Join us for a discussion with Marc Smith the Muley Slayer, a friend of Cam’s of 22 years from Texas. Listen in as they talk about Marc’s background in bowhunting, getting into writing and more!
Listen on:
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3XCm31n
Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3Dm6ClE
Follow along:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cameronrhanes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cameronhanes
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/camhanes/
Website: https://www.cameronhanes.com
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https://www.instagram.com/muleyslayer1
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Timestamps:
0:00:00 Intro: Thoughts on Cam’s Routine
0:04:44 Marc’s Experience with The Bow Rack
0:07:22 Becoming a Bowhunter
0:13:11 Marc’s First Bow & His Thoughts on Bow Shops
0:18:36 Marc’s First Deer with a Bow
0:25:30 Giving Back, Wild Mustangs & Marc’s Pop’s First Mule Deer Hunt
0:33:17 Getting into the Writing Industry
0:42:11 Inspiration From Cam’s Articles & Marc’s First Article
0:53:04 A Colorado Welcome & A Call From Cam
0:55:12 Hoyt Pro Staff
01:03:27 2003: Easton Axis Arrows Launch
01:09:37 No Limits: Marc’s Goals
01:12:52 Marc’s Son, Sponsorships & Elk Hunting
01:26:35 Marc’s Daughter
01:37:44 Today’s Hunting Industry
01:43:56 Outro
#keephammering
every step I take I move my truth every
time they tell me stop I use every
comment hate that makes my ga up my
energy and boom I them bling saying the
way that I move is so reckless that is a
part of my mind I’ve been blessed with
giving my blood so I am
Relentless all right we’re here on the
keep hammering Collective I’m with Mark
Smith AKA muly Slayer one on Instagram
that’s right how you doing I’m good man
uh I’m feeling the Oregon experience
buddy yeah I’m feeling the keep
hammering lift run shoot experience to
the fullest I’m feeling it right now
yeah we just got done with the lift so
you should still feel it yeah so if I’m
still wheezing excuse me because I’m
still recovering but no this holy moly
man this is pretty incredible yeah well
so what do you think of my daily routine
um it’s I think I’ve told you a couple
of times today on on there like I don’t
think
um the Instagram the Facebook and the
videos the YouTube they don’t show they
don’t show it all and they don’t
show how real it is and it is uh it’s
pretty incredible it was hard so you
know when you invited me out here back
in the winter I’m I was as you I was out
of shape and I started getting in shape
and um just reached out to you we’ve
been friends for 22 years and I reached
out and said dude you’re inspiring me
again I’m going to get after it and you
said good I’d love to have you on the
podcast I could have fell out of the
chair cuz cuz even though we’re friends
and I know you’re my friend I know you’d
I feel like you’d crawl to Texas over
broken glass to help me if I needed I
just feel that you’re that guy but um to
get invited on this podcast and see the
great people you’ve had I was like man
um I feel like this morning I told you
now some feelings were coming up over
the last couple days I haven’t felt for
a long time and it’s like when I first
went pro in the 3D circuit and the first
Target I walked up to it was Jeff
Hopkins and Randy Elmer down in Tucson
Arizona it’s a tough group uh and you’re
like yeah this is real like I bellied up
to the bar with the real dogs and I knew
I was amongst Elites and I was amongst
the um the best in the world at what
they were doing at the
time that’s how I felt today and so
those feelings started coming over me
last night I’m L going this is real now
my son Travis been with he’s been my
great supporter my wife and I’ve been
training I even went bought my own 72lb
rock I’ve been carrying it around in
Texas doing a 5k with it every day love
it and that’s so different than I’m piss
on the hill but it’s still um
I had the technique down right moving
the rock around and I had I felt like I
had it it was just the hill man it was
just the hill but uh I I feelings
conjured up that I had not felt it was
an excited nervous not a scared nervous
right I’m not much scares me but excited
nervous to come with an elite
athlete um because I I’m like you you
say you’re average I’m going to tell you
right now brother you’re not an average
man nothing about you is average no
people say I’m a poser remember hey if
you ever come up to me at a at a show
and say that I’m going to punch you
square in the mouth I promise you cuz I
love this guy and I care about him a lot
and he’s legit and so doing that today
um those feelings came over me and then
but it’s like you know if I was going to
step in the ring with Conor
McGregor you could get it all worked up
in your mind but once he popped you in
the mouth it’s just Conor McGregor
popping you in the mouth now it’s time
to get busy right that’s how I felt with
you today Conor McGregor don’t ever
punch me in the mouth but that’s how I
felt today with you like once go and so
you’re like hey oh by the way we’re not
going to just go carry the rock up Pisa
we’re going to go run Spencers for a
warm up I was like are you kidding me
right now what you’re going to add extra
yeah but you had to get your money’s
worth I had to get my money’s worth and
I got it bro and so I um but I’m so glad
I had that experience you know I’ve seen
you and your brother up there so many
times and all your other guest runs I
got the full monty dude so I ran
Spencers most of the way I up there and
then came down had some awesome lunch
breakfast um and then went and clim Pisa
carried the rock with The Rock and I
carried it all the way I stopped twice I
think so I stopped twice or three times
set it down caught my breath regrouped
and went back up but I carried it every
step of the way you didn’t carry it up
for me and I was proud of that that was
what I trained for that’s I I was going
after record but once we hit the 50
minute Mark we were still a five a miles
away from the top I’m like I won’t hit
the record
a long shot and uh but I’ll be one of
the guys that carried the Rock by myself
all the way up and to me that mattered
to my family that mattered and I did it
and then um man from
there uh just the whole I I just don’t
think people realize how great of an
athlete you are and I don’t think they
realize how great you have it in this
town with the bow rack here and having
those guys man um Trent is just like
missed Wayne and Lisa I’m so sorry for
that but man Trent Trent had had on had
their back and he he had my bow dialed
man he already had my third axis set and
I mean um someone that shoots as much as
I shoot and had been a pro in the Pro
Division I should be expected to pop a
balloon at 100 yards right yeah but to
pop it that fast with a bow I’ve never
touched in my life yeah so I know I’m a
good shot but to say I came in here
grabb this bow out of the box they threw
a sight and to rest on it none of it I
was familiar with I wasn’t familiar with
that sight whatsoever I just brought my
own arrows and my own release with me so
to say um but you know my my friends and
followers they’re not going to be
surprised cuz that’s kind of what I do
right I just get dropped off on the side
of the highway and I come back with a
dead mule deer I go troubleshoot figure
it out and get it done so um I wanted to
go for the record I did I wanted to pop
the balloon at 200 yards but we had rain
and wind and sleep and it was just
you’re like dude we could be here till
midnight just trying to get lucky and I
don’t want to get lucky I want to dial
in and drill it but that 101 yard shot
man I I got it in like the second round
and dialed it not even no tape on my bow
or nothing just guessing and judging and
shooting so well I was impressed you
know yeah shout out to Trent and the bow
rack they do such a phenomenal job
setting up bows and not just setting
them up but it’s like the Precision on
so you can you can paper tune a bow and
you can go through paper and anybody who
doesn’t know or doesn’t look that
closely would’ be like oh that’s a
bullet hole that’s you’re good to go but
Trent is you know putting putting it
back together where it tore through
looking to see exactly where the tip of
the Field Point went through just to
make it as precise as possible so he did
that you went out on the range at 20 and
it’s almost right off the bat every
arrow in the X yeah and then step back
to 30 and it was about the same thing
yeah I mean I’ve never seen somebody
shoot a bow that good out of the box no
that the best I’ve ever seen yeah well
the bow did most of it I was just hold
it no I mean I was watching you you’re a
shooter yeah and so it was uh I love
seeing that because the other things
yeah you train but it’s different when
you get here and you get on the hill
when you start running and you’re
lifting weights and all that but what
nobody could ever question or or
surprise you with is shooting a bow yeah
I mean that’s just like either you could
do that or you don’t that’s what you do
and so it was I hadn’t you know to be
honest I haven’t seen you shoot yeah you
know and so to see that I was like holy
[ __ ] Mark’s [ __ ] shooter so that was
I was impressed yeah thanks man that’s
that’s a huge compliment I appreciate it
but yeah I’ve been doing it 40 years U
been shooting a bow for 40 years I
bought my first one when I was 13 um I
tell everybody been bow hunt for 40
years but not really like I bought my
bow when I was 13 and um just a bare
black mag and uh I could afford three
arrows and the bow and that’s what I
bought fingers arrows are expensive
fingers bare bow they were the old G
game Getters you know they were green
game Getters and the olive green ones
and I shot those when I was 133 I killed
Turtles and rabbits and uh birds and
things with it and snakes and just you
know all game is big game when you’re 13
we killed stuff with them with no sights
and bow fishing but um I really changed
and became a bow hunter what I say I’m a
bow hunter like I can say I’ve been a
bow hunter since I was 17 um something
happened in my life where I was like I
had this Revelation man about how
powerful a bow and arrow is and um maybe
I’ll just go right into that because
that’s this is super um you
know bow hunting people recognize that
in me you know how you when you beat
Armstrong in that race it just says bow
hunter beats
Armstrong to be a bow hunter and I try
to explain this to even Travis and stuff
like I’m a Hunter and I have you know
I’m friends with weatherbe I have guns
and stuff and I love guns but at my core
I’m a bow hunter and to be able that
almost carries some kind of weight when
you tell someone you’re a bow hunter and
what I noticed as a young man um my my
wife dating me as in High School 17
years old seniors um her father was a
big hunter he was he just passed away
last year he’s a big hunter and it
intrigued him right like it won me
points for his daughter oh he’s a bow
hunter yeah he’s a bow hunter he’s uh
that the people be like that takes real
skill you know you got to be close yeah
this not some dop head out goofing off
you know you know I had a mullet in a El
Camino right uh listening to White Snake
um but I I was a bow hunter and I was so
I was said in class um Fred Miller let
me just tell you Fred Miller was my a
teacher my best friend through High
School ditched me right before my
wedding right um he had borrowed the
money to rent a tux to be in my wedding
and then like a week before my wedding
he’s like hey man I blew all my money on
fish and tackle and I I can’t be in your
wedding I’m like dude you’re my best
friend you’ve been my best friend all
through High School what’s going on here
and he just just freaking to this day I
haven’t talked to him in 30 years I
don’t know what happened man he just
ditched me the next person that was in
my life at that time was Fred Miller my
a teacher um and he was he was an
amazing incredible man like yeah he was
I was in a all years of high school and
um he mentored me he you know his son
and I are still really great friends and
we go turkey hunt every year that’s the
memorial turkey hunt we go on his um
Austin Miller and his his dad was Fred
Miller and he was beloved man loved by
the entire Community taught forever he
died in 2017 yeah he he tragically died
of cancer and he um he had told Austin
over the years you know Smith’s one of
my favorites I can’t save them all as a
teacher you can only pick a few and he
picked me for the by the grace of God
this man saw something in me and
mentored me and when I’d say dumb stuff
he was that guy CU I didn’t have much of
a father in my life my father my stepdad
amazing man he was just back out of my
life at that time but Fred um was fully
engaged in my life checked on me um and
would like without going into too much
my parents were separated they were in
different places and me and my brother
were at at home by ourselves a lot that
year my senior year and Fred would he
caught wind of that he stopped by the
house and he’ see us that no one’s
watching us I’m 17 my brother’s 13 or uh
four three years difference and uh he
brought groceries he looked at my
cabinets he hopped in while he’s talking
to me just walking around looking right
he’s like next day night he showed up
with groceries and stuff and I’ll never
forget that and so he was just a
wonderful man and and um so but he was
also man a hardcore Hunter like he’s the
one that helped me I learned how to
build rifles he taught me how to reload
and all that
stuff and um what he would do is he
would bring um on Fridays goof off days
you know he’d bring in a projector or
not a projector but a vacr on TV we
watch videos M and he come in one day
and he’s like hey Smith this is a good
one for you you’ll like this and it was
Pete Shepley hunting brown bear in the
80s have you ever watched that one I
think I have yeah dude it like I I’m
sitting back there probably writing
Christina a note and goofing off and
Fred’s like Hey we’re going to watch
this and then he got my attention he’s
like hey Fred or hey Mark um Smith we’re
going to call me Smith hey Smith this
you to be up your alley here they’re
going to be bow hunting bears I’m like
oh bow hunting bears and uh Pete Shepley
took the float plane this was in 1987
the fall of 1987 I’ll never forget it
changed my life and and I’m watching
