11/15/25: Custom Ear Solutions & Stack Optical & Rainin’ Skies Waterfowl Club Today’s Guests: Our exclusive Sportsman of Colorado Audiologist Dr. Melissa Fling is with us to talk about hearing protection in the outdoors. Protecting your hearing preserves awareness, direction of sound, and long-term hearing health. Dr. Melissa will provide us with excellent tips and stress the importance of getting your hearing checked. Then our vision of course is also so critical as clear eyesight helps us spot game, judge distance, and move safely through rugged terrain. Allen Stack, Owner of Stack Optical joins us to share some insights
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 06 :
Welcome to Sportsman of Colorado. Thank you so much for joining us today. Hey, we’ve got a great show in store for you. We’re going to kick it off with our exclusive audiologist, Dr. Melissa Fling. You can catch her on Wednesdays at 1230 on our Haystack show on a segment we call Listen Up. So every Wednesday, 1230, you can hear Dr. Melissa Fling, but she is on our show here with us. We try to get her on once a month and want to get her on today. So Dr. Fling, how are you? great how are you glad to be here well good it’s hard to believe we’re wrapping up a year I know oh my gosh 2026 crazy what a strange number I know let’s see it at my age it’s really sounded like a long ways away at me growing up 2026 I mean yeah I graduated high school this will be the 20th I’m not going but it would be the 20th reunion I graduated high school 20 years ago why aren’t you going
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, actually, I haven’t even heard. It may have already happened, and I didn’t hear about it. You should go. I haven’t gone to any of them.
SPEAKER 10 :
You should go.
SPEAKER 11 :
It feels like a whole lifetime ago. It’s just bizarre to think about it. But, yeah, so anyway, 20 years since high school graduation. Good deal.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, hey, if you’ve listened to our show, especially on our Wednesday show with Melissa, we talked about going to a shooting range. And she had never been to an indoor one, correct?
SPEAKER 11 :
Correct. Inside the room where they shoot.
SPEAKER 06 :
In the room where they shoot. And we’re going to talk about that experience for her today. Now, needless to say, we work with a couple of ranges, all right? And if you’ve been to them, you’re pretty used to them. But in this case, for a first-time visitor and being an audiologist and sensitive hearing, I’ll leave the rest to you.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yes, I’ll admit to the sensitive hearing part. Well, so we, you know, the reason we went is because in a couple episodes prior, you and I talked about suppressors. So you wanted to demonstrate suppressed shots versus unsuppressed shots so I could hear the difference. And, you know, so we went in there. We both had our earplugs and our muffs. And right away, there were only two other people in there at the time, so it was pretty quiet. But right away, there was another gentleman shooting a handgun.
SPEAKER 07 :
It was a handgun at first, right?
SPEAKER 11 :
One was a handgun, right. And that was already a little much for me, but I could deal with it. And you were setting up your target and getting ready and everything. So I was just waiting for you and pushing my muffs against my head as hard as I could to block out all the noise. And, you know, I was kind of looking around, seeing, okay, all the walls are cement, the floors are cement. You know, just kind of taking it all in. And then another guy started shooting what I think was a rifle. I don’t know what it was, just larger firearm. And that rattled my entire head completely. And it was two shots of that. And I was like, nope, I’m out of here. So I didn’t even get to hear Scott shoot his suppressed versus unsuppressed. I had to leave immediately. And then, you know, I went to the front desk and they have that window behind them where you can see into the room where you guys are in. And so I was just waiting for you to look for me so I could wave and say, sorry.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, yeah, I turned around and I was going to get a reaction after I just shot a 9mm pistol in. I was like, where’d you go?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, yeah. I just had to leave immediately. It was too much for me.
SPEAKER 11 :
And, you know, I was telling you earlier, people kind of have to take what I say with a grain of salt because I’m just naturally hypersensitive to loud sound. Not necessarily personally. all sound music i love so i tend to want to listen to music louder but impulse sound like that where it’s just fast and short i can just feel an aversion to it in my body like no that’s dangerous i need to get away from that immediately danger the alert starts going up so yeah i wish i could have stayed in there to hear hear your demonstration and you can imagine
SPEAKER 06 :
And there’s sometimes six to ten people depending on the size of the range and different things going off at different times. And, you know, you have to get used to that because you’re getting ready to shoot and all of a sudden two other firearms go off and, you know.
SPEAKER 11 :
It’s startling, I would think, right?
SPEAKER 06 :
And distracting. Yeah. So you do have to kind of get in that framework. Yeah.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, and then there was something, too, that you were telling me earlier that you learned kind of because we’ve always talked about, hey, take your other custom plugs, put the earmuffs over them. I’ll let you take it from there what you just picked up from there.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, there were three things that I took from that experience. So I had my custom molds, and then the shooting range supplied the muffs, right? And those were nice, tight-fitting muffs. So I put the molds in first, then I put the muffs over that. And what I noticed immediately, and I should have thought about this, but I’m just not in that I don’t have plugs and muffs on hardly ever, so I didn’t think about it. When I put the muffs on, because they’re so tight-fitting and they put pressure on the ears, they kind of distort the way your ear naturally sits, which kind of changes the way the mold sits in the ear. And because the mold is fixed, it can’t expand or compress like a foam earplug can. I felt like it may have introduced a little bit of a leak in the seal versus when I don’t have muffs on and my ears are just sitting normally and it feels sealed. But once I put the muffs on and there was a pressure and kind of a pulling feeling almost, the fit of the molds felt compromised slightly. So I thought, oh, that was the first thing like, oh, okay. I don’t love wearing molds under muffs. I would actually recommend that people wear foam earplugs under muffs. Now, there could be exceptions where maybe you just can’t get foam plugs in that deep, so a mold might be better protection.
