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Remy Warren
Foreign I'm Remy Warren and I've lived my life in the wild as a professional guide and hunter. I've spent thousands of days perfecting my craft. I want to give that knowledge to you. In this podcast we relive some of my past adventures as I give you practical hunting tips to make you more successful. Whether you're just getting started or a lifelong hunter, this podcast will bring you along on the hunt and teach you how to live wild. This podcast is brought to you by Mountain Tough and Yeti. A lot of the tactics I talk about here require you to be in top physical shape. So I partnered with Mountain Tough to help get you ready for the mountain with their science based hunter specific training app. You'll get in shape and mentally tough able to tackle any hunt. Because we really believe this will help you be more successful as a listener to this podcast, we're giving you six free weeks to get you started. Just use code livewild. Well everyone, welcome back to the Live Wild podcast and Happy Thanksgiving. You know, this is a time of year where it's filled with family traditions. Maybe you're out and around, you've got people coming in to town and you're cooking a Thanksgiving meal, or maybe your family tradition, much like my family tradition, is we go out hunting on Thanksgiving, enjoy the morning outdoors in the wild, and then come back and and have a meal. I've missed more Thanksgiving dinners than I've, or at least been late to more Thanksgiving dinners than I've been on time for. Because in the past it was always that lucky day of if you had to be back for something, of course you're going to be successful. I remember quite a while ago, I was probably 19, I shot my first big six point bull on Thanksgiving Day, got back at midnight. It was one of those just like unforgettable moments. I've been trying to take a really good bull, passed up a lot of elk and it was like my best elk I'd ever taken and you know, got back and just everybody else had had Thanksgiving dinner. It was just the leftovers, but that's the best part anyways. The turkey sandwich on the wonder type bread with some mayo and pepper and salt, some cheese and some cranberry sauce and call it a day. But there's a lot of traditions that we have around Thanksgiving and I think that as hunters we really understand the meaning and the value of tradition and passing it on. So this week we're going to talk about passing on the tradition. If you've got a family going out and hunting with your family, bringing kids along. I recently released a film on my YouTube channel, a little short called Family traditions. I took my kids on a deer hunt. I had my longbow with me and actually found success, which can be hard to do on those type hunts. But we're going to dive in. I'm going to kind of share that story in depth, and then we'll talk about tips and tactics for taking those people along that might be their first hunt. Might be your family, just how to make that trip or memorable experience and bring hunting into that family tradition. If you know me, you know that I'm sort of a glutton for punishment when it comes to hunting, right? It's like I like to go out alone and hunt, solo hunting. And then I like to bring a camera and film it, and then I like to do that with my bow. And there's even hunts where I do that with my longbow or my traditional bow, my recurve. I just love all kinds of hunting, and I'm not afraid to kind of add a little element of challenge. Well, I also, you know, with a young family, feel like it's very important to take time to bring my kids along on the hunt as well. Pretty much from the time they've been. I mean, from the time they've been born till now, they've been on hunting trips with us. My daughter, I mean, I don't even know how old she was. She wasn't that old. Took her. She was probably. She's under a year for sure. Took her on her first hunting trip in New Zealand, and she'd been out kind of hunting with mom and dad. And by being out, I mean, it's completely. It looks completely different with kids than, like, when I'm going out on my own. So now we have. We have two kids. My daughter's about three almost. Yeah. My daughter's three. My son's almost two. And, you know, with the two kids, it just. It kind of changes the dynamic. But we didn't want that to hinder us from being able to take them out. One of the things that I commend my parents about is they always talk about when they had kids, they kind of continued to do what they did. There's actually pictures. My mom didn't hunt, my dad did. So I grew up in a household that hunted. My dad hunted. Him and his brothers hunted with their dad. You know, it was something that was passed on. And for a lot of people, that's the easiest way to get into hunting. Now I Know, we have a lot of guys that, men and women that get into hunting later in life. My wife's one of those, right? Maybe they grew up in a household where somebody hunted or a relative hunted. Maybe they know no one that hunted, and they get into it later. But really, the easiest way is to kind of be brought up in it. And it is one of those things that for thousands of years, the, the tradition of hunting, the skills and the things that you learn. Something that's been passed down for generations. One of the coolest messages that I get a lot is people that will send in, hey, I started hunting. I don't know, I came across solo hunter on YouTube or something. And then I just don't know why I thought it was cool, or they heard about it on some other podcast, Joe Rogan podcast, something like that. Like, I thought it was cool, and I really thought, this is something that I want to learn so I can pass it down to my kids, because I didn't have that opportunity. And so to cue those kind of messages is awesome because it is, you know, hunting is meant to be shared, and it's meant to be passed down. It's the traditions and the skills that are meant to be passed down. So I was saying I commended my parents for really just bringing us along. My mom didn't hunt. My dad did, but my mom would go on the hunt. And so, like, there's pictures of me as a. I don't even know how old I would be. I was probably five, six months old, like, in a wall tent. You know, they just had little, like, hay for the mattress and blankets over the top. And here we are, and my mom's got me in the wall tent, little picture by the river, and my dad goes out hunting. I don't know if he was successful. I don't think he was. But they