As it is finally starting to get warmer here, we packed up our Mathews’ and took off back into what seemed like the dead of winter…..the Arctic! We have been fortunate enough to harvest some awesome animals over the years, but this was a first for us…. we were going to chase the majestic long haired beast, the muskox. After 4 flights, we arrived on Holman Island, from the Inuit village of Ulukathut in the Northwest Territories. We met up with Kyler Knelsen of Northwest Adventure Outfitters who lined up this hunt for us.  Joining us on the hunt were good friend and owner and operator of Robinson Outdoors (Scentblocker) Scott Schultz, as well as good friend Cody Robbins from Live 2 Hunt TV, and his buddy Jeff Schlachter.

When we arrived in Holman, it was bitterly cold! The town was awesome and we had the pleasure of meeting all of the people in the Inuit village. Seeing the way that these people live and the hardships that they have to deal with there makes you really appreciate what you have. These people live solely off the land. There are two trucks in the whole town and the major mode of transportation is snowmobiles.

An Inuit family in town invited us in for a little bit of Caribou stew before we loaded up our snowmobiles and headed out for the hunt.

Before taking off, our head guide “Big Dave” took us over and showed us his sled dogs!

As we started out on our 100 mile sled journey, the bitter cold air cut right through us. There is no feeling in the world like buzzing across the Arctic Ocean with the anticipation of getting face to face with a giant muskox.

Along the way, we saw so many things that we have never seen before, including this seal sitting on the ice outside of his air hole.

Finally we started to see a the outline of a building appearing in the white distance. It was an old fisherman’s shack, and that was where we set up camp for the week.

Let me tell you… this place wasn’t the Holiday Inn. All 3 of us, our guides, and our helpers all slept here.

Big Dave, John, and Alan relaxing in the fishing shack.

The first day the weather was horrendous! You could not see ten yards from the camp. It was total white!

Overnight, the temperatures dropped even more and it was freezing!

The bad news was that the next day didn’t bring any warmer weather, but it did clear out so it was time to get out there!

We finally spotted 4 big bulls and the chase was on…. When we finally caught up to them Nicole was up. As she approached the massive bulls, they stared her down and started to paw at the ground. She got to 20 yards and drew back her Mathews. As the one on the right finally cleared she let the arrow fly!

What an incredible animal!

After Nicole shot, the other big bulls ran over the hill and the chase was back on. Scott was up now… Fortunately we were able to get back on the bulls and Scott closed the deal and harvested a huge muskox of his own!

Two big bulls down!

By the time we recovered both bulls and took pictures and got our filming done, everyone was chilled to the bone! We headed back to camp to have a little fresh muskox and do a little skinning!

The next day the wind blew like crazy and we were stuck in the camp again. There was no point in going outside because you literally could barely see in front of you’re face.

It was down to the last day…and it was now or never for Pat. He never gave up…. He didn’t let the long week and the cold weather conditions stop him… He stayed persistent and stayed DRIVEN and put the smackdown on a huge last day muskox!

It was Outdoor Edge time!

Cody and his buddy Jeff had went in a different direction out of Holman and they also had a little luck of their own!

After tagging out, we left the desolate fishing camp and headed back to Holman.

When we arrived back, we were invited to an Inuit dance at the town hall!

What an experience! Watching these people dance and laugh, and being able to appreciate their culture was unbelievable.

This was not an easy hunt by any means. You have not experienced cold until you have spent a week chasing muskox on the Arctic Ocean. We have been many places, and have been privileged to go on many hunts, but we have never experienced one like this. I have to say that it was one of the toughest, but most rewarding and memorable hunts we have ever done! You learn things about yourself, being out there in the cold desolate winter with nothing. We brought home trophies of a lifetime, but more importantly, the memories of an experience that we will keep with us forever.

Special thanks to Kyler Knelsen, our guides, Dave, John, Alan, all of our helpers, and also all of the people of the Inuit village in Holman for a great hunt, and sharing your culture with us!

