The Blacktail Coach Podcast
We're here to share tips, strategies, and stories of hunting the Pacific Northwest.
Whether you're a seasoned hunter or just getting started, we'll help you turn preparation into achievement and passion into results.
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The Blacktail Coach Podcast
Stop Guessing: How To Choose Christmas Gifts Your Hunter Will Actually Use
Shopping for a hunter can feel like trying to read a gear catalog in another language. We make it simple with a clear map of what actually gets used, what’s worth upgrading, and how to time big purchases so you don’t overspend. From arrows, ammo, and batteries to heated vests, merino layers, and trail camera essentials, we share the real-world picks that carry a season—not just a single trip.
We also dig into the details that matter: why a better headlamp changes dark hikes, how alpaca and merino manage sweat across multi-day hunts, and which boots match still sits versus mountain miles. If you’re weighing big-ticket buys, we talk timing for bows, rifles, optics, and how to gift the shopping trip so specs don’t get missed. For trail cams, we cover lifespan, off-season care, SD card systems, and the little add-ons that prevent headaches in the field.
With Camo Fire and Black Ovis winding down, we lay out a smart deal strategy: lean on local shops for expertise, compare Amazon with Walmart’s online-only inventory, watch brand promos, and consider used communities for budget wins. We also explain why knowledge beats gadgets—coaching, classes, and curated gear guides can deliver annual results without the guided hunt price tag. Want a low-stress, high-impact holiday plan for the hunter you love? Use this guide, share it with your gift team, and turn guessing into confidence.
Enjoyed the episode? Follow the show, share it with a friend who’s shopping for a hunter, and leave a quick review to help others find us.
Welcome back to the Blacktail Coach Podcast. I'm Aaron and I'm Dave.
SPEAKER_00:And I'm Asha.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, special guest week this week. So this, and of course, Dave and I don't even remotely think about this because we're guys.
SPEAKER_00:I, of course, think about it in the beginning of October.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And so Asha said, Well, are we doing a Christmas buying episode? Huh? It's October. It's not even Halloween.
SPEAKER_00:I'm pulling the decorations out already.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And so this makes sense. A lot of this is how to buy for your guy. Buy for your guy. So wives or husbands, please give this to your wife or girlfriend or boyfriends give to your girlfriend with ideas of what to buy you for Christmas.
SPEAKER_00:Ladies, I'm here to help you.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Just trying to make things easier for couples to buy for the hunter in the family. You know what I mean? Yes. Because for a long time I would hunt and want things for Christmas that pertain to hunting. You know, whether it be arrows or something like that. And so that brought about how difficult it was for Asha to figure out how to get what I wanted. And so this is kind of going down that road so that it makes things easier for others.
SPEAKER_00:So for a lot of years, not being an avid hunter, I'd go out with you, but Dave would say arrows, and I'm like, there's 50 kinds. What kind of arrow?
SPEAKER_02:And so I did all the suffering for everybody. This is all for you guys.
SPEAKER_00:And I would actually have, you know, phone a friend. It was always Dave's cousin and brother, and get ideas for what does he exactly want for Christmas? He said something about broadheads. There are many kinds of broadheads. So this is for you, ladies. If you have a hunter in the family and you want to know what to get your guy, I am here to help.
SPEAKER_02:And guys, this is for you. If you have somebody that's buying stuff for you, you can just kind of push this in their lap, say, hey, listen to this.
SPEAKER_01:Or listen on a long drive. There you go. And wives just watch our husband's reaction to the stuff we talk about. And when you see him perk up, that's what you buy him for Christmas.
SPEAKER_02:And if there is a tear rolling down his cheek at a certain point, that's what he wants.
SPEAKER_00:That never works. Nice try.
SPEAKER_01:So Asha, you called to start, you just called Dave's brothers and his cousin.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:To figure out what he wanted.
SPEAKER_00:Well, and to be clear, at the time they were the bachelors, so they always had the coolest, latest, you know, most expensive hunting gear at the time. And so I knew that's what he wanted, but we were, of course, broke back then. So it was Christmas. That was the time that I would try to get him that special gift. And so they would tell me what it was and where to go get it and how to get the best deal. And if I didn't have them, Dave's Christmases would have been rather lame. But that's how I spent a number of years. And now we just have our Christmas lists. And so I don't know what's on your list this year. What is on your list?
SPEAKER_02:Well, first and foremost, the staple is arrows.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you do always ask for arrows.