this guy and he goes to I knew who Pete
shley was he was in every archery
magazine back then right with his mock
fours and whatever you know I I he goes
he and he back then you didn’t have no
rang finders or nothing you had that
thing you had to dial until it wasn’t
blurry right he he he had this pouch
made out of caribou skin I thought that
was the coolest thing and he shoots this
brown bear with a bow and something
triggered in me like right then because
I had a deer rifle I had a 3030 a Marlin
3030 was my lever action deer rifle that
I bought from mowing lawns and you know
just making cash selling bait doing
whatever you picking you peas you know
that stuff so I had a deer rifle but I
knew my deer rifle was not powerful I
knew that it was a good deer gun for
East Texas inside 100 yards I’ll kill
deer but what what and I don’t I’ve
tried to articulate into words and I
can’t quite figure out how to tell
someone this but it’s like okay a Marlin
3030 on the beaches of Kodiak is not
enough gun for a brown bear mhm but I
had the sense to realize no matter how
expensive that bow was and no matter
how whatever that broadheads made out of
whatever that Arrow’s made out of no
matter what that bow brand is or
anything if you put a razor sharp
Broadhead in the right spot with enough
energy that is all you need to kill an
animal right bam yeah brand doesn’t
matter how much the bow Coster Shar
Broadhead in the right spot and I went
well then that means my Bow’s good
enough yeah that means my bow will work
right and
so um I was working at Kmart at the time
I was working in the Sporting Goods
automotive department so um they had a
bare white tail too with plastic Dino
cams it was wasn’t the white tail with
the for Wheels it was the next level of
it was a step up of the bow I had that
was the first thing I bought with my
first check at Kmart my first two or
three I on layway and I went I got this
bow and it was a 60 pounder and I could
barely pull it back and it was set at 30
in so thing about my archery is I’m the
reason I I was so
impressed um and this there’s certain
things I know you and I know there’s
certain things that you willing to let
go and there’s certain things you’re not
willing to let go there’s things that
piss you off a long time ago and that
[ __ ] just not going away right right
that’s how I feel about archery shops
because when you’re in an archery shop
and you get that group of elitists
hovering around the counter they only
want to give attention to the guys
dropping the cash and here’s this hungry
forn knowledge guy the guy you can
really reach and just win over this guy
and get him started down the right path
but if he has $10 in his pocket all he’s
going to buy is knocks and field tips
they would never give me time of day
just white trash Mark come in here I
wanted to be so bad I willed myself into
the archery Community as it is right I
willed myself into almost everything
I’ve ever done like I started believing
I was that before I became that and I
would go to archery shops I would just
sit there and listen to their stories
and like see me just see me man I want
that so today I walked in well now doing
it long enough to kind of a few people
know who I am so I walked in they were
expecting this guy you were
bringing um that’s what I’ve wanted my
whole life I want you to give me
attention when I come in I’m in the
business of service so I know good
service when I see it I want good
service and and I walked into the bow
rack and man it was like roll out the
red carpet they took care of me and not
just fluff but meat and potatoes it took
me I started bow hunting in 1983 I
didn’t kill my first deer till 1993 took
me 10 years to kill a deer with a bow I
just never gave up I just kept going and
learning and and every bit of it was
self-taught
until I bought a bow in 1993 I bought a
psse psse was making them it was a
Precision Edge U like and a Carol right
it was a edge bow and I bought it brand
new and when I realized I bought it
brand new from that shop and all the
accessories and the overdraw this long
and all that was 80 lb bow I had a Carol
Intruder yes those yeah those are good
bows Yeah man they were killers and and
um when I bought that bow I got the
service I’d been looking for then I got
the training I’d been looking for you
know the funny thing back then man as
soon as someone broke out a chronograph
guess what came out next Allen wrenches
we’re cranking them down baby so I’m out
there like I remember shooting um you’re
going to think I’m crazy I remember
shooting 19113 aluminums out of that bow
at 80 PBS bam right like a 22 going on
yeah dude so but speed was King speed
was King you might have been getting 280
well that’s because I mean we didn’t
nowadays it doesn’t even matter how fast
you shoot cuz you got that Rangefinder
yes so then you just dial it up or you
hold your PIN whatever but back then
because we didn’t have good rangefinders
the flatter that Arrow would shoot the
more leeway you had on judging yardage
and that made a big difference so
everybody was addicted to speed how fat
how flat could I get that Arrow to come
out its bow yeah mhm and then you get
older and it’s like well I want I want I
want for I want it quiet and forgiving
and good shooting bow yeah yeah um you
know what in part of that story there
you said that it started in ‘ 83 he
didn’t kill till ‘ 93 I just think that
that needs to be acknowledged that do
you know how many people would have
given up bow hunting in 10 years with no
success you know so that says a lot
about you just about what’s important to
you and what you’re willing to do to
achieve your goals because a very small
percentage of people would stick to
something with no success for 10 years
yeah you know what I mean so I got to I
got to hand it to you that’s uh for
being a young man especially when you’re
younger you want results immediately you
know and you want to be acknowledged and
we want you know I can empathize with
you going to the bow shop and not get
getting you know not really respect but
even just anything just just see me just
see me just say something and so I I get
that because young men that’s what they
want more than anything they want to be
acknowledged and you know whether it’s
you know negative or positive guys do
stupid [ __ ] just to get acknowledged and
uh so I you know I can
I definitely understand what you’re
saying but yeah I mean 10 years of
grinding to get your first kill is
awesome oh one time in the dark I’d
climbed up this pine tree and I had a
leverlock bear quiver where you shove it
in and turn it and lock it and I’d
missed the I shoved it in and it locked
kind of out like this and open new
morning we skipped high school we
skipped school that day senior year um I
was shooting fingers brass
pins um big old by then I’d had me some
orange on those like 7 oh yeah and and I
had 100 and and my hero then was um uh
Dan fist Jerald yeah that guy was
aggressive he was he was the cam ha of
the time he was the guy man I wanted
like so Pete Shepley put the fire in me
and then Dan fiser took me next level
like you don’t need a gun son just grab
that bow and go and get on the ground
with him and tear it up and I just
thought that was the coolest guy so and
he was shooting 150 grain um Rocky
Mountain Supremes man they were like
this freaking big and those big orange
arrows that’s what I had no thought of
how slow my bow was right is so so lame
yeah anyway opening morning man I had me
a little pile of corn sprinkled on the
ground over there and I was up in a pine
tree sitting on a board and I heard a
limb pop and I look and his dough just
walked out and this is my first
experience shooting at a deer so I
started in 83 never even had a chance to
shoot at a deer so the first shot I had
at a deer was a dough when I was 17 and
I remember think in my bow was like a
200 lb draw I couldn’t even draw like
all I I was always like if I can get the
draw the deer’s dead if I can get the
draw the deer’s dead we we always said
that right so get the bow back all I
remember man
is let go while the the quiver flew off
of my bow the arrow missed the mark by
by a million miles and the deer ran off
and I’m just like man this is so hard so
I climb down out of the tree I get my
quiver I go back up in the tree 30
minutes later this rabbit hops out he’s
eating corn freaking drill him an
eyeball man just like no pressure onbit
yeah and so in 93 I was hunting over a
friend’s house Trey weed he worked over
at the he went to high school with him
he had a little bit of land behind his
house and I’m forever thankful of this
family have not talked to them in 40 or
however many years but Trey weed he was
a cool guy I was in high school with him
and he worked at uh he ran to propane
tank place there uh propane grill place
there in Spring Texas and uh his dad Bo
super cool dude um they said hey you can
come hunt behind our house you want to
come back to Nowhere to hunt man I was
hunting any wood lot I could get away
with man I I mean just if I could get in
there and going hunt there yeah and uh I
I was in this Pantry of all things I
climbed up in this big pecan tree and
put a board wedged it between the
there’s no tree stands this is that that
Carol that PSC yeah and uh I’m sitting
there opening
morning and uh this big D was walking
through the yopon these bushes kind of
back over behind my corn pile I drew
back and
again like I don’t even remember aiming
in the arrow went over the deer’s back I
had a face mask gloves pulled up all the
stuff and I’m sit on that
board so hard why does this have to be
so hard I just want to kill a deer with
a bow and arrow and so I rip my face
mask down I take my gloves off and I’m
just sitting there just staring I hear a
limb Pop I look here comes a spike Buck
walks through there 12 ringed him got
him that’s my first buck I shot him and
like that’s another defining moment
changed me like man I’ll never I’ll
never so in Texas back then everybody
hunted with a bow from October 1st to
Halloween next weekend you’re getting
your 25 all six out or your seven Mar
you’re going deer hunting that was you
bow hunted the month they gave you to
Bow Hunting that was it right so and I
had this 25 all six that I just freaking
murdered everything with and um but that
year I was like man I kept hunting over
into gun season so the year I killed one
I killed two you that’s always that way
like you kept hunting with your bow yeah
okay yeah and so um and then I ended up
shooting some more deer with my rifle
but I killed a d with it too here’s and
here’s my dad my stepdad Bill cathol oh
my gosh I love this little guy he always
like whatever man you he kind of he was
my stepdad but when it came to the
hunting thing I Ruled the scene and he’d
just go along whatever so that white
tail too I never killed a deer with yeah
I gave it to him and he took it down to
the bow shop and they put the new little
plastic dining cams on it and got it set
up with some good arrows and some um ho
black hole
broadheads way back in the day and uh so
the the day so I killed my deer opening
day and we’re going to go to this place
where we’re going to camp out and Hunt
if this guy’s property was going to let
us hunt so me and my dad just packed
coolers and food and stuff and we just
like did this little Backcountry hunt in
East Texas and we just set up a camp and
a t big adventure yeah man and so I go
and I hunt and um nature caller take it
number two man so I climbed down out of
my oak tree and back then I didn’t have
um any kind of stand I’d take a I’d go
in a few days before a season and take a
hammer and some uh 16 penny nails and
I’d put them in till they’re about that
far sticking out of the tree and I’d
hook my pinkies on them and I’d go 25t
up oak tree and set on a limb and um my
dad did the same thing Bill Bill did the
same thing so I’m I’m the hero man I got
me a deer no one else I I got a deer and
Bill don’t have one but I gave him my
old bow and I’m I’m just like he’s going
to go through the motions with me and
just having that meant everything to me
mhm I get down out of the tree about 10:
in the morning I got to go man I go down
the woods take a dump over to Camp hang
I walk into Camp I can see Bill standing
over there like what’s he doing back
already and he’s eating his Apple I
remember had this big boony hat on
eating an apple and you know like you do
when you’re in Camp the first thing you
do is you look at your buddy’s quiver
right yeah I saw there was missing an
arrow there’s a bloody bent one in there
m what what so I said did you get did
you get one he goes I got two I said you
got two he goes yeah man that dough and
a little one came in there and I shot
that big dough and she just ran over
there and dropped I lit a cigarette and
I sit there that other one come back and
I shot it
too I was like I love you so much Bill
you’re so amazing and he that the the
the dough he saw fall and die but the
little one her yearling it didn’t um he
hit it back a little bit I had to track
it Blood Trail it yeah and um it was the
first time me and him ever tracked a
deer and I found I and it was it was
cool man have that experience um with
him how old were you at this time I was
that was 23 okay I was 23 I started B
when I was 20 or 13 and here I’m 23 and
I get my first one and I’m the hero for
exactly 12 hours in the next day Papa
Bill comes over and whacks to but this
the way he said it two I like oh my God
yeah cuz he could kill two Do’s in that
county and two bucks so he killed two
yeah it was legal yeah we were always
legal but it was it was super cool man
and then
um just to stay on track with Bill when
I moved out west I wanted um very much
like you I have this heart I just want
to give man I just I I’ve seen it today
from you and it’s just amazing what you
do for people and I’ve always kind of
been that way especially with with Bill
and I wanted to do something for him so
in
1999 I was already shooting for
Hoy and um I was I wanted to take go mu
deer hunting with him CU that’s no
that’s my thing mu deer is my thing yeah
and I wanted
to yeah and uh so back then you could
buy kibab tags over the counter and
kab’s a beautiful place old days yeah
and so I was like Hey I want you to come
out here man I’m going to I bought him a
bow from the archery shop that I was
shooting through put it on lway I bought
him a bow everything nice brand new set