SPEAKER 06 :
Something I may try. You know the flat ones that you made? Mm-hmm. You know, just where they’re… not for hearing and different things like that. Those are pretty flat on the deal. So I’ll try those.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay. Well, in mine, we’re just a canal style. So nothing was sticking out of the ear just goes into the canal, but still when, when your ear is being distorted from the outside, it’ll still affect your ear canal inside. So, yeah, I just realized foam is probably better if you’re going to wear muffs, you know, and if the muffs are good, they should be tight fitting and, They should put pressure on your head to get a good seal. So that was the first realization is I don’t think I would recommend molds under muffs anymore. I think foam earplugs are better. And then another potential thing that can happen that can interfere with the seal of muffs is if you’re wearing protective eyewear. The bow of the glasses, even if it’s really small, you know, when it sits under the muffs a little bit, that breaks the seal and introduces the possibility of noise getting in. So there is a company that I discovered a few years ago at a conference called Magna Lens, M-A-G-N-A. L E N S Magna lens. And hopefully they’re still in business. Cause they were kind of a startup business when I discovered them, but they, um, which is so brilliant. They came up with protective eyewear that seamlessly integrates with your muffs. So the bow doesn’t sit against your head, um, or it doesn’t go under the, the muff against your head. It just integrates with the bow or with the, the muffs. So there’s no breaking of the seal there.
SPEAKER 07 :
Hmm.
SPEAKER 11 :
So, now I thought, okay, so people, it’s better to wear foamier plugs under the muffs. And if you can invest the money in those muffs that have the integrated eye protective eyewear, then you’ll have a really good seal. You won’t have a break in the seal as much. So, that was thing number one that I learned.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right.
SPEAKER 11 :
Um, the other thing that I noticed just standing in there, which I kind of already knew without going in there, but all the surfaces are very hard and reflective, which contributes to why it’s so absurdly loud in there, even with double hearing protection. Um, so it would be nice, you know, and it would cost a lot of money. So probably not a lot of ranges would want to invest in that, but it would be excellent if they could. outfit those all those hard surfaces with really good sound absorbing material now again that’s in a really ideal situation in the studio just a sound panel exactly foam foam on the wall and it wouldn’t even have to be expensive material just to have the walls covered in a lower cost foam would probably make a huge difference so that was the other thing like thinking man all these hard surfaces just make it so loud in here Would be nice if they invested in some sound absorbing material. Just my opinion. I’m sure that’s expensive. And, you know, as a small business owner myself, I know every little thing, you know, it’s expensive to be in business. And you’re constantly fighting to… you know, make a profit to live on and so that you can reinvest that profit back into your business and to your employees. So I totally understand, but that was just a thought I had. Um, the third thing was my experience after leaving that range. I was telling you earlier, my ears hurt after that. And again, I’m super sensitive, but my, I had mild pain in both ears. And I remember, you know, leaving and walking out in the parking lot with you and just thinking, Oh God, what did I do to my ears? Why did I do this?
SPEAKER 10 :
I knew I, you know, I knew it was not going to be comfortable for me. Um, so I was regretting it immediately. no, I hope I didn’t hurt my hearing.
SPEAKER 11 :
And then it, I didn’t notice it right away, but what kind of developed over the developed and resolved over the next 24 to 48 hours, I would say was something called hyperacusis, which is just a fancy term for you have hypersensitivity because you just damaged your hearing a little bit. And that can happen after any loud sound exposure happens. And what my experience of it was, was I couldn’t turn the radio up in the car as much as I normally would because even just normal level was just a little bit too much for me. The sound of running water, just driving in my car, you know, it all just felt like too much. And it’s like, oh, I actually had to put my earplugs on. the next day in my car on the way to work, just driving, just driving. Yeah. Just with regular road noise that would never even be on my radar. But it was, I was just suddenly very aware of all these everyday sounds that were too loud. And I was telling you earlier, like that’s a, that’s something that I studied for years in school, you know, the symptoms of, um, a temporary damage to your hearing and hyperacusis is one of them. And it’s so interesting to study something for so long and then you experience it yourself and you realize, wow, that is actually what happens, you know? So that lasted about two or three days and it was a bummer. It was really a bummer. I was wearing my earplugs all day and there was a point at work where I felt like, okay, I can take them out because I had to talk to people, you know? And so, yeah, I felt comfortable taking them out and just kind of suffered a little through some certain sounds. But that was a really interesting experience. So while I immediately regretted it when we left, everything that kind of happened over the next few days that I thought about was like, oh, that actually was a valuable experience for me to have.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
And, you know, if anything else, man, now a lot of all the ranges, they’ll rent the muffs, okay? But if your range does not have good ones and you shoot a considerable amount of times, it may be good to go buy you some really good ones that work good, right?
