← Trap Talk From The Back Fence
Trap Talk From The Back Fence
Trapshooting Media, Growth & Giveaways with Matthew Gay - Trap Talk E120
00:49:51
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- [00:24]
A
Welcome to season three of Trap Talk.
- [00:26]
B
Brought to you by Craig off, the choice of champions.
- [00:29]
A
All right, folks, we got to take a quick second and give a huge shout out to our title sponsor, Craig Off. Me and Ricky both shoot him. We both love them.
- [00:37]
B
Yep. Best gun in the industry. I shoot them, I sell them. Nothing better, folks. Get yourself a Craig off. Your scores will increase.
- [00:44]
A
Yeah, I mean, Ricky's got hundreds and hundreds of hundreds with his. I mean, I've got a few hundreds, but. But I'm always working to get a little bit better and they definitely help me, that's for sure. So on top of that, we also got to thank Winig. I'm wearing the shirt today. Love this shirt. If you're down at the GR grand, pick one up.
- [00:58]
B
Yeah, winning. Like I said, Zach, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of my winning stock. You know, get a hold of Bobby, Luke, Bill, get an appointment set up. They will make you a better shooter with that winning stock.
- [01:11]
A
Of course. Yeah, the grand's the great place to do it. Give them a call, get on their book. It's worth your time.
- [01:16]
B
Just remember, winners shoot winnings.
- [01:18]
A
With that being said, let's get back to the show. Welcome back to Trap Talk where we are talking about all things trap shooting and living the trap shooting dream with trap shooting greats. Folks, if you love trap shooting, make sure you hit the, like button ink and subscribe the button to support the channel. Means the world to us, Ricky. Welcome to the show. And we've got our good friend Matthew Gay. How are you, Matt?
- [01:37]
C
Great. Great. How are you guys?
- [01:40]
A
You know, it's. It's. It's a Monday and it's a Friday as they're listening, but it's a Monday today. And Zach Danini and Ricky Marshall.
- [01:47]
C
World. Well, it's your world.
- [01:50]
B
We're just bad weather, I take it.
- [01:53]
C
Yeah, you'll. You'll see. Obviously, I'm sitting in my car and no, I'm not living in it, but I'm sitting in it because tornado went by awful close and we haven't had power since yesterday afternoon. So hopefully the three deer and the half a cow that's in my freezers makes it. And we get power back pretty soon, but here we are.
- [02:10]
B
If.
- [02:11]
A
If it doesn't. It sounds like it's time for a barbecue.
- [02:15]
C
A big one. Yes.
- [02:17]
A
Get some friends over there and cook that half a cow up so we can eat it up. That sounds delicious.
- [02:22]
B
And don't open the freezer door.
- [02:25]
C
No. So, Matt, that lesson for the.
- [02:28]
A
For the listeners today, you are the owner and publisher of Trap Shooting usa. But also on top of that, Outdoor media pursuits group, is your. Is your official company, correct?
- [02:39]
C
Correct. Yes. Within the group, we have Clay Shooting usa, Trap Shooting USA Wing and Clay Life and Lady Outdoor Lifestyle.
- [02:49]
A
So today we're definitely going to talk about all the magazines, but what we're most excited about is that you guys are officially partnered with Trap Talk. We love it. So, you guys, you're the. Our first official magazine, which. Which makes us really, really happy because I think our goals are very much aligned in educating people and in spreading the news and getting more people interested in the sport and having fun and. And you've got actually, you know, more sectors than even trap shooting, which has been really, really cool and exciting for me and Rick.
- [03:19]
C
Yeah, we. One of the big things. We've got some amazing talent out in the field all over the country running around, covering events, you know, talking about the technical stuff, you know, but there's another. There's another big piece to it that I really want to push into, and that's a lifestyle piece. You guys have both essentially lived this lifestyle, and there are so many stories and so many things to talk about when it comes to the trap shooting lifestyle above and beyond where you hold your gun, which is important. You know, some of the other stuff, nutrition and all that other, you know, how Sean Hawley shoots doubles, that's all important stuff. But the lifestyle is the biggest, one of the biggest reasons why we do this. We run around, we see people four, five, seven times a year, whatever it is, and that's the only opportunity we get to spend with those people. And it's social. That's. That's where all of these, you know, the different disciplines that are out there, the trap especially, it's. It's about the social aspect of it. And, and that's a story that needs to be told with more. It needs to get more. More time. More exposure, more press time. Yeah, absolutely.
- [04:25]
A
Yeah. No, I. I agree with that. And Ricky, I mean, you could speak on that fact. I mean, as far as the lifestyle, living on the road, I mean, I mean, what do you think about what Matt said?
- [04:34]
B
Yeah, no, it is a lifestyle. I mean, you. A lot of people don't understand it. You know, they get into trap shooting. It's fun. You know, they do it at their local club. Then they, you know, get involved and maybe go to a big shoot, and the next thing you know, they're hooked. And all of a sudden they're like, well, wait a second. I still, I Want to do this, I want to do that. Well, it's one of those sports, disciplines and lifestyle. You want to do it, you got to give 100%. And there's a lot of travel, there's a lot of missed family events. You know, I mean, I hate to say it, but, you know, and my oldest son forgives me now, but, you know, he was born an hour after I won my first world championship. I was not there. You know, they induced his mom because of health reasons and ended up being the doctor, had to go on vacation. So, you know, but it's one of those. It's a lifestyle that, you know, I've done it now. This is my 37th year, you know, going on my 38th year. And it's fun. I mean, I met my wife, you know, that way, you know, met a lot of great people. But it is. You pick and choose what you're going to do. And as you know, Zach, I mean, you were fortunate. The only thing good out of COVID for you was it made you work remotely and you got to start shooting more.