up and I shipped it to him shoot it and
then I want you to come out and August
September and come deer hunt with me
well he came out and um he’ been
shooting at I could tell you know I
checked him he was shooting he was
shooting pretty good and um I had just
wrecked my horse I had this um Mustang
named cabesto That We rescued from the
government they had there’s this pin in
Governor door New Mexico I was living in
New Mexico at the time okay there’s this
they’ll go round up the Mustangs and
they auction them off sell them get
whatever and there was one in this pin I
saw it One D driving by and I and I went
over there and I some talked to somebody
and they said yeah that one’s got a hery
they’re goingon to put it down I’m like
oh man and my wife had been wanting a
horse there’s a difference between a
Mustang and a horse so I was like man so
I don’t remember all the logistics next
thing I know I’ve adopted this thing
from United States government it wasn’t
nothing wrong with him the hernia wasn’t
even a hernia just so they put a little
band on it DED fell off he’s awesome
yeah surefooted mountain horse man um
he’s a Mustang wild wilder than man
they’re definitely surefooted but you
can stay on them and I took him to this
guy U Jose was his name big old big
Hispanic man and he said I’ll break that
horse for USA but I am no Whisperer I’m
no Horse Whisperer I was like all right
I don’t care if you beat his brains in
we got to get him doing something so
Jose breaks this mustang and I was
riding him and man I I was going to take
him in the back country that year I was
going to do a back country hunt M so I
was going to just start riding him and
get him real used to stuff and then I
was going to just pain your on basically
walk him in with all my fear while I’m
riding him on this Gravel Road we lived
in a mobile home back then out in the
country and I was up on top of this Mesa
and the school bus came put on air
brakes that sucker rared up went I went
off the front when I landed like this it
propped like two ribs off my sternum
broke my ribs and I was shooting a 80 lb
hoight Viper back
then and that was about two weeks before
Bill showed up or no about a week before
Bill showed up so I had to make him
drive I was over there taking vicadin
man and going to the Kaibab but I still
wanted to hunt with him I’m just taking
pain med I’m hurting bad and we get over
there and um there’s not much you can do
for that either no you just got let got
write it out yeah and uh so I had we had
turkey tag I think you kill turkey there
too we had turkey tags and Deer tags I
paid for all of it man I mean I I had no
business I was making nothing but I just
wanted to take care of my pops yeah so I
bought him all the stuff and I paid for
everything and we went out there had my
cab over camper and I just like man
we’re going to kill monsters here this
is the kibab we’re going to kill giant
bucks I so we split up and I put him in
this spot I thought he might see some
deer and he was like I’m just going to
shoot one that’s legal I’m like okay and
I was like well I’m going to try to
shoot a fourpoint I I at least want to
shoot a fourpoint buck and I’m going
down this Ridge and I’m just hurting man
I already took my pain meds and I’m just
hurting I just sat down by this tree and
I look here comes this dough walking up
toward me there’s another deer behind it
it’s a spike buck with velvet about like
that and
um he walked up there about 18 yards and
picked up a mushroom I just remember
that poor little sucker sitting there
eating that mushroom looking around
having the best day of his life you know
I freaking hammered him with that 80 lb
ho I was like well I’ll send pops home
with some meat no matter what and I
remember putting that deer up on my
shoulders that’s how we carry them out I
still carry deer out like that it’s not
for show it’s just simply the easiest
way to get a deer out of the woods man
really if you’re not going to break it
down and put it in a pack just put it
over your shoulders it’s way easier man
I think yeah and I and I come back and
he was so excited you know and I you got
one like he didn’t care like man you got
one and I got yeah any Buck was a trophy
oh yeah man it was is amazing that’s
good old days yep and so the next day
we’re going to drive up to this new spot
and I Come Around the bin man there’s a
fourpoint buck stand in the bar ditch Ry
hard antler it was later in September I
was like Bill right there right there I
I’m going to pull up here you get out
he’s over to the edge of the road shoot
him up there Bill gets out and he gets
about the half draw man the deer’s only
30 yards it was like 140 in four point
he was just right off the he gets to
half draw and that bow explodes oh no he
had his arrows all put together
in his in his case no must have hit the
cut his Yol it cut the Yol and so when
he got that pressure on it broke the
other y his bow that bow you bought me
broke it blew up and I’m like come on
man yeah so that wrecked our hunt we
went home with a spike and I back then
man I didn’t I didn’t start using a meat
processor till till I moved back to
Texas man I did everything myself I’d go
get soot put if I wanted fat in it or
make sausage whatever I made I did
everything myself I everything thing DIY
so I went home ground that deer up for
him made him some hamburgers some steaks
and sent it home with him so he got a
buck but that’s the only um one of the
only mu deer hunts me and him ever went
on it was a cool experience one of the
most common questions I get is how do I
start hunting my answer gohunt.com I
actually really wish there was something
like gohunt available to me when I was
younger it would have saved me a lot of
time hunting areas that game was scarce
go hunt is just like Zillow but for
hunting you can see every hunting
opportunity in the west and E easily
sort by game you’re looking to chase
along with draw ODS over-the-counter
opportunities Harvest stats and even
trophy size you can expect even if
you’ve been hunting your whole life the
information you can get from go hunt is
Way Beyond what you’ll find anywhere
else it’s the best way to go on more
hunts every season they’ve also got
public and private land maps in an
online gear shop filled with field
tested hunting gear not just a basic
stuff you can buy at a big box store if
you find it in their shop that means
they’ve tested it on hunts and guarantee
it’s good if you haven’t checked out go
hunt see for yourself how easy they make
it to plan a hunt you can use code cam
that’s CM when you sign up and you’ll
get $50 to spend in their gear shop plus
10% off most items in their store Sig
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Enforcement competitive Shooters hunters
and responsible citizens that’s why I’ve
decided to partner with them for my
personal protection and concealed carry
of choice Sig and I are working on some
pretty cool collaborations for the
archery Community as well Sig and I are
working on some pretty cool
collaborations for the Archer Community
as well and I’m thrilled to have them as
a sponsor of the show Sig is actually
offering you guys a discount on Optics 2
which is unheard of in the industry I’m
looking forward to trying out their new
image stabilizing binos the Zulu 6 on my
bear hunt in Alberto with the rivets
those are also 10% off using Code cam at
6 hour.com that’s code cam for 10% off
so I mean that’s your your origin story
for bow honey when did the writing start
when did you want to be like in the
industry um man that’s that’s an awesome
question question man cuz this kind of
connects us right here I
um so I remember laying in bed with my
wife so I got married out of high school
I’ve been married 36 years married my
high school sweetheart we’ve been
together ever since we were 17 but I
would read to her at night I would just
she would read to me and i’ read to her
and there’s something special about
reading to another person you know it’s
just such a connection I used to read to
Roy yeah I heard I love that I love that
not exactly my wife but I love that we’
read bow hunting stories I love that and
my wife she would read me um stuff that
I was
like but I would read her Bob Rob I
would read he was one of my favorite
writers back then and then Jim zumbo and
I just read anything that was
interesting to me and I’d be I’d read
and she just listen what was your
favorite story like adventure stories
yeah yeah big adventure stories man and
these guys were and I would tell her I’m
going to do this I’m going to go do this
stuff someday I’m going to go be one of
these guys this is when I’m 22 years old
right I’m just I love magazines I still
I know you do too I love magazines man
um I haven’t had a new magazine in so
long but I I um I joined Jason’s thing
the Epic Outdoors yeah those are
beautiful magazines you get four times a
year and you oh man I read the stories I
love them but anyway I’d read to my wife
and and I’m like I’m G to be I’m G to
I’m I’m I’m doing this this is going be
my life I’m going to be a big time
Hunter and I’m GNA write about it I just
want to do that and so what’ she think
dude
yeah you are she believed in D my wife’s
believed in me like no one else ever
believed in me she still does that’s
great um she’s my number one fan just
absolute love of my life but she she has
always been that rock for me dude like
um not to get off stay but she would
sign me up for stuff I didn’t even know
like we were went to the when we were in
New Mexico the first state indoor
tournament I ever went to this is how we
were we’re in the archery shop talking
to Jeremy Dugger and Larry my friends
and she gets a flyer hey this is a state
championship down in Albuquerque you’re
gonna go to it you’re gonna win it I was
like what she yep start shooting your
bow I don’t even know what the scoring
rules I don’t know right this isn’t mid
90s like I just moved to New Mexico um
we had no family there we just packed up
and said we’re going to go start our
life out in New Mexico and that’s what
we did and so we would do things like
that cuz she just like I think you’re
good you’re going to she believed in me
like you can go do this and I was like
well shoot there was no internet so I
had to go like I had to go back to the
archery shop hey what do I do here we
got to shoot these five spots and if you
could hit all the whites that’s a 300
you’ll win with a bow okay loaded up
shooting my 80 lb bow with hunting
arrows my Carol that I had at the time
and I took it down to Albuquerque and I
think I placed fifth with that thing in
the bow hunter class right and then
um I realized I liked that and within a
couple of years man I was the State
indoor champion in the pin class that
was that right then and then I decided
to go to Pro and start shooting 3DS and
stuff but the in um I knew it was going
to be that well when I lived in New
Mexico um Jeremy had left Zia Sporting
Goods went down to East Main Trade
Center which was a big pawn shop it was
the big hunting store in that town was a
pwn shop but he sold new guns and
hunting equipment just wonderful Glenn
Fuller excellent man and he hired Jeremy
to run an archery shop for him him and
Dana
clevinger and uh I
was Jeremy I had just I’ve told mine and
his story of that thousand times
so
I I had keyed in on where he was hunting
and went to him and pulled a map one day
said I think about going here he’s like
well you’re going to be all over top of
me so you might as well just come hunt
with me that’s how we started our
friendship right and that family took me
under their wing and um he saw something
in me and so
um this is it’s kind of hard Jeremy
dugger’s my Roy gotcha
and uh
just Believes In Me Like I believe in
Jesus he just Believes In Me man he’s
just that friend dude that just live
she’s light and he is
salt and he he lifts me up man and we
were going fly fishing one day this is
sorry we’re going fly fishing one day
and he goes hey he’d already signed Me
on he saw me coming in the shop and he’s
like man there’s something special about
you he didn’t say that but his action
proved that right there’s something
about you and he’s like
uh hey you want to be a co-op shooter
I’m like what you going to be a co-op
shooter what’s that man I don’t know
what that means he goes uh we’ll give
you a bow at 50% off cost M and you’ll
shoot for Hoy you’ll represent Hoy but
when you go to these tournaments around
here you’ll represent our store yeah
yeah yeah yeah that’s cool man I’ll do
that he go we’ll get some shirts with
your name on it and he goes um we just
signed on Jimmy Hambrick too and Jimmy’s
going to be our Target guy but you’re
going to be our hunting adviser at the
time I’d kill three deer with a bow but
I’m going to be a hunting adviser I was
like okay man yeah because I I loved it
big man and I killed a lot with a gun I
loved it big I loved archery and bow
hunting big and when you love it that
big be a staff shooter and have your
shirt with your name on it that’s a big
deal for young Bow Hunter yeah man and
I’m like yes I’m all over that man and
so I took it so serious I read
everything Randy wrote I read everything
he was my guy so I set my sight I’ve
emulated different men in my life that
I’m a chameleon dude I can
emulate different men for the right
reason
I told you about Tommy Young I emulated
him to be the man I am I emulated Randy
to be the industry man that I am a
deadly shot approachable friendly
intelligent about all matters archery
and bow hunting and just be a killer but
just be a good guy yeah first time I
ever saw Randy olmer I was at a shoot
and he a kid wanted his autograph Randy
Elmer reached in his quiver and pulled
out his own ACC and autograph the vein
and hand it to the kid I’m like man
that’s a $30 Arrow yeah and you just
gave it to that kid MH
pretty nice will you be my dad so Randy
knows the stuff about me too me and him
talked a lot he’s become a close friend
not close he’s become an industry friend
um and when he was started hunting
Colorado I was living there and he would
call me and ask questions so that’s
pretty big deal you rmer asking advice
about I looked up to him big time also
he he was a legend he’s been a legend
he’s a good man he’s just a good guy and
he’s always been good he’s always been
consistent that’s what I look for in a
person you got to be consistent so I was
