One Hell Of A Life Outdoor Podcast
The One Hell Of A Life Outdoor Podcast hosted by father-son duo Tony Vogel and Tristan Vogel, Owners of One Hell Of A Life Outdoors . Our passion lies in bringing every hunter the REALITY of what it REALLY takes to hunt their target animal while equipping them with the knowledge to be a successful hunter and promoting the lost "old school values" that laid the foundation for the sport we love so much today.
One Hell Of A Life Outdoor Podcast
The Story Behind The Migration Waterfowl Podcast | Brian Halbleib
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We sit down with Brian Halbleib of Migration Waterfowl to talk about building a weekly hunting podcast, staying honest when sponsors and gear enter the picture, and why documenting your seasons becomes its own kind of legacy. We also swap real-world tactics from Pennsylvania duck hunting to Central Flyway teal trips, then nerd out on the gear that makes hunting and content creation easier.
• starting Migration Waterfowl as a way to learn faster and tell better stories
• the weekly podcast grind, booking guests, keeping conversations moving
• why authenticity matters when you record something “forever” on the internet
• simple studio upgrades that improve audio and video quality
• choosing sponsored products you would trust in the marsh
• breathable waders, layering, and comfort across early and late seasons
• Kansas and Nebraska early teal travel to extend duck season opportunities
• Pennsylvania waterfowl patterns, rivers, divers, and late-season black ducks
• retrieval ethics and not taking shots you cannot recover
• using outdoor media as a creative outlet alongside a law enforcement career
• turkey hunting success, access, and why challenge changes motivation
• nonresident pressure, habitat work, and building an Ohio whitetail system
• mobile stand versus saddle setups, plus safety harness reality with age
• must-have gear picks like spinners and rangefinders
• Gear Roost modular storage as a solution for wet waders and heavy gear
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I've been helping, I've been helping, I've been on a bit after.
Meet Brian And Migration Waterfowl
SPEAKER_03What's up, guys? Tristan and Tony are back with another episode of the One Hove Life Outdoor Podcast. Today we got Brian Hallby on, and he is from Pennsylvania. He's the owner of Migration Waterfowl. Um, you guys have probably seen his podcast or seen um his brand around social media. Um, he's also affiliated with Frog Togs, and that's kind of how we connected.
SPEAKER_01That's right.
SPEAKER_03But uh, Brian, man, thank you for taking the time to um hop on our podcast tonight and uh just tell everybody, you know, a little bit about where you're from and what's Migration Waterfowl.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I appreciate you inviting me on. This is a real pleasure. Um, my name's Brian Hallblai, like you mentioned. I'm from southwest Pennsylvania. Uh I run a little podcast called the Migration Waterfowl Podcast. Got a YouTube channel, uh, social media is the whole bit. Uh just became totally ate up with waterfowl uh after my friends introduced it to me in my 30s. I kind of started out deer hunting and um small game hunting with my dad. My dad wasn't a waterfowl hunter, and uh just kind of got hooked on it. And once my daughters uh were old enough to move on to college and I had a little more free time, uh, I wanted to kind of selfishly start a podcast to improve my skills as a waterfowl hunter and and tell my story.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's that's a good point. And I mean, I'm sure through kind of we feel the same way, like through your podcast, you probably pick up all kinds of tidbits that you know, just talking to different people how they do things. Yeah, absolutely. It's uh dude, uh our podcast benefits.
SPEAKER_01It's been my my biggest Wikipedia for sure.
SPEAKER_03No doubt, no doubt. What um how long have you got or how long have you been doing migration uh waterfowl and when did the podcast come around?
SPEAKER_02So I started the podcast in like April of 2024. Okay. So it's been just over two years. I've got 110-ish episodes.
SPEAKER_04Oh, nice.
SPEAKER_02And a bunch of videos on YouTube over the last couple seasons.
SPEAKER_03So how uh how often do you try to do the podcast?
SPEAKER_02I've consistently done one every week since then. So yeah, I've um I've come close, I've come close to not getting one out, but somehow I've managed.
SPEAKER_03I totally respect that grind because we we try to do the same thing, and unfortunately, I'll I'll be honest, we haven't quite lived up to that.
SPEAKER_01We've done you'll be, I think I think we're at a pretty good uh uh a completion rate. I mean, if you if we were a business like corporate being scale, like like judged, I think that I mean we're on a probably about what a 93.
SPEAKER_03Well, we're at episode 186, and we just had our four-year anniversary, so I guess I guess technically we should be at like two 200, 208, but we've been we've been trying to. I know the whole point being is I respect the grind that you've been able to do because I know it's it's a grind, man. Even though it's it's fun, it's just the editing, right?
SPEAKER_01Well, it's not just you, right? You gotta get a guest. I mean, every week, right? Yeah, or at least have something entertaining and that people want to listen to or talk about, you know. For sure.
SPEAKER_03You know, I don't think this might be the first time we've had somebody on that's also in the podcast realm, like we are outside of like um, which I know you've had Billy from Dr. Duck on too. Um outside of him, like, what would you say? You know, this is me getting to interview a podcaster, which is kind of cool.
The Weekly Podcast Grind
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_03What what would you say, like is um, you know, speaking of that like grind, like what you know, people think, oh man, let's just start a podcast. That sounds cool. Like, what are one of those things that was like a challenge for you where you're like, man, this is like hard to figure out?
SPEAKER_02Man, there's so many, and it's funny because you you you hit the nail on the head. How many people do we talk to? And they're like, Yeah, I'm thinking about starting a podcast. And it's like, okay, talk to me after you record a hundred of them. And have you ever bailed hay? Yeah. Yeah. Um, no, fortunately, I was involved, I was a co-host on a Deer Habitat podcast for about for about six years prior to branching off and starting my own waterfowl bit. So I had a a really short learning curve with migration waterfowl, thankfully.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, I guess so. Shoot, that's yeah. You kind of had a lot of time to work out any of the kinks and learn about the the different gear and you know, whatever it might be.
