#052 - Caleb Brewer | Stepping on an IED Wasn’t the End - How Archery Gave This Green Beret a New Mission

In this episode of The Hunt Stealth Podcast, Ryan Uffens talks with retired U.S. Army Green Beret and adaptive bowhunter Caleb Brewer. A man who stepped on an IED in Afghanistan, lost both legs, and still charges solo into the backcountry in pursuit of bull elk and black bears. Caleb’s story is nothing short of legendary. From learning to shoot a bow in his garage with a 1990s PSE Nova to opening his own archery shop, Stick Sniper Archery, Caleb discusses the healing power of archery, the grit it takes to succeed in the wild, and how hunting gave him purpose beyond the battlefield.

They talk mountain medicine, the physical and mental grind of bowhunting with prosthetics, why failure teaches more than success, and the raw truth about conservation. Caleb also shares a near-death experience that forced him to re-evaluate everything and how he went back, faced his fear, and found redemption through perseverance in the wild.

Whether you're a veteran, a new bowhunter, or someone looking for meaning in the struggle, this episode will fire you up, get you focused, and remind you why we hunt.

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Takeaways

• Caleb Brewer's journey into hunting began later in life after a military injury.
• Archery provides a therapeutic escape from daily stresses and challenges.
• Hunting can be a powerful tool for healing and personal growth.
• Community support is vital in the hunting and archery world.
• Hunting deep into the wilderness often leads to better opportunities.
• Experiencing near-death situations can change one's perspective on life.
• It's important to have backup gear when hunting in the backcountry.
• Success in hunting often comes from perseverance and learning from failures.

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Transcript

Ryan Uffens (00:00)

You're listening to the Hunt Stealth Podcast. I'm your host, Ryan Uffens. Enjoy the show.

Ryan Uffens (00:07)

Excited to have our special guest Caleb Brewer on the program today. Caleb is a retired US Army Green Beret archer and just all around badass. So Caleb, man, thanks for thanks for joining us.

Caleb (00:23)

Thanks for having me on, Ryan. It's a privilege.

Ryan Uffens (00:25)

Yeah,

yeah, yeah. Hey, I want to talk a little bit about ⁓ your journey into archery and hunting because correct me if I'm wrong, but you didn't you weren't always a hunter.

Caleb (00:38)

No, I got adult onset hunting disorder.

Ryan Uffens (00:41)

that makes the two of us. So I'm four years into I think you're a little bit ahead of me. But why don't you share with the folks who are unfamiliar about your story, a little bit about your background and what led you into the hunting spaces, specifically archery.

Caleb (00:58)

Yeah, man. Like so on a super, super high level and I'll dive into the weeds on anything you are interested in. But I was born in Tucson, Arizona, spent all my whole life growing up there. I joined the army in 2005 and in 2009 I ended up going to the US Army Green Beret training pipeline right after I got back from my rec and spent the next two years training in there or my green beret after a lot of trial and tribulation.

and ⁓ spent the next several years just doing awesome stuff, going across the world, doing cool missions, equipment, being with, you know, tip of the spear type folks that serve in the military. And in 2015, I was in Afghanistan and on my 31st birthday on December 4th, I ended up stepping on an IED resulting in the loss of both my legs. So now I get to walk on two prosthetic legs.

And then since then, it's been a roller coaster and weirdly life has been better since I got hurt, which is a weird thing to say because there's been so much good that's come from that and ⁓ got into hunting, got into archery and it's been, it's been awesome ever since.

Ryan Uffens (02:13)

well, thank you. Thank you, for sharing that with us. Thank you for your service and for your sacrifice. And I think there's a lot of guys out there that go through things. And ⁓ you face the challenges that are given to you head on. And you can come out the other end better, even though it might not seem that way in the moment. So I appreciate the inspiration that you are.

And just want to tell folks also, and I'll put it in the show notes, if you're not following Caleb, you definitely should go do that on Instagram at CK Brewer. And also, he's gotten so into it that he owns his own archery shop now. So it's Sticks Sniper Archery is also the handle as well. So go give both those a follow. And I know you've been on a couple other podcasts. I was just listening to some of your interview with Jack Carr, where you kind of go like in depth into the things that happen.

Caleb (03:07)

Mm-hmm.

Ryan Uffens (03:08)

⁓ post, you step in on that IED. So if folks want to go listen to that, definitely go check those out. But what I want to do is let's talk about kind of like the healing that you found through archery. Would you dig into that a little bit with us?

Caleb (03:27)

Yeah. You know, a lot of military service members, you shoot guns, you shoot things that go boom, you you got to be at a range, you got to worry about the safety and all that stuff. And then you go overseas. And a lot of times when you shoot a gun, it gets associated with stuff you did overseas, because that's what you did. Like your job was to shoot a rifle like that was your that was your office every day. So the loud booms become normal. And but when you come back and you get out of the military,

that noise can be associated with bad memories and it can trigger things that you would normally not expect. So I got into hunting after I got hurt. My first time I ever went hunting was a couple of years afterwards and I have a dear friend of mine now, name is Jesse Gregson and he runs a foundation out of New Mexico, helping veterans and kids go hunting for the first time. And he took me on my first time. It was a Barbary sheep hunt in New Mexico. Used a rifle. It was tough, a lot of hiking.

walking under those prosthetics and after I ended up shooting a ram, was like, this is amazing. Why have I never hunted in my life? Because I was always outdoors. We're always camping and hiking and fishing, but we never hunted. So I got the itch after I got that ram. And so I did a couple of hunts here in Arizona, ⁓ elk, cavalina and deer and stuff like that. And then I was like, I want to try something. I want to try a bow. And I couldn't even tell you why.

I just wanted to shoot a bow. just popped into my mind and my father-in-law had a bow. had a 1990 something PSC Nova, old bow, steel cables and everything. And I was like, yeah, I want to, I want to shoot this thing. So anyways, I started shooting it and it was amazing. And so I ended up buying a little bit better bow cause that one was pretty old. And so I bought one, I started shooting and there's something about when you

are drawing back the bow and using every little bit of physical strength you have to hold that bow at full draw and you have to concentrate on everything. And then when you release that arrow, it's like a release of stress, because you're all tense from wanting to aim. And then when you hear it hit the target, it's like a full feedback loop of positivity. And most people smile. But when you're at full draw, I can not think of anything.

I can't think of anything other than the arrow. So I have no way to think about I don't have any legs. I don't have any way to think about pain or bills or bad day. It's like literally you and the arrow. So it's incredibly therapeutic. And the thing I love about it is that you'll never be perfect. As much as you try to shoot and be perfect, it ain't gonna happen. Maybe a couple arrows, but then the next day or the next shot sucks. you're like, and it so keeps you coming back for more.

Ryan Uffens (06:23)

Yeah, it's that's kind of how it was for me. Like my brain's going 100 miles an hour, right? Like, you know, an adult with ADHD. And ⁓ you get out there and it does like I've said it on multiple episodes I've recorded on it kind of reminds me of ⁓ for the love of the game, Kevin Costner, where he's like clear the mechanism, right? And just like all the noise, everything goes quiet. Like that's what it's like for me. It's like I totally relate to that.

It's amazing to get out there and just it's you, you know, you draw back and you're just locked in on your target and you can't help but focus and like you said, you can get good, but you can mess back up again. And just so yesterday I went out, hadn't shot for a while because I had separated my shoulder. I went out and I freaking slapped. got a little, a little raspberry on my arm. I was like, are you freaking kidding me? Like it's been two weeks since I've shot and all I did was

Like forget to rotate my arm out. There's like all these little things. And so then I did, that was the very first shot. I'm like, you gotta be kidding me. So yeah, a little, got a little raspberry on the arm. I haven't slapped myself and probably since the very first time I shot a compound bow and I'm like, you knucklehead man. So.

