The Hunting Stories Podcast
The Hunting Stories Podcast
Ep 106 The Hunting Stories Podcast: Rick Trimmer
Imagine stepping out of your comfort zone and embracing the unknown terrain of bowhunting. Join me, as I bring on my good friend Rick Trimmer, the man who introduced me to the Molokai Axis Deer Hunt. We'll reminisce about our recent Hawaiian escapades and how Rick’s courage to embrace new challenges fostered unforgettable friendships and experiences. Rick's own podcast, M42 Adventures, reveals how he harnesses global adventures to cultivate personal growth and meaningful connections.
Get ready to immerse yourself in a series of thrilling bowhunting tales. Rick and I uncover the passion and dedication that these adventures demand. We share the highs and lows of our hunting journeys, including a 71-year-old hunter's unexpected success and the physical hurdles we’ve faced. These stories are not just about the hunt but about the camaraderie, the respect for nature, and the unique bond formed in the wild.
Finally, we delve into the heart of hunting camp etiquette and teamwork. Through personal anecdotes, we illustrate how contributing to the group and respecting social norms can build lasting friendships. From humorous mishaps to critical rescue attempts, we highlight the unpredictable nature of hunting and the deep camaraderie born from these challenges. Whether it’s stalking deer in Hawaii or navigating the chaos of a Texas turkey hunt, our adventures underscore the essence of perseverance and the sheer joy of achievement in the wilderness.
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Howdy folks and welcome to the Hunting Stories Podcast. I'm your host, Michael, and we've got a good one for you today. Today we actually connect with a friend of mine, rick Trimmer. Rick is one of the gentlemen that got me involved with that Molokai Axis Deer Hunt. He hosts the podcast M42 Adventures, which is his brainchild of basically helping people better themselves in every different way, but the core of it is really about having adventures, and he hosts adventures around the world. In fact, he's going to Africa soon. I think right now he might be in Alaska. He's just doing some really cool stuff and he is a great guy.
Speaker 1:So what we did is we recorded a podcast kind of together hybrid style a little bit of his style of podcast and a little bit of mine. He released it a couple days ago and I'm releasing it today. So I hope you guys enjoy. You know, hit me up on Instagram or send me an email. Let me know what you think of this format and if we should be doing more of these kind of podcasts. So thank you guys. So much for tuning in. Now let's just go ahead and kick this thing off and hell, let me and Rick tell you some of our stories. Thank you how you been man.
Speaker 2:Good man, how have you been?
Speaker 1:You know I can't complain. I always have the post-hunt blues, but you know that's just the nature of the beast. You have too much fun out there, right.
Speaker 2:Absolutely dude. That was a blast man. That was yeah, that was cool. I was ready to come home after two weeks just missing the family. But then I get home and I'm like I kind of want to go back now.
Speaker 1:So it happens pretty quick it happens pretty quick yeah. I'm like I need to talk to my boys. I'm just sitting here with my kids and my wife.
Speaker 2:I love them, but I've got to talk to the boys, absolutely. So you're in Colorado, right, you're in. Where are you at?
Speaker 1:I am. I'm just east of Boulder. I don't know how familiar you are with the area, man, but a little town called Erie Boulder, north of Denver. Northwest yeah. Boulder's tucked up right on the mountains and probably 30 minutes northwest of Denver, and so I'm 10 minutes east of there of Denver and so I'm 10 minutes east of there.
Speaker 2:Okay, so, yeah, man, good to chat with you. So we met what, like three weeks ago, four weeks ago now was when we first met, through Colin, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we've been talking for a while. At this point we had a couple of phone calls, a bunch of texts. But yeah, we met June 1st. I guess, yeah, he picked me up at the airport. But yeah, we met June 1st. I guess, yeah, you picked me up at the airport.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right. Yeah, and I love that, you know, I love that you. You know, like I heard some of the guys talking to you when I was in my room and you're out there talking to Ben in Hawaii and you were saying how you know, you just came in last minute and there was an opportunity One of the guys had to bail out and you jumped on it. You don't know anybody there, you know. I think that intimidates so many people and I think that's what we respected. A lot about you was you're like hey, man, I'm in, let's go, and jumped in on it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's, you know. It's actually something that's pretty familiar to me, you know, being from Boulder right, and when I started hunting I knew more vegans than I did hunters.
Speaker 1:I was like man, I gotta fix this problem. So, um, like my first turkey hunt, I just went on Facebook and I was like hey, I'm looking for a turkey mentor. You don't have to take me, I just want to ask you questions. The guy ended up letting me stay at his house for a week long turkey hunt out in rifle, colorado. Same thing man. I was just like my wife doesn't want me to go alone. I mean, I'm willing to, but just to make the wife happy, I'll take somebody with me. So I again went on a hunting Facebook group and was like gentlemen, I need a hunting buddy. Wife doesn't want me to run out into the woods, break an ankle and die. So if anyone wants to go. And I ended up going out with like six army guys.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's right. It was a shit show of a hunt to be completely honest, we were always together all the time.
Speaker 1:There's way too many of us, so we saw a couple elk, but anyways, it was a really fun time. Hard to sneak up on an elk with six of you, exactly, yeah, um, but it's a lot of fun. But yeah, it's just. Uh, I realized that, like, hunting itself makes me really uncomfortable and it always has, like you know, going out in the middle of the night.
Speaker 1:I hate that, but do you, yeah, you gotta, you gotta get through it, yeah, um but Um, but you know, if, if that's, if that's, the hardest thing that I got to do is just talk to some people I haven't met before. That's easy stuff compared to the rest of the things that I think is going to put in front of you.
Speaker 2:That's the harder part for most people. You know, I think most people uh are nervous about looking like an idiot or not having, you know, the knowledge that these other guys have, or the same equipment, and you know, I think that's what's harder for most people to overcome, and so I just applaud you on that for coming out with us. You know what were we there with six, seven other guys. You jumped in and fit right in and you know cooking and you know being a part of the team, and so I just wanted to say that I think that that was cool of you to, you know, do that. I'm glad that that's not, uh, you know, difficult for you because I think that's a huge attribute for you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, you know at the start that, uh, you assembled a pretty great group of guys, right, it was pretty. I walked in and everybody in open arms, just ready to have some fun and get out there and chase some axis deer, so, um, and I think that's how kudos to you for assembling that crew.
Speaker 2:I appreciate that man. Yeah, that was Ryan Mickler. He started that off and then I just kind of took it over because he I don't know how that actually happened he kind of pulled a little fast one on me, but the first year he invited me out and I was the same way. Man, same exact way.
Speaker 2:I hadn't bow hunted for like 10 years, did it back in the day and just got frustrated with it, had a, had a uh, my last story of bow hunting, uh was pretty funny, um, but ended. I actually threw my bow as hard as I could throw it out hunting, just chucked it like a hundred, a hundred feet, whatever it was. I just threw my bones that I'm done with this stupid sport. And uh hadn't picked it up for like a decade. And then ryan called and he says hey, man, I know you used to bow hunt or something, do you? You know you hunt, do you want to come out? And uh, I got seven or eight guys going to hawaii same hunt and uh, one of the guys couldn't make it and we got a spot open and I was actually it was like on ryan style, it was like the week before.
Speaker 2:I had plans to fly to Alaska with my entire family. Uh, up there for a month and I I talked to my wife and says hey, man, ryan runs around with some really cool guys. Uh, I'd like to jump in on this. It cost me a few thousand bucks to rearrange my other trip and I rerouted to Hawaii for a week. At that time I just did a week the first time and didn't know a single person. And again, like you said, it's easy for me. I just kind of hop right in and, you know, start making friendships right away. And that's what I think people don't realize is in any sport it's not even hunting. You know from anything I've ever seen. If you have somebody in mountain biking or you have somebody in you know skiing and you want to get into it, if you just go find that community, like you said, you know online is so easy nowadays and just start asking questions. There's most people want you want to share what they love with other people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so I'll mention this about online real quick rick when I posted those things about the turkey hunting and the archery hunting. I had a lot of people reach out. It wasn't just like one group and I was like hey, please let me tag along, please let me help you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was like okay, let's start looking into these people and find which ones I feel you know, either the most confident about having success or the least creepy, because there's some creepy people that reach out to me and I was like I'm not quite sure if I want to go into the woods with you alone. But uh, but yeah I mean there's there's tons of people out there looking, looking to help.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. Yeah, that's how long. How long have you been hunting? I didn't ask you that. In Hawaii have you been doing this your whole life Started hunting.
Speaker 1:My, my brother-in-law, my father-in-law started we're hunters, Um, not not big hunters. They just enjoyed an elk hunt every other year, or something like that Are you from Colorado I am. I was born here, but I've lived all over the place.
Speaker 2:New Jersey, Oregon, New Mexico, Washington, Texas. So you grew up in a state that hunts, though.
Speaker 1:I mean there's a lot of hunters around. Well, yeah, but not, not in my circle. So I didn't start hunting until I was 32 um yeah, and so my, my father-in-law and brother-in-law were into it. My wife was like you should go with them and I'm like all right to be part of the family, I'll go. Uh, plus, I was. You know, when you hit 30 as a male, you either get into like war history or smoked meats and so I was really into smoked meats and I was like, all right, if I'm gonna eat all this meat.
Speaker 1:I should probably like harvest an animal at some point.
Speaker 2:See what that feels like, otherwise I should probably cut back on the consumption so yeah yeah, I went um and it was a.
Speaker 1:it was a camp, more about beer, um, and no one really knew what they were doing, but we'd go out and we'd have fun. We had a wall tent and we've had some great times, um, but I really didn't like it. Like I go back to being in the dark, like they're like here, walk a mile down this dirt road in the dark in Washington, which is where I started hunting, and then there's a field there we call that Bear Field. Just sit there until the sun comes up and I'm like are you kidding me right now?
Speaker 2:You want me to go?
Speaker 1:sit in a. Why is it called Bear Field? They're like well there's an apple orchard and there's always bear shit everywhere.
Speaker 2:And I'm like I don't, I'm out, I'll wait until day one.
Speaker 1:And here's actually a funny story. So the very first morning I went out with my father-in-law. I'm sitting there in the brush, we go in with red lights, I don't know what I'm doing, but the sun starts to come up and all of a sudden I hear something moving. And I look to my side, where my father-in-law was, because that's where I hear it.
Speaker 2:He's belly crawling through the grass just just taking photos of me just commemorating the moment and I'm like I don't feel like this is what we should do.
Speaker 1:We should be doing for hunting, but yeah he he called himself the the great white hunter. He's from canada yeah and so I was like, if this is what he says we should be doing, then this is what we should be doing. So yeah, but yeah, that was about eight, nine years ago. Um, didn't see success that year, didn't?
Speaker 2:even I was like yeah, oh muzzleloader actually okay, okay, yeah. And then um last year was muzzleloader Okay, Okay, yeah. And then um last year it was my muzzleloader. That's a good looking elk man. Yeah, I hadn't put the horns into the ceiling, cause it was too tall.
