Behind The Hunt: “From Bison Down to Airport Meltdown

We tell the full story behind Zach’s recent bison hunt, from a last-minute plan and intense bow prep to a high-wind 60-yard shot and a hard-earned recovery. Then we relive the real chaos, getting 100 pounds of frozen meat and a bow case through delays, tight connections, and baggage mix-ups. 
• calling the outfitter and locking in a fast plan 
• getting family support and committing to a bow-only hunt 
• practicing on a life-size bison target and learning forward heart placement 
• spotting bison at distance and stalking in on foot 
• managing crosswind, limited lanes, and shot process at 60.1 yards 
• waiting, tracking in windblown dirt, and dealing with doubt 
• finding the bison and reflecting on respect and responsibility 
• quartering, cooling, and using a meat processor to save time 
• flying with frozen bison meat and navigating airline delays 
• sprinting a major airport to make a connection with gear in transit 
• recovering the bow case and protecting a keepsake broadhead 
• sharing meat with friends and teaching kids the work behind hunting 
• shout-outs to partners and looking ahead to turkey season 

Transcript

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Why This Episode Is Different

SPEAKER_02 0:23

All right, guys, how's it going? So Zach here with echoes of the hunt behind the hunt. Um, this is gonna be a little different. Usually we bring someone on and I'm talking to them, but we're gonna talk about my bison hunt that I just went on. Um, so yeah, we'll we'll start from there. So, first things first, I ended up calling my outfitter, or I guess Boondocks Hunter's uh outfitter. It's Jeff with 4B outfitters. And man, all I said to him was like, Jeff, I want to get a bison. And he was just like, dude, I got you. You know I got you. I'm gonna take care of you. Give me 20 minutes. And within five minutes, he calls me back and says, Hey, bro, I got a place we're going. I was like, right on. So immediately started looking up plane tickets. Well, first off, let me reverse, immediately went to the wife and was like, Hey, gotta wanna talk to you.

Booking The Bison Hunt Fast

SPEAKER_02 1:20

And so yeah, I told her that um there's a huge opportunity coming up for a bison hunt, and she said, take it. And I was like, sweet. So she's been nothing but supportive with this adventure of mine of going on these hunts. But uh, yeah, this hunt was was a big one for me. Um, I was determined to hunt with a bow. So immediately ended up getting a target, uh, a bison target. And it's like one of those life-size banners that is just the size of actual bison. So ended up shooting that thing at 20 yards, 40 yards, 60 yards, and then 80 yards, and was just aiming at that front shoulder where the heart is. And what a lot of people don't know about bison is that their heart is like like an exotic animal, they're not exotic, but most exotics hearts are forward a little bit of that shoulder, so that's kind of like where the bison's at a little bit. So I had to aim a little forward. Um, but yeah, so anyway, I started looking up plane tickets, um, hit up Jeff, came up with a game plan, and we determined the dates that we were gonna get down there, and it was literally the end of March into early April, so it was a four-day hunt. So ended up getting onto the plane, you know, packed bow, got everything I needed, hit up osseo, got the gear I needed, um, set up my Kool-Aid arrows, had all of that set up, and I was ready to rock and roll. Well, get to the airport, everything's going smooth, nothing to complain about. And then once I land in Atlanta, I ended up having a small delay, nothing crazy, just a little bit of bad weather. And then next thing you know, we're on our way. Get to Oklahoma, uh, stop at McDonald's, had to get a bite to eat. I was starving. So, anyways, hit up Jeff, made my way to his place down at Lone Wolf, and it was literally grab everything out of my truck and throw it over into his truck, and we took off down to Texas. So, stopped for some lunch on the way down. Um, and yeah, we arrived at the ranch. I want to say it was like 4 p.m. Um, we introduced ourselves to the owners and he just said, like, all right, guys, so what do you guys want to do? Do you guys want to go now? Do you want to start going? You know, do you want to go tomorrow? I'm sure you guys are tired. And I looked right at Jeff and I said, We're going. Um, I was tired of sitting, I was tired of waiting, and I wanted to go. So popped open my case, looked over my bow real quick, and got one practice shot at 30 yards, and it was perfect. And it was on a on just a little uh deer. But uh, so yeah,

