This is Episode 221. Mike Pearce is the Co-Owner of Flat Line Archery and on the Pro Staff for Treezyn Camo. Treezyn Camo is an up and comer. You are going to hear a lot about it. They are great folks. They make a great camo. Mike is going to share all about how and why he got on the Pro Staff and the interesting sidebars or background on what makes a great Whitetail hunter.
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Mike Pearce Treezyn Become
We’re going to head to Michigan and Downstate, not Upstate or Upper Michigan. Mike Pearce is on Pro Staff for Treezyn Camo. He’s also the owner of Flat Line Archery. Mike, welcome to the show.
Thank you for having me, Bruce.
We’ve been having a lot of laughs with the warm-up and we’re going to share some of it. Let’s talk about Treezyn, Tina and the gang. I’m going to give an infamous quote that is so funny.
Treezyn is a great company. Jon Sanders is the Founder and Owner. He’s the master-mind behind Treezyn and the one who has developed the Camo pattern. It’s a tight group of people who are part of the Treezyn. He’s done a wonderful job. The people he’s brought on are all intelligent, has a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of years of hunting. It’s been a fast ride. I’ve been a part of them for years now, almost from the start of it. I knew right away as soon as I’d seen this pattern and spoke to Jon, I can tell that this was going to be a great company to be a part of. There are five of us at the Pro Staff. They’re all very driven people and it’s a great company to be a part of, no doubt. We have a lot of big things happening.
To our audience, a lot of you are saying, “I want to be a Pro Staff.” For one, Pro Staffer means a promotional staff member. This is from Tina Kane, facilitating officer of Treezyn, about Mike Pearce. “He’s a fabulous guy that we all care deeply for. He has a heart of gold and lives through his loyalty to his family, friends and the hunting world. We’re proud to have him on our staff. It’s easy to brag about his laughter, enthusiasm, dedication and willingness to jump in and help with any project we’re involved in.” Here’s the best part, “To tease him in the mood, his love for Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg combined with Krispy Kreme Doughnuts ought to bribe him into doing anything you want.”
A big shout-out to you that’s right there and now it’s going to go out through North America. What can I tell you? That’s so cool. Why did I talk about that? Because a lot of you want to be a Pro Staffer. You’d say, “That’s my way into the industry. I’m ready to go and I want to do it.” Mike loves what he does, enthusiasm, he’s passionate about it. If we break enthusiasm down, it means dedication and willingness to jump in and do what’s necessary. You bring all those things to the table. Mike, share how you got it to be a Pro Staffer because people want to do it but they don’t know how, so we’re going to help them.
Enthusiasm means dedication and willingness to jump in and do what’s necessary. Share on XHow it started off for me was my love for the outdoors. I was early on with S4Gear and I liked their product, what they had. I’m sure you’ve heard of S4Gear wherein they had that bino system. They gave me a shot and I helped promote them. My name got around through that. Then I was brought on a company called Bad Medicine Archery and zoomed through all that. I will say to get on Pro Staff, you do have to be dedicated. It’s got to be something you love, and you have to be willing to do something for. You have to give a lot of your time. That’s probably what’s most important.
You’re not going to just step on a team and get stuff for free. That’s a huge misconception that you’re going to walk in and you’re going to get everything for free. That’s not the case. You have to understand that most of the time these companies’ budgets are low, and you have to find ways to promote them. My way has been through good pictures and Facebook’s been great for that, Twitter and Instagram. You do whatever you can to help promote that company or that product. There are many ways of doing it, but you have to be dedicated to it and it’s got to be out of love. Without that, your kill will fall short.
What’s so special about Treezyn Camo? We already covered Tina. You’ve got a great rapport and that they’re awesome people. I get that but what about the camo? You and I know Trebark Camo, I can remember jungle fatigues from an army surplus store. I can remember all that stuff. Now it’s evolved into a multibillion-dollar industry and yet you’re bringing out another pattern. What’s so special about what Jon did?
The pattern itself has a 3D look to it. If you look at it, it’s unlike anything out there. That’s not a knock on any of the big companies that came before us because without them we wouldn’t be where we are. We wouldn’t have our opportunity because we truly believe there’s a slice for Treezyn in this industry. The pattern does take on the environment that you’re in rather well. We had done a photo shoot and we stuck ourselves in some corn stocks. I was amazed at how well it took on, inside those corn stocks, how well we were able to blend in.
Up at a tree, you see a tree bark there. It’s a great pattern, as well as the material it’s made out of. He’s got the spandex type material that’s wicking. He’s got pants that are a middleweight. The jacket itself is like a fleece, it’s very warm. For me, from being a Michigan, I’m able to use that. I was able to use it all the way down in the low twenties. I layer it correctly like everybody else would do with any other type of camo. To go along with that, the people involved are just phenomenal. That helps set Treezyn apart from some of the other companies. I’m definitely proud.