- [06:00]
A
Yeah, no, I loved it and changed it all up and it's been great. And we got the podcast out of it and it's just been a. It's been a forward, forward move for sure. But, you know, Matt, wanting to get to know you a little bit better, I guess. You know, we want to talk about why you got into this business with, with the magazines, but, you know, tell us a little bit about your story. You know, what you shoot kind of where you're from. Just let the listeners know who you are.
- [06:23]
C
Well, it's kind of, it's kind of strange how I got into the business itself, but it started out with. I've actually, I grew up at a gun club. My. I. All through high school I worked at Grambling Huntsman's Club, which is my home club here and just outside of. It's probably half hour outside of Flint, the northern suburbs. And I was very fortunate to have some good teachers and skeet as, as we had mentioned before, skeet is a big discipline here. That's the first game I learned how to shoot, had some good teachers on that. And we were one of the first sporting clay courses in the state of Michigan. So we had that. We, I believe Birmingham used to have some big trap shoots here in Michigan. Yeah, right. Just. I think that's right around the corner from Detroit Gun Club. So we, we have, we have a lot of following all the disciplines here. So that, that's really how it started. I've always hunted. Wing shooting is my first love. So, you know, I'm a big grouse hunter here in Michigan. We've got some of the best grouse country in woodcock habitat in the United States. And it just kind of progressed from there. Kind of went through the normal cycle. Got into a career. Once I got to where I could start, you know, I had a little expendable income. I started, you know, shooting competitively again. But my trade is actually. I'm a H vac contractor by trade. I just happened to also become an inspector, and I just retired early from the state of Michigan. I was the assistant section chief of the bureau Construction codes in the mechanical division, which basically had 10 inspectors that worked for me. So I just kind of. I leaped, you know, both feet into the magazine business and then how I got into the magazine business. It's interesting getting into writing. My entire career as an inspector or a code official. Deals a lot with statutes and technical writing and, you know, that type of thing. So that. That's. That was my forte. And I didn't know I could, you know, do literary writing until Dana Farrell, who used to. He used. You probably know Dana, he used to edit the clay shooting. He said, why. Why don't you write for me here? You know, why don't you write me an article? So I wrote him an article. Next thing I know, I was being asked to write for trap shooting and blah, blah, blah. And it just kind of snowballed from there. Now I own them. So I, you know, it's kind of. It's just. It's a weird thing. I.
- [08:48]
A
First writing and now owning.
- [08:50]
C
Now owning? Yeah. I mean, and I've owned. I've owned and managed businesses before. I, you know, I. I own another small business as well. But, yeah, it's. It's been interesting trying to get all these. It was effective January 1st. And then get all these titles under one umbrella and one company and just all the administrative stuff to make it happen. And, you know, we're still in the process of streamlining things and making things efficient, just. But what I really like to do is write.
- [09:18]
A
So I do. I do. I do have a question about that. I know you said you bought January 1st. Now, I am aware there's. There's the four magazines. Trap Shooting USA, Winging Clay Life, Lady Outdoor Lifestyles, and then Clay Shooting usa. Before January, I was only aware personally of Trap Shooting USA and Clay Shooting usa.
- [09:37]
C
Yep.
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A
Were those other magazines out there, or did you bring those magazines to this. To this platform or Kind of what's the story there?
- [09:44]
C
I. I brought Wing and Clay Life to. To the company. I. I launched that my. On my own the first of the year, 1-1-24. So that magazine, it's actually. We're printing journal eight right now at print six times a year. Lady Outdoor Lifestyles has been around. I. That, I believe was Thaddeus. Thaddeus's idea initially. And then it kind of some things. You know, we had some various people that got involved with that. And ultimately now I'm helping Brandy run that. Randy Elrod is the editor of that magazine, and we, we work together all over. We were just at Pheasant Fest in various places. We work together as a team under the Outdoor Pursuits Media Group umbrella. So. But yeah, the, the clay and trap were separate, separate entities prior to January 1st.
- [10:43]
B
So did Thaddeus then. Because Thaddeus has a lifestyle magazine now, doesn't he?
- [10:49]
C
It's. I believe that's paused at this point. I'm not. I'm not sure where that's going. The. That was the sport. That was the sport Sporting Life. He was. He was working on that. But I believe I, I believe that's kind of paused right now. Okay. So.
- [11:04]
B
Because I know the. The women's deal was a big deal like that. Him and, and I know Stephanie were excited about doing. Or Stacy.
- [11:12]
C
Sorry, Stacy. Yep. And Stacy, I, I've. I've kept Stacy on. She's doing all our design work. She does a beautiful job. You've seen the redesign of the. Of trap and clay. And then, of course, you. You guys have gotten your hands on Wing and Clay. You know that. That's her design work, and she's doing a great job putting some stuff together, doing a lot of ad design, and people are loving the work that she's doing. So she's, she has a long history with clay and trap, so it's definitely beneficial to keep her around for that historic perspective and her talents as a designer. So.
- [11:47]
B
Yeah, yeah, no, she does great job for sure.
- [11:50]
A
So since we are a trap shooting podcast, I want to talk a little bit about Trap Shooting usa. So tell, tell the listeners, you know what, why should they subscribe to Trap Shooting usa? What makes your magazine different and. And what makes it so exciting in your mind?