SPEAKER_01Um, yeah. I I always this, I've been well, I talk to people that do podcasts, and I and I've actually like we we've joked around with some other folks like offline about this, but um, and I'm not trying to throw any shade at anybody, but isn't it like one of the most difficult things about being a podcaster is that where you get this guest on and then you're like yeah, it's just hard, hard to keep combo going. You're like, so uh tell us about how you got in hunting. Well, you know, when I was little, I liked it. Yeah, pulling words out of them is that. Then they just stare at you, you know. You're like, and dude, I'm not throwing any shade on anybody, but it's it's truly let's let's let's uh take a step back for just a second. We are media hosts, right? And in many ways, we're no different than uh a newscaster, we're no different than a singer, an artist, anybody like that. You know, we are here to perform, and you know, not only do we care about making it, and I say we, I'm saying all of us here on this podcast, in anybody podcasting, you care about it being something that people want to listen to, somebody that people want to watch, that you're that your content is good, you know, all these things come from a very selfless standpoint, you know. Some of them are selfish, but you know, I think that a good podcaster doesn't think they know it all, right? They they're trying to learn, and and we we've talked about that, and and that in itself can be a challenge, yeah. Yeah, just in itself, yeah, for sure.
Why Truth Beats Hype
SPEAKER_02And um, man, you gotta be an honest person and be yourself because yeah, I've I've seen some guys get on podcasts and you know, maybe bend the truth a little bit, and uh that that stuff doesn't last very long, you're you're gonna get found out very quickly. So that that would be one of my pieces of advice for anybody thinking about doing this. This stuff, when you record it and put it out there on the internet, it's like anything else, it's there forever. Yes, so just be just be yourself and be truthful. Well, yeah, that's a good point.
SPEAKER_01And let's think of this from a selfish standpoint. If the goal is to have that one, right, that hits that you know, ultimately you're doing this to to grow a business, right? And you get that one that hits, and you want to have a great representation of whatever you're promoting, um you you are kind of on um what's the right um word I'm looking for? You're you you are on a microscope, so to speak. You know what I mean? And and yeah, I mean, do we think that we're anything special? No, we don't. Do we hope to be something special? Yeah, we do. All right, we all do, right? But when and everybody has that time that it happens, you know, and that's why we do this. We're chasing that dream, being in the industry, doing these things, helping promote the sport, saving land, do all these things that are such a great part of what we do. Um, from a selfless standpoint, we all want to be successful.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you
Mics Cameras And Lighting That Work
SPEAKER_03know. Um, Brian, you know, I wanted to kind of get back on the uh like technical side of stuff and also like some of the stuff that you've learned from the setup, which maybe sorry for anybody listening to this that finds this boring, but I just genuinely find this interesting because we're trying, we're trying to evolve our studio and stuff over time. What walk me through um like what you got what you're running when it comes to like your mic setup and like well, actually, I guess my bigger question would be like the camera setup because the preface, like what we're running, we're just running off my Mac laptop and you know, got the podcast running through this through our soundboard and all that, which is okay, but like ideally we'd like to have like a permanent camera setup. Cameras. I don't really know like the best way to set that up.
SPEAKER_02I don't know if you're doing that or yeah, so uh obviously audio is probably the most important thing to me. So I've I've I've been through a couple of microphones. This um I'm not even sure how to pronounce it. It's S-H-U-R-E. I don't know if it's sure or Sure. This has been the best audio microphone, and it's not super expensive. I think it was a couple hundred bucks. I didn't have to dump a ton of money into it. Yeah, yeah. Yep, they've got a couple of different models. Ike.
SPEAKER_01Sorry, sorry, Ike place dog kept looking at my dog, she placed, look at it. No worries. Good, good girl. She just turned a year old. Hey, I forgot the moment. Hold on, hold on, hold on. Ike just turned a year old yesterday. No, okay.
SPEAKER_03Uh sorry, go ahead, Brian.
SPEAKER_02No, you're good. Um, yeah, and and as far as the mic as far as the camera goes, I used to run a separate camera, but I recently upgraded my laptop and I'm running a Mac as well. And this this camera on here is phenomenal because it's a it's a newer uh version of the MacBook. Okay. And um, I've got studio lights. Um I'll send you the link to these. They're only like 50 bucks. Like these. Wow. I don't know if you can see the I mean they're they're like really professional looking. Wow, yeah, those are I've got one on each side um and an overhead light just in the room, but it makes a huge difference, uh, especially if you're doing high definition um reels and things like that. Makes makes a a big difference for people like scrolling and seeing something that looks a little more professional.
SPEAKER_01Sure. Well, and you also have just about I don't know, you got a lot of things in that. And as we're sitting here talking, I'm looking at your background. There's a lot of things in there I like. I appreciate that. Especially like the wood woodsmanship. I mean, just the casing and all that stuff in there and that room looks super cool.
SPEAKER_03How uh
Trusting Shotguns And Sponsored Gear
SPEAKER_03thank you. How do you like shooting that retail?
SPEAKER_02Love it, man. Uh I started partnering with them uh the beginning of last season. They sent me a 20-gauge and a 12-gauge Ace R. Uh, they're basically Benelli clones, but they're really high-end clones. Uh haven't had a single click, haven't had a single jam.
SPEAKER_01Now is the coal spring in the stock? Uh yes. Okay. All right. I'm just trying to understand it like when you said Benelli. I'm just trying to understand understand how that gun's made.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's it's set up the same way as the Benelli.
SPEAKER_01Okay. But um inertia driven.
SPEAKER_02I'm not your typical waterfowler. I'm not anal about cleaning my guns, but I I will clean them after every couple of hunts, two, three hunts. Not like a full cleaning, but I'll run a snake through them and keep them oiled and everything. And I've I did that before when I shot I've shot berettas my whole life up until I partnered with Retay, but I really truly love the shotgun.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's awesome, man. You hear a lot of good stuff about them. I mean, they've I don't know, I mean, I don't know when they came on like the scene like as a company, but it just seems like they have really put a big foothold in the at least the waterfowl market in the last five years, you know.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Well they do a nice job. They've done a great job in marketing too. And I mean, and let's face it, I mean, uh Dennis and Billy over there, Doc Duck, they've done a great job of of they only promote products that are good products, you know, and so they've they've been they've been living in that for a few years.
SPEAKER_03That's you know, that's an interesting point you bring up too about like just being authentic on podcasts, like you were saying, Brian, like and promoting podcast or promoting products that are actually good that you know you believe in, you know, that's that's kind of hand in hand with that.
SPEAKER_02But as a waterfowler, and and and I laugh when people throw stuff out there on social media, like he only uses that because they're paying him to use that. Like, whatever. Do you do you want to go use garbage gear while you're duck hunting? Right. Because somebody's paying you to do like come on, right? You got to be smarter than that. And I'm sure it does happen, it may happen somewhere, but I'm certainly not gonna work with a company or use a product that's garbage when I'm out in the marsh in the central flyway, hundreds of miles away from everything. Who would do that?