took the effort to take me out. And, like, I, I, I try to think. I can't remember a time where I didn't hunt, where I didn't fish. It was just what we did. My dad probably, I'd say, you know, when, when we were little, did a lot more fishing than hunting. He had a boat, and we would, we would go fishing. That was like, our weekend thing was fishing. And I loved fishing. Like, I, I still love fishing. I, I do a lot of fishing. It's like my, my way of, I don't know, relaxing and just, man, I love fishing. It's awesome. I always joke that fishing is the gateway drug to hunting. So. But, you know, and as I Got older, my dad would take us hunting and we'd do more hunting trips. He saw my passion for hunting, and then he started hunting more because I was so into hunting, which was really cool. So now with my wife and I, we get to kind of choose the direction of our family. And hunting is definitely something that we wanted to bring into to our family. And for us, it's not just what we do. It's definitely our lifestyle. The meat that's in our house that we eat is all wild game meat. My daughter, who's three, she absolutely loves steak. She's a major carnivore of the family. And if we go somewhere and have beef, she's like, dad, what is this, elk or deer? It tastes a little different to her. Like, oh, it's beef. Oh, I like elk. You know, it's just like, how she's grown up. And so, you know, I think, like, even just at this young age, I can see that at least, especially my daughter has a passion for it they love. Like, her big thing now is like, I want to get up. Let's go in the dark. She likes to get up before the sun up and go hunting. And one of the first, like, recent hunting trips this year, we took her on and went. My brother had a pronghorn tag and took the kids out on that. It was me and my brother and then my daughter and his son. And they're both the same age, and, like, they just had the best time. My daughter just tells the stories of times that we've gone out hunting and what she's seen. And so this year, I don't know why I'm like, just. I thought I had this deer tag. It was actually a doe tag. So I thought, this is perfect. I'll take the. Do this one with the kids because, you know, you gotta kind of tailor it. Like, I'm not gonna bring both my kids on doll sheep hunt right now, right? Like, it's too grueling. It's too difficult. Not like, I mean, yeah, you could try it, but I just want it to be enjoyable for them and them to kind of get the hunting experience and get to go through the motions of it. And so I had a doe tag. I've actually never shot a mule deer doe, but this area, like, I felt okay about it because it's over objective for population. And it took me a long time to draw the tag, so. And I decided, I was like, originally I'd applied for the tag, thinking, oh, it'd be cool to, I don't know, Hunt with a self bow or whatever. But I thought, oh, here's the challenge. I'll bring my kids along. I'll hunt with a traditional bow, my longbow, and we'll see if we can get a deer. And if we don't, it's not a big deal. It's not like a, you know, crazy tag that I waited, you know, years to draw and never going to have that opportunity again. It's like, okay, here's a hunt that we can go on as a family and enjoy the experience. And so decided I was like, oh, let's, let's try to film it as well, make a little film out of it. It'd be kind of fun just to have and share with people because I know a lot of people have really enjoyed that and been inspired by it. Because my thing is, like, there's a lot of people that I know that they have a family and then they. They kind of take a period of time off from hunting. And I understand that because, you know, as a, you know, getting into this family thing, it is difficult. Like, there's no if. You have to do that. I completely understand. But also, you know, my theory is this is like, if you get out a little bit and you take them with you, it might not be the same experience that you had before, but it's still an experience, and you're doing it as a family. It's still family time. It's still quality time with your family, and you get to kind of go through the motions. The struggles, the ups and downs together. And because of that, like, you know, you're still getting some time out hunting. I would say that, like, the success rate definitely plummets. I was joking with some other new parents. I'm like, they should definitely have a season where it's just tags for people with, like, children and toddlers, right? Like, you got a toddler on your back, it's a go time. You can go, you can go, you can get this tag because it is. It is defin a new challenge and a different challenge, and you got it. You got to do things a little bit different. We'll talk about that a little bit later. But on this particular hunt, you know, it was fairly easy. Like, it wasn't hiking in miles. It was driving roads, glassing, walking out little logging roads, looking into little pockets, that kind of stuff. And I also had an elk tag, too. I wasn't. I didn't have any grand illusions of shooting an elk, but I brought my bugle tube and my calls, and if something Happened. Something happened. You know, we had a few days to hunt, and the kids were all about it. So we'd get up early, we'd get them in their warm clothes, and we'd go out before daylight. We'd drive to a spot, I'd bugle, We'd do a little walk. I gave my daughter a little elk call my son. They both had their own little set of binoculars. A toy set of binoculars and a real set of binoculars. And we would, you know, just go out and look for deer. It was one of those things, though, where, like, before I hunted, I. All I'd seen was does everywhere. I was like, this is going to be so easy. And then it got hot, and we went, like two days without turning up a mule deer doe, which was kind of funny. But there was one group that we saw. We were driving down to a new spot, and there's this group up on the hill. So it took my daughter to sneak in with me, and she's stalking. She likes to call it tiptoeing. So we're tiptoeing, and we're going up, and the deer see us and bump. And they. They didn't really, like, they hadn't really been hunted. So they, like, bumped up a ways, and, like, we could still see them up there. She just wants to keep going. And I'm like, okay. Like, this isn't going to clearly is like, they're busted, and we're going to go somewhere else. So. Okay, I guess. I actually didn't bring my bow on this one. I just wanted to, like, have her sneak in, which was probably