Gundog Nation

Caleb Knight - Major League Baseball, Waterfowl and Hunting Dogs

Kenneth Witt Episode 40

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#40 Ever wondered how professional athletes pursue their outdoor passions between seasons? In this captivating conversation, Kenneth Witt welcomes Chicago Cubs Triple-A catcher Caleb Knight to Gundog Nation, revealing the fascinating intersection of professional baseball and duck hunting.

Caleb shares his journey from small-town Oklahoma to professional baseball, while maintaining his deep connection to waterfowl hunting and retriever training. Growing up in Chakotah (population 3,500), Caleb developed parallel passions that now define his life - baseball during the season and duck hunting every possible day during the off-season. His unique schedule provides the perfect opportunity to pursue serious waterfowling from October through January.

What truly stands out is Caleb's commitment to training his own retrievers. Starting with a Labrador at age 16 using only the classic "Water Dog" book as his guide, he's now hunting with a Golden Retriever named Rosie. His thoughtful comparisons between the breeds offer invaluable insights - describing Labs as possessing "wild drive" while Goldens bring a "methodical efficiency" to the field. His philosophy centers on consistency and building trust: "If you just get that dog to respect you and fully trust you, you can make it do about anything you want."

Caleb's approach to hunting mirrors his dedication to baseball - he's primarily a DIY hunter tackling public lands rather than guided experiences, finding satisfaction in the complete process of scouting, hunting, and working with his dog. As he puts it: "When I go hunt, I don't care about shooting, I don't care - my favorite thing is having my dog by my side, just watching her work."

Follow Caleb's adventures on Instagram at @caleb_night13 or check out his outdoor content at @the_bullpen_outdoors to see how he balances his professional sports career with his passion for retrievers and waterfowl hunting.

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Speaker 1:

I'm Kenneth Witt and welcome to Gun Dog Nation. Gun Dog Nation is much more than a podcast. It's a movement to build a community of people around the world that like to watch a well-trained dog do what it's bred to do. Also, we want to get our youth involved into the sport of gundogs, whether it be hunting sport or competition. We want to build a community of people united to preserve our gundog heritage and to be better gundog owners. Tune in to each weekly episode and learn about training, dog health, wellness and nutrition. We will also offer tips for hunting with dogs and for competition, hunt tests, field trials and other dog sports that involve gundogs. Please go to our website gundognationcom and subscribe to our email list. We will keep you up to form weekly with podcasts that are coming out. We also will be providing newsletters with training tips and health tips for your dog. You can also go to Patreoncom forward, slash GundogNation and become a member. There's different levels of membership on there. Just go check that out.

Speaker 1:

Also, we'd like to thank Sean Brock for providing the music for this show. The introduction and the outro is Sean Brock. He played everything on there except the banjo by Scott Vestal and the dobro by Jerry Douglas Sean is a neighbor of mine from over in Harlan, kentucky. I'm just crossing the mountain in Hyden Kentucky and he's a super talented guy. But most of all, I want you guys to check out the Creakers. They are also from Hyden Kentucky and this is an up-and-coming bluegrass and country band and these guys are hot. They're all over TikTok and YouTube. You will hear these guys because in a year or so they will be on the radio. They are very talented. Their videos are going viral on the net. These boys are family. Two of the lead singers one grew up with my daughters and the other one is my cousin's son, so he's family. But check them out. Check out the Creakers Also. Last but not least, if you want to buy a hat, koozie t-shirt or even gundog supplies, go to shop gundognationcom and you can purchase any of those items.

Speaker 1:

Thank you so much for listening. It's a privilege to have people that want to put up with me talking about dogs all the time. I actually enjoy what I do and I'm so glad to have this opportunity and thank you All right. Welcome back to gundog nation. I'm coming to you today from Fort McAvett, texas. At the ranch man I've had a privilege today to get to bring a special guy on here. We've connected on social media and just so glad that he took time out of his crazy busy schedule, especially this time of the year. Let me let him introduce himself. Caleb, tell everybody who you are.

Speaker 2:

Hey, how's it going? My name is Caleb Knight. I'm currently a professional baseball player in the Chicago Cubs organization. This will be my eighth season with the Cubs and I am currently in AAA here in Des Moines, iowa. And a little bit quick history about me. I grew up in a small town called Chakotah, oklahoma. I went to a junior college in Oklahoma for two years and then I went to the University of Virginia where I played baseball. I graduated from there and signed with the Cubs in 2018 and been going on with them ever since Nice.

Speaker 1:

You obviously must love it.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, yeah, it's an absolute blast. It definitely can be a grind sometimes, but it's not. It's not too bad and uh, definitely there's a lot worse things you can be out there doing man, yeah, I, I saw too.

Speaker 1:

Your is your primary position is catcher, correct? Yes, sir, I played catcher. But uh, caleb, uh, I never made it past little league, so my talent level and yours is far apart, but it was fun, I loved it.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, yeah, catching's a blast. It's a unique perspective of the field. We always say that everybody's watching you. All eyes are on you the whole time and it's really neat. I enjoy the camaraderie of it through with the pitchers and everything. It's a whole different game. You're not just worried about going out and playing your position and just hitting. You have a whole different game. You're not just worried about going out and like playing your position and just hitting. You have a whole other aspect to the game, with all the pitch calling and game planning and stuff and trying to beat the other team's hitters.

Speaker 1:

Now explain to me Cap a little bit. You know I know sports fairly well, baseball not as much. But do you guys, do you get called up on occasion to the majors, or does it? Is it a one-time transition? How does that work?

Speaker 2:

No, it's a. You can go up and down. You can be up there for a day, you can be up there for 10 years. It's a. It's a constant journey, you know, and there's always a need and and so much of it. There's just as much luck as there is, you know, talent that goes into it. You know is you know talent that goes into it. You know you got to be in the right place, right time and anything can happen. In that aspect, you never know.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's pretty cool. The only person in my family that's done that is my cousin Joel Matthews from Bowling Green, kentucky. He was on the minors for the Royals for Kansas City back in the day. Then he did that for quite a while and then hurt his back and now I think he coaches baseball and stuff. But that's the only experience I've had with a family member anyway. But man, that's really cool. At least you get to do what you love, right.

Speaker 2:

Oh, yeah, yeah, there's definitely nothing better, and it seems like I just fall more and more in love with it every single year as we go.

Speaker 1:

Now do you have to stay in shape year-round?

Speaker 2:

I do, I do. It's definitely something I've learned to do over the past few years. That first offseason was kind of crazy, because being in college it's kind of easy, because you're at school, you do the fall, you do the spring, you're there and you have everything you could need. But that first off season, you know we get our season wraps up in september and then we're free to go home until usually the middle of february oh, so uh which was easy for me because I feel like I've never had an issue.