Speaker 1:I love it. I'm actually. I shot an archery up last year. I'm going to get that back for my taxidermist within the next like three weeks, so I can't wait.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all the picture. It's amazing. Yeah, um, but yeah, so did that. Um. My second year, we got into um, which he drew a tag as a group, and so we all had bull tags. So in washington we were just hunting spikes initially, but we had bull tags and we got into them. I could tell you the full story if you want. But basically, bugling bulls, battling it out, running in front of us, just like chaos, elk, everywhere I was hooked and I was like this is, this is my personality now, like this is what I'm gonna do. Um eventually moved back to Colorado and, uh, to get a tag, I had to hunt, like late November, and I was like this sucks, I don't like hunting in late November yeah, so I literally picked up a bow just so I could hunt in September, just for weather purposes, interesting uh and completely fell in love with it.
Speaker 1:So I started doing 3d archery and I shoot as much as I can. Haven't been recently, but I just love the archery aspect of it and getting out there.
Speaker 2:Well, and you're good man. Like I said, you came out to Hawaii and killed a brute first year. You know everybody was. You know Ryan's been what. I think this was his third or fourth year and hasn't killed a buck. You know, and it's a hard, you know, you were out there. I mean, it's hard man they're. They're wily little buggers and unless uh one just makes a mistake and, you know, comes into water or or uh stops for a second in front of you. You know it's, it's a hard, um, it's a hard hunt, it's a hard animal to get.
Speaker 2:And so when you when you sent that picture around that morning. Uh, we were just so excited, you know, and everybody behind your back was just like bro, he has no idea how hard that is to do. You know he's gonna come out here and be like, yeah, it's pretty easy. You know, that was kind of.
Speaker 1:It was not easy, man, yeah that that first morning I was like, oh, this is easy because there were deer everywhere, right? And then someone's like hey, some deer coming your way and I see them in 80 yards. I'm getting ready to take my shot and I'm in the pipes right, so I'm crawling between the pipes to try and get closer to them. I love that, you know the names.
Speaker 2:now, when we first pulled up, we're like should we put them in the hole or should we put them in the pipes, or should we put them at?
Speaker 1:the four-way.
Speaker 2:And you guys are like dude, gonna go sit by the pipes, you go in the hole and I'm like it's just funny how after a week you just get all the, because we just made up names, you know.
Speaker 1:But yep, it's funny when you're like you sit the pipes. I'm like well, how am I gonna know that I'm in? The right spot and you're like you'll know.
Speaker 2:And then we get there and I'm like, oh, there's like 500 metal pipes stacked on top in the middle of a field.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly yeah but but yeah, those, they were at 80 yards and then you guys were like, oh, you're just going to have to shoot at them running, that's just, they just keep moving and they come to like 40 yards and they just stop and I'm like well, that was unbelievable.
Speaker 2:Unbelievable. I was like hot damn.
Speaker 1:So I pull back and I use the wrong pin right.
Speaker 2:And I just fire.
Speaker 1:And they were right underneath the doe Complete miss, no blood, no nothing. They run off and I'm like I don't. And I'm sitting there for another two hours waiting for everyone else to wrap up their morning hunts and I'm like I'm not going to get a better shot than that. I was like that might have been my entire trip. I might have just blown it. If I can't shoot one at 40 standing there, then what am I doing here? And I think it was just excitement, my one opportunity, but fortunately I had plenty more.
Speaker 2:I think I lost another group. I lost 10 arrows, yeah, yeah, it's unbelievable. You know, that's what we tell people. We had Kip there, you know, kip Sorensen, uh, for his first ever hunt uh. Seth Studley, his second ever hunt, uh, which he came last year for his first hunt. And that's what's beautiful about that hunt is you can go out there in a week and you know, get just, you know, years of experience you know, people don't realize, people who have never bow hunted.
Speaker 2:They don't understand what it takes to get, you know, 30 to 50 yards from an animal that is trying to survive, especially in hawaii, where you have hundreds of them in a group. You know 20 to 40 to. You know a lot of eyes I've seen a couple hundred at a time a lot of eyes and ears that are trying to just survive and they're so jumpy. And all these things have been around tigers, you know. Uh, so their genetics are just, you know, predisposed to just be on edge. People don't understand. I think they have a concept.
Speaker 2:But until you're out there and, like you said, my wife I actually sent her a video when I was there of a couple does and fawns that were drinking out of a waterhole. I said, hey, look at this, we were on FaceTime and I says, look at these deer right here. And she says, why aren't you shooting? You know, and I'm like they got fawns. You know, I've got a few does down. I don't want to shoot one with a fawn. And she says, could you shoot those? And I says, no, I couldn't. Right now they're already in here. You know, I'm like, no, you have to get your arm. You have to put an arrow on and you have to go like this and that movement they're like and they're gone. You know, and people don't understand all these different little things that can happen.
Speaker 2:Your arrow bounces on your rest, you know you yeah, you turn your foot wrong and you know the dirt snaps, you know break a little branch or something, so but that's what we love about it. Right, that's the with a gun. I have a lot of friends getting it and which I I I think is very cool, but I have a lot of friends getting into like long range hunting you know they want to shoot 500 yards plus, which is another cool thing, but for me it's just a wild thing to have a deer.
Speaker 2:You know, my dad shot a buck on the final day. After you guys had left, we brought in another group. My dad on the last day shot a really nice buck as well, and it was at 20 feet and my dad's 71 years old this is his third year out there Never killed a buck either and he actually, on the way to his stand he got a flat tire it was pretty funny, but he drops me off and calls me about three minutes later and I'm like what the hell?
Speaker 2:I'm still, I'm walking in the dark and uh, I'm like why is he calling you? He's 71 years old. So I'm like, oh great, is he, you know, having a heart attack or something? So I answer I'm like hello, what's up? And he's like, hey, I just got a flat tire. I don't know what I hit, but I'm gonna park it right here and walk down to my stand. And his stands are like a mile away. So, anyway, he goes down there, kills a buck, texts me. He says I got one. I says, holy cow, it was a brute, big, big old wide one. And I says I'll head your way, I'll go the truck. So I walk over to the truck and there's a huge root ball, you know, just a big old chunk of log. And he's like I don't know what I hit and I'm like maybe the tree, you know.
Speaker 1:I says how do you know?
Speaker 2:how you hit it, like how did you even? It's off the road and he says oh, I saw some eyes in the headlights and thought I'd try to turn and see what they were and ran over the stump. But anyway, I was over there changing the tire about 45 minutes after I'd text him and he says, hey, do you need help? And I says no, I'm good.
Speaker 2:And he says okay because I'm still sitting here in the stand just shaking like a leaf from the adrenaline dump you know, yeah, and that's the kind of you know, when you, you know, take an animal's life at 20 feet away, it's so intimate, it's so. It's just a different thing. You know you watch it you watch it die, you know. And so, uh, it's a pretty, it's a pretty crazy experience and and, uh, you know, I, I enjoy it, I love bringing home. We brought home, uh, seven coolers of meat, wow, uh, yeah, the second group, so the first group got what do we get?
Speaker 2:like six deer eight deer, I think totally yeah, and the second group we got uh 17 okay, we got, so yeah it was crazy man. The other, the other group that we come with, they're just old school cowboys man and they just, you know, I got, I don't even remember now you got two with us, two with you and then one with them.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So they got 16. So they're animals, man, but anyway yeah.
Speaker 1:You even killed one that didn't even have a wound on it and we were like, how the hell is this deer dead?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, yeah, I ended up, we ended up finding it where I hit it, hit it in the head. Yeah, it must. You know that's the hard part that people don't even realize is not only like getting the shot and, you know, getting the right pin, like you said, getting the right pin, getting the yardage, getting everything set up, and then you shoot and these deer jump. It's insane. And so you know, ben was there with shed, crazy right, he was there for a week with us and he's, you know, a very good bow hunter, very good shot, and he shot a couple times at the waterhole that one night and says they were perfect shots. It just jumped the string and you actually sent I loved it, your picture of the deer. Wasn't that you who sent the?
Speaker 1:that was me. That was me. I was frustrated.
Speaker 2:I love that I that I was like dude. That is awesome. You took a picture of where your arrow was and then drew a deer where it was, and that's the truth.
Speaker 1:You know it's like you can see my lighted knock right, knock right where the vitals of the little stick figure deer you drew.
Speaker 2:and I set my blind just laughing, you know, because that was such a good way to put it, because it is that way we shoot and we're like I want it to go right there and then it goes there but the deer spins or jumps or ducks in. That it's unbelievable. I mean how fast, is that? Arrow going.
Speaker 1:It's crazy. One really cool thing about this hunt for me was the reps and then being able to say what did I do wrong and then getting the opportunity to try and fix that mistake immediately. So my first shot when I missed, I knew I used the wrong pin. I was like I'm not going to do that again if I get another opportunity, although I didn't think I was going to. And then you guys put me at the broken pipe and that's the one that I sent you and I was at 60 yards and it felt like the best arrow I've ever released. I was like there it is. Those deer were hanging out at 80 yards. They came into 60 and I know I'm proficient at 60 and I let it rip Perfect break Arrow's going exactly where I want it to and it felt like that deer had enough time to walk up to me, smack me across the face and then leave.
Speaker 1:And then my arrow just hit the dirt and I was like what the hell just happened, and so I was like okay, one adjustment I made is I have that bow hitch on my bow, which is an amazing product, but I didn't have a screwdriver to tighten it down, so my bow was noisier than normal, so I could hear the rattle and I'm like maybe it's the rattle. So I popped the bow hitch off. I was like I feel bad, cause I love that thing and I love not carrying my bow. Um, but if it rattles and maybe it makes it a little bit quieter, maybe it'll get me there. And then also, I was like I'm not going to take another 60-yard shot. I was like my bow's not fast enough.
Speaker 1:These things are too quick. I have to get within like sub 40. And that's what I moved to and all of a sudden I started shooting deer.
Speaker 2:So it was fun to be able to make those adjustments.
Speaker 2:It is, it is, and I get, you know, one or two shots if I'm lucky, and you just don't get those chances to adjust. And you know, and, and you know people. I hear people all the time say, well, I hunt, you know I go shoot, you know targets and stuff like that, and so I'm ready for different situations. You know, I've shot while I'm kneeling, I shoot while I'm sitting, you know, and it's like no, that's not the same as hunting, because you, you know, you're sitting in this blind and usually you're hunting with the wind. So you've got 180 degrees of wind coming good in your way. You know, if they're behind you they're not going to come in because your wind's blowing into them.
Speaker 2:But you've got 180 degree, you know half radius, or is it a radius of area to watch, and that thing can come in anywhere. You know it's not like a target where you're like it's right there, I'm going to sit down and shoot it, which is, again, good to practice. But I mean, you saw the pictures that we sent. You know we're shooting. You know the blinds in front of us.
Speaker 1:You know ryan shot literally the the blind you know he's got a log that was part of the blind yep yeah.
Speaker 2:And then I, my dad, came because that's my dad's blind right, quote unquote and I showed him the picture and says look what, ryan, did you know a few, three days ago he shot your blind and then we sat down or he goes. He goes into the blind and the opening morning and I go pick him up, I says how did it go? And he says you're not going to believe it. And I says what's up? And he says how did it go? And he says you're not going to believe it and I says what's up?
Speaker 1:And he says I shot the blind, you know a buck came in at 10 feet no way 10 feet away.
Speaker 2:He says it was 10 feet away. And he says I knew, you know, trying to thread it through the hole, I knew that that was going to be an issue. Uh, you'd showed me the picture of Ryan. He's sitting that a lot of times too. And he says I looked at it. And he says, like you know where its vitals were no-transcript, you know, to get the shot. And he just nicked. And that's the other thing too, is it, doesn't? You don't have to peg the wood, you know? He just nicked it, Just his broadhead clipped it and it just went up and hit it in the horn. And he says it ran off, like shaking its head, so it ran off. Just says it hit it right in the top of the horn and it literally ran off, just shaking its head, like what in the hell just happened, you know, like knocked it, you know dizzy, or something. And he says I just sat there, you know, and my arrow?