 

Kyler Knelsen

Adventure Northwest

1-780-247-0247

 

 

After returning home with a refreshed outlook on life from the World Turkey Hunting Championship, we were ready to spend some quality time with our own kids in the woods. There is nothing more special to us than getting them involved and taking them hunting.

This was the first year that our youngest daughter Isabel could get out and try to harvest her first turkey. She is 8 years old and couldn’t be more excited!

Isabel getting her first turkey tag!

Dad and Isabel getting ready to go for their first morning’s hunt!

That morning was exciting to say the least. We had deer walking within 5 yards of our blind and turkeys gobbling in the distance. Watching the interaction between Pat and Isabel was something truly special. The excitement in both of their eyes was breathtaking. That morning we did not close the deal. We did see a big tom in the distance but he was with hens and did not want to come up to where we were. The plan was to go back, warm up,  grab some lunch, and head back out in the afternoon to see if we could pull him our way.

Isabel warming up by the fire after a cold morning in the woods.

In the afternoon, we had the whole crew in the blind….Isabels brother Carson, and Papa Jim who was up visiting for Easter.

As the evening started to set in, finally we heard the tom gobble a little closer. Pat made a few yelps and the bird was coming on a rope right at us. The big tom went into full strut and put himself right in front of us! With dad and and Papa Jim, coaching her through it, Isabel stayed patient and waited for the bird to stick his head up. At that point, she got the okay and smoked him! When he dropped, that blind erupted! Hugs and cheers rang out! Isabel just got her first turkey!

Awesome job Isabel! There is no prouder moment for a father…. The most special thing is that they all got to experience this as a family!

Proud dad and Isabel measuring the beard on her first turkey!

Isabel is now the youngest Reeve to harvest a turkey… 8 years old! We couldn’t be prouder of you Isabel!!! Congratulations!

Next up, it was Carson’s turn. Carson harvested his first turkey last year, and let me tell you… he was more than pumped to get back out there and do it again. It was the next day, and Pat and Carson went to try to find him a gobbler.

After a little scouting, they setup a Primos Double Bull Blind and settled in. After sitting in the morning and having some close encounters, the afternoon looked promising. A big tom crested the hill and again couldn’t resist that Primos hen decoy. He ran into literally 10 steps and Carson settled the crosshairs on him… Boom!

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Congratulations Carson! You are on track to be out hunting you’re dad here in not too long!

2 birds for the Reeve kids in 2 days!

We enjoy nothing more than taking our kids hunting. It creates such a special bond and being able to see the joy and excitement in their eyes is priceless. They were successful, but the success isn’t what makes the hunt. It’s Isabel seeing her first set of turkey tracks, and hearing her first gobble from the blind when she knows she has the chance of harvesting that turkey. Its the interaction between a father and his son scouting, and making a plan. These moments will never be forgotten. Take your kids out hunting. It will teach them life lessons and create memories that they will never forget for the rest of their lives!

Congratulations Isabel and Carson! We are so proud of you!

Our oldest daughter Olivia was busy shooting sporting clays all weekend, but she is chomping at the bit to get out and join in on the family fun…

Make sure to check back soon because I have a feeling there is going to be another Reeve kid to put a turkey on the ground!

We wouldn’t give up our family for anything, and we are so fortunate to be able to do what we love with the ones that we love!

Wicked Outfitters in Kansas is a place that we call a second home… We have spent a lot of good times with great friends and owners Clint and Whitney deer hunting, but we headed down there this past week for something different…. The WORLD TURKEY HUNTING CHAMPIONSHIP. Mr. Bobby Pinson, singer and songwriter from Nashville, took it upon himself to put this event on to bring people together and help some of our Nation’s true heroes and wounded warriors continue to pursue their passion for the outdoors.

Anyone is welcome to participate in this event. It is comprised of fifty “2 man teams,” competing for the ultimate cash grand prize. There were several unbelievable events and concerts put on throughout the week, including a performance by Montgomery Gentry, and a benefit dinner to support the Hunting for Heroes Program.