reading his stuff and I started going to
tournaments and just I took it way more
serious than the next guy so guess what
happens then you’re the big fish in
Little Pond and I mean I’m not just
going out win and I’m destroying by 30
40 points between me and second place
and I’m just and that’s with pins once I
put a scope on I was like 40 points
ahead of the next guy and so
um I was I started out doing that well
so Jeremy gave me that opportunity to be
that guy I supposed to be I was supposed
to be just the hunting guy but I can’t
if it’s a bow I’m going to be
competitive with it and so I was
spanking the pants off
everybody in our in competition until
some people got serious about then you
know over a little bit of time the next
Guy starts learning H you know and then
you got competition I had to travel
outside of my realm to get competition
though and um but anyway we’re going fly
fishing one day me and Jeremy goes hey
he throws this magazine in my lap and
it’s Eastman’s um bow hunting Journal
first issue this is 99 I think mhm 99
yeah or late 99 early 2000 he throws me
this magazine he goes hey you can write
you can go huny write your stories take
good pictures put it in there they send
you a hat I was like what he goes yeah
they’ll send you a hat says Pro Staff no
way yeah dude you can write I was like
who’s Eastman like you know the old guy
Gordon Eastman with his son Mike now is
running this thing and you can write for
it this is my friend showing me how to
elevate yeah right not not I’m going to
suppress you I’m not going to show you
this cuz I want to be the guy no you go
I know how you I I know who you want to
be mhm you want to be great at this and
share your experience you want to go be
bow hunting great not popular not
famous but greatness I’ve always wanted
to be bow hunting greatness that’s what
I wanted like just a good I wanted to be
a Randy Homer that’s just I want to go
be great but to to your point to have a
friend that believes in you like that
and and you’re right cuz most most guys
want a suppress competition yes you know
and or they want the shine instead he’s
he’s showing you where you can get some
yes and that’s he knows your dream yeah
he knew my dream and so he he throws me
this magazine goes you can go right and
I’ll send you a hat and stuff cool man
well I that year I’d never killed one
Pope and young animal this was in 2000
I’d never killed a pop and young animal
of any kind I killed a 80-inch Antelope
my first antalope I went New Mexico I
got him it’s a big buck yeah 80 incher
then I killed 145 inch net
4×4 mu deer buck and then I went killed
a 40 143 inch white tailing Kansas
killed three poping Young Bucks it’s a
good year here we go baby I’m sponsored
I got my name on my shirt I got the
street creds now I can go write
something that’s meaningful and I wrote
an article called pop a poping young
medley mhm like a vegetable medley well
this is a poping young medley I just I
remember it and I wrote it and I reached
and so I’d gotten a issue of Eastman’s
in the mail and guess who was on the
freaking cover of it this dude named
Cameron Haynes and it was the most
beautiful picture of an anvelope you’ve
ever seen the light was beautiful had
your bandana on and here’s this golly
man’s amazing so I called the editor at
the time something you told me earlier
rod rod rod Hart I called rod and I said
hey um I got this story these are the
three animals I killed okay they they
meet the qualifications they’re they’re
do DIY the white tail was DIY and the
other two were um DIY public land so
they all kind of meet the criteria to
write the article cuz and and I’m glad
they did that right like there’s there
criteria to get in our magazine you know
back down no fences here right so I want
to have the street creds to to be this
guy or to write the story so I call him
and I I’m comparing my photos to your
photo on the cover and he’s like that
guy don’t don’t I just remember his
voice don’t worry about that guy that
guy’s an anomaly don’t don’t you
whatever like he he wasn’t discrediting
you was like that’s so far from where
you are right now don’t worry about this
guy I was like okay so I write the
article on hand wrote it I handw wrote
it on paper I didn’t have a computer
back then and I went over to my
sister-in-law’s house and she had a
computer and I sat there one night at
their house I typed it all up mailed it
to him and dude I subscribed yeah I had
already subscribed cuz that’s how I got
yours and when I saw my work in that
magazine like it was just like getting a
gold medal man like golly this is
millions of people are going to see me
no I remember that feeling too I mean
when you when you work not so you have
to work so hard to make it happen and
it’s the year the sacrifice or years of
of putting in time of learning this
discipline is bow hunting then getting
it done on a hunt and then writing an
article is hard work yeah so to see that
in print where other people are going to
see it and you your hard work is
validifi right there yeah it that is
powerful and I had the cap man and you
got the Pro Staff cap from E’s that’s I
totally get it because I would I would
race if it was like within a month of
when my magazine might be coming out
that I had an article in I’d be racing
to the mailbox every day yeah just
waiting it’s so like yeah no one listen
to this is going to understand that
unless they’re they’ve done what we
doing because it’s it’s such instant
gratification to just pick that phone up
and find whatever you wanted to say
today well and and now you can just po
you kill something you just post it and
say whatever you want before if we
wanted to share something other than if
it was at at the Bow Shop it was yeah 6
months you know what I mean oh yeah man
just having that opportunity to pin up a
picture at the Bow Shop was big deal
yeah and then you write an article and
then everybody at the bow shop that gets
that magazine is looking at you
different like that guy is legit man and
it’s an awesome feeling man and that
that got me into Eastman’s and then um
and like I said earlier when we were on
the mountain talking I learned to so um
something about me is I’m like that Don
Williams song um good old boys like me I
was smart and I could choose I could
learn to talk like the men on the 6:00
news I can read the room and I can speak
the language very fast and I just I I’m
do that comes from the beatdowns of the
childhood that I had I had to watch what
room I was in when I was in it and it
just you know it’s just it’s just part
of who I am man I’ve figuring things out
survival Instinct survival Instinct well
same thing in writing so when my article
came out I would read I’d go back and
read what I wrote and I’d look at the
word smithing they used in what they was
published okay change this word for this
word flip this sentence and it was
pretty good I that I wasn’t good in
school but I was good in English I was
pretty good in English uh terrible in
math but I’m good in English um so I
enjoyed it and I wrote about hunting in
high school I I would write about
articles about I I write stories you
know I’ve at essay um essay I wrote when
I was run with Fred Miller he taught me
the art of going and bartering at a at a
pawn shop how to talk somebody down if
you have cash instead of a check or
credit card I wrote an essay about that
my senior year of how to Jew down or
pawn shop to get a gun at the price you
want is that weird dude but that’s the
kind of guy I am I I wrote about that
and uh I got A+ on she’s like that’s
some crazy content but man you know your
business about this Mr SM yeah my
passion just to know it but also to put
it pin to paper to where it makes sense
you know so I mean that’s that’s a skill
yeah yeah it and I had that and so I was
able to write a decent article and then
I would look at what they edited and
what I got back I learned a self-edit
and
then inject this dude named cam hannes
in 2002 so I’m getting the a magazine
for a year or two and in there like I’m
thirsty I’m hungry and I’m wanting more
I want more information I want
everything I can read about
hunting and uh cuz I want to go Next
Level right and so um oh good story
about how I got to Hoy too don’t let me
don’t let me forget to tell you about
Hoy okay cuz I did it on purpose I got
crappy on purpose okay yeah so um I see
this ad they let you run ads in
Eastman’s for your it had to have been
to let you run ads for your book in
Eastman’s right for your first book b
hunting trophy
Blacktail and I got that I I I saw that
and so I I remember writing a check and
mailing it to you and I get this post
office uh you know the book The Boxes
you put books in in the mail I’m like I
God this book I think that’s the first
thing I ever bought mail ordered in
hunting was your book so I get this book
and I’m like it’s hard back this guy’s
got this velvet Buck on the cover and
your pictures just spoke to me man I’m
like this guy is connecting with me like
I I just
dude I just felt it immediately when I
started reading it from the forward from
Lon lobber cuz I was already reading his
stuff like oh Lon lobber he’s that’s the
man right there you know and so I I I I
really liked his writing he was a good
Bow Hunter and then he was wrote your
forward and then your pictures man just
the I talked about that Arrow coming out
of the page and uh um you and Tracy with
the llamas I was like this a good dude
because that matters to me your
relationship with your wife and how you
treat your family like we had that chili
in there tonight with your that felt
like I was just one of of the cousins
man felt so good I just felt so inviting
and warm and loving in there man and so
I knew this is my kind of guy and it
just made me hungrier for more of your
writing and then when you started
putting features in the
magazine I just became a fan like I just
I couldn’t that like when I would when
I’d get the magazine I’d go straight to
the table of contents and see what
Cameron Haynes wrote and I’d go find it
because that’s all I cared about I
didn’t care about this Yahoo from
Montana killed a bull I want to go see
what Cam said this week that’s when I
got those magazines that’s all that
mattered to me so um and I saw you on TV
hunting with I think it was when you
were hun with Mike Eastman and you
killed that hard antler buck in Montana
in that ditch or something I saw that
right before I met you that was a 2001
is I’m guessing somewhere in there 2000
2001 I can’t remember all the dates but
I knew that was the first time I saw you
and heard you talking no it was some
little bitty for point you killed I
think that’s what it was and I think
that was in Montana too but anyway I
heard you talking and I was like golly I
like that guy and then um I saw the
first it was like the first ISC show
ever in Denver in
2002 I went and uh they had that little
tent set up where you’re playing the
videos in there you and Royal and your
bear hunts and stuff and I went in there
and I I was like man this guy the way
you were dressed was different like um I
never told you this I going to tell you
anymore I was like man this guy’s
coolish this guy’s cool man he’s
different CU you had on like pleated
like pants and you had on a blue shirt
and you had these cool like buckle shoes
on you just you weren’t dressed like a
redneck you were dressed like a
professional Bow Hunter and I’m like man
this guy is I mean not not like no homo
but I was like this guy’s got he’s put
together and you were so cool though the
thing about you is how cool you are and
you’re just like hey what’s going on man
hey I’m marks SM and you’re like oh you
know who I like back then you were still
surprised someone knew who you were
right yeah yeah man I know all I got
your book and you were like oh really
you got my book I’m like I got your book
I read all your stuff and then there was
a copy of my article sitting on the
counter and I went yeah yeah that’s me
you went this is you I’m like yeah and
then you were like you paid attention
you’re like oh okay mhm and then um you
came back over to the booth like you
found me later you came back over to our
booth I was there with archery
Adventures the archery shop I was
shooting for and you were like you
wanted to talk to me I could tell you
couldn’t acted the same way I did and we
started talking and man I think from
that point on WE traded emails and it
just we became that was that’s the day
we met we became friends and then I can
remember wanting to do good so you would
be proud of me like I want to do good
man I want to I want to kill animals and
I want to write these stories I want cam
to be proud of me and so that’s so it
takes I think it takes balls to say that
these days everybody so but it’s true
man I wanted you to be proud of me
because I was proud of you I was proud
of and I could see what you were doing
like you were breaking the code to be a
standout what you call an outlier you
were you were breaking the code for
outliers in our industry and I’ve always
respected that and I’ve always seen that
and I’ve never thrown shade at you I’ve
I’ve always just was respectful of your
space and what you were doing because I
knew what you were doing like and U and
I try to emulate that too like I want to
you know not I don’t take risk like you
do we talked about that today I don’t
take big risk but I just never felt like
I could man and and maybe maybe I might
be able to now but I just saw what you
were doing and and so I would write
those articles knowing you were going to
be the guy to read them and get them
right and then publish them and and then
you would call me cuz like that time in
2001 when I had that incredible season
that warm Colorado welcome and I killed
a big 181 inch Buck a 6o no a fivepoint
bull and another Antelope Snider me and
Aaron Snider had gone out and killed
this Antelope like on the Dark Side of
the Moon he talks about that to this day
like I that guy disappeared in this
grass that was an inch tall I didn’t
like whatever him and Travis are sitting
in Minivan and he goes and so I go out
there and I shoot this analou man like I
don’t know how I did it but I got him
killed I come dragging him back and
Travis is in the back seat little kid
right and Snider sitting in the driver’s
seat of my wife’s van we’re just driving
around glass and anal up on this Ranch
shoot and U he’s like you know SNY holy
