WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en-GB 00:00:08.210 --> 00:00:10.490 I'm Travis Bader and this is The 00:00:10.490 --> 00:00:11.660 Silvercore Podcast. 00:00:13.310 --> 00:00:15.140 Join me as I discuss matters related to 00:00:15.140 --> 00:00:17.180 hunting, fishing, and outdoor pursuits 00:00:17.450 --> 00:00:19.400 with the people in businesses that comprise 00:00:19.400 --> 00:00:20.020 of the community. 00:00:20.020 --> 00:00:22.760 If you're new to Silvercore, be sure to 00:00:22.760 --> 00:00:26.960 check out our website, www.Silvercore.ca where 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:29.060 you can learn more about courses, services, 00:00:29.060 --> 00:00:30.320 and products we offer. 00:00:30.710 --> 00:00:32.280 As well as how you can join The Silvercore 00:00:32.340 --> 00:00:34.400 Club, which includes 10 million in North 00:00:34.400 --> 00:00:37.210 America, wide liability insurance, which you are 00:00:37.320 --> 00:00:39.680 properly covered during your outdoor ventures. 00:00:43.310 --> 00:00:45.440 Today, I'm speaking with Rick Brazell, who spent 00:00:45.440 --> 00:00:48.379 36 years in the US forest service, managing land 00:00:48.470 --> 00:00:51.410 and in 2015 started the First Hunt Foundation. 00:00:51.510 --> 00:00:53.580 Where he and his team of volunteers provide 00:00:53.580 --> 00:00:55.410 mentorship and guidance for those wishing 00:00:55.410 --> 00:00:56.160 to get into hunting. 00:00:56.910 --> 00:00:59.130 Rick, welcome to The Silvercore Podcast. 00:00:59.720 --> 00:01:00.470 Thanks, Travis. 00:01:00.860 --> 00:01:01.860 Really enjoy being here. 00:01:02.160 --> 00:01:04.550 So specifically I want to speak about the 00:01:04.550 --> 00:01:06.860 First Hunt Foundation, how it got started, 00:01:06.860 --> 00:01:09.830 what it does, as well as some of the 00:01:09.830 --> 00:01:11.900 challenges and successes that you've had. 00:01:11.900 --> 00:01:13.760 But first I'd like to get a little bit more into 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:15.380 the background on you. 00:01:15.440 --> 00:01:17.930 Like where did you grow up and what ignited your 00:01:17.930 --> 00:01:19.100 passion for hunting? 00:01:19.875 --> 00:01:20.405 Oh, wow. 00:01:20.565 --> 00:01:21.455 That's a great one. 00:01:21.585 --> 00:01:25.065 I grew up in Texas, so I'm a long way from home. 00:01:25.095 --> 00:01:26.505 So if you hear a little bit of a southern 00:01:26.505 --> 00:01:28.515 accent, that's because I'm from the south. 00:01:29.295 --> 00:01:30.735 And I grew up in the country. 00:01:30.945 --> 00:01:33.765 I went to a little school that had like 85 00:01:33.765 --> 00:01:35.325 students, K through 12. 00:01:35.325 --> 00:01:37.455 So we're talking small. 00:01:37.485 --> 00:01:37.725 Wow. 00:01:38.465 --> 00:01:38.825 Yeah. 00:01:39.304 --> 00:01:41.625 You know everybody, and their parents. 00:01:42.105 --> 00:01:43.045 And so you can. 00:01:43.045 --> 00:01:43.185 No kidding. 00:01:43.185 --> 00:01:44.085 Get by with anything. 00:01:44.085 --> 00:01:47.205 Of course, and my dad was the bus mechanic 00:01:47.205 --> 00:01:50.925 for the little school so I lived on a city 00:01:50.925 --> 00:01:53.385 block surrounded by fields and farmland. 00:01:54.015 --> 00:01:57.635 And so I just had an interest early on to 00:01:57.635 --> 00:02:00.945 hunt, to go get a BB gun, go out and chase things 00:02:01.755 --> 00:02:04.755 and the poor metal arcs back then weren't safe. 00:02:04.785 --> 00:02:06.495 And I look at it now going, I shouldn't 00:02:06.495 --> 00:02:08.155 have done that, but when you're a kid, 00:02:08.705 --> 00:02:10.515 sparrows and metal arcs and anything 00:02:10.515 --> 00:02:12.215 else, it was fair game. 00:02:12.935 --> 00:02:13.395 Sure. 00:02:13.765 --> 00:02:15.645 So I just had an interest in hunting 00:02:15.645 --> 00:02:16.995 for a long, long time. 00:02:17.025 --> 00:02:19.755 And my dad wasn't a hunter, which was kind 00:02:19.755 --> 00:02:22.230 of, made it hard for me because I didn't have 00:02:22.230 --> 00:02:23.700 somebody to train me. 00:02:24.149 --> 00:02:25.560 I mean, he had a shotgun, but he 00:02:25.560 --> 00:02:26.310 didn't really hunt. 00:02:26.820 --> 00:02:29.280 And so I had to learn it on my own basically. 00:02:29.640 --> 00:02:30.630 That's a tough way to do it. 00:02:31.079 --> 00:02:31.590 Yeah. 00:02:31.620 --> 00:02:31.950 Yeah. 00:02:31.950 --> 00:02:33.359 It was, it was tough. 00:02:34.109 --> 00:02:36.869 And so when I was about in the eighth grade 00:02:36.869 --> 00:02:39.029 and my buddy of mine at school, he wanted 00:02:39.029 --> 00:02:41.190 to be a hunter too and his dad didn't hunt, 00:02:41.190 --> 00:02:43.079 so we kind of figured it out on our own. 00:02:43.079 --> 00:02:46.019 We got our own guns and it's a little bit like 00:02:46.019 --> 00:02:46.769 the Christmas story. 00:02:46.769 --> 00:02:50.010 I got my first deer rifle when I kept, saving up, 00:02:50.019 --> 00:02:53.065 had a Mason jar, had duct tape on it so I couldn't 00:02:53.065 --> 00:02:56.325 get into as a kid and it had deer rifle on it. 00:02:56.375 --> 00:02:58.165 My parents got a kick out of that because I put 00:02:58.165 --> 00:02:59.995 every little coin I could or ever a little bit of 00:02:59.995 --> 00:03:01.645 money I made because I was going to buy my first 00:03:01.645 --> 00:03:02.725 deer rifle with that. 00:03:03.355 --> 00:03:06.845 And then I was going to get an old British 303 00:03:06.865 --> 00:03:07.765 because it was cheap. 00:03:08.714 --> 00:03:09.105 Yeah. 00:03:09.454 --> 00:03:12.135 And my dad and my mom were smart and one 00:03:12.135 --> 00:03:16.225 Christmas after we opened all the gifts, the said 00:03:16.225 --> 00:03:18.375 well look behind the tree and there was a deer 00:03:18.375 --> 00:03:19.484 rifle behind the tree. 00:03:19.484 --> 00:03:20.564 It was pretty, it was great. 00:03:20.564 --> 00:03:20.624 Wow. 00:03:20.624 --> 00:03:23.445 My parents supported my passion and I was 00:03:23.445 --> 00:03:25.125 in the eighth grade, I remember that. 00:03:25.605 --> 00:03:28.635 And so now I had had a 243 and watch out 00:03:28.635 --> 00:03:29.625 world cause here I come. 00:03:32.344 --> 00:03:33.994 Well, you're a bit of an anomaly. 00:03:33.994 --> 00:03:36.405 Most people don't get into hunting unless 00:03:36.405 --> 00:03:38.505 they've had a family member, mother, father, 00:03:38.505 --> 00:03:40.065 aunt, and uncle, somebody to kind of 00:03:40.065 --> 00:03:40.695 get them into it. 00:03:41.225 --> 00:03:42.395 Yeah, exactly. 00:03:42.875 --> 00:03:45.615 And that's part of the reason the foundation's 00:03:45.635 --> 00:03:48.215 there because I found there's a lot of, 00:03:48.795 --> 00:03:50.595 especially youthm and we're finding a lot 00:03:50.595 --> 00:03:52.545 of adults now too, but especially youth 00:03:52.575 --> 00:03:54.165 that would like to get into hunting, like I 00:03:54.165 --> 00:03:56.325 want to do, but their parents or nobody in 00:03:56.325 --> 00:03:57.165 their family hunts. 00:03:57.555 --> 00:03:59.925 And then they're looking for somebody to teach 00:03:59.925 --> 00:04:02.535 them and that's kind of where the foundation 00:04:02.535 --> 00:04:05.265 started and it's like, let's find these kids 00:04:05.265 --> 00:04:05.984 and help them out. 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:10.290 And what happened, I was in Washington state, 00:04:10.290 --> 00:04:11.940 living in Washington state working for the 00:04:11.940 --> 00:04:12.809 us forest service. 00:04:12.809 --> 00:04:16.380 And I had 20 acres there and it was surrounded 00:04:16.829 --> 00:04:18.810 by alfalfa fields and in the evenings the 00:04:18.810 --> 00:04:20.789 deer would just go to the fields, but they 00:04:20.789 --> 00:04:22.560 wouldn't go to my pasture because it was just 00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:24.440 grass, pasture grass. 00:04:24.890 --> 00:04:26.900 And so in Washington state, you can 00:04:27.230 --> 00:04:28.030 put up feeders. 00:04:28.030 --> 00:04:30.620 So I'll put up a feeder and I had deer coming. 00:04:30.650 --> 00:04:32.150 They would stopped to my place before 00:04:32.150 --> 00:04:33.200 they go the alfalfa. 00:04:33.470 --> 00:04:35.990 And I set up a stand and I made a deal with any 00:04:35.990 --> 00:04:37.940 kid that wanted to shoot their first deer, they 00:04:37.940 --> 00:04:39.140 could come to my place. 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:42.860 I had seven kids come with their parents or me 00:04:43.130 --> 00:04:44.510 setting in that stand. 00:04:45.555 --> 00:04:47.205 And they all were successful in getting 00:04:47.205 --> 00:04:50.265 their first deer and years later, I mean, 00:04:50.265 --> 00:04:51.945 years later they would come up to me on 00:04:51.945 --> 00:04:54.705 the street and thank me and say, Hey Mr. 00:04:54.705 --> 00:04:57.495 Brazell, I remember shooting my first deer, I 00:04:57.585 --> 00:04:59.715 just wanted to thank you, I'll never forget that. 00:04:59.715 --> 00:05:00.705 And it hit me. 00:05:01.160 --> 00:05:03.410 What if I could duplicate that feeling 00:05:03.410 --> 00:05:06.860 of excitement, thousands of times, instead of 00:05:06.860 --> 00:05:08.610 just these seven times. 00:05:09.170 --> 00:05:11.630 And so I played with that in my head until 00:05:11.630 --> 00:05:13.370 I retired trying to figure out what am I 00:05:13.370 --> 00:05:14.890 going to do with my life when I retire? 00:05:14.890 --> 00:05:16.820 I thought I don't want to create an 00:05:16.820 --> 00:05:19.250 organization that gives those first hunt 00:05:19.250 --> 00:05:22.820 experiences to thousands and thousands of people. 00:05:22.970 --> 00:05:24.210 And that's kind of where it started 00:05:24.210 --> 00:05:26.930 was those seven kids getting their first 00:05:26.930 --> 00:05:29.540 deer on that 20 acres in Washington state so. 00:05:30.505 --> 00:05:30.895 Wow. 00:05:31.224 --> 00:05:32.965 So when did you retire? 00:05:33.795 --> 00:05:38.355 I retired now, about six years ago and started the 00:05:38.355 --> 00:05:40.385 foundation immediately when I retired. 00:05:40.385 --> 00:05:42.675 Yeah, I was just doing the math there. 00:05:43.095 --> 00:05:43.495 Yeah. 00:05:43.495 --> 00:05:43.875 Yeah. 00:05:43.935 --> 00:05:45.555 And it didn't realize it was going to be so 00:05:45.555 --> 00:05:48.525 successful that it just blossomed and took off. 00:05:48.974 --> 00:05:52.695 And now we're operating in 28 States and have 00:05:52.844 --> 00:05:56.385 almost 500 volunteer mentors, just about 00:05:56.835 --> 00:06:00.105 10 shy of that, in those 28 States that 00:06:00.105 --> 00:06:01.185 are taking people out. 00:06:01.215 --> 00:06:03.225 We did like 4,000 days last year. 00:06:03.225 --> 00:06:06.015 So 4,000 days of people getting out on 00:06:06.015 --> 00:06:08.145 their first hunts, our training, we count the 00:06:08.145 --> 00:06:09.225 days of training as well. 00:06:09.225 --> 00:06:12.265 Cause you can't just go out, usually without 00:06:12.525 --> 00:06:14.085 learning how to hold a gun, shoot a gun, 00:06:14.085 --> 00:06:14.535 that sort of thing. 