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In this episode of Sportsman of Colorado, Scott Watley talks with Steve Osterhauser about the inspiring work Of Mountains and Men does in nurturing young men into responsible adulthood through outdoor adventures. Learn how they provide thrilling yet educational experiences like hunting and canoeing, all aligned with instilling Christian values. Hear firsthand stories of transformation, and find out how you can support or get involved with this incredible initiative that brings hope and strength to those from challenging backgrounds.
SPEAKER 02 :
Welcome to Sportsman of Colorado, Colorado’s premier outdoor radio show heard every Saturday afternoon on KLZ 560 with insights on hunting, fishing, archery, guns and ammo from Colorado’s top outfitters featuring the industry’s leading experts on how to enhance your experience in the great outdoors. Now, here’s your host, Scott Watley.
SPEAKER 13 :
Welcome back to the show. Thank you so much for being with us. Well, you’ve heard of our next guest of Mountains and Men for several months now, and it’s great to have the founder and president of that group, Steve Osterhauser, back with us. So, Steve, good to have you back in studio. How are you?
SPEAKER 04 :
I’m doing awesome. Thank you for having me back. It’s been a good year for you guys. It has been a very exciting, very dynamic year for Mountains and Men. Yes, indeed.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, good. Before we recap that, you know, I’m sure some folks have maybe not heard you before on the show. So maybe just give a recap for our listeners of who you guys are and what you’re all about.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, great. Thanks. So of Mountains of Men, who are we? What do we do? So we are a 501c3 Christian ministry whose mission statement is to guide teens in the Christian manhood. I mean, it’s no surprise today in that youth are being challenged, particularly for those who don’t have a father in their life. Masculinity is under attack. And so what we want to try to do is help these young men on the road to manhood. How do we do that? We do that in two ways. First are adventure trips. We’re doing big game hunting here in Colorado. Wilderness canoeing along the Minnesota-Canadian border. We’re doing winter adventure in New Mexico, up in the mountains. We’re building snow caves and spend the night inside them and snowmobiling and ice fishing. And these adventures are important because they instill the kid with skills that result in the confidence. Confidence that is so critical in developing into a man. Second way that we help guide teens in Accretion Manhood are our campfire talks. While we’re on these adventures, we’re doing nightly discussions about Christian masculinity based upon the book Wild at Heart by John Eldredge. And they’re designed to help the young man begin to answer four questions that every young man wrestles with. What’s it mean to be a man? How do I become one? What’s this beautiful creature called a woman all about? And how do I become really alive? And we know the young man’s not going to answer all four questions in a four-day elk hunt or a nine-day canoeing trip, but we can plant the seeds. We can get them to start thinking about these critical questions.
SPEAKER 13 :
Right. And, you know, like you say, this is kids from all over. And I think I remember ages 12 to like 17? Yep, 12 to 17.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yep. Okay. Yep. And you mentioned kids coming from all over. So we’ve had kids from Florida, Maine, Texas, Oregon. People come from all over the country to be part of these adventures.
SPEAKER 13 :
Wow. Very, very cool. Now, we were talking before we came on air about elk hunt coming up next month. Tell us about that.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, I’m super excited about that. So big game hunting. We in October, we did a pronghorn hunt and we had five kids and all five kids had tagged out on their very first pronghorn the very first day. We’re very blessed, very fortunate to be able to hunt 80,000 acres of privately leased land here in Colorado. And what I’m really excited about is next month. Next month, we are doing four elk hunts, 28 young men. We have 28 cow elk tags in which 28 young men from all over the country are going to elk hunt for the very first time. We did our first elk hunts last year. They’re extremely successful. We had 20 young men hunt and 18 of the 20 harvested their first elk. So it’s really going to be a very dynamic, very fast paced, very, very exciting experience for these young men.
SPEAKER 13 :
Wow. So are there pretty much every month you’re doing something or just during hunting season, so to speak?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, it seems like we’re growing so much that we’re on the horizon. It feels like we’re doing trips every month. But basically the way it’s structured is we’re doing our big game hunts in the fall. We’re doing our winter adventure. We’re doing those trips in March. We’re running three wilderness canoe trips, nine-day trips in the Boundary Waters wilderness canoe area. We’re running those in June and July. And this coming August, we’re doing our first ever gator hunt. in Florida, which that ought to be a riot. That should be great.
SPEAKER 13 :
Man, what will they use for calibers of guns for those?
