Latest / Outside TG / Episode 14: Josh Andrews Interview

Transcript

Episode 14: Josh Andrews Interview · Outside TG

0:06
Hey guys. This is Charlie coming to you on
0:10
a Monday morning for a special edition of the TG Buck pool
0:13
podcast. What we got today for you is an
0:16
interview that Jeff and I did last week with Josh Andrews, who
0:20
if you haven't been paying attention, is the new record
0:23
holder in the TG Buck pool. Biggest deer shot in seven years
0:28
of the buck pool, He took a hundred and fifty five and five,
0:32
eighths inch monster on opening morning of gun season.
0:36
This year, we had a chance to sit down with Josh and talk
0:39
about Talk about hunting, talk about that specific hunt, how he
0:44
got that buck, but then also how he hunts, what he does, where he
0:48
hunts people, he hunts with the gear.
0:52
He uses You Name It, We had a great conversation.
0:55
Josh was a lot of fun. Thanks to him already for
0:58
having, for coming on the podcast.
1:00
We really enjoyed it and we hope you enjoy it too.
1:03
Without further Ado, here is our conversation with Josh Andrews.
1:08
All right guys. Charlie here with Jeff and we're
1:11
sitting here with Josh Andrews. Josh, if you want to introduce
1:14
yourself to the listeners, sure Joshi Andrews I work in our
1:18
service department here to a garrote.
1:21
How does it feel to be at the top of list?
1:25
Maybe overwhelming I see you know after after realizing just
1:31
how big this deer was, I looked at the all-time list and there's
1:36
I don't know if you guys had gone through.
1:37
I know you mentioned in a couple of the other podcast.
1:39
There's six guys that have 22 of the Top Gear on that list and
1:45
one of those guys. And I don't know if you realize
1:47
just blow, it's going on guys. Three deer on the all-time list,
1:51
like this is the first year I shot worth now.
1:54
Moaning and it's at the top of the list.
1:56
That's I mean, I put a lot of time in but I don't know that I
2:01
necessarily deserve to have the biggest one.
2:04
That's all. That's not about deserving.
2:06
Well, actually, it's funny, you said, because I look at this,
2:09
like, you know, I'm the gun season.
2:11
I go out for a couple days. I've hunt, maybe 45 days out of
2:14
the year. I'm like, I feel like my chances
2:17
of leapfrogging people like Jeff, like, Sean, Thomas, like,
2:21
my twine. Furter are so slim and that when
2:25
I saw you get that buck. I was like all right, there's
2:27
one for one. Us then, people are like,
2:29
actually Josh Hans a lot. I was in a lot of time like,
2:33
okay, well, good for Josh anyway, but you know, it kind of
2:36
gave me hope that you aren't one of the names that's on the list.
2:39
Six times that know, you know, but I do consider myself more of
2:44
the the every day. You know, I'm Still Still learn.
2:49
I learned every year this year, was my first time ever.
2:52
Settle on. Think I have a number of friends
2:54
and God knew it and said, you know, for for as much as you
2:57
want to explore on public. And this is what you need to be
2:59
doing you bitch about climbers constantly.
3:04
You don't want to hang in hon. Like this is what you need to
3:07
do. So what kind of style do you got
3:08
in each to? Yeah, you like it.
3:11
It was my first go around there were a couple of Reza day.
3:15
I just couldn't get super comfortable for extended periods
3:18
and I'm I'm not as comfortable, maybe as I should be where I can
3:22
adjust my bridge on the Fly. Because I would get up and if I
3:27
was uncomfortable it was just okay.
3:28
Well, this is how I'm going to be for the next four.
3:30
Homes in five hours? Yeah, mine is.
3:35
It's called the J. It's three hybrid.
3:37
It's like a it's like having a millennium chair that folds up
3:39
and it's a backpack of turned into, it can do all the ship but
3:43
it folds back down into a chair and you're sitting up there in
3:45
the tree and it just weird how you can swing around and it
3:48
takes some getting used to. I mean you have to know what's
3:50
going on with all these ropes and but yeah, it's there's a lot
3:53
of people get into that now. Shooting was the hardest part
3:57
you know just getting acclimated was one thing which took a lot
4:01
of getting used to but it was getting used to Hanging away
4:04
from the tree and then getting the shot and being able to track
4:09
a deer through the woods and just changing how your body is
4:12
positioned that, that took a lot of time to don't want to say
4:15
mastered. I still haven't mastered it by
4:17
any stretch. Yeah.
