Hello, and welcome to Primal Pioneer! We’re a husband and wife team, Mike and Jennifer Shreckengost. Mike is the hunter/conservationist of the partnership. He’s a big advocate for ethical public land hunting and provides resources for big game hunting on public lands. Jennifer is the recipe developer and photographer on the team.
Primal Pioneer is about reconnecting with our primal roots with respect for our lands, natural resources, and its natural inhabitants. We support humane conservation and preservation of wildlife.
Through supporting Mike’s efforts in securing wild game harvests, Jennifer learned how to elevate the harvest into new and exciting recipes. She saw a need for fresh recipe ideas when it came to wild game meats and wanted to help educate other hunters on how to easily cook with wild game meats and, in turn, elevate their harvests.
Our vision is for Primal Pioneer to be a field to table resource for all outdoor enthusiasts.
For Mike, growing up in NW Pennsylvania, the land was abundant to hunt for whitetail deer, bear, turkey, and other small game. After moving to the Midwest, his access to permissible private land was all but gone, and it was then that he learned the value of public land and public land hunting.
In the fall of 2014, Jennifer took Mike on his first trip to Colorado. The yellow Aspens mixed with the green pines and the bugles of the bull elks had me hooked! I knew I wanted to experience Colorado elk hunting, but had no idea how to get started and an expensive outfitter wasn’t an option nor was it something I wanted to pursue.
Following the likes of Corey Jacobson, Randy Newberg, and Steven Rinella, I caught the public land elk hunting fever. What first seemed like an impossible task, elk hunting on public land, quickly became a possibility. I realized that over-the-counter, DIY public land hunts were not only possible but also feasible from a financial standpoint.
If you’re an avid outdoorsman like Mike, who thought elk hunting required a privately guided hunt, we hope you find this site helpful in getting started with your own first elk hunt, and hopefully realize along the way the value of public lands and their inhabitants. Our hope is that we encourage each of you to reconnect to your primal roots, to go out and pioneer your way into new public land hunting territories, and to elevate your harvest with new and enticing wild game recipes!