SPEAKER 11 :
Definitely, yeah. Yeah, if that’s something you’re doing regularly, yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
what is it what how does it work with the range do you get a membership can you just pay per time you go in yeah yeah you can pay you know as you go uh most of them do offer memberships though okay and everything and so and there are a lot of guys and gals that shoot i mean weekly yeah i mean hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of rounds yeah so i mean it is a lot of exposure to damage hearing.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah. So they’re spending a good amount of money on whether they have the membership or they pay each time. So yeah, if you’re going to spend the money on that. Might as well spend the money on some good protection. Oh, another thing that you and I talked about. So I guess four things, right? It was indoor versus outdoor. When I left there, I was thinking I would avoid indoor ranges like the plague if I were a firearm user. And you and I talked about that a little bit. And because I’m not a firearm user and I don’t go to ranges, I’m not familiar with the logistics of things, right? So you explained to me that The benefits of going to one or the other could involve the weather. You might not want to go to an outdoor range depending on the weather, if it’s a blizzard. You might prefer an indoor range. But also the control of your targets. Replacing it is a big problem with outdoor.
SPEAKER 06 :
We could control the target, bring it back as we wanted. You can shoot as much as you want, leave when you want. A lot of the ranges… You know, you’ve got to walk down, switch out targets. You’ve got to wait until everybody finishes shooting or they have certain allotments of time to call a ceasefire. Everybody unload their guns, steps away from benches, walks down a range. So it may take you. a couple of hours to go do something that might take you 15 minutes and the other time.
SPEAKER 11 :
So time. Yeah. Yeah. More efficient.
SPEAKER 06 :
But still, I mean, the main thing we want to get across to everybody is just protecting your hearing. Yeah. And you know what? There are times you get a second chance, but. Man, why put your ears in that danger? Yeah. I mean, so have some good protection for muffs. And then the other thing is, of course, that Custom Air Solutions offers with the custom moles and a lot of different noises. I mean, I think if you really think about it, because most of us don’t. We’re in our cars. We’ve got the radio on. But I think if we were to really pay attention at just one day, what are the different loud sounds I heard?
SPEAKER 07 :
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 06 :
Because most of us don’t. I mean, I don’t really think about it.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, yeah. And I mean, really, I don’t either until I have an experience like that where I’m all of a sudden very sensitive to everything. And then it’s, you know, then I notice it more. But otherwise, you know, you just get used to it. especially if you live in the city, there’s constantly noise here, you know? So yeah, it’s something different to pay attention to that. I think most of us take for granted me included, you know, when I have an experience like that and I feel like I may have done permanent damage to my hearing, I’m just so bummed, you know, it’s like, please don’t. And I ended up checking my hearing just myself. So it wasn’t perfectly accurate, but Um, I just rechecked it to see if there was any change and there wasn’t. And the, all those symptoms seem to have resolved luckily, but you know, sometimes the damage is enough that it’s permanent or it takes longer to resolve. And if you don’t have to go through that, why go through that? You know, just get good protection, prevent it while you can, because when it, if it happens permanently, you’re probably going to feel kind of bad about it. And that’s part of what I’m trying to help people prevent.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, see, just hang around with our outdoor crowd. We can get your ears to ring in. Then you can really relate to your tentative customers. Totally, totally.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, just go get my hearing damaged on purpose, and then I can relate. Yeah, yeah. So anyway, it was quite the interesting experience. All right.
SPEAKER 06 :
Dr. Melissa Fling is with us. It’s Custom Ear Solutions. Her number is 720-839-7705. And, hey, here’s the thing. Here’s what you ought to do before the end of the year. All right. Get a hearing test.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 1 :
$125.
SPEAKER 06 :
$125. Okay.
SPEAKER 1 :
$125.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yes. What do they get for that? a look in the ears, evaluation of the ear canal, eardrum. We’ll do a pressure test. That’ll evaluate the function of the eardrums, make sure those are working normally. And then in-booth testing, which comprises of how well you detect sound. That’s kind of the main part of it. And then speech testing. So what levels can you understand speech when it’s very soft? How well do you understand speech when it’s set to conversational level? How well do you understand speech in background noise? Because that’s a common complaint of people with some hearing loss, especially if it’s noise-induced. And then a diagnosis of where the hearing loss is coming from. Is it outer ear, middle ear, inner ear? That’ll inform me, you know, the pattern of your hearing loss and the type of hearing loss informs me about the potential cause of it. We can determine if your current hearing protection is effective enough or if you need something different. So yeah, it turns into a conversation about a whole lot of different things, which I think is pretty valuable if you’re wanting to inform yourself about how to, where you’re currently at. and how to maintain that if you’re regularly noise induced.
SPEAKER 06 :
And that’s the goal. Yeah. Wherever you’re at, keep what you got. Yeah.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah. Let’s prevent it from getting worse from factors that could make it worse if you can prevent it. So yeah, that’s the whole purpose really, just trying to help people prevent noise induced hearing loss, noise induced tinnitus, and any other noise-induced hearing disorders because it’s kind of a bummer when you have that stuff can be you know so if you can prevent it might as well prevent it right and of course she offers some hey name for company some other custom ear solutions different types of
SPEAKER 06 :
what would you call plugs earplugs yeah ear molds ear molds for different uses for different uses and so she can get you fixed up there and proud to say hey she’ll be back with us for our mile high hunting fish expo march 20th through the 22nd and um once again we’ve been mentioning this we are not going to be back at the gaylord this year we are going to be at the brand new expo center there at the national western stock show area they have built and again that’s going to be march 20th through the 22nd and she will be with us there but Catch us on Wednesdays. We go through a lot of things about your hearing, and that’s at 1230 every Wednesday, a segment we call Listen Up on our Haystack Help Radio program, noon to 1, right here on KLZ as well. So, Dr. Fling, thank you for your time.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thank you, Scott.
