Show Notes
In this episode, host Ricky Brule welcomes Mitchell Shirk from the Pennsylvania Woodsman podcast.
They discuss Mitchell's journey into archery, his bow preferences, and the accessories he uses. The conversation also delves into hunting experiences, particularly focusing on whitetail hunting and the emotional connection to successful hunts.
Mitchell shares his aspirations for bear hunting and the challenges he faces in the field. In this engaging conversation, Mitchell Shirk and Ricky Brule delve into the world of hunting, sharing personal stories and insights about bear and turkey hunting, the challenges of using a flintlock muzzleloader, and the importance of ethical hunting practices.
They discuss the thrill of bow hunting, the intricacies of hunting gear, and the rewarding experiences that come with spending time in nature. The conversation highlights the evolving relationship between hunters and their methods, emphasizing the joy and challenges of pursuing game in various environments.
Takeaways
- Mitchell's archery journey began at a young age influenced by family.
- He prefers longer axle-to-axle bows for better stability.
- Equipment choice is personal; comfort and confidence are key.
- Mitchell emphasizes the importance of sticking with proven gear.
- He shares a memorable story about harvesting a significant buck.
- The emotional connection to hunting experiences is profound.
- Mitchell has officiated multiple weddings, impacting his hunting schedule.
- He aims to shoot a giant bear with his bow or flintlock.
- The conversation highlights the balance between hunting and family life.
- Mitchell's passion for archery and hunting drives his podcasting efforts. Mitchell has killed two bears in Pennsylvania and wants to hunt more in New Jersey.
- Bear hunting in New Jersey has become popular due to an exploding bear population.
- The importance of baiting and setting up cameras for bear hunting.
- Mitchell shares a close encounter with a bear while hunting in New Jersey.
- The challenges of hunting with a flintlock muzzleloader in Pennsylvania.
- Mitchell's favorite animal to hunt is still deer, but he is enjoying bear hunting.
- The significance of ethical hunting and taking care of the meat properly.
- Turkey hunting has its own set of challenges, especially with a bow.
- Mitchell emphasizes the importance of practice and preparation for hunting.
- The conversation touches on the camaraderie and stories shared among hunters.
The Range Podcast is available on all major platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Video versions are also available on the Vapor Trail YouTube Channel and Wild TV.
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The Range Podcast is brought to you by Vapor Trail Archery and Stokerized Stabilizers. We are proud to be a part of the @sportsmens_empire network.
Show Transcript
Ricky Brule (00:45.262)
Welcome to the range. I'm your host, Ricky Brule. Thank you all for joining us today. You can find the video version of this episode on the Vapor Trail YouTube channel, so make sure you head on over. Subscribe. Give us a like and hit that bell so you can be up to date on all things archery.
Don't forget to follow us on the range podcast on Instagram and Facebook as well as vapor trail archery and Stalker I stabilizers on the podcast today. I have another member of the sportsman's empire network. He is also known as the pride of Pennsylvania. Mitchell Shirk of the Pennsylvania woodsman podcast. Mitchell, welcome to the range. How are you, bud?
Mitchell Shirk (01:31.368)
That's a loaded question. am I? And all things good, but I think to answer that I got to tell a quick story. today, today on my, was at work, middle of the afternoon, my wife calls me and says that she can't get the car out of park. So I drove down, figured out that there was some kind of brake sensor issue and I was able to override it in our transmission. Press the sensor, no big deal, right? But in the meantime, she tells me, she says, and the
Ricky Brule (01:38.487)
Please do.
Mitchell Shirk (01:59.912)
car was really low on oil. So I filled it up with oil and I'm like, what does filled with oil mean to you? She's like, well, it was like really low. I had to fill it with like a gallon to get it into, into, into space. I'm thinking you had to put a gallon of oil in to get there. So I checked the dipstick and bless my wife's heart. She looked at the dipstick wrong. There was a little spot part way up that she thought was the reader. So she put three quarts of oil too much in. Now it gets better.
Ricky Brule (02:13.17)
Mitchell Shirk (02:29.48)
I fixed that by draining the oil or so I thought first time I drained the oil on this car. I usually just let that happen when it's service. I actually loosened the nut on my transmission and drained all the CVT fluid out of my transmission. So about a couple of hours later, I had a new oil change. I had a transmission fluid change and I was a dirty mess and my tools were a mess and it took me a while. So.
I guess to answer your question, I'm good because everything is working right and we're all healthy, but man, what a scatterbrain mess. That's just how I feel. But there's a part of me that was like, at least it's like not the heart of hunting season for something so stupid to
Ricky Brule (03:05.825)
Ha
Ricky Brule (03:10.984)
Right, right. my gosh. can't. Yeah, I was just thinking about before you even said the thing about transmission fluid. I was thinking about how it's just like man on the fly, just pulling the oil plug out and trying to drain the oil on the fly like that. And then now you have to. my gosh, that's like you said. Yeah, I guess on the plus side, you've got, you know, you know, fresh fluids in your vehicle. So I guess there's that.
Mitchell Shirk (03:28.88)
It's always tough.
Mitchell Shirk (03:38.022)
I just really reiterated the fact that I am not a mechanic.
Ricky Brule (03:45.097)
Man that's wild. Well, I appreciate the honesty for sure. Most people just go yeah, I'm good. All right moving on
So hey, why don't we just take a quick second, have you introduce yourself to the listeners. And then also, I always like to have everybody tell us about their archery origin story. mean, usually it kind of starts with hunting in general and then it usually works into archery. But yeah, just introduce yourself and tell us that story about how you became an archer.
Mitchell Shirk (04:14.312)
Yeah. So Mitchell Shirk from Southeast Pennsylvania, started this whole podcasting thing in 2021 by happenstance. I'll bore you the details of that, but I'm doing it since then. It's been a good ride, met a lot of cool people. I've been, one of those people that was kind of born into it, hunting wise. my dad hunts, but he's, he's somebody that likes to go to camp when it's rifle season.
he'll do a little bit of hunting in our late season when we have a Flintlock season does not archery hunt. And he's not much about doing a lot throughout the calendar year, except when it gets to that fall time and he just goes hunting. But, have a, have an uncle and some family, but specifically one uncle in particular that was fanatical about archery hunting and deer hunting. And I kind of just, you know, stopped behind him since I'm a young kid.
Ricky Brule (04:45.799)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (05:07.688)
And he was my exposure to archery. know, my older cousins were shooting bows and then when they outgrew that bow, they gave it to me and I was flinging arrows. I don't know how many times I've, you know, stuck an arrow in my dad's shed or was fling flinging arrows and squirrels ran away with arrows in them and stuff like that. So, I mean, from a young age, I was, I was shooting and, then, you when I was 12, I started bow hunting and had a, had a roller coaster. You know, I had.
Ricky Brule (05:20.659)
Haha
Ricky Brule (05:25.767)
You
Mitchell Shirk (05:34.576)
I had guidance, but at the same time, there's a lot I had to learn on my own too. Cause I was kind of at home alone doing it. But, ever since then, mean, bow hunting is probably always been my number one passion, but, just hunting in general, just really enjoy deer hunting, bear hunting, turkey hunting, but everything that Pennsylvania and the Northeast has to offer.
Ricky Brule (05:52.867)
Yeah, that's great. What about, so as far as like, what was your first bow that you ever had?
Mitchell Shirk (06:02.952)
It was definitely a bear. I can't remember what it was specifically. I could just remember it reminded you, it was like the cable. was like, it was all the shiny cables for the entire string and the, like, when, you know, when it, when it was, you know, I called, I always called it a wheel bow. It's just, it didn't really look like a cam. just pulled out and popped out of a pocket and came back. I don't remember what kind of boat it was, but I shot those. first bow I hunted with was an old Hoyt.
Ricky Brule (06:16.843)
cables,
Ricky Brule (06:28.107)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (06:32.658)
can't tell you what it was. it was, yeah, I mean, I was, let's think about that. That was 20 years ago and the bow was probably 20 years old at that point. So, I mean, that's, or it's going back a ways or whatever it was. Maybe I'm stretching that a little bit much, but it was an older Hoyt. And then, I bought my, first bow I ever bought, I bought a Fred Bear truth and shot that. I was on a streak of going every
Ricky Brule (06:44.403)
You
Ricky Brule (06:49.333)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (07:00.53)
three, like four or five years buying a bow. shot a Fredbear Truth and I worked my way. bought a Bowtech Destroyer. I shot a Prime. Right now I'm shooting a Bowtech Boss. I kind of filtered through a couple different bows here.
Ricky Brule (07:11.668)
Okay. Yeah, man. A bow tech boss. so and this is I don't know a lot of people that shoot that bow. And the reason I say that is because it's long axle, that longer axle, the axle bow. And I think it was probably more commonly used in like the target scene. But and that's not to say that you're not using it for its purpose. I love that you that you shoot that bow because I think.
Mitchell Shirk (07:27.805)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (07:31.867)
It is,
Ricky Brule (07:39.796)
You know, as the years go by, you know, things kind of trend in certain directions, but for a really long time, people were shooting really, really short bows. And, and it's, but, at that time, I think that was really kind of a, a more commonplace thing where guys wanted to shoot something shorter because it would, they'd be able to get in the tree easier or something like that. But I've always been a longer axle to axle kind of guy. I've always shot something 34 or 36, something like that. and so I think that's, that's kind of cool that you're, and you're still shooting that bow.
