SITKA Gear - INSIGHT 001 by SITKA Gear

SITKA INSIGHT ISSUE 001 SPRING // SUMMER 2015

The hunting industry is stuck in a photographic rut. You’ve seen it. The “grip and grin.” The “stop packing your bull out for a sec and pretend to glass.” The “doesn’t everybody carry bleached skulls in the woods?” YOUR ASSIGNMENT Be authentic. Get out of the rut. DIVERGE. Submit your inspiring, original, and authentic hunting photos — as many as you’d like. Then you and the rest of the SITKA Tribe can vote for your favorites. We’ll pick two finalists, put them head-to-head, and the tribe will vote to decide the winner. THE PRIZES There will be three winners, one in each category (Big Game, Whitetail, and Waterfowl). Each winner will receive a full SITKA Gear system and their photos will be featured in an upcoming SITKA Insight or Gear Guide. DEADLINE: July 31st, 2015 HOW TO ENTER & FULL CONTEST RULES: SITKAgear.com/diverge

Tips & Tricks pg. 38

Why SITKA? pg. 05

Tech Corner Elevated II pg. 24

Kids That Crush It pg. 44

Interview with Cole Kramer pg. 28

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WHY SITKA? — 05 TECH CORNER NEXT-TO-SKIN — 06 THIS SEASON — 10 TECH CORNER ELEVATED II — 24 TRIBE NOTE — 26 BEYOND THE LAYERS — 28 PACK BREAK — 32 WILD SHEEP FOUNDATION — 34 TEAL SEASON — 36 TIPS & TRICKS FIELD PHOTOGRAPHY — 38 BANDING DUCKS IN MT — 42 KIDS THAT CRUSH IT — 44 BOZEMAN — 46 THOUGHTS FROM THE HART — 50

OUR WARRANTY: We stand behind every product we make. If you are unhappy with any of our products at the time you receive them, feel free to send them back. Damage due to wear and tear will be repaired at a reasonable cost. For more details, visit www.SITKAgear.com/info/warranty. GORE-TEX®, GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU DRY®, PACLITE®, WINDSTOPPER®, OPTIFADE® & designs are trademarks of W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. PHOTOGRAPHY: Jay Beyer / Massive Studios / Rockhouse Motion / Seacat Creative / SITKA Team / Steve Kitchen / Wild Sheep Foundation / 39º North COVER: Our own David Brinker flips the season in New Zealand on a tahr hunt. Photo Seacat Creative

INSIGHT

When you’re on a 20+ day backpack hunt, weight matters and performance can mean life or death. Athlete Mark Seacat’s Dewpoint System is a critical part of the survival system.

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WHY SITKA? THE STORY BEHIND THE NAME It started with that light bulb moment: “Let’s turn clothing into gear!” But that was literally just the starting point—breaking the ice, so to speak. The big dream was all about building a brand, an intangible agent of change—a promise, a personality, a relationship, a mission, and a dream. Envisioning all of those moving parts comes easily when they’re your motivating force. Communicating them becomes the DNA of your team and your business, and they’re your ultimate decision maker for every tough fork in the road. Rolling it all up into a tight package isn’t always the easiest task. You can make up a name; you can dream up a mark or logo: Twitter, Google, Yahoo. But our brand needed to strike a cord with that future family we could already envision, as well as be rooted in the lore of hunters. We all have places that are special in our hearts. Some we revisit every year because they’re what recharge us, some are linked to strong memories, and some sit on the bucket list, representing adventure, mystery, or whatever stirs your soul. Sitka, Alaska, was one of those places. In relative terms, Sitka is off the grid, representing a life more wild than most can imagine. For people like us, it conjures up images of the great outdoors and wild places. But more philosophically, it represents for us everything that launching this brand meant. Sitka, Alaska, is not only that place, but it represents that dream. As a tribe, a team, a family, and a business, SITKA is the culmination of dreaming bigger than yourself and just going for it. JONATHAN HART SITKA GEAR FOUNDER

