Niki Tilley and Brittney Glaze are not your typical female hunters. When they’re not out modeling, they’re doing all day sits with their bows and waiting for the perfect opportunity to shoot. In this episode, Niki and Brittney share how they got their start with hunting. They also remind us that it isn’t wrong to post your hunt on social media but keep vigilant for when that elusive buck makes an appearance. If hunting and modeling aren’t enough, these two exemplary women volunteer with Hunting For The Cure in their spare time.
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LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE:
All Day Sits Aren’t For Wimps – Niki And Brittney Share Their Secrets
We have Niki Tilley and Brittney Glaze of Model Hunter TV. They’re going to share about their passion that’s so strong they do all day sits at Pacconi’s Trophy Whitetails of Southern Ohio. These ladies brave the elements. They get in the stand early and get out of the stand late because they want to hunt mature bucks. They got a lot of tips and techniques. You’ll hear the passion they have for the hunting tradition.
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We’re heading down to Ohio. In fact, we’re going to Pacconi’s Trophy Whitetails of Southern Ohio. We’re going to talk to Niki Tilley and Brittney Glaze. Ladies, welcome to the show.
How are you?
I can’t wait for you gals to tell us stories about the bucks that you’ve taken down there at Joe Pacconi’s. Let’s start off with you, Brittney.
I’ve been to Joe’s. This will be my third trip. Ohio has great deer. I know that they do because I see them. Before, I couldn’t get an aim close enough for a bow range. They would come in at 50 and 60 yards. I’m only comfortable at shooting up to 35 yards. I saw some nice bucks but I wasn’t able to get an aim close enough. Niki and I came. The weather was awful. It wasn’t in our favor. The bucks turned nocturnal. We didn’t have a good chance at all that week. We felt like bad luck was chasing us. We got here and Niki got her first buck with a crossbow on our first night here. She was hunting for a couple of hours and got one. She’s got the luck this time.
I’m still out there trying to get a Pope and Young. I’m looking for 125 inches or bigger because I’m hunting with my compound bow. I’ve gotten a few bucks under my belt. I’m just trying to get a little bigger each time. I’m waiting on that special one to come out, waiting for it to come out during the day. I’m excited because we’ve got snow falling on the ground right now. It should be good for the deer. They’re going to want to come to the food during the day so that they can stay warm and have all their nutrients. I love coming to Joe’s because Joe is super nice and very welcoming. He’s got cabins that you can rent right on the property. They’re very cozy. It’s like hanging out with your friends at deer camp. He’s become one of my good friends. I love coming up here. There are great deer and great company.
Niki, tell me about your experience at Pacconi’s doing crossbow hunting. You’ve been there a couple of times. You put a buck down. Joe also said that you put a doe down. Walk us through your experience at Pacconi’s and how you were able to close the deal.
This is my second time here at Joe’s. The first time, we worked our tails off and was in there every day. We were even doing a couple of all-day sits trying to do whatever we can, hoping one of them would show up while we were there. We didn’t get a shot. We saw some great deer and had a lot of action in the woods. There’s no telling what’s going to happen when you go to the woods, so you’ve got to be prepared for anything. We’re lucky enough to have been able to come back. On the first evening hunt, we were hunting on the same property. She was further back on the hill in a blind. Joe and I were in a blind down on the bottom of the hill. We had a little spike come in. He did not have a care in the world. He was a normal, cautious deer, not over-cautious or anything. He comes and hangs out for about ten minutes and left.
We were sitting there and super quiet. The next thing you know Joe says, “Here comes the buck, Niki.” He was coming down the same trail that the spike was on the hill to our right. We got to watch him walk in which was great for me because I was able to prepare myself a little bit so I could try to contain my excitement. My heart was beating out of my chest, but I was trying to control myself so I could keep it together. He could come in and I could get that shot and get him down. He took his precious time. Don’t they all when we’re after that big one? We’re watching them come in.
He came down the hill and started walking in the creek. At this point I thought, “He’s not going to come in. He’s going to keep walking. He was going to go the opposite way.” Joe’s like, “No, this is perfect wind. He doesn’t have a clue we’re here. He’s coming in.” I’m like, “Okay.” Here he comes. He starts getting closer and closer. He gets to about 50 yards. He stands there for about ten minutes. I’m holding out the crossbow waiting for him to come to 40 yards. He is not budging. He’s looking dead straight at us. I’m like, “This is going to be great. It’s what happened to me. A buck that I want to shoot is not letting me get a shot of him.” Finally, he came in at 40 yards and turned just enough broadside to let me get a shot. I shot and the rest is history. Now he is on the way to the taxidermist.
Was it Jay that was your guide?
Joe was with me.
Joe is the owner of Pacconi’s Trophy Whitetails of Ohio. Joe was on the show and he told me about Niki and Brittney coming down to the farm and hunting hard. I’ve got to give props to these ladies because they’re hunting hard. You heard about all-day sits. Tell me about all-day sits and how you pulled that off.
