Archery Is King

On this episode of The Nomadic Outdoorsman Dan talks with Ricky Brule, an avid outdoorsman from Minnesota and the Creative Director and Vapor Trail.

Ricky has had an extreme passion for the outdoors since he was a kid. Everything from Biking, Skateboarding, Snowboarding, Hiking, Hunting, Fishing, Camping and Canoeing to name a few. His love for bowhunting started in 2005 when he got a job in the archery department of Sportsman’s Warehouse. With a push from a friend he began hunting in the Dakota’s and killed his first spot & stalk mule deer in 2007. Ever since that moment his passion has only grown and his freezer hasn’t been empty. Dan and Ricky talk about the ins and outs of the hunting industry and share stories of failure and success.

Dan Matthews: All right guys. Welcome to you today's show, and joining me on the show Today is a new acquaintance. Ricky Bruley. [00:01:00] Dude, thanks for hopping on with me, man.

Rick Brule: Yeah, man. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. Look forward to having a chat with you for sure.

Dan Matthews: Yeah, it's gonna be good. So you are creative director at Vapor Trail.

You're up in Minnesota. Why don't you tell the listeners a little bit more about yourself, what you do in the outdoor space.

Rick Brule: Been hunting as long as I can remember. First started, getting out in the outdoors with my old man when I was like six, seven years old. Grouse, hunting, fishing, all that kind of stuff.

Once I turned 12, did a bunch of, started rifle hunting with my dad, 16, got interested in, extending my season and doing some bow hunting. So I, saved up some money and bought a. Pse Polaris for 70 bucks from my buddy's dad. And so I started shooting in the backyard.

And that the archery thing is really what's piqued my interest the most. I still love to fish and do, grouse hunt and do all those kinds of things, but when it comes to my biggest passion, it's always been an archery and mostly like any opportunity that I can [00:02:00] get to get out west and chase after mule deer that's my thing.

That's what I really like to do. And so with all of that being said, I went to college got my degree in graphic design that was my professional trade. And then just picked up some part-time work working for Sportsman's Warehouse. Started working full-time. Then I moved down to the Minneapolis area cuz they had a need in one of their stores, became a manager there.

And then as we were selling Vapor Trail products out of that, outta that particular location. And the Vapor Trail headquarters was only a few miles down the road. So every once in a while, if I needed something quick for a customer, I'd just run up there and pick it up and walked in. Just started chatting with those guys, the previous owners, and became friends with 'em.

They taught me how to build a bow string. And so I was doing that just on the side building strings, just supplemental income for some extra money and started doing some design work for 'em. I was just soliciting 'em a little bit. I'm like, man, your catalogs, they need some work, oh, your packaging needs some work. So then they brought me in to start doing [00:03:00] some design work and then the rest is history. That was 2006, so now I'm going on almost 17 years there in June. Yeah.

Dan Matthews: That's cool man. The once you get into the outdoor space or into the industry altogether, The connections just seem to come one after the next.

And that's what I love about it. A lot of people ask all the time dude, how do I get in? How do I get in? Yeah. And I'm like, just pick something you enjoy doing. And do it as good as you can. Like to the best of your ability and the connections will happen. And if you grind that's the other thing.

You gotta be consistent and you gotta grind. Yeah. And you know it's gonna take off. But there's a thousand different jobs in the outdoor industry. And people seem to think like outdoor industry is making YouTube videos, making a podcast, being on a TV show, and it's dude, there's so much more than that.

And you can get awesome opportunities all throughout.

Rick Brule: Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. And I, yeah, I love the the archery community. I've had a lot of points, throughout these last [00:04:00] 17 years where I'm like, okay, I think maybe I can pass the torch and move on to something different or because even though this is a passion of mine and I love it, sometimes it has its struggles because when we're getting into our busy season that's when everybody else is getting ready.

So we, so I oftentimes find myself getting everybody else ready for the season, and then I'm scrambling last minute trying to get my bow set up, get my bow tuned. I don't get to shoot near as much as I used to. So a lot of those things that, there's some of those things that kind of get in the way of what I want to do to it.

But I just, for whatever reason the path that has been laid out for me just keeps me here. Anytime I start to have any doubts or wanna move on or do something different, like something pulls me back in. Yeah, and I have no regrets about any of that. I've grown a ton in this here.

Had tons of opportunities to hunt and run around in the wo in the woods, in the mountains, all that kind of stuff. So it's definitely created a lot of that for me, and I appreciate that part of the job, for sure.

Dan Matthews: Yeah. That's sweet, man. Where did you start mule deer [00:05:00] hunting? Because you said archery and mule deer specifically is kinda your big passion.

Where did that come from? Because being in Minnesota, that's like big woods whitetail hunting or farmland, whitetail hunting. So mule deer is a stretch for a lot of people when they grow up in those locations.

Rick Brule: Yeah, so honestly I never really had even thought about doing anything like that.

Elk cunning was always somewhat intriguing to me. Just the thought of doing it with a bow. When I first really started getting d started diving into archery pretty heavily in, in 2005, that's when I really started getting back into it, getting heavy into it. When I went to college, I lost lost some interest, just got too busy.

But anyway, fast forward 2005, 2006, I was working with a friend of mine and he was like, I'm going out to North Dakota. I haven't any deer tag. You should just come with me. Just come hang out. We'll maybe find some sheds or whatever. We'll just run around in the hills and see what you think.

And so I went out and I was just instantly hooked. I didn't have a bow with me, but I [00:06:00] was like, next year I'm gonna have a bow in my hand for sure. And ever since then, it's just, I got the bug and I just absolutely I like. I like the solitude and everything of sitting in a tree. And at the same time there's something about chasing after 'em, gaining that skill set.

And at that time I wasn't, again, I was just getting back into it. So I didn't have, I didn't have property that I could hunt. I didn't have food plots that I could hunt over. I didn't, everything I, the only opportunities I have were public land and in the metro area around here, it's really tough.

There's a lot of people running around. You really gotta get off the beaten path. There's been a few times where I really tried to hike as back as far as I possibly could in the public land. And you get back there and you're like, this looks like a good spot. And all of a sudden there, there's a tree stand there, and then you see another tree stand over there and, and technically you're not supposed to leave that stuff out on public land, but they're so far back that they probably weren't even worried about it. They just had it set up. And so many times I'd climb up into a tree or put up a ground blind and then, Half hour after [00:07:00] sunset, a guy comes out and then climbs a tree, 20 yards away from me and you're just like, oh man.