Bow Prep And Bison Anatomy

SPEAKER_02 4:10

double checked my binos, double check batteries in my uh range finder. Um, everything was good to go. So we hop on the a quad and we go probably like 500 yards. We hop out. I just start glassing the area. So as I'm glassing, I noticed there's like these two little blobs that are out in the out the distance. We couldn't think out exactly what they were, so ended up pulling out uh a bigger set of binos, SST, so just a big optic, and lo and behold, two buffalo. And I was like awesome. So there are two clicks out, so two uh 2,000 meters. So we started hoofing it. We didn't want to write up on a quad, you know, that should definitely, you know, spook them. So we hit some waddies, uh, moved as close as we could, and then finally we got within about a hundred yards of them. So didn't think that this would happen on day one, you know, thinking it was gonna happen later down the road, then you know, day two, day three. So yeah. Um, but so we see these two bison, uh, they're both cows, but there's this one cow, the one that's behind me, the skull. This she was a absolute bohemoth, um, beautiful animal. And I was just awestruck at the environment that I was in, the fact that you know, less than 13 hours ago, I was on a plane. Um, and here I am in Texas hunting a bison. So I was kind of like mesmerized at the whole situation and how it's all coming to a point. Yeah, um, yeah. So that was just that was really cool. Um, so I took a moment, I actually did a very quick prayer to God just to guide me through this, just to keep my nerves calm so that way I don't wound the animal um and I lose it. That's the last thing I want to happen. So I'll look over my bow one more time before we start getting a little bit closer. So from there, we picked up, we got within about 80 yards, so we're moving very slow. Jeff is behind me filming, and he gets he moves to my right and he gets seen. Like the buffalo just stop and stare at him. I'm tucked away behind these, like there's some brush and a couple trees, and I can use that as my advantage, so I use that as my concealment. And he made the decision to not move, and I was not knowing what he was doing, I was just focused on what I was doing, and I trusted him, he trusted me. We knew what we were doing. Um, so he just started filming, and he was just watching me do my thing. So I moved up to these trees, they're about 70 yards away. Um, and I'm going to the right in the video. You can see me, like I'm going to the right, like I'm trying to get a laze. I finally get a laze on one of one of them, which is the lead one. She's the the bigger one of the two. And I could not find a lane, it was driving me nuts. And I was like, okay, you can see me going back and forth trying to figure this out. And I was just like, dude, I was like, this is what's gonna happen is I'm gonna get settled, and they're gonna run off. That's what I was thinking. And then I finally decided to move off to my left, and there's like a between me and the animals, there's a like a two-foot two by two window of where I could just see the bison's body. Um, I could see her front shoulder, her rib cage, and then a little bit of her hind corner. Um, I could see her her head through the brush as I burned through the brush. I could see that. Um, so I was like, okay, but the biggest problem I was facing now was the wind. The wind was going from my right to my left, and it was just bad crosswind. There's gusts going from like 20 to 60

Travel To Texas And Ranch Arrival

SPEAKER_02 8:10

miles an hour at times. So I was like, oh my gosh. So I pop out, anyways. I I knew I could make the shot. Laser at 60.1 yards. So I checked my arrow, check everything just before I shoot. Um, another quick little prayer. I was like, God, please just make this accurate, just make this true. Don't let me mess this up, just guide me through this. So I immediately drew back, and it was all of a sudden a rush. My heart just started racing. I took a deep breath, I calmed down, I got my anchor point, and I was like, All right, I settled on that front shoulder, and as soon as my pen just stopped moving, I released. I was using my thumb release, and I watched this arrow just go and make it through the little window and hit it right in the ribs, and I was like, Oh my gosh, you could just hearing that thlack on those ribs was just so rewarding, and just so I was awestruck. And the fact that I was able to make it between the two ribs at that distance with a mechanical with sever broadhead, like that was very uh man, dumb luck, honestly, just getting it through those ribs because those ribs are thick, man. Like this, they're like our forearms just going across their body. Um, so yeah, once it once it hit, they ran off. And I hear Jeff behind me whistle, and I look back, and he just gave me the thumbs up, and I just like gave him the fist bump, like, yeah, that we it's hit. Um, so we backed out a little bit. We watched them first, we watched them run, um, and then we lost sight of them, and then that's where we just kind of checked our surroundings to make sure they won't weren't looping around. Um, and then we backed out. Uh we called Troy, the and he brought the quad down to us. We had to give him our location so he you could hear him off from distance coming. And he and I were just looking over the film, and it was unfortunately the film is the resolution was not changed to high resolution. Um, so when he zoomed in on the animal, you see that it was kind of pixelated, which is unfortunate. But at that point, I really didn't care. It was the fact that I was there and having this opportunity to hunt this animal, and knowing that I'm have this opportunity to put meat on the table for my family. Like this thing's gonna last us for the entire year, if not longer. Um, so he asked me where I hit, and I said I I it felt great. I think I hit back on the lung, like far back lung, um, just because the wind was just kicking so hard. So, anyways, we're sitting there for about 30 minutes. We finally go up after 30 minutes of just talking. We're and Troy asked me, he's like, So, did you use your bow? And I was because we also brought a rifle just in case you never know, those animals could pop up, and he's like, Oh crap. Um, and I was like, Yeah, he because Jeff was like, Do you want to use your bow? I'm like, Yes. He's like, Are you sure? And I'm like, Yeah, he's like, All right. Of course, reversing back into going back to uh November when I hunted there, I I missed a deer, and then I hit brisket on a deer, and it was a very, very bad shot. Animal was still down, but it was just a bad shot, 26 yards, so it was just like man. So I shot over that deer the first time, and then finally it came in and hit brisket, and we tracked that thing for a hot minute and finally came up on him. Um, so, anyways, that's why he was kind of skeptical about me using my bow. And I was

