October 27, 1858, President Theodore Roosevelt was born. Colonel, rancher, hunter, Vice-President, President, Trust-buster, Bull Moose Party founder, leader of the American Conservation movement, he was a changing force to the direction of our country.
I spent the last weekend with his great grandson, Ted Roosevelt IV. Hunter, rancher, Navy SEAL, conservation advocate, and outspoken critic of the dismantling he sees happening to the conservation framework that took decades to create. He has no use for the lackies who are lapdogs to the special interests who would "skin the land."
Ted will be 83 next month, but you would never know it. He continues with his daily exercise from his days as a "frogman" in Vietnam (1965-1967) and it shows. I was impressed.
When he called me this winter, I was surprised when he asked/stated, "Randy, I'll be 83 this year. I'd like to shoot one more elk. You seem like the guy who could help me with that task." The obvious response to any 82 year-old elk hunter is to offer your assistance.
Luckily, he drew the Montana combo tag. He told me he was focused on a cow or a young bull, unless all we saw were old bulls. His only calendar opening was the first four days of the Montana season.
Ted told me that the mountains had grown steeper each year. He asked if I knew any private landowners who might appreciate a cow elk being taken. I mentioned I had a ranch where I used to be Trustee and that I thought they might allow me to take him there opening weekend. I'd taken an old Korean War vet at age 82 to this ranch where he took his final whitetail buck before Alzheimers overtook him.
Permission was granted. The ranch manager was excited, as the current owners bought this ranch in 1945 from a person who had spent his youth on the ranch that adjoined President Roosevelt's ranch in North Dakota at the time TR was ranching there. This ranch has a picture of the President standing on the porch at the main quarters of this ranch with the former owner who spend time with him in ND. When we showed that to Ted, he assured us it was most likely his great grandfather on a post-Presidency trip to Montana.
The ranch manager told us that Ted could take whatever elk or deer he wanted. We had two days to get it done. Anyone who hunted around Bozeman or Livingston this weekend knows how windy it was. The weather station near us called for winds 25-35 with gusts to 60. It wasn't too bad Saturday morning, but by afternoon it was screaming.
This ranch doesn't have many elk, mostly deer and pronghorn. I went over and scouted on Wednesday evening. I was surprised to see a herd of five bulls, as I'd never seen a group of bulls on this ranch. I was anxious when Ted got to Bozeman on Friday, wanting to see if I could relocate those bulls that evening before season opened. Nope. Did find a herd of cows that Ted was excited to go after the next morning.
Ted asked if I had intentions of filming, which I did not, respecting his privacy for his elk hunt to not be imposed upon. He asked if I was able to do so. Well, I've had that cameraman job, and I suck at it. But, I had two iPhones and plenty of audio and tripods. So, I got to be the camera guy, mustering whatever footage I could. Good thing I left my rifle and my tags at home.
That evening we coordinated with the other hunters who would be on the ranch for the weekend. I told them where we would be. They had plans to try locate the herd of bigger bulls. Sounded good. Ted explained his wife far preferred a cow or young bull, so the big bulls would only be in danger if that was all we saw.
At daylight on Saturday, the number of nice whitetail bucks mixed in with the overabundance of does was impressive. I asked Ted if he wanted one. "No, we must remain disciplined if we're to get an elk. If we get greedy with the deer, we'll not get an elk." Wow, it's not very often people pass 140" whitetails. No elk were spotted that morning.
We went to the ranch cabin and checked in with the other hunters. Seems two big bulls were down in the creek bottoms that morning. Wanting to get to the best spot based on the wind, it seems I hiked us on the ridges above, right past those bulls. It was too dark to glass down where we might have seen them on our way in, so we were oblivious to their presence. Afternoon plans were made so that we would not be in the way of the other hunters.
A sandwich induced a short nap. And then the wind shook the cabin. Wow, this was going to be serious. A friend who had originally introduced me to Ted, Rob, drove over and visited with us. We asked him to join us for the afternoon hunt. He accepted.
The full details will come when the video is released them. Suffice to say, Ted filled his tag that evening. A 150 yard shot in a ridiculous crosswind, a sitting shot while leaning against the only pine tree around. A high shoulder hit dropped the young bull in his tracks. Ted had focused on the cows, but with them grouped tightly and fear of possibly hitting more than one, after about five minutes he swung his aim toward the bull lingering behind the big group.
It was a great for Ted and I to spend more time together. He admired how hunters rose to the occasion against Mike Lee's stupidity this summer. We spent much of our time talking about his family, the history of his family as leaders in the GOP, and what leadership requires. He also explained about being "on the outs" with most current GOP leadership for his belief that climate change is happening, that tariffs are stupid and against everything the GOP ever stood for, and the concern he has for pissing on the boots of long-time partner countries. I got to learn more about his time in Vietnam and how that experience influenced a lot of his views, making him far more comfortable "rocking the boat" when it needs to be rocked.
We did a podcast. I filmed a long video interview. I know some of the statements in this episode will rankle plenty of people, as Ted is unfiltered at this point in his life. Yet, the depth of his life experiences and his immense work on conservation and public lands make his opinions valid in the times we are living. Just the kind of content I hope to put out there for the audience to think about.