So just the opportunities of public land, getting into some western states and it just being more wide open, running into less people. That was a huge attraction for me. And my friend Ben that took me out there was pretty knowledgeable. He helped me get my first mule deer and my second mule deer, so I gotta give him a ton of credit for that.

And ever since then, that's just, that's been it. I've just been hooked to it, that's sweet.

Dan Matthews: Do you go to different states or do you primarily stick with North Dakota?

Rick Brule: I've been successful in both North Dakota and South Dakota. And other than that, I haven't hunted Mulder in any other states, mostly just because, Time is limited, right?

So you find a spot, it takes a couple years to find a good place where you know, where the deer running around and you have good opportunities. So it's I just always stuck with that. Part of the reason I ended up going to South Dakota actually is cuz Back then you, it was easy to get a tag in North Dakota as long as you put in your application before [00:08:00] the deadline, pretty much guaranteed to get one.

Yeah, things started to change a little bit. The population was dwindling, blue tongue, some other things, harsh winters, so that was harder to get a tag. So then I started going to South Dakota and then so I've been successful there. And then now South Dakota's starting to change things as far as non-residents.

It's getting more difficult now to get access permits to some of the areas that I was hunting. So now I've just been I decided, all right, I'm gonna, I had, I don't have a nice whitetail, so I focused on getting myself a nice whitetail here in Minnesota. And that was 2000 17. And then that first season I hunted I was hunting in a metro hunt, and I ended up killing my one and only Boer that year in November.

So really, I'm like, all I got that done. Now what do I do? Trying to up the challenge a little bit. Last year I went to the boundary waters canoe area to hunt bears. I've got two bears under my belt, but I wanted to increase the challenge. It's really difficult to hunt 'em up there.

That's what I did last year. Didn't have success, but I'm hoping to try to get up there again this year. Although if I draw my North [00:09:00] Dakota Mule Deer tag this year, that's gonna trump the bear tag, so we'll see what happens.

Dan Matthews: Yeah, man. That's one thing I've been into archery. Gosh. I actually was just talking to a guy from Browning Trail cameras yesterday, and he was talking about all the different Browning products, and the first bow I ever shot was a super old Browning bow.

Nice. And it was like, it couldn't have been more than like 30% let off, man. It was like my dad's bow. He had this box and the arrows were just like every different. Shaft diameter every different length, different fletching, nothing was uniform. And I would just shoot through that box of an of arrows all day long.

And but I got into it when I was pretty young. And absolutely loved it. But that's one thing that I haven't fully dove into, not because I don't want to, but because my other hunting schedule has been so busy. I haven't really got to spend a ton of time archery hunting out west. And so that's a big [00:10:00] checklist item for me this year.

Similar to you, I went with a friend of mine, didn't have a bow, just walked around with her trying to help her get a mule deer. Yeah. And as soon as I did that hunt, I was like, I'm doing it. Like I have got to do this because the opportunity, and like you said, chasing after them, that adds so much to it.

Like you have to know what you're doing. You have to play the wind and the thermals and the terrain and kind of pattern these deer that might not be on a normal pattern. And, they might move two mountain ranges overnight versus a whitetail is gonna stick within the same couple hundred acres.

Typically. So yeah, that's gonna be, hopefully this year I've got a bunch of tags that I've put in for, we'll see which ones I get and yeah. Hopefully I can go stick a mule deer this year.

Rick Brule: Yeah, man, good luck with that. And with getting the tag and then, once the time comes, yeah you'll love it.

You'll have a blast. And I had an opportunity, I hunted elk in Idaho in 2019 and I didn't have any success. Did, but didn't, a long story. And we can get into that [00:11:00] too. But now after going on that hunt, I was like, oh man, I need to do that again. The only thing that stopped me from hunting elk is just financial reasons, just trying to justify, now that I have a family and stuff, it's really important, to get. Make sure you got, the food on the table. So it's hard for me to invest that much money in a hunt and not come home with any meat. So I have to be very careful about where I'm putting my money and make sure that it's gonna, that I'm gonna get some good value out of it.

So I'm hoping to go back. I've been applying for points in Wyoming, Colorado and also Arizona. So hopefully, Arizona's gonna be a ways down the road, but Colorado, I've got several points in Wyoming, so within the next couple of years, I should be able to, I'm just, I know I'm not gonna have the opportunity to go out to those states this next upcoming year, so I'm just trying to build points and build points so I can get tags in some good areas.

I've got buddies out in both states that want to take me out. So I've got spots that I can go Montana as well. But again, the $1,200 Elk [00:12:00] mule deer combo tag is a little tough to to squeeze that in right now, but I'll be doing that someday too.

Dan Matthews: Yeah, that's the, the nice thing about some of these western states is you can get into like over the counter tags, but also be building points the whole time.

Yeah. And, but like you said, the problem is that financial burden of, 600, $1,200 per tag. Yeah. That's not easy to swallow. And there's places where, you know, all the guys are hanging up their tags that they don't shoot at the local town hall or, rec center building or wherever they go and buy their tag beforehand.

That they don't, that they don't shoot a bull or a buck. And I'm like, dude, I can't imagine going out year after year spending that kind of money. And the guys that do it in multiple states, they might be four grand deep into tags and they might be successful on one of them. I'm not at the position where I can justify that.

Like I go where my odds are the highest, and thankfully I've had pretty good success out west hunting, but I know once [00:13:00] I get into the archery game, my, my chances go way

Rick Brule: down. Yeah. No that's for sure. Yeah.

Dan Matthews: So you guys are talking about starting a podcast. What is that all gonna be about?

Rick Brule: So initially we just wanna, our main goal is brand awareness. We've been in business for almost 30 years and there's still a lot of people that haven't heard about us, so wanna make sure that we can get the word out. For the last couple years we've been talking about it and I was just always going, man, it's, there's so many out there.

I don't know how we could, I don't know how it would benefit us or I don't know, all those kinds of things. But this year I got a pretty tight budget and as far as like our marketing side of things. And I just thought I'd take a pivot. And again, try to get the word out there a little bit, talk.

We wanna talk about our history. We wanna talk about the original founder of the company. He's, he no longer with us, but he was a legend in his own time. So just want to bring some awareness about who he was and how he brought. What he's done for the industry as a whole.

And then also just start [00:14:00] getting into kind of talking about general archery stuff. We've got a pro shop here too. So my co-host is a general manager of the pro shop. He's really experienced, he's a lot more experienced in the target area than I am. So he can bring, he'll be able to bring that portion of it to the table.

