how little dak started
1st things first guys, if you take the time to read this. I love you so much. but anyways this is a story all about how little dak got started in this hunting thing and filming things.
I come from a small town where either you're 3 things: a farmer, a hunter, or a dumbass. Most fit in the last category or a mix of the 3. I like to consider myself option #2, a hunter. And to kind of speed up this process of how I got started and stuff I will just answer a few questions for ya.
What is my earliest hunting memory?
Well guys, honestly, one of the biggest memories I have about my early days of hunting was my dad and his buddy hunting and taking me with them to listen for turkeys. Thankfully, I didn't partake in the "5 AM let's drink whiskey" idea, and enjoyed the presence of nature itself. These early memories of watching the world wake up was definitely one that started it for me. Nowadays, my favorite thing ever is to see the sun come up, nature come to life, and the first deer stepping out or the first gobbles being heard. It is truly a feeling I will never get tired of and a feeling I will forever chase.
Who introduced you to hunting?
My dad, like I said, he would hunt and do outdoor things with his friend, so i was around it a lot. He didn't take me a lot, but at least he introduced me to it. So for that, I am thankful.
What happened on your first deer hunt?
My first deer hunt and first deer is actually wild. I was sicker than HELLLL and was throwing up the morning I shot my first deer but refused to back out of the hunt because I really wanted to shoot one. Shortly that second morning, a big ol 9 pointer came strolling out of a dewy fog filled pasture, and I smoke showed him at 86 yards. I remember the hunt and the feeling so well still. From that day, I was destined to shoot some big ol bone dogs. (ill find the pic of me one day)
Were you immediately obsessed with it, or did that develop over time?
This is like a yes and no. Through highs cool I was crazy obsessed and tried to hunt as much as possible and be outdoor as much as I could once I had my license. My best friend and I were always doing stuff to be in nature and do the hunting thing. Once I hit college, same thing. I went from "I want to hunt as much as possible" to "I want to shoot giants and prove myself". I shot my biggest deer in a great stretch, won some competitions and cool stuff and found my rhythm. Then I had Maclin, and I honestly slowed down tremendously and lost my love for it a bit. I started creating a lot of content with Mac and then realized how much I missed hunting and doing that stuff in 2023. I had a great hunt then and almost shot Peeping Tom in 2023. I went hunting a few more times that year and started to slowly film again, and luckily I did. I posted a few videos early 2024 and had a few do extremely well. That following fall 2024 was when I started back heavy and fell back in love with everything again and what I would consider to be the true start of DAK Hunts.
Why did you start filming?
I don't think I have a great answer for this one. To be honest, I don't know. I was always captivated by people creating things and videos. I have always wanted to create and so naturally it progressed to me creating banger hunting videos now. I started with a cheap camera, no idea what I was doing, and just filmed things. I filmed for years before ever doing my first "hunting video", and then creating became my life. Never stopped and never will.
What does DAK Hunts stand for today?
Guys I am not going to act like DAK Hunts is the greatest thing in the world okay. I know there are leaps and bounds of things I can do to improve. So, with that being said, DAK Hunts full mission is to bring some creativity, fun, and personality to the hunting industry. I will never ever want to be the mainstream hunting industry because that limits growth (and honestly super boring to watch). I believe that creating unique, more "mainstream Youtube" content would benefit the hunting industry greatly, and so that is what I plan to do. Yee haw boys.