00:06:15.485 --> 00:06:15.785 Right. 00:06:16.175 --> 00:06:18.305 All the things that the hunter ed course 00:06:18.325 --> 00:06:19.055 doesn't teach you. 00:06:19.770 --> 00:06:20.130 Right. 00:06:20.130 --> 00:06:20.349 Yeah. 00:06:20.349 --> 00:06:20.580 Yeah. 00:06:20.610 --> 00:06:22.260 And we don't do the hunter ed stuff. 00:06:22.260 --> 00:06:24.000 That's the state's responsibilities 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:26.140 down here to do that. 00:06:26.629 --> 00:06:28.110 We tell folks, well what do we gotta do? 00:06:28.110 --> 00:06:29.940 We'll say, take your state stuff, get that 00:06:29.940 --> 00:06:32.430 done and we can even help them figure it out. 00:06:32.610 --> 00:06:34.380 And then we take them from there. 00:06:34.409 --> 00:06:35.219 We're the next step. 00:06:36.080 --> 00:06:36.500 Right. 00:06:36.979 --> 00:06:39.110 Yeah, we've got, of course in Canada, 00:06:39.140 --> 00:06:41.630 hunter ed courses differ province by province, 00:06:41.630 --> 00:06:42.770 similar to in the States. 00:06:43.545 --> 00:06:46.305 And the most common concern or complaint that 00:06:46.305 --> 00:06:49.425 people come out of it with is it didn't really 00:06:49.425 --> 00:06:50.325 prepare me to hunt. 00:06:50.805 --> 00:06:52.755 It teaches me the laws, it teaches me 00:06:52.755 --> 00:06:55.665 regulations, it teaches me identification. 00:06:55.665 --> 00:06:58.695 And there's all these important pieces around 00:06:58.695 --> 00:07:00.945 hunting that you, a new hunter should know. 00:07:02.025 --> 00:07:04.185 But the big part of it, the learning how 00:07:04.185 --> 00:07:06.525 to hunt isn't covered in hunter education. 00:07:07.695 --> 00:07:08.055 Right. 00:07:08.165 --> 00:07:11.085 And it's actually with the pandemic it's got 00:07:11.105 --> 00:07:15.035 a little bit more lax and I understand why. 00:07:15.405 --> 00:07:17.765 But in our particular state, they don't even 00:07:17.765 --> 00:07:20.675 do a field day now for now, they did in the 00:07:20.675 --> 00:07:22.565 past, you'd have to do your course and spend 00:07:22.565 --> 00:07:23.435 a day in the field. 00:07:23.885 --> 00:07:25.685 And they said, because of the pandemic, you 00:07:25.685 --> 00:07:28.295 can take it online and never even meet an 00:07:28.295 --> 00:07:31.025 instructor face to face and get your hunter 00:07:31.205 --> 00:07:32.555 education certificate. 00:07:33.675 --> 00:07:36.195 So there's, in my opinion, a massive 00:07:36.225 --> 00:07:39.105 disconnect between hunter education, 00:07:39.105 --> 00:07:43.005 training and hunting, and that disconnect 00:07:43.005 --> 00:07:45.255 would be mentorship, something in between. 00:07:45.345 --> 00:07:49.665 And we live in a society now where the younger 00:07:49.665 --> 00:07:53.505 generation they're on Facebook and Instagram 00:07:53.505 --> 00:07:56.385 and Tik Tok and their social connections 00:07:57.075 --> 00:08:00.105 are done virtually and by and large and I'm 00:08:00.135 --> 00:08:05.270 seeing a trend towards a desire for, I guess, more 00:08:05.300 --> 00:08:08.190 intimate connections, more real connections 00:08:08.190 --> 00:08:09.760 with other individuals. 00:08:09.919 --> 00:08:15.780 And I'm starting to see organizations like 00:08:15.780 --> 00:08:17.860 the R3 movement, right? 00:08:17.860 --> 00:08:22.159 The R3 movement is the, what is that? 00:08:22.159 --> 00:08:25.219 The retain and recruit and re-introduce 00:08:25.219 --> 00:08:27.990 or recruit, retain, reintroduce hunters. 00:08:27.990 --> 00:08:29.525 Yep, and we're big into that. 00:08:29.525 --> 00:08:31.955 We didn't start out that way, R3 wasn't 00:08:31.955 --> 00:08:33.875 even around when we started, or at least 00:08:33.875 --> 00:08:35.370 it was in its infancy. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:37.950 And we were involved, the foundation was 00:08:37.950 --> 00:08:39.570 involved in going to early on meetings, 00:08:39.570 --> 00:08:41.110 trying to figure out what it was about. 00:08:41.790 --> 00:08:44.850 And but it does stand for recruiting new hunters 00:08:45.150 --> 00:08:48.480 and retaining those that are thinking maybe 00:08:48.480 --> 00:08:49.410 they're losing interest. 00:08:49.655 --> 00:08:51.365 And then re-engaging those that have 00:08:51.455 --> 00:08:53.495 left the hunting and get them back. 00:08:53.495 --> 00:08:54.515 And we do all of that. 00:08:54.515 --> 00:08:57.435 Our foundation, we're chasing, getting mentors, 00:08:57.605 --> 00:08:58.745 take new people out. 00:08:59.375 --> 00:09:02.105 We're are keeping people interested by giving 00:09:02.105 --> 00:09:03.275 them something to do. 00:09:03.375 --> 00:09:06.545 And we're re-engaging folks that have left. 00:09:06.545 --> 00:09:07.715 A lot of people say, well, my kids 00:09:07.715 --> 00:09:09.005 are all gone out on hunting anymore. 00:09:09.395 --> 00:09:11.885 And we say, well heck we'll find you a kid or 00:09:11.895 --> 00:09:12.875 help you find the kids. 00:09:13.205 --> 00:09:15.515 Some people joked about it, rent a kid, you 00:09:15.515 --> 00:09:18.155 know, it's not really, it's like, we'll find 00:09:18.155 --> 00:09:20.485 you a person to take hunting and then that 00:09:20.485 --> 00:09:23.005 gets them back into the sport, which is 00:09:23.005 --> 00:09:23.875 a whole nother thing. 00:09:23.995 --> 00:09:25.795 It kind of bothers me to call it a sport, 00:09:25.795 --> 00:09:27.445 but it's been called that for years. 00:09:27.855 --> 00:09:28.365 Sure. 00:09:28.775 --> 00:09:30.255 I think people know what we're talking about 00:09:30.255 --> 00:09:31.855 when we say sport, but. 00:09:32.105 --> 00:09:32.595 Right. 00:09:33.785 --> 00:09:37.800 Yeah, I mean, just this last year, my son got 00:09:37.800 --> 00:09:41.520 his first deer and 11 years old, 10 years old, 00:09:41.520 --> 00:09:42.870 got his hunting license. 00:09:42.870 --> 00:09:43.650 That's all he wanted. 00:09:43.650 --> 00:09:46.530 He says, I want to walk in, I want to do my 00:09:46.530 --> 00:09:48.510 exam, I want to go to the government office. 00:09:48.510 --> 00:09:50.340 I want to, and in British Columbia, we 00:09:50.340 --> 00:09:52.390 call it a Fish and Wildlife ID card, so 00:09:52.390 --> 00:09:53.570 I want to get my FWID. 00:09:54.209 --> 00:09:58.770 And the first year he was going out and learning 00:09:58.770 --> 00:10:02.040 about the species coming on hunting trips, but 00:10:02.040 --> 00:10:04.800 he was getting to carry around a rifle and 00:10:04.800 --> 00:10:07.050 get used to what that feels like unloaded. 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:12.150 But he didn't harvest any animals and we've 00:10:12.150 --> 00:10:14.219 got something called waterfowl heritage days. 00:10:14.250 --> 00:10:16.520 So a week prior to harvesting his first 00:10:16.520 --> 00:10:20.339 deer, a couple from the local sporting goods 00:10:20.339 --> 00:10:23.310 store out here said, Hey, tell you what we 00:10:23.310 --> 00:10:27.810 got access to land, we've got a dog, we've 00:10:27.810 --> 00:10:30.209 got the blind, we've got all the decoys and gear. 00:10:31.485 --> 00:10:32.995 Would your son like to come out on waterfowl 00:10:33.015 --> 00:10:33.735 heritage days? 00:10:34.575 --> 00:10:36.345 And these guys get nothing out of it, other 00:10:36.345 --> 00:10:38.955 than the enjoyment of reintroducing, and I 00:10:38.955 --> 00:10:40.725 shouldn't say they get nothing out of it, but 00:10:41.355 --> 00:10:44.055 obviously there's a lot that mentors get out 00:10:44.055 --> 00:10:47.055 of it, but it is geared around the new hunter. 00:10:47.115 --> 00:10:50.175 Anyways, my son got his first duck and at 00:10:50.175 --> 00:10:51.895 the end of the day, he was very thrilled, 00:10:51.915 --> 00:10:52.935 so proud of himself. 00:10:53.610 --> 00:10:55.890 And he says to me afterwards, he says, 00:10:56.260 --> 00:10:58.290 I didn't know what it'd be like, and 00:10:58.380 --> 00:11:00.960 obviously you don't until you've been there. 00:11:01.320 --> 00:11:04.350 But now I know, now I'm confident I can 00:11:04.350 --> 00:11:06.510 go out and I can go hunt that deer cause 00:11:06.510 --> 00:11:08.280 he had a limited entry draw for a deer. 00:11:08.610 --> 00:11:12.540 So that whole mentorship process is invaluable 00:11:12.540 --> 00:11:15.240 for new hunters, but it's also like, you're 00:11:15.240 --> 00:11:18.480 pointing out, a very valuable tool to hunters 00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:21.345 who've been doing it for a long time and they want 00:11:21.345 --> 00:11:23.085 to pass their knowledge onto somebody else. 00:11:23.555 --> 00:11:25.204 Well, you know, it's so fulfilling to 00:11:25.204 --> 00:11:27.215 see somebody else learn and grow. 00:11:27.875 --> 00:11:29.465 A lot of our mentors tell us that. 00:11:29.465 --> 00:11:32.525 And I personally would say that last year, 00:11:33.045 --> 00:11:35.194 not the pandemic year, the year before I 00:11:35.194 --> 00:11:37.765 did 50 something days of taking youth out. 00:11:38.525 --> 00:11:38.814 Wow. 00:11:38.814 --> 00:11:40.895 And then 30 something days of me hunting. 00:11:41.194 --> 00:11:43.265 So 80 something days in the field hunting, and 00:11:43.265 --> 00:11:45.005 I'm thinking, I think I'd died and went to heaven 00:11:45.005 --> 00:11:48.444 because that's kind of what I love doing, but. 00:11:48.444 --> 00:11:49.185 You're living the life. 00:11:49.334 --> 00:11:52.630 Yeah, I had more fun taking those youth out 00:11:52.630 --> 00:11:55.150 and teaching them and they get their first 00:11:55.300 --> 00:11:59.170 animal and it could be a doe, but they were so 00:11:59.170 --> 00:12:02.860 excited that it could have been a 30 inch mule 00:12:02.860 --> 00:12:03.880 deer buck or whatever. 00:12:04.450 --> 00:12:06.670 But to them it was just, they should just. 00:12:07.500 --> 00:12:11.610 And then there's folks that don't have money. 00:12:11.610 --> 00:12:15.630 I mean, there's one lady, that's a widowed 00:12:15.630 --> 00:12:18.930 grandmother raised three of her grandsons 00:12:18.930 --> 00:12:21.480 because the parents didn't do well in life, 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:22.410 I won't go into that. 00:12:22.800 --> 00:12:26.350 But she's having struggles, and when one 00:12:26.350 --> 00:12:30.375 son got a deer, that was food for their table. 