- [12:07]
C
In my mind, the. The difference is between any other publication out there specific to trap shooting. We are. We have a wider scope of material that we put in the, the subject matter, everything from technical and as I mentioned earlier, you know, getting into the lifestyle part of it is a Big. It's a big thing for me in terms of giving people interesting things to read and help them. As Ricky said, a lot of people don't understand the lifestyle. Let's help them understand the lifestyle. Let's help them what the attraction to trap shooting as a. As a game and as a lifestyle is. And once those stories, you know, as those stories get out there, people may start to get it. And, you know, we've got. We've got, I don't know how many hundreds of thousands of trap shooters in the United States. I mean, you know, you take the membership of the ata, that's just a fraction of people that shoot trap and, you know, which is the impetus behind wing and clay life. But that's for a different conversation. There are a lot of people that shoot recreationally. There are a ton of kids that shoot trap. And those people, I would like to get them to understand what the attraction is to do this travel and go to these registered shoots. It may bring more people into the sport, which is going to strengthen the sport. We all know a lot of the local shooters are what keeps the local gun clubs alive. If it wasn't for recreational shooters and that type of thing at all, these small gun clubs all over the state. State, some of those gun clubs wouldn't make it. So getting that story out there, I think, is extremely important.
- [13:43]
A
Yeah, there. There is a lot of people that shoot trap. And I think the reason why a lot of people shoot traps. It's so easy to have a local trap club, right? I mean, if you look at it, there's not as. There's not as many big accessible sporting clays courses or even skeet fields around. If you look anywhere around our area, there's a trap Club every 25 or 30 minutes. You know, even if it's just a little local one trap, you know, VFW type of thing where they're shooting meat shoots and they're. They're getting into it. But at the end of the day, it's all trap shooting. You know, it's all. It's all for the good of the sport. All right, folks, we got to take a real quick break and acknowledge the official target of the ata, White Flyer. They've been sponsoring us since the beginning, and they make a great target. What do you think, Rick?
- [14:24]
B
It's the best target in the ata. Shout out to everybody there, all the reps, you know, Bill Daniels, Josh Taylor, Nick Arnold, Robert Crow. Everything they do for the sport and all the shoots. Really appreciate it.
- [14:37]
A
They're always there. They're always trying to make a better target and they're always supporting the game that we love so much. Hey, Trop Talk listeners, let's take a quick second to thank a couple more amazing sponsors. Sos, Clay Shoot Management, they're doing a fantastic job. I love the app. I love being able to see everything on my phone instantaneously. It's freaking awesome. Rick, what do you think?
- [14:55]
B
Yeah, Greg Pink and his group over there, I mean they've got majority of the satellite grands, majority of the state shoots. I think it's 40 plus state bait shoots they're doing. But the app, honestly, we were doing a little beta testing with that at the spring grand. It's awesome. You could see your squad if they paid. You know, you can see your options, your payouts, the whole works at your fingertips. Great deal.
- [15:17]
A
They're just. Ricky, how much money he made before he even got off the line, he was like, hey, I'm buying lunch. I'm like, yeah, good job. We're good to go. We also got gun and trophy insurance. I mean, they're the best in the, the business. I know they're, they're great price. Ricky, you're familiar with them, right?
- [15:33]
C
Yeah.
- [15:33]
B
Cole and Larry Cushman, been long time supporters of myself and, and I've been a supporter of them and you know, especially with my college team, you know, we require insurance. It's so fast and easy to sign up and get your insurance. In literally 10 minutes you can have your guns insured. And they're just great. They're great to deal with. Like I said, you can do your trophies also, you know, your, your wildlife, animals and that such and your guns.
- [16:00]
A
It's just a great, it's always good when you're traveling around to have that peace of mind and know that you don't have to worry about losing your stuff forever. And these are expensive things, especially when you got those Craig offs. You got to keep them insured. Hey, Trap Talk listeners, we got to take a real quick break and we got to thank Ron Prescott from Mid State Precious Metals for everything they do for the trap shooting community coast to coast for all your gold and silver buying needs. And on top of that new announcement, they're a sponsor of the 126 grand American.
- [16:26]
B
Finally he said it right, folks. Grand American. Yeah, Ron is a great guy. He's a sponsor of the Back Fence Shootout at Nevada State Shoot and Ohio State Shoot. And also we got our gold for our Trap Talk event at Nevada State shoot and the 77th annual Nevada State Shoot. They bought all theirs from it. 680 ounces of silver to be exact. Folks, folks, you're missing out if you're not there.
- [16:49]
A
That's a lot of silver. And honestly, if you're not buying from Ron, you're probably overpaying. So whether you're buying it for your gun clubs or your shoots or for your personal use, you got to give them a try because they're big supporters of the trap shooting nation, so it's awesome. All right, Trap talk listeners, let's take a couple seconds and thank a couple more sponsors. First of all, Remington's been with us since day one. I've been shooting these shells since 2007. I shoot the Nitro 27 from the 27 yard line, ounce and eight, seven and a half and STS, ounce and eighth eights for singles and doubles. They've worked great for me as they do a lot of top shooters all around the country. Give them a try. Don't forget the gun club line when you're practicing and you're wanting to save a little bit of money.
- [17:28]
B
We'd also like to thank another sponsor, Outlaw engineering. Randy Freston, R2. I've known Randy since 1988. They do engineering, survey and drafting, GIS, civilization, structural land development, wetland permitting. They do.
- [17:45]
A
And they're friends of trap shooters. I mean, they're trap shooting family. They've been in the ATA forever. His dad's been involved. They're involved. They're beautiful family. They're great people. And we just love that they listen to the show and we love that they support trap talk.
- [17:57]
B
Yeah. His dad was past president 1989. So I really want to thank those guys for the support. It. Really appreciate it here at trap.
- [18:05]
A
With that being said, let's get back to the show. Do you have any data, Matt, as far as like, what amount of people are actually ATA shooters versus just, you know, casual trap shooters? I mean, do you have any idea yet or.
