Hi I’m Mike.
Hunting is huge tradition in Wyoming, and although I don’t hunt myself, after all
I have cows and freezers full of beef.
Every year we have hunters from all over the world visit the ranch to hunt pronghorn antelope.
This week we hang out with a group of hunters from Sacramento California and learn that
hunting isn’t about hunting at all, it’s about something a whole lot deeper and emotional,
on Our Wyoming Life.
Hunting on the ranch is a tricky thing.
Imagine inviting a complete stranger to come traipse around your backyard for day.
Now give them a gun.
My family is here, our main source of income is out there in those pastures and let me
tell you its not unheard of for a hunter to accidentally shoot a cow.
If that happens then the value of the cow is gone and any further calves she may have
are gone as well.
Having hunters on the ranch is a big risk for us and for years before we came to the
ranch, no hunting was allowed.
My father in law had a few bad experiences with people poaching and not respecting the
land and he shut it down.
But for the last few years hunting has been allowed on the ranch.
Pronghorn antelope season lasts the month of October, we have hunters coming in and
out all month long, and even though they do pay a fee to hunt here.
The relationships that form, almost make me feel guilty about charging them a dime.
They become like family.
You look forward to seeing them every year, and when they leave they take a piece of us
with them.
The nice part is, they leave a piece of themselves here too.
The first week of this year’s hunting season is filled by some friends from Sacramento
California.
The pronghorn posse.
They have gathered together every year for the past few years to hunt in Wyoming and
3 years ago, I consider myself lucky enough to have had them stumble across the ranch.
They were looking for somewhere to hunt and from our first phone conversation, I knew
that I wasn’t talking to the run and gun type of hunter that you sometimes run into.
These guys have heart and hunting means a lot to them.
Let’s be honest here, they can go to the grocery store and fill up their freezers,
but hunting to them means more than just tagging an animal.
This is about great America and its about hard work.
One thing that impresses me about this group of hunters is that they are like Erin and
I, they don’t say no.
If there is work to be done, they do it and they offer to do it, I never ask.
Often times I would walk into the shop to find someone doing something, Id never expect.
Greg, fixing my
heater in the shop, replacing a broken thermocouple.
Or Jeff out tinkering with model T.
And when it is time to hunt they head out to use this experience to grow even closer
as friends and family.
It’s a tradition that passes down through families, not just hunting but the fostering
of friendship, and even personal growth.
Each
and every morning these guys are here, I meet
them in the shop, we have our cup of coffee, we get a chance to connect with people that
without hunting there is no way I would have ever met.
When they head out for the day, I trust the ranch in their hands.
They become the stewards of the land and the animals.
They drive, then walk for miles.
Crawl around in the dirt and mud, they lay absolutely still for an hour.
All for that one clean shot and the ability to take meat home to their family that they
worked very hard for.
One of the highlights of their time here, was an invitation by them to meet them at
their hotel for an antelope barbeque.
And then with us returning the favor a few days later by barbequing some beef and pork
for them.
Getting the chance to sit down over a meal or two and get to know each other even better.
You can’t beat it.
But like all good things, they must come to end and eventually its time for them to leave
and head home.
But not before we finish one project that we talked about doing the day they got here.
So, as we all meet up to say our goodbyes, we already are talking about and looking forward
to next year and honestly the year after that.
Because after all, the purpose of life is to hopefully make these exact kinds of connections
with other people.
As it turns out, a video about hunting on the ranch, isn’t even about hunting.
Its about hard work and being thankful for what you have and the friendships you make
along the way.
In real life, I would never know those guys, but in the fairy tale that is the ranch sometimes,
I’m honored to call them family.
Hunting on the ranch funds our kids Christmas, and what’s left, goes into their savings
account.
But no amount of money could replace the experience that even the kids get out of this.
Its hard to put into words I guess but it’s a great time on the ranch.
A place where good and bad things happen, a place where you save a calf and you lose
a cow.
Now who’s the big softy.
Stick with us, next week, we get ready to sell calves, the one big paycheck for the
entire ranch for the entire year.
Erins got some cool things planned as well, and a whole lot more.
Make sure you subscribe, and hit that bell so you don’t miss a thing and comment, we’d
love to hear from you.
Thanks for watching, have a great week and thanks for joining us, in Our Wyoming Life.