Speaker 2:

I love being in the gym and, uh, luckily we have a nice little gym at our house at home. My dad is a big weightlifter and he's had a full house gym there at our house at home. So I live two minutes from my parents where I grew up and it's free access for me to go over there and work out, so that makes it easy to stay in shape that way. And then my hometown high school lets me use their facility anytime they want. They've been super great to me with that, so that makes it easy. On the baseball side, I can go in there and do whatever I need whenever I want to. It keeps it simple.

Speaker 1:

Now, what part of the state are you located in Oklahoma?

Speaker 2:

So I am from a small town called Chakota. I'm about an hour south of Tulsa and about two hours straight east of Oklahoma City, right off of I-40.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so I just drove through there.

Speaker 2:

Yeah yeah, If you drive through Oklahoma I-40, you definitely go right through our town, but if you blink you'll miss it.

Speaker 1:

Not bad. So how many is your hometown, did you say?

Speaker 2:

It's around, I think, 3,500 people. People it's the last that I saw. We're probably pushing closer to 4,000 now. We're growing a little bit.

Speaker 1:

And what did you in undergrad at Virginia? What was your major?

Speaker 2:

So my major was American Studies. So I transferred from a junior college and I think I had like 60 credits coming out of junior college and only like 40 of them ended up actually transferring because of how prestigious of a school Virginia was. So, boy, I was extremely limited on what I could do to graduate on time so I got stuck with American Studies. It was, it was fun, it wasn't my first choice and it wasn't the most interesting, but we got the degree and I planned on staying in baseball after, after my playing career was over, so I wasn't too pressed about that.

Speaker 1:

Virginia's an impressive academic school. Very much.

Speaker 2:

I know it's difficult, right? Yeah, it was a different world for me. I'm not going to say I wasn't prepared, but that's not quite what I was expecting, especially after going to JUCO for a couple of years where baseball was king and school was just easy on the side. I spent a lot of hours in the athletic tutoring center.

Speaker 1:

Now, I don't know the conferences as well, but did you guys ever play Kentucky?

Speaker 2:

We did not, we did not. We sadly never really went west.

Speaker 1:

We played in the regional.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, in TCU. But yeah, we were all up and down. We went to, like I think we went to louisville. That was probably the furthest, furthest west we went hello, this is kenneth whit with gundog nation.

Speaker 1:

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Speaker 1:

I have actually been a subscribed member of Cornerstone Gun Dog Academy since 2016, and I would suggest anyone use it. I highly recommend it. They have an app that you can get to on your phone. You can do it from your phone, your laptop. You can't get any more convenient than that. I've used it. It's proven and tried and I know literally hundreds of people that have done the same thing that I've talked to. Visit cornerstonegundogacademycom and learn how to train your own retriever. Okay, yeah, I went to UK a long time ago, got a son there.

Speaker 2:

now they come and go in the baseball world. Sometimes they're pretty decent. This year they weren't that great yeah they've had some good years.

Speaker 1:

over the past few years They've been all up and down.

Speaker 2:

I would think your work schedule is awesome for a hunter. Oh, that's, that's. I think what has made me fall even more in love with baseball over the years is that I get home about the first of october and I have about a month to get everything in line, and then I mean I chase ducks every single day until the season ends, and the end of january for us.

Speaker 1:

So it's absolutely perfect well, cool thing was caleb. We were talking right before the podcast, but you know, man, and we, I guess the word's out too. But Oklahoma, your home state, is now becoming a well, I guess has become. It's not just new, but it's a great duck hunting state, correct?

Speaker 2:

It is. It's absolutely awesome. It's gotten a little tough over the past few years. It doesn't seem like we're quite getting the cold weather soon enough. It's like we're always right on the verge. It seems like they always get stuck up in Kansas. But I mean, yeah, we can't complain compared to a lot of places. I have a lot of buddies who live in the Carolinas, or you know Georgia and Mississippi, and definitely can't complain compared to what they have to deal with. But yeah, man, we're extremely lucky. We get a lot of mallards, a lot of pintails, a lot of beautiful birds, and I don't get into the geese too much. But you can go out in the western Oklahoma, man, they'll hammer on the small geese all day out there and it's a great place.

Speaker 1:

Do you get to crane hunt any?

Speaker 2:

So I went for my first time last year. I had another buddy who connected through social media with the uh I think he owns uh ambush waterfowl is what it's called and he invited me to come down around abilene, texas, and shoot some cranes. And boy, we went down there and that was an absolute blast. I had never done that that's.

Speaker 1:

That's a different world you know, uh, I'm in midland most of the time, uh, in lubbock, tex to me, and I don't claim to be a crane expert, but it's like the mega. That's where I live and I've never seen anything like it. I can imagine someplace being better than that. Maybe there are, but did you get to eat it?

Speaker 2:

No, I have not ate it yet. I have some in the freezer at home but I didn't get a chance to cook it before I left. But I gave some to a buddy who went with me and, boy, he cooked it and he said it was absolutely fantastic.

Speaker 1:

You're going to be pleasantly surprised. I'm excited. I'm excited to try it. One of the things I noticed checking your background stuff I was really marveling over your Instagram pictures, because I always look at dogs, man. I'm a dog nerd, Caleb, but you've got a good looking golden right now. Tell us about your dog.

Speaker 2:

That's my girl Rosie. She's an absolute beauty, so she was kind of a spur of the moment. So I had a lab and I got her when I turned 16, had no idea I had shot some ducks in my backyard off a pond and I'd been begging my parents for a dog and there was no, no chance, no chance, you're not doing it. They weren't a big fan of big dogs and uh, I shot some ducks in this little cow pond we had and I took off my clothes and I swam out there and got them at about 40 degrees and uh, I got home with those ducks and they were not too happy about that. So, uh, that definitely helped my case on getting the dog. But anyways, got her at the age of 16, was planning on training her on my own, read a book and uh, what'd you read, made it happen uh water, dog water dog.

Speaker 2:

I can't remember the author, but yeah, in black and white yep, yep, the old original just water dog book and man. I followed that thing to a T and I like to think I did a good job, but at the end I realized she was just a. I don't think you could have messed her up, she was just the best dog ever.

Speaker 1:

Now, when you bought her, Caleb, did you know she was hunting lions? Did you do your research or did you just end up with a lab?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, she was out of a. She was out of a kind of a smaller kennel somewhere in like Northeast Texas I can't remember the exact town, but yeah, she was out of a kennel, just a little like family owned kennel and they they had done some. Her dad had done some field trials and stuff like that. So she had some hunting blood but she was kind of, you know, the last of her litter I think. I think my parents got her at a pretty cheap price so she definitely had some blood in her, but boy, she was a stud Nice.