So we've got a episode scheduled out where we're gonna talk about some of the 3D shoots coming up this summer. R 100, T a c Bo we've got a local event up here called Bo Fest that's pretty popular, so we'll get into that. Talking a lot about like draw deadlines, it around this time of year, within the January, February, we'll st we'll get into talking about that.

When to start applying for certain states and when the deadlines are, just to bring people up to speed on some of that stuff. Talking about technical. Tuning techniques for archery equipment. I'm a little more old school, so you know, I'll be bringing some of that to the table.

And then our co-host, his, we call him Hollywood and he's gonna be bringing, his flavor to the table when it comes to the target type stuff. And [00:15:00] then so yeah, that, that's basically what we want to get into. We've got some pretty good guests online or scheduled that we're gonna talk to.

We sponsor Jason, Matt Singer and his TV show, so we're gonna get him on for an episode. My buddy that back in the day used to bring me out to North Dakota, we'll get him on and chat how we got, just like I was ta talking with you about how he got me into the doing the Western hunting.

We've got we also sponsor Corey Anderson. He's an m A fighter, so he's gonna be on an episode. And we got Kurt Wells, we've got just a. A long list of interviews that we want to do as well, just interesting people to talk to specifically in archery realm.

Dan Matthews: All right, guys. If you've been listening to the podcast, I'm sure you've heard me talk about the helicopter hog hunt that I did down in Texas.

Now, I went down there with rope Texan Outfitters and Landon and Brandon, the owners put us on the animals. We killed 150 pigs in 19 coyotes, just from the air. On top of that. We went out thermal hunting at night and got up [00:16:00] close and personal to more hogs. I didn't have to worry about bringing guns or ammunition because all of that was provided for me, and it is to this day, the most action packed day of hunting I've ever had.

I stand by what I've said in the past, and that's that helicopter hog hunting is the funnest thing that you can do with pants on. In addition, they offer Sandhill crane hunts, and predator calling. So if you're looking for the most exciting hunt of your life in something that you're gonna want to come back and do year after year, go check out rogue texan.com and book your hunt today.

Yeah. That's awesome man. I'm looking forward to hearing it. And I love when people come out with new podcasts cuz I'm the guy that like binge listens on long car rides and then I get caught up and I'm like, dang it, I need a new one. Yeah. And so I'm always adding new podcasts to the library.

You mentioned being more of the old school archery hunter. What do you mean by that? Are you not necessarily into the gimmicky [00:17:00] things? Because I do see the archery space is blowing up. Everybody's getting into archery and not that it hasn't been big in the past, but it seems like it's just booming right now with all the media being put out, like the short content, YouTube, podcasting, western hunting and traveling and experiencing new types of hunts.

It just seems like archery is getting a second wind right now. But with that, you get a bunch of the weird stuff, like everybody's got a new invention for Boz and. I feel like a lot of things in the hunting world are gimmicky, but then they might also be usable. I don't know what rest you shoot.

But the whisker biscuit, when that first came out, it's like everybody had to have it. Now I don't think I know anybody who has

Rick Brule: one. It. Yeah. Naturally, we manufacture the limb driver arrow rest, so that's what I shoot. And that's really what got me started with Vapor trails is just really loving their products, loving the product the bow strings, the arrow rests, all that.

That's what got me started. I was selling 'em [00:18:00] at Sportsman's Warehouse. So just getting into working for this company naturally worked out really well because it's easy to sell a product that you trust and that you like. Yeah. Go back to the whisker biscuit. Yeah, I, we. In our pro shop we've got a lot of package bowls that have that rest on it.

And it's a, it's definitely a great option for anybody really. For the most part. We, we recommend it for people just starting out. It's always a better way to go. Drop aways can be tricky and if you're not paying attention, you, you could run into a problem, but of course we always, with the, with we put it on and set it up with the, we preface it saying down the road when you get a little bit more experienced, we'll get you an arrow rest.

That can help you extend your range a little bit because it's more forgiving. And so I guess when it comes to, your question about me being a little bit more old school, there's a, to your point with gimmicky stuff, like you're talking about I keep it simple. It is where I'm at there.

I love to get in the weeds about really technical stuff. But a lot of that stuff just [00:19:00] might not be necessary as far as, the way, some people get all crazy with tying their peep in and they've got, they gotta, wrap the strand all the way around and just they've lock that thing in there so tight that it isn't gonna move anywhere.

And then when something changes, now you gotta adjust it. Now you have to cut the, your your tie-ins out, and you run the risk of cutting your string. Just little things like that. And then the craze with super heavy arrows, super high, f o c, all that kind of stuff.

I can see the advantages when it comes to some of that stuff, but it's really not it's getting to be a little bit too crazy. I've never had an issue with having an arrow blast through a deer that is, I'm shooting a 70 pound bow. It's a 425 grain arrow and never had a problem with it blast through a deer.

Even at 65 yards. My, the second mul deer I ever shot when I was out in North Dakota was a 92 yard shot. And I will say I got lucky for sure. I was practicing a lot at that distance. So there is some of that, but I definitely got lucky as far as like wind and all that kind of stuff, right?

So I'm I can't take a hundred [00:20:00] percent credit for that. The Lord was guiding that arrow, I tell you what, but complete pass through, and I didn't need to have a super heavy arrow to do that. And I didn't need to shoot an 80 pound bow to do that. There's things that you can do.

You can shoot a 50 pound bow, you just lighten up your arrow. You just gotta make sure that everything is coincides with, what your setup is. And so there's, that's not to say that's all just old school thinking, right? But again there's just, there's so many things that, that go on that just.

Really aren't necessary. And then they gain this popularity and then soon people think, oh, it's absolutely necessary for me to have a 600 grain arrow even though I don't shoot more than thir 30 yards. They're like, oh I don't have to worry about too much, drop on my 600 grain arrow cause I'm only shooting at 30 or 40 yards.

Okay but if you're only shooting 30 or 40 yards, then I don't see the need to have an arrow that heavy, honestly. Yeah. Speed plays a factor in all of that, so when you get a super heavy arrow, now you're reducing your speed. That's part of the equation when it comes to kinetic energy.

And so there's a [00:21:00] happy medium there. And and our my co-host Hollywood, he, he shares the same beliefs as I do, but then he's also I just do things the way that I do things cuz they work and I don't change it. But he's also more progressive. He's seeing what other guys are doing out there and we have customers that come in that want that kind of stuff.

So we do have to have a technician that can get them what they want. Yeah

Dan Matthews: it's definitely a fine line between what's practical and what is actually gonna help you. Like in the long run, because I'm a gear junkie man. Like, when I see stuff come out, I'm like, oh, that looks amazing.

