The MeatEater Podcast - Ep. 808: A Costa Rican Immigrant on Hunting In America

Episode Date: December 20, 2025

Steven Rinella talks with Pablo Esquivel and Janis Putelis.  Topics discussed: Blow guns and sling shots; learning about ballistics; getting whopped as a kid for hunting illegally; cooking everything; when your ma designates your personal fry pan; coming to American; learning and hunting for a long time before getting a deer; and more.  Connect with Steve and The MeatEater Podcast Network Steve on Instagram and Twitter MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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We're in Birmingham, Alabama. Normally when you join the show, everybody's familiar with our producer, Corinne, with Phil the engineer. But today we have our esteemed colleague Riva. Reva come say hi Just so people know what's going on This is Reva She's living on the bus with us She's here for the whole tour

She's always working on stuff But you never do this show No Reva's here doing this show today Would you like to say anything to people? Subscribe to the YouTube Oh Reva would like you Reva's one ask

Is you subscribe to the YouTube feed At the Meteor podcast YouTube channel So what we're doing today is we're joined by a ticket holder. Yeah. Pablo Escobel. You're coming to the show tonight. Yeah, yeah. You're going to be here.

You're excited for the show. Absolutely. Yeah, definitely, because it's going to be the first time, too. So, yeah, definitely. Now, I know you well. The reason I wanted to talk about you is I know you well from coming on. You've been on a handful of podcasts, and I've listened to your story on other podcasts. The Southern Outdoorsman, is that what it's called?

Southern Outdoorsman podcast. Yanni sent that to me, saying this guy's a riot. Yeah. And I've heard you do other interviews And I thought, man, we're down here I want to meet you and have a chance to talk to you And introduce you to our listeners To hear something about some of your hunting adventures

And kind of your strange trip Toward becoming an American hunter Yeah, absolutely It's an honor, man, I really appreciate it Definitely Can you, before we get to Pablo, Can you explain FWOP In case anybody isn't up to speed?

Oh, yeah, I'd be happy to What it means is this a lot of times we have this problem I'm addressing you listeners we have this problem where we release shows on Mondays so we always run into this problem where things will prevent us from releasing our show

right away do you know this why it's called that so one day I was saying that I wanted to be able to do to record certain shows or just flop it comes out flop being the noise made

when it just comes out like when I heard it I felt like you were somehow going to compare the noise of it coming out with the sound of you slapping meat because you have such an affinity for slapping meat so I thought there was some connection there that's like a dry yeah like flop when you slap a back ham no this just means it's going to come out we're going to do three we're going to do three flops here on live tour this is day one this is the opening show everyone's

nervous we have a we're doing i'm looking around and see who's listening because we're doing like a blowgun thing and we're very scared about getting in trouble with the venues so we asked one venue if we could bring clay's mule they said no so we didn't ask about the blowgun stunt should be fine i know but i don't want to i don't want to bring it up ahead of time no you shouldn't because if you bring it up ahead of time it's just going to be no yeah well just hopefully like the manager of the last venue that we're going to this week won't listen to this episode yeah we have a pretty so we bought some blowguns from tim wells and he sends them with some wooden darts which look unassuming like a puncho i mean a pincho yeah and so i'm just no one's around right now it's

a little nervous about the blowgun situation what's a pincho uh a kebab i'm sorry yeah Kabab, pretty much. Yeah, a skewer. Shishabab skewer. Yeah. So, Pablo Escobel. Yeah. You grew up in Costa Rica.

Yes. And I didn't know this until today. You grew up in Costa Rica and you were engaged in, like, hunting activities in Costa Rica. Or you experimented. You dabbled. Yes, experimented. Tell about that a little bit. I didn't know that about you.

So the thing is, when I was down there, man, you know, hunting is illegal down there. Illegal. Yes. It is legal. Any kind of a species. Is it legal? Honey, you're saying illegal. Like, not legal.

Not legal. Got it. Illegal. Yeah. So, you know, as kids, man, you develop your interest for slingshots, blow guns, and things like that because you have resources all over the place. And then, you know, you start kind of like getting a little bit more curious. Like, I'm wondering if I can take that bird down with this rock.

And next thing you know, you start becoming efficient. And so, yeah, it was, it was hunting. with a slings shot and blow guns, we used to go to the, well, the blowgun, man, it wasn't your particular blog. And it was just like, we used to go to the hardware store, the only store, and they had like courting rods, like aluminum rod, about half an inch, about a meter long, which is like three feet, three and a half.

And then we used to go to the river, to the creek areas and just dig some clay because it's clay everywhere. Okay. Keep them in a plastic bag in your pack, a little bit of moist into it. Keep what in there? The clay. Okay.

So it stays nice and moist, it doesn't dry right away. And, man, I guess it became like a muscle memory because you were just kind of like doing your pellets with your fingers all the time and keeping pellets in there. So the pellets were getting mush, but then you just pull it back up and round it back up, put it in there and just keep in shooting. Shooting soft clay. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

But what were you hunting with the soft clay? Birds. That would have enough oomph to it. Oh, man. You'd be amazed. Being soft, we didn't know anything about ballistics. But I guess when they hit and they kind of mushroom, I mean, we're talking about birds about this big. Oh, they don't understand a chance of 20 yours.

Like, they come in down, you know. Would you ever get any kind of furred animals? Like, I don't know what they got in Costa Rica. Well, fur animals. They got, like, they got to have, like, laba, paca. Do you know Pizote? No. It's like a, like a coon with an elongated nose.

Oh, yeah, yeah. We call them. I forgot the Coatee. Coromani. Yes. Okay. There's some,

there's another one is Wattusa and Temesquinti. Those are like a small capy bar as I said reference, right? And those used to be with the slingshots, but that was not a one-man job, man.

It used to be like, we're trying to put a snake upon them, you know, three or four guys, and everybody's going to aim at the same time and somebody's going to hit it. Somebody's going to hit it.