SPEAKER_02:I told Aaron, you know, as far as like stuff that you should try and get every year, ammo I think would be one. Yeah. It's like an easy go-to because whether you're shooting archery or muzzle loader or rifle, you're always gonna do some kind of plinking from somewhere between the time season ends till it starts the following season. And it's always nice to have that tucked away so that you're not worrying. There's just one less thing you have to worry about every year. And you know you're gonna need it. You just are. Yeah. So it's just an easy stocking stuffer or go to that you think the arrows are stocking stuffer. Well, I'm just saying, but like ammo for a rifle would be a stocking stuffer in comparison to arrows. Because it's a much smaller box.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and the price ranges. Yeah, it's much much a little higher. I don't know these days.
SPEAKER_01:Ammo can be spendy.
SPEAKER_00:Dave's got expensive taste people.
SPEAKER_02:A dozen arrows can be close to 150 to 200 bucks. Yeah. And so it's like that's an easy one for me to say every year. And I'd be happy with it. You know?
SPEAKER_00:Pro tip with those, I've always gone out to the garage and taken a picture of your current arrow because I just don't remember every year.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_00:I I don't have that memorized, I don't shoot your arrows. So I also used to do that with the ammo that you used. I would just take a picture of the box, have a little file on my phone so that when I go into the shop, I just pull it open and like these.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. And they're always, always happy to help you spend money.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, yes, yes. They're very helpful in the store. What do you want, Aaron?
SPEAKER_01:I was wondering if you'd asked me. I actually, and it just started popping up on Facebook, the heated ground blind chair.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, yeah. I didn't know that was a thing. I've seen that.
SPEAKER_01:That looks tempting. That's like uh more of a pipe dream one.
SPEAKER_00:If it's not if you've been really good.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:All right.
SPEAKER_02:It it's the hoopty of blind chairs, is what it is. You're gonna come in and it's the front end's gonna be bouncing off the ground, you know, and it's gonna play music, low rider.
SPEAKER_01:The thing I want though, that's kind of a need. It's not really even a need, it's an upgrade of what I currently have. I want a better headlamp. So a long time ago, I had one of those Coast lead lenser headlamps, and I loved it. The quality when those first came out was horrible. Or it seemed horrible. Mine broke every six months because I used it a lot. But I want that complete beam of light when I'm walking it. The one I've got, it works fine. I can survive with it, but a really good headlamp, kind of what I want as an upgrade over my current stock of gear.
SPEAKER_02:And I would say that that's another avenue at Christmas time. It's not necessarily just what I need, but there's a lot of stuff that you can upgrade as you continue hunting, you know. Camo being one of camo's expensive, yeah, yeah, it's ridiculous at times, and that's the time of year, and that's another one that's a go-to for a lot of guys. I notice that as I've gotten older, I've gotten wider instead of taller, and so stuff is is for some reason, Asha is shrinking all my camo, a little more snug, yeah. So there's some replacement or upgrading that needs to happen. Room for layering just about every year, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Oh my goodness, you two together. My shopping list is getting more and more expensive.
SPEAKER_02:Always a good one for a lot of guys is camo.
SPEAKER_00:I would agree.
SPEAKER_01:So, how we're going to help. There's two things. If guys who take our coaching, now, what would make a great gift is one of our classes. So just tell your wife or your girlfriend, one of our classes is what you want to take.
SPEAKER_02:And I gotta be honest, I haven't met a single hunter out there that doesn't want to take our class. It's weird.
SPEAKER_01:Just kidding. They all want it, but part of our coaching or our master hunter Patreon subscribers, which is the top tier, they get our full gear guide. So it has all the stuff we use, everything laid out in Asha's made an Excel spreadsheet with all of this with links plugged in, where to go to get it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And I tried to find we don't sell any of it directly. So I tried to find the best source for it that gives you the best price. We'll talk a little bit later about how to shop around, but yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So let's start off with we have a list of different ideas. So if you need ideas, these are some of the ideas that we've come up with.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. For standards that I always get. Yeah. And Costco is a great place to get some of these things. Double A and AAA batteries. I think we go through boxes of those during season with camcords and headlamps, all those things.
SPEAKER_02:Headlamps, trail cameras, all of that stuff. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So a lot of batteries, just grabbing a bunch of those. Those are great stocking stuffers. Hand warmers, those giant boxes of hand warmers that they have at Costco. We as a family go through, I think, two boxes a season when we're going out. I usually buy about two. And those are great stocking stuffers. We just bust those open and stick packs in stockings.