eward I think he got something Anda he
goes he laughed he goes Travis looks up
at me goes you’ve never H with my dad
before have you and it was a cool moment
for me right and so Snider we only
hunted one or two days to get and I
killed this antalope so I this anope
this Buck outsized really big buck and
this deer and that’s the year the bear
trashed our camp just tore all of our
remember those pictures we went home we
had that in in the magazine I think yeah
and you needed more information on that
cuz you actually wrote a sidebar about
bear safety for me I didn’t write about
I just said the bear tore up my stuff
and then there was the picture of the
tent just trash we left this tent with
all the food dumb right stupid all the
stuff for a week to come back the next
week to hunt we show up to camp and is
like a bulldozer went through there and
so you called me on the phone and back
then it was just you if you want to talk
to somebody call them you’re not going
to you know DM them or nothing so you
called me I remember I was on Parker
Road in Denver Colorado I can remember
like it just happened five minutes ago
my wife’s driving and I was riding this
and you call hello that’s hey this is
Cam hey man what’s going on you’re like
hey I just need a little more
information about the bear I was going
to talk to you about it I was like do
you me to send you something you’re like
no man we’re getting this thing ready
for press just tell me real quick what
some stuff and I told you the stuff and
man exactly what I told you you put it
in the article and then
um boom I just started then I was that’s
like man now I’ve been in eans twice
with epic
adventure and then in and so meanwhile
this back to the hoit story I had been
trying to get on with Hoy and I was
sending Mich I’d asked jackhead he was
the rep at the time and I said hey man
who do I need to talk to to Go Pro Staff
I want to go full-blown Pro I’m be Pro
bow hunter
why Hoy because of Randy no I just knew
hoists were the best BS okay and I’m
being honest I just felt they were and
Jeremy did too they just I just felt
they were the best they’ve always looked
like the the most well engineered B just
like just something about them premium
yeah are premium I already and I’d
already had great success with them and
to this day I think they have a warranty
department I couldn’t tell you yeah I
have no 1998 S one back either since
1998 I’ve never even tested their
warranty service so I have no idea if
it’s good or not yeah that’s says a lot
mhm and so I um I wanted to be on their
Pro Staff because of Randy and I wanted
to be on there because it was this
prestigious place to be man MH and I
just felt like I was pretty good bow
hunter I needed to be a pro yeah and so
I kept sending letters resumes like
putting together a resume like with
pictures articles and I send them and
every year i’ get the Dear John Letter
back from Mike Looper not at this time
not at this time thanks for your
interest thanks for your interest
yeah man hard I know I’m like you don’t
even know me man if you knew me you’d
like I’d make you like me and so I was
like you know what I’m going to do I’m
going stick a thumb right in their eye
and I went back to Grover Grover C he
was running the archery shop there on
the Archery Hut the one B Pino owns now
it was on the Air Force yeah and U um
Grover Cass owned it at the
time and uh he had just signed me on to
shoot for him and he didn’t carry hoists
at the time and um I was shooting hoists
for jackhead so that was I was getting a
free bow from the rep right and then I
had to represent the region not just a
shop but the
region and um I wanted to go Factory Pro
Staff MH and so because that was next
level up that was the highest level yeah
and so I uh got the Dear John Letter
From Looper and it just really set me
back like man this is my third year
trying I had no business I had no
business being on their Pro Staff but
it’s no no fault of Mike Looper at all
I’ll just say I’ll just say I wrote my
first
book having after killing seven bucks so
seven bucks all of a sudden I’m writing
a book on how to do it so it’s like we
sometimes you know this this journey the
patience is a hard part yeah you want
you want that end result before you
really earned it you know if if we’re
being truthful I didn’t really earn the
the right to have written a book yet but
I did right I’m like I’ll get other
experts South Cox Lon lobber and they
can help me put this package together so
I I totally get where you’re coming from
on third year you want to be Factory
proa on probably one of the biggest
archery companies in the world oh yeah
for sure man and and
so um I went down to the Archery Hut
there and I was talking to Grover and he
goes well I don’t I’ll sign you on I
know your reputation and stuff and you
can shoot and you’re a nice guy and all
that but I don’t carry Hoy I said what
you got
you know he was a huge psse dealer so
psse let me see what you got that was
the year the pre this was 2003 the year
the Primos STL speak the language came
back never even speak the Lang that was
back when they used the um barnesdale I
think it was barnesdale LMS yeah cuz I I
got burned on those teardrop axle
blowouts no you did too I went through
three of them in one season yeah and so
they were awesome bows though but this
that was not good plastic injection mold
I
they’re great people whatever um but
that Primos had those barnesdale Limbs
and I liked that and I shot that thing
lights out I won the State outdoor
Target championship in the Pro division
with that bow and camouflage with that
it was a solo Cambo it a single cam bow
it’s a good shooting bow and I freaking
dude I I like I shot really good and I
think there was about it ain’t like I
was the only Pro I think there was like
eight in the Pro division MH and I just
wor out with that camouflage but I
didn’t wor and I was I wasn’t Factory
Pro Staff so I like if I’m not Factory
Pro Staff I’m nothing I’m I wore a plaid
shirt and a Dr Pepper ball cap with a
camo bow and I spank the pants off these
guys yeah and uh won some money and a
trophy and then I took that same bow and
there was a guy working there that could
make stickers I said I want you to make
me the biggest that will fit on this
quiver and bow red psse stickers you
remember John May John May was a great
bow hunter I don’t know what happened to
him that guy was a great he was a good
guy remember we had him on the cover of
East with a big white tail big heavy
white tail you remember that kind of
like at a night shot and then the aners
were yeah I think it was a white
tail he’s just a he I met him he was a
very humble good man I have no idea that
guy fell off the planet great hunter him
and you were on staff then him Jeff
Dobbins remember there was a lot of
people on that staff back then and and
um I uh and so that was part of it too
Cam’s on there I go over there and be
with those guys and so I had this guy
made me these big red PSC cutout
stickers and I put one on the hood of
the quiver on the face of the limbs on
the inside of the limbs I want every I
want the world to
know I’m a PSC guy MH and I’m fing go
tear this mountain down I’m going make
poy feel it yeah and I did that’s when I
went and wrote that determined article
and I and I remember setting down um by
that Creek washing my face and getting
my cup and that when you open that
spread determined yeah and there’s just
me with all this psse stuff well that
was in September I killed that well in
October of the next year the sales
meeting they would have this uh KB
Outdoors that was jackhead he would
bring all of his sales all of his shops
in to show them the gear and everything
it was at ho headquarters mhm and I went
to uh this is going to tell you another
cool story this is lead into something
else I so I went to I I grew over was
like Hey I’m going to start carrying Hoy
I was like oh okay he goes well I know
you know those guys and everything would
you like to go over there and represent
the shop and go set in I’m like I’ll go
over there is Mike Looper gonna be there
he’s like yeah so um this article had
just come
out and um man it was good y’all did a
good job put some be that’s the only
time I’ve been on the cover but I’m in
the corner of the cover with my pack on
glassing but all that PS stuff caught
Mike Loop’s attention because he got the
he was going to read everything that was
coming out back then and he saw that
well I went to this sales meeting and
I’m sitting in there and Mike Loper just
keeps staring at me across the room and
I can tell he’s looking at me right like
he’s recognizing who I am I’d never met
him before MH and so we break for our
first pee break in the morning like 10
or something and he walks over hey um
you look really familiar I was like yeah
I’m Mark Smith who are you he goes I’m
Mike Looper I’m like oh nice to meet you
Mike he goes
hey I saw your Eastman’s article what
happened bro what happened I was like
what do you mean what happened he goes
you had a psse in your hand he goes what
would it take what would it take to get
a ho back in those hands I said that’s
all on you bro yeah that’s all on you
man I’ve I’ve written you I’ve called
I’ve done everything I can and I’m going
where the opportunities are and uh you
know those a pretty good bow they got
over there so I don’t you know I’m like
dude I do anything yeah he’s
like come over come come over to the can
you come can you come over to head
quarters after this thing today I’m like
yeah dude I walked out of there with a
signed contract more stuff that me and
my family can carry of hoit Swag they
take me over to East check this out he’s
like we’re GNA take you over to East too
son so they take me over to Easton and I
can’t remember the guy’s name then he
was a the marketing guy for Easton but
he like not Gary no it was before Gary
okay this was in
200000 this is in 2003 um going into the
2004 season okay and um
yeah and so I go over there to Easton
and the fat boy and the axes weren’t
launched yet they were going to launch
them ATA and January
MH I’m pretty sure and I would have to
go I I don’t know who I would ask but
I’m pretty sure I’m the first human
being to ever kill an animal that needs
to access Arrow because I went over
there I got to sign
contract um a target bow and a hunting
bow you know they’re going to put me on
hunting and Target Pro Staff now I mean
they went all over that’s awesome yeah
dude oh yeah that’s big deal yeah it was
really big and I’m not trying to it was
amazing like my wife and I are like
crying we left there like wow cuz she
was part of it my kids were my kids have
ho hoodies my you know what I mean my
whole family so um we go over to Easton
and this guy’s like hey come here we’re
not launching these yet but I want you
to have them this is going to be our
Target arrow for like the 3D guys it’s a
fat boy it’s a thick carbon Arrow line
cutter yeah I was like okay and he goes
and this one right here here man um this
is the eastn axis we talked about in the
sales me he not going to launch so you
can’t really let nobody see him until
January I said okay well I had a bison
hunt in November so this was like in
October I killed a bison with E Axis at
60 yard pass through shot him through
the shoulders and dumped him man he
didn’t go he didn’t go nowhere I’m film
and just dumped him and um it was
private land in Colorado but there’s a
place down the South Park it was huge
Ranch like six, thousand of Acres man
and so that you couldn’t just walk out
and shoot one with a bow guy was like y’
Ain going to get one with a bow you
bring a gun to shoot one you going to
get one with a bow like okay challenge
accepted and we were in a foot of snow
me and Sean Dennison and um dude it was
600 bucks and you got to keep the whole
thing wow the meat the hide the head I
got the shoulder Mount I got the hide
and the meat those those oh my gosh
those Prime ribs were just amazing my
wife was like man you that was like the
you know if you could ever do that again
I keep putting in for the Henry’s over
in Utah
I’m like 17 points now but um it wasn’t
a wild Henry’s but it was a hunt you
know I made a hunt out of it I found a
2-year-old bull I wanted to kill and I
stayed after him all day in snow and
here I I just raised up out of the snow
with my ultr tech man 60 yards and just
laced him like right in the pocket just
oh dude that but I can’t E Axis in 2003
Fred Iker did not see his first e access
till 2004 and so I’m like yeah yeah
but it was cool man like I have just to
be acknowledge like I just have that I
have that I have that I can go look at
that picture that bison today and go I
know that story and and and U that’s
believing in myself man even so it’s
hard and we’re impatient but that
self-belief like even when no one else
Believes In Me all I need to know is is
you know I have the Lord in my heart and
I have my wife on my side and the rest
is cake baby I’m going to get mine I’m
going to go I’m going to go get mine the
hard thing been for me speaking of that
is um that whole I’m going to get mine
you’ve got to realize when you’ve gotten
yours and you’ve had enough now it’s
time to share yeah and that it was hard
for me because when we were all in that
space coming up together I always say me
and you came up in the industry together
and we did but I realize you were a
little ahead of me but you um you were
so determined you had such a I can’t say
you had a plan you were just you’re kind
of I think you’re a lot like me where I
don’t necessarily have goals but I don’t
have limits I that’s what I tell every
even about my job and my day job my
career in refrigeration
it’s I don’t know they’re like where you
going to go cuz I’m a director now and I
have a huge span from Farmington New
Mexico to Baton Rouge Louisiana and
everything in between so Texas Louisiana
New Mexico was all mine I didn’t go to
college I started off sweeping a
refrigeration Shop with a broom and I’m
a director on like doing good
and they’re like well how what are you
going to do next I I don’t know if they
need a president I’ll be the president
they want a CEO I’ll be the CEO I don’t
know mhm I’m not going to put that limit
on myself right do I have a goal to go
be a CEO no they have to travel too much
it cut into my hunting I don’t want to
go do that but if they called upon me I
go where the need is right and one that
