Join host Scott Watley as he delves into the efforts of the Greater Denver Chapter of Pheasants Forever, highlighting their incredible work in wildlife habitat improvement and community outreach. We hear from Dean Titterington, the chapter’s President, on how his life passion became part of an impactful organization making a difference in wildlife conservation. Learn how their innovative programs are attracting college students to the joy of upland bird hunting and fostering educated voters who advocate for wildlife conservation.
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 08 :
Welcome to Sportsman of Colorado. Thank you so much for joining us today. Quick reminder now, you miss our live show on Saturdays 1 to 2. You can catch us twice on Sundays. That’s 8 to 9 a.m., 8 to 9 p.m., and then the following Thursday, 9 to 10 a.m. So, hey, four times a week you can catch Sportsman of Colorado. Of course, you can get our podcast where you get yours and also at sportsmanofcolorado.com. We’ve got a great show in store for you today. We’re going to kick it off with our friends from Pheasants Forever, and it’s the Greater Denver chapter of Pheasants Forever, and the president of that chapter joins us today, Dean Titterington. Did I do that halfway close?
SPEAKER 06 :
You nailed it. You nailed it right on.
SPEAKER 08 :
Good deal. Thanks for coming in. How are you?
SPEAKER 06 :
I’m doing just fine. How are you doing? Good.
SPEAKER 08 :
We see each other a lot at banquets. You always are kind of walking by our booth and we’ll visit some but this is the first time i think we’ve actually got to sit down and talk really it is it is and uh but we’ll get to talk more i think you know absolutely coming to our banquet absolutely it is the banquet season so you’re going to be hearing a lot about those we are um honored to be emceeing a few and including a pheasants forever american heroes in action and uh of course our mile high hunting fish expo coming up march 20th through the 22nd we have a banquet there as well and it’s a a lot of fun for us we love being associated with these great organizations pheasant forever has just done a great job and you know one thing i appreciated about when we were going through the mountain lion thing um last year and man you guys even helped a lot with that you know and that was really cool and that’s one thing dan gates and i talked about it was cool to see some people that weren’t necessarily in that arena, so to speak, but said, hey, we’re going to help out, and you guys did in a big way. So we appreciated that.
SPEAKER 06 :
We have, by and large, our members. hunt everything sure you know i’m a big game hunter as well uh and uh but then most of us have a special place in our heart for dogs right and of course the the mountain lion thing in the background was always that uh well they the big thing with them was not hunting mountain lions with dogs unfair being unfair Well, we hunt pheasants and upland game ducks with dogs. So you use the term camel’s nose under the tent. Well, all those are camel’s noses for us.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely, absolutely. So tell us a little bit about you and your background and how and why you decided to get in with Pheasant Forever.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, I grew up on a farm in Illinois, and I was shooting BB guns, pellet guns, shotguns all the time. We had some rough ground, and we had quail and rabbits and squirrels, and I just grew up with that. Yeah. had an opportunity to come to Colorado with a company and fell in love with all the outdoors here. So eventually I just quit my job in Illinois and moved out here and have done a lot of fishing, a lot of hunting. I love dogs. So I started with PF probably, it’s over 20 years ago now, and I didn’t have a dog. But when I saw what dogs do, hunting dogs do, I’ve now had three short hairs, back to back to back, if you will.
SPEAKER 08 :
There’s nothing like being in a field, whether I’ve been watching them work.
SPEAKER 06 :
There’s such intensity and such joy in the dog. And I’ve been fortunate. to be able to get out and hunt quite a lot here. We had the drought years here, that was bad for getting out with wild birds here. But there are other opportunities, so we make the best of it. I’m enjoying it now. I get out a couple times a week yet.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, cool. Great. Yeah, speaking of dry ground, we need some moisture, don’t we?
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, absolutely. We’ll probably have good carryover populations of pheasants. This year was probably the best year we’ve had in several years in terms of pheasant numbers. uh and the the populations are roaring back as as i can tell and uh uh so if we can not have a five foot blizzard you know sure yet this winter uh i think we’ll carry some birds over pretty well and have a good if we can get some moisture at some point yeah absolutely um
SPEAKER 08 :
As far as Pheasants Forever, and I assume most people that listen to this show kind of know what you guys are about and your mission, but let’s share that for those that may not know.