4:18
Yeah. For those guys that don't know
4:19
what the hell were even talking was called saddle hunting,
4:21
Google it. There's videos all over the
4:22
place on YouTube. So so how long have you been
4:29
hunting started going with my dad?
4:33
When I was a kid but he was one of those guys.
4:36
He didn't get into bow hunting till late like I was probably in
4:40
college before he started wanting and he wasn't an amiable
4:45
underlying distraction. I just didn't have the time to
4:48
really pick it up with probably been maybe 10 years that I've
4:50
been haunting. And Honestly, I could drop rifle
4:53
hunting even after shooting that year, I could be done rifle,
4:56
hunting tomorrow. If I had to pick one or the
4:59
other it's just it's so nice to prove you can get it here that
5:06
close to you and you're doing the right things with your son
5:09
with point in the wind while you're accessing the stand.
5:13
Even when I don't, don't shoot deer.
5:16
Just getting dear that close on, put my camera on I have more
5:19
fun. Just taping them walking by have
5:22
Just going to be on there. As we're talking like this, I'm
5:25
looking at Charlie, he's got to get his shit go and get
5:27
bowhunting. Tell me there's more to it than
5:30
just which I think you would appreciate if you got out there
5:32
and I hate it. I'm sure that I would and having
5:35
this, honestly having this podcast and having this book
5:37
pool and talking not just to you obviously every week Jeff, but
5:41
all the other guys who with who aren't on the podcast who just
5:45
listen or read the stuff on the website and come up to me like
5:48
you got to do it, you gotta do it.
5:49
I'm like, I feel like I have people now.
5:51
I've always I want to make this about me but I've never felt
5:56
like I had somebody around. Like you said your dad didn't
5:58
bow hunt like nobody in my family bull hunts row except I
6:01
have one article that does who I don't see very often otherwise
6:04
like I don't know I don't even know where to start.
6:07
I feel like now I have people here, I could bounce questions
6:09
off of get advice from a buddy and I basically decided we both
6:14
love you know in the woods. I want to learn this.
6:18
Like we've got each got a little bit of extra cash later on.
6:21
We should get into this. Sweet.
6:24
I mean I spent a lot of years not seeing a lot of deer because
6:26
I just didn't know the mistakes I was making but especially you
6:30
know, with the internet and you know, different circles you can.
6:34
There's always guys are willing to talk about things especially
6:37
here to eat carrots and there's all kinds of resources out there
6:42
and I understand. Now you've got a crossbow.
6:44
So now it's just, I have a compound bow also.
6:49
So nice. Yeah.
6:51
What do you mind shutting the Tyson thing.
6:52
Thank you. Hopefully.
6:54
I gotta get it sort of looked at make sure.
6:56
What kind did you get? Did he give you honestly don't
6:58
remember? Check it out.
7:01
The dude is a crossbow for you Josh or is it?
7:03
You have a compound kind of body fat PSE PSE?
7:07
Nice ever? Since I started eventually be
7:09
this, he's got a brother-in-law that that's what he always shot.
7:14
It's crazy. But the Bulls are nowadays.
7:16
Yeah. And and I really haven't put a
7:19
lot of thought or, you know, time in looking at, you know, I
7:25
know there are other boys out there really popular.
7:28
I think you'd said you're a Matthews guy.
7:30
Points, and I'm just comfortable with, with my bowling.
7:35
I don't need or want to spend the money.
7:37
I, there's a lot of other things I want to spend money on, mmm.
7:42
Yeah, they're getting pretty crazy.
7:43
It's about expensive, too. Well, there's something to be
7:45
said for using the same. You know, if you keep changing
7:49
equipment, you have to adjust to that you've been using the same
7:52
thing for a long time. You used to it, be comfortable
7:54
with it. Yeah.
7:55
But you know like with a beaulieu you should be sighting
7:58
in and shooting pretty regularly.
7:59
I mean, checking your string, you know, every year you got to
8:01
check all the cables and I should wears out if I start
8:05
shooting in say April or May building up and getting used to
8:11
it, my both will shoot a little differently by, by November.