- [18:17]
C
No, I do, actually. The. When what I looked at was the. So I looked at the total of registered shooters across all of the national governing bodies, and you get to. Right around 80,000 to 90,000. And that's ATA, NSSA. NSCA. Right. If you look at the U.S. fish and Wildlife Service's annual survey, there are about 14.1 million people in the United States that use a shotgun recreationally. Now, that includes clay targets, that includes hunting doves, everything. But that. That is the number. So you can extrapolate from there and you can. You can put a. You Know, you could put a multiplier to that number. And I would venture to say you probably got somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 to wild guesstimate. But 6 to 10 million people in the United States that shoot clay targets recreationally, you know, probably sounds right.
- [19:14]
A
Or at least once a year, you know, go out and shoot it. Right. So then if we, if we get down to trap shooting, let's just say there's 80,000. 80 to 90,000 active members in the ATA. You know, maybe that number is three or four times that in the trap shooting space. Space. I mean, at least of people that consistently. I mean, I would think if, you know, there's a lot of people that I know that the local gun club that shoot leagues and don't shoot ata. So, you know, if you think of 25 or 30 squads there and only five squads of the people shoot ata, there's a, there's a whole ton of folks that, that just kind of casually enjoy the sport.
- [19:48]
B
Yeah. Look at, you know, Michigan is where the national high school championships held. Okay, you look, I went to Minnesota, the one year for the high school shoot. There was 10,000 kids and if I remember correctly, it was only like 175 of them shot registered trap. Out of 10,000.
- [20:09]
C
Yes.
- [20:10]
B
You know, so you take that number now. You take like I teach out in Pennsylvania and a women's league out there, the Valley Forge Women's League. You know, I don't know how many women that. Three or four hundred, Only a handful shoot registered. You know, you go into the Nebraska State high school trap shoot in May, you know, there's 26, 2700 kids there, maybe 200 of them, you know, 10% shoot registered. So, you know, there's a lacking in there of registered targets that I think the associations could maybe do a little better job at getting involved. Send the people to the events, talk more about it, you know, give out the free memberships like they do, but really push that to, you know, come try it, you know, because Zach, like we've talked and Matt, I don't know if you know this, you know, of course I've been doing this 30 some years, so I always hear it from the show manufacturers. But you know, they sell more shells opening day of dove season. Then you take all three clay target disciplines combined all year long.
- [21:20]
C
Yep, absolutely. That's the same data that I received. Yep.
- [21:24]
B
Yeah, yeah. So people look at and they go, well, why aren't they doing more? Well, you know, but the hunting sector is a huge part of it. But where do people, you know, you know, sharpen their skills up with hunting? They go out, they shoot, trap, skeeter, sporting clays.
- [21:40]
A
Yeah, I think it's a carryover, right? Like, you're gonna have people that are shooting trap, you're gonna have people that are shooting sporting clays, then you're gonna have people that are hunting, and you never know which one you're going to start in. If you start with hunting, great. You might want to say, okay, well, it's too hot to hunt birds right now because it's the summertime and it's my dogs. I want to shoot sporting glaze to get better hunting, or vice versa. You're shooting sporting clays, and now it's cold outside. You don't want to shoot sporting clays. And now you're going out there and you're shooting, you know, checkers and pheasants and, and, and dove or whatever it is that you want to do. Right. I mean, at the end of the day, I think if you truly enjoy shotgun shooting, there's a month of the year for every sport, right. You can you know, just kind of say, okay, what are we doing now? Well, in January, we're doing different things than we're doing in August, obviously, but, you know, to kind of circle into the next topic point. And we talked about the hunting side of it with Winging Clay. You know, I just got my first copy. I really, really, really love the way this magazine was laid out. And. And this is your inception specifically correct, Matt?
- [22:39]
C
Yep. Yes. Yep, that's my concept.
- [22:42]
A
All right, Trap Dock listeners, we got to take a real quick break, and I've got something that I'm so excited to announce. Trap Shooting USA has now become the official magazine of the Trap Talk podcast.
- [22:52]
B
No, it's not only Traption usa, now it's Winging Clay Life, Lady Outdoor Lifestyles, and Clay Shooting usa.
- [23:00]
A
I'm just really excited because they make such a high quality magazine. I mean, if you guys haven't had these magazines and you actually get to touch them in your hands, they've got really thick paper, they're really glossy, and they keep it really cool. I mean, I just love it.
- [23:12]
B
The traveling gunsmith. And then in this newest episode, we have. Oh, man, look at, look at those.
- [23:18]
A
Look at those handsome guys. I love this. I love it, I love it. So also on top of that, Outdoor pursuits, meet media Matt, he's decided that he's going to give away a shotgun at the Grand American this year at our live podcast studio. If you weren't there last year, you missed out. You need to be there this year. It's going to be great. The only thing you have to do is either renew or subscribe to any one of these magazines and you're going to be in for the drawing for the gun. And we're going to have all that information in the future. Just look out for it and we'll keep you updated for sure with that.
- [23:47]
B
Let's get back to the show.
- [23:48]
A
So for you, I mean, if you could describe the type of stories and the type of content that you're putting in there. I mean, you know, is it educational? Is it recipes? Is it. Where should they go hunt? I mean, what's the type of stuff that you find yourself putting in Winging Clay Life?
- [24:03]
C
Well, we have the different departments in there, and I like to keep those consistent, whether it be a gun review, there's a shotgun coach. There's, you know, we talk about bird dogs, we talk about equipment, and there's, there's different stuff. As you guys get more of them, you'll see how, you know that that subject matter is very wide. And then will we focus on, you know, usually four nice features. You have some stuff with it. Maybe, you know, the. I think the last one was the trip to Ireland that, that Gary took, and he wrote a beautiful piece on that. There's some historic stuff in there. We do something on the guns of Ernest Hemingway. You know, being a writer, Ernest Hemingway has like a, you know, if you don't know who Ernest Hemingway is, you need to at least Google it and start reading this stuff because it's, it's phenomenal stuff, you know, so.