SPEAKER 06 :
Sure. We’re known as the Habitat Organization. We have, at last count here, 387 full-time employees. And we have 268 wildlife biologists who work for us in 35 states. And they focus on upland. We have probably… Normally about seven or eight biologists here in Colorado have divided up the state. We have one on the west slope. And we put a lot of – hundreds of thousands of acres in Illinois that we have improved. And our scope is really – pretty large that way we’re probably and have been historically the largest private or public employer of wildlife biologists that’s that surprises a lot of people and and so the other thing that we focus on besides habitat is is outreach and that and pf in the last couple years has made a shift to address the fact that we are having 5% fewer hunters from year to year. And that’s a trend that worries everybody because there’s no good outcome unless that stops. And whereas before, PF had a focus on no child left indoors, and we were doing a lot of events from kindergarten age up to teens, mostly 10 and up. uh, uh, kids. And, uh, we, we had a change in leadership at PF and they realized we had more directly affect this 5% drop. And a lot of the activities we were doing with kids were done because with the kids that their parents brought them, their parents were going to get those kids in the field anyway. Right. Okay. So, uh, so what can we do better? And we, uh, PF came up with a path to the uplands and targeting 20-year-olds and 30-year-olds so that if we can recruit them to hunters, we’ll get their kids. It’s two for one or two for a dozen. And so I got a grant for our chapter to pursue that. And they said strategically collegiate goals that way, 20- and 30-year-olds. And there’s not a lot of support on most campuses. higher education institutions for hunting or you know second amendment so a voice in in that direction can be particularly effective so we thought the best way to approach that community would be through Colorado State University which has a wildlife biology department of some note and also Front Range Community College, which, surprisingly, community college offers a four-year degree in wildlife biology technology. So we started with those two schools, met with the heads of the departments, key faculty members, and student groups. And last year we kicked off in 2025 a program with, on-campus program starts with, we would bring in our biologists, let them talk to classes. We got them lined up with a virtual job fair that PF has nationwide. And we took them, we started what we now call Habitat, and wing shooting adventures. I’ll describe that real brief. We take 30 students and we got department heads to come out and some faculty to come out and to, in this case, Valhalla Hunt Club near Bennett. And we start off with a classroom, introducing them to PF and what conservation efforts we do, Corners for Conservation and CRP fields, what our biologists do, and some gun safety, some gun nomenclature, some hunting tactics. Then we split that group up into three groups, 90 minutes. Two groups spend 90 minutes on the range. Most of these kids, I’d say three-quarters of these college students have never touched a gun. Okay, this is big. This is big. And they ate it up. And the other two groups, we take them and show them a mock dog trial where dogs in the fields, birds in tip-ups that are carrying wood guns, safe, totally safe. And they can get introduced to how hunting happens. And then we have what we call a safety trail where With Frisbees, we tell them what are safe shots, if dogs are involved and what are not safe shots. All that we wrap up in about four or five hours. And they ate it up. The students eat this up. We had two of those events last year. And it spawned a set of students at CSU that went through our program. actually have now started a college chapter pf chapter at csu okay great well so we’re getting the message out now in 2026 we’re doing our second annual csu event and front range community college event in april we’re also doing a hunt live bird hunt for those students who went out and got their hunter safety we’re doing live bird hunt for those folks on uh april the 11th, I think it is. And then the following week, we’re doing our first habitat and wing shooting adventure with CU and some selected student leaders from other area colleges and universities. So we’re… There’s great demand. They’re learning this stuff and learning, you know, even if a lot of these kids don’t progress to become hunters themselves, they’re going to be educated voters, which is which educated voters are. important to us as well. We get too much box biology and the wheels come off real quickly. So what we are asking for people to recognize is that Pheasants Forever, we are really attacking problems two ways. One, through habitat improvement and the other through education and now through collegiate education. And we need more volunteers who can help us. For example, if we’re doing a live bird hunt, we have to have a field safety officer behind every student that’s carrying a gun. They walk unloaded. We load only when the dog goes on point. And so in the past, we’ve been able to have Five shooters in the field at a time.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right, because of the way you do it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. But now we can only do two because of insurance requirements. Okay. So we need a much larger number of volunteers available to us to address what will be, we think, an exponential increase in student losses. interest and involvement right right so uh so coming to a banquet’s a good way to to support what we’re doing in that regard sure besides having a good time and you know everybody has a good time yeah for sure dean titterington is with us he is the president of the greater denver chapter of pheasants forever we got a banquet coming up march the 14th and we are very honored to
SPEAKER 08 :
MC this, work with our good buddy Bryce Elliman, auctioneer. We do a lot of these together, and it’s going to be a great night. And so, Dean, tell us a little bit about this banquet and what folks can expect.
SPEAKER 06 :
Sure. It’s at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds, and the doors open at 5 p.m. Okay. You can get tickets online. Just go greaterdenverpf.org. And our website will pop up. Don’t be confused. We have changed names recently. We used to be South Metro Denver.
SPEAKER 08 :
Let’s sort of say, yeah, let’s tell people about that.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, we used to be South Metro Denver. And that might pop up on our address line. Okay. But some things are harder to change. Yeah, it is. But we would do a pop-up either way. Okay. Go on Greater Denver. You can also… We have all of our ticket packages are there for you to pick whichever works best for you. And then we’re being catered by Brothers Barbecue, which we’ve had them before.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, they’re good.
SPEAKER 06 :
And they are good. And they’ll be serving. We’re doing what we call an elevated banquet this time.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, and I’m a guy, but our expert in that area, Kylie.
SPEAKER 08 :
She is an expert.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. So we’re having an elevated banquet here. I think that may mean, like, real tablecloths instead of plastic.
