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Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wire to Hunt podcast, your home for

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Speaker 1: deer hunting news, stories and strategies, and now your host,

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Speaker 1: Mark Kenyon. Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Podcast. I'm

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Speaker 1: your host, Mark Kenyon in this episode number two and

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Speaker 1: seventy and today in the show, I'm joined by two men,

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Speaker 1: Hank Forrester and Charles Evans, who I believe it tapped

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Speaker 1: into one of the best ideas yet for helping us

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Speaker 1: solve the hunter recruitment crisis. All right, welcome to the

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Speaker 1: Wired to Hunt podcast, brought to you by Onyx and

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Speaker 1: today an joined by Hank Forrester of the Quality Deer

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Speaker 1: Management Association and Charles Evans from the Georgia Wildlife Federation

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Speaker 1: to talk about one of the most critical issues facing

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Speaker 1: our hunting community. Now you're probably aware of this, but

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Speaker 1: if not, here's the quick scoop. Hunter numbers have been

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Speaker 1: dropping dramatically over the last decade or two, and demographic

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Speaker 1: trends indicate that this is just going to continue to

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Speaker 1: happen as large chunks of the current hunting population reach

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Speaker 1: older ages and stop hunting, and then other Americans in

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Speaker 1: general continue to become more urbanized and out of touch

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Speaker 1: with the hunting tradition. This means we're looking at a

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Speaker 1: hunter population in the future that's going to be seriously dwindling.

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Speaker 1: And we already comprise less than five percent of the

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Speaker 1: American population, and that number is just gonna get smaller

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Speaker 1: and smaller, and the smaller numbers get, the less influence

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Speaker 1: we're going to have on the future of wild places,

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Speaker 1: wild animals, and the opportunity to hunt them. This is

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Speaker 1: a big, big deal, And fortunately, my guests today think

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Speaker 1: they've found a way to help us stop the bleeding,

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Speaker 1: and I think they're onto something. Hanky Charles has begun

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Speaker 1: piloting and spreading a mentorship program they're calling Field to

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Speaker 1: Fork that's helping introduce adults to shooting, hunting, and preparing

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Speaker 1: wild game, and they're having some very encouraging results. And

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Speaker 1: not only that, but they're also starting to gen up

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Speaker 1: interest from the non hunting world too, with press coverage

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Speaker 1: in places like the Waltz A Journal, Fox News, UM,

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Speaker 1: a whole bunch of places that are now talking about

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Speaker 1: what these guys are up to and how they're hoping

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Speaker 1: new people come into our hunting community. So today I

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Speaker 1: pulled Hank and Charles onto the podcast to help us

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Speaker 1: better understand why this all matters, help us understand what

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Speaker 1: they've created with the field before program, and finally, how

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Speaker 1: all of us can help do our own part by

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Speaker 1: mentoring a new hunter this year. So, man, this is

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Speaker 1: some really important stuff. I hope you enjoy this chat,

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Speaker 1: but I also hope you are inspired to join me

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Speaker 1: in this mission. So without further ado, let's take a

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Speaker 1: quick break and then we'll get to chatting with Hank

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Speaker 1: and Charles. All right with me on the line now,

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Speaker 1: I've got Hank Forster and Charles Evans. Thank you, gentlemen

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Speaker 1: for joining me, Thanks for having us. Yeah, thank you Bart. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I have wanted to talk about this topic that we're

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Speaker 1: gonna cover today, hunter recruitment and all sorts of things

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Speaker 1: related to what kind of generically is is labeled our three. UM.

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Speaker 1: I've wanted to cover this in more depth for a while.

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Speaker 1: It's something that's that's both important, UM at a macro

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Speaker 1: level and then on on a micro level to me personally,

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Speaker 1: it's been something that UM, I've recognized that I've been

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Speaker 1: a lot of talk and not a lot of walk

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Speaker 1: on them. I haven't done as good of a job

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Speaker 1: as I need to when it comes to participating in

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Speaker 1: these kinds of things. So I have kind of made

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Speaker 1: a promise to myself this year that not only going

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Speaker 1: to try to talk about this stuff a little bit more,

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Speaker 1: you know, with folks like you and with our audience,

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Speaker 1: but I also want to find some ways to actually

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Speaker 1: get out there and do this myself. So so I

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Speaker 1: guess I bring all this up to say I need

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Speaker 1: some accountability partners. So Hank and Charles, can you be

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Speaker 1: my accountability partners this year and make sure that I

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Speaker 1: not just listen to what you guys have to say

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Speaker 1: about this stuff today, but then I actually do it.

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Speaker 1: Can you guys like shoot me an angry text message

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Speaker 1: if I don't follow up on this stuff. We can

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Speaker 1: absolutely hold you accountable. And you know that the admission

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Speaker 1: is the first step to recovery. So um, you're on

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Speaker 1: your way, well on your way. I appreciate the kind

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Speaker 1: words to kick it off, and I guess, Hank, um,

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Speaker 1: can you can you just give us a little bit

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Speaker 1: of quick rundown, like a cliff Notes introduction to to

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Speaker 1: who you are and what you're doing with with the

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Speaker 1: q D MAY and programs like what we're talking about here,

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Speaker 1: that absolutely. I'm Hank Forster. I'm the Hunting Heritage Programs

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Speaker 1: Manager for the Quality Deer Management Association or q d

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Speaker 1: m A, and I think most of your listeners know.

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Speaker 1: You know, we're a national conservation nonprofit that specializes in

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Speaker 1: white tail deer, but overseeing the hunting heritage programs. UM,

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Speaker 1: you know, working on anything related to hunter recruitment are three, Um,

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Speaker 1: you know, anything to educate a new hunter, to advocate

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Speaker 1: for you know, first time and novice programs and programs

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Speaker 1: that are members run. Um. But it's fairly an extended

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Speaker 1: segment of our work at q d m A, and

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Speaker 1: a really rewarding one as well. But UM, that's kind

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Speaker 1: what I ever see a key you may? Okay, Charles,

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Speaker 1: what about you? Charles Evans? I worked for the Georgia

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Speaker 1: Wildlife Federation. I'm the George R three coordinator and we'll

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Speaker 1: get into more of what that is and then I'm

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Speaker 1: sure and some of the partners the position. But I

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Speaker 1: got into wildlife originally because I love to hunt, and

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Speaker 1: so I went through school and I got two degrees

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Speaker 1: and a lot of my biology, specifically dear biology, and

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Speaker 1: from there I got heavily involved in the research realm.

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Speaker 1: And when this R three movement started really getting some

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Speaker 1: momentum behind it and positions started popping up, I jumped

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Speaker 1: at the chance to get back into the reason I

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Speaker 1: got into natural resources in the first place, which is

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Speaker 1: because I like to hunt. So now my position revolves

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Speaker 1: around increasing hunting participation in societal acceptance of hunting, specifically

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Speaker 1: in Georgia. But I worked at the national level as well. Okay, okay,

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Speaker 1: So so then let's just expand on that. Then you, Charles,

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Speaker 1: give us a high level overview of what you mean

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Speaker 1: when you say are three. So, so what's our three?

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Speaker 1: And then why is this something that's that's been particularly

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Speaker 1: important recently? Yeah, So our three is recruitment, retention and

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Speaker 1: reactivation um. And it's been around for quite some time now,

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Speaker 1: almost ten years. I think at first it was just

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Speaker 1: our two basically recommend retention, and then that reactivation was

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Speaker 1: added on the backside. But our three popped up because

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Speaker 1: we've seen a decline in hunting participation since about the

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Speaker 1: nineteen eighties in this country. And the issue with that,

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Speaker 1: I mean, aside from losing one of the most primal

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Speaker 1: pastimes out there that we have left, you know, Losing

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Speaker 1: hunters directly affects our conservation funding and so the wildlife

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Speaker 1: conservation work that we can do on the ground around

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Speaker 1: the country. And I think you talked about the funding

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Speaker 1: model before on some of your podcasts. Um So that's

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Speaker 1: very important. But when we say are three, we're talking

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Speaker 1: about basically the process by which somebody self identifies as

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Speaker 1: a hunter. So you start with that recruitment stage where

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Speaker 1: you become aware and interested in hunting, and maybe you

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Speaker 1: have a trial opportunity somebody like yourself take somebody out

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Speaker 1: hunting for the first time, and then they would either

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Speaker 1: decide to continue hunting, maybe they get another opportunity to

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Speaker 1: go and they're retained with support from somebody else, and

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Speaker 1: ultimately they end up being retained without support and self

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Speaker 1: identify as a hunter at that point. And then you

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Speaker 1: might lapse at some point where you you have a kid,

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Speaker 1: or you go to school or whatever it might be,

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Speaker 1: and then if you got back into hunting after lapsing,

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Speaker 1: that would be what we call reactivation. Um So, that's

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Speaker 1: the the whole process of it and the issue that

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Speaker 1: we're running into. Uh, you know, we have this culture

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Speaker 1: of hunting in the United States that was formed by

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Speaker 1: a lot of the rural traditions and values that that

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Speaker 1: we're traditionally held in our country. And that's still kind

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Speaker 1: of the culture of hunting today, but the society, the

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Speaker 1: culture of society in general the United States, has shifted,

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Speaker 1: and hunters themselves it's not not really shifted with that.

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Speaker 1: And so we're seeing a lot of urbanization u values

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Speaker 1: changed a lot, and the culture of hunting not keeping

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Speaker 1: up and not adapting with that. And so we we

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Speaker 1: have a lot of people that are now raising their

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Speaker 1: kids in inner cities and they didn't grow up hunting,

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Speaker 1: so they're not teaching their kids how to hunt, and

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Speaker 1: we lose that traditional pathway of mom, dad, your uncle,

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Speaker 1: whoever it was, teaches you how to hunt from a

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Speaker 1: young age and it's just part of life. I mean,

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Speaker 1: you almost don't have a choice at some point right

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Speaker 1: when you're growing up. And now we have we have

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Speaker 1: all of these different audiences that might be interested in

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Speaker 1: hunting but didn't have that avenue to pursue it when

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Speaker 1: they were younger, and now they're adults and you know,

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Speaker 1: they still don't have an avenue or they might be

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Speaker 1: embarrassed to ask one of their friends and only five

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Speaker 1: percent of the US hunts, so there's not a whole

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Speaker 1: lot of people out there. Um, somebody might know that hunt.

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Speaker 1: So it's run into this issue. So when we talk

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Speaker 1: about our three, we're talking about all of the efforts

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Speaker 1: were using to try to increase hunting participation societal acceptance

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Speaker 1: of hunting. So it might be anything from just some

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Speaker 1: marketing efforts to try to uh make society see hunting

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Speaker 1: as an activity that might be relevant to them, to

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Speaker 1: an all encompassing program like Field the Fork that we're

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Speaker 1: going to talk about later, where we actually teach people

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Speaker 1: how to hunt. So so, like you mentioned, this kind

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Speaker 1: of idea of of our three or our two is

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Speaker 1: maybe it kicked off like a decade ago or so.

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Speaker 1: I feel like I've been following along um and been

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Speaker 1: aware of these kinds of efforts. Do you think that

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Speaker 1: are we failing when it comes to our three at

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Speaker 1: a high level like this this people have known there's

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Speaker 1: this demographic shift, this cultural shift. We've been talking about

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Speaker 1: it for a while now, and it's not been like

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Speaker 1: a secret. There's been big media outlets talking about the

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Speaker 1: importance of trying to get more hunters out there and

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Speaker 1: trying to do all these things, but we're still here

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Speaker 1: ten years later talking about the same stuff, and that

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Speaker 1: the numbers have not improved dramatically. We had a little

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Speaker 1: bump up a handful of years ago with one of

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Speaker 1: the surveys, but now I feel like the most recent

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Speaker 1: one came out again, we're backed down. Um, how would

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Speaker 1: you quantify or or qualify the efforts to this point? Um,

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Speaker 1: So I'm gonna tiptoe around us one a little bit

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Speaker 1: because I'm scared. Well, I'm just kidding. I mean, we

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Speaker 1: are failing to an extent, and we certainly were a

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Speaker 1: few years ago. Um. You know, state agencies and federal

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Speaker 1: agencies are the majority of the organizations that are are

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Speaker 1: handling a lot of the wildlife management and trying to

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Speaker 1: recruit hunters, and the United States, at least that's that's

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Speaker 1: how it was, you know. And they're the ones that

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Speaker 1: manage the resource ultimately and set the regulations and the

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Speaker 1: hunting licenses and everything else. And government can be extremely

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Speaker 1: slow to change and adapt. Um, but they are starting

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Speaker 1: to catch up. And evidence of that is is just

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Speaker 1: the fact that I'm sitting here talking to you. You know,

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Speaker 1: when I started this role in December, I was the

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Speaker 1: first state R three coordinator to ever be hired on

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Speaker 1: in the nation. And now I think there's over what

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Speaker 1: forty different states tank with our three coordinators. Now that's

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Speaker 1: a good question. It's it's something. It's over thirty now.

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Speaker 1: But it's growing like wildfire. So this is a growing field,

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Speaker 1: and organizations, including the state federal agencies and all of

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Speaker 1: the industry partners and the non governmental organizations like KDUMA

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Speaker 1: and George Wildlife Federation are really starting to step up

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Speaker 1: to the plate and try to produce solutions to this.

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Speaker 1: But we are a little bit behind on that however.

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Speaker 1: You know you mentioned some of the survey data. Yes,

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Speaker 1: nationally we've gone down, but in some individual states we've

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Speaker 1: been going up. In Georgia's one of those examples, we've

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Speaker 1: been trending upwards in participation numbers since two thousand nine. So, Hank,

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Speaker 1: what would you add? I would I would say that

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Speaker 1: we are failing. Um. I think we're making strides. I

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Speaker 1: think there's been cultural changes within state agencies. We've seen

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Speaker 1: some shifts in the way we do business, you know,

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Speaker 1: in terms of hunting license cells and availability of them. UM.

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Speaker 1: But currently less than five percent of Americans hunt. We

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Speaker 1: but we have this culture you know, I fear and

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Speaker 1: I think it's true that hunters have become insular. You

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Speaker 1: talked to hunters today, and of course you're going to

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Speaker 1: get the other too many hunters. You know, there's not

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Speaker 1: a decline in hunters where I hunt. Um, you know,

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Speaker 1: you're gonna of course get some of that. But also

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Speaker 1: you get this, well everybody I know who everybody I

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Speaker 1: know hunts And it's like, well, if four and a

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Speaker 1: half percent of the US population, you know, sixteen or

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Speaker 1: older hunt, there's no way that everybody you know hunts.

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Speaker 1: So are we choosing not to discuss hunting in front

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Speaker 1: of audiences that we might not know or accepting of it? Um?

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Speaker 1: But you know, I think we can make great strides

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Speaker 1: very quickly in the R three real if it of

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Speaker 1: all hunters you know in the United States today mentor

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Speaker 1: a new hunter this year, we wouldn't be talking about

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Speaker 1: the decline next year. So it's an easily fixable problem.

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Speaker 1: But it's going to create, um, you know, a concise effort, uh,

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Speaker 1: you know, kind of rebranding and remarketing hunting um and

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Speaker 1: of course taking down a lot of the barriers that

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Speaker 1: we've created, um. But you know, hunting appeals to large audiences,

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Speaker 1: and we know from poles that over eighty percent of

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Speaker 1: Americans approve of hunting for food, and so few are

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Speaker 1: doing it four and a half percent maybe, So there's

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Speaker 1: low hanging frood. There's opportunity out there. But we've got

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Speaker 1: to figure out how to create a lot more hunters, UM,

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Speaker 1: and we all have to understand the consequences of becoming

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Speaker 1: a vast minority or becoming um, you know, less relevant

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Speaker 1: in society. Yeah, I think that last point is is

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Speaker 1: so important. I mean to you, you said it. You

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Speaker 1: get this comment from a lot of folks saying, well,

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Speaker 1: I don't see an issue that they're not big enough

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Speaker 1: hunters where I am, or people saying well, I'd like

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Speaker 1: it if there's less hunters because that mean less competition

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Speaker 1: for land access and etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I already have

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Speaker 1: too many people hunting right next to me or trespassing

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Speaker 1: or doing and this are doing that, um so so selfishly.

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Speaker 1: A lot of times we kind of wish we had,

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Speaker 1: you know, the twenty acre piece of public land all

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Speaker 1: to ourselves, or wish that there wasn't someone posted up

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Speaker 1: all around our private property or whatever it might be.

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Speaker 1: But like you said, there are serious consequences to dwindling

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Speaker 1: numbers of hunters that you know, it's just worth repeating

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Speaker 1: and kind of pounding in our heads because it's it's

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Speaker 1: some serious ship, like this is not some small issue,

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Speaker 1: and I'll kind of let me I'll lay out the

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Speaker 1: high level and that I'd love for you guys to

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Speaker 1: maybe drill into this a little bit more. But I

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Speaker 1: think Charles you alluded to it's number one, you've got

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Speaker 1: a funding issue. Hunter license sales fund a tremendous amount

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Speaker 1: of wildlife conservation, habitat related work. So the stuff that

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Speaker 1: that keeps our states are in a state, wildlife agencies

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Speaker 1: functioning and keeping quality habit out there and managing these

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Speaker 1: resources that is primarily funded by hunters. So if hunter

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Speaker 1: lis and sales continue to go down, that funding goes down,

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Speaker 1: the quality of care we can provide to the resource

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Speaker 1: goes down. It grossly simplified. That is one big issue.

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Speaker 1: And then number two on the pr issue side, the

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Speaker 1: fewer hunters that we have, the smaller number of advocates

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Speaker 1: there are in the country for this way of life,

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Speaker 1: for the privileges and rights that we have as hunters.

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Speaker 1: So I think anyone if you pay attention to the

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Speaker 1: news a couple of times a year, something horrible pops

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Speaker 1: up in the media that gets blown all across the

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Speaker 1: web and sometimes the mainstream media and gives hunters a

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Speaker 1: really bad name. And you can look at the c

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Speaker 1: cele Line incident, so many other things over the years

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Speaker 1: where we just as a as a whole community, we

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Speaker 1: get skewered by one bad apple or one bad thing

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Speaker 1: that even maybe it wasn't maybe as missed, our presented,

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Speaker 1: whatever it might be, there are these things that can

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Speaker 1: very quickly change public opinion about something ing um that

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Speaker 1: can lead to real changes that negatively impact us or

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Speaker 1: the things we care about, just based off a one

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Speaker 1: bad pr incident. If we have fewer and fewer people

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Speaker 1: out there that can stand up and say, hey, this

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Speaker 1: is the real deal, this is what hunting really is like,

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Speaker 1: or this is what I've experienced. If we have not

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Speaker 1: even just hunters, but hunters, and then people have a

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Speaker 1: positive experience with hunters. If that number keeps dwindling, you know,

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Speaker 1: just more and more opportunity for our privileges to to disappear.

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Speaker 1: So that is like at the highest level the things

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Speaker 1: that scare me about this um. But I very simplified that,

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Speaker 1: Hanker Charles. Would you guys add anything more as to

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Speaker 1: why this matters um to the future of what we

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Speaker 1: all love to do? Well? Can I can I just

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Speaker 1: jump in and reiterate, you know you talk about one

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Speaker 1: bad apple. We have to remember what I said earlier.

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Speaker 1: We are fortunate to you know, we are seeing some

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Speaker 1: of the highest public approval rates of hunting in the

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Speaker 1: country that have ever been documented of Americans improvement hunting

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Speaker 1: for food. But we also need to be cognizant. You know,

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Speaker 1: Charles touched on our three as a marketing you know,

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Speaker 1: it's it's marketing, it's it's a culture thing. I'm the

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Speaker 1: guy at cutium May who says, remember, think about what

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Speaker 1: you post or what you're doing. How is of Americans

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Speaker 1: that don't hunt gonna perceive it or view it? And

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Speaker 1: so you know from you know q May as an example,

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Speaker 1: if people go to our website, I want them to

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Speaker 1: look at it and say, if they're not a hunter,

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Speaker 1: say it's not for me. But these people are doing

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Speaker 1: good and I want them to support it. And it's

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Speaker 1: the same thing when you're talking about hunting or you're

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Speaker 1: sharing hunting, we see this one person, this bad apple,

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Speaker 1: do something in this public outcride, and then we assume

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Speaker 1: that we have to be on the defensive or we

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Speaker 1: have to be quiet and not show what we're doing.