Mitchell Shirk (08:09.416)
Yeah, I've been shooting that since like 17 to me that like the whole short bow thing to me is just marketing. Now, first of all, shoot, shoot what makes you comfortable. But I mean, it was drilled in my head from a young age and then I kind of just continue to have that in my head, whether or not it's still true, but a longer brace height and a longer axle to axle is more forgiving. I don't know if that's true or not, but you know what? It feels good to me. So like that boss is 36 inches. The bow I shot before that was.
Ricky Brule (08:29.213)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (08:36.828)
It was the prime impact. believe that was 35 inches. And I just, have a really hard time shooting, shooting anything, like shooting anything less than 32 inches axle to axle to me just feels weird with the string angle and stuff. And, like to me.
Ricky Brule (08:39.465)
Mm-hmm.
Ricky Brule (08:48.07)
Mm-hmm. Yep.
Mitchell Shirk (08:54.332)
You can make the argument back and forth between brace height and that an inch of brace height in today's technology doesn't make a lot of difference when it comes to forgiveness. know, six inch brace height is still very forgiving and I would agree with that. But to me, I've seen that you can't, you can't shoot a bow fast enough to beat a deer jumping the string with any piece of equipment at 20 yards. So if that's the case, then I'm just going to shoot the bow that I like and makes me feel comfortable.
Ricky Brule (09:16.325)
Mm-hmm. Yep.
Mitchell Shirk (09:22.76)
And I was going to buy another bow because it was one of those where, this is getting beat up. I had people razzin' on me and stuff. But it got to a point where it was like, why? I I shot multiple buck, the biggest buck of my life. I shot turkeys. I shot an elk with it. And now I shot a bear with it. Like, I shot a whole bunch of stuff. like, I kind of want to see how many things I can kill with this thing.
Ricky Brule (09:36.017)
Mm hmm. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's cool. I, you know, I used to swap out my bow every year and then, you know, and then when the kids came along, that kind of changes once you get a setup that works good, you know, it's like, OK, I'm just going to stick with that.
And I had, you know, to your point, right? Like the technologies have changed, but not that much, not that much since the boss came out. I shot the, I had the CPXL and I shot a few deer with that bow and then I sold it to a buddy of mine and then he didn't really like it. So he sold it. And so I have no idea, but I, I'm always on the lookout for a CPXL. Like, I feel like if I saw one used, I would want to buy it just to, you know,
Mitchell Shirk (10:28.648)
That was the one that made me want to get the boss because I shot the CPXL and loved it, but it was back at that time where money was tight. And then a couple of years go down the road and the boss comes out and that kind of replaced the CPXL. And I finally got to a point where I actually bought it from somebody used. was a, it was a pro shop owner who got it. And then he shot it for a year, three D and I bought it from him.
Ricky Brule (10:35.292)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (10:51.112)
at a cheaper price, but I remember when I told him that this was going to be my hunting bow, he looked at me like I had four heads, like you're going to hunt with this thing. I'm like, what's wrong with it? I'm like, you see people shoot 60, 70 inch bows, you know, stick bows and stuff. Why can't I shoot a 36 inch axle to axle bow?
Ricky Brule (10:58.3)
Yeah. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Yeah. Yeah. And I think one of the other things they kind of made that bow to it was kind of their longer draw length set up back when that was launched to. So I have a I have a friend that lives out in Colorado. And he's got a bunch of bows, but he's that's one of the bows that he's never gotten rid of is his boss. And I think he also has a CPXL.
Mitchell Shirk (11:13.958)
Right.
Ricky Brule (11:27.068)
Funny story is, so I actually had the CPX first and then our shop got broken into and they stole all our bows. had like 20 bows in there that they stole. And I think we had three customer bows in there that got stolen too. And luckily insurance covered all of that, you know? And so then basically it was like, okay, I'm starting over again.
Mitchell Shirk (11:36.84)
Mm.
Ricky Brule (11:51.559)
So I thought, go with the longer axle, the axle one. And I did like the CPX a lot better than just the stand. I like the CPX L better than the CPX. I think it was like a two inch difference in the draw length, but.
Mitchell Shirk (12:05.672)
Well, and even to reiterate that for me, like I, the other year, you know, used to shoot new bows all the time when they came out. Cause I was thinking I might want to get one and then I never did, but prime had came out with a bow and I don't remember the name of it. It's this is probably three or four years ago, but I remember the one, the one version of it was the hybrid and it was the longer axle axle bow. And I remember shooting that and just thinking, man, I love this bow. A few years later, maybe two years after they came out, I found.
the other one that was not the hybrid, the shorter axle to axle, but it was the same bow. I found it online cheap and I thought, I'm going to buy this and shoot it. And I sold it after the first year. It was nowhere in comparison as good as what I had originally thought in my mind. And it still didn't beat the bow that I had in my mind. So I just kept shooting it.
Ricky Brule (12:54.086)
Mm That's cool. I like that. So let's go through your let's go like down the list of accessories. You don't have to talk about all of them, but if there's any one in particular like site, you know, Arrest Arrows, Broadhead, that kind of stuff.
Mitchell Shirk (13:08.06)
Yeah, shooting a QAD drop away. That's what came on it. I've shot. Oofed, oofed. I'm all ears for that, Ricky. There's no problem there if we switch that, cause I am not married to that. That's just what came on it. But it has a QAD on it, an HHA Tetra. And I have gone through stabilizer
Ricky Brule (13:11.978)
Oof. We might have to make a change to that. We might have to fix that for you. No, I'm just all jokes.
Mitchell Shirk (13:37.894)
messing with stabilizers forever and currently when I'm shooting I made a makeshift stabilizer sidebar so I took whatever my bracket was to shoot a back bar I took that bracket and I found online I found a light holder for auto lights like a jeep or something like that
Ricky Brule (13:46.086)
Right on.
Ricky Brule (14:03.577)
Okay.
Mitchell Shirk (14:05.788)
And the bracket I can screw into my, my, my back bar holder and it'll clamp my 15 inch bar that I was putting in the front. It'll clamp that and I just put weight on it in front to back and it's just basically like a sidebar. So I've, I just saw that and thought I can probably make something without buying another stabilizer and.
Ricky Brule (14:12.739)
Mm-hmm.
Ricky Brule (14:23.982)
Huh. Yeah.
Mitchell Shirk (14:32.588)
It's actually worked. So the past two years I've shot that, but I shot for a while. was shooting when I was hunting more private land and it didn't have as long a walking. I have to carry the thing. was shooting like a 15 inch front bar, 12 inch back bar. And I was playing around with different weights and I was used to when I shoot shot longer distance, but I kind of dropped some weight because I hunt different places and it's a pain in the ass carrying the bow where I do some of the places. So
Ricky Brule (14:54.221)
Yeah.
Mitchell Shirk (14:56.84)
I modified it, releases I've been back and forth on a diff, a lot of different releases. you know, just like every archer, feel like you'd probably talk about target panic. I went through my bout of that for a number of years. I shot a Scott long horn hex or long horn hunter, I believe it is. and I still have that and still shoot that, but I hunted with that for probably five years. And now I'm right now I'm back and forth. I shot a thumb.
Ricky Brule (15:11.651)
Mm-hmm.
Ricky Brule (15:20.485)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (15:26.354)
thumb button last year, I have a Carter two shot index release I shoot this year. I'm going to hunt with my, my HTM inline release. I've been shooting that a lot and shooting it well. So I'm going to stick with that. Yeah, it's kind of the up and down of my bow.
Ricky Brule (15:40.207)
Okay. Right on. What about what's your aero setup look like?
Mitchell Shirk (15:49.684)
yeah, so I'll have them right here. Let's see. I am shooting Axis five millimeter three forties. I've got, I couldn't even tell you the name of the half in half out steel outserts and aftermarket that my buddy at little mountain outfitters put on for me. But it's a, I think it's a 75 grain half in half out. And then I shoot a four fletch. I fletch my own, shoot a four fletch and
Ricky Brule (16:16.697)
Right on.
Mitchell Shirk (16:18.876)
This year I switched, I was shooting VPAs last year, broadheads, really like them. those are great heads. The only problem I have is I don't like sharpening. I, it takes me too long and I'm not good at it. So this year I actually, I got some Magnus buzz cut broadheads in my quiver, but I also, I haven't shot expandables for years, but I, I, I was at the Archer shop and I've seen plenty of them on social media and I.
Ricky Brule (16:32.282)
Mm-hmm.
Ricky Brule (16:37.796)
Mm.
Mitchell Shirk (16:48.646)
I had to indulge in buy a pack of beast broadheads and test them out this year. The videos just had me too intrigued to try them. So that's what I have in my quiver this year.
Ricky Brule (16:58.917)
Right on. That's like that's one of my favorite accessories to like play with, you know, like just trying to heads and stuff. And yeah, those buzz cuts that I've hunted with those in the past, that's a great broadhead, you know, and, know, they're so subjective to your setup, too. So
Mitchell Shirk (17:04.658)
broadheads.
Ricky Brule (17:16.485)
So every once in a while have a broadhead that's finicky, doesn't like to doesn't like to shoot well out of a current setup or something like that. So I might have to switch to something. But I shot grim reapers for many years and they always had some sort of offering that I could play with and make it work. so but but this year I'm going to I'm going to make a switch over to I'm to shoot mega meats from G5. You know, try those out and see how those work. So far they're flying really good.