Speaker 1:

So you fully trained her yourself. You didn't hire a pro.

Speaker 2:

Nope, nope, Did it all on my own and that's the only tool you used was the book. Yeah, the book, and consistency. I mean consistency. That's the biggest thing I tell people. I feel like you can. If you just get that dog to respect you and to just fully trust you and sell out to you, you can make it do about anything you want.

Speaker 1:

You know, caleb, I have a lot of pro trainers come on here. I mean some of the best guys that come on this show, and that's so funny. You say that because that's the number. I always ask every trainer what's the best piece of advice that you would give. You know an up-and-coming dog owner? And almost every time they'll say consistency. So, yeah, so you found the key early.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, I uh, that was really. I will say I probably didn't do the best in a lot of aspects, but that was one thing I did stick to. And then she turned out to be really good and I I realized where I messed up in some spots with her, you know, and where I needed to be better. But as it got towards the end of her career her hips are starting to get bad. She was probably 10-ish at the time and I could see her slowing down and then COVID hit. So I'd been planning on getting another dog. And then COVID hit and we were in spring training in March and they sent us home in March and they were like be ready, we don't know what's going to happen. And as things started to get worse, I was like, okay, this is the time I got to get a dog, like I got to do it.

Speaker 2:

I picked up the phone. I started calling every Labrador breeder I could find. I went, couldn't find a lab ready to go anywhere, started checking on on Chesapeake, started. I mean I tried everything and I could not find anything. So I was finally like, all right, let's try Golden's. I was looking for some Golden's, couldn't find any.

Speaker 2:

And then I found this. I think it was a Facebook marketplace and it was this younger couple out of Oklahoma city and they had one Golden girl left. So I called them or I text them on through messenger or whatever, and was like, hey, is there any chance this dog has any kind of hunt in the bloodlines, anything like that? Because the goldens kind of scared me because there's so many of them like family dogs you know the show goldens and yes, I was worried about that. So I call her or text her and she's like, yeah, her dad actually came out of an Upland ranch I think it was called Rock Aaron Kennels in Stillwater.

Speaker 2:

So I pull up that ranch and, man, that was a really sweet ranch. I didn't really know anything about it and they looked awesome, looked like they knew. So I was like, all right, deal, like I want her and give her to me. And, boy, I brought her home and man, she's been an absolute beauty. I was and it was just you know the same thing. It was just the consistency and and just being with her every day. But the drive isn't quite like my lab was with her. She was a lot more reserved, but I mean the intelligence and the demeanor of her is just absolutely awesome. She's such a beautiful dog. She ain't the fastest one around, but boy she she never misses a bird.

Speaker 1:

So you can't complain. You know I'm I'm like you. I the goldens have been. You know I hate to say this but it's facts are facts. They've been watered down because they're such popular family dogs. You know that it's hard to find with the drive and the working. You know the working drive in them. But you know what I'm starting to see. I just went up to uh kansas city, missouri, with clark kington, a real you, one of my favorite trainers, and I stayed with him three days and he had two or three Goldens of a client out of Louisiana and those dogs were top notch I mean rock stars and he had SRS series labs but those Goldens there were SRS quality dogs. So they're really coming back and I love that, you know. But no, that's well, you obviously lucked out, because finding a dog during COVID, when you talk to big breeders, like the people you were calling, everybody was buying dogs in COVID puppies, yeah.

Speaker 2:

So you couldn't find anything.

Speaker 1:

Every breeder I know said man, we're sold out of everything we got. Everybody was at home buying boats and dogs, so you got lucky.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, I hit the jackpot with her. She's an absolute stud and that's been. My favorite thing about the Golden is just that. Obviously I love my dog, want it to be a good hunting dog, but one of the big things to me is I want a good house dog. I enjoy having her in the house, like you know, being around, and that's one thing about the. I mean, they are just the prime. You know she's the best loving house dog ever. And then, boy, you put that collar and vest on her in the morning she flips that switch and it's really neat.

Speaker 1:

I love that.

Speaker 2:

I love that. I love when a dog you know, like I was saying, we used to run beagles when that tailgate drops and they turn the switch on. There's nothing like it. Plus, you know this well like I keep thinking I want to get another dog and I want to do another one, but with my baseball schedule it's just I would have to send it off and it's just. I have too much pride, I'm like I don't want to do it. It wouldn't mean the same to me, because when I go hunt, I don't care about shooting, I don't care. I mean my favorite thing is having my dog by my side, just watching her work, you know, and constantly just working and making those adjustments with her, and it just. It would not be the same to me if, if I knew somebody else had done it or had a part in it.

Speaker 1:

Listen, man, I know that look in your eye takes one to know. One Cause I'm the same way. Now that I've hardcore gun dog hunted, I don't even care about deer hunting and stuff anymore and I was obsessed, really bad. Uh, because, and if I could, I actually got got to go on a duck hunt last year in louisiana. I couldn't, I weren't allowed to use my dog. I'll never do that again. It was like, yeah, I can't, you know, it just took all the joy out of it and and don't get me wrong, I got to shoot ducks. But man, there's nothing like hunting with your dog.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's, it's, it's not the same. I've, sadly, I've started hunting a uh, this one lake in Oklahoma we have in the dang. Cockrovers have gotten so bad on that lake that I legitimately can't, can't take her, and I mean we've ran into thousands and thousands of birds on this place. But you know, like I said, I've I think I've went went up twice. I've went up once each season the past two years and I mean we'll be in the thick of the birds but it just ain't the same to me not having her.

Speaker 1:

I'm not having her there hello, this is kenneth whit with gun dog nation and I've got to tell you guys about something that I've gotten hooked on lately. It's folicious. These are gourmet instant faux and ramen bowls that actually taste like the real deal. When I'm out in the field all day and the last thing I want is to settle for bland camp food, folicious is what I go to. It's authentic. The flavor, it's real ingredients. It's ready in just minutes. It's perfect for hunters, fishermen or anyone on the go, and you can get them over 1900 walmart's nationwide, your local heb here in texas, or you can just go online at foliciouscom. Trust me, once you try it, you'll keep a few stocked in in your bag, in your backpack or for your next adventure.

