Ever wondered how a passion for one sport can lead to an unexpected love for another? That's exactly what happened with DeAndre Reed, a one-time football player turned passionate adult-onset hunter. Join us as we relive DeAndre's captivating journey from his first encounter with archery in a shop with his then-girlfriend, to his exciting hunts across South Dakota and Arkansas, complete with hair-raising encounters with alligators and triumphant deer hunts.
DeAndre is not just about shooting arrows and hunting deer, his story is intertwined with heartwarming moments of family bonding and repairing relationships. Listen in as he shares some of his most cherished memories of hunting trips with his father and brother, which not only led to successful hunts, but also mended relationships and created lifelong memories. DeAndre's tales of hunting triumphs, familial bonding, and the lessons he has learnt along the way make for an enriching and exciting listen.
Ever wondered how a passion for one sport can lead to an unexpected love for another? That's exactly what happened with DeAndre Reed, a one-time football player turned passionate adult-onset hunter. Join us as we relive DeAndre's captivating journey from his first encounter with archery in a shop with his then-girlfriend, to his exciting hunts across South Dakota and Arkansas, complete with hair-raising encounters with alligators and triumphant deer hunts.
DeAndre is not just about shooting arrows and hunting deer, his story is intertwined with heartwarming moments of family bonding and repairing relationships. Listen in as he shares some of his most cherished memories of hunting trips with his father and brother, which not only led to successful hunts, but also mended relationships and created lifelong memories. DeAndre's tales of hunting triumphs, familial bonding, and the lessons he has learnt along the way make for an enriching and exciting listen.
Howdy folks and welcome to the Hunting Stories Podcast. I'm your host, michael, and as usual, we've got another good one for you today. Today we connect with the dreaded archer, otherwise known as, or actually normally known as, deandre Reed. Deandre is a former football player. He's an adult onset hunter. He just fell in love with archery and it's a little spark in his life and, frankly, he's got some amazing stories to tell today. So I don't want to steal too much of his thunder, but make sure you check out Deandre. The links to everything are in the show notes. Check him out on Instagram, check out his podcast. Check him out on Carbon TV. That's it, guys. Let's go ahead and kick this thing off. Deandre, tell your stories. Alright, deandre? Welcome to the Hunting Stories Podcast. Brother, how are you?
Speaker 2:I'm pretty good. How are you doing today?
Speaker 1:Dude, I'm doing great. I want to say thank you for coming on the podcast man. Thank you for being flexible. I made a horrible mistake and scheduled us to record on Halloween, not realizing that I have a two and a four year old. My wife was like nope, you're moving that podcast. So thank you, man, for being flexible with me here.
Speaker 2:No problem. I was actually in Dallas when you sent me the message, like, yeah, we gotta change this around. I'm like, hey, cool. And he was like, yeah, my kids won't go for that. I'm like, yeah, they won't go for it.
Speaker 1:These holidays are like a week-long events. Right, the holiday falls on a week, you gotta do it on the weekend all weekend long, and then when the actual holiday hits, you gotta do it again. I'm tired of candy and kids stand up late and all that. I'm ready to move on, get ready for Christmas or Thanksgiving or whatever.
Speaker 2:Oh, definitely, Like here in town. They had like I want to say about 10 or 15 different drunk retreats and different Halloween festivals, Like back when I was little. We only had like one or two. And these kids now they're getting loaded up on candy.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, man, oh yeah, my neighborhood is. I live in the country right, so there's no sidewalks. You can't walk from house to house. So all of these homes come together this big park and set up like tents and just like, turn the sidewalk into a crazy. It maximizes the like step, like children's step, per piece of candy for the whole neighborhood. It's crazy. So nice. But, man, we're off subject. Let's skip over the Halloween stuff. Man, john Dre, why don't you start off by introducing yourself, so the folks know who they're going to hear some stories from today.
Speaker 2:Alrighty, so I'm DeAndre. I'm the host of the Dr Podcast. You can find that on CarbonTV. I'm just the guy that started hunting about five years ago and hadn't looked back.
Speaker 1:No way. So you, I know you said, or before we started recording you started bow hunting five years ago. Is that you started with bow hunting? You didn't hunt before that.
Speaker 2:Nope, let's start hunting Like I. My buddy Rex took me a duck hunting a couple times in college, but before that that was it. I've never, never, stepped foot into Drew Woods, anything like that. Just kind of, just kind of just jumped into it.
Speaker 1:Cool man. Well, hey, I don't want to steal any of the stories you planned on telling, but like, why? Why? Straight into archery? Is that something that you were maybe going to talk about a little bit?
Speaker 2:Oh no. So so I played college football. You know, in college I played the Naval Academy. So so once I got done playing football, I had this void. It's like something was missing. I was partying, drinking, just trying to do something to feel that void.
Speaker 2:And for my job I drive around town and I call on gas stations. I'm a tobacco rep and there's this north of town, off the interstate, there's this big old sign this is Archery shop. This big, big black and white sign Archery shop. I've never been into Archery shop before. So one day my girlfriend will now ex girlfriend. She was like yo, we should like let's go do something today. I'm like cool, this is Archery shop thing over here. That's the town I want to, I want to go to it. And she was like what? I'm like yeah. So we hop in the car, drive over, I walk in and the owner is like it was meant to be, he was like at the door. So they walk in. He's like, hey, how are you doing? I'm like, pretty good, and just how can I help you today? And like I really don't know.
Speaker 1:I said I've been driving by this place, yeah.
Speaker 2:I've been driving by this place to the last like three months and no, actually I got six months and I finally decided to know stuff for years. So he was like, well, you ever shot a bow? Like never, never even thought about it. So he took me around and he showed me like you know, we got high end bows, we got low end bows and what's your budget? And I was like I didn't come to buy a bow, I just came to see what the shop is about.
Speaker 2:And well, let's have you shoot a bow real quick so I could. So he said the bow for me, it was a mission hammer, maybe he's has laying around and he gave me a release, little trigger release, and I kid you not, from that first shot I felt like it's forked, like oh, that I like that right there. So we went in about 12 o'clock that afternoon. I didn't leave till like 930. I just kept shooting and shooting. I'm the shoulders tired, what I'm living.
Speaker 1:What's your girl say man. What's your girl say she's left you there.
Speaker 2:No, she was actually happy because she hadn't seen me with this spark in my for a long time. She's like you, enjoying it. So I'm just, I'm just. I'm just shooting. I'm talking shoot five arrows, not an Indian run down, get my five arrows, walk back, shoot five, like I've taken a break. I mean, I live in a shop up to nine o'clock.
Speaker 1:And what 1000 arrows.
Speaker 2:Probably, I don't know, and and and after, probably say after about like an hour. I mean, I was not accurate at all. I mean, shots are going everywhere, but I'm just shooting, I'm just loving it, yeah, and he goes. So he goes, you, you want to buy a bow? And I'm like, yep, immediately, boom, I bought that mission hammer, bought some arrows, bought a case, bought a release, and then immediately went home and from like the rest of the night I just watched YouTube videos on how to sight a bow and how to shoot a bow. I mean different technique, everything. Yeah, I just jumped into it and it and it filled that void.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, man. Well, good for you. I again I have a totally different path to getting into it. I started hunting because I got invited by some in-laws right, and did some muzzleloader hunting in Washington. He wasn't really interested in hunting, to be completely honest. I was just like, yeah, I'll just go hang out with these folks, be part of the family.
Speaker 1:And then saw an elk for the first time. I remember the before I saw that elk. They were like, okay, make sure you don't shoot a deer. And I'm like, well, how do I know the difference between a deer and an elk? Like I had no idea, I was that naive. And then they're like, oh, you'll know, you'll know. And I see an elk and I'm like, holy shit, yeah, that's different than a deer, oh yeah. So ended up with shooting an elk and was just like, yeah, this is, this is the coolest thing ever.