a mistake. So we get up there. She's only three years old, so we sneak in on these deer. And I just wanted her to, like, experience a stalk, right? Like, just where there wasn't any pressure. We just like, let's sneak in. I just. It was kind of more of a practice run because I was like, we've got time. I wasn't worried about it. So we do this little practice sneak, and we kind of like, bump the deer. She's like, let's keep going, dad. I'm like, okay. So she keeps walking up the hill. She's in her, like, crocs climbing up this steep mountain. And the deer bump again. I'm like, okay, let's go back to the truck. No, we don't give up, dad. We don't give up, do we? I was like, okay. She really pays attention to what I say. I was like, how do you be like, yeah, no, we give up, sweetheart. And I'm like, well, let's go back and mom and go. Go see mom and brother and we can go do another stock. She's like, wait, dad, where's your bow? I was like, well, I didn't bring it. We were just seeing if we could get close. She's like, why don't I have my bow? You mean we came up here without a bow? And she started crying because she's like, how are we going to get the stake if we don't have a bow? And so I had to pick her up and carry her back to the truck, just crying the whole way back like, she didn't take unsuccessful stock well. But it was actually a good lesson because it got me to say, like, okay, it doesn't work out all the time. You know, I think, like, with her sometimes, like, I'll go out on a trip, I'll be gone, but I'll come back with a deer, an elk or whatever. And I didn't want her to have, like, this false illusion that you're always successful all the time. So that was one of the things that kind of was in this. She's, like, getting to the point where she can start to realize that, you know, you don't always have success, and it's actually kind of hard for her. She's like, I wanted to get the steak. I really wanted to eat that deer. Like, just so, so funny. Because, I mean, we don't really talk about it in those ways. Like, we just kind of have always let her, you know, think her own things or what have you. Like, I didn't really want to force any of my ideas on her, but, like, she's like, no, I wanted the steak. I wanted the deer steak. I wanted to eat the deer and really upset. So there's a couple other. A couple of the other days. Then we got serious. I'm like, okay, this is gonna be a little bit more challenging than initially expected. Like, I thought, oh, we'll just go out and get a. And then I'm like, okay, this is gonna actually be. We're actually gonna have to hunt for this thing because there's, like, middle of the day, we didn't see anything. Then we kind of. It was like, you know, around midday, we'd do nap time and then go back out. And it was. You know, we just really kind of tailored it toward making it fun for the kids, so gave them elk calls, lots of snacks, little hikes, glassing for stuff, watching animals, you know, trying to spot different animals. A lot of game of I spy with my little eye a bald eagle or whatever we would see. And we take the time to do those things, right? Takes time away from looking for a deer, but it also adds to their enjoyment of the entire experience. And then also, you know, not as, like, you know, I think one of the things is, like, we get to go enjoy time together, but we also bring, like, tablets along, and you might be like, well, aren't you out there to enjoy the outdoors? And yes, we are. And we're also out there to, like, let them have a good time. It's kind of like, okay, you guys. When we're in the car driving to a new spot, if you guys want to watch a show, you can watch a show or whatever, because it's a good mix of, like, in their mind, they get to do a lot of the things that are really fun, and it makes the entire hunting experience really fun. So on this particular. This is the last day that of the archery season. And, you know, we'd had a couple close calls and whatever, but just no opportunities. I really wanted to get, like, make sure that we made a good shot and all that stuff. So I wanted to be real close. And so we went that last day to. To a spot that we'd hunted, and it was pretty slow. Starting out in the morning, I did get one stalk on some deer, and they. It just didn't work out. They blew out. So we're going to do another spot and spotted some deer, like, on the. To the new spot. And so on this one, I was just like, well, let's. Let's try to be successful, you guys. My wife stayed back with the kids in the truck, and I just stalked in and shot the doe. And so. But the kids were there. They watched the whole thing. Like, my daughter watched the whole stock. Like, it was really cool for her to see. She was, like, really excited. You know, she had questions like, why'd the deer fall down the mountain? You know, it was, like, it was pretty steep and kind of fell all the way to the bottom, you know, And I'm like, all right, maybe that is pretty graphic for a kid. But also it's just part of the understanding of, like, okay, this is just part of it. And so we get to the deer, and, you know, they were pretty excited because my daughter's like, can we eat? Can we eat him now? Let's make lunch. Let's make a deer lunch. I'm like, okay. So she grabs the deer and is like, I'll pack him back to the truck, dad. You Want to help or no? It was pretty funny. And so we decide. So we take them back and carry the deer back and skin it out. And then she was really adamant about wanting to eat the deer, which is awesome because that's the whole point of it. And that's like, in her mind, that's, you know, that's just part of our life is like, we get deer and we eat the deer. And so we went down to the river and cooked up some deer and did some fishing. Like, they just have little. I guess it's like, unfortunately, because my daughter has two. He's like little princess rods, right? And with just. I don't even think we have hooks on them. I just let them cast and reel in and cooking up the deer steak. And my daughter, who's three, she goes, she says to us, she's like, wow, mom, isn't this the best life ever? She says, we get to go fishing and we're hunting and we're eating deer steak. We can just do whatever we want. This is so fun. And that right there is just probably in my short time of parenting, is one of the coolest moments of being like, wow, she's just loving life and loving what we're doing and just feels so free and able to do these things. And it's just so cool to bring her into that because