SPEAKER_01Right, right. I mean, we're gonna be selfish about the gear that we want that's gonna perform, sure, right? I mean, and and most of us will will speak to it is just that alone is the most important thing, right? I mean, Tris and I we've you know, we're we we're all here uh as as as big supporters of frog talks, and one of our biggest things is just that I remember the first time, dude, that I was fishing with a buddy and he goes, dude, what do you got on? He goes, You're sweating your ass off. He goes, I've got this breathable jacket. And I'm like, What do you mean breathable? How can how can water repel off of it if it's breathable? He's like, I don't understand how the damn thing works. He goes, It just keeps me dry, you know? And uh and and that's when I started with frog talks. Yeah, it's simply that, you know, I think it might have been the off sport or something like that, you know, just their their basic thing you can go get from Walmart, you know. Absolutely.
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SPEAKER_01And look what what's transpired in today is just it's proven performance.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it's funny because like Frog Togs is one of those brands that can be easily recognized from a Walmart or from an academy and something as simple as just like that all-sport rain suit or whatever, because people are wearing it when they're out working or whatever it might be. But you know, it's for somebody that isn't familiar with like the outdoor industry, like the diversification of Frog Tog's products, like they have so many cool things going on right now. Oh man. Incredible.
SPEAKER_01I mean, and that's the thing, right? You I think you hit the nail on the head, Tristan, is that it's a it's a product line that you can grow with in what you're pursuing, you know, whatever you're doing. If if you just want a raincoat because you're a golfer, that's how they started. That's what you can do. You know, if you're just a a hiker and want a rain suit, and that's all you don't even hunt. You can do that.
SPEAKER_03There, you know, I mean they just partnered with um the Manning Passing Academy I saw for like the cool the uh cooleie towels and all that. Oh, nice. Yeah, and I'm like, just I mean, it's just cool. I think you know, it's like here we are wearing them in the in the camo and you know, hunting or whatever, and then they might be, you know, Peyton Manning might be using one.
SPEAKER_01The coolie towels are taking off. They must be because uh I was in Walmart the other day, and dude, they had them stacked right there next to Cooley towels. They're an academy. And the net gators, they had them, they had them stacked right there next to the um to the um uh the water foul, I mean the uh rain suits.
Breathable Waders And Layering Strategy
SPEAKER_03Brian, hunting up there in uh Pennsylvania, like speak kind of just speaking of like waders and stuff like that, like I one of the cool things we've always liked about the frog talks waders is like the fact that you can kinda with the breathable waders, you can either layer up and you know blow them or layer down, you know, and you're not just like stuck to that, you know, heavy neoprene. I mean, you've you've been waterfowl hunting longer than we did, or we have, you know. Was there a distinct time when you're like the first time you put on breathable waders and you were just like, oh my god, this is a lifesaver?
SPEAKER_02Oh 100%, man. Just the weight alone was like, wow, I don't have to walk around with the soaking wet heavy neoprene on anymore. Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, especially early teal season. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Well, even still today, I wear the um frog togs deep current fishing waders, they're just a lightweight pair for early teal season when I go out to the central flyway because I I'm a sweater, I get hot very easy, and those fishing waders work better for me for early season than anything else. So that's that's kind of my system.
SPEAKER_03Nice.
SPEAKER_01Tell us well, and I'm just saying, like again, the diversification of the products that they offer, it it's a great fit for the number one, it's an it's a great fit for the average person. Uh their price point is just spot on. I mean, kudos to those folks, Donnie and everybody else over there that's figuring that out because they've definitely got some good knowledge when it comes to it. And you know, um those those like for example, Tristan, like last year at Ducks, when we were like helping people out when they would come into the booth and say, Well, what about this waiter versus that waiter? That is the great thing about it, is that you didn't walk in and just go, There's some there's this waiter only. And and I'm not gonna throw shade at any other brand, but these guys like you want to talk about the waiter business. I I don't know anybody that's got that many different kinds of waiters, right? I mean, from fishing to hunting, I don't know of anybody else. I mean, uh, outside of some I'm not throwing shade at saying Chinese or Japanese, I'm just saying overseas stuff being made, you know. Yeah, for
Chasing Early Teal In The Central Flyway
SPEAKER_01sure.
SPEAKER_03I I'm interested, you you piqued my interest when you were talking about teal hunting in the central flyway. Uh, what does that look like? Where do you go?
SPEAKER_02So my two go-to states out there are Kansas and Nebraska. Okay. But officially, if anybody asks, and I've already said it on the podcast, so I'm screwed. So I I can't say Oklahoma. That's normally normally my go-to cover story, but everybody knows Kansas and Nebraska are fabulous for early teal season.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, well, you know, it's interesting. Like, I feel like a lot of the the you know social media like word about teal seasons like the coastal Texas and like Venice, Louisiana, and like, you know, areas like that. Sure.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you can have some good hunts there as well. But um, I was fortunate to uh like we talk about all the time, meeting people through this podcast being the greatest thing. Uh I was fortunate to meet some guys from the Central Flyway, and we don't have a teal season in Pennsylvania. I have to go over to Ohio to have a teal season. So I can't hunt ducks until second week of October. And I'm like, man, I've got to figure out a way to hunt ducks, and and nothing against geese. I I like to hunt geese too, but I'm a duck hunter at heart. And if I can start my duck hunting in September, I'm all about it. So I had I was fortunate to have some friends invite me out there, and uh I've been going every year since.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's actually kind of a perfect setup because like for us, you know, you start you have teal season in September, and then duck season doesn't roll around until the week before Thanksgiving, you know what I mean? So you have like such a big gap, and you know, having the setup you got, you can go teal hunt, and then the next month you're hunting ducks in your own state in October. Right. What uh that early part of the season, I mean, what's what's that like out
Pennsylvania Ducks By Season And Weather
SPEAKER_03there? Is it worth getting out there and hunting in Pennsylvania or is it tough?
SPEAKER_02Uh it definitely is better once the cold weather arrives in Pennsylvania, but there are plenty of resident ducks. Ducks around, uh, obviously lots of of wood ducks. But we've got a pretty good resident population of mallards as well. Uh I've got a depending on the year and and and the the water, I've got a local creek here, literally two minutes from my house that I've got permission on some private property on both sides of this little creek. And for whatever reason, the mallards pile in there. Uh even early on, they they seem to like it a lot. So uh, but that's pretty much our bread and butter early on is um wood ducks and mallards, and then as the weather gets colder, we'll have um occasionally some flocks of pentails come through, uh a few wigeon here and there. And uh man, you get on the rivers and they get loaded up with redheads, canvas back, bluebills. I shot a beautiful uh redhead the last day on a veteran hunt down on the Ohio River. Uh it was like January 25th, 28th, something like that. Wow. And uh lots of black ducks we get as well, as you can see behind me over my right shoulder here.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah, I was checking that out.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so it's it's not the greatest waterfowl hunting state in the country, but there's plenty here. If you want to work for them, you can have a really good season.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, that's cool. And I mean, sounds like there's still some good opportunities too. And like the the black duck thing, I mean, that's uh that's a big checklist for a lot of us.