Glassing Two Buffalo And Stalking In

SPEAKER_02 12:00

just like, dude, this guy's lost all confidence in me shooting with my bow. Um, and I don't blame him. Um, so anyways, we go up where I hit, didn't find blood immediately, but we know the direction they ran. You can see the hoof marks and everything. So we we walked about 15-20 yards or so, and then finally one little drop of blood. The hardest part was with the dirt, the wind was swirling, so it was covering the uh covering the blood. So it's very hard to identify. But if you're able to put your hand over the sand and you can feel it, you're like, okay, that's blood. Then finally we got into the grief voilage, and that's where we could really see blood. So we tracked this thing for about maybe 1500 to 2000 meters, and then finally, as like we're coming across an open area, Jeff's finally like, you know, let's just record. I'm gonna do some b-roll, just say something in them in the camera, and then we'll go from there. Um, so I you know, like you can see me. I'm a little frustrated. I'm looking around, like, we got blood, it's just it's just hard to find this animal. That I was starting to feel it that we were or that I might have wounded the animal and that it's running somewhere and it's gonna die later, and we're not gonna find it. I was very worried about that. And then finally, as um I find more blood, we come up to this open field and I look over to my right and I see her up against a tree, head down, and I just all of a sudden the rush hit, and I was like, there she is. And man, that was that was amazing. But now that scary part was going up to her. So as we're getting up to her, I put my foot right, like I kick her her hoof, and then I kind of like nudge her in the back, and she was motionless, nothing. And man, putting my hands on that animal was just absolutely amazing. I never in my life imagined that I would be putting my hands on a bison. Um the the thickness of her hair, and then looking at her horns and just seeing what her life was like. It is like she was matted, but then the the horns itself, you can just see what she has endured with other bison. Um, they're scratched, chips, and it's just like you can see that she has had a life of just surviving, and people don't understand that these animals are out there, and every day it is survival mode. And yes, is it is it hard to take an animal's life? Yes, but knowing what is going to provide for my family far exceeds that. Um and so when I finally put my hands on her and I went through that emotion, it was I was awestruck. And I think if I can go back and and do anything different, I wouldn't. Everything happened the way how it should have happened, and that's what we do as hunters. We we go out, we find an animal that we want to hunt, or we come across an animal, and it is something where we want to pursue, and it is just something that is built into us, and it's not just feeding me, it's feeding others. Like my neighbors have some meat. Um, I've gifted meat to other people at work, and it's just like it's seeing their faces like, dude, this is gonna be great. Um, that's what's that's what's rewarding, is just seeing others like light up. It's like, oh my gosh, I've never had bison before. It's like I know. And we had some friends over last night, and that was their first time ever tasting bison, and they were just like, holy smokes, this is amazing! So, but yeah. So once we um got through the interview of the camera, the camera cut off, and it got emotional a little bit just because it's one of those things. Like, I just sat there and looked at her, was holding her head in my hands, and um it

Crosswind Setup And The 60 Yard Shot

SPEAKER_02 16:20

just kind of hit me. I was just like, I am pursuing something that I never thought my wildest dreams that I would do. Um, this past I would say since the beginning of October has been kind of a whirlwind for me. Um, you know, I started my Echoes of the Hunt page, not thinking it would ever do anything, and and sharing stories of other hunters and is something that I'm very passionate about. And so when I was able to contact or get in contact with Jeff, he actually reached out to me. And ever since then, it's just been a friendship and a bond between him and I that has grew, and he has hooked me up, and I've hooked him up, and it is a true blessing. And and I just feel like God has truly blessed me to pursue what I want to do. And I'm obsessed with hunting, I'm obsessed with my bow. And I feel and truly believe that this is like my calling is to hunt, write stories, and do podcasts, and be with good people and be around and surround myself with amazing other hunters that just want the same thing, and we just thrive on each other's successes, and I love it. And it's just something that I am going to cherish for the rest of my life. My children are gonna hunt, and that's just how it's gonna be. And they see the hard work and dedication that goes into hunting when I bring an animal home. They are right there watching every little thing that I am doing, just from processing the meat, taking care of everything. They're always asking questions why'd you do this? Why'd you do that? Can we do it this way next time? They just they're intrigued, and I feel that not only myself, but the boondocks hunting team is the same way. We all want to watch others grow in this in this industry because that's what it is at the end of the day. But more importantly, it's we value our friendships with each other, our families, hunting in general, and then of course, we all come together as a family and just talk about what we do and what we love. And I feel like this this hunt was just a tipping point for not just me, but the boondocks hunting team. Um, I think we are on a an all-time high right now, and I think it's just gonna continue to grow. And I think this is gonna be an amazing adventure. I know I kind of went off on a tangent here a little bit, but man, I am just like everything is just running through my head at a million miles an hour this past month of what we've been after, what we've been doing, and I've never been happier. Um, if people knew my background and and knew know what I deal with mentally, then they would understand, like they would see it, they'd be like, that makes sense. So, but yeah, man, that that bison was amazing. I loved every second of it. I won't change a thing, or I wouldn't change a thing if I had to go back. But dude, watching them