Speaker 2:you know, gone and this deer is walking off shaking its head, and he thought, yeah, that's about right.
Speaker 1:That's too funny man I've had multiple people on my podcast which, for the people listening from Rick's side of the house here, is about telling hunting stories. But they're rifle hunters and they shot a deer and they the deer drops and they're like sweet, got him. They walk over, they can't find a bullet wound. Um, they grab the deer, they drag it in. They realize later when that deer wakes up, they shot it in the antler and knock the deer unconscious, um, which is absolutely crazy.
Speaker 1:But I had one one guy tell a story where he was uh, he like put, put it in the back of his like station wagon before the deer woke up and then just destroyed his car. So they're opening all the doors trying to get the deer out of the car. Just crazy stuff.
Speaker 2:I never heard anyone do it with an arrow, though. Yeah yeah, my uncles have told me they've found elk and deer with broadheads embedded in their horn and they kill it later with a gun.
Speaker 2:So bow hunters will shoot at it. It'll hit the velvet stick into the actual antler. A couple months later the gun hunt happens and they'll find that broadhead embedded in their horn. But yeah, my grandpa told me of a guy back in the day and you never know if it's all true, but he swears it is. But a guy shot a deer. Same thing, big old buck. And back then you know they used to put the gun in the antler and sit down.
Speaker 1:You told me this story, but yeah, keep going. So yeah, they shoot, it hit it in the horn.
Speaker 2:You know didn't really check it sit down, put the gun in the horn sitting there holding up for a photo, and it jumped up and ran away with his gun.
Speaker 1:Or so he said that's awesome.
Speaker 2:You never know, man. Yeah, you uh. Like you said, the one I shot, you know, I went up to it and I'm like, you know, there's no, I don't know where.
Speaker 1:I hit it, you know, and it's dark let's add a little bit to that story, right, because there's something pretty important before what walked by you earlier that evening yeah, poachers, poachers. So you weren't sure, if it was your deer because you did let an arrow fly, or if the poachers came through. Who knows if they even had shoes on right yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's such a random yeah, yeah, uh. So, yeah, yeah it's. Uh. Yeah, I was sitting there hunkered down and they walked 20, which was kind of scary. You know, three dudes with guns, with bandanas over their face you know that should not be doing what they're doing, right? And so I'm hunkered down, you know, and they go walking by and I'm like, oh man, this, you know, ruined my sit. They're going to go hunting around me with guns, and uh. So I just sat there playing on my phone and I looked over in this couple of does, few does, and a couple of fawns come in and I'm like you fawns come in and I'm like you know okay, and uh, I took this shot and it was like 20 yards but again they're just so crazy that, uh, it was drinking.
Speaker 2:When I shot, it was, you know, 20 yards away and when I shot, it was drinking and it just, you know, when I let the arrow go, it just they, just, you know, crash and I didn't think I hit it, I just was positive, I thought, you know, it went, went to the side of it and uh, well, I was actually walking over, which this is a good lesson for me and everybody listening to always check and find your arrow and you know, make sure you look, even when you're positive. You missed because I was positive. I missed and I walked over to see where I was going to sit the next morning, cause it was the night hunt. And I was going to sit the next morning because it was the night hunt and I was walking over to see where I should, you know, hunker down for in the morning and walked over there and I don't even know how I saw it.
Speaker 2:I didn't have a flashlight on, it was just faded light, really faded yeah and I could see the glow of a of something and I'm like that looks like the white of its legs. You know, these axis deer there's one behind me on my wall that I shot there in hawaii but down their legs it gets white and uh, and I thought, I thought and so I grabbed a flashlight and flicked it on, because it was about 15, 20 feet down a hill and there's a deer and so I go walking down there and I'm like holy shit, did I get this, get this?
Speaker 2:You know, like no way. And I walk down there and there's no hole in it, you know, there's a little bit of blood on its cheek, and no hole. And I'm, like, you know, pushing on it and squishing it and I'm like it's fresh, you know, like it just died and couldn't figure it out. And so I, you know, I'm like, well, maybe the poachers shot it. I thought that, you know, maybe they shot it. Yeah, you know, because out there they shoot them in the head, right, they don't want to ruin the meat. And so I was like, well, I'm taking it, I don't care who shot it. So I hurry and loaded it up Right before that. So I was sitting there and like 20 minutes before that, two of the poachers two out of the three came walking back down. The third one never came, and so I knew that a couple of them had left.
Speaker 2:And so, you're right, I thought maybe they dropped it in that hole and and, uh, ran to get, you know, the truck or something whatever, and I thought, well, I'm going to, you know, one way or another, I'm going to take this thing. So I grabbed it and, you know, picked it up and hauled it down to the truck and then we we inspected it at camp and it ended up that I did shoot it. I shot it through the cheek and it, uh, came out the back and, you know, died within 20 feet. Yeah, uh just went over a little drip drop and fell down the hill and then we found my arrow. You know, that's the thing that confirmed it was. Ben found my arrow the next day and uh says it was for sure you but yeah, just a crazy, like you said, what is it? Official Hunting Stories? Is that the name of your?
Speaker 1:podcast. It's just Hunting Stories Podcast. Nothing special, yeah. So that's.
Speaker 2:I mean, you know man.
Speaker 2:I love it because everybody asks you know, why do you love hunting so much? And I really love the meat. We've been eating axis deer for the last week. You know we just had it for dinner last night, nice, you know, it's just so good. So I love that part of it. And then I love the stories. You know that's why I do it. You know I go out there. I always tell people if I was in Hawaii for two weeks alone by myself, it wouldn't be, I wouldn't do it. Yeah, you know I go there to be with like-minded men and women, people and all I mean. You look at it, we were there seven days and all of the little. You know me drinking milk, right, that's the funny one. You know the barefoot poachers.
Speaker 1:You know um the pipe, right, we know the pipe, yeah, story um or when I called in a buck and I was begging someone to let me have another buck tag. Yeah, yeah, exactly yeah, it's like just there's just that's what it's about.
Speaker 2:You know, the all the little stories and that's what makes it so much fun and so, um, I love that. That's what you based your podcast on. You know, and obviously I didn't realize you've only been doing this eight years, is that?
Speaker 1:what you said. Yeah, maybe nine. At this point, I think this will be my ninth season, I mean look how much it's grabbed you.
Speaker 2:Look at how you know. Like you said, it's become your life, you know and me too. You know I got out of it for 10 years and now most of my adventures I do a lot of travel with my family just you know, sightseeing and traveling. Lot of travel with my family just you know, sightseeing and traveling. But beyond that it's, uh, mostly hunting trips. I'm going to alaska in a week with um nine other men, uh, you know, for uh an adventure I go to africa, you know, in in three weeks or five weeks.
Speaker 1:Hopefully we're going oddhead hunting here in the next couple months too. I would love that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would love that. For me, that's what is. You know, it's just kind of become my, and it's again not the kill. You know, that's very little of it. It's having a reason to go with nine guys to Alaska and have all the fun and laughs and everything all the in between you know that's the fun for me.
Speaker 1:Disconnecting. It feels very much like uh, like human nature. Right, just sit around with people doing something really hard uh, feeding your family and just sharing stories, like that's like how all life started. Right Was just doing those things.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. You know, you get exercise you know I walked in the two weeks I was in hawaii I walked. Well, my watch said it's probably a little bit off, but it said I walked 78 miles that's pretty good, you know um, I went to that trough that you set out a lot. Uh, the next, the next week, um, nobody really wanted to go over there and so I walked to that morning and night like it's a bit of a walk.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was I think it was like three and a half miles or something round trip, something like that, yeah um you know, easy walk, not hard, but uh, I mean, it's a lot harder when you have your deer on your back, like you did, you know no, that's well, kip kip right, he threw his whole you had your meat in your pack, though that was yeah, there's a big difference between a deer on your shoulders for a two mile hike and and a deer in a backpack strapped tight to your back.
Speaker 1:So it was. It was tough. Mine was a lot weighed more than his cause. It was a buck versus his little doe. But man, when I saw Kip with that lactate it was like his left side was covered in blood and his right side was covered in milk and I was like, uh, good on you, man, your first ever kill, Congratulations.
Speaker 2:Glad it's not me Cause that deer was just smacking him and he was covered.
Speaker 1:He was looking pretty beat up when he got there.
Speaker 2:Yeah that's a far walk with that much weight on your shoulders, you know. But yeah, you get exercise, you make friendships, you make memories, you get to meet the culture. You know the people and you know be a part of their culture and their ways and try their food. And you know, the second week we had some cowboys out there. You know, just some good old boys, and they'd never tried pokey, ever. They didn't even know what it was. And so I took there was four.
Speaker 1:This year was their first time. Yeah, because they'd been out there before right and they didn't have any other. They wouldn't even try it.
Speaker 2:No, wouldn't even try it. And finally, you wouldn't even try it, no, wouldn't even try it. I, and finally, you know, I says listen, I sit down and I'm like listen, you know, life's about experiences and trying stuff and you don't have to love it and like it, you know.
Speaker 2:But I'm like try it, just try it. Yeah, and it was funny because I got the pokey nachos with the you know, uh, what's the spicy mayo? And two of them ended up buying one and sharing it and they ate the whole plate. And the other two, two younger guys, um, tried mine and had three or four bites and they're like it's good. It is good, yeah, and I know it's hard to get over that mental aspect of you know, raw fish. I was the same way when I first tried it, but you know, that's what's cool is you take these young guys that are from utah. In a small town of like a couple hundred people is where they're from.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean a tiny town and maybe a thousand people, and they tried something you know that they've never experienced, and that, to me, is what the trip is about you know, and so I love it, man, I love it, I love it. That's the fun of it. Love it, man, I love it, I love it. It's that's the, that's the fun of it.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I agree 100% about their working hard and having great stories and thanks for having me. And it was, um, it was my 40th birthday party and for for literally a year I've been calling people trying to figure out how to make it happen. Um and uh, they were like well, it's not a great time to hunt, because my birthday is actually in April. When I got invited to this, I was like I can party a little bit later, I don't need to go on my birthday. It was exactly what I've wanted to do for years and it just sort of fell into my lap. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:It's funny how that is the guy who canceled on my trip. His name's Sam. I always hunt with him in Minnesota every fall. He just couldn't make that one trip and had to bell out uh, you know, four years ago and I jumped in on it and same thing. You know, that's what I always tell people, like if you're, if you, if you can do it, if you, if you can, if there's a way to, you know, figure it out, say yes, yeah, you know you'll never regret it. You know you'll never remember the couple grand that it costs, but you'll remember the trip forever. You know, and that's what I just tell people. It's like man, just figure it out. You know, I have a lot of people saying next year, two years, three years, and you hope. You know, you hope, but you know. Well, they say tell God. If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.
Speaker 1:You know one of my favorite quotes, you know, and it's like you know, you, just you're not you're not necessarily in control of this thing.
Speaker 2:So take the opportunity when you have it and uh, yeah, man, I'm glad you came so.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and the amount of people that want to come on this trip, you're gonna have to be out there for three weeks sometime soon. My list is getting.