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Speaker 1: But what it really means is that we need to

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Speaker 1: be cognizant of being respectful and and showing hunting in

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Speaker 1: a good light and making sure that that we're a

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Speaker 1: good ambassador for what we love to do. And so

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Speaker 1: that's really what the public needs to remember. But you're

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Speaker 1: you know, from the pr standpoint, you're absolutely right. Um.

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Speaker 1: You know, there's an eleven percent xise taxigoist to the

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Speaker 1: federal government that's allotted to the states solely based on

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Speaker 1: the square knowledge of the state and the number of

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Speaker 1: honey license they sell, and that's a you know, the

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Speaker 1: majority of the conservation funding. And then from a state

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Speaker 1: agency level, on the hunting license level, you know, almost

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Speaker 1: of those funds are going directly to your state agency

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Speaker 1: and they're the ones that are on the ground managing

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Speaker 1: the game. And in that same you know, on the

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Speaker 1: ground level, as hunters are really the on the ground

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Speaker 1: manager of wildlife in the State and doing a public

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Speaker 1: service there as well as UM. You know you're very

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Speaker 1: familiar with Shane Mahoney. Um. You know he's quantifying the

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Speaker 1: wild Harvest is the Wild Harvest Initiative, but he's quantifying,

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Speaker 1: you know, the amount of meals we pull off of

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Speaker 1: these public or or private rule wildlife you know, um,

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Speaker 1: wilderness or natural environments. And and that's another thing that

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Speaker 1: we're taking away from that ever take Yeah you Um,

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Speaker 1: you touched on a few of the things. Why this matters,

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Speaker 1: like at a macro level, Um, why you know, we

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Speaker 1: might want to, you know, think about these things, take

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Speaker 1: steps towards addressing these things. But what all personally, Hank,

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Speaker 1: why do you care about this personally? Um? Other than

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Speaker 1: just getting you get a paycheck to work on this

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Speaker 1: kind of stuff. But do you do you have anything

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Speaker 1: a little bit closer to to who you are that

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Speaker 1: makes this work? Meaning field you Yeah, I grew up

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Speaker 1: in Ustern, North Carolina, Um, and no one in my

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Speaker 1: family hunting. But western North Carolina has a great culture

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Speaker 1: of like you know, it's the original Frontier or whatever.

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Speaker 1: It has that kind of mountain man and Native American

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Speaker 1: history and the Daniel Boone you know, I was, you know,

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Speaker 1: a half hour from Boone, North Carolina, and so I

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Speaker 1: had an uncle who hunted. Um, but my dad doesn't hunt,

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Speaker 1: doesn't hunt today. Um. But I was around and I

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Speaker 1: saw enough of it to know that I wanted to

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Speaker 1: do it. And I was always fascinated with Indians and

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Speaker 1: mountain men. Um. You know, I've got childhood photos with

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Speaker 1: like pop guns and headdresses and all that kind of stuff.

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Speaker 1: But I aspired to hunt. And um, you know, my

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Speaker 1: family didn't do it. But I had a neighbor up

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Speaker 1: the street, a few doors down, UM, that said that

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Speaker 1: I could go with them anytime they were going. And

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Speaker 1: so I was fortunate enough to find a mentor growing

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Speaker 1: up that you know, allowed me to learn to hunt. Um.

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Speaker 1: And and and that's why I'm a hunter today most likely.

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Speaker 1: And UM, you know, I understand that I think this

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Speaker 1: is a natural desire in most humans. I think, you know, um,

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Speaker 1: you know, Steven Ronola has talked about it a lot

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Speaker 1: about you know, it's it's kind of more unusual that

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Speaker 1: people don't hunt than hunt because of the entire human history.

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Speaker 1: You know, you weren't able to live in a in

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Speaker 1: many most capacities without hunting. Or gathering for food, and

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Speaker 1: so I think it's a natural um desire that I

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Speaker 1: was born with, just like my bird dog was a

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Speaker 1: bird born with a desire to hunt birds. And you know,

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Speaker 1: I've read a book of What Not to Do. You know,

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Speaker 1: it's pretty much this is in your dog, don't screw

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Speaker 1: it up. And I think that humans are no different.

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Speaker 1: I think we're disconnected much of what Swanny referenced about

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Speaker 1: the urbanization and and we're just moving further away from

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Speaker 1: the natural world. But um, it was a natural desire

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Speaker 1: for me, and I was fortunate to have some body

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Speaker 1: show me the ropes. And I hope that I can

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Speaker 1: help others and aspire current hunters to get out there

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Speaker 1: and do the same for others. Yeah, I think your

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00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:14,560
Speaker 1: percent right about that they're being this latent um desire

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Speaker 1: and all of us. I think, even if you're not

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Speaker 1: introduced to hunting, it seems many times when you talk

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Speaker 1: to someone who finally is introduced to it, um, they

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Speaker 1: and I'm sure you guys will talk about this with

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Speaker 1: some of the experiences you've had, but from a lot

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Speaker 1: of folks I've talked to that they speak about that

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Speaker 1: thing they never really realized was lying there, lurking underneath

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Speaker 1: the you know, their their daily urbanized life. Then all

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Speaker 1: of a sudden, they go out and they participate in

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Speaker 1: something like this and they tap into something that's very

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Speaker 1: very human um and it's really compelling, and they never

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Speaker 1: realized there was this other way of engaging with the

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Speaker 1: natural world. And once they do, many cases, they're hooked. UM.

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Speaker 1: And I feel like that kind of like you said,

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Speaker 1: we just need to help people tap into that that's

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00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:55,879
Speaker 1: already there within them. Just give them the opportunity to

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Speaker 1: do that. Um. So we we didn't even touch on

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Speaker 1: on one other issue that revolves around the whole hunting

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Speaker 1: recruitment topic, which is in addition to changing cultural uh

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Speaker 1: norms and demographics and urbanization all that, and there's also

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Speaker 1: the whole demographic shift as far as age and this

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Speaker 1: huge group of hunters beginning to age out soon. So

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Speaker 1: not only do we have changing cultural things going on,

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Speaker 1: but then we also have a big portion of the

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Speaker 1: hunting public right now, which is approaching an older age

431
00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:31,320
Speaker 1: class that people just start stopping hunting. They begin to

432
00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:34,720
Speaker 1: stop hunting once they get into those what is low seventies,

433
00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:38,120
Speaker 1: mid seventies somewhere around there. Is that right Handker or Charles, Yeah,

434
00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:43,080
Speaker 1: it's around sixty. Um. But there's there's several graphics out

435
00:24:43,119 --> 00:24:46,680
Speaker 1: there looking at the data where it basically just shows

436
00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:50,480
Speaker 1: a cliff where people drop off, and that that hump

437
00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:54,959
Speaker 1: is moving across as the years ago and eventually, I mean,

438
00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:57,480
Speaker 1: we're starting to see some people pick up in the

439
00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:01,359
Speaker 1: millennial age class, which is really good. But if the

440
00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:06,440
Speaker 1: train continues, we're probably in some pretty big trouble. Um.

441
00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:10,720
Speaker 1: So hopefully that trend does not continue. Yeah. Yeah, And

442
00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:12,960
Speaker 1: I was gonna say, that's that's why why I really

443
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:14,960
Speaker 1: want to talk to you guys, because I feel like

444
00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,680
Speaker 1: what you guys have tapped into with the Field of

445
00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:20,040
Speaker 1: Fork program and some of the efforts you've done around that,

446
00:25:20,119 --> 00:25:22,080
Speaker 1: I feel like you're tapping into one of our best

447
00:25:22,119 --> 00:25:26,280
Speaker 1: opportunities to avoid some of these doomsday scenarios with Hunter

448
00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:30,120
Speaker 1: numbers just falling off the cliff. Uh So, let's we've

449
00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:32,280
Speaker 1: established what the problem is, and we kind of already

450
00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:34,600
Speaker 1: knew that, but it's going to get a little more context,

451
00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:37,680
Speaker 1: I guess. But let's talk. Let's talk solutions. I feel

452
00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:39,560
Speaker 1: like Field the Fork is one of the most compelling

453
00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:41,600
Speaker 1: solutions I've seen yet the way you guys have been

454
00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:45,800
Speaker 1: able to developed this, the success you've seen, Um gosh,

455
00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:47,679
Speaker 1: if we could scale something like that, it gets me

456
00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:50,040
Speaker 1: really excited. So what is what is Field of Fork?

457
00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:52,800
Speaker 1: It's been all over the Wall Street Journal in some

458
00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:56,240
Speaker 1: like the Guardian overseas. I think maybe I saw Fox

459
00:25:56,280 --> 00:26:00,080
Speaker 1: News covered it. Um, getting hips turning hips to is

460
00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:04,600
Speaker 1: in the hunters is like the headline of choice lately. Um,

461
00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:08,480
Speaker 1: what have you guys created a program? Sometimes we call

462
00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,320
Speaker 1: Hank Hank the Hipster. If you can see a picture

463
00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:15,720
Speaker 1: of him, you know a lot. So we we started

464
00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:19,800
Speaker 1: Feel the Fork. There was a couple of programs going

465
00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:22,920
Speaker 1: on like this. Basically, what Feel the Fork is, it's

466
00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:26,960
Speaker 1: a program to take adults that have an interest in

467
00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:31,680
Speaker 1: hunting for food or big logical reasons and teach them

468
00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:34,720
Speaker 1: how to hunt and give them a welcoming hand into it,

469
00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:37,920
Speaker 1: helping them continue to hunt. And so there's a lot

470
00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:42,199
Speaker 1: of data to suggest that people that sometimes might be

471
00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:44,960
Speaker 1: termed as local ores, but we kind of expand that

472
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,359
Speaker 1: definition and just include anybody that wants all natural food,

473
00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:53,640
Speaker 1: um and preferably locally sourced. There's a lot of data

474
00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:58,160
Speaker 1: to suggest that they would be interested in hunting if

475
00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:00,240
Speaker 1: they had the opportunity to do so. And so one

476
00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:03,280
Speaker 1: day Hank and I were sitting at lunch at this

477
00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:07,199
Speaker 1: Jamaican place in Athens. I've got some really spicy stuff,

478
00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:12,520
Speaker 1: but we were we were talking about what's our our

479
00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:16,359
Speaker 1: pious sky idea for an R three program, you know,

480
00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:18,479
Speaker 1: something where we actually take people and take them through

481
00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:22,080
Speaker 1: the whole process. And both of us are very passionate

482
00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:25,840
Speaker 1: about food. Hank is an incredible cook and that I've

483
00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:28,200
Speaker 1: just I've been eating venus in my entire life. I've

484
00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:31,560
Speaker 1: actually never bought beef from a grocery store before. Um,

485
00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:34,000
Speaker 1: And so we're both passionate on the food side of it.

486
00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:37,679
Speaker 1: And living in Athens, Georgia, which is a college town.

487
00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:39,840
Speaker 1: You know, it's got a lot of farm to table

488
00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:42,480
Speaker 1: restaurants and then there's a big farmers market presence and

489
00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:45,680
Speaker 1: a lot of organic farms around here, there's this perfect

490
00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:49,760
Speaker 1: audience for what we were talking about doing, taking these

491
00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:52,359
Speaker 1: people that are interested in on atrial food and getting

492
00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:55,080
Speaker 1: them out there. And so we kind of batted around

493
00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:58,600
Speaker 1: the idea of what does this program look like and

494
00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:01,600
Speaker 1: we looked at some example and there was one going

495
00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:04,600
Speaker 1: on in Wisconsin. UH Keith Warnkey, who works with the

496
00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:07,600
Speaker 1: state agency, is running I learned to hunt food program

497
00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:09,520
Speaker 1: up there that's expanded a lot, So we talked to

498
00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:12,320
Speaker 1: him a little bit. And then kum A was already

499
00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:16,119
Speaker 1: partnered with a program doing something similar to this in Kentucky.

500
00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:19,200
Speaker 1: It was actually called the Field to Fork. So we

501
00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:23,880
Speaker 1: called Kentucky uh pup and asked them how they were

502
00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:25,679
Speaker 1: doing it, and we kind of took some of their

503
00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:27,919
Speaker 1: ideas and they were actually generous enough to let us

504
00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:32,280
Speaker 1: use their name because it's a very catchy name. And

505
00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:34,639
Speaker 1: we put it all together and we went down to

506
00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:36,719
Speaker 1: the farmer's market and set up a booth. They were

507
00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:39,360
Speaker 1: nice enough at Bathens Farmers Market to give us a

508
00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:41,480
Speaker 1: booth for free since we were nonprofit, and we just

509
00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:44,680
Speaker 1: handed out samples of venison, just opened up with would

510
00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:47,400
Speaker 1: you like to try as and venison and got people

511
00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:49,960
Speaker 1: to come to the table that way, and it was crazy.

512
00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:53,160
Speaker 1: We didn't know what to expect um, but it was

513
00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:56,400
Speaker 1: wild how many people were willing to try venison. And

514
00:28:56,480 --> 00:29:00,720
Speaker 1: we had vegetarians and vegans trying venison that they were

515
00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:02,840
Speaker 1: fine with it because lived a life free of and

516
00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:07,400
Speaker 1: welcare concerns. We had. Pretty much everybody they came by

517
00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:12,120
Speaker 1: the table would try venison and approaching hunting in that

518
00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:17,840
Speaker 1: for the food or for the ecological reasons. Manner was

519
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:20,400
Speaker 1: really appealing to pretty much this whole audience. I don't

520
00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:22,840
Speaker 1: think we had any negative experiences, except for that one

521
00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:28,440
Speaker 1: girl you piste off Hank. Oh. Yeah, now, Charles, Charles

522
00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:31,080
Speaker 1: is absolutely right. I mean it's you know, you probably

523
00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:34,160
Speaker 1: run into it every day. But you know, I'd moved

524
00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:37,120
Speaker 1: to ath And a couple of years previously, and you know,

525
00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:39,560
Speaker 1: meeting a new group of people, what do you do?

526
00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:42,880
Speaker 1: I worked in conservations and then a couple of weeks later,

527
00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:45,560
Speaker 1: you know, what are you doing? And I'm going hunting?

528
00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:47,120
Speaker 1: And I go, oh, I thought you said you worked

529
00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:50,280
Speaker 1: in conservation or um. You know, I've been to the

530
00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:54,240
Speaker 1: Farmer's market and they were doing chef demonstrations and one

531
00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:57,440
Speaker 1: Saturday I was watching the lady make rocotta cheese and

532
00:29:57,440 --> 00:29:59,720
Speaker 1: I'm thinking, man, we should just bring in a deer

533
00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:03,400
Speaker 1: and break it down as a chef demonstration. But I

534
00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:05,880
Speaker 1: didn't have the confidence at the time to be the

535
00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:08,080
Speaker 1: person who broke down the deer in front of you know,

536
00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:11,680
Speaker 1: forty people of the farmers market or whatever. But um,

537
00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:14,239
Speaker 1: we decided to get set up that booth and we

538
00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:16,320
Speaker 1: didn't know what to expect. But of course the number

539
00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:19,440
Speaker 1: one question we'd get, uh, you know from current hunters

540
00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:22,480
Speaker 1: is a that was the lines then or whatnot? But

541
00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:27,080
Speaker 1: nothing further from the truth. UM. Gone a few eye

542
00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:30,040
Speaker 1: rolls over the years, but it's probably offering me to

543
00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:33,080
Speaker 1: a vegetarian or vegan, um, and all power to them.

544
00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:36,960
Speaker 1: That's their choice and I totally respect that. UM. And

545
00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:39,840
Speaker 1: then we've had, you know, a couple of people that

546
00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:42,160
Speaker 1: no one will confront you in front of people, but

547
00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:44,240
Speaker 1: you know, after hours or whatever, just a couple of

548
00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:46,960
Speaker 1: people have said something but they just weren't willing to

549
00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:48,960
Speaker 1: look at the facts. You know. We often talked to

550
00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:53,320
Speaker 1: people about, you know, the same reasons they're vegetarians or

551
00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:57,800
Speaker 1: vegans are the same reasons we hunt. Uh. You know, UM,

552
00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:00,840
Speaker 1: we have a lot of shared values. And so over

553
00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:03,760
Speaker 1: the years we've taken uh you know what I mean,

554
00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:07,520
Speaker 1: at least five or six vegan or vegetarian next vegetarians

555
00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:12,040
Speaker 1: or vegans through the program, maybe a couple more this year. Yeah,

556
00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:15,160
Speaker 1: I mean we've got people that that still identifies vegetarians

557
00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:19,360
Speaker 1: that hunt now, but they're fine with Basically, they're against

558
00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:23,320
Speaker 1: factory farming, which I totally get. But you cannot be

559
00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:26,760
Speaker 1: vegetarian or vegan and be against hunting. It is absolutely

560
00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:30,200
Speaker 1: not possible if you think through the logic, because if

561
00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:33,160
Speaker 1: you're eating I mean, if you're vegetarian or vegan, you're

562
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:37,160
Speaker 1: probably eating some soley based products like tofu. And if

563
00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:39,200
Speaker 1: you're eating something that's made out of soley beans, you're

564
00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:41,720
Speaker 1: contributing to the death of deer because you've either got

565
00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:44,600
Speaker 1: to hunt those fields pretty heavily or you have to

566
00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:46,920
Speaker 1: use depredation per minutes to keep your beans a lot.

567
00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:49,000
Speaker 1: I mean, they're else deer or wife out, at least

568
00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:52,160
Speaker 1: in the Southeast. I mean that's something that a lot

569
00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:55,920
Speaker 1: of people don't realize, is you know, you gotta kill

570
00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:57,800
Speaker 1: deer to have the plants. So if you're gonna be

571
00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:02,040
Speaker 1: a vegetarian, you might as well particip in the whole process. Yeah. Yeah,

572
00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:04,120
Speaker 1: So we also learned that most of the vendors at

573
00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:07,200
Speaker 1: the farmers market or deer hunters. Yeah, that's good. They

574
00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:11,200
Speaker 1: ate a lot of innocence. See, you guys brought in venison.

575
00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:15,440
Speaker 1: You've got a table you've got a booth the farmer's market. Uh,

576
00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:19,080
Speaker 1: what kind of walk me through how you were actually

577
00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:23,760
Speaker 1: taking food samplers and converting them to participants in a program.

578
00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:27,600
Speaker 1: Do you guys have like a pamphlet describing this program?

579
00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:29,600
Speaker 1: What was the program you guys were talking to these

580
00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:32,960
Speaker 1: people about? Um, what was the next step after getting

581
00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,880
Speaker 1: kind of there's venison diplomacy. You hear people talk about

582
00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:39,360
Speaker 1: which I love, which is you know, providing this positive

583
00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:42,000
Speaker 1: interaction with a hunter by way of sharing food. So

584
00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:44,400
Speaker 1: you guys did that? What was the next step? Yeah,

585
00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:47,480
Speaker 1: so you're absolutely right. I mean we talked about you know,

586
00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:52,120
Speaker 1: our three subtitle acceptance and you know, increased participation in

587
00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:55,000
Speaker 1: hunting and you know, you may we've got goals through

588
00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:57,800
Speaker 1: mentoring and we've got sharing goals of venison. We got

589
00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:00,760
Speaker 1: DONA and goals, but still support touches on both kind

590
00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:03,760
Speaker 1: of the sharing and the mentoring. And I mean, you know,

591
00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:07,520
Speaker 1: we can't quantify the value of having a pro hunting

592
00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:11,360
Speaker 1: focused booth at the Farmer's market and and all these

593
00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:15,040
Speaker 1: hundreds of samples we hand out at each market, but um,

594
00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:17,000
Speaker 1: you know, even the people who don't take us up

595
00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:19,080
Speaker 1: on it usually smile and say, you know it's not

596
00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:20,800
Speaker 1: for me, but I'm glad you're here. Is something of

597
00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:24,640
Speaker 1: that sentiment. But um, you know, we we all for

598
00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:28,920
Speaker 1: the samples, cook some backstraps, some broad worse, some jerky.