SPEAKER 04 :
To be honest, we’re still working with the outfitter on the hunting technique, but basically we’re going to have four young men and four mentors because every young man coming on our trip has a mentor. They can either bring a mentor with them, be it their father, uncle, family friend, or Or in the cases in which we have some single moms every time who are said, I don’t have anybody in that category, we provide a background check mentor for them. Yeah, so we’re going to be going down in the Orlando area and spend the weekend down there. We have an outfitter. very generously donated these hunts and uh so we’re gonna be in the lodge and doing our campfire talks and the meals and gator hunts they’re gonna provide the guns the guides and uh sunday we’re gonna be doing hog hunting down there so it ought to be it ought to be really really a lot of fun sure you can check out the website of mountains and men.org and um learn more about them and um you know this is something where in this time of year a lot of people are um
SPEAKER 13 :
thinking about donations and you know there’s a lot of different charities out there and there’s some well-deserving folks out there but none more than mountains of men so if people want to do something to maybe help you guys and we’ll talk into some of your needs here in just a moment but how would people help you out the most
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, great question. Well, first of all, I think what’s very important for people to know is, hey, we’re doing all these incredible adventures all over the country. These are absolutely free, 100% free for both the youth and the mentor. We’re not charging a dime. Right. And obviously these hunts are very expensive. I mean, many thousands of dollars on equipment and permits and gas and travel for the guides and everything else. So we do rely on generous donors to go ahead and invest in these young men. You know, some people think we have a million dollar, you know, a millionaire, you know, donors just writing us checks. It’s not. It’s people who are giving small amounts, $20, $50, $100, who really want to invest in these young men who say, all right, I recognize there’s a great need out there. Some of these young men come from very desperate home lives. We’re talking physical abuse, fathers who are in jail, moms who are strung out on meth, the stories that I could tell you about the hard backgrounds that these kids come from. And so when they come on these trips, they are being able to have Christian masculinity modeled for them. For some of these young men, being around the guides, being around the mentors, for the first time in their entire lives, they’re being able to be shown, this is what a strong Christian man is. So back to the finances, right, is we rely on people who are willing to invest in these young men, believe in what we’re doing. So the simplest way if people want to invest in these young men is through our website. Website’s very secure. We’ve got a donation page on there. People can make a one-time donation, a monthly donation. They can even buy particular pieces of gear. that we need, or they can sponsor a young man. So you just go to our web page. We’ve got the donate on there. We are a 501c3, so it is tax deductible.
SPEAKER 13 :
All right. Good deal. Any couple of stories that stand out when I say stories? I mean, if you think of a couple of young men that you’ve had this year, any couple of stories that really stand out about those young men?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, two stories really stand out here. The first is on our Boundary Waters Wilderness Canoe Trips. And I may have shared this with your listeners last time, but to be honest, I can’t remember. I talked to so many people about this. But we had four brothers who are in the foster care system. Father is facing many years in jail for being a drug dealer. And the young man just got taken away from their mom because she’s strung out on meth and not able to take care of him. And so when the foster dad showed up with the four young men, I said, okay, tell me a little bit about each of these young men, right? And he turned to one, or he looked at one, and he said, well, that’s Alex. Alex has severe anger issues. In fact, the day that we brought him home, he’s so mad at men, he threatened to kill me and my entire family, and he actually tried to attack my wife with a chair, right? I was like, okay, well, that’s good to know. That’s good information. Watching his transformation from the very first day, being just this angry young man, by day nine, he was the most enthusiastic, confident, kind, helpful young man. And you see this transformation happen. And we had one of his brother, his brother, before we head out into the wilderness, we spend two days at base camp at a bunkhouse where we’re teaching young men the skills they’re going to need on the water. We’re teaching them how to canoe, how to fish, how to start a fire. We’re equipping them with skills. And we had one young man who was just, he picked up a t-ball bat that we had, a wiffle ball bat, and he just started tapping rocks. Not maliciously or anything. Well, the darn kid put a rock right through the window of the outfitter’s van. And he came to us just instantly, just sobbing, saying, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry. And Ben was one of my assistant guides. He’s like, hey, it’s okay. You manned up, you took responsibility. Steve will talk to the outfitter. It’ll be okay. So Ben went back inside and he was thinking, that was a little over the top. out of proportion for his reaction. So I go talk to the outfitter and Ben comes out five minutes later from the bunkhouse and he finds a young man behind the bunkhouse with a shovel trying to dig out these enormous boulders. And Ben’s like, what are you doing? And the kid was just really upset and said, well, he says, my dad always told me that whenever I broke something, I had to repay the debt in hard labor at a rate of $1 an hour. So I figure it’s going to cost $250 to replace that window. I owe the outfitter 250 hours of hard labor. So I thought I’d start by removing these boulders, right? and you’re like wow that just gives you an idea of the the background that some of these kids have um the second story we’re trying to make it real quick is on our last hunt on our pronghorn hunt we had a young man 13 years old in which his mentor a family friend got with me beforehand said hey just to let you know we’ll we’ll call the young man scott okay He said, Scott is really angry at God. His dad abandoned him when he was one years old. And so he doesn’t believe in God. If he’s there, he’s really, really angry. I was like, okay, well, we’ll see what happens, right? So the first campfire talk on Friday night, he’s sitting there with his arms crossed, not saying a word. Saturday night’s campfire talk, his hands are on his knees, leaning forward, answering some questions. By Sunday night, this kid was just input left and right, had his hand in the air the whole time. And Monday morning, when we’re doing our man hugs and taking off and everything, his mentor came to me, and actually his guide came to me and said, young man came to me and said, you know, I think I’m ready to give my heart to Christ. And it’s like, bam, drop the mic. That’s why we do what we do.
