Season 2, Episode 4: J. Alain Smith
This week, Steve and Jodi get the star of Rugged Expeditions, J. Alain Smith, on the phone to learn more about his vast experiences hunting all around the globe. Alain’s rocking guitar music brings us in to the episode and he tells us how he and his brother Monty, a professional musician, started playing – Alain even played with Ted Nugent during a recent hunt. He tells us about how he grew up learning to hunt waterfowl in the Pacific Northwest and then moved to Alaska where he shot his first big game animal, a Sitka black-tailed deer. We talk about the importance of hunters and groups like MDF being responsible for conservation and how the sustainable use of wildlife supports the funding and management of wildlife around the globe. Alain then tells about some of his adventures including his favorite species to hunt and some of the challenging hunts he has been on. He and Steve talk about the importance of good gear and how his website provides a packing list and tips to help hunters prepare for a new hunting experience. Finally, we talk about his books, including a number of non-fiction hunting stories and a series of fiction novels that center around hunting in Africa. J. Alain Smith will be at the 2019 Western Hunting & Conservation Expo presenting a seminar on hunting all 29 species of North American big game on Saturday February 16 at 10 a.m.