Mitchell Shirk (17:28.254)
Mm.
Mitchell Shirk (17:46.469)
Mm-hmm.
Ricky Brule (17:47.576)
Through the bow, so I'm feeling pretty comfortable with that. I've been shooting shooting quite a bit getting ready for that North Dakota trip so But yeah, that's that's awesome. Sounds like you got a really really slick setup sounds like yeah Got everything dialed in. Did you did you talk about your site? Well, what site did you have on there?
Mitchell Shirk (18:06.276)
I have an HHA single pin Tetra.
Ricky Brule (18:09.408)
yeah, you did say that, the Tetra. Yeah, that's good.
Mitchell Shirk (18:11.986)
That's a fun conversation too. I'll never forget when I went on my elk hunt in 2019, I was talking to the guide we went with and he was telling us about different experiences he's had and he shared with us that, I said, is there anything that we need to have for this trip? And he's like, I think you should all shoot pins. I don't think anybody should come out here with a single pin site. goes, Eastern people love to shoot those single pin sites and they've lost more elk than anything. And I just went.
Ricky Brule (18:39.234)
Really?
Mitchell Shirk (18:40.416)
okay. And I just said, well, I said, I've shot a single pin site since I'm 12 years old and I've never ever hunted with pins in my life. said, so I am not coming out with, with pins. said, that is my decision. said, okay, I'm just telling you. So make a long story short, he had an experience where I think the hunter that he took the year before was used to shooting pins, but thought he needed a single pin. made a switch.
Ricky Brule (19:04.604)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (19:09.57)
And, you know, made, you know, made the, the, the rookie mistake of setting his pin at like, I don't know, 30 or 40 yards or something like that. And a bowl came into 15 and in the hype, he didn't change it and shot it through the backstraps or something like that. and me, I just, my logic has always been my pin is always at 20 and from 20, can shoot zero to 30 yards with it, not moving. And if I'm going to shoot longer distance than that.
Ricky Brule (19:33.331)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (19:38.624)
I need to have enough time to go through my shot routine and make a good executing shot. And that includes ranging, moving my site. And if I don't have enough time to do that, then I can't make an ethical shot. That's just my logic.
Ricky Brule (19:51.599)
Yeah, for sure. don't that that's an interesting opinion. I you know what I mean? Like that it I don't know. I I shot multiple pins for a long time. Then I had a buddy of mine say, well, you really should try shooting a single pin. I think you'll think you'd like it. So I switched to a single pin and then then I started kind of go into a hybrid version where I had three pins. And so then I had my
bottom pin was my floater. And then I had to, I don't know, I just, couldn't get used to like when I would shoot three DS and stuff. I just couldn't get used to having multi pins. I'm just, I have that routine of before I shoot, I always, you know, figure out my range, make my adjustment, you know, and sort of go from some targets where it's like, I already have a pin for that. And then some where I have to make an adjustment. I just, I didn't like that having to switch that routine. I like to stick to the same plan.
Mitchell Shirk (20:44.424)
Mm.
Ricky Brule (20:46.613)
every single time. And then, you know, to your point, right, like if you shoot enough, you know how much you either need to aim just a little bit higher so you don't have to move your pin within those close distances where maybe you might feel like, I, know, I can't get away with any movement to move my sight or something like that. But then when you start to get out to those further distances, now I feel like I've got that time, you know, or I've got that ability to to make that adjustment. So
And then there's no second guess. Once you get that peep lined up, you just have one pin to put in its place. You don't have to worry about all these extra pins that you could maybe pick the wrong one. Because I have done that in the past where arrows sailed way over the deer's back. And I'm like, what the heck happened there? I'm like, I'll probably use the wrong pin.
Mitchell Shirk (21:37.53)
Right. I just think people change equipment way too much. And I mean, that's, you probably got to watch what you say in a sense, because, know, at the same time, you know, we're, in a position where we got to sell gear or get companies to sell gear and stuff. But in fact, I just, know, you see, YouTube and people that are sponsored by bow companies and stuff and, different companies like changing stuff, you know, new bow every year, new this, new that. And that's okay. If you shoot a lot and you have the time to, you know,
really invest in your equipment, get used to some of the differences. But average Joe Schmo like me who would get a new bow, like that, that actually makes me like a little bit frantic because I know I don't shoot as much as I used to and to get used to a new system. I know what works. I've found equipment that works. I found a system that I can get to, to be proficient and I kill stuff every single year. And my bow is, well that bow was...
Ricky Brule (22:18.668)
Hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (22:32.658)
think that was new in 2016 and a lot of the accessories are more than three years old on it and it still works. It still kills stuff. So there's a balance there of finding what works and sticking to it versus getting better. I think people just like to say they're shooting the next greatest, best thing just because they can.
Ricky Brule (22:57.126)
Right. Yeah, I'm with you on that. mean, and again, it's like you said, I guess, whatever you're comfortable with, you know, I mean, I don't it just all comes down to confidence, really, for the most part for me.
Mitchell Shirk (23:06.493)
Mm-hmm.
Ricky Brule (23:12.138)
And then just kind of what you get used to, you know, and I always encourage people to try different things because there might be something out there that you never tried before. But I also feel like it's you don't have much of a leg to stand on when with, you know, with some type of or category or class of a product if you've never tried it, you know, so. But yeah, I agree, I think to your point. And like I said earlier, you know, when the kids come along, you know, it's hard to.
Mitchell Shirk (23:12.828)
Absolutely.
Mitchell Shirk (23:18.76)
for sure.
Mitchell Shirk (23:31.943)
Mmm.
Ricky Brule (23:40.116)
mess around with all that stuff all the time. So it's like, OK, I got a good setup. It's solid. Just every year just got to double check, make sure everything's tuned and everything's good. And if it is, I'm ready to go. You know, so.
Mitchell Shirk (23:52.424)
Well, it's interesting for me because I was trying to get ready for season and shoot this year. And every time I did, my boys would want to come out and shoot their bows and I might like shoot one shot. And then I know the one time I came to full draw and I looked over and you know, the one brother I was trying to pull his bow back there. I wasn't on right. And it was pointed at his brother. And I'm like, geez, I'm pete. I'm like, all right, I I can't shoot my bow. have to, I have to focus on these two. wasn't, wasn't really in dad mode at that point, but I quickly became dad mode.
Ricky Brule (24:11.411)
boy.
Ricky Brule (24:22.626)
Yeah, for sure. Well, yeah, so we so today, actually the day of this recording, the episode that I recorded with you just launched today, which is, by the way, for all of you folks, if you're looking for a good podcast to listen to, head on over to the Pennsylvania Woodsman podcast. I listened to a great episode that you did not too long ago where you were talking with a boat technician from I believe from Average Jack. Right. That's really good.
Mitchell Shirk (24:33.608)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (24:50.535)
Yes, sir.
Ricky Brule (24:50.85)
That's where you guys kind of get into some of the some of the weeds about you know if you you know if you're like the average person and you can't get out and shoot a ton and You know some some great advice on on what to do there as far as like you know what to focus on when you can shoot and all that so that was a great episode and In this episode that just came out today you had mentioned that Statewide in Pennsylvania
Mitchell Shirk (25:09.697)
Thank you.
Ricky Brule (25:19.552)
White tail season opens up this Saturday, is that right?
Mitchell Shirk (25:23.494)
Yeah, it's October 5th this year.
Ricky Brule (25:25.322)
Okay. And you got plans to get out? Are you going to be able to get up in a tree for the opener?
Mitchell Shirk (25:31.528)
I'd like to. I had a lot of family and friends that thought it would be a good idea to get married the month of October this year. So I have like two or three weddings in October. I haven't shared this on a podcast before, but I'll do it now. I actually am officiating two of them. So it's a responsibility that I felt.
Ricky Brule (25:43.952)
my goodness.
Ricky Brule (25:51.298)
Mitchell Shirk (25:56.328)
I sort of felt guilted into, but I wouldn't have any of the way. But so no, I won't be going out opening day and I don't know. I actually not sure what the opening week is going to look like for me. I'll get out at some point though.
Ricky Brule (25:59.489)
Yeah.
Ricky Brule (26:08.33)
Yeah, for sure. It's funny because well, so yeah, Saturday will be my third anniversary actually. So I can't knock anybody for getting married in October. You know, when me and my wife were having the discussion about what setting the date right away, I was like not doing it in the fall. Absolutely not doing it in the fall. And she's like, OK, well, then when would you want to do it? You know, like
don't you want to do it like during your favorite season of the year? Wouldn't you want to do it? You know, and so we're like going down the list and I'm like, man, she's right. Like I can't think of any other, you know, season that I would want to do it, you know? So we did.
Mitchell Shirk (26:50.856)
I was the opposite. was like, I don't want to get married. She was like right away, I want to get married in the fall. And I said, not a chance. So then the next thing she said was spring. I, and I almost said, no, that's Turkey season. I thought, no, Mitchell, got to sacrifice something. I'd rather sacrifice spring Turkey.
Ricky Brule (27:07.938)
Yeah, there you go. But well, we we got married during COVID. So and we did it in Yosemite. And so we it was just close family members that were there. So I didn't really have to worry so much about, you know, disappointing anybody's or anything like that, you know, and so and not many. Most of the people in my family aren't aren't super dedicated hunters, or at least in my immediate family. So it worked out. But.