8:16
Mmm. So you said you were hunting a
8:20
lot on public land. Is this monster.
8:22
You shot public or private land, right?
8:25
How like your family is it your property?
8:27
How so I was fortunate enough, probably 15 years ago, I was
8:32
going around in Marinette County.
8:33
We've got a small camp on the Menomonee, River, we get acre
8:39
and a half, and I built a garage on it.
8:42
So when I first started going out there, I was literally
8:45
staying in a tent inside an uninsulated.
8:47
Raj in November, which was not pleasant and it led to a lot of
8:55
searching for other places that are than I was good enough
8:59
friends with the Stick of family.
9:00
And if you guys know Jesus and stick of, yeah, better year.
9:03
I used to go up and I would hunt the second weekend of deer
9:05
season with them and 100 me weekend with my family over by
9:08
Maple Lake. So I saw a lot of Northern
9:11
Wisconsin, when I met who's now my wife, I would go out and
9:17
hunt. On her family, land on the upper
9:19
peninsula. So I was kind of a nomad for a
9:20
while, you know, just looking for, you know, different places.
9:24
Not, but kind of opponent full circle.
9:27
I had gotten permission to hunt. This guy's property probably 15
9:31
years ago. It was maybe five six years ago
9:34
and reach back out to see if he would.
9:36
Like, he wants his property again and he had actually
9:40
decided to sell to 40s behind his host.
9:43
So one of the neighbors will have one.
9:44
I was able to buy the other one. And you know, kind of like Rob
9:48
had talked about earlier, putting some food plots in and
9:52
doing some habitat improvements and and some of that planting
9:56
trees the piece of property that I'm on is it's just under 48
10:01
hours but it's probably a little under 20 acres open field that's
10:05
all on one side of the property of the on the far side of course
10:08
no access from the East. The Far Side is the woods.
10:12
So it's a very difficult property to enter in the morning
10:16
because anytime There's deer in the open field.
10:19
Yeah, so that's why I like opening the gun season.
10:21
I got out there at 5:00. And I sat there for a good hour
10:25
and a half before the sun even thought about Rising, just
10:29
because I know I can either do that, or I can go out there at
10:31
night in the morning. So, so with your open field,
10:36
then do you do you cash crop? And what do you do with it?
10:39
The openness of it, they tried farming that in the past, but
10:43
there was so much crop damage that all really made a go of it.
10:46
So now it's a battle field. There's some vines that are
10:50
starting to grow up, I'd be really good batting.
10:52
Yeah, in the summer. In the winter, of course, not
10:56
just not enough cover. And we're really trying to do is
10:59
work with a buddy that I played ball.
11:00
With years ago, that has a place in credits and does food plots
11:04
and he's doing a lot of kind of soil.
11:06
Amendments, just Drilling in. We're not really telling
11:08
anything anymore. We're just trying to build up
11:10
the soil. It's really sandy.
11:13
My last pH level is 5.3. So you know, we're not working
11:17
with the best drone but we're trying to make it better.
11:22
That's really cool. But yeah.
11:24
So you're not just showing up there hunting once a year,
11:27
you're really working your round on it.
11:29
Well, you know, up until about July.
11:32
So I've got two kids and I want to get them more involved on
11:36
think. I don't want to drag them along.
11:38
So the best thing for me is for them to come on.
11:40
See dear but I mean the decision I shot a deer in our property
11:45
first weekend in November last year and then we didn't hardly
11:48
see it for that season last year.
11:50
I thought you know it could have been me leaving sense.
11:54
It could have been that that pile given whatever came into
11:56
that gut pile of me who knows but I kind of blame myself for
11:59
the kids have a bad year last year.
12:02
And I made the decision in early September.
12:05
I'm going to just use this saddle and I'm going to go walk
12:08
in on public land. I'm going to just stay out of
12:09
here and it really pay off. I had pictures from the
12:15
neighbors. I knew that year was out there
12:17
but I was a nobody specifically, I'll see you soon.
12:20
You know this, you know that before you shot it.
12:23
Okay, that's good. You know my for me I go out
12:27
every year. I want to shoot 100 engineer and
12:29
if I can shoot, you know, a nice, a pointer You know, the
12:32
goal kind of The Bucket List thing was to get 130 inch dear.