INSIGHT

TECH CORNER

NEXT-TO-SKIN AN INTERVIEW WITH JOHN BARKLOW - BIG GAME PRODUCT MANAGER Layering is a science that begins at your core, and for 2015 we took a hard look at that science—examining fabrics, testing innovative technologies, and then building our own revolutionary products from the ground up in order to completely overhaul our next-to-skin system. In order to meet the wildly diverse demands of hunting styles, locations, conditions, and species, we’ve developed three distinct weights in our new CORE Series: CORE Lightweight, CORE Midweight, and CORE Heavyweight, while incorporating innovative Polygiene® technology, which helps reduce odor, especially on extended hunts. The result? Bring one base layer instead of two, because options drive optimization, and be the most comfortable you’ve been while hunting. Ever. We wanted you to have the details on what has become the new standard in next-to-skin layering, right from one of our key players, Big Game Product Manager John Barklow.

In the Arizona desert, Coues deer live up to their nickname “Gray ghosts” to Athlete Adam Foss.

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SITKA Gear: Why focus such great attention on a next-to-skin system overhaul in the first place? John: It’s super important that hunters build their system from the next-to-skin layer out. It’s absolutely critical for moisture management and it’s critical for regulating body temperature. If you’re not starting with the best base layers possible, or the wrong piece for the activity, you’re not putting your best foot forward. We saw an opportunity to offer a ton of diversity and deliver a significant increase in overall performance for our hunters in this redesign.

SITKA Gear: Why break it up into three different weights (CORE Lightweight, Midweight, and Heavyweight)? John: Not everyone hunts the same way, not everybody hunts in the same environment, and not everyone hunts in the same season. By giving the hunter three different weights, we can allow him to fine-tune his system and meet the demands of his specific type of hunting.

SITKA Gear: What new technology will we see in 2015’s nextto-skin line up? John: One of the exciting things we used this year was Polygiene® technology, which is an environmentally-friendly silver salt that can be applied to the garment. Polygiene® allows the piece to retain little to no odor by stopping bacteria and fungi from building up. This feature helps prevent being winded by an animal. Best of all, it will last for the lifetime of the garment.

SITKA Gear: What are some of the details that aren’t noticeable at first glance? John: We’ve created a low profile hood option in the CORE Lightweight for SPF and bug protection, while including thumb loops in all three weights to avoid bundling of the piece when layering overtop. The CORE Heavyweight includes a deeper zip to allow you to drop that zip and really blow out the heat when needed, and we also added a drop tail this year, so when people are glassing, bending over, or riding a horse or ATV it doesn’t pull out of their pants and expose their back to the elements.

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SITKA Gear: What types of hunts was the CORE Series tested on? John: At SITKA, we have a very robust field testing process. We have some of the finest Pro Staff, Athletes, and employees, who use our products in diverse hunting conditions all over the world, and for these new base layers with such an array of offerings that’s exactly what we wanted. We’ve had guys chasing brown bears in Alaska in the spring, Athletes down in Mexico after desert bighorn, in the NWT hunting dall sheep, and all over the lower 48 from the desert to the mountains for deer and elk. We even had Athletes in Turkey and Azerbaijan hunting ibex in these base layers. This past spring we had two team members go down to the South Island of New Zealand for a final test on the production run of next-to-skin pieces. New Zealand is one of those places that is such a diverse landscape with such dynamic weather, and it was the perfect last test bed to truly see how they’d perform, and they did exceptionally well.

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SITKA Gear: Overall thoughts on the new base layers? John: I’m real excited about our next-to-skin layers for 2015. It’s the best base layer offering we’ve put forward, it’s very diverse, and the Polygiene® is just this incredible product that really adds a lot of capability. It’s going to be exciting to see some of the hunts that these pieces go on and how that might lend a little bit to the success of our hunters.