Caleb (07:41)

It

keeps you coming back for more man. There's just something about it and you can drop a lot of money on equipment, but it's not going to replace the time you got to put into it. You gotta put time into shooting and getting good.

Ryan Uffens (07:54)

Yeah, yeah. Well, and so when you got into it, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you kind of like build out like a little set in your garage?

Caleb (08:02)

Mm-hmm. Yeah, I I just I went all in and I'm just I'm the kind of person that wants to obsess about things and that's why I Really like a lot of folks in archery, you know, you got some OCD with it. Um, but I just wanted to start learning about it. So I Actually, there's a right here is Bo Presslin. I have some stuff over the side and I just start tinkering So basically YouTube John Dudley videos practicing taking stuff apart

and learning how to work on bows because it's intimidating. Like there's the tension, the strings, cables, the timing, all that stuff. So I started working on them and realizing, man, this is awesome. I really like it. And the timing was weird because that was right when COVID was kicking off. And so I got connected with ⁓ a good buddy of mine, Jonathan Lopez. He's missing an arm and he shoots a bow with a mouth tab, a piece of paracord tied to the string, bites it, and then he opens his mouth to shoot. It's wild.

So me and him got connected and we started a program for veterans and first responders under a nonprofit called Operation During Warrior. And we did, man, it was awesome. We did hunts, we did 3D shoots at Total Archery Challenge. We got a guy a job at a pro shop, sent people to the Paralympics. We did training camps. It was awesome. And we realized that how good archery is for the mind. And I love it so much. wanted to like look towards making a living out of it. So I was like, you know what?

I think I might try to open up my own archery shop someday and knowing that I'm going have to scratch from the ground up because it's a really tough business to get into. I started planning and just through, I think it was divine intervention. I found out that my local pro shop, the biggest one in town wanted, the owner wanted to retire and sell and they had been in business for 11 years and they sold everything. And I was like, so I just, got ahold of him and he was like, yeah.

talked me through it and he made me a really fair deal. He was a great guy just looking to get out of it. And all of sudden here I am with this awesome freaking archery shop almost four years down the road. It's crazy. Crazy.

Ryan Uffens (10:04)

That's

wild. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I mean, I know like our local pro shop out here, they're amazing. And like you do develop like such good relationships. And it's crazy how many like the guy they're just good dudes. Like, I mean, so it's it's perfect that you fall into that. Because like I said, we we just had Jared on and ⁓ you came highly recommended and I appreciate him making that connection. But but yeah, so that the

working the bows and stuff like building them breaking them down like that is super intimidating to me because I'm not like, not a smart dude. Well, I I'm not a dummy but ⁓ that's not like my forte. So it's wild that you went into it like you say you got a bow press you get everything I go down there and watch the guys work at our shop. It's it's wild arrows the local one here in Utah, but but I go down there and watch those those all of them.

Caleb (10:57)

Mm-hmm.

Ryan Uffens (11:02)

work. It's it's amazing to see. So I mean, obviously, your background, you're a lot more skilled, technically than I am when it comes to that type of stuff. But but yeah, it's cool that you got like all into it. So explain to me the time frame. So you started getting into archery, and then you got hooked up with the ⁓ Operation Enduring Warrior. And then how long was it before you started your ⁓

the archery journey before you had your own bow shop.

Caleb (11:33)

It's like two years, man. was quick. I obsessed, man. I watched every YouTube video I could and started learning and I was like, gonna do this. I to take things apart too. I used to work as a mechanic at a Ford dealership and I've tinkered with stuff in the army and all that. I was a radio guy for a little while and I love learning how things work and you can...

Ryan Uffens (11:35)

That's so cool. That's awesome.

Caleb (11:59)

I usually learn by breaking them. I'll take them apart and break it and like, crap, and I'm gonna have to figure out how to put it together. And that's been the story. Yeah. It's been, yeah.

Ryan Uffens (12:08)

Yeah, that's one way to do it. That's where

my ADHD kicks in and I break something. like, well, shit, I'm to have to just go buy a new one.

Caleb (12:19)

Yeah, that's the

easier route to do it and save yourself some time.

Ryan Uffens (12:23)

Yeah, it just

yeah, but like you said, I mean, I remember when I first got into bow hunting, like I got into it because my son wanted to do it. And, ⁓ you know, he was 21 and he'd he was 2021 I can't remember. But yeah, it was kind of like right around, right around COVID that we got into it, right as they were kind of coming out of it. But yeah, he we made a deal that way. Let's just put in you know, I had never hunted.

Never didn't grow up hunting, no one in my family hunts. And he, since he was a little kid was always like wanting to go down to the wild arrow. Anyway, we I'm like, hey, if we put in and dry out the same unit, like I'll go get a bow. Thinking like I'm off the hook, right? I'm like, there's no way we're gonna draw the same unit. But but anyway, we put in and the announcement came out and I was like, you got to be kidding me. We both drew out the exact same unit.

And anyway, it was off to the races, went down and he had already bought a bow because he was like, I'm doing it. So he had his own money at that point. He didn't have to ask me to go buy him something. And that kid, that kid's a tough worker too. But, but anyway, went down, I got myself a bow and, I went out and it was the sad. I I remember the very first time. Well, I do remember the very first time I let an arrow show. I, I was in the back range at wild arrow.

And I like draw back and I let it go and I hear this explosion and they have this tin thing along the bottom and the sites were just like it was I was way off way off anyway. It only 20 yards but just blew up my first arrow and I was like, all right, well, we need to make some adjustments. But it was even just like that. You said that release and I I looked down there and I saw the arrow kind of explode and I'm like, well, shit.

this is going to be an expensive sport if I keep blowing up my my arrows, but it's it's a ton of fun and it's super addicting. And if anybody hasn't shot a bow and arrow, like I would just encourage you like go find a local pro shop. Most of them have ranges that you can go back and shoot and they're going to get you set up with something they'll take the time, find something that fits you right. And it's just one of like the coolest experiences in the world. And there is something primal, you know, you start thinking back about like the ancestors like

Caleb (14:22)

Yeah.

Ryan Uffens (14:49)

chase since we're in Utah here chasing down like a woolly mammoth right now we got the Utah hockey club that's the Utah mammoth. ⁓ It's it's a fun thing and and then getting out on the mountain. Like that's something that I that I did want to ask you about because I talk all the time about like the physical conditioning that you have to be in. What's it like?

I mean, what was that transition like for you being able to adjust with your prosthetics? Because it is not easy country to go out. I mean, I see you've got a couple bowls behind you that you've taken down. Like those are not easy to do with two good legs.

Caleb (15:29)

It's tough, man. None of it is easy. And I don't know why I chose to bow hunt on two prosthetic legs. It's like stupid hard, but I just love the challenge. I had to spend a lot of time in the gym. And initially I spent a lot of time in the gym not knowing that I was going to hunt, but then it all translated over to hunting. I work out probably three to five times a week.

you know, for, since I was like 18 years old and I'm 40 now. ⁓ but knowing that the strength will transition over to what I want to do. And then once I started realizing the more work I put into the gym made me better out in the real world, I was like, okay, I really need to double down on it. But when I'm out there, I've got a good system. I wrote particular about how I pick my routes. I go really slow, but I use hiking poles.