SPEAKER 09 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
And real glassware for the bottomless beer cups and wine instead of plastic. Okay. I love red solo cups, but, you know, we’re going to elevate it. Okay. We’re going to have the usual silent auction type of things, lots of those, and then live auction items as well, and games. The games, we’ll have the wall of guns. There’s a lot of guns going.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, they’re not going home with people that night because of a— Yeah, you’ve got to go through everything, the three-day wait and all the different things.
SPEAKER 06 :
And— They’re all under my name right now. Okay. So we have an FFL who’s going to be on site.
SPEAKER 08 :
Who’s your FFL you’re using?
SPEAKER 06 :
It’s Max. Okay. And he’s in Aurora.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right. So he’s coming to take care of us in that regard.
SPEAKER 08 :
And then any few of the live auction items maybe we can mention?
SPEAKER 06 :
Sure. Well, we usually do the Mad Hatter, several hats that are entries into a raffle drawing for our signature raffle shotgun. Right. is always something people drool over. Then we have some, we’ve lined up some hunts and fishing trips. We’ve got, it’s a partial list in South Dakota, Broken Arrow Farms, a fishing trip. Third time back for this alpha, Dakota Prairie Guide Service, they do a great job.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I’ve heard very good things about them.
SPEAKER 06 :
Good things about them. Beaver Creek Upland Hunts in Kansas and Wyoming Cara Creek Ranch. Of course, Wyoming Fishing Trip with the Black Hill Fishing Guys. We’ve got, obviously, the Bluffs. who are really big help with our chapter and Valhalla Hunt Club. And we’re adding some other hunts every day. So that list is going to change between now and the banquet. And most of them, one interesting thing, some of the hunts lodges now are offering where you can hunt wild birds one day. And go on the preserve later. That’s cool. On the second day. Can’t do those the same day, obviously. And so a lot of folks will go out and do the wild bird hunt the first day. If they’re going to be there two days. And do the controlled shooting area. hunt on the second day. And of course, Kansas has four pheasant limit. All the rest have three. So Kansas has an edge that way. And most of these will be a five, six, occasional seven hour drive from Denver. And I think People will probably go online and look at some of them or on their phones when they get there. And we’ll, of course, have displays from them and hats and brochures from them to show what they’re doing and also what the particular packages that they’re giving. So we’ll have upscale packages. uh, packages and, and a little more expensive than some for all the price points that people could be. You know what?
SPEAKER 08 :
I think you guys do a great job too. There’s, there’s always something for everybody. When I say everybody, I mean, kids, you know, there’s some things, solid auction would be great for women, you know, for guys. I mean, you guys do a great job with that.
SPEAKER 06 :
We get a lot of families and we do have, uh, what we call a pheasant pluck game for, for kids. And, uh, And all that makes the evening go very quickly, and it’s a good cause, obviously, for what we do with the money.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right.
SPEAKER 06 :
Habitat and then this outreach thing.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right. And I assume there’s still probably maybe some corporate-type tables, and they don’t have to be corporate. I mean, if you want to buy a family table, you can buy a family table or corporate.
SPEAKER 06 :
We have 10 tops, if you will, 10 seats, and somebody can buy tables for family.
SPEAKER 09 :
Right.
SPEAKER 06 :
Some companies will come out and do two tables. All right? One table is— More likely for people to do. It can be families or it can be corporate.
SPEAKER 08 :
But it is a great family event. Sometimes there’s a few things hard to find with that, and this is really a great family event.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, we have a raffle for veterans. No charge to get into that one and give away a nice gun to veterans. Right, right. And I’m a veteran myself, so I like to see other veterans recognized for their service that way.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, that’s something I always appreciate. And most of the banquets, just being transparent, do that. But you guys do a really nice job. Like I say, there’s usually some special things for them there and all that. Yeah. It is great. So, again, save the date now. And don’t wait until, you know. There’s a cutoff. I started to say, what’s the cutoff? March the 7th is the cutoff. All right, March the 7th is the cutoff. So the 14th is the event, but you’ve got to get your tickets by March 7th because we’ve got to know how much barbecue to get, right?
SPEAKER 06 :
No, that’s exactly right. And you know what happens sometimes is we have people show up that didn’t have tickets. And so some of the volunteers give them their meals.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, wow.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay. All right. Which we’re happy to do. And some years we’ll have a few extra meals that we order just to cover that.
SPEAKER 08 :
But it’ll help everybody out. Get your tickets before the 7th.
SPEAKER 06 :
It’s too much of a scramble when you walk in the door.
SPEAKER 08 :
Right. All right.
SPEAKER 06 :
And while you’re on our website – Take a look at the very first tab on the website is our news. Okay. And we have our newsletters all listed there chronologically. And you can see what we’re doing all the time. I described that we’ll be doing these three events in April. Because of the college schedule, we have to do them. at certain times of the year, because they’re only a nine-month school year. And you’ve got to miss things like finals. You have to miss, you know, we have to be aware of what’s going on in the school. So we’ll be doing some events in August and September. So our months will be like April and August and September and maybe some October. So we will be lining up some of these events. new schools for 2026 for specifically for the habitat and wing shooting adventures and well as maybe a hundred or two.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right. So it’s greaterdenverpf.org. Correct. You can go there. Hey, click on that tab. Check out the news. Get your tickets now. It is March the 14th. It’s going to be a great night. Again, great family event. Hey, for corporations out there, bring your sales team and just come out. And if you want to volunteer, I’ve got about 60 seconds here, but do you need some volunteers if people want to come help?