A Late Season Black Duck Story
SPEAKER_03That's uh tell us a story about that black duck.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so like I said, as the weather gets colder, and the and I can remember when I shot this one here, um, we had had a bunch of mild winters back to back to back, and and we didn't see a lot of black ducks for a few seasons in a row. And then that that year that I shot this one, it had gotten so cold for so long, everything was froze except the Ohio River. Wow. And we've got this one walk-in spot. Uh, there's kind of like a back cove where the current of the river keeps some of the back cove open because the water's moving back in there. And uh historically we've we've killed black ducks there late season when it gets cold. And uh that day we had a few divers working. Uh, we shot a couple of redheads and shot a couple of mallards, and then it kind of slowed down for a while, and nothing was happening for about an hour. And uh my buddy was like, What do you think? I'm like, Well, we're already here, we're already cold. You know, there's no sense, you know, I don't have to go, but if you want to call it, we can call it. We got a couple of ducks, and uh just as I got that out of my mouth, he's like, Black ducks, black ducks, and uh in a real nice flock come in, perfect. And uh, you know, they're they're related to the mallards, so they're they're not quite as um acrobatic and call responsive as mallards, obviously, but they have a lot of traits like the mallards and they decoyed really nice. And I was able to shoot that beauty there and took it to the taxidermist.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's that's cool. It sounds I mean, I know that like modeled ducks, kind of the same boat as the black duck, it's just like a a variation, a subspecies of the mallard essentially. It's got some shared DNA there, but it's kind of interesting hunting them too, because they're not like you know, you're not gonna call them like a normal mallard, you know. They they it's just not what they do, like they're just you know, like one one note, like they don't, you know, sure, they don't act the same way.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. Yeah, I had a whole flock of them when I shot that redhead the end of this past season kind of taunting me. And uh I don't have a dog, I don't hunt with a dog. Um and it was really cold, and the spot that I walked into was too far to take a kayak. So I kind of had to pick my spots where I was shooting them, where I could walk out and retrieve them safely, hunting by myself in a frozen river. Um, and they were just on that edge of like, man, if they don't land the right way, if I shoot them there, I might not be able to retrieve them. And I don't ever want to put myself in a situation where I can't recover a duck that I shot. So I'm gonna I'm gonna get back after them next year. I'm gonna I'm gonna make sure I get a kayak down there, even if I have to chain one to a tree this summer. I like it.
Storytelling As The Real Motivation
SPEAKER_02I like it.
SPEAKER_01Um, Brian, let me ask you this like when it comes to like your podcast and everything you do with that, um, what's your been your like what's your what's your you know, I believe that everybody in everything they do has that driving force, right? That's something that's gonna make them get up when they don't want to get up. The do it when you don't want to do it, that kind of stuff. What's been your kind of like your driving force behind your podcast?
SPEAKER_02Man, I'd have to back that up quite a few years. Um, I've been doing different outdoor media since about all early 2000s, late 90s. I started freelance writing for a bunch of different magazines back then before the internet. I know it's hard to believe some listeners out there might not know that there was a time before the internet we had to read stuff on paper.
SPEAKER_01Bro, I remember those times. I've got stacks of magazines in here, bro.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so I just always enjoyed being a storyteller, and that's kind of what my motivation has been. I like to look back on my articles, look back on my podcast, look back on my YouTube videos. It's a great way to relive everything that you've done in the past. I mean, it's it's great to have those memories, but it's it's always been about kind of documenting my journey. And some people like it, some people don't. And I I've never done anything for likes or to try to make money off of it. Obviously, we all want to do that. We want it to be self-sufficient. I mean, it's expensive to buy ammo and guns. And if you can get some sponsors that believe in what you're doing and want to partner with you and pay you to represent their products, there's I there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, in my eyes. Some people think that there is. But um, yeah, so it's it's all about telling the story for me. And I try to be the best storyteller that I can be.
SPEAKER_03Man, that's that's cool, Brian. And I didn't really like, I mean, obviously, I wouldn't know just because first time really talking, but like outside the podcast we just did on your podcast shout out before this. But um, I would love to hear more just about that journey, kind of uh as you've done different things. I mean, that's interesting.
Law Enforcement And A Creative Outlet
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so I've been in law enforcement for about 30 years. Okay, thank you for your service. Yeah, thank you. Appreciate that. Yeah, I was uh I went into the Air Force and I I did the military police thing. I was a dog handler. For that too. Yeah, yeah, we got that in common. I appreciate your service too.
SPEAKER_01Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_02And um, yeah, it just was a calling of mine. Um, God was always leading me in that direction. I've always had a heart for service uh from the military, and then I've got out and became a police officer to serve my community that way. But I've always had a creative side too, as a storyteller, as a writer. Um, I don't know what what other adjective you can throw on there as like an artist side. Yeah, and there's not really much freedom in launch.
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SPEAKER_02So writing and telling these stories was kind of like my escape from the serious nature and uh some of the things that I've dealt with in law enforcement over my career to keep me mentally on the straight and narrow, not going down the wrong path, thinking too hard about bad things that I've seen over my career. So that's kept me balanced. Yeah, that's kept me balanced, and it's it's given me a creative outlet. And I've I've just always attached myself to that and kind of went through freelance writing. Actually, started my own magazine back in 2005, uh, published that for about four years, and then a publisher from Wisconsin bought that for me, and then we kind of moved into the digital age with forums and uh podcasts and and things like that. So kind of just naturally went with the flow and tried to stay current with the trend so I didn't get left in the dust.
SPEAKER_01Well, Brian, I love that you bring up the part about like that's I mean, me being, you know, we're same age, uh essentially, and you know I didn't realize it when we were doing it, you know, that I I was worried about more about like helping other people, like showing the reality of what we do and all these things, and and the byproduct of that is 110,000 percent being that you know we get to impact people and this this whole thing that we do is so freaking cool. I mean it it really is.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I uh hearing you talk about that creative outlet, like I can relate to that a lot. Like, I've always kind of like I don't know, like before we got into this stuff, I would just randomly, when it wasn't hunting season, decide I was gonna paint a dick picture of a duck, you know, and it's like why did I want to do that? I don't know, or like paint a picture of an arrowhead or whatever it might be. And then once I figured out like a camera, you know what I mean? Like, that's I totally relate. It's like when I make an edit of something cool, even if it flops, like I'm like, that was my art piece I created, you know. Sure.
