LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE:
Bruce: Five, four, three, two, one. Welcome, everybody, to another edition of Whitetail Rendezvous. I’m really excited to have just a great gentleman, a great Whitetail hunter, and an all round pretty nice guy. Ken Fitzner is our guest today. Ken, say hello to the folks.
Ken: Hey, how’s everybody doing today?
Bruce: Ken, share with us what you are doing at X X and how you run the pro staff.
Ken: Well, about three weeks ago I, actually no, actually longer than that. About a month and one-half ago X with X X contacted me through Facebook and it was a simple message. It simply said, “Call me.” I found it kind of weird and I simply sent a message back to him, “Why?” He just said, “I want to invite you on a hunt.” I said, “Okay,” so I gave him a call and he wanted to take me on a turkey hunt and so I said, “Okay,” so he went ahead and wanted to do a turkey hunt down here in Florida where I have relocated, to my home state of Florida after I retired from the army last year, May. What had happened was he had some things came up and so he was able to send down his guy that does his filming for him, X. X came down and X and I hit it off instantly.
He came down and we did a turkey/hog hunt on a lease that I have up here in northern Florida. I belong to a hunting lease, 3200 acres in Madison County and what a treat. What an awesome, awesome experience. I had my son with me, Mason. He’s 12 years old. He’s a great bow hunter. He’ss been hunting ever since he was real young. My daughter, Mikayla, same thing, and my wife Dawn. We’re all avid hunters and [inaudible 00:02:20] the rest is history. X and I hit if off and then X made a phone call to X and said, “Hey, I really think that Ken needs to be on the team.” They talked about it and X asked me to become part of X Outdoors and I didn’t even hesitate. I said yes. It was a win-win for everybody and so far I’m fitting in.
You asked me to do the interview and here I am. I am on the way, actually, to go to South Carolina where I’m going to go to a place up there and do a turkey hunt/hog hunt up there with Circle S Outfitters and it’s going to be a great time. Me, X, and X and couple of other guys are going to come down and film us. It’s going to be an awesome time and I can’t wait.
Bruce: Sounds like fun. I wish I could be there. We got snow out here in the Rockies today.
Ken: Oh, wow.
Bruce: Let’s talk about the responsibilities, the role of being a pro staffer. I’m sure we’ve got a lot of listener that say, “Man, I’d like to be a pro staffer.” Guys or gals, they love hunting and they’re passionate about Whitetails. I think you probably could share some good words of wisdom.
Ken: Oh, man. I tell you what. I watch, I have a lot of people on my Facebook page and a lot of people I look up to like the guys with Open Season, Chuck Paddock and James Blankenbeckler. I tell you what, I see all these people that make these comments on Facebook and they always ask that same question, “How do you do it?” or “How can I become one?” and I tell you what, I’d been wanting to become one for years and years and years. It’s hard. You don’t just become one overnight. Being in the right place at the right time, sure that helps but you’ve really got to work hard at it. You’ve got to hunt. You’ve got to be out there. You’ve got to do your homework. That starts with shed hunting. That starts with putting up trail cameras. That starts with doing your homework. That starts with putting in food pots. That starts with getting on hunting leases.
That starts with knocking on the farmers door down the road and trying to get on to his property and if he says, “No,” go to the next farmer and asking that farmer, “Hey, I’d be willing to do work on your property for you.” Believe me, I’ve done it. I’ve been on so many leases in Kentucky, Michigan, Alabama, here in Florida. I have a lease that I belong on in Florida here now. It’s my second year on 3200 acres. Sure, yeah, it does take money but if you can get a couple guys together and all chip in and do it for $1,000, $1,250, $1,500 and do that. You have all year to save your money. If you have a habit, like I chew Copenhagen or if you smoke cigarettes, stop smoking. Yeah, it’s hard but do it. If you are that passionate about it, stop one of your habits. Save that money. You know? I mean it’s all about how badly you want it. If you want to do it, do it. You know?
Don’t complain about it. If you want something bad enough, you will do it. Putting messages on Facebook like, “Yeah, must be nice,” or, “How do I do it?” If you want something bad enough in life, go after it. You control your own destiny. Like I said, I’ve been in the military and that’s what they trained us to do. If you want something bad enough, go after it. That’s my two cents, I guess.