599
00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:33,840
Speaker 1: We've done breakfast sausage on the Saturday morning markets. Um,

600
00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:35,560
Speaker 1: but you know, we lead off with hey, would you

601
00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:38,760
Speaker 1: like to try some venisine? I usually start with you know,

602
00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:41,520
Speaker 1: do you eat much venisine? And we've been I've been

603
00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:44,000
Speaker 1: surprised that I shouldn't speak for Charles, but I've been

604
00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:47,840
Speaker 1: surprised at how many people are saying that they're eating venicine,

605
00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:50,480
Speaker 1: And and many of them aren't hunters, so they're obviously

606
00:33:50,560 --> 00:33:53,840
Speaker 1: getting it from a hunter or some other way. But

607
00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:56,560
Speaker 1: a lot of people and and maybe there's a little

608
00:33:56,600 --> 00:33:58,480
Speaker 1: bit of that, you know, just like a new hunter

609
00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:01,120
Speaker 1: kind of will pretend they a little bit more about hunting.

610
00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:03,400
Speaker 1: Maybe it's just a you know, a cool club kind

611
00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:06,800
Speaker 1: of thing where you know, they say they eat more

612
00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:08,640
Speaker 1: of innocent than they do, but it seems like they're

613
00:34:08,640 --> 00:34:11,920
Speaker 1: getting ahold of innocent. And then you know, I'll ask him, well,

614
00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:14,160
Speaker 1: have you ever thought about for curring it yourself? Or

615
00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:17,560
Speaker 1: you know, have you ever been interested in hunting, and

616
00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:20,799
Speaker 1: and um, you know you get different reactions. Um, but

617
00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:23,440
Speaker 1: you know, there's some college studies and Charles will know

618
00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:26,640
Speaker 1: more than I do, but some studies out of Climpson

619
00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:30,800
Speaker 1: showed that because it's college students were interested in hunting,

620
00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:34,319
Speaker 1: it was something along those lines that I have. I mean,

621
00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:38,680
Speaker 1: so there's there's this huge swath of the population that's

622
00:34:38,760 --> 00:34:43,759
Speaker 1: interested in by making it attractive and offering samples, and um,

623
00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:46,600
Speaker 1: you know, we filled up a program in two hours

624
00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:49,560
Speaker 1: the or three hours the first Saturday we ever set

625
00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:52,480
Speaker 1: up at the Farmer's Market to a waiting list. That year,

626
00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:56,759
Speaker 1: we only took eight participants. But um, you know, we

627
00:34:56,920 --> 00:35:00,160
Speaker 1: filled up in in one market, but we we into

628
00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:03,200
Speaker 1: a few just to fill it out. We have a

629
00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:07,160
Speaker 1: Saturday market that's at a local park and it's kind

630
00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:09,280
Speaker 1: of the larger market, and then we have a Wednesday

631
00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:12,560
Speaker 1: market at a local brewery, and as you can imagine,

632
00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:14,359
Speaker 1: we get a lot of people that volunteer to help

633
00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:17,640
Speaker 1: out at the Wednesday market or whatever. But um, it's

634
00:35:19,239 --> 00:35:21,799
Speaker 1: of our participants come from Saturday morning. And I don't

635
00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:24,560
Speaker 1: know if it's just the Farmer's market on Wednesday as

636
00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:27,520
Speaker 1: an excuse to go drink a couple of beers, or

637
00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:30,839
Speaker 1: it's just a different dedication level for somebody to get

638
00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:32,440
Speaker 1: up at eight a m. And make it to a

639
00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:35,680
Speaker 1: farmer's market. I don't know, but that that's been one

640
00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:40,760
Speaker 1: interesting trend. We don't we don't miss any Wednesday markets. Uh,

641
00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:44,480
Speaker 1: when we're recruiting, sure, even though they know about it,

642
00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:49,719
Speaker 1: but it is it's pretty interesting. So we hand up

643
00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:52,120
Speaker 1: that fact sheet and then we get our list of

644
00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:54,160
Speaker 1: participants that want to sign up, and we actually do

645
00:35:54,280 --> 00:35:56,840
Speaker 1: like a pre questionnaire to make sure we're picking the

646
00:35:56,920 --> 00:35:59,600
Speaker 1: right people because we do have a limited capacity for

647
00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:02,520
Speaker 1: this program. For example, this year we took fifteen people

648
00:36:02,880 --> 00:36:06,759
Speaker 1: um and that the Athens Field the Fork event, and

649
00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:09,040
Speaker 1: we make sure that we're picking people that they want

650
00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:10,960
Speaker 1: to do it for the food of the ecological reasons

651
00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:14,160
Speaker 1: and people that actually haven't hunted before or at least

652
00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:18,160
Speaker 1: have very limited experience. And then we bring them all

653
00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:23,040
Speaker 1: in and we do multiple training nights. So we want

654
00:36:23,080 --> 00:36:26,279
Speaker 1: people to come through the program and even if they

655
00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:29,640
Speaker 1: don't continue to hunt, at least understand hunting a little

656
00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:32,440
Speaker 1: bit better and understand why hunting is important to conservation.

657
00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:35,279
Speaker 1: So we do week day evening training nights where we

658
00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:40,680
Speaker 1: talk about conservation history and how hunting relates to conservation

659
00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:44,320
Speaker 1: historically and present day um and then we talk about

660
00:36:44,680 --> 00:36:48,640
Speaker 1: deer biology and how the biology relates to hunting strategy.

661
00:36:48,760 --> 00:36:50,239
Speaker 1: We take them out in the woods and we show

662
00:36:50,239 --> 00:36:52,960
Speaker 1: them how to read deer sign just take them through

663
00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:57,520
Speaker 1: the entire training process there, and the most importantly we

664
00:36:57,560 --> 00:37:01,359
Speaker 1: do shooting training. And for this program, we were trying

665
00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:06,160
Speaker 1: to decide what to do and we settled on crossbows

666
00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:09,000
Speaker 1: as our our weapon of choice for Field of Fork

667
00:37:09,239 --> 00:37:11,000
Speaker 1: And there's a few different reasons for that. One of

668
00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:16,719
Speaker 1: them was we kind of decided that, you know this,

669
00:37:16,719 --> 00:37:22,320
Speaker 1: this participant base might not be as open to firearms Initially.

670
00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:25,560
Speaker 1: Initially we thought that archery equipment might be more palatable

671
00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:29,839
Speaker 1: because there's the stigma that surround firearms, especially right now

672
00:37:29,960 --> 00:37:33,640
Speaker 1: in the United States, and that actually turned out to

673
00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:35,480
Speaker 1: be true with quite a few of the participants. Would

674
00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:38,200
Speaker 1: have people come up to the boot and think about,

675
00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:40,919
Speaker 1: you know, I couldn't do that, I couldn't shoot anything

676
00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:42,640
Speaker 1: with a gun, and we tell them we're gonna train

677
00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:44,800
Speaker 1: them on a crossbow and they're like, oh, well, maybe

678
00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:46,880
Speaker 1: I could participate in that that take a flyer. You know,

679
00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:50,160
Speaker 1: we heard from several participants as well that went through

680
00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:52,560
Speaker 1: the whole program that they appreciated the fact that it

681
00:37:52,640 --> 00:37:56,880
Speaker 1: was done with a crossbow, so that was pretty interesting.

682
00:37:56,920 --> 00:37:59,320
Speaker 1: But we we put them through that whole training process

683
00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:03,360
Speaker 1: and then we have a hunt weekend, and I should

684
00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:06,080
Speaker 1: say through the whole trainings we incorporate the food aspect

685
00:38:06,160 --> 00:38:08,799
Speaker 1: because that's the main theme of the program is, you know,

686
00:38:08,880 --> 00:38:12,800
Speaker 1: sourcing your inn all natural protein. So Hank does Venison

687
00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:15,359
Speaker 1: tacas or I think we did brought works one night

688
00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:19,560
Speaker 1: in Venison Burgers. We've been kind of a little bit everything.

689
00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:23,879
Speaker 1: But we go into that hunt weekend and we pair

690
00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:26,880
Speaker 1: them with mentors. So the first year that we did it,

691
00:38:27,080 --> 00:38:30,319
Speaker 1: which would have been two thousand and sixteen, we were

692
00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:33,080
Speaker 1: trying to decide who to pair them with, and the

693
00:38:33,280 --> 00:38:35,440
Speaker 1: ones we came up with the quickest that that seemed

694
00:38:35,480 --> 00:38:37,960
Speaker 1: like it would be the best bit were the u

695
00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:41,000
Speaker 1: g A Deer Lab graduate students, So the University of

696
00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:44,640
Speaker 1: Georgia as a dear research program here and Athens. It's

697
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:48,760
Speaker 1: pretty well known and obviously all of those grad students

698
00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:53,239
Speaker 1: would have a pretty decent knowledge of hunting and dear

699
00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:55,160
Speaker 1: Biology can be able to answer any questions and be

700
00:38:55,160 --> 00:38:57,920
Speaker 1: fairly open minded as well. We wanted to be kind

701
00:38:57,920 --> 00:38:59,839
Speaker 1: of touching this first year just to see how it went.

702
00:39:00,400 --> 00:39:03,279
Speaker 1: So we I contacted them because that's where I went

703
00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:05,080
Speaker 1: to school, and we got the grad students on board

704
00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:07,160
Speaker 1: and they served as the mentors and we took everybody

705
00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:09,839
Speaker 1: out and then following years, we're trying to figure out

706
00:39:09,840 --> 00:39:12,640
Speaker 1: how to make it more sustainable, and we just used

707
00:39:12,680 --> 00:39:16,439
Speaker 1: the Athens Quality their Management Association brands. We approached them

708
00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:20,399
Speaker 1: with this idea and use those members and they were

709
00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:22,759
Speaker 1: all on board. I mean, I mean they were a

710
00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:25,759
Speaker 1: little hesitant at first, I think, but then they really

711
00:39:25,840 --> 00:39:29,040
Speaker 1: jumped in and they've taken ownership of Athen's program now.

712
00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:31,360
Speaker 1: But we were pair them with the mentors and we

713
00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:34,680
Speaker 1: take them out on properties all around Athens here, some

714
00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:39,040
Speaker 1: in town, some just outside of town, and hopefully we

715
00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:41,400
Speaker 1: get some some harvest, but either way they get a

716
00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:44,920
Speaker 1: pretty neat experience, and then we continue on with follow

717
00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:47,839
Speaker 1: up opportunities. We encourage those mentors to take them back out.

718
00:39:48,320 --> 00:39:50,600
Speaker 1: There's property here in kdum A that they can hunt

719
00:39:50,600 --> 00:39:52,839
Speaker 1: for the rest of the season, and then we have

720
00:39:52,920 --> 00:39:55,560
Speaker 1: a what we call a culinary social. Let's a follow

721
00:39:55,640 --> 00:39:58,359
Speaker 1: up dinner. We drink some beer and some wine, cook

722
00:39:58,440 --> 00:39:59,880
Speaker 1: some of the venice in that their harvest has been

723
00:40:00,040 --> 00:40:04,759
Speaker 1: else and have them tell their stories. Um, and we

724
00:40:04,800 --> 00:40:06,919
Speaker 1: can get some of the stories a little bit later here.

725
00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:08,759
Speaker 1: But one thing that I didn't want to mention is

726
00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:13,080
Speaker 1: you mentioned earlier talking about how it's you finally feel

727
00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:16,719
Speaker 1: like you're human. You know, it's this this activity where

728
00:40:16,760 --> 00:40:18,640
Speaker 1: you you didn't realize you had it in you. You

729
00:40:18,640 --> 00:40:21,239
Speaker 1: didn't realize how it would feel. And we hear that

730
00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:24,480
Speaker 1: a lot from the participants. You know, a lot of

731
00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:29,520
Speaker 1: these people are very outdoor participants, and they they might

732
00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:32,759
Speaker 1: have hiked or camp or kayak or whatever it might be,

733
00:40:32,840 --> 00:40:37,440
Speaker 1: which is all passive interaction with nature. But when you're hunting,

734
00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:41,200
Speaker 1: you're truly involved in the natural cycle. And we have

735
00:40:42,080 --> 00:40:44,000
Speaker 1: just off the top of my head, one of the participants,

736
00:40:44,040 --> 00:40:47,200
Speaker 1: we've got her own video saying this. She was talking

737
00:40:47,239 --> 00:40:51,520
Speaker 1: about how she harvested her first year with that cross bow,

738
00:40:51,520 --> 00:40:53,719
Speaker 1: and she made the perfect sound effect about just how

739
00:40:53,760 --> 00:40:57,680
Speaker 1: it sounded and everything, and she talked about how it

740
00:40:57,880 --> 00:41:00,840
Speaker 1: was sad, but at the same time she was really

741
00:41:00,880 --> 00:41:03,480
Speaker 1: happy and that the feelings she felt was that it

742
00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:07,040
Speaker 1: was like she was finally human, which we just thought

743
00:41:07,080 --> 00:41:10,520
Speaker 1: it was very interesting. Yeah. Yeah, So let me walk

744
00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:13,320
Speaker 1: back back a little bit just to throw in some detail.

745
00:41:13,360 --> 00:41:16,400
Speaker 1: But you know what Charles was talking about with you know,

746
00:41:16,440 --> 00:41:20,840
Speaker 1: recruiting the deer lab and um, you know, our first

747
00:41:20,920 --> 00:41:24,440
Speaker 1: year we recruited a kind of younger demographic than we've

748
00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:27,640
Speaker 1: run into the last couple of years. And uh, and

749
00:41:27,680 --> 00:41:30,160
Speaker 1: that may have been due to the second year, we

750
00:41:30,239 --> 00:41:33,680
Speaker 1: scheduled our hunt date on the day of a home

751
00:41:33,960 --> 00:41:36,280
Speaker 1: U G A football game. We just went with the

752
00:41:36,280 --> 00:41:39,920
Speaker 1: second week in the bow season. Um, you know, we

753
00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:44,239
Speaker 1: used crossbows because of the palatability, but also we want

754
00:41:44,239 --> 00:41:48,640
Speaker 1: to take uh you know, advantage of our early archery

755
00:41:48,680 --> 00:41:53,960
Speaker 1: seasons where deer are still more patternable. Uh. The you know,

756
00:41:54,200 --> 00:41:57,160
Speaker 1: it's actually unfortunately sometimes it's too hot, but you're not

757
00:41:57,239 --> 00:42:00,000
Speaker 1: dealing with cold weather. There's still a lot of day

758
00:42:00,120 --> 00:42:03,880
Speaker 1: light in the afternoons after work. But um, you know,

759
00:42:03,960 --> 00:42:06,239
Speaker 1: the difference between Filled the Fork and a lot of

760
00:42:06,280 --> 00:42:10,040
Speaker 1: the other programs out there is we diligently work to

761
00:42:10,120 --> 00:42:15,480
Speaker 1: try to make this program sustainable and replicable. So um,

762
00:42:15,560 --> 00:42:18,000
Speaker 1: we called around on text I D maps and got

763
00:42:18,040 --> 00:42:22,920
Speaker 1: permissions of properties around Athens to hunt, um, many of

764
00:42:22,960 --> 00:42:26,680
Speaker 1: them within the belt loop. And we talked about, you know,

765
00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:30,440
Speaker 1: the urbanization of our population and stuff. But you know,

766
00:42:30,560 --> 00:42:32,880
Speaker 1: I'm one to argue that we overlook a lot of

767
00:42:32,920 --> 00:42:37,360
Speaker 1: our best opportunity, especially to mentor new hunters in these

768
00:42:38,239 --> 00:42:41,200
Speaker 1: kind of suburban and urban areas. You know, we have

769
00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:44,440
Speaker 1: white tels. I live in downtown Athens, and you know,

770
00:42:44,480 --> 00:42:47,120
Speaker 1: obviously a small college town, but there's near in my backyard,

771
00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:50,200
Speaker 1: Um that would be legal to harvest. I'm not gonna

772
00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:52,439
Speaker 1: do it because of roads and stuff like that, but

773
00:42:52,760 --> 00:42:56,880
Speaker 1: you know, we found opportunities and pockets around town. We

774
00:42:57,239 --> 00:43:00,720
Speaker 1: used a process that we could show them how we've

775
00:43:01,239 --> 00:43:04,960
Speaker 1: utilized all next maps and given our participants subscription on

776
00:43:05,200 --> 00:43:08,719
Speaker 1: x Maps, which is awesome for you know, locating the

777
00:43:08,800 --> 00:43:11,840
Speaker 1: potential properties and as you know, with the property owner,

778
00:43:11,960 --> 00:43:15,000
Speaker 1: you know lines and information. I mean, you can figure

779
00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:18,120
Speaker 1: out who has five or ten acres that might give

780
00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:21,560
Speaker 1: you permission to hunt. But um, you know, we we

781
00:43:21,680 --> 00:43:25,080
Speaker 1: went through these steps to try to make it replicable

782
00:43:25,120 --> 00:43:27,680
Speaker 1: to the participant and also a program that we could

783
00:43:27,719 --> 00:43:32,600
Speaker 1: scale and um and with the recruitment of the u

784
00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:36,640
Speaker 1: G a Deer Lab participants that year, I think Charles,

785
00:43:36,840 --> 00:43:42,200
Speaker 1: we had four successful harvests out of eight really seven

786
00:43:42,480 --> 00:43:45,320
Speaker 1: who really took the program seriously. And we found that

787
00:43:45,400 --> 00:43:50,320
Speaker 1: if again the rule of our participants are continuing to hunt,

788
00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:52,640
Speaker 1: and I think that's as good as we'll ever get.

789
00:43:52,680 --> 00:43:54,560
Speaker 1: We we might have had a little higher than that

790
00:43:54,600 --> 00:43:57,480
Speaker 1: this year, but you know, some people go through they

791
00:43:57,480 --> 00:44:00,560
Speaker 1: experience it and it's just not something that really just

792
00:44:00,760 --> 00:44:03,480
Speaker 1: inspires them to go the next day. And then you

793
00:44:03,560 --> 00:44:07,040
Speaker 1: have the other ones who hunt thirty days that year,

794
00:44:07,640 --> 00:44:10,480
Speaker 1: but um, you know, as a Deer Lab students didn't

795
00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:13,480
Speaker 1: allow for that follow up opportunity. And and the success

796
00:44:13,480 --> 00:44:16,080
Speaker 1: of the program is not in the organized events, but

797
00:44:16,200 --> 00:44:20,520
Speaker 1: in the opportunity for these participants to utilize the potential

798
00:44:20,560 --> 00:44:25,279
Speaker 1: access to check out cross those and gear, um, but

799
00:44:25,440 --> 00:44:28,360
Speaker 1: to allow them to continue to grow as a hunter.

800
00:44:28,520 --> 00:44:31,080
Speaker 1: And and we talked about how you work your way

801
00:44:31,160 --> 00:44:34,960
Speaker 1: through uh you know, becoming and self identifying as a hunter.

802
00:44:35,680 --> 00:44:38,680
Speaker 1: And I really believe that's two different confidence levels. They

803
00:44:38,680 --> 00:44:43,759
Speaker 1: obviously take time to um, you know, to to gain

804
00:44:43,840 --> 00:44:46,440
Speaker 1: the full confidence, but one is they have to be

805
00:44:46,520 --> 00:44:48,960
Speaker 1: confident to take care of an animal or they're not

806
00:44:48,960 --> 00:44:51,400
Speaker 1: gonna go hunting and they're not gonna shoot at anything

807
00:44:51,440 --> 00:44:54,080
Speaker 1: they can take care of. One of the biggest fears

808
00:44:54,560 --> 00:44:57,520
Speaker 1: is they don't want to waste an animal's life or

809
00:44:57,520 --> 00:45:00,480
Speaker 1: the meat. And so if you don't make them confident

810
00:45:00,640 --> 00:45:03,959
Speaker 1: or give them a resource, so you know, mentorship comes

811
00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:07,920
Speaker 1: in a multitude of level. Some people need multiple years

812
00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:12,399
Speaker 1: of hands on, you know, hunting, and others may need

813
00:45:12,440 --> 00:45:14,640
Speaker 1: one afternoon in the stand and then have your cell

814
00:45:14,640 --> 00:45:17,040
Speaker 1: phone number in case they need help dragging something out

815
00:45:17,120 --> 00:45:21,080
Speaker 1: or or or cleaning this um. And the second confidence

816
00:45:21,200 --> 00:45:24,760
Speaker 1: level is I believe that self identifying as a hunter

817
00:45:24,920 --> 00:45:27,640
Speaker 1: is a confidence level to be like, I can do

818
00:45:27,680 --> 00:45:30,560
Speaker 1: this and do this on my own. That's confidence. And

819
00:45:30,640 --> 00:45:33,799
Speaker 1: so we we understand that it takes time to build that,

820
00:45:34,239 --> 00:45:37,160
Speaker 1: and the program's built. We brought in the athletes Q

821
00:45:37,320 --> 00:45:41,880
Speaker 1: and a branch to service mentors. They're opening up their access.

