Doing The Best We Can With What We Have

Doing The Best We Can With What We Have

Mission Statement

With the expanded use of social media today, it is easy to look at others' lives and wish you were them. There are a handful of fortunate individuals who get to hunt and fish for a living. There are others who's circumstances allow them to spend more time in the outdoors than most. The truth is.. the majority of us are average people. Average men and women who do the best we can with what we have. For us, every hunt is public land. Every hunt is DIY. We will most likely never own a Yeti, our Igloos will have to do. Never look down range through the lens of a Swarovski or wear anything adorned with the Sitka logo. We will never have a hunting magazine, never be the stars of our own hunting show, become prostaff members, or receive free gear. We have a limited number of days off each year, and limited funds to spend. This does not however crush our spirit or curb our enthusiasm for the great outdoors. We will take every opportunity we get to enjoy the Streams, Lakes and Mountains.

We do not criticize those more fortunate than us. Our hope is to appeal to hunters just like us. Those with limited time, limited assets, limited resources, marginal gear, yet, 100% passion.

Showing posts with label Benny Spies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Benny Spies. Show all posts

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Benny, come to Lake Powell


We here at SLAM Outdoors would like to extend a formal invitation to Benny Spies to come visit us out west for a little Lake Powell Striper fishing trip. Maybe the show would agree to do a west coast swing or something and this could possibly be one of your stops. We have access to a Private Houseboat on Antelope Point Marina and a sturdy fishing boat. We would love to have you sometime Benny!!

This is why I think Benny appeals to us so much... From his website he says: "To me, it's not about the high dollar game hunt of having the best gear money can buy. It's about enjoying one of America's greatest heritages, having fun with friends, family, & the people I meet. It's about going out & doing things the way I was taught; gettin' dirty, pullin' the trigger & havin' fun. I don't claim to be an expert outdoorsman & I definitely don't offer the latest, greatest techniques to shooting the biggest bucks or bagging limits. But, I will promise to give you an honest, genuine,exciting & entertaining look into the outdoors. I'm a guy who loves to hunt, fish & drink a few root beers with my friends, family & the random people I meet throughout the small towns I travel. So, let's have some fun!"

Now here are a few pics of Beautiful Lake Powell and some of our pictures of recent success there.

Enjoy...











Also, you have inspired us to look for a Toaster of our own to make as our hunting vehicle. This video is Hilarious!
file:///C:/Users/Nichole/Desktop/BENNY%20POST/watch.htm

SHOT SHOW 2012


I have been trying to figure out how I was going to get to the SHOT Show for about a month now... I got it worked out late Thursday night to attend the final day on Friday. So.. there I went, sporting my SLAM Outdoors polo and a couple of SLAM business cards in my wallet just in case I happened to run into someone like say.... oh I don't know........ BENNY SPIES MAYBE??
Yep! It's true folks.. I met our Mentor, Benny Spies himself! I have been on a high ever since! What an honor! Here's a little about how the conversation went:
me: BENNY!, love your show man. Best hunting show on t.v. by far! We love it because it appeals to normal guys like me.
Benny: Thanks man, that means alot.
me: Me and my friends love your show. In fact, we are even in the market for an old winnie.
Benny: Oh, A toaster?
me: Yep.(we shared a quick laugh)
Benny:this is so and so....(forgot the name of the girl with him)
me: hi, nice to meet you. I'm Quinn Hadley. (and we all shook hands)
Benny: She's the reason we can do what we do. She keeps us on the air.
me: so.. did NBC Outdoors pick up you show?
Benny: yep, we just signed for 9 more shows coming out later this year. Gotta keep the old toaster on the road.
me: Awesome! Would you mind if I got a picture with you? Maybe one on my phone and one on my camera?
Benny: Sure (we take pictures)
Me: Thanks, my friends are gonna freak when they see this
Benny: What size are you?
Me: XL
Benny: Here, have a shirt. Not sure if it is XL... Oh, it's not. let me look. Here's one... You know what? Just keep both of them.
Me: Thanks alot man!
Benny: Your welcome
Me: Nice to meet you
Benny: You too. Take care. Thanks for watching.....