SPEAKER 06 :
At the banquet? Yeah. We need volunteers all the time. Okay. It’s a good way to get involved, too. All right. Don’t be put off. We train people for these events. Right. Okay.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, we’re not just going to throw you out.
SPEAKER 06 :
And we cross-train people, too.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
So if somebody can’t make it and they thought they would, we got somebody else to step right in. And a shout-out to SCI because we’ve got trailers and throwers and a lot of equipment that other organizations don’t have, and they’ll send out volunteers from SCI to help us out. Yeah, that’s great. And so… The more people, the better, and hopefully you’ll catch fire here if you come volunteer because we have a good time at it. Anyway, and you run into people that you’re going to end up hunting with. Sure. And learning dogs about.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely. Learning dogs. All right, Dean, we appreciate it, sir.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thank you. Thank you very much. Look forward to seeing you March 14th. You bet.
SPEAKER 08 :
Man, I’m looking forward to being there. March 14th. Get your tickets now. GreaterDenverPF.org. If you’re listening to Sportsman of Colorado, don’t go anywhere. Ryan Resch, Bighorn Firearms, coming right back.
SPEAKER 04 :
If you’re in the market for a new rifle for the big game season or a new shotgun for some doves or upland game birds, head on over to The Gun Room. Kevin Flesch here from Sportsman of Colorado, inviting you to visit Denver’s oldest gun dealer. And that’s The Gun Room at 1595 Carr Street in Lakewood. They offer buy, trade, consignment, transfers, and appraisals. And if you purchase a gun, we’ll cover your background check fee. It’s The Gun Room, 1595 Carr Street. Tell them Sportsman of Colorado sent you.
SPEAKER 08 :
Looking to gear up for your next hunt, fishing trip, or camping adventure? Head to the Outdoorsman’s Attic, Colorado’s largest consignment store for hunting, fishing, and camping gear, located at 2650 West Hampton. Hey, this is Scott with Sportsman of Colorado Radio, and you’ll find Wall to Wall, outdoor gear to firearms and ammo. You’ll find incredible selection at unbeatable prices, plus clothing over 90 days old is up to 50% off, so there’s always great deals waiting. Whether you’re upgrading gear or just getting started, the Outdoorsman’s Attic is a must-stop. Mention Sportsman of Colorado for additional discounts. It’s the Outdoorsman’s Attic, where smart outdoorsmen shop. Tell them Scott sent you. It’s 2650 West Hamden.
SPEAKER 03 :
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SPEAKER 08 :
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 theepa.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 annually 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 08 :
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SPEAKER 07 :
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 08 :
Sportsman of Colorado Radio is brought to you by the Colorado Wildlife Council. The Council works to educate the public on the importance of scientific wildlife management, conservation, and the benefits of wildlife-related recreational opportunities, specifically hunting and fishing. For the hunter and angler community, this educational mission is vital. It empowers us to become effective advocates for the wildlife and outdoor traditions we value. Their mission is to ensure that Colorado’s wildlife is preserved for future generations through public education. Learn more about their work and how it supports your role as an advocate at cowildlifecouncil.org. We thank the Colorado Wildlife Council for their support of Sportsman of Colorado Radio. 560-KLZ, your home station. Welcome back to Sportsman of Colorado. Ryan Resch is with us. Big Horn Firearms, 2175 South Jasmine Street. We’ve got some new inventory, and Ryan’s going to tell us about now. Ryan, so I know you went to SHOT Show. Yep. And let’s talk about that a little bit, and then we’ll get into some of this.
