Joe Rogan Experience #1122 - Donnie Vincent
five four three two one. Donnie Vincent what's going on how are. you buddy good I'll be good very excited. that you didn't know about floating at. all you didn't know about float tanks. even remotely until you came here yeah. and it's wicked looking it's fun man if. you got time after the show you can. float if you want to do it I might have. to do it just to say that I've done it. yeah I I didn't know the science behind. it other than obviously floating right.
would be you know just feels good just. to meditate and just to sit there in a. quiet like you know when you when you're. a little kid you go in a swimming pool. or something you put your ears just. under the water and you get that kind of. yeah when everything's just peaceful and. you can just sit there and you can't. hear your mother or you can't hear your. girlfriend or whatever it is quiet I. assume it's a lot like that it's very. telling you said to women yeah say your. dad you didn't see your grandpa yeah oh. my my dad never talked to me but yeah I. am trying to get floating spread across.
well I think it's the best way for. people to relax if there's nothing like. it because first of all physically you. relax cuz the the water has so much. epsom salts in it you know it's just. really good for your muscles it's good. for sore you know anything sore muscles. overworked it's great for that but it's. also great in the environment where you. you're in that tank with total darkness. total silence no thoughts. oh yeah it's pitch-black in there you. close the door you don't see a ray of.
light and then your ears are underwater. and then I have to get some earplugs for. guests I don't mind having the the salt. in my ears but some people get a little. weirded out by the song there do we have. as much they're like yeah did I buy I. bought a big thing I did my memories. [ __ ] up dude what's wrong with me. giant jug of it right but uh the other. thing is that it just gives you alone. time in a way you don't ever get when. you're floating in there you're not. thinking about your body you're not.
thinking about anything you just you're. just floating and then it's just very. peaceful just suit makes you you you. have a real moment to consider things. I've had made some of my best decisions. in that thing and I don't think I mean. obviously we. no the rat-race right now none of us I. mean it's why I go to the mountains it's. the same thing like sitting there and. peace and my mind has been doing this. for years we're early on and and when I. would when I would go in the Arctic or. early on when I go into the mountains or. something I got everything was frantic.
like I had to do things really quickly I. wanted to cover a lot of ground. I wanted to everything packing moving. everything was so frantic and then when. I started realizing that if I would just. stop and slow it on and look at the very. tiniest details around me no matter. where I was or who I was with and I. started having a great appreciation of. my presence yeah so I'm sure something. like that is just because of the. darkness and because of the floating is. just hyper-extended into that presence. of you can trick yourself into thinking.
that nothing else is going on in your. life right yeah no I agree with you I. think that we take this attitude that we. have in the city when you're dealing. with traffic and massive amounts of. people and you sort of have that same. momentum when you go into the mountains. and if you do do that you're not gonna. appreciate it the same way yeah for sure. look around yeah I did that for a few. years I would go I thought I had to. accomplish something so I'd go to site a. and hunt there then and I try to as.
horrible as this sentence is to say I. try to kill as fast as I could so I. could get out of there and go to site B. in site C and then I started realizing I. actually had a friend of mine he's like. man I think you're I think you're. hunting too much I think this is gonna. catch up with you and you're gonna the. experience is gonna start to degrade for. you but it was almost like I was trying. to accomplish. really fast goals and when I started. slowing that down and saying hey I don't. want to go to the Arctic for seven days. and try to knock all these things off my. list in seven days I want to go to the. Arctic for 30 days and now let the.
Arctic come to me let let now I just. want to sit still and be quiet not not. chase the Arctic down but I want it just. now that I want it to come to me well I. think people for the law people who. don't have any experience in the. outdoors and certainly people who don't. hunt don't understand it and their. version of it they're getting either. from movies or hunters are always. portrayed as villains or they're. from these outdoor TV shows which I. don't think a good do a good job of.
representing what it actually is even. the really good ones like Rinella show. which i think is the best show out there. sure it's still 22 minutes with. commercials and I just don't think that. you get a real sense of what it's like. what I think you did that's really. interesting and one of the reasons why I. wanted to have you on is you're doing. films like you're doing an hour-long. film about a hunt and in that you really. get an understanding of the environment. you take great shots or whoever your.
cameraman is yeah great shots of the. environment and close-ups on leaves. floating down a river and you just get. you get a real sense of it which is. missing and it's it's still you're still. getting a blink of Oh. multiple weeks in the wilderness yeah. but you at least you get a feel like oh. this is something very different than. what's being portrayed this is like this. intense almost spiritual experience in. this very bizarre environment that.
surrounds civilization and we think of. it you know in these weird terms but. when you're out there in it it's very. difficult to capture what that's like. and I think you've done an amazing job. at doing that here's Jamie's put some of. your stuff up online here where you get. a chance to see it but and I appreciate. that it's some hunting it drives me nuts. go ahead no no it's just I'm just gonna. say I mean whoever is doing your you're. editing don't know he's fantastic yeah. he's really talented he does a really. really good job of of just picking good.
shots and just the overall experience is. relayed very well like you get a chance. to see like oh this this is an adventure. this isn't just as simple as you know. someone's going out there trying to fill. a freezer with wild game meat no you're. you're on an adventure and then the wild. game meat is a part of it yeah it's all. absolutely a lot of [ __ ] going on and. this was this piece right here was. specifically done for Nat Geo because. they have the National Geographic.
Society which is the magazine and then I. have National Geographic which is the TV. show and so they wanted to do they hit. me up for a bunch of TV shows they. wanted me to. you know come and find Bigfoot they. wanted me to I yeah they know the [ __ ]. they called me for everything maybe they. would call me and say uh where are you. right now where are where's your cabin. and I'd say I don't have a cabin and. they said surely you're skinning a. beaver out right now no no I live in. Wisconsin just out of Minneapolis and.
I'm walking my Labrador down the street. in shorts and and so they said well they. they really want to do a TV show and. they wanted it to encapsulate hunting to. some degree but the society the magazine. was against hunting the TV show would. allow it so they wanted me to do a. no-bullshit a sermon if you will. download looking down the barrel of the. camera and just said this isn't gonna go. public this doesn't have to be pretty. it's not gonna be edited well but just.
please tell us why you hunt try to. explain it so that we can bring it to. our producers and same it like this is. why he hunts and so I did this had my. little temper tantrum there and and in. doing it realized like it made me really. question you know I'd say okay so you. want to know why I hunt and then it made. me take a step back and say man for the. love of God I really don't even know I. don't know why I hunt but I can explain. some of the areas it doesn't explain why.
I'm a hunter it doesn't explain exactly. why I hunt but I can tell you I love the. adventure I can tell you I love the. really clean protein that I get for me. and my family I can tell you that our. ancestry unequivocally comes from 100%. groups of hunters and gatherers that's. around the world I can tell you all of. these points I can tell you that I love. seeing antlers of all sizes and and the. hides and I can tell you I love watching. grizzly bears eat blueberries and. watching salmon come up a river to spawn.
I can tell you all of these things but I. don't know if all of those things make. me a hunter or if I'm just experiencing. all those things because I am a hunter. it's just very difficult to articulate. it's very difficult to articulate how. much you love something yet you're. willing to engage it in such a heavy way. such a violent way that you're willing. to step in. kill it cut it up get your hands bloody. because really that's what it is we love. it so much that we're willing to expose.
ourselves to the elements put ourselves. in these places let the arrow or the. bullet go watch an animal dive which is. never never an interesting thing to walk. I say interesting but it's just not a. pleasurable thing to watch but if this. is how we engage as hunters into these. environments and so I was trying to. convey that to NatGeo in a seven-minute. piece and Kyle after he put it together. he's like I think we should release it. and I said hell no hell no I talked. about PETA in it.
I talked about being a vegetarian in it. which I'm not against vegetarianism I'm. PETA's oh joke but but he insisted so. he'd finally won the argument and you. know well Peter you know the idea behind. Ethical Treatment of Animals is amazing. of course I mean you like you're saying. you have a Labrador the idea that. hunters hate animals too is also a very. confusing thing this is Hunter's love. animals you know there's a lot of. hunters that have dogs and cats. yeah but Ethical Treatment of Animals is.
is imperative it's very important I mean. we are if we are really the stewards of. nature if we were really the top of the. food chain we most certainly are we and. we're conscious and we have a conscience. we absolutely should be ethical in our. Treatment of Animals and take care of. them and be kind to them which the. problem with PETA is that's not really. what they're about they're the Animal. Liberation Organization that's what they. really are well they're about they don't. want any animals to be pets they don't.
want people to have pets like this is I. mean that this sounds radical but it's. absolutely true in fact PETA euthanizes. thousands of pets a year they kill pets. and they killed them quickly they don't. keep them alive very long and the idea. being is that for the critics the idea. has been bandied about is they don't. want these animals to live and breed and. stay pets they want animals to only be. wild and that's fine but there's. thousands and thousands of years of. domesticated animals and if you want to.
let those animals loose they'd have them. wild you have a whole another series of. problems. you want to kill all the golden. retrievers and all the chihuahuas not. they're not gonna survive in the wild. really yeah yeah we've perpetuated past. that a long time ago yeah they're not. wild animals they're just not no no yeah. like like a little fat kids not a wild. animal either you leave him in the woods. he's gonna die just as quickly as your. [ __ ] Chihuahua he's gonna be food. yeah they're not gonna make it yes this. is not you know so there's a there's a.
weird ideology that they're attached to. that is it's it's it's not tenable it's. not no you can't argue it you know the. idea of Ethical Treatment of Animals I'm. a hundred percent with that I [ __ ]. hate the whole idea of captive orcas. that to me is one of the big rows that. freaks me the [ __ ] out that we can take. these alien creatures that are. essentially as smart as us probably and. put them in swimming pools and justify.
it and that the only time they've ever. killed people in recorded history has. been in those swimming pools. yeah they don't kill people in the wild. they kill everything else they killed. whales they kill dolphins they kill. sharks they don't [ __ ] with people in. fact there's been instances where. they've saved people mm-hmm and yet. we've decided to put the so me and PETA. are on the 100% the same page as that. and Peeta's retweeted a bunch of [ __ ]. that I've put up before which are really. weird. they retweeted a bunch of [ __ ] that I. put up about you know about orcas and. when I've done that people like you know.
he hunts right and then then it gets you. know radio silence they just want to. support my hate for you know Orca. captain you know I I had um one of the. most I've had some I've been fortunate. to have remarkable engagements with. wildlife in my life but two years ago in. NBC I had one with a killer whale it was. it was wicked and to this day I regret. not making the decision I'm about to. tell you about but we had been I'd been.
bear hunting on the coast and we were in. a boat cruising back to the harbor and. we found two pods of killer whales three. big bowls and a bunch of cows that were. hunting and we kept as they would come. up they were chasing salmon and as they. would come up we just get closer just to. film them or even just to see them and. then they'd go down and. so I don't know if it was just. happenstance of where we were but we. came up we were just kind of waiting for. the whole pod to come up and all the Sun.
just 50 feet from the boat here comes. the huge dorsal fin of this bowl comes. right at our boat bumps into our boat. I'm standing on the in the crow's nest. essentially I'm on the roof of the boat. looking at this thing he comes up bumps. into our boat and he just glides his. left side. all along the boat so his left pectoral. fin is probably under our gunnel if you. will or under our hull and so he's just. dragging his fin and he rotates on his. side dragging his dorsal fin along our.
side exhales covering our director of. photography Williams face in his spray. and as he's doing this he goes he hugs. the bow of our boat and he never ever. breaks eye contact with me he's staring. at me out of his left eye literally. rolling his eye over and he just cruises. all the way around the boat and I wanted. to dive in and I just wasn't sure like I. didn't want to be one of these got a. dive I didn't want to be the first guy.
to diet I didn't also didn't want to. have like some sort of shallow water. blackout because the water was so cold. so I didn't want to dive in and have all. Sun like I didn't know how my body would. react because I hadn't been in the water. yet and so and then also I was like I. you know I'd watched blackfish or. whatever that film is where they killed. a bunch of folks at you know in in. SeaWorld and NBC and so I was just like. well what if you know there's got to be. at first you know wolves never killed. anyone any either and then you know some. young lady went jogging in BC and son of.
a [ __ ] we have number one well there's. a long history wolf killing people on. the path yeah I'm just saying you know. like you know in recorded time but it. was still it was it was and he. maintained eye contact. turned and then just continued on with. the hunt but if you film all this yeah. what you've filmed as much as we could. because it happened really fast but yeah. it was wicked absolutely wicked I mean. literally his you knows dorsal fins. probably ten feet tall and it is just. you know when you drag something against. another inanimate object with force you.
know his fin is just. you know he was just very engaged with. the boat it's a dorsal fin really that. tall yeah yeah it's like it's gotta be. eight nine ten feet that's [ __ ] crazy. yeah that makes sense. they're so big [ __ ] man I've never seen. one in the wild all fins in the wild and. I've seen whales in the wild yeah I've. never seen an orca yeah there wait I. mean wicked animals we don't we can't. even comprehend with that he said that. if orcas weren't real and Bigfoot was.
real we wouldn't give a [ __ ] about. Bigfoot Bigfoot would be in the zoo. right next to the [ __ ] orangutan you. know we'd be like look at the big monkey. yeah it's stupid monkey you know. yeah but orcas I mean they speak in a. language that we can't decipher we don't. know what they're saying but we know. that they have dialects we know that. they they stay in these pods for life. they they they have this family. organization and they all stay in their. clan yeah they're they're [ __ ]. incredible and you've seen you've seen. blackfish obviously yeah yeah much as I.
could watch I couldn't watch the whole. thing I get angry oh yeah yeah I get. furious that this is a giant business. that they take these things and they buy. them from other organizations and I've. had you know I just I've had real. problems with it for a long time and I. felt my friend Phil DeMars he was a. trainer at Marineland and he's been on. the podcast many many times and he's. involved in these constant lawsuits with. Marineland he was a walrus trainer and.
he also trained killer whales and you. know he's given us some real insight. into the horrors of what it's like in. marine land and even in Sea World and. what they're doing and how they how they. get these orcas and and how they're. treated and how bad it is for them to be. trapped in these environments and how. their dorsal fins go limp because they. never have to deal with current so the. atrophy the whole thing is sick it's do. they still have them now and killer. whales at SeaWorld now yes yeah they. still have them yeah they can't they.
can't buy new ones apparently or. something like that some weird antastic. yeah the whole thing they can't I think. they could still breed them though I. mean the whole thing is [ __ ] up man. it's it's just like slavery it's like we. had aliens as slaves. we just couldn't we're like what are you. saying. yeah I don't know what you're saying. dude get in the pool if you want to fish. get in the [ __ ] pool I mean that's. basically what's going on it's gross. yeah it's it's sick yeah it's twisted. yeah you know and I just so that's where. me and PETA we're on the same page yeah.