SPEAKER 13 :
Sure. Wow. Again, if you’re just joining us, Steve Osterhauser is with us. It’s ofmountainsandmen.org. Again, check out their site. And once again, whenever we have groups like this, I want you to know we’ve done our due diligence. And I promise you this is a well-deserving organization for your donations, your prayers. And maybe you’re thinking, wow, I wish I could get – This young man, maybe it’s your son, maybe it’s a family member, or maybe it’s a friend of a friend. So what’s the application process?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, that’s a perfect question, perfect timing to be able to do this. Starting January 1st, we’re going to be taking applications for next year’s trips. The application windows can be from January 1st to March 15th. People find out about information about the types of trips and apply through our website, right there on our homepage, beginning January 1st. We’re very excited about this next year’s trips. So we are, in addition to doing winter adventure in New Mexico, we’re going to specifically take applications for our Boundary Waters Wilderness Canoe trips in June and July. We’re going to be taking applications for next year’s big game hunts. Again, we’re going to be doing a pronghorn hunt and four elk hunts with about 30 young men. We’re going to be doing that next January. So we’ll take applications during that time period, along with that gator hunt that we mentioned. think there’s gonna be a lot of people wanting to apply for that one that one’s gonna be it be in august again all these hunts are for are for free and uh that’s how you find out more information and apply is through our website all right good deal and we’ll try to get some young men on we’ve done this in the past where we’ve had malachi yeah come on and uh talk about their source we’ll try to do out that do that as well throughout 2025 but uh
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, Steve, thanks for having your burden and answering that and helping out these young men. You know, we probably never reap all the rewards till that one day we’re all in heaven. But, you know, hey, it’s awesome, man.
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s just absolutely amazing. I mean, just, you know, like last year on the elk hunt, we had one young man from Florida, never seen snow, never seen an elk before. And that weekend, that’s when it was 15 below zero, the wind chill at 25 below zero. So his first day ever elk hunting, he’s trudging through a foot and a half of snow, doing a stalk on 400 elk when it’s 15 below zero. You can imagine what that 12-year-old’s mind was. He got his first elk, and you just watch the confidence just bloom in these young men. It’s truly transformational. We’re just so blessed in so many ways with the doors that God is opening for Mountains of Men, and we’d love people to be a part of that. If people want to volunteer, they’re like, hey, I could be a guide for that. Go to our webpage. We’ve got a volunteer button on there. Find out how people can get involved with the Mountains of Men.
SPEAKER 13 :
All right. Sounds good. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right. Thank you so much, Scott.
SPEAKER 13 :
Hey, check out that website. Go learn more about them. And, hey, give some money. Help them out and help a young man out. We’ll be right back after this break.
SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 13 :
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SPEAKER 08 :
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SPEAKER 13 :
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SPEAKER 09 :
Scott, I appreciate it. It’s definitely been a couple fun four years with the CBA and getting to know Henry and getting to know everybody else on the team and the things that we’ve been able to accomplish in the short time that I’ve been part of the board. And it should be a fun future as we kind of focus on some of our outdoor youth education and outreach and really what we want to do and how we want to showcase hunting here in the state. It’ll be a fun time. I’m definitely looking forward to it with the team.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, absolutely. And so kind of walk us through when you first came on board and maybe some of the roles you’ve kind of gone through to work up to this point now of being the new chairman.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, it was actually a good old Henry Ferguson. It approached me when I can’t remember if we were at a, at one of the outdoor expos or if we were at an archery shoot, I just kind of got to know Henry a little bit. And he’s a, he’s one of those people that if you’ve gotten to known him over any of the time with the CBA, he’s just always like that good guy on your shoulder. And he kept kind of etching me to get into it, trying to get me involved and trying to get me to come to a couple of meetings. And once I finally had an opportunity to show up in person and get to know some of the organization and really, what they were trying to do. It was a no brainer for me at that point, it was time to dive in full force and both feet and just help out any way I could. Yeah. I’m, I’m extremely big into youth outreach and I really want to focus on growth of huge, uh, youth and kids in the outdoor industry. And as we approached that in the 2025, 2026 sector, Henry’s really allowed me to take it on. And, uh, the program that we’ve put together called spark. is hopefully going to be one of the most influential youth outreach programs that you’re ever going to be a part of. Other than that, I’ve helped out with the magazine. I do a lot of writing, not just for the CBA, but for a couple other national publications. And it’s been a fun ride, though.
SPEAKER 13 :
I tell you, the magazine, man, has really been a really, really good publication, man. I mean, it’s been sharp.
SPEAKER 09 :
It’s been a fun process on the magazine. I don’t know how long a lot of folks have known the CBA, but we went from a black and white paste, copy, print, photo-looking newsletter, turning it into probably one of the best publications out there right now that I’d compare with a lot of the top-notch ones, and it’s been a fun process. I help out the editorial staff, Matt Jackson and Joe Bradley. We bring in all of the articles. We do all the editing. And then we send it off to our design creator, Dustin. And Dustin does a phenomenal job of bringing it to life and making it look pretty because none of us have that skill set.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah. Well, I tell you, even writing, man, I mean, you know… Because that is certainly not my skill. Talking isn’t really much my skill. But writing, man, and bringing things to like where you picture yourself on the stalk with someone or in the blind or whatever the case may be. You’re on the mountain. You can almost feel the wind blowing. We were describing maybe a cold wind. I mean, man, there is definitely an art to that. I mean, it really is.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, you’re definitely preaching to the choir on that. If you can bring a reader and literally get them to the point where they’re reading nothing but a magazine and they feel like they’re there in the moment with you, it’s a style of writing. It’s a type of writing that’s really hard to envelop. And when you get to that point as a writer, it’s the next level of engagement. And that passion is really what’s driven me for the CBA in general. I’ve got a passion for writing and a passion for hunting. I’ve been doing it since I was 12 years old. Archery, rifle, muzzleloader, it doesn’t really matter to me. I just like hunting and being in the outdoors. And being able to bring that to people, it’s a huge thing for me. And being able to showcase that’s an incredible feeling. We take guys who’ve never been able to tell a story before and we’ll do Zoom meetings with them. And then I get to take their entire article and turn it into like a campfire story. It’s a lot of fun.