Well, you've got to aim with a rock ride at the head. So somebody's going to hit it. him, we're just going to stung him, and then we're going to run to him and get them. And finish what we started, yeah. So, and, you know, and unfortunately, maybe one out of 15, one out of 20 Hans were successful. Okay. It's incredibly hard.

And you're just going out in the jungle. Yeah, right there on the fields, because, you know, I grew up in a place with a perfect balance in between country and a teeny tiny city. Or teeny tiny talent, you know, like, they were. was a hospital in there, hardware store. Of course, as the years went on and on, everything started developing, but at the time, when I was seven, that was it. And the funniest thing, well, the best thing ever is that nobody had internet, nobody has cell phones.

Like, we used to just go knocking somebody's door, trying to round everybody up, because we're going to go to the river later on. And everybody will wait on the corner. Like, round up your hunting party. Yeah. Or whoever wants to go, which it was nothing by kids. Would you guys fish? Yes, a lot.

And, I mean, I look at this court. We used to go to the hardware store, and we were like, we need some fishing line. Man, and you will get a line like for a thousand pound marting. Just to go right there to the creek to get brands by this big, you know? Okay. Because you just didn't have access to sporting good stuff. Now, they didn't have a rod, didn't have nothing.

And we used to just like, do you know, are you familiar with the Cuban yo-yo? It's kind of like a, got one of those. It's kind of like, we used to have bottles, plastic bottles, and you just kind of like wrap your line around. Then long. Would you guys cast off those two? I've seen dudes do that down south. Yeah, yeah.

Like down in South America, cast with a bottle. Yeah, usually you cast towards the bottleneck. Okay. Like the end of the bottle is going to be your stop. So you cast, when you cast kind of like towards. You're holding the bottom of the bottle. Yep. Pretty much like this.

You will cast like that. So the line will go that way. Yeah, got it. You know. And. We had a lot of fun, man. A lot of fun. Once again...

Would you guys bring the stuff home and your mom and dad had cook it? I did. I brought everything home. My mama used to get so mad because, you know, we didn't have much. And the few things that she had, I was always bringing everything into it. So she was like, this is your pen that you ain't going to cook anything else. Now these are 10. So this is going to be your pen.

So I was like, okay, and I had the pen, and I used to cook all kinds of birds and some of them mammals when we used to get lucky, cook him in there or go to a friend's house. And they had like a bigger pan so we could put a bunch of pig lard on it and just deep fried them. Oh, my goodness, man. Yeah, it was good times, really, really, really good times. Of course, how can I say this? It was a different time, right? As, as, you know, everything else that is around us has been evolving. The culture has maintained itself, you know, and now, unfortunately, these days the loss is still the same.

And one of the things that I don't like is that we just enjoy the outdoors, man. Like, we did. And the thrill of the chase and, you know, like, that was it. It was not just kill for kill. No, it was the thrill of the chase and then eating it. but unfortunately we were caught up many times and I'm telling you caught me oh yeah back on those days anybody was allowed to give you a whooping regardless where you were if it was somebody that you know now you're doing something wrong somebody's going to whoop you you know got it and

it happened like that many many times because they grew up with you'd get caught and get whoop by someone yeah but not a cop no no the cubs they only have batoons they didn't really care you know but anybody else were like what are y'all doing killing bears oh no just whoop you man, and it was like, we've got to regroup and stay out of this place. Pretty much. And unfortunately, man,

people grow with the mentality that the hunter is the uneducated, the hunter is the ignorant, the hunter is the savage, you know? That's a sentiment in Costa Rica. Pretty much, you know. And I truly respected,

like I said, the place is beautiful, man. Don't get me wrong. And it's a fisherman's paradise. Yeah, but you can't spearfish. Mm-hmm. Can't hunt, can't spearfish. Yeah.

Yeah, and so this is where you, I bet you laws has changed throughout the years. And of course, with social media, now it's a lot easier to access everything else. But when I was down there, man, I never heard anything like such about, like fishing restrictions or regulations or never. Like, if you can catch a thousand snappers, catch, you know, that was back then. But we're talking about like 20 years ago, right? So now these days, I bet you they do have different regulations and things of that nature back on place. So how was it that your mom came to the U.S.? She got married with my stepdad, right?

My stepdad Rick. She got married with Rick. Let me take a sip of water because this is going to be a long story. No, keep it short. We got a lot of ground to cover. We haven't even gotten to deer hunting yet. Yeah, yeah. She gets married with Rick.

She said, I, well, here's the thing. I didn't even know that they were fixing to get married. My mom was kind of dating Rick. Rick was kind of like going back and forth to Costa Rica and all that stuff. From America. Yeah. Right here born and raised in Alabama. So I didn't know English at all or nothing.

I was just like, hey, I was a teenager. Then suddenly she's like, ah, son, we're going to get married. I'm going to the States. I said, cool. How old are you? Man, when she left, I was between, 14 and 15. What?

I was about to be 15. My grandmother, she was going to be on charge with me. Oh, okay, yeah. But my grandma used to live on the other side of town, which I call town. Do you know what I mean? So on the bright side, I was the only teenager without adult supervision, you know? So I was like, let's go. But once she took off, what were you doing for money?

How did you support yourself? Well, she said, did you stay in the school, don't get in trouble, and we pay the bills, which The bill was the water, electricity, and food. So she split? Yeah. But you didn't view it that way. No, I just thought about like, I'm a man. Dude, two weeks after my mama left, I felt it.

And that's when I realized, man, I was missing my mom so bad. She was like, son, we have a process. Like, we got you in a process. Oh. Like in the reason, I don't know. I got to ask her, I don't remember why I didn't qualify as a dependent right away. I want to say because I was about 13 or 14. It's kind of like an immigration thing.