Speaker 1:

I just want to say this I'm going to add this to this commercial because I know the owners of this company. They've hunted on my ranch, the joseph uh, he and I actually met in colorado on a hunting hunting trip. That was a real adventure. They are true hunters. They've hunted at the ranch, you know, and I've hunted with them. And Anna, she is just amazing. She's the one that came up with this idea. They were both on Shark Tank. They are amazing people. So I love seeing people like this have a business, and I just had to say that, in addition to the commercial, because I really believe in the product and I believe in the people that made the product. Be sure and go to foliciouscom or go to Walmart or HEB and try their product. I promise you you will like it. Now, do you get? I noticed in one of your pictures and this is something I envy because I've never got to do yet, but it looked like you got to do some good flooded timber hunting.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So that's another great thing about Oakland. We have a little bit of everything. You never know what you're going to end up and get a few inches of rain overnight and find mallards back off in some oaks and a little you know 50 foot wide little pool of water that's ankle deep, you know, you just never know. And and uh, yeah, we've. We've had some beautiful little holes in the middle of nowhere you know where. It's just thick trees and those mallards are getting down in there. So that's, that's some of my favorite we really pride ourselves on. We try to get way away from everybody else and, you know, find those wads of birds where, where nobody else is finding them.

Speaker 1:

So you, you seem like a DIY guy. You're not a guided hunt guy, are you?

Speaker 2:

No, no, everything I hunt at home is pretty much all public land and I mean we, we absolutely go out and grind it out. You know I do pretty much all the scouting and and go and find them and that's just another thing. It's like you know, just going out on public land, you know, finding your birds and having a successful hunt. It's just, the challenge is something. And don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a good guided hunt now and then, you know, it's nice to just lay back and take it easy, and as I get older I'll probably lean more towards that. But with the time I have now and how easy it is for me to get out, boy, I really enjoy the grind of the public land.

Speaker 1:

Now. Is public land hard. Is it hard to access up there? I mean, do you have to get there first? Is it getting crowded? What are you seeing in Oklahoma now?

Speaker 2:

It's definitely it's getting worse. We're not quite on the level of Arkansas, but it's definitely getting tougher and tougher. And I mean as a kid. I remember going out in high school. You know you used to be able to go. We were the only people with a mud boat you ever saw. You know you could go out on a Friday, saturday morning, go to the first hole you find right off the boat ramp, set up and kill 15, 20 mallards like it was nothing you know. Nowadays it is getting worse. You'll pull up to the boat ramp and there will be a bunch of out-of-state trucks. But luckily, where I live there's a ton of area, a ton of water and it's pretty easy to get away, but it's getting a little tougher every year, I figured.

Speaker 1:

now I assume you do your own calling.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so and sadly I'm not the best caller in the world. I grew up with guys who are really good callers Spolied you and it just didn't click. I struggled so bad and I tried hard for a few years and they were like they just told me, put it down. So I kind of put it down and, boy, I didn't mess with it, probably five to 10 years. But that is something I've really picked up over the past couple of years and have really been trying to get better at, because for as much as I duck hunt, you would think I would be a really good caller. But honestly, I can do the basics. But I mean I have buddies that are just unbelievable so I just let them do the crazy stuff. But I'm getting better, I'm getting there.

Speaker 1:

Man, I'm horrible, I don't, I'm horrible, I don't, I don't even try, but I play music and I thought, man, it's almost like learning an instrument or something. You know, it's not easy to do it correctly, and you can. I'm afraid to do it because I don't want to mess up my hunt, you know. But yeah, I get it.

Speaker 2:

And that's, and that's one thing I feel like I I'm very good at reading the birds and seeing what the birds want and understanding what they want, but it's like I think I'm almost too picky, because it's something about when I call. It's like what I hear doesn't sound right. It may sound different to another ear, but it never sounds right to me and I get really picky with it because I I'm picky about calling, which has been another part of being spoiled by the guys I've hunted with, you know, who are so good and so I see that. But it's like I feel like I can never mimic it the way I like it and I'm also a fan of just let the birds work. You know, I'm not ever a fan of just blowing them out.

Speaker 1:

Now, since you spent this year in baseball, have you found other guys, other players that also enjoy it like you do?

Speaker 2:

Sadly. No, I will run into a teammate here or there that has been before. I actually played with one guy. He's in AA right now but he gets after them pretty good up in New Jersey mainly geese but man very few and far between. Every year I try to round up some guys to make a trip out during the offseason. I have a couple that will here and there, but I'm definitely definitely trying to spread it on the guys because there's not many of us.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, you need to. You need to spread the gospel up there. Yeah, no doubt I'm trying to Well um, so I guess with your schedule the fact that you're you train your own dog, you're scouting your own ducks, you get to do other types of hunting.

Speaker 2:

So right along with you and growing up through high school, we had about 150 acres behind my parents' house and we would have some good deer running through there. We'd have some 150, 160, maybe even pushing 170-inch deer running around there and I saw a few of them one time Boy. I got hooked on it in high school but I soon realized whenever duck season started up and I was craving to go deer hunting. After a couple of times of walking, waking up and leaving the house and seeing the disappointment my dog's eye, I quickly realized I don't like leaving home in the morning without her. So so I mean, I'm right there with you. I I pretty much quit everything else. You know, I don't really I don't mess with the deer hunting anymore. I don't do any of that.

Speaker 2:

I come home in October. It's I get with my dogs. We're going to the lake every morning getting in shape, and then we usually open up second weekend of November and then it's it's on from there. We'll, we'll travel around, do whatever, and that's about all I do. Do you anyway? Do you get to travel much with your dog when you're playing? It's probably hard, isn't it? No, I don't.

Speaker 2:

I actually, I have my golden doodle here with me right now, but uh, no, she, uh, rosie, just stays at home. She stays at home with my parents and and it's it's better for her, cause I don't think she would like. You know this apartment, city life, you know she's. I mean, I'll never forget. I brought her up here last year for a little bit and you know she got in an elevator and was like what in the world is this, you know? And then walking down the streets with all the cars, you can just tell she's not comfortable. So I leave her with my parents. You know there's a hundred acres she has out there to run around and do whatever. So they take good care of her. I've been thankful for graze it, cattle or anything. We've always had some cattle. Yep, yep, we have cattle out there.

Speaker 1:

You know I've always had a little family ranch. Have you gotten, have you got, to upland hunt much?

Speaker 2:

I have not. I've honestly never been on a legit pheasant hunt and I it's on my bucket list I'll.

Speaker 1:

I'll have to get you hooked up. I mentioned that to you by text today, but yeah, I'll have to. You know, now that I'm upland hunting I don't know which one I like the most I I'm I do more upland than than waterfowl, just because the way I was right. You know, I grew up. I didn't grow up around waterfowl, east kentucky and appalachian mountains, you know we just it's not a flyway, so there's doug cunning in west kentucky, you know, like land between the lakes and stuff, but we just didn't, it just wasn't a thing.