there's so many things that kind of vie for attention these days. And it's like, I just wanted this to be something that's part of our family. It's part of what we do. She doesn't have to hunt. She doesn't have to be a hunter. That's okay. She can choose whatever path she wants. But I'm just definitely going to lay out, like, what we do and in a way that they can enjoy it and then let them make their decisions later on based off of that. And, you know, this is something that at a very young age, they're enjoying and they're loving, and it's something that we get to do as a family. And it's just so cool to see. It's like, it really is kind of thought of. Like, you say that, but this is what it's all about. I've been on a lot of hunts and a lot of great hunts, and probably the memories of that hunt will stick out more than some of the once in a lifetime hunts that I even went on this year. That, of course, they were phenomenal hunts and amazing experiences, but nothing quite compares to that experience of being able to get out there with your Family. So as my wife and I kind of go through this process of taking our kids out on the hunt and doing these things as a family, I figured I'd kind of jotted down 10 of the tips that probably could. Some of these could be even for people taking somebody that's never hunted into it, but primarily taking kids. And I think any age, you know, as a hunting guide, I've got to take out a lot of people that. Some of some kids as well, that maybe it was their first hunting experience, tagging along with their parent or what have you. And so I think some of these 10 things are just some of the things that come to mind for me. So we'll run through these and kind of help you build out that thought of, like, maybe you don't have a family now. Maybe you don't even plan on having family, but you might in the future. Who knows, maybe you might be taking out a relative or a niece or a nephew or a grandkid or something like that. So this is just good information for anybody that's maybe thinking about taking out a new hunter or, you know, if you got a family and if your kids are older too, I think that these same things apply. So the first one is just make it fun. And when you go into the experience, you got to think about the aspects that make it fun. And a lot of these things, you know, there'll be kind of a repeating theme that kind of comes back to make it fun. Yes, there can be challenges in hunting. Yes, there's. There's all these things. But I think by going through the process and doing it with them, but also just thinking about the little things that help make it fun. You know, I can remember a hunting trip with my dad that kind of. In a way, not. And this isn't against them in any way, but, like, we all hunted together a lot. And then there was one particular antelope hunt where it just wasn't fun. Like, it. And it kind of sound like I was already so in it that I just loved it. But for my two brothers, I think it little bit soured the experience in a way. Like, they. It just was, like, too difficult. We were going after this one antelope like, he didn't get it. So we were chasing it all day, like, dehydrated and not like, we weren't any danger. And, you know, it obviously probably seemed more extreme because we were really young and my other two brothers were a lot younger. And then it's like, hot. And we ended up getting an antelope But I think it was one of those things, like, they. They were kind of, like, over it by the end, and I don't know, you know, like, we still, like, I think in the memory of that animal point, it was a great family trip, right? But I think in the. Through the course of it, there's, like, a lot of struggle and some other things, which is okay at a certain extent, but I think also, like, that, you know, there was some stuff that was just, like, okay, it was, like, hot and boring and long and. And it just, like, got to be too much at some point where it's nice to just break out and take some moments to go do things that might not be hunting in a way. Like, for us, one of the things, like when we pass a creek, I have little fishing rods in the. In the truck. And every time we pass a little creek, like, we'll stop and cast in a line, and sometimes we'll catch little fish. Sometimes there aren't even fish in there. But we just. We just go play by the creek for a little bit, or we, you know, we stop and we have, like, extra toys and little games that we'll keep in our backpacks or something like that, where it's like, oh, here's a new toy to play with for the real young kids. Oh, here's something that you didn't know, like, little surprises and things to kind of keep things moving along, keep things interested. And then also within the hunt, like, not being super serious, especially with real little kids, not being super serious. Like, we give my daughter an elk call, and we let her blow that elk call as much and however she wants. When we're hiking around. Yes. When she's in the car. Yes. Might be annoying. Yes, sure. But is she having fun doing it? Yeah. And as long as she's having fun, let it ride. So just making it fun. I. I know a good friend of mine. We took his. His daughter out on an elk hunt, and he. I talked about this last year, but it was just awesome to see. Like, he carried her like, she was probably like 60 or 70 pounds. She's six or seven, something like that. And he carried her in her backpack on the entire elk hunt. Like, he had his. His, like, frame pack, and she just rode in there, and she'd walk when she could, and he would carry her. It was just super cool. Like, she was able to. All the elk that we took, and it was just like, a really cool experience. And I do try to talk about these topics at least once a year. Just to kind of refresh and remind people about some of these things. And then I kept s'mores and had like a bunch of hot chocolate and stuff like that. So we got to, like, a hiking spot. I'd like, melt the snow and make hot chocolate, and we'd make a little fire and make s'mores. And it was, like, fun. And those were just some of the fun memories that. That they remember through these experiences. Number two is teach and let do. So even with my little kids, and this is especially true with older kids, is like, whatever it is, you know, I'm doing something. Let's say I'm glassing, right? And I see something in the distance and I get the spotting scope on it. So instead of just setting the spotting scope up, what I like to do is like, I'll show my daughter. Okay, here's