INSIGHT

THIS SEASON There is no “off season” in our book. We’re either hunting or thinking about it. Now, when the spring greens transform to summer browns, we’re in preparation mode. Mountain trails take over for the treadmill. Bows are tuned and tweaked. A winter’s worth of microbrews and pizza is burned off one calorie at a time chasing black bears. Super Cubs get their pre-season checks, and horses are shoed so they can carry us out to sheep country. Meanwhile, velvet antlers are quietly sprouting, one tine at a time. In reality, fall may be a couple months away, but in our minds it’s right here. Who needs reality anyway?

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22 22

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TECH CORNER GORE™ OPTIFADE™ Concealment

ELEVATED II A STATEMENT FROM DENNIS ZUCK WHITETAIL CATEGORY PRODUCT MANAGER

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The creation of the Elevated II pattern is founded in an evolution of understanding. Now that we’ve logged countless hours in the treetops and watched literally hundreds of deer walk by our sets, most at very close range, theory has become reality: deer simply struggle to find us perched 20 feet up in trees. With this thought, I remember back to the days when I started hunting. My father told me, “For every deer you see there are two you didn’t.” This line of thinking prompted us to look deeper at the entire range of engagement. Those deer we have yet to see are likely standing at the beginning of the engagement. Could we increase the level of effectiveness with this concealment pattern for deer we have yet to see? We went back to the drawing board with our panel of experts, thinking more about not just the micro pattern that had proven to be so effective at confusing deer at shooting range in the earlier version of this pattern, but also the macro pattern and the contrasts and shapes needed to keep a hunter’s silhouette disrupted at 80 yards. All of this to make sure we don’t appear as blobs in the tree tops. We started by thinking about contrast. Contrast to what? For the treestand hunter, this is always a mixture of gray skies and a broken canopy of treetops. After all, this is what the deer is seeing with its 20/40 vision. We also thought about applying the correct color filters in the blue spectrum that deer see versus the yellow that humans see. We even considered eye location, as deer can see 280 degrees, which absolutely affects the image viewed. We also took into account the amount of light gathered during the day—or more specifically, gathered in the best times of the day to hunt—because deer after all have 1,000 times better light reception than people. This led us down a road that ended at Elevated II, a pattern that is optimized during the entire range of engagement for both the deer you see and the deer you don’t. DENNIS ZUCK WHITETAIL CATEGORY PRODUCT MANAGER

For more information on GORE™ OPTIFADE™ Concealment Elevated II visit: SITKAwhitetail.com

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“ IT’S A

NECESSITY FOR ANY

TRUE BACKCOUNTRY OUTING.

NEW

“

KELVIN DOWN ULTRALIGHT JACKET

The Kelvin Down Ultralight Jacket is a pure insulating mid layer. Single-minded in its construction, the compact quilt of ripstop polyester contains 90 grams of 750 fillpower PrimaLoft® Gold Down Blend insulation. The short rise cut and elimination of all unnecessary features make it clutch for every minimalist backpack hunter’s arsenal.

Explore this product and all our new 2015 gear at SITKAgear.com INSIGHT

KELVIN DOWN ULTRALIGHT JACKET A NOTE FROM TRIBE MEMBER CHRIS AWE “This jacket is a must have. It slips on to cut a sharp breeze while glassing, it’s a warm shelter while snacking, and it’s a soft pillow for napping. It’s a necessity for any true backcountry outing. Because of its versatility, it’s as critical to my everyday kit as a pocket knife and lighter. I never leave home without it. Thanks for another bomber piece, SITKA!”