Speaker 1:

But, yeah, we'll have to get you out pheasant hunting. That's pretty fun.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I went up to the Dakotas last year duck hunting for the first time. It was the first time I'd ever been out of the state of Oklahoma to hunt, and I went up there and, man, we saw so many pheasant and what is it? The sharp-tailed grouse? Yeah, we saw a ton of them and boy, they got me really wanting to do it. We didn't do any when we were there, but next time I'm definitely going to put some days aside to do some of that.

Speaker 1:

See, that's me. I go to South Dakota, now to pheasant, but now I'm going to go up there and grouse hunt this year sharp-tails, and I guess they've got a Hungarian partridge. Oh wow, brilliant in that area too and it's, and I think it's. They say it's better in the western north dakota and western south dakota than the east side.

Speaker 2:

but okay, yeah yeah, we were right about in the central, but man, we saw so many. That's what we were joking about too. We're like we would have came up here to pheasant hunt, grouse hunt we'd have probably saw none.

Speaker 1:

Saw ducks everywhere well, I'm gonna go with a group from montana not from montana, I'm gonna go through the guy from the guy from Texas and we're going to Montana. I think we're going to be able to hunt waterfowl and and grouse everything you know. Yeah, so that Montana's on my bucket list. I got to go to the first time this year. Have you been? You probably have haven't you.

Speaker 2:

No, I haven't. I have never been to Montana.

Speaker 1:

I just went a month ago. I skied for the first time and, oh my gosh, it's something I bet I'm going to hunt there in September. Yeah, awesome, awesome. Now let's get in your sports man. So baseball. Your whole childhood, or did you play football, basketball too?

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, growing up I played football, basketball, baseball. It was whatever season it was, that's what we were playing. Me and my little brother were out in the yard playing whatever it was and it didn't matter. We loved it all. But I played all three up through junior high and then, when high school started, I just focused pretty much on football and baseball. But yeah, I played football all the way through. Football was probably what I loved the most. It was something about hitting people on a friday night that I really, really loved. But uh, yeah, I played football and baseball. I actually had more football offers than I did baseball coming out of college or out of high school. But uh, just kind of to sit down and think which one would I have a better chance of playing pro. So I chose the baseball route. I've been extremely blessed along that, so I can't complain now is your brother, is he?

Speaker 1:

is he a pro too?

Speaker 2:

No, no, he is not. He is currently in the Navy. Okay, so he's about four years younger than me, but yeah, he's in the Navy and he's absolutely crushing it. He played a little bit in college and then decided to go the Navy route. Did he do baseball in college? Yep, yep, he played at a Division II in Oklahoma. Okay, he was a good baseball player Growing up in Oklahoma.

Speaker 1:

Are you a Cowboys fan or a Sooner fan? Definitely a Sooner fan. I love my Sooners man. It's serious business up there. The OSU guys and the OS guys, the OU guys.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah. Yeah, we don't have no pro teams to follow, so it's either OU or OSU and that's what you live by.

Speaker 1:

That's like Kentucky. It's either Kentucky. We don't really like Louisville. Unless we're beat out of the tournament and Louisville's left, we might cheer for them silently. Yeah, that's exactly how we are as well. When I moved here, man, and I know you know the college world better than I do, but these Texas A&M guys, I've got a lot of friends that are Aggies. That's uh, these, these Texas A&M guys, I've got a lot of friends that are Aggies. You know, man, that's like the cult, you know.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, yeah, that, uh, that A&M breeds different.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it is man. I I have uh some veterinarians that come on the show and uh one of them's up in we talk about it that they're they drink the Kool-Aid.

Speaker 2:

No, yeah, yeah, there's no doubt about that.

Speaker 1:

So, uh, what's, what's this year looking like for you? Have you already got your hunting schedule planned out?

Speaker 2:

I've been working on it a little bit. So I got that Mexico trip plan that we talked about not to hunt, but that's just. I've honestly never been to the beach anywhere than like Pensacola, florida. So I've decided to go give that a try in October and then when I come home nothing too crazy. I am sure I'll have some buddies going to the Dakotas again, but I don't think I'm going to do that this year. I had a buddy want me to come out to Montana, so I'm going to try to make that happen. I don't think that was until December.

Speaker 2:

Just a few little things really, just around. I got a few things in texas. I'm gonna try to get down with my buddy and hunt cranes again. And actually when I went down with him last year the first day we hunted, we were in lubbock, right outside of lubbock, and we shot the heck out of some geese and we saw everything that was really neat. We saw specks, snows, you know lessers. It was lots of cranes. We uh, we had a really good hunt down there there. So I'll probably be back down in that area at some point. And then the one area I do want to try to really go is I've had some buddies from Kansas hit me up and I want to try to make it up to Kansas this year. I say I'm going to every year, never do.

Speaker 1:

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Speaker 2:

yeah, yeah, they say it's really good. Yeah, yeah, they gotta have the pheasant up there too excuse me, sorry about that.

Speaker 1:

No, you're fine. Now, Caleb, you and I both have a common partner Migra Ammunition.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, yeah, I absolutely love them.

Speaker 1:

I do too. I was talking to Drew today. This morning, one of the owners I don't know if he's like the owner or partner I've never got nosy enough to ask all their business. But how did you get hooked up with those guys?

Speaker 2:

Because they're the greatest people.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I have some buddies who run another kind of smaller outdoor brand, mainly through Instagram. They're called the Banded Coots and those are my ride-or-die buddies. I hunt with them every day and they were going on a hunt and they were teamed up. I think they got hooked up with Migra at the end of last year. So, anyways, the Migra guys had hit them up and said, hey, we're in Oklahoma, we're starting a boat ramp tour and we were going to take them out and go hunting. So they told me and I went along with them and we were with David Yanello they call him Q-Tip and Wade Shoemaker and boy, we took them out and we had a great hunt, but just through. Then we had a slower morning and just through talking and everything, and then got to talking afterwards and they're like hey, we want to bring you on, we want to take care of you. Man, I have not been more impressed by a group of people from the top bottom Taylor that's who I've communicated with, I think she runs the marketing, everything. They're just fantastic people.

Speaker 1:

I've absolutely loved them yeah, yeah, I got to. You know, I've never met taylor in person. I've talked to a bunch on the phone. Of course I sent her a gun dog hat, I'll get you one too, uh. But no, you're right, I I end up running into him at pheasant fest back in the spring, uh, in kansas city. Yeah, and, and I met drew was just just at random sit. I was at the gunner kennel place talking to a bunch of people and just the nicest guys, and now I've got a whole their ammunition and I'm really sold uh yeah, but I was, I was the same way.