- [24:54]
A
Different chat gbt.
- [24:57]
C
Yeah, no kidding. It's just the, the whole objective of that magazine and that magazine was born out of the statistics that we just talked about. You have so many people out there that, that recreationally use a shotgun and there's, you know, there's a few magazines out there, but there's nothing out there that really encompasses the, the all that you can do with a shotgun. I mean, I have this next. Just to give you an idea, this next piece. A friend of mine who you guys may know was hunting in Africa. He was on a safari and he told the, he told the. The pH is like, I want. I want to go shoot birds. Well, they got an education in black mambas and puff adders and all these different horribly venomous snakes. And he, he talks about this experience. They went out to shoot, I think guinea fowl and something else and how nervous he Was. Is the most dangerous upland hunt or the most nerve wracking. So that's a great story that's coming out in Journal 8. It just, it's just different stuff, but we don't. Yeah, it's, it's a really interesting article. But the thing is, is that that magazine, we want to focus it towards the average person that has a gun club they go to or maybe interested in getting into the, the clay target sports. It gives something for the average shotgun shooter or someone that wants to get into it and talks about. Like you said, we have recipes in there. I actually have a Michelin star, you know, you know, all of us. I would assume you guys cook too. I've. I learned how to cook and that's why I still have 30 pounds I need to lose. But a lot of guys, a lot of guys that hunt are very good cooks. Well, I now have a Michelin star trained chef who's going to be providing some additional recipes and just different stuff that you can do with your game birds and, and, you know, it's just.
- [26:47]
A
I do love a good recipe.
- [26:49]
C
Yeah. Who, yeah, it. Who doesn't? Most people, you know, people.
- [26:52]
A
And I can't wait to read about that article with, with the black mamas. The last time I heard a black mamba, I was watching Kill Bill too. When she went in there with that, that snake and the money, I'm like, oh, no. So I know about those black mamas. They're not to be messed with.
- [27:05]
C
Yeah, this, this one's no joke. When you have a snake that can kill an elephant with, with one fang, if just one fan gets it. Yeah, you're gonna be nervous. And it's. And there were several, you know, there's several species of snakes. And by the time they got done, I think, I don't want to, I don't want to give away the whole story. But they also realize that the biggest problem they had out there is a snake that they didn't even tell them about the Mozambique spitting cobra. So, you know, it's just. Yeah, it's just, it's just wild.
- [27:35]
B
Who was the hunter?
- [27:36]
C
Zach Hein? I don't know if you know Zach.
- [27:40]
B
I know that is.
- [27:41]
C
Yep. Yeah, he was out there.
- [27:42]
A
He's contributed, they say. I think, I think one of the old sayings, I heard this from an African hunter. He said there's two things certain in the, in the, in the desert. You, death from death from a elephant and death from a black mamba. Like if you just, I mean, you're not Gonna. You're not gonna make it out of that.
- [28:00]
C
No, no, it's. It's. Generally, it's. It's pretty. It's pretty nasty. I listened to. I listened to a podcast years ago, a couple years ago about a gentleman that trains dogs because they have. The big problem they have there is poaching in Africa and the various kutadas that they hunt on. And what this gentleman does is he. He was born, I believe, South African, got into military, trains dogs. Well, this whole story was about the dogs that he trains. In addition to training military and law enforcement dogs in the United States, he also trains dogs for interdiction operations for poachers there. And one of the biggest problems they have is if a dog gets bit by a snake, they have to airlift them out of there in a hurry because you have a very expensive dog with piles of money into it for the training that goes into it. You want to save it to the extent you can. But the black mamba is the biggest fear because they have such a. They're just such a nasty, you know, snake dead loose. Yep.
- [28:59]
B
Yeah, it. It's crazy that actually the very first Craig off firearm I ever sold was a Craig off double rifle, okay, To a friend of mine, and he bought it to go over there to go Cape buffalo hunting. And he wanted an. A set of over and under barrels, or side by side barrels, I should say shotgun barrels that you could put on it to go bird hunting. And I looked into it. Then he called, said, yeah, we're not going to do that. Well, I found out later that was why was the possibility of where you had to go versus he said it was more dangerous to go hunt birds than to hunt Cape buffalo.
- [29:36]
C
Yes.
- [29:37]
A
Yeah, yeah, I'm out on that.
- [29:38]
B
And I said what? They started talking about all the snakes. And I was like, yeah, you know.
- [29:45]
A
You know what I. What I thinking, Rick? I never would have thought in episode five that we'd be talking about snakes and black mambas in Africa on the. On the show. After a hundred episodes later, it's just like, you know, it's crazy to see the direction that we're going, but what we've talked about and in this partnership with Matt is, you know, we at Trap Talk are definitely going to expand our horizons and we are looking to, you know, interview more. More hunting material. So, you know, whether it's lodges, whether it's guides, whether it's, you know, professional hunters, and, you know, different situations where. Where we can talk about, you know, all the other things that you're going to be able to do in the off season because it's all correlated lifestyle. Like we've been talking about this at the beginning of the show is it's just, you know, people that love shooting, people that love outdoors, people that want to be a part of all this stuff that we're doing and look at.
- [30:39]
B
Everybody that is outdoors. You know, we're out there shooting. I mean, you know, and I'll throw out a name and Matt, I don't know if you know him. Alan Helfer.
- [30:47]
C
How?
- [30:47]
B
Alan and Shelly Helper from Alaska. You know, they're good friends of mine. They've shot for years. They own a lodge and a flying service up in Alaska. So, you know, you go in and. And you know, fish, of course, and you can hunt too.
- [31:03]
A
And they're trap shooters, right? Yeah, so.