SPEAKER_02So totally, and as long as you're doing it for that reason for yourself, you're obviously gonna have people that are gonna appreciate it and and come along for the journey. And I like I said before, I welcome that. And if it's not your cup of tea, that's cool too. It's everybody has uh different interests and things that catch their eye.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. No, and and Brian, and just to circle back on what I was saying, the fact that like us, and and I know that like Tristan's entering the age for sure, though he's starting to respect this. Is that like the most valuable thing to me, if I'm being selfish, is I can't tell you how many times it drives these guys crazy. Maybe they'll they'll realize it someday, but man, I will get on our YouTube and put that thing on on a playlist, you know, and and put it on random. And I number one, and I'm not trying to toot our own horn here, but it has taken a lot of hard work, is that you you look at those things and you the the biggest benefit is that it's there forever. Yeah, yeah, it's there forever, man. And you know, I just I think about like all the experiences I went through with with the the people that got me into hunting. And I remember that, you know, my stepdad when he brought uh the big old video camera out. We're gonna he's gonna film my mom, you know, all this. I'm just thinking with the VH, you had to put a big VHS tape in it, you know, and all this stuff. What we do now started with the passion of those people back then. And man, my mom could tell you right now that she would wish to God that she has a a tenth of what I've been able to be a part of, not counting what this younger generation, it's gonna be standardized normal life. I mean, it's just everything that you do from this point on, if you stay engaged in the outdoor industry and keep doing what you're doing, Tristan, while after we're gone, that is always there. It's always there, and that is just from a selfish standpoint, man, it makes it, it makes it really helps push the passion project, doesn't it? For sure. It's amazing.
SPEAKER_03Brian, you mentioned uh, you know, working are do you still work in law enforcement, or you said you're about retirement age? Three more years. Nice, man. Right on. Not that anybody's counting. I bet I bet along the way, have you met any uh because it's a common theme with like you mentioned it before, like leveling out like with uh you know, people that have served in the military, law enforcement, like just getting that like piece in the outdoors that kind of helps helps kind of level out some of that. Have you um met some good for like hunting buddies over the years just through law enforcement? And like you pulled somebody over and you're like, dude, I know you gotta listen. You're missing. I was talking about fellow people that you know you served with or whatever that you know, or maybe you got you got them into hunting. Is there any like stories like that over the years?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, a few. I mean, none of my closest friends are uh hunting buddies are are in law enforcement, and I think that was another way to balance that too. Like I remember them telling us at the police academy, you know, don't make this your entire life. It's good to have relationships with fellow law enforcement officers outside of work, but have friends that aren't in it too, so you can have a normal perspective on life and not just what you're seeing and and hearing from everybody else.
Turkey Hunts And What Challenge Means
SPEAKER_02But yeah, one story that stands out uh a good friend of mine who ended up going to the neighboring town to work, but he worked in our department for a while, and uh he's a country kid, uh, grew up deer hunting and things, and heard me talking about turkey hunting one day, and I was asking about turkeys, and we've got tons of them around here. And um I was like, Yeah, man, if you want to go turkey hunting some morning, we'll we'll make plans and go out. And so we went out and um I've got a really good spot where it's it's obviously not automatic because they're they're wild turkeys, but it's almost um every year it's just consistent there. And and I took them there and called these two birds in off the roost, and two beautiful toms came right in 20 yards, and I said, All right, I'm gonna count three. I'm gonna shoot the one on the left, you shoot the one on the right. Textbook, boom, got both the birds, and like to this day, this was probably like 15 years ago, to this day, when I run into him at coffee or something, when the two towns get together at the border and talk a little bit, he's like, This is the greatest turkey hunter that you'll ever know. He took me out one day, called these two big toms in. I'm like, Steve, it doesn't ever happen like that. Ever. You just happened to luck into the one day where the stars aligned and everything was perfect. That's awesome.
SPEAKER_01But didn't you? I mean, you you you probab if I know like from the short time I've spent with you, you love that more than than maybe they did. You know what I mean? A hundred percent. Yeah, yeah, that's that's incredible. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_03Are you uh so are you a big turkey hunter? Is that like you one beat a waterfowl?
SPEAKER_02Or man, you know, I hate to to talk about it like this because I get I get in a lot of arguments with my friends that are big turkey hunters. I don't know. I I think because where I'm at, it's when I moved here, it was really rural 30 years ago. Uh, we had more farms than than houses in this area. Well, now those farms are starting to turn into uh housing plans, like most places do. And we just have a ton of turkeys here, super blessed, not a lot of turkey hunters, and I don't want to say the turkeys around here are stupid, but I can tell the difference between the ones when I go up into the national forest up north on public land, they seem to be a lot more smarter. Yeah, and for whatever reason, I had had really good luck turkey hunting over my turkey hunting career, and it's never been a big challenge. And I I know that I don't want that to come off cocky, or it's just I've been probably deer hunting.
SPEAKER_01You know, deer hunting in one state's easier than another state. I mean, just let's face it.
SPEAKER_02And so for me, I never had that challenge. It came easy to me, and I shot every year I was shooting mature toms, and I'm like, I need a challenge. I need that's why I like chasing mature bucks. That's why I like trying to get ducks in Pennsylvania because it's very challenging. And I'm not saying that I haven't gotten my butt kicked turkey hunting. It I certainly have, but early on, it came so easy and lucky that it kind of like I love it when I'm doing it, but I don't think about it any other time of the year, if that makes sense to you. Yeah, not to take anything away from turkeys.
SPEAKER_03No, I mean I can kind of relate to that, not in the sense that I've had like success like that, but like in the terms of like I've killed a turkey and we try it every spring, the last few springs, anyway, like a little bit to go out, but like I could take it or leave it. Like if I get one, great. If not, I'm not like super disappointed because sure it's like it to me, it's it's definitely it's probably for me, it probably goes it. There was about five years where it was ducks before deer. Now I'm like coming back to where deer is the most important thing to me, but it's like deer ducks, maybe fishing turkeys if I had a rank.