Bruce: Okay. Thank you for that two cents. So let’s go back to your earlier remembrances of hunting. Who was involved? What did you hunt and what it’s meant to you as you’ve grown older in life?
Ken: Well, my dad actually. My dad always took me fishing and hunting and everything else but as I really got really heavy into it, it’s probably when I moved to Michigan, my wife’s brother Kurt, he was a big, big, big-time bow hunter and one of the best bass fishermen I’ve ever met in my entire life. His name’s Kurt Willsey [SP] and I tell you what, that guy can fish and he can bow hunt. There isn’t anybody that I know on this planet that can bow hunt and bass fish like my brother-in-law. He is something else. He can go into any part of the woods and hang a tree stand and know where to hang it and find deer. I have learned so much from him it’s unbelievable. I’ve mostly gun hunted my entire life and I really, really didn’t start actually picking up bow hunting until my, maybe 24 or 25 years old. I mean sure I played around with a bow when I was a younger kid, but actually, really get into bow hunting until then and I owe a lot to him
Bruce: Thank you for that. Let’s talk about a couple of ah-ha moments. An ah-ha moment is the light bulb goes on and you finally figure out something that’s really been bugging you for a week, a day, maybe even a month. Can you share a couple of those with us?
Ken: Probably the sight on my bow. When you have certain things on your bow you tend to get fixated on it and you’re like, “Okay. I need to start listening to people.” I’m German. We’re pretty much set in our ways. Another thing, I tend to listen to a lot of people that are in the industry and James at Open Season Outdoors, he gives me a lot of really good advice. I send him a lot of messages. If you find somebody in the industry, and there’s a lot of good guys out there, pick their brains. They’re in the industry for a reason, because somebody saw something in them that they liked and they are there for a reason. If they recommend a product or something, they must know what they’re talking about so use that your advantage. Don’t go out and just walk up, go to Bass Pro Shop and just see something on the shelves because it’s a really good deal.
If you see something on there, buy the best. If you don’t have the money for it, save the money until you have enough money for it. My dad always told me when I was a kid, “Don’t buy cheap stuff.” Yeah, stuff is expensive but save your money until you have the money to buy it because by the time you keep buying stuff that isn’t working right and you keep buying stuff that doesn’t work, by the time you keep buying and buying and buying, you could have bought that thing that worked. I’m probably going to give a shout-out here to [inaudible 00:10:22] Sights and I tell you what, they’re the best sights on the planet and that’s what I use. I bought three different archery sights for my bow and until I listened to somebody and I tell you what, it’s definitely stepped up my game 100%.
Bruce: Thanks for sharing that. Now is there anything about specifically hunting a whitetail that you found the answer to?
Bruce: Yeah. Ken, you were sharing about your gear. Now was there any ah-ha moment that you finally figured out how to set up a stand or why that buck wasn’t coming through and you figured out what you needed to do so you could get that shot or at least get close to that buck?
Ken: Well, yeah. If you have a deer that’s not coming in to your stand, you’re asking what you need to do?
Bruce: Yes. It happened to you so it was one of those light bulb goes on and you said, “Man, I should have done that a week ago,” but you finally figured it out and you got on that deer.
Ken: Oh, yeah. I mean, it happens to everybody. We are not perfect. That’s the beauty of filming, I guess. You cut all that out of the filming but, yeah. It happens often. For instance, I was hunting Fort Knox. One year I shot with my bow a beautiful buck. It’s in Pope and Young. It was 16 points. It was non-typical. I shot it with my bow in 2013. It’s my biggest doe to date, excuse me, my biggest buck to date. Then gun season opened and I was in the area of, I believe it was 119. It was the impact area. They opened it up, which is the best area to hunt on Fort Knox. I was in my blind and this big, huge buck, perfect, typical buck, he was, what I can tell, he was at least a 10-point. I was self-filming, which big, huge mistake. My first time self-filming actually and I have it all on film for everybody to see. The deer came within, I believe it was 75 yards broadside.