822
00:45:42,640 --> 00:45:45,440
Speaker 1: I'm a I'm a big proponent. I believe the quickest

823
00:45:45,480 --> 00:45:49,120
Speaker 1: way we can affect access is by invites. You know,

824
00:45:49,360 --> 00:45:51,680
Speaker 1: I can't do a lot to change the opportunities for

825
00:45:51,760 --> 00:45:54,520
Speaker 1: public land deer hunting. We can try to make public

826
00:45:54,600 --> 00:45:57,520
Speaker 1: lands better. We can try to make more opportunity but

827
00:45:57,560 --> 00:46:01,759
Speaker 1: the quickest way we affect access is offering the opportunity

828
00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:04,919
Speaker 1: for somebody to come hunting with us, and so that's

829
00:46:04,960 --> 00:46:08,080
Speaker 1: what we've asked these mentors to do. Some of them

830
00:46:08,120 --> 00:46:12,280
Speaker 1: have opened up their properties, but we've all realized that

831
00:46:12,320 --> 00:46:15,680
Speaker 1: this is hugely rewarding to everyone involved, and it may

832
00:46:15,680 --> 00:46:19,839
Speaker 1: be their most rewarding hunt and ours as well. If

833
00:46:19,880 --> 00:46:22,640
Speaker 1: either one of you guys had any experiences you could

834
00:46:22,640 --> 00:46:24,880
Speaker 1: share personally about what it's been like as a mentor

835
00:46:25,480 --> 00:46:28,560
Speaker 1: being being a part of this at all. Sure. Yeah,

836
00:46:28,640 --> 00:46:32,160
Speaker 1: the so the first year one of my my whole life,

837
00:46:32,200 --> 00:46:35,279
Speaker 1: I've kind of mentored people, you know, throughout college, high

838
00:46:35,320 --> 00:46:37,960
Speaker 1: school and everything and taking new people hunting, and I've

839
00:46:37,960 --> 00:46:41,279
Speaker 1: always founded rewarding and a lot of people that we

840
00:46:41,400 --> 00:46:46,400
Speaker 1: run into existing hunters, and a lot of these organizations traditionally,

841
00:46:47,040 --> 00:46:49,040
Speaker 1: you know, they'd be willing to take a kid hunting,

842
00:46:49,280 --> 00:46:52,440
Speaker 1: or a handicapped person hunting, or a veteran hunting. But

843
00:46:52,480 --> 00:46:54,960
Speaker 1: if you just asked them to take some five year

844
00:46:55,000 --> 00:46:57,800
Speaker 1: old you know that was fully capable of going on

845
00:46:57,840 --> 00:47:01,160
Speaker 1: their own aside from knowledge, they kind of turned their

846
00:47:01,160 --> 00:47:04,520
Speaker 1: nose up at it, which is the wrong mentality because

847
00:47:04,560 --> 00:47:06,560
Speaker 1: that twenty five year old is actually the person that

848
00:47:06,680 --> 00:47:10,160
Speaker 1: has the authority in their own lives to start hunting.

849
00:47:10,239 --> 00:47:11,799
Speaker 1: Might have kids one day at their own and they

850
00:47:11,760 --> 00:47:14,600
Speaker 1: would teach how to hunt. They probably have discretionary income

851
00:47:14,800 --> 00:47:16,759
Speaker 1: that they can use to buy the equipment to get

852
00:47:16,760 --> 00:47:20,719
Speaker 1: out there. So we've been kind of shifting towards adults.

853
00:47:21,600 --> 00:47:24,399
Speaker 1: And it's really cool when you take somebody. The first

854
00:47:24,480 --> 00:47:28,319
Speaker 1: year we did this program in twenty sixteen, I served

855
00:47:28,320 --> 00:47:30,560
Speaker 1: as a mentor for a few people during that program

856
00:47:30,560 --> 00:47:33,960
Speaker 1: and one guy out um telling them run down real quick.

857
00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:36,520
Speaker 1: Just I feel like we should talk about the kind

858
00:47:36,520 --> 00:47:40,160
Speaker 1: of different people were getting different people in the program

859
00:47:40,280 --> 00:47:43,600
Speaker 1: that year that what was it that you're eighteen? That

860
00:47:43,719 --> 00:47:48,600
Speaker 1: was eighteen to fifty seven. Yeah. So throughout the three

861
00:47:48,640 --> 00:47:51,359
Speaker 1: years we've been doing the Athens program, we've had from

862
00:47:51,520 --> 00:47:56,600
Speaker 1: eighteen years old to seven year old participant male female.

863
00:47:56,840 --> 00:48:00,279
Speaker 1: We've had everything from uh, people that are professed ers

864
00:48:00,560 --> 00:48:06,920
Speaker 1: and researchers at the university, two roofers to cheft organic farmers, teachers,

865
00:48:06,960 --> 00:48:11,120
Speaker 1: whatever it might be. I mean just covering the whole engineers, yeah,

866
00:48:11,280 --> 00:48:14,239
Speaker 1: race car engineer who's now teaching his kids hunt on

867
00:48:15,239 --> 00:48:17,960
Speaker 1: But I took this guy out who was an undergrad.

868
00:48:19,000 --> 00:48:22,440
Speaker 1: And there are two undergrads came to the program the

869
00:48:22,440 --> 00:48:25,520
Speaker 1: first year that were actually roommates. And this guy's name

870
00:48:25,600 --> 00:48:29,640
Speaker 1: was Evan. Evan, Yeah, his name was Evan, and he'd

871
00:48:29,719 --> 00:48:32,759
Speaker 1: never hunted before. He's from a pretty urban area. You know,

872
00:48:32,840 --> 00:48:35,439
Speaker 1: you could tell like these swarming around him and things

873
00:48:35,520 --> 00:48:40,920
Speaker 1: like that. Yeah, maybe an actual one. I'm sure he

874
00:48:40,920 --> 00:48:43,840
Speaker 1: wouldn't be appreciate being labeled, but maybe you would. I

875
00:48:43,880 --> 00:48:46,880
Speaker 1: don't know. But anyways, we take him out on this

876
00:48:46,960 --> 00:48:49,600
Speaker 1: property and like Hank said, we're using these urban properties.

877
00:48:49,600 --> 00:48:52,399
Speaker 1: I've literally knocked on this ladies door after I looked

878
00:48:52,440 --> 00:48:56,760
Speaker 1: up information, the tax map information, and just gotten permission

879
00:48:56,800 --> 00:48:59,880
Speaker 1: to hunt twenty acres right there beside her house. You know,

880
00:49:00,000 --> 00:49:01,880
Speaker 1: I hung a stand up there and hung a double

881
00:49:02,400 --> 00:49:05,520
Speaker 1: hang on set in the senior tree. We walk out

882
00:49:05,520 --> 00:49:08,200
Speaker 1: there and I'm explaining how everything's gonna go to him,

883
00:49:08,200 --> 00:49:12,080
Speaker 1: and so we get in this hang on set, and

884
00:49:12,160 --> 00:49:15,840
Speaker 1: what I was kind of surprised about is he was

885
00:49:15,920 --> 00:49:18,040
Speaker 1: way more still than I was. I was over there

886
00:49:18,080 --> 00:49:20,880
Speaker 1: messing around with my phone, and he was rock solid,

887
00:49:20,920 --> 00:49:23,880
Speaker 1: locked in looking for deer the whole time. And we

888
00:49:23,960 --> 00:49:26,120
Speaker 1: ended up I mean every time a squirrel would jump around,

889
00:49:26,120 --> 00:49:28,640
Speaker 1: you know, he had slowly turned around and asked me

890
00:49:28,680 --> 00:49:31,160
Speaker 1: if that was one, And it was pretty cool to

891
00:49:31,280 --> 00:49:35,160
Speaker 1: see the reaction. But eventterestly we had these two dos

892
00:49:35,200 --> 00:49:38,560
Speaker 1: and a fawn start working their way down. We were

893
00:49:38,640 --> 00:49:41,040
Speaker 1: kind of in some water eggs right there, and then

894
00:49:41,040 --> 00:49:43,640
Speaker 1: there was this opening just up the way. They were

895
00:49:43,640 --> 00:49:46,879
Speaker 1: working their way down to the opening, and they were

896
00:49:46,920 --> 00:49:49,960
Speaker 1: going to bypass us, and so I can I just

897
00:49:50,040 --> 00:49:51,560
Speaker 1: kind of wrote them off. I was like, it looks

898
00:49:51,560 --> 00:49:53,879
Speaker 1: like they're gonna walk right by. How to range their

899
00:49:53,920 --> 00:49:56,800
Speaker 1: head another direction? And I go back to playing around

900
00:49:56,840 --> 00:49:59,400
Speaker 1: on whatever I was doing, I don't know, Facebook or

901
00:49:59,440 --> 00:50:05,640
Speaker 1: something and being a terrible minuet, and uh he goes,

902
00:50:06,239 --> 00:50:08,279
Speaker 1: he goes, and I was whispering until I was telling

903
00:50:08,320 --> 00:50:10,319
Speaker 1: him something. He was like, be quiet for coming back.

904
00:50:10,360 --> 00:50:14,839
Speaker 1: I was like, oh, okay, so do youer started working

905
00:50:14,840 --> 00:50:18,360
Speaker 1: their way back and they're going to step out perfectly

906
00:50:18,600 --> 00:50:20,439
Speaker 1: in the shooting land that I cut it about thirty

907
00:50:20,520 --> 00:50:24,200
Speaker 1: yards and I had him get the crossbow up and

908
00:50:24,239 --> 00:50:27,319
Speaker 1: everything and take the safety off. U went in and

909
00:50:27,440 --> 00:50:29,120
Speaker 1: ranged where the deer was gonna step out. I told

910
00:50:29,160 --> 00:50:32,400
Speaker 1: him where to to hold on the radical, and the

911
00:50:32,440 --> 00:50:34,520
Speaker 1: deer stepped out and I did a little mouthfleet and

912
00:50:34,560 --> 00:50:37,520
Speaker 1: stopped her, and he just hammered her. I mean, squeeze

913
00:50:37,520 --> 00:50:40,239
Speaker 1: that trigger perfectly, and he was calm the entire time

914
00:50:40,320 --> 00:50:43,160
Speaker 1: until the second he pulled the trigger. Right after that,

915
00:50:43,560 --> 00:50:46,440
Speaker 1: he just started shaking like a leaf. And it just

916
00:50:46,520 --> 00:50:51,640
Speaker 1: reminded me, It's incredible. No matter what background you come

917
00:50:51,719 --> 00:50:56,319
Speaker 1: from and what's your life experiences are, You're still going

918
00:50:56,360 --> 00:51:00,239
Speaker 1: to have that same the action, that same rush when

919
00:51:00,280 --> 00:51:03,920
Speaker 1: you you squeeze that trigger. Initially, it was pretty cool

920
00:51:04,000 --> 00:51:07,560
Speaker 1: to see what I've always felt, you know, in somebody else,

921
00:51:07,680 --> 00:51:10,440
Speaker 1: especially in an adult, when they get that excited about

922
00:51:10,480 --> 00:51:14,920
Speaker 1: harvesting their first animal. And both those roommates harvested that

923
00:51:15,000 --> 00:51:17,879
Speaker 1: first year they lived with what five other guy. So

924
00:51:17,920 --> 00:51:20,479
Speaker 1: I'll tell the other side of that story and got

925
00:51:20,560 --> 00:51:23,759
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, Charles was telling a story that

926
00:51:23,880 --> 00:51:27,800
Speaker 1: the first time hunter knew something he didn't and he

927
00:51:27,920 --> 00:51:29,880
Speaker 1: called me an incredible chef. So I'll say Charles is

928
00:51:29,920 --> 00:51:32,879
Speaker 1: an incredible hunter. But I I did the same thing

929
00:51:33,120 --> 00:51:36,640
Speaker 1: with them. His roommate, we were out here and QTa

930
00:51:36,680 --> 00:51:39,880
Speaker 1: May had a redneck blind that had a little food

931
00:51:39,880 --> 00:51:41,960
Speaker 1: plot in front of it. That was fenced off until

932
00:51:42,719 --> 00:51:48,160
Speaker 1: until we were ready for archery season. But this little

933
00:51:48,320 --> 00:51:51,719
Speaker 1: little four pointer or spike came in and um, I

934
00:51:51,800 --> 00:51:53,440
Speaker 1: just caught a glimpse of it out one of the

935
00:51:53,480 --> 00:51:56,920
Speaker 1: windows and it came in right on the on the

936
00:51:56,920 --> 00:51:59,399
Speaker 1: wall side that he was sitting on. So we had

937
00:51:59,400 --> 00:52:03,160
Speaker 1: to switch to eights and you know, stone cold switch seats.

938
00:52:03,360 --> 00:52:06,040
Speaker 1: Um made a good shot and the deer ran off

939
00:52:06,080 --> 00:52:09,000
Speaker 1: and we get down and we go and look and

940
00:52:09,080 --> 00:52:11,520
Speaker 1: the blood has just a dark pinp to it. And

941
00:52:11,560 --> 00:52:13,560
Speaker 1: I was like, oh, we might you know, And and

942
00:52:13,640 --> 00:52:15,120
Speaker 1: he had made a great shot. He had just gone

943
00:52:15,160 --> 00:52:17,880
Speaker 1: a little bit back and um, but you know, he

944
00:52:17,960 --> 00:52:20,680
Speaker 1: wasn't accounting for the angle of the deer as much,

945
00:52:20,680 --> 00:52:23,160
Speaker 1: but it was still a great shot. And I said, well,

946
00:52:23,160 --> 00:52:25,479
Speaker 1: we better give this deer some time. And he goes,

947
00:52:25,600 --> 00:52:29,000
Speaker 1: it's right there and it hadn't gone fifty yards. It

948
00:52:29,120 --> 00:52:33,040
Speaker 1: was in the next little opening over and uh yeah,

949
00:52:33,120 --> 00:52:35,640
Speaker 1: exactly what Charles was getting at. These two guys I

950
00:52:35,680 --> 00:52:38,640
Speaker 1: think lived with five guys. They put two deer in

951
00:52:38,680 --> 00:52:42,319
Speaker 1: their freezer. Um. Evan did donate a backstrap back to

952
00:52:42,320 --> 00:52:45,200
Speaker 1: our culinary social So he ate a backstrap of his deer.

953
00:52:45,280 --> 00:52:48,040
Speaker 1: The culinary social day here. But I mean these guys

954
00:52:48,120 --> 00:52:50,720
Speaker 1: must have been, you know, the cool kids on campus.

955
00:52:50,760 --> 00:52:53,520
Speaker 1: I mean just you know, fifty hundred pounds of Dennison

956
00:52:53,560 --> 00:52:57,600
Speaker 1: and the freezer. Um. But we you know, over the years,

957
00:52:57,640 --> 00:53:04,000
Speaker 1: I guess I've sat with four five first time harvest Now. Um.

958
00:53:04,120 --> 00:53:07,759
Speaker 1: We both hunted with a guy that uh named Dan,

959
00:53:08,400 --> 00:53:12,440
Speaker 1: and he didn't want to wear shoes to hunt. Um.

960
00:53:12,640 --> 00:53:15,360
Speaker 1: He wanted to fill the earth under him and I

961
00:53:15,440 --> 00:53:19,680
Speaker 1: thought that sorry, okay, So this was this was literally

962
00:53:19,719 --> 00:53:23,520
Speaker 1: the first hunt of the program, and I paired myself

963
00:53:23,600 --> 00:53:26,000
Speaker 1: with this guy that we ended up calling shoelas Dan.

964
00:53:26,800 --> 00:53:33,640
Speaker 1: Really cool guy. Uh. He's a nutritionist and very intelligent. Um.

965
00:53:33,680 --> 00:53:36,279
Speaker 1: But he he wanted to get into hunting so he

966
00:53:36,320 --> 00:53:39,480
Speaker 1: could source his own proteins. So he fit them old perfectly.

967
00:53:40,320 --> 00:53:42,680
Speaker 1: But we're driving around and we're dropping off the other

968
00:53:42,760 --> 00:53:45,360
Speaker 1: hunting pairs at their respective locations. Then we get to

969
00:53:45,360 --> 00:53:47,400
Speaker 1: where we were gonna go, which was his ground blind

970
00:53:47,960 --> 00:53:49,600
Speaker 1: but we had about it, I don't know, five or

971
00:53:49,600 --> 00:53:51,600
Speaker 1: six hundred yard to walk in, you know. So we

972
00:53:51,680 --> 00:53:53,239
Speaker 1: get out of the truck and I noticed he's not

973
00:53:53,280 --> 00:53:56,440
Speaker 1: wearing shoes. It's like, Danny, you can put some shoes

974
00:53:56,480 --> 00:53:58,439
Speaker 1: on and he goes, no, no, I think I'm gonna

975
00:53:58,440 --> 00:54:01,920
Speaker 1: go bare foot. I just like to feel the forest

976
00:54:02,040 --> 00:54:04,680
Speaker 1: under my feet. I was like, okay, so we're gonna

977
00:54:04,719 --> 00:54:07,200
Speaker 1: bebop and duck in the woods. And we get to

978
00:54:07,239 --> 00:54:10,239
Speaker 1: the ground blind and I've set up this blond and

979
00:54:10,239 --> 00:54:12,440
Speaker 1: brushed it in and everything, you know, a few weeks prior,

980
00:54:12,480 --> 00:54:15,120
Speaker 1: and I've got two chairs in there. So we get

981
00:54:15,160 --> 00:54:17,319
Speaker 1: in and I've set his chair up for him, and

982
00:54:17,360 --> 00:54:19,520
Speaker 1: he goes, I think I'd like to sit on the ground.

983
00:54:20,480 --> 00:54:22,520
Speaker 1: And I was like, okay, So I moved the chair

984
00:54:22,560 --> 00:54:25,080
Speaker 1: out of the way and he he sits on the

985
00:54:25,120 --> 00:54:27,800
Speaker 1: ground because he wanted to be more connected to the ground.

986
00:54:27,840 --> 00:54:31,080
Speaker 1: You know. About ten minutes later, he goes, I think

987
00:54:31,080 --> 00:54:35,480
Speaker 1: I might try that chair now, all right. I set

988
00:54:35,560 --> 00:54:38,240
Speaker 1: up the chair for him, and in about thirty minutes,

989
00:54:38,280 --> 00:54:41,799
Speaker 1: the mosquitoes find us, and I mean they are we're

990
00:54:41,840 --> 00:54:45,040
Speaker 1: doing this an early season in Georgia. You know, they

991
00:54:45,080 --> 00:54:49,040
Speaker 1: are wearing his feet out. I mean, I've never seen

992
00:54:49,080 --> 00:54:51,719
Speaker 1: so many mosquitoes and somebody's beets before. Because he wasn't

993
00:54:51,719 --> 00:54:55,719
Speaker 1: wearing shoes, but he it was it was hard to

994
00:54:55,760 --> 00:54:58,600
Speaker 1: not laugh, but he had he was a trooper about it,

995
00:54:58,640 --> 00:55:00,239
Speaker 1: and he had such a great experience. We had a

996
00:55:00,320 --> 00:55:03,879
Speaker 1: doe come through at thirty yards at last light and

997
00:55:04,320 --> 00:55:06,759
Speaker 1: he could quite get a shot on. Everybody got the

998
00:55:06,800 --> 00:55:08,640
Speaker 1: whole rush of you know, trying to get in the

999
00:55:08,719 --> 00:55:11,839
Speaker 1: right position and everything. And he ended up harvesting later

1000
00:55:11,880 --> 00:55:14,080
Speaker 1: in the program. And that just I mean, it kind

1001
00:55:14,080 --> 00:55:16,360
Speaker 1: of shows you that we we have all these different

1002
00:55:16,360 --> 00:55:19,800
Speaker 1: people from different walks of life that that have unique

1003
00:55:19,800 --> 00:55:23,960
Speaker 1: perspectives about things, but they're all there because of that

1004
00:55:24,160 --> 00:55:28,279
Speaker 1: common goal to eat more sustainably and neat be more

1005
00:55:28,320 --> 00:55:32,759
Speaker 1: in tune with nature, which is pretty unique for a program. Yeah. Yeah,

1006
00:55:32,800 --> 00:55:36,520
Speaker 1: And so Dan and I got his first deer a

1007
00:55:36,560 --> 00:55:40,560
Speaker 1: week or two later. Um, actually a fawn he chose.