SPEAKER_02:Believe me, ladies, the guys really do want it. They try and be tough and stuff around you, but when you're sitting in a tree stand, freezing to death for about seven, eight hours, and yeah, you you realize that those hand warmers, because you're placing them just kind of sporadically throughout your body. Yeah. You know what I mean? It's not just they're not just in your pockets, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:No, no. You have one, yeah, strapped around your neck to warm the blood pecs. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. And then I always get extra scents, the scents that are you guys are using and having those in the stocking. Sometimes, you know, depending on season, it depends. Because I like to keep yeah, this one's tough.
SPEAKER_02:That would be an aerosol can. That would not be a urine. No. Because the urine would just, I mean, as soon as it's exposed to the air, it starts breaking down and turning into ammonia. But the aerosol can will last from season to season.
SPEAKER_00:Well, usually I get that tink 69.
SPEAKER_01:But stuff that'll last for season, little items, something like that. Yep. Scent prevention, so the dead down went stuff. Right.
SPEAKER_02:Right. The bedding pheromones and all of that stuff will make it from Evercom. That stuff all comes in a sealable bag. So that will last.
SPEAKER_00:Sometimes it's those tree hangers that you guys use for your equipment. I feel like we never have enough of those. And you guys are constantly forgetting them in the trees.
SPEAKER_01:They just break. Oh, is that what you're doing? We just break them. Because if you don't do it right, you or they just disappear. I think we've had some that have disappeared. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So I those are not expensive. They're great. HME products. I get those. Try to think other ideas. What else have we got?
SPEAKER_01:SD cards. Oh, no. That's not on here. Get lots of SD cards because you need not only the ones. Well, it depends on what kind of camera you're running. I'm in non-cell areas. So I have to have two cards for every camera that I put out. Right.
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_01:So that I can go swap them out. Every camera you have, at least two SD cards. And they disappear pretty quick too. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:One year one thing that I got for those SD cards was a case because Dave would train them out and he'd forget which one you know he was pulling out and putting in, and they were going into pockets. And so we were losing them left and right.
SPEAKER_02:There's a lot of accusations going on around here right now, and that's not entirely fair.
SPEAKER_00:But honestly, that was a great little pocket holder for all the SD cards. That did save us quite a bit.
SPEAKER_02:And you know, the little SD card readers.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So that was always a good one to get your phone and inevitably you're gonna lose one or two of them. You know what I mean? Yeah. And it's it's always nice to have one at the house, one in the truck. Sometimes you just don't want to wait till you get home to see what's on that card. You never wanted to wait. If you got a well, yeah, but I mean if you got a car for a good 10 minutes before we left. Well, the one on your truck, you can take it in the stand with you and look, or the blind and look at the card while you're sitting waiting for him to come back, you know? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Nice item that's only a few bucks. Yep. So having a bunch of them. One actually just stays in my hunting backpack, and then I put it away because if I never take it out of the backpack, it's always there.
SPEAKER_02:There you go. Yeah. And then there's always one thing that I always look forward to is the little Debbie's.
SPEAKER_01:Yes.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Everybody needs a little sweet in their stocking.
SPEAKER_02:It's crazy because all's my all my income with diabetic medication.
SPEAKER_01:So what are the always winners? These these are always they just hit.
SPEAKER_02:Yep.
SPEAKER_01:We talked about ammo. We talked about arrows and broadheads.
SPEAKER_00:Trail cams. I don't think people can ever get enough trail cams.
SPEAKER_01:No.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, in our house, it doesn't seem like it. We're constantly adding trail heads.
SPEAKER_02:And the thing is, is they're only made to last two or three years. So you're gonna cycle through. And you hear guys all the time, well, I just bought it last year and it doesn't work anymore. Little maintenance tip I'll throw in here. When the season is over, take the batteries out. Do not store them with the batteries. That corrosion will eat the wires. It's only, I don't even think it's 18 gauge wire in there. I mean, it's just tiny stuff. Take the batteries out, let it air dry.
SPEAKER_01:Thoroughly.
SPEAKER_02:Yes. And then put it away, and you'll find that your cameras will last a lot longer. If you don't do that, it's only gonna be about a season and they're gonna be done.
SPEAKER_01:That's I killed a couple of mine because I opened them up this year, and not really thinking because I don't think after the first year I had this issue, but I opened up a couple this year and water dripped out, and yeah, they didn't work anywhere.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, that's that's not a good sign. And you know, they may seal up maybe, but nothing's a hundred percent waterproof in this climate, in this area of the country. I mean, we live in a rainforest, people, so it's gonna get wet.
