What If Broadheads Were Priced For Hunters

A broadhead doesn’t get to “look tough” on a website. It has to fly true, stay together on impact, and keep cutting when the shot isn’t perfect.

I’m joined by Randy from Hooligan Archery Products, a Canadian bowhunter who decided he was done paying top-dollar for broadheads that didn’t match what he wanted in the field. We talk about how he went from sketching ideas to building a real broadhead lineup, what he believes makes a fixed blade broadhead accurate, and why blade geometry and edge design matter as much as sharpness. If you’ve ever wondered why some broadheads steer at speed, or what makes a broadhead penetrate instead of “chop,” you’ll get clear, practical takeaways here.

We also get into broadhead testing in a way that’s refreshingly honest. Randy breaks down why “smash a brick” videos don’t always translate to hunting, then explains the durability checks he runs, including repeated shots through sheet steel to mimic worst-case hits like shoulder impacts. We dig into materials too: stainless steel choices today, what tool steels like A2 and S7 could change tomorrow, and why building a truly tough mechanical broadhead often means accepting a little more weight for a lot more strength.

On top of the gear talk, we cover the reality of cross-border tariffs and why he paused US shipping after customers were hit with massive fees at delivery. Randy shares his bigger goal as well: keep prices reasonable for hunters, expand the product line thoughtfully, and push toward fully Canadian manufacturing while staying transparent about what’s his design.

Subscribe for more bowhunting conversations, share this with a buddy who is debating broadheads right now, and leave a review with the one test you actually trust when picking a broadhead.

Check us out on Facebook  Hunts On Outfitting, or myself Ken Marr. Reach out and  Tell your hunting buddies about the podcast if you like it, Thanks!

Transcript

Welcome And Broadhead Preview

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Hunt on this is Huntson Opening Podcast. I'm your host and rookie guide, Ken Mara. I love everything hunting, the outdoors, and all things associated with it. For stories to how-to, you'll find it here. Welcome. Podcast. Hey, all right, what's up? Thanks for tuning in again to this week's podcast. And every week that you guys tune in. It's awesome. It's great. This podcast is growing through word of mouth and it is because of you listeners. So broadheads. If you've took Archery, sir, you've thought about broadheads before, you've picked some out, you've done some tests, this and that, maybe looking to see what the right one is for you or what company is for you. So Randy is behind Hooligan Archery products. How did he get into it? Who's the man behind the company? What's his process? How do you get started making broadheads? How do you test broadheads? Well, Randy's going to talk about all of this with the from him starting bow hunting at a very young age to growing up with bow hunting, getting into more shooting, and then realizing, you know what, I think I could build a better broadhead and help hunters save some money also in the process. And then he doesn't just uh make these products, he stands behind them and he tests them. We get into some of the tests that he does to build his products, his broadheads, his arrows, everything is up to the task for I think any animal in North America and beyond. So we're gonna learn all about that with him. If you get to the end of this podcast and you realize, you know what, I'm gonna check out Hooligan R3 products. I really like them. If you use all cat letters, hunt on 2026, hunt on 2026, all caps, all one word at checkout. If you buy from him, you're gonna save some money. So you're welcome. Check him out. I ordered some from him. I'm excited to get them, and I do plan on using them this year for spring. Also, speaking about the spring, it's uh we just had our sportsman show here in the Moncton area. If you were able to make it out for it, I had two seminars go on. I'm really appreciative of everyone that took the time and was able to get to that. I also got to meet a lot of outdoor enthusiasts and people in the industry and uh just people that like talking hunting this weekend. So it's great to talk to all of you guys and gals. Uh it was a it was a good weekend, two seminars. Uh we recorded four podcasts this weekend, three of them in person, and everybody that I got a chance to talk to was just amazing. It was a lot of fun. Uh I was also helping the boys at the DK call booth. Um lucky enough to be pro staff there. And if you're looking to get duck booth turkey calls, check out DK calls or hit me up Penmar, and uh, I'm gonna be able to get you a deal on that as well. So all right, also what made this weekend even more special for me was having my amazing sponsor, a notebook dog food, uh, proudly supporting me. Uh, I was able to hand out some hats, some ball caps, some coops, some pamphlets, some free dog food samples, some stickers, fridge magnets from the from the podcast, and notebook dog food. Uh, and I was able to talk about uh uh my two seminars were on one was on hunting with coon hounds or raccoon and the other one was hunting with beagles. And not only was I able to explain this process to different people, but I was able to say and tell that my dogs run off a notebook and that they do incredibly well off of it. And the proof that in the pudding when you look at the dogs and how good they look and their shiny coats, their energy, and just they're ready to keep going because they're eating fantastic food. Oh, and if you were looking to get a hold of us to maybe come on the podcast or adjust somebody for it or just reach out to me, you can email me at hunts on outfitting at gmail.com or you can find us on Facebook, HuntsOn Outfitting, or uh find myself on there, Kenmeyer. Feel free to reach out. Some of you guys have been. It's been great talking with you from all over Facebook. And I was like, wow, Mike, these look like great products. And I sent it to a friend of mine who's a lot more into bow hunting than me. And uh Lane and I said, I said, What do you think of these? Lane's like, yeah, it looks good to me. I was like, I think so too. I said, I'm gonna buy some stuff from them and have them on the podcast. So here we are.