1008
00:55:40,760 --> 00:55:42,600
Speaker 1: I told him that, you know, if if he'd be

1009
00:55:42,640 --> 00:55:45,040
Speaker 1: happy with that deer, he could take it. And he did,

1010
00:55:45,840 --> 00:55:49,320
Speaker 1: and uh, you know, he took the kidneys, the liver,

1011
00:55:49,680 --> 00:55:52,799
Speaker 1: the heart. I mean, we sat there and we processed

1012
00:55:52,800 --> 00:55:56,000
Speaker 1: the whole thing. Um, and you know, it's super stoked.

1013
00:55:56,120 --> 00:55:59,680
Speaker 1: But yeah, I mean, you these you know, there are

1014
00:56:00,160 --> 00:56:03,600
Speaker 1: who want to hunt from different backgrounds than possibly me

1015
00:56:03,760 --> 00:56:07,759
Speaker 1: or you, but their desires to hunt and be as

1016
00:56:07,880 --> 00:56:11,840
Speaker 1: genuine or in some cases maybe more genuine than the

1017
00:56:11,880 --> 00:56:15,200
Speaker 1: person who was handed you know, a rifle at ten

1018
00:56:15,320 --> 00:56:19,440
Speaker 1: years old or whatever. I mean. Um, you know, we

1019
00:56:19,480 --> 00:56:21,839
Speaker 1: can tell stories on them. But these these people are

1020
00:56:21,880 --> 00:56:27,040
Speaker 1: awesome friends, um, and great hunters and really enjoy to

1021
00:56:27,080 --> 00:56:29,960
Speaker 1: be around. And we've created this community around that and

1022
00:56:30,239 --> 00:56:33,880
Speaker 1: that we we have you know, at least fifty people

1023
00:56:33,880 --> 00:56:37,080
Speaker 1: who have been involved with the program at least and um,

1024
00:56:37,360 --> 00:56:41,799
Speaker 1: it's really cool and it's inspiring to all parties you get.

1025
00:56:42,400 --> 00:56:45,439
Speaker 1: You hear the participant in talk about how infectious it

1026
00:56:45,560 --> 00:56:49,520
Speaker 1: is to be around a group of passionate people and

1027
00:56:49,640 --> 00:56:54,320
Speaker 1: obviously passionate about hunting. And then from the same side, um,

1028
00:56:54,360 --> 00:56:56,680
Speaker 1: and and I would urge you know, any listener to

1029
00:56:56,719 --> 00:56:59,040
Speaker 1: go read that Wall Street Journal article. It it of

1030
00:56:59,080 --> 00:57:03,000
Speaker 1: course has some spin on it. Um. The spin I

1031
00:57:03,040 --> 00:57:07,759
Speaker 1: think helped it. It obviously created Uh, it went kind

1032
00:57:07,800 --> 00:57:09,560
Speaker 1: of viral, and it was probably a lot to the

1033
00:57:09,600 --> 00:57:13,160
Speaker 1: catchy title. But he did a great job of humanizing

1034
00:57:13,160 --> 00:57:16,439
Speaker 1: our participants and and telling it from their points of view.

1035
00:57:16,560 --> 00:57:19,840
Speaker 1: And you know, you mentioned that Charles talked about human

1036
00:57:20,720 --> 00:57:23,720
Speaker 1: The manager of the Farmer's Market was a participant this year,

1037
00:57:23,800 --> 00:57:26,640
Speaker 1: and and she was quoted in there saying there's this

1038
00:57:26,760 --> 00:57:30,040
Speaker 1: animal side of you, and you know, we all understand

1039
00:57:30,040 --> 00:57:32,600
Speaker 1: that as hunters. You know, they're just getting that taste

1040
00:57:32,640 --> 00:57:35,320
Speaker 1: of it. But it's uh, you know obviously for the food,

1041
00:57:35,360 --> 00:57:38,720
Speaker 1: a connection with nature. Um, that's what we're hearing from

1042
00:57:38,720 --> 00:57:43,600
Speaker 1: our hunters and they're they're really um, it's really fulfilling

1043
00:57:43,760 --> 00:57:47,720
Speaker 1: to everybody. Yeah, it's it's interesting you mentioned a second ago,

1044
00:57:47,800 --> 00:57:53,600
Speaker 1: how um you know, the the way that one of

1045
00:57:53,640 --> 00:57:56,680
Speaker 1: these adult onset hunters might be thinking and approaching a

1046
00:57:56,760 --> 00:58:00,960
Speaker 1: hunt in many cases so different than someone like like myself,

1047
00:58:01,560 --> 00:58:04,120
Speaker 1: who you know, do what you guys talked about earlier, Like,

1048
00:58:04,200 --> 00:58:06,080
Speaker 1: hunting was never even a question for me, Like, it

1049
00:58:06,120 --> 00:58:08,080
Speaker 1: was just what we did from as soon as I

1050
00:58:08,120 --> 00:58:10,360
Speaker 1: was walking, I was up at our deer camp. And

1051
00:58:10,400 --> 00:58:13,000
Speaker 1: I never experienced a single moment of life where I

1052
00:58:13,040 --> 00:58:16,280
Speaker 1: didn't consider myself a hunter and surrounded by hunters. There

1053
00:58:16,360 --> 00:58:18,200
Speaker 1: was never a bit of thought that ever went into it.

1054
00:58:18,240 --> 00:58:21,320
Speaker 1: I never mindfully made the decision or ever had to

1055
00:58:21,360 --> 00:58:24,080
Speaker 1: think about why do I do this? Um? I never

1056
00:58:24,160 --> 00:58:27,120
Speaker 1: had that most of my life. It wasn't until you know,

1057
00:58:27,480 --> 00:58:29,440
Speaker 1: a young adult in my twenties that I really started

1058
00:58:29,480 --> 00:58:31,720
Speaker 1: thinking about those things. Myself, it always just been what

1059
00:58:31,800 --> 00:58:33,920
Speaker 1: I did. Um But I feel like in a lot

1060
00:58:33,960 --> 00:58:38,160
Speaker 1: of these cases, these adults onset hunters, they're very um,

1061
00:58:38,200 --> 00:58:41,439
Speaker 1: mindful about what it is they're doing and why they're

1062
00:58:41,440 --> 00:58:42,800
Speaker 1: doing it. I took him a lot of time and

1063
00:58:42,840 --> 00:58:44,880
Speaker 1: thought to come to the decision to to do this,

1064
00:58:45,480 --> 00:58:48,840
Speaker 1: because they have to really approach this in a thoughtful manner,

1065
00:58:48,960 --> 00:58:51,240
Speaker 1: because no one made the decision for them when they're kids,

1066
00:58:51,440 --> 00:58:53,720
Speaker 1: you know. Um, So it's got to be interesting to

1067
00:58:53,760 --> 00:58:57,160
Speaker 1: get to engage with people that are you know, dealing

1068
00:58:57,200 --> 00:59:00,880
Speaker 1: with that kind of swamp of emotions and questions when

1069
00:59:00,920 --> 00:59:04,720
Speaker 1: it comes to do you want to start, you know,

1070
00:59:04,880 --> 00:59:07,840
Speaker 1: as you said, Charles, engaging this natural cycle of life

1071
00:59:07,840 --> 00:59:11,440
Speaker 1: and death. That is that's it's a really compelling thing.

1072
00:59:11,440 --> 00:59:14,520
Speaker 1: But it's a serious thing too. Um. But you guys

1073
00:59:14,560 --> 00:59:16,680
Speaker 1: talked about like all sorts of different types of people

1074
00:59:16,760 --> 00:59:19,800
Speaker 1: you're meeting, especially if you're gonna go somewhere like like

1075
00:59:19,800 --> 00:59:22,600
Speaker 1: a college town like Athens and go to the farmers market.

1076
00:59:22,880 --> 00:59:24,880
Speaker 1: If that is is a group of people that are

1077
00:59:25,280 --> 00:59:27,960
Speaker 1: you know, really recepted to this, it's probably fair to

1078
00:59:27,960 --> 00:59:32,360
Speaker 1: say that a lot of hunters might um, you know,

1079
00:59:32,520 --> 00:59:35,160
Speaker 1: maybe there's a little bit like an intimidation factor or

1080
00:59:35,240 --> 00:59:38,439
Speaker 1: a this person is different than me factor, or will

1081
00:59:38,440 --> 00:59:40,200
Speaker 1: I be able to relate to these types of people

1082
00:59:40,560 --> 00:59:42,600
Speaker 1: because because like you were saying, Hank, in many cases

1083
00:59:42,640 --> 00:59:45,040
Speaker 1: we are relatively insular. Many times we do kind of

1084
00:59:45,040 --> 00:59:46,680
Speaker 1: hang out with our own little type of people, doing

1085
00:59:46,720 --> 00:59:50,640
Speaker 1: our own little type of thing. Um, And a guy

1086
00:59:50,840 --> 00:59:55,000
Speaker 1: with suspenders, engage earrings and a cut off plaid shirt

1087
00:59:55,080 --> 00:59:58,240
Speaker 1: and type jeans might not be like the usual person

1088
00:59:58,280 --> 01:00:01,120
Speaker 1: you hang out with. Have you, guys, experienced anything or

1089
01:00:01,200 --> 01:00:03,960
Speaker 1: do you have anything to share with people listening right

1090
01:00:03,960 --> 01:00:06,280
Speaker 1: now that are thinking, Man, I want to help get

1091
01:00:06,320 --> 01:00:09,120
Speaker 1: some more people into it, but this trend of like

1092
01:00:09,160 --> 01:00:12,120
Speaker 1: the hipster folks or urban folks getting into it, Gosh,

1093
01:00:12,160 --> 01:00:14,120
Speaker 1: I think they'd be uncomfortable. I don't really want to

1094
01:00:14,480 --> 01:00:17,080
Speaker 1: do that. Can you speak at all to just your

1095
01:00:17,080 --> 01:00:21,560
Speaker 1: experiences interacting with some different folks, um, folks in different backgrounds,

1096
01:00:21,600 --> 01:00:25,480
Speaker 1: different cultural you know experiences, What that's been like? Any

1097
01:00:25,520 --> 01:00:28,360
Speaker 1: advice for someone trying to, you know, connect with some

1098
01:00:28,400 --> 01:00:30,680
Speaker 1: different types of people in this kind of goal, with

1099
01:00:30,760 --> 01:00:35,000
Speaker 1: this kind of goal. Yeah, So let's let's step back

1100
01:00:35,000 --> 01:00:37,080
Speaker 1: a little bit to what you were saying initially, you know,

1101
01:00:37,160 --> 01:00:38,880
Speaker 1: you started hunting as a kid, and so did I,

1102
01:00:39,000 --> 01:00:41,240
Speaker 1: and there was no choice. You know, that was just

1103
01:00:41,280 --> 01:00:44,720
Speaker 1: something that we were going to do. Well, think about

1104
01:00:44,800 --> 01:00:47,560
Speaker 1: coming into that as an adult and having all those

1105
01:00:47,600 --> 01:00:50,480
Speaker 1: emotions and making that decision and that thought process. That

1106
01:00:50,800 --> 01:00:54,480
Speaker 1: was probably a pretty heavy thought process. Think about how

1107
01:00:54,560 --> 01:00:57,880
Speaker 1: intimidating it is to try to start hunting what you're

1108
01:00:57,880 --> 01:01:01,320
Speaker 1: an adult. I mean, it's there's an incredible amount of

1109
01:01:01,360 --> 01:01:05,720
Speaker 1: skills development. You know, hunters as a community traditionally haven't

1110
01:01:05,760 --> 01:01:10,000
Speaker 1: been that welcoming, you know, to outsiders, like we're talking about,

1111
01:01:10,080 --> 01:01:12,040
Speaker 1: we're trying to shift the culture of hunting to make

1112
01:01:12,080 --> 01:01:16,360
Speaker 1: it a more welcoming activity. And then one of the

1113
01:01:16,360 --> 01:01:21,280
Speaker 1: biggest things, if we need to remember, is that you know,

1114
01:01:22,400 --> 01:01:26,400
Speaker 1: hunting his activity for for everybody. It's a very it's

1115
01:01:26,440 --> 01:01:29,400
Speaker 1: one of the the most human activities that we have

1116
01:01:30,040 --> 01:01:34,120
Speaker 1: left other than reproduction, that we still partake in. And

1117
01:01:34,400 --> 01:01:42,240
Speaker 1: it's you know, it's something that transcends societal, political, and

1118
01:01:42,280 --> 01:01:46,960
Speaker 1: religious boundaries activity for anybody that wants to source their

1119
01:01:47,000 --> 01:01:51,800
Speaker 1: own all natural food or that enjoys the outdoors. Um

1120
01:01:51,880 --> 01:01:58,880
Speaker 1: and this message focusing on the hunting for ecological reasons

1121
01:01:58,920 --> 01:02:02,120
Speaker 1: and hunting for the food. Like Hank mentioned earlier, we

1122
01:02:02,160 --> 01:02:06,680
Speaker 1: know from the polls that over are about of the

1123
01:02:06,720 --> 01:02:10,280
Speaker 1: general public the United States except hunting for those reasons.

1124
01:02:11,000 --> 01:02:13,040
Speaker 1: So if you're going to get out there and take

1125
01:02:13,080 --> 01:02:16,920
Speaker 1: somebody hunting with you, then those are the messages to

1126
01:02:17,040 --> 01:02:20,640
Speaker 1: stick with. And you know, just sticking to the facts

1127
01:02:20,720 --> 01:02:24,760
Speaker 1: about natural food, ecological reasons, the funding source, the North

1128
01:02:24,800 --> 01:02:28,600
Speaker 1: American model, it's gonna resonate with everybody. You're gonna focus

1129
01:02:28,640 --> 01:02:31,760
Speaker 1: on a common ground of what resonates with people. Stay

1130
01:02:31,760 --> 01:02:34,600
Speaker 1: away from politics, stay away from religion. You're not going

1131
01:02:34,640 --> 01:02:37,240
Speaker 1: to find two subjects. They're gonna divide people quicker no

1132
01:02:37,320 --> 01:02:41,560
Speaker 1: matter where you stand. So that would be the the

1133
01:02:41,600 --> 01:02:46,960
Speaker 1: main messages. One realized that the number of hunters in

1134
01:02:47,000 --> 01:02:50,840
Speaker 1: the United States directly relates to the quality and quantity

1135
01:02:51,080 --> 01:02:53,880
Speaker 1: of sporting opportunities that we're going to have. Not to

1136
01:02:53,920 --> 01:02:57,400
Speaker 1: mention all of the world of conservation benefits, but just

1137
01:02:57,480 --> 01:03:00,160
Speaker 1: from a selfish hunting perspective, the more hunters we have,

1138
01:03:00,320 --> 01:03:03,280
Speaker 1: the better off you're going to be. You might think, well,

1139
01:03:03,280 --> 01:03:05,560
Speaker 1: I want less hunters so I have more room on

1140
01:03:05,640 --> 01:03:07,760
Speaker 1: the public piece of property. With that public piece of property,

1141
01:03:07,800 --> 01:03:09,480
Speaker 1: is not going to be there anymore, or at least

1142
01:03:09,520 --> 01:03:11,440
Speaker 1: not be open to hunting if we get down to

1143
01:03:11,480 --> 01:03:16,400
Speaker 1: a certain percentage. So it's just something it's very important

1144
01:03:16,720 --> 01:03:21,280
Speaker 1: for everybody to remember that this is something we all

1145
01:03:21,360 --> 01:03:25,360
Speaker 1: need to be advocates for. When you take anybody that's interested,

1146
01:03:25,840 --> 01:03:29,680
Speaker 1: and it's I think Hank's probably gonna touch on this later,

1147
01:03:29,760 --> 01:03:31,760
Speaker 1: but we've seen a lot of the mentors come through

1148
01:03:31,840 --> 01:03:35,360
Speaker 1: and and kind of have the asidency and then later

1149
01:03:35,400 --> 01:03:38,400
Speaker 1: on be surprised. But wow, I had no idea to

1150
01:03:38,520 --> 01:03:43,200
Speaker 1: have that much in common with these people. So it's

1151
01:03:43,600 --> 01:03:46,720
Speaker 1: it's a pretty interesting topic. But the bottom line is

1152
01:03:46,720 --> 01:03:50,000
Speaker 1: we need everybody to get out there start taking people hunting,

1153
01:03:50,960 --> 01:03:54,840
Speaker 1: and we also need existing base of hunters to understand

1154
01:03:55,080 --> 01:03:58,919
Speaker 1: that funding model and why it's so important to conservation.

1155
01:03:59,280 --> 01:04:01,680
Speaker 1: Um was a study done not too long ago where

1156
01:04:01,680 --> 01:04:06,360
Speaker 1: it showed that only hunters actually knew hunting benefits conservation

1157
01:04:06,840 --> 01:04:10,160
Speaker 1: about PR funds and obviously funds and the rest of it.

1158
01:04:10,240 --> 01:04:13,320
Speaker 1: So the more that that we can do, like on

1159
01:04:13,360 --> 01:04:16,000
Speaker 1: this podcast, or you can do when you're talking about it,

1160
01:04:16,080 --> 01:04:19,920
Speaker 1: or anybody writing articles and pushing messaging out there, everybody

1161
01:04:19,920 --> 01:04:23,880
Speaker 1: to understand why it's important um from a conservation standpoint

1162
01:04:23,880 --> 01:04:27,640
Speaker 1: as well. Yeah. So, but you know, we've had these

1163
01:04:27,680 --> 01:04:32,120
Speaker 1: participants to come through. UM. One one gentleman's name was Ron.

1164
01:04:32,480 --> 01:04:34,480
Speaker 1: I think he was probably around fifty years old. He

1165
01:04:34,880 --> 01:04:38,840
Speaker 1: worked for a roofing company locally. And you know, we

1166
01:04:38,840 --> 01:04:41,160
Speaker 1: we get there that first night and we ask everybody

1167
01:04:41,240 --> 01:04:44,200
Speaker 1: to go around and to introduce themselves, you know, who

1168
01:04:44,200 --> 01:04:46,320
Speaker 1: they are, what they do, and why they want to

1169
01:04:46,400 --> 01:04:50,200
Speaker 1: learn to hunt. And he said that you know, there

1170
01:04:50,200 --> 01:04:53,720
Speaker 1: were you know, six or eight offices down his hall,

1171
01:04:53,920 --> 01:04:55,920
Speaker 1: and all of them had deer heads hanging in them

1172
01:04:55,960 --> 01:04:58,560
Speaker 1: except his, and no one had ever invited him to

1173
01:04:58,640 --> 01:05:02,720
Speaker 1: go deer hunting. Um. You know, I think I think

1174
01:05:02,760 --> 01:05:05,720
Speaker 1: adults are very hesitant to ask other adults for help

1175
01:05:06,280 --> 01:05:08,920
Speaker 1: or to do something that, you know, maybe that's something

1176
01:05:08,960 --> 01:05:12,800
Speaker 1: we feel is more childish or something. Um. But then

1177
01:05:12,840 --> 01:05:17,400
Speaker 1: we also have participants like Jim, who Charles mentioned earlier

1178
01:05:17,400 --> 01:05:22,760
Speaker 1: about the human comment. UM, but I called Jim homestead er. Um.