Have you tried it in the plains and in the Rockies? I live in the Rockies. I see it but I can’t visualize it out here. Have you taken a look at this market out here?
I can’t go into it but there are some other patterns that are being developed. We have a gentleman by the name of Grady who’s a photographer. He also does the video for other teams as well. He’s used it out there in the mountains and he liked it. We have other patterns that are better on their way that has already been developed.
I do have an audience out west. There are Whitetails in Colorado especially Arkansas. In the Platte River drainages, there are some monster Whitetails. I know some places in Eastern New Mexico, Wyoming. There are some big bucks in Wyoming, I haven’t spent the time to hung up there. I know one place outside of Riverton, Wyoming, and it takes a very large mature deer every single year off at 600 acres on the river bottom. It’s all river bottom hunting, so it’s tough because of how thick it is but they’re there, Montana Milk River and other places in Montana, the big Whitetails.
Then you jump into the provinces of Canada and go have fun and freeze in the late season. I’m thinking of all these different environments. For me, a camo pattern has to do two things. It has to blend, or as some people say, “Become one with the woods.” Then the other thing is, and you said it so absolutely well, you’ve got to be able to layer it. You’ve got to keep the camo, but you got to stay warm. One of the things in the warm-up we talked about hunting techniques and the right gear. Let’s go into the gear that you use as a Whitetail hunter in Michigan.
I use Treezyn and usually in early season, I would go early season in September to Kentucky and we all know that the September can be scalding there. There have been times we’ve been in the stand and it’s 75 degrees, 85 degrees. What’s nice about that is if you have that spandex-type short sleeve or even longer, that helps wick that moisture away from you, as well as thinner-lined pants that you can use and the hat is very lightweight that you can wear. Those things are all essential in having a productive hunt, especially the longer you can sit under a tree, whether it be hot or cold and be comfortable is very important. I’m a big gear guy, I pay attention to all those things.
Let’s talk about your archery tackle. What kinds of bows, arrows and releases do you use? Drill down to ensure some of the things that you’re passionate about. You own Flat Line Archery so you’re heavily into the game. Share some of those things with us.
I have several different bows, so I’m not all about one bow company. My hunting bow has been a Mathews Monster. It’s a great bow and I have harvested plenty of animals with it. I’d take the time to educate when I can and always try to learn myself from others. One of the big things is as a bow hunter, I try to always shoot as much as I can year-round so that when hunting season does come and I have that bow and I have that one chance. My mechanics are there, and I don’t have to think about it. In doing that, we’re in the leagues during the winter. We’re in three-spot or five-spot leagues and some indoor 3D you can do as well.
Before the season starts, you have summertime when you can go get into the 3D league and you can get into the ASA or IBO. There are so many functions out there that you can do different 3D shoots and all that. I believe that’s it’s very important for being an educated, smart bow hunter. It’s always making sure that you’re not just picking your bow up three weeks before the season and you’re taking it out into the woods and just hoping and praying to make a good shot on that animal. That’s part of being a good conservationist and having good woodsmanship.
What about the release? You said you’ve gone to a thumb release?
Yes, I use Carter Releases, not that to collect them or anything. They’ve always been a great release for me. I started off with the index finger release and I noticed through shooting in my leagues, a good friend of mine, Kevin Snyder, who shot for a very long time, he has his pro card. He has a good shot. He worked with me as well as some other people along the way and got me to go to a thumb release because a lot of times what happens when you use an index style release, you can get target panic from that. I don’t know if you’ve ever had that before. I don’t know what type of release you use.
A camo has to be one with the woods. Share on XWhen I’m shooting in the compound, I always use fingers. I’ve had many people put many different releases on my hand and I chose to shoot with fingers. It works well for me. Everybody can’t do it but I did it. Talk about the importance and the difference of releases. Let’s have a tech conversation.
You’re aware of a hinge release or back tension and a lot of the target shooters use a hinge release. You pull that release back using a push-pull type and what that does is it allows you to get a surprise on your target. It forces you to aim at your target rather than waiting and using that trigger finger. What happens is that a lot of times you’ll want to hit that trigger finger or use that as a trigger rather than pulling through.
Is that what you call a target panic?
Exactly. A lot of people have a problem with that and that can spill over into the woods as well. The thumb release is a more controlled shot, especially when you’re talking about target shooting. You have muscles that are at the center of your back and those are the muscles that when you’re holding your bow correctly and pulling back, those muscles should be tight and when you’re using a hinge release or a thumb release, you can feel that in your back. My point to all that is the thumb release allows you to get your push out, pull out front, and you pull it back where you’re pulling through the shot and you get more of an accurate shot.