Speaker 1:And then I ended up moving from Washington, colorado, and this is how I got into archery. I just hated hunting in middle of November when the high for the week is 20 degrees. I was like, no, I want to hunt in September when it's like 70, like screw this, because we camped too, that was freezing so cold. And I was like Nope, the same for me, but I do love hunting. So let's try archery. And man, I just absolutely fell in love with it. There's something about it. I don't know if you've read Zen and the art of archery. It's like a German philosopher who lived in Japan and wrote a book about archery. But it's true, man, it's. It puts you in a special mindset and you said you had like a spark in your eye. Same thing, it's awesome. I love archery If you for the people listening. If you don't or haven't shot a bow, just go. Just go to your local shop like Deandre, fire one off, see how you feel.
Speaker 2:That's it To me. It's like it unlocked some kind of ancestral DNA. It's like I'm supposed to be doing this. Yeah, and, and I thought it was weird, I was like, guys, this is weird. So my younger brother, who? He's not into the woods, he's none of that, he's a sneakerhead photographer, he, just that's all he does. And I was like, hey, man, I want you, I was going to you've been to, have you ever been to a total archery challenge.
Speaker 1:I have, yeah, I've been to the San Antonio one and the Colorado one.
Speaker 2:Okay. So I was going to this this is the first year of I was going to it and he's a camera man, so I'm a bro, the one in Terry Peaks, south Dakota. Okay. So I'm like, hey, I want you to come film. You know me doing this event.
Speaker 2:He's a guy who, and then, like he, after hearing me talk about archery so much, he was like, well, can I shoot in it? And I'm like, do you've never touched a bow? He goes, oh, I can figure it out. He calls the booby bounce. He can do everything. He can pick something up and do it. So he drives up the South Dakota. Him and my buddy Rick and I have. At this time I had bought a Matthews v3. So I had my mission was just my little, you know little bow, I just worked on, so I gave it to him.
Speaker 2:We get in the backyard, he shoots like five arrows and, kid you not, I mean he groups them jokers like, right on the money, I got this, let's do it. Yeah, so we go to tag and the whole time we're on the way after he's listening and watching videos and like I, he got, he got that spark, he got bit by the bug. And we get out there and he's on the on the 3D, 3d range and he's just shooting. He goes. Dude, I feel like I'm supposed to be doing this. He goes. I don't know what he goes. Something just lit the little fire in me and since then he's been all in on our tree. I'm talking amazing, it's all in.
Speaker 1:That's so cool, man, that's so cool. I want to say that's super unique. Like experiences, I don't know that I know anyone that just like was like I'm going to do this and didn't have someone sort of you know, push them in in a little ways or another. Like a lot of people have their, their father, their uncle, their grandpa that gets them into hunting. I had in laws that were like, yeah, you can come along, sure, and but doing it all on yourself, man, that's cool, that's I'm impressed because I don't know, most people probably wouldn't do that.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, Well, I do. I do have the kind of jump back a little bit so before I picked up archery. So I started, I was dating this girl and her parents and they have a ton of land, they're all hunters, pheasant hunters, hunters, deer, all that. So he was like you ever shot a deer? I'm like nope. He's like well, get a tag and I'll you know, we'll take you out. Yeah, All right, Cool. Now this is. This is a. This is a damn good story right here.
Speaker 1:Well, let's kick it off. They were doing stories. Now oh yeah so.
Speaker 2:Uh, so it was rifle season. Boom, I get it. I draw a tag. So I'm like I, but I only had a doe tag. So like, oh, I won't get a bug, but you know they'll be good, at least I get some eating in the freezer. Yeah, so he give that morning and I couldn't even sleep that night. I'm like, oh, I get to go hunt, this is going to be fun. I'm thinking he's going to take me out like with, but with me and he. So I get up, I'm dressed, he's up having his morning coffee. He's a farmer, so he gets up super early.
Speaker 1:Real, real quick. John. Is this before or after you started archery?
Speaker 2:This is, this is before. Okay, okay, this is this is a year before. So, um, I uh, he picked me up. Well, he, we're getting a truck. He goes all right, because I'm going to take you, you know, north of the farm, and then we get. We get to this spot. He goes, just just walk east and you're going to see a elevated blind and climb up in it, push me off the truck and drives off. It's dark, dark and it's cold and I am definitely afraid of the dark.
Speaker 1:You gotta have no, no, nothing. I was, I was, I was going to use the moon light.
Speaker 2:So I started, I started walking and I'm getting scared because I'm walking through a? Um, it was a cornfield that he had. He had just harvested some of the corn in there. So I'm walking through and I'm hearing all kinds of stuff. So I just stopped Like I'm waiting for the sun to come up. I am not, um, I'm not walking in the dark. If I don't get a deer today, that's fine. I got all week long but I'm not walking in the dark. So the sun starts coming up and I can see the elevated blind. So I started making my way towards it and I hear some crunching to the right of me and I look over and it's a doe. She's just grazing through the field eating, eating on the corn stalks.
Speaker 2:So I stopped, take a knee, I load the rifle, just like he told me to load it, and I wait till the sun. It was, it was a little brighter and I think shooting light was like 630. So I look at my watch 630, I pull the gun up, boom, dropper right on the money. I get on the phone and I a Bruce, I just killed a dough. He's like what it's like? Yeah, he's. I just took my boots off. He had not. He hadn't even like gotten back in the house. Good he goes.
Speaker 1:Are you sure he killed her?
Speaker 2:like, yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm standing over right now and he him and my girlfriend a hop in the car. I'm hopping the truck, drive on the field. He goes yep, that's a good fat dough loader up on the truck and take it to the back. So I'm thinking, all right, I didn't kill it. Now you know how to gut it in there. So he's gonna do all that he can't deny was nope, it's on you, you got a, you got to gut your first year. So I'm like you gonna tell me how to do it. He goes yeah, you figure it out. So I just get my phone, look up how to look the meat eater. It was a.
Speaker 1:Steve.
Speaker 2:Rinella. He had a little video how to go to deer. I literally set that on the truck and watched it step by step, pausing it, each cut, pause, cut, play, pause and then boom, I did it and that's a good video.
Speaker 1:Here's a little something. I took a class because I didn't know how to do it either Carter parks and wildlife. You, you go to their class and they like have a stuffed animal deer and they kind of show you as that video is up on a big screen. So that's Steven Rinella getting a deer video. Yeah, that's a good one to learn from it.
Speaker 2:Hey, I'm telling you, I I sent to my brother. I'm like, hey, when you kill your first deer, here you go, just watch it step by step. It's gonna get you, it's gonna get the job done. You know it's work, so he's got a couple views for me.
Speaker 1:That's awesome man. That's a great story. It's funny that you're like nope, I ain't going nowhere, it's too dark.
Speaker 2:Dude, I, and to this day, like I'm afraid of the dark, but every year I like push myself to stay in the stand A little bit longer, a little bit longer, like last Wednesday I went out, I stayed to about 930 and just had my head lamp, got up my saddle, send me down a tree and just walk back to the truck like rubber, to the truck like and that scared it off.
Speaker 1:Man, I don't, I don't believe anybody who's out there in the middle of the night and it says they're not scared of the dark. It's like I don't care. How baby are you're? You're? You're looking around, you know, you're looking for raccoon eyeballs that are glowing a mile away or whatever it's. Uh, it's spooky. What, uh? What state are you in, d Andrey? I'm gonna South Dakota, south Dakota. Okay, I should guess that from the attack. Okay, cool, yeah, man, I like, um, whether I'm down here in Texas or western big game, out in Colorado walking around in the dark, don't love it. Don't love it, but it's a necessity and it makes me feel pretty good after I've done it right. It's one of those things I might just say I don't, I don't cold plunge, but it's like something that sucks. You got to kind of mentally get through it and when you're done with it, you're like I feel I feel better about what I just did. So I'm with you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I actually. I actually have a ice plunge tub in my garage. No, there you go. Yep, I take every morning, I go to the gym, I get back and I just prep myself forward and and tough it up. Yeah, man.
Speaker 1:I've always thought about this. I'm like man, I always thought football players did that forever, and now all of a sudden it's popular, so I'm not surprised. But man, let's. Uh, that was a good story, deandre, but I think I actually, uh, gave that one on accident, or got you to tell that one on accident. So I know you came prepared with a couple. So, uh, what else you got? Man, let's, let's, keep going. This is fun.
Speaker 2:Oh, all right. So, um so, after my first year of archery hunting, after that first year, after my first year of archery hunting, I was like you know what I want to? I want to hunt with my dad, because my dad he's like growing up, he's always hunted and um, like him and my mom and they weren't together.