SPEAKER 10 :
I skipped last year, so it was fun to get back out there and reconnect with a lot of friends and familiar faces, industry folks. Yeah. It’s always cool to just see everybody that you know either locally or that you talk to on the phone and actually just converge on Las Vegas at this convention and actually get to meet face-to-face. Or maybe you’ve only met on a Zoom or something like that. It’s just a really good time. It’s lots of cool product, lots of really cool displays and booths and technology and just all sorts of cool stuff, man. It’s awesome. It’s for industry only, so no, I can’t get you a pass next year. That’s not an option. Well, Scott, I could probably get you one, but I have a lot of friends and customers asking about that, and it’s just like, no, it’s just not that sort of thing because… People spend a lot of money to be there, and then it just doesn’t make sense to have people who just want to look at cool stuff, take up everybody’s time, and bog things down for people who are actually there for the real purpose of the show, which is to see the new technology and learn about a new product that you may sell in your store, things like that. Yeah. But stuff that we’ve already got here in the store right now, we’ve got new silencers. We’ve got some new handguns coming from some manufacturers we’ve already been working with and a couple of new ones. We’ve got some new mounts on the way, new scopes, all sorts of goodies. Quick little rundown. We’ve got new silencers from a regular design group. We’ve got their Hesakia 6 Evo. K silencer. It’s a 3D printed can made from Inconel. They’ve got their own factory muzzle device, the HFH. It’s a flash hider device that’s quick to attach with the can, also printed from Inconel. It’s some really cool technology put together by some really cool guys, some high-level operators who had a lot of experience with you know, how toxic it can be to shoot guns suppressed, especially at like, you know, high round counts. Right. So their idea for going into designing this silencer was to make it safe for both operators and consumers alike, just for your overall health, not just for your hearing. So really cool cans. We got a bunch of them in stock here. Come check them out. We’ve got a couple mounted on some of our demo guns that are on display. We’ve got some other ones that are just hanging out in the case. We’ve got them in a few different attachment styles and some different Cerakote finishes. They’re just really neat looking silencers and the technology behind them is just awesome. If you want to learn more about them, just go to a regular design group on YouTube and watch a couple of the videos on the making of the can. They do an actual shop tour, which is really neat. They do all their manufacturing in-house. They own their own 3D printers. It’s super cool. Check them out. Right.
SPEAKER 08 :
And the good part, the $200. Yeah.
SPEAKER 10 :
Oh, yeah. No more tax. It is gone. Zero dollar tax stamp. You still got to do all the paperwork, jump through the hoops. But it costs you zero dollars. So and if you buy the silencer from us, we don’t charge you for processing any of the paperwork or any of that stuff. It’s all included what you purchase, which I’m not sure that everybody’s doing that. But I know a lot are. Um, but there are some out there that are charging to, to handle all that. It’s quite a bit of extra work on the backend for us, certifying cans, getting you set up with an account, walking you through fingerprints. Um, it’s, it’s a lot of extra stuff, but you can handle everything you need here. Yes. Yeah. We do everything here, um, from start to finish. Right. So just come down and we’ll get you going. Um, Those silencers are not cheap, but what do they say? Buy once, cry once.
SPEAKER 08 :
Buy once, cry once. I’ve heard that. And then I’ve heard this one. The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low prices forgotten.
SPEAKER 10 :
Oh, I like that. It’s kind of hard for me to memorize, but…
SPEAKER 08 :
A guy told me that, man, in like the late 70s, and I’ve never forgot it, but the bitterness of poor quality. We’ve all done something where we thought, man, that’s such a good deal. It’s so cheap. And it was cheap.
SPEAKER 10 :
Cheap stuff ain’t good, and good stuff ain’t cheap. That’s even better. Yeah, I can remember that one, too. The short and sweet version of that one, right? We also got some 12-gauge shotguns from Genesis Arms, the Gen 12 shotgun, semi-automatic on an AR-10 lower receiver. Okay. Super cool. You know, they are one of the only, like, U.S.-made semi-auto shotguns like this that actually works. There’s some cheaper copies from overseas and stuff like that. And, again, you know, you get what you pay for. They have a version of this gun that’s a 5-inch SBS with a Huxworks 12-gauge silencer on it called the PDS, personal defense shotgun. We got one of them hanging up on the wall here. You should come check it out. It’s pretty cool. We got on with Castle Group out of California. These guys have been in the defense industry for decades. a long time generations and the the younger generation now are getting into the consumer side of, you know, some defense type products and they’re all focused on mounts for like red dot optics and scopes and also hand controls. Everything’s being machined in their facility at a very extremely high level. I mean, these guys have some very high level defense contracts I kind of got a little bit of a bird’s eye view of the company. I don’t want to talk about all their ins and outs, but I’m sure they will have some kind of get-to-know-us content coming out here pretty soon. But you’ll be able to see the mounts here in the store pretty soon. We also have new products coming from Staccato. They just released a new handgun, the HD C4X. It’s kind of like a Glock 19 size gun with a comp on it, integral comp on the gun. It takes a 19-round Glock magazine. We may or may not have one of those in the store now. You should come check it out. No sales until the 16th, I believe, is when they go live. But if you want to come check it out before they do the full release and it’s released for sales, you can definitely come do that here. You’ll probably see some… Some photos of it on our Instagram here pretty soon. They might even be up right now. That’s cool. See, we also got been carrying and doing well with the Stealth Arms, also a 2011 platform, basically a 1911 with a double stack magazine. It’s kind of like the new thing everybody’s hot for. The Stealth Arms Platypus also takes a Glock magazine. So if you’re a Glock owner and you want something a little higher level for competition or just to impress your friends, Stealth Arms Platypus is a really cool gun. Most of them are sub-$2,000. The new compensated gun that they just released with the full package is about $2,500, $2,600. We