For the Fowlers Podcast
Introducing "For the Fowlers," a new waterfowl hunting podcast based in Northern California. Our goal is to dive into every aspect of this sport we're so passionate about.
We aim to create a valuable resource for new hunters, helping them get into the sport, while also engaging experienced fowlers with our stories and those of our guests.
For the Fowlers Podcast
Ep. 16 California Ducks to Montana Elk with Clay DePauw
A century-old duck club, a family ranch under the big sky, and a season that swings from teal swarms to a 360-class elk—this conversation with Clay is a full tour of a hunter’s year. We kick off at Newman Gun Club in California’s grasslands, where cabins ring a well-kept marsh and members measure time by the migration. Clay shares how he grew up in the blind, earned his own membership, and why even a down duck year can feel rich when the roads are graveled, the water’s right, and the clubhouse hums on closing weekend.
We shift north to Montana, where his family’s 6,000-acre ranch sits above rolling breaks and winter grass. Clay breaks down his best bull yet, explaining rough green scoring, what it might mean for the books, and how weather, patience, and timing decided the day. He gets candid about the realities of tags—points, odds, landowner advantages, and why draws feel tighter post-2020. Along the way, he compares the rush of a finishing flock to the adrenaline spike of a close elk encounter, and why bow season during the rut can be the most electric window on the calendar.
There’s practical insight throughout: how teal and wigeon shape a Central Valley strap, why mallards remain a prized rarity at the club, what out-of-state trips to Washington, Arkansas timber, and Missouri taught him, and how farming almonds and walnuts frames a workable hunting season. We wrap with the future—food plots for deer recovery, stewardship of water and roads at Newman, and the community that keeps both places alive. Hit play for a story that blends public refuge grit, private club tradition, and mountain country grit into one season-long arc.
If you enjoyed this conversation, follow ForTheFowlers on Instagram, then subscribe, rate, and leave a quick review. Tell us your pick: ducks or big game—what gives you the bigger rush?
Alright, guys, what's up? Welcome to another episode of For the Fowlers. I'm Brandon coming to you live from Newman Gun Club out here in Newman, California. Out here with my good buddy Clay. Clay, welcome to For the Fowlers, man. Thanks for having me. So it's Clay's first time on a podcast, huh?
SPEAKER_03:Oh yeah. First and last, probably.
SPEAKER_02:No, I've been trying to get Clay on here all season, actually. And when I when I was, you know, building this podcast and putting up my guest list, I was like, you know, I want to get Clay on here because obviously it brings an interesting perspective. He uh we met each other in college, but he grew up out here, you know, at this duck club, you know, been hunting here since he was a little boy and you know does some out-of-state hunting, and then uh really what I wanted to bring him on is kind of pivoting away from waterfowl a little bit. And you know, Clay's Clay's family's got some property up in Montana and they get up there and do some big game hunting as well. So I think it'd be kind of cool to talk about. But yeah, so a little bit about how Clay and I met. We met in college. Clay played football at Sack State. My buddy Pete, who's been on here a couple times, uh, he was on Clay's football team, and that's how I got to know Clay. But we kind of bonded over waterfowl hunting and started hanging out a little bit, and it's you know, been, I was thinking about it's been almost 15 years, man. I know time flies. It's been a long time, but but first off, man, I appreciate you having me down here again. We had a good hunt this morning. I was out here with your uncle and got into him. It was a good way to kind of wrap up the season for me. So appreciate the invite. For sure. Yeah, this is a fun place, man. You know, been coming out here for a handful of years, and I think it's got what about at most, what, 29, 30 members? 29, yeah. 29 members. Everyone, all every member has their own like cottage or cabin here, right?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, everyone has their own place, and then obviously we have the clubhouse.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, the yeah, the clubhouse is amazing. You guys, you guys just redid that a few years ago, huh?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, it was about five years ago.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it's this is a lot of fun, man. And and big news is what Newman Gun Club, 100 years this year, huh? 100 year anniversary, yep. Yeah, so you guys will be doing a big party this summer, I heard.
SPEAKER_03:Yep, we're gonna do a big party and get catered, probably have a couple other people out here and shoot trap and that's awesome.