Speaker 2:So whenever I would spend time with them, it was normally during the fall and my mom would drop me off at his house in early in the morning and he's like all right, I'm gonna go hunting and you know you should watch TV when I get back We'll do some stuff. All right, cool. So Eventually I was like hey, can I, can I go with you? He's like no, you don't, you don't want to hunt. I'm like no, I really do. And, and honestly he's right, I didn't want to hunt, I just wanted to be with him in the woods.
Speaker 2:That's pretty much all he was just do something with him and, um, he was like, no, you're not ready, you don't want to do it. So for my birthday that year he got me a pair of, uh, of a waterproof boots, the guy. So I was like, oh I cool, like I mean the boots for my birthday and we have a lot of money, so it's like you get everything pieced out. You know what I'm saying. So he got me the boots, something all right, for Christmas I'm gonna get, I'm gonna get the, the whole suit we're gonna be on, and popping, but no, he uh he got me the boots and then for Christmas a year, I got a BB gun.
Speaker 2:He was like hey, if you, if you can master this BB gun, learn to shoot, that I'll take you hunting. So every day, you know, after school, like you have to bus, I'm putting on lining up cans, me my little brother, and we're shooting a crap out of them. So we're shooting cans, we go from cans to squirrels, rabbits, I mean we're just doing it all, yeah. And then he like that the next hunt season came up and he like shot me a ghost. He's like ah, you know, you don't want to hunt. So now I'm like all right, like I cool, like you don't want me to go with you, that's fine.
Speaker 2:And I started playing football anyway. So I was like I'm just gonna play football and I don't care about the outdoors, and that's that's what I did. So fast forwarded, I'm now 27 years old, got a year of archery under my belt and my girlfriend she's like you know, you should really invite your dad and brother come hunt with you. And I'm like no, like I ain't invited him. He's one, we didn't really have a good relationship anyways. Yeah, so I'm not inviting him at all, and my brother definitely was not, wouldn't want to go anywhere with him. So it's like, uh, it's the same. Do you have one brother or do you have multiple brothers?
Speaker 1:I got one brother Okay, I just want to make sure. The same one from the attack. Oh yeah, cool, yeah, yeah yeah. Got one brother, nick.
Speaker 2:Yep, he's my he's my big little brother or my little big brother. Yeah, so I'm, I am. I'm five eight. I got my mom's height. I'm five eight. He's six forward. He was a 275. So he got our dad's height. So, yeah, he's a big boy. So, um, I called my brother on my a, do you want to come up here and hunt? He's like Uh, do you want to come up here and hunt? He's like Hunt. I'm like yeah. He's like I guess what, what, we, what, we using? I'm like we'll use a rifle. They're like who? I'll do it. So I don't tell him that I've already called and invited our dad.
Speaker 1:So once he agreed.
Speaker 2:I'm like a uh. By the way, we call our dad cheapo. That's his, this is a nickname, so it's like a cheapo. I invited cheapo so y'all, y'all can drive up here together. He was like for real. He was like how long was the drive? I'm like 14 hours. I got to spend 14 hours in the car we own. Oh yeah, pretty much. So now he's on the fence and I'm like I'm nervous, rick. So the time finally comes. They know they got their tags. My dad is super excited because he just like he loves nothing. So, um, they get in the car and drive up here and I'm just like said, I'm on pins and needles. So I'm thinking when they get here, they're gonna be fighting. This is gonna be. You know, the trip's gonna be over Over before it gets started, yeah. But they pull up about 12 30 tonight and they get off the car and they're just laughing and having a good time and I'm thinking, boom, it's chick, let's, let's see, it's the goal, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, it's gone so many other ways, man, but that's awesome that they just go in laughing okay, keep going sorry it was nuts, it was nuts.
Speaker 2:So, um, my girlfriend's parents. They live out in winter South Dakota, which is about three and a half hours from where I live, on east out of South Dakota, sioux Falls. So we drive out there, we, we get a hotel and this is so my dad. He's one of those type of guys. He don't care what the hotel look like, smell like, as long as he got a bed. He cool. So this is, this is a small town. During hunt season, all the hotel, all the good hotels, book up our book. So there's only one called the warrior in it's. I mean it's, it's a, it's like a two stars.
Speaker 1:It's a shit hole. It's a two sounds generous, all right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a, it's a shit hole. So we get, we get there, we walk in the room. The room is ice cold because it's already like 15 degrees outside. So room is ice cold. So we go to the front desk with a the room, our room is cold and she's like, oh, I'll come in, let me come check it out. Walks in and she kicks the heater. It's like one of those floor heaters. She kicks, he kicks it and it don't come on. She goes Yep, it's broken, I'll get y'all another room. So we get another room. So the whole night we're talking about the hunt and everything and it's super excited.
Speaker 2:So next morning, boom, we get up, my brother, he goes with my girlfriend, assistant of blonde, and I go with my dad. We sit the same elevated blind and I'm supposed to walk to. The year before, okay is the one is when we walk into. So we get in it and it's dark and we just kind of not really talking, just kind of just looking around. Yeah, and you, boom, sun comes up and we start hearing some footsteps and it's though she walks right underneath the blonde. I mean, she's like right in front of, in my dad's like, almost like too too close, you can't see it through the scope, just yeah brown and green and my dad's like, man, I'm a shooter.
Speaker 2:I'm like, no, I mean, don't shoot her like we got. We got a whole week like this relax.
Speaker 1:And this is tagged for just a dough, or is his tag for either sex he got?
Speaker 2:both. He got a dough in a okay. Okay, good, well, I don't want to shoot like once you shoot the day pretty much over To laugh even then you know once they calm down. So, uh, he's like he's getting antsy because he's one of the type of guys his brown is down, he's, he ain't wasting no time.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:He's like man, if I had a brick I'm busting him back in the head right now. We'll be done with it. So I'm like, hey, man, chill out, we good. And so we're sitting there and after about, like I say, about About two hours, she's still in front. She's still just sitting there eating on the um, on turnips and stuff. She's not even moved.
Speaker 2:And my dad and my daddy goes oh shit, no, my what. He goes look over there. And he points out out east, I don't see nothing. And he's like you see the big ass there. I say, no, I don't see no, deer. He goes look by that fence post. So I get my binoculars on, look, and all I see is a tip of these antlers. I'm like what you freaking out over some tips like you don't need to tell biggie is. And as soon as I said, say that just dude stands up. And when I tell you it was like it was like a poster, like a calendar, he just stands up, pistols all out, the sun's coming up behind him. I mean it's just like.
Speaker 1:Just so you can see the heat of his breath coming out. Probably yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's like, it's like nuts, and we watched that deer and Uh, another book hit like came over into the area and they get the sparring. He kind of chases them off. I said, all right, he must have some dough bedded down over there and he's kind of, you know, defending this territory. Someone, dad's like man, that's a far shot. I'm like yeah, we ain't taking it.
Speaker 1:So we watched the deer too bad.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's probably about 500 yards, okay, okay. So, um, yeah, he was like, yeah, let's go, let's go eat lunch and then we'll come back and you know we'll have a plan. So we get off the blind, go have lunch and uh, on the way on the way back I was like, hey, so we're gonna do, I got a ground blind, we can put the ground blind on our back and we're going to. Especially, army crawled through this field and get what I think is close enough where we might be a shot on them. So we uh Get on, we get on our stomachs and we're crawling through this turnip field. We get to this like, right, yeah, we probably crawled, maybe like 300 yards, no joke on our stem.
Speaker 2:And, uh, I popped the ground blind up and I'm being loud, I'm like, oh my, if he's over here, he's gonna, he's, he's dipping. So we get the ground blind up and my dad get in it and we don't see shit, like it's just.
Speaker 2:Yeah all you know, the whole day it's like four, 45, starting to get dark and we see this, this spike book, coming up the fence line. I'm a dance like shit. I'm taking him, I'm like no, we just. We just saw one of the biggest books we've seen on the farm ever. We are not going to kill a spike.