have one of those in the store right now, too. Super cool gun. I highly recommend checking it out. If you want to shoot one before you buy it, you can go shoot a full-size non-compensated gun over at Shoot Indoors Buckley. I was just over there this morning, and they have one of those in their rental fleet. So definitely worth checking out. Night Force, the new NX-6s came out at SHOT Show. We’ll be seeing those coming through here pretty soon. If you have a particular SKU that you want to get an order in, a particular magnification or reticle combination that you’re looking for, let us know. You can get an order now. Those are going to be 60 days at least to get built. If you want one, it’s best to put an order in for one. We will have a few Order for short store inventory, but it may not be exactly what you’re looking for. So if you have a specific one I think there’s like almost a dozen different SKUs in that lineup, but that is the new product line from night force We’ve also brought in some EO tech voodoo’s we’ve really been liking those a lot. Those are pretty cool optics magnified magnified scopes with illumination in them they’re really nice uh you know kind of a direct competitor to our night force stuff but uh you know we like to have some variety and we just want to put good products in front of people so we got a couple of those in stock right now definitely worth checking out we’ve also just been building out a lot of the guns that are hanging on the wall so people can get a better idea of like hey what can i do with this or
SPEAKER 08 :
I think that’s smart because, man, if I can just see something that’s already done, dude, winner.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, and if you want to just buy it the way it’s sitting on the wall, I mean, we’ll put it together for you. You can buy the one that’s sitting on the wall, and we’ll just kind of piece it out and build you out an order. If you want to change anything out, we can do that too. Or if you want to build one from scratch and just use one of the guns on the wall as inspiration, that’s even better. We can definitely help you do that. At least it lets you get a feel of what it’s like to put the gun up to your shoulder, look through an optic, play with the controls, and do all that stuff. Um, I think that kind of rounds it out. I’m sure there’s some things I’m missing, but I, you know, if you come down to the store, we’ll show you everything.
SPEAKER 08 :
Hey, and you’ve got a nice array. You’ve got another part of the showroom away from the guns with just a lot of accessory out of them. I mean, you got a, you got a great look in that area there.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah. Yeah. A lot of AR 15 parts and upgrades. Um, We’ve got some kit gear like plate carriers and belts and pouches. We’ve got a lot of nice carrying cases from Savior Equipment. They’re a partner of ours. We really like them. They bring a great value to the market on soft cases that are just loaded. They’re just feature-rich cases and at a price that, I don’t know, competes with a lot of junk that’s out there. Sure. The Vault-Tec safes, if you want some high-tech safe gun storage, quick access, those are really great. Magazines, we got that covered. Range accessories, eyes, ears, snap caps, cleaning supplies, lubricants. Um, Bighorn apparel. Yeah. We’ve done some really nice things there.
SPEAKER 08 :
I’m going to get one of the hoodies you’re wearing right now. I’m going to buy that today. Yeah. All right. I’m going to buy it from you. Cause I mean, dude, that’s a good, I mean, I’ve seen them for months, but I mean, there’s a good looking.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah. And we don’t skimp on the quality there either. You know, you know, we, we pick out good quality garments that fit well, that, that wear well and wash well, um, something that you can have for a long time and keep wearing it and kind of rep us out there in the public eye. So, you know, we got some new hats in. We got a really good selection of silencers. If you can buy from our inventory, we can get the paperwork started as soon as you have all the fix-ins to get a silencer into a certification process. Right. Oh, man, I don’t know.
SPEAKER 08 :
And, again, if you’re just joining us, you know, the $200 tax stamp we’ve had forever is gone. So, I mean, hey, automatically a $200 savings.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes, and that applies to SBRs, too, not just silencers. SBRs, SBSs, and silencers. Right. All $0 now. And we do have some good pistol versions of some of the Q products. So that way, if you don’t want to do the paperwork, you don’t have to. You can buy it as a pistol, and they all come equipped with pistol braces, which are legal again. Mm-hmm. We’ve got just a really good selection of Q fixes right now. They’re bolt-action guns. From mini fixes to the .308s and 8.6 Blackout, we’ve got the Boombox in here, Honey Badger. We’ve got some standard 16-inch Sugar Weasels. Still waiting on some Sugar Weasel pistols. Yeah. We’ve got a pretty full lineup of the Q silencers as well. They’re personally one of my favorite companies. Just doing some really cool fun stuff. And cool looking. Yeah, they are cool looking. We might have a few black ones in the works if you’re not into that kind of clear anodized. It’s more of like a champagne color on those. But that is the iconic Q color. But if you don’t prefer that, we may have Cerakoted a couple of them black. So those will probably be getting put together later this week, early next week, and hitting the floor. So if you’re looking for a honey badger that nobody else has, we might have that in the works for you. Sure. I don’t know. There’s a lot more.
SPEAKER 08 :
It covers a lot of right there, yeah.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, get your tail down here. Sure. And let us show you some cool stuff.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right. Now, I mentioned CCW classes. Oh, yeah. Getting those geared back up.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, end of March, we’ll have our first class in the works. We’re looking at March 28th right now. We should have that finalized by the end of the day tomorrow. Um, we have an instructor’s, uh, a friend of a friend that we, we actually met out at, I’ve met him before, but we kind of connected on this level at SHOT Show, um, at a little gathering. And, uh, he offered up, you know, maybe teaching some classes here at Bighorn. We met last week. It went really well. I like, uh, this guy a lot. He’s very enthusiastic, very passionate. He’s doing it for all the right reasons. Um, So that’s going to be back in the works here. I think we’re talking $250 for the full class. It’s the eight-hour class that meets all the requirements of the new requirements for Colorado. Right.