SPEAKER_02:Uh four of the Fowlers invited? Uh always, always. If not, they just show up. Yeah. Yeah, right on. Well, dude, well, let's talk a little bit about how you got into hunting and everything. I know you obviously grew up in it, so your dad, your grandpa, how'd you get into waterfowl hunting?
SPEAKER_03:My dad joined this club in 1986, which is three years before I was born. So I grew up out here. So I started coming out here with my dad when I was three years old with a BB gun, and I would chase his wounded birds around the island and shoot them and kill him, you know, finish them off for him and whatnot. And then I got my license when I was eight years old. And then it's always been a dream of mine to be a member here. And finally, two years ago, I finally got a membership here.
SPEAKER_02:So yeah, man, it's been good. Yeah, I mean, obviously, I like I've said we've been coming out here. You've been gracious enough to bring us out, you know, as a guest multiple times. But you know, what's kind of your like earliest hunting memory? I know you mentioned the BB guns, but what about like uh like an actual duck hunt? You know, do you remember?
SPEAKER_03:I remember my first lemon at ducks was right was it here? Right here in this this fine house with all the toolies and stuff. Yeah, I remember. I probably didn't actually kill them, you know, I got a couple of those. My dad finished shoots them and goes, Oh, you got that one. Yeah, but I remember my first lemon at ducks, it was the first year I got my license.
SPEAKER_02:So that's awesome. Cool. And I mean, obviously, you know, you growing up around here, you've got to know some of the members and whatnot. Pretty cool, pretty cool guys. I've gotten to know some of these guys out here, yeah, some characters as well, but everyone, you know.
SPEAKER_03:It's a great place. There's a lot of good people. A lot of these guys seen me grow up. We get a good thing out here.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Nice. Do you and I know we'll talk a little bit about big game hunting because I'm curious like where waterfowl hunting kind of ranks in your like outdoor activities. But as far as like duck hunting goes, I know you know when we first started hunting together, we had access to this club, but we would go to the refuge sometimes. Like, what do you prefer? Like, I know it's obviously super nice. We stayed in a great cabin, you know, we're up at what five o'clock breakfast, you know, take the side by side out and walk the gravel, you know, path to the blind. It's it's this is nice, but what do you prefer?
SPEAKER_03:That's that's that's a tough question. I mean, to me, it's two different things because I go deer hunting once a year, so it's very special. All my buddies here get together and we drive to Montana and do all that, and it's a special one-time thing. Yeah, the duck, the duck season. I'm out here every weekend for two months, so I don't know if I could pick one, to be honest. But if I had to choose one for the rest of my life, I'd probably choose duck hunting just because I get to do it more often.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, for sure. I mean, excuse me. I mean, obviously it's cool like you live so close to here, but I was kind of thinking about this today where you know, and being down here in the grasslands area, it kind of picks up as the season goes on. It's a little later start than we have as far as birds go up in the Sacramento Valley. But down here, like I always think it's cool. Like you you're gone the whole month in November, right? I was this year. Is that is that normal? Like, I know you're not you go to Montana every year, but being gone like the whole month?
SPEAKER_03:We're usually gone two weeks, but three of the last four years I've stayed through Thanksgiving just because if I have an elk tag, then the opportunity of killing a big elk is usually around Thanksgiving up there.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and we'll we'll tease it a little bit, but you did get one this year. I did get the I got the best one I've ever got this year. Yeah, but you mind if I post that picture uh on Instagram? Yeah, uh we were talking about it last night. How big was that thing? The green score was 360.
SPEAKER_03:Okay, and for somebody who has an elk hunt, tell me about that. What what's the green score? It would you're supposed to the technical like way to score is you're supposed to wait so long until it dries because the horns shrink.
SPEAKER_02:Okay.
SPEAKER_03:You're supposed to I measure, I rough measure it, you know, if it's two and a half inches or two and three quarter inches, I call it three inches, but you're supposed to measure it in eighths, and there's just different rules for different rule books. Sure.
SPEAKER_02:Okay.
SPEAKER_03:So the rough green score was three sixty.
