand what is on the plate. All right, gotta
go to break here. This break is presented by Monseil Properties,
Heart Realty. Paul Thomas is a broker. Check them out

(53:17):
mop h Rtrealty dot com. Peith Obviously you've had a
pack of a ride in outdoors. You know Ed Morrison.
I go back over gosh forty five or fifty years
of shared experiences. Tell folks a little bit about yourself.

(53:41):
And some of the things maybe that you've experiencing outdoors
that are a compulsion for your passion to what you're doing. Now.

Speaker 4 (53:51):
Yeah, you know, my favorite hunts, much like you guys
are with your closest friends and your family. I mean
I could tell stories of hunting with my boys and
my daughter and just I mean the special times that
we've had. But the opportunity to hunt with some what
what most folks would say, really big celebrities, I mean,
it's it's kind of humbling. Uh, tell you what about

(54:12):
Ted Nugent. And yes, I was there when Ted killed
a couple moose with me with his bow. And then
I saw Ted literally weep when his son Toby killed
his first moose with a bow up at McMillan River.
But probably my favorite all time Yukon story with Ted
was one day we were hunting and a storm blew
in and it started snowing terribly. So we got off

(54:35):
the river and we got up into a pine forest.
And you know how it is, those those trees is
big enough up there that boy, that snow wouldn't hit
you for days. And so we were tucked in underneath there,
and you know, Nugeen he travels like he's a marsupial.
He has more more stuff in his pockets than you
can believe in. Boy, we build a fire under that tree,

(54:56):
and and and Ted he had brought grits, and I
mean we literally cooked up a little bit of a
snack there and just talked about the importance of hunting
and and and the traditional values that really hunting instills
in us, the discipline, self reliance, self confidence, and really

(55:16):
just sitting there listening to Ted tells stories about being
one of the last hunters in Kenyon, you know, getting
chased by machine gun terrorists, and I mean listening to
that and it's just, you know, something that you just
wance in a lifetime type of a deal. Or Jeff
fox Worthy up there, Jeff great friend of mine. Jeff
had literally never hunted in the snow in his life,

(55:37):
being a Georgia boy, And so we got snowed on
up there, and he was talking about just how special
it was, just you know, it opened up a kind
of a hunting horizon forum that he'd you know, never experienced.
In the shot that Jeff made on just a monster bull,
little bitty window that I mean, average hunters don't take

(55:57):
the shot Jeff very good bow hunter shot and just
a perfect shot. You know, Shawn Michaels. You know, I
remember Sean's very first moose, and I was more nervous
than when my kid shot his first turkey. You know,
Zach is a little boy. I mean, you know, it
was Shawn's first moose hunt. You know, he is such

(56:17):
a superstar, world famous w W E legend. And when
the time came, this moose came up out of the
the swamp there and crossed through there, and I mean,
Sean only had just a little opportunity, and boy, he
drew back at the perfect time and let go that
perfect arrow. And those are like hunting memories that you know,

(56:37):
you just never forget. Donald Trump Junior. You hear people say, oh,
he's not a real hunter. No, no, no, no, he
is the real hunter. The first time I went up
the river with him, we got into a place where
there was a log jam, literally couldn't get the boat
up the river. And heck, he reached in his pack,
pulled out a hatchet and cut the log jam himself.

(56:58):
And then when it came time, you know, we were
sitting on the side of this bluff and we see
this moose and it's a long way off the river.
And he said, what do you think. I said, great moose,
but we are not hunting him. And he goes, how
come And I said, cause that's too damn far from
the river. Sun, I said, you know, I'm old man,
I'm not packing no moose, you know, two miles back
to the oh next thing, you know, I see Trump

(57:21):
shoot this moose two miles from the river and.

Speaker 5 (57:24):
Took us two days packing that moose back.

Speaker 4 (57:26):
Every time I see him, you know, and that story
comes up, I go, I've never hated you more. But
the point is, I mean he is like the real McCoy.
He packed more moose than any of us back, never hesitates,
never shirts a task from hauling water, you know. I
mean just the stories like that, you know, And I
mean Ed was telling stories of hunting with you. And
I was listening to Ed tell stories at the table

(57:48):
that night down there with guys that he hunts with
up here in Kansas.