SPEAKER 08 :
And are they still good for five or do they go to two?
SPEAKER 10 :
I think you have to renew every two years, but the certificate is good for five years to apply for the permit after you get the initial training. But don’t wait that long. Anybody who waits any longer than like… A few weeks.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 10 :
You’re probably never going to do it. I’ve seen that so many times.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, you’re right.
SPEAKER 10 :
Take the class, get all the training done, and get your application in. Don’t wait. Just get it going. Then you’ll have the option to legally carry your gun. Yeah. And you could be the one who makes a difference in some sort of tragic event. But you’ve got to train. You’ve got to be confident if you’re going to carry the gun. Yeah. this is the first step. You get to get this class done and then, uh, go apply for your concealed carry permit. Then you will do every two years. You’ll renew with a two hour refresher class. Um, Likely, we’re going to be offering that, too, but we’re just going to get some regular concealed carry classes under our belt here and kind of work out the details, and we’ll update you if we start offering the refresher class. Go to our website, bighornfirearms.com. Click on the training thing. You’ll see the availability for classes there. Make sure you sign up for the right class. Yeah. Okay. There’s a couple different offerings there, so… Make sure you’re reading the description and make sure you’re signing up for the right class. We also offer an intro to pistol class for the true beginner. But, you know, you can just skip right ahead to this concealed carry class because that’s going to cover the basics, too. So if you think ultimately you’re going to end up there or you just want to have more knowledge than just the intro to pistol, sign up for the concealed carry. It is an eight-hour class. We’re conducting the classroom portion all in one shot, and then the range portion will be separate. So that’s starting end of March, so keep tabs there. Also, we partner with U.S. Law Shield. You know, if you’re carrying a gun, you should definitely consider having insurance in case you have to use that gun in a self-defense situation. You don’t want to be left paying the lawyer bills for a situation like that, so… If you want more information on U.S. Law Shield, if you go to bighornfirearms.com, scroll to the bottom of the page, we have an affiliate link there. You can click on that. That’ll take you over there. You can get whatever information you need there. You can sign up for a free trial or just get signed up for the full package. I think it’s like $30 or $40 a month to ensure you have a piece of money.
SPEAKER 08 :
Which is nothing if you need it.
SPEAKER 10 :
It’s a lot less a year than if you were to actually use the gun and have to pay a lawyer to get you out of that. I mean, you could be talking. tens of tens of thousands of dollars easily so um One more partnership we got going right now is with Paws to Protect. Come in, get a free lockbox. It’s really geared towards active duty military personnel so they can secure their firearms at home or if someone’s at risk or if they’re deploying or something like that. We are participating by offering a free Hornady pistol lockbox. If you are in need of a pistol lockbox and you’re not a service member, come talk to us. pretty sure we’ll get you, we can get you a free lock box in that program.
SPEAKER 08 :
And that’s a cool program.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah. Call us to protect, um, come in, grab a free lock box. Let us know you heard us on the show here.
SPEAKER 08 :
Um, now for folks that might’ve missed this, I want to hit back on these new laws because timing is going to be crucial here. August 1st. Um, and you’ve heard this on other shows as well, but, uh, with us, but it’s going to be some big changes, uh, especially AR market. And, um, It’s going to be requiring that you have to go do a lot of training. And now is the time to come in. So I just want to recap that. I know we went through it, but let’s do it again for just those that didn’t hear it.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, I mean, 12 hours of training to purchase an AR-15. And then you’ve got to apply for a permit to do that. So, you know, if you don’t have your concealed carry… Get that squared away now. Get that out of the way because you don’t want to do concealed carry and AR-15 rifle training all in a three-month block.
SPEAKER 08 :
You’re going to feel like you went to college.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, it would be pretty brutal. Yeah, but that all goes into it. The AR-15 stuff goes into effect August 1st. Concealed carry requirements are already in place. Right. Um, but, uh, yeah, for August 1st, you’re talking 12 hours of training or eight hours if you have a hunter safety education card already. So, um, a lot of changes and they’re back at it again right now. They’re at the Capitol dishing out new bills. I think there’s a one going up about doing background checks for barrels. Um, There’s some more dealer bills out there that are, you know, really going to put the crush on home-based FFLs with the security requirements and other things like that. You know, they’re talking about permits for out-of-state vendors, you know, all sorts of crazy stuff. You know, expanded red flag laws. I mean… They’re going to get what they can get, you know, and they usually throw a whole lot at the wall to see what sticks. And, you know, the more you throw at the wall, the more it’s going to stick, you know, or slip through the cracks and people won’t even see that happening. You know, they kind of. dangle this carrot in front of you while they’re, you know, working on this other thing over here. So, uh, you know, pay attention, um, contact your, your local reps and, you know, uh, sign up to do testimony. I know it’s a hard thing for a lot of people. It’s hard for me. Um, you know, it’s, if you can do it, it’s great.