Mitchell Shirk (27:14.216)
Mm.
Mitchell Shirk (27:25.885)
Mm.
Ricky Brule (27:35.66)
But my wife's got an art show coming up this weekend anyways, so we've actually pushed our celebration a couple weeks. But which the only reason we had to do that is because we have to, you know, we to find somebody to watch the kids for that. in any case, that's pretty cool that you're going to officiate two weddings. I think that's amazing. That's something that I've always kind of wanted to get an opportunity to do. That's really cool.
Mitchell Shirk (28:00.984)
It wasn't anything I was looking to do. got asked probably, gosh, don't know, seven years ago or something like that. had a friend ask me and then all it took was that one. And at the time I wasn't on social media, but my wife was and posted a picture of me doing a wedding. And I think, I think this Saturday is going to be the 10th one I did. So that's why it's wild. I never would have dreamed to do something like that, but.
Ricky Brule (28:23.869)
wow.
Ricky Brule (28:29.193)
Good for you man, that's pretty cool. I like that.
Mitchell Shirk (28:31.496)
Missed a lot of hunting opportunities because of it.
Ricky Brule (28:34.367)
Hey, you know what you're doing the Lord's work, right? Mm-hmm Well, and so so speaking of white tails, you've had some success in the white tail woods with your bow What's your like favorite or? craziest like white tail archery hunting experience
Mitchell Shirk (28:38.343)
That's right.
Mitchell Shirk (28:55.432)
it has to be the biggest buck I ever killed. and it's not just cause he was the biggest buck I ever killed. was because of how it happened. 2020 COVID year, killed at my place here in Pennsylvania. killed 170 inch, buck and he, we bought our house in 2019 and when it got to season,
Ricky Brule (29:03.903)
Mm.
Ricky Brule (29:15.005)
Yeah, stop pictures.
Mitchell Shirk (29:24.272)
I just threw a camera out behind my house just to see how many deer I knew there was deer here, but I didn't know what it was. And the first card pull I had this deer that I was guessing was in the one forties. And I actually make a long story short. I saw him on the hoof in archery season one time, but it was a Sunday. And then I didn't see him again until our late archery season in December. I had shot a bucket at that point already and I saw him again, knew he made it through. I
Ricky Brule (29:49.599)
Mm.
Mitchell Shirk (29:53.544)
came up with a plan with what I knew and what I wanted to do the next year. If, I had the opportunity on the windows that he came in, cause he was daylight when he came and it was a certain period of the year. came up with a plan and I did a lot of work that year. it's a small property, but just trying to, to time it. I, you know, put a food plot in, I put a water hole in, I did a whole bunch of trail cutting and tried to pinch deer down to where I wanted them to come. Cause it was a very small property. had like,
You could pick any tree, but I wanted to pick a tree that I could get in, get out, and they wouldn't have any idea I was there if I hunt, if I hunted it. So I built it around that. And, and then the waiting game began and I had to see if he'd come back and he did. And it was, I ended up killing him on October 23rd. And I'll never forget. It was, it was 80 degrees. The fact that the day before, day before I killed him, I actually, my wife had our son.
Ricky Brule (30:26.266)
Mm-hmm.
Ricky Brule (30:43.872)
wow.
Mitchell Shirk (30:50.044)
He was an infant. was, he was six months old at the time. she was stayed overnight at her mom's house, I think for some reason. And then I thought, well, if that's a case, have no obligations to be home. I'm going to work more. I'm going to get some extra work done now while it's hot. and then I'll, I'll come back later in November here when the weather gets better and I'll, I'll hit it hard. And I came home that night.
I don't know what time it was, six o'clock, something like that. And I looked up on the hill. There was a section where I drove on the main road that I could look up in my woods. And when I looked up, I saw him standing there 20 yards away from where my tree would be. And I could not believe it. 80 degrees, all that in. anyway, I was frantic. The next day I was going to hunt him in the morning. I got ready to go.
Ricky Brule (31:28.093)
Mitchell Shirk (31:41.444)
I got out, I'm standing in my driveway in the dark and I'm checking the wind and it's wrong. It's blowing the wrong way. It just keeps blowing up the complete wrong way. I thought, can't go in, I can't risk this. I go in, I undress, I sit down at my computer and I get a picture of him. it was a half hour to 15 minutes before legal shooting light. I got a picture of him and I thought it's gonna be 80 degrees again today.
Ricky Brule (31:46.555)
Hmm.
Ricky Brule (31:54.761)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (32:10.6)
He is going to bed close and I'm going to kill him tonight because the wind was forecasted to be right. And that's what I did. I went in, I climbed a stand six o'clock. had, I think it was six o'clock. I had a group of dough come in and I'm on pins and needles. They're 20 yards in front of me and they're, they got chased or boogered up for something and took them a while. They settled down. started filtering down into my food plot. And then I had another dough kind of come across and I'll never forget this. she.
She locked up and was looking across the trail. And I knew when she was doing that, I thought it has to be him. And I, like, I'm, not moving. mean, I am holding my bow and I am like squinting my eyes, not moving a muscle. I'm just like turning my eyes left and right to see. And when she did that, I just peered my eyes to the left and there's there at 30 yards is this ginormous 10 point frame. And.
Ricky Brule (32:45.777)
Yeah.
Mitchell Shirk (33:07.524)
He, he was walking on the trail that was 24 or 25 yards and he started walking right at the dough and I had my pin set at 20 yards and I just thought, well, I'm going to draw back when he gets to an opening and when he gets to that opening, he's going to do one of two things. He's either a going to go right after her and I'm going to stop him and shoot him on that trail. Or when he gets to that opening, opening, he's going to turn and he's going to come down to the water hole.
And that's exactly what he did right when I came to Folger on start to settle on him. He, yeah, he, started coming down to the water hole and it was funny cause he had to come down the hill and he, the water hole was low enough. And with him being on the upside of the water hill or water hole, he had to like reposition himself broadside to me. And when he did that, I settled the pen, pulled through the shot and I knew when I, when I shot, made a great shot. He ran 30 yards stopped and he,
He was facing uphill and I'll never forget this. He, he went to like mule kick, but he kicked straight up in the air on his back legs and fell flat on his back downhill. And it was a pretty steep grade. So it was this big dramatic fall. it like, there was where his antlers hit the dirt. like scuffed the dirt up really heavy. And I just remember the emotion.
Ricky Brule (34:08.843)
Hmm.
Ricky Brule (34:16.96)
you
Ricky Brule (34:23.506)
Yeah.
Mitchell Shirk (34:27.804)
that I had because that was the only deer I thought about for a year. It was a giant. It was on a piece of property. I owned a small piece of land and like just the emotion and experience to have. just, I'll never forget that. mean, any deer or elk or bear or stuff I've hunted, that's still the one that just, my gosh, that one just gets me.
Ricky Brule (34:42.96)
Yeah.
Ricky Brule (34:50.308)
Yeah. Yeah, that's really cool. I, I, when I shot my, biggest buck, you know, people say, you know, they use that phrase, you know, when certain things happen, it was like, it was a godsend. But man, I tell you what, that year was a, it was a tough year. And for me to be hunting, you know, for 20 plus years and for that finally to happen in that year, it was like, my gosh, that was.
So that's the one deer mount that I get to keep in the house because it has a very special meaning. Otherwise the rest of the mounts are all at the shop. But yeah, man, that's a pretty rad story. I get that emotion. You know what I mean? It's wild, like just even trying to explain it to certain people. They're just like, well, I don't get it. And it's like, well, I...
Mitchell Shirk (35:30.574)
Yep, yep, I get that completely.
Ricky Brule (35:50.138)
I don't know how to really explain it unless you were to actually be there, but it is, it's just like one of the most incredible feelings without a doubt.
Mitchell Shirk (35:58.12)
Yeah, probably another cool experience. shot, I shot my first bear with a bow last year. That was really cool. it was a small bear. was exciting, but it wasn't, it wasn't comparable to that buck, but now, you know, that really got under my skin. And I think if I would be able to accomplish my next goal, which I want to shoot a giant, mean, I've, I'm trying to find, I've found giants now I'm trying to figure out, put the pieces of the puzzle together to shoot a big bear.
Ricky Brule (36:17.254)
Yeah.
Mitchell Shirk (36:25.83)
And I'm going to try to do it with my bow or I'm going to try to do it with my flintlock muzzleloader. And if I could do that, I think it would probably be equivalent to that. it's just, get little antics of stuff that just get under my skin and I got to try to do it.
Ricky Brule (36:29.52)
Yeah.
Ricky Brule (36:39.31)
Yeah, yeah, for sure. Was that in PA then that you got that bear?
Mitchell Shirk (36:44.252)
So that one was New Jersey. I've shot, showed, I've killed two in Pennsylvania with a rifle, but, I really want to kill one with the bow. So I started hunting them over there because they just opened a season after, I think it was 2017. They closed it for like five years. It had been closed and their bear population exploded. So it was a target rich environment. I wanted to go capitalize on it's only, you know, an hour or two away from me. So
Ricky Brule (36:45.308)
New Jersey.
Mitchell Shirk (37:09.88)
Last year that was that was Jersey. I'm hunting there again, but I'm gonna try to hunt some more in Pennsylvania for him this year Yeah, whenever I have time, right?
