When the pandemic hit, Bre Bashford returned to her home state of Colorado from Georgia, where she works as an R3 coordinator for the Georgia Wildlife Federation. She hunted elk and antelope, and she tells us what it was like to build up to those successful hunts after growing up in suburbia. For Bre, the journey started with a strong ethos about food, a generous mentor, and being willing to figure out what you don't know. Plus... what's it like when a group of vegans asks you to speak on the ethics of eating meat?

3:00 A pandemic-triggered change in geography

4:00 "Each year I have a goal to try something new... or to experience a new species, or a new technique."

5:00 Growing up in suburbia and learning your mountain literacy on the weekends

8:00 On knowing your food 

12:00 R3 = the recruitment, retention, and reactivation of hunters, anglers and shooting-sport participants

13:00 When a pro-vegan crowd asks you to talk about the ethics of eating meat... #yowzers

15:00 Guns as weapons vs. guns as tools

18:00 Hunting is about more than meat... it's about the role humans play in the ecosystem

21:00 The power of a mentor to shepherd someone into hunting... squirrels to turkey to deer

23:00 "We all have something to give, and we all have something to learn."

27:00 Academics Afield & learning global perspectives on hunting

29:00 Are there benefits to people who interact with wildlife? 

31:00 Why hunting gets to us: We're in the moment, our senses are elevated... "Lose your mind, find your soul."

33:00 Hunting pronghorn... their eyesight is superb

34:00 Kneepads can help you crawl/stalk through cacti... also, army-crawling with your rifle is worth practicing

37:00 Pronghorn evolved alongside very formidable predators

41:00 Colorado Parks and Wildlife's "Elk Hunting University" program 

43:00 Elk hunting: doing the prep, finding your spot, then arriving to see a bunch of other hunters... and eventually teaming up with two to plan a day's hunt

45:00 Being married to a non-hunter has a few perks... hello, truck shuttle

54:00 Montana antelope hunting - trying for a new, harder-to-draw area... and getting four tags with your friends

56:00 Scouting a completely new area

59:00 Georgia Wildlife Federation

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