- [31:05]
B
Oh yeah.
- [31:06]
A
So. And it's just like if there's people that are trap shooters and have that type of situation laid out, I'm sure that other trap shooters, if they ever wanted to go and make a trip up to Alaska or something like that, they would feel much more comfortable going with somebody that they already know or that knows shoots trap than just some random, you know, random agency that they looked up online. Right? I mean, yeah, at the end of the day, it's just reconnecting and connecting the community with more good people and being able to share more experiences and, you know, go from there. So. All right, Trap talk listeners, we got to take a quick break and we got to welcome a new sponsor to the show. RGS bore stripper. It's a great product. Ricky, tell them how they can find it.
- [31:42]
B
Go to their website, rgsguncleaner.com you can get the 18 ounce bottle, free shipping. Two 8 ounces bottle and you get the 2 ounces travel bottle and it's free shipping also. Or just get the little 2oz bottle for travel.
- [31:57]
A
Yeah, they sent me some of this product and I used it on my craig off choke tubes the other day and it got the plastic out like in a minute and it was super cool and super good. So if you like cleaning your gun, you like eliminating plastic and you like shiny bores, give them a try for sure. Thank you so much for supporting the show.
- [32:11]
B
Yeah, we'd really like to thank John Weber, the owner, for the support. He's doing an awesome job.
- [32:15]
A
Yeah, we really want to thank John. We appreciate the support of the show. Anybody that supports trap talk, you guys need to support them and get this stuff because it's awesome.
- [32:23]
B
And with that, let's get back to the show.
- [32:25]
A
Matt, one thing I do want to ask you, since you are winging clay and you've got all these other things, is there like any bucket list dream hunt that you want to go on that you're thinking in your mind that you haven't done yet?
- [32:37]
C
Yes, I was actually last May I was over in Sweden at the Swedish Game Fair and it just, I was talking to some people and the capper, Cali. I really, as I said, I'm a Michigan grouse hunter. Grouse and woodcock is my favorite. But you know, capercali is the largest species of grouse and they have a couple different ways they hunt him over there. It's. Imagine a hen turkey. It's a grouse about the size of a hen turkey. So it's pretty wild. Big old buggers. Yeah, they're, they're pretty good eaten. Yes, that too. And that, that's definitely double rifle for them. Yeah, well, it's the interesting thing about that is early in the season over there, early in the season, as it was explained to me, they hunt them like we hunt traditionally, like how we walk up, hunt pheasants out west, but later in the season they actually snowshoe in and they hunt them out of trees with a rifle. So, yeah, it's, it's definitely, it's definitely different. It's, I got an education on Europe. How they hunt is far different than.
- [33:44]
A
How shoot them all year long. Yeah, they do.
- [33:48]
B
They hunt things a little different.
- [33:49]
C
Yeah. Yep. And, and they call it, they call it shooting. They don't call it hunting. So it's, it's duck shooting or we're gonna shoot pigeons and stuff. Yes, yes. They're, they're, they're, that's, that's hilarious. Yeah. And, and of course, the, I think every wing shooter's dream is to get an opportunity to hunt, you know, red legged partridge on the Scottish moors, you know, on the glorious 12th at some point in their life. But beyond that, I mean, I, I, I hunt out west every year. I come out to the Dakotas every year. I usually spend two weeks out there. We'll hunt waterfowl. We hunt, you know, go hunt upland and we, we have a plan for retirement to start somewhere way up North Saskatchewan and work our way to Mexico. So that's definitely on the, that's on the list. That's not a bucket, that's a plan. So they're just, you know, just everything that you can do with a shotgun and that's Kind of as you were talking about with the, you know, with, with different people and their different interests that shoot trap. I mean, basically as shotgun shooters, we're interested in shooting, flying. Anything that's flying, we have an interest in shooting that. Whether it be clay targets, police or, you know, game birds, it doesn't really matter. And you. I would venture to say I feel the same way. Yeah. I would venture to say a big portion of the guys that ladies that, that shoot trap or any of the other major disciplines, the vast majority of them are also bird hunters.
- [35:21]
B
Yeah, I would say, honestly, probably 90 plus percent of them, I would say, yeah. I mean, they all start that. You know, like the last few years I haven't been able to get out and hunt like I used to, and my kids always remind me of that. My, both of my boys are like, are we going to go waterfowl hunting this year or what? And I'm like, you know, because a lot of my busy season is right during hunting season. I'm down south in Florida or, you know, or partake in some other private shoots and, you know, you're always gone, so, you know, it can be busy. But hunting has always been a passion of mine. You know, growing up, I mean, I remember killing the first pheasant when I was like six years old, I think it was, you know, with my dad and such. So it's always a lot of fun, you know, and, and like I said, you meet so many different people in the shooting world that also are big in the hunting world, you know, so. And that's where with you guys, you know, with all the magazines now, you know, makes a big difference. You, you got a wide spectrum of, of stuff to cover, you know, so I think that'll be great.
- [36:32]
A
We always thought we'd get into it a little bit more. I mean, we even started, I mean, one of our sponsors, Rick and Carla Burke, at 73 Pointers Ranch. I mean, you know, we did an episode with them and I don't know if you've seen it or not, Matt, but, you know, I went up there and I basically did the whole lodge and talked about how they got into it. And they're both, you know, avid outdoorsmen and, and, and enjoy shooting clays and, you know, they love the dogs and everything. And I, I mean, I just think like, for, for someone like them, winging clay is perfect. I mean, it's, yes, it's a perfect layup because, you know, not only do they love it, but they're, they're in the business of it, right? They, you know, they're, they've got, you know, birds, chuckers, pheasants, all that stuff out there. So that's a shameless plug for 73 pointers. Ratch, Rick. Rick and Carla Burke. They're great people. But we're hopefully have more and more and more of those stories and you know, maybe do some, do some podcasting from the blind or something like that. I think that would be, I think that would be kind of cool. Some special releases. But, but it's all, it's all in the, in the works right now, folks. And we're, we're just having so much fun with this and we're so happy that we're getting so much support and, and Matt jumping on board with us, which is, which is great. I, I guess Matt, one thing I do want to touch on for a second is you said that you were going to be doing some giveaways and some things like that. So, so tell the listeners right here, right now, you know, what do they have to do to get into this, this raffle drawing thing that you're setting up?
