Opening the NRA Country Concert for Granger Smith and Locash at the Great American Outdoor Show was Nate Hosie, host of Headhunters TV. He pumped attendees up with songs including “The America I Know,” “Enough” and “Country Tonight.” Sitting down with NRA Family, the TV host and rising country singer spoke about his love for hunting and the outdoors.
NRA Family: So you opened for NRA Country tonight, but you're also a TV entertainer. Can you tell us more about that?
Nate Hosie: Yeah, we have a TV show called Headhunters TV on the Outdoor Channel. We’re currently filming our eighth season. We’re all about hunting, the outdoors and the Second Amendment. Shooting sports has been my life since I was five years old. That was the first time I was taken out in the woods and it’s something that means everything to me. I think there’s so much peace. If you’re a guy or girl that loves the woods, there’s nothing better in my opinion. It’s awesome.
NRA Family: Who taught you how to shoot?
Nate Hosie: My dad and my grandpa took me out, and they’d take me to hunt pheasants. We have bird dogs and all that stuff. I’d have to give the early stages of my shooting to my grandpa more so than my dad. My dad was there, but grandpa was known as the “Grouse King” in his town. He was a great shot, so he was always giving me pointers. I wish he were here today to get out there and share the woods with him one more time.
NRA Family: What is your favorite firearm?
Nate Hosie: I have a couple different Berettas that I absolutely love. When it comes to a shotgun, their A300 is awesome for turkeys. For a rifle, I’d say my favorite rifle is the Sako 85 Finnlight in a .270 Short Mag. My ultimate favorite guns would be any that were my grandpa’s. Those are the ones that I look at now and I say, “Wow, those mean everything to me,” because I know that he held them, he put them to his shoulder.
NRA Family: What’s been your favorite hunt so far?
Nate Hosie: I think I would have a hard time saying that I had just an all-time favorite hunt. Whenever I go out to hunt, even the ones where you don’t punch a tag, I try to look at something about it that makes it memorable and a success. The way I look at it is, anytime you get out and enjoy God’s creation, it’s a successful hunt. A special one this past year happened after my wife, Tiffany, and I had a little boy in September. Two weeks after he was born, I had to go on a hunt since we still had to do our job and get a show filmed. I killed the bull of a lifetime for me, a huge 7x7 elk in New Mexico. That one meant a lot. It was the first thing I was able to wrap a tag around after my son was here, and I was pretty proud.
NRA Family: Does the majority of your family hunt and shoot, and have you taught anyone to shoot? Do you plan on teaching your own son someday?
Nate Hosie: With Headhunters TV, the goal from day one has never been to have a television show so that people believe you’re a good hunter. The idea was to have a show so that they can see that you love it, promote the sport in a positive manner, and use the platform to get kids involved with hunting; get people who have never hunted involved and those who do hunt, make sure they know you respect it and love it. As far as my family, a lot of people hunt, and there are some who don’t. It’s a heritage for me. My wife comes out every opening day, and I can’t wait to get home and hunt with her. There are no cameras, so we can just go out and remember why we love it. We take her father and it’s a family thing. When she first got pregnant, she said, “Do you want a boy so you can take him hunting?” I honestly just prayed for a healthy baby whether it was a boy or a girl and I’d be thankful, but now, having that little boy, it’s like, well, I’d be lying if I wasn’t pretty excited to hopefully teach him the ropes in hunting someday if it’s something he wants to do, because I’d be proud and honored to show him.
NRA Family: As far as shooting sports goes, aside from hunting, have you ever done any competitive shooting?
Nate Hosie: When it comes to shooting sports, I’m better off just being a trash talker at the clay bird course. I’m probably not going to be out there winning anything, but I’m going to act like I did when I’m at the course with my buddies. We do a lot of clay bird shooting, and obviously it’s fun to go out and shoot .22s and target shoot. I believe in what I do for a living, whether it’s with my bow or my gun. I practice year-round because the animal deserves that respect of me being the best shot I can be to make a clean, ethical kill when you decide that you’re going to take something. I shoot year-round. So, I’m not a competitive shooter, but I shoot consistently. And like I said, I’m just a trash talker on the course.
Interested in seeing Nate in action? Click here for show times and availability!