Speaker 2:

I was there that that morning and I've honestly you know we talked about I don't do a whole lot of shooting and I've never been a big. Honestly, I'll get on Rogers Sporting Goods, I'll order the cheapest case of steel shot I see and I'll just use it throughout the year. I've never been a big fan of, you know, all the crazy high-tech, whatever stuff. And Q-Tip had handed me a box. I was like, hey, you know, shoot these. And boy, I pulled up and I think the first two or three ducks I shot, I mean that stuff just hit them different. I was like, oh, wow, you know.

Speaker 2:

I was like, okay, I'm at the, I'm at the look into this stuff. That stuff's hitting different, man, I'm not kidding you, they were. And then I took it home. That next weekend I think they gave me two or three boxes to take home and I took it home and went hunting with one of the one of my older friends who got me in duck hunting his dad, who's duck hunted his whole life, and I gave them each a box of shells and that kid's dad he's probably sixties, I think he went to every Atwoods within 50 miles and wiped them all out of my group. He was absolutely obsessed with it after that. And boy, that was just just.

Speaker 1:

That was so neat to see you know, and I hear that I trained dogs with a guy. He's from minnesota. We go to alabama once year to this weekend event and and he's, he's like man, I've never had one hang. He said he won't shoot anything else and he didn't know that I even have a connection to him. We were just talking about duck hunt and uh, yeah, but no, I hear that a lot, so it it makes me feel good, uh, I'm, I'm highly impressed.

Speaker 2:

I don't think I'll ever shoot anything else, but yeah, and that's, and that was the coolest thing to me is like being able to spread the message of Migra. You know that truly is just the hard hitting shell, but then knowing how good of people and just how awesome they are, you know everybody behind the scenes, man, it just it makes it different. Going out, you know, and telling people, you know it's not just going out and trying to spread a brand or trying to say, oh yeah, you know, this is what I use. You know, it really means something different with them and that's really meant a lot to me and it sure makes it a joy to spread them.

Speaker 1:

Well, Caleb, you know, just because your career career, I know you get to travel and stuff a lot.

Speaker 2:

What do you see yourself doing life after baseball for you?

Speaker 2:

Really, you know, I, I, I don't know, part of me, part of me wants to try to pursue something in the outdoor industry and then part of me just wants to stay in baseball, you know, and coach.

Speaker 2:

And right now I think, uh, I'm going to try to pursue after my baseball career. If I get a good coaching opportunity in the professional world I will probably pursue that, just because I can keep my off seasons. You know, I always thought my plan would be to keep to coach college. But now that with how involved I'm getting in the outdoor industry and how I just can't see myself being separated from that, and if I was to be a college coach you know it's year round like I would sacrifice a lot of my duck hunting time and and I just I don't, I don't want to do that. So you know, I'm leaning more towards the, the professional life and if something comes that way, good, and you know, and if something comes in the outdoor industry, I'm really just kind of kind of open to whatever. You know, just kind of seeing where life takes me.

Speaker 1:

Have you got I know you probably not had much opportunity, but you probably not had much opportunity but have you gotten to coach any at all over the years?

Speaker 2:

So during COVID I actually coached at my high school. I coached fast pitch softball and then I helped coach the high school baseball because I was home and I did a lot of that. Boy, I enjoy it. I give a lot of lessons while I'm home. That's one thing I do.

Speaker 2:

Do I really like just trying to give back to the youth around my town and the area towns, just because I know, growing up to me, how much that would have meant to me to be around a professional baseball player, you know, and being from small town Oklahoma, you don't see it a whole lot. So I really try to go back and just try to be around as many kids as I can and that's something, boy, I've really, really enjoyed, just teaching the game and it really makes me a makes me a better, better student of the game as well, because I feel like it's one thing to understand it, but then if you can coach it, especially to kids, you know every kid thinks different, reacts different. You know you might be trying to get the same thing out of two different kids but they don't react the same way to what you're saying. So that's really helped me, helped me with my career by by understanding things in different ways.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, helped me with my career by, by understanding the way, things in different ways.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you know, I know it sounds like a bad analogy, but it's like training different dogs.

Speaker 1:

And I'm not saying kids are dogs. I've got children and I would never say you know. But every personality is different. Every dog's personality is different and you have to. I guarantee you you didn't train the lab the same way you handled your golden no 100, I mean completely different.

Speaker 2:

It took me some time to adjust on that because I I realized, like, especially from like, like, uh, like scolding the dog, basically, like my lab, you could scold her and she did not care, she would not even. You know, you know how labs are. But boy, my golden, if you look at her with bad eyes, she, she's like oh okay, I messed up. You know, and that that took me some time to learn, cause it's crazy, you know just the difference in their temperaments. Like you can give her a look and she's like all right, I know. Whereas my lab, you know, she, she had no idea what was, what was going on there.

Speaker 1:

Will she ever shut down on you?

Speaker 2:

No, she has never, not one time.

Speaker 1:

Good. Good, because a lot of times a soft dog sometimes some female dogs are more soft Some dogs you get on them, they'll shut down. And if you're used to, I started in protection dogs and I still do that, so you're kind of loud and I'm loud, so you can't. I've got a Cocker Spaniel now, a hunting one. You don't do that with her, you know she'd check out and bye-bye, see you. You know yeah.

Speaker 2:

Well, and really my this golden dude will work on with him. He's like that he will. He will shut down quick. It's like you got to keep his temperament up. Where, where Rosie, she's so unique because it's funny and a lot of my friends laugh at me. But if she's ever just having a bad day or just kind of not there, it's like I can just kind of, you know, grab her by her nose and just be like hey, you know you need to lock it in, you need to figure it out, and just like have like the golden doodle. Though I mean, if you get any kind of, if you raise your voice with him, he's like all right, yep, I'm done for the day, so it is great.

Speaker 1:

Just in your experience with a lab. And now you got a golden. What's some big distinctions, you see, in the two. I know it's generalizing and I know every dog's a little the lab.