It’s tough. We pack our bags full of snacks. We try to mentally prepare for the day and what could happen. We make sure we have enough water and snacks. We’ll get up, we’ll stand and stretch, try to do something to help keep the calm going. On a nice, cold day, it’s not as hard as you think because you know that it could happen at any minute. You’re always on your toes. It’s always an exciting time. It’s on when we say we’re going to do an all-day sit. It’s not too bad.
Do you have earbuds in?
One of the great things about hunting is how there’s always something new to learn. Share on XWhen I’m in the woods?
Yeah, in all-day sits? Do you listen to music, Snapchat or Instagram? Do you get on social media?
I do get on social media. I try to limit the time. I will sneak my phone out in my lap and I’ll check a few things on Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. I’ll check them all and maybe post a status or maybe post a Snapchat picture being in the woods. I will put it back up because I do not want to be caught with my phone out when a big, old buck walks out.
Niki, that’s happened to a lot of people. I got attacked by a nice, young buck. He walked literally under my stand when I was doing some Instagram post. I was screwed. I was hammered. There was nothing I could do. I took a picture of him. Brittney, we’re talking about all-day sits. How do you prepare for that? How do you keep your mind sharp? How do you not fall asleep?
All-day sits are pretty tough depending on where you’re at and how cold it is. You definitely want to prepare for the day. You take water, snacks and I take extra battery charges for phone, cameras, whatever you need especially when we’re filming. If it’s cold outside, it chills the battery from everything. You’ve got to be prepared to have extra batteries. Now they make those little packs that have two to five charges on them. You can plug it in, which are nice. I love sitting in an actual treestand. I try to find one that’s comfortable where I can stand up for about an hour and then sit down for an hour. Sitting there all day, you don’t want to get blood clots. You don’t want your legs falling asleep. I try to stand up half the time. Whenever you’re shooting, lots of times you’re standing up with your bow.
Niki and I did an all-day sit. We were muzzleloader hunting with our CVAs. It was crazy windy. It felt like we were in Kansas. The wind was so awful and our face was full of blisters. We sat all day and toughed through it knowing that at any moment the big bucks are coming out. We were on our toes all the time because there was a lot of deer action, not just the big bucks that we wanted. When you have movement in front of you, it keeps you awake, alert and excited. There’re long days when there’s no deer action. That’s when it gets tough. You just want to fidget around. You feel like a toddler in church on Sunday morning. Those days, you do use social media to stay alert because if not, you’ll fall asleep. I can’t say that I haven’t done that because the best naps I’ve ever had are on the deer stand. We all have them.
You have a harness so when you fall asleep, you’re not going to fall off your stand.
I always use my hunter safety system. I’m always hooked in. I honestly hate heights. I hated them growing up. When I first started hunting, I would have to take about five to ten minutes to calm myself down every time I sat in the stand. Over the years, I’ve conquered my fears. I try to get in the stand higher and higher each year to see how well I do.
It typically depends on the terrain you’re hunting in. You can get up to fifteen feet or even twenty feet. It makes a whole difference in the deer sensing you. That’s what I found. It may get harder when you get up to twenty feet. The angles change and unfortunately we don’t practice shooting our bow at that angle. Have you ever shot your bow in practice from fifteen feet or twenty feet?
I actually do. I practice out of a deer stand between 15, 20 and 25 feet. I know at some of these outfitters you never know. It’s not our property so we don’t know where we’re going to go sit in. I try to practice at different levels with my bow and my gun because the angle is going to be different. The terrain at my house is flat. We’re hunting the mountains up here. We might be shooting at something down in the valley. I try to practice every chance I get at different levels, on different angles with those weapons because you never know. I want to be prepared for every situation that I might encounter.
I can say this, as an older guy that’s hunted quite a bit across North America, you gals understand the game well and I’m proud of you.
We’re still learning. That’s one of my favorite things about hunting. It’s hunting with different people, learning new things. There’s always something new to learn. I’m like a sponge. I want to know it all. I want to know every single way so that I can figure out which way I want to do it.
I’m going to give a shameless plug and hope you ladies subscribe, rate and review Whitetail Rendezvous. I have people guest five days a week. That’s what they talk about. They talk about hunting. We’ll talk about some other things about the outdoor industry and such, but on each show, you’re going to pick up some tips, techniques and lessons learned that you could transfer into both your experiences and Niki’s experience. Keep it up. It’s awesome to have you gals sharing from Joe’s place down there. I know you gals are continuing something, Model Hunter TV. Let’s talk about that Brittney, why you started this and what you hope to do with the TV show.
Niki and I have been following each other for a few years on social media. We pretty much live the same life. The moment we met, we clicked. We both modeled most of our lives and hunted most of our lives. We both have the same passion for wanting to get kids, women, whoever new involved in the outdoors. Everyone was picking on us, “You all should do your own show.” Because we were already hunting and fishing together and having a good time, we decided, “Why not?” We’re constantly posting videos and stuff on social media, why not go ahead and do it, see how it goes? We decided on Model Hunter because we do model and we do hunt, but we also want to be a role model for the little ones coming up. For any woman or man out there who is scared to ask how to hunt, we want to show everyone that they can do it. If you want to do it, you can do it. If you can dream it, you can do it. That’s what we’re doing on a daily basis, is chasing our dreams. We’re eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches but we are having fun. We’re traveling and soaking it all in.