SPEAKER_02 5:01

Yeah, that's awesome, man. Yeah, I just so what what happened was I I for me, I've always been a bow hunter um for probably 30 years, right? And I've used everything out there under the sun, but everything's um from the states, and I don't have a problem with that. It's just that when I look around, we have this big country, and I'm thinking there's gotta be a broadhead manufacturer here. And and there was one, but I think that they went out of business. So I believe I'm the only one left in Canada, and I just started up last August. So um I wanted really good quality that you know guys were charging a hundred bucks for a pack, and I'm like, there's gotta be a better way to get really good quality and not pay that much money, right?

SPEAKER_01 5:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:43

So I just started drawing pictures and and coming up with what I've always wanted in a broadhead, and that's basically where it all started, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:51

Yeah, well, again, like you said, there's nothing wrong with buying from the states. I mean, that's where I've been getting them from, but with the tariffs coming in and all that, it it it definitely puts the price up significantly. And like you said, there there's not a lot of manufacturers here. I mean, the states, especially with the ammunition side, I mean, they've they've got all the big top brands there and everything. In Canada, we've got hardly got a thing. So especially say with broadheads, it's nice to uh, you know, why not why not have Canadian companies start making some here and have the prices in Canadian dollars, which makes it uh, you know, more uh economical for us. And then if somebody from the States is buying from you, they're laughing.

Tariffs And The US Shipping Wall

SPEAKER_02 6:32

Right, yeah, well their dollar. Exactly. And that's what I thought. But at the moment I can't I can't ship to the US. Really? I can't. But the tariffs that are put on them when the package is delivered is I had a bunch of a whole bunch of um orders that came in.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 6:49

And I shipped them. And then before UPS would deliver them, they wanted the the receiver, the like my customers, um, on a one pack on a one thirty-nine dollar pack of broadheads, they wanted a hundred and eight dollars. Wow. In in tariffs. So I just refunded everybody's money and told UPS just to throw them in the garbage because like I'm not gonna pay again to bring them back. So and I didn't want my customers to have to foot that kind of a bill. So I just went on my website and I made a kind of like an apology. I can't strip the US right now because of tariffs.

SPEAKER_00 7:25

So in the future, yeah, yeah. It's too bad because with their high dollar, um, it's it makes them pretty cheap for uh to buy from you, but except for yeah, the tariffs. But hopefully in the future that's amended because um yeah, it it's always nice to trade back and forth across the border. And you've got I mean, you've got a great product. So yeah, I mean, let's uh can we get to know the man Randy a little bit behind uh behind the brand.

SPEAKER_02 7:54

Yeah, so I was um like I said, I was bull hunter all my life and and uh rifle hunter with my family for two weeks in Deer Season and then uh uh uh a truck driver for a while. So I got out of uh doing that. Um that took a lot of my time away uh from bull hunting to be in like working and and then I joined the military, the Canadian Army at uh 35 years old, and I just retired from that in September. Um so I basically um started doing all this to supplement my income, um not to get rich or anything, but just to to do a product to enjoy what I do because I've always wanted to do it, to make a broadhead. And uh yeah, so that that's how I am, where I am. Um and I just I just love boat hunting. I love being out and and I used to be a uh a tournament archer years ago. Okay um for like the IBO style. And um yeah, it's just archery is just something I've always there's there's there's something about uh watching that arrow fly through the air and hit where you're aiming that's just addictive.

SPEAKER_00 9:02

Yeah, yeah. So how how did you first get into it, I guess? Because I'm uh were you are you are you the first one in your family to get into archery?

SPEAKER_02 9:11

Yeah, I am. Um my whole family and uncles and everybody are just big hunters, duck hunters, uh big game hunters with with rifle. Um and my brother too. So when I was about 15, I guess, is when I got seriously into it. Um, didn't have any money, bought my cousin's uh old bear compound, bear archery compound that had doesn't look anything like the compound of today. No. So I give them a hundred bucks for it. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it was a crazy old aluminum bow with wooden limbs, and that's what's that's what I started on. Um I mean I think I've shot pretty much every manufacturer or uh and every every manufacturer out there uh up until now. Um I haven't shot the Canadian bows yet, which I want to do. But uh I'm the first one in my family, and it was just addictive to me. Like I just there was something about trying to get as close as you can to an animal. Um uh and uh it was just very what's the word?

SPEAKER_00 10:20

Um well it's more personal, I guess. It's very personal, but primitive.

SPEAKER_02 10:26

It is, it's personal, it's primitive. It's it's very romantic, but that it's very um yeah, that's the best word I could put to it, I guess. Um I know Ted Nugentie calls it the mythical flight of the arrow. You know, it it's addictive. And once you once you see it and take your first animal like that, you you'll be hooked forever.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

Yes. Yeah, yeah, I'd agree. Just hearing that thwack, and you know that you've got something on everyone else in a way, because any not anybody, most anybody, you can put a rifle up 100 yards, it's zero down, squeeze off the trigger, hit your mark. Whereas the the archery side of it, with you know, compound bows and especially even traditional bows, I mean, you're putting in that extra time, that extra practice to be able to hit the animal that much closer, and you have to be able to get that much closer. It's just more personal, more primitive, and it just it does take a lot more discipline and practice.