If you’ve ever watched Target or anything like that, there’s a widespread use of thumb releases now. People are starting to find that you’re a lot more accurate and what you want is that surprise where you’re worried about aiming at that object whether it be a paper target or an animal and you push or pull through that shot until it goes off. That’s why not only I but many others have gone that route. You’ll see it more and more in the hunting industry, I don’t know if you’ve noticed that or not.
Since I shoot a crossbow now, they won’t let me in the indoors. I can shoot outdoors but I had an outdoor archery range 3D and he wouldn’t let me shoot. My crossbow is 3D and he said, “You’ve got a crossbow, just go down to the gun range.” I have a crossbow for one reason just because I’m 70 years old, parts are wearing out, and I can’t pull back a Cabela and hold it. I can pull it back, but I can’t hold it.
When the elk is in front of me, I might have to hold it longer than you can think that I have to hold it, so I had to go to a crossbow. Folks out there, we’re all hunters. Whatever weapon you choose to use, from a rifle, a shotgun, a muzzleloader, a compound, a stick and a string traditional or a crossbow we’re all hunters and we’re all helping the sport. We’ve got to support each other and be respectful. Your thoughts on that, Mike.
I one million times agree with that. That’s something that needs to be pushed every day. It doesn’t matter what you’re hunting with, as long as you’re out there and you’re doing the right thing. Find your tag, take any young person hunting minding the land around you, being a steward of the land. All that is important. Hunting is so much more than just going out and harvesting an animal. I’m glad that you brought that up because that is something that needs to be pushed all the time. You know as well as I do that people can get caught up with the industry in different ways and forget about what hunting is about.
Let’s talk about how you started. You were telling me about your hunting tradition.
I’ve gotten to know so many people in the industry especially more down in Southern Kentucky. There are a lot of those, even my friends around here that have had a father or a grandfather that has taught him how to hunt and that wasn’t so with me. I’ve always been a city boy. One of my good friends growing up, his uncle had a property. I finally got to an age where they were going. My dad hunted when he was young back in Mississippi with my grandfather, but I never went as a young child. It wasn’t until I was 22 years old that I got to start hunting and I started off with a gun and I fell in love with it.
It’s been a great ride. I don’t have anything against gun hunting at all. I went for the first time in Kentucky with the crossbow guys who invited me and my buddy, Don. I enjoyed it. Bow hunting is what I enjoy most, so that’s what I do. I was fortunate enough to have a friend introduce me into hunting and so I try to do the same. I’ve taken my son who’s seventeen and a couple of his friends out hunting when they were a little younger, introduced them into hunting. I’m always learning myself and always trying to teach. That’s what’s most important and that’s another reason why I love to hunt.
There are a lot of guys who say, “My son hunts. He loves to hunt. How do we get his buddies, guys or gals, come out with us?” What do you have to do with the parents or whoever’s in charge of the kids to get them to say yes?
In my instance, my son played travel baseball and we’re all friends on the team. One of the kid’s parents said to me, “My son would love to go hunting.” I jumped at that opportunity and I said, “I’ve got a piece of property that’s 25 minutes from here and I would love to be able to take him out and get his first deer farm.” They said, “No problem,” so I was able to take them out and was fortunate enough to be there in the tree stand with him when he shot his first doe. His parents appreciated it and he did. It was great. I enjoyed it. I get a lot more excitement out of that when I shot my first deer.
It doesn’t matter what you’re hunting with as long as you’re out there and you’re doing the right thing. Share on XDid you film it?
Yes, and I gave him a copy of it. It wasn’t anything spectacular but it was neat to see the look at a young man’s face.
Ace Luciano said that his goal every year is to add one new person, a youth or women. He says that he’s just not taken a buddy from work or a friend who’s in a similar age. He says, “Take one and get the kid or lady involved in the outdoor sports.” Think about how we get to expand our force in our place because every generation comes. I’m going to the end of my generation. I’ve had my time and we’ve got to replace. I’m going to replace me and I’m fortunate that I have grandkids that hunt.
My job is done, but it’s never done with the people that I’m getting about through the show. Mike said some kind things about our show and that’s what we try to do. We try to bring different people who have interesting things to say about hunting. Let’s talk about the lessons learned from last season. What did you learn saying, “I’m not going to do that again?”
I was guilty of allowing myself to get caught up into not harvesting a buck. I allowed that to eat at me. I’m glad you asked me that because I can admit that is not what’s important, but I was able to harvest a couple of does. After all the smoke had cleared and I was able to look back, I got to hunt with a lot of great guys and meet some new people. I was able to spend time in the woods with them. Just because I wasn’t able to harvest the buck didn’t mean that wasn’t a successful season, it certainly was. I would say even someone like myself who always tries to preach about going out with a family member or a friend, taking someone new and just getting in the woods and enjoying, taking in the woods and what God has given us, this renewable resource that is ours. Don’t ever forget that and don’t take that for granted. Always remember that’s another day in the woods where you get to be in that tree stand, be on that stock or overlook at the canyon, whatever it may be. Whatever type of hunting you do, you never want to forget how lucky you are to have that opportunity because some people don’t get to do that.