00:12:30.735 --> 00:12:34.724 And they cried when she thanked me for 00:12:34.724 --> 00:12:37.515 helping them, not only teach their grandson a 00:12:37.515 --> 00:12:40.094 skill and get him out doing something besides 00:12:40.094 --> 00:12:43.185 being on a computer, but they had lots 00:12:43.185 --> 00:12:44.055 of meals out of it. 00:12:44.055 --> 00:12:45.375 And they were so excited. 00:12:45.375 --> 00:12:47.175 That to me, when, when that happens, it's 00:12:47.175 --> 00:12:48.944 like you've changed somebody's life. 00:12:48.974 --> 00:12:50.025 You're not just giving them a one 00:12:50.025 --> 00:12:50.745 day experience. 00:12:50.985 --> 00:12:52.694 You're changing their entire life. 00:12:53.535 --> 00:12:54.285 You really are. 00:12:54.555 --> 00:12:54.805 Yeah. 00:12:54.805 --> 00:12:55.045 Yeah. 00:12:55.045 --> 00:12:56.344 You really are. 00:12:56.775 --> 00:13:00.030 Well, I should imagine, and it looks 00:13:00.030 --> 00:13:01.859 like you just came on like gangbusters, 00:13:01.859 --> 00:13:04.530 you've already got 500 mentors across the 00:13:04.530 --> 00:13:07.800 country in a relatively short period of time. 00:13:08.589 --> 00:13:10.260 How did you get this started? 00:13:11.120 --> 00:13:14.359 Well, we knew we had to find people mentors. 00:13:14.599 --> 00:13:16.400 I mean, locally, we found a bunch of real 00:13:16.400 --> 00:13:18.349 quick, cause you talked to your friends and 00:13:18.349 --> 00:13:19.040 that sort of thing. 00:13:19.670 --> 00:13:20.900 And then we started thinking, well, 00:13:20.900 --> 00:13:22.790 let's figure out how, where do we go to 00:13:22.790 --> 00:13:23.660 find these people? 00:13:23.825 --> 00:13:25.955 We could advertise of course, but where 00:13:25.955 --> 00:13:26.825 do you advertise? 00:13:27.245 --> 00:13:29.435 And we started thinking, let's go to the big 00:13:29.435 --> 00:13:31.715 outdoor shows cause there's a lot of those 00:13:31.715 --> 00:13:32.865 down here in the States. 00:13:33.235 --> 00:13:36.545 And some of them have like 50,000 people 00:13:36.545 --> 00:13:38.195 go and all those 50,000 people are 00:13:38.195 --> 00:13:40.985 going to those outdoor hunting shows because 00:13:41.045 --> 00:13:41.975 they're into hunting. 00:13:42.695 --> 00:13:48.275 And so we put up a big booth and people's, we 00:13:48.595 --> 00:13:50.415 kind of grabbed them when they come by and 00:13:50.415 --> 00:13:51.855 try to get them to come over and talk to us. 00:13:51.855 --> 00:13:54.015 And we were starting to sign up mentors that way. 00:13:54.015 --> 00:13:56.584 And before you know it we had 50 and a hundred 00:13:56.584 --> 00:13:59.145 and of course they talked to their friends and 00:13:59.145 --> 00:14:01.095 buddies and go, Hey, you need to be part of this. 00:14:01.455 --> 00:14:03.255 And then we would get more that way. 00:14:04.055 --> 00:14:06.195 One of the kind of, I don't know if it's 00:14:06.195 --> 00:14:07.755 a, call it a catch, but it was fun. 00:14:08.085 --> 00:14:11.985 We created a simulated Nerf hunting range, 00:14:12.015 --> 00:14:14.445 not a shooting range, a hunting range. 00:14:14.805 --> 00:14:17.085 So we had these Nerf guns and we had this 00:14:17.085 --> 00:14:20.625 background that had deer and elk and bear 00:14:20.625 --> 00:14:23.655 and moose and ducks, instead of rounds 00:14:23.655 --> 00:14:25.425 and black circles, which most target 00:14:25.425 --> 00:14:26.475 things have for kids. 00:14:26.835 --> 00:14:28.995 And then we had these little Nerf guns that 00:14:28.995 --> 00:14:29.925 had scopes on them. 00:14:29.925 --> 00:14:31.074 They looked like a gun, except they 00:14:31.094 --> 00:14:33.344 were bright colored and we've had over 00:14:33.344 --> 00:14:37.214 7,000 kids go through that at the shows. 00:14:37.214 --> 00:14:39.495 And so when the kids come over and they're shooting 00:14:39.495 --> 00:14:41.864 and we celebrate, Oh, you got an elk, what are you 00:14:41.864 --> 00:14:43.935 going to do with all that meat versus, Oh, you hit 00:14:43.935 --> 00:14:47.234 the bullseye and they're grinning from ear to ear. 00:14:47.234 --> 00:14:49.064 The parents are grinning from ear to ear. 00:14:49.610 --> 00:14:51.650 And then we kind of hooked the parents cause 00:14:51.800 --> 00:14:54.560 they're probably hunters and say, Hey, how about 00:14:54.560 --> 00:14:55.700 joining our organization? 00:14:55.700 --> 00:14:57.380 So they're seeing their kid have a good 00:14:57.380 --> 00:14:59.210 time that we provided. 00:15:00.530 --> 00:15:01.880 And some of them it's the first time they ever 00:15:01.880 --> 00:15:03.620 thought about, and some of them aren't hunters 00:15:03.620 --> 00:15:06.120 and then they shot, never even shot a gun. 00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:08.339 They don't even know how to hold a plastic gun, 00:15:08.339 --> 00:15:09.240 let alone a real gun. 00:15:09.719 --> 00:15:10.859 And then we're not training them 00:15:10.859 --> 00:15:11.459 to be hunters. 00:15:11.459 --> 00:15:13.410 We're just saying, Hey, here's an experience you 00:15:13.410 --> 00:15:14.939 could could build on. 00:15:15.359 --> 00:15:17.579 You could actually go out in the world later, 00:15:17.579 --> 00:15:18.689 maybe shoot a real deer. 00:15:19.469 --> 00:15:21.719 And so anyway, 7,000 people went through 00:15:21.719 --> 00:15:24.270 that, but again, with the pandemic, it's a 00:15:24.270 --> 00:15:27.290 pretty much of a germ fest when you got all 00:15:27.290 --> 00:15:30.110 these plastic guns laying on the table and you've 00:15:30.110 --> 00:15:32.300 literally got four kids and four behind them. 00:15:32.300 --> 00:15:34.820 And you know, it's like, Oh, you can't 00:15:34.820 --> 00:15:35.540 keep it clean. 00:15:35.955 --> 00:15:37.885 No, everyone's rubbing them on their faces. 00:15:37.975 --> 00:15:41.895 Oh yeah, I've seen them their sleeve, their nose 00:15:42.425 --> 00:15:44.045 sleeve and then pick up the gun and just kind 00:15:44.045 --> 00:15:45.605 of, and we wipe them. 00:15:45.665 --> 00:15:47.615 We did wipe them down before the pandemic, but 00:15:47.615 --> 00:15:49.325 now I'd be kind of scared to put them out there. 00:15:50.125 --> 00:15:51.965 But anyway, it was a great experience, 00:15:51.965 --> 00:15:53.795 it was a way to get the parents there. 00:15:53.795 --> 00:15:56.505 And we, we recruited a lot of people from 00:15:56.505 --> 00:15:59.555 those kind of things, as well as raffles. 00:16:00.569 --> 00:16:02.160 Yeah, just boots on the ground, work at 00:16:02.160 --> 00:16:02.910 the different shows. 00:16:03.569 --> 00:16:06.360 So I should imagine, now you guys don't 00:16:06.360 --> 00:16:07.199 charge anything. 00:16:07.380 --> 00:16:10.350 You guys don't charge anything for a person 00:16:10.350 --> 00:16:11.939 to come on their first hunt with you do you? 00:16:12.060 --> 00:16:14.069 They pay their own way for whatever it 00:16:14.069 --> 00:16:16.640 is and, but you're not charging any extra on 00:16:16.640 --> 00:16:17.280 top of that are you? 00:16:17.590 --> 00:16:17.870 No. 00:16:17.870 --> 00:16:20.300 We don't allow any charges at all. 00:16:20.300 --> 00:16:22.220 In fact, we've told our mentors that if we 00:16:22.220 --> 00:16:24.590 find out that you're even accepting money 00:16:24.590 --> 00:16:27.590 for gas, then you won't be a mentor anymore. 00:16:27.980 --> 00:16:30.680 And the reason for that is, several 00:16:30.680 --> 00:16:31.310 reasons for that. 00:16:31.310 --> 00:16:33.770 One is we're a nonprofit, we're doing this for the 00:16:33.770 --> 00:16:35.030 cause and for the good. 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:37.430 And even though there is expenses, people 00:16:37.430 --> 00:16:39.490 are willing to donate some gas for a day 00:16:39.490 --> 00:16:41.120 or shells or gun. 00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:43.520 And most of these new people don't have any 00:16:43.520 --> 00:16:44.930 equipment, so they're having to use the 00:16:44.930 --> 00:16:45.890 mentors equipment. 00:16:46.280 --> 00:16:48.530 The other thing in the States anyway, for 00:16:48.530 --> 00:16:51.650 a lot of States down here, there's a lot 00:16:51.650 --> 00:16:53.060 of rules on guiding. 00:16:53.630 --> 00:16:56.030 And so we don't even use, we don't even allow 00:16:56.030 --> 00:16:59.189 the word guide to be used in our vernacular. 00:16:59.380 --> 00:17:03.510 It's just because it has a legal connotation that 00:17:03.510 --> 00:17:07.200 if you're not a licensed guide, that you can't do 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:08.970 it in certain States and some people would say, 00:17:08.970 --> 00:17:09.750 well, you're guiding. 00:17:10.020 --> 00:17:11.099 No we're teaching. 00:17:11.099 --> 00:17:11.830 We're not guiding. 00:17:12.270 --> 00:17:13.260 We're not just taking them out 00:17:13.260 --> 00:17:14.220 to get an animal. 00:17:14.220 --> 00:17:16.260 We're trying to teach them conservation 00:17:16.260 --> 00:17:17.760 and how everything. 00:17:17.760 --> 00:17:19.500 Hunter ed, kind of all of the above. 00:17:19.740 --> 00:17:21.089 Whereas a guide would just take you out 00:17:21.089 --> 00:17:22.139 and shoot the animal. 00:17:22.814 --> 00:17:23.204 Right. 00:17:23.444 --> 00:17:24.584 And that was where I was going with the 00:17:24.584 --> 00:17:28.725 question, essentially did you receive pushback 00:17:28.725 --> 00:17:31.334 from any of the States or any of the guide 00:17:31.334 --> 00:17:32.595 outfitter organizations? 00:17:33.750 --> 00:17:35.280 No, we haven't, not yet. 00:17:35.280 --> 00:17:36.470 And I hope we don't. 00:17:36.680 --> 00:17:38.940 Partly the reason I don't think we will is because 00:17:38.940 --> 00:17:42.090 the R3 we mentioned earlier, the States are 00:17:42.090 --> 00:17:44.610 just like, how do we implement this thing? 00:17:44.610 --> 00:17:46.950 When they hear about us, they go, Oh my gosh, 00:17:46.950 --> 00:17:49.590 here's a nonprofit doing what we want, let's 00:17:49.590 --> 00:17:51.300 put her arm around them and help these guys. 00:17:51.960 --> 00:17:54.000 And it's the state's usually that would be on 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:56.010 the other side of that with the Outfitters and 00:17:56.010 --> 00:17:57.750 guides, because they control the outfitter 00:17:57.750 --> 00:17:58.680 and guide boards. 00:17:59.554 --> 00:18:02.465 So, so far we've not had that, I suppose 00:18:02.465 --> 00:18:03.095 it could happen. 