Well, the years go on and she keeps saying like, well, we got a notice. Your documents have moved into a different office and all that stuff. Man, to be honest, I thought that it was never going to happen. So I just kept on with my life, got done with high school. Then I went to a community college and I took sport fishing. That's what I wanted to do. I wanted to eventually become a captain of a sport fishing vessel. You studied sport fishing.

Yeah, we said it was about like six months of classroom theory, learning about species, how to rig lines and things like that. And then after that, it was nothing about fishing. Fishing, fishing every single day in the ocean, man. It was the greatest time ever, you know, even if we didn't cut anything, it was the greatest well. So as I'm going, man, think about this. I'm 21, fixing to be 22.

or I was 22 got a life the whole thing you know got the house and pursuing a career friends you know childhood friends and all that stuff

suddenly mom calls mom used to go every Christmas you know suddenly she calls she says son we got an appointment at the U.S. Embassy

and I say hi whatever like it's been so many years now like we're probably just going to go in there somebody's going to read a paper something like that and then they're going to say the documents have moved

to that office whatever that's what I thought I said we're just going to be a quick end now yeah do little that I know three days later I was living

everything everything behind me jump her in a plane which I never done it before no didn't know the culture didn't know the language have nobody

no friends Where? Well, we jump in Costa Rica. We landed in Houston. I was with my mom. Okay. Because I was losing my mind when I went. We landed in Houston airport.

I never seen anything like that before in my life, man. So I was just mind-blowing. We landed in Houston. Went through the immigration office right there. The lady was asking me what kind of questions. I was just like, yes. I had no clue what she was asking because I didn't speak English. Came in.

We flew from Houston to Huntsville. Landon Hounsville. And, you know, the idea that you get from the States is like big cities, all these big, big cities. And I'm looking, I don't see nothing on the plane, you know, nothing feels, like fields. And I was like, where's the city? She said, what city? I was like, the big, tall building cities. She's like, oh, so, well, do you remember where you at?

And I said, yeah, Alabama. She said, yeah, there's no big cities in Alabama. I was just looking down like, oh, my God, what I got myself into. But you were excited and moving forward because you were going to be with your mom. Absolutely. That was the main thing. Well, we landed, made a home. Next day.

I got back up on one. Kind of what he said. What was the main selling point to come to America? But there's no selling point. It was pretty much like a self-explanatory thing. It's like, I'm going to be with my mom. Yeah, yeah. You know, it's my mom.

So you viewed it like primarily a way to be reunited with your mom. Yeah, with my mom and my little brother, you know, because I have a little brother. Oh, he was here. Yes, he was here. Oh, okay, I understand. No. So I was like, it's, this is meant to be like this. Yeah.

And whatever else is up there for me, it's going to be there regardless. Then we landed. Next day, wake up first morning on the stage, it's September. So I'm out there. looking man like losing my mind on rick's property we're called the farm and my mom she said and i'm gonna mention this to you they fixed some chocolate gravy biscuits and i was like this is the greatest day ever on my life and i mean i'm dunking them puppies in that gravy man you know just going out because i never tried it before first breakfast excellent the mama says all right we got to talk

Rick has to talk to you. She was translating because Rick didn't speak Spanish and I didn't speak English. So she was translated in between us. And Rick said, ah, boy. No, is he a good guy? Oh, yeah, yeah, he is. Yeah, it's pretty much the backbone of everything that I have accomplished, to be honest. He said, ah, boy, we got to put some rules and things that you got accomplished.

And I said, so he says, you got 90 days. kind of like on the order to get a job get a vehicle learn anglic learn learn some english get a driver license and find an apartment now i just kind of laugh at my mom you know and uh she looked at me and she's like he's a serious like you got 90 days to make that happen and i was like well crap you know i waited all these years and now here we are i i didn't realize i was in a courtroom you know like now i got 90 days to make this happen. Man, all day long that day,

I just couldn't stop thinking, like, what am I going to do? Like, literally, what am I going to do? We go eating that night to a Mexican restaurant. Never been before in a Mexican restaurant. We go in there, and I was so pumped. And on my way back home, it click. I said, man, these people speak Spanish, then they speak English.

This is it. I didn't have a way to ride around, So I called my mom and said, mom, can you take me to the spot? I really want to go and ask for it. She said, we dropped to it. To where? The Mexican restaurant. Yeah, we went back next day, next morning.

So I looked for the manager and I said, man, I introduced myself and I said, man, I really need a job. I will do the dishes. I clean the floors like you tell me, but I need a job. Key word, I do not speak English. He said, okay, cool, man. I really like that attitude. I'm going to teach you how to weigh tables. I was like, dude, I just told you I don't speak English.

He's like, don't worry. I'm going to put you with this girl. She's going to teach you. Don't worry about it. Little that I know that day I was standing in front of my wife. What? That's who you're married to? Yeah, that's the lady.

And it was like the Billy Madison movie with the child board and all this stuff. That's pretty much what she was teaching me. How to do everything. something. Huh. And well, I started getting good at it. And I said, honey, really like you. Would you like to be my girlfriend? She said, my dad doesn't let me have boyfriends. I was like, what? You know, I said, who's your dad? She said, he's seated out there. I said, hi, give me one second. Man, I just went straight to him and I introduced myself. And I said, sir, I really like your daughter. I would like to see if I can get permission to date or maybe to go on a on a why was he in the restaurant he was

eating oh yeah that day the day that asked he was eating on the restaurant so as I said you said this in Spanish yeah yeah yeah because he's Mexican yeah yeah so I'm asking him um cannot date your daughter and also I mean you're more than welcome to come with us to a movie theater to another restaurant it don't matter and the dude don't say nothing he just staring at me like capable, you know? And I'm there like, is that yes or no? Like, is this a cultural thing that I'm not aware of? So I said, well, sir, thank you so much for your time. And I just came back. And no answer. No, none. And, and, and that's the beginning of one of the craziest ride of my life, like one of the craziest one. And, hmm, well, when, when did he say yes? He never did.