Speaker 2:I actually talked to Ryan yesterday and I'm like what, what are we thinking? And, yeah, what's happening is we, you know, we brought the core group of guys and they couldn't make it. You know, this year. Now they want to come next year and then we bring new guys and now it's turned into um. You know, last year when I announced, you know the, the trip I sold, I sold the uh whatever 16 spots in like 20 minutes, yeah, um, you know. So, yeah, I've got to figure that out. You know we're going to do some stuff with M42 adventures, you know um out there. So I'm trying to kind of figure out that now and and working, you know, with uh, the guys on Malachi to kind of put that together. So I'm hopefully here in the next month or so. I'll have some information. But yeah, it's, it's. You know, it's one of those things where, also, I want to.
Speaker 1:I don't want to ruin it for me.
Speaker 2:You know, I love it, I enjoy it. I go out there with my dad, you know. It's kind of one of those things, so I I'm being very uh cautious on it. So yeah, we'll see.
Speaker 1:I respect that and I think I've told you this multiple times, but I'll say it because we're on the podcast now. But, um, hunting camp is a sacred thing for me. I don't invite just anybody, and that's why, when I get invited to a hunting camp, I'm like let me do everything I possibly can to assist and make sure that I am, if nothing else, taking nothing away from anyone.
Speaker 1:they're going to have an experience that hopefully is elevated. But if nothing else, I'm not I'm not taking away from it because I've been in hunting camps, um, but been at hunting camps, but again, back in my early hunting days, my brother-in-law, they said I couldn't come to hunting camp until I was married because I had to be part of the family.
Speaker 2:Okay, fine, I get that.
Speaker 1:Three years into it he has a buddy. He's like, yeah, come on down. And so this guy comes and he's a raging alcoholic. We have a fair amount of beers in camp and he doesn't do anything except drink in camp and then stomp around the woods. And when he leaves, except drink in camp and then stomp around the woods and when he leaves, he takes all of our beer and I know you're not a big drinker.
Speaker 1:I'm not a huge drinker either, but I was just like, hey, we're here for a week, what are you doing? This is just so inconsiderate. You've done nothing to add to the experience, and so to the listeners, if you ever do get invited just make sure that you are not taking away from the experience, because it's important to to everybody.
Speaker 2:I think that's that's a good point, you know, when people don't realize how little it can be. You know, I have a buddy of mine who I've grown up with and as we've gotten older, you know I've started doing, I've done better financially and he'll come hang out at my house or my cabin is the one instance that I know where he'll come out to my cabin and my cabin's 45 minutes from town. It's here near Zion national park, and you know, and I know he's a big drinker and I know that about him, and so he's done this to me a couple of times.
Speaker 2:but the last time I says hey man, you know, uh, if you're coming out, you know why don't you stop and get some beer? I don't have many out here, he says I'm good man, I'm not going to drink. You know, your cabin's out there a ways it's even. If you've seen my cabin, it's a pretty steep driveway for about a half a mile up to it yeah and he's like I don't need to drink anyway.
Speaker 2:He comes out, sits there for a minute. He's like dude, this is beautiful man, I love it out here. I just need a beer, you know he starts running through my beers and he drinks like 12 beers. I had, like you know, I think, a 12 pack you.
Speaker 2:He drinks all my beers, he's like all right man we're going to head out leaves that I wasn't even really paying attention. I'm just kind of running around with the kids and hanging out and everybody. I go to get in the fridge later and I'm like where the hell is my beer?
Speaker 1:Framing deck picks, right, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, good old deck picks.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and he had drank all my beer. And then it's, you know, a 45 minute drive into town and I'm like man, I'm just not going to invite him back.
Speaker 1:And I really haven't.
Speaker 2:I really haven't because you know it's. It seems like such a little thing, but that's what you need to be aware of, you know. I think, like you're right when you you know when you have these. You know we've had a couple of guys come to Hawaii that you know when somebody gets a deer they go to bed.
Speaker 2:You know, and it's like no man, we stay up and we help that person break down the deer vacuum, seal it. If you're not, if you don't want to do that, help cook. There's always something to do while everybody's doing something. You know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was the first night when you shot that deer. That's exactly. I was panicking. I was like what do I do? What do I do because you shot the deer?
Speaker 1:yeah, check rick's rick's covered ryan, you know he dressed it, he took the the hide off and he put it up into quarters and then seth and kip just take over and they're just ripping that thing apart and they're breaking it down. I'm like what can I do? How can I be helpful here? And I was like give me some salt and pepper, let's fire this grill up. I'm gonna make some steaks for everybody. And so you're right, you just got to participate, you know you can't just sit back, and it's not a vacation.
Speaker 1:It is, but it's not in the normal sense of a vacation. I think I was listening to Ryan's podcast and he was saying that like vacation for him is not going and sitting on a beach and drinking margaritas. Vacation is doing something different and working hard and having those experiences.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Yep, and I think that's the people get invited back. So that's a good point to you know. Tell people who are going out on their first trip is just be useful, you know, and it doesn't have to be. If you don't know how to break down a deer, don't, but just stand there and watch and learn and you know ask questions and have a knife if they need it.
Speaker 2:You know, help them, lift the deer up if they need it, like there's things you can do, but mostly it's just having you not be over in bed sleeping, where we all want to be, because we're exhausted. Yeah, that's where it gets annoying and you're like who's this guy?
Speaker 1:he's not a team player, yeah, so yeah, yeah, 100 hey, it's like when kip dropped his deer and I was like, just you drop a deer, call me. I'm gonna run down this road until I can get there to help you carry this deer back yeah, you were very. He didn't want that he didn't want any help carrying the deer, but I was like let me carry your bow, let me carry your pack, let me just take some weight off you and let's get this thing home.
Speaker 2:And he's like and just being there, you know, just just having you know somebody there saying you're good, you need help. You know I'm here. You know you don't even necessarily have to do anything, but it's just nice to have somebody. You know, ryan shot a deer a couple last year, I think hit a good buck and says I can't find it, I'm gonna give up. You know, I've been looking. And I says let me hike up there, let's just look together. And I hiked up the hill and and we walked around in the dark for another hour with flashlights and looked around, didn't find it. And we start walking back to camp or to the truck, you know, and I says, you know, sorry, man, I wish would have. And he says, dude, I just appreciate you coming and helping me look. A lot of guys would have just said oh, you've looked already, you didn't find it. Okay, I'm down here in the truck, come and I'll wait for you and Seth.
Speaker 2:One thing that I remember about Seth, and why he, seth Studley, he's got a podcast, anatomy of Us, good dude, I just recorded with him last week. And one thing that reminds me of him is, or that I remember about him, is the first year, last year, when he came out, I hit a buck. Uh, over on I was, he was like he sent me his pin and I sent him my pin. He was the closest person to me but he was like a mile away. Yeah, and I'm like, dude, don't come over here. Man, I'm like, and I thought I hit the. I hit it. Good, I thought I was going to recover it. I ended up not recovering it. Um, it went on the private property and I went as far as they would let me go onto the private property to look for it. But he walked clear over there up up the wall.
Speaker 1:It was up on top of the wall so he hiked the wall, which you know, know, it's a reason it's called the wall.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a reason it's called the wall. It's just straight up and down and I'll never forget that. You know, like when I look at Seth, I'm like, you know, no matter what, you know, our differences are or whatever, I know that he is a good person with a good heart that wants to be helpful and that, to me, is the kind of person I want there and in all. You know every aspect of my life.
Speaker 2:you know we have those friends that take like I don't need you in my life, you know I want the ones who I'll fill your cup and you fill mine, and that's that's you know. Once you get older, you start realizing that's where you want to put your energy. So that's exactly right. That's who we bring to camp yeah, 100, 100%.
Speaker 1:And it's in life and hunting. Like a lot of my before I started hunting, I have a lot of friends from that area of my life, but all they want to do is go to the bars and do those kind of things. And I'm like you know, I'd rather go camping with my family, I'd rather do these things. So it's just about finding the right people to be. Um, and I think it's the work ethic that comes with hunters. They're just willing to do things that suck. You know, we kind of love it.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I think if you have that mindset of you know you want to go out there and do hard things and and you know, be self-sufficient. You know I mean it's hard Like you saw. You know you went out there and shot a big old buck three, you know, a mile and a half from camp and you broke it down by yourself First time you ever broke it down, loaded it into your pack, and the reason I think yours was very difficult as well is because you shot it in the morning so you had to hike it back in the middle of the hot sun.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Ryan saved my life with that half bottle of water he showed up with. I was texting you guys, yeah Well, I texted you guys when I was like, hey, uh, if you guys beat me back to the house, could someone just run down the road with a bottle of water? That's all I need, because I drank one and then I use another one to just kind of like clean some of the meat and clean my hands a little bit before I took off.
Speaker 1:So I just was out when I started my hike home and so him meeting me about halfway with that water. I didn't need him to carry my bow or the deer or anything, I just needed, just needed to quench the thirst. So he saved my life right there.
Speaker 2:So yeah, and again, that's the. You know, that's the you you asked, you said I need, I need this, and and we figured out how to get it to you, you know, and vice versa, I know you did the same, you know, after you'd killed your deer, you, you worked hard to try to get set the deer, you know, and some things like that. So, yeah, that's what we want, man, that's what we're looking for. And, uh, you know, we're very specific on you know this alaska. You know we're very specific on you know this Alaska. You know experience that we have. You know, I sold it out in 45 minutes. We have a, you know, fishing boat up there. We're taking some friends up there and going to go fishing and fish the rivers.
Speaker 1:That's awesome.
Speaker 2:And do some float planes and stuff like that, and it was just something that you know that's what we're looking for is just people who are going to come and be a part of the team. And you know that's what we're looking for is just people who are going to come and be a part of the team and, and you know, work with us, not against us. So yeah, that's. That's what it's about, man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely that, and some great stories um in my opinion Um so let's, I'm going to pivot us a little bit, Rick. I want you to tell the story of uh your, your leg injury in.
Speaker 2:Molokai, I want you to tell that story, because that story cracks me up, and I know we're both releasing this podcast.
Speaker 1:I want to make sure we get some good stories in for my listeners, and I'm sure your listeners will appreciate it too, because it's a good one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, so that was. I'm trying to think, okay, so I think that was my first year. I'm trying to think, yeah, it was. So, yeah, first year I'd went out. So I think I've been there four years. So four years ago, ryan calls up, says come out again.
Speaker 2:I'm not, you know, I've been out of shape. I wasn't training, I wasn't. You know, not that Malachi is the hardest thing, but you know, I'm 40 years old and just, uh, he called me off the couch, called me out of retirement. Right, I had my bow that I actually shot. I was going to take it this year, but my bow is a 2007 Bowtech and so I went and got it out of my case, you know, and took it down to the guy, had to put a new string on it, bought some arrows and headed off to Hawaii and we'd been out there, headed off to hawaii and we'd been out there. Uh, the one good thing that you guys have is, when we first went out, we had there was no information just, we stayed in a connex I told you that literally a shipping container um, no power. Uh, there was no power.
Speaker 1:Um, we all brought like battery chargers for our phones and stuff yeah, I remember you saying one day you just spent the entire day sitting in the truck for the air conditioning because it was so hot. Literally, yeah, we'd go, five of us, I believe that.