- [37:56]
C
So I'm a bit of a nostalgic person and I like classic shotguns, right. I collect Ithaca Model 37s, Winchester Model 12s. I just like classic, whether they be target guns or, or field guns. And I have a Beautiful Winchester Super X1 12 gauge vent rib barrel that we're going to give away. I mean, the, it nearly looks like it just came off of the line and it's just my love of classic shotguns that kind of sent me in that direction. So basically for anybody who either renews their, their subscription to Trap Shooting USA or gets a new subscription, and the same applies to any of the other magazines. They're going to get in the drawing for this, for this shotgun and we're going to give that away on, you know, live at the grand. So from April 1, which, you know, by the time this gets out, we'll be past April 1st. But for anybody from April 1st and beyond who renews, who gets in subscription, they will be in the running for that shotgun. There are, you know, one of the things that we're going to be putting out shortly as well is this is whether it's digital or print subscription, it doesn't matter. So we're going to be offering a digital subscription to any of the magazines for $10 a year. So you're going to get with, with, with Clay, with Trap Shooting USA with Wing and Clay, they get six editions a year with Lady That's a quarterly magazine, Lady Outdoor Lifestyle. So any one of those, they can get a Digital subscription for $10 a year. That'll get them in the drawing for, for this SX, the Super X1.
- [39:47]
A
I mean, that's a fantastic deal. And I, I just want to reiterate if, if anybody isn't interested in getting the paper copies yet, which I really recommend because they're such high quality. I mean, I've had these things in my hands and the articles and everything, and they're wonderful and I like to keep them on the table, you know, side stand or whatever. But, but if you just want to literally get into these magazines and see what they're about and just read the articles for $10 a year, I mean, Netflix is more than, I mean, NET Netflix is $17 a month now, right? I mean, and you know, for 10, for, for 40 bucks a year, you could have all four magazines and be able to look at everything and, and, and, and enjoy it. And then you might even be able to see those ads with me and Ricky in there smiling, all happy looking.
- [40:30]
C
Well, and, and we'll, and I'm sure there'll be some other ads to follow to follow up with that one. That's, I'm sure you're going to be doing some different stuff as well. So there, they may be able to collect them, take them and have you guys sign them and maybe have them framed or, you know, put them in there, put them in their gun room, you know, whatever.
- [40:52]
A
It's a lot of fun. I just think it's, it's really, I'm just, I just really have a hard time with thinking anybody would want to autograph for me or Ricky. But I mean, it's, it is what it is. I mean, you just, you know, you get it. But.
- [41:02]
B
Well, I give them out sometimes. You, on the other hand, you know.
- [41:05]
A
It'S, you know, hey, it's usually one.
- [41:08]
B
Autographed at the post office, but it's.
- [41:09]
A
Okay, I'm autographing everything I can. But it's, it's just a lot of fun. I mean, it's fun to see people get excited, excited about the sport. It's fun to see people, you know, learning new things and trying new things and like you said, having fun with their friends and family and, and, you know, getting back to why we do this sport and why we do what we love. So.
- [41:29]
B
All right, folks, we need to take a quick second and get to a new show sponsor, Big Red Motorsports. Big Red, they're personal friends of mine Jason and George Lee. And they're also a personal sponsor of mine.
- [41:40]
A
Now, I'll say this, Ricky looked great driving around in that side by side. I got some free rides down at Tucson, the Autumn Grand. I think it's awesome that they deliver all across the country. And obviously they love trap shooters. They love trap shooting and they're doing a great job.
- [41:53]
B
Listen, they got Can Am, Kawasaki cf, Moto Triton trailers. Hit them up. We'll take care of you guys. With that being said, let's get to the show.
- [42:09]
A
You know, Matt, it's, it's been just fantastic having you on the show. Is there, is there anything else that you want to share with the listeners before we get out of here today that we're missing out on?
- [42:20]
C
Well, I'm extremely excited to be working with you guys. You know, you've both been around the game and the sport as ambassadors for a long time. And I just, I really like to partner with people who understand the game, who can articulate and have fun with it because again, we're, you know, nobody goes to, nobody goes to a gun club to take their precious, you know, extra time and, and, you know, not enjoy it. So getting the word out to, to, to possibly get some of these people that are just in the wing shooting world to go to the local gun club, try out trap shooting, and if they really like it, let's go to go shoot a registered shoot. Go try doubles. Go try this something. You know, I mean, I, I have a friend who has a pheasant preserve seven miles from my house, which is very convenient. And you know, I do some instruction out there both in wing shooting and, and clay shooting. But the thing that I can't understand and never been able to understand is these guys spend thousands and thousands of dollars on a truck and then a dog and then training the dog and then the membership for training the dog and all the gear and all that stuff. But you won't spend 25, 30 bucks a week to go sharpen your shooting skills on the trap range. I never could understand that and I try to articulate that and it's like, dude, just take an hour, go to the gun club, buy a couple boxes of shells and go shoot. You're, you will decrease the likelihood of your dog meeting depression medication because you can't hit anything that the dog finds.
- [43:53]
A
So shooting at everything, nothing going down.