Well, you're married. but yeah but here's the thing I go back to her she said what did he say I say he didn't say nothing she said oh my god I'm in trouble so I was like God almighty

well next day she doesn't show up to work and now I'm kind of nervous oh no second day she doesn't and I was like dude I blew it third day

and I'm just gonna put it out there because everybody knows that like it's not that big of a deal no more It's a personal story, but it's not a big of a deal no more. But she comes to work, and she has a little bit of purple on her side. And I say, what happened to you? She said, well, my dad had a little, like, one too many drinks.

And he kind of, like, hit me a little too hard because I've been talking to you. What? I say, I say, heck no. See, do you want to go with me? She said, where? And I said, I don't know. She said, yeah. Dude, the only thing that I needed was a horse

And a cowboy hat To make it look like the Western style And we just left on my truck that day Oh, well, at the time I already had the truck But I'm still living with Rick On Rick's house Yeah You stole her away

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You're out of luck. It runs from December 9 to December 22. See you in town. We left, and I said, I got to talk to my mom. I called my mom and said, Mom, do you remember that girl that I talk to you about, that I like her? She said, yeah. now she's with me she said okay what are y'all doing said well we're running and it was a brief pause she's like in the name with jesus in the name of jesus you stop what you

at tell me right now and well it was a big deal one of one of them guys from the restaurant gave her dad my number and the news called me furious oh we're going to I'm going to kill you and I said listen to chill I said chill let's speak like men you know let's just be reasonable about this and let's just talk like man I tried to talk to you once you didn't talk to me let's just talk this time I meet you tomorrow the Walmart out there where I live and I said bye else is like my wife's just like this not looking good and I said no no worries like I got it we get two man I pull up to the parking lot and I get out of the truck and this dude comes out running flashing a gun like losing

his mind and I said listen I said whoa chill I said listen first and foremost they're let's fix and call the cops I said put that thing up if you're trying to impress me that's the wrong impression I said I came here to talk to you and you're behaving like I don't even know how well then the situation gets weird because the dude starts crying hmm and I was like well I As a dude just pointed a gun of me, it cussed me out. Now he's crying. He started doing the, you know, the Hispanic blessing and all that stuff. He said, I got to give you the blessing.

I'm just kind of like, what's going on with this dude? I mean, he grabs me by my mouth and kissed me in my mouth. Her father. Yeah, yeah. Dude, and I froze on time right there. And I said, hell no, man, that ain't no blessing. Like, what's wrong with you? You know?

And she was like, no, I'm, I'm sorry. I don't understand. And, well, you're taking my little baby and this and that. And I was like, well, well, back up. Your wife views it as a blessing or she doesn't? No, I don't know. She was like, I never heard that before. Is he gay?

I hope it ain't because that they're trying. traumatized me um so it was the unexpected maneuver on his part yeah it was a car bowl i was never expecting and i was like what's going and your wife wasn't expecting it no she was just like what he's this and i was them a wife she was surprised by it yeah and she became our other dudes you know from our other like latino dudes that you know surprised by that everybody said that was no blessing i knew everybody's like a dude that ain't no blessing i said that's the first thing i said You think it's a show of dominance? What kind of dominant?

Well, I don't want that dominance, you know, what I mean? I get the feeling. Have you heard this before? I've heard Bobo's story. About the kiss. Yeah. But the way I would read it would be that he sounds like he had his own issues. Yeah.

Sounds like maybe he didn't have a plan. Like you're getting an unstable vibe off of him. Yeah. Yeah, and that maybe that, like, he was literally overjoyed that you, such a fine, young, upstanding man would, you know, want to be with his daughter, and the way that he expressed himself in that moment was with a kiss. That's one way to express himself, and I wish it would have just shook my hand. That's really something. I would have been thrown by that. I had to go ask my wife, Dad, if I could ask her to get married.

he didn't do nothing like that really and i was like i was like i didn't give a big old smooch yeah i was like dude you just like traumatized me for life sure yeah that's it from now so how did the interaction end that was it well he just keeps saying some stuff man my head he's he's but but how did he okay i want to i want to this is great i want to i want to i just want to cover a couple more things but I just need to understand something what to your knowledge now looking back on it what is his state of mind from brandishing a pistol to a blessing a Catholic blessing to a kiss I don't understand it how many seconds how many minutes we're talking about we're talking about five four or five minutes it was a blessed

You know, the drill came out really good, I mean, really quick. He came out of that truck, like, if he was a drug bust, you know, just rub, and all that stuff. By himself. Yes. And then he kind of hit a brick wall, I guess, because if you think about it in a psychological aspect, he might have don't hit a break ball because he wasn't impressing me. And I was telling him, like, that's the wrong impression. You weren't intimidated. No.

You know? Was some part of you wondering if he was going to shoot you? Or did you know he wasn't going to shoot you? No, I knew, man. You knew he wasn't going to shoot you? Yeah, I knew he would just. bluffing and it was just the wrong cowboy to mess with you know what i mean so i was like man then he hits that wall and he realizes that yeah they like each other's and she's fixing to go

with him and he starts going that and then i guess his emotions just went crazy is he a part of your life now no no no no i cut ties i said man because uh Christmas later, I was like, hey, man, I'm going to go back to something else. The tension stayed in there. Sure. It was tension, especially from my part, because I was just looking at him, like, you weird, though? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, Christmas.

Andy, it hit your wife. Yeah, and Christmas party comes along. He knew that I didn't eat spice food at all, like spice, spice. You don't like spicy food? Yeah, yeah, I eat some, but not like fire, right? Okay. He fixed a plate for me, and it was dynamite with chicken, literally. Like, my nose was running, eyes.