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BEYOND

THE

LAYERS

AN INTERVIEW WITH ATHLETE COLE KRAMER Pushing the limits of what is possible in technical hunting gear is—and always will be—our core mission. But part of the essence of SITKA is in the people that test, abuse, and demand the best: our Athletes. SITKA Athletes live remarkable lives, each with a unique story of his own, and a singular approach and philosophy in his passion for the pursuit. We wanted to dive deeper into that psyche: What makes these guys tick? What drives them? Where did they come from? What’s next? Cole Kramer is the newest Big Game Athlete and a veteran Alaskan brown bear, dall sheep, and mountain goat guide. The harsh climactic conditions and challenging terrain of Kodiak Island, Alaska presents the exact environment Cole lives for—and thrives in. But how did a small-town kid from middle-of-nowhere, Kansas wind up in the wilds of Alaska? Keep your eyes out for the full short film, “Beyond the Layers: Cole Kramer” on the Hunting Film tour this summer and on SITKAfilms.com come fall.

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“ ONCE YOU LIVE IN A

PLACE

LIKE KODIAK, IT’S REALLY

HARD TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.

“

Even with snowflakes accompanied by 80 mph wind gusts hitting him the face, Athlete Cole Kramer meticulously puts the final touches on another successful Kodiak Island mountain goat adventure.

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To view the teaser of “Beyond the Layers: Cole Kramer” visit SITKAfilms.com For more on Cole Kramer visit: SITKAgear.com/insight/athlete/cole-kramer

Q: You’re a hunting guide in Kodiak. Why Alaska? A: I grew up in a small town in the middle of Kansas. My first trip up to Alaska, I was eleven years old. We spent two weeks in July fishing for salmon and halibut. It hooked me for life. A week after high school, I drove up to Alaska and got my first job as a packer.

Q: These days, what’s a typical guiding trip like for you? A: For a typical September goat hunt, we get prepared to go in pretty deep. We’ll take five to seven days’ worth of food. We’ll take camp on our back. We’re a mobile unit. It takes a lot of patience. Sometimes we’re watching goats for two days…just waiting for that right moment. Q: What’s most gratifying about doing what you do where you do it? A: [With guiding,] you may not have even known that person before, but at the end of ten days, now they’re a lifelong friend. [And] once you live in a place like Kodiak, it’s really hard to go somewhere else. No matter how bad your day is, you just think, Wow, what a beautiful day, or you look out across the ocean and say, Wow, what a beautiful view.

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D F

PACK BREAK I

M INSIGHT

BIVY 45 / JOHN BARKLOW - BIG GAME PRODUCT MANAGER The variables are part of the pain and the pleasure. They’re what keep you interested. Terrain, weather, and the animals themselves change from one engagement to the next. The best pack is multifaceted, equipped with gear that brings you closer to your goal but never gets in the way. Our Big Game Product Manager John Barklow tells us about his preferred pack and what he carries. John: Living 15 years in Kodiak, Alaska teaching Special Operations forces how to live and survive unsupported in harsh mountain climates taught me a few tricks, one of which is limiting stuff sacks to help reduce weight and get more inside your pack. The odd shapes and sizes created by stuff sacks don’t pack tightly together and waste precious cubic inches. What I call the chaos theory of packing uses a large dry sack to line the pack and waterproof gear I don’t typically use during the day. Gear that I’ll readily use or that doesn’t need to be water-proof like a tent, rain gear, and puffy jacket are stuffed on top filling any gaps. This method takes full advantage of all the room inside the pack. The Pack: The Bivy 45 pack is perfect for a three-to-four day mountain hunt, providing ample room for all your necessities with a little room left over to get a reasonable load of meat out of the field. I’ve used this pack with good success from Alaska to Montana while hunting bears, mountain goat, elk, and deer.