SPEAKER 06 :
You’re listening to Sports from Colorado. We’ve got to hit a quick break, and we’ll be back with more right after this.
SPEAKER 03 :
Here’s why you need personal injury attorney Kevin Flesch on your side. He understands the way the jury thinks. In the context of a personal injury case, you’ve been hurt by someone else’s negligence. The idea is that you’re going to try to recover so that you can get back to where you were just prior to that incident occurring. What that really means from a jurist’s perspective is that you’re going to be asking them to award you money. So when we talk about fairness, we’re talking about six people that you don’t know. Those six people view the evidence and make a unanimous decision that will decide what the fair value is. When you’re the one who’s hurt, you have a good idea of what you think it’s worth. The question is, can you persuade those other individuals whom you don’t know and were witnesses to believe that’s what the case is worth? Most of us know that our pets age much faster than we do, but we often don’t think about what faster aging means for their health.
SPEAKER 06 :
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SPEAKER 14 :
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SPEAKER 06 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
KLZ 560 AM, your home station.
SPEAKER 06 :
Welcome back to Sportsman of Colorado. Thank you so much for being with us today. Always good to have Alan Stack in studio. Hey, it’s Stack Optical. You’ll see the difference. That’s what we say here on Sportsman of Colorado. And hey, Stack Help Radio. And Alan joins us today in studio. Good to see you, sir. It’s good to see you, Scott. So how’s the last few months been? Not too bad. Not too bad. Good. Been pretty busy down there. Are there seasonal changes?
SPEAKER 08 :
times for glasses I mean do you see I don’t know it used to be you could always we did have those kind of um ups and downs in the business now you just you never know what one year October isn’t that good this year October was incredible you know it just you just never know anymore Yeah. And it all seemed to change everything during COVID. I don’t know.
SPEAKER 06 :
Everything. So much changed during COVID. Man, when you reflect back up, I was talking with a guy yesterday. It showed you how quickly government could take over your life. Oh, yes. I mean, you own a business and you go, hey. It’s my business. I’m opening it.
SPEAKER 08 :
I mean, churches, whatever. That was so weird in our parking lot. The whole center was closed except for me. People would drive into the parking lot. I knew they were coming to me.
SPEAKER 07 :
Sure, yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
And then, you know, my wife at the time, she would run everything from the house and take appointments for me and that kind of stuff. Man. And what the problem was is all these first responders, their glasses break. There was no place for them to go. But they’d find us on the Internet, and I was able to help them.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. I want to talk a little bit today on the show here. Of course, sports from Colorado, mostly about the outdoors, hunting and fishing, different things like that. But, man, when you look at the different types of glasses, things for goggles you can make, I mean, first of all, I don’t think there’s one pair of glasses that’s going to fit every need for everybody. Absolutely. If you’re into glasses, you’re probably going to need several type applications.
SPEAKER 08 :
It all depends on your lifestyle. I mean, you just sit around the house all the time. Yeah, I can probably do it in one pair of glasses. My buddy Red, yeah, that’s why he has one pair. But, you know, you get out and you’re a skier, you’re a hunter. You’re a golfer. I can make a pair of glasses that’ll help with some of those, but depending on the conditions. There’s different types of glasses for your lifestyle.
SPEAKER 06 :
I want to talk about tents a little bit with you. We’ve discussed that in the past a lot. Traditionally, if you’re out hunting, you’ll either see a guy or gal and just what appears, I should say. I’m not examining their lenses, but it appears what’s just a normal sunglass. or you see orange or yellow. There are more tents that can enhance your experience in the outdoors than those.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely. It’s just like on the east or west coast, you know, you’re ocean fishing. You want a good gray polarized lens being out there on the ocean. But to use that same lens when you’re up in the mountains hunting, you’re going to miss a lot of things. Because you’re using a gray lens and you’re looking at the opposite slope, you’re going to miss that deer that’s laying underneath that bush. But if you had a brown lens, that’ll cut through the shadows and you’ll be able to pick out that deer. That’s why the brown or… It has a little bit more orange to it, that type of thing. Remember the old things in the 90s called blue blockers? Right. Well, all that is, oh, it’s a high-definition lens. Well, the more blue light that you can filter out, the higher definition is. In other words, you’re going to be able to pick out – that’s why when you’re golfing, you have a gray lens. It’s hard to see that ball in the shadows. But if you use the brown lens, that’s what makes it so you can see that ball.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. And I know you were doing this for a while. We called it the Stack Sports Pack. But if people wanted to come in and get a frame – And have some interchangeable lenses. Is that something you can still have?
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, absolutely. All they did was they just changed the frame. It has a little bit more wrap to it. But I still do that same thing.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right.
SPEAKER 08 :
You know.