SPEAKER_01Well, and and here let's let's let's kind of expand this a little bit. And what I mean by expanding it is that while you talk humbly about that, Brian, you know, people that have access to certain acreage or property or wherever they're at, right? There's gonna be those gems. There's there is always gonna be, and some people have done very good on social media and YouTube or the outdoor channel, sports channel, whatever you want to say. Uh uh making that look like you said.
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SPEAKER_01I mean, it's pretty doggone easy. There are some there are areas where hunting is way easier than it is a quarter of a mile away. You know what I mean? You know, I I've always said like, you know, when when when the numbers always come out about pentails, we always laugh because where we specifically hunt in that small area consider, I mean, compared to the rest of the United States or all of Arkansas, whatever, in that one little sector that we hunt, bro, you would swear that there was like what are these people doing that are researchers? Like, they have to be idiots because there are so many pintails here, right? Right. And and it's just lucky, right? I mean, it's just where they want to be, the right habitat, all that stuff. And and man, I think we're all we can all count our blessings when it comes to those opportunities that we've because I know Tristan and I definitely felt it strong when we moved from Illinois to trying to hunt deer in Florida. Yeah, you know, so yeah, yeah, you know, so a big difference.
SPEAKER_02For sure.
Nonresident Pressure And Habitat Work
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I I see a lot of this anti-non-resident stuff going on online nowadays, you know. They want to restrict, and I'm all for residents having preference over non residents. I don't want that to come off the wrong way. But it's like people don't understand, like I my friends in Kansas and Nebraska. I'm like, there's a reason why people are coming to your state to hunt because It's amazing to see that much waterfowl in a week. Right. We'll see more waterfowl in a week there than we will in an entire season back home. Right. So you have to kind of have a little bit of patience. I know you don't want us all flooding into your state and ruining things. And I'm like I said, I want the residents to have preference. But there's a reason for that. I have a I have a Ohio deer lease. I'm I'm 15 minutes from the Ohio border here in western Pennsylvania. Um we've got that place dialed in now. We've been working on the habitat. Uh shout out to my friend Al. He's he's amazing. He actually owns a food plot seed company called Vitalized Seed. And we do a lot of testing there. And we've got the place so dialed in. I mean, it's almost cheating to shoot mature bucks in Ohio there. But we put all the work in the front end. That's what I try to tell people. I'm like, if you go out and do this on public land, you're putting your work in the back end where we're as we're putting the work in the front end. And I still like to chase bucks on public land. I still go out and run and gun with my portable tree stand and all that. But it's also nice to have undisturbed white tails and have whether it's ducks, white tails, whatever game, undisturbed, unpressured, and you're watching them be white tails with no distractions. They're so relaxed, and you're like, wow, this is how deer are supposed to act. This is how deer are supposed to rut. This is how they are supposed. I wish everybody can experience that. Unfortunately, it's gotten very expensive. Uh, fortunately, my friend, the the property that I'm on, I call it a lease. Uh, he doesn't charge me to hunt there because I put so much work in there. But he's he's fortunate to have turned the family farm and bought some other pieces over the years. So we've got a 400-acre Mecca there. And that's one of the highlights of my year, just going down there and experience that from the end of October to through the beginning of November.
SPEAKER_03Oh man. Yeah, absolutely. That's and there's something to be said for you know, like that opposite of the experience. You know, I think people get like really there's like, and rightly so, like, there's this um pride that comes with hunting public land, but like you said it really well with the upfront work, and there's so many guys that get addicted to that, you know, the challenge of creating this habitat and getting the deer to do what you want it to do. And okay, there's a section of property that we're gonna, you know, whatever they call that when they half cut these trees and lay them over, or they do hedge cut, yep, hedge cut, yep, and create uh different bedding areas and food, create a buffer zone around the edges of your food plots. And my God, I mean, I don't know about Ohio, but I know depending on where you're at, having a successful food plot can be challenging because of different stuff you got to do to the ground. So, I mean, it's it's a whole different can of worms.
SPEAKER_02For sure.
SPEAKER_03What uh so when it comes to whitetail hunting, we haven't really dive dove into that from we talked about it a lot on your podcast with us, but I would love to talk about you know your white tail season. You know, you kind of asked us like what's what um you know what you guys do, and we'd say it's about 50-50. I mean, how much time you spend chasing white tails and would love to hear some stories.
Age Structure And Ohio Whitetail Success
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think recently the last couple years with the podcast and the traveling I do for waterfowl now, it's probably 75% waterfowl, 25% whitetails. And my my home, Pennsylvania whitetail hunting has kind of suffered the most. I I prioritize my Ohio hunting just because we've got so many mature bucks down there, and all the neighbors around us. I mean, we've got thousands of acres of neighbors that are all playing the same game that we're playing. And it's like I said, it's a special thing, and I it doesn't get lost on me. I'm very blessed to have that opportunity to see five, six, seven-year-old. I've we've harvested five, six, seven-year-old, eight-year-old bucks there, and to see them and to have that age structure spread out and to see them, like I said, acting like whitetails are supposed to act. Right. Uh, it's it's it's pretty special.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that is cool because I mean hunting public, like, even we we're doing the trip this year that we go and hunt Illinois for a week, but it's it's public land, it's good public land. So I mean you can have success and get into mature deer, but like I mean, the odds of shooting a five, six, seven-year-old deer or you know, or seeing one, you know, would be quite the feat just because you know, everyone's up there looking for for a big buck. And I mean, you can get a three and a half year old that's you know a puppin' young up there just because of genetics, you know. We um yeah, me and my dad, like the last or two times ago that we hunted up there, we shot two deer. I shot just a little basket eight-pointer, but it was like a hundred and sixty-five pounds field dress. He shot a like 150-inch split G2 12-pointer that was 185 pounds field dress. So we're like, those deer might be the same age. Like, I mean, maybe not.
SPEAKER_01Well, one might be a year older, but like it's no, we got a we got a picture of them, dude. They're like side by side hanging. Like, I could switch the racks out.
SPEAKER_03Like, I actually like the some of the front shoulder area of your by the way, the we figured it they were three and a half year old deer, but like but no, you you had the smaller rack, bully buck.
SPEAKER_01He he was the he was definitely the one that was going around trying to trying to trying to uh boss some people around, and he got the he got the old what's that? Yeah. No, dude, listen, there's something crazy about deer hunting, man.
Mobile Stands Saddles And Comfort
SPEAKER_03What uh you mentioned you mentioned that uh tree stand setup. That's and you like a mobile kind of setup. Like that's one thing that I've been looking into, like with uh lone wolf custom gear or whatever. My buddy's really big on them. Like, I'm really sick of running these heavy hang-ons, you know. Do you do you run like a uh light? Is it a saddle or is it like a light hang-on? What is it?