I grounded him in and then he stopped. I had my shotgun. I know my shotgun was on but I went to readjust the camera to get him back into view. I shot and I don’t know where, I either shot too high or too low. The buck ran off. It was another, probably, it ran off and stopped, turned back again, probably another 70 yards, probably, he stopped and turned around. I can’t believe I’m admitting this live on air but I shot again. I missed again. Thank God it was two clean misses. I went back after the deer ran off and in both trees, my slug was in both of the trees. I even took pictures of both trees where the slug went into and there two perfect round trees, which blended in with the buck perfectly that I shot so it wasn’t high or low, I just shot into a tree that just blended in perfectly with the trees.
The woods and the terrain and everything up there in Fort Knox is just so beautiful but the way it was, it just blended in. I just didn’t catch it. I was just too busy with trying to adjust the camera and it was my fault so I’m just glad I didn’t injure the buck or anything. I looked everywhere. The buck tore out and took off and everything. I took pictures for almost two hours and you can hear me getting all winded from the camera. I almost cried to be honest with you. It would have been, the perfect year would have been 2013.
Bruce: Wow, thanks for sharing. Fortunately or unfortunately, we’ve all had similar experiences that we’re so focused on the deer that we never see a twig, a branch, a rock that’s there. We just don’t see it and the shot never gets to the animal. So thanks for sharing that. Ken, you mention social networking a lot, or social media lot. How do you use that to increase your whitetail knowledge?
Ken: Facebook, Google, everything, it’s huge. I’m still learning. I’m learning every day. My wife, bless her heart, I’m always asking her for help. My 12-year-old son, he’s amazing. He knows even more than I do. I use Facebook a lot for help. I’m always sending people messages asking for advice, looking at stuff that they’re posting, looking at other people’s products, sharing other people’s pages is also good, a good tool, too, and just getting the world out there and just helping each other out and sharing advice. There is nothing wrong with sharing advice and helping each other out. We have enough people out there that are trying to put us down and trying to make us look bad but the hunters out there are doing really great things and not to mention all the money that we’re pumping into our economy and into each state. Social networking is a huge, huge tool and I think it’s great. Use it to your advantage.
My advice, also, to people is when you post things, be smart about it. If you have to think about what you’re getting ready to post before you hit enter to post it, think about it before what you do because once you post it, it’s on there forever so be smart about what you post.
Bruce: Wise advice, really wise advice. Are there any books that you’ve read about whitetail hunting or whitetail behavior that you’d like to share with our listeners?
Ken: Oh, God. There’s so many books out there. I read everything that Ted Nugent puts out there, to be honest with you. He’s gone real political but I read a lot of stuff with what he puts out. Just anything, as far as books, I’m not really, kind of embarrassing to say, I am not really a big book reader but I read a lot of magazines. There’s a lot of great articles in magazines. I get the Pope and Young. I’m a member so anything, I always look forward to whatever, getting my Pope and Young magazine. I just got it yesterday, as a matter of fact. I’m a member with Pope and Young so I pretty much stick with whatever they got because with all the ethical hunting and everything they have to say and the rules and everything like that. Whatever they put out is pretty much what I like to read because, like I said, not everything on the internet you should believe it.
Bruce: That’s for darn sure. Hey, let’s talk about X X and kids and the youth of today.
Ken: Yes. Like I said before, my son and my daughter, my daughter’s 10 and my son’s 12, they’re both bow hunters. My daughter really doesn’t like shooting a gun. Like I said, she’s 10. She’s a little bit skittish of it but she loves to bow hunt. I bought her a Mathews Bow that is adjustable so she can use it for a while. My son shoots a BowTech. I shoot a BowTech. My wife shoots a Martin. We all love to bow hunt. We take our kids hunting as much as we can. They love it. They love the outdoors. I am huge on taking kids hunting. Letting your kids just run the streets is just not the answer. It’s taking your kids outdoors and showing them what the outdoors is all about is the cheapest, well let me retract that. It’s not cheap but it’s something that God created so let’s use it. On that note, it’s beautiful out there.