SPEAKER_02 11:24

It does. And yeah, and yeah, and the patience part of it is just yeah, I think you have to learn it. Uh, I know when I first started, I could barely sit for two hours and I was like, you know, I there's time to go, but now I can get in my tree stand um before the sun comes up and then not leave it till the sun goes down. So it's just something you gotta uh discipline yourself with and get used to it. And and like I said, you'll just learn it.

SPEAKER_00 11:48

Yeah. Yeah. And then I just yeah, I guess the the archery side of it too, it's just there's so much more to it, so I think the reward is that much greater.

SPEAKER_02 11:58

Yeah. Well, I used to tell my brothers, I said any and that anybody can sneak to within 200 years, 200 yards of a deer with a rifle. Yeah, you know, and uh with the with the bow, it's just it's that much more of a challenge. And the um the reward for the for the for the work put into it, I think, is is bigger.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

Yeah, yeah. I mean, not bashing uh gun hunters in any way, but if somebody's wondering, no, I am one I am one of those as well.

SPEAKER_02 12:25

So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:26

Well, just if anyone's wondering why archery, though. I mean, this is this is probably the big reason why is what we're going over right now. Um so what's your main I'm guessing, do you guys have a spring bear hunt there in Ontario?

SPEAKER_02 12:40

We do, yeah. Spring bear, spring turkey. Yeah. So I've been trying to push my ads a little bit more. Yeah. Uh on Facebook. It's the only place I add because I'm so small. I can't I can't afford the big the big ads yet.

SPEAKER_00 12:50

Well, that's what I found, yes.

SPEAKER_02 12:51

So yeah, and it worked when they let you. They they've been shutting my ads down quite a bit. So it's it's a conference go to know what I can advertise and what I can't.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

Yeah. Yeah, that's the thing.

SPEAKER_02 13:03

But yeah, we have uh oh, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 13:05

Uh no, I was just saying that's the thing. I've seen that actually a lot more lately is uh them shadow banning or just completely banning uh anything to do with hunting lately, it seems.

SPEAKER_02 13:15

Yes. And I I've noticed a few of my subscribers um are not subscribers, but like followers. Um I I don't think they're a hunter by any means, but I think they follow so they can report basically what I'm posting. Maybe there is people like I don't have any proof of that, but I mean it it's just very strange.

SPEAKER_01 13:38

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:39

Because there was ads that I was running without a problem, and then all of a sudden those ads are an issue, right? So I was reported for cruelty to animals for one picture. I tried to um I tried to get it removed, but they wouldn't.

SPEAKER_01 13:55

So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:56

Jeez. Yeah, it was just it was just a picture of a black bear with a uh a broadhead in the foreground.

SPEAKER_00 14:01

Yeah.

unknown 14:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:03

Yeah, I I know I've I've known some people that just call companies, like call animal callmakers, and this and that, just having a pile of trouble lately. So that's why it's good to uh, you know, do stuff like this, the podcast. I mean, we're definitely not censored with any of this, so it's great.

SPEAKER_02 14:19

Yeah, but and that's good. That's a good thing about a uh a podcast.

SPEAKER_00 14:22

Yeah. So yeah. So what uh what brand of bow have you settled on now?

SPEAKER_02 14:29

Well, I have I have uh two that I use. One's uh um a Quest drive that I've been using for since 2015. Um I just love the bow, so I'll probably never get rid of it. And I also have a PSC uh Fortis that I just picked up. It was a used bow, but it was um uh it was just a really nice sheet of bow, so I picked it up.

SPEAKER_01 14:49

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 14:49

Used I well not really used, it was just an unsold, like old stock unsold. Yeah, so that's what I'm using now. Um I use hooligan arrows, of course. Yeah. Uh just because they're my own, obviously. Yeah. Um and pretty much everything else I use is like standard what you'd see most guys use, you know, control quivers and and uh and sights and stuff like that. I'm not a big guy on the overpriced stuff, and I'm not gonna say who is and who isn't, but I'm just I'm just kind of an old school bull hunter. You know, if it if it isn't broke, don't fix it. So yeah. Uh and that's and that's how I roll. Like I don't use the saddles in the tree. I still use a climber or a fixed tree stand, you know.

SPEAKER_01 15:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:35

Um I I I just I'm kind of old school when it comes to my hunting. Yeah. Simple is the easy is easiest sometimes, I think.

SPEAKER_00 15:42

Yeah, well, exactly. Yeah, you don't need yeah, I don't those saddles, I uh I I know some people that use them as scene, though. I don't know if those are a fad, if they're gonna last or what. It's uh it's hard to say.

SPEAKER_02 15:54

It is. You know, I was looking at them because they almost had me, and then I'm thinking, it's not really much different than the climber I already used.

SPEAKER_00 16:01

Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:02

And then they come out with this little foot step that you stand on that looks like the bottom platform of a climber that you put your feet in and climb up the tree and stand on it in the saddle. And like I, you know, I'm not I just can't I can't buy into it when uh the um the climbers are already out there.

SPEAKER_00 16:20

Yeah, yeah. No, I know what you mean. Yeah, I remember seeing them. I was like, I don't know. They didn't look that comfy, but I don't know. Some guys swear by them. Um well they say that, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

Uh the guys that are using them are swearing by them, but I just I just can't wrap my hand around it personally. That's just a personal thing. They might be the greatest thing in the world, you know.