the. This knob controls the up and the down. So I look through here. Now I'm trying to look over there. And I just, like, explain everything that I'm doing. As simple as setting up the spotting scope, as simple as setting up the tripod. As simple as, you know, loading up my. My pack before we go on a hike. Okay, I'm going to make sure that I have water and snacks. Okay. Do you guys have your snacks? What else am I forgetting, Ran? Oh, do you have your lighter, dad? Yeah, I have my lighter. What else should I bring? Oh, don't forget your binoculars. Teaching them and then letting them do and be a part of the process is. Is really important because it's funny that, like, you know, my three year old probably knows more about hunting than most adults. Just starting out, right? She's just around it all the time. But also, you know, I go through the process of, like, kind of teaching her and letting her. Her do it. Hey, Ren, did you pack your pack? Oh, let me, like, in the morning, let me grab my stuff. Like, okay, what? You know, I got my jacket, I got my boots. Oh, I need my. You know, her backpack ends up being 90% toys. Great. That's what her backpack's for. Oh, I almost forgot my water and snacks. Okay. Got your water and snacks? Yep. Okay. Oh, I need my binoculars. Okay. You know, how do you focus the binoculars? Oh, the focus is right here. Okay. You know, just kind of going through and then letting them do a lot of the stuff. And you know, with. With little kids, that's one way, and then with older kids, that's another way. Like, oh, here's how I do this. Here's what I do for that why don't you set up the spotting scope, See if you can find it in the spotting scope. Right. All the stuff of teaching them how to do it and then letting them do it. And I think that that's a big part of their involvement. And then number three is just involve them in the decision making. This is something that I've said, taking my wife out hunting as an adult or new hunters, but definitely with kids as well. I can definitely make all the decisions and we can probably have success. Right. But I think the experience is shared more if you involve people in the decision making process. So what do you think we should do? And I even do this with my three year old daughter and even with my one and a half year old son, buddy. Where should we go? Left to right. We get to a junction in like a fork in a logging road. Which way you want to go this way. You want to go up? Okay, let's go up. Even small decisions like letting them be involved in the decision making because then they feel a part of the experience and a part of the success. They are no longer like passively following, but actively leading. And when you're actively leading, you're more involved in the process. You're active in the process, your brain's working in that way where you're thinking about the next move, you're thinking about the decisions you're making. You feel like a part of what's going on and then you're more invested. You know, I remember being a kid and going hunting with people and it was always like we were just following and it gets boring. Honestly, it's like a trudge. You're just like, do, do, do, I'm doing whatever. But when it was time to get to make decisions, it was like, wow, let's go here. And then you're invested in getting to the top, they're more invested in going where they want to go. And then you can also, you know, it's not saying like you can't make suggestions like I think we should go up to this, this peak and look around. What do you think? Oh yeah, you think we should go up the peak? Cool, let's do it. And then the motivation to get to the peaks there because it's what they want to do. And it also helps in like the entire like success or unsuccess doesn't really matter because they, they feel like a part of the process, but they're also learning a lot more. And I did this with my wife a lot. I was like, I let her make a Lot of decisions and also a lot of mistakes. And it's hard to see sometimes the mistakes like, oh, that was such a bummer, it didn't work out. And I'm like, yeah, but, you know, we'll try again. I think, like, my process of getting people into hunting is. I like that adage, you know, it's probably used a million times, but like, you can give a man a fish and feed him for a meal, but you can teach a man how to fish and feed him for a lifetime. When I go out hunting with someone new, I like to teach them how to fish in a way, teach them how to hunt, let them make decisions, let them learn about mistakes early on, because that's how you learn and you become better. My personal hunting success has been born 100% out of thousands of mistakes. And because of it, I feel like I've got to a point where I start to make fewer and fewer mistakes. But then when I do make mistakes, I learn from those mistakes and continue to be a better hunter. And the same goes for getting someone involved that's new. You know, sometimes it takes making mistakes. And yes, I think success is that carrot at the end of the stick that that needs to come along. Right. But I also think that it's okay to make a few mistakes along the way. And when my wife got her first deer, it was like, you know, he'd made some mistakes, it didn't work out. She'd hunted a bit, and then, you know, it was like she made the decision on what, like, she's like, I feel like the deer's still here. We, you know, we got over there, the deer were gone. She's like, I feel like the deer's still here. And then she was right, it was still there. And it was just like that moment of success and that gravity of it coming together was so much stronger. Like, that connection to the entire experience was so much stronger because it was her decision, not me telling her, let's wait. And so that was a really cool thing to experience and see, but also good reminder to say, let them be involved in the decision making process. With a young family especially, and probably with any kids, new hunters, what have you, Number four would be choose a new frame of success. When I go out hunting, let's say I've got a mule deer tag and I'm like, you know, hey, I want a 160 type buck or better. And my, like, was it a successful trip? No, I didn't see a 160. I. Yeah, I harvested what I was Looking for whatever. When you're out with a new hunter, you have to. Whatever. Whatever your frame of success is, right? Like, for the most part, hunting success is punching a tag, getting the birds, getting the deer, getting the elk, whatever. And that is success. But