Ricky Brule (37:18.896)
Yeah, for sure. I thought I saw a video that you had posted where you had a close encounter with a bear. Was that that was recently, right?
Mitchell Shirk (37:28.422)
Yeah, that was, gosh, I was last week. I went into a spot, you can bait in New Jersey. Now for bear, you are not legally allowed to sit within a hundred yards of a bait pile for bear. can sit right over top of it for deer. but they have a hundred yard rule for, for bear. So, there was a, there was a spot that I was looking that I thought would be a good funnel that if I put a bait site, I had some free apples. I just thought I'll put them out and kind of get an inventory of what's at the spot.
Ricky Brule (37:30.853)
last week.
Mitchell Shirk (37:58.62)
So I go back and I drag these apples back, dump them at a spot, sprayed some scent, put a camera up. And I had one more thing of apples. I wanted to take back to the spot in my truck. I couldn't get it in the first trip. And then the time it took me to do the first one to go back to my truck, it was five minutes and I already had a bear on my camera. So when I went back, I'm, dragging this, this toboggan basically. And I looked out ahead of me when I, in the timber, I'm like,
Well, there's a bear standing there. He's just standing there looking at me. And he, I just looked at him and just said, what are you doing? I said, I got to get back there. said, will you get out of here? Just, just in a voice like that. He just, just stood there looking at me. Then he just turned like this attitude and he just started walking real slow, kind of like parallel to me. And he was walking through the brush and I thought, okay, he's getting out of the way. I'll go back there and I'll dump this last thing apples. Well,
Ricky Brule (38:38.229)
Yeah.
Mitchell Shirk (38:55.632)
I started walking in the direction because he at the time he was between me and where I wanted to go. Well, I started going closer and I appeared to the right and looked here he is. He's he's circled in he's 15 yards. He actually circled behind me where I just came from. He's 15 yards standing there looking at me. I'm like, really? You stupid bear. I start. So I yelled at him and he just stood there looking at me and then he turned and he finally like got to a point where he I guess he had enough and he just moseyed away but
Ricky Brule (39:00.049)
Mm-hmm.
Ricky Brule (39:13.399)
Yeah.
Mitchell Shirk (39:24.624)
I was like, I didn't, I didn't trust him. mean, I'm not usually afraid of them, but there I am in New Jersey. You can't legally carry a pistol down there. don't think, at least I can't. And I usually have one with me just for, for that feel good. And I'm watching this bear. I'm thinking, you stupid. So, so it was a younger one, but no fear people, just a different world down there.
Ricky Brule (39:34.842)
Mm hmm. Yeah, yeah, yeah, because I thought you had said something about so that something about the rules or was that surrounding the fact that you weren't able to carry a gun or just the the fact that they hadn't been hunted since 2017 and the population was exploding. That's that's what you were referring to, right?
Mitchell Shirk (40:01.768)
I'm not a hundred percent sure which is worse. mean, the fact is that the population exploded to the point where I heard somebody make a statement and I'm assuming this is back with facts, but I heard that they said New Jersey has one of the most dense bear populations east of the Mississippi, but maybe throughout the country. I don't know if that's a hundred percent sure. It's very dense with bears in certain places, but so they haven't been hunted since 17 there. So they have no
No natural fear of people. was a younger one, which they're naturally dumb relative to a mature one. So I think was just a combination of things that, that led it. So like I said, it went from 17 to I think 22, they opened a late season up and last year was the first season. This will be the second year in a row that you can hunt them in October.
Ricky Brule (40:37.889)
Mm-hmm.
Ricky Brule (40:51.477)
Okay, okay. So what is your, what's your favorite animal to hunt with a bow?
Mitchell Shirk (41:00.516)
I would have always said it was deer. so I'm going to, I'm going to probably stick to that. Although this whole bear hunting thing is really getting, getting to me. mean, I, I, I'm going to go with the muzzleloader this year just because I'd really want to kill one with my Flintlock Pennsylvania. I might be the only state that like we have a season that is Flintlock muzzleloaders only. Like our late season, you cannot use an inline muzzleloader like a lot of states.
So that's unique to us. I've kind of embraced that challenge, enjoy that weapon. And I thought it'd be neat to shoot a bear with it. So again, get back to that dad life thing. the season is six days in October. The first three days is archery only the last three days is archery and muzzleloader. And just the way that my, my personal life schedule is working out. think I'm only going to be able to hunt two days and it's going to be at the end of the week. So I'm just going to say, Hey, I shot one with the bow. I'm going to try to shoot one with the Flintlock this year. But I tell you what I've been thinking.
Ricky Brule (41:30.969)
Mm-mm. Yeah.
Ricky Brule (41:42.881)
Okay.
Mitchell Shirk (41:57.916)
When I'm looking at bear pictures and I'm devising plans, I am thinking about how I'm going to get it 20 yards from me because I want to shoot it with the bow. So I'd say it's equal those two species.
Ricky Brule (42:04.671)
Mm-hmm Yeah, yeah, I can't can't give anybody a hard time for for you, you know I Tried to hunt turkeys with a bow for many many years and I had a lot of snafus will say over the years and finally yeah, and once once the kids come along you kind of like You know, it's it gets more important
Mitchell Shirk (42:24.136)
You and me both.
Ricky Brule (42:32.247)
the way more important that you're getting meat in the freezer than it does, you know, because before it was kind of like, well, if it doesn't happen, doesn't happen. I got to have a great experience, whatever. And now it's like, OK, I have to justify this time spent in the woods a little bit more by making sure that I'm putting stuff in the freezer. So now I'm like, when it comes to turkeys, I'm.
I won't hesitate to blast one in the head with a shotgun now. I'm not afraid and I won't make fun. I used to give people a hard time like, man, you really got to try to do with the bow, though. It's so much more exciting. But, you know, so I get that I'll never give anybody a hard time anymore now that I understand the importance of making sure I can, you know, with this North Dakota hunt that I'm doing to, know, just all the expenses and everything that's added up. It's funny, you know, when I try to justify it with my wife and she goes.
And how is that cheaper than just going and buying a quarter cow or something like that? And it's like, I don't understand. You see, this is how it's cut. So making sure that there's some success in that area from time to time just ensures the future of being able to do this more often. So that's definitely become more important.
Mitchell Shirk (43:44.648)
absolutely. And it comes down to, like you said, what's fun to you. I hunted turkeys for 10 years with the bow and I missed them or botched it or just had stuff does not work out for 10 years. I couldn't kill one. And I finally got to a point where I said, this is enough. I got to do something different. So I broke the shotgun out and it still took me. I didn't shoot one that first year. I shot one that next year. And I wanted to, again, the whole sentimental gun thing. I wanted to do it with my grandfather's model.
Ricky Brule (43:57.837)
Mm-hmm.
Ricky Brule (44:13.849)
Mm.
Mitchell Shirk (44:14.659)
12 gauge. It was like a hundred year old gun or something like that. So I did it with that. And after I did that, I was like, you know, this whole blasting them in the head is pretty fun. Since then, I have been able to shoot a couple with the bow, fall and spring. it's fun with the bow. But man, I tell you what, the one over my shoulder that I shot this past year, that bird, that was a wild story. It was literally like a 10 minute hunt and I was in like blue jeans.
Ricky Brule (44:25.495)
Yeah.
Mitchell Shirk (44:43.344)
And that bird, the way that hunt went down, I was shaking so bad after I killed it. And I shot him with a shotgun. was like, it wouldn't have mattered what I killed this thing with. This was just a cool hunt.
Ricky Brule (44:50.019)
Yeah.
Ricky Brule (44:58.745)
Yeah, pretty big, pretty big. Yeah, so there he is right there behind you. That's pretty cool mount that you have. What's the story behind behind that bird? mean, is it. Is there a pretty cool story surrounding taking them? I mean, other than what you already told us.
Mitchell Shirk (45:15.62)
So it's kind of neat. My day job, I'm an agronomist. I work with farmers across the eastern half of Pennsylvania. So when it gets to turkey season, I'm getting into planting season and that's a very busy time for me. So I don't get a lot of time to turkey hunt. I try to make the most of what I can. I killed one the first week before work and then...
Ricky Brule (45:36.269)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (45:43.026)
like the second or third week of the season, I tried to plan, like I have a different route I take every day. And I tried to plan it out that if I had a farm that I had permission on or public land that was on the way, like I'd hunt for an hour on the way and then go to work. And this particular place I shot this bird, it was actually one of the farms that a farmer that I worked with owned.
And I'd asked him if I could hunt at the year before and he didn't tell me no, but he didn't tell me yes. So I just left it go. Cause I knew he liked to hunt sometimes, but he wasn't real big into it. So this year, I talked to him at one point and he's, it was mid season and he's, he's like, if you want to go, go ahead. So I thought perfect. had like an hour and a half drive to get there. It's mid season. It's five, whatever. was like five 15, five 20 at shooting time. So I had to get up at like three something to go up to this property and get there.
Ricky Brule (46:36.638)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (46:37.968)
And wouldn't you know it, I set my alarm on my phone and my, my phone, I didn't know it was doing this, did a software update and shut my alarm off. So I woke up on my own at quarter after five or something like that. And I was like, it just wasn't meant to be. I had my stuff in my car, poured a cup of coffee and I drove to the farm. So I got there at seven o'clock.