I don't know how I've hunted without that. And then I get it and I find myself not using it. And I'm like, oh, it's not as great. Somebody did a great job marketing it because they made me think I had to have it. But as far as changing my setup on my bow, I recently got a new bow, but I don't see myself changing it anytime soon.

Yeah. On the flip side, I've seen guys where it's every year they buy the newest model. And they put all the newest stuff on it, and I'm like, dude, who's that kind of budget? [00:22:00] Man, that's not cheap. They're cycling out all their arrows, they're changing their shaft diameter, like those micro arrows.

I saw those at ATA this year, like for the first time in person. And I'm like, dude, this thing is tiny. And I could see there's probably some benefits to it, but then I look at it and I go, okay, at the range, if you go just off of feet per second kinetic energy, like if you look at the weight of the arrow, the length of it, it's all the same.

It's just a tinier air, like a thinner arrow. And so people get really into it though, man, the science behind it, and like even just adding two feet per second, I'm like, ah, I don't really care that much. I'd rather not have to totally retune my bow just to shoot new

Rick Brule: arrow. Yeah. And I'm with you.

I used to do the same thing actually. I used to get a new bow every year. And, and you know how it is, you get one, once you have a family it's man, my bow was tuned up. I don't want it, I don't want, the bows I have right now are all three years old because I haven't wanted to change anything out just because, again, like they're shooting great.

[00:23:00] And I've got enough arrows to last me quite a while, so I don't I don't have to change anything for quite some time, which is a nice thing. At the same time with our job now, it, I get that fomo where I'm like, Ooh, we get the, oh, there's a new arrow. What? And I start looking up the specs and then I'm like, no, stop.

You don't need it. Don't do it. You got, I've got four dozen Eastern injections. I'm gonna just keep shooting what I've got so I can at least get through some of those arrows. But yeah and not to, I'm also not trying to dog on anybody that that wants a super high f o c or a really heavy arrow, obviously it works.

And if it works for you, that's great. I just, I, that's where I feel like I'm a little bit more old school, so to speak. Yeah.

Dan Matthews: Yeah. I've had to tell myself it, when I see a new product, do not purchase it right away, wait five days, and if you're still just man, I really do, like I have been needing that, then go ahead and get it.

Otherwise, I would have a whole, I'd have a whole garage full of stuff that I impulse bought and [00:24:00] didn't use. But, yeah, once you get comfortable with your setup, it, I don't see a need to change the whole adage if it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's where I'm at. I'm like, dude, I love the way my bow shoots.

I, I feel confident with it. I can reach out there and like my max that I've shot is a hundred yards, but I also haven't been on any hunts that I've needed to shoot that far. But to get comfortable with your equipment, nothing is gonna beat that. No, no amount of stuff. And 99.9% of people can't outshoot their equipment.

Their equipment isn't what's holding them back. It's probably them, their technique, the amount of repetitions they're putting on the range. And so that's where I'm at. I've gotta convince myself like, dude, I'm not that good of an archer to where I have to have the newest everything. Yeah. I need to, once I get, as close to perfect as possible with my current equipment, then maybe I can look at

Rick Brule: upgrading it.

For sure there. And there's definitely some things that you can do to make your setup a little bit more [00:25:00] forgiving. But again, ultimately it just comes down to practicing and making sure that you're consistent and you get that muscle memory down and that you're, taking advice from other people, just watching you shoot too, have other people watch and make sure that your stance is good and that your form is good and all that kind of stuff to make sure that you're shooting consistently.

And then also practicing in the environment you're gonna hunt in. That's another one that I run into a lot. I used to coordinate some metro hunts here and we would be tracking deer because guys just, They get into that situation where a deer comes out and they're in the stand and they just completely just lose their mind, and I've been down that road too, so I get it right. But they just, they might be practicing all day long in the backyard and shooting well, and grouping their arrows really tight. But when that deer comes out, it's a different ballgame. And so a lot of guys don't realize that. And again, just, you wanna be shooting with all your equipment, that you're, all the gear, all the clothing of, if you got a face mask whatever you name it make sure you're put wearing all that stuff and practicing in it to make sure that you're gonna be [00:26:00] shooting consistently with the situation you're gonna be shooting in.

Yeah.

Dan Matthews: What do you do to prepare for a high pressure shot or, that moment of truth when you're actually drawing back on a muled deer or a white tail?

Rick Brule: That's a tough one. When I went out elk hunting I was, when I was practicing my backyard, I, I have a Glendale full rut buck that I shoot at.

Literally was just trying to envision an elk stepping out to the point where even sometimes like it, my heart would even start to race. Cuz I'm just imagining being in that situation, in that moment. And it gets your heart rate going, get your heart pumping a little bit. And then so now you're, that's about as good as you can get anyways, as far as that scenario was really just imagining it and trying to get your heart rate up.

Some other things we used to do is, there was an archery club we used to shoot at that was, had some terrain. So we would literally run up the hill and then when we'd get to the top, knock an arrow and then try to shoot when you're, when you're under that stress to see how well you can do it.

So we would practice that quite a bit. Yeah.

Dan Matthews: Yeah. That's [00:27:00] cool. I think a lot of these archery competitions like you were talking about a little while ago, Is a really good way to get people used to that high pressure. And it's, nothing ever is gonna compare to the adrenaline you have when a buck or a bull or something steps out in front of you.

But if you can at least somewhat simulate that and get your heart racing, maybe there's people watching you. Even those steel targets I've seen, only the vital is foam and everything else is steel. So like your arrow's gonna explode on impact. That adds an element of stress to it.

Dude, I don't wanna blow through these arrows. And so that's one thing that I need to do better at now. I haven't, I've never been the guy that gets like buck fever, bull fever really bad. I get like in this weird zone once that moment happens and then all of my panic, all of my like stress, my heart rate, everything goes through the roof.

As soon as I pull the trigger or send an arrow, and then I'm a mess dude. Like I would be the guy that falls out of a tree stand because I [00:28:00] forget that I'm in a tree. Because I'm just so jacked. There's times where I'm calling my wife and she's are you crying? And I'm like, I'm not crying, but like I'm, my whole body is shaking as if I'm freezing cold right now.

And it's just from a rush of adrenaline and endorphins. And so that's one thing that I haven't necessarily been able to relate with people on. Yeah. But I totally get it because I think about, man, if I was in that state and had to draw back on an animal, forget it, dude, that never, I'd be buying my meat from the store.