Speaker 5 (57:52):
And isn't that really what this is all about?

Speaker 4 (57:56):
Guys.

Speaker 5 (57:56):
It's the camaraderie that we have.

Speaker 4 (57:58):
It's kind of a brother and sisterhood of people that
really understand hands on conservation. We know how to build
a fire, we know how to fill our freezers, we
know how to go help our neighbors where they're in need.
And this goes back to what I said from the start.
Hunters are really the best that America has to offer.
And my favorite part about it is, Yeah, I love

(58:20):
all the hunts, and I love all the things that
I've done and accomplished, But man, what I really love
is to set around a campfire with a cup of
coffee and listen to other hunters tell stories about things
that I couldn't even imagine to be possible. That's what
I love.

Speaker 6 (58:37):
You know. One of the things you just talked about,
talk about Donald Trump Junior. I was at Safari Club's
big convention in Nashville here a couple of weeks ago,
and I'm walking up and down the aisles, and all
of a sudden, I see a booth, says McMillan river,
And so I walk over there, and Chuck was there,
and Don Junior was there, and the whole time he

(59:01):
was Don Jor was taking pictures talking to people, talking
about moose hunting and bear hunting, and you'd have thought
he was the guy who just walked in from working
at the Walmart down the street.

Speaker 2 (59:15):
Great time.

Speaker 6 (59:16):
Of course, Chuck is a good friend of mine, and
you don't have any better people. Hopefully Chuck's getting Indiana
online for you. Jim and I were just sitting here
talking about Indiana and I said, well, surely Chuck's got
something rocking.

Speaker 2 (59:29):
And rolling over there.

Speaker 6 (59:30):
But yeah, it was really a good time down there.
But Don Junior took time, whoever asked for a picture,
whoever asked for whatever.

Speaker 2 (59:38):
He just not a problem in the world.

Speaker 4 (59:42):
Well that's the way he is, and really that's the
way all those guys I Sawn Michaels will stand and
sign and take pictures.

Speaker 5 (59:48):
Ted Nugent, same thing.

Speaker 4 (59:50):
Jeff Foxworthy just his most humble guy you'll ever meet.
And I'm really, I mean, I've never met a bad
egg in this hunting world. I mean, all the guys
that I've ever had the opportunity to share a hunting
camp with, they've been just the greatest of all time,
you know, just like Ed. You know, I met you
down there for the first time, set at your table,

(01:00:10):
and honestly, I felt like you and I'd been friends
twenty years. We were swapping stories just like we'd known
each other forever. But again, Jim, same thing.

Speaker 5 (01:00:19):
We talk on the phone.

Speaker 4 (01:00:20):
It's like, man, I've known Jim for a hundred years,
but it's only been since that event down there. And
that's why Hunter Nation is so important to bring like
minded people like us together with a common purpose, which
is to protect this lifestyle with the principles of God,
family country. I mean, listen, it's a perfect idea and

(01:00:42):
if we just get enough people to join us, it'll
be perfect execution. So yeah, I'm so excited about what
we're doing here. I just if you can't tell, I'm
a bit passionate about it.

Speaker 5 (01:00:54):
Boy, I don't know that's your aunt well, Keith.

Speaker 2 (01:00:58):
People that listen to me, I'll if I am about
passion about things. And here's what I'm gonna say. All
those people that you mentioned, yeah they're celebrities and they're
well known, but we all put our pants on the
same we all cut our own ices, I like to
say it, and we're driven by our position in life

(01:01:24):
and the good grace of God that God ess where
we are with perseverance and hard work to share and
to protect our heritage. And that's what this is about.

Speaker 4 (01:01:39):
Yeah, one hundred percent, you know, And that's why a
guy like you does so good with a you know,
radio program like this, because there's so many people out there,
Jim that may not know the things that you're saying,
may not have been able to experience the things that
you talk about, but they listen to you religiously because
you take.