Speaker 2:

She really just like the drive to just like, please, you like she's out there, she wants that duck, like I'm trying to think how to explain this. So really, she, she's just like wild drive, you know, just kind of controllable, but she's she's going crazy, going crazy, going crazy. Whereas my golden she's like efficient. That's probably been the biggest thing I've noticed. Where she's not, where, heidi, you send her on a blind, she would listen to your commands, listen to your marks, but then she's just basically like grid searching, whereas Rosie. Rosie is just the most efficient as possible, she wants a guide, she wants a mark, and then you tell her to hunt up and she's very simple. So it was just, honestly, just the way I guess their drive is, whereas Rosie is more like she's real smart, she's efficient, she like she really is good, go, go, go, like I'm going to cover ground, where Rosie's like, okay, I'm looking at this, I'm planning this out, you know, it's like she acknowledges everything that's going on, which kind of irritates me sometimes, because sometimes I wish she was more fearless. But also I mean there are some situations it's like, okay, wow, she, she thought of that and I didn't think of that, you know, but just I guess kind of just the thought process is like the biggest difference I noticed.

Speaker 2:

It's just Rosie takes it all in. It's like she acknowledges like, whereas, say, you shoot a duck and it's out there by a little stump floating in, that stump kind of looks like it could be a duck where Heidi she would be running, she would see that stump and go out there and be like, oh, not a bird, and then go find the bird where it's like Rosie's already realized, has already looked at that, okay, that's not a stump and you don't have to worry about her even going to check that. Just small things. Like that's been one of the biggest, biggest differences I've noticed. So you would say that more methodical, yeah, yeah, 100% yeah.

Speaker 1:

Interesting. You know I don't have enough experience with them yet to to make an assessment, but what I've seen so far, there an assessment.

Speaker 2:

But what I've seen so far, there are subtle differences and and it's neat, and and neither one is bad or good or better than the other, they're just different yeah, and, and the labs you know are are extremely high energy and it's like I like a laid-back dog and I think I got really lucky with my lab because she was not a high energy lab. But the more I'm around these labs nowadays, I mean they are just so high energy. The shaking just go, go, go, go go. And it almost makes me anxious watching some of those labs on a stand sometime, you know, and see where Rosie she's, just there, she's hanging out, you know, extremely just laid back, and that's what I like.

Speaker 2:

My my goal in a hunt is I want to take my dog, I want to put her on the stand. I don't ever. I don't want to have to talk to her, I don't want to. You know, it's just business, and Rosie is really good about that, whereas Heidi it's like she would. She would just want something. You know, constantly, she's constantly on edge, constantly looking, and and just that the demeanor of them right there in that aspect is a big difference, as well, when you're getting ready to go on your next hunting trip, make sure you pack the most efficient and reliable ammunition on the market.

Speaker 1:

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Speaker 1:

That's interesting, you know, from what I've seen from Golden's that sounds pretty accurate, just from the ones I've been around. But but no, I I actually had a couple on here from belgium. They, they're judges all throughout the united kingdom, in europe, and they raise hunting goldens and they yes, a matter of fact, one of these. If you ever need to talk to them about anything, I'll put you in contact with them, but they were on the podcast. Um, anyway, they, their dogs, compete in the international gundog league, which the igl in the united kingdom was like the super bowl of field trials and it's a you know, winner takes all field trials situation and they had. There's only 63 dogs that make the cut and they had three dogs, three goldens of their kennel was in that IGL championship.

Speaker 1:

I went to England and watched it, but it was neat and so it's good to see that they're coming back. And I'm seeing more and more. I do hunt tests, I go to hunt tests. I'm not good enough to field trial yet, but I see goldens more and more at these. Yeah, you probably don't have time I know you don't have time to do hunt tests and stuff, do you?

Speaker 2:

No, it's something I would love to do and I plan on doing whenever that time comes in my life I would love to. I mean, that would be so much fun to me. But yeah, honestly, I don't know much about them. You know, I kind of kind of know what they are just from hearing about them, but I haven't really looked into it because they're pretty much all summer, Right During the summer.

Speaker 1:

Like in Texas, ours are all pretty much done and end of April because it's too hot, and then you'll have. You'll have some throughout the South in the summer, but not much. But, like I know, there's one like next week in Montana where it's cooler and then in the fall they'll kick back in. But it's fun. You'll meet a lot of good dog people. Yeah, yeah, I can imagine, and you know you'll have it kind of consists of normally when you go to a hunt test you can have 300 dogs, sometimes 200. You'll probably have 80%. 70% of those dogs are pros bringing a truckload of dogs, and then you'll have probably 15 20 percent amateurs. I just my guess is the ratio.

Speaker 1:

but a lot of amateurs like me yeah, but it's neat.

Speaker 2:

You see some great dogs yeah, yeah, I can imagine that's.

Speaker 1:

That's really neat but now a lot of those competition dogs are the labs like you think. You know that they're wired up and run through a wall oh yeah, it's like that, like they're robots. Yeah, yeah, and I've got one of those dogs and it's, I believe he would run through a wall to retrieve he's, he's field, he's field champion lines and he's a hard hitter. Then I've got British dogs. Yeah, they're generally a little calmer.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think I'm not exactly sure what heidi's background was, but I think she has to have some of that british in her because now, now, when I get around that she, she, just I got so lucky because I honestly, and I don't know if I could ever get another lab, because I was so spoiled with her, I don't know if I would ever fully be content with one yeah, it's makes me I don't know if I would ever fully be content with one.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's different, you know. And having British, I've got two British here and one American right now. Yeah, they're so different. But I tell people and people ask me, you know, if I have a preference and I always just say hey, if you want a hunting dog and a house dog all in one, you're probably better off with a British line.

Speaker 1:

If you want, a competition dog and a hunting dog. You're probably a little better off with an American line. That's a general statement. I might get criticized for saying that, but that's just my opinion, yeah.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, from what I've just seen, I agree with that as well.

Speaker 1:

So when you got to get back on the road, so we are actually just hit our all-star break.

Speaker 2:

We got home last night from St Paul, minnesota, and we are free for today, tomorrow, wednesday and Thursday. We play Friday night here in Des Moines. We play Friday, saturday, sunday and then we are headed to Louisville, kentucky, on Monday. Oh, wow Go down there for a six-game series Hill. Now when you do a series is it usually six games.

Speaker 1:

Is that the norm?

Speaker 2:

So COVID has saved us. So usually it used to be three to five-game series and then you would constantly travel. So since COVID happened, every series is six games. So we play Tuesday through Sunday and then we have Mondays off, okay, which is usually our travel day. We're usually traveling on that Monday.

Speaker 1:

Man, that's a that's pretty pretty grueling schedule.

Speaker 2:

It keeps you busy. There's there's not much free time for anything.

Speaker 1:

Do you guys even have time to work out during that? Or you're you're playing, you're working out. So we.