SPEAKER 13 :
Right, absolutely. Again, Caleb Bell is with us. He is the newly elected chairman for the Colorado Bowhunter Association. You can check out their website, coloradabowhunting.org. And hey, if you’re not a member, we’re going to bring up some things here in just a minute about all of those groups we need. came together here for this prop 127 and i want to get on that here in a minute but if you’re not a member and you say hey i’m not a bow hunter hey still they fight a lot of battles for us just in the outdoors as a whole so if you’re not a member please become a member hey it’s only 40 bucks to become a member you can get a three-year membership for 105 dollars As Caleb mentioned, hey, they’re really focusing on youth. The youth can become a member for $20. They can get a three-year membership, I think, for $50. So it is a great organization to become a member of and just to support them. And, you know, that is a big part of this because, man, you see, Caleb, the – The youth of today, and you see what, you know, CPW is doing with youth tags, different things like that, which is great. But, man, we have got to keep this out in front of our youth to keep this hunting going, don’t we?
SPEAKER 09 :
You’re definitely right, Scott. I mean, you hit the nail on the head. The CBA isn’t just about bow hunting. And I think our youth outreach program is really going to showcase that to everybody. Because to me, hunting isn’t just about being an archery guy or a rifle guy or a houndsman. It’s about being an outdoor enthusiast, a sportsman or a woman, right? It’s about being an outdoorsman. And if we can take the next generation and educate them in everything that we take for granted, you know, teach a kid how to survive in the woods if they get lost, teaching a kid the different biology of animals, teaching a kid how to fish, teaching a kid how just to go hike and enjoy the outdoors. At the end of the day, if we can collectively come together as sportsmen and women and show the next generation the battles that we’re fighting, like Prop 127, aren’t going to go away, but they’re definitely not going to be as prevalent as they are in today’s society. And that’s my whole goal.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, no doubt, no doubt. And, you know, it was cool. I wouldn’t mention this now with the Prop 127. It was cool to see all the different folks that came together from all across other states, but, of course, here in Colorado. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was surprised. Not that we won, but that it was a convincing win. I kind of was surprised by the margin of the win. So what were your thoughts on there when you saw that?
SPEAKER 09 :
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 13 :
And the ground game, I think, that we had, and Dan Gates said this a lot, you know, because the other side, I mean, hey, money came in from all over, but the boots on the ground, so to speak, and whether it be those that got their tailgates on their pickups wrap or window signs in their vehicles or yard signs, and just getting out and trying to talk with non-hunters and letting them get a true picture of what this was all about. I think all of that culminated to get that message across of just what you said. Hey, this is what we do. There’s a reason behind what we do. And the number of mountain lions in the state is certainly grown for many, many years now with the pros, so to speak, you know, putting the science and putting all that behind our conservation efforts.
SPEAKER 09 :
I couldn’t agree more. And again, right, it’s the education aspect. Information is the most powerful weapon in the world. And when we can put the information in front of the public and we can do it respectively as outdoorsmen and women, we change and set ourselves aside from the opposition. We’re not going out there and browbeating individuals. We’re not going out there and trashing other people’s names or reputations. We’re just giving honest facts based on proven science and biology. and educating everybody around us so they have the facts when they go to the poll. And that right there is what sets us aside. Right. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 13 :
All right. Now, March the 8th just came out recently. I got a post and already bought my two tickets. So March the 8th will be our CBA banquet. Tell us what you can about that evening.
SPEAKER 09 :
It’s probably one of the most fun nights of the year. You know, I go to just about every banquet out there in Colorado just to help support everybody because, like we said, we’re all united. But that big banquet that we do on March 8th is kind of unique. We bring probably 150 to 250 different elk, deer, mountain lion, goose. It doesn’t matter. Any sort of mountain that we can, we build this elaborate wall with Joe Bradley to show on display all night long. We bring in a bunch of vendors that are going to do seminars all day. They’ll talk to you about DIY caribou hunting. They’ll talk to you about picking the right boots for the type of hunt you want to do. Or Trevins DeFolstice might show up and talk to you about how to hunt mule deer in western Colorado. We bring in a group of people, and we all unite for one night, all under one premise to raise money for the CBA, fund our youth outreach, and then fund our efforts that we put at the legislative level. It’s a big deal for us. We open the doors usually about 10 a.m. We’ll bring in 500 to 600 people. And my favorite part is the live auction. I bring in 10 to 15 different hunts from all around the world. I bring in a bunch of great gear, bows, firearms, backpacks, tents. It doesn’t really matter to me. What I care about is all of us getting together and having a fun night, talking about the CBA, talking about conservation, and talking about the next steps. And it’s a great time to catch up with everybody and look at a phenomenal amount of wild game species that we put on display.
SPEAKER 13 :
Right. And, you know, you talk about a family event. This is it. This is a great deal for the family just to buy a table, isn’t it?