Designing Broadheads For Accuracy

SPEAKER_00 16:39

Yeah, yeah. I don't know. I don't plan on trying them, but it's it was interesting for seeing the one for the first time. Uh so I'm curious. So you're right, you're right into our tree, and but and then you thought you seeing this other stuff online and think like I can make that, but I mean, what really I mean, how do you go about just saying I'm I'm gonna start designing and selling broadheads?

SPEAKER_02 17:01

I mean, you said you you sketch some up beforehand and yeah, so I've always looked at broadheads and like I'm always watching the the YouTube videos of what broadhead works best and what doesn't, and what stays sharpest the longer, what can smash a brick. And and there's a lot of things I'm watching, and I'm like, well, you don't need a broad head that will smash a brick. Like there's nothing that we hunt that is that solid. So that's like a something that uh your broadhead doesn't need to do, it just has to stay sharp and last um last. Like it shouldn't come apart hitting something softer than a brick. Most broadheads are going to be destroyed on a brick anyway, so it's not a real fair test. Yeah. But I've wanted my own archery business for a long time. Um I've always played with design in the broadheads, so I just finally just jumped in. You know, it took all my savings and dumped it into manufacturing and and prototypes, and finally come up with what I wanted. And and I just started, I just jumped right in. Um like I'm learning as I go. And uh I I come up with this broadhead that the the two blade version is is the my first one.

SPEAKER_00 18:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 18:15

Um I wanted a I don't want two blades, double bevel cut, wide cut at an inch and a half, but still flu super accurate at high speed of a crossbow because in material a lot of guys use crossbows. Um so I come up with that um replaceable blade with a chisel tip furrow. Um it bolts in with um with hardened steel bolts uh screws, I mean. Um and I designed the um the blades are are they're pretty swept back past where the arrow attaches to keep the um the the to keep your penetration right so you have not such a steep angle on your blade when it's instead of chopping through it's it's actually slicing through.

SPEAKER_00 19:01

Right.

SPEAKER_02 19:01

And that design, the way I did it, actually ended up, and this was not on purpose, but it gives me a uh a better cross section in the wind when the wind, like when you're shooting and the air is flowing over your broadhead, it's not steering it as much because there's there's it's a wide blade, but there's not as much of the blade um catching the wind. And um that design actually is super accurate. We we've had it tested up to like 400 feet per second, and it was still a nail on the full-size the crossbow.

SPEAKER_00 19:29

Really?

SPEAKER_02 19:31

Yeah, yeah. Wow. So we put that one into production. Or I did, I'm the only guy. I say we as a company, but that's it's just me.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:40

Um, and then the four blade came after that, the carnivore, which is and I wanted a uh a heavier, uh heavier tip. So this one's 150. Uh it's only an inch by uh inch and an eighth, I believe, inch and sixty. Um interlocking blades. Uh you can punch it uh through anything you want. The blades aren't coming out, they're locked together very well. Um, and again, it's uh a very swept design as well to enhance uh penetration. So those are my first two. Um then the single bevel. Um then what else? I got a new one coming now, which is a mechanical. Uh UPS has lost my prototypes. So the engineer that I send my work to, he's making them back up for me and resending them to me. So I can't wait to get below in the market. They're gonna be fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 20:31

Yep.

unknown 20:33

Yeah.

Torture Testing On Steel Sheets

SPEAKER_00 20:34

Yeah. I mean, it it's it it's cool just you know, hearing and your process about coming up with this, and uh it I don't know, it's just really unique to me, someone starting this from scratch, but I I think it's great. And you I like too, so you want to talk about a bit more about your tests because you've been doing some tests, uh, you got some videos on them and all that, and I think that's awesome too, just showing people. I mean, these are tough, and you're really putting them uh through the ringer just to show the kind of durability that they have and the abuse that they are able to take.

SPEAKER_02 21:07

Yeah, I went and when the weather gets nicer, I'm gonna do a lot more outside. That was just, you know, um I've seen John Lusk in the United States, so he does a lot of broad head testing. And I wanted to give my two blades to him to test out. I mean, I'm pretty sure they're not gonna make the concrete part of it, and that and that's fine. Um, but I wanted him to test them, and I'm thinking I really need to put these, like you say, through the ringer just to see before I send them down there to him.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:39

So the first night I drove it through um twenty I think the first night was twenty gauge steel. Uh five times. And it held up and it blew my mind. So I made this little video spinning it and I put that on for guys to see uh online and uh I'm like the next night I have to do this again. So I'm gonna record it this time so people aren't thinking I'm you know. Um and I and as you can see from the video, I am not a videographer by any stretch.

SPEAKER_00 22:10

No, you're you're a broadhead maker.

SPEAKER_02 22:12

I'm a broadhead guy, yeah. So I set up my phone and and I actually set up the phone in the fold hold phone holder uh on my bow that I have for self-videoing. So that's how it was sitting. It was hanging from the roof in a in a uh in the the phone holder. Um I set the target up on my freezer, put the 20-gauge steel in front of it, and I just started shooting it. And after like the third shot and the fourth shot, I thought it was gonna fly apart, and it just never did. And I think if my arrow never got stuck in the steel, I probably would have just kept shooting it. But um, it proved itself to me as I think they like the 11th shot. So um I was very happy with it. And if it can handle that, it can handle the shoulder blade of most things, you know.