THAT WAS SOOO AWESOME!! but, unfortunately, I froze during all of that because I was nervous and didn't give him a business card.... what was I thinking??? I guess I didn't wanna be rude and it looked like he was leaving. I just felt lucky to even run into him. I mean... there are 10,000 people at this thing and I just happened to be right were he was walking out at that exact moment. I almost couldn't believe it. It caught me off guard because I didn't expect to see him there that late in the week so when I did, I wasn't prepared. I am going to post that pic on his facebook wall but there are alot of other morons on there asking him to go hunting with them and stuff like that. But, If I could do it all over again, I would have talked to him a bit longer and ask him if he liked it out west, introduced myself better, and told him how much we watch and love his show. And then I would have invited him out to lake powell for a striper fishing trip. Just think if he had that card right now.... If he didn't throw it in the trash right after he walked away, he would have had it in his pocket and found it one day and thought "hey, I should check out this website, that guy said I was on here. what the heck." And then who knows if it would have turned into a friendship. I would love to be considered one of his "good buddies" like on his show.

Anyway, not that it mattered after that, but was still a whole show to see. There was like 2,000 booths at this thing! We were there for 4 hrs and barely saw any of it. It was SOOO awesome! I have never seen so much cool stuff in one place. Every major company and tons you have never heard of was there. We're talkin, browning, mossy oak, realtree, remington, tc, smith and wesson, colt, glock, benelli, savage, db, nikon, leopold, vortex, wolf, tul ammo, barnes, hornaday, gamo, Rocky, Danner, Ruger, Kahr, and the list went on and on... It was awesome and definitely worth the vacation day I used to go.

Here are just acouple more pics for your viewing pleasure:



P.s. We are ALL going to this next year as SLAM Outdoors Staff members ok!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

SLAM Weekend!!




WOW, where do I start?? What a weekend! SLAM Outdoors was out in full force this weekend doing a number of activities. Here's a quick rundown:

Thursday Night: Nick, Noah and I headed up to the Ence's in search of that elusive Buck. We only saw a few does here and there but I heard the "snorter" again. I'm gonna get him some night this week!

Friday Morning: Nick and I (and Doug) headed to Sand Hollow for a little fishing. Nick got things started off early with a drop shot rig and a sweet beav. So, I tied on a beav and also started catching em. By the end of the day, we had caught about 20 large mouth including this nice 2 pounder. On the way in, we mentioned to the lady and the gate that we were with SLAM Outdoors when she asked our name. That must have gave her an indication thaat we meant business and we ended up getting in free. It was a great morning on the lake! Doug ran flawless and the water was warm. We even had a little time for a swim.


That afternoon, we loaded up the bikes so we could head to Pine Valley hunting again. Aint this a beautiful sight?...

Friday Night we headed up to Pine Valley to hunt. Matt and the boys met us up there and that's when all the action happened! First, Nick and I took the 4 wheeler up the trail almost to communication point and we saw a few deer that had they been bucks we would have probably had us one. Then, that night, Matt and the boys met us up there. Matt saw a few deer and was getting pretty close to them but nothin happened. Then it really got good. Nick and I were together and walking down the fence line when he spotted a coyote in the grass about 50 yds in front of us. It stopped and I wasted no time drawing my bow and letting an arrow fly but I missed it by literally inches. All those times out trying to shoot coyotes and I could have killed my first one with a bow!! I am so mad that I missed. But... then, we were sitting in a small grove of trees and had a doe come within 20 yards 3 different times trying to check us out. We were busy watching her when nick looked behind us and I saw his eyes get huge. So I turned around to see coyote 8 ft behind us!! It was freaky! I couldn't quite get my release on my bow before it was too late and he had scampered away. That would have been so sweet to get that little bugger!

Friday Night: Our fun was just beginning... we met Mike back at the cabin and had some grub and watched the tele. And that's when we realized things just how great of a weekend it was and was going to be. We thought we were not going to get to see Gun it with Benny Spies. Once we finally found the VS. channel, The satelite schedule said that it was supposed to be Whitetail Revolution. Just as I was changing the channel, the 1st episode of the new season came on and we were all right there to witness it!!