I spent the last weekend with his great grandson, Ted Roosevelt IV. Hunter, rancher, Navy SEAL, conservation advocate, and outspoken critic of the dismantling he sees happening to the conservation framework that took decades to create. He has no use for the lackies who are lapdogs to the special interests who would "skin the land."
Ted will be 83 next month, but you would never know it. He continues with his daily exercise from his days as a "frogman" in Vietnam (1965-1967) and it shows. I was impressed.
When he called me this winter, I was surprised when he asked/stated, "Randy, I'll be 83 this year. I'd like to shoot one more elk. You seem like the guy who could help me with that task." The obvious response to any 82 year-old elk hunter is to offer your assistance.
Luckily, he drew the Montana combo tag. He told me he was focused on a cow or a young bull, unless all we saw were old bulls. His only calendar opening was the first four days of the Montana season.
Ted told me that the mountains had grown steeper each year. He asked if I knew any private landowners who might appreciate a cow elk being taken. I mentioned I had a ranch where I used to be Trustee and that I thought they might allow me to take him there opening weekend. I'd taken an old Korean War vet at age 82 to this ranch where he took his final whitetail buck before Alzheimers overtook him.
Permission was granted. The ranch manager was excited, as the current owners bought this ranch in 1945 from a person who had spent his youth on the ranch that adjoined President Roosevelt's ranch in North Dakota at the time TR was ranching there. This ranch has a picture of the President standing on the porch at the main quarters of this ranch with the former owner who spend time with him in ND. When we showed that to Ted, he assured us it was most likely his great grandfather on a post-Presidency trip to Montana.
The ranch manager told us that Ted could take whatever elk or deer he wanted. We had two days to get it done. Anyone who hunted around Bozeman or Livingston this weekend knows how windy it was. The weather station near us called for winds 25-35 with gusts to 60. It wasn't too bad Saturday morning, but by afternoon it was screaming.
This ranch doesn't have many elk, mostly deer and pronghorn. I went over and scouted on Wednesday evening. I was surprised to see a herd of five bulls, as I'd never seen a group of bulls on this ranch. I was anxious when Ted got to Bozeman on Friday, wanting to see if I could relocate those bulls that evening before season opened. Nope. Did find a herd of cows that Ted was excited to go after the next morning.
Ted asked if I had intentions of filming, which I did not, respecting his privacy for his elk hunt to not be imposed upon. He asked if I was able to do so. Well, I've had that cameraman job, and I suck at it. But, I had two iPhones and plenty of audio and tripods. So, I got to be the camera guy, mustering whatever footage I could. Good thing I left my rifle and my tags at home.
That evening we coordinated with the other hunters who would be on the ranch for the weekend. I told them where we would be. They had plans to try locate the herd of bigger bulls. Sounded good. Ted explained his wife far preferred a cow or young bull, so the big bulls would only be in danger if that was all we saw.
At daylight on Saturday, the number of nice whitetail bucks mixed in with the overabundance of does was impressive. I asked Ted if he wanted one. "No, we must remain disciplined if we're to get an elk. If we get greedy with the deer, we'll not get an elk." Wow, it's not very often people pass 140" whitetails. No elk were spotted that morning.
We went to the ranch cabin and checked in with the other hunters. Seems two big bulls were down in the creek bottoms that morning. Wanting to get to the best spot based on the wind, it seems I hiked us on the ridges above, right past those bulls. It was too dark to glass down where we might have seen them on our way in, so we were oblivious to their presence. Afternoon plans were made so that we would not be in the way of the other hunters.
A sandwich induced a short nap. And then the wind shook the cabin. Wow, this was going to be serious. A friend who had originally introduced me to Ted, Rob, drove over and visited with us. We asked him to join us for the afternoon hunt. He accepted.
The full details will come when the video is released them. Suffice to say, Ted filled his tag that evening. A 150 yard shot in a ridiculous crosswind, a sitting shot while leaning against the only pine tree around. A high shoulder hit dropped the young bull in his tracks. Ted had focused on the cows, but with them grouped tightly and fear of possibly hitting more than one, after about five minutes he swung his aim toward the bull lingering behind the big group.
It was a great for Ted and I to spend more time together. He admired how hunters rose to the occasion against Mike Lee's stupidity this summer. We spent much of our time talking about his family, the history of his family as leaders in the GOP, and what leadership requires. He also explained about being "on the outs" with most current GOP leadership for his belief that climate change is happening, that tariffs are stupid and against everything the GOP ever stood for, and the concern he has for pissing on the boots of long-time partner countries. I got to learn more about his time in Vietnam and how that experience influenced a lot of his views, making him far more comfortable "rocking the boat" when it needs to be rocked.
We did a podcast. I filmed a long video interview. I know some of the statements in this episode will rankle plenty of people, as Ted is unfiltered at this point in his life. Yet, the depth of his life experiences and his immense work on conservation and public lands make his opinions valid in the times we are living. Just the kind of content I hope to put out there for the audience to think about.