12:36
That was something I was always, that's what I really want.
12:40
And probably my best year of my life prior to, this was probably
12:44
110 engines. So, you know, like I said, I
12:49
don't necessarily know that I deserve it, but I think locks a
12:52
big part of hunting. You can't can't get them if you
12:54
aim with them. So I wouldn't call what you did
12:56
lock. It sounds like there was a lot
12:58
of strategy involved in leaving it sit.
13:01
It, you know like yeah I don't know.
13:04
I wouldn't call that luck. Well, and so that's the other
13:07
flip side of this. I am sitting at home.
13:11
Probably a week before gun season and independently.
13:15
Both of my kids are coming me within 24 hours of each other to
13:18
say, I can't get off work for open again and there's a part of
13:22
me that's proud that my kids are seeing their obligations
13:25
through. You know, they tried to so it,
13:26
shifts it to do, what they could.
13:29
I've got a my daughters on the dance team in high school.
13:31
Her eyes school. So she competes all through
13:34
December and January and told her boss that.
13:38
So she can pick up all the shifts on the weekends in
13:40
November. Similarly, my son, boys,
13:42
basketball. So he can't work after school
13:44
but he said he would work. Work weekends.
13:48
So they make these commitments and then, unfortunately, they
13:52
can't get out of it, but that means I'm sitting by myself, in
13:55
this Garage on a Friday night, having a couple beers and and
13:59
playing Solitaire and bored stiff and go to bed and wake up.
14:03
And I'm sitting there by myself with a rifle in my hands for the
14:05
first time on opening morning. Probably 10 years because we are
14:08
you sitting with one of my kids. Yeah.
14:12
So so what if you don't mind, walk us through it.
14:15
Then what how did it go down? I know you, we had it on the
14:18
website. In fact, Jeff has it on the
14:19
screen in here right now. For people who haven't seen it
14:23
or haven't listened us, talk about it.
14:26
How to go, I want to hear right from you.
14:28
So in that open field, the food plot that my buddy and I put in
14:32
is about an acre and a half and it's on the edge of the woods.
14:36
So I built a 4x6 elevated box playing for my daughter and itís
14:39
again to want to make sure she's out.
14:41
Of the elements. And I'm sitting in that by and
14:44
kind of facing to the food plot, the winds out of the South.
14:46
So off to my left and all morning long, dear been running
14:50
from a spot on the woods basically directly behind me to
14:53
a spot directly to my left and just cutting the corner of this
14:57
field and I had probably seen I don't know, three four smaller
15:02
bucks in probably four or five dollars to this point and like I
15:06
said in the in that story you see a flash my left and I'm
15:10
looking and it's a do and I'm waiting to see what's coming out
15:12
behind her. And it's one of the bigger
15:14
events that I had seen on camera.
15:16
Okay. Now, it's go time, but he is
15:19
pushing. Yeah, laughter and I, my
15:24
personal preference, I shoot a bolt action rifle, and a lot of
15:27
guys, shoot semi autos, and everybody has their own opinion
15:30
about what makes it a good shot. I was going to shoot at him
15:35
running deer and I'm watching this happen.
15:37
I'm praying to God, he slows down and as I'm picking my head
15:40
back up and then kind of going back down.
15:42
I see another Flash and it's the big fella.
15:46
Just try just kind of little finger across the field, right?
15:50
Adam just, I don't know if he was after that door.
15:52
If he was just trying to push him off the field saying, just
15:55
everybody knows I'm here. But he was not really quartering
15:59
towards. He's maybe a little more
16:01
broadside than that but he was still at an angle but I did take
16:05
a shot at him and he flipped 90 degrees and ran like he was on
16:11
fire back across in front of me and it already chamber another
16:15
round. But now I've got to pull a gun
16:17
in one window and out another window and not.
16:20
I had a cup of coffee. I had just poured not even five
16:22
minutes ago products like that spilled all over the place and
16:26
I'm cussing and Are you just stops Dead about 60 yards in
16:30
front of me and just kind of looks back, trying to figure out
16:33
what just happened and that's when I made the shot that
16:36
counts, you can kind of see the entry wound than that in the
16:38
picture. It's just kind of write buying
16:40
the priests they did you hit it on the first shot when we got
16:43
him opened up. So I gave it a beat while far
16:46
was it for a shot roughly 8000. So it's pretty close then for
16:49
rifle and then the second shot was nice but so he when we got
16:55
em opened up the first shot and come in, Behind the ribs and I,
16:59
we his public phones at all of us stuff.
