My Oregonian roots run deep, spanning six generations, and I take pride in my heritage. I grew up in Redmond, a city located in Central Oregon where the Cascade Mountains meet the high desert. My earliest memories involve the outdoors and hunting. Growing up, my family dedicated their time to archery elk and mule deer. To this day, I have never killed a mule deer or bull elk with a rifle. I have broken out the gun on a few of my more coveted tags out of state, but archery hunting is where my passion lies.
I’ve always been driven to help others. I love being a person who can change someone’s life, whether it be in a small way or making their dreams come true. How individuals use their platforms to benefit others is very important to me. I spent over a decade as a pastor in a church located in Redmond, Oregon, coached track and field at Redmond High School for several years, worked as a realtor, and have guided hunts in various western states. Every one of those “platforms” is about making dreams come true and helping others.
All of my “occupations” have a few things in common that greatly benefit my role at Huntin’ Fool Adventures. You need to always be learning, be goal-oriented, have realistic expectations, and have the ability to form lasting relationships. Here are some things I enjoy helping HF members with as I walk through the booking process with them.
ALWAYS BE LEARNING
Every Advisor that works at HF is a student of their craft. We take great pride in what we do and are humble enough to realize that there is always something to learn. Hunting different species in far off places can be intimidating for a lot of people, but the practicing, researching, scouting, dreaming, and brainstorming can be one of the more enjoyable parts of a hunt if it is done well. Our members trust us with their time and money when they book a hunt through HFA. That means we need to be constantly learning via communication with hunters and outfitters, reading, and putting actual boots on the ground. That’s why it is so important to have a wide variety of skills on our team.
GOAL-ORIENTED
Most hunters have a goal in mind for their hunting career, if you will. For some, it may be to spend time in the woods with family and continue tradition. For others, it may be killing their first animal or maybe trying to complete the North American 29 or Grand Slam of sheep. We have the knowledge and resources to help plan those adventures. It may entail strategy on drawing tags across the West or acquiring landowner tags for a specific hunt. Whatever the goal may be, we will come up with a solution.
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
The gap between expectations and reality is called disappointment. When looking for a hunt or planning a hunt, have realistic expectations. Before every hunt, I make a list of my expectations. That may include the size of animal I want to pursue, the things I want to experience, or the relationships I want to build. When expectations and reality line up, there is much less pressure because I know what I am there for. This is a conversation that will take place with every single HF member I speak with. I want to make sure that they know what they are getting themselves into.
RELATIONSHIPS
People are important! Relationships are important universally, and the hunting world is not an exception. Our team at Huntin’ Fool has been building relationships with our outfitters and members for over 25 years. This helps tremendously when we are trying find hunts for people who would get along and hunt well together. Trust is the cornerstone of this, and that takes time to build. Getting phone calls, texts, and emails from successful HF members is a very satisfying feeling.
Now that you have a basic understanding of my philosophy behind how I do what I do, I will explain some of my hunting goals and adventures. My dad let me start archery elk hunting with him when I was 8 years old. He gave me an old Carlton grunt tube and would let me bugle my heart out. Hearing the bulls respond through the dark Oregon forests created a passion in that little boy that is still strong and alive to this day.
I was successful in killing my first archery mule deer at 12 and archery elk at 14. Mule deer is probably my favorite animal to hunt. Growing up, the thought of chasing animals other than deer and elk wasn’t even there. Every year, I knew that I was going to be in Eastern Oregon with a bow in my hand, and I was OK with that.
When I was in my early twenties, I had the opportunity to start guiding out-of-state, and the outfitter had a Super 10 plaque sitting on a desk in the lodge. I remember looking at it and thinking to myself, “I am going to do that.” It made me realize that the only thing stopping me from going on once-in-a-lifetime adventures was me. That one moment completely changed the way that I attack my life. I am currently at 8 of 10, only needing a mountain goat and a sheep. I have spent quite a bit of time in Alaska over the past few years. I was able to kill moose and caribou on separate drop-camp hunts. I was also lucky enough to draw a fall Nunivak Island muskox permit, which was one of the coolest experiences of my life. My mountain lion journey ended up taking me three years to fulfill in Montana. Deer, elk, bear, and antelope have all come from Oregon. I think the Super 10 award is very attainable for a normal guy. They just need to have a plan! The people I have met and relationships I have built along the way have truly changed my life.
As I am approaching the end of my “hunting goal,” I am already thinking about the next one. My wife and I have a little boy and a girl whom we adore and love spending time with in nature. They both love adventure, spending time with family, and seeing the animals that most people don’t take the time to appreciate. My goal is to slow down my personal hunting within the next several years and take them to the wild places I have been fortunate enough to explore. My dad did the same thing for me when I was old enough to start tagging along, and if it wasn’t for his selfless outlook on it, I wouldn’t be able to help people at the capacity that I can now. I know he is just as excited to see my kids hunt as I am. My son is obsessed with antelope and will most likely be hunting one in New Mexico within the next couple years. My daughter goes back and forth between not wanting to hunt and asking if I can take her on a panda bear hunt. We’ll just have to wait and see how that one turns out.
Whatever your dreams or desires when it comes to hunting, we have the hunt and the outfitter for you!
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