SPEAKER_01:So there's other things like just anything to stay warm. Yeah, good socks, heated vests, heated vests are another good one.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, we got great deals on Amazon for heated vests. That was a big winner.
SPEAKER_01:A couple of years ago.
SPEAKER_00:Alpaca socks, those seem to be amazing.
SPEAKER_02:They are, and guys, it that's another commercial I'm gonna do for, and I don't get anything for it, but those hollow compassion alpaca socks are by far the best.
SPEAKER_01:Compassion or compression?
SPEAKER_02:Compression, I'm sorry. Well, there's a lot of compassion that comes along too.
SPEAKER_01:They're compassionate.
SPEAKER_02:When I eat a lot of Debbie's little Debbies, they don't judge you. I eat my feelings, and anyhow, but the compression alpaca socks, hollow, by far, and the commercial's right, by far, the best pair of socks, most comfortable pair of socks I've ever worn.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I'm really, really impressed with them. My feet don't sweat, they don't get hot, they don't get cold. It's weird.
SPEAKER_00:Awesome.
SPEAKER_01:Heated vests, another thing to keep in mind with heated vests is the batteries, the portable batteries.
SPEAKER_03:Battery chargers?
SPEAKER_01:Not the charger, but the actual battery packs. So I've got multiple different items that I want to charge on the go. I end up buying a bunch of them that all work with that vest. So I can have backups, one in my heated vest, and then one or two in my backpack ready to go if I burn through that first one. Although I found that one of those actually got me through the day last year. But extra battery packs for everything. So if you buy an item, think about what that item needs cords, batteries, SD cards. And we just talked about that. Buying those extras. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And you know, another idea that brought to mind is those phone chargers, the phone bank, where you can just take it out there because they're out there for hours. And sometimes at the end of the night and your battery's gone and you're trying to check in, right? Let me know that you're stuck in stand or something like that. That was a great buy. Again, super cheap on Amazon.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, anything that has to do with batteries, you want to keep warm because as we get into the colder weather, if the battery itself is cold, it tends to lose power quicker. And so uh especially when you get into single-digit weather, and we don't get a lot of that around here, but little David and I are gonna go to Kansas next month, and there's times where it gets down to single digits there. You need to keep that battery close to your body, yeah. Otherwise, it'll just drain super quick.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So moving on, if you have anything that's different from that, mention it to whoever's going to buy you Christmas gifts, those the always winner type things. I'm going through my bucket of stuff. It seems like straps can always come in, ratchet straps, those Python cable locks can come in handy.
SPEAKER_00:Safety lines, if you're one of those that's using, you know, you're up in a tree stand, you want to have those that are you don't just have those forever. You want to refresher packs, check harnesses, those kinds of things.
SPEAKER_01:So now let's move on to the expensive stuff.
SPEAKER_00:Well, this is only if Dave's good.
SPEAKER_02:And I gotta be honest, this is my favorite list.
SPEAKER_01:So we always talk about Ozonix and Hex suits, and they have a really good deal on Ozonics right now. In fact, I think it was$350 for the$500.
SPEAKER_02:That's a really, really Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:It was it was a really great price, but Ozonix, Hex suits are the same thing. I don't know if they do a Christmas sale, but I see sales every once in a while. So always kind of wait. Ozonix seems to always be on sale. And hex suits, their sales come and go, and it's usually like 20 bucks off or maybe 30 for the complete setup, but something to consider to maybe wait and look if there's a sale coming up.
SPEAKER_00:And if you're a Facebook follower or on our Instagram page, whenever those come up, I try to post a deal alert. If I see those come through, I'll post them so that you know that something is live and a good price. The other way I tried to manage that when we were younger and raising kids and a little poorer was I just talked to the family and say, hey, this is what Dave wants for Christmas. Do y'all want to go in on it with me? You know, the bigger ticket items, those ozonics. I think they did that for you a couple of times with tree stands in past years, camo gear when you really wanted that nice end stuff. Everybody kind of bought an article of clothing and that was Christmas. So when you know that, working with the rest of the family, grandparents, and whoever.
SPEAKER_02:She makes it sound like all they did was buy me a gift and nobody else got anything. Uh because Dave, we were poor. We were poor and Dave wanted it.
SPEAKER_00:We were poor. I mean, we won't talk about my expensive Christmas game. We had porridge. We had porridge for Christmas.
SPEAKER_01:So Dave could so Dave could have QU and Sitka.
SPEAKER_02:It's good to be Dave.