And my hiking poles can let me go almost anywhere, dude. I mean, unless it's like really hairy, a lot of like slide rock and really, really steep, but I can go over most stuff. I have on my left side, I have my own knee left, but on my right side, I don't have my own knee. So I have like one of each, like one above, one below the knee. And so I'm able to kind of use the best of both worlds. So when I'm going uphill, I use my own knee to like push myself uphill with my hiking poles. But when I'm going downhill, my

Right side has like a shock knee. It's like a, it's like a, like a mountain bike shock knee. So I can actually put the proper pressure and like sit into it and it kind of slowly rides it down. Like it breaks the knee. It's actually really nice. And the VA has taken really good care of me, but I gotta be really good about sweat and taking off my legs and drying everything off and carrying extra gear to make sure I'm good, like spare parts and stuff. ⁓ and I usually won't go as far as somebody else, but, it's

I've realized I've to be smart. I've to be really smart about how I hunt. If I see an animal or a bull or something like that that I want to go after, I'd be like, can I actually get to it in time and can I get it out? A lot of times I've got to say no, which is a hard pill to swallow when you want to go after anything. ⁓ But I've found myself in some pretty hairy situations learning that lesson the hard way where during the summer when I'm hunting coos deer down here and

You know, in the evening rolls around, you see the bucks finally coming out and you like try to go after them. And then all of sudden it's pitch black and you're low on water. Your headlight, you know, lamp is getting low on battery and you're like, ⁓ crap, I got it. I got a long walk out of here and up some steep stuff. So I just got to be smart, man. That's what I've learned is to hunt smarter.

Ryan Uffens (18:04)

⁓ Do you do much solo stuff?

Caleb (18:07)

I do so much solo stuff a lot, a lot, a lot. And I love it. Like I'll go here and there's an I'll go black bear hunting out here, Coos deer hunting, have Lena hunt, one of the other elk on the on the wall. I hunted him solo and got him. I like I like I like. Being able to make my own decisions based upon like my situation and going where I want to go, because a lot of times when people hunt with me, they feel bad and they're like, well, let's make the

make the hunt about you or let's take the easier routes and stuff. And so I feel like it's like this kind of back and forth about, I want you to be able to have an opportunity and the other person wants me to have an opportunity. it is nice to hunt solo and just go at my own pace. Cause a lot of, you know, I can't keep up with everybody walking. So.

Ryan Uffens (18:56)

Yeah, yeah. Well, I think that's, I mean, a testament to who you are as an individual, you know, to be able to go out on your own and get the job done. it's wild. It's so fun to be out there. I've yet to arrow anything. I've yet to even let an arrow fly on anything. But I tell you what, since I've started this, it's crazy just talking to people.

I mean on a weekly basis, because I did two episodes a week. So I get to talk so much with people and just learn from them. And that's been like, I mean, that's the reason that I started doing the podcast is like, I just want to learn. I want to learn. And it's not about me. It's this podcast is just I get to sit down with like amazing individuals that have gone out there and just figure out a way to get it done. And ⁓ it's

Yeah, it's it's a ton of fun for me. So Caleb, tell me this like what's been your favorite hunt that you've been out on?

Caleb (20:02)

Man, that's a tough one. ⁓ I think overall hunting, like the style of hunting, there's nothing better than hunting bull elk in the rut with a bow. I mean, when you're calling them, this past year I hunted with my buddy Jonathan. said he's missing the arm. We hunted together and it was the best hunt I've ever had. We had every kind of elk hunting you could want. Spot and stalk, glassing, calling, sitting, every possible. And both of us got elk on that one.

And it was phenomenal, like just that style. Like when you call and they respond with a big old bugle and you're like, oh yeah, here we go. It was awesome. That was so that hunt was in Northern Arizona. The that that bull that's over there, I know if it's on the screen, but that's the one I got. And he got a really nice 350 bull. On that one, I'm actually I'm actually heading to Canada here in a couple of weeks. I'm going to go.

up in Hunt Black Bear with Jen and John Rivet up there in Alberta. ⁓ And that is such a fun hunt. you like and I and as my hunting experiences progress, I learned about different styles of hunting. And so they do baited hunting up there. And initially I was like, I don't know if I want to do baited hunting. But then you go up there and you see what they have going on and you realize it makes the most sense because they have an enormous amount of bears. I mean.

Like last year I went and I saw 30 bears in one in five days. was unreal. And so you sit there and they come in your backs to a tree. They got the bait in front of you 15 yards away. And these bears are coming in all around you climbing trees behind you come in, trying to sniff your backpack. There's nothing between you and the bears and they're all over the place. But the cool thing is you get to select the right bear because a lot of times here in Arizona, you see a bear. That's what you're going to see. And that's it.

Ryan Uffens (21:54)

Yeah,

you got you got one chance at it.

Caleb (21:56)

Yeah, man. then on this one, can sit and you can actually look and use your binos at 15 yards away and see, this a male or female? Is it mature? Is it not mature? And I'm going to take the proper one. So I love hunting with those guys because it's so, it's just the experience is awesome. The whole family is great. I love Alberta. It's beautiful. I mean, it's just that it's a lot of fun. A lot of fun.

Ryan Uffens (22:21)

Yeah. The other bear hunt that we were looking at doing, just didn't work out for us to be able to go up this year, but Ty Eubanks, he runs an outfit up in the Nez Peres National Forest. And he had sent me some photos and he's like, look, it's not grocery shopping. He's like, but like, what kind of bear do you want? Do you want one in the blonde phase? Do you want a cinnamon? Do you want, you know, do you want a black bear? And he's like, you tell me what you want. And I think

There's a lot of people that, you I was talking with Brad Hunt on here and he'd said that, you know, there's a lot of people that it's, they don't like bear hunting. They consider it bad. But not, I mean, you get the PETA guys, right? Like they think all animals just go out and it's like freaking lion king. They come together and sing or something together. No, like they like eat each other. Animals are either, they either starve to death, they're

most of the time eaten alive or they like freeze to death, you know, up in the area that we're at. So it's like, Mother Nature is brutal and doesn't care. And there's so many bears up there. And if you don't thin them out, like that's when the general public, the people that don't like the hunters, that's when they get mauled. And they're out on their bike. I mean, you see the videos on Instagram and that where a guy's like riding and he's got a GoPro on and you see a bear chasing him from

And if you don't do that, mean, they will just continue to grow and expand and like eat. And for those that, you know, like to go after the ungulates and, you know, the elk, the deer, the things like that, that there's a disconnect, man, between a lot of people. And I never grew up like on the other side of that. But we just didn't hunt. Like we did a lot of stuff like you had said, like we spent a lot of time in the outdoors camping, doing things like that, but it just wasn't hunting.

and you start talking to some individuals and there's like a huge bit of education that I think that's one thing that I love what social media has done for the hunting industry is it allows people to be able to share a story like why you do it. It's like a lot of people just think and look there are those that just like to go out there you have the poachers right that just don't care they want to go shoot something and they don't care if they even like take it harvest it they just shoot it and leave it. A lot of people do it because it's how they feed their families it's you know.

It's healing, right? I I always call it, I started calling it mountain medicine. You know, being able to get up, go in the mountains and kind of you get that reset where your phone doesn't have service and you don't have that 24 seven like connection to the things that are just a distraction. And anyway, that's what it is. So when are you heading up to Canada? Sorry, I just kind of went like on a little dive drive right there. But you're heading up.

Caleb (25:12)

Dude.

Ryan Uffens (25:13)

June or something? that what you said?