I think anyone honestly treating. anything with ethics right particularly. animals of course hunters are animal. lovers you know we rescue dogs we rescue. cats we it's it absolutely goes without. saying which is where the contention. comes from that's where the questions. come from that's I I get I get as many. letters from non hunters and from you. know people that think that they're. against hunting or have may be damning. questions then I do from hunters.
themselves you know I get I get letters. from hunters I'd say you know you're a. badass or you really inspire me or you. know I'm really happy that I can have my. kids watch your films like I don't let. them watch hunting TV but when we sit. down and they want to see something they. want to ingest something that has. hunting in it you know we'll watch your. films and so I think that's really cool. but I get a lot of questions from non. hunters and then people that have some. contention with it well I think there's. a lot of people out there that are. curious I mean ninety depending on who.
you asked 95 or 90 percent ninety seven. percent of the population eats meat and. the the percentage that actually killed. that meat themselves is incredibly small. it's probably a 1% sure you know I mean. I don't know what it is it might be a. little bit harder than that but it's no. more than five and there's a lot of. people that are just on the fence and. they're just sitting there going well I. eat it but I don't kill it myself but I. somehow know they were angry that. someone's doing it themselves like my. before I ever thought about hunting my.
thoughts about hunters were that they. were cruel people that liked to kill. animals why would you kill animals it's. not necessary you can buy meat from a. store this is the very shallow thinking. that I had you know decades ago then you. know as I started getting older and. really considering what I do with my. body and what kind of food I put in and. then the internet was a big one because. the internet came along and I started. watching those videos that a lot of them. that PETA puts up of.
factory farming oh and terrible it's. horrible it's not just terrible it's. it's like it doesn't make any sense it's. like this is this is like human beings. at their very worst like that we've. treated these things as like the the. most I mean not just as a commodity but. we've ignored their feelings and their. thoughts and their that the fact that. they have instincts and needs and that. we've stuffed them into these tiny. little cages it's a sickness then you.
see the cruel inhumane treatment that. some of the people that work there you. know when people that work in farms will. tell you like this is very rare and. these are isolated instances and this is. terrible. that's well and good but there's also a. gag laws that prevent people from. filming agricultural gag laws that. prevent people from filming on these. factory farms because they don't want. people to know how horrific those. conditions are so it's there's some. truth to it I mean maybe they're. isolated instances maybe it's a small. percentage of the farms that do treat.
their animals like that yeah but it's. significant enough that they're worried. about the impact on the economy to the. point where they're passing laws that. keep people from filming and showing. people what it's like in these places. you can even just show people without. any abuse just show what's going on just. even a still photo of how they're living. yeah and you're not gonna want to. consume the food and these and the. people that they think that these. animals were raised this way right there. they're cows there are bovines they're. big dumb animals they were bred for this. who cares they have no idea what's going.
on until that spike hits somewhere they. get electrocuted or they get their. throats slit but if you have any. wherewithal at all if you have any being. any soul at all and maybe this is the. wrong idealization or the wrong picture. I'm building in my head but if you if. you make yourself the cow just for a. second if you remove yourself just for a. freaking second and just say like is is. this how I would want to be treated is.
this how I would want to live is this. how I would want to die then you start. to ask yourself some pretty big. questions that are relatively easy to. answer and we have a lot of people on. the earth right now and it's going to. continue in. till something big happens but if you if. if you can remove yourself from your own. Eagle and from your own comfort and try. to visualize at all what these other. animals are going through even animals. you're hunting it's going to make you. better and and more cognizant of being.
ethical and treating everything with. absolute care even in killing it yeah I. mean I know it's tradition is there. though right with hunting because like. if you really care about the animal why. would you kill it right that's yeah. that's the big question yeah so hardest. thing to wrap your head around yeah if. you're not if you're not in our. wilderness is it's it's it's absolutely. wild I mean public lands in particular. they're very there it's absolutely wild. but it's also very weird because a lot. of the funding for that wildlife comes.
from people that by hunting tags and. hunting equipment in order to kill those. animals so the way those animals are. sustained and the way the Wildlife's are. protected in the way that the wardens. and game rangers are paid is a lot of it. is through the hunters who want to go. out and kill the animals that live on so. it's like a lot of people like okay this. is wild sorta but it's also a sword sort. it's protected by people that want to go. in that water and engage it yeah not not.
I mean we're reducing it to a single. variable so you want to protect these. Elks you can go in there and kill an elk. no I want to protect these first of all. I want to protect the habitat right so. these elk can thrive and then in certain. instances go in and remove a few animals. or in certain instances like if you're. an Alaska or something like that and. hunting a stable caribou herd you can go. in and remove you know not everything is. based off of soul management right as. animals encroach where people are we. need to cut their numbers down because. humans have taken up so much land but.
there are other populations that are. trending in relative harmony if they. have big huge scales of land we are not. drilling for oil or whatever where we. can go and remove a few a few animals. and they're predator and prey scenario. and it works just fine for the herd it. works just fine for the population and. actually in a very small way helps the. population by removing certain animals. for an age class or a sex class things. like that. vasa difficulties we're preserving the. habitat so the weekend going and engage.
in the wild right I mean I think also a. lot of people they think you buy your. gun you buy your bow you buy your tag. you go to Utah you leave with an elk. well that is how it works for like 15. percent of the people if that if that. but there's a whole contingent of 80% or. 90% of people that buy their bow by. their gun by their pickup truck get. their hotel room get their tent hiked 20. miles into the wilderness. strike out listen to a lot of quiet look.
around hike out get back in their truck. drive home send me an email saying where. is it that you find elk around September. 15th in Utah and so there's instill. those people are engaging and still you. know and there's all different wise. there's you know there's fly fishermen. and elk hunters and and there's people. that just want to take photos and so. everyone has their different engagement. but that's really what it's about and we. have what we're trending towards eight. billion people on the face there yeah so. well at large-scale agriculture and.
farming and in an animal agriculture as. well has created this environment where. people can thrive in these cities yeah. where they're not growing any food I. mean California where we're at right now. it's one of the weirdest places on the. planet Earth there's 20 million people. no one's growing anything but weed I. mean look around here this is [ __ ]. there's no farms out here man no it's a. farm it's it's it's completely we're in. the people that are a lot of these. people that are writing a lot of these. people that aren't against this they're. so hypocritical they're eating.
cheeseburgers well they're so. hypocritical very strange yeah very. strange but they've I've been that. person I've been that meat eating person. who thought that and that hunters. yeah I've been that person I get it I. know where they're coming from and and. I've considered vegetarianism and when I. was fighting I was a vegan or a. vegetarian rather for I guess I was. probably considered vegan I don't think. I was eating any cheese and I wasn't. drinking any milk but I did that for. like six months it didn't it just didn't. agree with me. you know I mean maybe I didn't do it.
right and I never did it again but I was. doing it to try to lose weight as well. so I was also not eating enough I was. there was a lot going on there because I. was trying to fight it a low weight. class but a lot of people do it and they. do it well and it works for them but. they have to understand even that's not. clean man the large-scale agriculture in. terms of farming that [ __ ] kills a lot. of animals it displaces a lot of. wildlife you're never supposed to have a. thousand acres of soybeans or a thousand.
acres of corn or a thousand acres of. [ __ ] wheat or anything anything all. that [ __ ] is fake all that [ __ ] is. something someone's put there and when. they're using pesticides they're killing. things and when they're using those. combines they are grinding up bunnies. and [ __ ] rats and mice and killing. countless bugs so the idea that you're. getting away without killing any. sentient life it's [ __ ] and even. look at so the corridor the Mississippi. River right used to be solid wetlands. and our wetlands is how we recycle water. it's how we that's stinky biomass that.
you smell that's that's clean water. being made it's that's debt reduce. materially being it being processed. Mississippi River used to be completely. lined with these wetlands farmers have. one in and--and--and obviously it's not. the farmers fault this is just as soon. as we started agriculture 13 14 15. thousand years ago the stopwatch was hit. we went one direction you cannot go away. we were hunters and gatherers we could. only raise so many children we had to.
move with the food we had to move away. from our excrement we had to keep a. small population but the second we. figured out how to grow corn and rice. and stay in one place and raise more. than one child and now we're close to. our excrement literally the stopwatch to. something that is going to be a. fantastic event has started yeah I don't. know if I'm gonna see it I don't know if. you're gonna see it but something wicked. is coming and and manohar way to look. around there's there there's anyway.
something over population over. populations is something will happen you. know human beings are animals we have. awesome thumbs we have great brains but. we are nothing there's nothing amazing. about us we can fly to the moon we can. do all this great stuff by the way I. loved your discussion with your flat. earther. this guy that's freaking amazing and the. other guy that thinks if you eat the. perfect amount of food you won't poop or. pee oh that guy. that's silly [ __ ] California remains the.
leading US state for cash farm receipts. biggest state with oh yeah that's yeah. but that's outside of LA if you go. outside we're just talking about LA. California's are a lot of farms in fact. if you drive from LA and you go to. Fresno like we were working in Fresno. it's [ __ ] nothing but farms like all. the way up to San Francisco nothing. before yes it's you know it's a lot of. almond farming yeah tomatoes avocados. but you look at so we've gotten rid of. our wetlands and now where are our soils. our sawdust there's nothing in them.
anymore. right so we pump in the nitrogen we pump. in the phosphorus the rescue there's a. lot of people don't understand that you. when you use when you grow vegetables on. a plot of land over and over and over. again you deplete the soil animals yeah. because you're not letting anything die. there right you are pulling from the. earth you're harvesting the plant. nothing is dying nothing is returning. back to the earth and so you're grown so. then the next year you don't have that. debt reduce material creating all the. goodies in the soils the bugs the the.
microbes you don't have these funguses. you don't have these symbiotic. relationships that are working with all. these insects and microbes and so that. that create your soil to be a living. system we've as as we push all that into. the plant and we harvest it and we just. keep doing that repeatedly well there's. less and less of this biomass in the. soil so we have to then go in and. fertilize with the nitrogen and. phosphorous to give our plants nitrogen. fixation things like this to grow these. plants then we harvest them then rains. come there's erosion all of these soils.
so we lose some of our top soils which. brings us down to even more other. different levels of soils that need even. more chemicals brought into them so they. can actually grow something but all. these soils that are heavily laden with. with nitrogen phosphorus pouring in the. Mississippi River and people know about. this I'm not saying anything that isn't. hasn't been extremely well documented. and pushes down to the Gulf of Mexico. the sunlight hits it all of this al. algal blooms happen all this algae hits. this nitrogen and phosphorous it grows.
it just like it grows a corn stalk. the sunlight hits it have these huge. blooms that needs oxygen to function so. it creates this huge hypoxic zones right. you've heard these things called dead. zones fish can't live in them and so. anyone that's hangs their hat on being a. vegetarian or and I know there's reasons. for being a vegetarian I know there's. people that refuse do it they don't want. to kill the animal themselves and and. and they're not going to buy from a.
factory farm I probably have more in. common with vegetarian people that that. don't want to kill their own animals and. and aren't willing to eat factory grown. food that then I have with some of my. hunters and with other hunters you. saying it seems and and and I also I'm. you know I'm so focused on conservation. in habitats and being aware and it's not. and it's not ever-present but I have. this awareness of when I go and hunt.
someplace that you know am I am I. actually doing something good here am I. you know I I went a few years ago to. Newfoundland on woodland caribou and the. population was really down and so I got. I got invited to go there and and so I. started looking into it. because the population was always like. man I really even really be doing this. and I through my research I found out. this population of caribou is really. cyclic and as they fall really low. they thrive it's it's one of the best. times for the caribou and actually when.
their populations are at a huge boom. they do the worst and so I won because. the too much of the lichen yeah so they. just their habitat resource just starts. to be overlaid and then they have. another another Boston so so I went and. did it but there's there's a constant. meaning and yang and as a hunter as a. vegetarian even if you want to claim. veganism all of these things we should. be asking ourselves big questions this. whole thing that everything lives here. in a gray area there is no black and.
white I'm not against vegetarians and. not against vegans if a vegan comes up. me and says how in the hell can you kill. an animal and wear leather shoes I say. that's a really good point let me ask. myself because I'm gonna have to sit. down and a quiet float tank and think. about myself like what I should be. asking myself some of these big. questions at and as that should they I. just think there's a lot of information. that we should keep asking ourselves. keep asking ourselves because if the. population of human beings continues. exponentially which it will until this.
major event then I that everyone thinks. is coming hunters should almost be the. first ones to give up hunting if it. trends towards that someday if it gets. to be there's not enough wildlife or. wild lands or something fantastic. happens like hunters should be the first. ones they should be on the front line of. being aware of the habitat and the. resources and say hey you know what we. need to back off and and I've seen it.
before it's actually really cool few. years ago this is a micro instance but a. few years ago not actually a few years. ago I say it's a long time ago in 1991 a. huge Blizzard hit in Wisconsin on. Halloween Day and the Wisconsin deer. hunters Association shut down whitetail. hunting overnight said there is no deer. hunting this year it's canceled it's. done there's no legal deer hunting this. year and then all of these deer hunters. were taking their tractors out on these. public lands and on their private lands.
and plowing areas for the deer to walk. around and the deer to move around and. so there's there's all sorts of. instances about it but yet you get what. I'm saying I think we have to keep. asking ourselves these questions as we. as we move through our time and space I. think it's real important and what you. said about you know what you're. essentially saying is that people then. this has always been my problem with. people that proselytize are people that. are that are really into proclaiming. they have the moral high ground because.
they only vegetables that high ground is. filled with holes you're gonna step in. one of those holes if you keep talking. yeah because the more angry you get at. people that hunt and the more angry you. get the people to eat meat you have to. understand that if you're eating. vegetables just by factor you're buying. them from a factory farm you're buying. them from large scale agriculture you're. absolutely responsible for. death and the death of fish I'm glad you. brought that up because those dead zones. in the ocean that that's a gigantic. problem oh my god it's a gigantic.
problem and it's it's a problem that's. caused in large part by large large. scale agriculture as you said I think. that one of these problems is gonna be. solved by factory created meat the. problem is how many other problems are. gonna be created by that I don't mean. Ghent like yeah like made me mm-hmm like. out of soy rot oh no no no they're. they're making meat in laboratories. laboratory created meat and they're what. they're what's the process cellular base.
like what's the first thing that they. put the pretreat essentially they're. cloning beef and all these different. things and the idea is that they're. gonna be able to do this without. anything dying it so if you think if you. think our population if you think our. human growth is exponential now mmm-hmm. now we now we can get rid of the land. now we don't need the land now there's. no value for wild places and there's no. value even for farms now we can get rid. of all of that and billionaires you know.
a billionaires love they love money and. so billionaires will buy up all this. land because they already have all the. money to buy the land they'll buy the. land they'll get the farms and they'll. get all the wild places out and they'll. build even more houses because you can. eat some beige-colored gruel or. laboratory design meat and we can get. even more people well I don't think. they're thinking about it that way but. so I just invented something I'm sure I. mean it's like it's like the idea of. they like they're gonna do this and well. they're us and there's ya you know.
wildlife and wild lands are protected. there's federal land and you can't. really build factory farm meat houses on. those places but now I see what you're. saying but there's also the real problem. of like what what there's no there's no. free ride like what happens when you. make that meat like what's that I'm. asking you what's the first thing in the. petri dish right what's the cost of. doing this also is there some sort of a. side effect to eating that meat is it. does it have negative health effects is.
it have a negative environmental effect. it's like what is is there any sort of. like waste product. that's created by by creating this meat. I don't know these are all questions. that have to be answered yeah. none of its clean no this is what what's. really important like when you run an. arrow through a bull elk and that thing. you know runs 20 yards and falls down. and dies there's this weird feeling that. you have like there's a weird feeling of. loss that goes along with this weird. feeling of happiness yeah you're. successful it's it's not lets there's no.
there's no like one or zero it's not a. binary experience yeah it's not clean. it's like life itself life eats life and. if you want to claim the moral high. ground because you're a vegetarian or if. you want to claim the moral high ground. because you're a hunter I think I think. you're missing the big picture that. there is all this weirdness to life and. that there there is this thing that we. do that we consume and that every other. animal does as well that's the thing.
that always strikes me as being strange. is the people have a real hard time with. people eating predators or people. hunting predators like they are hunting. yeah is one of the number-one most. surefire ways to get people angry at you. online. yes and it's there's a lot of ignorance. attached to it particularly with black. bears which are responsible for. literally killing 50 percent of all the. moose calves and all the the the deer. fawns and elk calves 50% of them get.
whacked by by black they're very. successful at calving season yeah they. they have us how strong is their nose. it's some in like a bloodhound is. thousands of times stronger scent of. energy then well then a deer or then us. and then a black bear measurably above. that measure be above this so they can. smell like the way I try to explain to. people is like you know how you smell. skunk. like if you're driving your car honk you. just smell that's [ __ ] scars for. blocks yeah now a black bear can do that.
with your foot odor. yes yeah literally can smell you can. smell the mustard on a hamburger and. pick it out from the beef and the. pickles it's even better than that. because some biologists are surmising. that they actually can tell time with. their nose so when they walk in. you know like you and I are driving on. the road and we oh my god you smell that. skunk well he's sitting there as he. strolls through the neighborhood he's. gone oh my god a skunk was hit by a car. this morning but yesterday a little fat.