SPEAKER_01:Tree saddle, tree stands, ground blinds, ground blind chairs, all the accoutrements that go along with all of that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Camo.
SPEAKER_00:You know, and if they're interested in starting to film, that was one year where we really kind of focused on getting camera equipment. Yeah. And that was really fun.
SPEAKER_02:Tree tree arms.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, tree arms and for stocking stuffers, backup batteries for the camera and special lighting and that kind of stuff.
SPEAKER_01:The selfie lights that all the influencers use.
SPEAKER_00:And we still don't have video content.
SPEAKER_01:And we still don't have any, yeah. But yeah, camera equipment, camo, that expensive camo, you know, getting your various base layers down. I've got the a lighter set and then I've got a heavier set. I'm just sold on the merino wool. I don't think I'd ever wear any other base layer besides that. Right. Just for the fact that like last year with the late modern and going out four days in a row, you don't really have time to come home and do your laundry. So you're putting on the same clothes four days in a row and it didn't stink after four days.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it's antimicrobial.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. That that's probably on the lower end of expensive items because I think you can pick up a set for 120 bucks or something like that, but for a full set. Part of the downside is we've kind of lost a really good source for all of that. But actually, any other expensive items.
SPEAKER_02:I was thinking boots. Yeah. You know, and it's kind of funny because when I'm deer hunting, I wear the rubber insulated boots, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Generally like the lacrosse.
SPEAKER_02:The lacrosse and stuff. But early season, when I'm elk hunting, uh, I need something with a very strong ankle support. It's just different terrain, it's a different style of hunting, it's more run and gun. I don't want to roll my ankles or anything like that because then somebody's got to get me out of the woods. Yeah. So a good boot, a good hunting boot is always good.
SPEAKER_01:So besides crispy, what are some of the other brands?
SPEAKER_02:Kenetrek, crispy, probably the those are the two top. What are they? Oh, something like that.
SPEAKER_01:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:There's three or four top brands out there. And if you go online and you do any kind of research and stuff, you'll see them. And and guys, I can't tell you enough. I mean, for the early season hunting and stuff, you really do want good ankle support and a good pair of boots. All of those that we just mentioned, those are all waterproof. And so they're good for early and late. Now I wear the, like we said, the lacrosse, but I'm doing a different style of hunting. I'm doing a tree stand or a ground blind, going into the same spot and sitting. So there's not much traversing going on there for that particular hunt. But if I'm doing a run and gun on elk, or if I want to do hiking for mullies or something like that, then yeah, I'm gonna need a good boot with a good support, ankle support on it.
SPEAKER_01:And something comfortable to walk five, ten miles.
SPEAKER_02:Right, yeah. Yeah. And so you get because it may be four days in a row, just like you're saying. You may have to get up and do it the next day and the next day, and the next day. And footwear will make a huge difference in how you feel every day before and after the hike.
SPEAKER_01:And you complain about Disneyland the day after you.
SPEAKER_00:I'm not wearing one day in Disney. You can't handle that. I know.
SPEAKER_02:They won't let me wear my crispies out there.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Well, we I wouldn't mind. As long as you keep up. So actually, we didn't talk about another expensive item, weapons. So whether it might be a new hunting rifle or muzzle loader or shotgun, bow, new bow, upgrading the bow.
SPEAKER_02:December's gonna be the month that you're gonna get the best deal on this year's, not next year's, because the flagship bows will come out after the first of the year. Flagship rifles, flagship muzzle loaders will come out that new year. So the older model is when you're gonna get that's when you're gonna get your best deal. It's just like going car shopping. It's when you're gonna get your best deal on that weapon.
SPEAKER_00:But I think that's one that I would always go with you on that because I would want you to come with me because there's little decisions to make about features that you don't want to get wrong. So that was always that was a hard one to surprise someone with on Christmas. So sometimes what we would do is just that was the Christmas present, was the note that we're gonna go shopping to go do it together.
SPEAKER_01:I say just buy a toy gun or a toy bow and arrow and wrap that up.
SPEAKER_00:And pretend like that's it.
SPEAKER_02:And pretend bro with a little rubber suckers on him.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. One year I did that. I had like a giant box and I made it look like he was getting a big present, and then he just kept opening boxes until the note that said, We're going shopping.
SPEAKER_01:Little Red Rider BB gun. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Don't believe anything they say.
SPEAKER_01:Or you could just buy all the little things that go along with it. Some ammo for the new rifle and a sling.