00:18:03.605 --> 00:18:05.254 You know, if some Outfitters felt like, 00:18:05.254 --> 00:18:08.495 well, you took a kid bear hunting that they 00:18:08.495 --> 00:18:09.784 would've paid me to take them, but you 00:18:09.784 --> 00:18:10.895 took them for free so. 00:18:11.685 --> 00:18:12.045 Hmm. 00:18:12.345 --> 00:18:15.645 Now, do you guys keep metrics on the 00:18:16.575 --> 00:18:20.185 individuals coming through sort of maybe 00:18:20.605 --> 00:18:26.415 whether they're a country kid, city kid, gender, 00:18:26.505 --> 00:18:28.755 demographics, any of these sort of things. 00:18:28.755 --> 00:18:30.435 Do you guys kind of keep an eye on that? 00:18:30.725 --> 00:18:31.355 Yeah, we did. 00:18:31.355 --> 00:18:34.205 We didn't at first, but as we first couple of 00:18:34.205 --> 00:18:36.295 years and we started thinking, well we needed 00:18:37.025 --> 00:18:39.750 to keep track of this. 00:18:40.139 --> 00:18:44.189 So we started tracking youth, whether they are 00:18:44.189 --> 00:18:45.240 youth, first of all. 00:18:45.629 --> 00:18:47.730 Eight, less than 18 and then we started 00:18:47.730 --> 00:18:49.230 tracking whether they're male or female. 00:18:49.260 --> 00:18:51.449 So we know how many boys and girls are there. 00:18:51.810 --> 00:18:55.350 We started tracking gender for adults as 00:18:55.350 --> 00:18:59.360 well, but we didn't, we don't track specific 00:18:59.360 --> 00:19:02.820 stuff like a species. 00:19:02.820 --> 00:19:04.200 One of the things we've got to, we're 00:19:04.380 --> 00:19:05.360 working on an app. 00:19:06.320 --> 00:19:08.940 We hope that, that the app will help us collect 00:19:08.940 --> 00:19:11.280 more data and people can do it in real time 00:19:11.280 --> 00:19:12.300 because, well, let me tell you one of the 00:19:12.300 --> 00:19:13.560 issues with this thing. 00:19:13.560 --> 00:19:15.930 And it's been, it's like pulling teeth is 00:19:15.930 --> 00:19:19.860 to get the mentors to give you data because 00:19:19.860 --> 00:19:22.680 at the end of the year, we contact them and go, 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:25.080 Hey, how many people did you take out in 00:19:25.080 --> 00:19:26.070 all these categories? 00:19:26.635 --> 00:19:28.915 And less than half of them will respond. 00:19:28.915 --> 00:19:31.165 And then it puts the burden on us to call them 00:19:31.585 --> 00:19:33.655 and say, please, would you give us this data? 00:19:34.014 --> 00:19:35.575 And it's kind of like, it's not that they're 00:19:35.575 --> 00:19:36.805 negative against it. 00:19:38.040 --> 00:19:39.720 But they're like everybody else, they get 00:19:39.720 --> 00:19:42.760 inundated, I don't want to do another survey. 00:19:43.590 --> 00:19:45.860 And so getting that data is hard. 00:19:45.860 --> 00:19:47.850 So we're working on trying to get an app. 00:19:47.850 --> 00:19:49.439 And if we had anybody that helped us develop 00:19:49.439 --> 00:19:50.790 a phone app, that'd be even better. 00:19:51.060 --> 00:19:52.320 So you could do it in real time. 00:19:52.320 --> 00:19:55.360 So literally get on your phone and go, I'm doing 00:19:55.379 --> 00:19:58.260 a training day, I'm doing it with a 12 year 00:19:58.260 --> 00:20:01.260 old or male or whatever. 00:20:01.565 --> 00:20:03.635 And then boom, it's done because what happens 00:20:03.635 --> 00:20:05.585 now at the end of the year, we hit them up 00:20:05.585 --> 00:20:06.725 and they're sitting there and going, Oh my 00:20:06.725 --> 00:20:07.745 gosh, what did I do? 00:20:08.105 --> 00:20:10.505 I got to look back into the entire year and try 00:20:10.505 --> 00:20:12.005 to remember what I did. 00:20:12.995 --> 00:20:15.575 You know, how many days and who I went with. 00:20:16.415 --> 00:20:17.516 And we used to give out a little. 00:20:17.516 --> 00:20:18.497 And nobody wants to do that paperwork. 00:20:18.515 --> 00:20:19.385 Nobody wants to do that. 00:20:19.385 --> 00:20:21.395 And I used to give out a little hard copy book. 00:20:21.780 --> 00:20:23.880 And I was spending a lot of money printing 00:20:23.880 --> 00:20:25.410 it, which had all that information in 00:20:25.410 --> 00:20:27.330 it, plus their miles that they could put 00:20:27.330 --> 00:20:29.790 on taxes and nobody was filling it out. 00:20:29.790 --> 00:20:31.350 They'd tell me, Oh, I forget about it, 00:20:31.350 --> 00:20:33.720 I put it in my glove box or jockey box and 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:34.530 I never remember it. 00:20:35.190 --> 00:20:36.930 So we're trying to get, that's kind of 00:20:36.930 --> 00:20:37.620 one of those deals. 00:20:37.620 --> 00:20:39.480 If we could just figure a way to make 00:20:39.480 --> 00:20:41.610 it simple for people, we could get more data. 00:20:42.100 --> 00:20:45.760 So one thing that we've noticed up here is there 00:20:45.760 --> 00:20:50.470 seems to be a renewed push for people to get 00:20:50.470 --> 00:20:51.430 out in the outdoors. 00:20:51.430 --> 00:20:53.350 I mean, COVID has locked everybody down 00:20:53.620 --> 00:20:56.020 and we're seeing a lot more interest. 00:20:56.080 --> 00:20:59.080 And in the shooting sports, we're seeing 00:20:59.080 --> 00:21:02.650 a lot more interest in just being outdoors, but 00:21:02.650 --> 00:21:05.475 hunting in particular, we're seeing a lot 00:21:05.475 --> 00:21:05.975 of interest there. 00:21:05.975 --> 00:21:07.425 Are you finding the same thing with the 00:21:07.425 --> 00:21:08.385 First Hunt Foundation? 00:21:08.765 --> 00:21:09.215 Yes. 00:21:09.245 --> 00:21:09.905 Yeah, we are. 00:21:09.905 --> 00:21:12.885 We getting a lot more adults this last year. 00:21:13.845 --> 00:21:16.505 Oh, it's been a great increase in the adults 00:21:16.505 --> 00:21:19.950 coming to us wanting to do it versus the kids. 00:21:20.220 --> 00:21:22.250 I mean, we're still doing mostly youth, but 00:21:22.620 --> 00:21:23.730 I've been surprised. 00:21:23.730 --> 00:21:25.920 We had a 73 year old lady contact us. 00:21:26.280 --> 00:21:28.180 She called me up one day, I was actually helping, 00:21:28.230 --> 00:21:30.780 trying to find a deer for a kid that lost it. 00:21:31.410 --> 00:21:33.990 And she said, I want to hunt and I bought a gun 00:21:33.990 --> 00:21:35.040 and I'm a real good shot. 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:38.850 And my buddies, I called three of them 00:21:38.850 --> 00:21:40.060 and they said, they'd take me and none of 00:21:40.060 --> 00:21:40.610 them will take me. 00:21:40.610 --> 00:21:42.270 So I heard about you, will you take me? 00:21:43.620 --> 00:21:45.090 And we said, sure, we'll take you out. 00:21:45.120 --> 00:21:46.750 And so we took her out and she 00:21:47.250 --> 00:21:48.660 subsequently missed. 00:21:49.110 --> 00:21:50.550 And so the mentor said, well, let's 00:21:50.550 --> 00:21:51.300 go shoot your gun. 00:21:51.300 --> 00:21:52.500 Well, the gun was way off. 00:21:53.160 --> 00:21:56.040 So she never did sight it in, she bore sighted it, 00:21:56.040 --> 00:21:57.150 so she thought it was on. 00:21:57.840 --> 00:21:59.910 And so we had to, we took a step forward and 00:21:59.910 --> 00:22:03.510 had to take two steps back and took her out. 00:22:03.840 --> 00:22:05.250 I took her out with another guy and 00:22:05.250 --> 00:22:06.780 she missed a couple of hard shots. 00:22:07.470 --> 00:22:10.230 And so we'll take her out again this next 00:22:10.230 --> 00:22:12.650 year and get her. 00:22:12.675 --> 00:22:14.335 But anyway, we're so we're getting a lot of 00:22:14.335 --> 00:22:18.435 the older generation adult folks that 00:22:18.435 --> 00:22:19.815 are coming to us. 00:22:19.815 --> 00:22:21.735 And they're a little bit embarrassed to ask 00:22:22.215 --> 00:22:24.294 like, well, I don't know what to, who to ask. 00:22:24.294 --> 00:22:27.195 It's a little bit humbling to say, I 00:22:27.195 --> 00:22:28.155 don't know something. 00:22:29.825 --> 00:22:31.770 Kids don't care, they're like sponges just teach 00:22:31.770 --> 00:22:34.200 me, you know, but adults. 00:22:34.200 --> 00:22:34.980 Just put it all on you. 00:22:35.170 --> 00:22:35.580 Yeah. 00:22:35.860 --> 00:22:38.090 Adults have a little more ego that we have to deal 00:22:38.090 --> 00:22:39.370 with, but it's happening. 00:22:39.370 --> 00:22:40.190 Just a tad. 00:22:40.410 --> 00:22:40.650 Yeah. 00:22:40.650 --> 00:22:42.660 It's awesome that we're getting that done. 00:22:43.094 --> 00:22:45.405 Well from the adult perspective, I mean, 00:22:45.405 --> 00:22:49.185 I guess one could say that introducing a 00:22:49.185 --> 00:22:52.665 youngster into hunting can ignite a passion and 00:22:52.665 --> 00:22:55.125 can point them down a path for later in life. 00:22:55.485 --> 00:22:58.155 But hunting's expensive, it's a time commitment 00:22:58.215 --> 00:23:00.854 and they need to have other people in their 00:23:00.854 --> 00:23:03.135 family or in their friend group who share 00:23:03.135 --> 00:23:04.155 that same interest. 00:23:04.155 --> 00:23:06.435 Otherwise the chances of them continuing 00:23:06.435 --> 00:23:09.345 down that path, get slimmer and slimmer. 00:23:09.405 --> 00:23:11.955 Mind you, if you get an adult who's got more 00:23:11.955 --> 00:23:14.834 discretionary means and the ability to actually 00:23:14.834 --> 00:23:18.975 get out and hunt, from a generating new 00:23:18.975 --> 00:23:21.824 hunter's perspective, I would think without 00:23:21.824 --> 00:23:23.145 having looked at the numbers, but I would just 00:23:23.145 --> 00:23:25.754 think that the efforts into the adults would 00:23:25.754 --> 00:23:27.284 pay huge dividends. 00:23:28.379 --> 00:23:31.590 It does because one, they can afford, one 00:23:31.590 --> 00:23:33.570 of the big deterrents that get into hunting 00:23:33.570 --> 00:23:35.219 is buying gear. 00:23:35.939 --> 00:23:36.870 That's just huge. 00:23:36.929 --> 00:23:39.540 I mean a gun, just a simple gun is going 00:23:39.540 --> 00:23:44.699 to cost you, a used one 250, 300 bucks and 00:23:44.760 --> 00:23:46.860 way more if you get a new one and same with 00:23:46.860 --> 00:23:47.820 bows and other things. 00:23:47.820 --> 00:23:49.830 So adults usually have the resources to do 00:23:49.830 --> 00:23:52.080 that, where kids may not ever have that until 00:23:52.080 --> 00:23:52.860 they start working. 00:23:52.860 --> 00:23:55.590 And their parents may or may not want to get 00:23:55.590 --> 00:23:57.180 that gun and put it behind the Christmas tree 00:23:57.180 --> 00:23:59.330 like my folks did so. 00:24:01.620 --> 00:24:02.940 But they do some of them do. 00:24:02.940 --> 00:24:04.050 And some of them can't afford it. 00:24:04.080 --> 00:24:06.760 I mean, a lot of them just cannot afford to the 00:24:07.910 --> 00:24:09.945 gear to get into it so. 00:24:09.945 --> 00:24:10.615 It's not cheap. 