Caleb (25:15)

Yeah, yeah, the first week of June and dude as far as hunting goes like I I recognize that I eat meat and then I'm part of the cycle of life. So I was like, okay Why don't I take part in the cycle of life and then I realized how much better wild game meat tastes and how much better my body feels I'm telling you my body feels good and we well I mean I my family doesn't need as much as I do I got a couple girls in my life, but I eat it almost every single day

bear, deer, antelope, elk, avalanche, like all this stuff will eat it all. And you hit a good point about people not understanding what it is because there are misrepresentations of what hunting is, but the essence of hunting is conservation and harvesting your own meat and taking ownership in that, which is really important because when you go to the store and buy beef, you're so disconnected from it, you don't have any kind of connection to what that was before. But when you go and you actually harvest your own meat,

You value that way more than any steak you can get at Texas Roadhouse and it tastes better. So as an example, my sister-in-law, she, ⁓ you know, she had never hunted in her life. She was, ⁓ did a stint of being a vegetarian for health reasons, trying to try it out before and didn't have any interest in hunting. And so she started shooting a bow with me and the family. We'll go to total archery challenge. We went to park city and Brighton, the love tack, and we started talking hunting. And so.

Went and I eat everything I shoot and and I eat have a lean I bear all that stuff and I shot a have a Lena And I wanted them to try it her and her husband to try it So I took some stew meat, which is usually not that great a cut of meat cube meat I brined it in the fridge for a couple hours and then I smoked it on the smoker for a couple hours Just salt and pepper. I let him try it and they were like damn This is really really good. And now she hunts have Lena with me every year with a bow because of that

Like, so I think people just, a lot of people don't understand it. And for sure it is sad every single time. And I've been very successful in the field, but it is sad borderline bringing on tears every single time because you realize you're taking a life. so it's like a great, there's no nice and easy way about it. Like that's just the way life is. And so I want to take ownership of it and it's a burden, but I want to have ownership of that because I'm going to eat meat no matter what.

Ryan Uffens (27:42)

Yeah, I think one of the guys that does a really good job of sharing their love and passion for hunting, while not kind of making it like an in your face type thing is is I was lucky enough to have him on as my first guest, but Donnie Vincent, I don't know if you've had a chance to watch any of his videos. But he that dudes like connected, he cares about and that's the thing is, you know, people just think that you don't care about like you don't care about animals. It's like no, like you

Caleb (27:58)

Okay. Yeah.

Ryan Uffens (28:11)

you do I have like I said I've yet to arrow an animal. ⁓ But I can't imagine I mean it's like you said it's a ⁓ mixed emotion like you're out there. You're wanting to harvest an animal. But I've yet to do it. And the first time I do it like I'm sure it's like it's going to be mixed emotion of like like you're happy but also it's like man, it really will for me.

And I've got a lot of guys that like share their, you know, their meat. They're like, Hey dude, I got so much stuff that let me, what do you want? Let me help fill your freezer for you. And, ⁓ you know, I, we've got, we've had, I've got bison in the fridge right now. I've got, ⁓ I've got elk meat and you know, when you are putting your own food again, back to that primal kind of like caveman type thing. It's like, when you can provide for your family.

that meat like it's a good feeling but it's also not just this I don't

I guess what I'm trying to say is it's not just this thrill, I think for most hunters, you're connected to the animal and they're connected to you and they're providing life. And like you said, the meat, like since I've started eating, my wife's always been into organic and I finally got her to try like an elk burger and she was like,

Caleb (29:20)

you

Ryan Uffens (29:40)

this is really good. I'm like, yeah, honey, it doesn't get any more organic than like elk meat. I mean, they're like up in the timbers. They're eating like the best stuff. And anyway, it's taken a long time for me to get her to try it. But she's like, yeah, that was actually really good. And ⁓ it's, it's an experience. Like I said, I'm looking forward to being able to have like my own meat that I've, you know, taken down the animal and harvested and

deboned and all the fun stuff. Have you got any other hunts coming up this year that you're going to try and go out and do?

Caleb (30:13)

It's tough.

nothing, nothing right now in Arizona. You can shoot one ⁓ antlered buck deer per year either depend if it's a white tail or mule deer. ended up getting real fortunate and shot a buck in the end of January right over the season. And so I'm in deer jail and I can't hunt deer until January next year. So I might go hunt some bear here in Arizona. I didn't draw an elk tag. Sometimes there's return tags. So that may happen, but, I, so, but

Maybe I got this Black Bear, but a couple of the guys at my shop have elk tags and antelope tags. So my kind of my thought process is here is I'm going to hold down before it while they get to go do some of that stuff. Cause I've been pretty fortunate the past couple of years.

Ryan Uffens (31:04)

Yeah. Well, that's cool. Now, what are all the animals that you've been able to go out and hunt since you've started doing this? I mean, you've gone through, like know you've said elk. ⁓ I can see a bison behind you there. Javelina, coos.

Caleb (31:13)

man, I'm gonna... Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, a bit.

I got, I ended up getting this desert bighorn sheep. I got a couple of bear, a couple of elk, some koozier, got mule deer. ⁓ And then the Barbary sheep, cow elk, stuff like that. I've had, ⁓ I've been, dude, I've been fortunate, like really fortunate to have some good harvests. ⁓ I can probably, yeah, there's that guy. And then there's some stuff over there on the wall. I really like Uro mounts, some guys over there. So. ⁓

Ryan Uffens (31:49)

yeah.

And yeah,

I love the Euro mount. Hence that's what we went with for our logo.

Caleb (31:55)

I.

It looks good and like I have a couple mounts and stuff like at the shop and everything. ⁓ But the way I think about it is like I'm going to minimize mounts. Because when I when I pass away, my family is going to figure out somewhere for them to go. And it's a lot of money for mounts, so. ⁓ But I will say like I've been hunting for about six years now and I've been pretty fortunate, but I have put in a mountain of work in hours in the field. There is one. There is one year.

Ryan Uffens (32:11)

Yeah.

Caleb (32:23)

Three years ago, I was in the field hunting for 110 days throughout the whole year. That was an elk, antelope, bear, coos deer, and the bighorn sheep year. It was wild. I don't know how my wife let me get away so much. It was crazy. Yeah, that was crazy. It was crazy. But you learn a lot. The more time you spend in the field, you learn all the tactics and tips and how you want to do it. And I'm always listening to the...

Ryan Uffens (32:27)

What were you going after?

Like a third of the year out hunting. It's not too bad.

Caleb (32:52)

podcasting, know, Remy Warren is one of my favorite. He's always talking about tips and you just learn, dude, learn. just love, I love being in the field and different styles of hunting. the types, like this year I sat water for Coos deer, but I've, I've spot and stalked him in the past, you know, glassing for elk versus calling elk, stuff like that. Like I love the different varieties of it. ⁓ you know, going forward, if I'm going to be doing some bear hunting here in Arizona, I'm going to go out solo with a little mouth call predator call and try to call them in.

to get an arrow in them. So it'll be interesting.

Ryan Uffens (33:25)

What, so I mean, aside from for you, I mean, what we know, like the difficulties that you go through, just like general hunting struggles, like what was the one thing that you felt that maybe you overcame that helped kind of push you towards more success? Or for someone that's new to hunting, like what would you say, hey, this is gonna help you be more successful?

Caleb (33:50)

think there's two things. One is that patience is your biggest weapon. Patience is something that we all struggle with when we first get in because when you first start hunting and you say you're spotting stocking a deer, which is what we do out here, you do that in Utah, you want to go right away. You see it right away. I'm to start walking right in after it. And you don't understand the deer's behavior. You don't understand what the deer is going to do, you know, based upon the time of day, what, you know, the scenario around it. But you got to wait and patience.

is hard to really grasp. So I was ⁓ two years ago, I I glassed up this this Kuzbuck and I waited a little bit like in a couple hours and watched him he finally bed. And so I made this huge, I mean, like a two mile long stalk to get around him, get the wind right, come up on the side of the hill. And the wind was blowing up and down the hill, so he ended up smelling me, but thinking I was way above the hill and I was 60 yards from getting ready to draw and he ran.