Speaker 2:He's like damn man, he's gonna let me kill nothing. I'm like, we got time, don't rush it. So, um, we're sitting there and this, this spike. He stopped at the fence and he starts, like you know, scraping his, scraping his, uh, his hooks in the ground and starts grunting. And as soon as he does that, the big boy pops up and I'm like, oh shit, we, we, we hear now I range them, boom, like 145. That's a chip shot, we good.
Speaker 2:He jumps the bar bar at first and chases the little spike off. So I give my dad the right for my a. No, this is, this is for you. Like, this is what you came here for, my dad's left hand. So I have a right handed, uh, 30 out of six. So he's, he gets it loaded, whatever.
Speaker 2:And he, pushing the scope, he starts shaking. I'm talking Boom, fires a shot off. And I see the shot hit behind him, hit the ground, and I'm like, oh my gosh, you missed, dude, you missed. So he's like man, you something wrong with your rifle. I'm like, no, it's what. I'm wrong with you. I, I know, I know what's I did in. It's something wrong with you.
Speaker 2:So the deer just stands there though. So he, he puts another one in chambers. Another one, boom, shoots, misses. He like I can't do it. I can't do it, son, you got, you got, you got to do it. So I take the rifle chamber, one, put it up, boom, and he jumps up, spins in a circle and takes off. So we're both sitting there just shaking and it's dead silent. It was Dude. What the hell just happened Me. I'm a new hunter. Um, you know you wait 15, you know maybe 30 minutes before you go hell. No, he's like let's go get him. I'm like no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, we got to wait like I'm gonna bring that brick in case a dough walks by.
Speaker 2:Right. He's like no, no, we ain't waiting for shit, let's go. So we get. We get up to blind and I'm just like Just kind of creeping. He just started crunching through the field, just going over. So we cross the creek and we get into the area where he was and we don't see him at all and I don't see no blood, nothing. I'm like what the hell man Like? I know I didn't miss, I know I didn't miss. So we're walking, walking back and forth, walking back and forth.
Speaker 2:By this time my girlfriend and my brother and her son, they're driving up in a gator, so we're all looking and I walked by this, this tree that it fell down. I walked by it like 15 times and I was like what a hell could he have been? So I just go sit, I see where he was bedded up at, I go get in his bed and I just sit down. As soon as I sit down in it, I look underneath that tree and he's bedded up and he's powered up underneath that tree. And I pull that joker out and dude, when I tell you that All the emotions came, like I started like tearing up. Yeah, I call my, I call my dad over and he runs over there and he just starts balling. He's like I've never shot anything this big. I say you ain't shoot shit, but you know we were hunting together, so like I, you know, we killed him.
Speaker 2:We killed him together and we sat there and we took pictures, um, and like that's, at 27 years old I'm sitting in the middle of a field in South Dakota with my dad who I would who viewed it. Actually, you know, three months before I was told you I would never hurt my dad and me, him and my brother, we're just sitting there like like smiling, like crying, hugging each other, celebrating why we're celebrating this. Big eight-point walks, literally walks right up behind us, comes up and my brother just like freezes and he's like, oh shit, but the rifles in the rifles in the truck. So we look this deer and he just takes off like damn, we could have do it, we could have doubled up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, go, try and wrestle it to the ground and hold it down for you boys.
Speaker 2:He's a wild band dude, he's, he's, he, just like he loves been, he loves the outdoors, love been the woods. If there's any person on this earth that loves to sitting around a campfire drinking beer and telling stories, that's my dad and and we and we all bonded off that trip. Like that trip right there, like it totally repaired our relationship, like me, him and my brother.
Speaker 1:That's amazing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, me and my brother, we've we've always been close, but with our dad, nah, not at all. But now, as we talk every day, we mean we are always sharing no different hunt stories, sharing hun tips, different techniques and stuff strategies. He started playing the food plot. He started last year, his first time ever been a food plot, so I'm trying to teach him the stuff that I do and stuff around the farm. Yeah, and it's just like that's the one thing that like really locked me in, that I love this hunt because it not only did it save my life but it helped repair the damage relationship between, you know, my brother and my dad and and myself and my dad.
Speaker 1:So like that's really amazing.
Speaker 2:No, and the whole stories in the hotel is just, we just sit up and just laugh. Senator drinking is telling my dad he played baseball in college and he played minor league for the Astros. He's telling us all these stories of how used to party and all the stuff back in the day and it's just, it's good old, dear camp stores.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's what it's all about. Man, that's that's so awesome. I'm jealous, I mean, I'm obviously so like well, my father and I we don't have a strange relationship by any means, but he's got no interest in hunting and so, like we aren't super close and I ask him every time I'm okay, you want to come? All you gotta do is sit in the blind, just hang out, and he's not interested, he doesn't want to meet, it's just not not for him. So like hearing that like your relationship with your dad went from where it was To, hopefully, where it still is now is oh yeah, awesome. Man, that's that's too cool. And that's what hunting is all about. And that's what I love about it Is the relationships that I've built with everybody I've been in camp with. It may not be my dad, but you know the, the folks you spend time with in camp and you tell your hunting stories with, or your best friends. It's pretty cool?
Speaker 2:Oh, definitely no. That particular year. That year it was. I mean, I got so many stories from that year because here's the best one, all right. So so me and my dad, we just killed his monster and we call them captain hook because his animals are all they go, they go forward and they're all like jagged, like hook. So captain hooks down in the basement right now on the wall. So my brother sees that we killed this nice deer and now he's like I, I gotta give one, either the same or better.
Speaker 2:Okay he, he's letting, like him, I can my girlfriend or sit or ex-girlfriend or whatever. She's there sitting in the blind together and she's like yo, your brother's letting a lot of deer pass, like a lot of like. You know, they're not super nice books, but I mean he paid, you know, 350 bucks for his tag. He don't want to go home empty-handed and he just letting, just letting deer pass and then when he stops in deer, if he don't see deer within like an hour, he's moving. Oh, this is a shit spot, I'm leaving. Yeah, so he was for the last day. I mean it's the last day. He's sitting in the blind and he's like me, it's me and him on His last hunt. He's pissed off. He's like man, I came over to South Dakota, and he's he's saying, as he's being very verbal about it I came over to South Dakota, I lost my job, he lost your job. He's like, yeah, my boss didn't give me time off, so I just left. So he was like oh, what was it?
Speaker 1:What was his job?
Speaker 2:He worked for Fox radio, fox Sports. Okay so he was a radio host. So no shit, he just yeah, so he just dipped out. So Because he, because he has said that he had told he told the guy that hey, I'm taking this week off. The guy approved it. Then I guess he forgot to put it down and then, like he had him scheduled for some stuff, it was a no Texas. Texas high school football is big, so it was a playoffs.
Speaker 2:It was a playoffs and they were supposed to be calling the game at Texas Stadium, but I, at&t and he he did, so we lost his job. Means like I'm gonna leave with nothing, means he's pissed off. So around this time the same, that same little spike that my dad was gonna shoot Comes running up down the fence line. Now we're we're on the opposite side of the farm. So I'm like I think that's him. He comes up and he stops, and my brother's like I'm gonna shoot him. I'm like, well, shit, go ahead, shoot him. We should. You won't leave empty handed. He shoots and misses and Little spike runs off. So he's like man, I'm sick of this shit. Well, let's, let's dip. I'm gonna go back to the. I'm gonna go back to camp have some beers. Whatever, I'm done hunting, all right, bro, but you sure we got like 45 minutes left. He's a no man. They cook this shit. I'm out, I'm gonna do it, no more. I'm like I, like I, bro, whatever you know saying.
Speaker 2:So he gets out the blind and I'm getting all stuff together and put in my backpack and I and I hear him tapping the blind. So I look back and he's reaching his hand. He's doing this right here, like Give me the right, oh, give me the rifle. Yeah, I can't see shit, I don't. I can't see. What are you looking at? So I give him the rifle. He just tries to just stand up and shoot and I see his leg both his legs start shaking. I'm shaking. So I'm like, what is he looking at? And I'm looking and I can't see anything. I Said, hey, dude, lean up and break yourself against the tree and calm down, pick the shot. He does. He lings up against the tree, pull the trigger, boom, and I'm like Did you get him? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, he done he down. I'm like. I was like what was it? That's a big book, it's a big book. I yeah, it's a big, okay, whatever you say what do you say?