00:24:10.875 --> 00:24:11.245 No. 00:24:11.295 --> 00:24:12.755 And the clothing, just the clothing. 00:24:12.775 --> 00:24:15.315 I have two examples that happened to me 00:24:15.645 --> 00:24:17.985 early on, I go pick up a kid at their house. 00:24:18.255 --> 00:24:21.655 They'd walk out, course in tennis shoes and 00:24:22.065 --> 00:24:24.495 holding a Walmart bag with a Gatorade in it. 00:24:24.495 --> 00:24:25.995 And that happened twice with two different 00:24:25.995 --> 00:24:27.615 kids and that was their hunting pack, 00:24:27.945 --> 00:24:30.285 was that Walmart bag with a Gatorade. 00:24:30.315 --> 00:24:31.185 That's all they had. 00:24:31.660 --> 00:24:32.920 They didn't have anything. 00:24:32.920 --> 00:24:34.660 So I'm kind of looking at it, I'm like, well 00:24:34.660 --> 00:24:37.480 okay, we're not doing any major hiking today. 00:24:37.990 --> 00:24:42.970 And so getting gear is a big deal. 00:24:44.025 --> 00:24:44.505 Right. 00:24:45.225 --> 00:24:47.925 You know, and people can get really caught 00:24:47.925 --> 00:24:48.735 up in the gear thing. 00:24:48.735 --> 00:24:50.055 There are some necessities, there 00:24:50.055 --> 00:24:51.465 are some things that you definitely need 00:24:51.465 --> 00:24:52.225 to get out and hunt. 00:24:52.835 --> 00:24:54.225 It doesn't have to be the latest, 00:24:54.225 --> 00:24:57.015 greatest name brand camouflage clothing. 00:24:57.015 --> 00:24:58.845 I think more animals have been taken in blue 00:24:58.845 --> 00:25:02.565 jeans and plaid shirts than any of the latest, 00:25:02.565 --> 00:25:04.995 greatest camouflage out there, but there 00:25:04.995 --> 00:25:06.375 are some essentials. 00:25:06.595 --> 00:25:08.584 And even those essentials aren't cheap. 00:25:09.554 --> 00:25:11.865 No, they're not, we're looking at programs of 00:25:12.585 --> 00:25:15.764 people donating use gear and trying to get it out. 00:25:15.764 --> 00:25:18.215 But again, that takes the logistics and we've been 00:25:18.284 --> 00:25:20.054 toying with the idea of how would we pull that 00:25:20.054 --> 00:25:22.544 off because there's lots of stuff in people's 00:25:22.544 --> 00:25:24.975 closets that they're not using anymore, that 00:25:25.605 --> 00:25:26.595 somebody could use. 00:25:27.014 --> 00:25:29.205 But getting back to your other topic. 00:25:29.205 --> 00:25:31.919 I want to go back to that about recruiting people 00:25:31.919 --> 00:25:36.149 and you know, one of the key not dynamics, but 00:25:36.149 --> 00:25:39.179 the group that we want to get to is the women. 00:25:39.689 --> 00:25:41.610 Because if you can get a mother, if you 00:25:41.610 --> 00:25:44.070 can get a mother into hunting, well, she's 00:25:44.070 --> 00:25:45.240 going to teach her kids. 00:25:45.600 --> 00:25:46.080 That's right. 00:25:46.200 --> 00:25:49.590 I mean our dad too, but for sure the women 00:25:49.590 --> 00:25:51.689 are, I mean, that's just seems like we've 00:25:51.689 --> 00:25:52.649 been very successful. 00:25:52.649 --> 00:25:55.080 If we can get a lady into hunting that most 00:25:55.080 --> 00:25:56.730 of her kids are going to be hunters as well. 00:25:57.765 --> 00:25:59.745 So that becoming an outdoor woman 00:25:59.745 --> 00:26:00.825 or BOW program. 00:26:00.825 --> 00:26:02.205 And I've see it's in a number of States 00:26:02.205 --> 00:26:05.115 as well is, is huge. 00:26:05.145 --> 00:26:07.345 And then, you know, my wife went on a BOW 00:26:07.365 --> 00:26:11.675 program up here in Canada and she had a great time. 00:26:11.675 --> 00:26:13.364 And, she's part of a women's fly 00:26:13.364 --> 00:26:14.415 fishing group now. 00:26:14.445 --> 00:26:19.245 And she came from a background of wanting to 00:26:19.245 --> 00:26:23.564 live in the city to, and working as a chef at some 00:26:23.564 --> 00:26:26.534 high-end restaurants and that love of cooking. 00:26:27.345 --> 00:26:30.284 Naturally went into gardening and went 00:26:30.284 --> 00:26:31.865 into where does my food come from? 00:26:31.865 --> 00:26:35.925 And it led to hunting and fishing and these 00:26:36.375 --> 00:26:40.365 BOW programs, I think women are the fastest 00:26:40.365 --> 00:26:43.365 growing demographic in all of hunting in the 00:26:43.365 --> 00:26:44.655 United States and Canada. 00:26:44.970 --> 00:26:47.280 And the secondary thing, I guess, on that would 00:26:47.280 --> 00:26:50.100 be the food aspect. 00:26:50.130 --> 00:26:52.170 When you start introducing like where 00:26:52.170 --> 00:26:53.700 the food comes from, because there's for 00:26:53.700 --> 00:26:55.470 a number of years now, there's been 00:26:55.470 --> 00:26:57.970 a, and I forget what the term was called, 00:26:57.970 --> 00:27:00.960 it's not locavore. 00:27:01.230 --> 00:27:02.010 It's something like that. 00:27:02.010 --> 00:27:02.320 Yes. 00:27:02.690 --> 00:27:04.430 Like, yeah, it was like lacovore or 00:27:04.430 --> 00:27:05.370 something like that. 00:27:05.580 --> 00:27:06.810 I've heard it as well. 00:27:07.950 --> 00:27:08.129 Yeah. 00:27:08.129 --> 00:27:10.560 basically where can I find, and whether it's 00:27:10.560 --> 00:27:13.560 foraging for mushrooms or plants and whatever 00:27:13.560 --> 00:27:15.629 it is, or fishing and all of these things 00:27:15.629 --> 00:27:17.580 tend to naturally lead down to a path of 00:27:17.580 --> 00:27:21.629 hunting and learning a sustainable food source. 00:27:22.590 --> 00:27:26.700 I think those are two of the huge areas that are 00:27:26.700 --> 00:27:28.710 being exploited right now that are introducing 00:27:28.710 --> 00:27:31.320 so many people into the world of funding. 00:27:32.280 --> 00:27:34.129 So one of the things we're working on is 00:27:34.129 --> 00:27:39.450 trying to recruit as many women mentors as 00:27:39.450 --> 00:27:43.410 we can, because a lot of the spouses of the 00:27:43.410 --> 00:27:45.540 hunters there, it's kind of interesting. 00:27:45.540 --> 00:27:47.160 They're standing there at the outdoor show 00:27:47.430 --> 00:27:49.020 and of course the guys talking to us 00:27:49.970 --> 00:27:52.110 and the mom hunts too. 00:27:52.679 --> 00:27:54.689 And so we're talking to them, trying to sign 00:27:54.689 --> 00:27:56.730 them up and we look at, always look over and 00:27:56.730 --> 00:27:57.510 say, what about you? 00:27:57.510 --> 00:27:58.830 And she kind of looked at us if we need 00:27:58.830 --> 00:28:01.379 more women mentors to especially take out 00:28:01.379 --> 00:28:03.000 young girls, they feel more comfortable a lot 00:28:03.000 --> 00:28:06.370 of times with a lady than they would a crusty 00:28:06.389 --> 00:28:07.200 old guy, you know? 00:28:07.620 --> 00:28:11.550 And so we're seeking hard to find good 00:28:11.550 --> 00:28:13.199 women mentors, and we've got a lot. 00:28:13.199 --> 00:28:14.220 We've actually got a lot. 00:28:14.700 --> 00:28:16.080 So if somebody wants to be a mentor with 00:28:16.080 --> 00:28:18.030 your program, what do they have to do? 00:28:18.030 --> 00:28:19.620 How do they first, I guess they go to their 00:28:19.620 --> 00:28:21.510 website and they, they read about it. 00:28:21.510 --> 00:28:22.680 But what are the next steps? 00:28:22.920 --> 00:28:26.060 Well, yeah the website has a 'our 00:28:26.080 --> 00:28:27.650 programs' component. 00:28:27.680 --> 00:28:29.660 You look under our programs under mentoring, 00:28:30.050 --> 00:28:33.440 and there's a mentor sign up sheet and you 00:28:33.440 --> 00:28:35.450 sign up on the web and it comes back here 00:28:35.450 --> 00:28:38.780 to our headquarters and, which isn't my 00:28:38.870 --> 00:28:40.950 loft here in my house. 00:28:42.675 --> 00:28:43.005 Yeah. 00:28:43.275 --> 00:28:44.525 It started on the kitchen table. 00:28:44.535 --> 00:28:45.135 It's kind of funny. 00:28:45.135 --> 00:28:47.595 And then my poor wife lost her sewing room 00:28:47.595 --> 00:28:49.875 and our next step will be a brick and mortar 00:28:49.875 --> 00:28:50.685 building as we grow. 00:28:50.685 --> 00:28:55.985 But anyway, you sign up and yeah, it comes back 00:28:55.985 --> 00:29:00.095 and we do a criminal background check, which 00:29:00.095 --> 00:29:01.925 is basic and online to see if there's any 00:29:01.925 --> 00:29:04.025 criminal history there or anything like that. 00:29:04.025 --> 00:29:06.685 And I've had to turn a few people down, but 00:29:06.685 --> 00:29:08.735 and then once you do that, you're basically 00:29:09.245 --> 00:29:10.085 become a mentor. 00:29:10.715 --> 00:29:13.595 That's that's our criteria is, have 00:29:13.595 --> 00:29:15.395 you met the state's responsibilities 00:29:15.395 --> 00:29:16.115 to be a hunter? 00:29:16.775 --> 00:29:19.055 And then we try to try to get them hooked up 00:29:19.055 --> 00:29:21.275 with some other people locally and get a chapter 00:29:21.275 --> 00:29:23.645 going that's our goal is to get chapters going. 00:29:23.975 --> 00:29:26.375 Cause if you have say 10 people in one area, 00:29:26.795 --> 00:29:28.925 then you got one of them that's a duck 00:29:28.925 --> 00:29:30.455 hunter, and one them that's a bow hunter. 00:29:30.455 --> 00:29:33.260 And so according to the top of skill needed, 00:29:33.380 --> 00:29:34.910 you've hopefully got somebody to shift 00:29:34.910 --> 00:29:36.680 it off too, but that's what it is. 00:29:36.680 --> 00:29:38.210 You go to the website, sign up and it 00:29:38.210 --> 00:29:40.820 comes in and we do a background check on you. 00:29:42.250 --> 00:29:44.650 So, and this might be a complete aside being 00:29:44.650 --> 00:29:46.660 a Canadian, I've heard of these programs. 00:29:46.660 --> 00:29:48.220 I think there's one in Washington, I 00:29:48.220 --> 00:29:49.960 believe there's one in Oregon called a 00:29:49.960 --> 00:29:51.250 Master Hunter Program. 00:29:51.670 --> 00:29:51.820 Yeah. 00:29:52.030 --> 00:29:53.830 Does that include any level of mentorship 00:29:53.830 --> 00:29:54.730 with those programs? 00:29:54.930 --> 00:29:56.380 Are you aware of those programs? 00:29:56.774 --> 00:29:58.705 Oh, am I aware of those programs? 00:29:58.705 --> 00:29:59.105 Yes. 00:30:00.915 --> 00:30:01.315 Okay. 00:30:01.375 --> 00:30:01.615 Fair. 00:30:01.995 --> 00:30:02.385 No. 00:30:02.385 --> 00:30:02.774 That was great. 00:30:02.774 --> 00:30:03.544 Educate me. 00:30:03.764 --> 00:30:04.155 Question. 00:30:04.155 --> 00:30:07.554 No the Master Hunter Programs and they do have 00:30:07.564 --> 00:30:12.155 one in Washington, they have one in Montana and 00:30:12.155 --> 00:30:14.435 what they do is of course allow those people to 00:30:14.524 --> 00:30:18.635 have some other options for hunting, draw hunts, 00:30:19.050 --> 00:30:21.090 depredation hunt, other things that they have. 00:30:21.540 --> 00:30:25.210 Well, those programs require some sort 00:30:25.210 --> 00:30:28.020 of continuing education or service. 