SPEAKER_02:So with three sixty, is that like for maybe guys that hunt elk who listen to the podcast, they're gonna be like, damn, that's freaking awesome.
SPEAKER_03:Or like is that yeah, no, that's a that's a that's a pretty good bowl. I mean, there's guys that kill a lot of bigger ones, but sure. 360, like scored the right way that's dried, is uh it's in the record books.
SPEAKER_02:No way. Wow, yeah. Like I said, I saw that picture you sent me a few weeks ago or a couple months ago. Yeah, that was incredible.
SPEAKER_03:Boone crockett, I think it's the the score is 360. So obviously, not rough scoring it like I did, and it has to be dried, but I mean, we all score them like that, just tell our buddies a score, you know. Yeah, just for bragging rights.
SPEAKER_02:So let's go back to waterfowl hunting. I'm curious, and for the listeners out there, Clay actually introduced me to his buddy Landon, who's been on here a couple times, and you know, Landon used to guide a little bit. I think he actually still got out there guiding today.
SPEAKER_03:Um guided today and he wasn't even supposed to. I think he filled in for a guy.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah, yeah. But no, he was out there guiding out, I think, in the Napa, yeah, Napa Marsh area today. But you know, I talked to him and you know, he loves shooting mallards, whatnot. And I know you know you always like to give me a hard time because you know I'm not overly selective on the birds that I like to shoot, but but what what's your favorite bird to shoot? Are you uh I mean I know you shoot a lot of teal down here. You guys love your teal.
SPEAKER_03:I'd say mallards are probably my favorite. I love shooting sprig too, and we rely on the teal here. So yeah, I mean shooting out a flocker 50-60 teal coming in at one time, it's that's pretty hard to beat, but probably mallards, because I never get to do it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so I I I brought the strap in today and said today we had two widgeon, two teal, and three spoonies, and Clay said, That's awesome, man. You shot four ducks. So he always likes to give me a hard time about those spoonies, but no, that that's cool, man. So what do you guys shoot the most of like uh besides teal, what do you guys shoot the most of out here at the club?
SPEAKER_03:Probably second most well, probably widgeon. Yeah, spoonie sprig. Mallards. I mean, if you if you have a good year on a mallard at our club, you're gonna kill 10 or 15 for the year. But we really never got into the sprig this year. We were pretty excited with the three sprig limit.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:But I never had a day where I got three, and I really thought we were gonna get them.
SPEAKER_02:Oh we got a couple guys here. Yep, a couple hunters coming in. Shoot them down. How'd you guys do? Nice. What does that mean? How many spoonings did you get? Oh, that's that's all right. Ten tail four wedge, and see clay approved. I guess we'll do it.
SPEAKER_00:He was on the barrel on the big water side. Fucking couldn't miss.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Yeah, you guys were hanging out at that cabin last night for quite a while.
SPEAKER_03:That guy is he's always out here having a good time, and when he's not here or not around one day, it's gonna be sucked because we rely on him to have some fun.
SPEAKER_02:No, and that's what I think is really cool about this place. I mean, obviously, a few weeks ago I was down here and you know, we all went to dinner down at Woolgrowers, and you know, a lot of members came out. Obviously, those guys are a lot of fun to hang out with. But then just sitting out here, like at your cabin, like you know, it's kind of like right in the middle of everything. And so, folks, when they're pulling in on a Friday or wrapping up a hunt on a Saturday, everyone seems to come out here and hang out here, and you know, you seem to be a good host. You know, you made us a pretty solid lunch here, you know. So cool. Well, right on. So let's talk a little bit about you know, as far as refugees go. Do you you spend most of your time down here like in the grasslands if you do hunt the refuge, right?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I mean I got a refuge pass this year, probably only hunted a handful of times, but when I get when my buddies go out more, they like to go to the refuge and I'll go out there with them more. Yeah, we just never really got into the ducks too good this year, so they'll go do other things. So, but when when we do get into the teal and stuff, I'll go to the refuge quite a bit.
SPEAKER_02:Do you when you were like when we were up at Sack State, did you ever go up like to any of the refugees up there? I mean, because it was what after football season, or no, you guys were I guess you guys were in the thicket.
