Bowhunting Soul

This is a special episode. I talk with one of my favorite people, Jason Samkowiak of the Traditional Bowhunting and Wilderness Podcast. Jason is an entrepreneur and a go-getter to the core. After enduring the tragic loss of his son, Jason funneled his emotions and energy into making the most out of life. He's been extremely successful starting several new businesses and is working his butt off to...

This was a very cool conversation. Nancylia is relatively new to traditional bow hunting and hunting in general. Her story of what brought her here is very eye-opening. Sudden and relatively traumatic life changes have paved a path for Nancylia to re-focus her life and her surroundings. Archery, hunting and gardening have proven cathartic for her and now she's able to help others get through their...

Clay is an absolute killer. Living in Texas, Clay gets to put into practice his traditional archery skills on hogs pretty much year round. He's got a ton of experience doing it and uses anything from spot and stalk, to feeders to shooting them at night with a light. We get into his various hunting styles, tactics, and overall the overall hunting experience in Texas. Clay is very understated when i...

So this episode is a little different. When I first asked Chris Sekol to be a guest, it was with the intent of getting to know him better and BS about archery and hunting, just like any other episode. But this one turned into a detailed recount of his battle with cancer a few years ago. We do talk about bows and hunting a little bit, but the biggest takeaway from this episode is the importance of...

This week I'm joined by Matt Eldred of the YouTube channel "Matt's Wild Point of View". Matt is a lifelong hunter, having shot a traditional bow since he was a child. He has a ton of hunting and shooting experience and has recently started his channel. We dive into his history, his bows, hunting and shooting styles and a whole lot more. Check him out on his channel for more content coming soon.&nb...

This one is for you aspiring home chefs! Butchering, processing and cooking wild game is a huge part of the enjoyment of hunting for me, so whenever I can talk to someone who has similar passions, I want to take advantage of it. Nick Otto is a hunter, amateur chef and the host of the Huntavore podcast. Nick is about as passionate about wild game cooking as anyone I've met. We geek out hardcore on...

Today I talk with  Garret Prochaska. Garrett is a bow technician at my local archery shop. He and I spend a lot of time talking (me shooting, him working) during my frequent visits to the shop. I figured it was high time he came on the show to get his opinion of archery, the industry, hunting, politics, etc. as someone who spends most of their time on the other side of the counter. He sees a...

This week I speak with custom knife maker Travis Stiles. Travis has a long hunting history and a passion for creativity and using his hands. He builds beautiful one-of-a-king knives that are as tough as they are works of art. His knives are reasonably priced to boot. As usual, we didn't start off without set questions. It was just a great conversation that took its own path, just as it should. It...

In this bonus episode we welcome back Bill Hoffman. As if he wasn't busy enough as an author, comedian, podcaster, YouTuber, magician and ordained minister, Bill has recently embarked on a target archery journey with his competition compound bow. His new YouTube series "Journey to 300" chronicles his path from every day "Joe Bowhunter" to competition archer. We talk equipment, competition archery...

There are a lot of guys who have hunting channels on YouTube (me included), but very few actually walk the walk as successfully as Bill Langer (I wish!) His channel, "Traditional Adventures TV", proves Bill is one heck of a hunter. In fact, he was one of the first people in the traditional hunting space to video his hunting adventures and sell them as DVD's. Bill is a deer hunting Connecticut nati...

So I was perusing YouTube and stopped on a video of a hog hunt with a traditional bow. Of course it got my attention. A few messages later and I was talking with Josh Teulker of Indiana. Josh is a die-hard hunter and creates content for his own YouTube channel "Before the Echo" as well as contributing to "The Hunting Beast". Good company indeed! We get into Josh's hunting history, dive into trad b...

This week I talk with Trevor and Hunter Brunk of Brunk Outdoors. These guys are pretty awesome! Living in Iowa, they hunt whitetails on a mix of public and private land, as well as taking out of state trips out West. They're really about as humble, honest and dedicated a couple of guys as you're likely to find. They have a very successful YouTube channel (Brunk Outdoors) and their own podcast (The...

This week I'm joined by Blayne Prowse of Stumpstalker Archery. Blayne lives in a pacific northwest rain forest paradise, builds custom wood arrows and posts pictures and videos of him stump shooting in some gorgeous terrain. We had a great talk about his hunting and archery history. We dive into how he got into building custom wood arrows. And I ask a ton of questions regarding wood arrows in gene...