00:30:28.590 --> 00:30:30.960 And so we have made deals with the state 00:30:30.960 --> 00:30:33.750 of Washington and currently with Montana 00:30:34.170 --> 00:30:36.810 that if they sign up as a mentor with the 00:30:36.810 --> 00:30:39.719 First Hunt Foundation, any of their time 00:30:39.719 --> 00:30:42.240 mentoring and helping new hunters counts as their 00:30:42.240 --> 00:30:43.590 continuing education. 00:30:43.979 --> 00:30:47.729 So it keeps their status as a master hunter 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:50.399 doing something that they love doing anyway. 00:30:51.060 --> 00:30:51.900 So it's a great marriage. 00:30:51.900 --> 00:30:52.290 That's fantastic. 00:30:52.379 --> 00:30:54.030 It's a great marriage for both of us, for 00:30:54.030 --> 00:30:55.709 the States and for our organization. 00:30:56.655 --> 00:30:59.275 Because if I understand correctly with enough 00:30:59.655 --> 00:31:02.295 volunteered time and efforts into these 00:31:02.445 --> 00:31:05.535 programs, these master hunters are then afforded 00:31:05.985 --> 00:31:10.535 a greater land access or a greater limited 00:31:10.535 --> 00:31:11.985 entry hunting access. 00:31:11.985 --> 00:31:13.505 Is that, is that a fair assessment? 00:31:13.555 --> 00:31:13.865 Yes, that's. 00:31:13.865 --> 00:31:14.855 Am I understanding that correctly? 00:31:14.885 --> 00:31:17.105 As I understand it because it's not here in 00:31:17.105 --> 00:31:19.655 Idaho where I live, but yeah, there's certain 00:31:19.655 --> 00:31:21.725 areas that only master hunters are allowed 00:31:21.725 --> 00:31:24.725 to go, certain draws, hunts that I think 00:31:24.725 --> 00:31:26.945 only master hunters are allowed to put in for 00:31:27.065 --> 00:31:29.815 kind of limited entry for master hunters. 00:31:30.485 --> 00:31:32.375 I think there may be some depredations kind 00:31:32.375 --> 00:31:34.295 of tags that are reserved for master hunters. 00:31:34.295 --> 00:31:37.055 So they get some benefits out of being a master 00:31:37.055 --> 00:31:40.805 hunter and by serving as a volunteer with 00:31:40.805 --> 00:31:42.935 us, it counts toward their credit hours 00:31:43.205 --> 00:31:45.215 that they need to keep that, they have to keep 00:31:45.215 --> 00:31:46.115 that certification up. 00:31:46.115 --> 00:31:47.525 They can't just sign up one time. 00:31:47.525 --> 00:31:50.045 They got every year, it got to do so many hours 00:31:50.045 --> 00:31:51.125 to stay a master hunter. 00:31:52.125 --> 00:31:53.225 That is fantastic. 00:31:53.225 --> 00:31:53.285 Yeah. 00:31:53.285 --> 00:31:53.585 It's awesome. 00:31:53.585 --> 00:31:55.335 And everything they do with, yeah. 00:31:55.335 --> 00:31:57.254 And then everything they do with you guys helps 00:31:57.254 --> 00:31:58.185 build towards that. 00:31:58.395 --> 00:32:00.405 So it's just, win-win all the way around. 00:32:00.405 --> 00:32:01.595 It definitely is. 00:32:01.835 --> 00:32:03.875 In fact, in Washington state, when we met 00:32:03.875 --> 00:32:07.080 with those folks, we had something like 00:32:07.080 --> 00:32:09.660 50 or 60 mentors sign up in a week. 00:32:10.050 --> 00:32:11.220 It was crazy. 00:32:11.250 --> 00:32:11.760 Woah. 00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:13.440 Well, the other thing, this is what's 00:32:13.440 --> 00:32:15.510 interesting is at least in Washington state, 00:32:15.540 --> 00:32:18.510 the master hunters, they encourage them already to 00:32:18.510 --> 00:32:21.840 go out and mentoring, but the state was concerned 00:32:21.840 --> 00:32:23.880 because there was no liability insurance 00:32:23.880 --> 00:32:25.110 provided by the state. 00:32:25.830 --> 00:32:29.655 And so by hooking up with us, they get to 00:32:29.655 --> 00:32:31.635 be covered under our liability insurance, 00:32:31.635 --> 00:32:33.465 because we do have liability insurance 00:32:33.465 --> 00:32:34.485 for the mentor. 00:32:35.115 --> 00:32:37.335 So if a mentor takes somebody out and heaven 00:32:37.335 --> 00:32:39.195 forbid something happens and they were to be 00:32:39.195 --> 00:32:42.044 sued, then they would be protected under our 00:32:42.044 --> 00:32:43.415 liability coverage. 00:32:45.004 --> 00:32:47.825 So Rick, you guys are in 28 States 00:32:48.245 --> 00:32:49.774 growing like crazy. 00:32:49.895 --> 00:32:51.304 What's the future hold? 00:32:52.395 --> 00:32:54.645 Well, you know, our goal is of course to be an 00:32:54.645 --> 00:32:58.905 all 50 States here in the US any, any place 00:32:58.905 --> 00:32:59.925 that they allow hunting. 00:33:00.705 --> 00:33:04.950 Is our goal is to just get it to be the largest 00:33:05.340 --> 00:33:07.560 new hunter mentoring organization out there. 00:33:07.560 --> 00:33:08.880 So when somebody thinks of mentoring, 00:33:08.880 --> 00:33:11.100 they think of First Hunt Foundation, which 00:33:11.100 --> 00:33:13.290 means we do two things. 00:33:13.290 --> 00:33:15.990 One is we recruit as many mentors as we can. 00:33:16.650 --> 00:33:18.720 And two is we start offering programs 00:33:18.720 --> 00:33:21.030 and training, which we're starting to work 00:33:21.030 --> 00:33:23.160 on now with events. 00:33:23.510 --> 00:33:24.689 And you can't do that of course 'til 00:33:24.710 --> 00:33:26.210 you get organized with the leaders. 00:33:26.929 --> 00:33:28.399 And so you get the events going where 00:33:28.399 --> 00:33:31.220 you have training days for either new mentees 00:33:31.530 --> 00:33:34.429 or mentors and we're doing that last year. 00:33:34.429 --> 00:33:36.949 We did one in Wyoming where we had 10 new 00:33:36.949 --> 00:33:39.290 hunters and 10, I think mentors go to 00:33:39.290 --> 00:33:40.220 the same training. 00:33:40.220 --> 00:33:42.260 And at the end of the week, they actually got 00:33:42.260 --> 00:33:44.280 to go hunting antelope. 00:33:44.290 --> 00:33:46.020 So they actually got trained one week or 00:33:46.020 --> 00:33:46.760 three, four days. 00:33:46.930 --> 00:33:47.090 Wow. 00:33:47.120 --> 00:33:50.790 And then went hunting and harvested an animal, and 00:33:50.790 --> 00:33:52.749 then they talked about processing the animal, 00:33:52.749 --> 00:33:53.670 so that's all part of it. 00:33:54.389 --> 00:33:56.460 So we want to be kind of known as the, the 00:33:56.460 --> 00:33:59.909 full deal, where we're providing opportunities 00:33:59.909 --> 00:34:02.250 for folks to go hunting, training 00:34:02.639 --> 00:34:05.315 new people, mentors on how to go hunting 00:34:05.345 --> 00:34:06.335 and how to mentor. 00:34:06.875 --> 00:34:08.975 And someday have a certification program 00:34:09.364 --> 00:34:10.145 to be a mentor. 00:34:10.205 --> 00:34:11.945 I mean, other people have talked about that. 00:34:13.375 --> 00:34:15.425 That would be tough one to get everybody, 00:34:15.485 --> 00:34:17.045 some people don't want to be certified. 00:34:17.435 --> 00:34:19.955 They just, let me take people out and I'm fine. 00:34:20.045 --> 00:34:21.455 And we're okay with that because it meets 00:34:21.455 --> 00:34:24.065 our mission of getting new hunters out, but 00:34:24.094 --> 00:34:26.884 to bring it to the next level and to get 00:34:26.884 --> 00:34:29.255 some highly trained people that's, would 00:34:29.255 --> 00:34:30.425 help everybody I think. 00:34:31.170 --> 00:34:31.860 That's our goal. 00:34:32.430 --> 00:34:33.840 We've got the first time out of the way. 00:34:34.110 --> 00:34:35.370 What about the second hunt? 00:34:35.580 --> 00:34:36.630 Can people phone you back? 00:34:36.660 --> 00:34:39.000 I mean, do you find people are just calling 00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:40.740 over and over at, Hey, let's go to another hunt, 00:34:40.740 --> 00:34:41.480 let's go on another hunt. 00:34:41.490 --> 00:34:43.080 Cause I could see some people just getting 00:34:43.080 --> 00:34:46.320 addicted to it and maybe not intentionally, but 00:34:46.320 --> 00:34:48.580 abusing the process. 00:34:48.580 --> 00:34:51.740 Well it, yeah, so that's kind of a misnomer 00:34:51.800 --> 00:34:52.540 when we named it. 00:34:52.550 --> 00:34:55.135 First hunt was the first, giving that first 00:34:55.135 --> 00:34:57.835 hunt experience, not having a first hunt. 00:34:58.645 --> 00:35:00.715 And so the first hunt experience is just 00:35:00.835 --> 00:35:05.670 one experience and you can't train a person 00:35:05.670 --> 00:35:07.800 one time, let 'em shoot an animal and say, 00:35:07.800 --> 00:35:09.210 you're done, nevermore. 00:35:09.940 --> 00:35:10.140 Right. 00:35:10.140 --> 00:35:12.750 I've got one young man that I've been with for 00:35:12.750 --> 00:35:15.450 four years and I still would go out with him 00:35:15.540 --> 00:35:20.080 even though he's a mentor now and training people. 00:35:20.830 --> 00:35:22.210 The real term of mentoring is 00:35:22.210 --> 00:35:23.020 a relationship. 00:35:23.740 --> 00:35:26.350 And then their R3 movement, there's a talk 00:35:26.350 --> 00:35:28.210 now that we shouldn't be using the word mentor, 00:35:28.640 --> 00:35:30.940 it should be coach, unless you're going to 00:35:30.940 --> 00:35:34.210 really be sticking a long time with people. 00:35:34.210 --> 00:35:35.470 I don't personally agree with that. 00:35:35.470 --> 00:35:37.390 You're mentoring for one day, you're mentoring 00:35:37.390 --> 00:35:39.100 for a lifetime and so. 00:35:39.100 --> 00:35:39.490 I agree. 00:35:39.750 --> 00:35:41.330 And so that's kind of where we're at. 00:35:42.290 --> 00:35:44.510 So we want it to be a long-term relationship. 00:35:44.540 --> 00:35:45.560 That's the best kind. 00:35:46.010 --> 00:35:47.920 And so, yeah, it's multiple hunts. 00:35:48.070 --> 00:35:50.150 The one kid, I took him on his first deer hunt, 00:35:50.180 --> 00:35:53.090 his first elk hunt, his first bear hunt, 00:35:53.180 --> 00:35:55.730 his first duck hunt, his first coyote hunt. 00:35:56.210 --> 00:35:57.680 I mean, there's all these first hunts and 00:35:57.680 --> 00:35:59.720 we give certificates too, by the way, like 00:35:59.720 --> 00:36:02.120 your son, he could have went online and you 00:36:02.120 --> 00:36:04.460 could get a certificate for the first deer 00:36:04.460 --> 00:36:06.410 hunt, mule deer, white tail, whatever it is. 00:36:06.920 --> 00:36:08.930 And then they get a certificate in the mail. 00:36:09.475 --> 00:36:11.095 Unbeknownst to them that it's coming 00:36:11.095 --> 00:36:12.055 kind of a surprise. 00:36:12.055 --> 00:36:14.035 Cause the kid gets a big envelope, missed at a mom 00:36:14.035 --> 00:36:16.225 and dad and they open it up and there's a letter. 