Speaker 2:We'd sit in the car with the AC running for hours during the middle of the day, you know, just because it was so hot, and we'd shower outside of the garden hose. I mean it was very, very rustic, which you know. I loved it's. I stayed in it 17 days the second year and that was tough. Yeah, felt like a prison sentence there, but anyway, so yeah, so we, we go out.
Speaker 2:We'd been there hunting for a few days and I, you know from Utah you kind of spot and stalk, so we're kind of scattered out. We'd see these deer come by and we'd go after them, and you know, for a few days and just couldn't get any, couldn't get on them, couldn't get any good shots. So we were all pretty frustrated and just trying to figure these animals out and uh, it's a do-it-yourself hunt. You know they drop you off. They're like hey, you know, good luck, go have a good time. Here's the boundary of the property.
Speaker 2:You know, give her hell yeah and that's how it was the first year, and so we had no knowledge of you know that they don't stop running um all these different things, you know. So, by about the, I think this was like the fifth day nobody had killed anything. And uh, we, we found this area where they're where they're, you know, coming through a lot by the pipes and all that kind of stuff down there in the trees and we decided we were going to line up.
Speaker 2:So I think that year there was like eight of us. So we're like okay, we're going to line up. And you know how the deer come, they kind of come in waves. They'll come in different groups for a couple hours in the morning and maybe one five minutes after another, like if you bust a bunch of deer they might.
Speaker 1:A new group might come in immediately.
Speaker 2:It's the craziest thing exactly, yeah, or you might have to wait 45 minutes and then 100 to come, or, you know, it's just kind of it's like a migration. You know, you're almost trying to catch them and they're going from you know where they bed down to to feed, and then they go from feed back to bedding down and this property is where they they come through. Basically, um, it's a couple thousand acres, but they just move through it. And so we decide we're like we have, we have a plan. You know, we actually set at the Connex and I have it on a video where we're all sitting there and we have rocks on a table and you know, we got, like Brandon Lilly there there, um, he's a heavy, a power lifter, you know, pretty famous dude, uh, for power lifting. I didn't know who he was. I'd like said, I walked into the camp, didn't know who any of these guys were, but so he's over there. You know he's tattooed, you know, from the jaw line down, I mean it's.
Speaker 2:You know, and I'm like dude, that guy's pretty scary looking, you know and uh, and so he goes over there, he's got these rocks and he's like this is what we're going to do. You know, this is what I think would work. Let's line up like every 30 yards all the way down the road and somebody's going to get a shot. And then he says and then every like I think it was like every, because there was better spots.
Speaker 2:And so if you got down. You know, if you were down here, you didn't necessarily want to be down there. So he's like, every 20 minutes or something, we'll we'll move and adjust. And so we're like, okay, so we all go line up, we're scattered down this, and you know how it is. They just come through and they come through and a couple people get some shots, miss whatever, and it's like, okay, let's move spots. And one of the guys I don't want to name any names, but, uh, he knows who he is, but he didn't want to move. And yeah, so ryan goes down to his spot and he says hey, man, move out of the way. You know, you got to go down to the next spot.
Speaker 2:And he says no you know, I just got here and ryan says dude, the deal was, brandon told the deal. You know, like every 20 minutes we shuffle down and we rotate, yeah, and he's like I don't want to move, this is a good spot. And ryan's like that's why we're moving. So he forced him to move down and I'm next to I'm, I'm, so, I'm, I'm right here, 30 yards from ryan, and then he's on the other side and this group of deer come through, like right then, like they get settled down, we're sitting there and this little group of deer come running through and Ryan takes a shot into the group and ends up hitting a fawn.
Speaker 1:So Four years later, you guys are still making fun of him.
Speaker 2:Oh we tease him. Yeah, he's the fawn killer, right? What do we call it Onlyfawnscom?
Speaker 1:There we go. I'm sure he loves that.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, oh man. So I'm looking over there and they're about 40 yards away running and he takes a shot and just gets behind and hits a fawn, a yearling. You know it wasn't like brand new, but you know it was a young deer, yeah, and it's the first deer we've killed. So we I jump up, I run over there and I and ryan's like I think I got one. And we go running up and ryan and I'm I look at it and I'm like oh, shoot, that's a fawn, you know like. And my other buddy comes up and ryan's like dude, I got one. Finally, we've been here five days, eight guys sleeping in a connex, sweating, you know, dying. And he's like, he's ecstatic, and I'm like, yeah, bro, you should be embarrassed. You know like, you shouldn't be excited, you know. And so and all of a sudden my other buddy is like gets pissed off.
Speaker 1:And I'm like because ryan made him leave his spot and he shot the fawn.
Speaker 2:He's like, dude, that should have been my fawn. And I'm like what are you talking about? Like I'm like, bro, he should be embarrassed. Like you don't want that, and he's like that should be my fawn. He made me move and it wasn't time to move and I'm like what is happening, you know? But that's how hard that hunt is and how I mean it's our first year. We're so frustrated, we're so excited to finally get some meat, even though it was a small portion, and and so the other kid like gets like angry.
Speaker 2:Like I start talking about and I don't, I just met him and I'm like, hey, bro, just relax, man, it's all good, you know it's just a deer. You know like, don't, don't. And he's like walk away, bro, walk away, like. And I'm like, hey, bro, just relax, man, it's all good, you know it's just a deer, you know like, don't, don't. And he's like, walk away, bro, walk away, like, and I'm like you're gonna fight me.
Speaker 2:You know like we're gonna fight over a phone, okay yeah, I'm like dude, I'm trying to be cool, you know. And I'm like dude, shut up. I'm like, okay, I'll walk away. So I, so I go over to Ryan and Ryan's like he's over there, like you know, gutting his fawn, just so proud, and I'm like I'm like bro, I'm gonna go over here somewhere else and hunt. You know, I'm gonna go find a different spot. I'm like he's being a punk. And ryan's like really well, like that's lame. He's like all right, cool. And uh, and I told the guy I'm like dude, just shake it off and keep hunting. It's not over. Like, keep hunting. He's like I'm just leave me alone, bro, I'm not in the mood like this sucks and there's only 39 000 more deer out here, so let's get back to it exactly.
Speaker 2:So I leave and I go walking, uh like on an like down into the wash kind of, where you were hunting a lot down down behind there by the red light, okay, and I get down in there and I'm, I'm sneaking along and I see this buck coming all alone, just kind of trotting along and I'm like, oh my gosh, and it's, I'm, it's coming like down this way and I'm trying to cut it off.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And so I kind of I'm sneaking as fast as you can sneak, you know, and it's just kind of it's alone.
Speaker 1:Especially as, like a 6'5", 6'6" guy, yeah, exactly, only sneaks, so slow and so fast.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's pretty awkward. So I'm trying to get over to where I think this thing's going to go, because I see it a long ways off. It's, you know, 500 yards away, kind of coming down over the hill, and I'm like it's alone, which helps a ton there's not a ton of eyes and ears. I can at least watch it and see what it's looking at, and if it's looking my way I stop. So anyway, I get over there. It's about a 55-yard shot. I'm like, hey, this is the best I'm going to get.
Speaker 2:It's still kind of walking and I take a shot and I hit it a little bit back, um, but you know I'm like, okay, it's gonna die. You know it's a good shot. And again, this is this is after I hadn't been hunting for 12 years just picked up a bow and it starts kind of you know you hit them and and they kind of you know it's just it's gonna die and it's walking like it's gonna die, yeah, yeah and so. But it turns and starts walking, kind of on an angle away from me, and I'm like I'm going to catch up to it and shoot it again.
Speaker 2:So this is where everything kind of went wrong. This is my favorite part. So it's kind of walking, you know, as fast as it can, but it's hurt and it starts going and I'm like like I'm gonna run up on that thing. I think I can catch it before it gets over into the thick stuff and put it back, put another arrow in it, and so it by now it's probably 150 yards away, moving, you know, relatively quick, and I take off running and I again I'm 40, 41, hadn't?
Speaker 2:I don't think I had sprinted for a few years? I don't even know the last time I had sprinted and I've got my pack on. You know, I've got like a 25 pound pack on my bow and I remember running and I'm like and I'm, and I'm like, oh, I'm catching up to this thing, this is going to work. And I literally remember running thinking, damn, I'm still fast. You know, like you said, I'm 200. At that time I was 260 pounds and 6'5" and I remember running thinking, dude, I still got it. Like I am dude. You know, like I still got it. And I'd ran probably 100 yards, I think I got within like 70 yards of it or something like that. And I heard a pop. And I always use the analogy have you seen those Chuck Norris videos on YouTube where, like he'll pull the trigger and then you see like a lady fall down the stairs?
Speaker 1:or he'll pull the trigger and you see, like yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, dude, I don't know what it looked like, but I know what it felt like and my back of my leg and I never really had an injury. I didn't play a lot of sports in high school or anything, I was more into like outdoor stuff but there was a pop in my leg and it was like somebody shot me with a .30-06. And I remember just falling and literally like my bow flies. You know, I'm just sliding through the dirt and finally I come to a stop and I'm like my femur's broke. You know, I didn't. I didn't even know what the hell a hamstring was at the time. You know, apparently yeah, that's pretty common injury, I guess but it pops and I thought I snapped my femur and so I'm laying there in the dirt.
Speaker 1:I remember laying there and I have like dirt in my mouth, my bow scattered that dirt gets everywhere too, and it's just so dark red dude, it's the worst all my stuff's still stained and I remember I look up and about.
Speaker 2:You know, probably 80 yards away, something like that, the deer goes over and lays down and I'm I'm on the ground and I could just see its horns and I'm like, oh, it's laid down right there. I'm like it's hurt, I gotta kill this thing.
Speaker 1:And I've got a broken leg.
Speaker 2:It's a career ender.
Speaker 2:You know, I was like it's a career ending injury, I guarantee of course yeah and uh, and so I'm gathering, I crawl over and I get my bow, you know, and I'm, I'm like on the verge of tears, I of tears, I'm scared, I really am scared. You know, I'm like this is I don't know. I thought I broke my leg from running and, uh, I'm like this is not good. So I'm trying to gather myself and I'm like, oh my gosh, this is, this is not good. I'm out here in the middle of nowhere, nobody knows where I'm at. Um, you know, I I gotta start figuring this out. And I look over to my right and I see ryan mickler sneaking along and I'm like, what the hell? And he's, he's kind of crouched down.
Speaker 2:You know, you're getting that little crouch and he's just he's looking straight ahead and he's got an arrow knocked and he's just sneaking along and he's about probably 20 yards from me. Didn't see me? Yeah, he's sneaking along and I'm like ryan and he's like and I'm all just looking around, yeah, no idea he's just like, and I'm all ran and he's like rick, what are you doing?
Speaker 2:I'm like, bro, I'm hurt. I'm hurt bad bro, I'm hurt, I'm hurt bad. I'm like, bro, I broke my femur. And he's like what are you kidding me how? I'm like running. He's like, and he's like are you running? And I'm like I was trying to catch up to a deer and he's like there's. He's. He's like there's one right up here, buck, and we again, he's just killed. He's come off the hive killing this fawn, you know.
Speaker 1:So he still has the fawn on his back right. He's still watching.