SPEAKER_01 22:58

Oh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:01

So, and that's and that's how I did it. They're all gonna um be punched through steel eventually. The carnivore went through has been through it a couple times without being any problems. Uh the single bevel a couple times as well. And I think that the 20-gauge steel, 22-gauge steel is the closest that you can get that really represents a shoulder blade without shooting a uh shoulder blade. Um, it's got a bit of give to it and flex just like uh like a shoulder blade would in a bad shot, because that's not where we aim. We don't want to hit that. Yeah but it's worst case scenarios, right?

SPEAKER_01 23:33

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:33

It happens, yeah. So you want a broadhead that'll that'll in the integrity you'll stand up to it and and push through and still kill your animal. That's what you want. Um and when it is that tough, when you do make a perfect shot, it's gonna go in one side and out the other, and that's exactly what we want out of that too. So um yeah, I've I've I've pounded on that broadhead uh really hard and it it it met every expectation I had. I would tackle anything in North America with that broadhead. Yep.

unknown 24:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:05

Yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_00 24:06

Yeah, no, it it was cool to see. I mean, just the before and after, and and it it did hold up quite well. I mean, you could tell it took a beating, but um it was still, you know, functional, really.

SPEAKER_02 24:18

Yeah, yeah, and that's uh and what I'm trying to do now is make a uh mechanical that will handle the exact same abuse. Yeah. So I can't wait to get the prototypes in and and and give it the same punishment and just to see what I have to change to make it last like that. It's not it's very rare to find a um a mechanical broadhead that can put up with that abuse without paying, you know, 30, 40 bucks a broadhead.

SPEAKER_00 24:40

Yeah. Yeah, even even any regular mechanical, I mean, they are they're pricey and uh some of them are they're kind of dinky, really, when you look at them.

SPEAKER_02 24:51

Yeah. And it and I think that goes with um a lot of manufacturers like to try to keep it in that 100 and 125 grain area. Yeah. And that's where your weaker mechanicals come in, right? Um they have two blades that are stacked on top of each other. So the slot that's going through your ferrule has to be wider, which which weakens your ferro a little bit, right? Um unless you go with a super thick one. So, which I actually had to do. So this mechanical that's that I'm I want to bring to market, it's going to be a little heavier than most. It's probably gonna be between 125 and 150. But it's I think if you want a good tough broadhead, that'll last. Uh that's a mechanical that'll punch through bone, that'll that'll do what it's supposed to do. It needs to be a little heavier.

SPEAKER_00 25:38

Yeah, yeah. So uh did do you have any sort of background in this? Because you're saying you're a truck driver and I'm one too. Uh I don't fancy myself to be that smart overly smart, I guess. Uh do you have any kind of I are a truck? What's that? I are a truck. Yeah, yeah, basically, yeah, yeah. Just you know, going down the road looking windows. But um do you have any sort of background in in any of this, or just your passion for it has been able to drive you forward and teach you a lot?

SPEAKER_02 26:14

And like I said, I've been doing it since I was 15 and and knowing what I liked in a broadhead, one what I didn't like in a broadhead. Um I know the broadheads that when I would shoot them and they'd veer off course, I knew what the problems were with them, and I I wanted to fix it. Um I wanted to f I wanted to make a broadhead that I wanted. Uh I want it to be accurate, I wanted it to be sharp, I want it to be tough. And I suppose every broadhead person that's making broadheads does that. But um just when you have my word, yes, yeah. These things they they fly like they they they uh like I say they do.

SPEAKER_01 26:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:51

So and uh and that's the most important thing. You've got to be able to put it where you need it to go uh and and have that confidence that it's not gonna steer off.

SPEAKER_00 27:01

Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I mean, yeah, it's great that I mean because I'm sure there are there's probably some companies out there that make these that they they don't bow hunt themselves or anything.

SPEAKER_02 27:12

Yeah, I'm sure there is, and they just put out whatever cheapest thing they can they can throw together. Um that being said, that's another thing I wanted to make sure that um my broadheads were made out of quality steel, you know, not welding uh steel that you could weld with, but like a nice 420 stainless and 440 stainless. Um my future broadheads are gonna be made with A2 uh and S7. Um that's already been priced out and and and in the works. So, and those are tool steels, and they will hold up to the many impact. Um that's like I said in my one ad, you can shoot them through Pollywood. You don't need to, but if you want to, you can, right?

SPEAKER_01 27:51

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:53

Yeah. So it you're talking about you've got uh some stuff like what are some other prototypes? Is there anything you can talk about that you have coming up in the future for people to look forward to? Do you plan on getting into any more products? Because let's talk about you make uh you make what some fletchings and also some arrows and the broadheads.