Founder of the WTHC Bobby Pinson putting on a little concert!

Clint and Whitney, owners of Wicked Outfitters, and host of the WTHC have become great friends of ours over the last few years, and are truly great people. Thank you for hosting such an incredible event.

One of the coolest parts of the whole deal, was that we were surrounded by so many great people. From all of the heroes, to singers and songwriters from Nashville, to outdoor celebrities, everybody was there coming together for our sport and to support the people who make it possible to do what we love everyday.

Having fun with our good friends from Wildgame Innovations Big Bill and Matt Busbice. You always have to watch you’re back when these two are around.

Outdoor Channel’s, Steve Bowman, looking for turkeys. Steve sat out with us and captured some pretty awesome photos of a couple big toms checking out our Primos hen decoy!

We had the great privilege of meeting and hunting with one of the most inspirational people that we have ever met, Mike Lose. Mike is a police officer in Des Moines, IA. One day he was off duty and witnessed a very dangerous situation. At that point he had two choices, to act, or not to act. Again, Mike was off duty that day, but he acted! It was not about his line of work or his duty… it was about holding a higher standard of responsibility and trying to do all he could to save a life and ensure that people, like you and I, are safe. Unfortunately, while he was acting, Mike was shot several times. Eventually the situation was controlled and the danger was put to rest thanks to the actions of a truly brave man, Mr. Lose. Thankfully, Mike survived and is here today to continue pursuing his passion for the outdoors. Teamed up with Hunting for Heroes, Mike was able to receive an Action Track Wheelchair to let him still get out in the great outdoors and do what he truly loves to do….

Sitting in the blind, that afternoon, we had a few birds gobbling off in the distance. It seemed like it wasn’t long at all and Pat spotted red heads coming through the woods. They spotted that Primos hen decoy and bee-lined in full strut right at us. As those birds strutted their stuff right in front of us, you could hear Mike’s heart beating faster and faster. When one finally cleared, Mike shot and made a perfect shot on the one big tom! What a rush!

Mike Lose

Mike Lose is truly a hero and an inspiration. Everybody in this world has problems, and hard times, but for a guy like Mike, he never gives up. What happened to him is terrible and unfortunate to say the least, but he doesn’t let that get him down. He doesn’t roll over and give up, he keeps pushing everyday and makes the most out of life. Sitting in the blind with him and hearing his stories and experiencing his positive attitude is life changing for us. Congratulations Mike, and thank you. Thank you for showing us and everybody out there what life is really about!

The World Turkey Hunting Championship is an absolutely amazing event. It is not just about hunting, it is about more than that… it’s about what life is about and coming together to really enjoy what we have the opportunity to do. We all have a choice how we live our lives and how we deal with things that happen in our lives. Getting to meet people like Mike Lose and all the other people that we were fortunate enough to meet, give us the drive to do what we do. These people are truly inspirational and push all of us to live life with a more positive attitude!

Special thank you to Bobby Pinson, and everybody involved in the WTHC for putting on this life changing event. Also thank you to Clint and Whitney at Wicked Outfitters for hosting this event and also Hunting 4 Heroes for all you do to help make the dreams of our country’s true heroes possible.

If you want to learn more and get involved in the World Turkey Hunting Championship, go to http://nationalturkeyhuntingchampionship.com/wthc.html to learn more. Also checkout http://huntingforheroes.org/ to learn more about some of the inspirational people that love to hunt just like you and what you can do to help!

On another note, while the turkeys were falling in Kansas, one of our other team members Darren Martin was having a little luck of his own in Iowa.

Congratulations on an awesome bird!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone always asks what we do in the “off season,” but for the Driven team there isn’t one! Rolling out of trade show season, we jump right back into it! We kicked off the spring by heading half way across the world to New Zealand to hunt the majestic red stag with Leithen Valley Trophy Hunts. We were joined by good friends, Darren and Sherri Martin, Clint and Whitney Walker, Whitney’s dad Kevan Fouts, editor Adam Helwig, and cameraman Bryan Lemke. The roar was in full swing and the Driven team was ready to rock!