Speaker 2:On the Ziploc in his pack. You know he kind of quartered it. You know he's got this buck in his sight and I'm like and I says this is where the communication went wrong. I says I know I just shot it and he didn't hear that part.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So he says there's a buck up here and I says I know I just shot it. I says I need help and he says wait, wait, here, I'm going to go shoot this deer. And I'm like, okay, and I at least thought he's going to go up there and put it out of its misery, right, like, finish it off. So I'm sitting there kind of for a minute and I kid you not, I won't swear, but I kid you not for him to go 10 feet took like 10 minutes, like I'm sitting there, like I thought I'm bleeding out, you know, I'm like, okay, I'm in horrible trouble and I'm laying there in the dirt with dirt in my mouth and I'm watching this guy sneak up on a deer that is dying, yeah.
Speaker 2:And I remember just sitting there like what the hell is going on? Like go kill it. And he's like one step, you know, and he's looking around and he's thinking he's sneaking up on a bug that is healthy, yeah, and so he's thinking that he's just like you know, the man. And I remember laying there in the dirt and I'm like, okay, this is, I'm gonna be dead by the time Ryan Mickler gets up and kills this deer. So I start crawling over to Ryan and I'm barely like my legs. You would have thought that I was a paraplegic, literally.
Speaker 2:I'm dragging my lower half behind me, just dead weight, and I'm moving my bow, and then I'd crawl and then I'd move my bow.
Speaker 1:Are you bringing?
Speaker 2:your bow? Yeah, you never know. And so I catch up to him. I'm crawling and I catch up to.
Speaker 2:Ryan and I get about five yards from him and I'm like kill it. And he's like shut up, rick. And I'm like kill the deer, ryan, I'm injured, I'm dying, bro. And he's like I remember him shushing me like I just vividly remember him looking down at me and I'm like pulling on his pant, you know, and I'm like kill it. And I thought he knew that it was hurt. Yeah, I never repeated that because I thought I had said it and I thought he heard it. And so he thinks he's still again closing the distance on this deer. So he's like kicking me off his leg, literally. He's like dude, leave me alone, rick, there's a buck right here. He's like I'll help you in a minute. I'm like bro, I'm like help me.
Speaker 2:And he's like rich and he keeps shushing me and I remember that. I just remember him shushing me and I'm like you're shushing me like I'm dying, bro, and he's sneaking along, sneaking along. We get up there and I remember him getting like 40 yards. It's laying there, you can see it, but it's kind of in some thick, um weeds. You know those weeds that kind of grow up. Yeah, you can see it's horned and I'm like like leaned up like a sea lion, you know, like trying to see where it's at, and he's like 40 yards away and I'm like shoot it, shoot it. And he's like I think I can get closer and I'm like good dude, this is taking forever.
Speaker 2:We're like 30 minutes into this, you know, and I'm like I've gone out of. You know, I was in shock. I'm starting to feel the pain now and I'm like, bro, just kill the damn thing. You know, like it's probably dead already, and he keeps sneaking, keeps sneaking. We finally get up about 20 yards. He's been shushing me the whole way. He's really frustrated with me at this point, telling me to go away. I'm like I'm not going to leave, just kill it. I remember he pulls back his bow and it's like 20 yards and he shoots and misses.
Speaker 2:It goes over the top of it. I'm like bro In his defense. It was in these thick weeds. You couldn't really see where its body was.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, it's like you're kind of guessing if it's. I remember trying to see if its body was going to the left or to the right. You could just see its face and its horns. And he shot and it was. The body wasn't there. He shot it on the wrong side and he says oh, it's not right there. He's like I missed and I'm like oh my gosh, just kill it.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna crawl over there with my knife and cut its throat, you know, at this point, and he finally leans over and shoots it, shoots it and it hits it and it jumps up and there's an arrow in it from me and he's like it's already hit. And I'm like are you kidding me? It's what I? I told you. And he's like what? I'm like dude, I told you, I shot it. It's dying. And he's like oh, I didn't know that. He's like bro, I just thought I snuck up on this axis deer from 100 yards out. And he's like I'm thinking I'm like Rambo, I'm like no, I killed a fawn.
Speaker 1:I Rambobo this deer. I'm the best hunter in the world. I'm like yeah like dude.
Speaker 2:The deer is literally looking at you. Like hurry up, please. I'm suffering, like come on, I'm waiting for you, you know, and uh. So he's like dude, I'm sorry man. He's like I didn't know what was going on and I'm like bro, I've been crawling here telling you to kill it. Like no axis deer on earth is gonna lay there and watch you sneak up and he's like I thought.
Speaker 2:I thought I did a good job. So he ends up killing it and we take a couple of pictures. I actually have the pictures, and it's funny, cause I'm just, like you know, trying to smile and you can tell I'm in horrible pain and Ryan's like you got to send those photos, man.
Speaker 1:I want to see that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'll have to, and uh. So he's all excited, we're excited. It's a funny thing, actually, because that deer was the that's our first hunt together. That was the first of five animals that me and him have killed together really, five animals, yeah, it's, I I have. I have four other stories that are crazy that are him and me, where I'll shoot a deer and it'll come over to him and he'll end up killing it anyway.
Speaker 2:That was it ended up being five animals in like five hunts. I mean that you, the one this year, remember that he, he almost got that. He couldn't get drawn back on. So it's become a very common thing for me and Ryan.
Speaker 1:He'll kill my animals, I'll kill his animals, apparently we can't finish them alone, but that sounds like a good hunting buddy, right?
Speaker 2:yeah, getting the job done together, yeah so I'm laying there and I'm like ryan, I'm hurt, dude, I think my femur's broken. And I says I need help. And he says, okay, let me, let me go get help. It's it's the night hunt, so it just got. It just had barely started getting dark, about 30 minutes of light left. He's like I'll run and get help. And I'm like don't leave me, bro. Like don't leave me. He's like I remember him. Like kicking again, kicking me off. Like, dude, I'll, I'll be back, I'm not going to leave you. And I'm like all right. So he takes off and I'm laying out there again.
Speaker 2:You know, Hawaii, there's no predators. There's the Chupacabra, we think, which we've seen a few times, where you know, see the little eyes that follow you and we don't know what it is necessarily. Yeah, Ryan says it's a cat, but I think it's a chupacabra. But when you're out there laying in the dirt and you're injured and you have a dead animal, you know 10 yards from you, your mind just starts going. You know, and you're like man, this is creepy. The sun sets, it gets dark and I'm like, dude, it should not take an hour to go get help. You know, Like it shouldn't. So I'm thinking, oh, Ryan forgot about me or something you know and and uh, so I'm laying out there and it's pitch black now laying out in this field and I can see like the little light glow of headlights kind of hitting the trees and I'm like, oh, here comes help. You know, here they come and I'm like they're not going to find me. So I remember grabbing a Luminok and popping it and I'm over there just waving it you know, waving my Luminok.
Speaker 2:You know, here I am like a flare, you know, and I remember they couldn't get all the way up to me. They got about 100 yards from me and they just couldn't come any further because of the terrain. And I remember the truck stops and the dust kind of goes around it. Again, I'm tipped up, you know, waving my little knock, looking trying to see, and I see the, the dust kind of come around the front of the headlights and I see this giant of a man walk out of the headlights through the cloud of dust, you know, and I'm like hello, and it's brandon lilly, and he's all, yeah, rick, and I'm like over here, brandon, and he's likeon lilly, and he's all yeah, rick, and I'm like over here, brandon, and he's like I'm coming rick, and what a beautiful moment. Oh, dude, I just remember like I literally had like tears in my eyes, like you know, like, oh, you know, it's safe, everything's gonna be fine.
Speaker 2:You know, here comes brandon, he comes over and I'm like brandon, I can can't walk, bro, I'm injured horribly. I don't it's, it's a bad injury, it's my leg and he's done. He's written books and stuff. I mean, he's just he's, you know, been in this world forever. And he like grabs my leg and he's like where does it hurt? What happened? And he's like that's a, a stage two, you know, hamstring pull or something. I'm like he's like in two weeks you'll be good to go, and I'm like are you sure? And he's like yeah, and I'm like all right. So he picks me up. My dude, I can't walk, I'm freaking hurt, I can't move. And so he picks me up, like you carry your wife, you know, over the threshold yeah, it takes a big man to pick up someone yours or my size, you know, and I'm just like I was scared, brandon.
Speaker 2:I'm like Ryan wasn't doing anything to help. He shushed me like 17 times. I'm like I've been out here and I'm just like spilling my guts to him Like it was so scary. I know there's no predators, but I still was scared. And Brandon's like it's all right, rick, I got you, oh man, and you, oh man. It carries me up to the truck. And I get up to the truck and all I hear is laughing, you know, like hysterical laughing, and I'm like what's going on? And they're like, oh my hell, rick, you little pansy.
Speaker 2:Brandon lowers me into the truck and from their side they're brian's like yeah, we're sitting in the truck like freaking rick out here hurts himself, running like an old fool. They're like you send ron brandon out to go grab him. And we look and through their cloud of dust they see brandon come carrying me. Yeah, they're like your head's like buried in his neck and you're just like you know, I have like I have like mud dried tears down my face, apparently because I had been crying, I'm not gonna lie. So I had been crying a few different points and the red dirt had stuck to my tears so that I come out of the cloud and the brandon's carrying me like this macho man and I'm just like bearing my you know soul to him and uh great so yeah, that's the other side of it.
Speaker 2:But yeah, man, that just a funny, funny story. It ended up like I said I I got home a couple of weeks later it was the hamstring. Uh, still, actually, you know, I still can feel that injury years later. That's, I think, what's funny. When you get 40, it's, it's not bad, but I don't just take off sprinting anymore. You know things like that. But yeah, man, just a funny, you know, and we talk about it all the time. We always tell about it and uh, you heard it, you know, up in Hawaii, and just funny, man, that's such a great story, man.
Speaker 1:I love, I I since you told me that, the first time I've just found myself like sitting there thinking about it and laughing on my own Cause I'm like God, I can't like you're just. You're such a big guy to see you just get carried out of the Hawaiian bushian bush just by brandon lilly. Just such a funny image. Yeah, you do a great job, like making it easy to picture.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah I remember very well, man, it was uh, it was very traumatizing at the time. We ended up getting the buck um first deer I ever killed out. There wasn't a monster, but it's a trophy for me, for sure, you know.
Speaker 1:And again, like I said, it's the it's a trophy for me, for sure, you know.
Speaker 2:And again, like I said, it's the, it's the story that goes with it. But yeah, man, I I'll never forget that and that's for me what hunting is about. You know, those moments, you know this was a guy that I had met. I remember picking him up at the airport. They're like, hey, will you go get Brandon at the airport? And I'm like, how will I know who he is? And they're like, oh, you'll know. And I'm like, okay, what is that? And they're like he's a giant and he's tattooed. And I'm like, all right, I go pulling in and I'm like, whoa, you know, like you're a, you're a scary dude, you know, and and never met before, never spoken.
Speaker 2:Five days later he's carrying me out, you know, of the field in his arms and I'm just like I'm so scared, brennan, and I heard your voice and I was like it's gonna be all right, you know. And I says I knew it would be you, bread, and I knew you were the one who was gonna come through that cloud. I remember looking over there, thinking I hope it's not ryan, because he can't carry me. He'll be like get up, you, pansy, you can walk. And I'll be like I can't ride and he'll shush me and I says I was so glad but it was you who walked through that cloud because I knew you would be compassionate and you would carry me. And he's like I got you, rick he's.
Speaker 1:He's a man of few words, man, but he's oh, that's too good man, he's a good dude, but yeah, yeah it was, uh, it was funny man that's good, I'll I'll share story.