SPEAKER_02 28:10

So yeah, so I have like I said, I have the arrows. Uh they're just standard uh 6.2 millimeter um uh carbon shafts. Um I just wanted uh to offer uh a shaft that was um straight, was light, was was made of carbon. Um it didn't cost people like um uh uh 150 bucks for 12 arrows, right? Yeah. So I sourced them. Um I think I got them down to like a 0-3 straightness, which is which is great. Um for hunting, there's not an animal that's out there that's gonna know the difference between a 001 or a 003 straightness. Uh and most leaders aren't gonna notice the difference either unless you're on some elite world championship level. Um but I wanted to offer them at a price where guys could, you know, fill their quiver and still be able to buy buy dinner that day. Yes. Um it was it was it was sad seeing like arrows and broadheads, it costs a guy a twentieth or a tenth of his paycheck at the end of every week. And it was just uh I I did I didn't like that. The industry doesn't need to be like that. I know things are expensive, but these things aren't. So a dozen and and and a dozen arrows doesn't need to cost 150 bucks. It really doesn't. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:30

I agree. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:32

Yeah. So uh there's a there's a lot of uh informing the company. There was there there was a lot of that involved too, right? Like how can I get things uh more affordable for people and still give them quality? Yeah, still give them really good quality. So yeah, I've got arrows, um veins, I can sell them shafts or flats to what any weight guys want them. And I have crossbow bolts as well. Um so and but they're they're a heavier bolt. I wanted a heavy one, so um, they're like 14 grains per inch, I think. Which is heavy for a crossbow, yeah, uh for a bolt. Um so I have those in 18, uh 20 and 22 inches as well. But uh my focus, my main like I have them to sell people, um, but uh my focus is broadheads. That's what that's what uh I'm that's what I'm pushing. I don't even push the arrows.

SPEAKER_00 30:25

But you just have them as an option. It's like getting a burger and you know, you want some fries. Yeah, exactly. No, I completely understand. That's great, and that's that's smart business too.

SPEAKER_02 30:36

Yeah, you know, I I'll get guys, hey, can you they'll send me a message. Can you find me this part for my bow? And I wish I could, but but I I'm not a pro shop. Oh no.

SPEAKER_00 30:46

They tried.

SPEAKER_02 30:48

They try, yeah. Um, but that's just the way it is, I guess. So I have to maybe change my name to Broadhead Manufacturing or something.

SPEAKER_01 30:57

But yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:58

Um, and that's another big goal of mine too, as well, is to is to bring the manufacturing to be 100% Canadian. And um and it isn't now, and I'm totally open about that, but I just want people to know that my broadheads have my fingerprints on them. You know what I mean? Like I'm the guy that chooses the material, uh, chooses the quality, uh, make sure that they're they're made the way I want them to be made, or they get sent back. So um it it's it's all my design.

SPEAKER_01 31:27

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 31:28

For for for three of our broadheads anyway. And the other two are just classics that I know guys like, so I pick them up. And I don't say I don't make bones about it. I don't let people think that they're mine. I tell them the three that are our design and and other two that aren't. But um I'm very proud of the ones I've designed, and I think they're gonna I think they're gonna be big in Canada eventually.

SPEAKER_00 31:51

Yeah, I know I'm uh I'm pretty excited to try mine out. Um so I gotta ask, uh the name, I love the name, by the way, uh Hooligan Archery products, but uh how how did you come up with it?

SPEAKER_02 32:04

So the name of Hooligan, believe it or not, is just me just trying to find a cool ass name. Yeah, um I like it. You know? So I there's other things I I wanted to do. I was gonna make canoe paddles at one time, and that's actually uh because I love canoeing. So um I was gonna make paddles and I thought hooligan paddles, that's kind of a cool name, you know. And it ended up being Hooligan Broadhead, and eventually I never did make the paddle. So yeah, the the Hooligan paddle company, and that's where it all started, and I just kept the name. I just loved the name. So um when I started making the broadheads, um, that's that's why I just kept it. And then I got my little my little hooligan logo, dude. Yeah. Um kind of cartoonish, but I like it, so I'm gonna keep it.

SPEAKER_00 32:50

Yeah, no, like I mean, truth be told, that's actually what caught my attention for it was uh was the name and and all that and the little the little hooligan guy, because I was like, uh that's kind of you know, bow hunting in itself, sort of badass, really. Um and then adding the hooligan to it in the guy. That that is what caught my attention on on it to look it up. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:11

Yeah, I like that. And then I try to make it uh in my advertising and I try to I try to relate to everybody. I try to answer everybody's questions or or comments or or just be part of it like you're talking to a uh like a buddy, right?

SPEAKER_01 33:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:23

Um like come up with like the the Hooligan the Hooligan crew. You're part of the Hooligan crew or the hooligan family. Yeah. And uh it's it's kind of neat. So I think I'm gonna keep that.

SPEAKER_00 33:34

Yeah, no, I th I think it's great. You do a good job. Speaking about which what you did a good job on, I thought your website. I love it. It's great, it's very easy to navigate, it's well laid out. Um yeah, I mean, how did how did you come up with getting the website designed?

SPEAKER_02 33:49

So yeah, that's just um I actually went through through GoDaddy.

SPEAKER_01 33:54

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:55

And uh yeah, it's just one of their platform um, you know, fill in the blank kind of uh pages. And I just added to it and I run it in the background and uh yeah, it's it's straight through GoDaddy.

SPEAKER_01 34:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:08

And they all the all the all the banking work is linked through them, and it's just super, super easy to navigate.