I mean, you're talking about I was having a bad time. And he's just looking. I'm like, how is it? Is it good? And I was like, it's delicious. I was, and I cleaned that plate because I wasn't going to let this man see me fumbling right there. I was like, no, if I'm done, I'm done standing, you know? And it was a trident.

She was like, don't eat that no more. And I said, no, I'm not going to give him the joy. You know, when I'm finishing this. And that day, I was like, this is it? That was it. Yeah, I said, I don't give you many, many chances. You keep coming, kind of like a trial and sucker punch me. And I say, every time that I'm, you know, pretty much like opening myself up to you.

So after that, I just decided that for my personal interest, it was better off if I just kind of like kept my distance not interfered with the relationship between father and daughter because that's not my business you know what i mean are they so close kind of yeah that's a story for a different time yeah yeah but wow welcome to america yes and and all these happen 90 days are up and i got all this is all in the 90 day window yes yes and i was thinking like you're like i'll do you one better. I'll find a girl. Yeah. And then at the end of the 90 days, I had all the requirements that Rick wanted. Plus, I was moving into the apartment with my current wife, you know, with my wife. We're moving into- driver's license. Yes. I was- Social Security number, job. I had a two-hour

break on the restaurant. So I had a dictionary and the driver license manual. And I was just trying to translate and make sense out of it. I knew how to drive a vehicle, kind of, but I knew that she was going to ask me a bunch of questions. I felt that there's four times. No, three, and I passed it on the fourth one. Because she was like, let's do a three-point maneuver. And I was like, yes, keep driving.

Because you didn't know what she said. Make it ride. And I was like, okay. Until she was like, pull over. pull over and pull the wheeler for me and then she was like ah you see it on the passenger side and I was like oh I fail you know what happened

and my mom what and I was like what happened so would you fail that's what happened I was like oh so yeah the fourth time I got it so when when did you because you've become a very avid American hunter his what when you got to America so you talked about growing up

Costa Rica and you had like a you you had like the drive and this is an interesting deal my old man was raised by Italian immigrants he's raised by his Italian immigrant grandparents yeah my father they didn't know there's no kind of he grew up in the slums in the south side of Chicago but he knew he don't know where it came from but he knew he was supposed to be a fisherman yeah and a hunter and he would go fish on the pier in Lake Michigan. He would go try to jump on a train and ride a train out and try to hunt rabbits along the railroad tracks outside the city.

He was called to it, right? So you had the calling. When you came to the U.S., how long did it take for you to put together that you'd landed in like a hunting and fish in paradise? It took me a little bit because everything was a process, right? And I was kind of like evolving as I was going and understanding a little bit more at the time.

And then I start seeing deer on the side of the road, being hit by a car, whatever alive. And I was like, oh, my God. Well, my stepdad's never been a hunter before, ever. He was a farmer. No, he had a construction business. He had a farmer, didn't farm. We just call it the farm.

Yeah, the only animal in there was my little brother's dog. Okay. So I said, Rick, how do you hunt? And he was like, no, man, you know, you got a high problem. property you got to have land and you know and I was like really my mom was kind of translated me so they turned direct to view at the time it was direct to be remember it was no no big social media like it is right now I didn't know anything about anything and well it was this deer hunting shows from the promised land you know

the Midwest I have no clue just watching he was like these guys they got thousands of acres managers as is anything else well there's public I'm If you go a public line, everybody's going to be shooting out, because you don't want to go there and all that. I remember about a year or two went by, and I was like, man, I really, really wanted, like, because I brought my slingshot with me, the frame. I practiced in my little brother had a bibby gun, and I got a bibby gun, man. And I was in the middle of the first thing that Rick told me is like, did not kill anything.

I was like, why? Here's like those rules or regulations. Well, that was another chapter. to me understanding why we do the things that we do right here right now why we have laws of conservation and why do we follow the things that we follow you know which it was a really good like mind opening breath fresh and i was like oh my god these people really do the right thing as it kept going i was very interested at the time because i was just shooting pellets and clays and things about on the backyards the targets you know it was

Well, we're doing a work on a construction business. This gentleman pulls up, and he says, man, can I speak with the foreman? I just want to know he was needing some concrete on the side. Well, they asked me if I wanted to participate on that Saturday. And I said, sure, so we go, we're pouring the concrete and all that stuff. My step that comes by. Oh, I got. You're at a job site.

Yes. And another dude shows up to inquire about some concrete work. Pretty much to get an estimate. Now, you guys. I got to remember. I was on the Mexican. And you guys take it as a side job and you jump in on it. Mm.

I was on the Mexican restaurant about three months. And I said, you know what? I got it. I'm good. I can go through the word. I know how to speak English, which I didn't. But I was very confident. Like, now I know what I'm doing.

Well, later than I know, man, I go get a job on construction. And I'm going to a standard system and I'm coming from a metric system. Mm-hmm. Well, back to square one. Now it's like, God, almighty. Yards, miles, inches. The dumbest shit in the world, man. Everything is just backwards.

So I was like, God almighty. Anyways, I get better at it. It's been three years. I started as a groundsman with no experience and anything, didn't understand anything, and I moved up to a concrete finisher. So that day, we're doing that job. My step that comes out.

i've been watching the shows keep constantly watching the shows my step that comes out he said son let me show you something he he's like come over here so we go on the back of this property where we pour in the concrete that's mr tony miles residents right we walk on the backside and there is giant 160 plus class books all over 170s 180 state records you name it all over on the wall. Yeah. Taxidermy. So, yeah, shoulder mounts and a bunch of euro mounts.

So I'm losing my mind, man. I've never seen this before. And I was like, oh my God, first thing they came to my mind, I said, he probably sells them. I said, do you sell them? Mr. Tony was kind of laughing. He said, no, I don't. I said, what did you kill him? He said, right up there.