SPEAKER 06 :
And I tell you, it was easy to interchange them. Yep. And it still is. Okay. It still is. So that’s really good. Again, it’s Stack Optical, 2233 South Monaco Parkway. Hey, they’re open 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, and then 10 to – on Saturday? Saturday is 9 to 1. 9 to 1. Okay. 9 to 1. All right. 9 to 1 on Saturdays. Now, again, if you’re into shooting, different things like that, you do want to make the appointment with Alan. He has experience in this. Alan’s a – gun guy himself and does a lot of shooting so there may be instances that you would want to bring your firearm in where Alan can see kind of really how you’re aiming the gun and what you need, where to maybe put that correction and some glasses. Exactly, the optical center, that type of thing. So when you call and get an appointment, make sure you make that with Allen. And once again, if you bring your firearm, make sure it’s unloaded and cased, and they would appreciate that as well.
SPEAKER 08 :
Something to keep in mind, too, if it’s been over a year since you had an eye exam.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
Make an appointment with me and the doc. You know, the doc only charged us $69. So let’s go ahead and, you know, make sure we’ve got the latest correction in there. And he understands the distances that we’re working with. And he’d incorporate that when we were doing the refraction.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay. And again, as Alan said, $69. We just mentioned this on our Haystack show the other day. But HSA accounts, anything like that where you’ve been saving up and you’ve got some money there you need to spend, this is a great time to do it. Absolutely. For the eye exams. And I’m telling you, this is not something you sit down and read a couple of notes.
SPEAKER 08 :
Not only for the eye exams. You can use that for the glasses and that type of thing. That’s all medical. Okay. All right. Good deal. Even those sports glasses are medical. Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
And like I say, on the exam, it’s not where he just sits in a chair and you read a couple of letters on a wall. I mean, I’m telling you, this is a really good exam. And you know what? Alan just mentioned something, too. And shows I’ve done with doctors have confirmed this. Not that I didn’t believe Allen, but doctors have confirmed this. You can see a lot in the eye. Absolutely. Overall health. And there are health conditions that can be caught. I don’t know if you just heard last few weeks, but there was a Bronco player that had a random drug test. They found out he had testicular cancer from that. Had to have surgery. Now he’s going to be fine. Right. But what I’m saying, we all need to take care of our health. Blood work, eye exam. Absolutely. You never know what it could show. Now, we hope nothing serious, but if you catch something early.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely. It’s just like hypertension. That kind of stuff can show up in the eye. It’s like, oh, let’s get on some pills, and everything calms down.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, for sure. Hey, I want to talk about driving glasses, too, real quick. Because, hey, a lot of times people, once we get past that 65 age especially, man, you can be on the road sometimes, and especially hunting and stuff, it’s at night and glaring lights. Do you talk about them?
SPEAKER 08 :
And sometimes, too, that’s just a simple correction. You’re saying, well, boy, I can see fine. I don’t need any glasses. But a lot of times there’s a little astigmatism in there that you really don’t need it except for night driving. You really are going to appreciate, hey, if I had that, I’d be able to see a little bit better. It’s just like what you were saying. You see really great.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
But I’m sure if I put that correction in there, oh, that would be a little bit better at night driving. Especially what you were talking about on yours. You had one for reading.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I just recently had cataract surgery. I did my left eye for reading and the right one kind of for some medium distance. And, man, it has been amazing over these last few weeks.
SPEAKER 08 :
But night driving, if you had that little correction in there, it would sharpen it right up.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. I’ve got to drive to Dallas next week, so I may come see you today. But, hey, seriously, if it’s been a long time since you have had a really good eye exam, don’t go into another year without that. All right. Call 303-321-1578. I mentioned you heard them here on KOZ 560, and we’d appreciate that as well. But, again, the doctor does a great job. Alan’s experience, man, is untouched by anyone. I’m telling you, they’ve been doing this a long, long time. Generational customers. They come to Stack Optical. Great Google reviews. Check out the website, stackoptical.com, and they will get you fixed up for sure. You talk about different types of glasses, and I’m just going through real quick some people that you’ve helped. You helped one friend of mine that lived up in the Washington area a year or so ago. And we were at a restaurant, and he took his glasses off to read, and I was like, what? Why are you doing that? He goes, because these things are horrible. I said, well, man, I can help you get fixed out. He was only in town a couple of days. But, man, that changed that guy’s life.
SPEAKER 08 :
The fit is everything. One of the things that I noticed, too, that even through my hiring over the years of bringing opticians in, a lot of the big corporations will tell their employees, fit them low. So it doesn’t affect their distance. The problem is when you fit a bifocal or a progressive low, they have to hold their head up so high in order to get into that reading, they just take them off. It’s just not worth it. Fit is everything. And you think it’s such a basic thing, but it isn’t. To get those fit properly changes somebody’s life.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, and it sure did. And, hey, we mentioned this too, Alan does repairs. So, again, if you’ve got someone that needs some repairs, he can help you. On-site lab, that’s another great difference for Stack Optical. So in most cases, we’ll say it that way, about three to four days once you get in, get your eye exam, pick out what you like. In about three or four days, you can come pick up your new glasses. Or if you have a favorite frame. Favorite frame. Alan can throw some new lenses in that. What are you making most of those, real quick, what are you making most of those lenses out of today?