Speaker 5 (01:01:59):
Them to they've never been.

Speaker 4 (01:02:01):
You give them information that they need to have, and
it's just, I don't know, I think it's inspiring to
be around guys like you.

Speaker 5 (01:02:08):
Two.

Speaker 2 (01:02:10):
Well, I can't tell you how much that means to me,
because here's what I've said throughout my career. I'm not
the best bass fisherman. I'm not the best crappie fisherman.
I'm not the best squirrel hunter. I'm not the best
big deer hunter. I'm not the best at any of that.
But I also am not chop liver about any of it.
So what I feel like, you know what I'm saying,

(01:02:31):
I ain't hang with about anybody, and I've made my
mark in several fields of endeavor. But what I think
kinds of bringing to the plate is I am a
complete outdoorsman, and in that regard, my desire, my ultimate

(01:02:53):
desire is to have other people understand how important to
outdoor herited you is, what can that can mean to
them in their life and their lifestyle, and how it's
it's what a Maine America great and all that dovetailed,
if you will, was what I heard from you that night,

(01:03:16):
and it was like a light bulb came on and
I was like, yeah, buddy, this this needs to happen,
because if we don't do this, if we don't unite
and we don't have the right information to understand the issues,
we're done, they'll beat us. They will they'b beat us.
They got more money, They anti hunters, Peter, you know,

(01:03:38):
on and on. They got more money, and they're better organized,
honestly than we have been. So when you're a different
breed of cat, you're a different equation, if you will, And.

Speaker 5 (01:03:51):
Tip of the hat for you partner, well, no, I
appreciate it.

Speaker 4 (01:03:55):
I mean, if all those things that you said is
what you set out to do with the program, You've
hit the mark on all of those that's for darn sure.
And I'll tell you if I can hit the mark
on this, you know, if we can all work together
and this Hunter Nation can really turn into what it
could be with membership and numbers, then the influence that

(01:04:17):
we have the voting block will be I mean, boy,
I hope that's what they put on my tombstone. I
don't care if they write how many moose I've killed
or elk or anything else, or how many beavers I've
trapped or whatever it might be. If they just put
on there he found a Hunter Nation. That's good enough
for me.

Speaker 2 (01:04:35):
Boys, Yes, sir, all right, gotta go to break here.
We'll be back for break here in just a moment.
This break is presented by SMI Marine. They're at eleven
four hundred Westport Road. Get your boat ready for spring
if you had already done so. They've got all kinds
of new boats and use boats for sale. Remember you
never get soaked by my friends at SMI. Keith It

(01:05:00):
and I've been involved in a bunch of issues here
in Kentucky. One of which ed was Center Bill sixty four, which,
amongst other things, provided for a no net loss of
public lands of public lands through transition through our Department
of Fish and Wildlife Resources last year two years ago. Rather,

(01:05:25):
we fought Center Bill three, which was unbelievably onerous because
it was going to put our Fish and Wildlife department
under the Department of Agriculture, which wants to kill every
deer in the state. Yeah, and we could have used
we could have used in organization like yours. Now we

(01:05:47):
won both of those. We want them, a buddy, it
was a fight, it was a heavy lift. And those
are the kind of things I want you to reassure
me that you all would be willing to be involved with,
because if we call upon you for help, we're gonna

(01:06:07):
need help.

Speaker 4 (01:06:10):
Yeah, no, one hundred percent. I was just recently we
started a chapter in Arizona to give you an example,
and the first thing I did was I went to
a meeting down there with the heads of all the
other organizations there in the state. Because you know, hunter
Nation is not intended to usurp all of the other groups.

(01:06:32):
Hunter Nation is intended to be the hub for all
the other groups that are only inclined to get involved
in this, that, or the other issue that's specific to
their organization. So in such cases as you just described,
what Hunter Nation would do is we would take the
point and then we would work with all these other

(01:06:53):
good conservation organizations.

Speaker 5 (01:06:56):
Not all of them are good.