SPEAKER 09 :
It is. I personally have four girls. My entire family, we pick a table. We have way too much fun all night. Even though I’m running around like a chicken with my head cut off, the girls will laugh at me. But we get the kids involved. They draw raffle tickets. They have some fun. Slinging arrows at different little props that we have. It’s an all-around family event night and it’s done right there at the Loveland Ranch and just outside of Loveland right there in Fort Collins, Colorado. It’s a good night. It’s a fun time. This will be our third year doing it at the Ranch Complex. And every year it just kind of evolves and gets a little bit bigger and a little bit better and a little bit more fun.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah. You know, the big part I hate is it’s kind of the banquet time, you know. And so, man, sometimes there are some other events that conflict with that. And I wish because, like you say, I like to go to a lot of them, too. So but folks, you’re going to pick one. I’m telling you. And there’s other things happening on March 8th. I highly recommend. This banquet. It is a great, great banquet. Everything Caleb said is 100 percent true. You’ll be around a lot of great folks. Hey, make some new friends. And that never hurts as well. You know, you mentioned the legislation side. Let’s talk about that just a minute. And I know Wes has done a really good job there. But maybe talk about some of the things you guys got accomplished this year for us.
SPEAKER 09 :
There’s definitely been quite a few things on the back side of that, the West and Lane and Ty, and everybody’s kind of put a full force effort in and really shown up for, especially when it’s on the archery side, primarily focusing around the OTC change that was proposed. Those guys did a phenomenal effort, boots on the ground, raising awareness, getting everybody on the same page to understand the impact. of the otc tag change in allocations for archery hunting in the state of colorado we uh we honestly owe the majority of our success on that one to wes and the guys that were hanging down there at the legislative level in the capitol um again boots on the ground effort through true education and facts they were able to prove and show really who we are as bow hunters And just as outdoorsmen and sportsmen around in general to focus on primarily the preservation of wildlife in the state of Colorado.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yep, absolutely. Now, when you become a member, let’s talk about some benefits of membership real quick. They will get the issues of the magazine, correct?
SPEAKER 09 :
Yep. A membership brings you the full issues of the magazine. We’re moving over to a quarterly publication. A little bit bigger magazine with more depth and media articles. Obviously, you’re always going to be entered into our member drawings when we do different raffles and things like that for the local membership level. You’re also going to be entered into some unique things throughout the year. You’re going to be able to stay up to date on any of the outdoor events that we’ve got planned, like our Jamboree, which is coming up in July. obviously the banquet in March and anything that we keep going on like that. And then also on the backside of that, we’ve got a lot of great partnerships with not just local companies, but national level organizations as well that are exclusively set up for CBA members. Okay, great.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, Caleb, hey, man, I appreciate you taking a few minutes, and I’m sure this will not be our last conversation, so we’ll look forward to working with you in 2025. And the CBA, anything we can ever do for you, we’re here. And, folks, once again, if you’re not a member, please go to the website, check it out. It’s coloradabowhunting.org. Become a member. Hey, $40, all right? Get the three-year one for $105. And, like I say, the magazine that you get… And just the information that you’ll get from the website and just getting to stay in touch with them of what all is going on in the archery world. But also, as we said, as they fight for a lot of these other things on the legislative side that helps us all in the outdoors. So, Caleb, once again, congrats, man. And hope you and your family have a wonderful, wonderful Christmas. And we’ll look forward to 2025 with you, sir.
SPEAKER 09 :
Awesome. I appreciate it, Scott. Take care. Have a great holiday season. Look forward to meeting all the new members and seeing everybody at the banquet. Other than that, hope everybody has a great, safe end of the year and gets out there soon for some more hunting trips.
SPEAKER 13 :
Absolutely. We appreciate it, sir. Thanks so much. Thanks, Scott. That’s Caleb Bell, once again, the newly elected chairman for the Colorado Bowhunter Association. Once again, the website, coloradobowhunting.org. And get your tickets now for the March 8th banquet. It will be a great, great couple of days there and a great meal and a great time. You’re listening to Sportsman of Colorado. We’ve got to take a quick break. We’ll be back with more right after this.
SPEAKER 03 :
Are you in the market for a new firearm? Or maybe looking to purchase your very first firearm? Well, wouldn’t it be great to have an experience worth telling your friends and family about while making such an important purchase? At Big Horn Firearms, we know how important that is, and it’s our mission to provide this experience to every customer that walks through our front door. Hi, I’m Ryan, owner of Bighorn Firearms, located in southeast Denver, and my team and I are customers too. We know what it’s like to experience the typical specialty store attitude, and we believe everyone deserves a first-class experience when purchasing a firearm. If you’re searching for friendly service, a knowledgeable and passionate staff, and a great selection of firearms, we’d like to invite you to Denver’s best independent gun store, Bighorn Firearms, one mile east of Evans and I-25. Whether it’s your first gun or you’ve been collecting for years, our friendly and knowledgeable staff are passionate about answering all of your questions. Service and selection is our commitment to you. That’s Bighorn Firearms, located at 2175 South Jasmine Street, Suite 105, Denver. Call us now, 303-758-9423, or shop online, bighornusa.com.
SPEAKER 13 :
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SPEAKER 11 :
Hey, Dan. You know, our jobs are pretty different. I’m a baseball announcer. You’re an attorney and a talk show host. Yeah, but we do have something in common. Really?