SPEAKER 08 :
Lots of different products. Really?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 08 :
You know, it’s like the shooting glasses, I make them out of Tri-Vex. To me, that’s one of the best materials. Only problem is you have somebody who has a higher correction, and they’re going to be thicker lenses. So then we get into different types of high-index materials, which is kind of a compressed plastic, per se.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right.
SPEAKER 06 :
Do you do, like, safety glasses, too? Because sometimes people would need to see, have a correction in those. Yep. Okay. I do safety glasses as well. All right. Hey, it’s your one-stop shop. And if you’ve heard the ads on the show, always end every ad at Stack Optical. You’ll see the difference. And I’m telling you, Alan knows his business. And you know what? His main business is customer service. And you will not find where they will take care of you better than Stack Optical. Hey, don’t touch your eyes to some big-box store that, hey, the person could be qualified. They may not be. They might have been over there. You know, selling vacuums on one aisle, and now they got them over there seeing what kind of contacts you need.
SPEAKER 08 :
Ask Jamie about that, you know, where she came from over the years and that kind of stuff. And now she’s been with me over a year now. Okay. And she’s learned a lot there.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I’ll bet. So at Stack Optical, they’ll get you fixed up. Once again, it is 2233 South Monaco Parkway. Alan, always appreciate your time, sir. Thank you. 303-321-1578 is the number. Be sure and let them know you heard them here on KLZ 560, and we thank you for that. We’ll be right back.
SPEAKER 12 :
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 Big Horn 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, Big Horn 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 06 :
For over 10 years, hunters have relied on OnX maps to help navigate public and private land boundaries across the country. OnX Hunt is the only tool comprised of more than 400 countrywide maps that give clear private and public land boundaries, trails, hunting specific data, and more. New map layers are constantly being added by pairing with some of the leading names in conservation and the outdoor industry. like the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Boone and Crockett Club, and Eastman’s. Whether it’s on your smartphone or handheld GPS, make the most of your precious time in the field by navigating with OnX Hunt. Go to the App Store or OnXMaps.com.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hey, Dan. You know, our jobs are pretty different. I’m a baseball announcer. You’re an attorney and a talk show host.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, but we do have something in common. Really? What’s that? Our favorite car dealer, Len Lyle Chevrolet. 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.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, I’d recommend Len Lyle Chevrolet to anyone. And with their low overhead, that means… Lower prices.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, we really do have something in common.
SPEAKER 05 :
Len Lyle Chevrolet. Go east and pay the least. Chevy. Find new roads.
SPEAKER 06 :
Here’s your Water Talk Minute with Paul the Waterman, brought to you by Water Pros.
SPEAKER 01 :
So, one of the things that we’ve learned, and you can check this out factually information for yourself by going to the EPA.gov. The EPA has a laundry list of unregulated contaminants. And what that means, folks, is that your municipality does not have to test for these contaminants, and so they’re not reported in your annual water quality report. This is something that has to change. We have a false sense of security about the quality of our drinking water, from pharmaceuticals to the levels of PFAS and Gen X chemicals, which was recently removed from the EPA contamination list. And for example, there’s a contaminant on the unregulated list called 1,4-Dioxin. 1,4-Dioxin has been in our water supply since the early 1900s. Check out my podcast on Spotify, Paul the Waterman, or waterpros.net.
SPEAKER 09 :
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.
SPEAKER 06 :
Need new glasses fast? With Stack Optical’s on-site lab, you’ll get your prescription glasses in just three to four days. No long wait times. Hey, this is Scott Whatley, and I’ve trusted my eye care to Allen Stack and Stack Optical for the last 15 years. Eye exams are only $69. And that should be a part of your physical checkups each year. For over 50 years, Denver has trusted this family-owned boutique eye care center for premium vision care, custom eyewear, and expert repairs. See the Stack Optical difference today. Call 303-321-1578. That’s 303-321-1578. And tell them Scott sent you. Stack Optical. Since 1968, at Stack Optical, you’ll see the difference.
SPEAKER 16 :
They’re the first on call and the first on scene. But did you know the suicide rate for first responders is one and a half times higher than the general public? At Hometown Hero Outdoors, we help to provide healing for veterans, law enforcement, and first responders by creating memorable outdoor experiences designed to focus on camaraderie and mental health. Our mission is to serve those who have served us. Help us make a difference. To join Hometown Hero Outdoors or to help by donating, visit hometownherooutdoors.org.
SPEAKER 03 :
This is AM560KLZ, your home station.
SPEAKER 06 :
Welcome back to Sportsman of Colorado. Again, just a quick reminder now. You miss our live show on Saturdays. You can catch us twice on Sundays. That’s from 8 to 9 a.m., 8 to 9 p.m., and then the following Thursday, 9 to 10 a.m., right here on KLZ 560, of course. And we hope one of those times will work out for you to listen to our show. Hey, we’re going to go to the phones now. Man, I’ll tell you, I’ve been wanting to get this guy on for a long, long time, and it’s been my fault mostly because I haven’t sat down and really – Made it all work out for us. But, hey, we’re glad to have him today, Robert Ramirez, Rain and Skies Waterfowl Hunt Club. Robert’s been a great supporter for our Mile High Hunting Fish Expo the last few years, and their booth’s been right across from us. And so, Robert, hey, I’m glad that we’re finally making it work, man. Thanks for being with us today.