00:36:17.424 --> 00:36:18.955 Right now I'm able to write letters, 00:36:19.855 --> 00:36:20.490 thanking them. 00:36:20.790 --> 00:36:22.500 Get a little information, I hear you shot your 00:36:22.500 --> 00:36:24.250 first deer with your grandpa's 30-30, 00:36:24.270 --> 00:36:25.860 and they're going, how did this people 00:36:25.860 --> 00:36:26.770 know that, you know? 00:36:27.120 --> 00:36:29.009 And they get their certificate. 00:36:29.009 --> 00:36:31.680 So it's like, there's this anti hunter 00:36:31.680 --> 00:36:32.970 group out there saying you're a bad 00:36:32.970 --> 00:36:33.900 person for doing this. 00:36:34.365 --> 00:36:36.435 There's our group out there going, no, you're 00:36:36.435 --> 00:36:38.355 a great person for doing this, put the 00:36:38.355 --> 00:36:40.665 certificate on the wall to remember this event 00:36:40.695 --> 00:36:41.805 in your life, you know? 00:36:42.375 --> 00:36:42.765 And so. 00:36:42.765 --> 00:36:43.845 That is fantastic. 00:36:43.845 --> 00:36:45.675 So we do that for anybody, whether we 00:36:45.675 --> 00:36:47.355 mentor them or not, anybody can go to 00:36:47.355 --> 00:36:49.335 our website and get that certificate 00:36:49.335 --> 00:36:49.875 and that letter. 00:36:50.835 --> 00:36:52.485 And so that's one of the things we do 00:36:52.485 --> 00:36:53.205 I'm kind of proud. 00:36:53.205 --> 00:36:54.795 We've said hundreds and hundreds of those 00:36:54.795 --> 00:36:56.715 out, across the nation. 00:36:57.075 --> 00:36:58.395 Love to send some to Canada. 00:37:00.485 --> 00:37:01.895 That is fantastic. 00:37:01.895 --> 00:37:04.505 I know his graduation certificate, just the 00:37:04.505 --> 00:37:05.495 paperwork he has there. 00:37:05.495 --> 00:37:08.255 He says, dad, can we make a frame and 00:37:08.495 --> 00:37:10.025 frame this and put it up on the wall? 00:37:10.535 --> 00:37:11.945 Not a problem, let's make a frame. 00:37:11.945 --> 00:37:13.455 We'll go into the shop, made something up. 00:37:13.475 --> 00:37:16.105 And, but there's definitely. 00:37:16.815 --> 00:37:18.960 I think you're definitely onto something here, 00:37:18.960 --> 00:37:22.440 Rick, this is a fantastic foundation. 00:37:22.860 --> 00:37:24.360 I'm really liking everything that I'm 00:37:24.360 --> 00:37:25.090 learning about it. 00:37:25.110 --> 00:37:26.130 Cause I've been doing some reading 00:37:26.130 --> 00:37:27.060 online as well. 00:37:27.330 --> 00:37:28.500 Is there anything that we should be 00:37:28.500 --> 00:37:32.610 talking about that we haven't brought up yet? 00:37:32.610 --> 00:37:34.334 Well, we haven't talked about the negative 00:37:34.334 --> 00:37:36.204 side of things, I guess when you're. 00:37:36.204 --> 00:37:37.194 Well, sure. 00:37:37.974 --> 00:37:40.274 Well, it's not a big it's, we're making 00:37:40.274 --> 00:37:44.415 it happen regardless, but it takes money to 00:37:44.415 --> 00:37:45.464 make anything happen. 00:37:45.464 --> 00:37:47.535 And so if you build a nonprofit or anything 00:37:47.535 --> 00:37:48.944 from the ground up, it's like building a 00:37:48.944 --> 00:37:50.055 company from scratch. 00:37:50.504 --> 00:37:54.015 And currently right now I can say that we are one 00:37:54.015 --> 00:37:57.134 of the only organizations doing as much as we're 00:37:57.134 --> 00:37:59.895 doing that has absolutely no paid staff, including 00:37:59.895 --> 00:38:01.665 myself, no one gets paid. 00:38:02.255 --> 00:38:03.965 We're all volunteers. 00:38:04.515 --> 00:38:06.435 And you know, I'm putting in 40 to 60 00:38:06.435 --> 00:38:08.625 hours a week and I honestly am doing that. 00:38:09.735 --> 00:38:11.475 And I'm okay with that because I'm retired 00:38:11.475 --> 00:38:13.185 and I have an income from my retirement. 00:38:13.515 --> 00:38:15.525 So it takes a lot to fund an organization 00:38:16.000 --> 00:38:17.920 and so our insurance, we pay for the insurance. 00:38:17.990 --> 00:38:18.970 That's a big bill. 00:38:19.450 --> 00:38:23.740 We spend $10,000 in making caps that have our 00:38:23.740 --> 00:38:26.230 logo on it to give out to kids or new hunters. 00:38:26.230 --> 00:38:27.040 I mean, we give them away. 00:38:27.040 --> 00:38:28.630 We don't, don't make a penny on them. 00:38:29.020 --> 00:38:31.000 Going to these shows, you may be three or four or 00:38:31.000 --> 00:38:34.299 $5,000 going to a show to recruit more people, 00:38:34.299 --> 00:38:35.680 to take more hunters out. 00:38:36.069 --> 00:38:37.360 So there's a lot of money. 00:38:37.569 --> 00:38:39.670 So we're a nonprofit and you're always out 00:38:39.670 --> 00:38:43.960 there with your handout trying to find grants, 00:38:44.410 --> 00:38:46.470 to fund the cause. 00:38:47.080 --> 00:38:48.460 We're going to, we're going to start 00:38:48.460 --> 00:38:50.950 a membership here soon that, there's a 00:38:50.950 --> 00:38:51.910 supporting membership. 00:38:51.920 --> 00:38:54.460 So folks who believe in what we're doing, get 00:38:54.460 --> 00:38:57.160 become a member of the First Hunt Foundation 00:38:57.460 --> 00:38:59.720 and they'll get a free knife, which we had. 00:39:00.760 --> 00:39:03.210 Was it, 1500 knives donated by the 00:39:03.210 --> 00:39:04.560 Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, about 00:39:04.560 --> 00:39:05.970 $8,000 worth of knives. 00:39:06.420 --> 00:39:09.460 So stuff like that, that we can try to. 00:39:09.830 --> 00:39:14.450 So my goal to keep this sustainable is to 00:39:14.450 --> 00:39:17.839 find a funding source, eventually, that we're 00:39:17.839 --> 00:39:20.149 not constantly having to chase grants down. 00:39:20.359 --> 00:39:21.830 And I don't know what that is yet. 00:39:21.830 --> 00:39:24.500 So we're always thinking outside the box, what 00:39:24.500 --> 00:39:28.270 would, you know, sell a product, something that 00:39:28.270 --> 00:39:30.040 would keep, keep the foundation going, win 00:39:30.040 --> 00:39:30.940 the lottery, you know. 00:39:31.830 --> 00:39:32.190 Yeah, yeah. 00:39:32.390 --> 00:39:33.730 Just keep buying those lottery tickets. 00:39:33.760 --> 00:39:34.140 Yeah. 00:39:34.900 --> 00:39:37.330 So I mean, anyway, that's an issue. 00:39:37.890 --> 00:39:38.160 Yeah. 00:39:38.190 --> 00:39:40.260 So if somebody wanted to donate to the First 00:39:40.260 --> 00:39:41.880 Hunt Foundation, is that just done online? 00:39:42.540 --> 00:39:43.140 Oh yeah. 00:39:43.260 --> 00:39:44.100 And we get some of that. 00:39:44.100 --> 00:39:44.310 Yeah. 00:39:44.310 --> 00:39:46.230 You can go online and there's a donate button. 00:39:46.920 --> 00:39:48.990 I mean, and we're going to start some national, 00:39:48.990 --> 00:39:52.020 here locally or in the U S some national raffles. 00:39:52.470 --> 00:39:54.360 We're going to try to get going for some big 00:39:54.360 --> 00:39:57.660 items, maybe a high end hunting rifle or 00:39:57.660 --> 00:39:59.340 something like that, which could generate 00:39:59.340 --> 00:40:00.150 some money as well. 00:40:01.605 --> 00:40:03.795 And if we wanted to kind of group think 00:40:04.365 --> 00:40:08.355 sustainable revenue generation, a model 00:40:08.355 --> 00:40:11.025 that kind of will keep revenue coming into the 00:40:11.025 --> 00:40:12.134 First Hunt Foundation. 00:40:12.134 --> 00:40:14.055 If somebody wanted to contact you as all that 00:40:14.055 --> 00:40:16.105 contact information on the website? 00:40:16.105 --> 00:40:17.985 If someone listened to this has ideas and say, 00:40:17.985 --> 00:40:21.225 you know what you should do, they can just contact 00:40:21.225 --> 00:40:21.585 you through the site? 00:40:22.295 --> 00:40:22.775 Oh yeah. 00:40:22.775 --> 00:40:22.955 Yeah. 00:40:22.955 --> 00:40:24.395 There's a spot on the site where you can 00:40:24.395 --> 00:40:28.025 contact us and call me, I think probably the 00:40:28.025 --> 00:40:29.194 numbers on there as well. 00:40:30.120 --> 00:40:32.360 So I'm always open to those ideas, but. 00:40:33.560 --> 00:40:35.490 So, and I tend to kind of shy away from the 00:40:35.490 --> 00:40:36.340 negative side of things. 00:40:36.340 --> 00:40:39.810 Like, I know that the formula for popular 00:40:39.810 --> 00:40:41.820 podcasts would be controversy, but I always 00:40:41.820 --> 00:40:45.420 try to impart some sort of positivity and a 00:40:45.450 --> 00:40:47.910 learning message to each one of these podcasts. 00:40:47.940 --> 00:40:49.980 But you know, if we're talking about some 00:40:49.980 --> 00:40:51.880 of the negative here, are you encountering 00:40:51.900 --> 00:40:54.240 any pushback from any anti hunting groups? 00:40:54.859 --> 00:40:58.089 Not yet, but I'm sure those days will happen. 00:40:58.529 --> 00:41:01.555 I mean, my truck has logos all over it. 00:41:01.555 --> 00:41:03.745 So I have to keep thinking sometimes 00:41:03.745 --> 00:41:05.035 when I'm traveling across the country, 00:41:05.035 --> 00:41:09.205 that I'm going to get egged or something. 00:41:09.205 --> 00:41:10.275 Windows smashed or. 00:41:10.275 --> 00:41:11.595 Yeah, windows smashed or something when I 00:41:11.595 --> 00:41:12.495 come out of the motel. 00:41:12.495 --> 00:41:14.555 But I have people pass me on the interstate with 00:41:14.565 --> 00:41:16.775 a big thumbs up because on the back of my. 00:41:16.775 --> 00:41:17.215 That's good. 00:41:17.215 --> 00:41:18.855 Yeah, on the back of my truck, it literally has 00:41:18.855 --> 00:41:21.835 a picture, you can't tell it's me, leaning over, 00:41:22.195 --> 00:41:24.825 whispering to a young girl who has a rifle. 00:41:25.035 --> 00:41:27.075 You can tell at a shooting range. 00:41:27.505 --> 00:41:29.370 And so it's a message like a here we're 00:41:29.370 --> 00:41:31.109 helping kids learn how to shoot guns. 00:41:31.109 --> 00:41:32.310 It's right on the back of the truck. 00:41:32.939 --> 00:41:34.740 And so when people pass me, a lot of them are 00:41:34.740 --> 00:41:36.720 just big thumbs up, like, Hey, way to go. 00:41:36.720 --> 00:41:38.580 Cause I'm sure they're hunters or outdoors 00:41:38.580 --> 00:41:40.980 people, but I suppose somebody could 00:41:40.980 --> 00:41:42.839 drive by and give me other gestures. 00:41:42.839 --> 00:41:43.560 They haven't done that yet. 00:41:44.580 --> 00:41:46.100 Ahh, you got a couple other digits on the 00:41:46.100 --> 00:41:47.680 hand, but no that's. 00:41:50.040 --> 00:41:52.759 So we've covered sort of where you've been, where 00:41:52.759 --> 00:41:53.745 you look to be going. 00:41:54.345 --> 00:41:56.565 Some of the difficulties that you've encountered, 00:41:56.565 --> 00:41:58.275 which doesn't seem like you've encountered 00:41:58.335 --> 00:42:00.015 really a heck of a lot of pushback. 