SPEAKER 12 :
What’s that? Our favorite car dealer, Len Lyle Chevrolet.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, definitely not your typical dealership. That’s so true, Jack. No high-pressure sales tactics. They respect your time. And when you have two jobs, that’s important. You know, I’d recommend Len Lyle Chevrolet to anyone. And with their low overhead, that means… Lower prices.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, we really do have something in common.
SPEAKER 11 :
Len Lyle Chevrolet. Go east and pay the least. Chevy. Find new roads.
SPEAKER 06 :
Riding an e-bike will make you feel like a kid again. Just try it. Hi, I’m Randy Crancy, founder of e-bike of Colorado. E-bikes are a fun way to ride the trails. Pedal assist technology flattens the steepest hills. We have 14 major brands to choose from and our expert staff will find you the perfect bike. Come take a free test ride at e-bike of Colorado in downtown Louisville next to the historic grain elevator. Open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Learn more at ebikeofcolorado.com. Just try it. You’re listening to KLZ 560, your home station.
SPEAKER 13 :
Welcome back to Sportsman of Colorado. Again, thank you so much for joining us. Quick reminder now. If you’re listening on Saturday from 1 to 2, that is our live show. And then on Sundays at 8 in the morning, 8 at night, you’ll hear a replay of that previous Saturday show. Then on Thursdays, 9 to 10 a.m., we’ll also do a replay there of Sportsman of Colorado. So, hey, you can catch us four times now. And if you miss all that, of course, you can get our podcast wherever you get yours and also at sportsmanofcolorado.com. All right. Hey, always good to have our good buddy Ryan Resch with us. It is Bighorn Firearms. They are located at 2175 South Jasmine Street. Ryan, good to see you, sir.
SPEAKER 03 :
Good to see you, too, Scott.
SPEAKER 13 :
And you brought a guest in today.
SPEAKER 03 :
I did. One of our amazing staff members, Houston. He’s been with us. We’re working towards a year now. He’s been a great asset, and he helps us out in a lot of different areas. Real versatile guy who can kind of just do whatever needs to get done. You know, everything from listing guns online to shipping to working with customers at the counter. And he’s got a really high-level knowledge in shotguns and hunting and all those things. aspects.
SPEAKER 13 :
All right, good. Well, Houston, welcome to the show. Thank you so much. Happy to be here. All right. We’ll get to you in just a second. Don’t go to sleep on me now. Ryan told me I had to start with him, so anyway. That’s not true. No, that’s not true. I shouldn’t say that. Well, Ryan, when you think about it, good night. It seems like two months ago we were at a summer event with you, and then the first year, you know, we’re all hitting show seasons, different things like that, and wow, and then wrapping up another year. So this is wrapping up year number… What were you? Two? Is this two now? I mean, with Bighorn Fireworks. Oh. Yeah, Bighorn Fireworks.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, yeah, our anniversary is in the summertime, but we’re moving into year 13 right now. Yeah, 12 years in this past July, so we’re 12 and a half or so now.
SPEAKER 13 :
What’s changed the most kind of just besides the craziness of the laws, I mean, and all that? What’s kind of changed the most in just –
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, that’s a good question. Um, well, I’ve, I’m not standing behind the counter by myself anymore. And, uh, you know, even in the last, um, three years, you know, the staff has grown, um, from three to six. So, um, I think that’s probably one of the biggest changes for me is like, uh, just continuing to try to, uh, lead this thing in a right direction. And, um, You know, find new ways for us to grow as a company and for all of us to grow as individuals and be able to better serve the local community and figure out, you know, how to stay relevant, especially with all the the changing with the changing political landscape. And, you know, hopefully we’re we’re looking at a little bit of a shift in a more pleasant direction for us. But. We won’t really know until we’re halfway through the year, I think next year, but I’m optimistic, and I’m really happy with how far we’ve come. We’ve got a really awesome crew, great team members right now. Everybody gets along well. We do good work, and I’m excited to see what we can put together for 2025.
SPEAKER 13 :
When you look at what online stuff has done for every industry, I was just this morning earlier, I was over at LandLaw Chevrolet and I was talking with Dan Johnson. And I said, when I asked him the same question, because he’s been in the car business a long time, I said, what’s changed so much? And he goes, well, we used to do all the ads in the Denver Post, you know, used to have the car ad page after page. And now online stuff has changed so much in so many businesses. Do you wish it wasn’t there kind of for online stuff, or are you glad it’s there?
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, competition’s always good. So, you know, I do think that… Good consumers, whether they’re buying online or in person, do the research. But I definitely feel like we have to undo a lot of bad decisions for people in the store because they just go online and they just buy things because they’re cheap. or inexpensive or they think it’s a good deal or something like that and you know what what a local business can provide to those people is a level of knowledge that you know It takes them from being uninformed to being a well-informed consumer and making a good decision. I mean, it’s an expensive purchase. Even if you’re getting a great deal or you’re buying something, you know, quote-unquote cheap, you know, it’s important to know what you’re buying because even a cheap gun’s a few hundred dollars, you know, and that’s – it’s a significant amount of money. I don’t, it doesn’t really matter who you are, you know, do your research, come in, find some local guys that you can trust, like the guys that we have at Bighorn and come in, ask some questions, talk to them, listen, you know, that’s, that’s a big thing too. You know, um, a lot of people like to come in and, ask a lot of questions, but they just overlap questions with questions and they don’t hear what we’re saying. So, you know, slow down and take your time and really hear what the experts have to say. And, and, and if you need to take some time and digest that and then come back and make a decision when you’re really ready, because, you know, guns are, you know, an expensive item. And when you take them, When you actually transfer them to an individual and they leave the store, you know, there’s a lot of paperwork that goes on. If you decide that you want to, you know, return said item or exchange it or trade it in, you know, it’s not like a pair of pants at Macy’s.