SPEAKER_03:We got five weeks off for winter break, so I would come home just hunt ducks for five weeks here.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, hunting here. But did you ever go up to any of those Sack Valley refugees? I've never I've never been to it.
SPEAKER_03:The only thing I've ever done up there is rice hunting.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Yeah. Through like a buddy, like a lease or something? Did you do a guided hunt?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I went through with a couple buddies and then I did it. I actually did a couple guided hunts with our mutual friend Kevin Moore. Oh, nice. We did one. So nice.
SPEAKER_02:I was cool texting with him last night. Uh out to see if he wants to jump on the podcast. And when he comes out next year for that kind of guy's kind of weird, man. I don't know. Cool. Well, speaking of kind of hunting out of here, you mentioned before we hopped on that you've done some out-of-state hunting, so you go up to for waterfowl hunting, so you go up, go up to Clay's flagging down the bartender here. You hunt up in Washington, you've hunted ducks up there.
SPEAKER_03:I've hunted at Eagle Lakes in Washington a few times. Yeah. How was that? It was great. That place is great. It's awesome, very nice. They're they they really work hard to get you some birds, and uh, it's a really nice place.
SPEAKER_02:And when was the last time you were up there? Two years ago. Okay. Was that kind of like an annual thing, semi-annual, or just you get a group of guys out here and we just decide to go every once in a while. That's cool.
SPEAKER_03:That last time I went, I drove home from Montana. Three home at three o'clock in the afternoon, and the next morning at six a.m. I drove to Washington to go duck hunting.
SPEAKER_02:No way. Nice.
SPEAKER_03:No one's gonna think I have a job on this thing.
SPEAKER_02:Well, well, that's that's actually what's kind of funny. If you don't mind, I've been putting it out there. Like, this is kind of a fun time for you because you know, I was telling some folks, like, you basically I know you work every day, but you know, obviously being in the farming business, the ag business, like you have times where like you're busting your ass. What you're busy, what, March through August, September? Through October, end of October.
SPEAKER_03:End of October. Um, we're we farm all uh you know almonds and walnuts, so there's not much to do in the off season, that's all we do.
SPEAKER_02:So yeah. So you're able to do stuff like this, which is totally cool.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, we lay our guys off and we try and get all our work done before we head to Montana.
SPEAKER_02:So, and then you mentioned some other out-of-state hunts. So you said you've been down into the Mississippi flyway a little bit.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I've been to I've hunted some flooded timber in Arkansas and then I hunted in Missouri with Tony Vandemore three times. Nice. And how how'd you end up out there? We just called and booked a hunt. We just about ten years ten years ago, we decided because we don't kill a lot of mallards here, yeah, to maybe go venture out and do some duck hunting trips and try and kill some mallards elsewhere. And it was a cool experience to go to the Midwest and do all that stuff. And who went on that trip? My dad, my uncle, and a handful of guys out here, friends. That's awesome. It was a good time. You know, we don't always kill ducks, but we always had a great time out there.
SPEAKER_02:Is there another club trip on deck?
SPEAKER_03:So nice.
SPEAKER_02:Well, I know we got a handful of memberships available right here, so maybe uh, you know, I can uh what do you think?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, your application's under review, but once again, under review.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, because that's a perfect segue because I thought I was going to Montana next year with you, but I found out last night that my uh application and you know to go join you guys in Montana is also under review.
SPEAKER_03:There's a series of steps you gotta you know, hoops you gotta jump through to get to Montana. It's not you know, you can't just show up. Are you kidding?
SPEAKER_02:Are you kidding me? If anyone could just show up, it's me, dude. I'll bring the whiskey, I'll cook, I'll do whatever, you know. But but let's talk about that. So you guys have a pretty cool ranch out there, and and I know you guys have only had that property for what 10 years? Okay. And before that, were you guys did you guys have another property up there, or is this kind of a 10-year thing? You guys been going to Montana?