on some of these trips, especially with young kids, the frame of success is like, we got out. We did it. High five, honey. We're doing it. You really kind of learn to choose a new frame of success. Like, what's a successful day look like today? And a successful day is, did we have a good time? Did they get to do things that they don't normally get to do? Did we make some memories out here? Like, did we see some animals and it not work out? Like, that's. Man, that's about as good as you can ask for sometimes. Last year, my son was. I guess just everybody was a year younger. So My daughter was 2. My son was under 1. Like, I had them both in, like, a. Like, my son in a backpack. My daughter, like, kind of walk along. My wife was, like, stalking an elk. Cow. Elk. And with her bow. And we're like. I had the spotting scope set up with the cell phone in with the mag view on there so they could watch. Like, I had them both in, like, little backpacks set up on, like, a little. What you call it, like, a. Like a quilt. You know, I carry, like, a little quilt, so put it down on the ground. And then they have, like, their books and had that spotting scope out, and we could, like, watch mommy stalk on the tv, you know what I mean? It's like watching mommy on the phone as she goes in stocks and, you know, and that just, like, her being able to do a stalk was just a huge success of, like, hey, we're going out. My wife ended up killing her bull. Of course, the day that my parents were able to watch the kids because, like, it was just so much. We were like, man, we could do anything. We can go anywhere. We're definitely getting an elk today. You know, that is definitely the case. But with the kids, those were still successful days. Like, they were very successful days even, because you just kind of have to choose a new frame of success number five, especially with kids. But even I've noticed this, even with adults have great snacks. You know, you're out hunting. It's like, for the kids, it's something to look forward to. We have fun lunches. We have, you know, lots of snacks that they might not get at home. You know, we'll stop and make s'mores. We'll cook up the hot chocolate. We'll do a lot of those things. And snacks always make things better. It's like you're having a hard time having snack. And that's one of the things that we. We kind of strive to, like, always have snacks. Number six, do things you don't do at home. This also pertains to the snacks. I can remember growing up hunting, and it was like, when we'd go out hunting, there was these. One of the things that everybody got was a Sven heart Bear claws, right? And they'd have, like, the cheese horn and the. All these. All these different flavors, and they were so great. Like, we never ate those at home. Those are only, like, a hunting food. I would remember, like, I'd, like, eat one, and then I'd be like, can I have another? And my friends would be like, sure, go for it. It's like, what? Like, you know, we never even got to eat these at home. Here I get to eat, too, like, when we're out hunting. And I don't know, maybe this is a good thing, maybe this is a bad thing. Like, we let the kids do things that they don't do at home. And that kind of comes back to the making it fun as well as, like, it's not always snacking stuff. Like, we're driving around, like, we're like, hey, you guys want to watch your tablets or whatever. You guys, here's a toy or whatever. But there's a lot of things that, like, you don't get to do at home, you know? And part of it, too, is I remember when I was a kid, it was like, hey, when I got to go out hunting, I got to carry a pocket knife, you know? But I didn't get to carry a pocket knife when I was at home. So it was like, a really cool and special thing is like, oh, cool, we're out here, we're being wild. We get a. You know, the rules are a little bit looser out here. And I think that that part of it, it kind of helps as a parent, right? Like, you're always like, oh, you want to set certain restrictions, right? Nothing that involves, like, safety protocols, but stuff that's like, you know, hey, we stopped off at the gas station, and we got a pack of powdered donuts. It's like, okay, we don't eat this stuff at home, but who cares? We're out here, we're doing the thing. We're having a good time. They're long days and whatever. And we're gonna do things that Are a little bit different, a little bit special out here. For me as a kid, I remember one of the things that was only in hunting camp was these canned smoked oysters. Call them little smokies. And it was like, I absolutely loved those things as a kid. And still to this day, it's one of those things that it was like, that was only hunting. I never had those at home. It was just only at hunting. I still, I love those things. Like, my wife will tell you, like, that's like my guilty pleasure. Like, they're kind of expensive everywhere, so I'll like, buy one every once in a while at the grocery store. And, you know, if I'm like, having a hard week, like, that's like, I'll eat them at home. Like. Yeah, it just takes me back to, like, being out there as a kid and. And, you know, getting to eat these, like, canned smoked oysters. I don't know, it's like I take them on all my hands. Like, that's like my man after success meal, right? Like, that's just like. It just brings me back to that. And it was just something that we didn't do at home. You know, it's like, here's things that you don't eat at home or don't do at home. And that kind of also made it fun, made those. Those memories special. It's like, hey, the rules are a little bit lax out here. Like, I've got a friend that, you know, his kid is like, hey, when you're out fishing, you're hunting with dad, you can, you can say cuss words. It's okay, you know, but you can't do it at home. Like, that's the rule. Whatever it is, like, you know, it's just like a little bit different out. We're living a little bit more on the edge. You know, the rules, like, the rule. The rule book is a little bit looser out here, and it just helps in a way of like, making it kind of a different experience. You know, you can control a lot of things. Like, obviously you want to be super safe, and that's all the most important stuff. But there's other stuff that's like, you know, in the. In the grand scheme of things, it'll be okay, like if they have an extra powdered donut or what have you, you know, I guess, like, not to the point where you're gonna get sick, but, you know, we really do kind of loosen