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4 flights and 25 hours later we finally landed in Queenstown, New Zealand!

A look at Leithen Valley….God’s Country.

This is truly one of the most beautiful places in the world!

The girls were ready to get out and put some big stags on the ground.

There is nothing like getting up on the mountain at first light and hearing roars echo throughout the valley, or catching a glimpse of a monster stag on the skyline… These are not things that you just see or hear…they are things that you feel and get your heart pumping!

Putting our Nikons to work trying to spot a stag to go after.

As we crested the hill, there were multiple stags roaring just below us so we set up overlooking a small wallow, hoping one would make it’s way up in front of us. As soon as we sat down, things got crazy! The sound of limbs breaking, and thrashing in the brush erupted only 60 yards away from us. We knew that it was a stag rubbing and tearing up a tree so we immediately got ready. This went on for sometime and it seemed as though the stag wasn’t moving, so we decided to stalk up and see if we could get a look at him. We never expected what would happen next!

As we got closer, we could see that the stag actually had his horns all tangled up in the vines that he had been raking!

  

The more he tried to free himself, the more he got himself wrapped up in the nasty vines. As we stood there in disbelief, wondering what to do, Pat stood up and said “We have to cut him out.”  He got on the radio and got our guide, Olly, who had been glassing on the hillside above us, to bring a tree saw.

As we devised a plan to cut this beast out, Nicole started to look worried. These are huge animals with extreme power and this situation could get dangerous in a hurry, but we had no choice. If we left him there tangled up, he would die.

Olly got down with the stag and started to strategically cut the vines out of his rack!

Nicole on the other hand, decided to go find herself a safer place to watch from!

After about 15 minutes of cutting, the vines finally came loose! The stag was free! He was so exhausted from trying to free himself that he just laid there and watched us as we backed away so we didn’t put anymore stress on him. The next day we were all relieved to see the stag on top of the mountain above grazing, and he looked great! Although it was an intense and dangerous situation, we saved that animal from suffering. At that moment, it wasn’t about harvesting an animal or the hunt, it was about the responsibility of a true hunter and conservationist.

Clint was the first to break the ice, and put this monster stag on the ground!

It didn’t take long for the rest of the Driven team to get in on the action!

Check out the character on Whitney’s stag!

One of the coolest things about these animals is that each one is so unique and different.

Kevan with his first red stag!

Darren and Sherri Martin joined us on our last trip to New Zealand and took beautiful stags, and this year was no different. Check out these studs that hit the dirt, Driven style!

Sherri Martin with her beautiful dark horned stag she took with her TC!

This was a special stag for her because we also got to celebrate her birthday while in camp. That’s one heck of a birthday present! Happy birthday Sherri!

Nicole’s turn! This stag tested Nicole’s patience and roared his head off on the hillside above us, but finally caved to a little expert calling by Olly and Pat.

When Pat gets his Mathews in his hands, you know something is about to go down, but when this incredible massive stag turned the corner and started down the hill towards us, I was overwhelmed by sound of Pat’s heartbeat pounding over his wireless mic. This is a true king!

Outdoor Edge time!

Even cameraman Bryan Lemke got the opportunity to get in front of the camera and harvest his first red stag with the TC!

Rach, Nicole, and Bryan having some famous Leithen Valley pies celebrating the weeks success.

It was time to measure up some of these huge animals!

Olly and Nicole adding up Pat’s stag. Almost 500″! 8 stags on the ground with a total of almost 3500″ of horn!

After an unbelievable hunt, we spent a day in Wanaka and did a little sight-seeing. Pat and Nicole jumped out of an airplane last time they were in New Zealand, so now it was Bryan and Adam’s turn!

What a rush!!

Adam taking it all in one more time before we leave…

Breathtaking.

Leithen Valley Trophy Hunts is truly amazing….from the unbelievable hunting, to the top notch accommodations, sheer beauty, and most importantly wonderful people that run this place. Special thanks to Rach, Olly, Alan, Mama Sue, and everyone at Leithen Valley Trophy Hunts!