- [43:56]
C
Yeah, I mean, I like that.
- [44:00]
A
Depression medicine for the dog.
- [44:01]
C
Yeah, it's just, you know, the dogs out there, you might out. When we go to North Dakota, we, I clock on my watch and probably do 12 to 15 miles a day. Well, the dog runs four or five times that if he finds it. Oh, yeah, especially a wild pheasant. Flushes it at 20 yards right at your feet, and you can't hit it. The dog should come back and lift his leg on your foot. I mean, that's just not, you know, I mean, it's just unacceptable. If I'm a dog, I'm thinking, what? I did all that work for nothing, you know, So I. I just. I try to.
- [44:33]
B
Yeah, you are correct, Matt. That is one of the things that I've seen and taught a lot of people. You know, I used to be involved with the sporting clays course, and we had certain events out there and guys had missed. I'd hand out my business cards and one guy goes, what's this for? And I said, well, we shot 100 targets. You broke 12. And he goes, yeah. And I go, you own the company.
- [44:57]
A
Yeah.
- [44:58]
B
And I go, all your employees are beating you. Oh, yeah, they are, aren't they? He took one lesson, started breaking in the 70s, and his employees were like, great, now he's going to be beating us. And I said, well, you never want to beat the boss, you know?
- [45:14]
C
Right.
- [45:15]
B
But it's true. It's so bad. I seen people hunting. They couldn't hit a bird from 10ft.
- [45:20]
C
No.
- [45:21]
B
And, yeah, the dog's like, what, What. What's going on? You know, that happens all day.
- [45:27]
C
Yeah.
- [45:27]
B
You could go into story after story about that. Yeah.
- [45:30]
C
In trap shoot, I mean, if you think about it, if you're, you know, it's your. A lot of pheasant hunters in the United States trap, for all intents and purposes, replicates a flushing pheasant in front of you. I mean, it's. If you want to. At the baseline, there's a little bit, you know, with you not knowing exactly the trajectory of the target, There's a little bit of variability there. So you do have to make quick adjustments based on whether it's hard right, hard left, straight out. So that's good for bird, because you don't know what direction the pheasant's gonna go. So trap shooting is a very good way to train to hunt wild pheasants. You know, it's just. It's, you know, for, like I said, 30 bucks a week, go out, you're going to hone your skills, and your dog's going to be happier with you. You know, it's just. Just.
- [46:13]
A
I agree with that. Try to. Best advice. I've heard all day.
- [46:16]
C
Yeah, just.
- [46:18]
A
Well, well, Matt, we're excited to see everything that's coming down the pipe. We're going to keep the listeners updated on what's happening at Trap Shooting usa, Winging Clay Lady Outdoor lifestyle and Clay Shooting usa. We're so excited to partner with you moving forward and, and to just make everything, make trap great again. You know, we're doing it one day at a time as, as, as, as John created our famous shirt. So we will, we will catch you later. We appreciate you sharing your story with us and, and we appreciate everything you're doing for the sports and the outdoors.
- [46:51]
C
I appreciate very much so. I appreciate you guys having me on. I look forward to. There's so many things that we can do in the future going forward. Lots of plans. John and I have talked about a lot of stuff and we'll talk with you guys some more and just, we just want to. We want to dive into this and get this. You know, there's no reason that the shooting sports can't rise to the same level as some of the other sports that seem to have so much more of a following. You know, there's, there's just too, there's too many people out there that you just get them into this and they fall in love with it and, and the next thing you know, they're just like us. Yeah. Know, it's just, it's just getting it out there. Get, just give them a little taste. I hate to sound like a drug dealer.
- [47:33]
A
Set the hook. Set the hook.
- [47:35]
C
Set the hook. Let them wet their beak a touch and then just then you got them. So, yeah, it's game over. Yep. Absolutely.
- [47:43]
A
Well, Matt, we'll see you soon. Ricky, we're out of here. Happy Friday, everyone listening. Tune in, like, share. Subscribe. We'll see you all soon.
- [47:51]
B
See at the next shoot, folks.
- [47:55]
A
All right, folks, we got to take another quick break and thank one of our show sponsors, 73 Pointers Ranch, Jonesburg, Missouri. Rick and Carla Burke. Best place in the area to go shoot chuckers and pheasants and have a great time. Rick, we got to get you down there.
- [48:08]
B
Yeah, I need to come in. Hopefully I can do some hunting with you guys and come to your the annual clay shoot in August right after the grand.
- [48:16]
A
It's a lot of fun. I see Optimist Club charity shoot. They throw a charity shoot. They put it on and it's wonderful. I think last year they had over 100, 100 entries into it. And it's just a good time. All Right, folks, we got to take a quick second and give a shout out to the Cardinal center in Morango, Ohio. They hold the Cardinal Classic and they also hold the Ohio State shoe, which is home of the first Back Fence Shootout. Ricky, what do you think about Ohio?
- [48:40]
B
Listen, I, I love the Cardinal Center. I, I actually broke the first hunter from the 27 there at their very first shoot ever. Great place. Jake Spangler and their whole clan there. They do an awesome job at running the shoots. The Ohio State shoots ran by the Ohio State association. The Cardinal Classics right after the grand. So if you're looking for some, some more points right after the grand, hit that up so you can get a little more points than old Zach here.
- [49:05]
A
But listen, it's a great shoot, great facility. It really is. I, I personally love the RVs. They've got great camping there. They've got a great time. Good shoot, good target presentation. Go check it out. It's worth putting on your list. With that being said, let's get back to the show. And the Trap Talk podcast is brought to you in part by RM Shooting Clinics. Have Ricky take your game to the next level. If you want to shoot hundreds of hundreds of hundreds, give Ricky a call today. Zack Nini Financial. We believe in putting people first.