up the rule book a little bit when we're out there. Number seven is go to Their ability. This is with kids especially, you know, I think that in hunting, like, as you get older and you get like more into it, like part of it is that element of struggle and like that physical aspect of like pushing yourself. We kind of do still try to instill that in our kids, but also, you know, I don't try to bite off more than we can chew in a way. So we kind of like go to their ability. Like if their attention is like, you know, a few hours and, you know, the hike's a few hours and they're like, let's go back. The real young kids, we're like, okay, let's get, let's go back. Let's check in anything, kind of keep things moving and really go to like their ability. Obviously they're long days no matter what. So a lot of it, like right now for us is like we're pretty close to a vehicle or road. We aren't going crazy back country kind of stuff. We're just going to their abilities. And as the kids get older, like those abilities change and then we kind of adapt and change the types of hunts and the things that we'll do together as a family. But going to their ability is big. Starting out and then. But also I think there's a little bit of that. Like, you know, no matter what, you kind of push it a little bit too. Right. Like, so there's always gonna be those little hard, challenging parts. And you kind of can introd those things as well. I think number eight is know it's hard going in. Like if you got young kids, like, just know that it's not going to be easy. Like it sounds great. You know, when I'm. When I'm going through, like, yeah, we did this with our kids and this with our kids, but we know, like, it's not easy. It is definitely not easy. It's hard on the parents. It can be hard on the parents, but like that's kind of the, the thing that you, that you know, going in and you just kind of keep bringing it back to all these other things. Make it fun. Yeah, it's going to be harder. It's not the same hunting experience that you have when you're by yourself. It's just not. But it's a different hunting experience and you go for that experience, but no going in. Yeah, there's going to be some meltdowns. There's going to be some of these other things. Like, you know, at this point, like our kids, like, they love it and they do great, but also there's, like, a time limit on things like the. We don't. You know, we don't go out from. We go out, like, because they actually really like, going out in the dark and starting. And then we kind of. We take an early nap, and we. You know, there's a. There's a long period of time where we aren't hunting, and then we'll go back out in the evening. Like, we don't. You know, it's like. And there's times where it's like, I'm hungry and I'm tired and whatever, or I want this or I want. Like, that happens. It's just part of it, right? And, you know, it's, like, challenging, and this is part of the extra challenge. And, like, hey, we're still trying to be successful and utilize this tag in the best way possible. And just no going in. It can be hard. And even with older kids or new hunters, no going in. It's difficult to teach someone all these things and whatever. There's inherent challenges with new hunters. You can have an animal right there, broadside forever, but they have trouble finding it in the scope. And just whatever. These know going in that it's hard. And give yourself an extra layer of. Of patience, I'd say, for those experiences, Whether it's your buddy that wants you that you want to take out hunting for the first time or, like a kid or a significant other, whatever it is, you know, kind of prepare your mind mentally for that. Like, it's going to be hard, and then everything else is just icing on the cake. Number nine. You know, as the parent or the mentor, I say, like, go the extra mile. So this involves. I kind of take it back to a story of when my wife was, like, on our first backpack hunt, and it was like my pack was so overloaded with just all the creature comforts, right? But it didn't matter. Like, I was out there to. We were out there to have a good time. It was, like, her first, like, backpack hunting experience. Like, you know, you're kind of like, are we gonna have enough food or whatever, right? And I'm like, I had a whole jar of peanut butter. I didn't need to bring a whole jar of peanut. But. But, like, it just was. I just threw in all the stuff that I'm like, here's gonna make it come. Like, I just was like, I'm gonna go the extra mile and make it comfortable and fun. And as a parent, we do the same thing. Like, we bring the extra toys. Like, I might have Like a bunch of random stuff loaded in my pack. You know, I might carry the kids for a very far ways. Like you just kind of going that extra mile of making them comfortable, making it fun, putting in that extra effort. And in the long run, it makes it worth it. And that's kind of goes back to that. Knowing it's going to be hard going in. You just, you just do the extra things. Like you go above and beyond to make it a great experience. And sometimes that's exhausting. Yeah. But also like, in the long run, it's a much better experience for everyone. And then number 10, I'm gonna say this one is, I think, pretty integral. And I don't necessarily know if like, for me growing up, this wasn't a thing, but I always kind of thought that it would be cool. And I, I think for our family, one of the things that we do, especially when we're hunting or after a successful hunt, is we let them cook. My daughter's only three, my son's like one and a half. But like on that deer, we're cooking it by the river and I'm letting them like, like put the seasoning on. I'm letting them, you know, throw it in the hot pan and stay away from the hot pan. And like, let them be a part of the cooking experience because when they're eating it, it goes back to that teaching and let do involved in the decision making. They're a part of the process. We've hunted, we've now obtained our meat, and now we get to cook it and eat it. And when you've been a part of that whole process, no matter how it is cooked to them, it's going to taste like the best thing they've ever eaten. And they're gonna want to do it again. It's so fun. It's so, you know, a part of the process. Like, wow, this is so good. We got this deer and we did all this stuff and we, we struggled for it, you know, Cause to them it is still a struggle. And like, we, we didn't get some. And there was some tears shed of stalks that didn't