So then I'm sitting there waiting, I'm like crap. I wasted, I didn't waste, I spent a lot of time going after him and so I just started being all loud and crashing all the way back to the truck and find out there was a giant buck just below him that was waiting and I didn't see him. He spooked out because I didn't sit there and wait for the situation to play out. ⁓ But I've learned the hard way on patience, man. But the other thing is you gotta be comfortable getting.

pretty deep into the wilderness or to the woods or wherever you're hunting because a lot of people will hunt a quarter mile, half a mile from the road. You walk to your blasting point or whatever, but there's so many animals that are way deep in there in untouched country and you can have more success getting further out there. And so for a while there, I was just like, I'm only going to hunt near the road. And that was comfortable for me on my prosthetics to not go very far unless I saw something. And I just realized I got to get out there. I got to be willing to hike in the dark.

hike uphill downhill into these draws and be uncomfortable to get to these spots so can be more successful.

Ryan Uffens (35:53)

Yeah, it's, I remember the first couple of times I went out like, you don't know what you don't know and you don't want to go very far. But it's once you put yourself like deeper in the country, you kind of get away from where all the people are and where like the constant pressure is. And you're able to definitely find more animals. And that's been that that definitely is a struggle but

I've only had one bowl that I got on. It was actually the very first time I went out. ⁓

it is when you see like specifically like a bull elk like in the wild. I you can't. It's different than if you're driving through Yellowstone, right? Or you're driving through Heber and you see elk on the side of the road. When you're out there and you're trying to get on an animal, like the rush that you get is just it's insane. And how

how loud they can be too. I when I heard him coming in, I'm thinking, I'm like, where's this freight train coming from? I mean, you just hear sticks, snip branches snapping and I'm going like, ⁓ Bigfoot Israel. He's coming after me. And I'm like, wait, no, that's a bull. But I had him at 30 yards, but I didn't have a shot on vitals. And... ⁓

I'm watching him come and like I did draw back and he was about to step into an opening. And it's weird because a lot of guys talk about like the rush, right? Like the buck fever and you draw back and you start shaking. That was like one of the first times that like we had talked about where like everything else went quiet. Like I was like calm as a cucumber. I'm just like locked in on where his vital should be. I'm watching and I'm going, he's like three yards from an opening. And

I didn't have a call. had never called before. I'm the worst elk caller in the entire world. And I'm going like, well, I'm going to wait until he steps into that opening. And I'll just like do like a little bark or something just to try and get him to pause for a second. Because I was like drawn back for like probably a minute. Like just like tracking him. And I'm going there is no way like this bull is going to step out into there.

And then like you say, like that wind, the same thing that happened to you with that deer you were chased. Like I feel the wind hit the back of my neck because he was actually up. I was going down a slope and he was a little bit up above me and he walked under this massive pine tree. ⁓ yeah, anyway, I felt the wind hit the back of my neck and, and he turned and just like blew out of there. And it was the last day of the archery hunt too. And, ⁓ but for me, like that hooked me. was like,

Caleb (38:45)

Hmm.

Ryan Uffens (38:50)

like, I like, you know, let the arrow down and I'm going, I'm going to get one next year. And I've been saying that for the past couple of years, but it hasn't been for me like until I wished I'd, I got into it and I'm really, I feel like I've gotten really good at shooting my bow. Like my distance in that where, where I, I feel like if I can get something at 80 yards, I feel perfectly comfortable about being able to place a kill shot on it, like in the vitals. And so having that confidence,

I'm more nervous. I'm pretty tall. I'm like 6'3". And so I've got like a really long draw length too. It's like under 30 yards. That's where I start feeling like I'm like suspect. I'm like, I don't know, man. I feel like the wobble and everything is just insane. But it's fun. It's fun to get out there and just shoot the bow and like let the sticks fly. ⁓ And yeah, you you had talked a little bit about the tack courses.

Caleb (39:36)

So.

Ryan Uffens (39:49)

And I've yet to do one of those because...

Caleb (39:51)

⁓ man,

you gotta do that.

Ryan Uffens (39:54)

Every time, they sell out so stinking fast. I know there's some others, like the one here in Utah specifically, it's like when it opens, it's like if you're not one of the first, if you're not on there within five minutes of it opening, you're not getting on the course. But I've heard from other people that that really helps level your game up. Because you can go shoot inside a bow shop, and you can go set a target out at 80 yards. ⁓

That's great. That helps. But and that's one of the things that I will go and do is like, I'll take my my target up into the hills and I try and give myself like different angles so that because you never know. It's never your well, I'm not saying never, but it's highly unlikely that you're going to have a perfect broadside shot at 40 yards. I mean, you're going to be either behind a tree or they're going to be partially behind a tree. And ⁓ from what I've heard, like the the the

Caleb (40:45)

Hmm.

Ryan Uffens (40:54)

the tac events really kind of helps people like level their game up. Would you say that's true?

Caleb (40:59)

100

% 100 % like you you get to learn the trajectory of your arrow. You get to know, hey, am I is my arrow going to smash that tree above? Is it going down to the target or you get to learn like, is it going to go through these branches or all that stuff like in and body placement of the target, you know, quartering all that stuff like is really important. If you just take like hunting aside outside, like away from total archery challenge, it is such an awesome.

Awesome event. mean you get all these people come together thousands of people over the course of a weekend Coming to shoot these courses and they'll have like, anywhere from six to eight different courses for you to choose from they have the vendor village down low where you can talk to everybody all the you know, All the people that are in the archery industry are there you ride a ski lift to the top of the mountain You shoot on the way down targets off trail. I mean, it's like it is awesome And so what happens is all that all the courses always sell out like the good knock times

So what you can do is you can buy any other available knock time and then you shoot any course for free after like noon or one. So you say you get a less desirable one in the morning, then you can shoot as many as you want after that. After one, you can do that the next day and shoot all the good courses. dude, mean, they're like anywhere from three to five miles, 25 targets, and it'll take some hours. It's tough. Like the first one I did was in Snow Basin.

And ⁓ we did the knock on course first thing in the morning. And granted, I'm pretty slow on the mountain, but to do 25 targets in four miles, took me and Jonathan nine hours to do that one that day. was a long day and there were.

Ryan Uffens (42:38)

And Jonathan was

your buddy that you said that is missing an arm, right? And so he has to shoot. saw, think Remy had shot like that because didn't, swear I remember seeing a video where he had some shoulder work done and he was out there trying to figure out how to shoot with his mouth. I can't, I couldn't even imagine doing.

Caleb (42:42)

Yeah, yep, yep.

You know, it's

interesting because Jonathan says that he is more solid with his anchor point because he's not worried about where his handsets on his face wobbling and how hard he's pulling back. He just with his mouth and it's wild because he can sit there and talk to me out of the side of his mouth while he's at full draw and he shoots 84 pounds out of his bow. It's I don't know how his teeth don't fall out.

Ryan Uffens (43:19)

He's

shooting 84 with his, yeah, cause they just, bite onto a tab, right? So hold on a second. He's drawing back with his teeth, 84 pounds, and he's sitting there talking to you.

Caleb (43:26)

Yup.

Yep, out of the side of his mouth, he's like, hey, know, blah, blah, blah. Can you move my peep or just my peep or whatever? Like it's wild, but he can hold for a long time. It's just the back air mullers and his mouth, I he's got a strong jaw, but he doesn't have any teeth issues. And when he smoked a giant bowl, 350 bowl last year in September, 20 yards snuck in, it was amazing. So, so cool to watch that all come together.

Ryan Uffens (43:45)

Sure.

That's

wild. I guess it's just like anything. If you decide you're going to do something, like you can do it. I remember when I first like I went down and I mean I had my I think my pound is like 72 or something like that is what my draw weight is. And I remember the first time doing that, man, I was just.

Caleb (44:03)

Yeah.