that’s I love about the group I work
with now is man everybody’s Reaching
Across the aisle helping each other all
the time I’m just I don’t I’m where I
belong in my day job I just with the
best people man that’s great yeah shout
out to the ticom group I love those guys
I I am just a cool CEO
and my boss is just freaking salt man
and I just I I don’t
h i don’t have to go to work I get to go
to work and I love that saying you say
it too I get to get up and do my job
every day and I just love I have a team
of men that they would crawl through the
gates of hell for me CU they know I
would I would lead them there I would I
would be with them too you and so I love
that part of it
but um you know uh just
being a leader and giving back to those
people and giving them my time and
knowing when I’ve had it I’ve got mind
things I can make things look easy
because of experience but just given
that encouragement I have a group text
with all my field leaders every and I
tell them good morning fellas how we
doing today anybody got anything burning
down that needs my touch today that’s
got to mean the I’ve never had a boss
say that to me right like and they’ll be
like most of them are like oh I’m good
but some of them will say yeah man I’m
burning down over here and I need help
in this El Pas I need help and abene or
whatever and I call I call another
service manager I get people rock and
roll into the de go help them out and
give just be there for them man and so
that kind of that’s you know my hunting
career and my work
career they’re the same thing it’s about
troubleshooting it’s problem solving and
getting it done because Back Country
hunts are a lot like that you know and
so as I’ve been grinding and working my
way up through the mountains and at my
job they just paralleled each other man
like you you know it’s like you saw me
on that mountain today man I was
troubleshooting I’d get that rock over
here over here in the center I’d bend
over and I never puked no you didn’t I
never cried no you did great you did
great yeah so it’s uh so you’re so
you’re kind of coming up to the ranks
making a name for yourself getting added
on to hoy’s factory staff everything
going good and then you’re were kind of
saying well when have you got you know
like determined when when when were you
satisfied you know what I mean or or you
said you don’t put limits on yourself I
mean you me you mentioned me that I
hadn’t and so how is how is that your
journey kind of kind of uh mimic that I
guess um like in the hunting industry of
No Limits yeah um the more involved I
got are you where you want to be now no
oh no I don’t have my own Studio I don’t
have lift run shoot I don’t have to keep
hammering Collective and I don’t want to
copy you but I want what you have but I
don’t I want to copy you I want to go
have what Mark has yeah I’m not a el guy
I’m a mu deer guy right I want to go be
the MU deer guy
that’s I don’t know but I don’t I want
to do more yeah if I could make if if I
could
go
um I don’t know man I just love bow
hunting and and the whatever the next
steps are for me if you’d have told me
prior to three months ago that I’d be
sitting here doing this with you I
wouldn’t think you would ever even
though you’re my good friend I feel like
you’re my good friend I I who am I I
don’t I don’t belong here I don’t belong
in this room but you know I think people
listening to this that don’t know you
you know I mean some in the a lot of
people in the industry know you some
that listen to this won’t know you but
you cannot question your integrity your
heart um the words you speak anybody
listening can can be like that guy’s a
straight shooter oh yeah so whatever
he’s saying whatever it is I might not
know that much about it but I believe it
yeah that goes so far in this day and
age you know cuz people just want
somebody who’s just be honest with them
yeah so you’re honest um so I mean I
think it’s I love having you here and
it’s like what I the hunting industry
it’s you know there’s so so many stories
you could tell about it good and bad
right you know because as we’ve said
I’ve mentioned it there’s a lot of ego
and hunting and you know as I was
telling you earlier today that’s kind of
that go goes with the territory CU you
have to believe in yourself at such a
high level to be successful in the
mountains because everything is against
you so you have to have a little bit of
an ego or I don’t know if it’s
self-belief ego that those get mixed up
but when you’re that type of person you
are going to be in competition with
other men so that’s how hunting the
hunting industry works but point is it’s
like uh I with
you um you’ve always been in my corner
yeah you’ve always believed in me you
talked about your wife believes in you
and and Jeremy believes in you well I
feel like you’ve always believed in me
too I feel like Roy always believed in
me and we’re very lucky to have people
like that who believe in us and and also
in in turn I’ve always like
admired um
just there’s something about you that
like I said you’re believable and I
loved you know how you cared so much
about telling a story and getting that
story just right I remember there’s
another story too about I think you were
with your son and I think you killed a
six you haven’t killed a ton of bulls
but you killed a 6×6 bull I remember
right yeah wasn’t that with your son um
was there was there a story like that
there was a story where I took my son I
killed a buck and a bull it was my next
Eastman story okay but I had him with me
at 14 13 I took him on his first Back
Country hunt yeah um and I I’ve always I
never pushed hunting on my kids but it
was up V was always there yeah you want
to go and so Travis who was a little
scrawny little guy yeah that’s what I
remember and he had I know what year
that was he’s got a picture that was in
200 um five yeah there’s a picture of
him on the mountain drinking from a he
looks like a total little ba man he’s up
there drinking out of he had on a b and
I made him carry his own stuff like I
pulled a h h on him I made him carry his
own weight he had to carry his own food
his own water his bed every he’s scrawny
the dude don’t weigh 100 PBS yeah
perfect little he had a little ho bow he
emptied that quiver three times he shot
at a 340 bull cuz he had points that I
didn’t have so I put him in for an elk
in that unit and I watched him at 50
yards and I had him shootting about 45
lbs he was shooting cut on contact UM
was or uh Magnus Stingers Stingers yeah
yeah and I was like you can get and he
was hitting he could pop balloons at 50
yards that Broadhead would kill
something yeah I was like you think you
can make it and I watched it go right
under his chest it was a 347 by7 it was
beautiful bull to this day he’s like oh
man I watched him empty hisz you could
kill doe in that unit too I watched him
empty that quiver on Doe’s but he had
Target Panic like you could not but dude
I smoked a buck with him at my side
that’s hard to do man yeah to kill a I
killed a big heavy three-point Buck
three by3 for the back three-point me
and him were coming up this Trail I
looked down this little Bowl right below
us in the
um in the willow patch and this these
five bucks are feeding up and I smoked
one and it started raining soon as I
shot I mean bottom fell out and we were
above Timberline went gotten a 10 I said
we’ll get him in the
morning and I hit him quarter and two me
so that exited way back here so he went
pretty far
down the mountain just running straight
down the mountain and I remember man
getting him down there and putting him
on the blood and I just stayed back he
found I let him find it oh man he just
he loved that but um that was his first
High Country hunt but I never I want to
say this this is It’s a good segue to
this part that I want to talk
about um I kind of thought about this
earlier a little bit about sponsorships
and and free stuff yeah so Travis is um
20 years old almost 20 this was in 2012
this is my last year as a resident in
Colorado and um I was already smelling
what was brewing on the horizon I was
going to be coming back to Texas and um
so I was like you know I need to take
Travis on a back country elk hunt like
legit Back Country eight miles in you
know down my favorite elk spot and so we
trained for it and got him shooting good
and everything and I was like hey you
need take he was working at Dick
Sporting Goods he’s already graduated
high school he working at Dicks and I
said hey I want I want to take you on a
back country elk hunt and um Chase uh
Hudson my T talk to you my friend from
Utah he was going to come over he was
Liv in Utah at the time so the three of
us backpacked down into this Wilderness
in
Colorado and I took him back to my
favorite Avalanche shoot like there’s a
spot right by this Creek that man I can
always find a bull in there so I took
him back there on WE hike it takes all
day to hike in there set up camp get up
the next morning hunt your way up and
then you got to be ready in the
afternoon in this Avalanche shoot
there’s a big metal at the base of it
comes down this Avalanche shoot a meadow
drops into this River and then another
big Meadow down here and
um I start cow calling and man I’m just
bull light up and these cows are all
chirping it’s just like elk heaven right
below us man
just bugling I’m like man get ready and
so I said I’m going to back up about 50
yards I’m going to call that bull he’s
going to come right across the creek
going run right up here man going smoke
him down okay there’s a 5×5 bull he
comes across I can hear him Splash in
the river below and my heart’s pounding
man and Travis um he rares back and like
I told you before he he has Target panic
and this wasn’t from Target Panic this
is just from holy crap there’s a bull
Arrow between that thing’s antlers man
like I’m watching and I see Travis shoot
this Bull’s looking at us Arrow like
goes between his antlers did that kill
it um
huh and he he he just looks at me with
this look like like I like what I’m
like I don’t know what what did you
where were you aiming I had it right on
his brisket I’m like I don’t think so I
saw you shooting you know he was hitting
this you know this this can at 50 last
night I don’t I don’t think so homeboy
and so um he was pretty deflated and I
was just like hey it’s bow hunting man I
get trust me I get it man yeah and um he
uh I think it was the same season
maybe the season before no was the year
before he killed his first deer with a
bow he killed a dough at 70 yards with
his bow yeah double like 12 reinger
broadside a good shot yeah and so he got
that one he’s proud of it and everything
and so this um he missed this bull and
then all of a sudden this
big bugle right below us I was like Hey
and on the hunt I said I don’t I only
want to kill a big old 6×6 herd bull or
nothing and you kill every other bull we
call in well I GL down there man there’s
15 cows in this big old dinosaur I was
like it’s Daddy’s turn I was like he
goes no no no I don’t think I could kill
that thing so he got to watch me from a
bird’s eye view strip down cross this
River come up the other side belly crawl
out into the middle of the herd no call
just he watching bird ey view of me
crawl out into the middle of the herd
and make a lofty shot and smoke this
huge bull down for Colorado over the
counter and I I got him dude like really
yeah and he’s just like he ran up to me
and just dude real tears I mean big ones
just shooting out of his face like he’s
so excited and happy for me you know
that he’s like God you’re like you’re
just amazing man you’re
like you’re just amazing guy you’re dad
you’re an amazing guy I’m like cool man
whatever we got some work to do here so
I um start breaking the bull down and he
never seen any of that I break the bull
down I put it in game bags I got it all
hung up I was like okay in the morning
we got to hike out and call the Packer
we ain’t backpacking this bull out of
here so here’s another experience we
backpack all the way up out of this
Canyon with get service I call him and
I’m reading off GPS coordinates the next
day the Outfitter comes in friend of
mine with mules I mean he’s able to walk
the mules right under the game bag cut
the cord drop in the piard and Travis is
like you’re like a pro dad you’re like a
professional bow hunter yeah I was like
well I’ve done this before son and so
he’s just seen his dad a different guy
for the first time like I just had this
whole this you know step one step two
step three like at every step right then
and what really impressed him is now
we’ve we’ve killed a bull worked to the
middle of the night hiked all the way
out got an Outfitter come all the way
back in and the next morning he’s
thinking this coffee time we’ll sleep
whatever and I’m up before the sun yeah
hey get up we got a hunt we got a hunt
you got a tag let’s go and he’s like you
are you are you serious I can’t even
feel my feet right now man like get up
get dressed we’re going you got to get
you a bull
man and we go we go down the river about
two two and a half miles to the next
Avalanche
shoot and I hear a bugle and I start
calling and we start closing in strip
down cross the river put closeth back on
go grind go grind and it’s very much
like carrying the rock up Pisa it’s this
this grind is a grind to get up this
Hillside and your dead Falls and Aspens
and you’re just going man and I put push
and I push and I push and I push and
we’re about to bench out and it’s like a
32 6×6 bull I can see him raking a tree
I’m like hey man um this is bigger than
the one I shot it wasn’t older it was
better scoring ball right I was like Hey
and I’m just I’m like hey this is this
is a big bull he’s like
320 what I was like yeah he’s good he’s
bigger than anyone I’ve ever killed look
don’t don’t look at his antlers he’s
broadside when we ease up there he’s
going to be about 40 yards just put your
40 yard pin on and smoking man you good
yeah I’m good okay we ease up there man
and the Bulls just raking a tree but
right when we topped out he decided to
walk around the tree and looked right at
us oh God and then he’s turned now
facing us yeah and then he then he
starts to turn and I went and I leaned
over at the waist I went 43 and I leaned
over and but the instant he hit full
draw the bull just bolted oh and and was
gone God God dang it yeah and he just he
I I have this picture of him sitting on