Speaker 2:So we start. So at this time my dad comes walking over the hill. He means to what he goes. I heard a gunshot. You got you something. The next day shot a book, so my dad had even seen under your and they start celebrating, both of them celebrating. I say you don't even know if you got him or not. No, I know I got him, I know I got him. So as we're walking up to the like, walking across the creek to get to see his deer, this dough hops out the creek. My dad I don't, this is I wish I had, I wish we could have recorded this this dough jumps up out the creek. My dad has the rifle he already had one in the chamber, safety off pulls up, boom and I mean drops her as in stride.
Speaker 1:No way like like full sprint or like a trot.
Speaker 2:Like a trot, like she had jumped up a creek and she was like tried and get because she was getting ready to jump over a bob bar. I think, right as she gets ready to jump, that thing, I mean he is wow. I mean just drops her right there, wow. So I'm thinking, damn now, if Nick killed a deer, now it's gonna be two deer. I got a good. So we, so we go through the creek and we started walking. Now it's dark, I Don't. We see that. We got the dough.
Speaker 2:My dad's dragging a dough and I'm like, bro, I don't see you, dear, I don't see no blood, nothing. No, I mean I knew he over here. So we're walking, walking, walking and we get to the end of this field and his deer, just he just jumps up his head, just he looks up at us and he was like game day yet dude. So he's like I put another one on my brother in the finishing shot and I kid you not, this is a nice, it was a nice 12 point. It was a nice like I've never seen a kid's nose, I mean his, his like snap was all black. It's black and gray. And he I mean he, he was a fighter, I mean he had broken off times and everything. And my brother just kind of looks at him and Then my dad walks up and just like yeah boy, you did it, man.
Speaker 2:And like he starts balling, like my brother, don't cry, yeah, I never. I've only seen him cry. I didn't put down. And like you think you know they hug each other. And Boom, like we get the picture and we start dragging this deer back. Now his antlers was nice, but his body I've never seen a deer. I mean that boy was thick, I mean his neck, everything like that like that means that's a thick ass boy.
Speaker 2:So we dragging his deer back and I'm like, hey man, we gotta stop. My thighs is burning. Like I'm like we pulling his bad boy to Do this is like old corn or cornfield, harvested cornfield Pulling through and we just all to stop laughing, we started laughing. It's like like this trip has Been like the best. Like you can't, you couldn't write it better than how it played out last day. You know, right at shooting the last shooting light, nick kills his nice 12 and it was like we just laughed about it and was like, well, was it worth losing your job? He's like hell, yeah, yeah, my dad's like you lost your job. He's like, yeah, bob fired me. Well, he was, but he was, I got 12 point.
Speaker 1:Okay well, so God, that's funny. Uh, who, who had the bigger deer?
Speaker 2:you really, oh me yeah, mom's bigger, so he's, he was a 12, but he, he was a young 12. He was like I was given maybe three the deer that me and my dad killed. He's right, probably like seven or eight years old. He was old.
Speaker 1:Okay, gotcha, but uh, that's awesome man.
Speaker 2:That's a.
Speaker 1:That's a hell of a hell of a week. Hell of a great story, especially considering the fact that you know three months earlier you wouldn't have ever considered yourself being there with that group of people, and they are.
Speaker 2:Exactly it was. It was fun, man, and we to this day we still talk about it like every single time we linked up, we talked about that that predict the hunt, and we've been on four trips since then and Nothing caps that one.
Speaker 1:Oh, I bet, I bet always go back to South Dakota, or you guys played around in other states always.
Speaker 2:South Dakota. Like it was a mix. You're from her parents own like like 12,000 acres. So it was like hey damn, we got it. We got 12,000 acres to play with, so let's do it.
Speaker 1:They still let you hunt there.
Speaker 2:No, when I, when I lost her, I lost the land.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's understandable.
Speaker 2:I get that I go.
Speaker 1:It's a shame. That's funny. That reminds me of all those other memes where it's like an old lady that like, has a bunch of land and you know. It's like You're flirting with the old lady or trying to hook up with the old lady to get access to the, the sweet land. That's ridiculous. All right, man. Well, that's a good one. What else? You got any? I got any archery stories, or you do? You tell me you came prepared with a few, I'm assuming.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, oh yeah. So last year my goal was to kill a mule deer on On public land because I can.
Speaker 2:Ever since I started hunting, I've always hunted private. So I'm like you know what I Want to? I got to do this public land stuff because I'm not gonna have access to this land forever. Yeah, so I got to figure out. I got to figure out how to do this public land stuff and I want to kill a mule deer, so let's knock out two birds in one stone. So all like all summer long I was like Finding spots. You know, in the hunnet was like different walking spots and going out putting boots on the ground, you know, just kind of seeing. You know where I can hang a stand or if I want spot and stock. You know, we're gonna make my moves that.
Speaker 2:So I found this place out west in South Dakota and I, in order to get to it, you got to get permission from the landowner because you got to walk through their land to get to the public. So pull up ladies, ladies outside. And she's like can I help you? I'm like yes, ma'am, I uh, there's this little public landspot behind her on your property, can I get to? And she goes there is. So I show her on the map and she was like yep, that's my spot. And she goes yeah, you can go to it. I'm like whoo, but she goes, but be careful, because we saw a mound line a Couple days ago and we we had been able to kill him yet. So he probably out here, roman. So I got you.
Speaker 2:So it's about Seven o'clock in the morning. I Get out there, I'm sitting on top of this hill and I'm just glassing and all I'm seeing is dough, just mule deer dough, which to me don't care. I just, I just want a mule deer. You know, you don't got to be a buck. Oh, so I'm a glassing, glassing and I'm like, alright, I'm making move on this deal. So I put my bowl in my lap and I start scaling down this hill.
Speaker 2:Get down to the bottom. There's like a little spruce tree. I post up against and she's coming on the other side of the hill. So she's, the hill is between is me the hill and she's on the other side. Okay, I, she, pop out. There's a little spruce tree over. There is about 25 yards, she's. So she'll be about 22, 23. Who will draw? Put one in her, call it a day. So I get down. Everything plays out, waste, put that has posted the winds in my face. She's not gonna smell me. She walks out and I go to full draw and as I'm in full draw I See at the corner of my something move. So I just glance over there and I kid you not, this is the biggest mule deer. This is the biggest book I've ever seen in my life.
Speaker 1:No shit of course, and full draw, you spot him.
Speaker 2:That's what draw. He was a six by six and had a drop time on the right side.
Speaker 1:No shit had you ever had you ever killed anything with your bow Like this? You said this is last year. Is this your have you? Have you harvested with your, with our tree equipment at the Po at this point?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I feel too. After I open to this point, I've killed two dough. Okay, yep, okay, we'll keep going.
Speaker 1:I said ask?
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, for sure. So I see him the corner of my eye and I just like I Let down and I like make my stomach myself as small as possible. Behind this tree was bush actually, and and, uh, he at this. But this time he's, he's better, he's like this laying down. So I peak, and now he's standing up, arrange him. I swear, I swear I saw 65 yards, I swear was 65 in the range rounder. No, so At this time I got, I got a five pin, five pin site. So I'm like all right, my bottom pin 60 and hold a little high, I'll put it in. You know, go to full draw. And I just peeked from behind a tree and he's looking dead at me right on, and I'm At the full, full draw, and then he just turns broadside like here you go, buddy.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I just I let it fly and he does the kick and everything Takes off just to the top of this hill. He kind of like his legs, like woozy. He goes over the other side and I, I throw my bow broke, my site throw my bow site hits, boom, breaks, and I'm just yelling get on the phone. I Call my girlfriend. Like yo, I just killed a monster. She's like did you, do you have him? Which he was like no, but I saw him go down on the other hill. He's done, it's a ramp. I'm the man. I can't wait to get home. I Can't wait to get home like I'm going nuts. I Called my brother. He's going crazy. I call my buddy, rex. I'm like dude, I just killed a monster, first time on public land, like I. I'm just. I said I'm going nuts, my legs is shaking, I can barely speak. So I go over and I'm looking for the arrow Boom, fine arrow, no blood.
Speaker 1:Oh shit.