kid threw a cheeseburger out of the. window here and two days ago. a woman with really strong perfume. walked on the sidewalk with a poodle so. they're literally there's so many layers. to what they're taking in and everything. has its you know essentially like. different strengths because of how long. it's been present in the area that they. can almost kind of read a book as. they're strong through their environment. and so it's that how they know that they. can do that I think they're just making. summations off of like how powerful. their noses are and that they're picking. up so much information that they're.
picking up old information current. information brand new information and. they're and and I mean if you think. about that all of that information. coming in their head in an instant every. instant every time they breathe in so. that I think scientists are probably. making a summation that these bears have. to process this informations are going. through because otherwise they'd run. scared all all day right it's incredible. there are incredible animals and but. it's interesting how they're delicious. I think oh my god are they delicious. people don't want to hear that though. you eat bears yeah you eat a bear so I.
have this thing where I've hunted with. several hunting guides several bear. hunting guides where I've convinced. they've never eaten bear meat some of. these guys that are guys like they send. the meat home with their clients or they. get it ever they donate it but I say if. you guys are eating bear me I you know. they mean the bears here they had worms. and their you know their fat is yellow. and they're you know and I say you're. full of crap and so I did a hunt two. years ago with a very dear friend of. mine I won't mention his name because. he'd be mortified as he should be but I. said hey let's eat some bears and when I.
get there and we kill a bear and he's. like what what if you don't kill a bear. I said I'll tell you what he had a few. bear hunts before me I said please when. he kills very old bears and I said. please save the raddest bear that you. kill for us. the oldest nastiest looking boar please. save just ask the archer or the hunter. if we can steal one of his hindquarters. and he did and he led us and when we got. there he pulled it out of the trash bag.
he hadn't trash bag in there and they're. hanging in cooler. he pulled out of the trash bag and that. the fat was yellow and it looked. horrible and he told me that when he was. skinning it he actually saw some worms. underneath the you know the hide it and. they always have worms yeah yes it's a. constant and so so we made it that night. along with some bighorn sheep and which. is fantastic eating and all of the. Bighorn a several pieces of the Bighorn. were left the bear was long gone it was.
absolutely amazing and you guys cook it. we did it two ways one one day or one. way we did it because we were kind of. having a dinner party at a cabin and so. we made just these little tiny. medallions and it was really funny to. his reaction so then we just pan-seared. it with butter and garlic and onions and. just ate it like little whatever chicken. mcnuggets if you will and he ate that. he's like oh yeah I mean you combine. anything with butter and and onions and. garlic it's gonna taste good and I'm. like did you hear yourself so I mean.
it's going up to a chef me like oh yeah. you made me codfish but you use dill and. mayonnaise and yeah you're a little. you're a liar you know and then so so. then that night we made this big roast. and we seared it all sides right and. seasoned it all up made a nice rub and. put it in this broth with vegetables and. everything and he ate that and of course. he's like well I mean you made a rabe. and you sear it and I'm like well if you. suck at cooking it's not the Bears fault. right I bear meats delicious I'm not. telling you to eat it raw off his. skeleton the moment you're skinning him. but if you take the time to you prepare.
the flesh when you when you're in the. field and then cook it well it's amazing. it's amazing you're dealing with his. internal biases yeah yeah he's got his. biases and he's just had them and held. on to him forever and especially if. you're skinning something you see worms. and get grossed out yeah and you already. think it's weird. yeah no Rinella told me a story once. about a bear that he shot and killed and. was cooking on a friend's smoker and he. told the friend he goes man he goes you. got to clean that [ __ ] smoke her out. you guys like we talking about it goes.
Matt's smoker smelled like fish he goes. I never cooked a fish on that smoker. ever like what are you talking about and. he's realizing that the bear that he. killed had just been eating nothing but. fish yeah and he said that when he was. eating it it was like eating smoked fish. I think it was really good yeah buddy. but it was this weird taste yeah because. it was like you're eating this red meat. that tastes like smoked fish yeah. it's wicked they're awesome they're. awesome everybody go Barry if you had a. blueberry bear but yes I've never had.
that I've heard a most incredible meat. on the planet Earth in fact I got. dropped off four or five six years ago I. was in the Arctic for 30 or so days and. the pilot dropped us off and he goes hey. do you have a bear tag and I said yeah I. have a bear tagging he's like if you. kill the bear he's like just tons of. bears when I'm dropping you off he's. like it tuns the Grizzlies tons of black. bears which is uncommon but I'm he's. like if you kill the black bear he's. like and you don't want the meat I'll. take it you know he'd made it very clear. before he even dropped us off and I said. no well we'll keep it but we'll share.
with you for sure we'll definitely share. some with you but it's phenomenal yeah. Rinella was telling me that it's the. literally the greatest meat on earth. like when you have a bear that's been. eating nothing but blueberries and he. did a an episode of meat-eater once we. shot one and as he's opening it up you. see purple fat yeah because the Bears. have been eating blueberries for so long. their fat is purple yeah it made me. think about my own diet quite honestly. because if this thing tastes so good and. smells so good because of what it's. eating I'm like if you're eating like.
[ __ ] cheeseburgers and fries like. that's got to be in your fat let's get. all that [ __ ] food yeah you know. [ __ ] Donuts that's got to be in your. cells yeah you literally are what you. eat yeah we know it but do you. internalize it I think when you see a. bear that has purple fat maybe you. internalize it even more I think so yeah. I mean anytime you're able to spend you. know you know you're you're you're. dismantling an animal or something like. that you actually get to see these.
things and yeah if you have the same. perspective or wherewithal that we were. talking about a few minutes ago that's. when you sit there and go wait a minute. you're not just mindlessly skinning this. bear your sender going is my fat look. like skittles right pounded a bag of. skittles yesterday right I heard they. are gross though if they've been eating. like a rotten moose I've heard of you if. you eat a bear that's been eating rotten. meat that it's pretty [ __ ] gross I've. heard that too but I've eaten them. it was fine yeah but you you ate one. that ate a rotten moose. why I've eaten one that is eat was.
eating out rotten whale and the whale. was like whale was like orange orange. and yellow they do that right like a boy. gets beached. died like living it yeah they'll crawl. right up inside of its ribcage and they. come out look they sound too much hair. gel and just that's so foul yeah we. actually good yeah yeah no how did you. cook it that same same way actually I. did more medallions that way because I. was backpacking so I ate it right on the.
beach when you talk about bear hunting. you really you're going up against years. of movies you know years of [ __ ] Yogi. and boo-boo. and people have this weird perception of. what a bear is and we are the only. things that keep their population in. check the only things if you care about. deer and if you care about moose and if. you care about other wildlife predator. control is the it's a real problem. they're one of the most ethical animals. really to hunt there are a lot of them.
there and and you have to like you have. to be careful though right I mean they. need to be controlled in certain areas. certain areas there's probably a decent. balance because there's not a lot of. there's not a lot of food so they might. not be focusing on moose calves right. there might not be a lot of moose or. something like that but in areas where. there's great overlap like it's. definitely there's there they don't get. killed a lot right and so people don't. hunt them a lot in general and and. people just they you know they they they.
instantly go to the ungulates right the. inste go to the deer and the moose and. caribou things like that but yeah. there's definitely need to be managed a. place I hunted I was bear hunting last. week in BC and the place I was hunting. hasn't really been hunted in like ten. years and you just know that these bears. are so terribly successful at stealing. mule deer fawns and moose calves in this. area and and I've seen it before and you. just see them like I killed a grizzly.
bear a few years ago that was I. shouldn't say I killed it we it charged. us and so the guy that I was with he had. to shoot. um and so he killed it but as soon as. the bullet hit the bear he pooped out. too too calm moose calves and we had. weeds we had seen a cow with two calves. two twins and then he was just cruising. up and down the river and so he he. definitely got them and and then when we. killed him he'd and then I wasn't even. really thinking much about it just. didn't have this wherewithal of what was.
going on and it was kind of intense. situation when it went down but later on. we were talking to biologists about it. when we were having the bear skull and. hide and meat sealed and and we told. that he pooped out of calf and he's like. all fantastic because there are grizzly. bears and black bears that are really. successful fawn and calf killers and. then there are others that aren't right. there they're kind of individualistic. like we are and so he's like it's really. good that you removed this big old boar. who was a successful calf killer because.
he would just fixate on that in the. spring and really it does not take like. a lot of people might think all there's. millions of moves so no there there. aren't and you go up in these areas like. people ask me all the time when we're up. in Alaska they're like oh when you get. off the airplane there's got to be just. animals everywhere no there are no. animals you get off the airplane in the. Arctic and you take a look around. there's nothing like you have to go with. no trees there's no trees there's no. moose there's no caribou like you find. them when you go looking for them you. find them when you find this little.
micro niche of habitat but by and large. there's nothing there because there's. you know there's not a ton of resources. there and so like I think people think. you know there's it's the Serengeti and. it's not and so if you have a successful. grizzly and he's preying on moose in a. particular valley he could really do. some damage and where I was and I just. hunted mountain lion for the first time. in BC this winter and I was talking to. the biologist there cuz I had great. contention about doing it and they she.
wasn't I didn't want to run them with. dogs I didn't want to shoot out of a. bait in a tree I just had never. interested me and so a buddy of mine. just got his first hunting concession in. BC he's been a guide his whole life but. he now has his own concession he has. black bears and mule deers the guy that. I was also just bear hunting with but he. said hey will you come up and do a lot. I said no man it's not for me and he's. like well you know you're kind of being. a hypocrite right now and I said what do. you mean he's like well you're always. preaching that people should ask.
themselves big questions and people. should kind of dive into you know this. tornado or the storm and experience. things and ask themselves and like. actually challenged their thought. process so who better to come up and go. on a lion hunt and if you have prejudice. about it why don't you come up and do it. and so you can see if you're prejudiced. are real or or not and so I did it and. it was very eye-opening it was an. incredible experience what was. eye-opening about it just the animals. themselves you know is it was the. enthusiasm around the hounds like I kind.
of pictured this you know I had this you. know Fox and Hound scenario built up in. my head you know that it felt for the. same same stereotypes that non hunters. and anti hunters are falling forward I. was like all these Holland's Ben are. kind of redneck and you know they're. they're they treat their dogs like crap. and they're and they're sending their. dogs into this lion fight and it's it's. gonna get rough and these dogs are gonna. get beat up and scarred up and then. finally you tree this lion and and the. hunter comes waltzing in with no no.
barrier of entry whatsoever no physical. suffering whatsoever no mental suffering. whatsoever comes waltzing and it shoots. this thing out of a tree and take some. photos and then skins it out leaves the. flesh and moves on with their life and. so I go up there I meet the hounds Minh. and and first of all my friend his. name's been stoic and he's very gracious. hunter he's very aware he's very kind to. animals he's has tremendous wherewithal. which is why we continue to hunt. together but he so I go up there I meet.
his hounds Minh great guy his hounds are. part of the family sleep in the cabin. with him. great dog food great medical care every. single night when we get home and the. scenario in which I killed a lion was. also very rewarding for me as a person. we tracked him I'll use kilometers. because that's what we were doing there. but we tracked him for like 21 22. kilometers just by his track and it was. really cool because this lion had tore.
his back right track so it was kind of. like a movie we'd see his tracks and. this. no and there's always a dime-sized spot. of blood in his track it was pretty cool. cuz we went and spoke with some ranchers. along this river like yeah he's he's a. sport killing deer which I didn't. believe but I just wanted to hear the. ranchers kind of summation on it and. they didn't want him the ranchers were I. was really surprised but the ranchers. were like you know we want you to kill. this cat because he's sport killing. these deer but we want Ben to be very.
measured in how he takes cats because. they really love cats in this area and. they just want Ben to be cognizant of. the animals he removes which he is. anyway but they love cats just because. they just love the idea of them but. Wildlife yeah the symbolism of the wild. and then all these ranchers they raise. cattle and they watch the wolves harass. their cattle but they watched the cats. will literally walk right through a calf. pen and the calves won't spend any they. don't even look at the lion the cows. aren't looking at the lion but the lion.
will just roll right through the pen and. just carry on about his day because he. wants to kill a deer and sheet that's. that somebody wants to fixate on he. doesn't want to deal probably with mama. cow but right so we tracked this thing. for 22 kilometers we actually got down. on it on top of a mule deer kill that. had made the night before bumped it and. it ran way up into the mountains and. these in these hills and we tracked it. all the way up there we tracked another. four or five kilometers and then that's. when we released the hounds and it was. wicked to see the enthusiasm in the.
hounds like I just pictured something. that was gonna be bloodthirsty and like. you know they they wanted to rip this. cat apart but these hounds they look on. their faces and I'm making you know I'm. making judgments here but the look on. their faces were just pure enthusiasm. like this is a game like our job is to. is to chase this cat down well that's. how they've been trained yeah and and to. get it in a tree like they're not. sitting there going we were gonna catch. and kill this cat they're like our job. is to kind of get it in the tree you.
know right it was just really cool to be. around the dogs and watch their energy. and so they went treed the lion we snuck. in on the line and he he he didn't like. it and see he jumped off and the dogs. and student pursuit again and then we. treat him again and I killed him and. killing him was. neither here nor there it wasn't it was. just an act it was just a light switch. for me it was been needs. been had spoke with the biologist they. wanted a certain amount of cats removed.
from this area because they were really. having predatory impact on the sheep in. the in the deer and I kind of found out. why afterwards when I spoke to the. biologist but and we got him in three. and been just like a he's a big Tom and. he's an old Tom and so we're gonna kill. him anyway. so if you want to kill him kill him if. not we're gonna kill him you know and. they had tags too everything was legal. I said no I'll kill him I wanted to take. the process all the way through so I. killed him he died very quickly and I.
had always heard that their meat was. really good and I'd also heard people. say it's unedible so of course I don't. kill anything unless I'm gonna eat it so. we ate it it was arguably the finest. meat I'd ever had in my life it's. nothing Rinella told me he said it. tastes like that's pork you've ever had. yeah well I'm not even a big fan of pork. like I like pork but it was you know. pork is okay mountain lion is like. succulent flavorful deep rich pork it's. just absolutely unbelievable the fat is. supposed to be really good as well yeah. yeah absolutely and and so it's just.
really rewarding experience for me and. like then I got to hang out with the. dogs afterwards and then when I wouldn't. spoke with the biologist that was. eye-opening as well because the hounds. been weird with he kind of guessed the. cat to be like five or six years old. which would be very old it turned out to. be three and which is amazing that they. go from a kitten to this thing was like. 175 180 pounds in that big that big in. just three years and and the biologists. even told me he had one come in earlier.
that year that was over 200 is like 2:02. 2:03 which is about as big as they get. and it was radio collared and he's like. oh this is gonna be wicked because we. have the radio collar I'm gonna be able. to call the bio just that radio collared. this thing it's 200 pounds of saying. it's got to be like five or six seven. years old he called the guy and the. thing was just had barely leaves like. just over two years old and he's already. 200 pounds two years old yes and they're. just so and with you know like sometimes. aging deer aging bear.
is kind of a tricky prospect you're. looking at the molar where and you're. looking at their lateral sizes and their. medial incisors and you're looking at. where and everything with the liens it's. very easy to see like they have their. age classes have distinct dental changes. that happen like it's it's there's. there's kind of no middle ground and so. you know and of course the radio collar. they knew but they're just so terribly. successful and just looking at the. amount of biomass they put on their. bodies just their their size and how.
they carry it [ __ ] forearms oh yeah. that's where arms are like a human thigh. that's what freaked me out because I'm. sitting there holding this thing's gone. out body it's kind of where skin skin. ambani and is it weighs the exact same. as a deer like it's the same thing as a. deer but the proportions are way off. right the thing is so much shorter the. meat you know goes all the way down to. their paws so they can jump you know 30. feet out of a tree and land and just. like you and I would be rolling around.
on ground going oh my God look at my. femur and these guys just boom and. they're off to the races and it's just. you know you drop it they weigh the same. as a deer you drop a deer out of a tree. and it's gonna have four broken legs. these things just land and freaky. animals and so and so I was gonna say so. the sport killing so the biologist told. me with the area where there's a lot of. wolves and so the Wolves the Lions are. so much more successful at killing than. the wolves that the Wolves just become. somewhat lazy and they'll get in these. little packs and they'll literally find.