SPEAKER_03:My dad and uncle started out hunting in Utah on a private ranch. Okay. There was a dream to always have their own place, and they finally decided to buy a place in Montana, just outside of Billings. And honestly, we love it. My whole family loves it. It's my homeway from home. I'm there for it about a month out of the year.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, dude. I mean, I know we were just joking about it, but I I honestly hope to one day, and hopefully it's next year, be able to go up there because I've seen the pictures. I obviously saw that video that I think either you guys put together, the one it almost looked like maybe you guys were thinking about selling it.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, it was for sale. Yeah, I think it's still listed actually.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, is it? But that video like just uh probably doesn't do the property justice, but I mean it looks like absolute gods country up there.
SPEAKER_03:It is beautiful, and the house where they built the house is like on the tallest mountain on the ranch, and it kind of has a big old wraparound porch, and you can oversee the ranch, and it's just like as far as like thinking about a place to get out of town and be in the middle of nowhere and having like a nice place, it's it's that's what it is.
SPEAKER_02:So, what the hell's under review? Because I told you last night at dinner, I said I'm picturing this place with a wraparound porch, and I just want to sit out there with my rocker and just kind of like check out for three or four days.
SPEAKER_03:You gotta tuck my dad into bed tonight, too. Yeah, make sure it takes the soft.
SPEAKER_02:No, no, no, no, no. Here's the deal. You know me, I'm a good guest. You know that, right? Because hey, let's let's put another guest under the bus here. Because what'd you say? I I actually stayed in your dad's cabin last night, and here what was the deal? We had Pete here. Guy can't make a bed to save his life.
SPEAKER_03:You know, he did it over at my dad's, he did it at my my place, and uh his application center review for next year's hunts, that's for sure.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, well, well, dude, I I like I said I look forward to being able to go up there. How how big is that place? How many acres do you guys have? It's about six thousand acres.
SPEAKER_03:Wow, and for a long time we had at least on another 15,000 acres to hunt, but we just have to hunt the 6,000 now. So the elk hunting up there is pretty exceptional. You can kill some really big bulls up there, especially in the bow season. The deer hunting is it's below average as far as the size of the deer.
SPEAKER_02:And then on your property or in that area, on our property. Okay.
SPEAKER_03:But it we do feel like it's getting better. We've I recently planned some food plots and improved it in that way, and I think it's getting better, but the elk hunting's always been exceptional up there.
SPEAKER_02:So, stupid question, but like the deer, is that the elk being more dominant or like more like is it is the competition up there for them for the deer to not really thrive on your property? Because they had some issues with the the some with weather conditions, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:It got really cold, big kill. They it happens all the time. They just had one in Wyoming and it killed like they said like 70% of the population of the deer. Yeah. When the ground it snows, the ground freezes, then they can't get their food, and there's all kinds of things that happen. But yeah, they had a big one right before we bought it, and I think it's finally starting to come back.
SPEAKER_02:So, what when you go up there, you know, obviously you know you're wrapping up harvest, and it's just a good time to get away. And I know you mentioned yesterday like they do like a fun fourth of July, get together, but like you're in the thick of it, down here. So, do you even go like do you pretty much go up one time a year or how many times a year?
SPEAKER_03:Twice a year. Once in the spring, we usually try to do some shed hunting and then get some work done around the ranch as far as cleaning roads, you know, trimming trees, fixing some fence with the cattle, whatnot, and then we go in November with 10 or 12 guys.
SPEAKER_02:And then what about like your dad? Does he go up twice a year as well? Or is he goes about four or five times a year? Okay, cool. Nice. So when you go up, let's talk about that I guess fall trip. Is the the plan obviously to get up there, kind of decompress after a long harvest season, all that stuff. But like but the whole plan up there is like to go elk hunting, right?
SPEAKER_03:Or it depends what tag you get. Okay. Sometimes you get a deer tag, sometimes you get an elk tag, sometimes you don't get nothing. It just depends what you get. Okay. This past year I had an elk tag, that's why I planned on staying through Thanksgiving. Okay. And so I had I was actually gonna be on the ranch for 22 days, and I killed my elk in the first six hours.
SPEAKER_02:And actually, I I remember that we texted me, I was like, Oh, it was pretty early in the trip.
SPEAKER_03:Landon as a Vita was with me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's cool. And it was the biggest bull I've ever killed, and it was just the first six hours. It was like it was like sixty eight. We always like pray for weather, snow, like bad conditions, get the get the animals moving. Yeah. It was sixty-eight degrees. I was standing on the porch cooking steaks at night on the t-shirt, you know, drinking a beer.