A. Water Bladder: A 4-liter size allows me to carry and/ or store a large quantity of water when a suitable water source is found. B. Survival/First Aid Kit: Carried in a small Ziploc® bag, it contains the basics to start a fire in any conditions, manage blisters, and treat cuts. C. Fixed Blade Knife: A small 4” blade performs everything from boning out animals to batoning wood for fires and provides better functionality than a scalpel, which I also carry for caping and quartering. D. Necessities: Traverse gloves and a SITKA beanie keep my hands and head warm, allowing me to focus on hunting. E. 30’ Parachute Cord: For hanging meat, lashing hides and horns to my pack, and for stringing up tarps or building shelters. F. Microfilter: A lightweight, effective way to filter drinking water of protozoa, bacteria, and particulate. G. Kelvin Lite Hoody: Versatile jacket that can be worn as an outer layer for activities like glassing in milder conditions or as a mid-layer when hunting in really cold weather. H. Dewpoint Rain Gear: Incredibly light and durable rain gear for backpack hunting that is always in my pack. I. Core Lightweight Bottoms: If I’m not already wearing them, I’m always carrying a pair of Core base layer bottoms to confront dynamic mountain weather.

J. Extra Pair Socks: I rotate my wool socks every night to dry both them and my feet out, which helps prevent blisters. K. Ground Pad: A quality inflatable ground pad is critical to sleeping warm and comfortably on the ground. I also carry a piece of foam ground pad to sit on while glassing and eating that I store in the void between the pack bag and suspension. L. Game Bags: I often use large cotton pillow cases to limit weight and bulk in my pack and help protect meat from insects and dirt. M. Nutrition: I remove dehydrated meals from the commercial packaging and place them in quality Ziploc® freezer bags. This limits weight, bulk, and trash and allows me to supplement the meals with extra calories like jerky, oil, hard cheese, and spices. I pour hot water into the bag, let it re-constitute, and eat out of the bag. N. Utensil: A spoon doesn’t seem important until you forget it. O. Sleeping Bag & Tent: A lightweight, early season synthetic sleeping bag is an extension of my clothing system. Sleeping in my clothes allows me to carry a much lighter bag and the synthetic insulation allows me to climb in and dry my clothes without fear of compromising the insulation. A small two person tent is often lighter than a bivy sack/tarp combo and provides storm protection and room for me and my gear. P. Stove System: For no-nonsense boiling of water.

INSIGHT

WILD SHEEP FOUNDATION “PUTTING AND KEEPING SHEEP ON THE MOUNTAIN SINCE 1977”

Founded in 1977 and known then as the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep (FNAWS), the organization changed its name in 2007 to the Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) to better reflect its worldwide efforts. With the help of its membership, the Foundation has been successfully accomplishing its mission to put and keep sheep on the mountain in North America and abroad. Unlike Rocky Mountain elk and mule and whitetail deer, the iconic bighorn lacked sufficient population numbers in the mid- to late-twentieth century. Responding to the lack of state and provincial funding to properly manage and repatriate wild sheep to their native range, and faced with historical all-time bighorn population lows in the 1960s and ’70s, several visionary sheep hunters met in Wisconsin in 1974 to swap sheep and mountain hunting stories and to discuss the plight of wild sheep. WSF was born.

INSIGHT

Since that humble beginning, WSF has raised and directed millions of dollars to “put sheep on the mountain” in their historical range. Trap and transplants were conducted throughout the west, initially bringing bighorns from Alberta and British Columbia south. Today, translocation maps showing more than 1,400 sheep transfers now look like an airline route map for a major western air carrier. The results are a modern day wildlife restoration success story—but the work is not done. Knowledge gained from millions of WSF dollars directed to disease research has proven unequivocally that a primary cause of the massive decline in wild sheep populations to their 1950s-‘60s lows was respiratory disease contracted from domestic sheep and goats, and that the primary key to keeping wild sheep on the mountain is ensuring domestic sheep and goats are separated both spatially and temporally from wild sheep. WSF is again leading the efforts to protect wild sheep from bacteria from domestic stock while working with the domestic sheep industry to seek collaborative solutions to this deadly problem.