a big Tom and they'll just follow him. and so what this cat is doing is. scientists have observed him killing. deer and he'll literally kill in cash. deer and sheep so that when the Wolves. find his cash is the Wolves will eat and. so then he can he can go and eat in on. in peace himself so he doesn't get. [ __ ] with by the wolves. yeah he's leaving them food he's leaving. them food which is why the ranchers. thought because they're like he killed. the deer and you didn't do anything with. it he just killed a deer and so they're. like no no he killed the deer and it's. funny because when we tracked him that. day he brought us to nine kill sites.
that day Wow yep so he's literally doing. that while you're chasing I'm saying. look just eat this leave me the [ __ ]. alone yeah so as as you're tracking him. he's. tracking you past spots hoping that you. take his cash and leave him alone yep. Wow yeah it was a fantastic experience. and and then the biologist also told me. and I was like we had a lot of. contention while coming here in hunting. lions and I you know I do you know I.
don't know how successful they are. repopulating you know we almost hunted. them to extinction at the turn of the. century and they're just starting to. kind of make they're starting to expand. now back into their some of their. original territories he's like hey man. Donnie's like this is a great animal to. take this is an area that receives very. little lion hunting we have to take some. of these lines on he showed me data that. they had on this one lion and I don't. want to misquote the data but basically. the single lion had removed like nine or. eleven percent of this particular sheep. herd in a year.
just like boom boom boom and this dude. knew the game he knew where to kill he. knew how to kill and he they have no. chance I mean he's just a super press. you have no chance if he finds them he's. gonna kill them yeah it runs faster he's. stronger and if he gets ahold of them. they never they never lose never like. like a deer gets away no they win every. time no so so it's right on the same. like you know same path as all the. Predators it's me you know you just it. leads to really good discussions but.
people get upset when you kill predators. they get very upset what's it's really. strange because they don't they don't. have any problem with the predator. killing deer and they have less problem. with people killing deer but they have a. real problem people killing predators. and I believe it's the same problem they. have with like Cecil the lion and [ __ ]. like that. they think that you're just doing it to. be an [ __ ] and you just want this. thing on your wall well I'm gonna head. on your wall I do have some contention. and you tell me and like like for. instance like the grizzly bear issue. being shut down in BC no he's a bear.
grizzly bear hunting maybe you can. explain that from yeah I don't. understand what's going on yeah so so. the government the British Columbia. government shut down British Columbia. British Columbia grizzly bear hunting. because they equated it and I guess. they're probably correct with trophy. hunting right we're hunters were killing. these animals and just taking the skulls. and hides and leaving the flesh behind. and and I don't know I've never. have I I grizzly bear hunted NBC once.
but I was actually more on a sheep on. but yeah just this notion of like like. the gentleman that killed Cecil the lion. like if you're really going to kill an. animal and just take its hide. then I've pretty significant issue with. that and so like I just hope these. hunters that the guys that were hunting. the grizzly bears I just I wonder if. this was more of a hunter instilled. issue then then people are even bringing. light into it because if people were.
killing grizzly bears in British. Columbia taking their hides taking their. skulls and taking all the flesh I feel. like we'd still be grizzly bear hunting. in British Columbia I don't know I mean. maybe maybe but grizzly bears are. another notch up even above black bears. in terms of like correct yeah but. Rinella calls charismatic megafauna. people love those things like they see. them yeah and if you don't have to deal. with them if you don't like that guy in. Anna's Colorado last year they got his. head cut open by one if you don't have.
to deal with them you know they are. amazing to look at and we all want them. around and of course they're an. incredible animal but it's this thing of. trophy hunting these what you think of. some fat lazy [ __ ] with a rifle that. stands on top of a lion you know there's. this image that I found online and I was. looking I was like that is that's why. people have a problem with trophies on. a5 this fat [ __ ] who should never in a. million years without that rifle had.
have ever the help yeah or the help. especially the help right mm-hmm. like there's no way he would have got on. it there's nobody who got to that. position he must have got there in a car. you know and then they have this line. there and he's perched up on the line. like he did some amazing thing yeah and. meanwhile that's probably one of those. caged lions anyway it isn't mean yeah. they have so many of those high fence. hunts where they let these Lions they. have them all caged up in a pen they. throw cows over the dead cows over the.
pen over the wall the pen the lines. tearing apart and then they pick one and. take that one out into the the you know. wilderness area which. fenced in anyway and then they let it. loose and the the lion stays in the area. because it has no idea what its boundary. is what its territory is what other. lions are in that area so a lot of times. they sit still and they wait for a while. before they figure out what their. territory is the hunter comes in shoots. it stands on it takes a picture I mean. you shot a pet if you if you told me he.
said hey man I went into Tanzania I went. into you know the wildest part and. backpack tin and set up camp and I was. there for 40 days and you know I killed. killed in a Plains game and I worked. with the locals and and and you know I. shared meat with these different tribes. and and man and we found a pride of. lions and there was a giant maned male. and there's another sister pride over. here and we you know we snuck in and we. kill them we hunted him we killed him.
you know we skinned him out we took his. flesh and we went on an honest hunt and. we engaged the wild here and we removed. an animal wicked I would love to read. that book I'd love to see that film I'd. love to hear you tell me that story but. does anybody eat lions why that's not. saying that's I'm saying I does anybody. I don't know I've never even heard of it. I've never been in Africa and if and if. you're not one then what are we doing I.
understand killing is so there's there's. some right weirdness there too because. if you told me if you called me and said. hey man I'm gonna pay you a million. dollars I want you to come down to my. concession I get these offers daily not. a million dollars but if you come down. will you come down on my concession and. shoot a giraffe I'm just making this up. but I'm trying to pick a zoo animal. right well you come down and shoot a. giraffe I'd love to see you come down. and film this Bible on and you know the. answer is no I had no explain a.
concession to people to this large areas. that most the time fenced in yet a lot. of thousands thousands maybe even tens. of thousands of acres like you're never. going to see the fence we could drive. you around in there for a week and you. never see this oh it's semi wild yeah. the fence thing is very weird right. because like their habitat defense. essentially keeps people. yeah protects them from poachers yeah. it's not it's not necessarily to trap. the animals although the animals can't. leave it's to keep the poachers out.
rights to preserve these areas because. people with greed will take they'll kill. anything to get a few dollars in the. marketplace for for market meat and then. certainly to sell a hide to maybe even. an even more fat hunter that or person. that calls themselves a hunter that. wants a lion on their wall that doesn't. even want to engage in the process right. they'll buy the skin or something that's. why there's trade in tiger skins and. things like this but and so in these. concessions and so these you know if you. called me and said hey will you come. down and shoot a giraffe.
you know I'll pay a million bucks to. come down the chute a giraffe you know. the answer is no I don't want to kill a. draft but if you called me and said hey. we have restored this habitat in this. whole River Delta and lo and behold the. giraffes have absolutely taken off and. they're very very successful and they're. decimating the vegetation here and. they're starting to fight each other. with great severity and we're finding. dead bulls and stuff we need to remove. ten animals from this herd will you come. down and shoot ten giraffes with me 109.
absolutely like if I can come down and. contribute to the ecology of an area. either as a hunter or as somebody that's. just removing animals with a. high-powered rifle to create some more. balance I'm all into it but if I'm gonna. pay you $70,000 to get a big maned lion. so I can have my photo with a big maned. lion that I can show my friends be like. oh yeah that's when I was in Botswana. and that's all I could tell you that. story and no interest in it and I think.
some of that stuff is maybe really. poisonous for hunting I think it's very. poisonous I think that Cecil the lion. story was incredibly poisonous yeah it. was one of those stories where it was. almost impossible to find any support. for the guy who did that thing and you. know and it was legal I mean it was I. mean you know people say what was a. collared lion yeah well you can't really. tell like they have giant Mane's. even if it was it doesn't mean anything.
you can shoot colored animals yeah. and they're not collared because they're. protected it's not like the ideas like. you could never shoot it because it's. collared yeah and you know it's the it's. just not what people you just it's real. hard to justify if you're not eating it. I mean why why would you want to do it. why would you want to go and how to lie. it doesn't make any sense you'd have to. be an [ __ ] that guy's not asking. himself any questions I'll tell you that. right Yeah right why is he doing it. because that's what he likes to do and. so that's why I wonder like I haven't.
grizzly bear hunt in British Columbia. but I wonder and I'm not I have lots of. friends there that are guides and. Outfitters and I understand that the. meat I've heard it's gross I've heard. it's gross - but I mean oh yeah how is. it and fantastic really yes yes you know. again John you know John barklow from. Sitka I think I've met him I think I've. met him yeah just tell me that he he. served people brown bear meat that is at.
a party once he'd be like he'd cooked it. and put it in made it like little hors. d'oeuvres and he didn't tell people what. it was he liked this is really good what. is it no like oh it's a brown bear and. they got real mad at him maybe they're. yeah but they liked it yeah they liked. it so we so we I was hunting brown bears. on Kodiak Island a few years ago and I. didn't kill one but when we got done. there was a guy there a classically. trained chef that lived in town and he. had him and his bodies had killed a bear. and so he'd invited us over for dinner. when we're in town and he service brown.
bear and it was amazing absolutely. amazing how he did several different. ways but one of the ways he did it that. was really amazing and again this is all. in preparation right but he made kind of. like Swedish meatballs so he probably. and and he told us that the preparation. was intensive so he made a bath a whole. milk bath put the bear meat in it let it. sit for 10 hours dump the milk out put. more whole milk and he did that like. four or five times to just leach. anything that was in the meat outright.
probably blood and any sort of I don't. know if you know I don't know I don't. know I don't know if that's people doing. that with bass like taking bath fillets. and catfish fillets and putting them in. milk yeah I mean would it be something. along. the lines of osmosis would it be that. the milk has a greater density so the so. the blood wants to leave the meat and go. into that and create guessing I don't. either but anyway and then he pan-seared. a bunch of it and it was like in a roast.
if you will but he did it all in a. really hot cast-iron skillet it was. phenomenal and then I just heard. somebody the other day what was i. listening to I was reading something. about polar bear hunting and somebody. was remarking that polar bear is really. good to eat and so I think there's a lot. of misinformation out there about what. is edible and what is not edible and. what is good and what isn't and probably. because of the preparation because. people have been ignorant about how to. prepare and keep me yeah excited people.
I think I I have lots of friends I think. deer meats disgusting soaked fish and. milk for odor free cooking mmm okay so. it says when you're buying fish okay. here's a science try to say that word. try methylene trimethoprim try methylene. Ock's oxide it's a common chemical in. living things it's colorless odorless. and produced by normal metabolic. processes when a fish or shellfish is. killed however it breaks down into try. methylene which is the chemical.
responsible for that fishy smell that we. know so well if you're cut a fish isn't. too far gone as the flesh is still firm. and only a few days thawed at most a. quick soak about 10 to 20 minutes and a. bowl of milk will help get rid of that. odor like a casing okay how do you say. is that caffeine or case I've heard of. both ways I've never heard it I only. read it yeah. CAS ein in the milk bonds with the tri. methylene and while it's not a full. extraction a quick soak can pull a good. bit amount of flesh reduce the odor so. that's probably what's going on you're.
reducing the odor and the meat mm-hmm. enhancing the flavor in doing so yeah. yeah especially a stinky ass BEARS bleep. fish yeah yeah and this one definitely. had anything yeah well that the big ones. especially I mean that's one of the. reasons why they grow so big on Kodiak. rice because there's so much access to. fish yep in short short torpor short. hibernation yeah that's crazy man yeah. I've never I've never eaten grizzly I've. eaten brown bear. or black bear rather my friend John and.
Jen they have a camp up in Alberta and. we know sure eight do you know them the. rivets I don't I don't know they they. have a camp up in Alberta and great. black bear hunting and jen is a really. good cook and she made this black bear. stir-fry and even people that were. skeptical they were like okay I've never. eaten bear before they look holy [ __ ]. this is fantastic she cooked this. stir-fry and then served it over rice I. mean is it's amazing yeah it was so good. and so good for you the way I explain to. people is like it's a deep like a deer.
[ __ ] a pig that's what the meat tastes. like and maybe it's cousin was a cow. like it's it's a strange it's not a meat. that tastes like anything you could put. your your thumb on yeah Oh like that's. just like this yeah it's just like I. just really rich and it's just yeah it's. fantastic and yeah bear hunting all the. way around it's just awesome yeah but. it's again it's so charged it's so. charged in the public eye in terms of.
like how people perceive it it's one of. those animals and I think it's because. of these movies that people grow up with. these movies where these animals are our. friends you know when they're looking. out for us and they're our buddies and. it's like we've done ourselves no. service by doing that by creating these. films that have poisoned little kids. minds as to what these animals are and. what these animals are are opportunists. and predators and they are there to. remove the weak and the the limping and.
the babies and anything else you can get. his hands on for population control I. mean this is the balance of nature if we. still were hunters and gatherers right. there would not be there was not a. single anti hunter in that group right. there was nope that guy didn't live. there's no room for that guy so even you. know that what I talked about in our. short film who we are like the president. of PETA comes from a strong group of. hunters and gatherers. otherwise the doodling be here like to. play devil's advocate their thought.
process and the thought process of. vegans and vegetarians are that if I. could speak for them is that we're. moving past that we're moving past. animal cruelty we're moving. asked the need to eat and consume meat. right I I disagree I think we have. through infrastructures of safety and. laziness we've set we've set it up so. that you can go down that road if you. want we've set this up so you don't have. to Burnie can't you know you never have.
to crack an egg if you have enough money. you never have to crack an egg in your. entire life and you can eat eggs your. entire life right so you can back away. from who we really are as you know if. you have the financial wherewithal or. you live in New York City or you live in. LA you can back off of the real. muddiness as far as you want but in true. reality this is really who we are it's. just that we have infrastructures now. that make up for it that make you that. allow that disconnection they allow you. to to say hey we move past this now like.
I can get my coffee at the corner you. know and and and it's go to Ethiopia. right yeah it's hard to argue right it's. hard to argue and we did a piece my. production company sick Manta we did a. piece a few years ago or last year for. epic meets I've ever heard of those guys. they do like high-end jerky and they do. like animal fats and they do bone broths. and things like that. anyway the owners were they make bars. yeah delicious yeah they're really. amazing so the owners were vegans they. are both vegans a husband-and-wife.
couple and and they're all they're both. also triathletes and they were doing. these races and they were having a tough. time recovering from their races and. they actually owned one of the largest. vegan food companies in the country and. they went to go see a friend who is a. medical doctor a friend of theirs and he. said hey look I think you guys need to. get some really high-end animal fats in. your systems to help your bodies recover. from these races and they started doing.
that and their symptoms. you know like their soreness whether it. be back pain hip knees I'm assuming that. was all from the races started to go. away almost instantly so they started. kind of delving into their psyche and in. their questions and they started kind of. revisiting their philosophies if you. will and and I don't wanna get the story. wrong but I think while they still owned. the vegan food company they. started epic meets and they thought can. we find meat that has responsibly grown. and sourced for people that don't want.
to kill it themselves and and they went. down that road they ended up actually. selling the vegan food company off. because uh people found out that they. owned both and I think there is. obviously some problems there yeah but. they but they just found really good. source to meat and they do all feel the. harvest and so we did a we did a. commercial production for them a. branding piece for them to kind of. highlight how they treat their animals. and how they kill their animals because. they kill them rather than putting them. on a truck and loading them into.