Rick Brule: Yep. Yeah. And I think one thing is too is, I made a mistake early on when I was bow hunting. I had this mentality where I was going to only shoot. Bucks and big bucks. So in the first few years that I bow hunted I would just let every dough go by. I would let every buck go by, didn't matter, and so then when a big buck finally came out, I just totally whiffed. I didn't, I would, and I don't know that I would say that I like lost my mind, but I just [00:29:00] remember, I, I don't even remember taking the shot, I didn't go through the motions of making sure my anchor point was set, making sure my peak alignment was proper, making sure, and then, and back then I, they didn't have movable sites back then, so you just had pins.

I had the old metal pin with a little fiber optic on the end, but so I totally blew that, and then I started to learn and I had somebody tell me once you gotta start, getting some deer under your belt, shoot some dough, get that experience. So then that way it helps to calm you down a little bit.

You get used to it. And again, to your, so now I'm more to the point where you're at, where I get in this little bit of a zone. I shoot enough now where I've got the muscle memory so I don't have to worry too much about whether my form or, whether my follow through is gonna be good.

Just all I gotta do is just go through the steps of making sure my anchor point's good, my peep is aligned properly, I've got the right pin on the deer, and now I'm just waiting for the right shot opportunity to pull the trigger. So that, but it was just about getting some animals under my belt, [00:30:00] and getting that experience out of the way.

So then that way when the moment of truth comes around, then you're, you got a better chance at success.

Dan Matthews: Yeah, that makes sense. I do see a lot of guys now that will go and do dough management before. They actually go out and hunt the rut or chase after a big buck. And they're like, it gets those jitters out because when you've gone, 340 days since you last shot at deer Yeah.

And you get out there and your target bucks in front of you it's a different ballgame than if you've been out in the stands, shooting dough, shooting coyo, shooting turkeys, whatever it is. And then all of a sudden you have an opportunity, you've been there, you know how it feels, you know how to handle it.

I do think it's funny though, you were talking about the different the different sites on your bow. And I remember back to the gimmicky items, I remember with my dad being at an archery shop in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and I saw this packet on the shelf and it was next to all the sites. And it was these little clip on reflective, te it [00:31:00] imagine like bright pink, yellow, green Popsicle sticks on the end of closed pin.

And they correlated with The different colors of your pins. And so the whole idea was that you go and clip 'em on limbs at the different ranges from your tree stand so that when an animal came in, you knew oh, that's by the pink. You know the pink popsicle stick. I need to use my third pin.

Dude, I straight up bought those thinking this is gonna be a game changer. I don't have to guess. And if I wasn't cheap, I would've just bought a range finder. But, I was like, oh, I'm gonna get these. And I had, you could look around, you could look around my sand, and it was like every tree you looked at had these little colored deals on it that I've flipped on trees and it never helped me kill a deer.

I did not kill a deer out of that stand ever with my bow.

Rick Brule: That's funny. I get the concept. It does make sense, and I can see where it would make someone go, Hey, that's a great idea. And then buy it, and it's probably within, easily within someone's budget, so you're like if I don't use it, whatever.

No big deal. A smart idea, [00:32:00] but I get what you're saying. And I'm with you on that too, as far as archery. I can't think of anything on the archery side of things, but like, when it comes to there's a few things that I bought. Like for my handgun, like for carrying and things like that I bought one of those, like thumbprint safes, when I, when my daughter was born.

Cause I'm like, yeah, I want to be able to just real quick access my handgun and then the thing doesn't work half the time, yeah. Trying to get your fingerprint on there in the dark as near impossible. It didn't ever worked well, that kind of thing. I remember there was a holster that I got that I was like, it was like 60 bucks and I was like, oh, this thing's gonna be sweet.

And I, I honestly just sold it recently. I've had it for three years, but I finally just sold it cuz it just wasn't comfortable. I didn't like it. And it was a great idea. One of those concepts where you're like, oh, that's awesome. But then when you actually try it, you're like, man, this thing isn't even comfortable at all.

Like any, I can't even sit down, without a jabbing, without the gun jabbing into my leg. So things like that. Fishing, oh my gosh, I've bought so many gimmicky, pushing things. I can't even, and I'm an average I'm below average fish fishermen at best, so I'm always trying [00:33:00] to find some sort of, way to catch fish better, but I haven't been able to find that, you remember the banjo minnow? You ever heard of that? Banjo Minnow? Banjo minnow. I feel like if

Dan Matthews: I saw it, I would know what you're talking

Rick Brule: about. I'm proud to say that I never gave into the infomercials late at night to buy it. But yeah, that was one. Every time I say something to somebody who's really experienced in fishing, I mentioned the banjo minnow and they always giggle and laugh cuz it's just, it's nothing special, but they make it seem like it's really lifelike and it's, buy now and, we'll send you a, an extra pack for your friend and, that kind of situation.

Oh yeah. You get 'em and then you're like, or easy payments

Dan Matthews: of 5 99. All of those things, man I used to sit up, like I'd be watching TV back before all of the streaming platforms, where you could just watch whatever you wanted on demand. I'd be like flipping through channels and I would always get stuck on those stinking infomercials, man.

The Miracle Blade. The Miracle Blade series, dude, I would watch that over and over, watch 'em slice through a pineapple and they're like, this is a [00:34:00] bread knife and I'm gonna use it to cut sheet rock, and I'm gonna cut this soda can, and then watch, I can drop a tomato on it. And I'm like, I don't know why, man.

They're good. They get you. Yeah. And thankfully I have never bought anything from an infomercial, but if I'm in the store, you better believe I'm buying crap that I don't need all the

Rick Brule: time. Oh, for sure. Definitely. And you gotta get, you gotta get it out, right? Like you just gotta buy it and then realize, oh man, I need to second put some second thought into that before I start buying things.

But yeah, there's a lot of gimmicky stuff out there for sure. Yeah.

Dan Matthews: The hunting section we've got Bass Pro headquarters here in town in that place, man. I go through there and now I do have a lot of things that I'm like, I want this and I want, we bought 25 acres. Just outside of town and I wanna set up just a sweet, like 150 yard archery range.

And I want to have a bunch of different targets all the way out there, have my buddies over, have bow hangers where they can set their stuff and have a bow press out there and just, everything that you need to shoot to [00:35:00] tune all of it. Yeah. Other than that, I just need to have blinders on when I walk through Bass Pro.

Cause I bought, my wife's what all did you get? You went in for ammo? And I'm like, oh, I saw this and I remember I've needed one of these. And she's I've never heard you mention that product. So I can't imagine that you actually need that, and she's right most of the time.