Ricky Brule (46:48.303)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Mitchell Shirk (47:04.848)
And I threw my rubber boots on. had my jeans on cause I put work clothing on, but I had my camo clothing. I threw my camo sweatshirt on. I grabbed my shotgun, three shells and one of my mouth calls. And I thought I'm too lazy. I am not changing into my camo pants. I, I did this walker, just figured I'm going to walk around the property and see if I could strike a bird up. Well, I did this loop. I was almost to the end of my loop and I did a soft walk in Yelp and he gobbled.
Ricky Brule (47:20.349)
Yeah.
Mitchell Shirk (47:34.866)
So I'm looking, I stepped out of the field into the timber, it's this river bottom, and this is mid-May and it's very green. And I'm looking for a tree and I'm looking, I'm thinking, if I sit down, I will not see, because all the vegetation is like over my knees. So I looked at this tree and there was a hickory tree that was about, I'm going say 16 inches in diameter, a lot of branches low, then right
Ricky Brule (47:51.325)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (48:03.416)
next to it was this huge ash tree that fell over dead. And then I had all that vegetation brush and I just looked at that. thought I can stand against that hickory tree and I'll have that, that fallen tree and the brush as cover for my legs and break up my outline. So I did that. Like I said, I only stepped off the field edge, maybe seven yards or something like that. got situated, threw a call out, he gobbled and another two minutes later he pokes out.
Ricky Brule (48:16.785)
Hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (48:32.612)
And I see him, he's 60 yards and he's kind of doing the old looking for the hen, kind of looks nervous. I don't know if he's going to commit and come in. He goes behind a tree and I just did a couple of soft, you know, like a three note yelp and he gobbled instantly. thought, okay, he's still interested. And all he was doing was he was trying to find the best path of resistance. was a lot of downfalls in this creek bottom and stuff. And he just.
Ricky Brule (48:56.049)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Wow.
Mitchell Shirk (48:57.32)
did a loop and he just made a beeline right into me. had no idea what he was other than a gobbler and he got to an opening. I looked through the scope, like I did the old we will and stopped him, shot him, ran over and little did I know this thing was just a huge gobbler. It was the biggest one I ever killed. think it was 22 pounds. It had like an 11 and three quarter inch beard.
The spurs on it were like an inch and a half. The craziest thing about it was he's laying on his back kicking. And I went to grab this turkey and just what I always do when I shoot one, I would always grab their legs and step on their head and I yanked their legs and break their neck just to make sure it's done. Well, when he's sitting there kicking, most of the turkeys I've ever shot in my life have worn down mountain spurs and they're just little nubs. And I looked down and I saw these spurs and I'm like,
Ricky Brule (49:28.147)
Mm-hmm.
Ricky Brule (49:39.071)
Yeah.
Mitchell Shirk (49:51.522)
my gosh, what in the world did I just add? I was just like pulled my hand back and just reached around and grabbed it by the head. And then I'm like, I don't, don't want to take that. So like when I walked up to it and saw what it was, that just added a whole new element to it of excitement because I just shot a huge Turkey. So that was cool.
Ricky Brule (49:54.206)
You
Ricky Brule (50:07.509)
Yeah, yeah, that's pretty cool. Yeah, all the birds I've shot, they all all the spurs are always just like nubs are worn down. I don't I don't know if I have too many over an inch, you know, but yeah, that's a really cool story. And I like that mount you were telling me about that earlier. How you did that's pretty cool.
Mitchell Shirk (50:27.494)
Yeah, it's, I enjoy turkey hunting when I get the time. That's for sure. But I mean, I still, it's hard to beat a white tail. It's hard to beat a black bear for me. Those are the two things that kind of trip my trigger.
Ricky Brule (50:35.219)
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I love I love bear hunting. I actually drew my bear tag this year in Minnesota, but because of that North Dakota hunt, I'm going to forego it. I'll take the point and then I should draw pretty much a guaranteed to draw next year with a number of points I have.
Mitchell Shirk (50:56.296)
Yeah, I looked into that a little bit. You have to wait a couple years to accrue enough points in Minnesota, right?
Ricky Brule (51:01.085)
Yeah, there we do. There is a no quota zone once. I think it's like maybe an hour out of the zone is maybe an hour radius around the metropolitan area, Minneapolis, St. Paul area. And I could be off on that, but it's you know, it's just to prevent the bears from getting down into the into the major metro. So so they're you know, the population obviously isn't as big in those areas, but there is a no quota zone so you can get one over the counter.
Mitchell Shirk (51:16.264)
Mm.
Ricky Brule (51:30.517)
But then there's other areas that are getting upwards of, you know, four or five years to draw a tag. And I, I've started hunting in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. And so the regulations up there for hunting bears are a little more strict. It's a little tighter. And so it's a little easier to get a license or get a tag up there just because not as many people want to hunt because of the regulations. And so I've really started to focus on that.
Mitchell Shirk (51:57.863)
Mm.
Ricky Brule (51:59.815)
I've, you know, it's just an increased challenge mainly because as far as baiting goes, you can't leave any bait out. Like, and you can put bait down, but you have to take it back with you. And so, you know, because of like, they've got very specific laws about leave no trace up there to keep it as, you know, pristine wilderness as possible. And so, you know, so there's, there's all kinds of different types of rules and then
Mitchell Shirk (52:19.048)
Mm.
Ricky Brule (52:27.731)
And then being in a remote area to like, you're hunting them early season, you know, it just makes it a little bit more difficult. Like you really got to be on it. Like soon as you kill that bear, you got to break it down. You got to get it in a canoe. You got to get it out. You got to get it to a truck with dry ice or, know, whatever to try to preserve the meat. so, so it's just, it's just not as simple as most other areas where, know, you could probably take your wheeler out there, throw the bear on a wheeler and
Mitchell Shirk (52:37.862)
Mm.
Ricky Brule (52:53.927)
get it out of there, you know what I mean? So because there's no motors allowed up there. So everything's by canoe or by foot. So so it helps increase the stakes a little bit. but yeah, there's you know, there's a few spots no quota I probably would have access to. But again, you know, it's just it's about time, you know, but to be honest, I really I love the taste of bear meat. I actually like it more than venison. So I look forward to getting another bear in the freezer soon.
Mitchell Shirk (53:00.585)
wow.
Mitchell Shirk (53:23.592)
Yeah, bears definitely a very under appreciated meat. A lot of people talk about how bad it tastes. And I think a lot of times it's just cause people didn't treat, they didn't take care of it properly. mean, I see that a lot, like in Pennsylvania, people shoot a bear and you know, they're excited and you know, they, you know, take it to the check station and drive it around and show people and this and that. And I mean, I remember this from a couple of bear that have been killed over the years. Like, you know, it was 15 degrees overnight.
When we killed it and the day we killed it overnight and the next morning when it's hanging on a meat pole with it gutted ham split and everything else in sections where that fat is so thick, it's still warm. And that, that is to me, I think that's part of the reason people have bad tasting bear and a lot of people blame it on what they eat. And I definitely think there's merit to you are what you eat, but at the same time, I've also heard a lot of.
Ricky Brule (54:03.988)
Mm-hmm. yeah. Yep.
Mitchell Shirk (54:18.812)
guided guides. I've talked to guides at different shows and stuff and they say about how delicious bare meat is even on baited hunts. It's just that they take care of the meat properly.
Ricky Brule (54:22.13)
Mm hmm. Yep. Yep, I've always processed them immediately and get that get that fat off as quickly as you possibly can. And, know, the fat is good and you can render it down and the fat is still good. It's you know, it can be better. You know, I've always wanted to get one of those like spring, you know, Montana bears or something like that. That's you know, they've been gorging on berries. I've heard
Mitchell Shirk (54:40.135)
Mm.
Ricky Brule (54:51.794)
some amazing things about the, you know, the, the fat that you can render from some of those bears, blueberry bears, call them, I think. But, but yeah, I've, I've never, I don't know. I just always just try to take care of it right away. I did have one bear where I lost the hide because I failed to get on it quick enough and the it spoiled because I left, I, I left a lot of the fat onto the hide and then just kind of rolled it up, stuck into my pack. And then we started getting it out. And then I just,
Mitchell Shirk (54:57.564)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Mitchell Shirk (55:12.241)
Mm.
Ricky Brule (55:20.602)
I just didn't get to it in time and that fat spoiled and the hair started to slip on it like almost immediately. And so that was the end of that.
Mitchell Shirk (55:32.616)
Bears are a lot of work. I mean, I think that's why a lot of people get turned off to bear hunting is it's a lot of work from the start to the finish of the whole process of it. But it's a, for me, it's rewarding and it's fun.
Ricky Brule (55:44.037)
Yeah, absolutely. you know, it's there just the way that they're built to is is different. Like I could I wouldn't have a problem dragging 150 pound deer out of the woods, but a bear there's like nothing to grab onto. They're like jello. You know what I mean? Yeah.
Mitchell Shirk (56:01.032)
And they don't drag well, their fur just sticks to everything. like I've said, I was just talking about it when we were down scouting this past weekend with a guy I'm hunting with that's done it a lot. said, I would rather carry a bear out. You know, we do almost all the bear we shoot in camp. Like we'll cut a pole, you know, 10, 12 feet long, tie the bear on the pole and two guys carried it out. And it just seems to be one of the easiest ways. actually have a...