17:01
So, it must have entered through him in the far femur, and
17:06
basically, that's what swung his ass around.
17:08
And he just kept kept moving his ass.
17:11
Just swelling on kept going that way.
17:16
But so, the second shot was was through the heart.
17:21
Yeah, he after the first shot, I panicked.
17:24
So I can shout. I sweared something's wrong like
17:27
I do. All this thing now and it's
17:29
still just took off like a bat out of hell.
17:30
And then I saw him just a little bit right when he hit the uneven
17:33
ground. Donna Lum.
17:36
So this whole thing probably takes a 10 seconds.
17:39
And how many how many thousands of thoughts ran through your
17:42
head in 10 seconds? That's so literally.
17:46
Just before I had seen the Dole come out, my son and texted just
17:51
saying like, hey, seen anything, and I like how do I even what do
17:56
I like? This is the biggest deal I've
17:58
ever shot in my life. If what what do you text back?
18:04
I didn't even know what to say. I got the big bastard.
18:09
I think your text back. You should have been here.
18:12
Yeah but yeah. You don't want to give your son
18:14
a guilt trip being responsible going to work.
18:16
Well, I don't want yeah, I sure as hell.
18:18
Don't want to be wrong. Like it sure felt like a big
18:20
deal but it wasn't till I got up to it and like how it's the it's
18:24
the one we have been talking about this guy and so you look
18:28
at these pictures, it's crazy. Especially this one.
18:31
I wanted to like, by the other deer.
18:33
It's like, what is the freakin size of these?
18:35
Tune? A old ear.
18:36
So that that two-and-a-half-year-old that
18:38
he's facing has. There's another year.
18:40
That looks, they look very similar.
18:42
It was one of those two was the one.
18:43
I was ready to shoot and that would have been a great year for
18:46
me. Yeah, and then this guy comes
18:48
out and I mean I'm getting if you look at the other picture, I
18:53
don't know if it's above or below.
18:55
I mean, that dude. That's like the picture you
18:57
would see from, like a prison that Yeah, I'm that that other
19:04
deer. The there's an I feel like a
19:06
clearly nicer dear of the other two that like if you saw that
19:09
deer by itself and the trail can be like oh nice buck.
19:12
That's all right we got something there but yeah that
19:16
you see the giant next to it. So when this is kind of leading
19:20
the next question, I had down here was when you saw when you
19:24
walked up and solve big. It was did the buck pool.
19:26
Even cross your mind. Were you like?
19:28
Oh no, not at all. You were like, I could win it
19:31
with No, not even a thought, you know, I I pay attention to it,
19:37
you know, I watch it. And I'm happy for all the guys
19:39
that that shoot good year. I think it's more just, you
19:43
know, the money is going to a great cause there's always a
19:46
nice little token gift now had or the sweatshirt or this year.
19:50
The Hammers are awesome. I was actually it doesn't.
19:53
Well, I can't speak to their durability because I had dropped
19:56
it the night before on a concrete floor and blue part.
19:59
I just kind of press the back together and it still work.
20:01
It's really good. Yeah, that's nice that Kristen
20:07
that that we cared they have to do that thing's all on board
20:10
with this and yeah, it's fun. So I'm just I want to go back to
20:14
the. I'm surprised that it didn't at
20:15
that point. I mean I would have at least
20:18
felt like, hey I got one, I got one that could compete here.
20:21
Look, it wasn't until so as I was getting down out of that
20:26
that stand I was walking back to my truck in the neighbor was
20:28
coming up and he was picking up. He's got a nephew that's on.
20:31
Property and he was picking him up and he kind of leaned out of
20:35
the truck and waved at me and I kind of waved them over and he
20:38
drove up and hey you know I heard a couple of shots is that
20:40
you? Yeah I got a good one down on
20:43
the ground over here and he followed me over and I mean it
20:47
was it was beautiful as he was like, you son of a bitch.