And I was like, what is that? And I asked Masteda, the name of the place. He's like, well, ask public. I was like, oh, my God, and I'm admiring and all that stuff. Well, the concrete is drying up, so I have to go back at it. Went back at a brief talk with Mr. Tony, and, man, I came back home, I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I just couldn't stop thinking about how magnificent these animals were,

the size of everything. Never seen anything like that for my life. So, as a rick, I really want to go hunt. He said, well, first thing you got to do is take the Hunter education course. I said, so I took it online, got it done. That was in 2013. I said, okay. He's like, ah, well.

Did they have that in Spanish or you did it in English? No, in English, yeah. At the time, I was able to comprehend way more than what I was able to speak. Like, I could comprehend, but I couldn't speak anything, which I'm still, you know, fumbling here and there. um got it done you know based on the pamphlet and all that stuff i said okay so you can hunt from this day to this day you know from like thursday the 15th until january the 30th as an example right so good i want a bow like the guys from the show so they take me to a big buck store man

and they're trying to give me a right-handed bow but i'm left-handed so so i'm grabbing the thing like this, it doesn't feel good. And I'm like, no, I can't. Eventually, they found a left-handed boat. And the so-called technician is called another technician who is calling another technician just to try to help me set it up. Set the PIP side and I said, I'm going home. Man, I go home to set the boat, watch a few videos.

And I said, I'm going to set it up. The first shot is smoked my forearm. I mean, I'm talking about, like, that. And put several shots. through the siding of the house several errors disappeared by the grace of God

there was no neighbors because I sent a lot of broadheads to do you know and I got good what's been three years well hold on because this is one it's a shame but

I went to Walmart it's my first day first day ever man I'm ready I'm going to do an evening hunt so I go to Walmart and I told the later in the hunting section, can I get some sand, deer sand? You know, because these dudes are spraying all the time in the shows.

He said, okay, deer send. And I said, yes. And she said, deer peen. I said, yes. You know, like, what do I know? She gives me a big bottle, man. I go, jump out of the truck. And that's what these guys are doing.

And the first pump, I was like, God, almighty. I said, this crap is stout. Yeah, yeah. But I just go out it, man. Soaking yourself in that deer paste. And I'm gagging. Well, it was dough estrus. Later that I know, these dudes are spraying with same killer.

Man, I didn't know the difference, you know? So that was a really rough lesson that day. I was like, don't spread this crap on yourself. You know what I mean? I was like, God. Man, made it home. And I walked in, she said, how did you go get out? What is that smell?

And I was like, that's what they used. And she was like, nobody's using that kind of crap. What's wrong with you? Anyways, you know, I have to get rid of that thing. And I was mimicking what I was watching on the shows. Hunting big country isn't for the faint of heart. You got steep ground, long distances, and miles of crown land that aren't always easy to navigate. That's why Anex Hunt just got a serious upgrade for hunters in Canada.

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Hey, you're looking for a good solid sweepstakes? Like the kind of sweepstakes you can sink your teeth into, well, I got it for you right here, buddy. You can sign up to win a trip to Bozeman for you and three family or friends, so a total of four people. Come to Bozeman, they come to meet at their headquarters. I cook you dinner. We all serve you a bunch of courses of dinner at our headquarters kitchen. We give you a $1,000 gift certificate for our flagship meat eater retail store on Main Street and Bozeman. We pay your airfare, we pay your hotel, we pay your car, all covered by us.

Here's the rub. You got to go to firstlight.com and sign up with your email and phone number and opt in to all participating brand newsletters. That gives you one of your first chances to win. Then, for every 100 bucks you spend at firstlight.com, you get additional entries, okay? In the end, we're going to pick one winner. They're going to pick their friends. They're going to pick their family, and they're going to come out. This is eligible for U.S. customers only.

Canadians, I don't know what to tell you. You're out of luck. It runs from December 9 to December 22. see you in town so how long is you hunt for you got a deer hold on it's been three years so at this point you hunt three long seasons mimicking what they do all bo-hunting yeah on iwa kansas illinois down here in albama you're taking those moves and you're hunting in albana i mean it's like halloween and i'm entering rather than they don't run until january right they don't run until January right never saw a thing until final start seeing deer poop and I was like at the time

I had a phone and I was like how those deer poop looks like and I was like oh my god I'm on I was like I'm getting very close and I never seen a thing so I said Rick something's gonna have to change man I said do you remember Mr. Tony he said yeah I said do you know if he still lives in there he said I don't know I'm gonna go I know the concrete So I'm going to go find him. He said, oh, man, I'll go out there and look at the house, found the concrete. And I said, that's him. That's the house.

Doesn't seem to be nobody. And I said, ah, two things. Something is going to happen. I'm going to find Mr. Tony or I'm going to catch around. You know, I'm going to fix it and get shot. Knock on the front door, nobody. And I was like, I remember we went on the back. now I was just bracing myself for the impact you know because it's the south you know how it goes

and then if you use the stereotypes it has an accent it has tattoos you know what I mean so I said here we go I went back there knocking the door miss Donna comes out she's like can I help you know so hello hey do you remember me she's no no who are you I said it's mr tony home she said he's hunting he'll be back later on So I'll be back I just went inside in the park for like six hours And then I seen his truck pull in I said alright here we go pull back in

Man he recognized me Oh yeah Hey buddy coming in I remember man it's been three years Then I start talking with Tony And he realized that I was a grown man With the experience of a three year old kid