1179
01:05:22,920 --> 01:05:27,400
Speaker 1: She's a really awesome UM. You know, she's a graduate

1180
01:05:27,440 --> 01:05:30,640
Speaker 1: student here at you g A but um, you know

1181
01:05:30,680 --> 01:05:34,000
Speaker 1: it has been a next vegan vegetarian. But she went

1182
01:05:34,200 --> 01:05:36,200
Speaker 1: she used to go or still does she's active in

1183
01:05:36,240 --> 01:05:39,320
Speaker 1: a women's home setting group. She goes on these like

1184
01:05:39,400 --> 01:05:43,240
Speaker 1: outdoor skills weekends, and I have to imagine that like

1185
01:05:43,320 --> 01:05:45,600
Speaker 1: the people at these things that are teaching people how

1186
01:05:45,640 --> 01:05:49,720
Speaker 1: to tan hides or or whatnot or hunters. And so

1187
01:05:49,800 --> 01:05:51,720
Speaker 1: I asked her one death if you know you've never

1188
01:05:51,840 --> 01:05:53,760
Speaker 1: asked one of them or ever been invited, and she

1189
01:05:53,840 --> 01:05:57,320
Speaker 1: talked about, well, she's like, you know, been off the cuff,

1190
01:05:57,360 --> 01:06:00,120
Speaker 1: invited twice, but when she followed up on it, it

1191
01:06:00,200 --> 01:06:03,000
Speaker 1: seemed like she was burdensome. So, you know, a big

1192
01:06:03,040 --> 01:06:06,160
Speaker 1: success of our field to port program is a we're

1193
01:06:06,240 --> 01:06:09,440
Speaker 1: going to this, you know, we're going to a place

1194
01:06:09,560 --> 01:06:14,400
Speaker 1: to find them. We're going to them and um, you know,

1195
01:06:14,520 --> 01:06:17,919
Speaker 1: we are offering a message that we are here for you.

1196
01:06:18,240 --> 01:06:21,440
Speaker 1: This is something we're doing. If you'd like to be involved,

1197
01:06:21,560 --> 01:06:24,680
Speaker 1: sign up. It's not that you're going to be a burden.

1198
01:06:24,960 --> 01:06:29,880
Speaker 1: We're doing this. Join us, um, and so that you know,

1199
01:06:29,880 --> 01:06:32,040
Speaker 1: that's a cognizant effort. A lot of them learn to

1200
01:06:32,120 --> 01:06:34,880
Speaker 1: Hunt programs, in my mind, don't do a good enough

1201
01:06:34,960 --> 01:06:37,560
Speaker 1: job of that. You know, they do sign ups on

1202
01:06:37,600 --> 01:06:40,800
Speaker 1: a on a state agency website. Well, you know what

1203
01:06:41,000 --> 01:06:44,520
Speaker 1: non hunter knows about the state agency. Uh, you know,

1204
01:06:44,640 --> 01:06:47,880
Speaker 1: So we need to be cognizant to get in front

1205
01:06:47,920 --> 01:06:51,040
Speaker 1: of new audiences, and we need to diversify our hunter

1206
01:06:51,160 --> 01:06:53,720
Speaker 1: base and that's the focus of Filled the Port. But

1207
01:06:53,760 --> 01:06:58,320
Speaker 1: at the same time, when you get these diverse candidates, yes,

1208
01:06:58,400 --> 01:07:03,440
Speaker 1: there's initial hesitation and from some of our more traditional mentors,

1209
01:07:03,480 --> 01:07:08,520
Speaker 1: but when they realize that they are valued, that their experience,

1210
01:07:08,600 --> 01:07:12,200
Speaker 1: in their opinion, is valued by these uh you know,

1211
01:07:12,360 --> 01:07:16,360
Speaker 1: these diverse people, it's empowering to them and they realize

1212
01:07:16,400 --> 01:07:19,720
Speaker 1: that they can co exist and they can all you know,

1213
01:07:19,840 --> 01:07:25,840
Speaker 1: bond uh in this shared desire to hunt and and

1214
01:07:25,840 --> 01:07:28,600
Speaker 1: and so we've seen that even with some colleagues and

1215
01:07:28,680 --> 01:07:32,200
Speaker 1: minor qt M A some mom showed that hesitancy of

1216
01:07:32,840 --> 01:07:37,000
Speaker 1: will I be able to interact with these people that

1217
01:07:37,080 --> 01:07:41,280
Speaker 1: are different from me, um, you know. And and the

1218
01:07:41,320 --> 01:07:44,480
Speaker 1: answer is is they've realized they can, and they're empowered

1219
01:07:44,480 --> 01:07:47,960
Speaker 1: by it and uh and it's been hugely successful. And

1220
01:07:48,040 --> 01:07:52,040
Speaker 1: everybody gets along and drink some beer and tells their

1221
01:07:52,080 --> 01:07:55,320
Speaker 1: story and and has a good old time. Yah. We've

1222
01:07:55,640 --> 01:07:58,720
Speaker 1: we've seen have pleasant see from our whole industry too.

1223
01:07:59,040 --> 01:08:01,120
Speaker 1: In the last years. And I were talking about this.

1224
01:08:02,000 --> 01:08:05,000
Speaker 1: We'd go to meetings and start talking about targeting the

1225
01:08:05,080 --> 01:08:08,400
Speaker 1: food focused individuals, and you know, we'd get some eye

1226
01:08:08,480 --> 01:08:10,160
Speaker 1: rolls and things like that, and then all of a

1227
01:08:10,200 --> 01:08:14,280
Speaker 1: sudden Wall Street Journal happens and now everybody's talking about it.

1228
01:08:14,640 --> 01:08:18,639
Speaker 1: So it's it's things like that that are gonna push

1229
01:08:18,680 --> 01:08:20,800
Speaker 1: the needle. I was in the airport coming back from

1230
01:08:20,840 --> 01:08:25,759
Speaker 1: the Archery Trade Association meeting and UM Trade Show and Louisville, Kentucky,

1231
01:08:26,320 --> 01:08:28,640
Speaker 1: and that was shortly after that article came out. And

1232
01:08:28,640 --> 01:08:31,000
Speaker 1: at five am, I'm in the line for Starbucks getting

1233
01:08:31,040 --> 01:08:33,240
Speaker 1: some coffee before I catch my flight, and I let

1234
01:08:33,240 --> 01:08:35,920
Speaker 1: this couple go in front of me that we're headed

1235
01:08:35,960 --> 01:08:38,960
Speaker 1: to Antigua, I think. And we started talking and they

1236
01:08:38,960 --> 01:08:41,360
Speaker 1: were asking, you know, what I was doing there, and

1237
01:08:41,400 --> 01:08:42,880
Speaker 1: I told him when I did for work, and the

1238
01:08:43,320 --> 01:08:47,479
Speaker 1: gentleman popped up and he was like, you know, hunting

1239
01:08:47,760 --> 01:08:50,040
Speaker 1: is actually declining and that's a big problem because it

1240
01:08:50,080 --> 01:08:52,760
Speaker 1: supports the majority of conservation in this country. And I

1241
01:08:52,880 --> 01:08:54,960
Speaker 1: was like, did you read the Wall Street Journal? And

1242
01:08:55,000 --> 01:08:57,760
Speaker 1: he goes, yeah, how do you know. So just the

1243
01:08:57,840 --> 01:09:00,880
Speaker 1: impact of articles like that on the Jim Republic are

1244
01:09:00,960 --> 01:09:06,559
Speaker 1: unreal and potentially generating interest, you know. Yeah, So I

1245
01:09:06,600 --> 01:09:12,280
Speaker 1: mean that front Um, the Wall Street Journal did an

1246
01:09:12,360 --> 01:09:15,600
Speaker 1: article on CWD, another big focus to KEDI UM a

1247
01:09:15,640 --> 01:09:17,120
Speaker 1: couple of weeks later, and so I was, I was

1248
01:09:17,160 --> 01:09:20,479
Speaker 1: speaking to the writers and they wouldn't give me exact numbers,

1249
01:09:20,520 --> 01:09:23,080
Speaker 1: but you know, that Wall Street Journal article was trending

1250
01:09:23,160 --> 01:09:27,400
Speaker 1: on Apple News four or five days later. Um it

1251
01:09:27,439 --> 01:09:29,519
Speaker 1: got picked up from some other news sources, but he

1252
01:09:29,600 --> 01:09:33,120
Speaker 1: told me it had a hundred times their typical page

1253
01:09:33,200 --> 01:09:37,919
Speaker 1: views for an article. And to me, that just shows

1254
01:09:38,000 --> 01:09:41,040
Speaker 1: that there's so many people out there that are interested.

1255
01:09:41,120 --> 01:09:44,200
Speaker 1: I don't know if they'll ever participate, but this is

1256
01:09:44,760 --> 01:09:49,599
Speaker 1: an interesting topic for people. Maybe it's that primal. Maybe

1257
01:09:49,600 --> 01:09:52,879
Speaker 1: it's that all of us have this natural desire or interest.

1258
01:09:52,960 --> 01:09:58,760
Speaker 1: But I mean, for for some article about crossbow, you know,

1259
01:09:58,840 --> 01:10:00,800
Speaker 1: and and a few hips to is going hunting to

1260
01:10:00,880 --> 01:10:04,400
Speaker 1: make the cover of the Wall Street Journal shocked us

1261
01:10:04,600 --> 01:10:09,479
Speaker 1: and UM, and it really did give an opportunity to

1262
01:10:09,560 --> 01:10:11,880
Speaker 1: kind of paint hunting in a different light. And we've

1263
01:10:11,920 --> 01:10:15,240
Speaker 1: gotten tons of you know, calls and emails and and

1264
01:10:15,240 --> 01:10:17,679
Speaker 1: and some of us fortunate, some of us unfortunate because

1265
01:10:17,720 --> 01:10:21,559
Speaker 1: it shows that people don't consider hunting in this light,

1266
01:10:21,640 --> 01:10:25,160
Speaker 1: even current Hunters and of course you know the flat

1267
01:10:25,200 --> 01:10:28,799
Speaker 1: that I've seen. I read all the comments, but current

1268
01:10:28,880 --> 01:10:32,519
Speaker 1: Hunters maybe our biggest critic in some regards, and we're

1269
01:10:32,520 --> 01:10:35,120
Speaker 1: getting a lot of the anti cross bowing across the

1270
01:10:35,120 --> 01:10:38,679
Speaker 1: bow sentiment across the bowing, and of course to keep

1271
01:10:38,720 --> 01:10:41,920
Speaker 1: the uppies in the city's kind of thing. But you know,

1272
01:10:42,160 --> 01:10:45,000
Speaker 1: from a whole I think you know, it was kind

1273
01:10:45,080 --> 01:10:49,120
Speaker 1: of enlightening and inspiring that it's it's something that people

1274
01:10:49,200 --> 01:10:52,320
Speaker 1: want to talk about or read about. Jim In. There

1275
01:10:52,360 --> 01:10:55,040
Speaker 1: are a few things that will piss me off as

1276
01:10:55,120 --> 01:10:59,800
Speaker 1: much as seeing someone try to talk badly about some

1277
01:11:00,160 --> 01:11:01,719
Speaker 1: like this who might want to give it a shot

1278
01:11:01,800 --> 01:11:04,720
Speaker 1: because there are quote unquote hipster something you do see

1279
01:11:04,760 --> 01:11:07,320
Speaker 1: these comments like keep them in the city, or these

1280
01:11:07,360 --> 01:11:09,960
Speaker 1: guys like to come out here with their plaid shirts

1281
01:11:09,960 --> 01:11:12,519
Speaker 1: and they're big beards and pretend they're big bad hunters. Now,

1282
01:11:12,840 --> 01:11:15,200
Speaker 1: well they'll never be real, like I am, Like, come on,

1283
01:11:15,760 --> 01:11:19,880
Speaker 1: that's that stuff. So it's not helping at all. If

1284
01:11:19,920 --> 01:11:21,840
Speaker 1: if you want to feel good about yourself and try

1285
01:11:21,880 --> 01:11:25,120
Speaker 1: to prove that you're more legitimate than someone who wants

1286
01:11:25,160 --> 01:11:27,880
Speaker 1: to give this thing a try and Um, that's how

1287
01:11:27,920 --> 01:11:30,160
Speaker 1: you're gonna make yourself feel good about yourself. Great, but

1288
01:11:30,240 --> 01:11:32,760
Speaker 1: I have no interest in you being a part of

1289
01:11:32,760 --> 01:11:35,479
Speaker 1: what we're trying to do here. That is is so

1290
01:11:35,560 --> 01:11:39,040
Speaker 1: self defeating and discouraging to see. Fortunately, that's probably just

1291
01:11:39,120 --> 01:11:42,280
Speaker 1: a a vocal minority who is going to be negative

1292
01:11:42,280 --> 01:11:45,680
Speaker 1: about just about anything. And um, I know that the

1293
01:11:46,280 --> 01:11:49,120
Speaker 1: vast majority of folks I think can understand what you

1294
01:11:49,200 --> 01:11:53,760
Speaker 1: guys are getting at here and and the the overwhelmingly

1295
01:11:53,840 --> 01:11:59,160
Speaker 1: positive impact this kind of thing can have. Something worth noting,

1296
01:11:59,200 --> 01:12:02,240
Speaker 1: I think is the fact that you guys are tapping

1297
01:12:02,280 --> 01:12:06,920
Speaker 1: into and focusing on this adult demographic. There has been

1298
01:12:06,920 --> 01:12:09,160
Speaker 1: a lot of talk in previous Are Three efforts about

1299
01:12:09,200 --> 01:12:11,639
Speaker 1: trying to get kids involved in hunting, which of course

1300
01:12:11,720 --> 01:12:14,080
Speaker 1: is a great thing. Um, but I think there have

1301
01:12:14,160 --> 01:12:16,880
Speaker 1: been some studies or some theories around the fact that

1302
01:12:17,360 --> 01:12:23,080
Speaker 1: targeting adults is more effective for long term recruitment. Is

1303
01:12:23,080 --> 01:12:26,360
Speaker 1: is that right? Remembering this correctly? Isn't it something along

1304
01:12:26,360 --> 01:12:28,559
Speaker 1: the lines the fact that the adults just simply have

1305
01:12:28,680 --> 01:12:31,080
Speaker 1: the means and the ability to to keep up with

1306
01:12:31,160 --> 01:12:34,559
Speaker 1: hunting versus taking a kid out once and unless they

1307
01:12:34,600 --> 01:12:37,519
Speaker 1: have someone who can continues taking them, taking them, taking

1308
01:12:37,520 --> 01:12:41,439
Speaker 1: them they drop off. Is there something to back that up? Yeah,

1309
01:12:41,479 --> 01:12:45,560
Speaker 1: there's there's definitely something to back that up. Youth programs

1310
01:12:45,600 --> 01:12:51,000
Speaker 1: for hunting are worthless. But hold on, let me finish

1311
01:12:51,040 --> 01:12:54,320
Speaker 1: my statement here. I gotta finishing everybody off before I

1312
01:12:54,360 --> 01:12:59,000
Speaker 1: get done. Seriously that they are, and it's because if

1313
01:12:59,040 --> 01:13:02,640
Speaker 1: you do a quote un youth program for hunting and

1314
01:13:02,760 --> 01:13:05,840
Speaker 1: you teach a kid how to hunt, that doesn't do

1315
01:13:05,920 --> 01:13:08,160
Speaker 1: any good unless you teach their parents how to hunt

1316
01:13:08,200 --> 01:13:11,639
Speaker 1: as well, because they will have no one to take

1317
01:13:11,680 --> 01:13:13,960
Speaker 1: them back out, unless you, as the mentor, are going

1318
01:13:14,000 --> 01:13:15,920
Speaker 1: to take them every time they want to go hunting

1319
01:13:16,360 --> 01:13:20,240
Speaker 1: and make them continue along this process and help them along.

1320
01:13:20,439 --> 01:13:22,439
Speaker 1: Which if you're going to do that, that's great, but

1321
01:13:22,520 --> 01:13:26,880
Speaker 1: that's not how the youth programs go. So when you

1322
01:13:26,960 --> 01:13:29,920
Speaker 1: do a youth program and you don't teach the adults

1323
01:13:30,200 --> 01:13:32,840
Speaker 1: so you don't have it as a family program, then

1324
01:13:32,880 --> 01:13:34,479
Speaker 1: you have a bunch of kids that have a great

1325
01:13:34,520 --> 01:13:37,200
Speaker 1: experience one weekend and then they can never continue to

1326
01:13:37,200 --> 01:13:40,000
Speaker 1: do it again until they're out on their own. When

1327
01:13:40,040 --> 01:13:44,559
Speaker 1: you do an adult program, you are teaching people that

1328
01:13:44,760 --> 01:13:47,519
Speaker 1: have authority in their own lives. So even if they

1329
01:13:47,560 --> 01:13:49,920
Speaker 1: came from an anti hunting family, which a lot of

1330
01:13:49,960 --> 01:13:53,160
Speaker 1: these people did, anti hunting or anti gun families. I mean,

1331
01:13:53,200 --> 01:13:56,599
Speaker 1: they grew up in a place where their parents would

1332
01:13:56,640 --> 01:13:59,240
Speaker 1: have never let them do this as a child. And

1333
01:13:59,280 --> 01:14:01,200
Speaker 1: now they're adults and they're making their own decisions and

1334
01:14:01,240 --> 01:14:05,240
Speaker 1: they decided to do this. They have transportation, they have

1335
01:14:05,760 --> 01:14:12,280
Speaker 1: potentially discretionary income, you know, funding to use for outside activities,

1336
01:14:13,200 --> 01:14:18,600
Speaker 1: and then they also have you know that one of

1337
01:14:18,640 --> 01:14:21,400
Speaker 1: the most important things bringing it back to the traditional

1338
01:14:21,439 --> 01:14:24,000
Speaker 1: process that we talked about how you and I started hunting.

1339
01:14:24,520 --> 01:14:27,040
Speaker 1: They might already have kids, or they're gonna have kids

1340
01:14:27,040 --> 01:14:29,200
Speaker 1: one day at their own most likely, and they're going

1341
01:14:29,240 --> 01:14:32,280
Speaker 1: to teach those kids how to hunt through that natural,

1342
01:14:32,360 --> 01:14:36,360
Speaker 1: time intensive process. So what we've seen with the youth

1343
01:14:36,400 --> 01:14:40,280
Speaker 1: programs from over foreigned programs looked at nationally is that

1344
01:14:40,400 --> 01:14:45,160
Speaker 1: the majority of youth programs in this country where the

1345
01:14:45,240 --> 01:14:49,120
Speaker 1: kids of the existing base of hunters. So it was

1346
01:14:49,160 --> 01:14:53,360
Speaker 1: this one. You have this community that's marketing to party

1347
01:14:53,439 --> 01:14:57,439
Speaker 1: hunters about these programs, and then you know, whoever it

1348
01:14:57,560 --> 01:15:00,000
Speaker 1: is is seeing a great opportunity to get their kids

1349
01:15:00,280 --> 01:15:03,720
Speaker 1: on a free hunt, you know, and that's just that's

1350
01:15:03,760 --> 01:15:06,240
Speaker 1: just kind of how things go, or at least their

1351
01:15:06,320 --> 01:15:10,000
Speaker 1: kids from hunting communities and hunting cultures where they were

1352
01:15:10,040 --> 01:15:13,639
Speaker 1: going to have that opportunity. Regardless, they're not really tapping

1353
01:15:13,680 --> 01:15:17,960
Speaker 1: into any new audiences that we're staying within that same

1354
01:15:18,080 --> 01:15:22,000
Speaker 1: five bubble. I mean, I I helped out with a

1355
01:15:22,080 --> 01:15:25,200
Speaker 1: youth hunt. When I first started, I was guiding this

1356
01:15:25,280 --> 01:15:28,840
Speaker 1: turkey hunt, and luckily this program involved the parent as well,

1357
01:15:29,000 --> 01:15:30,800
Speaker 1: so it was better in that respect because we're teaching

1358
01:15:30,800 --> 01:15:32,559
Speaker 1: the parent as well. It was still a youth focus.

1359
01:15:33,520 --> 01:15:36,040
Speaker 1: And this kid whips out his cell phone and starts

1360
01:15:36,040 --> 01:15:38,599
Speaker 1: showing me what he killed in New Zealand the week before.

1361
01:15:39,840 --> 01:15:45,960
Speaker 1: How like, what am I doing? So I stand by

1362
01:15:46,080 --> 01:15:49,799
Speaker 1: my youth programs are worthless statement. Hank and Takeaway disagree.