SPEAKER_02:It was just so we didn't I joke that your uncle took me out on a little guided hunt today, because you know, it was obviously cool for him to come out and take me, you know, give me access to your guys' club and everything. But as far as hunts go up in Montana, do you and I'm not being serious about guided hunts, but like how does that work? Like, let's say you're like, hey, Nap, come on up, you know, blah blah blah. Like, what's the process for me to be able to get a deer tag or an elk tag, or is it is it really tough?
SPEAKER_03:We put in for applications in before April 1st. And it to get an elk tag, they say you need about nine points, which is about nine years. Depending on there's some extra points you can buy and whatnot, but it takes time to get elk tag. Deer tag, if you drew you'd probably get one either this year or next year, the year after. Within three years, you'd get one. It it's totally changed after but after COVID. They say a lot of people who used to draw tags in Canada started just staying in the United States because they were shutting down borders. Shutting down borders, yeah, yeah. So the population of people that are drawing for tags in Montana is crazy. They because we used to just draw for a Montana general deer tag, and we always get it. Yeah. And now it's just not like that. And we have we're landowners. I'm a landowner there. Me and my uncle dad, we all put our names on different parts of the province, so we have a better chance to get tags. Yeah. And still that plays into the draw? Well, you have a better chance if you're a landowner. Yeah. Which in some states they give you landowner tags. Yeah. Like in Colorado. Well, that's what I that's what I was gonna ask, actually. And like Colorado, there's you buy like a ten thousand acre ranch, it might come with Five deer tags and five elk tags.
SPEAKER_02:Are there some years? Because you guys obviously have a big group that goes up between you, your dad, your uncle. I mean, every year you guys have some sort of tag or something. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Well, this year we had two uh three-head elk tags.
SPEAKER_02:My uncle got his first elk this year, he's 72 years old. Yeah, no, that was that was he was talking about that today. So, what else is there to do up there? Yeah, if you can have a good time, hang out.
SPEAKER_03:I mean, our favorite thing to do is just obviously relax, you know, at the place. Yeah, we look forward to every night barbecuing, drinking with our friends, playing cards. The little town we're in is called Roundup. They have a couple local watering holes there. Yeah. We have a bar there called the Grand, and we every time we get an excuse to go to town to get some milk, sure, water, we pop on there for a couple hours. Nice. And it's the cheapest good food and drinks you can find. Nice.
SPEAKER_02:Should we uh put Grope on the spot and find out what his favorite part of Montana is real quick? Hey Grope, Grope, come here.
SPEAKER_03:One question for you. Come on. Everyone knows the rules.
SPEAKER_02:There you go. Got Grope coming on here. What's your favorite part about Montana when you guys go up there? Hold the mic up.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, a little higher. A little higher. Alright. Um is it is it Ronda Paul or Ron DePaul? Yeah, it's up there. He's up there for that. Hmm. I don't know. Just the whole trip, hanging out with the guys, you know, going into town, hunting.
SPEAKER_03:Get going to out of state hunting with your best friends. Travel together.
SPEAKER_01:The travel going there. Definitely hype.
SPEAKER_03:I was there when Grope killed his first elk. Like, I'll never forget that.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, that's awesome.
SPEAKER_03:Stuff like that.
SPEAKER_02:Well, we chatted a little bit about it because obviously, like I said, if I go up, I obviously don't have as much time as you guys because I know Grope, you work with Clay, and you know it's kind of like the off-season, if you will. But like for me, like I'm at the fly up, but talking to Grope last night, he's like, Yeah, the drive sounds like a great time. He says sometimes you guys can do a two, three-day trip and just kind of take your time going up there.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, that's freaking awesome. One of the best parts is like if I recommend you drive up and then find home after a few days.
SPEAKER_02:That's yeah. Well, maybe if uh you approve Pete's application, we'll uh well Grope's on the board to approve applications. He has a passenger. Are you kidding me? This is the nicest guy out here, and he's the one who's holding us all up.