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Rick Brule: Yeah. Oh, that's funny. Yeah, it makes me think about some of the stuff that you guys have out there, some of the reels and everything. It's hilarious crack. A lot of the stuff you guys do crack me up.

Dan Matthews: It's. L Lately it's been video equipment because I'm like I'm set. Dude, I am gonna start filming my hunts.

I'm gonna start getting things on camera. [00:37:00] And so I bought GoPros and I bought a really nice camera and I bought a drone and I bought like a dj I like gimbal thing that will like track movement. And nice dude I've made almost zero videos with this happen. So finally I told my wife, it's not that I don't want to, I take it out there with me every time, but I'm the guy who in the moment I don't hit record because I'm just so locked into what I'm doing.

Yeah. And so I said the only way that this is gonna work is if I have somebody else with me to film. And so now my buddy Chris is gonna start coming with me on hunts and getting film or video for me. That way I can put all of this video and audio equipment that I've purchased to use. So it doesn't just sit here and collect dust.

Rick Brule: Yeah, for sure. I hear you too. I used to wanna try to do all that kind of stuff as well, and I used to haul a camera and an arm up in the tree and strap it in, and do all that and try to self film hunts and it's so hard to do to the point where I was just like, Ugh, I'm looking at my camera before I go out to the stand.

I'm just like, [00:38:00] forget it, so then again, I got a, nice D S L R that just sat there in the, in the in its case for, four or five years. And now here I break it out now and I'm able to use it for these podcasts, which is great. But yeah, it's. I could easily go down that rabbit hole and spend a lot of money on camera equipment.

The beauty is now I have a young man that is helping us out with some of our content. And so I'm hoping that I can get him to follow me out to North Dakota this year, assuming I draw a tag and get some good video footage. And then vice versa, I'll, we'll flip around and then I'll film him too.

So hopefully we can get a couple of kills on camera with that. But yeah, definitely gotta have some help. There's no doubt about that. Otherwise it just feels like it's a waste to even have it out there. Yeah.

Dan Matthews: Yeah. I've carried so many things out there and doing the same thing, hanging camera arms up in the tree, and all with good intention.

I thought I was gonna get it. What I end up doing, I'm really good at filming my buddies if I don't have a tag. And I've got some [00:39:00] killer footage of that stuff. But if I've got a tag in my pocket, dude, you could put a $200,000 camera. In my pack and I'll, I'm probably never gonna use it because the shot opportunity is way more important to me than the, like getting the shot on video.

And I watch guys on TV and I get it. It's a business, like you have to be business minded with it. And they won't shoot like their number one target buck because the light is too low. And I'm like, dude, if I can see it with my eye, like if I can get an ethical shot on it, I couldn't care less about the camera.

And they're just like, no, we're gonna have to come back. And I'm like, dude, you can see it like, it's not gonna be the best video, but you can shoot it and get good video of it on the ground. They just don't do it. And I'm like, kudos to you, man. You've got way more restraint than I do.

Rick Brule: Yeah. I always love that.

It's always amazing even when they can get it and they're like, oh, it's only a 350 inch bull. I don't have to pass on that one. I know there's a bigger one in there somewhere. I'm like, what? Are you kidding me? [00:40:00]

Dan Matthews: The problems that some people have, man, I'm like, dude I just can't imagine. But it's true, like the marketing side of it, if you shoot, if you can say dude, 400 inch bull on your YouTube video, it's gonna get a lot of clicks versus a three 30, even though 99% of people in the country that elk hunt are gonna be thrilled with a 330 inch bull.

Absolutely. You're doing it to get the views and obviously, you've got your standards that you wanna hunt. It makes sense for those people to do it. I hope I have that problem where it's dude, there's a 400 inch bull in here. I'm gonna pass on this three 30. Yeah, I'll know that I've made it in the outdoor industry once I have that opportunity present.

Rick Brule: Yep, for sure, man. And that, that's one thing though, too. Again, going back to what we were talking about with, getting some animals under your belt, I've always I've always worked my way up, so Yeah. Now I'm to a point where I'm a little bit pickier until I get to maybe the last couple of days.

And, they often caution never do that. Don't [00:41:00] wait till the last day to shoot something you, or, how's that phrase go again? Don't pass something you would shoot the last day. It's, I've heard

Dan Matthews: it a couple different ways. One is don't pass on something the first day that you'd shoot on the last day.

And then the other ones don't shoot on, don't shoot something the last day that you'd pass the first day or something. It's along those lines. I think that's a load of crap. I'm like, dude, nobody's had a tag burn in a hole in their pocket on the last day that says that, they're drawn back if it gets exciting.

You're gonna draw back on it.

Rick Brule: Absolutely. Absolutely. And then, as far as like getting things under your belt, I also thought about what we were talked about earlier as hog hunting. That's always a great way. Any, anytime I get a new archer here, I'm like, man, go do a hog hunt somewhere.

That's gonna be the best way and the quickest way, and a more guaranteed way to to send an animal or send an arrow through an animal and get that experience.

Dan Matthews: Yeah. And talk about a hearty animal. Yeah, dude, you gotta put a good shot on a pig. I've watched a lot of orally executed [00:42:00] killings of pigs, like even farm pigs.

I've had a couple of my buddies that have told me horror stories of trying to like slaughter a pig and it didn't go well. And I'm like I pig hunted in Georgia this year with my gun and. Those things are just tough, man. And to slip an arrow through one and get it to go down, like you don't wanna be tracking a pig through the bush that's injured because those things are mean and they will tear you up.

And so yeah, that's a high stretch stress situation. So if you can hunt pigs and get yourself used to that critical moment that's, there's probably not many better ways to get prepared for a big buck walking out in front of you.

Rick Brule: Yeah, for sure. Definitely a good way to do it. Cool. Interesting story.

It was hunting hogs down in Florida with a couple of guys, and I had shot my hog and then the morning hunt was over. And so the guy, the guide came around picked us up and one of the guys that we were with hadn't had an opportunity at shooting one. And [00:43:00] so they had a trophy hog out there.

And he is like, all right, we're gonna, we're gonna go try find them and we're gonna, we're gonna let you stock it. And he was shooting a crossbo. And so we get in the cart and we're cruising around and we find him and he gets outta the cart and he, works his way through the woods and gets to a spot where he can get a shot.

It's probably like a 50 yard shot or something like that. And his bolt hits a twig, and so it cleans his bolt off and it hits the hog in the leg. And so it takes off. So then we continue to work our way towards it, pretty cautiously. The guy's got a, he's got an AR 15 with him, just in case, whatever.