SPEAKER 13 :
Used gun when your door closes and their car door opens, right? I mean, really.
SPEAKER 03 :
Correct. And I mean, the other thing is, too, it’s just there’s a lot more to it than people, I think, really understand with the paperwork that’s involved with a gun purchase. You know, there’s another background check that needs to happen. That gun has to be brought back into the books and written into the books with a… uh, transferee information, you know, there’s just, there’s a lot of liability there. Compliance is a really big issue with that. The more guns that come in and off of our books, the more, um, uh, exposure we have to, uh, errors that could cause us to be out of compliance. And it’s a big deal. And it’s, uh, it requires a lot of time and, uh, and knowledge to make sure that we can continue to do what we do, um, for people here in the Denver Metro area. Um, So, you know, returning a gun is not always the most cost effective option. Going and renting a gun. You know, some people look at that as like an expense like that. They don’t want to spend 60 bucks to go rent some guns at the local range. But you can spend 60 bucks, you know, have a new level of confidence and a new level of understanding coming into a gun store to purchase a firearm rather than. Purchasing the firearm, taking it home, taking it to the range one time, deciding you hate it, and then bringing it back. And it ends up costing you maybe $150 or $200, depending on what those guns are looking like. That was an expensive rental, wasn’t it? Yeah, exactly. And a lot of these local ranges, like Shootin’ Doors over here in Buckley, you go in there and you pay a flat fee to rent guns. all the guns in the fleet. So you have access to 20 different guns or however many, let’s just say nine millimeters they have. You can rent all, try all those guns for the same price. You buy a couple of boxes of ammunition, you know, maybe worst case scenario, a hundred bucks at the range, but you leave there with, you know, confidence and a new level of knowledge when you walk into the gun store that, and you can make a really good, smart, um, decision on which firearm it is that you ultimately want to have, you know, that’s going to serve the purposes you need it to serve. So, you know, and we do that all the time when people, we can just tell people just don’t know. We say, go over to shoot indoors, you know, rent some guns and come back and tell us about your experience. And then that’ll give us More information to try to continue to guide you towards making the right purchase the first time. And you’re not going to get that shopping online. That is an in-person thing that you’re going to get from a local store where you can talk to people that you trust.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, absolutely. Ryan Resch is with us. Once again, it’s Big Horn Firearms. Also, Houston West is with us. And one more question for Ryan, then we’ll get to Houston here for a few minutes. So what’s happening as you’re winding down the end of the year here? What’s what our listeners need to know what’s happening at the store? Maybe some deals you got going?
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, yeah. We’re running all of our holiday specials through the end of the year. Holiday hours are closed Christmas Eve, closed Christmas Day. Just something I like to do for the guys to make it a nice holiday break. So we will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday next week. Um, then we will be back to normal business hours, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We’ll have a pretty full staff. We’ve got a great deals going on, uh, 10, 15, and 20% off throughout the store up to 15% off on in stock firearms. Um, and, uh, and we’ll also have discounts on special orders and things of that nature. So we’re all stocked up on, um, all of our our hunting stuff all of our tactical stuff and uh that’s part of the reason we brought houston down today to talk about some hunting stuff and uh some some uh duck hunting waterfowl and all that we got some great shotguns in stock everything’s discounted right now okay and we’ll be running that through the end of the year so um great time to come in the christmas shopping’s done you know how much money you got left over you know Come get a great deal, save a couple hundred bucks on that shotgun you’ve been wanting for the last six months but didn’t feel comfortable spending the money with Christmas right around the corner. So we will also be closing early on New Year’s Eve, and we’ll be closed New Year’s Day. So if you’re not sure if we’re going to be open or not, just give us a call ahead of time. If we don’t answer the phone, that’s because we’re closed. Yeah. So we’re pretty confident in that. We make sure that we’ve got enough phones floating around the shop to take all the calls that come through. So, yeah, just come on down and hang out. It’s pretty casual. We’ve got Christmas movies playing. You know, Christmas carols, Christmas music, kind of like hit or miss with that. But we’ve got the Christmas movies on the TV. So come hang out. It’s a nice time to just –
SPEAKER 13 :
chill it’s a it’s a good vibe in the shop and uh we’d love to have you come down and get a good deal on on a new gun yeah hey nothing like buying your own christmas gift you know you’ll love it so absolutely go see them it’s 2175 south jasmine street all right hey and i can already tell we’re gonna have to bring houston back uh next week to cover some things we wanted to cover here but um um first of all give us a little your your background and from hunting to guns whatever uh tell us a
SPEAKER 10 :
grew up hunting uh pretty much all my life started probably when I was three or four years old uh grew up in Alabama so it’s a little different than it is down here that’s for sure um didn’t really get into the duck stuff until I was later in life probably in college um but really really took a liking to that I don’t know what did it for me I think it’s just those birds um Do a lot of deer hunting, sitting in a blind, gets old, at least duck hunting, you get to shoot a lot and have some fun. Worked in Birmingham for a while, sold guns there, gotten to sell guns in a couple different areas across the country. So it’s very interesting to see what people are into in different areas, you know. It’s very intriguing, speaking of online, of what sells in different areas. Stuff that sells out here, people don’t really like as much back south, but the stuff out south, people don’t like it as much out here. I know. I’m from Texas.