SPEAKER_02:And there's a lot of accessories that for a rifle. You got the rifle, you got the scope, you've got the sling, you've got. I mean, there's just little things that you can buy. Of course, a scope is no small purchase either.
SPEAKER_01:Not anymore.
SPEAKER_02:Optics are always the most expensive part, period.
SPEAKER_00:And you know, that's another expensive item we've done at Christmas is a good pair of binoculars. Yeah. That's a a great purchase for a hunter. Yep.
SPEAKER_01:I that's something I don't have. Okay. I think that might be out of my. I don't think I even remotely come close to being on that good of a list. I will always be on the naughty list. You are for binoculars, just ain't gonna happen.
SPEAKER_00:You are a ginger. You got a little naughty all the time.
SPEAKER_01:The red-headed stepchild of the woods. Yeah. I just the way I'm like, okay, I don't need them because I'm just sitting in my ground blind and I can't see more than 20 yards anyway because it's so thick in there. So that's what I tell myself to justify not needing binoculars, even though I probably should have binoculars at it.
SPEAKER_02:You're going on a mule deer hunt next year in Colorado.
SPEAKER_01:This is true.
SPEAKER_02:And and that is that is definitely a binocular needing hunt.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. I think we just got more expensive Christmas lists from Aaron.
SPEAKER_01:Birthday gifts, too.
SPEAKER_00:There is a birthday coming. You know, another thing that I always think about at Christmas, especially if it's been a successful season, is something to display the trophy. So you think about the cost of a taxidermy. Sometimes that's where we've put some money at Christmas, or things like the skull hooker tree stands or things like that for the house. It was really fun to get DJ one. He's got some nice bucks now. And so last Christmas we got him his own tray hooker. And so those kinds of things are also fun, especially after a successful season.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So where are we buying all this stuff?
SPEAKER_00:Well, sadly, we had a great source that just announced that they are closing shops. So we used to do a lot of keeping our eyes on Camo Fire and Black Ovis actually was another site.
SPEAKER_02:Both of which have in the last couple days decided that they were such a bottom pulling the doors and uh ending that particular run that they had. Yeah, and that was it was a great, it was a great source. There's just no way to describe that other than that. And they really did give you great, great deals.
SPEAKER_01:It was like overruns and last year's models of stuff, things like that. They would liquidate, discontinued, or something like that. If you remember back in the day, there was the Woot.com where they would do daily deals. That's what this was. It could be the best prices for a lot of stuff, including muzzle loaders. And I think they did some archery equipment, arrows. I know they did that. Yeah, you could outfit yourself just by watching Camel Fire year-round.
SPEAKER_02:There was always sitka going on that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:You know, I mean, everything has a life, and there's a beginning and an end to it. And if the need is still there, another one will rise up. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:I I'm expecting somebody to pick that up because somebody's got to liquidate that extra stock.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And if anybody knows of anything that was like Camo Fire, let us know.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, we'll post it.
SPEAKER_01:Drop a comment or shoot us an email. That would be great because I'm a little bummed.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, but I'll tell you what, I'm not without hope. There's a lot of other ways to go about it. Before we ever knew about Camo Fire, there were places that I would go to. And so I would just say, you know, number one, your local archery shops, your local sporting goods stores, they run deals this time of year. They have that same approach of like next year's coming, the season's coming to a close, we want to get product moved. So keep an eye on your local shops. Bob's and Longview, I make regular trips to this time of year, see what they've got on sale. Sportsman's warehouse. Your local shops do have good deals. The other thing I would say, man, Amazon and Walmart. Shockingly, Walmart of all places. You can find a lot of hunting equipment on Walmart.com and order it.
SPEAKER_02:I gotta be honest, that was the biggest shock to me. That was the one that really knocked me for a loop. I had no idea how much and it's not in the stores. It's simply online. And it's like, wow, they have a lot more than you would think.
SPEAKER_00:And I would actually check. So if I had an Amazon cart, I would go to Walmart and check and see if it was there first. And so, you know, kind of between those two, if I'm ordering online, you'll also, if you go direct to the company sites, so Tinks or some of those, you know, companies, Ozonix is the great example we just talked about. They'll run deals regularly. So I sign up for their mailing list, which I know fills the inbox, actually made an account for receiving all of that. So anytime that comes up, check the emails this time of year and see what deals are coming in from those companies. And then, guys, I do really try to regularly post those on our website. So if I know something is on sale and you know you want it, that's a good time to forward or share that post with your wife because they do run sales pretty regularly. So I sign up for those notifications.