Speaker 1:Mine's not nearly as good as yours, but it's one that makes me laugh every time and people who have heard my podcast before have probably heard me tell this a couple times. But it was actually my first archery kill and it was in Texas. So I have a buddy and he's like yeah, I work on this property, there's turkeys all over it. We're allowed to hunt it. No, one hunts turkeys, everybody just hunts a deer. And I'm like well, let's go out there. I was like I got some decoys, a little blind, like let's go. Um, he brings his shotgun and I bring my bow.
Speaker 1:Um, but I should have known the day was going to be weird when it started because, remember, this is where he works. So he calls me at like four in the morning as I'm sitting at the gate waiting to get into the property, and he's like bro, where are you? And I'm like oh, I'm at the address you gave me. He's like I'm lost. I'm like what do you mean? You're lost. You work here like this. You like this is where you go every day. Like how are you lost? Yeah, I don't know, man, and what's funny is the pin he sent me was the wrong way, but I hey, he also gave me the address, so I he gave me the wrong place and he maybe went to his own pin. I don't know what he did, but either way we get there, he opens the gate, we go inside and I've never heard anything like this. There's turkeys everywhere, just gobbling in every single direction on every tree and I'm like oh man, it's gonna be a good day, um.
Speaker 1:So there's one feeder again. It's not really a hunting property, it's like, um, it's a construction property and they're basically on the river. So that's where all the turkeys are. So we go to the, the one spot. I set up my little blind, which is basically like a eight foot by two foot piece of cloth with like three poles, so just sort of putting it in front of us. And this is the very beginning of covid too. So we're like we don't know what we don't know. I'm like all right, you sit six feet over that way. I guess I don't, I don't know, we're outside. Who cares? Neither one of you turkey hunted, um, uh, no, no, we hadn't.
Speaker 1:Well actually that's not true, I had killed a turkey in Colorado with my shotgun.
Speaker 2:So I set up some decoys yeah yeah, yeah, and that was it. So this was my second turkey hunt, but she's thinking I'm some kind of expert, right yeah?
Speaker 1:So I put up some decoys and we sit there and just nothing happens. And we sit there for hours and I'm like what the hell? Like I've never been around more birds in my life, like how did not one bird come into this? And so we're like, all right, let's walk. The property Like this is dumb, we're running out of time, let's just go walk around.
Speaker 1:So we're walking around a little bit and then we ended up getting back to the trucks and this truck pulls in with some workers, some Mexican gentlemenoys, and they're like no, there's a turkey there. And we're like what is a turkey there? Run around the corner so we could see probably 400 yards to the decoys, and there is a tom strutting right in the middle of our decoys and I'm like, well, what are the odds of that? And I'm like you guys just drove right by and he didn't move. He's like, yeah, we just drove right by, he didn't care. And I'm the back of your truck and when we get there, stop, and I'll let her rip and we'll drop this turkey, it'll be great, and he's like okay got it.
Speaker 1:So he gets in the car, I get in the back, we start driving Right about there. We're coming up right to the turkey and I'm getting ready to pull back and we drive right past the turkey and we just keep going and I'm like where the hell are we going?
Speaker 1:like I'm like what's happening, and so he pulls around and there's this like berm that we were using as like a backdrop for us and he pulls right around to the back side of it and I'm like, what did you do that? For, like, this is the only place I can't shoot that turkey from. And he's oh, whatever. So, um, the turkey jumps this little bob wire fencing and runs into this woods. And when that happens, those three mexican guys come flying in on their truck and one of them drives off. Three of them jump out and they run into the woods after the turkey. And I'm like, what is going on here? Like what kind of what is happening? And I'm like, all right, well, I guess let's follow these guys and go get that turkey.
Speaker 1:So we go into the woods. We never see one of them again. Like they just disappear. I don't know if, like, the truck would over to the other side of the property. They just ran through and jumped in, but we didn't ask them to do that, they just ran into the woods. So we go into the woods and we're like, well, this is dumb, this is like we see some deer in there, but we don't see any turkeys. I'm got my slate calls trying to get something, but nothing's happening. I'm like, all right, well, let's go. Let's go back to the uh, the decoys sit down and talk about what's going on here.
Speaker 2:So we sit down.
Speaker 1:Let's see where we went wrong yeah, and I'm like, all right, man, well, I have to go. I was like, and he's like, well, I have to work because it's still early, right. And he's like, but, uh, can I keep this stuff and I'll hunt this evening? And I'm like, yeah, of course, yeah, of course.
Speaker 1:Um, it's like, before go, I always like to throw out a call, and this has actually worked twice for me. Like I'm quitting, I'm gonna throw one call out, see what happens. And so throw out a little slate call and basically, where we're parked over at the main construction site, a big old Tom comes tumbling down the road and I'm like, well, holy, like 300 yards out, and I'm just calling, and I'm calling. And so I'm like all right, I give this late call to my buddy. I just can't mouth call. I don't know why I can't, I just can't do it. So I'm like here you do this. I was like, when I draw back, be ready to use your shotgun, because I was like I don't know if I'm going to hit it. If I miss, shoot it with a shotgun.
Speaker 2:Right yeah.
Speaker 1:So, like I think I got this, so I pull back and my arrow unknocks itself. So it's hanging there and my arrow is pointed straight up, and so I'm full draw and I'm looking at my buddy, I shoot lefty, so he's behind me. I'm just like psst, psst, Put my arrow on.
Speaker 2:He's like put my arrow on. I'm like, he's like what, I'm like my arrow's unknocked.
Speaker 1:So he belly, crawls behind my little thing over to me, grabs my arrow, puts it on my string.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. And then he looks at the turkey.
Speaker 1:But he never lets go of my arrow and I'm like, let go. I'm like you, let go of my arrow and he's like, oh yeah, so he let go of my arrow. And he's like, oh yeah, so he let go of the arrow, I let I let her rip. And uh, not a good shot. But the turkey, when it heard the noise, head went up, body went down and snipped his head, just like took the head clean off, oh so super clean, kill bird went down and I was like, holy crap, what a day like I just got and it was a bit
Speaker 1:it was the biggest turkey I've ever shot huge bird, um, it was a ton of fun. And then again, with just a little ending to the story, when he went out he took all my gear. He did something that I don't even know if you can do anywhere else, but he killed three turkeys with two shots. Um, and they were all toms but legal, but like in texas, you get like five turkey tags or something like that when you buy a license.
Speaker 1:So yeah, there were three birds in there and he shot, killed two of them and the third one didn't run away, so he shot again and killed three turkeys in like five seconds.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:So it was just a crazy day man, it's just one of those hunts. My first ever archery kill and like literally from him getting lost going to work to like the truck full of Mexicans disappearing into the woods, my air, my arrow not being on the knock.
Speaker 2:It's just like everything went wrong and somehow it still worked out. That is so that's funny that I've had that happen A dozen, you know a ton of times where your arrow pops off the string, you know, and it's like to have him there and have him reach around and flip it back on, like that's so funny that you would think to do that, you know, and not let down. You know. It's like hey, just pin it back on.
Speaker 1:I didn't think of anything else. I didn't think about like putting it down, but yeah, and what's the fact that he didn't let go of the arrow? I'm always like, yeah, what were you thinking, man, I'll break your finger, good job yeah, I had a buddy of mine one time.
Speaker 2:I was, uh, helping him. I was out shooting a target like again 15 years ago at my, at my business, and my buddy, cody McCann, comes over and he says, hey, can I try shooting that bow? I've never shot a bow before, you know. And I'm like, yeah, sure, if you've never done it, you know, let's, let's, let you shoot an arrow. And he grabs it and he pulls it and he pulls it and he puts the string behind his head and he's looking down the arrow and the string is right down the back of his head and I says, cody, stop, stop, stop yep don't let go.
Speaker 2:And he's like what? And I'm like don't? He's like how do I aim? And I'm like stop, don't let go, hold on. And I go over there and I grab the bow with full draw and I'm like pull your head out. He pulls his head out and I like let it down. And I'm like, okay, we need to go over the basics, but it's like, man, you can get into some pretty crazy situations.
Speaker 1:I had a friend exact same thing, where he pulls my bow back and it goes behind his ear the string and I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. I was like, whatever you do, do not shoot I was like keep that off. I was like get your ear out of there. It'll rip your ear off same thing, and that's when I was like I'm never gonna let anyone shoot my bow again like it's. It's not a traditional bow that anyone can just pull back and shoot it's fit for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when he pulled back and hit that wall, it was four inches too long for him yeah, and that's exactly.
Speaker 2:Yeah. You heard ryan talking. I was telling that story in hawaii about that and ryan says yeah, because he hasn't been bow hunting long, like four or five years. Yeah, and when he first got into it he says I'm just going to go get into it, went down, found a buddy or somebody with a bow or I don't know where he went. But he says the guy handed him the bow and says yeah, you know, take a shot. And he says I just grabbed the bow and I was like ping, shot it. And he says I shot, like you know, missed the target. And the guy says I don't know what's going on. Try again, shoot again.
Speaker 2:He says fing, and shot an arrow the other way. And the guy says he's like what pin are you using? And ryan's like pin, I don't know what you're talking about. He's like I'm just pulling back and shooting. And the guy's like okay, let's slow this down, this is your peep, those are pins. And ryan's like you know that a lot of people think that that's common sense. But ryan says I just pull him back and like so they shot a arrow into the trees and then I pulled back and shot one into the grass and the guy's like what pin are you using? That's too good man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can see ryan doing that yeah, yeah, well, I want to do, I haven't told this to my, my podcast folks and I don't know if you want to hear, but I wanted to tell the story about the axis deer that I shot in Molokai the actual buck. And then, if you want to share any more, I'll listen to stories, as long as you want?
Speaker 2:Yeah, go ahead, let's hear yours. I love this one.
Speaker 1:All right. So I'll skip the part where I kind of found that water trough the first time I was there and there was 200 deer and I thought it was like 10. I just, you know, spooked all of them. But the next morning I'm like I'm going back there, I'm going, that's what I'm going to do. Um, I get in there and I spooked deer like right off the bat, right. So I'm like did it make you nervous to walk over there in the dark? At've ever been pretty comfortable with it.
Speaker 2:There's no snacks, there's no, there's nothing you know that is gonna hurt you.
Speaker 1:So it kind of and it's a road right like when I'm hunting out here in the rockies of colorado, it's like I'm just jumping logs, I'm trying not to fall um.
Speaker 2:You know we're seeing starlink satellites and thinking they're aliens like there's tons of scary stuff out here, but in Hawaii, yeah, in Hawaii it wasn't too much of an issue for me.
Speaker 1:But, yeah, I get out there and, of course, after being caught by the guide right, they pulled up in the truck behind me, which we were trying to kind of avoid. But either way, it worked out just fine and I spooked these deer. So I get to the spot that I was thinking and I'm sitting there, standing next to this tree, thinking this is the only spot where there'll be shade, but it's 50 yards to that water trough. And for the listeners, the water trough's what? 16 feet long, three and a half feet wide, three feet tall concrete.
Speaker 2:Wrapped in three sides on bushes?
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly. So I'm sitting there and I'm like you know what? There's a horseshoe of bushes that are about three feet tall. I sit my bow down and I just sit there very comfortable, completely concealed from almost every direction. I can see through it enough so I can see deer, and if I get on my knees I can shoot right over. So I'm like this is perfect and I hadn't. I hadn't had anything since that first arrow right said that I that I shot short on and I was like I hope I get an opportunity because I really blew it.