Corral's and doing that whole thing they. literally drive out with the same. tractor that they feed them with and. they've had them on huge pastures so if. they're actually reclaiming the ground. and it's really cool and they when they. do ranches they'll go in and test all. the soils of these ranches and the. grasses and then they'll retest them. after one year three years five years. and they're finding even better soils. and better grasses animals have spent. time there because they're doing more. fertilizing and the grasses are being. reclaimed and then they shoot the animal.
in the head with a high-powered rifle. and so they do just lights out boom done. and then that's how they butcher them so. so they do it about as ethically and. humanely as you can kill an animal as. you can kill an animal that's being. raised in a pen what was that place in. LA was it called Harmony Cafe is that. what it was called what was the place. where the people would own dit gratitude. Cafe Gratitude right that's right there. was a place in LA that was owned by. these people it still is but they were. vegans for a long time and they were.
having health issues as well and they. decided to butcher their own animals and. start raising their own animals and. butchering them and I think they wrote. about it on a blog and they were just. trying to explain themselves and vegans. went [ __ ] crazy the people that owned. the restaurant went crazy and they got a. bunch of death threats and yeah and it. became this giant issue with them it's. you know I I get where they're coming. from they don't they they have this. rigid idea of what's happening and they. don't want an animal to die so that they. can live I get it but their perception.
of the the ethical purity of they're. deciding to just eat vegetables. and and the actual the actual health. consequences in terms of like how many. people can get by and what your your. physical dietary needs are how many. people can get by on just eating a vegan. diet especially if you're not like super. careful and using algae and all these. different things to get b12 and fat. soluble vitamins and you know you can. get by but is it optimum most people.
according to most nutritionists and. people that aren't ideologues know yep I. agree no it's Nick he we are herbivores. I mean rather omnivores. we're not herbivores and some people. that are in the vegetarian world they. want us to think that we are basically. herbivores and that we can get by and. then our desire to consume meat is just. because of the sickness that we have and. this is this evil nature that you know. human beings sometimes are possessed by. but it's just it's just not true yeah.
they're the whole reason why we became a. human being in the first place as. opposed to like one of the lower. primates a lot of that is attributed to. our consumption of meat yeah. hunting meat cooking cooking with fire. and it's such a fantastic like I would. love if I could do if I was a. billionaire and you said hey do you want. to continue along with the career that. you're on right now. I absolutely would but the thing that I. would love the most is to take people. with me yeah it's super hard for a vegan.
to to get into that though I mean man. you would have to they would have to. have some sort of desire on their part. oh absolutely of life you could just. like take some flower child and you know. it's only sprouts and say hey I'm gonna. go shoot this mule deer through the. lungs with a [ __ ] yeah you know yeah. mazi trocar and you're gonna sit there. and watch them ya know they have. questions yeah I mean they they would. have to be on that path themselves it's.
just it's an interesting by-product to. me of society of what we've done with. this really incredible infrastructure. that we've created where we can get food. to these 20 million people that live in. LA and no one be a part of that. preparation in terms of you know getting. the animal killing it serving it you. know butchering it. cooking it serving it we cut all that. [ __ ] out and go right to buying the meat. that's already cooked yeah and we've. done it so much and it's so much more. prevalent than any of the other steps.
you know most of the most of the. consumption that most people in this. country like when we're talking about. eating meat I would say maybe even what. is the number I would I would like to. know what the number is if I had a guess. of how many people even cook their own. meat hmm I mean how many people are. getting most of their meals from a store. like it or a restaurant or fast food. yeah pre-prepped yeah and how many. people would I mean I'd even think about.
fast food that's got to be the majority. yeah I mean how many people are actually. even cooking their own meat we've cut. out so many steps when I mean I would. have out bet it was probably more than. half don't even cook their own meat yeah. I mean people they just don't have they. just don't have an understanding of. where it comes from right. and the engagement there's just no. understanding whatsoever it's a hard. subject and I just saw flying here to. meet with you I just saw I think it was. in the Minneapolis Airport there was a.
huge sign on the wall it was a picture. of a massive massive corn field and it. may have been doctored up but it was. corn as far as the eye can see and it. was for Cargill a big corporation out of. Minneapolis and get out of Minneapolis. but it said it said preparing to feed. eight billion people and so I just see. that sign I'm just like yeah that mean. that's hell in a handbasket right there. corns [ __ ] terrible for you terrible.
absolutely terrible in there and and. literally you can read that sign and all. these people be like oh it's so. beautiful like all those corn stalks and. there would be food for us forever and. why cook when you cannot the percentage. of diners or dinners rather eaten at. home that were actually made at home in. the u.s. it is so weird having you here. Jimmy's the [ __ ] this is a weird this is. just dinner so right so this is how many. people are cooking but really that's the. only meal lower and lower so it's below. it's somewhere in the 60% range.
so the percentage of dinners eaten at. home that were actually made at home in. the u.s. somewhere around 60% so in that. 60% you got to think there's the mom or. the the dad that's cooking and then the. kids that are eating the food so they're. not cooking [ __ ] now so it's probably. way lower than that in terms of the. actual human beings that are eating. cooked food that they cook themselves. yeah so how can you you know so how can.
you stand on any sort of laurels at all. without you know at least asking some. questions yeah I mean people they've. their answers are they feel better if. they think that they're doing no harm. and the way to do no harm is to eat. vegan so this is the ideology behind it. and I I understand it I get it I. appreciate it but the [ __ ] anger at. people who don't follow that path is. where it gets real squirrelly yeah you. know and it's a small number of people. and I've talked about this in my act.
that the problem with vegans is the. problem with people it's not veganism. it's people if you get a room that has a. hundred people in it. the odds of one of those people being a. [ __ ] idiot is a hundred percent it's. almost a hundred percent that one of. them is a [ __ ] idiot. yeah so if you get 300 million people. you have three million [ __ ] idiots. and some of those folks are vegans and. that's the problem with veganism it's. not it's not veganism itself it's.
there's a certain percentage of human. beings that they don't have to do. anything to become vegans right they. just join this group it's not like you. have it well we're thinking about. allowing you in to the vegan culture but. we want to know what your philosophy is. are you a hateful person are you a. person that's looking to be a vegan so. you could just talk [ __ ] about other. people are you looking to be any are you. looking to be in a group or a gang a. plant-based game and put the word vegan. in front of your name and just start. talking [ __ ] because that's a lot of the. people and so people read all these.
angry hateful things that these people. write and they go oh well this is vegans. but it's not it's not most vegans are. not like that at all yeah people most. people are not like that at all yeah but. there's a certain percentage of them and. they claim veganism and they use. they put that name the word vegan in. their [ __ ] screen name that's how you. could spot those [ __ ] yeah they're. you know proud yeah they're into it. they're in a plant-based game yeah. that's really what happened and so what. it is is not necessarily even a problem. of diet it's a problem of human nature.
is that people love to stand on the. moral high ground they love to point. down all the other people whether it's a. religious issue like you're not eating. halal or you're not eating kosher or you. you're eating meat on Good Friday maybe. the [ __ ] it is they just decide that. they have this moral high ground that. you don't have so [ __ ] you I'm doing it. right and it really comes from our own. questions of our own existence and this. messiness that we're all inherently. aware of that life eats life big-time.
big-time there was a guy that I did a. podcast with out of Maine and he was a. he was for sure a vegetarian he might. have been a vegan but then he started. and he's a forager big time it's. actually pretty remarkable what he does. but I think 99% of his food he finds in. the forest year-round he's just into it. big time procces all this food from wild. apples to acorns to SATA Tovar it's um. what's his name.
Daniel Vitalis really yeah Oh Daniel. Veit Taos okay yeah of him as well yep. so um so I did podcast on him and he and. he told me that and he'd eat insects he. didn't want it he has completely against. hunting he didn't want to kill anything. he's like that's why he's eating insects. he's I can I would get a little bit of. hate mail when I started eating. damselflies and dragonflies like I'd get. a little bit of hate mail and then and. then a friend of his was like hey you. know we should let's go. gig some frogs let's go get some frogs.
you know and he's like yeah I don't know. okay so I'll do it soon he started. catching frogs he's like man like. there's a lot of meat on one of these. frogs I guess it's it's it's like 20. dragonflies you know and and he got he. got a little bit more flak for and then. it's a buddy of his one to take him. fishing and they caught a trout and he's. like oh my god this is like three frogs. like this is three frog and so what he's. equated it to is how much work he has to. go through right to get this protein or. to get this you know. just plant like you find one Apple.
that's 15 acorns you know and so like. he's equated miss to work and so he get. just kept moving up the food chain and. he's like and then one year he killed a. turkey in and he ate he told me it's. like I killed a snowshoe hare and he's. like I was blown away at how much meat. was on a snowshoe hare he's like that. was you know like three meals for him. and his girlfriend trying moose yeah and. so he just kept moving up turkey then. this last year he killed a black bear. but he's like every stage that he's. moved up his hate mail is went up you.
know I don't know exponentially but. significantly and so it's just people. equate all these things to you know we. relate more to mammals obviously we're. mammals you know and then you bring in. something like a bear that has. anthropomorphic you know mannerisms. right you watch a black bear for a half. a day and you're like you see your dad. you're like oh I just sat on his ass for. four hours roll around sometimes on his. toenails yeah he's like itched his ear. farted he pooped over there next to the. girl and then you know and you're like. oh my god it's my dad. I'm hunting my dad you know and and so.
you know there's things like that but um. that's where this I think that's where. this really cool engagement comes from. with hunters it's and there's a lot of. hunters like I talked to a lot of. hunters and I don't want to be negative. I'm trying not to be negative but I talk. to a lot of hundred I have nothing in. common with them absolutely nothing like. you hunt I hunt I don't even think we. have that uncommon because I see how you. hunt and has had nothing to do with out. isn't that like what we're just saying. about vegans that the problem is just. being a human being that's a certain. amount of people that choose to hunt. that are they're not well informed and.
they're [ __ ] idiots yep and so that's. that's the stuff is like same with the. vegans you know there's I'm sure there's. vegans that sit at home and just grab. their face and go I can't believe. somebody just said that it can't believe. they sent a death threat yeah we're a. vegan for you know my best friend's is a. vegan. yeah and Edwards hilarious comedian he's. a vegan I know some vegan stew and I. actually know some vegetarians that it. was an education for me but I had some. vegetarians hit me up for meat you know. and I was like oh you're vegetarian and. like well yeah yeah we're not gonna eat.
this meat but it we'd love to have some. fish or deer meat from you like okay now. I'm starting to this is a while ago but. I'm like oh okay now I'm starting to get. it here like right people have ethical. concerns about where their meat comes. from yeah yeah my. and Jake Shields he's a guy who fought. in the UFC and he's a world-class. jiu-jitsu blackbelt he's been a. vegetarian his whole life but he said he. would eat meat that was hunted yeah it. was like because that's you know and. there's no ethical it adds up in his. head for him right like answers his. questions exactly but that's exactly it. is theirs I've had some awesome.
conversations with with people that were. not hunters that asked great questions. you know way better than conversations. I've had with guys that call themselves. hunters at times some yeah I mean this. again it's the problem with human beings. right it's there's there's certain. people that just aren't thinking that. much and then there's certain there's. certain parts of the hunting culture. that are really abhorrent this this. there's people that think it's funny or. fun to shoot as many animals as they can. and they don't they don't have any. consideration to you know that this life.
has been taken so that your life can be. nurtured or and get nutrition from this. animal and they're not thinking of it in. terms of this cycle of life they're just. thinking of in terms of you know just. like the worst aspects that you get like. in a movie and gone hunting and for me. like doing it going to the Arctic um I. bring that up often because it's my. favorite place but once why is the. Arctic your favorite place I just I'm. just so wide open and you know you have.
you know you know northern lights at. night if you're if you're locking. massive moose and caribou like watching. caribou migrating grizzly bears eating. blueberries and you know I've been I. spent so much time with wolves up in. these areas and really engaging with the. wolves and stuff and just it's just. always fed these experiences to me and. that's what really started to mean. that's what really mattered the most to. me was being in these areas taking a. deep breath being super present being.
super aware and seeing all these. different things that were filling my. soul right true soul food while I was. hunting a moose or while I was hunting. in caribou and then maybe being. successful on a moose or a caribou and. and skinning it out and feeling the. weight on my back so I'm getting it back. to camp and the northern lights are. overhead or the if they're not out the. Stars are out and I'm hearing wolves. howling and I you know I. I lived with a pack of wolves one summer. in Alaska when I was up there doing a.
research and so like all of these with a. pack of wolves mm-hmm why'd you do that. I was I was doing research for the US. Fish & Wildlife Service and I ran a. research camp budge a genetics camp for. the from June through September May. through September whatever I did it five. years in Rowan and one year pack of. wolves moved into my research camp and. oh it was whoa I mean whoa I went.
fly-fishing one night and I was standing. on the bank of a river casting it was an. eerie little River that I was on is. pretty quiet but it had a good flown we. were I was waiting for salmon to come up. and I was fly fishing for grayling and I. just kinda had this eerie feeling I was. by myself and I was just had this eerie. feeling that I was being watched and and. I happen to look behind me and there's a. big alder thicket right these these. these bushes that are probably 10 to 12. feet high have green leaves on him and. he's twisted gnarly almost like a you. know Boo Radley type tree like gnarly. branches and I was just staring in in.
the alders and there's grizzly bears. where I was so I was just trying to mine. my and I'm you know I'm walking on wolf. and grizzly bear tracks as I'm fishing. so I'll just staring back in the alders. and it was it was like a movie so my. eyes were starting to truncate down on. the leaves and then all of a sudden it. came to this little opening I could see. a wolf's face staring at me through the. alders and she was probably ten yards. away something like that and so I saw.
her and when I looked at her she was. just staring at me and I just looked. back at her and I and I just said hey. you know I just said hey I said hey mama. what's going on and I just kept fishing. because I wanted her to know that I knew. and I turned my back on her I kept. fishing well lo and behold she comes out. on the sandbar with me and she starts. walking down behind me and it was funny. cuz if I didn't make eye contact she was. totally chilled but if I made eye. contact she would snarl at me. she raised her lips up and to give a. little deep-seated growl and so she was. standing now she's probably three feet.
behind me what yeah. and so she's she's right there she's. literally right there and so I'm just. like hey mom what's going on. just cast my fly rod and like when I'm. not looking at her she's kind of trying. to check me out she's doing the whole. nose extension getting a whiff so she. moves off she moves off down there three. feet hmm she moves off down you have a. gun on you I did have a 12-gauge at that. time I'd had 12 gauge slug gun but I've. rarely took that thing with me but I got. in trouble actually from one of my.
bosses cuz one of the other biologists. told my boss like never he never carries. the gun and we're supposed to carry gun. everywhere we going so I'm just like. whatever but so she laughed and we. didn't worry that she was gonna attack. you. no no how did she get so close that. seemed weird I don't know yeah she was. just checking me out. she's just checking me out that's that's. that's that's how I was reading into it. any so you think just by the way you. were talking to her that she realized. that you weren't even interested in. being a threat and she was confident. that she can get the [ __ ] away from you. that's a good question yeah that's a.
good question I'm a feet yeah that's. this that's yeah maybe even two and a. half feet she's right that's like you. could touch her oh it gets much better. it gets much better I end up spending a. whole summer with her and all the other. animals in the in the pack so the next. day I hear her howl down the river so. I'm just messing around so I hauled back. to her she howl was back to me instantly. I howl back to her all of a sudden I see. her she's now standing exactly where I. was standing the night before it's all.
true story she's sitting on her butt. sitting upright like you would see a. German Shepherd sitting staring at me so. I give her just a little coil along she. lays down she maintains eye contact with. me and then she just sitting there. staring at me and then she sits up again. and I howl again just a little one she. lays down again she just maintaining our. eye contact then she leaves that night. so the area the tundra that I was on is.
greatly impacted by even human foot. traffic so you have to be really careful. where you step because you know your. footprint will be there for a long time. so we'd walk on these little planks that. we made out of two by fours I would sit. up on logs that were you know that we. put placed in and put in place night. tent where I slept and I had a genetics. 10 where I did all my stuff then I had a. cooked. and things like that and so but right in. front of my tent I had this little. platform where I would get dressed in. the morning because I would I would. literally live for five and a half. months and a little two and a half.
person pup tent. and so I'd get out in the morning and. get dressed on this little piece of wood. and then I'd walked at breakfast or. whatever or it's the river in the middle. of the night that alpha male was sitting. on my little platform and he how old it. right outside my tent. and I sat up and I grabbed my gun and I. was just sitting there and he woke me up. from a dead sleep. I was just sitting there panting with my. gun I was looking all around and I. didn't know what it was and I heard. something and I kind of peeked out and I. saw that it was this big male I was like. ah okay it's just not just a wolf but. like you know he's not gonna bother me.