And so we get up there and this hog is, I don't know, 35 yards away or something like that. And he, and I had my camera. So I was gonna film it. I had my camera in my hand, but I wasn't ready. And the hog charged us. And then it stopped at I don't know, five or six yards. And I was actually shocked that [00:44:00] the guy didn't shoot it, but I guess he was, he said he was confident that the hog wasn't gonna, go much further.

And I was like and before I could even get my camera up, my buddy puts the pin right between his eyes and drills the bolt. Right between the hog's eyes and just drops it in its tracks. Gee, I was just in, I was like, oh my God, I could not believe it. I was like, that's just insane. And the guy was even saying, don't shoot at the head because yeah, they've got the tough plate and he's your bolt will skip right off of it.

But he drove it right in there. I yeared it for him with the bolts still stuck in his forehead. It was wild hunt. It was cool.

Dan Matthews: That's really awesome. Yeah, we, so when we used to butcher pigs the guys that I would butcher with, one of 'em was a biology teacher. And so he was very fascinated with everything, like all the inner workings of the pig and.

A couple times they were like, Hey, do you want to like, put the pig down? And I was like, okay. And they're like it's a small target, like it's not an easy shot, so you have to be very precise with it. [00:45:00] And he actually had a pig skull that he had cut in half. It was like a euro pig skull. He had cut in half.

And he showed me right where that brain like cavity is where the brain sits. And he explained, if you draw a line from the eyes to the opposite ears, it makes an X and you're shooting right below that, right below the center of the X, but it's gotta be at a right angle. And I'm like, dude, this is insane.

Like they, they really do everything on them thick, wild bores. They also have that like plate around their chest that's just, I don't know, I've gotta look it up. I don't know if it's cartilage hardened fat, but like they've got this armor on 'em that's not easy to penetrate either. It's not easy to cut through with a knife.

Yeah. And yeah, when you're hunting those animals, man, I had the pig that I shot this year, I shot it twice. It went down, I walked up on it, it was laying on its side, still breathing. So I got down, it was, its back was facing away from me so I could see the belly and underneath its chin. I [00:46:00] get down with my ar, go right up underneath the chin of it, shoot.

And it stood up and charged me. And I'm like, oh my gosh. And this, it was like a 200 pound bore. Yeah. And I'm like, dude, that thing would tear me up. So I just started, dumping rounds, but it goes sideways. I've seen other guys get charged and empty full Glock mags into 'em at like pointblank, and they're still coming after him.

They're no joke, thankfully elk and deer, you typically don't have to worry about that right now. I will say, I guarantee if I could do my dream hunt, it would be Yukon Moose with my bow. There you go. And those things, dude, I've seen those charge people and there is no getting away from that. Like you've gotta have a 20 inch wide tree in between you and it if you want to stand a chance.

So I think that one would probably be my highest stress shot that I'll ever take. Yeah,

Rick Brule: definitely. Yeah. I think what you're, and going back to the hogs, I think what you're referring to, and I'm not an expert on this so I could be wrong, but I've heard it referred to as a shield, [00:47:00] oftentimes the shield.

Yes. And I think it's, that's exactly right. I think it is like a callous that's created, cuz when the hogs fight, they tuske they, they put their tusks into that, their side. And so I think that's what creates that. Okay. And I could be wrong, I just, I'm just relaying information that was told to me, but I think that's what that is.

And yeah, so you, so they always. Tell you to be mindful about, trying to avoid shooting, to shooting the shield or, try to stay, back from it. Just a little bit, little ways. If you can get a quartering away shot, then that way you can sneak it in a little bit further back and then you don't run the risk of hitting that.

But yeah, as far as dream hunts, man yeah, Alaska for sure, I would love, I would love to grizzly hunt like Kodiak or something. That's, that would be absolutely insane.

Dan Matthews: Kodiak's a wild place, man. I've got to hunt there twice now. Did a lot of fishing both times, but I've never gone after a grizzly.

Like it, it's nerve wracking just being out there with them much less. If I did a grizzly hunt, I think I would want to try it with my bow [00:48:00] and I just can't imagine, man. Yeah. You'd feel accomplished if you put a, like a lethal shot on one with a bow. But then obviously you've got a side arm and you're gonna be with a guide, cuz you have to be up there.

And I just dunno how it would feel if it was like I've heard the stories and I've seen some of the videos of guys who put a lethal shot with their bow. And then immediately after the arrow slips through, the guide will shoot it with the rifle. To make sure nothing goes sideways. And I'm like, dude, I just dunno how I feel about that.

I'd probably be thankful, but also just, let's see what

Rick Brule: happens. Yeah. Definitely A little bit sketchy. Chuck Adams, I don't know if you're familiar with him, but he's got a couple books out there where he, he's killed a few Kodiak and the stories that he tells are just unbelievable.

You're like, holy cow. I don't know how you would, how you can just keep your nerves about you, but they're, they get you pumped up. For sure. Hearing those stories is really what makes me want to do [00:49:00] that hunt really bad.

Dan Matthews: Yeah. I've got some buddies who did it and if I remember right one of the guys with them shot an 11 foot square bear up on Kodiak.

Oh wow. And just a monster and same type of thing. He shot it, they went after it, if I remember right, they had to go back the next morning cuz it was already getting dark. And the bear was downwind to them and charged them and they had to put it down at seven yards. Oof. And I'm like, no. Like for me, you can't really just walk up on a bear in the open.

But also I'd have a really hard time in cover shooting a bear because it's like they can clear some distance. And it doesn't take anything. They don't have to have a hold of you for a minute. It could take two seconds and they would end you. Yeah. So yeah. Oh man. Yeah. Now you got me thinking. I, Alaska in general, like all the greatest hunts in North America, I feel like have to happen in Alaska.

And to get up there one day, one day [00:50:00] I'll get after a moose and a grizzly. I don't think it's go well. The moose I hope to make happen soon. The grizzly I think is gonna be a long game cuz I haven't even looked into prices. That's gotta be a 20 plus thousand dollars hunt.

Rick Brule: It's up there. Yeah. I think you're pretty close.

Yeah. Yeah. It's definitely up there. But yeah, that definitely dream hunts up in Alaska, but that'd be an awesome place to hunt. I haven't even ever been to Alaska and I hope to go there sooner than later, but

Dan Matthews: yeah. Yeah, it's cool. It's definitely a place that I tell everyone you gotta get up there at least once.

And if you look at it, we were talking about tag prices here in the lower 48 tag prices up there are so reasonable in comparison to some of the western states down here. Like a moose license is, I wanna say it was like 1200 bucks. If I draw a moose license in Colorado, it's gonna cost me $2,400 to buy the tag, not to mention the a hundred dollars preference point fee every year.