20:50
You shot the nice one he did. He just kind of said, you know,
20:54
you know about my season is over and I'm pissed, but I'm happy
20:58
for you. Like it was there, anybody?
20:59
But me or somebody in my camp? Glad it was you and he is one of
21:03
the neighbors that have a real good relationship with them up
21:06
there. But it wasn't until he started
21:09
talking about how big it was and he lifted to measure out of his
21:13
truck and started measuring stuff.
21:15
And that's when I started thinking like, okay, like I'm
21:19
starting to hear some of these numbers, I'm doing math in my
21:21
head. I mean, it's and it's bigger
21:24
than I thought when I first looked at it, I figured it was
21:26
going to be like a upper 140s 14.
21:29
You live over 140 somewhere there.
21:32
Yeah, I can say scoring a lot of deer doing this contest.
21:36
I mean the Sprite isn't the greatest spread ever.
21:38
You know it's just a six almost 17 inch spread still a nice
21:41
bread but those g2s are unreal. Yeah well I have never had
21:45
anything over 12 inches and you got well ones over and ones that
21:49
12 pretty much. It's crazy pretty amazing in
21:53
your. G3's are still over 10 inches,
21:54
it's just unbelievable and it had good Mass.
21:59
Yeah, that's awesome. I'm feeling this might take a
22:02
couple years to beat this one and I will see.
22:05
See now it's amazing to slap a big one here.
22:07
I know down this weekend and make this interview obsolete
22:12
before it even gets posted. Yes.
22:14
And he's going to have a picture of a deer dragged across the
22:16
hood of his car after hit that now.
22:18
Yeah. Yeah.
22:22
Does this count? So you're getting a head Mount?
22:24
I assume. Yes, that's already.
22:27
It must be in the works on. Yeah.
22:29
Where you going? Prime Wildlife Artistry, okay?
22:36
Awesome. We'll send send us pics.
22:37
When you get it done. That's what I hear out.
22:40
I'm sure. I saw him got mine back from
22:41
last year yet. Sold, some of these people are
22:44
really busy everybody. I talked to says, it's the
22:47
tanneries, the girl. Yeah.
22:48
So, and, you know, honestly, when you're shooting a trophy
22:51
deer, whether it's 110 inch or 170 inch or a dull, you know,
22:56
Eric, your kids first bike, you know what?
22:58
You're going to pay to have it done.
23:01
I'm going to look at it for the next 20 years.
23:02
I don't care if it takes 12 months and six months, right?
23:05
Yeah. So yeah I think long-term.
23:09
Hmm anything else to add Joshua? Did we miss that?
23:14
You want to add? No just I think it's awesome
23:17
that we put something like this. I think it's really cool that
23:21
you know, it Sparks conversations at work.
23:23
That there is a charity that's going to benefit from all the
23:26
guys coming together and I think it builds a lot of camaraderie.
23:29
Yeah it does. Yeah I've met a lot of people
23:32
here at to me that I would have never met before so that is a
23:36
lot of fun. Yeah it's been a lot of fun to
23:38
put names to faces and and feel that you know like oh we all
23:42
have this common Bond. There's It's a couple hundred of
23:45
us. That's yeah, I love it.
23:48
Well, thanks a lot. Josh.
23:50
Thanks for sharing the story, and congrats.
23:52
Yakking, grass, embossing. Thanks again, guys.
23:54
Yeah, Well, that's it for our interview with Josh.
23:59
Once again, want to thank him for joining us on the podcast.
24:02
We love talking to them and getting his perspective on
24:05
hunting and in the big buck that he got much appreciated.
24:10
The last thing I wanted to say before I sign off is if you
24:13
haven't followed it on the website, we have another full
24:16
week of raffle prizes every day in the buck pool.
24:20
So, go to t.g. Buck pool.com check it out every
24:23
day this week and see who are winners are and see who the
24:27
There's our, who have General generously donated, those
24:30
prizes, without them. We wouldn't have nearly as many
24:34
prizes as we have, it's been a blast given those out.
24:38
And this week, we get to feel like Santa doing that.
24:41
So, thanks to all of them and keep up with us all week.
24:45
Hopefully, we'll be back later this week with another podcast
24:48
before the holidays, that said, have a great week and we'll see
24:52
you again soon.