SPEAKER_00 34:15

Yeah, a little shout-out to them. Um but yeah, we're not sponsored by them, but it's a good shout-out. Uh yeah, no, I like the website. It's it's it's easy to use and well laid out. Um speaking on the website, I want to talk about the the blog that you have on there.

SPEAKER_02 34:32

Uh yeah, I need to be a little bit more active on that, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:35

But no, it's it's uh it's it's good though. I mean, I I hadn't noticed that before that I was on the website again the other day and I was like looking around and I was like, oh, I've got a blog here. Um but it's helpful. It's reading about the spring uh black bear hunting and you got a bit on baiting in there. And how did you uh how did you get into all that? It's I mean it's it's very helpful. People are on an archery site, and then you've got archery articles on there, which just makes sense, but you don't see that uh a lot, especially on newer sites.

SPEAKER_02 35:02

I thought, yeah, so I wanted to add the blog to the to the website just when goo people are uh Googling Google Googling thing or doing web searches, um, they could pick up that they're looking how to bear hunt or how to pick their arrows or or whatever it is. Um they might uh link that blog and that blog will pull them to my website. So that's basically the reason uh I started that. Um I don't have as many on there. Um I really need to get back onto it and and and write a couple more. I wanted to do one a week, but um just running the business has been so so rough lately and and and busy that I haven't wrote any. So um maybe this week I'll get on there and add one or two more.

SPEAKER_00 35:44

So yeah, yeah. No, it's it's good and it's helpful. I was reading it and it it it it is, it's really helpful. It's not just uh just a way to get people to your website. I mean, I guess it is, but there's some good information on there too.

SPEAKER_02 35:56

Yeah, well, I yeah, yeah, had to have some meat to it, right? Yeah. Um I I may I may plug a hooligan broadhead within the within the uh the blog the blog, but uh the rest of it is um is is solid is solid meat for your for your for your mind there if you're if you're looking to get into bear hunting or if you're looking to figure something out that you're not sure about in in archery or in hunting, yeah.

Deer, Moose Lessons, Global Goals

SPEAKER_00 36:20

Yeah, yeah. So what is your favorite type of uh hunting? What's your favorite animal to pursue with the bow?

SPEAKER_02 36:28

Oh, white-tailed deer. Yeah. Hands down.

SPEAKER_00 36:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:30

Yeah, that's and that probably goes for the majority of bull hunters. Um, I would I would say moose too, but it's too hard to get a tag. Yeah. Um so I don't get to do that very often. But white tailed deer hands down is my favorite. It's like it's a battle um out there of wits. There's there's just such a smart animal. And just when you think you got them figured out, you know, they they show you a curveball and they keep you on your toes. And um, especially in archery uh bow hunting, it's it's really um it's a battle of wits, really. And they they win 90% of the time, usually.

SPEAKER_00 37:07

Yeah, yeah. Uh yeah, they definitely do. So have I know the the thing with the moose, it on a lot of people it is love it, it's a lot of fun, but most every area it's the lottery system, whether you get your tag or not. But have you been fortunate enough to harvest one with the bow?

SPEAKER_02 37:23

I have been fortunate enough to lose one with the bow.

SPEAKER_00 37:26

Okay, yeah, that happens.

SPEAKER_02 37:28

Yeah, yeah. That does. And so years ago, I I I was lucky enough to get a tag. And so I went to northern Ontario um hunting the clear cuts. Yeah. Um and just me and a friend of ours, or a friend of mine, just the two of us, you know, uh camping in the old canvas tent and running around in the four-wheelers trying to find them. Um, but yeah, on I think it was like the fourth day we were up there, um I had a a big bull come out to me from the far side of a clear cut. I was cow calling, and he he finally started coming in, and he got to about about sixty yards broadside to me, and I had an adjustable pin uh where you can you can adjust for the yardage that you want to shoot. So I set it for 60 and then uh he started moving again, so I just waited and he did kind of like a little loop in front of me. And when he came back across my my shooting lane, it was much closer than 60, and my brain didn't register to to fix my pin again. And when I shot it, the the broad head went toward like above his vitals, but just below his back line. Really? Um, just behind the hump. So I I shot him two more inches, it would have gone right over top of him, but it went uh just into the height on the top of his back. And and I I never got that boost. And that was the only time I ever got a movable tag.

SPEAKER_00 39:01

Oh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:02

Well, uh very disappointing.

SPEAKER_00 39:05

Yeah, but I'll I'll give you props for trying, because I mean I know some people around uh here to leave the odds of getting your moves tag uh where I'm at New Brunswick. Uh not that high of odds. Really, I don't know people that have gotten it twice in four years, though. I know people that have gotten it once in eighteen. Um and uh a lot of guys some do, but very, very few will take the bow out because of the fact that uh it's only five days and uh the odds of them being able to connect to them with the bow. It's it's it's flims. I mean the fact that you tried it. I mean I had a friend that went out this year uh with his friend and they took the bow. They had every intention of trying to get a moose with the bow and um they ended up just using the gun instead because they just they couldn't, they just could not get close enough.

SPEAKER_02 39:56

Yeah, it's it's it's it's quite different. You know, it's hard, especially when your tags are limited. I mean this year when we check the numbers in the area I I apply for, um, I think there's uh uh two bowl tags allotted for the whole management unit and four cow tags for for bow hunters. And so your odds of getting one are still small.