Yeah. Just to, be able to draw the [00:51:00] tag. So I'm looking at, realistically, I'll probably be $4,500 deep into that hunt. Before I even pull the trigger. Oh, geez. And so I'm like, dude, you could actually go up and have the hunt of a lifetime in Alaska, still potentially shoot a moose.

Transportation's gonna be the expensive part. But I'd rather hunt a moose in Alaska than Colorado, that's for sure.

Rick Brule: Yeah, that would be awesome. That'd be awesome. I'd definitely want to have a couple buddies up there for sure. With me. Yeah. A couple of people that I've talked to, they're just like, oh man.

I don't know if not to debunk it or anything, but they're just like, yeah, one, the one time I hunted it is probably enough. Just, cuz packing it out and all the work that's involved, but every single one of every single guy that tells me that has been out multiple times after that.

So I'm like, sure. Yeah. Yeah.

Dan Matthews: One times enough. Yeah. No, not for me, man. That. I'm convinced I'll live up there for a season at some point. I might not move up there permanently, but just to be up there for three months and get to experience it all would be incredible. [00:52:00] What you mentioned you don't have an elk hunt this year, but what do you have on the agenda for 2023?

Rick Brule: So the only thing I have right now is, like I said, I applied for North Dakota. I have one preference point. So I have a last year was like a 65% chance to draw with one point last year. So I assume the number of tags are this roughly the same. It went up just a little bit this year, so I have a slightly better chance.

But the hope is that I draw that tag. If I don't I will, I'll go back to hopefully bear hunting in the boundary waters, canoe area, wilderness. And taking on that challenge again the hard part about that hunt is that it's a leave no trace type of a situation. But the best way to hunt bears in the state of Minnesota is with bait.

And so you can hunt 'em with bait in the boundary wires, but you can't leave it out. You can't put it out and leave it for, any period of time. So if you put it out and you hunt over it, you gotta all, you gotta pick it all back up and then take it back to your camp with you and so that every day you have to do that.

Yep. Wow. Yeah, you can't. And again, it's very remote, [00:53:00] right? So the chances of, you could probably get away with it, but I don't, I'm a firm believer in karma in the woods. Yeah. And as well, I'm in the industry too, so it would be really bad for me to get any sort of, game violation.

And I also want to do it legit, I want to do it the way that it's all part of that challenge. So it that's what I want to do. I don't want to cheat. Again, that's, there's that challenge. Also, another technique would be to do a burn. And in the boundary waters, you can't have a fire anywhere outside of the campsite fire ring.

Again, trying to go into a little bit of a more remote area where maybe you see some sign and you wanna set up. You can't, you just can't do a burn cuz you're not within that in those parameters. And they, they have planes that fly over, just making sure everything's okay, rescue teams and all that kind of stuff in case somebody, doesn't, gets lost or doesn't come out.

And they can see a plume of smoke coming from, an area that isn't designated. Again, I wanna avoid that, don't want to get in any trouble for that. And last year when I went up there too, I didn't, so you have to get a access permit to get in anywhere between, I think it's [00:54:00] May 1st and the end of September.

And so I didn't think I was gonna draw the bear tag. But I did, and I didn't have my access permit. It was already too late, so I couldn't go in until October 1st. And so that's a, that's getting a little bit late into the season. It gets a little tougher to hunt 'em at that time. So now this year I've got my access permit for September 3rd.

The season opens on the first, but I by the, I got in, they start selling the access permits at 9:00 AM in the morning on January 26th. I didn't get in until 9 0 3 and that Friday and Saturday were already gone. So I got my access permit for the third. And then so I'll go in a little bit early and then, or much earlier than I did last year.

And then you can go in just, you don't need to have the access permit. You can go in just for the day. And so what I'll do is, maybe a week before something I'll go up there. And so a buddy of mine told me about this really cool trick and I'd never heard of it before, but you can spray scent, you can do scent, wherever you want.

There's no restriction on that. And so I'm gonna [00:55:00] put some scent in a Super Soaker and I'm gonna go up there and then just spray it. You spray it up in the trees, you get it up underneath the leaves and stuff so that the rain doesn't wash the scent away. And then just try to create a zone where they might start hanging out, thinking maybe there's gonna be some food.

So I've got a few new tactics that I think will work really well. Gonna do a lot of fishing and I'll just use the fish carcasses, for bait. And we'll see what happens. Hopefully I can make it happen, but of course, if I draw the North Dakota tag, that's gonna be my plan. That's what I'm gonna do.

Dan Matthews: Nice. Is it only fall hunting for bears up there? Is there any spring opportunity?

Rick Brule: Nope. No spring opportunity. It's all fall. Okay. I was gonna

Dan Matthews: say, man, it'd be I'd be interested, I heard that predation on fawns is pretty high with black bears and it'd be cool to try to call one in with like fond distress calls or something like that.

Rick Brule: Yeah, and I'm glad you said that. Cause that's another technique that I didn't I didn't have an opportunity to take advantage of. I probably could have tried to make some squealing sounds with my mouth. I'm sure that would, that might suffice. I did kill a [00:56:00] couple of ducks while I was up there, so I was using the duck carcasses as bait.

And then as I was sitting in the tree, a pine Martin came in and stole my duck carcasses right out from underneath. Yeah. And there's nothing you can do about it because you can't, you can only trap Pine Martin in the state of Minnesota. You can't shoot 'em. Yeah. So I just said to watch 'em take my bait away and that's pretty,

Dan Matthews: that's a pretty wild experience though, man.

That's cool. Dude, good luck to you this season and yeah, hopefully draw your North Dakota tag. Before we hop off, I wanna give you a chance to share with people where they can find you, where they can follow along, and then what to look out for as far as the podcast goes.

Rick Brule: Yeah, for sure. So if you wanna find me, I'm on Facebook and Instagram.

Instagram. I'm Ricky Dot Wayne 80 Facebook. It's just Ricky w Bruley. And then you can find Vapor Trail on both Instagram and Facebook. We're on a few other social media platforms as well, TikTok and some other things. And then as far as.[00:57:00] The podcast goes, sorry, I had a little brain fart there.

As far as the podcast goes yet, we're hoping to start launching that on May one. And, if anybody ha if you have any suggestions or if there's anybody that has any interest, you got a cool story or anybody that's interested in being on the podcast, feel free to reach out and we'll take it from there.

Yeah. But I really appreciate you having me on, man. It's been a blast.

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