Ryan Uffens (44:17)

sore. I'm also like an entirely. That's the one thing for me too, that this had changed. I my my wife always called me like a skinny fat, right? Like I was skinny. But like I was fat. I literally like, had like a belly, right? All my all my body fat was just around my around my waist. had skinny legs, had skinny arms. And then I started shooting and I'm like, I want to be able to like draw back and hold.

And that's the thing like for me, like from the get go that I tell you, I try these different things. would practice shooting from my knee. I would practice like these different things. And then I can't even remember where, who, who it was that was talking about it, but it was somebody who's, you know, super popular in, in the archery industry, but they were like, Hey, you should try and hold like a draw for like 90 seconds. You know,

Because like I said, you go out in your backyard or you go to a bow shop, like you can pull back, you're like, there's, you don't have wind or anything else. Like I practice, if it's like raining, I still go out and shoot my bow. If it's windy, I still go out and shoot my bow. And you kind of do, you, I've shot so many, I've taken so many shots. I do feel very comfortable with my bow. So me, it's just a matter of learning how to get on the animal. But if you decide you're going to do something,

you can do it. And then like I went through this like I've gone through like if you were to see pictures of me from five years ago, not not not just even the beard right everyone's like you grow you start hunting you grew a beard I'm like I started growing the beard before but but your body will change like you have to be in physical like peak condition to be able to draw a bow back successfully. And like your buddy Jonathan like

Caleb (45:53)

Yeah. ⁓

Ryan Uffens (46:05)

Maybe he started at 84 pounds, maybe he didn't, but through repetition, like your body will build muscle memory, regardless of what it is. It's like I've torn my rotator cuff three times and I just do things differently. Like when I lift weights, like you learn how to modify certain movements so that you don't cause injury. And I think a lot of times people don't get into things because it's hard. Like one of the best things mentally for me was getting into archery because it...

It has helped me immensely. And my things are like little, like in the grand scheme of things. But it helps me focus on my career. It's made me better as a salesperson. It's made me better in so many different aspects of my life that it's just I'm grateful myself for the opportunities that it's provided me. had I always felt bad that I hadn't been hunting my entire life after I finally started doing it.

But I'm like, I been, one of the greatest pleasures that I've had that's come from this has been starting this podcast. And I get to meet so many cool people and just learn from them. And it's wild. So yeah, it's cool. I need to get out to attack event. I'm actually like, do you know the guys at Black Flag? Have you met Jordan and Casey Harpetson?

Caleb (47:13)

Hmm.

Mm-mm. I have it.

Ryan Uffens (47:32)

So they, they're the guys that were the original founders of mountain ops. And, ⁓ anyway, ⁓ I think they still have, I, well, I'm not, I won't get into it, but anyway, they started black flag. And, ⁓ if you're going out to tack events, I think they've been to a ton of the tack events. You'll, you'll have to meet those guys. Like they're, they're super cool. And, ⁓ they started black flag, which is, see the stuff behind me here.

They got their energy drink, but they go do the tack events and they're a bunch of studs, I mean, you should see, I actually, so I share a little office space with them. They've got like a dope place upstairs, but ⁓ you should see some of the stuff that they've got here, man. You know Brian Call? I need to introduce you to Brian Call. You should go on his podcast. Dude, ⁓ he just released a film called Blood in the Snow.

Caleb (48:21)

Mm-mm.

Ryan Uffens (48:30)

where him and Ryan Lampers went and hunted a wolf. Dude, his wolf just got delivered here and I saw it and I'm like, dude, those wolves are freaking massive. But ⁓ it's just, it's a cool environment and just such a cool opportunity to be able to like learn and grow. And like you said, go out and do all sorts of different things. But ⁓ yeah, what's been your, so it sounds like you've been to, so you've been up here to Snow Basin then.

Caleb (48:35)

Nice.

Ryan Uffens (48:57)

because that's like 15 minutes from where I am right now. I've heard that was a pretty cool course.

Caleb (48:58)

you

Yeah, we did snow.

Oh, it was was freaking gnarly, dude. Like that was one of the harder ones I've done. It's because we went all the way to the top. And when we went there that year, there was rain coming in. So it was like actually snowing on the top of the mountain a little bit in July. It's crazy. We did we did Park City a few years to.

Ryan Uffens (49:19)

Yeah. There's some gnarly

shots. I've seen some of the cliffs and things. I personally am not, I wouldn't say I'm afraid of heights. But you get out there and it gets a little windy. I couldn't imagine some of the angles that you have to try and stand on with your prosthetics. Could be like a, go ahead.

Caleb (49:44)

yeah, it's tough dude. It's tough. I've had to like.

I'll I sit down a lot man. I like when I find an area like that, I gotta be really particular about my footing and I've had to like sit on my butt, especially in those cliff shots. There's that very very first shot in Snow Basin on the knock on course. What you come to literally a cliff edge and luckily there was a flat spot for me to stand on. But I remember you aim. Like that you're aiming down like that and it's a 40 yard shot.

And you think about the actual distance because you have to cut off yardage depending on how steep you are your rangefinder calculates that so the actual straight line distance was super super far But you're shooting 40 yards almost straight down and you got to be really good about your third axis and your side picture and your all that stuff It's it's tough and then you go you go back to the flat range outdoors and you're like, this is easy compared to that stuff

Ryan Uffens (50:39)

Yeah. If like I said, for me, I would my suggestion to somebody that is new and they start shooting a bow. If you can't go, well, I could go. I just haven't gone. I don't want to make it sound like I'm incapable of going. I just every time there's a group that wants to go and we always forget to go in and hurry, try and buy. it sounds like you're saying there might be sometimes

that you can go try and buy that might not be like the ideal times. But I'm going to look into it. That's something I definitely want to look into and try and get out there and do spend some time on one of those tech courses. But if you can't do that, if you have the luxury, I mean, I'm in Utah, I'm surrounded by mountains, take your target up and just walk it up 40, 50 yards. shoot, learn to shoot uphill, learn to shoot downhill, learn to try and shoot around things because

That's one of the things in people that I've talked to is you don't know what you don't know and it's unlikely you're ever just going to get like a perfect broadside shot.

So.

Caleb (51:50)

Another

thing you should try that we did building up to this L cut last year is we when we were doing our training program in the gym We we brought our bows and set up a target 20 yards away from us and we worked in shots in the middle of a like a pretty tough workout So like we would be doing a circuit, you know, whatever exercises you go do like 10 burpees and then you got to pick up your bow where you're like shaking like crazy and make a shot at 20 yards like

That I'll tell you, because it's easy. Like you're saying, when you're at the flat range, y'all, I'm listening to my music and I had my coffee and I'm shooting. But then when you add in that adrenaline pump and your muscles are tired, which happens a lot, and it really puts it into perspective. ⁓

Ryan Uffens (52:31)

Well, and

it's like you said, that cooster you're chasing, mean, how far away did you say it was? Like two miles when you bed down? Like, yeah, walk and then you're like crawling and climbing. And I mean, where I go and hunt.

Caleb (52:38)

was a long walk. It was a long walk. Yeah.

Ryan Uffens (52:50)

It is like you're going like down, up and down and up and down and you're rarely, like I said, for me, like I'm stalking because, ⁓ my call that I do sounds like a mountain lion.

And if I do that call it like the elk like bolt the other direction. But yeah, it's, I like the stock. There's different things that I've learned, like I said, that you can put together that are gonna make you better, like when to stock, when to kind of sit put. And the biggest thing is just you gotta find where the elk are. It's like, I just did an episode with Cody Rich, right? And that dude's a stud.