Speaker 4 (01:06:57):
There's a couple on our side of the equation that
you know, may not be what people think.

Speaker 2 (01:07:02):
They are, but you know.

Speaker 4 (01:07:07):
Well, but we would work with all the good ones.
And then that's how it all works. And then just
like the NRA, we got something brewing up here in Kansas,
the NRA called us said hey, will you be our
wingman on this? Yeah, yeah, we will. And then you
know what we want to do is we want to
help effectuate good hunting policy across the country. And if

(01:07:28):
the Mule Deer Foundation needs some help with a mule
deer issue out West, hunter Nation wants to be there
to help. And if it's something that we need to
take the point on, then by golly, we're not hesitant
to step up and be leaders. That's that's just the
way it all works. And again, together we're strong, you know,

(01:07:48):
Divided we fall, and that's the trappers first, then the
hound hunters, then then the bow hunters, and then finally
they'll get the deer hunters.

Speaker 5 (01:08:00):
And that's how it'll be.

Speaker 4 (01:08:01):
And if the deer hunters don't realize they're only as
strong as the trappers or the predator hunters, or the
hound hunters, Well, you know, then we lose. And of course,
probably the biggest problem we have with hunters is apathy.
As long as we've got our NFL Sunday ticket and
we've got a tag left in our pocket and a

(01:08:22):
twelve pack of beer, hell, it's a pretty good weekend,
you know. But we have to realize that if we
want to keep this lifestyle, we've got to go vote
our values. That's the most critical thing I could leave
your listeners with. If you want good hunting policy, if
you want good policy for the things that matter in
your life, you've got to damn well go vote for

(01:08:43):
those candidates that will support your lifestyle. No more important
elections than in twenty twenty six. And so that's why
we've got to make sure we get hunters all across Kentucky,
all across America to go out and vote our traditional values.
And then I'm confident and if we do it, we're
gonna elect politicians that will protect and support our lifestyle

(01:09:05):
and our values.

Speaker 5 (01:09:06):
That's really really critical.

Speaker 4 (01:09:08):
And I'd just like to mention one more time, guys,
I know you're running out of time. Hunter Nation dot org,
please please, if you're listening. Go to Hunter Nation dot
org and become a member again, we'd love to have you. You'll
be joining a team of just incredible people and you'll
become something and be part of something bigger than any
of us could ever be individually.

Speaker 2 (01:09:30):
Well, Keith, this well said, and in that regard, what
can people expect when they join give them a glimpse.

Speaker 4 (01:09:39):
Well, you're gonna get the swag that you get with
your membership package. You're gonna get a monthly newsletter that's
going to keep you up to date with regard to
what's going on in all of the states we're working
as well as national. You're gonna get access to live
events that we do, whether that's a Ted Nugent event
or Craig Morgan or what we just Rea did down

(01:10:01):
in Palm Beach. You'll be connected with other people. Our
website is a wealth of information. We always have something
going on there. We're giving away packages every quarter. We've
got all kinds of hunts that you can win on there.
So there's all the free fun stuff that you get,
but mostly it's you know, you're going to be part
of a grassroots army that's literally out there kicking ass

(01:10:24):
every day, and you're going to be informed because that's.

Speaker 5 (01:10:27):
What we're doing.

Speaker 4 (01:10:27):
We're informing, which empowers and then hopefully will activate everyone
that thinks like we do.

Speaker 2 (01:10:36):
And repeat again, how measly put involvement on the voting
rolls has been in some of these states in the closing.

Speaker 4 (01:10:45):
Minute here less than fifty percent. And so what I
told people when I found this out, I'm literally going
to go to the closest Cabela and punch one out
of every two people because at that rate, I know
I'm going to be punching somebody that ain't voting. And so, yeah,
we gotta exercise that right and go out and vote.

Speaker 2 (01:11:06):
Yes, sir, don't vote, don't cry? Is that that's that's
that easy? Hey, thank you so much for your time,
and uh, we'll get the word out as best we can.
That's a wrap. God bless everybody.