a log it starts raining to to beat the
band and he’s sitting on this log with
this thing pulled over his head and he’s
just sitting there with this bow in his
lap and it’s the it’s the it is the
epitome of defeat that’s a low moment
it’s the lowest moment he this close to
Glory this close to Glory yeah and we
get and he’s
like he’s fried I’ve already got a dead
bull he he there been a roller coaster
of emotions for that kid and he goes
hey Dad I want you to
know I love you and I’m so you are an
amazing person but I have had all I can
take he goes I I I cannot take another
let down like that let me go regroup and
rebuild and rest strengthen for the next
season but I
cannot I can’t not kill the next one
like I I don’t want to I want to stop
trying because emotionally I don’t think
I can take it if I don’t kill I’m like
all right man well it’s at this point
now it’s your hunt I’m going to push you
to the point where you don’t want to go
but if you don’t want to go I get it he
goes no no no I am so grateful I’m so
thankful for this experience and it’s
been so enriching and everything and we
ate elk steaks on Open Fire and the
whole had the whole experience and we
get back to Camp that night and he’s
like
hey I get it now he goes I all my life
that I can remember boxes of stuff show
up like binoculars camouflage boots bows
everybody knows you all this stuff right
like that’s all like probably like a lot
of your kids they don’t know they just
they do now they’re grown but when
they’re little kids they don’t know what
you
did for all of this stuff to show up at
your door and he
goes you and your to have your son tell
you this is incredible he’s like you’re
an amazing man like you are you work
harder at that than most men work at
their job I get it now I know why wants
to give you a bow they’re glad to give
you a carbon bow every year and these
arrows and these broadheads and these
boots and these things he
goes I just I took it for granted but no
one no no one’s going to outwork you on
this mountain I just I just really
appreciate what you’ve done dad and to
have your son tell you that is powerful
man and then I’m like good I’m glad you
get it but it’s also I mean I don’t know
I have to just for him to have that
perspective as a young man yeah that’s
rare yeah so whatever you’ve done
however or maybe maybe that’s just how
he is but however it worked to where he
could have that insight and that CU
that’s wisdom yeah in some respects to
be able to to articulate that how that
felt for him and to see you in this
light that is as a father I don’t know
if it gets any any bigger than that yeah
it was it was it
was I don’t want to say life-changing
but it was important it was an important
moment for my son and I on the mountain
and so now he works for me I’m his boss
and um you know it’s weird it’s hard
people think that if you’re the boss’s
son man you’ve got it made it is way
harder with the expectation that I have
on people I I expect a lot I expect
Excellence that’s in my tagline at work
on my signature you know expect
Excellence I expect Excellence because
I’m going to give you my very best right
and if I’m going to give you my very
best I expect your very best and and my
son being working for me that’s got to
be hard man that’s he told me he’s like
dude you cast freaking huge Shadow yeah
he he wants out of it like he wants out
of my shadow and he wants to be able to
go do his own
things but we’re just like best friends
and he just wants to be involved in
everything I do and so it’s it’s a weird
mix but I never let it get out of
balance I never let it get out of check
but I also treat him like a partner and
I’ve had since he was 13 since the first
time he went on the mountain I let him
help me make decisions like from hey
what do you think we should camp and if
he makes a decision then he has positive
impact from that decision then he he
I’ve strengthened him to make good
decisions he’s building confidence yeah
and he’s like where do you think we
should bet I said well I always
personally sleep in Deer beds it’s the
only flat spot on the mountain so I
would just try to look around so he
starts looking around and I knew we we
were in the proximity of where I wanted
to be but he’s like I think this is a
pretty good spot I think that is a
pretty good spot so we made Camp let him
find the you’re empowering now yeah I
empowered him to make decisions now he’s
a business that’s big deal dude’s
leading $10 million worth of my business
right now so it’s like dude you’re
you’re amazing little guy and he and
he’s uh um he’s a good partner but
anyway I had that and I have stories
like that with my daughter too you know
she my daughter Casey she’s older than
him but um 2007 she she came she was she
was going to go to the Navy I was like
oh okay I’m not whatever I would in the
military I love the military but I
wasn’t in the military she was spending
the summer with her grandma and grandpa
and Grandpa he’s a Vietnam
you have you know go get your VA loans
you do he was right he was and she’s
like my daughter’s very much like tan
like Bookworm like smart man like um
super smart and so she went in the Navy
man she was a she was a petty officer
whatever cryp Tech she was like she
intercepted enemy fire types like she
has the highest level of security that
you can get in the nation she could have
a job at loed
Martin SpaceX stuff like she’s super
intelligent and she’s super um just
she’s a mom of four right now yeah but
she got a degree and she she she was in
the Navy six years on a warship and saw
some crazy stuff proud of her yeah oh my
gosh I’m super proud of her but she went
to um boot camp got out of boot camp was
fixing to go to a
school the last week of August MH and
she going come home I’m coming home last
week of August MH [ __ ] man fix I’m
fixing to go deer I’m fixing to go to
the mountains man and so I was like
man I want to spend time with Casey but
I wanted to go bow hunting and I think
she just I’m her hero you know she we
adore each other my daughter adors me I
adore her and uh I want to be around her
she wants to be around me but I don’t
want to go bow hunting to I don’t want
to miss opening weekend of bow season
yeah so it’s cool this cool thing man
I’m I come in and my wife she comes in
they’ve been at the store that day I’m
in there packing like halfway packing
feeling the room am I going to go
hunting am I not going to go hunting but
she knew how important it was to me and
she my wife comes in she
goes do you think Casey could go hunt
with you like you think she’d go she
wants to go oh yes we’re she’s going
then that’s awesome Yep and so I go in
there I was like so she’s like we’ll
just go ask her if she wants to go okay
so I go in there and ask hey Casey how
long are you in she whatever I was like
kind of want to compromise I said I
don’t want to miss you but I don’t want
to miss opening day either would you if
I cut my hunt my first week of hunting
just into a couple of days to get the
opening weekend in would you like to go
with me yeah so we went down to Walmart
and bought her some Ozark Trail freaking
hiking boots she still owns to this day
this is in 2007 oh and she still owns
them and loves them and um I bought we
bought those and back then I had this
old International Scout that the um
starter had gone out on so I had to
always Park on a hill yeah and pop get
rolling pop the clutch and get it going
yeah um that’s the only hunting vehicle
I had at the time
and um so we just made this adventure
man we got her the boots I got a little
Badland 2200 pack got it with just
enough stuff for her um and I took a
twom man ENT not a bivy sack I took a
Twan ENT I took a little bigger camp I
carried most of the load I took her to
the wom Wilderness High Country as hard
as it gets in
Colorado and uh we go up in the dark by
the time we get there it’s dark she puts
on that pack I’m like okay little sailor
M we’ll see what you’re made out of yeah
and we just go in the dark and headlamps
we go above Timberline probably four
miles get up there above Timberline get
set up on this Mesa and hunt and there’s
some dudes in there and they kind of
bump the deer Dugger was up there him
and Omni Warner were up there too
hunting and I could see them and I waved
to him and then so uh I was like a these
guys are up here let’s go back by the
trail head I’ve been seeing some deer
over there and then let’s go back over
to this other big place and so we went
parked and started and we went about a
mile and she goes dad I love you but
these new boots are killing me I want to
show you my foot and she had this
horrible bler open wound blister on her
foot and I’m like oh man so I made a
decision right then that it’s not always
about big bucks I’m like you know I’m
going to compromise even further I was
said hey let’s go Road hunt tonight
let’s just go pop some eat I love nut
goodies you know what nut goodies are
the little Maple nut goodies they little
candies and me and her both love them
that’s her thing I was like let’s go get
some Dr Peppers and let’s get some nut
goodies and let’s just go Road hunt some
of these roads and see if we can find
some bucks M freaking smoke down
fourpoint Buck man did you me and my
daughter dude yeah we come around this
bin and man his heard of bucks they they
were up on B real close to a trail head
and they were just kind of going up on
the side of this Burn yeah and I parked
and stocked out there probably 200 yards
Boke down a nice
4×3 and she witnessed it saw it we got a
buck man like like like God just you
know me man I’m I’m I’m I’m a Believer
and I just believe that God just guides
everything in my life and it’s just like
because of my compromise because of not
not I didn’t I had scouted some big
bucks like I was going after big you
know 190 plus buck that I scouted but
that moment was bigger to have her with
me going off to the Navy like I’m
shipping her off man this is it she’s
going to a school and she’s going to
battle and um man you know weird
thoughts go through your head I want
every minute with her so she’d never had
a mountainous meal and to this day to
this day you could ask her hey what
would you like to eat she’ll tell you I
want a beef strogen off Mountain she’s
like Dad this amazing this the best food
ever I’m like I know I love it too it’s
only good in the mountains yeah it’s
only good in the mountains at home not
so much no I don’t know there’s been a
couple times I didn’t feel like cooking
I’ve eaten some Peak refuels that I like
a lot I’ve well I’ve had you know some
meals in the mountains I’m like I would
eat this at home this is so good and I
get home and do it yeah way different
but yeah but my little girl man she’s a
she’s a amazing she is you know we all
believe that her kids are amazing she’s
a mother of four married just the best
dude man he’s a he’s a sheriff’s deputy
in Blunt County Tennessee they live in
Tennessee now he’s from Virginia and
they didn’t want to live like right up
our butts or up his mom but so they pick
a spot in the middle went to Tennessee
which I love going to Tennessee man so
she’s over there and with my four h them
babies man I got I had two kids I got
eight grandkids out of the deal wow and
so they’re making the most of it oh man
that is just it’s incredible dude well
those those two experiences with your
kids I mean you know Travis on that hunt
your daughter on that hunt it’s like you
know how many people go through their
their lives and never have like a real
meaningful type experience you know they
might Disney dis Disneyland isn’t like
that right Disney your kids aren’t
seeing you in a different light and like
looking at their dad and going my dad is
incredible it doesn’t happen in
Disneyland you know what I mean so the
fact that you’ve had those those
experiences with your kids in the Mounds
that’s I mean that’s once in a lifetime
almost you know for some guys so it’s uh
well she amazing she’s also incredible
Archer and she is ho in her blood like
man when I you know I’d left that little
stint we talked about yeah she was the
biggest anti don’t do it don’t don’t do
that don’t don’t no I love like she
loves Hoy like yeah and and she oh man
anyway my point of saying that is here’s
this 30-some middle-aged mom of before
two years ago she called me she goes hey
I’m getting like a really big tax return
I want a new bow she grew up bow honey
my daughter grew up she
killed um she she killed some exotic
animals Hogs she killed a lot she killed
a hog with a bow when she was 13 and uh
um legit dude like legit with my wife’s
target bow a red white and blue flag po
target bow my daughter took it and I set
it up again with fix on you know cut
contact head she killed a hog in Texas
can’t see that well no and she killed um
uh she’s killed some really big Hogs and
she killed that Ram but she’s like hey
she calls me two years ago she I want a
bow I want to get a new bow my own I’m
get a good tax return I like to have a
ho so we got an eclipse a blacked out
Eclipse with that blue string this is
such a cool looking bow man yeah and so
I get I order it from Evan and I got it
I put a side on it I cut down some
arrows and found a box of old 85 green
Broadhead and got it all put together
and they kids got out on spring on fall
break were they Rocky Mountain titanium
no they were um these were Slick Trick
85 four blades okay got you yeah and so
um and she’s shooting 50 PBS so this bow
comes in I’m like hey I’m going to start
you off at 50 and just see what you can
do she she drew it back easy at 50 lbs
that’s impressive yeah and um man I had
her so she comes on spring break I’m
sorry she comes on spring break gets the
bow goes home to Tennessee shoot on her
own free will a middle-aged mother mhm I
want to shoot a bow she loves it she
loves it dude like my daughter is a like
Travis is a hunter yeah Casey is a bow
hunter period She is bow only yeah and
she um she she shot got stayed in
practice and I had a big ground blind
set up um in in my spot in East Texas
and um I stayed out of this spot there
was this young Spike Buck who’s coming
in there pretty regularly I’m like
Casey’s going to smoke this Joker and so
they came on fall break um and so they
were there that spring got the bow went
home she shot in Tennessee all summer
she come back in the fall this is two
years ago and I sat with her me and her
together sitting in this blind and I see