00:42:00.285 --> 00:42:01.545 Is that a fair assessment? 00:42:02.075 --> 00:42:03.125 That's a fair assessment. 00:42:03.125 --> 00:42:05.375 In fact, at least with the States, everybody 00:42:05.375 --> 00:42:07.565 we've talked to is excited that somebody is 00:42:07.565 --> 00:42:08.585 doing what we're doing. 00:42:09.125 --> 00:42:11.165 And I think a lot of nonprofits don't last 00:42:11.165 --> 00:42:13.565 very long, you know, like businesses that last 00:42:13.565 --> 00:42:15.484 a year or two, and now we're going on our sixth 00:42:15.484 --> 00:42:18.214 year and lots of numbers that we're producing. 00:42:18.214 --> 00:42:20.645 The COVID, the numbers will be down for 2020. 00:42:20.645 --> 00:42:22.230 We haven't done that data yet. 00:42:23.100 --> 00:42:25.290 And our name recognition is getting out there. 00:42:25.290 --> 00:42:27.390 So I think that's all going to help and we 00:42:27.390 --> 00:42:29.430 teach conservationists, not just about 00:42:29.430 --> 00:42:30.240 killing something. 00:42:30.240 --> 00:42:32.400 It's teaching about the woods and nature. 00:42:32.400 --> 00:42:35.010 And I mean, you got to take advantage 00:42:35.010 --> 00:42:35.550 of that time. 00:42:35.550 --> 00:42:37.830 You're out there besides just teaching a hunting 00:42:37.860 --> 00:42:40.920 skills, this talk about conservation. 00:42:41.040 --> 00:42:44.450 Let's talk about, cause hunting is conservation 00:42:45.470 --> 00:42:46.110 in the future. 00:42:46.254 --> 00:42:47.904 And that, I mean, I worked as a wildlife 00:42:47.904 --> 00:42:49.825 biologist originally in my career, in the 00:42:49.825 --> 00:42:52.625 forest service before I became a line officer. 00:42:52.645 --> 00:42:55.285 And so I was all about for fish and 00:42:55.285 --> 00:42:58.345 game and critters and so I love teaching 00:42:58.345 --> 00:43:01.315 people about nature and what's out there. 00:43:01.345 --> 00:43:02.845 So that's a big part of it as well. 00:43:02.845 --> 00:43:04.254 And so that's the white hat part. 00:43:04.825 --> 00:43:07.125 I mean, I've gotten hardcore conservation 00:43:08.865 --> 00:43:10.855 organizations that know me and they were 00:43:10.855 --> 00:43:12.295 supporting what I'm doing because they 00:43:12.295 --> 00:43:13.194 think it's a good thing. 00:43:14.730 --> 00:43:16.350 Well, so many people equate hunting, so 00:43:16.350 --> 00:43:18.720 many non-hunters will equate hunting with 00:43:19.200 --> 00:43:21.660 the actual process of harvesting the animal. 00:43:21.660 --> 00:43:25.050 When that accounts for less than 1%. 00:43:25.050 --> 00:43:26.950 While you're pulling that trigger, that's your time 00:43:27.509 --> 00:43:28.560 harvesting the animal. 00:43:28.620 --> 00:43:31.020 All the other time is the preparation and the 00:43:31.020 --> 00:43:34.740 study and is spent with animal identification and 00:43:34.740 --> 00:43:35.920 learning the environment. 00:43:35.920 --> 00:43:39.525 And the whole conservation movement 00:43:39.525 --> 00:43:42.135 is just hugely ingrained into the 00:43:42.135 --> 00:43:42.935 hunting perspective. 00:43:43.275 --> 00:43:45.585 A lot of people, non hunters, they 00:43:45.585 --> 00:43:46.545 don't see that. 00:43:47.799 --> 00:43:49.470 When I look at new hunters that are looking 00:43:49.470 --> 00:43:53.430 to get into hunting, they're not necessarily 00:43:53.430 --> 00:43:55.150 like you or I. 00:43:55.200 --> 00:43:57.210 They don't come from the same sort of backgrounds 00:43:57.210 --> 00:43:59.939 as you or I, we might have some hipster wanting 00:43:59.939 --> 00:44:02.640 to get into the hunting for reasons that are the 00:44:02.640 --> 00:44:06.810 idea of sustainability and finding a local food. 00:44:07.520 --> 00:44:09.299 Are you finding any difficulties in bridging 00:44:09.299 --> 00:44:11.189 the gap between some of the new hunters 00:44:11.250 --> 00:44:12.509 and existing hunters? 00:44:13.680 --> 00:44:14.549 I don't think so. 00:44:14.580 --> 00:44:17.370 I think we're finding that most of the hunters, 00:44:17.400 --> 00:44:19.950 if I understand your question, that we recruit 00:44:19.950 --> 00:44:23.250 are just excited to teach anybody about hunting. 00:44:23.850 --> 00:44:26.470 And so if somebody comes in with different ideas 00:44:26.490 --> 00:44:30.630 or values or backgrounds, I haven't ran into 00:44:30.630 --> 00:44:33.660 anybody that had an issue with any of the new 00:44:33.660 --> 00:44:35.220 hunters coming in, yet. 00:44:36.210 --> 00:44:38.040 You know, it's so exciting to, for 00:44:38.040 --> 00:44:39.150 what we're doing. 00:44:39.720 --> 00:44:41.250 I've had several experiences that 00:44:41.880 --> 00:44:42.900 stick with me. 00:44:43.320 --> 00:44:45.730 I mean, when you've been hunting, I'm going to be 00:44:45.730 --> 00:44:50.290 67 here, probably in a few weeks and I've hunted 00:44:50.380 --> 00:44:53.230 since I was like the eighth grade for sure. 00:44:53.900 --> 00:44:57.940 And so when I go pick up a kid to go like Turkey 00:44:57.940 --> 00:44:59.380 hunting, and you're going real early in the 00:44:59.380 --> 00:45:01.480 morning, and to me, it's just like another day 00:45:01.480 --> 00:45:03.070 to go Turkey hunting, I'm excited about it. 00:45:03.070 --> 00:45:07.515 But the kid looks at me and says I couldn't 00:45:07.515 --> 00:45:11.355 sleep last night, I was so excited thinking about 00:45:11.355 --> 00:45:12.525 this I couldn't sleep. 00:45:13.665 --> 00:45:16.755 And it reminds me, it brings back that flood 00:45:16.755 --> 00:45:19.515 of memories of when I was a kid and I was so 00:45:19.515 --> 00:45:24.009 excited to go hunting and nobody to take me. 00:45:24.640 --> 00:45:27.019 And I remember one time when my dad's uncle's 00:45:27.040 --> 00:45:28.450 came and they were going to go hunting, I 00:45:28.450 --> 00:45:29.259 don't know how it was. 00:45:29.259 --> 00:45:31.390 It wasn't very old and they wouldn't take me 00:45:31.390 --> 00:45:33.520 because, you know, I was a kid and the guys 00:45:33.520 --> 00:45:34.629 were going to go out and do their thing. 00:45:34.629 --> 00:45:37.049 And I remember crying, thinking I want it 00:45:37.049 --> 00:45:38.870 to be there so bad, they wouldn't take me. 00:45:39.490 --> 00:45:42.700 And so when I heard her kids say they couldn't 00:45:42.700 --> 00:45:44.740 sleep because they were so excited and they 00:45:44.740 --> 00:45:47.290 were so thankful to have that opportunity. 00:45:47.620 --> 00:45:49.330 I know we're doing the right thing. 00:45:50.050 --> 00:45:52.660 I know what we're doing matter to that 00:45:52.660 --> 00:45:55.270 kid, probably for the rest of their life. 00:45:55.900 --> 00:45:59.230 And that just, that's what keeps us going, man. 00:45:59.230 --> 00:46:01.330 That's, you know, the organizational 00:46:01.330 --> 00:46:02.860 stuff sometimes it's a pain in the butt. 00:46:02.860 --> 00:46:05.950 Cause it's that admin, you gotta make it happen 00:46:06.010 --> 00:46:08.750 to make all these 'those experiences' happen. 00:46:09.650 --> 00:46:11.060 And when one of them happens and you 00:46:11.060 --> 00:46:13.850 feel it and see it, it's just amazing. 00:46:14.770 --> 00:46:17.060 I had another one I got to tell you, it touched 00:46:17.060 --> 00:46:19.340 me where I taught this young boy for years. 00:46:20.384 --> 00:46:22.065 The first deer he shot, it was raining and 00:46:22.065 --> 00:46:24.285 getting dark so I field dressed his animal. 00:46:24.674 --> 00:46:25.694 I said, we got to get this done. 00:46:25.694 --> 00:46:28.305 It's raining, just hold the light, I'll get it 00:46:28.305 --> 00:46:28.995 down and got it done. 00:46:28.995 --> 00:46:29.714 The next year. 00:46:29.895 --> 00:46:32.055 I took him out again to have another experience. 00:46:32.055 --> 00:46:35.325 He shot us his first deer or second deer and it was 00:46:35.325 --> 00:46:37.035 daylight and I said, Oh, good, you get to do it. 00:46:37.035 --> 00:46:38.654 So talked him through it. 00:46:38.654 --> 00:46:40.515 He did all that, I didn't touch anything. 00:46:41.505 --> 00:46:43.005 And the next day he called me that 00:46:43.005 --> 00:46:46.095 night and he says, my grandfather is excited 00:46:46.125 --> 00:46:48.165 about me hunting and he's never hunted. 00:46:48.195 --> 00:46:49.515 Would you take him hunting? 00:46:50.475 --> 00:46:51.675 And I knew him and his grandfather 00:46:51.675 --> 00:46:52.665 fish, I said, sure. 00:46:53.085 --> 00:46:56.735 So about two days later I took him and just 00:46:56.735 --> 00:46:59.145 grandfather out hunting, he'd never hunted 00:46:59.145 --> 00:47:01.319 before, he shot before. 00:47:01.650 --> 00:47:03.450 And so he shot this little buck, a little 00:47:03.450 --> 00:47:05.400 spike buck, and we walked over and I was 00:47:05.400 --> 00:47:08.130 just about to go through the process of teaching 00:47:08.130 --> 00:47:08.790 him how to do that. 00:47:08.790 --> 00:47:09.990 And I looked over to Jordan. 00:47:10.470 --> 00:47:11.930 Jordan was our number one mentor, 00:47:12.460 --> 00:47:13.470 mentee, number one. 00:47:14.009 --> 00:47:15.810 And I said, Jordan, teach your grandfather 00:47:15.810 --> 00:47:16.590 how to do this. 00:47:16.650 --> 00:47:19.049 And I stood there and watched the grandson 00:47:19.590 --> 00:47:22.140 teach his grandfather how to field dress a deer. 00:47:23.970 --> 00:47:26.100 It just like blew me away. 00:47:26.100 --> 00:47:28.680 It's like, it's not passing it forward, 00:47:28.680 --> 00:47:30.450 it's passing it back or something. 00:47:30.450 --> 00:47:32.500 I'm not sure what it is. 00:47:32.780 --> 00:47:33.210 So. 00:47:33.210 --> 00:47:34.390 That's just fantastic. 00:47:34.589 --> 00:47:34.950 I know! 00:47:34.950 --> 00:47:36.359 And I'll never forget that and they 00:47:36.359 --> 00:47:37.080 didn't forget it. 00:47:37.080 --> 00:47:38.790 And they started putting in for hunts and going 00:47:38.790 --> 00:47:39.509 hunting together. 00:47:39.509 --> 00:47:41.730 And I created two hunters by creating one and it 00:47:41.730 --> 00:47:42.839 was just, it was amazing. 00:47:43.545 --> 00:47:45.405 Man Rick, I really, really enjoy 00:47:45.435 --> 00:47:46.125 speaking with you. 00:47:46.125 --> 00:47:49.975 I really enjoy your passion for hunting, 00:47:50.025 --> 00:47:53.025 for bringing this into other people's lives. 00:47:53.835 --> 00:47:54.435 It's contagious, 00:47:54.435 --> 00:47:54.655 It is. 00:47:54.675 --> 00:47:55.605 I tell you that much. 00:47:56.505 --> 00:47:58.725 Thank you very much for taking the time to. 00:47:58.980 --> 00:48:00.720 Talk with me on this Silvercore Podcast. 00:48:00.960 --> 00:48:01.770 Well, thanks Travis. 00:48:01.770 --> 00:48:03.300 I appreciated the opportunity.