Speaker 2:No, I don't know. I think maybe the arrow boob was so fast it went through him and he didn't know blood on it. Of course, I'm coming up with everything in my in my head. It's like there's a reason why there's no blood on this. It hit the dirt and the dirt clean the blood off of it.
Speaker 1:Oh, oh yeah, they're like cleaning dirt. Yeah, no, I'm just yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we all got that clean and dirt here in South Dakota, yeah. So I'm like he's dead. I know he's dead, so I go over, I fall on like right over the hill where he went over and I'm looking I don't see no, no droplets, nothing. And now I Gotta go down in this drainage. So as I'm making my way down to the drainage, danny, his me damn, she says a mountain line out here. I don't want to get down in the drainage and it'd be up on top of me. Now, screwed, it's not only out, it's better up. So now I got the mountain line in my head. I'm looking for this deer, I can't find it. I get down in the drainage, don't see nothing, and then all of a sudden, and dole, just jump out everywhere. They, they're running up, they're all running. So it means James was full of dough. So I run up, the run top of drains, you don't to top, little hot, little peak.
Speaker 2:And I see that bastard hopping away and he stopped, he stops. The mill, the mill, the field, looks back at me and this time I got my bow, but I don't know that my Sight, oh no, broke. So I range him. It was like he was like 50 yards away and I knock an arrow and I go to full draw and there's not a damn sight there. It's like gone. Yeah, it's gone. Wait, what the hell. So it's like I let, I let down and I just stand there and he hopped his ass away and never saw him again.
Speaker 1:Oh.
Speaker 2:So I'm so from that story. I'm not calling nobody until I got the bones in my hand. Because then I didn't call anybody when I didn't find them. I just drove back home and I, and as I she, she hit me, pull up in a yard. She comes outside just ready to.
Speaker 2:Celebrate yeah, and she looks in the back and she's where's your deer? Yeah, I didn't get on. She's like, oh, like you didn't. I was like, no, she was so confident, I know, and she, she gave me shit for like three days. Man, anytime I would say something like oh yeah, I think of the trash, I think of the trash. Are you sure that you miss it, like you did idea? I'm like, oh, always, just give me shit.
Speaker 1:I guess that's too funny, man, that's too funny.
Speaker 2:Mr Dear, and I broke my site.
Speaker 1:How long until you told your brother or your your other buddy called up?
Speaker 2:No, I called him the one I got to the house.
Speaker 2:Yeah, cuz they cuz they were the whole, because I was hunting three hours away from where I live, so the whole time was driving. They were calling me, like we're gonna work, like calling Texan, where's the pictures, man? You know like what's up, are you okay? Yeah, and I'm just driving. Once I got home, I um, what you call it let him know. Like yeah, I missed it and it's like, oh man, it happened to the best of us. My brother was like you miss, how you miss? Like yeah, man, I just it is what it is, man, it's hunting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man. So now that you've had a little bit of hindsight, what that first shot you said, you said at the story so I knew this is where we were headed. You said I thought it was 65. What do you think of the range? Actually was in hindsight, oh, he was more. Probably was 70. Okay, she probably just missed a mist on dream.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I missed them low. Definitely miss them low, yeah, okay, well, damn, hey, cuz that had had it been high, it would have, it would have went over. When it went over that hill and it was, it was buried deep in the dirt. So I'm gonna clean in dirt, all right.
Speaker 1:Man, let's do, we move in there. We've all thought we got something down and it didn't. It would didn't work out for us, but that's a funny story I so the did. It was at the housing that broke off of your, of your sight, or like the entire Sight came off your bow.
Speaker 2:Oh it was, it was a housing, it was one of those. It was a trophy, was a trophy ridge that I got when I first that first one. I first got my bow Really inexpensive one and it ain't too much to it, you know. So a little, a Little forces will break it into two pieces. So I got something. I got something sturdier now.
Speaker 1:I got something sturdier now, so I'm good now, that's awesome, and that was you said. That was last year. Have you then? So have you had any luck on public land this season?
Speaker 2:I have not. Last Wednesday, what? What I thought was probably the biggest in the world, he came crashing through the woods. It was damn for a little fork horn. But man, he, he was, he can't he. He came through like he was, like he owned shit. He can't I mean Liam's break any. Come through. He's scraping on trees. I'm like I couldn't see him. And when he finally came out and open, I'm like I was you making on a damn record. You just don't know if you, if you, have little bit more points. He was dead to right.
Speaker 1:She's over it. Yeah, man, you got enough time sitting in the woods not hearing anything. All of a sudden, a squirrel becomes the biggest deer you ever heard.
Speaker 2:I'm telling you dude it. Squirrels had antlers man. Hmm, I have a bunch of my wall.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what one time I was in was hunting in Colorado public land, over the counter tag for elk and a squirrel came in literally carried in a chunk of deer antler or elk antler, just like a chunk of bone and just was chewing on it in front of me. And I'm like you, son of a After see through acorns at me for like half an hour and then he just found some bone Antler to chew on in front of me.
Speaker 2:Those guys know how to know to piss you off as a hunter some oh yeah, oh, definitely a that over the counter Colorado a About about give me in two years yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah. You was there is a story we're sharing. You want to. You want to give us some details. I got you. I got you, man.
Speaker 2:I got.
Speaker 1:I'll tell you my hunting two years ago over the counter, colorado opening day. There's a little scree field coming down where we've hunted for seven hours. It's midday and I'm walking back to camp and I fall down a scree little screen, not even a fall like I. My feet went out from under me and I basically sit down on the hillside like that's it. That was enough to compress a disc in my back pinching nerve and I was gone for three months Like I could barely walk. It was brutal and it was the most mild fall I've ever taken. So that's my season, so how to fear for you?
Speaker 2:So I I called myself working out like all summer long like I'm a being hip-top shape. Yeah, we're gonna do this thing. So my buddy he was driving up from Ilderado, arkansas, driving a Colorado from Ilderado, I'm gonna come, I'm coming from South Dakota, so it's about a 14 hour drive was hunted down by Montrose.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Yep, so hop in the car. I leave it like 9 30 that night. I drop all the way through. We meet at this trail. We meet In Colorado Springs.
Speaker 1:That's, you're on the wrong way to get to Montrose. You mean I guess you're meeting up with your buddy, that yeah?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, I've been up with him. And then we hopped in his truck and then drove to Montrose. Okay, okay, so we, so we get there. And in his mind he was like yo, we gonna get to a trailhead, we'll set up camp and we'll hunt in the morning. I'm like, no, scratch that shit, we don't, we hunt now. It's like it's like two o'clock, we gonna get an evening honey in. So we literally Got it, got, got the trailhead through our shit on, start packing in. Now I'm I'm running on six red bulls and like four cans of grizzly. So that's about all I got. We started, we started hiking up. They have to about 45 minutes. I look, I say, bro, I'm gonna pass out. I'm like my back is like my back start ramping up, my calf start cramping up, my hamstring start cramping. I Just like I just my body starts shutting down. Oh, shit, oh my god.
Speaker 2:I'm like first day.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, what's that? Let me ask what's that? What's the altitude where you're from? Is it? Is that what got you it?
Speaker 2:was altitude. Yeah, cuz I am flat, he's flat, I'm not elated at all.
Speaker 1:Okay. I don't know what the what is the Elevation of Sioux Falls? I'll Google it. You keep going.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, google it. I don't know, but it's definitely not. Well, I would prepare 1400 feet.
Speaker 1:You were probably up at like 9,000 feet. So yeah, that's a big difference I.
Speaker 2:Didn't realize Sioux.
Speaker 1:Falls was only 1400 feet. I.
Speaker 2:I is this flat out here. So I'm, I'm, I'm like locking up, I'm like, dude, you gonna have to carry me back to the car or just go back to the truck. I'm not, I can't walk. So he's like you just lay down and just like the lack. So lay down for like, and take my two hour nap and woke up able to get down, get down, get to the truck. He says, get something to eat. We'll go to another trailhead and we'll camp there. So boom, we do that. So we get there. That morning we'll get up and get our stuff on and stuff.