Waiting Then Following Sparse Blood

SPEAKER_02 19:30

cape this thing out, you're literally inside this animal trying to get everything done. Like you're you're getting in there and you're trying to get the windpipe out and get and then getting all the uh internals out, but like you're in there, and the heart of this thing was just like a small little like a soccer ball, almost like this the biggest heart I've ever seen. Um, but yeah, so we corner it up and we get it all packed up. We uh freeze it overnight in the uh coolers, and I'm sitting there thinking, I was like, Man, I am gonna have to this is gonna take a hot minute, and the temperatures was hot. So we're driving back to Oklahoma, and Jeff decides, he's like, I'm making a phone call real quick. So he calls this place called Keith's, and um, he was like, Hey man, we got a bison, it's quartered. Um, care if I drop it off and you guys can get this done for us. They're just like, Absolutely, we got you. Man, it took them 30 minutes to clean this thing up, have it packed and in the freezer. They had that thing finished before I walked out the door. I was like, This is insane. There's a four-man team back there, and they're just doing their thing, and I was like, That's insane. I mean, like, I get it, that's their living, but like it would have taken me a week just to try to get one quarter done of that. So, like, it was impressive to watch, it was pretty cool to see that get done. But yeah, they had it all frozen up. Uh, I picked it up on a Wednesday, and then the following day, um, I had to leave Jeff's house at midnight. So this is where I was very, very worried. So get to the airport, everything's frozen in the luggage. I have about 95 to 100 pounds of meat in this luggage. Um, so I I'm there early. I I like being to places early. I like getting to the front of the lines. So I get to the front of the line, and uh, of course, they weigh my bag, and they're like, oh, we have to we have to make we have to charge you a fee. Well, thank goodness I'm active military, so that that waived it, but I'm gonna miss that in the future. So get through security, sitting at the gate, they load us on the plane. It's we're supposed to take off at 5 45. Um, we back out, captain comes on, like, hey, we're gonna have we're gonna be a few minutes, we're just not getting the certain Something going on, and I'm I'm just like, whatever. So I'm just sitting there, I was like, This will be quick. Nope. They have us sitting there for two hours, and they're like, Oh, we can't fix it. We just did uh we're gonna do a hard reset now. It's like okay. In my head, I'm like, why didn't you do that in the first place? 30 minutes go by, and like just another five, eight minutes, another five, eight minutes. All right, hey guys, we're gonna have to pull up to the gate. We can't fix it. We need a part to fly in from Atlanta. I'm just like, oh no. And like, your next flight is gonna be at 11 p 11 a.m. And I'm like, oh, or sorry, one 1 p.m. And I'm like, okay, cool, great. This this is not good. Um so of course I go on the Delta app and I start looking up flights. This is the only flight out of Oklahoma City that's going to Atlanta. And I'm just like, oh man. So I go to a restaurant that's in the airport, um, looking at you know, flights, connections, what is the fastest way possible for me to get home so I can get this meat in the freezer. Like I'm free, like I'm honestly like, I'm pissed. Like, I'm just like, but I sit there for a second, I'm eating eggs, and I'm just like, calm down. God's in control, you're gonna figure this out. So I hop back on my phone and I see that there's another flight that they just that is going to be uh heading to Atlanta from OKC. Apparently, another flight came in, there's like some change or whatever, and I was like, whatever it works. So I switched to that flight and I switched to my uh flight out of Atlanta to Norfolk at like 40 minutes after I get there. It's pretty quick, you know. Like you land and you gotta like move. So, anyways, we get to the gate. It's all the people that were had picked that flight out of there to go to Atlanta because we were all delayed from the other flight. No one wants to wait until one. So it's 1050. We're making our way down the the the um to the to the plane at the gate, and they're like, hey, stop, stop, stop, and we're like, no, like we can't load the plane yet. We're just like, oh my gosh. And of course, everyone's like arms go up in the air, and everything. So we've all been up since like midnight trying to try and get to this to the airport. Well, I've been up for about 32 hours at this point, so I just didn't care. I was like, whatever. So we back out, and I'm like starting to like really think. I was like, maybe I should have just stayed with the one o'clock flight. Um, so now it's 11. Like, okay, you can now board. And like, oh thank god, we finally get in the air, but we were delayed, and I'm tracking my flights process. We land, my connection's already boarding, they're on zone four, and we still haven't even made it to the gate yet. And I am just like, Lord, please let this just be the fastest entrance into the gate. While I look, we were supposed to go to uh terminal C or terminal D in Atlanta, and I'm just like, Great, my gate's over at B. If you've been to Atlanta airport, you know you have to go down to the train station and make your way to the other terminal. It's it's the most busiest airport in the world. So we finally get to our gate, and I noticed that we are at terminal T, which is closer to gate B, which or terminal B. So I'm like, all right, cool. But man, I've never ran so fast in my life to make my connection. I'm at terminal T. We are they are in zone six loading out of eight, and I am like, of course, I'm in the back of the plane, but I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm hauling it down these terminals. Like, I skipped the train because it wasn't there, and I am running for my life. I threw my back out the night before, so I'm hunched over like the hunchback in Notre Dame, and I'm just like trying to make it. So my back's spasming, I'm trying to make it. Stuff's falling out of my backpack.