at all so I hung my gun back up and I. just heard set my gun back down and I. just laid back down but those two. instances just started each day the next. day I come out and I'm walking to the. genetics tent and I see him he's 20. yards away and he's paralleling me on. this plank and I go into the cook tent. and then I'm kind of like peeking out. the little corners you know like I. wanted I cuz I don't know what they're. doing I don't want to walk out and get. attacked her and I I don't think that's.
they have no body language of hunting. whatsoever and and so what is their body. language of curiosity curiosity yeah and. I hate I hate anthropomorphize yeah but. it was just like it was just like that. movie never cry wolf that's exactly how. the Wolverine game was that movie just. about a researcher book by Farley Mowat. of a researchers that went up to the. Canadian government had they were. thinking that wolves were decimating.
these caribou herds and so they sent. this biologist up there to research the. Wolves to see how many caribou they were. killing and basically what the. biologists found out is that the Wolves. weren't killing any caribou zero caribou. they were killing read-back voles and. they were fishing and they're doing. other ways they're eating small animals. which is basically a very large part. what wolves do they very small animals. and occasionally kill a caribou. occasionally kill moose things I got in. certain areas there they can be really. hardcore predators in other areas they. eat a lot of mice and so but that's how.
these wolves are engaging with. in this movie and you know they're kind. of inquisitive they're coming around and. and so these these wolves they were just. always present like even I would go. hiking just to get some exercise and. literally three or four of them would go. with me and they'd hang back like 50 60. yards behind me but I'd hike for like. ten miles and I they do the whole thing. with me and return back to camp with me. and then it started to really grow. because we have this research gear. that's in the river so that we can count.
speciate and sample the salmon as they. swim through to go spawn but after the. salmon spawn they all die right and so. they would spawn and die and they'd come. back and they'd wash up on my gear and. so I'd have all these that's why the. wolves were there they wanted to eat the. dead fish that were coming back down and. so as I started toss fish off on the. banks of the river usually I just toss. them back into the river but I toss them. on the banks the fresher fish and the. wolves started eating them and then our. relationship just kept growing and. growing and growing and growing and and.
then I'm spending like three and a half. months with them did you think while you. were doing this that this is probably. how human beings and wolves yes. develop this relationship hundred. percent 100 percent 100 percent and. actually I feel bad saying this and I. hope I don't offend anybody but I was. working with two Inuit guys to ask more. guys and they wanted to shoot all these. wolves I kind of lied to him and I just. said man like have you ever seen wolves. behave like this and they said no and I. said well you know some of your guys. beliefs you know fall that your.
ancestors move on into the animal. kingdom right and they're like yeah and. I said well is there a chance that some. of these wolves could be some of your. ancestors you know and I know that's not. true at least I think I know that's not. true but they're like yeah yeah so I. just was trying to convince his ex they. wanted to blast these things and so I. just convinced him not to shoot the. Wolves and I feel like an [ __ ]. singing why do you feel like an [ __ ]. saying that I don't know I just didn't. want them to shoot the Wolves so I just. kind of been probably a good way to. rationalize I steered them down a path. of worse might have gone anyway yeah and.
so but I spent time with those wolves. and I've had you know and the idea of. management like when we were in the. short that Jamie is just playing who we. are that we played you can see some. wolves in there and a few years ago I. got surrounded by a pack of wolves. in the Arctic with the crew and it. filmed really beautifully and it was and. it was one of the most remarkable. engagements I've ever had in the. wilderness and they were definitely. there body language was definitely. looking at us as though are we food.
right so this that was one of them but. we had like six or seven wolves come in. behind us so this wolf would be in front. of us two or three others would be. behind us but you can see they're not. attacking us they're not even hunting us. but you can just see like they're. wondering you know is there is there a. play here right is there is there a play. here and and and I've and I and I mean. it's I'm not being a tough guy there. wasn't an ounce that I didn't have eight. not a fiber of my body was afraid at any.
point and there's probably six seven. wolves around us within ten yards all. and they're communicating they're doing. this little like so they're talking to. each other and then they just moved off. and it turns out that the Moose that I. was stalking I think they were stalking. too there was a big bowl that was bedded. and if they weren't stalking him because. I think they would have had their hands. full with him. but if they weren't stalking him then. they were just moving in that general. direction in a they were for sure. hunting and I've just I've always had a.
you know tremendous respect for them and. I've always spent I've just they've I've. always had time with them I've always. had time in them I've always been I've. had wolf tags in my pocket before you. know this kind of falls under the same. idea of conservation like these wolves. right here right I had a wolf tag in my. pocket at my bow I could have arrowed. any of these wolves easily multiples of. them probably but I don't want to kill a. wolf here because I you know they know. when another wolf is gone right the pack.
knows and so that that weighs on me a. little bit that's me also why right like. why kill them any of them this is a real. issue see that was the thing for me is. like I didn't have I didn't do my. homework for this area so just like I. don't know if there's a lot of little. wolves I'm not gonna kill a wolf I know. interest in killing wolf I get a wolf. tag with my stuff right now that was. telling me that there's a one of the. explorers that traveled the West during. the Lewis and Clark days.
favorite meal was wolf and that wolf was. literally his favorite thing to eat. hmm I've never eaten it yeah I would. have a real hard time. I just couldn't they're too much like. dogs yeah they're I think there's some. sort of a genetic memory that we have of. our relationship with wolves and they. mean they've become dogs and they've. become our you know our companions and. they become a part of our community yeah. it just wasn't you know it wasn't for me.
and when the pilot picked me up he asked. me that I'd seen any wolves and I said. yeah we saw a lot of wolves and he's. like all there now you know he's not I'm. not telling you he's running surveys. here he's like yeah there's a lot of. wolves here there's a lot of predation. on on moose here so we're trying to. we're trying to really cut the wolves. down here but and I saw a lot of wolves. but I also saw a ton of moose and I saw. a ton of cows and I saw lots of calves. and lots of big bulls so everything. seemed to be functioning in that area. and I also saw a ton of read-back voles.
right they look like mice with little. short tails and I know where there's a. lot of read-back voles I know that. wolves do extremely well eating them and. so you see these little tunnels in the. tundra and stuff and I think wolves eat. a lot smaller of prey than people think. on average right we see sensational. things of small dogs or wolves and we. filmed I don't know if it did you see. the dingo hunt that we filmed in. Australia no oh my god no we were. hunting Buffalo and while we were.
hunting Buffalo dingoes just exploded. from the bush and the dingoes were pack. hunting the Asiatic water buffalos. nobody's ever seen it before. nobody's ever filmed it before we had. the dingo Institute call us immediately. from Australia we had pigs a dingo small. tiny dude so we filmed all that's not. straight it's literally never been. filmed before to our knowledge everyone. that we talked to that is Singhal. researchers they want to know exactly. where this was never seen this behavior. and see this behavior right here that.
was I'm actually coming in to hunt us. but you can see the whole crew sat down. everybody was totally committed they're. trying to kill that calf right there and. still that calf is monstrous right so. there's four or five six on there and. then they chase they. the whole herd directly write in to us. that's what you're seeing right here and. that the herd actually comes to like 15. feet before they split around us we're. all sitting on our butts and then the. dingoes actually turned their attention. to us and they come in around us because. you can see us instantly looking at us.
as a were a meal but like wolves like. grizzly bears like black bears very. quickly they looking at a guy asses not. gonna work out for me yeah they don't. want to die you know what he means like. yeah nobody had ever seen when I die why. the [ __ ] are they going after water but. I don't know these things as giant. terrible idea but obviously they're I. don't know if this group has done this. before well they must have right they. must have been successful in the on the. calf you know and the idea is that.
they're gonna chase them and wear them. out and that one of the calves gonna be. separating they gonna take it down yeah. but they're like 35 pounds that's so. crazy it's such a small animal and these. calves even the calves are probably like. 100 pounds you see I'm bigger yeah. maybe 200 that guy looks Australian as. [ __ ] the other guy everything hey Mike. yeah yeah look at my hat so yeah so just. all these instances like this literally. I hate to but that's why I hunt like yes.
yeah like that stuff I'm not I'm. probably not going on a photo safari. ever in my entire life I'm not climbing. Mount Everest unless there's something. at the top that right I'm need yeah just. not mine my DNA is now Who I am right. but but going out to kill a water. buffalo in Australia because they're not. only are they overpopulate they're. absolutely decimating the country and. they're not supposed to be there no I. mean need to kill them all you can snap. your fingers right now kill every button. on the continent of Australia and you'd.
be doing nothing but helping that place. right and so those are the kinds of. engagements that I love right going. there seeing these things you're not. gonna see him unless you're there and. you're not gonna see him unless you're. there for very long time. yeah just being in the woods and seeing. wildlife in its wild environment is a. crazy experience I was telling my friend. Colton he's a guide in Utah and I was. saying you guys should have a thing for. people that have zero desire to hunt. and let them like take them put them in. full camo and have them creep through.
the woods during the rut and watch these. Elks scream at each other and. communicate it just just to be around. them as immensely it's a it's an amazing. person to know that these things have. done this for thousands if not millions. of years I mean they found white-tailed. deer skulls in Florida that have been. aged to over a million years yeah so. they know that they've been in that form. and likely elk as well in that form for. a [ __ ] million maybe even more years.
yeah these things this is what they've. done they've done it forever and to be. around them when they don't know you're. there we did this film for under armour. me and cam Haines and we we went elk. hunting in Utah and we we were in this. this wooded area watching these elk that. were in this meadow by a stream and we. sat there waiting for a shot opportunity. for like like an hour so watching them. they had no idea we were there and you. know some of them were 15 20 yards away.
yeah I was like this is the crate just. to be around them when they don't know. you're there so amazing yeah Washington. breathed Watchmen we did it last year. with men's health didn't article on us. and so we took it was trippy like I'm. talking to our director at men's houses. in downtown Manhattan they have no idea. what life is about so she's like you had. Donnie so what we're gonna do is we're. gonna have you and your crew so there's. three and my crew and and then we're. gonna have photographer photographers.
assistant and then we'll have the writer. with you. well good luck so I'm just like all. right so I'm stalking a bull elk and. I've never hunted before so I have no. idea what I'm doing other than what I've. read about and so I'm stalking these. bowls with six people and they ask me. like hey do we have to wear camouflage. that no you know I'm for camouflage and. they said well what is there anything we. shouldn't wear and I said just try not. to wear anything with really bright. stark colors and try not to wear any. bright yellows because that's the. spectrum that elk seein and the. photographer assistant shows off with. just that I mean like canary yellow.
pants skinny jeans. oh my gate they're from Ojai where's all. hi that's here right yes ah yes they're. from Ojai and. it was wicked because we snuck up to. eight we got to 18 yards from the 6x6. all of us six of us 18 yards from the. 6x6 and what was crazy is there staring. at two 6x6 like all of their jaws are on. the ground but I'm staring at them. because I really don't care about the. 6x6 he's too young I'm not gonna shoot.
him but I loved I was addicted to their. reactions right and their psyche and the. Elwha actually so we're staring at them. the Elks staring at these guys I'm. staring at them I'm just like taking. this along I'm like this is pretty rad. where were you guys. Nevada shale Creek range in Nevada and. so we're sitting there also elk looks to. its left really sharply and so I look. over and there's a coyote ten yards from. us staring at the elk and then now these. guys are seeing the coyote they're.
seeing the elk and then everything runs. away and I turn around look at these. guys and they're just like like the one. star breeze like that was a literal. monster and it was like a three-year-old. six by six four year olds like that. thing and like I just shut up and I'm. just living these guys they're just Jay. and now two of the three them on a hunt. they'd never hunt in their lives now the. writer writer Michael Easter he really. wants to hunt and he's actually gonna go. on another hunt with me I think in next.
year I'm gonna spend like 40 days in the. Yukon Territories just walking from one. end of this concession that friend of. mine has like four and a half million. acres we're gonna try to walk from one. half kind of to the other half if you. want hunting our way through just kind. of do a journal hunt film the whole. thing beautifully try to and tell a. story and he wants to go along and write. a book about the experience Wow yeah and. so do it but that's the thing is like. all these guys like they just just to. see their lung seeing this bull elk. right there and like and they're. watching and he he put on quite showy.
didn't go I really wish you would have. although they heard bugles because we. camped at 12,000 feet I made I'm hiked. all the way up to the top I'm like man. if we're camping with cabin at the. tippity-top I want you guys like just. experience and so bugles would echo out. at night around the canyon but they. watched him eat and he he made a Rob and. just you know mess this tree up with his. antlers and they just never it was. wicked great experience but I agree with. you I think people like a. put some camouflage on or L wear yellow. pants yel wear yellow skinny jeans if. you want your flat bill hat from Ojai.
and let's go sneak up on L [ __ ] flat. bill hats yeah I'm saying it yeah. I'm sorry Jim yeah just kidding this has. a small curvature it's a small small. curvature he's been on the Cavaliers. tear over the last few days all sorts of. different hats on the just I think that. what I was saying to these guys is like. you would without even having have a tag. like you guys could guide these people. and it wouldn't be a dent in the. resources who wouldn't diminish the. population no but it would it would be.
it's an educational experience mhm and. just there's ripples that come from that. with those people gonna go back to tell. other people about it and it's one thing. to go to the zoo but you go to the zoo. it's the most unnatural environment in. the world where animals are looking you. right in the eye and they're not. freaking out that has nothing to do with. what you're talking you you can see it. all could at the zoo but you can't watch. an l-cut decision you don't know the elk. is not an elk it's a it's a farm animal. yeah it's just not the same when you see. one in the wild and they're their noses. are flaring and they're smelling the air.
and they're their ears are twitching. left and right they're scanning for. noises and you realize like wow this. thing is out there [ __ ] earning. hustling you know eating grass trying to. stay alive and if if it gets to you know. like that elk that I have out there was. nine years old. cuz I'm nine year old animal that's out. there surviving against mountain lions. and bears and and just figuring out a. way to get through and and keep. surviving get through those winters make. it to spring keep going keep going.