SPEAKER_01:They're adding up. I gotta do a little review. Yeah, all right.
SPEAKER_02:All right, well, here's a few bucks. So right on. Well, yep. Well, cool, man. Well, so I wanted to ask, and we'll kind of wrap things up here, but I am curious because obviously, like, this is a waterfowl podcast, and I've gone out deer hunting before. I've done some pig hunting. I actually really enjoy pig hunting, but waterfowl hunting just seems to be something I'm really into. But I've also been told by folks that like do elk but more deer that like you start doing deer, like really getting into deer hunting, like, especially like in that fall season, is like you'll never want to shoot ducks again. So, what's your kind of like when you rank them? Like, obviously, this year, take away, like, you know, obviously you got that elk, so like you're probably on cloud nine about that, right? But like, what's your favorite hunting to do? Like, what's your favorite game to pursue?
SPEAKER_03:Well, the the good thing is for like the season of Montana, it's at the end of October to the end of November, so I can do both, yeah, with no problem. But it's a different rush. Like, if you get in on a big elk and it takes you a couple hours to get within range and shoot it, and it to see how big that animal is, it's a rush like you will not find that rushing duck hunting. Yeah. It's just what it's exhilarating to be shooting at a eight, nine hundred pound animal. You all rifle hunting for you? Or do you do a bow? I've I've gone bow, I haven't taken anything down with my bow, but I have a bow and it's something that I want to start getting more into as I'm able to later in life, you know, to get more of a handle on my job and work and all that. But it the best opportunity to kill a really big elk, and I do believe you can kill like a people have done it on our place, 380 to 400 inch elk, is during bow season. Okay. So it's when they get in the rut, they get uh they get pretty crazy. It's it's it's really cool thing to watch. Yeah. See those elk screaming at each other.
SPEAKER_02:Do you do any sort of deer hunting out here in California?
SPEAKER_03:Not really. No, I've killed one deer in California. I was 12 years old. And that was the first year I ever killed in the Where'd you do that? Huh? Where where where was that? Right up by Delbo Grande. Oh, nice, okay. Then the second dare I killed was in Utah, and then ever since then I started playing football, and ever since then I've been hunting in Montana only. And to be honest, I'm spoiled.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I say it's not a bad place, but yeah, good for you.
SPEAKER_03:I'm spoiled that I get to do that, but I don't want to do any I don't really care to hunt anywhere else how I get there.
SPEAKER_02:So so before we wrap up, I know it's closing weekend. How's the season been for you? How's duck season 25-26?
SPEAKER_03:It hasn't been good. The last three hunts, excluding today, I had the best shoots I've had all season, but yeah, it really hasn't been good for us overall.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. I know last weekend I couldn't make it down here, but Pete came down, and we know Pete doesn't hunt too often, but I was surprised to hear, and as you were too, but you got him on his first limit of birds last week, so that's pretty cool. So you guys are getting into him out here. I'm still waiting for guide payment on that.
SPEAKER_03:Because we had agreed that if he killed the limit, I was going to get paid.
SPEAKER_02:And he did bring me a bottle of whiskey, but that you know there was supposed to be some money involved, but well, you know what's funny is I actually brought that up, but he's like, I I only had a few bucks, so he decided to pay the housekeeper. And I say, Pete, there's no housekeeper at that cabin. You know what? You get the guy's first limit, he still doesn't make the bed. But uh, you know, how about for some other members here, or has it just kind of been across the board here at the club?
SPEAKER_03:It's it just hasn't been that good of a year, honestly. Yeah, it's been a down year. Yeah. And but that's just the way it goes sometimes.
SPEAKER_02:So kind of an interesting question here, and then I I promise we will wrap it up. A hundred years, what does the next hundred years look like here at at uh Newman Gun Club? We kind of talked about it. You know, you're starting to have some maybe some membership turn not turnover, but you know, folks age out and folks are coming in, you know. I mean it's kind of this club here a hundred years from now?
SPEAKER_03:It's probab uh yeah, I think so. That's awesome. I mean, this Marsh area from Gustine the Los Banas, I think I've always been told it's like 70 to 80 duck clubs. Yeah, plus all the you know the refuges and stuff.
