Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 124 is my conversation with Hunter Jackson, a young man from Tennessee and a friend of my son Hayden who turned a dream of working in the outdoors into a real career. Hunter drove 36 hours alone to a month-long hunting guide school in Philipsburg, Montana, learned everything from horseshoeing to blood trailing, and landed a job as a hunting guide. We talk about the school, the grit it took, and the path into the outdoor industry.
Listen now: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube · Press play in the player above to watch.
Hunter Jackson is a young man from Tennessee, a friend of Tom's son Hayden, who set out to build a career in the outdoors. After first talking with Tom about how to break in, he researched guide schools, drove 36 hours alone to a month-long hunting guide school in Philipsburg, Montana, and then earned a job as a hunting guide for an outfitter.
Hunter's month-long school covered everything from the ground up: caring for horses, horseshoeing, packing pack saddles and mules, blood trailing, map and GPS navigation, building a pack, first aid and CPR certification, and scoring game like elk, mule deer, bear, and bighorn sheep. The first stretch focused entirely on horses, with a midterm before moving into the hunting-specific skills.
Hunter attended a month-long hunting guide school in Philipsburg, Montana, run by an owner named Cody. Students lived in wall tents, were assigned their own horse, and took daily tests, with a midterm exam roughly halfway through. Scoring above a 3.6 meant the school would help place you in a job.
Hunter says horseshoeing week was by far the hardest part. It ran a full week, left his hands bleeding, and tested everyone. He came in with no horse experience at all, yet found working with horses came naturally to him otherwise, with shoeing being the lone exception.
Because Hunter scored well, the school helped him find work, and he ended up guiding for an outfitter that season. He notes the outfitter used pack horses rather than mules, and that the navigation, packing, first aid, and animal-care skills he learned translated directly to the job.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 124 with Hunter Jackson is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. The video version is embedded at the top of this page.
My son Hayden sent me a message telling me I needed to check out what Hunter was doing, and I remembered him from a few years back when his dad brought him to my garage to ask how a young guy gets into the outdoors. You could see the passion then, but he had no idea how to do it yet. He went and figured it out. He found a guide school, drove 36 hours by himself, and refused to come home without becoming a guide. That kind of resolve is exactly what I love to put in front of young listeners trying to build a career outside.
Press play in the YouTube player above to hear it.
Hunter told himself he was not coming back without accomplishing something, because the drive home would be nothing compared to listening to people say they told him he could not make it. He drove to Montana alone at 19, got dropped off, and committed. Hear the mindset that got him there in the episode.
Hunter walks through a month that started entirely on horses, from basic care to shoeing to packing mules, then moved after a midterm into the hunting skills. He had never been on a horse before. He describes wall tents, assigned horses, daily tests, and the brutal week of horseshoeing. Listen to that breakdown.
One exercise dropped Hunter and a partner in the middle of nowhere with coordinates four miles away and no promise they would not spend the night. Another had them follow a mile-long spray of tiny blood droplets to a ribbon. He came in with almost no map, compass, or GPS experience. Worth hearing how he handled it.
Scoring well meant the school helped place Hunter, and he ended up guiding for an outfitter that season. We compare it to my own fishing guide school and the through-line of taking care of the animal first, whether that is a horse or a drift boat. Press play in the player above for the full story.
Listen to the full conversation: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · or watch in the YouTube player above.
What I love about Hunter's story is that it is not complicated. He wanted it, he found the path, and he refused to quit. He turned a conversation in my garage into a real job in the mountains.
If you are young and trying to figure out how to make a living outdoors, Hunter's route is a blueprint. Listen to the whole thing.
Press play in the player above, or grab Episode 124 on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Hunter Jackson · Philipsburg, Montana · Cody (guide school owner) · Hayden Roland · Tom Rowland (host)
The Tom Rowland Podcast brings you long-form conversations with the most accomplished anglers, hunters, conservationists, and outdoor professionals in the game. Listen to every full-length Tom Rowland Podcast interview.
Hunter Jackson is a Tennessee-raised outdoorsman who turned a dream of working in the outdoors into a career as a hunting guide. After researching his options, he drove 36 hours alone to a month-long hunting guide school in Philipsburg, Montana, where he learned horsemanship, horseshoeing, packing, blood trailing, navigation, first aid, and game scoring. He scored well enough to earn job placement and went on to guide for an outfitter, exemplifying a determined path into the outdoor industry.
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