SPEAKER 15 :
Hey, Scott. Good morning to you guys. Thanks for having me. Happy to be here.
SPEAKER 06 :
You bet. All right. Hey, our time’s going to be a little short today. I know you’ve got some things to do, but, man, I do want to get you back on. I want to do a full segment on waterfowl here in the coming weeks. But tell us a little bit about Rain and Skies and the Hunt Club.
SPEAKER 15 :
So Rain and Skies, we’ve been around boots on the ground since 2012, running pretty hard. Started off as a small, just a small friend thing with five guys, and it has expanded and exploded to where we are today. And I’m super proud of it, what we have to offer for folks and where we’ve come and the opportunity. So John Gechter, my partner, we built it together, came together. And, yeah, it’s been a labor of love, you know, diehard hunters, waterfowlers. And the sweat equity put into it is really what’s got us to where we are today.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. So, you know, hey, there are several hunt clubs around. There are some good ones around. We both admit that. There’s some not so good ones. What do you think, if you say, hey, here’s what I feel like sets us apart a little bit with our hunt club. What would a few things be you’d like to mention?
SPEAKER 15 :
You know, as most hunt clubs I’ve used mentioned, we’re all a little different. We’ve all got different parameters and guidelines. I think some of the things that set us apart is the camaraderie that we do emphasize that members – get joined into. We have what’s called an open pit policy here. What that allows to do for any member to do is when they’re making a reservation, that allows for an additional member who maybe they have met or have not met, join them on that hunt. It gets them together with all of their members who they may not have had the opportunity to meet or they’re loving, they want to meet, they come to this club to meet other folks Our membership has an open pit policy with an online reservation system where you can see everybody’s name, everybody’s phone number, everybody’s email. You can reach out to anybody in the club and say, hey, I’m Robert Ramirez. I’d love to hunt with you. Or, hey, I’m looking for some guys. Please come hunt with me or vice versa. Maybe you want to join somebody because you just don’t have those financial means to have that big rig, that big trailer, all those decoys. that we all need. You know, it’s a big financial investment in the waterfowl industry as well, as we all know. So that also is a great caveat because you can come to this club as a novice or rookie hunter with limited to, you know, I want guys to have limited supplies at the very least, have a little something that you could help out. But you get to come here and you can jump in and learn with guys and jump in their pit, jump in their blind, and learn a lot more about waterfowl in general today. So there’s no hidden things here, and there’s no hidden agenda. There’s no favoritism. It’s all out there on the forefront. All the members can see it, and they can be together. And I just don’t see that in a lot of other clubs or organizations. I think that’s one of the biggest things that puts us aside from everybody else. Granted, properties, we’ve got over 100 places you can hunt. I think that’s the largest in the state. So that’s also another big thing we offer here. John and I, diehard waterfowl hunters. We strive to make sure we put our members in front of quality hunting opportunities, and we spend that extra money to give them countless options and places to go.
SPEAKER 06 :
Robert Ramirez is with us. This is Rain and Skies Waterfowl Hunt Club, and I’m telling you, these guys do it right, and we’re 100% behind them. Like I said, they’ve been across from us here at the Mile High Hunting Fish Expo the last few years, and just a great group of guys. So I see a lot of times on social media, guys and gals, hey, looking for places to hunt, looking for good hunt clubs, and I’m telling you, this is one that you should be proud to be a part of.
SPEAKER 15 :
all right what are member options so to speak uh as far as being a member you have several different levels or types of payment plans so what we offer are three different styles of payment plans to help out any of the hunters that want to come here um we you can break down your payment which is a annual seasonal fee of 21.50 that’s 2150 that includes you your significant other in the home and your children 21 years of age or younger, or even your young adult that’s in college and comes back to visit, they can be part of that membership and hang out with you. It’s $21.50. You can break that payment up from January 15th to August 15th seasonal, so everything gets paid in full in that eight-month caliber. You can break it up to three payments, which is going to be that May, June, August, and you can do a one-time payment if you do a down payment on your application date, Small down payment, $500 locks you in, and then you can pay in full, which comes in June. So there’s three options that we work around some folks. Let’s be honest, a lot of people want to wait until after tax season. They’re really looking forward to the 2025-26 hunting season, but they want to wait until those taxes come back. I get it. I’m a worker just like everybody else.
SPEAKER 06 :
Sure.
SPEAKER 15 :
We have a couple of options for everybody to accommodate your financial stability and structure that works for you.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. So reservations are online, I guess. So do you put like if you’ve got, you know, you’re getting another member to hunt with you or whatever. And so would you just reserve like two spots then? And then how many spots or how does it work as far as, you know, a number of other people that might be hunting there with you on that day?
SPEAKER 15 :
The reservation system online, you implement yourself and any others in the club. You have access to the entire drop-down menu, which is all your members. You can add any members you so desire within your reservation. You can add guests or family members throughout that process. That is an eight-man reservation for all of our goose pits. In field, all of our pits are eight-man pits. They’ll accommodate plenty of room for dogs and family and food and And friends, you know, give plenty of space for that kind of stuff. Duck blinds, you’re going to find duck blinds are going to be five men or less. You know, ducks move quick. There’s a lot of activity on the river, a lot of activity on the pond. These birds are zipping by. So it’s just not a real safe, conducive environment to have a lot of hunters and blinds. So our duck blinds are going to be five- and four-man blinds or smaller, based on the body of water size.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. All right. It’s rainin, R-A-I-N-I-N, skieswaterfowl.com is the website. And as far as properties, you mentioned you’ve got 100 places to hunt. When you’re looking at drive time, and we’ll just say from Denver, maybe from downtown Denver, I mean, what’s your drive time from what to what to different properties?