SPEAKER_00 40:18

Yeah, yeah, very. Um so uh yeah, at least you uh you attempted it though.

SPEAKER_02 40:24

Um and will again if I ever if I ever get one, I'm lucky enough again.

SPEAKER_00 40:31

So how about like um uh shipping to other places for I mean uh for your broadheads? I was thinking Europe, but I know Europe can be kind of uh strict on that. But I mean uh I I guess you're probably hoping too that it'd be cool to get some pictures of people that go to hunts and say New Zealand or things like that that are maybe from Canada but traveled and took your broadheads there. Like are you excited to see just what kind of animals exactly your broadheads are going to be connecting with?

SPEAKER_02 40:58

Yeah, I really am. You know, in the start of it, like my right now my website's opened up pretty much the world. Um but I I just did a quick Google search who what countries have bow hunting, right? So I think like New Zealand's on there, Australia's on there, France, uh Germany. So any that any of these countries that have bow hunting can shop on my website and get my broadheads. Um but yeah, I'm very excited to uh to see who's gonna have them and what animals are are gonna be taken with my broadheads, and I can't wait to see trophy pitchers or not even trophy pictures, but just like success pictures. Success pictures, yeah. Um I have a guy down in Florida that has them. Um he got them before the oh cool. Uh actually, no, he the tariffs were still on when he got them. He just paid the hundred and eight dollars. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So he's trying to take wild boar uh with them. Um I have a guy from uh Manitoba who's going on a bear hunt in New Brunswick. Uh he's taking my broadheads.

SPEAKER_00 42:03

Where those is he going, do you know? What area?

SPEAKER_02 42:06

I don't know. Yeah, I don't know where he's going. Uh so I sent a whole bunch of stuff. He actually has uh a TV show, I believe, on wild TV. So um he's gonna test them out and if he likes them, then I might be able to come up with something for him. Um but yeah, it's gonna be really neat. I hope somebody does take an elk with them. I got guys at West that are that are uh gonna hunt with them uh in elk season, um bear season, um yourself, you got broadheads now, so I'm very excited to see just what what comes in after the seasons are closed. Um but yeah, stuff overseas, that would be really neat, you know. Yeah, well like animals that we don't have, that would that's pretty cool. Yeah, I want to see somebody take like a Cape Buffalo with my fore blade or yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:58

Well, that's the thing. That's what I was thinking. I mean, you could sell to somebody right there in Ontario that uh that is going to Africa on a hunt and with your broadheads and you just never know what they could harvest. So I mean just thinking about that from your perspective and everything would be really cool and exciting just to see where they go and what they're successful in taking.

SPEAKER_02 43:19

Yeah, it's it's gonna be it's gonna be really neat. I know I I there's one outfitter that I sent some a package to, um, and he's going to Africa this spring. Oh, but I'm not sure if he's I'm not sure if he's actually bow hunting or not. He might be actually just rifle hunting, but if he has the bow, hopefully he takes my broadhead. That would be pretty sick.

SPEAKER_00 43:37

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That'd be really cool. So uh I mean, what's the what's the future look like, you think, Randy? I mean, where where are you hoping this goes and and what's in store?

SPEAKER_02 43:47

Well, what where I'm hoping it goes, what it actually goes, um, I really have no control over other than I'm just gonna keep grinding at this company. Um, I'm not gonna let it fail. I want I want who. Hooligan broadheads in Canada be to be like um um like X caliber uh um crossbows were to Canada once after they come out for a while. You know, or what APA archery is or kill and sticks arrows. Um these are all Canadian country our companies, right? So I want Hooligan to be to be the broadhead of Canada. That that's what I that's what that's my goal.

SPEAKER_00 44:23

That's awesome. Yeah, well, um Randy, on that note, you know, I love it. I'm really excited to get my stuff in from you and uh give it a whirl this spring, hopefully on a on a nice Brunswick Brewing. And um, yeah, I mean I mean you can tell that you're passionate about it, that you're a hunt to yourself, and that you're putting in the time and effort and work and like you said, grinding it out to make this successful. And I really think that uh the word, I mean, I've been telling everybody, but the word about Hooligan Archer products and their broadheads is gonna be spread everywhere, and that uh I I do think it's gonna be quite popular just because of the product that you're building. I mean, the videos and tests that you have done and and about them, it you can't deny that it's it's a good product.

SPEAKER_02 45:07

Yeah, I appreciate that. Yeah, I'm I'm I'm gonna just try to keep that uh the momentum going with the the the the quality of them and uh just keep making it better and better.

SPEAKER_00 45:18

That's awesome. I uh I don't doubt it. And um even though Facebook, yeah. I I look forward to your posts when you're uh when you're able to put more again. But in the meantime, I know you put the stuff on your website as well, so that's handy.

SPEAKER_02 45:32

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:34

So Yeah, well, thanks a lot, Randy, for your time and talking about this and uh and for the products that you're putting out.

SPEAKER_02 45:42

Hey, I appreciate it. Thank you for the opportunity, man. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 45:46

Absolutely. We'll uh we'll be talking again.

SPEAKER_02 45:48

All right, cheers. Thanks.