SPEAKER_02:As far as Ozonics goes and stuff, if you pay full price for Ozonix, you're really crazy because they they do they run deals all the time. Nobody should have to pay full price to Ozonix. They're always having sales.
SPEAKER_00:And there's other ways too. If you're trying to buy something like a weapon on a budget, for example, archery equipment. So they have used bows. They might be last year's bow or somebody who's you know tried something, didn't like it, they tried something new and they want to flip their bow so they can buy the new bow. If you go to a local archery shop, they know who's got a bow they're getting rid of or they're selling them.
SPEAKER_02:Nacaholics.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Nakaholics, bow trader.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:On Facebook, guys. I know those two guys, Mike Depot and his brother. They're wonderful gentlemen. Wonderful, wonderful guys. But give them a look, see, Nakaholics, archery trader. They sell on there is more than just archery. It's hunting gear, it's camping gear, it's outdoor equipment, all of that stuff. And uh yeah, those guys are on top of it.
SPEAKER_00:And then the other thing that I do is I actually check online for other outdoor companies that sell online that are not in the Pacific Northwest. So we ran into a company called Academy Sports and Outdoors. They're in the Midwest. And through our being pro staff with Buck Ventures, got connected with them. And they have a ton of killer deals that you can order their products online. You know, we we get them to the house all the time. We can't go shopping in their stores. No, but they have a lot of products online available that we can order at a cheaper price than we could get out of some of the sportsman's warehouse or Cabela's or any of those local places.
SPEAKER_02:All of our ground blinds.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Killer deal on the ground blinds, the ground blind shoes. Some of the harnesses, uh, actually quite a bit of products. So Academy Sports and Outdoors, again, it's one I'll have on our Christmas list. So at the end of this episode, when we post, there's going to be a list attached.
SPEAKER_01:I was looking up before we go, John's Sporting Goods. So we had one of our listeners, Connor, who's sent in a post.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And I can't remember where he's from.
SPEAKER_00:I up north.
SPEAKER_01:All I remember is up north. But if you know where John Sporting Goods is, go shop there. Listener, you know, and it's one of those like we said with Bob's in Longview, similar thing where if it's a local shop.
SPEAKER_02:Support local shops.
SPEAKER_01:Support local shops.
SPEAKER_02:So absolutely.
SPEAKER_00:And the nice thing too is, ladies, if you're the one buying, they have the time to help you. They will show up. They will walk you through. Oh, wait, they'll ask you the right questions that you wouldn't know need to be asked at your local stores.
SPEAKER_01:And which will convince you that you don't know what you need at all. And like Asha, you'll just turn around and leave and bring Dave back later to buy it. So, which is okay. Or you'll get so interested in hunting yourself, you'll buy two sets of everything so that you can go out next year and hunt with your which will really burn your husband who has just spent decades hoping and wishing for this stuff.
SPEAKER_02:And you show up your first season all decked out. That's awesome. That's such a good win. It's such a good feeling.
SPEAKER_01:Get Sitka out the door right from the get-go.
SPEAKER_02:I'd also like to endorse some marriage counselors if they'd like to get on here and give us their contact info.
SPEAKER_00:You know, there's a couple other things I would throw in there that are on the list every year that we make sure we're getting, and that's magazine subscriptions to Buckmasters. I think there's three different magazines that we subscribe to, they're renewed every year. It's a great stocking thing. Yeah. So we do that, and then, you know, just things that are accessories to the hunt. So even though we do have a lot of things we've built up over time, and this is over 27 years of marriage that we've been building up our hunting equipment. And there's accessories galore. Even with all the trail cams, I think we've expanded now that we have the cell cams, it's the extenders with the antennas, you get better reception. It's those kinds of things. We have the product, we're trying to either extend the life or the quality kind of stuff.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. So everybody needs a deal because stuff isn't getting any cheaper. And we got inflation right now and everything that's going on with the tariffs and stuff. So everybody needs a deal. And there's nothing wrong with looking for that and pinch and pennies and stuff. We get it.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Hence the reason we're doing this show right now. This is for everybody's benefit.
SPEAKER_01:And for that together time that we've just provided.
SPEAKER_02:There you go. There you go. But at the same time, I tell guys that are just getting into hunting, don't go in debt over it.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02:It don't sacrifice your marriage or your relationships for hunting. I love hunting. And Aaron and you and Osh will both testify to the fact that I think of hunting year round.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I take January off, and it's just to kind of regroup. Rest. Rest.