SPEAKER_02So I got both. Yeah, I'm I'm nuts. I I have a lone wolf uh 1.0. Okay. Um, I I like the full length sticks because I'm 6'1 and I can get a lot higher on the full length sticks, but I also have a uh tethered uh saddle as well. I mean, I'm ready for everything. You know, us waterfowl guys are gear crazy. I was just the same way as a deer hunter.
SPEAKER_03What uh do you like the saddle setup more? Do you do you like the more traditional?
SPEAKER_02I like the portable stands better. Yeah, I'm too I'm too fidgety in the saddle, I move too much.
SPEAKER_03That's kind of like why I'm leaning that way too, because I just I don't I'm at my ripe age of 29 years old, like there's like things that I already kind of like and feel set in my ways on, and just being in a normal tree stand seems like that kind of thing. It feels right, yeah. And if I could get one that's like nine pounds instead of 25-30 pounds, that sounds like a good deal to me.
SPEAKER_01Well, how do you think it feels at 54, bro? I mean, I mean, my goodness, dude. We got I mean, nothing against game winner, but boy, game winner will wear your ass out. They're great for the yeah, they are. They are they're great for the money. They are, but but it's really kind of like the fact that we're going back to Illinois and we're gonna be tracking. We know the steps we're gonna put in. We know the work that we're gonna put in. It's just one of those things where we're like, what's the like you almost I don't want to say this the wrong way. You can't put a price on a good product. Yeah, you know what I mean? A good for sure.
Safety Harnesses And Getting Older
SPEAKER_01And I will say this just coming from and and you actually, Brian, you might even agree with me, is that the hardest thing I had to accept as a bow hunter in my life was a safety harness. Fine crazy enough, and that is because I grew up all my life hunting a deer stand without it. Sure. You know, and it's even taken him just like because he's concerned about his dad, right? You know, he's like dad, you're you're s you're shimmying up that tree, you know, and you don't have anything to tether you.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I use those lifelines. Yeah, I do play games.
SPEAKER_01And I do my I have to, I I if I'm being like honest, I have to accept the fact that I'm 54, right? I used to be able to literally, I look like a spider monkey in a tree. I mean, I could just jump from anything. I mean, literally, I mean, dude, I had no like I felt like an like a circus athlete up there. But now I don't. And and if I'm being straight up honest, and I don't even know if I told Tristan this this year, but one thing that happened to me this year, and I had to kind of accept it, was that there was times when I was above you filming that I was nervous on the height.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I've never, and I'm just admitting weakness live. I mean, honestly, because I've never been through that. I could just whatever. I'm not scared of anything, you know, and so lately that's been a bigger concern of mine, and I would love for us to get in some more lighter weight equipment. Something I feel like no doubt about it. I'm safe. I don't feel unsafe. I just know I don't know if it's my body, I'm just not as in tune with my balance as I once was. But there was times I got up on that deer stand, and I always like a lot of times, I'll take my bow too, just in case, like he can't get a shot on a deer, and I'm filming, but I could, you know, that kind of stuff. Right. And there's been times where man, I I felt super nervous about it, and this is just transpired in the last year, and I'm just like, I guess it's just me knowing my body and just knowing that I can't trust it as much as I used to, you
Must Have Gear And Bow Sights
SPEAKER_01know.
SPEAKER_03So you know, you were mentioning, Brian, um just being a like waterfowl guy, like being a gear head. What uh I this kind of a two two-pronged thing. I want to get into the gear that you make. Um, I'm assuming you make them like the shelving and stuff like that, the migration waterfowl products. Um, I saw if not if not, I want to get into that on the website. But also, um, what's a piece of gear that you feel like you can't live without? Like that's the game changer, and whether it's duck hunting or deer hunting.
SPEAKER_02Waterfowl hunting, probably the most thing that I use most often is a spinner.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02I don't think I could ever go without that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um, on the deer side, range finder. Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's a huge tool. That's a huge tool. And and luckily we have these tools, right? Um what since we're talking about products, I still have, and this could be me being an older guy and just set in my ways. Like you were talking about Tristan earlier about getting set in your ways sometimes. Um I want to know like facts and like stuff behind the dialing your pen up stuff, versus having set pens because I don't know. I just feel like it's just me, it's a perception, I'm just speaking out loud, that there's a lot to do. And if you've got a food plot where that deer is out there comfortable and taking its time, yeah, bro, you can do that. Okay. But on the flip side, on the positive side of it, I will say this I see people elk hunting, right? Yeah, and it's like, how far is it? But you hear the cameraman that we're talking, there's like and they do it and and make the shot, right? Is are ha have people been taken on by marketing? Or is it truly better? You know, I that's where I still stand with this. It's a big debate for me, and I hate to bring it up to y'all right now, but I just I feel like it's something that everybody is dealing with, like, because yes, it's more expensive. Is it truly the best way? What is your what has been your experience and what do you shoot? Do you shoot a fixed pin or you do you do the dial thing? I'd like to learn more about it, honestly.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so I've shot both. I don't know if you've shot both. I haven't. Obviously, started out with fixed pins. Um, I've gone to the I think it's a black gold, it's a single post, and now they have the ones with two dots on the single post, which is the most recent one I have on my Matthews. Um I like it. And I have one pin, it's a single post, so the top pin would be I'm not familiar with the two things, so that's the yeah. So it's just a single, it's just a single pin, and I have to think this through. I might screw it up. I think the top pin is 20 yards, I set it at 20, and then the lower pin, it's on the same post, yeah, is is at 40. So I'm not shooting deer over 50 yards with my compound, probably not shooting over 40. So I I I have 20 and 40 automatically figured out for me. So I really don't have to dial that. But if you're hunting out west, you know, I've I've antelope hunted, I've bison hunted out west. I think that's huge to have that ability to dial that in on longer distances. If if you're comfortable and you practice that, I'm not saying go out there and fling arrows. If you practice, I see people get mad, they're like, hey, they flung an arrow at 80 yards. Well, maybe he's practiced that all summer in his backyard. Sure. Yeah, I have no problem with that.
