The Sportsmen ’ s Alliance has thousands of hunter-conservation members nationwide , individuals like yourself , that we highlight in the Member Spotlight . But we ’ re also supported by the industry , from small businesses and conservation organizations to the largest conglomerates and even other advocacy groups . The Sportsmen ’ s Alliance is truly an alliance encompassing the full spectrum of our community . The Supporter Spotlight will profile these companies , organizations and other Huntervationist supporters . Let ’ s start with a little background about yourself and hunting .
I grew up mostly in Arizona , but I ’ ve spent a lot of time in Colorado . I started hunting when I was young . My first hunt was with my grandfather , a quail hunt in Oklahoma . It was awesome and
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I was hooked . I loved everything about it . Loved the dogs , loved just being out there . I ’ ve always been a passionate hunter — duck hunting , upland birds , big game , Africa . I did it all before I ever became the CEO of Leupold . It was definitely a good fit for me . It ’ s such a passion of mine .
Do you have a favorite type of hunting or species to hunt ?
Honestly , I just love to hunt so much , it ’ s kind of ‘ what ’ s happening right now .’ I ’ ve got a mule deer hunt coming up in Utah , and right now , that is my favorite hunt . But if it was a pheasant hunt in South Dakota , if it was my next one , that would be my favorite . I ’ ve hunted mainly mule deer in the West . I ’ m in the Pacific Northwest now , which is blacktail deer , which I love , too . But when I ’ m
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in the Midwest , and I ’ m hunting with whitetail hunters that know what to do , and they really manage their property , it ’ s a different hunt , but I like it just as much .
Tell us about how and when you came to Leupold .
I ’ ve been here about 10 years . I ’ ve been in the sporting goods business my whole career . Before this I was running a company out of Denver , Colorado . I sold the company , and then saw that Leupold was looking for a CEO .
Before I started here , I already had a lot of gold in my safe , meaning a lot of gold-ringed Leupold scopes . I ’ ve always loved the brand , and I knew it was in Oregon , which is a pretty attractive place if you ’ re an outdoorsman , and so I went through the process and got the position .
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COURTESY OF BRUCE PETTET ( 3 ) |