What happens when a Hollywood music video director who had never spent time in the woods decides to learn to hunt California's toughest deer zone?
On this episode of the LandTrust Podcast, Nic De Castro sits down with Clark Jackson, a Hollywood music video and commercial director who started hunting three years ago after a health wake-up call and an elk dinner from a coworker. After 50 days chasing a public land blacktail in California's A Zone without getting near a buck, Clark booked a DIY hunt at Avina Ranch on LandTrust and walked into a bedded group of shooters on day one.
Clark talks through the blown stalks, the wind lesson he'll never forget and the fork buck he took on his last day. He also explains why he extended his trip, how he thinks about leases and guides, and how hunting has rippled through his family, from his daughter's fishing to a 250-pound halibut in Alaska.
About the property: Avina Ranch is a privately owned, 323-acre property in Lake County, California, just outside Cobb, with rolling meadows, oak and pine woodland and chaparral that hold resident Columbian black-tailed deer. It's a day-hunt property with no lodging, water or facilities on site.
What You'll Learn:
- Why California's A Zone is one of the hardest over-the-counter deer hunts in the country
- What 50 days on crowded public land taught Clark, and what changed on day one at Avina Ranch
- Why more time around animals makes you a better hunter than more time at the range
- Why public land hunting isn't free once you add gas, time and days in the field
- Where DIY private land fits between backcountry public land and guided hunts
- How LandTrust landowners differ from outfitters and year-long leases
- How hunting changed Clark's health, his family and his conversations with non-hunters in Hollywood
Clark, at the end of the episode: "it's been the place where I felt the most comfortable to fail, and in doing that, I found my most success."
Hunt Avina Ranch: https://landtrust.com/l/avina-ranch/5d8caa84-43c5-4b86-ba68-8cd0f61899d2?utm_source=podbean&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep45_clark_jackson
How to book: open the Avina Ranch page (or search "Avina Ranch" on landtrust.com), pick a package under Available Packages, choose your dates and book.
Create a free LandTrust account and get alerts when new properties and hunts list: https://landtrust.com/?utm_source=podbean&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep45_clark_jackson
LandTrust+ (early access to new properties, sweepstakes entries, booking liability coverage): https://landtrust.com/plus?utm_source=podbean&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep45_clark_jackson
Have a Five-Star Story? Email podcasts@landtrust.com
Chapters
00:00 Cold Open: Shooters on Day One
00:17 Welcome to The LandTrust Podcast
00:55 Meet Clark Jackson: From Hollywood to Hunting
01:14 A Health Wake-Up Call and a First Elk Dinner
04:06 First Hunt: Blacktail Deer and the Unicorn Buck
05:27 Why California's A Zone Is So Hard
07:27 Finding Avina Ranch on LandTrust
10:57 Day One at Avina Ranch: Beating 50 Days of Public Land
14:15 Learning the Wind the Hard Way
16:20 DIY Private Land: Opportunity, Not Outcome
18:20 Why Stalking Beats Range Time
20:41 Hunting, Fitness and Losing 115 Pounds
25:55 Public Land Isn't Free: The Real Cost of Hunting
28:26 Making a Short LandTrust Trip Count
32:33 Talking With Landowners Before You Hunt
34:52 Guides, Outfitters and Rec Tech
36:58 Trailhead Crowds and Opening-Day Traffic Jams
38:55 Leases vs. DIY Private Land
43:22 Why LandTrust Landowners Aren't in the Hunting Business
48:42 How Hunting Rippled Through Clark's Family
54:26 Catching the Turkey Bug
58:43 Being a Hunter in Hollywood
1:01:13 Why Clark Eats Less Meat as a Hunter
1:04:33 LandTrust for Anglers, Overlanders and Birders
1:05:27 Wrap-Up and What's Next for Clark
1:06:51 Outro: Avina Ranch, Free Account and LandTrust+
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Site: landtrust.com