America needs heroes! In this episode, I talk with Drew Kohlhofer of Selway Archery. Drew is about as red-blooded a hard-working American as it gets. Together we try to sort out the problems plaguing the country today. Politics, divisiveness, censorship and a bunch of other stuff that got us riled up! Oh, we also talk about quivers and why Selway quivers are so good. I have two and absolutely love...

Today I talk to Tarrel from Gunshy Archery and Tradlive TV. I've been following his stuff for a couple years now and I'm glad I got a chance to finally talk to him. With a successful YouTube channel, a quiver business, and busy Instagram feed, there's never a lack of awesome content to talk about and enjoy. He and his son Beau have some great hunting adventures so be sure to check them out for you...

I'm pretty damned sick of hearing, "Well... that's 2020!" Sure, it wasn't the best year but it sure sounds like a lot of self-victimization and excuses. If you think 2021 will immediately be better, then you'd better start getting your excuses and memes ready for this year as well. Last year should have been a year of learning and reflecting, with the end goal of trying to make yourself and those...

Every watch a youtube channel for years and years, then realize, "hey, I really should talk to this guy?"  Well, that was the case with me and Jonathan Heffron, who's had the long-running YouTube channel "Wingman 115". Jonathan is a traditional archer, outdoors enthusiast and explorer. We had a great conversation about, well, just about everything. We dig into his early childhood, his Navy se...

Part of the fun of this traditional archery journey is getting to try out different bows. Longbows, recurves, short bows, longer length bows, reflex/deflex, straight grip, locator grip, mass weight, draw weight... phew! There's a lot to unpack there! In this episode I discuss the bows I've had the pleasure to shoot over the past few years and some of the attributes associated with them. Just my ra...

What a season Dusty Roberts has had! Dusty, an accomplished compound hunter, decided to pick up a stickbow in January of this year. Boy, did he get up to speed quick! He's killed several amazing deer already this season with no slowing down in sight. Dusty is a working class guy, driving a truck for a living. He  spends what free time he has chasing deer and shooting his Bob Lee bow. His stor...

Talk about passion! Today's guest is Minnesota hunter DJ Jones. Born and raised in a hunting family from Florida, DJ moved to Minnesota for college and never left. He hunts a mix of public and private land and even manages a few out of state trips. It's been fun watching him chase a couple target bucks this season and his dedication and passion is evident. DJ is truly a guy who loves being outdoor...

Tonight I speak with Shan Mandrayar. Shan is an active duty Marine stationed in Virginia. He is a die hard traditional bow hunter and quite a successful one at that. We talk about his history growing up hunting in southern California, his move east after joining the military, what hunting is like in the Virginia/DC area, incorporating hunting time into military service, equipment, hunting methods,...

Jim is an artist, teacher and an avid bow hunter. Living in Florida, he gets ample opportunity to chase wild hogs with a stick bow. We had an awesome conversation about hunting, life, trad bows and a story about good ole' boys in the swamps of Florida. Thanks for listening!  PLEASE remember to leave a rating. Super important! And be sure to like, share and subscribe

Greg is a bow hunter to the core. He's taken many animals with a compound bow as well as traditional equipment, which is his current passion, as least as far as the pure chase of the hunt is concerned. He lives in New York state and has plenty of opportunities every year to fill not only his freezer but those of others as well. He even dabbles in shooting an atlatl, though he's yet to hunt with on...

Today I talk with Schafer Magnant. Born and raised in Vermont, Shafer was shooting a traditional bow pretty much from the time he could walk. After all, he WAS named after the great Paul Schafer, so you know he'd be destined to sling some arrows! We have a great talk discussing just about everything under the sun. Growing up shooting a traditional bow, hunting in Vermont, shooting styles, hunting...

This episode I talk with traditional bowhunter and Minnesota DNR Conservation Officer Nate Benkosfke. Nate and I met through mutual friends a a 3D shoot this past spring. We discuss lots of topics, ranging from his job, to laws to shooting traditional bows. A sad note to this episode is the recent passing of bowyer Chad Holm of Holm Made Traditional bows. Nate and Chad were close, and his passing...