1363
01:15:50,160 --> 01:15:54,560
Speaker 1: I would absolutely agree that youth are the least efficient

1364
01:15:54,680 --> 01:15:58,080
Speaker 1: audience that we could take hunting. And our goal is

1365
01:15:58,120 --> 01:16:01,400
Speaker 1: to create hunters, to create license buyers. That has to

1366
01:16:01,439 --> 01:16:04,000
Speaker 1: be the goal of our programs. You know, that's the

1367
01:16:04,040 --> 01:16:08,479
Speaker 1: goal of our three UM and we've traditionally run a

1368
01:16:08,479 --> 01:16:12,799
Speaker 1: lot of hard string programs UM you know that focus

1369
01:16:12,880 --> 01:16:19,000
Speaker 1: on youth and military and UM you know, handicap and

1370
01:16:19,360 --> 01:16:22,320
Speaker 1: while many of them were good. Um, you know, they

1371
01:16:22,439 --> 01:16:26,040
Speaker 1: aren't moving the needle. And um, you know we accumate.

1372
01:16:26,120 --> 01:16:29,160
Speaker 1: We've run a lot of youth hunts that wouldn't agree

1373
01:16:29,200 --> 01:16:33,519
Speaker 1: we're worthless because we we were very diligent, just like

1374
01:16:33,720 --> 01:16:36,320
Speaker 1: in field the Fork that we selected youth from non

1375
01:16:36,439 --> 01:16:40,439
Speaker 1: hunting backgrounds. Um. But again, you know, it can be

1376
01:16:40,520 --> 01:16:44,200
Speaker 1: hard to find good candidates because just like we talked

1377
01:16:44,200 --> 01:16:47,360
Speaker 1: about at the beginning, you know, these hunters don't know

1378
01:16:47,479 --> 01:16:52,280
Speaker 1: non hunters quote unquote. UM, So yeah, focusing on adults

1379
01:16:52,320 --> 01:16:55,000
Speaker 1: is a much better use of our time. We talked

1380
01:16:55,040 --> 01:16:57,599
Speaker 1: about the bubble earlier. You know, the baby boomers are

1381
01:16:57,640 --> 01:17:00,160
Speaker 1: aging out of the sport. We're gonna lose another a

1382
01:17:00,200 --> 01:17:03,880
Speaker 1: couple of the percent of participation if nothing happened. We

1383
01:17:04,040 --> 01:17:09,439
Speaker 1: don't have fifteen or twenty years for Johnny to get

1384
01:17:09,439 --> 01:17:12,240
Speaker 1: out of college and become a license buyer. Again, we

1385
01:17:12,320 --> 01:17:15,200
Speaker 1: need to be looking at who can go hunting the

1386
01:17:15,240 --> 01:17:18,719
Speaker 1: next weekend, who can purchase the license, and we're seeing

1387
01:17:18,720 --> 01:17:22,280
Speaker 1: that in the program. We had one gentleman, Edwin, who

1388
01:17:22,360 --> 01:17:25,680
Speaker 1: purchased twenty five one day license for the state of

1389
01:17:25,760 --> 01:17:30,200
Speaker 1: Georgia the first year we took him hunting. He also

1390
01:17:30,320 --> 01:17:32,800
Speaker 1: put two or three deer in his freezer at the

1391
01:17:32,880 --> 01:17:35,360
Speaker 1: u g A four deer at the u g A

1392
01:17:36,040 --> 01:17:40,000
Speaker 1: Disease Lab. He works at UM and send an email

1393
01:17:40,040 --> 01:17:42,479
Speaker 1: on the list serve and said, have at it. Here's

1394
01:17:42,600 --> 01:17:46,200
Speaker 1: there's venicine. And the freezer ended up mentoring five new

1395
01:17:46,280 --> 01:17:49,040
Speaker 1: hunters that year once he shared his venicine and made

1396
01:17:49,040 --> 01:17:52,479
Speaker 1: these connections. And so you can see this, you know,

1397
01:17:52,560 --> 01:17:57,000
Speaker 1: domino effector you know instant uh, instant rewards, Like this

1398
01:17:57,040 --> 01:17:59,640
Speaker 1: guy is going out and he's mentoring his friends. He

1399
01:17:59,720 --> 01:18:03,320
Speaker 1: shared in his medicine, he's telling his story. He's now

1400
01:18:03,360 --> 01:18:07,160
Speaker 1: in two years harvest attend deer and taking ten new

1401
01:18:07,240 --> 01:18:11,320
Speaker 1: hunters of field. UM and and we're working on some

1402
01:18:11,479 --> 01:18:15,160
Speaker 1: videos so you'll meet Edwin Um in the coming months.

1403
01:18:15,160 --> 01:18:20,160
Speaker 1: But UM, you know he's not the only one. UM

1404
01:18:20,520 --> 01:18:23,439
Speaker 1: and we're seeing this. But you know, the shocker to

1405
01:18:23,520 --> 01:18:25,760
Speaker 1: me during you know, the whole program is you know,

1406
01:18:25,800 --> 01:18:28,800
Speaker 1: they come in and and to the education part, they

1407
01:18:28,800 --> 01:18:31,080
Speaker 1: want to learn about the apology of it is Charleston's

1408
01:18:31,120 --> 01:18:34,000
Speaker 1: reference a few times, and that's because they know that

1409
01:18:34,040 --> 01:18:36,519
Speaker 1: they're going back to their peer group and they're gonna

1410
01:18:36,560 --> 01:18:38,640
Speaker 1: tell them about it, and they they want to be

1411
01:18:38,680 --> 01:18:42,519
Speaker 1: able to defend their actions and so they're very much

1412
01:18:42,560 --> 01:18:47,519
Speaker 1: concerned about the ecological aspect of hunting, which shocked me. Um,

1413
01:18:47,760 --> 01:18:49,360
Speaker 1: you know, I was thinking, oh, we're here for the food.

1414
01:18:50,120 --> 01:18:53,280
Speaker 1: But they're going back to you know, their peers, and

1415
01:18:53,320 --> 01:18:56,400
Speaker 1: they're telling that story and they're becoming an advocate for

1416
01:18:56,520 --> 01:19:01,000
Speaker 1: hunting and ambassador for hunting and entirely new circles and

1417
01:19:01,040 --> 01:19:05,599
Speaker 1: demographics and um, you know, they're referring their friends. The

1418
01:19:05,600 --> 01:19:08,160
Speaker 1: next year we have you know, we we have people

1419
01:19:08,240 --> 01:19:12,000
Speaker 1: on waiting list now for Athens um. But you know,

1420
01:19:12,280 --> 01:19:16,160
Speaker 1: people have very very different backgrounds. All Um. You know,

1421
01:19:17,040 --> 01:19:18,680
Speaker 1: Edwin told me the other day that we're making him

1422
01:19:18,680 --> 01:19:20,680
Speaker 1: poor because he's buying hunting gear, which we can all

1423
01:19:20,800 --> 01:19:26,360
Speaker 1: right too, and you know he's it called him. You know,

1424
01:19:27,200 --> 01:19:30,840
Speaker 1: he's full born now and that would not happen with

1425
01:19:31,080 --> 01:19:36,559
Speaker 1: you obviously. Well, you guys have obviously tapped into something here,

1426
01:19:36,600 --> 01:19:40,679
Speaker 1: an opportunity that is available and and seems to be

1427
01:19:40,840 --> 01:19:42,600
Speaker 1: you know, leading to the results that we need to

1428
01:19:42,600 --> 01:19:45,439
Speaker 1: see given all the trends. Uh So it's a proven model,

1429
01:19:45,880 --> 01:19:49,439
Speaker 1: but it does seem to be. The question is how

1430
01:19:49,479 --> 01:19:51,200
Speaker 1: do we scale it? How do we take what you

1431
01:19:51,280 --> 01:19:53,760
Speaker 1: guys have have created and tapped into im proven to

1432
01:19:53,760 --> 01:19:57,120
Speaker 1: be a successful way of of bringing new hunters in

1433
01:19:57,120 --> 01:19:58,880
Speaker 1: the fold. How do we actually get that out there

1434
01:19:58,920 --> 01:20:00,840
Speaker 1: to the rest of the folks, Because as what you're

1435
01:20:00,840 --> 01:20:03,559
Speaker 1: doing is awesome, but it's you know, eight hunters a year,

1436
01:20:03,640 --> 01:20:05,720
Speaker 1: fifteen hunters a year. How can we get to the

1437
01:20:05,760 --> 01:20:08,800
Speaker 1: point where the tens of thousands of folks listening to

1438
01:20:08,840 --> 01:20:11,240
Speaker 1: this and the millions of other hunters out there that

1439
01:20:11,280 --> 01:20:14,479
Speaker 1: hopefully will be UM presented with ideas like this, how

1440
01:20:14,520 --> 01:20:17,880
Speaker 1: do we start taking some of these things into into action?

1441
01:20:17,960 --> 01:20:20,479
Speaker 1: Put these things into action, um. Because if we could

1442
01:20:20,520 --> 01:20:22,840
Speaker 1: all participate in something of this and all of us

1443
01:20:22,840 --> 01:20:24,720
Speaker 1: have a hand in bringing a new hunter into the

1444
01:20:24,760 --> 01:20:27,559
Speaker 1: fold each year, or each community bringing a new fifteen

1445
01:20:27,600 --> 01:20:31,040
Speaker 1: in a year, UM, then we are making a really big,

1446
01:20:31,080 --> 01:20:34,479
Speaker 1: significant difference. So my my question, I want to post

1447
01:20:34,520 --> 01:20:38,040
Speaker 1: you in two parts. I would like to know how

1448
01:20:38,120 --> 01:20:40,479
Speaker 1: you would propose we do this on an individual level.

1449
01:20:40,800 --> 01:20:43,800
Speaker 1: So how could each one of us, UM take some

1450
01:20:43,880 --> 01:20:46,400
Speaker 1: of these things into account on a on an individual

1451
01:20:46,479 --> 01:20:48,880
Speaker 1: level with a mentorship, maybe a one on one type thing.

1452
01:20:49,160 --> 01:20:53,679
Speaker 1: Or Part number two would be if someone listening loves

1453
01:20:53,680 --> 01:20:55,519
Speaker 1: what you're doing, with Field of Fork and wants to

1454
01:20:55,560 --> 01:20:58,680
Speaker 1: start a Field the Fork operation in their community. How

1455
01:20:58,680 --> 01:21:00,720
Speaker 1: do we do that? That's my part one and part

1456
01:21:00,760 --> 01:21:03,599
Speaker 1: two questions. Feel free to take with it, to take

1457
01:21:03,600 --> 01:21:07,120
Speaker 1: it wherever you want, all right, So you know we've

1458
01:21:07,200 --> 01:21:11,240
Speaker 1: we've long said that, you know, in a short term basis,

1459
01:21:11,520 --> 01:21:15,559
Speaker 1: you know, an organized program is hard to get to

1460
01:21:15,560 --> 01:21:18,400
Speaker 1: move the needle, and it all comes down to scalability.

1461
01:21:18,560 --> 01:21:22,439
Speaker 1: But um, you know, individual hunters can move this needle,

1462
01:21:22,640 --> 01:21:26,840
Speaker 1: as we spoke earlier instantly tomorrow this season, and we

1463
01:21:26,880 --> 01:21:31,759
Speaker 1: need all hunters to to understand it's their duty. Uh,

1464
01:21:32,080 --> 01:21:35,080
Speaker 1: it's it's their duty for the future of hunting, for

1465
01:21:35,120 --> 01:21:38,760
Speaker 1: the sake of you know, future generations and and the

1466
01:21:38,840 --> 01:21:41,800
Speaker 1: habitat and wildlife that they love, that they need to

1467
01:21:41,840 --> 01:21:43,760
Speaker 1: mentor a new hunter each year. And if we all

1468
01:21:43,800 --> 01:21:46,880
Speaker 1: did that, you know, game over. You say that an

1469
01:21:46,960 --> 01:21:49,920
Speaker 1: organized program is hard to move the needle, but then

1470
01:21:50,720 --> 01:21:52,800
Speaker 1: you know, all of a sudden, you're on the cover

1471
01:21:52,840 --> 01:21:55,200
Speaker 1: Wall Street Journal and you you made a much larger

1472
01:21:55,240 --> 01:21:58,720
Speaker 1: impact than the thirty three participants that have gone through

1473
01:21:58,760 --> 01:22:03,160
Speaker 1: the program. And happens georgan three years. But um, you know,

1474
01:22:03,200 --> 01:22:06,560
Speaker 1: filled the pork is scalable. I think you could replicate

1475
01:22:06,760 --> 01:22:08,880
Speaker 1: Field the Ports throughout the country, and so last year

1476
01:22:08,960 --> 01:22:11,320
Speaker 1: we set a goal to try to do that, and

1477
01:22:11,360 --> 01:22:14,479
Speaker 1: so we we took Field the Fork to eight new states,

1478
01:22:15,560 --> 01:22:18,799
Speaker 1: um you know, from your home state of Michigan. For example,

1479
01:22:19,320 --> 01:22:21,559
Speaker 1: we ran a Field the Fork at the Tip of

1480
01:22:21,560 --> 01:22:25,479
Speaker 1: the Mid Branch Mike Wolf and we partnered on the

1481
01:22:25,720 --> 01:22:30,240
Speaker 1: already existing Learned a Hunt in uh in Michigan with

1482
01:22:30,400 --> 01:22:32,120
Speaker 1: n W t F and Steve Sharp, and We're going

1483
01:22:32,200 --> 01:22:36,520
Speaker 1: to continue to do that. I've always instructed my colleagues

1484
01:22:37,280 --> 01:22:40,920
Speaker 1: to partner with existing programs that we can help to

1485
01:22:41,439 --> 01:22:45,200
Speaker 1: evolve before we go out and create another one, you know.

1486
01:22:45,360 --> 01:22:48,200
Speaker 1: So so that is our first push. If there is

1487
01:22:48,240 --> 01:22:50,680
Speaker 1: an existing learning hunt program, should try to evolve it

1488
01:22:51,080 --> 01:22:54,080
Speaker 1: to you know, use the filled the Port model. But

1489
01:22:54,200 --> 01:22:57,719
Speaker 1: where they don't exist, we've been replicating the model. We've

1490
01:22:57,760 --> 01:23:02,760
Speaker 1: created standardized curriculum, sample agendas. We're working on a couple

1491
01:23:02,760 --> 01:23:06,160
Speaker 1: of videos right now that will give a good picture

1492
01:23:06,439 --> 01:23:09,360
Speaker 1: of Field the Fork and a lot of the participant

1493
01:23:10,240 --> 01:23:13,120
Speaker 1: um point of view, and I think they will be

1494
01:23:13,200 --> 01:23:16,840
Speaker 1: very beneficial for showing it. You can go to qum

1495
01:23:16,840 --> 01:23:18,720
Speaker 1: a dot com slash Field the Fork and see our

1496
01:23:18,760 --> 01:23:23,240
Speaker 1: written summaries and some old videos, but we want to

1497
01:23:23,240 --> 01:23:26,880
Speaker 1: do everything we can to help replicate Field the Porks

1498
01:23:26,880 --> 01:23:30,320
Speaker 1: around the country, and so we're trying to inspire our

1499
01:23:30,400 --> 01:23:33,639
Speaker 1: q you May branches as well as anybody who would

1500
01:23:33,680 --> 01:23:36,320
Speaker 1: be interested in hosting a Field the Fork to contact me.

1501
01:23:37,520 --> 01:23:40,360
Speaker 1: My email is on key you May I can. I

1502
01:23:40,400 --> 01:23:42,800
Speaker 1: can tell it to you right now. It's all you know,

1503
01:23:42,880 --> 01:23:45,519
Speaker 1: all of the all the summaries of the Field the

1504
01:23:45,600 --> 01:23:47,880
Speaker 1: Pork program, which are all online, so you can find

1505
01:23:47,880 --> 01:23:51,880
Speaker 1: it there. But um we understand it as we replicate it.

1506
01:23:52,280 --> 01:23:54,960
Speaker 1: You know, each model will look a little different. So

1507
01:23:55,720 --> 01:23:58,639
Speaker 1: um I kind of took it under uh my wing

1508
01:23:58,800 --> 01:24:01,679
Speaker 1: to try to test some of these different replications around

1509
01:24:01,680 --> 01:24:05,160
Speaker 1: the country. Last year, so I flew to New Hampshire

1510
01:24:05,200 --> 01:24:08,240
Speaker 1: and hosted a field to Fork for industry. We had

1511
01:24:08,240 --> 01:24:10,479
Speaker 1: to cap it at twenty four because we had to

1512
01:24:10,520 --> 01:24:14,879
Speaker 1: actually host a hunter education day, but we hosted twenty

1513
01:24:14,920 --> 01:24:19,679
Speaker 1: four employees of Ruger and six Hour, both American firearm

1514
01:24:19,680 --> 01:24:24,120
Speaker 1: manufacturers from New Hampshire and Vermont, and we partnered them

1515
01:24:24,120 --> 01:24:27,519
Speaker 1: with qum A members from the KEYMA New Hampshire branch

1516
01:24:27,640 --> 01:24:30,360
Speaker 1: or First New Hampshire Branch, and we did kind of

1517
01:24:30,360 --> 01:24:34,160
Speaker 1: an organized education which included hunter education because there was

1518
01:24:34,200 --> 01:24:38,360
Speaker 1: no apprentice license and no online hunter education, so just

1519
01:24:38,439 --> 01:24:41,320
Speaker 1: a quick belief at a major hurdle that's keeping us

1520
01:24:41,320 --> 01:24:45,800
Speaker 1: from creating new hunters in those states. But we we

1521
01:24:45,880 --> 01:24:49,640
Speaker 1: ran a very successful program. Um you know, they they

1522
01:24:49,720 --> 01:24:52,000
Speaker 1: paired up, they had a very short season. You know,

1523
01:24:52,479 --> 01:24:55,280
Speaker 1: down south were very fortunate to have these long seasons,

1524
01:24:55,520 --> 01:24:59,439
Speaker 1: long firearms seasons. It's a little bit easier to inspire

1525
01:24:59,479 --> 01:25:02,400
Speaker 1: people to in tour I field. But also went to

1526
01:25:02,520 --> 01:25:06,080
Speaker 1: Texas and partnered with v h A and we hosted

1527
01:25:06,280 --> 01:25:08,920
Speaker 1: a destination filled to Fork where it was just three

1528
01:25:09,000 --> 01:25:13,760
Speaker 1: days at a ranch in Texas, and um, well, I

1529
01:25:13,760 --> 01:25:15,960
Speaker 1: wouldn't want to take somebody from New Hampshire and sent

1530
01:25:16,080 --> 01:25:18,040
Speaker 1: him down to Texas to teach him to deer hunt.

1531
01:25:18,439 --> 01:25:21,800
Speaker 1: You know, that was applicable for residents of Texas, so

1532
01:25:21,840 --> 01:25:25,080
Speaker 1: we only took you know, in state people who were

1533
01:25:25,080 --> 01:25:27,960
Speaker 1: first time hunters that wanted to hunt for me. And

1534
01:25:27,960 --> 01:25:30,680
Speaker 1: and as Charles mentioned, we do preselection surveys so we

1535
01:25:30,760 --> 01:25:33,600
Speaker 1: make sure we're getting the candidates that fits, you know,

1536
01:25:34,320 --> 01:25:37,960
Speaker 1: fifth the bill, and then we're doing posts, events, surveys

1537
01:25:38,040 --> 01:25:40,479
Speaker 1: and a survey a year later to really check up

1538
01:25:40,479 --> 01:25:43,960
Speaker 1: on ourselves and gather the data. But um, you know,

1539
01:25:44,400 --> 01:25:47,639
Speaker 1: we'll have filled the forks in at least ten states

1540
01:25:47,720 --> 01:25:51,760
Speaker 1: this year, probably more. Gotten a lot of emails from

1541
01:25:51,760 --> 01:25:55,400
Speaker 1: people wanting to host build the forks, um in states

1542
01:25:55,400 --> 01:25:58,639
Speaker 1: the Q MAY traditionally doesn't cover, and we're not gonna

1543
01:25:58,680 --> 01:26:03,000
Speaker 1: abandon those. Uh. Acramento, California seems to be like number

1544
01:26:03,040 --> 01:26:05,240
Speaker 1: one place to host the field the Fork. I got

1545
01:26:05,280 --> 01:26:09,920
Speaker 1: more emails from Sacramento, California than anywhere from the article,

1546
01:26:10,760 --> 01:26:13,760
Speaker 1: And UM, you know we're not going to abandon California.