Speaker 2:And he goes and does number two in the woods. While he's taking a poop, I hear a limb break. So the sun is just coming up, yeah, so it's getting a little bright outside. So I hear a limb break and I look past the truck and I see this coyote. I mean he's hauling ass past me. So I'm like, oh so, coyote making noise. So then I hear another limb break and I kind of look back and here comes this cow strolling across the road, walk right past our campsite and she stops. She's probably like 40 yards from me. So I'm like, oh shit, that's the cow. But I'm not here for a cow, I came for a bull and, sure enough, right behind her, this six by six comes walking out. Oh, shit.
Speaker 2:He gets right on the road and I'm like, if he steps across this road, I am letting this arrow fly and it's going to hunt over it.
Speaker 1:But then it's like shit easy, yeah, right.
Speaker 2:But then some dude came running. Some dude came running forward or down the road and he ran back into the tree line and dipped out. So I was like man, that's going to be this easy. So we started hiking in and we're bugling nothing's bugling back. You have a cow called nothing. We probably walk a good two, three hours nothing. So my buddy was like let's just sit down, relax, eat some lunch, and then we'll start making our way back to the truck and hopefully along the way back we will get something All right, cool Eat, take a little light nap.
Speaker 2:Starts walking back and we're walking through this aspen grove and we're walking and he's cow calling nothing. And probably about five minutes later he goes. Oh shit, he points to the left. I look and do this six by six comps. I mean he's coming in hot. So by the time we could like get set up, he'd already closed that gap on us. He was like we ran through. He was like 80 yards. He had closed that gap, like that. So he's about 30, now I know, but during the time I didn't know how far it was from us. It was about 35, 40 yards and it was three. It was three trees. They're a big old like pine trees. They're not pine trees like evergreen trees, whatever.
Speaker 2:I'm like a Christmas tree. So he starts walking behind us, so he gets to the last one and he stops and we had a crosswind. So like he can't smell us, so we good. But like I'm like at that time I'm not an expression of Archer and even to this day I don't think I would still take that shot it's like I can probably squeeze it through them branches, but I'm not going to do it. So I'm at full draw and Rex is behind me and he won't move.
Speaker 2:Like do one more step and one more step in your toes, your toes, and I felt the wind hit the back of my neck. I hit the back of my neck, blew my scent right towards him. He takes off. Yeah, and he was long gone. He's probably soon. I mean, he was getting small, he was gone and I was still at full draw and I was just shaking. So I could smell him and Rex was like dude, let down and I'm like I can't, and I was just full draw, shaking, legs locked up Like dude. I've never experienced anything like that before.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's cool.
Speaker 2:And then we range the tree. He was literally exactly 30 yards away. Had he taken one more step. Boom, 30 RPM shot. We take an Elk home. You know what I'm saying that night.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's cool and we didn't see it. Was there a ton of brush or could you like see his like vitals? But there were like sticks and stuff and you just weren't quite sure or how thick was the window.
Speaker 2:I could see his vitals. But it was like it was like you can see where the tree was like thinned out and I could see his vitals. It was like man, it's gonna hit a couple of branches before it before it get to him. Like there's no way. No, and I and I in, in, in, in, in today's day, like I'm a, I'm a better archer now that I was then and I still think I would take the shot.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, that sounds so. I killed an Elk with my bow this year and I we got the whole thing on video. If you check out my Instagram you can see it there. It's pretty awesome. I'm hunting with my buddy, jermaine Hodge he's a world champion Elk caller.
Speaker 1:And like I see this Elk and I'm like stop, jermaine. And the Elk just walks right up and it's just branches basically covering everything, but he's he's quartering too, and I and and I'm like, oh, and Jermaine's like knock an arrow. And I'm like, oh shit, I should knock an arrow. And like I looked at the bowl and his heads right behind these trees, so I'm like, all right, he can't see me, this is actually going to be all right. So it sees Jermaine, jermaine standing there. Jermaine's a little guy, I'm six, four, jermaine's five, eight. So it sees Jermaine, but it doesn't see me, amazingly.
Speaker 1:So I knocked this arrow and Jermaine goes 40 yards and I'm like, okay, so I pull back. And then I go Jermaine, there's a lot of brush, can my arrow make it through that? And he's like, oh, you got this. It's just like having a little like guy on my shoulder, just like whispering everything I needed to hear, and I let it rip. It turns out it was 37 yards and I maybe hit one branch, but that bowl was instantly dead and so, like I don't know, I'm with you. I never would have done it, man, if I didn't have someone telling me you got this. I've actually let down on a turkey once because there was grass in front of me and the turkey and I'm like my arrow could have gone right through that grass. What am I worried about? So, yeah, you know, if you hit a big branch, but I don't know what exact what it looked like, but I bet you should take some shots through some branches sometime and I bet you'll see that you had that. You had that bull dead rights.
Speaker 2:Oh, I have ever since, like I, like that was two years ago. And I still replay that, that moment, the scenario in my head over and, over and over again, like I could have taken that shot, like I could have, and where the branches like the entire 30 yards, like there's just periodic branches, where they all right by him, because he was right by the trees. Oh, no, it was nothing. It was like we were. It was all open, it was clear until right next to him.
Speaker 2:It was as good, just to that. That's right next to him, yep oh man, you had him, it's like he knew. He knew he's like if I step out here in words, he can see me, I'm done. Yeah, yeah, it was so. That's how it goes. So dude over the counter, over the counter public land archery.
Speaker 1:Good on you for even getting the opportunity, like I've done that for five years and I've only pulled my bow back once. It wasn't until I drew a limited tag that they actually harvested a, an elk. It's, it's hard, man, so good on you.
Speaker 2:Oh, it is like up until then I had never seen an elk in person, so one. I didn't realize how big they were and how quiet they are. Like to be, as big as they are. They moved to those woods, you know, quite as hell.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, they really do.
Speaker 2:It was. It was dope. I love it.
Speaker 1:I love it. Yeah, you hooked you going back every year. It's how Dakota even has up now. Are you going to start putting in for that draw? I've been putting in.
Speaker 2:I got four years of preference points and I mean you looking at minimum 10, 15 years for you to draw.
Speaker 1:Right Time to make you better archery right.
Speaker 2:Yep.
Speaker 1:Better archer.
Speaker 2:And so until then I'll just keep doing over the counter Colorado, and I put in for in Wyoming and Montana, utah. Just keep putting them in till I draw.
Speaker 1:Good for you, man. Good for you. Yeah, I'm collecting points in a couple of states, but right now, just Colorado is the only place that I stop around. So we're cool. Deandre, you got any other stories for us? I tell us to everybody. I'm not going to stop you. I'll listen to stories all night, but if that's what you came prepared with, then we can wrap this thing up.
Speaker 2:Oh, I got, I got, I got, I got one more. That's pretty interesting. All right, let's do it. So this is not, this is not, this is the con. So it's a pretty cool story though.
Speaker 1:Is this South Dakota that coming?
Speaker 2:Now we're actually in South Arkansas, OK.
Speaker 1:So I've heard both places are awesome Duck hunting, by the way but continue.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, yes, Arkansas, they got. They got a nice, nice spots for duck.
Speaker 1:So yeah, you know this is one of the major flyways goes right through there. But, yeah, go ahead, yep.
Speaker 2:So my buddy, rick, you know, he was one of my fraternity brothers. He was like yo, I'm taking duck hunting in the morning oh yeah, I, I've never he's a year of doing it. Like nope, like who was gold? So one of my, one of our other brothers, let us let me borrow his waiters. So you got a shotgun, got my waiters, he got the decoys, we out.
Speaker 2:So we get, we get to the little waterhole and we start hiking in or walking in, and the water is up to our waist, me a little higher, come short dude. So it is dark. So one is dark. So I'm already scared and I'm in a water I can swim, but you can't, you can't swim in waiters. You won't, you won't die if you get, you know, fan. So I'm like this is already sketchy, but since I'm so my, I'm so alert with everything, I'm paying attention to everything, just just in case shit pop off, how am I going to be out of here? Yeah, all right.
Speaker 2:So we started walking and there's these two posts in the water. So Rick is in front of me a couple steps and he walked and he kind of reaches his leg out and he kicks and he goes amen, there's a log right here. So both of us are you don't fall in. All right, cool, I got you G. So we get over the law. I simple, I reach out, I kick you, I give it a good kick. Yep, that's a log, step over, go. We say we hunt and we know, I think we end up killing a canvas back and a couple of teal. It's a good day, yeah. So we started.