SPEAKER_02:But my dad, especially my dad, he's he's he's out here for put some public pressure on him. Or if your dad, the president of the board, has been who I've been trying to get on the podcast.
SPEAKER_03:He's about here for He said off season. He's out here for four or five hours a day working out here doing all this work. I mean, if you look around, we have all gravel roads, we have everyone has a nice cabin. Yes, well maintained. It's two thousand acres and it's very well maintained. I mean, if they set it up that way, if we don't take it on and and continue to maintain it, we'd be idiots. Yeah. Because they've done all the hard work to get it to this point.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And water rights, everything. I mean, this club's set up well for the future. So nice.
SPEAKER_02:Well, what'd you think of your first podcast? I think it's my last. No, you're not gonna come on again. I'm gonna bring actually I gotta come back on and tell my chicken strip story. Do you want to tell your chicken strip story? Go ahead. This is not a good segue to the chicken strip story. Well, that's about my because I was gonna segue saying, hey, Gropey, if I go to Montana, I'm bringing my podcast stuff. Does that mess up my application? See? He does last. I think I'm in. Tell me about go ahead. Do you want to share your Montana story about go ahead?
SPEAKER_03:I do get a lot of I mean, we're California license plate. We're from California. Yeah. That is a thing over there. I mean, you get a lot of c crap from people.
SPEAKER_02:I saw your dad, he rocks the Montana license plate. I'm surprised you don't.
SPEAKER_03:Not anymore, he doesn't. It was on his truck. It's on his truck. Oh, we're gonna change that soon. Oh, sorry. Oh, I'm sorry, I'll I'll cut that out. Didn't he change it? I thought he changed it. I thought uh anyways, sorry, we get a lot of shit. And it's all it's all good, it's all wanted. I mean, I hate I mean don't care for people in California either. Sure. Most of them, I mean, but long story short as possible, we were at a gas station, we were leaving the ranch in Montana, and the dump was closed, so we didn't have nowhere to take all our trash bags. So we went to the local gas station and we threw the trash bags in the trash can, and this guy comes around the corner with a thing of chicken shrimp. Yeah, the little boat. Almost like he's gonna hand me one and he's like, hold him out so pretty close, and he's like totally caught us off guard. He's like, What you got in the trailer? Like some camp and stuff, yeah. Whatever, oh yeah? And as I'm talking, he just cuts me off and goes, That sheriff sees you throw that trash away. He's gonna be pissed off, and he's bigger than you. Yeah. And I said, and I kind of just like saw red. I was like, oh yeah, go fucking get him. And I hit the chicken strips out of his hand. And they fly up in the air. And my buddy standing behind the guy catches one in his mouth.
SPEAKER_02:Which that's actually a pretty funny little twist on the story, but it's I mean, all because what? Like they think that you got here about a bunch of out of towners, right?
SPEAKER_03:Out of towners throwing trash, which I get it. I think the same thing. Like, but we're about to try 22 or exactly. We had two bags of trash we throwing. The guy was totally just like one of the big doggas. Sure. And you know, apparently the sheriff's I'm 6'4, you know, yeah, 275. So maybe 280, uh. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I wasn't gonna say anything. Maybe after that big ass lunch he has fed us. He's like, he's bigger than you. I was like, hey, go fucking get him then.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. I hit the chicken strips out of his hand, and my buddy catches one in his mouth. It's freaking hilarious. Nice.
SPEAKER_02:Well, run on, man. Well, I appreciate you coming on for the Fowlers, man. I told you, hey, I said 30 minutes. We're at 30 minutes right now, so I appreciate the time. That's all I get paid for, right? That's all that's it. Yeah, anything more. I gotta start start paying my guests. But no, man, I appreciate it. Uh it was once again a lot of fun hanging out here, and yeah, I look forward to coming out, you know, again and hopefully being invited to that summer hundred year party, too. You know, yeah, yeah, it's a good thing.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, it'd be a good time.
SPEAKER_02:But yeah, man, I appreciate you coming on. And for all the guys out there listening, guys and gals, don't forget to follow us on Instagram at ForTheFowlers and rate and review this podcast. We will talk to you later.