Speaker 1:I'm still like in my own head about how awful I am at hunting which can happen either way, so I didn't realize that was your second arrow I had fired some more. Maybe I don't remember if you're right actually I had been to the, the broken pipe, and I had fired a bunch of arrows and lost them all, but they were all over 60 yards, so I was like I have no chance, so you're right there.
Speaker 2:Those don't count.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but yeah, I'm sitting there and a buck walks in, but he comes to the far side of the trough and I'm like his body is completely concealed by the concrete.
Speaker 2:I'm like I can't shoot him. So I know where your blind was he came from. If you come out of your blind and looking at the blind, he came from the right side, like around. So I'm not sure, not from the canyon side, from the other side, from the other side, yeah, and you know how they just appear right, so I don't know exactly if he came across.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because I didn't have any cum.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he came from the other side and I just all of a sudden noticed he was there drinking and I'm like oh, okay so.
Speaker 1:I sit there and I'm waiting and he finally steps away and I go full draw and he just spooks. But he stops at like maybe 50 yards, I let an arrow rip, nothing. And I'm like God, this is hard, these are such crazy creatures. And I'm like that sucks. And so I set my bow back down and I'm like maybe I should go get my arrow. I don't know if the Luminok will spook anything. And I'm like just sitting there and five minutes later I see a doe and I'm like, oh well who knows, maybe I got another shot here.
Speaker 1:And so I sit up and I realized that the doe's there, as well as another buck and a fawn, and I'm like, oh, okay, there's a couple deer here. This buck is kind of playing around, but he ends up drinking on the other side of the trough. So now I can see his body. He's quartering away and he's just head down and I'm like, well, this is actually not the other side of the trough, he's at the front of the trough.
Speaker 2:So he's porting away?
Speaker 1:Yeah, same thing, but I'm like this is great, and his head's in the trough. So I just get up the doe and the fawn spook and the buck doesn't move an inch. And so I just let it rip and it just goes perfectly right behind the shoulder blade. I hear a large thwack. I'm like I don't know if that was the shoulder blade on the opposite side. I don't know if that was the concrete, yeah, the trough, trough or what it was, but I'm like I did it.
Speaker 1:I hit an animal with my bow like this is so exciting.
Speaker 2:He didn't even take a step.
Speaker 1:He didn't. He didn't run over here and slap me like the last yeah, right um, so he runs off. I see the arrow flopping around inside of him and I see it shoot up. It goes 20 feet in the end and lands, and I'm like, yes, and that's when I text you guys. And I'm like, guys, I hit one Like.
Speaker 1:I hit a buck and everyone's like woohoo. I'm like this is the best day ever and I'm like, okay, well, I'm going to give it 30 minutes before I go. I know I hit them really clean About 25 minutes.
Speaker 2:I'm like nope, I'm giving them 25 minutes.
Speaker 1:So I start walking. I'm like, just get out of my spot, cross that little dirt road, go into that little open field, and I'm walking to where I shot my arrow earlier and there's another buck. But, like you know, you know that that brush is like four feet tall right, that's about how tall these deer are. So all I see is antlers, and I hear that you know the loud bark. And he just starts hopping like a mule deer out of there and just going crazy. And I'm like, oh man, and he was just as good as my buck, if not bigger. And I'm like, holy crap, maybe I shouldn't be doing this. Um, let's just start looking for my arrow, like not these other arrows, let's just find the one that I know should have blood on it. And I can't find it, like to save my life. And I'm like I don't see any blood. I don't see my arrow, like that doesn't make any sense. The end of my arrow is glowing, like what's going on?
Speaker 1:here yeah um, and I'm texting you and you're like oh, they don't bleed much, man, they don't, they don't bleed much and I'm like and I was like did I? Did I hit his front shoulder blade? Now I'm starting to know the doubts in my head and I'm like I screwed this up. I know now I've injured this beautiful, beautiful buck.
Speaker 1:And eventually, I finally found it. I like walked to where I know he ran off to, and then I look back and I finally see a little bit of red light. And so I go and I find my arrow and there's blood on the fletchings, but not a lot, and I'm like, oh no, like maybe I didn't, maybe it didn't penetrate at all. I picked the arrow up and I turned it over and the backside is covered in blood and I'm like, all right, all right, we're in business.
Speaker 1:Um, and you know everything, there is green and red everything is green and red, so hard, yeah and so I'm just looking at where I found the arrow and I'm like, let me find a drop of blood. I know he ran this direction, so I find a drop. And then I point myself where he ran and I find another drop and I just slowly and we're talking pinpoint drops yeah nothing.
Speaker 2:Yeah nothing big. I read an article that said that they think because they're dehydrated. You know they're so, it's always, you know. They just don't have a lot of blood in them, like they get over here in the States where they have access to a lot more water, but it's, they just don't bleed, man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was crazy. I mean we're talking tiny drop, tiny drop. I'm seeing a little bit on a branch here, a little bit there and I'm like, well, I, well, I know he ran this way. I was like I have to assume he stayed on this game trail until I can't find any blood and then I'll figure it out. So I just track him. He made it 50 yards, so I was shot with a sever which has a two inch cut radius so he made it almost nowhere at all and he just plopped right over and I was.
Speaker 1:I've never been more happy in my life.
Speaker 2:isn't that the best feeling? When you look and you're like it's just an unbelievable feeling to walk up on an animal like that. I know what you feel and it's just amazing, Especially a buck like that. I think it was a monster.
Speaker 1:And especially if the doubt has time to creep in, if you have that doubt and then you do find it. Oh my God, yep, yep. But here's what's crazy. So I take a couple photos, I prop my phone up on my bow and take the photos that I can in some videos, and I'm texting you guys and getting all the congratulations, cheers back, text messages, and I'm on cloud nine and, and you know me, I'm a big fan of instrumental music. I all weekend I was putting my phone on for instrumental hawaiian music.
Speaker 1:so I'm just like I'm gonna process this deer. I don't care what else comes in, so I just put on my instrumental hawaiian music. I'm on the top of the mountain. I can see the ocean in every direction, yeah, and I'm just sitting there and I start processing the deer and I'm not kidding you, every like 10 minutes I stand up just to like stretch, get my back stretched out, and there's more deer at the damn feeder 50 yards away, and I'm like this is the craziest thing I've ever done in my life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I get that thing processed and, um, at this point it's like 8 AM, I think, and uh, I start to hike back and I'm like, oh, I ran out of water and it was hot. It was real hot and that's what I texted you guys Like please, someone run down the road with a bottle of water. And Ryan Mickler did just that. He met me about halfway and, um, man, it was a hunt of a lifetime man. I can't thank you enough for letting me come along, cause it was. It was a ton of fun. Eventually I'll get that deer measured and we'll figure out how big he was, but he was pretty big, did anyone?
Speaker 1:the next week get one bigger.
Speaker 2:I don't know honestly. I mean we didn't have a way to measure them and so I don't know what anybody's my dad's was like. I think we were measuring with like fingers, just kind of doing the whole, you know. But I don't know exactly anybody's measurements. So let me know what yours is and then I'll find out what theirs all are and we'll uh, we'll see, but they were all very similar, you know I think yours was heavier.
Speaker 2:Uh, my dad's was wider than all the ones I've ever seen and his and his uh top points were really long uh you know, they have the like. They got one over there at those little points, you know what, right there, um so yeah, but they were. I mean I would have shot any one of them, you know, in a heartbeat, wouldn't even have hesitated. So they were all beautiful, beautiful bucks, absolutely, man.
Speaker 1:It was fun. I got into all sorts of bucks that entire trip I even called that one in which was unexpected. I got to 10 feet. I called him across a canyon and I have no cover. I'm just sitting next to a rock, just kind of like trying to look like a rock, and he just walked right up to me and he didn't win me, he just didn't like the look of me as a rock. Apparently, that was a very good impression, Right?
Speaker 1:But yeah, and then there's the end of the whole trip, right where I get to the airport 30 minutes before my flight and they're like oh yeah, you can't take that head with you.
Speaker 2:And I'm like what? Yeah, I didn't know that was a thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so that was stressful trying to find someone to come pick up because you guys had already left and you were on some hike. You're like we'll be back in a couple hours.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we got your message. We all bing, bing, bing and we're like, oh, we got to go the airport, oh wait no, we don't. Oh wait, yes, we did wait oh, and we're like all reading it together and I'm like, oh, who has it? You know it was. Yeah, ryan's like did you just get a text from michael? And I'm like, yeah, something's coming in. And then we're reading through it and it's like you know eight texts and it's like, hey, I can't take it. Come get it, wait a minute. Who's getting it, you know?
Speaker 1:and I'm like, oh, so yeah, I'm glad it worked out. It was stressful but it was fun. It was being. It was like being a celebrity there with that head.
Speaker 2:Every, every, everyone that's native to the island was like brah that's a hell of a deer brah and everybody wanted to hear the story. Yeah, you tell them you got it with a. We're like, yeah. And they're like, oh, good for you. And we're like, yeah, do you have any? We're like, yeah, we've shot five, you know whatever six today. You know this so far. And they're like, oh, that's good, you know. And we're like, yeah, it's with bows.
Speaker 2:And they're like whoa every time. They're like that is, you know, I had the fishing game guy, were who they're gonna be, and so that's why I was like I'll check it out, yeah. And so he says, uh, you know. He says you know people who come with guns or sportsmen's about those who come with with bows or are, uh, hunters, you know. He says that's the true hunter, you know, yep. So yeah, man, that's a like I said I, you know, hopefully it's not a once in a lifetime. I hear people say that you know, and, and I and I know what it means, that it's just that high of a memory and that big of a deal, and I understand that. But hopefully, you know, I always tell people you know, it's my fourth year on a trip of a lifetime you know, yeah, and hopefully we keep doing it.
Speaker 2:you know, and so I'll let you know when we start planning that and what that's going to look like and see if you want to come back.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, I would love to. I just got to convince the wife, that's all there is to it, yeah, um well, man, uh, this has been a lot of fun. Do you want to tell any more stories, or, or?
Speaker 2:we want to wrap this thing up. You know I we could do it again. I say, let's say probably the other few months, let's just jump on again and do another one and you know I've got plenty, but definitely one that you haven't, which is rick's uh hamstring story in molokai.
Speaker 1:That is one of my favorite stories I've ever heard. I've now heard it a few times and I literally am crying and my face hurts after every time I hear it. Rick's a great storyteller and it's an amazing story. So, rick, thank you so much for sharing your time with us coming on my podcast, letting me be on your podcast. I really do appreciate it and I'm sure we'll have Rick back on in the future. He actually told me a couple other stories in camp that we didn't get to today, so at least one where he ties himself to someone else through his boot. They're just shoelaces, so really good stuff. But, guys, make sure you give M42 a follow. The links to everything are going to be in the show notes. Please do give him a follow and really, if you get the opportunity, try and join for one of his adventures. I've spent a week with the guy in Molokai and he knows how to throw a party. That's what I'll say.
Speaker 1:Beyond that, if you guys have any stories, make sure you hit me up. I'd love to hear them, and make sure you give us a follow or review on wherever you're listening to us right now. Guys, thank you very much. Now get out there and make some stories of your own.