Speaker 2:So we started walking back around noon and I see those those two posts. Hey, rick, don't forget that log up there, man, you don't want to fall. He looked back and he's like yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, and he reaches out, he is walked. He is walked little two posts. So now my red flag. But wait a minute, he just he didn't step over the log, he just kept walking. So I get over there and I get to the log and I'm I'm kicking around, ain't no log there. So I'm like so now? So now I'm tweaking. I'm like I know we can't do this way. I know we did like well, whatever, maybe I'm tripping. So we get back to the truck and I'm like hey, man, can we come in and come out a different way? It was always came out the same way we came in I said what happened to the log that was by those two posts? He said look here, man, it was a gator. But I knew if I told you it was a gator, you was gonna leave.
Speaker 1:He ain't wrong.
Speaker 2:All right, what he goes? Yeah, he goes. But, dude, he is so cold that they don't. They're like, they're not gonna waste any energy trying to mess with us. He just swam off. I said man, you bullshit, he goes. No, that was a gator, for sure he goes. I reached down and fell across his back he goes, that was a gator. I'm like man, I'm done. I ain't never done cutting what you were being ever. But my buddy Rex, he seems to have this thing.
Speaker 1:He gets me outside my comfort zone to do things that I would normally never do Like just this is the same guy you went Elkhon-ing with right.
Speaker 2:Same guy, yep, had me sleeping in the tent out there. I just knew I'm going to get eaten by a bear. I didn't sleep, I just knew it. I'm like we're sleeping out here in this tent. It's cold. The tent ain't gonna stop nothing from coming in. I remember one night laying there and I could have swore I heard something breathing right outside the tent. Like yeah, here it comes, he's smelling us, he's gonna get on his two feet, he's gonna pounce on the tent, he gonna break my neck, he gonna eat me and he gonna eat Rex and nobody's gonna hear from us ever again. This is it. So I stayed up all night long until right before the sun came up, and then I went to sleep and Rex was like, hey, we gotta get up, it's time to go. So I didn't sleep like that whole week in Elkhon. I bet you, I didn't sleep 10 hours. I just couldn't do it. I could not do it.
Speaker 1:That's funny, man, that's funny. Well, it's good you have a friend like that. It's good to have someone to push. I got a funny story for you. We'll wrap it up with this.
Speaker 1:This is a story I've told once before on the podcast, but I figure it's my favorite bear story, so I'll tell it to you. It's not even hunting related, but it's funny, so I'll share it. It's college, so I don't know how long ago, but with my now wife, and we're camping. We're with like eight or nine people and we're drinking in the woods and we're having fun like you do, and like we don't care about anything. We don't put anything away, we're eating Doritos Like the campsites a mess. Now I will say when we leave it's better than when we got there, but we go to bed. We had too much whiskey, we went to bed and we did not clean up camp.
Speaker 1:So I wake up in the middle of the night and I hear something and all I hear is sniffing, just you know, just like that.
Speaker 1:And I'm like, oh shit. And so I'm there in my tent with my I'll sit in my wife and no clothes, no car keys, don't have my pistol, don't have my knife, it's all like on a table outside and we just hear sniffing and I'm like, oh shit, oh God, no, like what are we gonna do? My wife's like oh, do you hear that? I'm like, yeah, I hear that. And we're just like we're gonna die. We're gonna die, we're gonna die naked here in the woods with a hangover. It's gonna be terrible. Like we're literally just holding our hands and we're squeezing our hands so tight that we like it's painful. And we hear the sniffing just continues and continues, and continues. And then we start to hear the bags of Doritos and the trash being pushed around, just like the rustling of, you know, like those I don't know what kind of that is, but like the aluminum bags that Doritos come in right and we're like oh shit.
Speaker 1:And so like then all of a sudden we hear the sniffing going away and it walks off into the woods and I'm like, oh, thank God, thank God. And then it comes back and we're like, oh shit, Like the bear brought the friends and like, well, you know. And so it's just like hours and hours of just terrified naked horror where we're like we don't know where any of our stuff is, we don't know. We're trying to develop a game plan and we can't think of any possible solution where we don't just get eaten. Like it's just terrifying and we're probably still drunk. But you can only be so scared for so long before you eventually do fall asleep. And so eventually fall asleep and everything was fine.
Speaker 1:The next morning we're having breakfast with everyone and we're like, oh man, that was crazy, that was a crazy night and it was like, yeah, we drank a lot. Like no, after we went to bed, did you guys hear that bear? And everyone's like what? What are you talking about? We didn't hear any bear. And yeah, like we were laying there and we heard sniffing and we heard something pushing around the, you know, pushing around all the stuff in the camp.
Speaker 1:Was the campsite a mess. When you guys got up and like no, no. And then this one guy was like no, I don't know what you're talking about. Like I had a runny nose and I didn't wanna like wake up anyone in my tent. So I got up and I cleaned up camp. I didn't see any bears all night, but I was up for hours cleaning and we were like, are you kidding me? So it was just a guy with a runny nose, but I'm not kidding. For like three hours my wife and I have been. We were the most scared we've ever been because of a drunk guy with a runny nose not wanting to keep anyone awake. So not a hunting story, but a bear story.
Speaker 1:Not actually not even a bear story, right.
Speaker 2:It had me shook. I would be like, hey, two things on. I hear I'm getting out and running. Yeah, I had a guy and ran into him.
Speaker 1:Right. But yeah, man, yeah, that's always a story that my wife and I tell all the time, cause there's no reason to be brave, just stay alive. Right, right, that's it. All right, john man man, this was fun. I appreciate you jumping on the podcast man and you had some super unique stories and I think I'm gonna like, whenever I see a deer close by, I'm gonna tell the person next to me, or brick at that thing, that's it man.
Speaker 1:So maybe I need to get your brother and dad on the podcast too and hear their side of the stories.
Speaker 2:I'll do a their hoot man. I can tell you one thing my dad, he will keep saying it, he will say it every time I see him. I never found a recipe for antlers. That's why he don't. He's not a, he don't care about antlers, None of that. If it's a deer, if it's got two backstrips and some hams, he good, Good for him man.
Speaker 1:Good for him, Good for him. Well, cool man. Thanks again. Why don't we tell the people one more time where they could find you, like your Instagram podcast, whatever else you wanna share, so the people can check you out? Cause, like I said, I've been listening to your podcast and I enjoy it. You have a lot of fun and that's what I appreciate. I don't like it being too structured.
Speaker 2:I like, guys, I got no structure.
Speaker 1:There you go, I got no structure at all Same, and that's why I think I like what you're putting out there. So why don't you share that stuff so people can find you?
Speaker 2:Alrighty, you can find me on Instagram at da underscore dreaded after 17. You can find me the same on Instagram. I mean not Instagram, but on YouTube. The same thing, da underscore dreaded after 17. You can find my podcast on Spotify, apple podcast and carbon TV. Carbon TV every Friday you'll get a new episode and then the next week they'll be released on Spotify and Apple podcast. And, yeah, that's where you can find all my stuff.
Speaker 1:There you go. I'll link to everything in the show notes and, as long as we're talking, podcast and get out there and give both of our shows reviews five stars, ideally, because that's how other people will find us, the more views we have. So, john man, thank you. This was a lot of fun, brother. I really appreciate you.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, I appreciate it anytime, man, thank you.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:All right, man, we'll have a go.
Speaker 1:All right, guys. That's it. Another couple of stories in the book. So I want to thank, of course, john Dre for coming on the podcast Couldn't have done it without him and, of course, for him being so flexible and letting me have my Halloween back. So sorry about that Deion, but beyond that, guys, make sure you go check out his podcast, check out socials and give him a follow, check him out on carbon TV, et cetera. He's doing some pretty cool stuff. And then also make sure you give us both reviews. Whatever you're listening to right now, just go in there and review both of our podcasts. As many stars as you want ideally five, but that helps more people find us, so more people reaching out telling me that they have some crazy stories they want to tell. But that's it, guys. Thank you. I appreciate you Keep tuning in and I'll keep putting together amazing storytellers for you. Now get out there and make sure it's your own.