I mean that is a it's it's an amazing. animal it has a story the thing has a. story in you and if you sit down you. know I'm sure you were sad when you. killed them but you sit down and and I'm. sure you're euphoric as hell that your. plan finally worked because you've. watched it failed 2,000 times so you sit. there with your kind of holy crap moment. of this actually happened and he's. actually dead now and you know you have. the sorrow of taking an animal's life. but then you sit there and you have any. perspective at all you think about those.
nine years just like you just did you. think that any minute of those nine. years these same words like sheep you. know are like your water buffalo back. here. like this is horn right so they don't. lose it every year they'll cast their. antlers off every year and grow new ones. which is I think its fastest growing. biological substance known to man right. yeah absolutely crazy but but these. things have horns so it's made out of. like fingernails so you literally can. sit there with your Buffalo and drag. your fingernail or a bighorn sheep or. dall sheep and drag your fingernail. through these little crags and you see.
these splits and cracks and you're like. you know what was a bad winter and and. what was a great spring and when did the. wolves chase you and when did you almost. lose your life in a fight and when like. I wish you know I wish we could kind of. hold on of these things and kind of go. through a little montage of what this. thing lived through you know but that's. the only thing we can do is insert. ourselves in the wilderness for a short. amount of time or as much time as we can. afford and convince ourselves that. that's where we still live yeah I mean.
that just the relationship that we have. with nature I think is it's taken such a. bizarre turn because of cities I think. that what would we've done also in our. relationship with animals by putting. them in these little animal prisons that. we call zoos and having people go and. stare at them in some very unnatural way. we've really distorted the majesty of. wildlife in nature and the only in my. opinion the only real way to appreciate.
with an what an animal is is to see an. animal in the wild and see it in its. habitat and until that happens until you. do that you really you could see a you. know a giraffe at the zoo and they're. pretty majestic they're really crazy and. they're one of the weirdest animals too. because they let little kids feed them. when they're so confident in their. behavior yes I had a bit about it in my. act and that like you say that animals. don't belong in the zoo I'm like I agree.
with you except for giraffes giraffes. don't seem to have any [ __ ] problem. with the zoo they love it yeah yeah and. my joke was that they're like another. day with no lions and they just. wandering around having a great old time. they I mean they they're so confident. that like when my daughter was two we. brought it to the zoo and they let a. two-year-old hold a piece of lettuce up. for. giraffe they just [ __ ] know yeah but. if you saw like I said the first time I. ever saw him I was with my friend Mike. Hawk Ridge and my friend Ben O'Brien the.
first time I ever saw a moose in the. wild we pulled the car over and it was. like that scene in Jurassic Park when. Jeff Goldblum sticks his head out of the. Jeep and he's like yeah like you see one. in the wild do you realize how big they. really are and this thing was just. walking through this open field in the. woods and we were like holy [ __ ] look at. the size of that thing. FileMaker killed by giraffe while. working in South Africa oh yeah we got. head-butted right yeah that's how they. do it oh yeah they use their head like a. whip yeah we've we showed a film of.
these two battling these Bulls slamming. each other with their heads it's [ __ ]. crazy brutal yeah as is anything that. lives out there that's a way to go huh. do you killed by a giraffe you didn't. even see it he was looking through the. camera oh yeah oh yeah he still thinks. he's looking to a camera right now it. probably is yeah some other dimension. yeah yeah yeah that had to be lights out. and that's you know back to the grizzly. bear hunting thing that's that's the. unfortunate thing right all those people.
that closed down hunting mm-hmm they. never mean they know I would I would. venture a guess that anyone that voted. on that ballot has never seen a grizzly. bear or been a grizzly bear territory or. participated at all in understanding how. that ecosystem works well isn't it a. very small percentage of people it was a. very small number of people and they got. the information from an email list right. I think that yeah I think it was less. than 3,000 people yeah something really. crazy with high love misinformation and.
in rumor well it's also if you talk to. the actual wildlife biologists and maybe. even more importantly the people that. are in the field on a daily basis like. there's no pop no problem with the. grizzly bear population in British. Columbia in fact it's thriving yeah. it's a giant animal that eats a lot of. meat and it's out there taking out a lot. of calves right now as we speak and now. that they can't hunt them they're very. likely to have a situation where they're. gonna have to hire people to shoot. problem bears absolutely.
the first eco-tour that goes down. we're a boat full or a bus full or a. hiking group watches a boar kill and eat. triplets kill and eat three football or. watermelon size cubs and rip them to. shreds and eat them while they're. balling and trying to get to their mom. and then have him kill their mom and. once that goes down they'll be like okay. I think we might have a couple too many. bears here yeah but that happens every. day even in a great not every day but it. happens often even in a good population. but now that they've shut down any.
killing whatsoever these things have no. predators other from old boars that. become giant bullies on the block yeah. what are they gonna do about that. because apparently there is some sort of. a movement to try to educate people and. get them to understand what they've done. by making this hunt illegal but what I. would like to see is people also be. educated on the fact like what you said. that these animals are actually edible. and that instead maybe the part of the. problem is the fact that these people. are just taking the head in the hide and.
leaving behind the meat and if you were. responsible for not just taking the meat. but showing that you're consuming it and. then teaching these people how to cook. it and how to prepare it and and make. them realize like you should be using. this thing is in its entirety as a. resource and don't just think about it. as this [ __ ] rug or this you know. skull that you're gonna have on your. wall and that's the problem I think. that's the problem I don't know but I. think that's the problem because there's. people if people and some people do.
think this I get letters like this all. the time or people say let me get this. straight so and it always happens after. we post a picture of me with an animal. in my backpack elk antlers are like oh. yeah I can see it you know how many meat. in that backpack and I tell them like. look my first for backpack loads were. meat I'm taking the head out last that's. how we do it the head goes out last. because it's the least of importance it. holds the least importance and so with a. hide in the head go out last so and if. you take a picture of a backpack full of. meat it looks like a backpack because.
the meats inside so it looks like you're. wearing a backpack so and we. purposefully did one last year in Nevada. where you can see the Elks hoof sticking. out of the top of the backpack so people. realize like we are moving quarters and. we publish these for. but so people will write and say see let. me get this straight you kill the deer. you take its life you take its hide and. take its antlers you just take it home. and mount it and you leave everything. else to rot and no anybody says that. it's they do ignorance they're not. paying any attention.
well there was lever that's willful. ignorance because you could find that. out first of all everyone knows that. deer is delicious deer venison and elk. in particular it's delicious meat the. fact that you would even consider. leaving that behind it's crazy nobody. does that I've never heard of anybody. doing it I don't even know I've heard of. it but I've heard a lot of Mary elk not. not not not in reality I've just heard. of it right I've heard people saying oh. yeah it's what they used to do is what. they did and you know I couldn't even. imagine that as a scenario in in today's.
day I mean the the meat is so good I've. had people of my house before they've. never eaten elk and I'm deform they're. like holy [ __ ] because it has a there's. a feeling you get from eating it to it. almost like is energy in it like it. charges you up yeah it's it's such a. potent protein and so delicious I I said. that would leave that behind I mean that. should be a crime. yeah I mean I if anything I've seen it. go the other way I've seen hunters argue. over their share right like if you're.
sharing an elk with a friend or you went. on one you kill okay it's like well how. much do I get you know I've seen guys. argue over that more than anything and I. said I said elk meat to the writer of. men's health who's writing the article. cuz i ind milk two days after he left he. had to go on another story and I ended. up killing young so he's like hey will. you send me a box of meat so I can try. it because I feel like I was really part. of this hunt and I did someone he's just. like yeah he I mean he wrote about in. the article but it's a in the last. paragraph forever but he sent me a text.
message needs just like freaking kidding. me there's a finest thing I've ever. eaten in my life. he's like prepared correctly but you. have to learn how to do that yeah you. know and he's you know he's seared. everything he talked to us and we told. you want to keep it like really medium. rare and just he just loved it he loved. it and and and he talked about like all. those days that he hiked with us in the. mountains you know he remarked that he. could taste that in the flesh right he. felt that he felt that connection now. he's like big-time wants it wants to. start hunting first food he. I always tell people if you really want.
to start hunting you really want to do. it it's so difficult to get started it's. so difficult to even find the resources. to take the first steps like what do you. do and and people that say I want a bow. hunt like listen man first of all you. need to learn how to shoot a bow and. second of all you by saying that you. want a bow hunt what you're saying to me. is I want to practice 300 days a year. with my bow I want to really learn.
archery I want to learn the proper form. I want to learn mental control I want to. learn the ability to keep your mind in. in in the moment while you're under. extreme anxiety and facing an animal to. understand how to range an animal how to. what what's the proper yardage where's. the proper shot placement you're talking. about a lifestyle you're talking about. literally changing your life this is not. don't say I want to go bow hunting like. I want to go deep-sea fishing on a.
chartered globe where they put they put. the fit the bait on the hook drop it in. and I just reel in the and that the fish. yeah that's that's possible yeah saying. I want to go bow hunting yeah you know. they see you do it they go oh you bow. hunt yeah okay but I'm crazy and I've. been obsessed with this [ __ ] for years. and I practice every day and you go to. my backyard I've got [ __ ] rubber elk. sitting on a hillside and I shoot at him. every day before I do anything yeah how. much do you want to do it yeah how much. do you really want to do did you first.
have to come an archer yes then you have. to learn something about hunting now you. have to actually get out of your truck. and take a bunch of steps into the. wilderness and hope you can even just. get back to your truck let alone finding. an animal illegal animal sneaking into. with an archery range killing him. quickly dismembered and getting them I. mean it it's gonna be in shape yes the. other thing that freaked me out when I. first went hunting yeah I was in shape. as far as like jujitsu and martial arts. shape but [ __ ] hiking with a backpack.
on in in altitude and you're going up. and down and up and down in seven hours. a day like okay you gotta be conditioned. for this yeah yeah I think if you want. it I mean. I think the way to do it if somebody. really wants to is really wild pigs wild. pigs with a gun that's probably the. first way you should do it because I. think first of all it has to be done. this is something that's imperative your. your talk you can't be done enough it. can't be done enough again you could go. no wild pigs starting now and yeah it.
would be a great it would be a great. service it'd be a great service except. for people who enjoy a wild pig meat and. hunting yes it's awesome yeah I mean. it's an awesome way to get started to. you go wild pig hunting you're you're. doing good for the environment this is. an invasive species that devastates. ground nesting birds all sorts of plant. species and and if you're dealing with. agriculture like wow I mean then it's. really you're talking about a massive. financial burden on farmers but with a. rifle that's the way to do it because.
why it's so much easier if you have a. rifle rest and someone can take you to a. range the the learning curve is so much. shorter then yeah with a bow yeah. absolutely 100% that's great that's a. great first animal the only other thing. that I would maybe save if somebody. could share with you is to share a duck. blind or something along those lines. because sometimes it's difficult to wrap. your head around killing a large animal. first it might help to kill as odd as. that sounds we're more comfortable with. killing pheasants or grouse or ducks or. something like that but that's also a.
very tricky shot and you know there's. and there's safety elements there. because a number of people have guns and. not everyone's mentions yeah yeah have. you been to Lanai. I haven't I I've done it two years in a. row now where we hunt access deer and. lanai and it's another one of those. things that has to be done there's. something around 3,000 people on the. island and more than 20,000 access deer. and it's a very small island and it's.
[ __ ] bananas I mean we were coming. home from we got super lucky on the. first night the first night of hunting. we got out of the truck we set up a. target to see if the bows were in tune. shot one arrow at a target and Alec the. guy that I was with went [ __ ] there's a. buck about 200 yards look right. look holy [ __ ] we kicked off our shoes. Stockton on them and I killed him within.
15 minutes which is nuts because what. the next four days without killing. anything and that finally got another. one in the last day but you could shoot. as many as 12 day mean they want to get. rid of of course yeah eating themselves. up a house in a home right yeah yeah. it's crazy the numbers the numbers are. crazy but it's also crazy how tuned in. these things are and that they evolved. to escape Tigers yeah they're from India. yeah they are [ __ ] switched on yeah. they're like a white-tailed deer on. steroids and meth yeah I mean what's a.
Pierre alone in they're gone and they're. so fast man I've never seen an animal so. fast so wicked yeah but it's a good. argument for hunting it's like well. here's a here's a situation where the. animals are out that the population is. [ __ ] up there's no balance of life. here this is not like this there's no. balance here this is completely out of. balance and because of that they hire. snipers just gonna change them yeah I'm. assuming they're hiring guns to come in. at night and Yemenite scopes are exact. yeah that's exactly just to keep it in.
just to keep it somewhat in check yeah. but unless you want to let wolves loose. on this island and you know I don't know. how else you're gonna fix that you want. to put Tigers there that's what's really. supposed to you know catching them I. actually studied Tigers right out of. college in Bangladesh and Nepal and I. would see and I would see access deer. there and they were I mean the jungle. there those real so like they that's why. they're looking at everything right. because you look at a tiger and as soon. you're like just no way that thing can. hide but then you go to their jungle and.
everything's green except for all the. palms that die turn bright orange and. they all have really long sharp fronds. that look like a tiger stripe so you see. is little blotches of orange and black. all disappearing into the green and so. but we would see the deer and the deer. would know like when we were going into. an area to either we had a cat that was. radio collared or we're going in to look. at a particular piece of habitat the. deer were just like on pins and needles.
like we'd get him remotely close and you. could see him we were dealing a lot with. Islands and you'd see him leaving the. island on the other side like they'd be. ditching to swim to the next. very aware they're extremely aware how. crazy is it that somehow or another the. tiger evolved to develop those stripes. that look like the colors in nature like. what is the mechanism phenotypical. representation yeah see though like this. is from I don't know where this picture. was taken but this reminds me of like in. Nepal and southern Nepal where I was a. royal chitwan national force they have. this grass that grows like 20 feet tall.
and it I mean just absolutely disappear. but how bizarre is it that this animal. somehow or another evolved this. camouflage yeah it's so strange so. strange that's so that's what's so. amazing oh yes so the evolution I mean. that you know this idea of phenotypical. their physical representation their. genetics is just so fantastic what did. you study in college wildlife biology. yeah. because I wanted to you know when I got. started doing you know hunting and.
things like I don't come from a hunting. family so I just. when did you start hunting oh as soon as. I could like when I was 10 11 12 I would. force my dad he had a he had a couple of. guns cuz he just had guns when he was a. kid and he would he would go up and he'd. go like deer hunting once a year with a. buddy of his in Maine but and you know I. think they just drank beer and I don't. think that he like he never killed the. day I don't think that were even deer on. and they just literally drive up getting. a cabin with their bodies and get. hammered. get hammered taste in air right that's.
like when I was in high school one of my. friends from high school he did that he. his his family would go deer hunting and. his dad literally never killed a deer. yeah I was like that is the dumbest [ __ ]. I've ever heard of my life your dad. spends all this time hunting in the. woods has never killed a deer hunting. yeah David Abel yeah and so but yeah so. my dad the the gift to me was my. grandparents got him a subscription to. outdoor life books so he'd get all these. all these books that were handed by.
these gifted authors one of them was. named Jack O'Connor who's inspired my. entire career but I'd read all these. things and and so I just thought I want. to spend time outside so I might as well. get a wildlife biology degree and then. do research and live outside and things. like that it was odd as odd as it was. when I was in college I was still. hunting a lot and I family and friends. and me. I came and you gotta like buckle down on. your studies and I wasn't disagreeing. with them but they're like you need to. stop hunting stop hunting so much and. because I'd literally I'd go to the. Arctic caribou hunting by myself and I'd.
come home and go to classes and then I'd. leave to go to Alaska on a black bear. hunt I'd come home and go to classes and. I just save as much money as I could and. party didn't drink with any of my bodies. didn't you know didn't do anything. lavish I just literally kept going on. trips and you know it's kind of. basically what's led to my career today. but it was funny that I you know these. kind of things travel in parallel if you. will when did you start making films and. when you did it did you make them with. the intention of trying to relay like. what I was explaining at the beginning.
of the podcast that what you do best is. you you as much as possible in an hour. you're relaying the whole experience. yeah as opposed to what you're gonna get. when you see a hunting television show. or what especially what you're gonna get. when you see hunting in a movie yeah so. I we started in 2012 and I had some guys. that approached me to host a hunting TV. show and I said why what's that gonna. look like and they said we'll pay for. your trips. we'll get all your sponsors and stuff.
lined up you'll be fully sponsored we'll. split the sponsor dollars with you will. buy your airtime XY and Z these guys. were pretty wealthy I was like this. sounds like the absolute dream to me but. I said I want to control how it's filmed. where we go how we hunt and the gear. that I use and they said a hundred. percent well very quickly within like. the first eight days those things. started to go out the window they said. we want you to go here and hunt with. this guy because he's super popular and. we want you to kill this animal we want. you to wear this clothing I was like no.