go out as planned. And. And then we were successful, which is. Was great. We, we got a deer and now we get to cook it and then they get to be a part of like, I put the seasoning on and then they cook it and throw a. Their dad. Okay, let's put more butter. Can I put butter? Yeah, sure, buddy. Go put some more butter and. And then they eat it and they're like, yummy. You know, like, it's so good. And so just being a part of that process as well, I think brings the whole thing together. Of, yes, we go hunting. Understanding the importance and value of, of life and animals, and you're like, well, how young is too young to understand this? I mean, for as long as humans have been on the planet, up until a very, very, very small section of time of human existence, this has been a part of everyday life. And it's only very recent that it's not. So, you know, I'll probably, you know, you could, non hunters anti hunters could probably berate us. You know, how could you do this? And you're, you know, Eric was indoctrinating your children. And I'm like, really? The indoctrination is what the world does currently of going to the store and seeing meat in a shiny plastic wrapper and being so disconnected for your food. That's the indoctrination. What I'm doing is the most natural thing that humans have been doing for way longer. Like, if you're looking at what has been around longer, what we're doing has been around way longer. Like, they've always been a part of the process and these other things. And I think that it's healthy and natural and they really understand it, and they understand things that I don't think you're too young really to understand. It's like you understand life, you understand the importance and the value of hard work of things around you. You understand where your food comes from. You understand that we eat animals and that we love those animals still. Like, my kids love animals. I loved animals growing up, and yet I was a hunter. And that boils into conservation and things that we love. And that is what hunting is all about. And it's something that we can pass on. And I think that there's a right way or a great way. And I don't know, we just like, you do what you do and you do it the way that you do, but I think that there's some ways to kind of make it an enjoyable experience for everyone and definitely a way of making some incredible memories and building that family tradition. Well, I just want to say, you know, thank you guys so much for all the support this podcast, and also happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there celebrating, whether you're out in the field hunting, whether you're with family, whether you're by yourself. I've had many Thanksgivings alone in a tent with a mountain house. You know, it's awesome to be surrounded by friends and Family, too. And maybe you're in an area where you got to go out hunting today. Just hope you guys enjoy your time together. And for those of you with a new family or a family or maybe, you know, want to be able to take some new hunters out. I hope you guys enjoyed this podcast. It's fun stuff to talk about, and it's just stuff that I'm going through right now, too, and get to. To share some of these awesome experiences and things. So I hope you guys enjoyed that. If you. If you didn't catch it, you can, you can watch the. It's kind of just like a little highlight reel of our. Our little hunt together as a family. You know, there's a lot of other stuff. Probably could have built out like a, you know, a little more stuff, but I thought it was just kind of fun to kind of highlight, you know, the hunt and some of our thoughts on. On hunting and family and that building that family tradition. So that's on my YouTube channel. You guys can check that out. Subscribe over there if you don't. But yeah, I just wanted to say that. And as we're going, oh, yeah, there's a lot of Black Friday sales kicking up tomorrow. Today. I don't know, a lot of them kicking off on my website. We've got some deals. We got that vortex deal. I'll run that for a few days just while supplies are limited. And then we've got some of our hat beanie combos. If you guys. Oh, our flannels, man, they're pretty awesome. Like, I really do enjoy the flannels that we've got. Our live wild flannels. Flannels. They're. They're great. Awesome gift. We're doing like a combo of our. Our hoofit socks and the. The flannel. We've got hat beanie combos, and we got shirt hat combos. So pretty much the best deals we got going on right now. For those of you that are interested, maybe gonna do a little holiday shopping, get a little something for yourself. Also, as a reminder, Stone Glacier, an awesome supporter of this podcast they've got, you can always use code livewild and get free shipping on their stuff. You can also. We also carry a lot of Stone Glacier stuff in our store. So if you're over there, check it out. Sometimes they probably got something where if you buy something, you might get another additional item going on. Right now. They got their new. We've got our live wild stone Glacier game bags. So just some reminders of some of the gear we talked about last week or if you missed last week. Week. But yeah, Stone Glacier. Awesome, awesome company. Some great products out there. You know, if you. If you got. If you. If you got a family and you plan on hunting, get the bigger. Get the largest Stone Glacier pack. You never know what kind of. I mean, I've. I've climbed some mountains with some random stuff in my pack lately, so you just never know what you're gonna have to pull out of there. One of the things that. This is kind of a fun one is I. I got like a. I'll get the little yeti. What is it? The little, like, lunchbox thing. And I put a piece of dry ice in it. Don't zip it all the way. Otherwise it becomes like a little dry ice bomb in your backpack, but you zip it. Like, leave a little air gap. I'll put the dry ice in there, and then I'll throw ice cream bars and put it in the bottom of my pack. And then we'll be hiking and it'll be hot, and everyone's, like, tired. I'm like, look, ice cream. And I'll pull out some ice cream bars on the mountain. It's like everybody. The kids just lose their mind. Like, whoa, this is so great. Little things like that. But you definitely need the extra room. Go for, like, the larger of the packs if you got, you know, family or. Or hunting with children in your future. So until next week, I'm just going to say, was it Turkey Day? I'm going to give it a gobble. Catch you guys later.