And I've had, he had said like, Hey, if you're in an area, right. And you've got a vehicle and you got camp like drive around and throw some bugles out. I, I, I went, I went and got me a, a Slayer bugle because that that's kind of dummy proof. I'm still not great at that, but I'm getting better. I practice it, but go out and call. And if you can get a response like

Okay, you know that next morning, like I'm going to get up and I'm going to go start working like that Canyon or that pitch because that's the for me, like when it comes to elk hunting, the hardest part is finding the elk because there's a lot of time. Like when you're out doing the archery hunt early season, like they're not always bugling. It's, it's, you know, it's not always easel easy. At least the areas that I've gone to, ⁓ I've yet to be out there.

where I've heard them just ripping, like letting it rip. And that's the other thing that everyone's like, dude, you've got to get out. And I got a lot of guys that are going to go out with me this year and help get it done. So it's a ton of fun. But what, and I want to be sensitive to your time here, but as we kind of wrap up, like has there been a hunt for you that where you were successful?

that was maybe you had something exciting or something sketch happened where it's like things kind of maybe went south or just like another good learning experience that you had that helped you improve as a bow hunter.

Caleb (55:21)

yeah. yep. So it'll be the, theme will be perseverance is what it was. It boils down to, cause, ⁓ it never goes your way. It never goes your way and everything has to be perfect. But three, so three years ago I was, ⁓ had an archery antelope hunt up North in Arizona and we get, ⁓ so for, for folks that haven't hunted antelope, they're frustrating because you can see them easily see them cause they're everywhere.

but they can see so well. So getting close to them is incredibly tough. Like their eyes are the equivalent of having like eight or 10 power binoculars on their eyes and they could see you from like a mile away. It's crazy and they're fast. So getting to them is really tough because they live in these areas where it's, they can open and you can see sometimes there's zero coverage, just little grass. And so.

I had a hunt in Arizona. Those hunts are two weeks long for the archery hunt. It's during, it's in August. So it's during our monsoon season where it can be rainy or whatever. But I was by myself and it was hunting and I was, I was living out of my truck so I could be mobile. So I was sleeping in the backseat of my truck every night eating peak refueled, dehydrated meals, walking six to 10 miles a day, stocking these things and get so close. And then they would just kind of walk away and you'd be like on the, on the brink of being able to.

to get one. It got to the point where I would glass up a herd as they bedded and I would stock into the last tree line and then I would set my pack down, drop my pants, take off my prosthetics, put on my pants and freak an army crawl like two or 300 yards to them. And I remember getting all the way to them like 50 or 60 yards away and they didn't know I was there. And then they just were like, it's time to get up and move on. So they just popped up and started walking away. And I was like, are you kidding? I mean, it's in August.

It's hot. So it's tough. And I was getting frustrated. So I remember, I think it was day nine, eight day, eight or nine. And I spotted a buck and a doe bedded in the open, facing into the wind away, which was perfect. And a little slight slope away from them. So I came up from behind them and I got a decoy and I started slowly moving in with their back to me and the wind was in my face. And then they turn and saw me about a hundred yards out and then they ran away. And I was like,

So I watched them with my binos and watch them wait down across a little wash a dry wash and up into some rocks about a hundred yards away So I made another long It like a mile made like a long stock into there and I was like, I don't know exactly where they are in the rocks So I'm gonna sit at the crossing point where all the all the Antelope come back through because there's a fence on the other side of the rocks and Antelope were not really keen on crossing fences They don't jump them. They always look to go underneath them. So they don't

liked to cross fences, so I was like, okay, they're probably gonna come back the same way they came. So I was sitting there on the rocks and all of sudden it started raining. And I was like, ⁓ crap. I put my poncho over my head and I started texting and FaceTiming my wife and I'm texting her and I'm like, man, it's been like 30 or 45 minutes of rain. And so I took off my poncho and there was a flash flood in front of me and I was like, ⁓ shit. So there was no water 45 minutes ago and all of sudden there was a flash flood and I was like, well, it doesn't look like it's very deep.

So I was like, I can either A, test the depth deep, like see how deep it is with my hiking pole. And if it's crossable, if it's a couple inches or whatever, I'll cross it. Or I got to walk like five miles out of here all the way around to get to where there's a crossing point. And there's other basins and flash flood areas. So was like, I don't know what I'm getting into. It's turning out to be nighttime. So I put on my gear and I start walking down the slope to.

test the water and before I get to the water, I slipped and fell and rode the mud all the way into the water and I started going down the river. And it was like two feet deep at that point or something like that. And it got deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper. And I was like, this is not good. So I like lean on my pack to float and start kicking my arms and legs to try to push me to one side. And it's raging, raging down the river. So I dropped my pack, dropped my poles, my bow is hooked to my pack and I'm going down the river.

And I'm like, this is not good. And then it got to the point where I'm not touching the ground anymore as I go underneath, because I got my rain gear on, my vinyl harness, all my gear, my prosthetics are getting heavier. And I'm fighting, like literally fighting for my life. And I did not get a chance to think about dying when I got blown up in Afghanistan, because it just happened. This one, was like, this is like, literally, this is it. I felt like I was like seconds from going under because I was coming up and coughing, coughing all the water up. And I knew

that this river was getting me into a basin which was like a half a mile wide and like 30 to 50 feet freaking deep. And I was like, this is not good. So I was on the like just sitting there like this is how it happens. I'm gonna die. And then I was like, I'm gonna drop my prosthetics. I know I can swim, I can swim really well, but they're too heavy to keep me up. And I'm like fighting like frantically.

And right as I'm about to drop my prosthetics, I feel the bank or I feel dirt on my left hand and the river was raging and it took a little turn and I felt it. So I put both hands in the dirt. I scraped as it's dragging me along and I pulled myself up and finally just laid there. And then the water kept coming up and up and up. So had to like barrel roll like 10 times up a little higher in the mud. And I'm laying there and it kept coming up. And I was like, shit. So I grabbed like a stick and I walked all the way up to. ⁓

like out of the little channel, whatever it was. And I'm sitting there just like breathing and I was like, oh my God, this is crazy. And then I had my binos and so I looked for my pack and my pack had gotten hung up on a tree 200 yards ahead in the river. Keys, bow, pack, gone. They were down there. Like, cause that was bringing me under really quick. Like I was starting to sink quick and I was like, nope, hiking poles, nope, gone. So I got up and then I saw my pack hung up on a tree.

Ryan Uffens (1:01:08)

So you ditched your pack then.

sure.

Caleb (1:01:24)

So I called 911 and they started sending Sheriff's Department out there. And I told them, was like, do not come from the other side where I was, because my truck was about a mile off the other side, because you can't get to me. can't cross this river. It's impossible to cross this thing. And so they still came that way. And they came on and I watched them walk all the way out and they're like, nope. And they walked back to the trucks and had to drive. And it took them a while to get to me because they had to get through a ranch, special access. They almost got stuck a couple of times and got to me.

And while I was waiting for him, was like, this is crazy. Like I, I, I'm not hurt. mean, I almost freaking die like very, very close to dying and drowning, but I was like, I'm not hurt. So I took that stick and I walked all the way down, picked up my pack, walk all the way back up and they were like, they put me in their vehicle and drove me back to the main road, had an ambulance there and checked me out. And they're like, dude, you ain't got no bumps.

scrapes, bruises, you're fine. We recommend that you go back to the hospital to get checked out. I was like, well, I'm good. They're like, okay, what do you want me to do? I was like, take me to my truck. Take me to my truck. So they drove me to my truck and I called my wife and she was like, I'm glad you're okay and I know what you're gonna do so just be safe. I was like, all right, cool. So I freaking hunted the rest of the hunt.