Finding The Bison And The Moment After

SPEAKER_02 26:10

I hear stuff hitting the floor, and I'm like, what the heck can I hear? Sir, sir, sir. And I look back, I'm like, what? They're like your iPad. I'm like, I need that. And then, of course, somebody's like, sir, sir, sir. I'm like, what? She's like, You dropped your sticker. I was like, I don't care about a sticker, it's a sticker. I'm leaving. But then I'm trying to throw my my pack around because I also have my Euro in another bag, and I'm just like, I look like a gear bomb running through the airport. I'm trying to dodge people, I'm trying to make sure people aren't jumping in front of me where I tackle them. Like, I'm just trying to avoid all that. I'm screaming like a banshee, move, move, move, move to people, and then running through the airport. Like, people were just looking at me like I was an eight, but I didn't care. Like, I had to make this connection. Finally, make it to the gate. They're loading zone eight, and there is a massive line in front of me. And I'm like, Okay, cool. I would have made it anyways by walking. I'm sitting there, I am like bent over, hands on knees, trying to breathe. I'm like, this sucks. And this dude looks at me, he's like, You've been running or something? I'm like, I just stare at him like, no, not at all. I'm having a heart attack, sir. Yeah, I've been running. I'm trying to make my connection, I just landed. So I was a little pissed off, but hop on the plane, get seated, get situated. I'm checking my bags, uh making sure that they they're getting onto my connection. So finally check the uh the baggage, and it says it's loaded on the plane that I'm on, and I am just like okay, I can breathe. Made it. We start backing out next thing. Uh we're gonna have to re-entrance to the gate. And I'm just like, you have got to be kidding me. This was like the worst experience I've ever had. So we go into the gate, they keep us on the plane, and they're like, sorry, folks, we forgot to refuel. I'm like, how do you forget? How do you yeah, how do you forget that? Like, I'm like, who's getting fired for this? So they they topped off the plane, and uh like, all right, folks, we're actually gonna be ahead of schedule, we're gonna haul ass. I was like, I've never heard a pilot say haul ass over the uh interview.

SPEAKER_00 28:30

Could you real quick could you imagine how pissed would you have been if you were in the air and they'd have been like, oh wait, we forgot to refuel.

SPEAKER_02 28:40

When they have to turn around, I would be like, This is my life right now. Like, you've got to be kidding me. But yeah, so we we make it ahead of schedule to Norfolk, and I'm like, awesome. Thinking that's the end. No, I go down to baggage claim. Here comes the here comes my my luggage. I grab the meat, I check it, still frozen. Some of it's a little unlike thawed out, but nothing too crazy. And I'm like, okay, cool. So I open it up and I repack it to where the ones that are thawed, I put them in the center, put the ones that are like completely brick, put them under the outside just to minimize any exposure. I'm still waiting on my bow. And I'm like, where's my bow? Because usually it just comes out with everything else. Baggage claim, nothing, nothing else comes out, and they take off the Atlanta one and put on Dallas, and I'm just like, okay, so I go to the baggage place where you guys, you know, for large baggage, my bow's not there. I'm just like, you have gotta be kidding me. Because I have the the arrow. So the arrow that I shot with that bison was in there. She broke off the the arrow somewhere, but I have right behind me about 10 inches of arrow still with the broadhead. That was the one thing in there that I really did want. Like I can replace a bow, but I can't replace that broadhead, you know. Like that is what that is what I want. I that is like my my extra trophy to this whole event. So I'm standing there, I'm checking where it is, and it said it was on the plane, but it was put into baggage claim. So I'm like, you know what? I'm gonna go look at the other baggage claim areas. My bow is on another conveyor belt, just going in circles. And I'm just like, how do you mess that up? But whatever. Grab my bow, make my way to my truck. I hop in my truck, I turn it on, roll the windows down, and just sit there and just made it. Get home, unload everything, kids are running around like crazy. I honestly was over the moon that I was finally home, got everything in the freezer, meat's still good. But man, that was the longest trip at the airport I've ever spent. I'm I'm done flying for a little bit because of that. But yeah, that was that was the story, man. Um extremely thankful for the opportunity that I had. Um, and for my boys to see some of the experience that I go through, just uh through video and everything. And of course, they they love looking at the bison skull, and it's it's so cool for them to see all this stuff. Um, so I got the cape, it's getting it's gonna be and made into a rug. Um, so I'm excited about that. And then of course I still have my my stag and my uh dad, they're getting mounted, so waiting on those, but that's gonna be a while from now. But yeah, everything's done, everything's good. I had a heck of an experience, and man, I cannot wait to go do that again with with the team. I think that's gonna be extremely fun. I can't wait till November.

