Meet the Crew

Although I did not grow up hunting, the outdoors has always been a major part of everyday life. It started in the off-road and camping realm and quickly turned to target shooting, fishing, drag boat racing, backpacking and an early career in agriculture.

As an adult in college, I taught myself to hunt and spent as much time as I could with friends who hunted waiting to draw the elusive western big-game tag(permit) in whatever state I was living in for myself. I set my sights high. In the meantime, I learned how to reload cartridges for my rifles.

My husband introduced me to archery and for the most part, I’ve never looked back though I’m still waiting to draw some pretty elusive rifle hunts.

We reside in Northern Arizona. Here, I am an Hunter Education Instructor for the State Game and Fish Department. I also participate as a committee member for the National Wild Turkey Federation. For work, you can find me at the Operations Manager desk for Canyon Coolers.

I love everything about hunting from the pre-season scouting, to hunting itself, to cooking meals with the fruit of our labor. Experimenting with recipes and trying them out on my husband and unsuspecting friends is one of my favorite activities.

In my spare time you’ll find me hiking or scouting for the next tag to fill and also writing for ReelCamo Girl, Miss Pursuit, Great American Wildlife or anyone who will listen.

Follow along on instagram @jessica.l.manuell or @_westerninfluence.

When I was eight years old my Dad took me on a Coues white-tailed deer hunt in southern Arizona. I tagged along on every part from the pursuit to the field dressing and from then on I couldn’t wait until I would be old enough to hunt.

That trip began my passion and helped me grow into the hunter I am today. I am an avid bowhunter spending the majority of my time spot and stalk hunting in the Southwest, but have been lucky enough to hunt everywhere from Kodiak Island in Alaska to the open prairies of North Dakota.

I have spent my life pursuing game with my Dad and brother and learning to create delicious meals with my Mom.

Growing up hunting fueled my love for the outdoors and led me to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Fisheries and Wildlife from Unity College in Maine. Almost every day I put on waders and go to work on conservation and recovery projects of native fishes in eastern Arizona.

Not only is my hobby conservation, but my career is conservation as well.

I love the outdoors because of all that is has to offer. Every time I step outside I feel alive and reinvigorated. The outdoors gives me the opportunity to spend quality time with my family and has led me to meet an amazing man who loves hunting just as much as I do.

The outdoors is just a part of who I am and helps my love for cooking, fitness, backpacking and developing a passion for foraging.

I am excited for this new adventure and my goal is to share my knowledge and experiences. I would love to help mentor individuals who are interested in getting into the outdoors.

Come join the adventure with me on Instagram: @kristymanuell

I grew up in the mountains, pine trees, and snow of Northern Arizona. I am lucky enough to say I have been very involved in hunting since birth. My father is an avid outdoorsman and always had my brother and I in tow on his adventures. As a kiddo I always loved getting the last light, ‘animal down’ phone call to come help track and pack out. It really was a family affair and to this day remains one of my favorite activities.

I attended college at the University of Arizona earning my Bachelor of Science degree in Retailing and Consumer Sciences. During my time in Tucson, I grew to love and appreciate all the life in the lush desert. We did quite a bit of small game hunting, javelina hunting, and OTC deer; but school was definitely the priority.

After college, I moved back to the mountains, married my high school sweetheart, work as an Operational Excellence Leader for a Medical Device Company, and really dug my feet back into the outdoors. I enjoy hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, berry picking, gardening, canning, cooking, game processing, kayaking, backpacking and shed hunting. I have harvested a few archery javelina, a turkey, have unsuccessfully hunted OTD archery deer every year, I have helped on many elk hunts, mule deer hunts, and have been fortunate enough to shoot two Arizona Black Bears, one of which is a Boone & Crockett black bear. While it is hard to get drawn for hunts in Arizona, I go on any and every hunt I can to continue to shape my hunting skills.

I have also found it so extremely important to surround myself with the hunting community while continuing to grow as a hunter, as a conservationist, and work to preserve our hunting heritage. I have been involved in many voluntary programs including but not limited to the Women in the Outdoors, the National Wild Turkey Federation, the Arizona Antelope Foundation, Arizona Game and Fish, and youth Turkey hunts. I contribute to Reel Camo Girl, The Mountain Project, and my husband and I own an outdoor gear company called Talus Mountain Gear.

In my journey to submerse myself in the hunting community, it became increasingly challenging to find other women such as myself. There is a very large presence of Eastern style hunting (private land, tree stands, feed plots, close range shooting, relatively flat land, over the counter tags, etc.) among women, but not very many among the Western style hunting (public land, spot and stalk, no baiting, mountains, canyons, long range shooting, packing animals out, tag draw systems, etc.). This led to the creation of Western Influence, a place where we can talk all things Western hunting.

You can follow Melissa on Facebook: Melissa Talboom and on Instagram: @melissa.talboom

I grew up with the influence of the outdoors in Oregon and Nevada with more family in Washington and Idaho. My family is involved with outdoors through ranching, hunting, fishing, and working for land management agencies.

All these experiences gave me the opportunity to see the outdoors through several different viewpoints.

What came to the forefront of my experience with my family and the outdoors, is that each time we spent time outdoors as a family, the stronger our relationships became with each other and our appreciation for the outdoor opportunities deepened.

We did everything from opening day archery with my Dad to a quick trip to visit family for picking huckleberries on a really good year.

However, while my appreciation and love of the outdoors has stayed true from the beginning, getting involved in the outdoor activities took prompting and encouragement from friends and families and them consistently offering opportunities to participate. This resulted in increasing my own interest and desire to participate in hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation.

I currently live in Wyoming and look forward to exploring more of the state and enjoying its outdoors recreation opportunities, as well as the teaching my daughter about the outdoors and seeing her love and appreciation grow with her.