On the woods And he said man we got a lot of work to do we're going to start from zero i said i do you know your feet trees and i was like what is that do you know your uh seasons the road and i was like what is the road man feeding wise and all that stuff i end up getting a book that says uh alabama plants and bushes you know like native just to get a better understanding of all the different species he was like okay this is a white oak this is a red oak this is a red oak i had no clue and when you know whenever they get full of acres they're fixing a drop

and i was like what they're going to drop he was like acorns and i was like what is an acron he was like this and i was like what is the deer's going to eat it and the process went like that next year i'm sitting on this piece of public first time ever a deer well i was climbing at the time was wearing a steel climber bad choice because you climb about 100 yards from the truck man circulation to your arms everything is good like everything is purple yeah you know what i mean it's so heavy and climb up and there is a deer like i can actually see a and he has antlers man so i never understood this by buck fever mm-hmm man i thought i was having a a heart attack like I couldn't stop shaking my blood pressure was up to the roof and I was like

oh my god this is it this is it and the thing comes rotting like textbook ain't no telling where I sent that error man there's no telling where that error went to that thing takes of running and I was like looking at the arrow and the deer just disappears years. How old are you now? Well, it was like 25 or 26. And I'm not going to lie. I cry like a kid that day. Because I was like, this is what it is it was. Like, this is what it was. Like, he just came down to this moment. Hold on tears of joy or frustration? Frustration. And I was like, and I blew it. That guy blew it out of the water. Well, I came home. I'm heartbroken, told my wife, I never doing this again, period. You were done. What happened?

I said, I missed the deer, seen a deer, and he had antlers, and I missed him. She said, well, just try harder. And I was like, it's not that easy, you know, she doesn't hunt. But three days later, I was off the whole week. She says, you're not going back to the woods. And I said, no, I'm not. I'm done with that. never ever again she said just go and walk and kind of clear your mind and no she left the

work in about 12 12 30 I said you know why she's right I'm just going to go for a walk so I went back to the place where I missed look up and I was like about to cry again I was like I had right here walk about a hundred yards south sat on the ground how far was that shot that you missed 13, 14 yards. Yeah, yeah. Like, he was right there. Yeah, yeah. And I had everything.

Sure, man. We've all been there. Man. You don't need to be Costa Rican to miss, man. We've all missed all kind of stuff. Oh, yeah. And I sat on the ground that day, that evening. I said, screw, I'm just going to sit here for the evening.

And I remember this, like, if he was yesterday, I mean, had a tree stump behind me, a log. And a previous head, I'm just pretty much in the same position that I'm at right now. Looking at it was a trail, but I have no idea that it was a trail. That was the opening right here. So I was sitting here with a little bit of sand and sticks, just kind of like making the time go a little bit faster. Next thing I know, I heard some footsteps, and I said, that's a squirrel. And I look up in the same book, that small A pointer, he's walking my way.

so I was like dude and well I'm on panic mode I cannot get my release on the bow I'm shaking so bad I'm having a seizure attack man and I'm on the ground yes seated

and next thing I know that book is right there man like right there just looking at me how far 10 12 again dodging his head all around yeah bobbing his head like what is that thing man

I don't remember seeing the peep side I don't remember aiming I just know I did this and I heard that thump But boom, that thing, immune kicks, steaks up running. And I thought that I seen him pile up because I seen him kind of like going. And I was like, oh, my God. Now, panic sets in because I was like, they're going to find us both dead right here.

Like I'm fixing to have a heart attack. You know what I mean? Settle myself down a little bit. Went to the error, man. The error's covered up with blood. And I said, I got to get out of here now. So I got out. Called my wife.

And I was like, honey, I'll kill him. And instead of being supportive, she's like, are you sure? Like, you sure, you, like, you kill him. Like, you didn't miss, like, last time. And she got on my head bad, man. And I was like, you know what? She might have been right. I could have just spook him.

I don't even know if I hit him. Man, man, talk about a pickle, you know. Well, at the time, I didn't have onyx. The only The only light that I had was my cell phone So I'm trying to find the stump It's already dark And I'm trying to find the stump

Where I was sitting To go look for my arrow To try to find the deer You can't even remember where you were Let alone where the deal I have no clue About two hours go by I was like right here

There it is the arrow is torch and blood I was like Oh my God I hit the thing I hate him and I mean I keep looking and look well there was a blow a trail about this big and I just keep walking over and never saw it you know I was about to start crying

again next thing you know that bug was like maybe from here to where Reeva's at just out there yeah and I lost my mind drag him out the first thing I did went to Tony's house he was so pumped

about it man he took the buck and showed him yeah he was like it's nothing but a small two and a half-year-old basket eight-pointer, I showed them out of that book. I swear to God, because it was, it's the first deer

that I ever shot in my life. And it was a book. So I showed him, I got him out of the house. And after that, you know, the process is start getting better. Now I'm hooked.

You were hooked at birth, man. Yes, but, but this is like, I don't, like I was able to taste it. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. And did you just get your, you got your biggest buck to date this year?

Day before Christmas. I'm public laying here. The first one, I got. Oh, I'm a day before Christmas. So you got last. No, I'm sorry, day before Thanksgiving. This year. The biggest book ever on my life happened on Halloween.

And literally that I know, three weeks later, I was going to kill the biggest buck ever. You know, I broke my PB, if we can say like that, two times. This is not both on public ground? Yes, this year. Has you a picture? Yeah, sure. And I'm going to show you the one that I killed the day before Thanksgiving. So this is the second biggest buck.

Mm-hmm. I was like, man, you're never going to make this happen again. And next thing you know, this, hold on this one, exactly. There it is. Holy cow, man. Yeah, man. That's an Alabama public. That's an Alabama public land giant.

look at the one right here here riva film that with your camera look the inside of spread of that thing how how wide is it 19 and a half that's a cool picture film that of your camera riva you want to film something you getting a good shot of it dude you know what I like about all that I mean I like everything about that story but the biggest thing is this is an observation i make all the time and i've mentioned it a bunch it doesn't matter where you go in the country and we me and yani been fortunate to go everywhere all over the place talking to guys that hunt talking to guys of fish everywhere around the country everywhere you go there's two kinds of guys and man they live next door to each other yeah there's the guys that like

it all sucks now fishing game ruined it the mung ruined it the mung ruined it The wolves ruined it The out-of-staters ruined it It all sucks Da-da right Yeah And next door to him Everywhere you go in the country

Is the guy that can't scratch the surface There's so much to do And he's so excited to be alive And he can't get to it all Yeah And you're that guy I appreciate it I like that man

The crazy thing is that you know, after, well, Mr. Tony introduced me with Mr. Michael Perry, Mr. Jamie McCain, the ball keeps on rolling parking McDonald, Daniel Williams, and everybody just started like pitching in, you know, to educate you. To educate me. Yes. And I start learning from all these killers, man. Like everybody's like, I'm doing good.