SPEAKER 03 :
We got it. We do send a lot of guns down towards Texas. Absolutely. Big online buyers there for our collectibles and auction site and unique. We do a lot of hunting, like vintage hunting rifles and things like that online on GunBroker.com. And we see a lot of stuff headed towards Texas. Right. Big gun buyers down there.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, for sure. So what do you see? We’re going to have to get the hunting stuff next week on the show, but I have to get you back. But what do you see, you know, as you deal with customers in the store and things like that, what are you kind of seeing happening? from knowledge from customers a little bit? I mean, I’m sure you see many things across the board where you get some that know a lot or think they know a lot, and then you get some, maybe it’s their first gun purchase or whatever. What are you seeing coming in the store for customers?
SPEAKER 10 :
You know, a lot of it is, kind of what y’all were touching on earlier is come talk to somebody a lot of people think they can just go read an article of their favorite gun writer and buy everything that they’ve got and it’s going to work perfect for them everybody is so different everybody has different needs and wants and being able to specialize and have exactly what you need for the outing that you’re going on it’s very important just because your buddy told you this is what you need It might work great for what he does, where he is, but what you’re going to do might be different. So come in, talk to somebody that, for the most part, goes out there and does it too and has experienced, you know, what breaks, what goes wrong, where you run into issues, because that’s where you learn the most is when things don’t go right.
SPEAKER 13 :
And we were kind of talking before we came on air, and I think this fits with anything you’re doing, but, man, having a gun that fits you. I mean, your buddy could shoot a .300 Weatherby Mag. Yep. maybe that’s a little more recoil than you want so maybe you need a 270 you know and maybe they shoot a you know a 45 or maybe your hand’s a little smaller maybe you need a nine mil i mean in shotguns we talked about that man there’s so much to talk about there are shotguns fitting you so you gotta have a gun that fits you which goes back to ryan’s point hey you know You’ve got a lot of guns there, but if they actually want to shoot them, which would be good. I can’t do all the shotguns over shooting doors buckling, but you know what I mean. It is a purchase everybody’s got to take serious.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah. And speaking on shotgun fitting, we could probably talk about that for three or four hours alone. Sure. But when we kind of touched on it earlier, how important it is, and you might not notice the difference until you get something that fits you correctly, of how much of an improvement it can make in your shooting and just ability to feel more confident in your setup and what you’re taking out into the field. Right, right.
SPEAKER 13 :
And so, hey, this is kind of what you find. And, again, join us next week as well. We’re going to bring Houston back and kind of touch on some of the hunting things at the store. And, Ryan, this is something you’ve talked about before. While everybody likes guns, some have different areas they enjoy talking about more or know more about, let’s just be honest. So, I mean, somebody there in the store is going to know something about the guns you got, right?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. We’ve all got kind of a – a lane that we enjoy the most. And, you know, it was really nice because we were lacking in the hunting and the shotgun lane quite a bit. I mean, we have some good general knowledge, but somebody who’s out there who’s, you know, actively pursuing duck hunting… And it’s one of their passions, having somebody like that on the team. I mean, it is huge. And not just for us, but for everybody walking through the door. I mean, we’ve got, you know, some really fantastic product lines from Benelli and Franke. And then, you know, their entry level Stoger. And then we have access to Browning, Beretta, and who knows what we got coming in the front door used. So, you know, it’s a good opportunity to start a relationship with a local guy who’s actually out there doing it. Get a different perspective. You know, here’s something different than what you’ve been told, you know, growing up or wherever you were hunting previously. And, you know, and just come in and make a friend that can really point you in the right direction and make sure you’re getting the right gear. So, you know. We were just talking about one of our employees just bought a shotgun, and he didn’t even know that Benelli shipped them with the full shim kits where, you know, you can actually fit the gun yourself. I mean, knowing what to do is maybe not so straightforward, but there is information in the manual, and there’s always, you know, Houston is, you know, that living person here who can just, like, tell you about what these shims are good for and what they’re not good for and what you may do. you know shooting a gun right-handed versus left-handed and and how these shims make a huge difference on how the gun’s going to perform i mean uh the shooter can shoot great but you know having equipment that that enhances that is i mean is totally invaluable yeah absolutely well guys our time’s gone too quickly but um ryan thank you for a great year look forward to 2025 with you guys and uh houston i’ll drag you back next week but sounds good all right man
SPEAKER 13 :
Hey, thanks for being with us today for Sportsman of Colorado. Merry Christmas to everyone. Please be safe and travels. And we are looking forward to wrapping up this year and enjoying a great 2025 with Bighorn Firearms. 2175 South Jasmine Street. When you go in, let them know you heard about them here. And we’d appreciate that as well. Have a great rest of your day.
SPEAKER 07 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