Who is doing the filming?
We actually have a producer, Jared Lott. He owns Broadstead Media. He’s out of Statesboro, Georgia. He’s a very good friend of ours. He was there when we were brainstorming ideas. He said he would help us. He has been a blessing to us. When Niki and I are on the road and he’s unable to come because he’s very busy with his own stuff, we just film each other.
Niki, following up on Brittney and Model Hunter TV, what are your thoughts and where do you have to go with the show?
If you want to do it and you can dream it, you can do it. Share on XAt first, we were just friends and this is fun. Everybody kept bugging us and was like, “You all need to do this.” We finally did. It was one of the best things that we could do. We both have the same drive, passion and love for what we do and helping others. Not only that, but this lifestyle that we have is extremely different than your normal lifestyle. Going to your job, 9:00 to 5:00 every day, we’re never home. It’s hard for a lot of people to understand how we do what we do. It’s great to have somebody, a fellow girl hunter who knows and understands exactly why we do what we do and why we’re always away from home. We’re always there for each other. It’s great to have somebody like that with you. I have high hopes for Model Hunter. We’re reaching for the sky. Anything can happen and we’re ready for whatever God throws at us. There’s no telling.
Brittney was sharing you are both professional models but you also want to model something for other people that are trying to get in the business and for kids. How does that work in the whole framework of what you’re trying to accomplish?
Whether it be kids, pre-teens, teenagers, adults, the whole age range, people are always asking us, “How do you do what you do? My daughter is getting started into hunting. What are some tips you have for her?” or “My son’s getting started. My boyfriend is getting started. What would you say to him?” We actually volunteer with Hunting For The Cure in Georgia. It’s a nonprofit organization where kids with cancer come to have a fun weekend of hunting.
Not only do they get to hunt, but their family gets to come and hunt as well if they would like. That’s great for the whole family. We have so many fun activities to do while we’re there. Whether it’s fishing, playing silly games, riding the golf cart around. I actually have two little nephews that I have always took them hunting with me. I showed them how to shoot guns. They got little practice bows for Christmas. Slowly but surely, I am teaching them every way I can even being away from home. We love getting others involved in keeping this tradition going like my grandpa kept it going with me.
Let’s talk about your grandfather and how he passed on the hunting tradition to you.
My grandpa was a huge hunter all of his life. There was no such thing as going to your office job and this and that. He got up at the crack of dawn. He had to go out, feed the cows and start working in tobacco. My family all work in tobacco. His dad actually taught him how to hunt. He hunted bears, deer and hogs. You name it, he has hunted it in North Carolina, Virginia. As soon as I’m old enough, he puts a gun in my hand and has me in the pasture shooting at targets. He tried that with my mom but she didn’t like it for very long. With me, it clicked. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. He took me hunting every chance that he could. He was there with me when I shot my first deer. It’s absolutely amazing that I learned so much from him growing up in the outdoors, fishing and everything. It’s great.
With your show, Model Hunter TV, do you have special kids’ segment or veterans’ segment? Is it thrown in, how it happens and whoever is hunting with you?
We already have a lot of footage from our previous hunts at Hunting For The Cure. We are definitely going to have an episode with Hunting For The Cure. We’re going to do a little episode. I’m going to be with my grandpa and Brittney is going to be with her granny. That’s an episode. We’re going to try to do something different for about each episode. There’s no telling who will be with us or where we’ll be at. We love helping others and giving back when we can. It’s up from here and the people with us. The kids are going to be with us and our family. It’s going to be great.
That’s the end of part one with Niki Tilley and Brittney Glaze as they share their hunting experiences at Pacconi’s Trophy Whitetails of Southern Ohio. In the next episode, they’ll continue to share their passion for the outdoors and share what’s going to happen at Model Hunter TV.
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Before we go, can I take a moment to say thank you? As we started the Whitetail Rendezvous podcast journey, we had no idea what to expect. After some years, we received a ton of feedback from over 400,000 audiences and climbing to 500,000. Speaking of which, we are closing on over 600 featured guests. Thank you. A quick shout out to all those who have left an iTunes review and your feedback. I get those and appreciate it. It’s awesome to see what you have to say. We do read every single one of them. I want you to know that I am incredibly grateful for your kind words regarding the show. All ratings and reviews help us to attract more audience. If you’re new, welcome. It’s great to have you.
If you haven’t taken the time to rate and review our show and like the hunting on private land strategy on how to get permission to hunt a private property, go to WhitetailRendezvous.com. As a special gift for rating and reviewing our show, when you get there, look for the start button to get the details. I’ll share you the top techniques from some of the top hunters in the country on how they get permission to hunt on private land. I’ll share with you the exact techniques to use to get permission. It’s my way of saying thanks for rating and reviewing the show on iTunes. Join us next time and remember we’re all in this journey together, learning, sharing and becoming 365 hunters.
Important Links:
- Model Hunter TV – YouTube
- Joe Pacconi – Previous episode
- Broadstead Media
- Hunting For The Cure
- Pacconi’s Trophy Whitetails of Southern Ohio
- iTunes – Whitetail Rendezvous