SPEAKER 15 :
Definitely. So drive time, we have a few properties in the Hudson, Lock, Bowie, Brighton area. From Denver, that’s going to be about a 25 to 35-minute stretch. Get out of your front door, you’re driving 25 minutes. Have a couple water tributaries and some ponds there. You’re going to trickle your way up to Johnstown, Milliken, LaSalle, Eaton, Brogrover. So from Denver, you’re going to have roughly 25 opportunities of either water or fields, all within 45 minutes, 50 minutes or less. Depending on traffic, which, hey, let’s admit, there’s none at 4 o’clock in the morning. So you’re going to be within that 50-minute drive or less. Then you trickle out to that Wiggins, Orchard, Goodrich area, known as the Golden Triangle for waterfowl. That’s going to be an hour flat. You’re going to leave there. You’re going to work your way out to Fort Morgan, Brush, Atwood, Marino, all the way to Nebraska. We do have fields and water and rivers in Nebraska, Ogallala, Big Springs, Brule. Those are going to be your hour and 20, hour and 30-minute drives. Here’s the kicker. We have a clubhouse in Snyder. So if you’re going to drive out east and you’re going to drive an hour and a half and you just don’t want to go home that day or the weather keeps you kind of locked down in Snyder, go to the clubhouse. You can sign up for your reservation there and stay the night nice and safe and come home the next day.
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, man, that’s super cool. Yes, sir. That’ll work. Hey, if you’re just joining us, Robert Ramirez is with us. It’s rainandskieswaterfowl.com. And you guys are going to be back with us in March, I understand.
SPEAKER 15 :
We will definitely be at the Mile High Hunt Expo. Love it. Love Abe. Love Phil. Like everybody down there, it’s been a pleasure being a part of the whole organization and having you next to us to chit-chat throughout the show.
SPEAKER 06 :
I know.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, it’s been great, man. Whoever hasn’t been down there has got to come check it out.
SPEAKER 06 :
I know, man. And we’re super excited about the new venue there. I mean, the Gaylord was nice. Totally. all but man-being at the brand-new convention center-type deal they built there for the National Western Stock Show. So once again, it is March 20th through the 22nd. You can go to milehighhuntexpo.com. Of course, as the weeks go by here, we’re going to start pushing this, and it is going to be a great, great expo there. You know, Robert, there’s so much to learn. And I think there’s one thing great about a club like this where you can get to know other members because some guys are going to be very experienced. Some guys have very little experience. And I say guys. I don’t want to get in trouble here. Ladies, too. I know a lot of ladies that waterfowl hunt, too. And they’re good hunters, too, and good shots.
SPEAKER 15 :
We’ve got some great ones here. I’ll tell you. We’ve got some great ones.
SPEAKER 06 :
But there’s just so much to learn, I mean, just from decoy presentation, different things, you know. I mean, if you just took that, I mean, we could probably do five or six shows just on that, right?
SPEAKER 15 :
We could do, literally, we could talk about decoys, presentation, weather, cold front, low front, high pressure. I mean, we could talk about that stuff easily for two to three shows. And we won’t even get into dogs yet, right? Like, you want dog trainers, you want dog info, we can go that route for a week as well. So there’s so much to really incorporate in what we do as waterfowl hunters. It’s more than just going out and pulling the trigger at ducks and geese. There’s a lot of other things. And just to prepare before your hunt, including cold weather, inclement weather. People just don’t take that into factor, you know. The right waders, right boots, right insulation. There’s so many things that we can help educate waterfowl hunters in general, and we’re happy to do so here as club owners.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, and I tell you, the nastier it is, the better the hunting in many cases, right? That’s true. That’s true. Well, hey, again, it’s rainandskieswaterfowl.com. Hey, get in touch with them. If you’ve got questions, be sure and let them know you heard them here on Sportsman of Colorado. But once again, there are some great clubs out there, and we both admit that. But I’m telling you, this is one that I think you ought to take a look at. and they just do a great job outstanding reputation a lot of properties and they just do it the right way so robert we appreciate it bud and uh you and i will get a plan together here because really i’d love to do a segment you know a couple of times a month just on waterfowl hunting just to keep everybody up to speed what’s going on give some tips and i hope everybody’ll have a great waterfowl season here so we appreciate it and i’ll be in touch with you my friend
SPEAKER 15 :
That sounds great, Scott. Good to hear from you again, and we’ll see you guys in March either way. If not in the field, I’ll be calling you soon.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, bud. Sounds good. That’s Robert Ramirez. Once again, rainandskieswaterfowl.com. And when you get in touch with him, again, let him know you heard him here on the show, and that would be great for us. So thanks for being with us today for Sportsman of Colorado. Hope you have a great rest of your day. Be sure and circle the dates, March 20th through the 22nd, next year for the Mile High Hunting Fish Expo. And once again, we’ll be giving you more information about that as well. So have a great weekend, and we’ll talk to you next week.
SPEAKER 13 :
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.