SPEAKER_00 32:07

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I I think definitely, like if you look at it, you had a way harder time getting home than you actually did hunting this animal. Dude, within four hours. And it was crazy, like you get there, whatever, and then I think you literally texted, like, all right, I'm gonna hunt, and then like right after that, it was like bison down, and I was like, Yeah, like what and and for everyone who's listening, like I'm pretty sure we're like you it's like 22,000 acres

Quartering The Animal And Meat Processing

SPEAKER_00 32:40

or or something like that. So, like, not a not a small plate, like this was a very big, and it was just very fortunate enough that you guys were able to just get on this this animal just right away. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:53

So we like walk in. I immediately start glassing, and bam, there they are. And I was like, and even Jeff was kind of like, Well, I'll be damned, like it was kind of like I did not expect that. And literally, like, as soon as boots were on the ground, it was the bison was down, it felt like, but yeah, man, that was that was funny. I remember that. Yeah, I texted you guys, and I was like, bison down it in caps, and then you just I just got the LFG from you, and I was like, Oh man, and then uh yeah, you're like, Call me when you can, man. I gotta hear this.

SPEAKER_00 33:28

Yeah, that was that was amazing. Crazy. Now, uh a few things that just piqued my my curiosity and everything like that. So an animal that first of all, one 61-yard shot. Like, I don't know how comfortable you usually are shooting, you know, at further distances, especially you know, where you are and everything like that. I know um an animal that size, it definitely has brings up the uh you know, the your chances or you know, your wow Jesus Christ, it's late at night, and I'm I'm specifically thinking. Um gosh, oh my god, guys. Sorry, it it is late. I'm I'm I'm I'm ready for bed. We're we're doing this one late and I cannot even think right now. Um I don't I can't even think about what I'm freaking trying to say right now.

SPEAKER_02 34:20

Um that size, yeah, it was it was difficult to confidence, confidence.

SPEAKER_00 34:26

You have high you have a higher confidence you know at shooting something. It's not like it's a deer or or something like that where your target's you know super small, like you said, his heart was like it the size of a soccer ball. Um but though hitting that shoulder, it I would imagine it's gotta be like you don't want to hit that shoulder just like you don't want to hit a bear shoulder or or or something like that as well. So that plays into an effect as as well.

SPEAKER_02 34:54

Yeah, so the thing about bisons as well, they're they have meat on that front of that shoulder, and then behind it, there's a tender one as well. So, like that's just more muscle that you gotta chew through once you get past that shoulder. So I did aim at that shoulder, just a little past it. Uh so the thing is about their lungs, they go up and then then back. They're not like a deer where they just go completely across the body, so they go up and then back. Um, so I know I had a bigger target to shoot. Um, I was pretty confident with shooting at that distance. Yeah, I mean, I I've shot 60 yards multiple times just at targets and then even at some deer. Um, but yeah, I I also practice at 80 yards more than I do 20 yards, so I think that helped a lot as well.

SPEAKER_00 35:45

So yeah, yeah, that was I don't yeah, I don't I don't really shoot at 20 either. Uh I'll do it like to to finish my like when I'm getting ready to, you know, probably in the next like month, I'll probably really start in in June, start really shooting as consistent as usually, and it's usually all between 60, 70, 80. I'll probably even take some pokes at 90 and 100. And but I close out my session usually at like 20 just to get a good shot. Because I know usually most of my shots are gonna be at at 20 or something like that. But it is, yeah, I I like that whole whole aspect. And you know, I imagine like so that the scenery for for you guys and and stuff like that, bison usually like plains and you know, not too much thick wooded areas and stuff like that. So you didn't have to really worry about you know branches and twig in the little things that most bow hunters usually have to worry about. The only thing that you you had to worry about at

Frozen Meat Flight Stress Begins

SPEAKER_00 36:40

60 you know one yards was the crosswinds.