1547
01:26:13,840 --> 01:26:18,759
Speaker 1: California is just getting on board, writing an our three plan,

1548
01:26:19,479 --> 01:26:22,240
Speaker 1: hiring a state coordinator. So we're gonna do what we

1549
01:26:22,360 --> 01:26:25,479
Speaker 1: can to help them to hopefully host field the Forks

1550
01:26:25,479 --> 01:26:29,559
Speaker 1: in California. But UM, you know, we're trying to partner

1551
01:26:29,640 --> 01:26:33,720
Speaker 1: with anybody interested. I know UH in Michigan again, we're

1552
01:26:33,720 --> 01:26:37,479
Speaker 1: gonna do one this year, partnering with b h A. UM,

1553
01:26:37,560 --> 01:26:40,280
Speaker 1: so we're expanding them in the states that we expanded

1554
01:26:40,320 --> 01:26:43,519
Speaker 1: to last year and uh and then hope to gain

1555
01:26:43,560 --> 01:26:46,960
Speaker 1: a few more. But um, we're here to help. We're working. Uh.

1556
01:26:47,479 --> 01:26:50,000
Speaker 1: We got a grant from NSSF to help with some

1557
01:26:50,080 --> 01:26:52,680
Speaker 1: of the replication materials and some of the videos that

1558
01:26:52,680 --> 01:26:58,080
Speaker 1: will be released. We're working with the Archery Trade Association UM,

1559
01:26:58,120 --> 01:27:01,120
Speaker 1: you know, to to help standard some of the curriculums

1560
01:27:01,120 --> 01:27:05,200
Speaker 1: and push their members, which are industry manufacturers, to host

1561
01:27:05,240 --> 01:27:08,240
Speaker 1: filled the forks UM. You know, really a lot of

1562
01:27:08,240 --> 01:27:11,879
Speaker 1: people see it as a viable way too to actually

1563
01:27:11,960 --> 01:27:16,640
Speaker 1: create you know, lasting hunters and so um. You know,

1564
01:27:16,680 --> 01:27:19,000
Speaker 1: we've hosted a filled to pork internally pretty much at

1565
01:27:19,040 --> 01:27:22,599
Speaker 1: qtm A because you know, I had probleagues asking me, hey,

1566
01:27:22,640 --> 01:27:25,559
Speaker 1: what are you doing up there after work? You know

1567
01:27:25,640 --> 01:27:29,479
Speaker 1: I'd be interested in that, So we hosted employees. So

1568
01:27:29,640 --> 01:27:33,320
Speaker 1: K may but I guarantee anybody listening if you make

1569
01:27:33,360 --> 01:27:35,960
Speaker 1: it a concerted effort to share a little vinincent or

1570
01:27:36,000 --> 01:27:40,519
Speaker 1: tell a story or ask around. You interact with people

1571
01:27:40,720 --> 01:27:43,200
Speaker 1: all day every day that are interested in hunting, that

1572
01:27:43,360 --> 01:27:47,320
Speaker 1: do not hunt, that have never been invited, and you

1573
01:27:47,360 --> 01:27:50,519
Speaker 1: shouldn't make it your mission to take somebody new this

1574
01:27:50,600 --> 01:27:53,400
Speaker 1: year and do do it the right way. Put in

1575
01:27:53,479 --> 01:27:56,000
Speaker 1: the time, teach them what they need to know on

1576
01:27:56,040 --> 01:27:59,320
Speaker 1: the front end, take them to the range, get them proficient,

1577
01:28:00,040 --> 01:28:03,000
Speaker 1: you know, teach them and try to do your bet

1578
01:28:03,200 --> 01:28:06,320
Speaker 1: to create a new hunter and uh, it may be

1579
01:28:06,439 --> 01:28:10,200
Speaker 1: your must rewarding hunt this coming season and it will

1580
01:28:10,240 --> 01:28:13,160
Speaker 1: be the most beneficial hunt for the future of hunting.

1581
01:28:13,600 --> 01:28:16,840
Speaker 1: Spot On, Charles, did you would you add anything on

1582
01:28:16,840 --> 01:28:19,400
Speaker 1: that front? That was pretty passionate. I don't know if

1583
01:28:19,400 --> 01:28:24,559
Speaker 1: I want to follow that up, but basically, just just

1584
01:28:24,600 --> 01:28:27,400
Speaker 1: take new people hunting. You might be surprised. I mean,

1585
01:28:28,720 --> 01:28:31,800
Speaker 1: at the very least, just mentor somebody new each year.

1586
01:28:32,000 --> 01:28:34,920
Speaker 1: You know, pick somebody, has somebody at your office, one

1587
01:28:34,960 --> 01:28:38,599
Speaker 1: of your friends, your neighbor, or whoever, and ask him

1588
01:28:38,640 --> 01:28:40,920
Speaker 1: to go, honey, you can you can take him deer running,

1589
01:28:40,960 --> 01:28:42,720
Speaker 1: you can just take him on a squirrel on or

1590
01:28:42,720 --> 01:28:45,080
Speaker 1: a dog hunt or whatever it might be. Just get

1591
01:28:45,120 --> 01:28:47,679
Speaker 1: him out there and have some fun. And you're probably

1592
01:28:47,720 --> 01:28:50,960
Speaker 1: gonna be surprised with how much fun it actually is

1593
01:28:51,040 --> 01:28:54,559
Speaker 1: to teach somebody. I mean it it can get to

1594
01:28:54,600 --> 01:28:56,960
Speaker 1: the point where it's it's more fun to watch them

1595
01:28:57,000 --> 01:28:59,400
Speaker 1: at success than it is to do it yourself. I mean,

1596
01:28:59,439 --> 01:29:03,599
Speaker 1: we hade and mentor named David Kidd that came through

1597
01:29:03,920 --> 01:29:05,800
Speaker 1: the program and served as a mentor for the past

1598
01:29:05,840 --> 01:29:08,960
Speaker 1: few years that he was like, these participants are way

1599
01:29:09,000 --> 01:29:11,840
Speaker 1: more interesting than the people in my hunting club. I

1600
01:29:11,840 --> 01:29:13,880
Speaker 1: should keep them all out and invite all these people

1601
01:29:13,920 --> 01:29:17,400
Speaker 1: who come off. You know, it's so whether you do

1602
01:29:17,400 --> 01:29:19,200
Speaker 1: it on your own, or you want to start a

1603
01:29:19,240 --> 01:29:21,360
Speaker 1: field of fork so you contact Hank. You know, it's

1604
01:29:21,400 --> 01:29:25,120
Speaker 1: just a good time with the field of fork. Food's involved.

1605
01:29:25,400 --> 01:29:28,240
Speaker 1: You know, we all drink beer afterwards and pair wine

1606
01:29:28,320 --> 01:29:30,519
Speaker 1: with the meals and everything. It's just it's a lot

1607
01:29:30,560 --> 01:29:32,960
Speaker 1: of fun, and it's fun to get to know people,

1608
01:29:33,840 --> 01:29:36,760
Speaker 1: um that might have different views than you and be

1609
01:29:36,800 --> 01:29:39,479
Speaker 1: able to explain things a little bit better in ways

1610
01:29:39,520 --> 01:29:41,439
Speaker 1: that you haven't thought about it before because you've been

1611
01:29:41,439 --> 01:29:44,880
Speaker 1: so ingrained and hunting your entire life. Yeah, I will

1612
01:29:44,920 --> 01:29:49,000
Speaker 1: say from my own personal organized program ahead, I was

1613
01:29:49,040 --> 01:29:51,840
Speaker 1: just gonna say, the organized program really the best part

1614
01:29:51,840 --> 01:29:57,000
Speaker 1: about it, other than the community phil and this social support,

1615
01:29:57,040 --> 01:29:59,799
Speaker 1: which is obviously what we've decided a key to creating

1616
01:29:59,840 --> 01:30:03,880
Speaker 1: a honor is that social support. UM. It puts a

1617
01:30:04,000 --> 01:30:07,040
Speaker 1: date on your calendar. It's easy to say you're gonna

1618
01:30:07,080 --> 01:30:10,120
Speaker 1: do something, but it's it's harder to follow through. And

1619
01:30:10,160 --> 01:30:13,040
Speaker 1: the organized hunt the value of it is we hope

1620
01:30:13,040 --> 01:30:14,559
Speaker 1: we get a deer and we can break it down

1621
01:30:14,560 --> 01:30:17,120
Speaker 1: and show them and it. But it's set that date

1622
01:30:17,160 --> 01:30:22,200
Speaker 1: on that calendar and it starts the process. And that's

1623
01:30:22,240 --> 01:30:24,479
Speaker 1: really the value is you know, set a date, get

1624
01:30:24,520 --> 01:30:27,960
Speaker 1: it done. But that's that's the value of the program,

1625
01:30:28,400 --> 01:30:31,040
Speaker 1: uh is it just it holds everybody to it. We're

1626
01:30:31,080 --> 01:30:33,280
Speaker 1: all part of this and we don't want to let

1627
01:30:33,360 --> 01:30:36,320
Speaker 1: down our our buddy or or nobody wants to let

1628
01:30:36,360 --> 01:30:38,519
Speaker 1: down me and Charles hopefully, But it just it puts

1629
01:30:38,560 --> 01:30:41,200
Speaker 1: it on the calendar and gets it started and then

1630
01:30:41,520 --> 01:30:46,080
Speaker 1: they continue to you know, hunt through that year. Yeah,

1631
01:30:46,640 --> 01:30:48,479
Speaker 1: I was just gonna say, kind of echoing some of

1632
01:30:48,520 --> 01:30:50,400
Speaker 1: the things you both mentioned there, you know, from my

1633
01:30:50,400 --> 01:30:54,960
Speaker 1: own personal experience just engaging with non hunters, like in

1634
01:30:55,000 --> 01:30:56,920
Speaker 1: my old dage I've a worked in like the tech

1635
01:30:57,280 --> 01:31:00,559
Speaker 1: industry and a lot of people from the coasts, a

1636
01:31:00,600 --> 01:31:03,960
Speaker 1: lot of urban folks who had no experience hunting or

1637
01:31:04,000 --> 01:31:06,720
Speaker 1: anything like that. But the level of curiosity and the

1638
01:31:06,840 --> 01:31:11,000
Speaker 1: level of kind of fascination with hunting once, you know,

1639
01:31:11,280 --> 01:31:17,080
Speaker 1: once the topic came up, it was very interesting, how interesting,

1640
01:31:17,360 --> 01:31:19,120
Speaker 1: how interesting these people were in it. And then there

1641
01:31:19,200 --> 01:31:21,160
Speaker 1: was a lot of fun for me just to get

1642
01:31:21,200 --> 01:31:23,200
Speaker 1: to be a part of those conversations and share with

1643
01:31:23,240 --> 01:31:25,640
Speaker 1: them what actually happens and everything that goes into it. It

1644
01:31:25,560 --> 01:31:27,519
Speaker 1: It was it was really surprising to a lot of

1645
01:31:27,520 --> 01:31:29,680
Speaker 1: these folks. They had no idea that so much one

1646
01:31:29,680 --> 01:31:32,240
Speaker 1: in hunting, or that there was actually all this management

1647
01:31:32,280 --> 01:31:34,400
Speaker 1: behind it, or or the fact there was even something

1648
01:31:34,400 --> 01:31:36,840
Speaker 1: like bag limits. UM. Just talking about these things was

1649
01:31:36,880 --> 01:31:39,400
Speaker 1: so much fun. Let alone, then getting to take some

1650
01:31:39,400 --> 01:31:41,200
Speaker 1: of these people out into the woods and do things

1651
01:31:41,240 --> 01:31:44,760
Speaker 1: like that, I mean that that is very very fulfilling

1652
01:31:45,280 --> 01:31:47,720
Speaker 1: and and I'm excited about what you guys are doing

1653
01:31:47,800 --> 01:31:49,720
Speaker 1: that the results that you're seeing so far, I think

1654
01:31:49,760 --> 01:31:53,479
Speaker 1: it really is an example that we can all learn from.

1655
01:31:53,560 --> 01:31:56,639
Speaker 1: And and to your point, Hank, then organized model using

1656
01:31:56,680 --> 01:31:58,960
Speaker 1: a framework like what you guys have built with Field

1657
01:31:58,960 --> 01:32:02,400
Speaker 1: of Fork, I think gives us an opportunity to scale

1658
01:32:02,479 --> 01:32:05,719
Speaker 1: something like this UM Because yeah, it's easy to say

1659
01:32:05,760 --> 01:32:07,600
Speaker 1: I want to enter more people, Yeah I want to

1660
01:32:07,640 --> 01:32:10,880
Speaker 1: do these things, but following through on it, actually acting

1661
01:32:10,920 --> 01:32:14,240
Speaker 1: on it's a whole different story. UM. I think by

1662
01:32:14,280 --> 01:32:17,639
Speaker 1: by putting some organization around it and then having you know,

1663
01:32:17,920 --> 01:32:20,479
Speaker 1: some of the hard things taken out of the equation

1664
01:32:20,560 --> 01:32:22,080
Speaker 1: by way of the fact that you guys have already

1665
01:32:22,080 --> 01:32:25,200
Speaker 1: done the legwork to establish curriculum, to establish some of

1666
01:32:25,240 --> 01:32:28,599
Speaker 1: these frameworks. I think that is what people need, and

1667
01:32:28,680 --> 01:32:31,960
Speaker 1: so I'm pumped about it. I'm really appreciative of what

1668
01:32:32,000 --> 01:32:33,920
Speaker 1: you guys are doing, and I want to make sure

1669
01:32:33,960 --> 01:32:36,200
Speaker 1: that we make this as easy as possible for people

1670
01:32:36,240 --> 01:32:38,880
Speaker 1: that are intrigued and excited by this to take action. So,

1671
01:32:38,960 --> 01:32:42,040
Speaker 1: hank Um, as risky as this might be, can you

1672
01:32:42,080 --> 01:32:44,120
Speaker 1: give us that email address right now that people can

1673
01:32:44,160 --> 01:32:47,680
Speaker 1: reach out to you at and then exactly where on

1674
01:32:47,720 --> 01:32:49,840
Speaker 1: the website can they find more of these resources? Kind

1675
01:32:49,840 --> 01:32:51,360
Speaker 1: of I want to make sure if someone right now

1676
01:32:51,439 --> 01:32:53,840
Speaker 1: wants to start a field to fork um, I want

1677
01:32:53,840 --> 01:32:56,000
Speaker 1: to give them step one and step two exactly what

1678
01:32:56,080 --> 01:32:58,280
Speaker 1: to do right now when they get done listening. What

1679
01:32:58,280 --> 01:33:01,519
Speaker 1: what would that be? So all information is at qum

1680
01:33:01,520 --> 01:33:05,240
Speaker 1: a dot com flash f t F F t F

1681
01:33:05,840 --> 01:33:09,640
Speaker 1: and my email is h F O R E S

1682
01:33:09,720 --> 01:33:12,799
Speaker 1: t R at qt m A dot com, h Forster

1683
01:33:13,000 --> 01:33:15,720
Speaker 1: at kum a dot com. Um reach out to me.

1684
01:33:15,720 --> 01:33:20,400
Speaker 1: I'm here to answer any questions, whether here somebody who

1685
01:33:20,479 --> 01:33:22,640
Speaker 1: would like to participate in the Field the Fork or

1686
01:33:23,400 --> 01:33:26,160
Speaker 1: um hosts of Field the Fork just reach out to me.

1687
01:33:26,800 --> 01:33:29,439
Speaker 1: But again. QUM dot com slash f t F has

1688
01:33:29,560 --> 01:33:32,160
Speaker 1: all the summaries of the three years and that F

1689
01:33:32,280 --> 01:33:36,280
Speaker 1: and some summaries of some of the other programs UM

1690
01:33:36,360 --> 01:33:40,240
Speaker 1: and then some of the news and and another podcasters too,

1691
01:33:40,479 --> 01:33:42,639
Speaker 1: and and it thinks we've done on until the fork.

1692
01:33:42,680 --> 01:33:46,559
Speaker 1: But you can find all the information compiled there. Excellent.

1693
01:33:46,960 --> 01:33:49,519
Speaker 1: All right, Well to all you guys and girls listening,

1694
01:33:49,880 --> 01:33:53,000
Speaker 1: light Hank up hit about take advantage of this great

1695
01:33:53,080 --> 01:33:55,439
Speaker 1: resource that that Hank and Charles are putting together for

1696
01:33:55,520 --> 01:33:58,120
Speaker 1: us all to uh to do some really good positive

1697
01:33:58,120 --> 01:34:03,040
Speaker 1: things out there in the world, because this stuff really matters.

1698
01:34:03,360 --> 01:34:05,799
Speaker 1: It really really does. If we want to keep hunting

1699
01:34:05,840 --> 01:34:08,799
Speaker 1: as a is a part of our lives moving forward

1700
01:34:08,840 --> 01:34:12,160
Speaker 1: for decades to come, this kind of work is necessary.

1701
01:34:12,400 --> 01:34:14,800
Speaker 1: And UM, I'm really excited to see what we can

1702
01:34:14,840 --> 01:34:16,360
Speaker 1: do with with what you guys are putting out there.

1703
01:34:16,400 --> 01:34:18,840
Speaker 1: So Hank and Charles Man, thank you for doing this

1704
01:34:18,880 --> 01:34:20,800
Speaker 1: and thanks for taking the time to chat about him. Hey,

1705
01:34:20,800 --> 01:34:24,360
Speaker 1: thanks for having us. Yes, thank you, mart And UH,

1706
01:34:24,439 --> 01:34:27,400
Speaker 1: I think with that we'll wrap it up. Hank and

1707
01:34:27,479 --> 01:34:30,320
Speaker 1: Charles always feel free, uh if you want to hop

1708
01:34:30,320 --> 01:34:32,320
Speaker 1: back on the show sometime and talk about how the

1709
01:34:32,360 --> 01:34:35,320
Speaker 1: next couple of years worth of feel the Fork events

1710
01:34:35,320 --> 01:34:37,600
Speaker 1: have gone. Would love to would love to keep this

1711
01:34:37,640 --> 01:34:41,120
Speaker 1: conversation going, absolutely, and we got we got more in store,

1712
01:34:41,240 --> 01:34:45,519
Speaker 1: so yeah, hopefully they'll be more available for them in

1713
01:34:45,920 --> 01:34:51,840
Speaker 1: common years. Sounds good and that is a rap. So

1714
01:34:52,080 --> 01:34:54,519
Speaker 1: thank you for tuning into this one, Thanks for listening

1715
01:34:54,600 --> 01:34:57,640
Speaker 1: here about what, as we've said over and over, is

1716
01:34:57,680 --> 01:35:00,639
Speaker 1: a very important issue. My my big hole been takeaway

1717
01:35:00,640 --> 01:35:03,040
Speaker 1: from this. I'm not gonna ask for anything else today

1718
01:35:03,120 --> 01:35:07,720
Speaker 1: other than please try to take someone new hunting this year.

1719
01:35:08,360 --> 01:35:10,880
Speaker 1: You know, take the things that Charles and Hank talked about,

1720
01:35:11,120 --> 01:35:13,280
Speaker 1: put them into action. I'm going to do my best

1721
01:35:13,320 --> 01:35:15,760
Speaker 1: to do the same thing this year. Let's all do

1722
01:35:15,800 --> 01:35:19,559
Speaker 1: a little something positive this season and hopefully it's gonna

1723
01:35:19,560 --> 01:35:21,479
Speaker 1: help us all in the long run. So with that,

1724
01:35:22,000 --> 01:35:23,800
Speaker 1: I will thank you all for listening. I will thank

1725
01:35:23,800 --> 01:35:26,120
Speaker 1: you for being a part of this community. You guys

1726
01:35:26,120 --> 01:35:30,639
Speaker 1: are the best. And until next time, stay wired to Hunt.