Two weeks straight out there man. I covered like 60 miles on foot during that hunt. I did not get an antelope I had a shot on a really nice big buck but because of the mud and dirt that was in my release as I went to draw back on him it Preemptively opened and I missed him which was weird because I tested it out at camp, but something must have happened. So it was correct. It was crazy, man, and so I Had the same hunt two years ago, which would have been this past August and I and it was

intimidating because you're like, I'm going to go back into this area where I literally almost like like seconds from dying from going under not coming back up. And I was like, I'm going to do it anyways. And so I planned and I hunted differently this time. And I ended up shooting an arrow with my bow. And it was like the coolest full circle like facing your fears and being successful afterwards. It was like it was it was awesome. Super awesome.

Ryan Uffens (1:03:40)

That's way cool. I appreciate you sharing that with us, with me. I say us a lot. I guess it's just me and you. My brother-in-law always says, what, you got a mouse in your pocket? But anyway, that's a cool story. And it is, mean, I've had, I won't go into the details on it, but I've had a couple experiences where we were out, I mean, even last year where I've never been.

Mother Nature can humble you. And I mean, that's the one thing is one like, I mean, like I said, never been caught in a flash flood. I feel that swimming is one of my strengths. It's like, hey, if someone said like, hey, do you want to go run a marathon or swim a marathon? I'm like, I'm gonna go swim a marathon. Like that would be a lot easier for me to do than to do that. But the other thing, like having been like,

Caleb (1:04:09)

Mm-hmm.

Ryan Uffens (1:04:35)

I've been in rough water before and it's like fast moving water is not fun. yeah, ⁓ I mean having a pack that starts getting water down and.

Yeah, man, you're supposed to be here for a reason, brother.

Caleb (1:04:53)

It's crazy. I

know, dude, I know. And that's just, it's just one of many near death experiences in this lifetime. It's, and so like just going back to the archery stuff, like the process for me getting into archery to doing the nonprofit stuff to this business has been so just fluid. Like I'm not out on the streets networking to make this stuff happen. It's like, there's a set of dominoes that are laid out.

And all I got to do is just be present for it. And then they happen and push me in a certain direction. And it's, I'm meant to be here to do this stuff. And we do a lot of stuff to help people out through the shop. Like it's not just about money, it's about community. there's a reason I'm still here, man. And I don't know if I've figured out that reason yet, but life has been really good ever since I got hurt.

Ryan Uffens (1:05:42)

Good, good. Well, I'm glad you're here and I appreciate your time. As we kind of wrap up, let me ask you this last question. As a bow shop owner, what would you say is the most overrated piece of equipment that people buy when it comes to hunting?

Caleb (1:06:01)

⁓ man ⁓

I don't know if there's anything that's like super overrated. There's a lot of like little niche products, you know, that the add-ons that can add weight and they're like all these extra pieces that can get added on to your bow. Um, I think that people and, and, and again, we do not do this stuff at the shop for, to become rich. do it to be fulfilled and it's a soul fulfilling thing, but you don't have to have a new bow every year. And it doesn't help me from a business level. You don't need a new bow because there's always new bows coming out.

It's about you shooting your bow the best you can and spending time practicing it because a lot of folks starting their journey will get target panic or they're having like maybe their bows and paper tune and their arrows aren't accurate or they're getting frustrated. And there's a lot of things that you fix through a coach or having somebody teach you how to do it rather than buying equipment. ⁓ So that's like, will literally tell people not to buy certain things all the time because I'm like, it's not going to help you. It's not going to, ⁓

help you fulfill your goal. You need to practice shooting your bow is what it is.

Ryan Uffens (1:07:09)

Yeah, yeah, I think there's a lot of different things. But like I said, that's one of the benefits of getting in tight at a bow shop is because like, I'll go down there and I'll be like, Hey, I feel like I'm doing something wrong. Right. And Cody and Jeremiah and all those guys like they'll be like, Well, let me see, come back here. Like, let me see. No, no. They make these like little tweaks.

And like I said, like I went out yesterday, I've not slapped myself on the arm since probably it's probably been like five years. And I'm like, you like it wasn't bad. But still, I'm like, you got to be kidding me. It's like a rookie mistake. But it's there's all these little nuances that if you just get to know your bow and I'm like, okay, I was just excited to shoot. I want to see if I could draw back because I hadn't been able to draw back since I separated my shoulder and well,

I separated it like three months ago, rehabbed it, and then I went back to Jiu Jitsu and rolled with the dude that's like twice as strong as I am. And he wasn't even doing anything crazy, but it was just like a weird angle that he had me and he even heard it like, he's like, bro. And I'm like, yeah, I'm done. Like, let's stop for today. And anyway, so I'm like, I'm gonna give myself two weeks, because it wasn't as bad as when I first separated it.

Caleb (1:08:23)

you

Ryan Uffens (1:08:33)

But I went back and drew back and it wasn't comfortable. And I was thinking about my shoulder. I wasn't thinking about my shot, which is again, why you slap your wrist and you just have to get to where it becomes a routine. Because if you're out hunting and you rush, you're going to miss the target. You're going to float it over its back or under it or I don't hit a branch, million different things. But yeah, spend the time, get to know your bow.

And ⁓ yeah, I think that'll be good. So, okay, let me ask you this follow up question, Caleb. Like, what's the one piece of gear that you don't go to the back country without?

It

could be like a luxury thing or I mean, or something that it's sentimental or whatever.

Caleb (1:09:15)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. ⁓

I all well, depending on what kind of situation and I always have a layer with me. I talking about Mother Nature, I've been caught in so many situations where you're like, it's fine. It's you know, it's hot. And then maybe you get sweaty or whatever, but then you get cold. So I always carry an extra layer. ⁓ I carry an Allen wrench with me like a like an archers. Allen has all the different sizes. And the reason why that came in handy to me was because one time I was going after a coup that year that I shot down a steep, steep hill.

and I had my carbon poles and one of my poles snapped in half and I was like, ⁓ dude, I can't get in or out of here without two poles or else I'm gonna crawl. So I had to use my Allen wrench to take off a tripod leg off my freaking tripod and use that as another hiking pole to get in and out of there. So like I wouldn't have been able to do without that Allen wrench, but just, mean, like as far as gear goes, I try to minimize everything lightweight, but always have backups for things like a spare headlamp, spare set of batteries, stuff like that.

to make sure you're good.

Ryan Uffens (1:10:25)

The

old adage, one is none, two is one.

Caleb (1:10:30)

Dude, like, or you're ranging something and your range finder battery dies and you're in the middle of nowhere and you don't have a spare range, the little three volt or whatever they are, like stuff like that. ⁓

Ryan Uffens (1:10:40)

That'll ruin a hunt fast, not having a range finder.

Caleb (1:10:42)

Yeah.

My wife make is she forced me to have a Garmin inReach when I'm by myself so she can talk to me and something happens. Cause a lot of times I won't get back to like, you know, eight or nine o'clock at night. So that is a must have nowadays.

Ryan Uffens (1:10:57)

Yeah, yeah, I appreciate it. Caleb, hey man, really appreciate your time. It's been great getting to know you. I would tell you guys again, go give him a follow CK Brewer on Instagram and his archery shop is Sticks Sniper Archery. Did get that right? Okay, good. I was just going off memory. So it fails me sometimes. But hey guys, if you've

Caleb (1:10:59)

Yeah.

Yeah

Nice.

Ryan Uffens (1:11:24)

Take it anything that you feel that's going to make you a better hunter or just better in overall life. Please share this podcast with a friend, send a text, share the reels, the different things as you see them come through. yeah, when you do that, leave a comment. All that helps with all the different algorithms that are constantly changing, but we want to get the message out to people.

One, in Caleb's case, I think he is an inspiration and just all around great dude, so I think he has a great story to share. So please share it. Again, give him a follow and stay safe and God bless.