Saturday morning: We headed out (a little late) but saw a spike right off the bat by the cabin and for some reason we talked ourselves out of shooting it. Then we drove up the road and saw a few does crossing and there was a nice 3x4 with them. Matt jumped out and actually got a shot off (and a few others) at him. That would be pretty much the extent of the deer action of the morning. So.... we took a quick picthen headed back to the cabin to load up because Benny gave us a great idea. The night before, his show was on dove hunting so we decided we would dove hunt during the afternoon. Not before we threw Mike Vick around though of course:


So, we went home, made a quick pit stop and headed to "Jack's Spot" in Hurricane to hunt Bugs..... I mean, Doves (nice shot mike). It started to pour right when we got there and cooled things down. We got a few early shots and then it slowed up a bit but we ended up shooting a couple.
It was awesome to do a little dove hunting and now I think we're all hooked. Since I have been home, I have missed 3 or 4 in the back yard but feeling a little more confident since Mike dropped off the Benjamin last night. I will keep you posted.

Friday Evening: Matt and I headed out to Bloomington for and Elders Quorum shooting activity and we were a little nervous going in because you never know who you are going to get out to those.... ya know? We kept it conservative though and only took about 6 guns between us... we wouldn't wanna scare anybody off....(see post from the Mark J. Hadley Memorial Loa trip 2010).
But it was a good night and we shot a lot. Some guy had spinner targets, plates, knock down plates and all kinds of stuff and it was awesome!



And finally, that night, me, Nick and Mike got together to watch BYU vs. Texas that Nick had tivoed. (sorry, no picture) What a way to top of the night. Nick also made me a meal.... something I had been lacking all day. Also, before I went to Nick's, I decided to take a shower. It was at that point that I had to take off my SLAM Outdoors t-shirt and I have to admit, it was a little sad even though it smelled like B.O.

But, WHAT A WEEKEND!! I think we got it all in and it was awesome!! Thanks to all who participated and made an effort to attend these important events. And thanks to our wives for turning us loose and watching the kids all weekend long.

Quote of the trip from Benny Spies on Bacon, "Applewood smoked bacon....... this stuff would make a dog turd taste good"

In closing, I would just remind you all that we still have some important events coming up in the near future
1. Nick and I are going to try and make a run to Lake Powell next week if the report is any better for all who want to make it out with us. It would be wed night and thursday day.

2. The annual Mark J. Hadley Memorial Loa trip and Youth Coyote hunt has been scheduled and is in it's early stages of planning. It is going to be the 2nd weekend of November. I have taken the days off already. We will be turning in our application and booking our rooms at the Aquarius soon.

I would also just like to remind all of you to remember to label your posts for easy access later. I would also like to see someone try to get a calendar on the side of the blog where we can post our events. Maybe take the place of the powellapalooza count down or something. Also, I am having Abe make us some new shirts for people similar to the spring trip shirt but with only the SLAM logo. Give me a head count if you know of people who want them and also anybody you would like to be notified each time we make a post...

Well, that's all folks...........

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Next Item of Business??

Ok, I know I haven't even posted pics or videos from the Loa trip yet but I have already got our next item of business up for discussion. I can't wait for our little planning meetings. These meetings may even be more intense than the Boat meetings. I mean, the Tahoe was nice for the trip and I thank Meree for letting us use it but lets face it, we may wear out that welcome before too long. So, I motion that we put this up for discussion and start to pool our resources. All in Favor?


First of all, watch this inspirational video:




So? how do we proceed? how about we start here???......................







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OR:


1978 DODGE MINNIE WINNIE. Excellent condition for a classic recreational vehicle. Sleeps six. Brand new air conditioning, windshield and fully updated mechanically. Interior of this cute way to camp is in mint condition for its age with a new microwave stove. A great way to enjoy the Fall colors at your favorite campsite. Everything works! $4,000 Firm. Please call 917.754.1167 or send an email to azgal2b@yahoo.com . Serious inquiries only!
Can you imagine if we had a minnie winnie for our hunting vehicle?? Let's see if we cant make this a priority.