him coming through I can see his ears
flipping mosquitoes and stuff he’s
coming through there and I’m like hey
Here Comes Your Buck freaking smoked him
she’s a m middle-aged mom got her first
buck with a bow and arrow and I was just
like another amazing moment and then my
her son my oldest grandchild is her son
Mason he’s oh my gosh Carson Travis’s
boy he’s a killer he’s already killed he
he killed a deer when he was seven he
killed a deer he’s killed a 200 PB boar
he’s just killer he’s a killing machine
but Mason
um he was he he became a bow hunter in
one day we were going um last year we
were going to go over to the deer lease
and I stopped at Academy that’s a big
hunting store there in Texas I was like
do you have a bow he no I’m buying you a
bow today mhm really like yeah I’m
buying you a bow went in there and I
found this I don’t know what the brand
is I it’s a bear I think little youth
bow camo which a pretty legit bow yeah
I’m going to get him a Cobalt I think
all the grandkids are getting Cobalts
for Christmas this year but I got him
this bow and we go side in the top pin
and I took him down to the big lake
there that night we went frog
hunting he swung four big bullfrogs his
first time ever shooting a bow then we
brought them home and his little sister
I took her fishing and she caught her
limit of crappie so we had this big fish
fry frog leg fry can’t beat that no
they’re just like they’re eating frog
Prov yes and they they were so proud I
got a picture of on my Instagram from
that year holding this plate there’s
frog legs and Fish on it both of them
holding the plate for me for a man you
know like do you know what that means to
me man like everything yeah they’re just
incredible man well like with all the
changes you’ve seen in your whole
journey what do you think of the hunting
industry today
um man I don’t want to be I don’t want
to cannibalize ourselves I don’t want to
be down on it but it is just a different
place yeah it’s a different place where
me and you had to learn the ropes M um
people talk about epic days on the
mountain and they talk about Game
Changer this trinket this gadget you
know this thing’s no you know what a
game changer is a rangefinder son that’s
a that’s a game changer um the fact that
your bow stays pretty much put together
and your peep site comes back most of
the time is a big deal like you don’t
even know what that was like to have to
I heard Wayne I love Wayne I was
listening to Wayne the other day about
peep sites and being at tournaments
checking your cam timing and like these
guys man the string stretched all the
time you know our parents and our
grandparents they had these stories too
well in my day and you’re like just shut
up because whatever but now we’re those
guys and it’s like well back in my day
and we
just we were definitely tougher yeah we
I we were just tough we you weren’t
allowed not to be tough cuz you weren’t
going to survive if you weren’t tough at
school at whatever you just you were
people were just well the difference
that I see like the mapping programs
like you remember going into the back
country I mean unrolling a map now
everybody knows where you’re at uh
exactly where you’re at and exactly
where everything is you don’t have to
know how to read a map no nowadays yeah
so just that gives so people so much
confidence cuz most people wouldn’t go
deep in the mountains because they
wouldn’t know for sure where they were
going to how to get out what if
something happened if it if it got
socked in with fog you didn’t know which
way was which so most people hunted
close to their rig just because of that
yeah and now you know you know exactly
where you’re at at all times that that
one thing is a huge Advantage yeah I see
people all the
time go to their phone and type in the
grocery store they’ve been to 5,000
times and follow the lines to the I’m
like what are you do man can’t you
remember where you were at no no when I
want to know where I was at back in the
day when I want to know where I was at I
had to climb I had to stop hunting and
climb a peek and look around to figure
out which bowl I missed or which Basin I
missed I remember being off the mark by
just a few degrees yeah looking at a map
and going in the wilderness and being
off a couple of degrees you lost a whole
day of hunting because you just didn’t
end up at the right spot yeah a lot of
times when I’m lost I’ve killed some big
stuff yeah but if you wanted to be
somewhere if you didn’t have those
whatever go hunt Onyx and all that yeah
I can’t even I don’t yeah I don’t
probably wouldn’t be who we are no we
had that stuff and I would never be able
to contact I never had a satellite phone
no I never you know so I would just go
back in there and if anything happened I
don’t know how anybody would find me
yeah but there was like something
about that that changed who I who I am
you know cuz you had to believe in
yourself to go back there and do stuff
like that you had to believe that you
were survive you could get it done back
there and it’s it’s just different it’s
not it’s not easy but it’s easier yeah
than back in the day yeah I’m glad we
still have people that want to hunt and
I’m glad we have people like you still
putting bows in people’s hands and I try
to put bows in hands and and I hope this
puts a lot of fathers and putting bows
in their kids’ hands because you can you
just got to just help them believe in
themselves and they go do it because we
we got I like I said I don’t want to
cannibalize our own we we’re bad about
that as an industry we are I’m not
trying to talk I know I know you’re not
and and because that’s why you brought
it up we got to lift each other up into
into the light like Jeremy and like Roy
and and if it’s not your just anybody
you know be if you’re a shop owner man
you’re in you’re affecting someone’s
life man take two seconds and ask that
young man sitting over there to staring
at you for the last what you need man
yeah what can I help you with what can I
you know don’t think about the dollars
think about just what can I do to help
you be successful and I see that though
I do Jeremy Dugger shop is that way he
he sees everybody you don’t let nobody
get out of there without help I feel
that from Wayne I feel that today when I
was in there I just the service and um
we got to do that and and uh man more
programs I love the programs that get
kids involved and I love to see people
like Hoy making kids bows man you know
and and giving families they make a
women’s bow they make kids bows they
make men’s bows that’s your whole family
yeah it’s once you have the membership
and the arrows and the bow man that’s
every day every weekend you can go out
there and have just the time of your
life with a bow yeah I like too that
nowadays you know people see what we do
that aren’t Hunters you know so it
allows us to grow that the sport you
know and it’s like before it would be
you’d write an article that was just
other Hunters you’d be on TV that other
Hunters watching it now with social
media people can talk about negatives of
social media and there are plenty of
them but there’s also some positives and
so people can see shooting an arrow
watching that Arrow go and see that like
shooting the balloon today and that that
smile and a fist bump did it who doesn’t
want to experience that yeah you know
what I mean so that’s we’re able to
share what we love and what has changed
our lives every day on our feed and
that’s going to impact people that’s
going to that’s you know people are
going to say now how do I learn to do
this where do I go to do this and I get
that all the time it’s local Pro Shop
yeah go Google it go to the bow rack if
you’re in town you know and it’s uh
that’s what I love about it I I do love
there’s a lot that I love about today
and the reach that we’re you know we’re
lucky enough to have because that wasn’t
always the case no back in the day so
it’s uh I think it’s a good time yeah
it’s a great time to be in our industry
and um for the for the consumer and the
manufacturer you can’t make it any
simpler to get going you just just got
to have they got to have that human
touch a little bit of time the
equipment’s going to go man and and
you’re back where you should I mean
you’ve been where you should be but
you’re shooting a brand new ho oh yeah
like this what about this bow right here
oh that baby right there is the 100 yard
balloon Buster look at that bow dude
yeah I mean do you know how sexy that
thing looks yeah all
black I mean an RX8 Ultra you shot that
thing like you’ve been shooting it your
whole life today has a good Bow Man I
mean look how look how good that thing
looks it looks fast it just looks no it
looks beautiful yeah it just you know
what I mean it just looks like grease
lightning that thing’s Bad to the Bone
one the first time I drew it back man I
mean it was just a couple of shots
popping bullet holes and then to I don’t
have a tape on the side I don’t even
have anything past the 30 yard pin
sighted in and I popped a balloon at 100
yards with it yeah you did I was like
just you’re shooting so good today I was
just figuring it out man man this thing
is set up and I can’t believe I can’t
believe after this whole journey we’re
sitting here today we’re at a table
that’s that’s honoring Roy mhm who you
know changed my life by introducing me
to Bohan and you talked about people who
change your lives but we’re sitting here
today across the table from each other
after being friends for over 20 years
with a brand new bow that is you know as
a kid we would dream about something
like this yeah you know there’s no way
we could afford something like this when
we first started coming up no not even
close you know and like we’re s
like I I don’t know it feels surreal how
lucky we are yeah been bow hunting now
35 years you 40 years and we can talk
about this like from this place of
experience and this long journey of
these ups and downs and it’s just like I
can’t I just can’t express how grateful
I feel for your friendship and for this
experience and to have this moment and
and to be where we are in life I just
mark it means everything to me that you
came here to my hometown you shared my
routine with me the lift run shoot
you’ve been in my corner for decades
yeah and brother I love you I love you
too man but hey I got something for you
what I brought you something you did I
don’t have a badass World Championship
Jersey and I don’t have a game day
Jersey but I have something very
meaningful I’m fixing to give you all
right I’ve been hiding it all day okay
this Arrow killed the first mu deer I
ever killed the first public land animal
I ever killed really hunter green
Thunderhead if you go to my Instagram
feed from today and look I posted it on
purpose okay this Arrow this arrow is in
that quiver no way just like this you
can still kind of see the blood on it
old hunter green Thunderhead big old 5
in feathers to make it fly but Larry
Dugger built this arrow in 1995 and I
killed my first mu deer with it that’s
yours gosh I wrote on it look at this I
wrote on it Aztec New Mexico
1995 Mark Smith 916 1995 yep first mu
deer first public L now I want you to
hang that in here somewhere man I’m
going to that’s the only thing I thought
I could give you that would mean what
this moment means to me yeah wow this is
this is incredible because
also you know okay first of all when we
first started bow hunting this Arrow
right here I couldn’t afford these
arrows these are double X 75s you know
how much those cost I know you know cuz
you had to pay for them too back then
but in the 234s cuz that’s a thin walled
big shaft Arrow um and the thunderheads
that’s what I started bow hting with too
everybody shot thunderheads back in the
day but I this this means a lot I know
it does that’s why I wanted you to have
it man this means everything well this
is going to go here this is going to go
right behind me somewhere right here I’m
going to put it put it somewhere right
here right now all right look at this
we’re going to be able to see this at
all times on this podcast that could
that’s the only thing I thought of that
I could give you that was as big as this
moment that’s incredible thank you that
means a lot love you man I appreciate it
thank you brother and here here’s your
brand new bow you going to take that
home today oh yeah that thing’s going to
stack up some mules in the wilderness
bull this year buddy I’m get into it all
right well thanks for an amazing day
lift run shoot incredible podcast thanks
for the stories thanks for the
friendship I appreciate you thank you
man all right guys keep hammering all
right guys welcome to the brand new
Cameron hay.com truck
[Music]
giveaway this truck used to be red but
we got this sick badass wrap on it to go
with the theme of this giveaway what you
do in the dark matters that means we got
to train at night we got to get better
we got to earn that edge at night so
what you do in the Dark Matters out
there getting in those miles maybe
shooting in the driveway and the
headlights of of a of a truck or maybe
just pushing weights in the gym we got
to do something to set ourselves apart
so that’s where hey the night shift
comes in and this brand new 2023 Ram TRX
702 horsepower killer looking ride is
going to go to somebody who enters to
win at cameronhanes.com whoever that is
I’m going to fly him out here they’re
going to get this ride I’ll hand them
the keys and 10,000 in cash and I hope
it’s you so again head to my website
figure out how to enter and win good
luck keep hammering
10 Comments
Let's gooo! #keephammering
Always entertained by your content, it's awesome!
He belongs in that room. Great stuff. Appreciate the inspiration thanks
This might be my favorite episode so far!!!! Great Job! 💪
This guy can talk. 🙂 I like him and his energy though.
Marc, I sure remember those days in the early 90's shooting the over draws on the PSE's. Good old Tommy's Sportsmans Depot in Tomball, TX; great memories!
This is a great listen. These are the types of guys to look up to. Hard working, humble, great all around guys
Always good stuff Cam! 🤘🏼
All these guys do is pump each others including their own tires up. All I hear is I I I I me me me. I’m the best I did the best I was struggling but over came and won and did the best. lol. They all sound narcissistic!
One of the best podcasts yet!