We’re competitive guys and ladies. I love what you said, “Take the time to enjoy where you are,” because this is a privilege for us to hunt. To be good stewards, both in the conservation of the land whose ever land you’re hunting on. I’m guilty like anybody else, many times you get to the end of a hunt and you’re zero for the bucks ten times. You’re getting your clock cleaned. In the past, I’ve done a lot of offshore fishing in San Diego and I’d get on a boat. I shouldn’t even get onto the boat because everybody else around me just zips and fish and puts them on the deck. I stared at it going, “What the heck is wrong with me?” You take a break and have a soda, put your feet up, go up on the sun deck and do all that stuff. Then you get back in the fray.
Hunting is so much more than just going out and harvesting an animal. Share on XI can remember how pissed I got. I was all up into myself and this old guy came up to me. He said, “Are you having a tough trip, Bruce?” I go, “Yes.” He says, “Where are you?” I said, “I’m in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.” What are you doing? “I’m hanging out with a bunch of guys that I know, love and are having a good time.” He said, “How many whales did you see? How many sharks did you see today? Could you believe the moon last night?” He worked me over. He opened me up and I went, “Yes.” He said, “Get over yourself and go fish.”
It’s funny that you brought up boat fishing because for the first time on a memorial weekend, a father and son that lived down the street from me, Jean and Chad Fletcher, have asked me to go boat fishing. I decided I’m going to set a rig up and go boat fishing. I can’t wait because I know I’m going to enjoy myself with these two. They always do well when they were going to Saginaw Bay where there’s easily a lot of fish to shoot. I’m going into it to have fun. I appreciate the opportunity. I’m glad that topic was brought up because that’s something that you always have to remind yourself and those around you, try not to get caught up in the scene if you will.
Mike, can you tell what the show has meant to you?
The show is super informative. You’re an intelligent man, you’re doing something right. You can tell by the number of people that you’ve had on your show and how successful it’s become. More than you know, your show is very important because it allows others to listen and get information from you and from the guests that you have on. It’s something that needs to continue, and I appreciate the opportunity to be on to help push the word.
Take the time to enjoy where you are. Share on XTreezyn and John, Tina and the crew, we gave them a shout but can you tell the people how to find them, how to find you on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, wherever you are on social media? Give a shout-out to your sponsors and your own company at Flat Line Archery.
You can find Treezyn at Treezyn.com. You can also find Treezyn on Facebook. If you’re looking to order anything for Treezyn, you can go to the website or you can message Jon Sanders and Matt Murphy. We can all push you in the right direction. I want to give a big shout-out to Matt Michell, who is the Vice President of Treezyn. He is somebody who is knowledgeable. If you have the chance, you can always message Matt Michell and he would be glad to help you out as well as the rest of the crew, Tina Kane, the facilitator.
Are you on Twitter or Instagram?
Treezyn is on Instagram. Also, you can find us at @FlatLineArchery on Facebook and on YouTube, Flat Line Archery 2013. Instagram is @FlatLineArchery1 and Twitter is @FLA_Archery. I do want to thank you for giving me an opportunity to give a big shout out to our sponsors at Flat Line. A big one for us Treezyn because they do sponsor us, Gary Pickens of Pro Guide Gold. It’s an odor eliminator. My bow buddy, Owen Hoge, and another big one, Don Pollauf at Bowhunting Addiction Bow Shop. He brought us on. I don’t know if you’ve heard of Don Pollauf. He has his own big show, Bowhunting Addiction TV.
Mike, on behalf of Whitetail Rendezvous all across North America and global, thank you to the veterans. Thank you to the people who went before us and paid the ultimate sacrifice. They didn’t come home to their families. Thank you to our audience who have served. Mike, thanks. I can’t wait to have you on the show again and I look forward to hearing more stories.
Thank you for having me on. I appreciate it, Bruce. I would love to be back on again because you have something great going.
Important Links:
- Flat Line Archery
- Treezyn Camo
- Jon Sanders
- S4Gear
- Bad Medicine Archery
- Mathews Monster
- Carter Releases
- Treezyn.com
- Treezyn on Facebook
- Matt Murphy
- Matt Michell
- Treezyn on Instagram
- @FlatLineArchery on Facebook
- YouTube – Flat Line Archery 2013
- @FLA_Archery on Twitter
- Pro Guide Gold
- Don Pollauf