Speaker 2:

So we'll have a seven o'clock game usually throughout the week, and for a 7 o'clock game we'll get to the field around 1 or 2-ish. So I mean we're absolutely spoiled. You get to the stadium and you have a phenomenal clubhouse, you have a weight room, you have the hidden cages, you know, and then you have the on-field stuff. So my normal day I'll get to the field around 1 o'clock. They'll usually cater in food. Day I'll get to the field around one o'clock, they'll usually they cater in food. I'll eat lunch and get all changed and stretched out and then I'll just go work out. You know I'll go do a little little workout in the weight room about every day and just kind of get my day going, you know. And then then we'll have a full day of hitting the cage, you know, catching bullpens, working with pitch30, and then you come inside you have about an hour and a half you can shower, change, eat dinner, prepare for the game and do all that. We usually have pretty full days and we'll just work out and everything through that.

Speaker 1:

You do all that before. On game days.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, every single day. It's a full day up to the game man.

Speaker 1:

Do you have a nutritionist telling you guys how to eat, or are you just on your own?

Speaker 2:

Yep, nope, the Cubs have a whole nutrition staff and they're not crazy about it. They're as a resource. If you need them, they're there. Like me, I know what I'm doing as far as nutrition, so I don't really lean on them too much. But yeah, I mean they're here. They keep snacks, they keep electrolytes, drinks. You know they have they. They handle all the food we get and everything. So they do make it super easy. I mean, it's it's easy to eat clean, eat good food, and you really don't ever have to think about that aspect.

Speaker 1:

So you really don't have? This might be too nosy. You really don't have, this might be too nosy. You really don't have any out-of-pocket costs on the road, then right zero, zero.

Speaker 2:

I mean they, they cater lunch and dinner every day. So I'm really not a big breakfast eater. I won't eat till noon or one usually, just because, uh, we're not eating dinner until after the game, which is, you know, 10, 11 o'clock. So, yeah, I mean really they cover, they cover our living, they cover our housing, they. We get per dim on the road but uh, yeah, there's, there's absolutely zero cost. I don't, I don't ever have to. Hardly I pay for extra stuff. You know we do a lot of golfing. I'll pay for that here and there, but yeah, they, they take really good care of us not bad um.

Speaker 1:

Do you have any other uh hunting brand endorsements?

Speaker 2:

um, let me think. I have trying to think. I've been on with Righam right. The past year I was on with them. I do a lot of work with turtle box, absolutely love those guys. They're awesome, do a lot of stuff with them. And so Ryan Yarnell I don't know if you've ever been in contact with him, but he's who I'm supposed to be going up to Montana and hunt with this year. I don't know if you've ever been in contact with him, but he's who I'm supposed to be going up to Montana and hunting with this year.

Speaker 1:

He's the head of their hunting marketing. Is he a tall guy, blonde-headed? Yeah, yeah, I met him at Pheasant Fest.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, okay, okay yeah, yeah, yeah, he's a Montanan boy. He looks like an old Montana cowboy. He's an awesome dude. We we took him out. I met him for the first time last year. We took him out and he was awesome and had a great time. But yeah, he wants us to come out to Montana and duck hunt with him and and I'm looking forward to that. Now what part of Montana will you be in? Do you know? I'm not, I'm not sure. Am I going to try to say no? Those turtle boxes are awesome.

Speaker 1:

I finally broke down and bought one. I actually have sitting over here, but oh yeah, they're, they're the best.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I, I use those things. I keep one in my boat all hunting season and and I power wash it when I power wash the boat and it has never let me down. They're, they're awesome. Really, you power wash it. Yeah, oh yeah, no, yeah, they no. They sent me some for this baseball season. We were in spring training and I took one of them. We were all at the pool one day and I, you know, I just tossed it out in the pool. Nothing will just float there in the pool. I mean I have never had a single problem from water and I mean it's in the boat rain, snow, ice, power wash it's.

Speaker 1:

I've never had one mess up, break down in any way see I, I know they say they'll do that, but I'm afraid to do that with mine. But yeah, that makes me feel good.

Speaker 2:

I was that way with mine for a long time too. I was like I ain't doing this, I'm not even testing it. But just over the years I've gotten more brave with it and boy, that thing is withheld through everything.

Speaker 1:

How long have they been out?

Speaker 2:

Because I'm through everything. How long have they been out? Because I'm only been familiar with them probably less than a year. So I got in touch with them during covid, it's about right. When I got home from covid, I, uh, they sent me their first generation speaker and boy, I ran that thing and ran that thing and until it, uh, they had it had basically gotten outdated the like the chargers. I needed a new charger for it. Something happened to the charger and they weren't even making the chargers for it anymore, so they just ended up sending me the newer version. But, yeah, I would say they probably started around 2019, 2020, right there around covet okay, and they're based in texas, right houston I believe, yeah, okay, yeah, houston area, yeah, they're awesome now caleb.

Speaker 1:

If people want to check you out on social media or anything, how do they find you?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I'm on Instagram, uh, Facebook, twitter, all of it. All my main personal stuff is at Caleb night, 13, caleb with a C, night with a K, and then, uh, I also have my. I do a lot of my outdoor stuff through my outdoors account and I Instagram and TikTok with that and it is at the bullpen outdoors. So that's my, that's my handles there.

Speaker 1:

Well, good deal, man, listen, I know you're busy, I could talk your head off. I think you figured that out pretty quick. Let's try to get you back on again sometime. I'd like to get you on during duck season. Oh yeah, yeah, we on again sometime. I'd like to get you on during duck season.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, yeah, we'll have to do a check in for sure. I'd love that. That'll be awesome. We'll have to. We'll have to hook up on a pheasant hunt. Make it happen again too I will.

Speaker 1:

I'll check your schedule out and stuff and see if something works out for you yeah, yeah, we'll.

Speaker 2:

We'll make it happen. I definitely have some free time. I need to look for sure when the split was, because usually I try to schedule something during our our and duck season. So we'll let them make that happen.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, let me know that. And then, hey, I might have come up here in Oklahoma and check it out some too. Yeah, come on anytime, you're more than welcome. I'll got myself Anyway, caleb man. Thank you so much and I wish you all the best the rest of your season. I'll be following you and checking it out.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much. I Thank you so much. I really appreciate you having me on All right. Thank you, sir Yep. Thank you.

Speaker 1:

Hello, this is Kenneth Witt with Gun Dog Nation. I'd like to encourage all you listeners and viewers on our YouTube channel to check out patreoncom forward slash gundognation. For $10 a month you can become a member of our community and we'll have access to lots of stuff. Month you can become a member of our community and we'll have access to lots of stuff. Mainly, we'll do a monthly forum, an open forum, where you can ask me anything gundog related and we'll learn from each other in the community. Should be a lot of fun. Each month we will do that, so check it out Patreoncom forward slash gundognation.