SPEAKER_01:Just plan on how you're going to think about hunting for next year.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. And a lot of it is that. Reflecting. Reflecting on the season and what I need to do and where I messed up, or you know, what went really well and all that stuff. And then our shows start at the end of January, and I'm busy. I am booked from the end of January through end of May. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. If when we do the Across the Divide class.
SPEAKER_02:Right. And then after May, I mean, it's coaching. We're doing coaching classes. I'm going out and I'm meeting guys and we're doing field day classes and stuff. So I'm pretty busy guy, with the exception of that first three weeks of January. I get that off. But it's just not worth going in debt order. It just isn't. Absolutely agreed.
SPEAKER_01:This is what's great is, and I've been able to do this, is to piecemeal your stuff up until you have all the stuff that you need. You know, I've borrowed I bought that ladder stand, but I've been borrowing the last couple of years. I borrowed ground blinds from you. So, you know, with guys, if you've got friends who are in the hunting community or you're trying to make friends, come to the boot camp. You'll make lots of friends, and you'll have guys that will hopefully you can borrow stuff from. Yeah. If they have a different season, because so we think about this that I think the first year I went out, I borrowed your Ozonix, and then I got actually for Christmas, you guys got me the 500 Ozonics. So the really nice model, which is now nicer than the one you've actually got yourself.
SPEAKER_02:I've never had a 500 no. This is disappointing.
SPEAKER_01:So if it but with these staggered seasons, crying myself to sleep tonight, you can loan gear out of that type of stuff.
SPEAKER_02:I did that today. I took a gentleman out today rifle hunting, and he did not have any good camo, so to speak, that was water. I won't say waterproof. There's nothing 100% waterproof. I don't care what it says, but he didn't have any good camo to keep him relatively dry. And it was a downpour.
SPEAKER_03:He came down in buckets.
SPEAKER_02:And so we got him. I loaned him some of mine that Asha shrunk. And uh he wore that and got his buck at the end of the day, he gave it all back to me and was just ecstatic over the fact that we were able to stay out there long enough to get him a deer. It was his first year, so nice. Everybody's got stuff that they can share.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you know, the other thing I would add to the conversation is success. If you can help your guy be successful, I will say knowledge is important. That's why I encourage the magazines as much reading as the class. And and I sincerely mean the class. That's kind of how this came about because it's a hard hunt. Blacktail are a hard hunt. And I remember the years of you learning and the frustration as you were learning new things about them and understanding them. I was tempted to just like, hey, do you want a guided hunt? And that's a big ticket item for Christmas, but we had talked about that. Is that something you wanted to invest in? And yes, I do. Okay, not a black tail though, but a white tail, I know. And I would just encourage that that is part of why we have done the classes and set it at the price that we have because those guided hunts, man, that's like$4,000 for an inexpensive one. They get as high as like$12,000. And if somebody can have the knowledge and how to be successful on their own year after year, that's priceless. And that has been the fun of our family hunting. We haven't had to really spend on guided hunts to have success. It's the knowledge that the kids have gained, that you've gained over all those years, and it's fun showing other people how to do it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it is. So as we wrap up here, one of the things I wanted to mention that we just actually are starting, and we're gonna roll into it a little bit more here as we go along, is we're doing some what's called affiliate marketing. And the way that works is if you look at the description in the app that you're listening to the podcast, you'll see different companies. So right now we have Dead Downwind. Nilchi was a previous sponsor of ours, but if you click on the dead downwind link and that takes you to their website, we get a portion of the sales. It doesn't add anything to your purchase. We just get a small portion for sending you to buy their products. We're gonna be adding some more. This is a great way that's more indirect if you're going to be buying it anyway, and you can support the show by buying it through one of our links in the podcast description. It's a great way for us to support the show where you can do more with the show, and we've talked about that. But right now, dead down wind, we should be adding some more affiliates in the next couple of weeks. So hopefully you can use those.
SPEAKER_00:And yeah, watch for online. I'll post the Christmas list. We'll have links to all the products direct even to Instagram and Facebook.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, just keep watch following us. Those are the best. The social medias are the best to find those. We don't necessarily post that on the website necessarily. So follow our social media, Instagram or Facebook. Yeah, that would I think that's is it safe to say it before Halloween?
SPEAKER_00:Merry Christmas. They are rolling their eyes so hard right now.
SPEAKER_01:Your wife or girlfriend are thinking about what to buy you, so that's why we're doing this. Go watch your Christmas Hallmark movie. Okay, Christmas with the cranks.
SPEAKER_00:Not Hallmark. Holiday.
SPEAKER_01:We will talk to you all next week.
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