BIGHORN SHEEP – THEN & NOW* (Es tim ated bigh orn an d des ert bigh orn po p u l a ti o n s )

STATE

1960

2011

Nevada

Remnant

11,000

Colorado

3,000

7,500

Wyoming

2,000

6,500

Arizona

3,500

5,500

Montana

1,700

5,100

Utah

Remnant

5,000

California

2,500

4,800

Oregon

4,200

Idaho

2,800

2,900

Washington

Remnant

1,700

Texas

Remnant

1,100

*Sources: Bueckner Monograph (1960) and Western Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (2011 data)

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE WILD SHEEP FOUNDATION, THEIR JANUARY 21-23, 2016 “SHEEP SHOW™ CONVENTION IN RENO, OR THE <1 CLUB WHERE ASPIRING SHEEP HUNTERS CAN WIN THEIR FIRST SHEEP HUNT VISIT WWW.WILDSHEEPFOUNDATION.ORG OR FIND THEM ON WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/WILDSHEEPFOUNDATION.

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TEAL SEASON Athlete Jeff Watt at Habitat Flats.

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After seven long months of honey do’s and grass cutting, it’s early September and the first waterfowl season is finally here. You’ve already scouted the muddy, shallow water marshes covered in ample vegetation. To your delight, the first sound you hear in the morning is similar to a fighter jet: it’s a bunch of blue winged teal—the most exciting sound in the world. The hunt is usually in 80-degree, humid, sticky weather that leaves you covered in a combination of sweat and mosquito spray, but the minor discomforts are well worth the fun these little birds provide. You don’t need too many decoys—a dozen or two will be fine. A blue wing call, however, is a must; it’s easy to blow, and the birds respond very well to it. Don’t shoot at them on the first pass. Let them slow down and get ready to land. Clothes don’t have to be complicated. Wear the Grinder Pant and a CORE Lightweight Long Sleeve Crew, and you’ll be set. If it’s raining, the Delta Wading Jacket and Delta Pant keep you dry. Don’t forget to bring lots of shells and bug spray.

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3 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR FIELD PHOTOS

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1 “SHOOT RIGHT AND YOU WON’T MISS.” Shoot more, score more, right? In today’s world of digital photography, it’s easy to get carried away holding down the shutter button, and that’s great for high action situations. But for the most part, take your time to frame up, and have your settings dialed and the focal length set to capture the image that tells the story you want to tell. Shoot right and you won’t miss.

Jordan Gill – Seacat Creative

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2 “SHOOT WITH EMOTION” Creating a truly authentic image that speaks to the viewer is no easy task. One way of doing this is creating a scenario that will evoke emotion in the viewer. The goal is to capture a moment in time where the viewer desires to remove the person in the image and mentally insert themselves. If you made the viewer think, “I just want to be there,” then you did it correctly!

Jay Beyer - Outdoor Photographer

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3 “SHOOT WHEN YOU LEAST WANT TO.” When the wind starts to bite, the rain turns to wet snow, you can’t feel your fingers, and your camera gear is nestled warm and dry in your pack—that’s exactly when you need to shoot. Bluebird days and sunny naps between glassing sessions make great photos, but they only tell half the story. Capture those more intense moments and you’ll be thankful you did.

Steven Drake – Seacat Creative

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AFTER CONSERVATION COMES ENJOYMENT

RESEARCH AND RECREATION MERGE IN MONTANA’S CENTENNIAL VALLEY Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge is often called the most beautiful national wildlife refuge in the nation—and for good reason. Located in Southwestern Montana’s Centennial Valley, the remote refuge is home to the Greater Yellowstone area’s largest expanse of highmountain, wetland-riparian habitat. Situated near the headwaters of the Missouri River, it’s comprised of creeks, lakes, and a marsh. Needless to say, it’s a place favored by lesser scaup ducks—among countless other species—and appreciated by the hunters, biologists, and wildlife lovers who are personally invested in conservation. We joined forces with Ducks Unlimited Montana staff to assist with an ongoing lesser scaup research and banding project. For over a decade now, NWR’s Lower Red Rock Lake has been homebase for a study of lesser scaup breeding ecology and population characteristics. The lake is home to a high-density population of breeding scaup—about 20 breeding pairs per square kilometer—so it’s the perfect place to learn more about this species. During our visit to the refuge, we worked together to band, weigh, and release young scaup. When finished with that worthwhile effort, we spent a day catching trout on the Upper Madison.