We have an army stretcher too. We'll go back to camp and you get four guys on it and put the bear on the stretcher. That works really well.
Ricky Brule (56:27.979)
Yeah. Yeah, the last the last couple that I've taken, I just I break them down just pack this might seem weird, but I don't know. To me, it's just it's just as easy. You know what I mean? And I can take them out.
Mitchell Shirk (56:38.504)
Mm.
Mitchell Shirk (56:46.214)
But it's it's.
Ricky Brule (56:47.182)
pieces and then they start cooling a lot quicker like almost right away.
Mitchell Shirk (56:52.806)
It's really not weird. I've noticed there's like this weird like logic between East and West. Like people in the East just got to get the whole thing out and get the weight and all this stuff. People out West I noticed are much quicker to break down stuff. I think the people in the West are a little bit smarter and have the right way, but for whatever reason, like even like Pennsylvania elk camps, like I had the, the, one of the guides from Pennsylvania for elk, like they bring almost all of their elk out whole in Pennsylvania. Like whether it's.
Ricky Brule (57:20.912)
Hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (57:22.664)
through with come alongs and dragging it out. Or, you know, they even have cases where they'll get in loggers, with horses and like they'll, they'll rent those guys out and drag it out with horses. It's, it's kind of unique. That's just, it's just how they are.
Ricky Brule (57:35.534)
Yeah
Yeah, whatever works for you. Well, cool. All right. We're going to get into that shiny object portion of the episode here. So I'll just basically we'll just do a little cut and then we'll come back in. And I'm just going to do another intro. And let's see, I just want to make sure I'm in the right spot here. So OK, I just like the real quick look at my notes so I don't lose track where I'm at. OK.
Mitchell Shirk (58:05.234)
Sounds good.
Ricky Brule (58:06.544)
So here we go. I'll just do a quick little countdown again and and in 321 welcome to the range everybody. I'm your host Ricky Brule and this is our segment of shiny objects. If you didn't get a chance to listen to the previous episode, make sure you head back. We have a great conversation with Mitchell Shirk from the Pennsylvania Woodsman podcast.
He's got a great story about his biggest white till he's ever taken. We do a rundown of his entire bow and get into the weeds a little bit about axle to axle and all that fun stuff. So for those of you who don't know what shiny objects is, is this is a essentially it doesn't have to be an object. It can be an experience, an upcoming hunt, something that you're just currently obsessed with. It can be a book, a song, you name it. It's your shiny object.
So Mitchell, what is your current shiny object, man?
Mitchell Shirk (59:02.628)
well, I wish I could say it was something really cool archery related, but it's actually not at the moment. My shiny object is going to be my flintlock muzzleloader. So the, my flintlock hunted with it for, I've hunted with a flintlock in Pennsylvania since I'm 12 years old. I've been fortunate enough to take a couple deer with it, but really wanted to try to learn more about it and practice with it more and, and take some of my accuracy and my confidence to the next level. And
Ricky Brule (59:12.282)
Yeah, man.
Mitchell Shirk (59:32.552)
You know, was talking about bear hunting a little bit in our last episode and I really want to shoot a bear with it and just kind of expand my hunting opportunity with it. We have a specific season here in Pennsylvania for that, but I'm trying to branch out a little bit.
Ricky Brule (59:42.711)
Mm hmm. OK. OK, that's cool. Tell me a little bit about more about the the muzzler that you have, like who's a manufacturer and all that.
Mitchell Shirk (59:57.5)
Yes, it's a Lyman trade rifle. It's a lot of people like the deer stalker model that Lyman comes out with. It's a lot more friendly to carry in the woods. It's a shorter, lighter gun. I prefer the trade rifle. I think it holds nicer and I've shot other people, so that's what I ended up purchasing. Everything else on the gun itself is factory.
I put after market sites on it. So this is where you get into the weeds a little bit about what is, what's the word I'm looking for? I'm losing the word. I'm thinking classic or real, but like what makes it original? Like if you put aftermarket sites on it, that doesn't really kind of fit the mold of, you know, old tradition Flintlock, right? But, I have the logic that I want to have the
Ricky Brule (01:00:41.327)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (01:00:53.244)
the most accurate site set up. So I had shot peep sites on mine before, but I kept having issues of taking them into woods and then breaking. So I put a fiber optic site on the front just for bright lights. I I actually think if you're shooting in the daytime, I personally think I shoot iron square sites like pistol sites, the best. think that like for me, it's the most accurate site that I shoot. However,
Ricky Brule (01:01:10.735)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (01:01:21.986)
I don't like hunting with them in low light conditions. mean, I've sat in box blinds, deer hunting or, just in the woods and it's like that last hour and you see something come through and you can't see those pistol sites. It's just too dark. mean, I've tried painting them with fluorescent paint on the tip and stuff. just can't, I can't make that work for me. So I put a fiber optic side on the front and I actually started, I'm practicing with it and tinkering with it now. It's a, it's a V peep. it's.
Ricky Brule (01:01:35.145)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (01:01:51.804)
has the same concept as a peep site, but it's at the location of your rear open site would be. Just a kind of a different presentation. So far, I think I like that. I've been shooting it. It seemed to do well with it. I like the site picture so far. So we're going to run with that.
Ricky Brule (01:02:02.824)
Mm-hmm. That's cool. And so pardon my ignorance when it comes to some of this stuff. I have an inline muzzleloader. So, you know, when it comes to like flintlock, then are you using is it like, is it like a patch and a round ball that you use for your?
projectile.
Mitchell Shirk (01:02:27.698)
That's a great question. A lot of people like to use patch and round ball just because it's traditional. It's quote unquote the best thing for those guns. And I shoot those for practice. It's the cheapest thing to practice and get used to. A lot of people have issues with when the flash in the pan. The gun goes off very quickly, but it's not a center fire rifle. goes to boom.
Ricky Brule (01:02:39.757)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (01:02:54.608)
So there's a little bit of a flash and you can flinch. And if you're not used to that and you need to practice, you're going to save yourself a lot of money if you shoot round balls on paper. But me personally, I don't believe I get the performance on game with a round ball that I do with some of the other load options that are out there. I know people that shoot the stuff you'd shoot in your inline, right? Don't, you know, power.
Ricky Brule (01:02:58.22)
Mm-hmm.
Ricky Brule (01:03:14.763)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (01:03:20.104)
power belts and everything else and they'll put those in their flintlock and they say they shoot good. I'm currently shooting for deer and bear. Hornady makes a bullet. It's called a Great Plains bullet. It's in 50 caliber. I think it's 385 grains. So I'm currently shooting that and I came up with this. I purchased a book on
muzzleloader, traditional muzzleloader accuracy and I'm following the guidelines on that trying to work a load up for this gun and right now with that bullet, I think I'm landing at about 85 grains of 2F black powder, about a grain of 4F in my pan and running with that system. It seems to be fairly accurate and I'm pretty happy with it, happy enough that I'm going to take that for hunting in October.
Ricky Brule (01:03:49.005)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (01:04:13.606)
I'd like to try to tighten some of the groups and there's some things that I'm trying to manipulate and tinker with to make that shoot better for me, but just running out of time and practice.
Ricky Brule (01:04:26.089)
Right, right. And so for the listeners, when it comes to like flint lock, so essentially you have you have a pan that you you pour the powder into, right? And then the hammer that you cock back has a piece of flint in it. Correct. And then as you when you pull the trigger, that flint comes down, creates a spark. It lights the powder, which then
Mitchell Shirk (01:04:38.364)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (01:04:43.399)
That's correct.
Ricky Brule (01:04:50.177)
the flame kind of goes down in through like a little kind of like a little pinhole, right? Where you've got low touch hole. There we go. And then, you know, and then that'll ignite the powder that you've poured into the muzzle end of the of the barrel.
Mitchell Shirk (01:04:55.868)
Yep, touch hole they call it.
Mitchell Shirk (01:05:07.174)
Yeah. And like I said, a lot of people think why in the world do you want to hunt with that stupid thing? And it's one of those where the day after Christmas is deer season opens back up in Pennsylvania and you can either hunt with a bow or you hunt with a flintlock. And that's your only gun options. then the season's over after that. And I just grew up around family and friends that hunted with them. And we used to get together and make deer drives. And it was that last Toronto. It was a lot of fun.
Ricky Brule (01:05:12.396)
you
Ricky Brule (01:05:21.398)
Mm-hmm.
Ricky Brule (01:05:26.176)
Yeah.
Ricky Brule (01:05:34.168)
Yeah.
Mitchell Shirk (01:05:37.327)
It was kind of funny because there will always be, like, if you go with a group of guys, there'd always be people that if you heard, somebody say that they shot at a deer, you thought, well, what are the chances that they actually hit a deer with their flintlock? Cause they never hit anything. And then there's other people that if they shot, you thought, that's a pretty good chance that there's a dead deer in our group. And then, you know, that was, so that was the thing that always stuck out in my mind is like, who are the killers with those weapons? Who are the guys that are just like, gosh, I hope they have that.
Ricky Brule (01:05:50.216)
Yeah.