SPEAKER_02 36:43

Yeah, so the other thing that he had out there, he had like random blinds and stuff, and he also had um some like stands as well. So like those were out there at random places, so you're like, Oh, there's one right there. Um, and in the video, you can see that there's one directly in front of us as well. Um, so it looked like one that you can literally have like 10 people in, it was huge. Um, but it's like yeah, that's it, and of course, he has like a lot of deer on that area, so it's like he brings in a lot of revenue at that guy at that place through deer hunting. But the other thing that worked out great was is that Jeff was able to now work with uh Boulder T Ranch. The owner's name is Troy, and he has an in there now, and he's gonna help guide, so it brings it brings more into Jeff as well, our outfitter at 4B outfitter. So, like that was a great thing as well. So, but yeah, they were great people. I would love to go back there just to even hang out, like just talking with them all overnight. Like, that was we didn't go to bed till like shoot three or four in the morning.

SPEAKER_00 37:54

Well, yeah, you're uh after after you killed the the bice, and you're on pure vacation mode.

SPEAKER_02 38:00

Oh, yeah, dude. We were drinking a lot of beer getting that animal cleaned up, but what was the did did you guys get a weight on it? So it was 1100 pounds, um, and we got 450 something just under 460 pounds of meat.

SPEAKER_00 38:18

I wonder if that's a you know a lot of fat on that that animal and stuff like that. And you know, the crazy thing is I wonder what it looks like, you know, what they look like actually in the winter, you know, especially in their in their native, like, you know, native land and and everything like that. I think uh I talked to uh um one of the guys, and I think he shot his out in uh Colorado where they're actually I think from and everything like that. I I imagine like it's like bear, like you know, you know, I imagine you shoot one in in November, December, the amount of fat that that's on it is probably like doubled compared to oh yeah, you know, one at this this time of the year.

SPEAKER_02 39:02

Yeah, and still the the fact of just walking up on that size of an animal, like yes, a stag is huge, elk is huge, but there's just something about bison where they're just like wide, and they're they're just a huge animal, and you're just like, oh my gosh, and that thing getting get when they brought their tractor down to to load it up, man. That thing that sucked. We were rolling it, trying to get it into this bucket, and then finally we we got a good grip on it and moved the leg out of the way and and rolled it in, dude. You can see the tractor tipping forward, so they had to lower it down and bring it in closer to the the actual base of the uh machine to keep it from tipping, and man, it was just like that's a big animal.

SPEAKER_00 39:56

I was like, God, that's absolutely insane. That is yeah, that's I couldn't imagine it. And that one, like, I don't know what their their average size is, but you know, obviously female, and that was a huge female that that you shot and everything like that, which is the tag that you you have, like it's yeah, crazy you think like yet again they they still get bigger. And I had no I was I was talking to the other Zach, and even when when when you shot it and and sent the picture, I was like, I had no idea that the the females had had uh horns.

SPEAKER_02 40:32

Yeah, yeah. Um I didn't either. Um I got out there and I was like doing my research and everything, and I was like, oh interesting. Um because like honestly, I I would prefer cow over a bowl right

Delays Reroutes And Keeping Calm

SPEAKER_02 40:50

now, just because of the testosterone is running through the meat. And it's all about obviously, it's all about how you prepare the meat, um, how the animal dies and how everything tastes afterwards. Um, for her to have run 2,000 meters, I'm sure if she she only ran 100 meters, the meat would have tasted completely different from that moment to where she ended up expiring.

SPEAKER_00 41:15

Um, but yeah, I can I can only imagine how is it when is their mating season?

SPEAKER_02 41:23

I don't know. Um, I think it's usually around I think it's this time of year. Um definitely gonna look into that, but I think it's around this time of year. Um yeah, because I know there's cows are like not too long ago, so I wonder if it's like in the same ballpark as them. But something I'm definitely gonna research after this. Or well, yeah, man, that was the story. I know I enjoyed every moment of it.

SPEAKER_00 41:54

Yeah, no, it's it was it was a blast just for for us to you know get all the updates and you know see the the pictures, the video, you know, all the footage and everything like that, and just be long for the for the ride basic essentially. Um, you know, definitely seems like a crazy awesome experience, you know. Yeah, it's it's one of those things too, it's like it happens so quickly. Oh I mean it's like it literally feels like you know, you're doing all this preparing, and you know what people don't know before too is like you screwed up your your shoulder right before you went out.