As the sun finally set on this trip of a lifetime the adventure that we lived and the memories that we made will never die.

Leithen Valley Trophy Hunts

www.leitehnvalley.com

info@leithenvalley.com

 

 

 

 

 

The snow is melting, and we are doing what Pat loves most…. shed hunting! We took a few days to head down to good friends’ Darren and Sherri Martin’s in Illinois to try and find some of what shed hunters refer to as white gold!

Nothing like a little Squincher to get you going!

It didn’t take Pat long to get on the board…

Pat picked up this shed from a year ago off of a buck that Darren knick-named Hooks.

Not a bad day at the office! We picked up quite a few sheds and had an awesome time with great friends! After this long winter, nothing feels better than getting back out and spending some quality time in God’s Country!

Special thanks to Darren and Sherri Martin. It’s truly always a blast!

If you want some shed hunting tips from one of the best, check out the article below written by Pat courtesy of Scentblocker!

http://www.robinsonoutdoors.com/shop/news/pat-reeves-tips-winter-shed-hunting/

 

WINNERS SELECTED! Our lucky Polaris Jacket Prize winners are Jackie Henson & Justin Vogel! Please email Winners@maximamedia.co with your mailing address.

Thanks to everyone who entered!

* Please note: Winners must respond within 24-hours to claim prizes. *

Well it finally seems like there could be an end to winter in sight, spring is just around the corner, and that can only mean one thing…. time to get out and do some shed hunting! Once again we headed up to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to meet up with our good friends Cody and Kelsy Robbins to spend a few days looking for monster mule sheds!

Now there was still quite a bit of snow, but it was melting more and more everyday so we loaded up the snowmobiles and headed out.

We weren’t disappointed! Not long after we started out, Pat spotted tines sticking up out of the snow.

There is no better sight than that right there!

Pat found the 2 biggest sheds of the trip! One was 84″ and the other is 83″. If you do the math these are probably off 190″ mule bucks!

Nicole getting in on the action….

Pat and Nicole at the end of the day showing off some of the sheds that they picked up!

We were also joined by good friend and world renowned shed hunting legend, Bentley Coben.  Bentley has always been one of Pat’s idols. He is one of the true fathers of shed hunting and has found some of the biggest horns in the world.

Nicole and Bentley.

Bentley with an enormous 213″ that he found just within the last couple weeks!

This is a huge shed that Bentley has from years and years ago, but it’s not just any shed…. this is a shed off the MILO HANSEN BUCK, the standing world-record typical whitetail.

Great FRIENDS!

We have been going to shed hunt in Saskatchewan for the last 3 years with Cody and Kelsy and it is something that we truly look forward to every year. Not only do we find some monster sheds, but we also get to visit some great friends! Cody and Kelsy we cannot thank you guys enough. We had an absolute blast, and cannot wait to get back up there and look for some of those massive dark chocolate horns!

Special thanks to Cody & Kelsy Robbins, Bentley Coben, and Saskatchewan Tourism.

 

WINNERS SELECTED! Our lucky Shed Hunting Prize Winners are as follows:

1. DogBone: Robert Alan
2. DogBone:  Mike Doornebal
3. Antler Autograph: Chasidy Ragan
4. Antler Autograph: Travis Fry
5. Sqwincher: Dawn M. Bunsick
6. Nikon: Tim Glass

Please email admin@maximamedia.co with your mailing address and we can get your prizes sent out right away!

Thanks to everyone who entered!   **Please note: If you do not reply within 24-hours we will select someone else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WINNERS SELECTED! Our lucky Mathews Bows winners are… Brittney Franklin & Scott Williams! Please email admin@maximamedia.co with your info and we can get your new bows sent out right away!

Thanks to everyone who entered!

WINNER SELECTED! Our lucky YETI Cooler winner is… Juliana Marie! Please email admin@maximamedia.co with your info and we can get your new cooler sent our right away!

Thanks to everyone who entered!