Mitchell Shirk (01:06:06.738)
pointed in at least a safe direction when the gun goes off. So I had it in my mind. I got to a point where I'm like, I want to be somebody, first of all, I want to be ethical and kill stuff with it. I don't want to wound game, but there was a little bit of cockiness ego to me that was like, I want to be the person that when they hear my gun go off, they think that's a dead deer. That was just like my little, little thing. So I kind of embraced it. Now I want to, have goals. I want to shoot other game with it.
Ricky Brule (01:06:09.198)
Mm-hmm, right.
Ricky Brule (01:06:25.526)
Mm hmm. Yeah, I think it's awesome. I think it's really cool. It's it's very intriguing to me and especially, you know, we talked about this on on your podcast, how I'm really starting to kind of dive into more primitive skill sets. And so I am certain that at some point that's going to be an area that I'm going to want to want to go into and try to experience that. I think it's awesome. mean, I.
You know, I used to sell guns for the sports and warehouse. And so we. My knowledge of that is just based off of, you know, being around it and then, you know, some of the old timers there that would that had a ton of knowledge about Flintlock and stuff, I would just kind of learn from them. I'd listen to them talking to customers and stuff. And and I've always been intrigued by it. So I think it's really cool that you do that. And, you know, good for you, man. That's awesome that you're that you're getting out there and just getting at it with more primitive gear. I think it's cool.
Mitchell Shirk (01:07:24.366)
It adds a new element to the challenge. as if we, as if it's not hard enough to kill something that you, you've set sights on. We've got to make it a little bit harder sometimes, but Hey, it just, it adds to the story, man. There's so many stories of deer getting away because the gun went click. Somebody didn't keep their powder dry. You know, if it's snowy or misty or something like you, you have to be extremely diligent. Like if you hunt with an inline, you know, you have to keep your powder dry.
Ricky Brule (01:07:42.913)
Yep.
Ricky Brule (01:07:49.931)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (01:07:50.482)
But if you hunt with a flintlock, that's just a whole new level of keep your powder dry. and like even if it's not raining, but it's high humidity, you know, that black powder, I think is the word would be anhydrous. It like, takes moisture in and dampens your powder, even if it's not raining. So you've got to continually change your powder, make sure it's not caked in anywhere and that it's gonna, it's gonna go off.
Ricky Brule (01:07:54.648)
Right.
Ricky Brule (01:08:07.332)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (01:08:16.698)
quickly because there's or hang fire same thing powder gets a little damp and the sparks hit it and then it goes And I've seen so many people where that happens and they're aiming and when that happens you get this big slow burning poof right at their eye They pull the gun way off and then they're nowhere close to shooting. It's like well know I missed there so there's just a lot more things You got to keep up people have bad experiences with them because a they don't take care of them. They don't know how
Ricky Brule (01:08:38.346)
You
Mitchell Shirk (01:08:45.092)
I learned a hard way. took work. They are work. It's not just, it's not a center fire rifle. You put a bullet in and you go hunting with it. So it's like taking care of them is the hard part for a lot of people. And then also the quality. I don't want to say any, any names and stuff and downplay any, any specific companies, but there's a lot of companies that produce, I shouldn't say a lot. There's a few companies that produce flintlock muzzleloaders of like a modern fashion.
And the quality is not there in the lock for continual, you know, quick shooting and everything else. think the accuracy of them can be okay if you know what you're doing and work a load up. But like when you do it, get a good quality gun. Lyman for a, for a factory gun is probably one of the better ones you're going to get into. Pedersale is another good one, but you're starting to go up in price. And then the next thing is going into custom guns. And that's a whole new element of.
Ricky Brule (01:09:25.184)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (01:09:43.524)
expensive and stuff, but I mean the quality of the gun you shoot one of those you're like, my gosh, this is This is like a Cadillac when you talk about shooting these things I mean they're accurate and they're not hard to a lot of the same antics, but they they shoot accurate They go off quick and not and all that stuff. So they're just a fascinating thing I haven't got into the whole there's a lot of people that do period hunts and what I said like they'll dress up in the style of a certain time period in in history
Ricky Brule (01:09:48.684)
Mm-hmm.
Mitchell Shirk (01:10:11.368)
You know, they'll have the big hats and the big like wool blankets that they tie and like, you know, have the, all the, the gear that they would use, like the powder horns and stuff. And like, they get all decked out and hunt that way as if they were hunting in like the 17, 1800s. And it's really cool. I haven't got into any of that. I don't know that I ever will, but I still am fascinated with the gun itself.
Ricky Brule (01:10:33.616)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's pretty cool. That's awesome. So I know who I'm going to be calling up when I start to when I want to start getting in diving into that a little deeper now. It's awesome.
Mitchell Shirk (01:10:44.172)
I'll do what I can.
Ricky Brule (01:10:47.604)
Yeah, well, and I'm sure so we usually go around the table and everybody knows what my shiny object is. I've been talking about it about that North Dakota trip. But and I was hoping to be talking a little bit about the new the new prime ball that's going to be coming out for 2025. I've got one. It's or I haven't got it yet, but it's on the way and hopefully get it within the next week or two. And then I've got dialed just released their new their new site.
Proof they just launched that on on October 1st, and so I've got one of those being built up Hopefully be ready for me next week. I'm just gonna drive their headquarters is really close. It's like an hour away So I'm just gonna drive to HQ and pick that up and then you know We've got a we got a new arrow rest that vapor trail is gonna be launching at ATA It's in the prototype phase, but I've been shooting it. It's shooting really well. It's pretty sweet So that's gonna be on that bow
Mitchell Shirk (01:11:17.787)
Mmm.
Ricky Brule (01:11:44.647)
So I'm going to have a whole new set up here in the next within the next week or two. And that's pretty much my shiny object. I'm just I'm just chomping at the bit to get that equipment. And and I'm sure everybody's getting really annoyed with me. I keep texting like Wednesday. Did you send it out yet? Is it ready? Am I going to get it? When am I going to get it? So
Mitchell Shirk (01:12:05.904)
Anticipation over cool stuff is very difficult.
Ricky Brule (01:12:08.561)
Yeah, yeah. My only my only, you know, I've done this so many times before, so I guess I'm not super concerned about it, but I I just there is a little bit of stress surrounding, you know, getting a bow set up this kind of late in the game, but I still do. got a, you know, a little over 40 some days before that hunt comes along. So I got I got a good amount of time. It's just nice to be able to get out and shoot now before the weather starts taking a turn, although I do have.
an indoor range that I can shoot out to 42. So that's kind of nice, but that's my thing.
Mitchell Shirk (01:12:40.274)
What do you think is like the hardest part in that new Bose setup to overcome in order to be like, all right, I've got the confidence now I'm good because a new Bose setup can be a little bit daunting.
Ricky Brule (01:12:51.945)
Yeah, I think just the just the way that the bow feels, you know what I mean? If they make a drastic change to the geometry of the cam and it changed the draw cycle that oftentimes can can create some issues. And the only reason I say issues, I shouldn't. Well, I shouldn't say issues at all. It's just a little bit more time behind the bow just to kind of get start getting used to that and get get away from what you're used to from the previous setup. But I currently I'm shooting the RVX 36. And so
To my knowledge, they haven't changed the geometry of the cam a whole lot. I believe it's pretty much just the same cam, but they've made some other, some new innovative things that they're doing. I can't discuss. Well, I wouldn't even, I don't even know what they've changed. So I can't really, honestly can't discuss it. But yeah, so we're gonna, I'm gonna have to be really careful too, because we're gonna be trying to put some content out leading up to the.
to the hunt, but I also can't show it because they're not going to launch that bow until I think a week before I actually go on the hunt. So so I have to be really careful about where I have it in our pro shop and everything like that, just to make sure that somebody doesn't see it. But yeah, it's kind of exciting. I've never really had an opportunity to get get a bow prior to launch. And so, you know, I was on staff with Boatek for for almost a decade. And so I was one of the first people to get one, but I never had one.
So I'm pretty excited about that. This is going to be a lot of fun.
Mitchell Shirk (01:14:22.63)
That's absolutely going to be a lot of fun. That will be really exciting. Good deal.
Ricky Brule (01:14:25.981)
Yeah. So yeah, that's my shiny object. Well, folks, that brings us to the end of this episode. Mitch, thanks so much for your time today. I really appreciate it,
Mitchell Shirk (01:14:37.17)
Thank you. Have a lot of fun.
Ricky Brule (01:14:38.803)
Yeah, so where can people find you if they want to know what you're up to or if they want to reach out?
Mitchell Shirk (01:14:45.436)
Yeah, best place to reach me is Instagram. I'm trying to be a little bit more active on social media, but Instagram, goes over to Facebook as well. At Pennsylvania Woodsman podcast. I tell everybody, like if you want to reach out to me, email me, PAWoodsmanpodcast at gmail.com and you'll find our
show same place. I think the same place as you're going to find the range podcast. You know, we're on sportsman's empire network. go on all major platforms, Spotify, iTunes, Google play, all that good stuff. So yeah, check us out. Love to have you.
Ricky Brule (01:15:20.996)
Awesome. Well, also, people make sure you head over to the vapor trail and Stokerized social channels and give us a follow there. Don't forget about the video version of this episode on the vapor trail YouTube channel. Make sure you head on over, give us a like, subscribe and hit that bell so you can be up to date on all things archery. If you're listening, do me a favor, give us a rating and a review and make sure you give us five stars. And with that,
We're going to pack up our bows and arrows and we're hitting the range. Have a great day everybody.