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KIDS THAT CRUSH IT

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TYLER RUED AGE

HIGHLIGHTS

HEIGHT

5’10”

WEIGHT

135 lbs.

WEAPON OF CHOICE:

“The most exciting moment of all my hunts happened when I shot a bull elk at two yards with my bow as it was coming to my dad’s cow call. However, the best moment came one Thanksgiving when I got a whitetail buck with my grandpa alongside me, a few months before he passed away. That was a day I will never forget. The good luck I’ve had while hunting has made me appreciate all the hikes and trips that haven’t panned out. Hunting gives me an opportunity to spend time with good friends outside, get lots of exercise, and have great experiences that I wouldn’t have if I weren’t out there pursuing my dream.”

Bow

YEARS ACTIVE

YEARS IN FIELD HUNTER’S SAFETY CERTIFIED

14 2012

STATS Antelope

Mule Deer Whitetail Bucks

Bull Elk

Bear

Mountain Goat Moose Bighorn sheep

Turkey

Varmints & Upland Game Birds Too many to count

Are you a “kid that crushes it” or do you know a kid that does? Send some pics and a short bio to SITKA Gear and for a possible feature in our next issue. Those featured will get some free SITKA Gear. Submit Stories at www.SITKAgear.com/insight/tribe-stories/submit

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BOZEMAN, MT OUR HOME

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TEAM IS BRAND THOUGHTS FROM THE HART Almost daily, I get the question, “What’s the secret? Is there a single event, product, skill, or decision that set SITKA Gear on ‘THE’ path?” The question comes from every type of person: longtime corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, small business owners, students, friends—the list goes on. Everyone wants to know “How?” The question I wish they asked would be “Why?” The “Why” is our brand. The secret sauce. And that “Why” is the DNA of our team. “Ah, so everyone is a hardcore hunter?” “No, everyone has passion running in their blood.” SITKA was built on passion. It is the culmination of building a team that thrives on challenging the status quo, pushing hard for the sake of pushing hard, and living a life that’s about more than just punching the clock. The same passion that drives being best-inclass with customers, getting an order shipped early, supporting conservation or being fanatical about product development is just as powerful outside of the office. It may be field testing product, pre-season scouting, riding bikes, car camping, floating a river, or bar hopping down Main Street, but that same drive is still there. As our team continues to grow beyond Bozeman, beyond the U.S., and into a global team, that same DNA is omnipresent. It feels like so many businesses are built by simply filling slots on an organizational chart with a predetermined list of skill sets that will theoretically deliver perfect results. Unfortunately, that never creates an environment that will inspire organically, and it rarely delivers greatness. Passion is a multiplier that can’t be taught and has always been one of the most critical elements in finding the right people for SITKA. Just the other day, someone who had spent some time getting to know the team recently said to me, “Man, the SITKA team seriously kicks ass. Like, everyone, playing all the different parts.” SITKA is not about one person telling their own story, celebrating themself, being their own brand. It’s the culmination of a team of like-minded fanatics who want to have fun changing the world around them. What’s even cooler is that we see this same passion in our customers and the lives they live. Branding is not simply a science that can be captured in an equation. There’s a reason you’re reading INSIGHT. SITKA’s brand is in your DNA too. Team is Brand. Jonathan Hart SITKA Gear Founder

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SITKA Gear 1285 N. Rouse Ave., Suite 2A Bozeman, MT 59715 Ph: 877-SITKA-GR info@SITKAgear.com SITKAgear.com

TURNING CLOTHING INTO GEAR