I've never do any of this I'm not doing. any of this so I said you know you guys. I appreciate the opportunity but I'm. gonna walk away from this gig and so I. walked away from it and then I met ended. up meeting up with Kyle of whom you met. earlier is in your green room right now. and then another guy named William. Altman who is our director of. photography now it's sick Manta and I. met up with these guys and through a. series of weird circumstances we ended. up filming together and we I mean we. just started kind of going on trips but. when we started going on trips our. intention was never to do a TV show our.
intention was. how can we tell a story about what we're. doing because really what we're doing. ends up with having a really fantastic. tale it doesn't have to be a huge tale. doesn't have to be Moby Dick but there's. a story whenever you're going on these. hunts and so we just decided like how. can we flesh this out so we just went on. these trips we filmed them as. beautifully as we could we filmed them. as completely as we could write a lot of. guys when they go on these trips they'll. film okay you arrived and now you're. hunting and then you kill an animal and.
they're just trying to like get a little. piece of when we would try and film. everything and then when we got done we. started putting together our first film. and we thought okay we'll put the other. a film we'll see what the audience kind. of things and then we'll just play from. there and we'll just go from there and. see what happens and so I started. writing the film writing the script. every all the all the dialogue that was. gonna live outside of what was already. naturally occurring on camera. and I brought it into Kyle's office and. I was like yeah so read this and he.
picked up my notebook and he's like dude. I've I've never ever heard you talk like. this. I've never it was I think probably a. little bit macho and a little bit. sensational a little bit like the being. actual delivered like delivering a line. and trying to convey something on film. that wasn't me and he's like I've never. like why don't you write like how you. talk in the office like when you're. ranting and raving and talking about. wildlife and talking about your. experiences right like that like like. paint a picture for us you know and and.
answer some questions maybe that you. have of your own so I started writing in. that manner and then we released our. first film in 2012 or 13. the rivers divide was a story about a. deer that I was hunting for two years in. North Dakota and it just took off yeah. watch that Steve Steve Steve yeah why'd. you name him Steve a friend of mine. named him because a friend of his whose. name Steve said the fact that you named. deer is idiotic and completely stupid. and my friend Jeff said great that the.
next deer we find is named Steve it is a. weird thing when you watch a lot of. these shows and people it's doing a. piece of property and they have trail. cameras and they have all these. different names these deer like that's. where it gets real squirrelly - can I do. it - it's not. yeah yeah it's not good it's not good. and we do it it's funny because we're. actually talking about this in the blind. one day and it's like we name things. right you if you have two if you have. two sons you don't go yep there's um so.
there's my skinny boy the one that does. okay in school and here's a little fat. one that we can't keep pees on the. forklift but these are my two kids here. you know you're like no this is Bob and. Jeff you know and and so like when we're. deer hunting with these animals like it. when you're on Lanai you don't have this. opportunity but if you were there all. year long you might be like hey I saw. the buck with the crooked you might be. like I saw crooked horn I saw him again. the night you know then rather than. saying to your wife or your girlfriend. your body saying hey I saw that you know. that one box that I'm on it with the.
crook instead of going down that road. you start nicknaming all this stuff. right people name their cars we name. motorcycles we know that you got this. far in this hunting journey and you just. recently started elk hunting September. is only so long and like I said I like. the Arctic so I would just always go. moose hunting and caribou owning it. right yeah but no excuse whatsoever I I. hunted um few years ago in Colorado ten. years ago 15 20 years ago I hunted cow.
elk I went on a cow elk hunt but I. literally the hunt lasted three minutes. oh I hiked up in the pitch black I hiked. up to like 11,000 feet send cain't son. came up and there was a huge calque at. 30 yards and I shot her when I was like. alright that's done and so I cut her up. cleaned her up and I just had always. went to Alaska during September and not. in the elk mountains and finally I was. just like I need to do this and it was. awesome I had a I had a good and bad.
experience great experience with like. the morning that I killed was. sensational misty rainy the Bulls were. screaming everything was very wild we. were way back in there was really. sensational really really impactful but. up to that point the area that I was. hunting the Shell Creek range in Nevada. is they only have a few tags there but. when you get a tag everyone he hires. basically all of their family and. friends to come and help because it's. such a rare.
so there's 30 guys to every tag and so I. saw four wheelers in side-by-sides and. there's complete and utter intrusion. negative intrusion by hunters into this. wilderness it's ridiculous and it needs. to be stopped in my opinion like you. should have to leave all your motorized. vehicles on pavement and go into the. mountains on foot that's my opinion but. this area that I was in they had. something like 400 miles of improved.
two-track roads that guys had literally. just like they see something over here. they want to get to you they just start. driving they're side by side right. across the sagebrush and they just start. beating this stuff down and pretty soon. there's a road and so this area started. out I'll just make these numbers up. because I don't remember the but they. start out like a hundred miles of dirt. roads in this mountain system quickly. expanded to four hundred miles of dirt. roads because people just trying to. access wherever they want to go with an. ATV really started to impact the elk to. where they they were getting pushed out.
of their winter ranges by people on ATVs. and they're getting bullied so badly by. people that were accessing the air by. ATV that they just recently closed on. something like 200 miles roads and I. think they're trying to even close down. even more but as far as I'm concerned it. should be closed down if you want to go. and do if you want to go and ride your. ATV go ride your ATV if you're all. cunning leave the ATV on the road right. and by ATV you're talking about like. those little Rangers so yeah mostly. mostly side by side there are a couple. of quads but mostly side by side yeah.
yeah those those are very very. controversial we were in Nevada a couple. years back in the the desert area like. sagebrush area near it's a few hours. outside of Reno and we experienced a few. of those where people were doing them. they were using them illegally they're. driving into these areas where you know. you're off the road and you're just just. driving through these open plains areas.
with these ATVs and I'm supposed to be. there and spooking deer and yeah. impacting the substrate and soils and. yeah. bad yeah it's on one hand I say well you. know it's not the worst thing in the. world in terms of like if you need to. get an animal out of there I kind of. agree with it but I kind of understand. your point. maybe you shouldn't even be able to do. it with that mm-hmm cuz because then. you're gonna look I mean it's gonna be. really hard to regulate whether or not a. person should or shouldn't be able to.
use it at any point in time yeah and I'm. not talking about like if somebody. that's handicapped or somebody that's. truly debilitated once accesses their. absolutely by all means I'm talking. about able-bodied middle-aged and young. men right are not doing they're not. working on yeah that's a weird thing. right like they they want to be able to. do that and then there's also people. that want to be able to go in there on. horseback. yeah that's so that's another argument. yeah I've heard people that have been. hunting and they you know in a quiet.
area and then all sudden five people. come by and horseback in front of them. you know that there with an outfitter. and the Outfitters I mean they took the. time to hike 19 miles deep into the. backcountry and you know it's a it's a. hard haul and then the next thing you. know some people come in on horseback. and you know they're it's they got pack. mules and all sorts other [ __ ] there's a. [ __ ] caravan of animals and people. and they're spooking everything out. mm-hmm yep and they it all comes down to. that um that barrier of entry right you. know I thrive the most like it's for me.
and I'm sure for you too it's the most. rewarding to do the work. backpack in suffer right that's. suffering like I feel like we should. have to suffer for these well it's also. rewarding to do it on foot because. you're going deep into this area that's. hard to get to and when you do get there. there's nothing there but you if you if. you're the type of person that's willing. to hike in 7 8 9 10 miles the deeper you. get the further you're gonna distance.
yourself from everybody else because. most people aren't going to do that no. most people aren't going to like if you. especially that's the weird thing about. public land right it's like kind of. anybody can get in there but who's gonna. get in there 22 miles yep very few. people know and I people all the time. I'm sure you go through this too but. I'll kill an animal and hunters right. away they want to identify you was that. on public or private land. right well it's on public land you know. and and people think that it's this and. I'm not I'm you know and there's certain. areas the country it's more difficult.
but people think of you killed an animal. on public land like your real hunter if. you have to deal with other hunters know. where I went there was not another. person so you know it's like when when. you're accessing when you're going deep. and there's not ATVs there's not side by. side and you can actually hike into an. area you can get away from these people. right you can get away if you are. willing to access but people like to. celebrate public land because you you. weren't on a guided hunt you weren't in. this well it's also a wealth thing to. people want to they they they want to. disparage accomplishments for people. that do things that they're the wealth.
is a barrier for entry yeah like but the. problem I have with that is first of all. the wildest of the wild is the place. where people can't go you know if you. can get to and the other thing is like. if somebody said hey you know I'm gonna. give you a tag for Nevada for some you. know private land area that is just an. unbelievable elk hunt but it's a private. land thing but I'm gonna give it to you. you're not gonna go wanna rock I do that. because it's private land I don't do. that no I get to yeah most people are.
only saying that they wouldn't do it. because they can't afford it and so they. want to disparage anybody who can. because there's a barrier for entry. yeah and that barrier is financial yeah. but those areas when you go if you can. get into these private places those are. the areas where they're really wild. because there's no [ __ ] people you. can't go back there. yeah you know and you get to see these. animals the way they would be when when. there is no access to the public because. there isn't yeah and that's the last but.
I get it I mean I get the the sentiment. I get why people would be upset that. some people can afford it and others. can't oh for sure for sure it's. definitely um yeah I mean it's it's. everybody wants to participate everyone. wants to see and access all these. different areas and and if you can't. right and it's it's a negative. experience if somebody can and I feel. the same way like you see you know I see. this every year when I go to some of. these hunting shows around the country. like I'll go to a wild sheep Foundation. and they bring up the Montana Bighorn.
tag for sale mm-hm I would love to buy. that thing those those things are so. ridiculous when we have those auctions. guys go for hundreds of thousands of. dollars $350,000 is [ __ ] crazy yeah. that really is [ __ ] crazy I mean the. fact that people spend that money and. then the other thing is I mean I know a. guy who did that who hired these people. to sit on this one [ __ ] Bighorn no. for months they say they hire these guys. to basically be full-time employees to. scout this one gigantic Bighorn track it.
around follow it keep an eye on it and. then finally the season opened and this. guy in there killed it and killed it. here's what I would do if I was a. billionaire or had that cash I'd buy the. tag I'm telling you right now to your. face I would buy that tag often if I had. that kind of money but instead of hiring. the crew to find me a big RAM and. waltzing in on an opening day and. killing it I'd fire the crew because I. have enough money I'd go in there and. spend the entire season in there myself. immersing myself in that wilderness and.
using the fact that I have a pile of. cash at home to live in the wilderness. for 30 days and maybe kill a bigger and. maybe not right but these guys want they. want the bragging rights that giant Ram. they want the bragging rights it's a. resume it becomes a resume of animals. and and I I kind of equate it to I've. talked about this a little bit before. but when we were kids like if you went. fishing with your dad or hunting with. your dad or whatever like let's say you. went down to a little local lake here in.
California whatever and you guys are. going bass fishing. you guys go bass fishing and you're. catching bass or whatever and then all. of a sudden one magical Sunday morning. you or your dad hooks a monster bass and. you you know you guys grab the net and. you're you know have the energy in the. bowl right grab that real you know keep. your rod tip up and you know there's a. lot of energy around this big fish. that's gonna be really hard to land it's. such a special occurrence you finally. get the net underneath and you get this. big bass and then that and you're you. know you're hugging your high five and. you're oh my god we've come to this lake.
30 times it's the biggest fish we've. ever caught that that you know and then. and then you take the pictures and you. go home you tell your you know you tell. your mom you tell your friend you're. like oh my god he came up and he ate the. Frog and we set the hook and you tell. that whole tale and you have that energy. that lives around that fantastic. experience. and these guys are trying to buy that. like that's a really remarkable. experience when you when you go elk. hunting and you stumble into a really. big bowl or you do your homework and you. and you keep truncating down the.
information you keep taking steps into. the world and it's down until you find. this really massive bowl you slip in you. have the wind right you're hidden in the. bush or up against a rock or and here he. comes and you can't believe it you've. done your homework and you've truncated. on this experience and here he comes and. you come to a full draw and he for. whatever reason stops at 30 yards and. you find your pin you just and you watch. your arrows zip right through them and. you know you're looking around for. somebody to tell it's just a huge. experience they're trying to bottle that. up write a big fat check and try to.
experience that in one after that. they're trying experiencing it. experience it or is it that they want to. show that they have the thing they want. to show it because that experience I. just described you those emotions. everyone can relate to that or people. that have done this can relate to that. so when they show you their pictures or. 200-inch Ram all their buddies go oh man. what all how it all might a song right. and really has no needs no interest in.
that whatsoever like that is literally. just to build a resume same with a big. maned lion right you know if you went in. and dil de it was a truly wilderness. experience you really did your homework. and I know I'm splitting hairs here but. this is how my mind works. tell me the story I'd love to hear it. but if it's anything other than that. then it's not for me well that's the. thing about you what you're saying. mirrors what I hear from guys like Steve. Rinella and people that are really. accomplished hunters that are very. ethical and have the right mindset is.
that this is supposed to be difficult. hard. yeah the experience is supposed to be. you're supposed to hike all those miles. you're supposed to go up and down those. mountains it's supposed to be exhausting. it's supposed to be hard to get close to. one of these creatures it's supposed to. be difficult you're supposed to not know. what's over the next ridge yeah it's. suppose that it's part of the reward and. if that reward isn't there it's like. shooting fish in a barrel shooting fish. in a barrel is weird it's not. interesting at all and it's great if you. definitely need a fish.
yeah yeah yeah and that's okay like. there's there are little you know you. can cut little corners in life right. like you know it's I'm not saying. everything has to be like cuz because. then somebody might say well you're. using a compound bow the other guys. using a recurve well right it's a good. argument it's an argument gets weird. right but if you're doing it we say if. you're doing it well and good it doesn't. matter you know it shouldn't matter like. if you are an ethical if you're hunting. for the right reasons you're asking. yourself these big questions it.
shouldn't matter if you pick up a rifle. and you shoot them out a hundred yards. or you pick up a recurve and you shoot. them at ten yards because I I know. recurve shooters I can only shoot like. 15 18 yards I know recurve shooters that. can shoot 50 60 70 yards and you know so. we're all different we all like to you. know some people really enjoy shooting. the rifle some people really enjoy. shooting their bow I don't think we. should split hairs there just realize. that the bow hunter maybe had to do go. to the the next level of immersion to.
get himself next to an animal and and. you know on the rifle hunter you know. there you know there's a slightly less. barrier of entry but it doesn't mean it. there's anything wrong with it. well rifle I've had heard it argue and I. agree with them that rifle hunting on. public land is probably more difficult. than bow hunting on private land without. question and certainly more difficult. than bow hunting on public land because. ball owners have this the reason I. started ball hunting was to have access. to public land prior to the rifle season.
yeah to extend my season to go in the. woods when it's quiet no one else's. around and see animals acting be. naturally rather than seeing this orange. army right seeing everything running for. its life right right yeah yeah that's. where it gets squirrely right I mean the. does public access is great but man it. does get really weird and I've. experienced it when there's a lot of. hunters around it gets really like I was. in Wisconsin for opening day a couple. years ago and it is like a war zone the. moment light goes off you hear boom mmm.
and I was I was with Rinella we filmed. it from meat-eater and I was like what. the [ __ ] is going on man. war he's like this is opening day in. Wisconsin I was like that's crazy yeah I. mean it is just everywhere just gunshots. ringing out in the distance yep. and again like you know sometimes we. like to talk about management not every. not every population needs to be managed. but literally you probably can't kill.
enough deer that day in Wisconsin you. better manage this [ __ ] yeah because. people are hitting them with cars all. day long yeah you literally couldn't. kill enough and we were eating them they. were they were eating a lot of corn. because where my friend Doug Durin's. farm is where we were hunting it's all. corn yeah and man they could not have. tasted better yeah they were so good. yeah it was insane we sauteed them that. night in a cast-iron skillet with garlic. salt and butter and holy [ __ ] was it. good yeah it's like we're just moaning.
and orgasmic ecstasy while they're. eating this dear its cuisine man it's so. good you know and you're sitting there. with your bodies yeah it's it's it. should be and it's value freezing cold. outside you're indoors and it's warm and. everybody's happy man it was epic. as epic it's something to be told yeah. it is something to be told I think and. we should probably wrap this up we're. about three hours in but I think I would. want people if they've really curious. about this endeavor.
I really would want people to start with. your films because I appreciate that I. think that what you're doing if they. have the time to sit down and watch that. whole thing what you're doing is you I. think you represent the best just the. best slice it's so hard to get that. slice in 22 minutes. and I think Rinella does an amazing job. in doing it in 22 minutes but I think. what you're what you've done by turning. these into films and by really giving. yourself the opportunity to relay your.
appreciation the Wonder and the awe of. nature and your immersion into that. world and to do so in such an incredibly. creative way and beautifully visually. stunning way that I think you've done an. amazing service and I think I think it's. a great place for people to start. to get a look at them and for people. that do hunt I think they'll really. appreciate if they haven't seen your. stuff before I appreciate that man like. it's we definitely suffer for the work.
like writing the music the shooting it. like we do we want to represent. ourselves with absolute purity but we. also realize that there are people that. have questions so we try to write and. behave in a manner that like like you. like you've done today several times in. a podcast you say hey explain what a. concession is people don't know what a. concessions well if you can write in. this certain manner yeah. give them some sort of an education. while you're telling them the story and. do it poetically and that's it's it's.
it's a I appreciate it but there's so. few people doing it that way. you know I mean Sitka make some really. good films and making some longer films. you know in the 20 minutes and longer. but I think very few people are doing. what you're doing really making it into. a movie. you know I appreciate that man this next. one will be about 90 minutes in length. and I'm really excited about it I can't. wait man well I know a kid Donnie. Vincent ladies and gentlemen thanks for. being on it man appreciate it yeah thank. you.
[Music].