SPEAKER 08 :
you know make phone calls send emails um i don’t know yeah not much else we can do yeah ryan rush is with us again bighorn firearms you know you mentioned something earlier i want to touch on real quick you said and i came here before we started recording or you mentioned on the show but you said you doing a lot of transfers and i just want to put this word out there are there some things that maybe they don’t carry here that you got to get transferred in the answer would be yes But in the big scheme of things, I would bet you check in some things that get transferred that you sell right here.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
And somebody tried to save $35 or whatever. And I’m all for saving money, and I get that, okay? I mean, I don’t have a lot of money to throw extra at anything myself. My point is, we’ve got to support you, okay? Hey, we’ve got to do your transfers. We’ve got to support our local gun shops. We do. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER 10 :
I mean… I mean, yeah, if we’re not here five or ten years from now, you know, and you… Need that service. Who’s going to do the transfer? Yeah. You know, we provide a comfortable, safe environment for all your firearm needs. And, you know, when you really need a transfer, hey, you know, we’re happy to help you out.
SPEAKER 08 :
Sure. That’s what I mean. There’s a cage for it now and then. Yeah.
SPEAKER 10 :
We’re not going to give you a hard time if you did do a transfer without checking with us first, you know, but we do charge a transfer fee for it. So a lot of people often feel like they’re getting such a great deal and then they realize there’s additional fees when they get here and it’s like, it ends up, you know, maybe ended up saving 20 or 30 bucks. Right. Um, it does help us out a lot, you know, as far as, uh, you know, uh, Just cash flow and building relationships with our vendors and manufacturers and stuff to keep those gun sales going through here. It keeps our numbers up. It helps us open new doors to bring in new product. It helps us get better pricing. And when you get better pricing, you get better pricing. Yep. You know, it is a trickle-down effect. If you can call us first, please do. You know, we’re happy to check for you. Or you can go on our e-commerce site, bighornusa.com, and you can see available inventory there. Those items are either marked as available in-store or at warehouse. If it’s at the warehouse, it takes, like, tops maybe a week to get here currently. Okay. You know, if things heat up a little bit, you know, those times can go up substantially very quickly. But, you know, a lot of this heating up right now is on a state level. So, I don’t really see it affecting lead times on bringing in shipments and stuff. It’s just going to really affect availability in store now.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 10 :
So, yeah. But, yeah, give us a shot, you know. And, you know, we’re not afraid to try to price match. Right, right. Sometimes we can’t do it.
SPEAKER 08 :
But people have to realize on brand-new guns, man, margins – or I think would shock a lot of people how small they are.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, it’s definitely not like selling apparel or some other sporting equipment. On guns, it’s a pretty thin margin. Accessories, there’s a little bit more wiggle room there, but it’s always good to support local business when you can. We all do our best. Sometimes convenience is king, and I get that. Yeah. No hard feelings either way. We’re here for you, whatever you need. Right.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, last thing. We appreciate your time. You’re busy. You could use a little extra help.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, we could definitely use some help. If you’re a motivated individual with a good work ethic… Good attention to detail. Great hygiene. We are looking for you for a part-time position, helping us out with shipping and receiving.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 10 :
It’s a good way to get into the industry, get some experience, get some hands-on with products, you know, not get thrown out there to, you know… To hang out and dry in front of customers with low knowledge. This isn’t a position that requires a high level of firearms knowledge. Just a passion for working in the industry.
SPEAKER 08 :
Follow instructions.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah. Yeah. Just, you know, work hard. Yeah. Contribute to the team. You know, have some fun. Put your hands on cool product all day long. I mean, every single box you open up, it’s a surprise of what’s inside. It’s actually kind of fun. You never know what you’re going to get in there unless you’ve been doing it for 13 or 14 years. And then you might be able to give it the shake test like on Christmas morning and have a pretty good idea what might be in that box. Um, it’s a fun position, you know, it gets your foot in the door, gets you some, uh, um, exposure to the products and to the procedures and things like that. And it could develop into something more, but right now we are looking for a part-time shipping and receiving a person 20 bucks an hour up to 30 hours a week. Um, Let’s start there. Send us your resume or come down, introduce yourself, and drop one off. If you send the resume, you can send it to ryan at bighornfirearms.com. I’ll take a look at it. I’ll let you know I got it. And if we think you’re a good fit, you’ll be hearing from us.
SPEAKER 08 :
Sure. Or drop by the store, 2175 South Jasmine Street in Denver. Ryan, good to see you. Appreciate your time. You too, Scott. Man, looking forward to the next show already, and I’ll go take a look, and I’m going to buy me a big horn hoodie here. Ah, man. Thanks for being with us today for Sports from Colorado. Hope you have a great rest of your day. We’ll be right here on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 05 :
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.