SPEAKER_03But I um I think I run, I don't know if it's the same brand, but I run the same mechanics of a site. I actually I bought a new uh um what was new to me, used elite off a guy last year that um that was selling it and had a site set up on it. He guy that worked at the bow shop, so it's a really you know good setup and stuff, but I was a little hesitant because I've always shot fixed pens or whatever, but it's like you said it's the hybrid where mine is 20 and 30, and then like if I want to like do to 40, 50, 60, whatever, it's kind of that hybrid model, which I I think for if I do need it is cool. Um, and then most of the shots you're gonna take are within 30 yards anyway. For sure. The only thing that makes me nervous is like there's you know, that wheel, like if it's turned all the way up or down or whatever, then you know it's on, but if not, it could be off. So I always like them double checking them like make sure something didn't get bumped or whatever. But I guess that that could be within any site of any gun or a bow,
The Gear Roost Organization System
SPEAKER_03you know.
SPEAKER_02Yep, for sure.
SPEAKER_03Um, I wanted to ask you, you know, so on your website, you got a really cool website, and you guys should go check it out. He's got a lot of cool merch. Um, but you got these like like systems for like it would look like you'd go in your house or garage to organize your gear.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's called the gear roost. Basically, uh, I have a lot of friends, and I've even tried to use like standard pegboard over the years. Well, that stuff's thin, it breaks, it doesn't hold a lot of weight. Pegs fall out, pegs fall out. So I came up with this injection molded polymer, super strong. Uh, same with the heavy-duty hooks. I've also got some garment hooks, you can hang waiters from this, but this thing, I've tried to break this in half, and I can't do it. Uh, I've hung up to 20 pounds off of each one of these hooks.
SPEAKER_03Wow.
SPEAKER_02Uh, it's just a better system. And and the thing I like about the modular being 12 by 12, no matter what space you have, if you have a small closet, if you need these for your goose trailer, if you want to put them in your garage, you can build them out. You can build them out however you want. You can add them together on top. Yeah. And um, the sky's the limit. But this all came about coming home from duck hunting and my waders being soaking wet and hanging them on uh opening the door on the storage cabinet in the garage, hanging them on um uh cardboard box, or even just throwing them on the floor. I'm like, I gotta have a place to hang my waiters. And you would think searching Google for wader hangers that you would be able to find something, but there's not a whole lot out there. So I decided to make my own, and uh now it's turned into a full system that you can use for not only waterfowl gear, but big game gear. You can hang your bows off of this, you can hang all your clothes off of it. Um, sporting equipment, golfers. I mean, that the sky's the limit. We've got different types of hooks. We've got looks like a good little gun rack at the top part.
SPEAKER_01I get to see my gun going back.
SPEAKER_02Baskets, yes, yeah. You could set it up to hold your your shotguns as well. So, yeah, I appreciate you bringing that up. I just launched this um about a month ago, and it's it's going very well.
SPEAKER_01Heck yeah.
SPEAKER_03Awesome, man. Yeah, that's that's a good uh just um what do you call that? Like solution provide, dude. I mean, that's just yeah, through real real world like problem. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_03I like that you brought up like the goose trailer thing too, because there's you know, good these goose hunting guys are crazy in what to do with their freaking trailers, man. It's like Pep My Ride in their trailer, and like I could just picture like there's some goose nut that just heard this that's like, yo, I gotta check these out.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. You would think, Tristan, as much as we've hunted in Arkansas, right? And much as we've goose hunted with with Cade and everything else, because he runs just like a I mean, even this trailer, like it's very organized. He's got his shit together, right? Um, you know, one thing I will say that I hadn't thought about actually was my experience last year up to the Chicago area to to honker hunt, and um, you know, I again I got to experience like a whole different type of hunting and a whole different type of Mecca waterfowl area and all this stuff. I had no idea the history, you know. I mean, the Tim Grounds, the all all this stuff. I mean, up and man, I was blown away. But the you are right, these guys, like, I don't know if the snow goose guys and the spec guys can hold a candle to the honker guys. I mean, I dude, these honker guys are crazy, bro. Gals, too. Uh crazy, man. But but they require that, like cows trailer, dude. I mean, everything has a specific place, right? And everything had maximizing your absolutely for sure, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely, absolutely.
Where To Follow And YouTube Issues
SPEAKER_03Well, Brian, man, we appreciate you coming on our podcast, man. And like likewise, we'd love to have you back on a different time.
SPEAKER_01Um, I'm gonna be respectful of your time and yeah, for sure. Yeah, I appreciate it, appreciate the opportunity.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely, man. And we Atlanta is a hub kind of for a lot of people come through Atlanta, whether it be just a layover or whatever it might be. But if you ever pass through Atlanta and want to do some do one in person and hang out, uh let us know. That's always an open door there. And um, but yeah, man, it's been good talking and learning about your brand and what you do.
SPEAKER_01I'll I'll piggyback on what he said. If you get in Atlanta, call us. Yeah, like listen, there's so many people out there. Like, uh, I'm gonna give a big shout out to Jason, does our lanyards and stuff. Um, he was here two or three times in Atlanta, and we've had a good, you know, uh online relationship with him and um with Ackley Outdoors, and he finally messages me. He has my phone around, messages me on Facebook. He's like, I'm gonna be in town, that's it. I gotta come see you the vocals. And and I'm like, right on, dude, or at least come over. You were tied up, but he came over and uh had him over. We hung out in the studio one night. We didn't record a podcast, but he did catch a lot of fish out back, and uh we we had a lot of bushlights, so it was a good time.
SPEAKER_03Nice, very nice. Well, uh, tell everybody, Brian, where they could follow Migration Waterfowl and get plugged in with you.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, our website's migrationwaterfowl.com. Uh, you can pretty much find everything there from our products to our merch, uh, links to our podcasts, uh, links to the YouTube channel. Um, but our podcast is on just about every platform out there. If you want to see a video version, we have a video version on Spotify. Um, I'm trying to figure out how to get everything back on the YouTube as far as podcasts go, because I got some strikes against me because I have an ammunition and a shotgun sponsor, and YouTube does not like people talking about guns and ammo in in certain ways. So that's gonna get straightened out. But I've got two seasons of um my travels around the country. You want to watch some videos on my YouTube channel? Everything is migration waterfile. You can find it wherever you search.
SPEAKER_03I'm gonna ask you about that video stuff off off air.
SPEAKER_01You guys need to like talk crossways on that because yeah, you're YouTube.
SPEAKER_03I got it, I got it.
SPEAKER_01This is where your dad needs to shut up. Yeah. All right. Technology, no technology.
SPEAKER_03I yeah, I know the questions I want to ask. Thank you. That's right. That's right.
SPEAKER_01And this is me accepting defeat. So, with that said, we're gonna sign out for this podcast because you know what?