I was just in Denver, or not Denver, but we flew into Denver but we were just at Breckenridge all last week in Colorado. Absolutely beautiful up there where you live, gorgeous. If I didn’t just build a house, I would be moving up there. We are blessed to live in this great country. We really are and I just can’t wait to see where all X Outdoors Adventure is going to send me. It’s just great. I’ve hunted Kentucky. I’ve hunted Illinois. I’ve hunted Georgia, Alabama, Michigan, of course Florida, and I just, oh, upper state New York when I was stationed up at Fort Drum in the Army. I just want to see. Everywhere they want to send me I’m willing to go because I want to see everything. I want to see all parts of the United States. This country is just awesome.
Bruce: Ken, thanks for sharing a lot of insights, one to yourself, one to whitetail hunting, and now is the point in the show where you have an open mic for a few minutes here. So please share about whatever you want to share about, be it gear, be it clothing, be it special friends you might have met along the way. Certainly about what’s happening at X X. Ken, the mic is yours.
Ken: Okay. Thank you. I tell you what, there’s a lot of great things coming up with X X and there’s so much my hands started to cramp as I was writing this stuff down. I wanted to say a few things. Illusion Camo, I tell you what. If you guys don’t, haven’t heard of them you’ve got to definitely get online and check these guys out. They’ve got some great stuff coming out. Their backpacks that they showed last night that they just uploaded, this thing is amazing. X, I can’t wait to get mine tomorrow. Rage, tool [inaudible 00:22:32] called Steady Form Outdoors, High Desert Archery, Nocturnal by Rage, Muddy River Gear, Anchor Point, Parker Bows, [inaudible 00:22:43], Nutriva, and Visual, Inc. They did all of our stuff for us: our excursions and all that great stuff. I can’t wait to get all my new stuff.
There’s two great, great non-profits that I want to plug. There’s a lot of non-profits out there and if you guys have the time please, please, please. I hold these two dear to my heart. Get online right away. If not, get your pen out. Write these down. If you can donate a dollar, two dollars or a hundred, if you can, that would be awesome. Right now everybody knows that the VA system isn’t what it used to be. That’s all I’m going to say about that. But if you can get online and go to crossroadswoundedwarriorarcheryfoundation.com. They’re out of Summerton, South Carolina. Kim and Scott are husband and wife. These people are awesome. Okay? They are awesome. Bless their hearts. What they do is they raise money and they, I don’t want to get upset or start crying but, they give bows, whoo, excuse me. They give bows to…
Bruce: Take your time. Take your time.
Ken: Oh. They raise money and they give bows to wounded veterans free of charge. So please, get online and help these people out. They are awesome. They are, again, they’re crossroadswoundedwarriorarcheryfoundation.com and you can reach her at [email protected]. Another one, there’s a lot out there but these two I hold dear to my heart and I’ve seen the money work. They are awesome. The other one is Licking River Outdoors, Incorporated out of Cynthiana, Kentucky, Robin Gassett. This guy and his wife, I tell you what. Another. I don’t know how they do it. They take wounded veterans on their land free of charge and let them hunt deer and turkey free of charge. These people are also struggling. They need help. If you can donate a dollar, five dollars, I don’t care. Just look them up on Google. Oh. I apologize again.
They’re out of Cynthiana, Kentucky, Robin Gassett, Licking Rivers Outdoor, Incorporated. Like I said, he’s got land out there. He’s also non-profit. He takes wounded veterans, as a matter of fact, this weekend they’re taking veterans on turkey hunts free of charge. This guy takes money out of his pocket. Okay? Out of his own pocket. That’s all I got. Thank you.
Bruce: Thank you, Ken. Appreciate everything you’ve shared and I’m going to ask you when you get to where you’re heading today, just send an email to [email protected] with those two addresses and then I’ll make sure I get them posted up on our social networks. Ladies and gentlemen, –
Ken: I sure will.
Bruce: Thank you.
Ken: Thank you.
Bruce: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for listening to Ken Fitzner, pro staffer from X X. Ken, it’s been an honor to have you on the show and make it a fantastic day. Thank you, sir.
Ken: Thank you very much. God bless.