This lesson that Mr. Tony taught me. And I think it was the most valuable thing that he could say to me. He was, you got to. to put some deer under your belt don't think that you're gonna just go out there and shoot one of these just get it figured out yes I said I'm so I kill a bunch of spikes

a bunch of them and those and four pointers and just keep shooting with my bone with the rifle if it was legal I was shooting it just to learn yeah yes and he was like eventually it's gonna click well I had several encounters with really big deer couldn't take a shot can't got busted uh five years ago christmas

was going to be five years ago put a shadow on that monster with my bow he was running man and i hit him a little too far back i couldn't stop it i was a mad man man man we got dogs that i was shut up by nine o'clock in the morning it was like four o'clock in the morning next day never found him never man the blood went dry and heartbreaker but it was incredible it was one of the best moments ever because i was like good that confirms you know that what i've been learning and the process that i've been following is actually paying off now now i'm i took like put a step inside of what these guys do you know like i had an encounter and it's really good that i have this experience because now i can relate with them

because this will happen and it's going to happen you know um i think that that killing that deer would have had steer me on the wrong direction i could have got cocky oh i don't got it all figured out oh i got you i just killed and all you know what i mean so it was a very humbling experience there's a lot more work to do and it has to start with myself practicing throughout the whole year um then well one of those days with daniel rick and my mom they gave me my first rifle ever in my life ever never own one of our arms it's a 30 oh six remington 77 30 oh six then throughout the years i've been having issues missing you know so i was like kind of weird then daniel said like when was the last time you side this thing in yon he told me about this

yeah and i was like what what do you mean signing little that i know you got to take this coat the range and i have no clue i thought they just go out there because it was it was it was brought to you with a scope on yeah and i just thought that you put that cross where he's at and because man i had a dough i hit it boom and she hunch over and i went crazy and man it looked like a battlefield like dirt just blowing all over her you know she was kind of like hopping around i just kept shooting reloading four more shots in the magazine i end up ending 12 shots that day And I was like, what's going on? I bet you everybody in that public piece was like, what's going on in that holler, you know?

And to make it short, man, I never found it, though. Never did. You know, I learned your lesson there, too. Yeah, I said, Daniel, he said, what happened? And I said, I missed. And then that's when he brought up like, when was the last time you saw this thing? So what are you? He's like, you shot at our target.

Say, a deer? He's like, wait, like eight Target. And I said, I never, like, I just took it and wing hunting. He was like, oh, my God, no. Man, it was like your typical goodwill $29.99 is cope. You know, you got to try to, like, you spend five minutes trying to find the thing. You find him, you find it. He looks awful.

Yeah. I thought that's what he was. Yeah. And it was pretty funny. It was a very fun experience. Yeah. Well, Pablo, listen, man, we've got to get ready for the show. This is awesome to talk to you, though.

I know, man. This is a very unique opportunity. I really appreciate you guys. I'd like to have you on and tell more of the hunting stories, but that's a good background primer right there. Yeah, the enthusiasm is both, like, jealousy-inducing and motivating, you know? I appreciate you. Because I think part of the thing that we sometimes battle, at least I do,

is because we get to do it so much, I sometimes find myself, like, I'm like, I should be more excited in this moment. I just got to kill another beautiful mule deer buck in the mountains of whatever Western State. Man, man. And I'm here in the moment, but, like, I don't have the enthusiasm that you're experiencing for shooting spikes and doze.

Man, I get it with a doe. Like, as we speak, I get laser sharp at the moment. As soon as that arrow or that bullet leaves, it's like a dump of it. I don't know how to explain it. then it's this oh man it's been the best season ever

two bucks out of state I gotta give a shot to Clay really quick gave me his bibs got Clay Newcombs Bebs they've been working for you didn't even wash him I said I ain't even going to wash him because he got Clay's luck put him on

went to Kansas by myself just jump on my truck and drove shot a buck called a friend they're like a man nice we're heading to Missouri I said, can I join? Yeah, went down to Missouri, shot a buck. Those two with my boat, came home and shot two.

One of them being that big when the river was showing, y'all. Great. With all of them, with Clay's Bebs on. Excellent, man. So the man has something, you know, I've never been superstitious, but this. I might have to get a pair of Clay's Beasts. I want to welcome you to America, man. Thank you, man.

And welcome to meet your life. Thank you, man. Thank you. All right, buddy. I appreciate you all that. Thank you. Hey, you're looking for a good. Hey, you're looking for a good solid sweepstakes?

like the kind of sleepstakes you can sink your teeth and two, well, I got it for you right here, buddy. You can sign up to win a trip to Bozeman for you and three family or friends, so a total of four people. Come to Bozeman, they come to meet at her headquarters. I cook you dinner. We all serve you a bunch of courses of dinner

at our headquarters kitchen. We give you a $1,000 gift certificate for our flagship meat eater retail store on Main Street and Bozeman. We pay your airfare, we pay your hotel, we pay your car, all covered by us. Here's the rub. You got to go to firstlight.com and sign up with your email and phone number and opt in to all participating brand newsletters.

That gives you one of your first chances to win. Then for every 100 bucks you spend at firstlight.com, you get additional entries, okay? In the end, we're going to pick one winner. They're going to pick their friends. They're going to pick their family. And they're going to come out. This is eligible for U.S. customers only. Canadians, I don't know what to tell you.

You're out of luck. It runs from December 9 to December 22. See you in town. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.