SPEAKER_02 42:38

Yeah, dislocated it and popped back it, dude. I got one of those I have like those bands and stuff. I was sitting there like just like therapy after therapy session for myself and heating pads, TEMS unit. I was like, this sucks. I think I sent you all the videos like, well, this isn't good of uh my Thames unit just going nuts on my shoulder. But yeah, that sucked. Literally, I shoot, it was like five days before I dislocated it, and I was like, This sucks. So yeah, ripping back that new bow that I got yesterday. That that didn't feel too good on it.

SPEAKER_00 43:16

So no, I can't I can only imagine. Yeah, I can only only imagine. Um but yeah, I mean listen, a phenomenal, phenomenal story, and you know, ends the the chapter of for you, um the hard work. Um, you know, shout out to 4B, shout out to Kool-Aid Arrows, shout out to Sever, Broadheads, like everything there. Shout out to Ossio, um everything that you know that we're able to do and everything like that. Um big shout out.

SPEAKER_02 43:55

Yeah, for real. I appreciate you guys without you without those.

SPEAKER_00 44:00

products man and without those guys supporting us I I don't know if this would have been possible seriously thank you yeah so it it was it was yeah and listen this is I've been preaching about these arrows and and these broadheads for and now you know it it it's it's funny you know I've been I've been preaching about the the arrows for the last couple years now personally been been using them for a while but you know I I'll I'll still never forget when I had no idea what the hell sever was and I picked them up at the at the show and then it's been uh it's been history ever since and listen all the guys are like oh yeah you need

Sprinting Atlanta And Baggage Confusion

SPEAKER_00 44:40

fixed and you need to shoot fixed and yada yada yada well I don't know but it is nice having the the hybrid option like I you know yeah it is which which is what we all use you know I think all of us use the the hybrid option and best of both worlds but you know at the end of the day like I think those those mechanicals the expandables they matter a a big part in you know yeah what we do yeah and when I when I got uh got that broadhead out of course the the expandables they were bent up but that's because it was inside that animal and she was running through some some brush and it was just eating away and everything um but yeah sever broadheads is like that was like a huge game changer um I don't know what I was because like remember last year I was having issues with my arrows going everywhere and then when I talked to you guys I was like guys I don't know what's going on like I'm shooting at stuff and it they are just going everywhere and then finally I did some practice runs with sever and I compared them to other broadheads I'm not gonna say the companies um but man I was way more accurate with with sever I'm not saying that just because we we were partners with them but man they are they were I was like dude they're known for being extremely accurate yeah like why did I not switch to these sooner because you were preaching them last year I've been I've been preaching I've been running them for I think seven or eight years now I think the first year beyond and maybe maybe the second year so maybe probably like seven years. Yeah been been preaching them for a while yeah great broadheads but yeah man that's that's it that's the story and we're like you said close the chapter and we're just on to the next yeah yeah no and turkeys turkeys is is right there so um so close so close but um real quick before we we wrap up why don't you grab the skull and show everyone with skull oh yeah let me get up real quick all right just so you guys can see how big this is it's up against my torso right now but yeah this thing is an absolute unit of of an animal and what's really cool about this is when they have to um euro these and boil them right the horns they heat them up and they can take them off oh wow okay cool cool yeah so I found that out with the aw dad and they just slip right back on and they they're they're on there pretty good but you could also do like a pilot hole in the back um and drill them on but honestly you don't need to but yeah this thing as you can see the size of it I got junior whopper hands um but yeah they this thing is huge um I'm just trying to find a spot to where to put it right now

Home Again Gratitude And What’s Next

SPEAKER_00 47:50

my my my kids are all like I could put my whole hand inside of its nostrils like it's that's how big these things are and I don't people I don't know why people think that they could just go up to these in in national parks and be like oh let me pet them they look so gentle this thing will kill you folks come on don't be stupid um but yeah and then this is the broadhead this is I put it in a shadow box just because it's something that's really special to me um but yeah like I was ecstatic about getting this back that was like my prize getting the the skull is cool but having knowing that something this big took down an animal that was 1100 pounds that just blows my mind every time it's like how is that possible so and yeah I I know a bullet can do the same thing that's traveling that's yeah that that is so much cooler so much cooler yeah so so all right Mel boys everyone what an episode and what

Skull Broadhead Keepsake And Wrap

SPEAKER_00 49:10

a story yeah I appreciate y'all listening for real gosh I'm just looking at it like I'm just still amazed that that's that happened but yeah man I I believe it I listen I 100% understand that you know um and yeah you know hopefully and more more success to to come with turkey season oh I think it's gonna happen I know Frank's gonna get one down he's obsessed I hope so i he you know yeah i mean squatch squatch stole one from him not that stole one but squash got yeah yeah squatch got one down last year you know um so looking forward to to see who gets who gets one next year but yeah all right it is definitely my bedtime yeah same man I'm exhausted I got work in the morning so everyone we hope you guys enjoyed this episode yeah thank you guys for listening we'll see you guys next time