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The first hunting trip of the season for “The Crush TV” hosts Lee and Tiffany Lakosky was also a sentimental one. They accepted an invitation from David Blanton to return to Seven J Outfitters in Sundance, Wyo., where, six years ago, the newly married couple spent their honeymoon pursuing whitetails.

When Lee and Tiffany arrived at Seven J on September 1, 2009 for their anniversary hunt, pleasantly cool weather greeted them. The guides said the deer were abundant and active. But by the next day, the air had warmed to a balmy 80 degrees and according to Tiffany, the deer just disappeared.

“The deer movement slowed way down, and we knew that we’d have a hard time locating a nice buck unless the weather cooled off quite a bit,” she said.

With six days to hunt, the couple hoped the temperatures would eventually decrease, but as the days passed, little changed.

Despite the warm conditions, Lee had a few close encounters with whitetails, but he passed on all of them, even a young 140-incher with a double main beam that the owner, Jeff Smith, had taken off the “hit list.” David spent the week chasing mule deer with no luck.

The hunt was getting down to the wire for Tiffany as well. On the afternoon of day six, Tiffany joined her guide, Casey, who took her and her cameraman, Nate, to a large alfalfa field. Despite the warm temperatures, several deer wandered out into the field, but they slowly ambled away from her to the other side of the field.

Tiffany and Nate sat overlooking the field, watching the deer in the distance for approximately four hours. With only 30 minutes remaining before dark, Tiffany began to lose hope of tagging a buck, when all of the sudden, something in the air began to change. A front blew in, bringing with it cold air and possibilities. The temperature that they’d been waiting for all week suddenly arrived, but a horrible storm reared its ugly head as well. The wind kicked up, tossing sticks and other debris in all directions. Rain began to pour. Thunder boomed around them and lightning lit up the sky.

“The weather turned bad quickly,” Tiffany said. “Branches and other debris were hitting me, so I huddled against the tree for some protection. I thought that most likely the hunt was over.”

Nate huddled up against the tree as well while facing in the direction opposite of Tiffany’s.

“Through the wind I could hear Nate say, ‘Buck, buck! Grab your bow.’ I turned on my small video camera and did what he said without even looking,” she recalled. “When I turned around, I saw a nice buck standing only 20 yards in front of me. I had little time to think. I simply drew my bow and shot, hitting him right in the side. The deer ran out into the field 100 yards and died in plain sight.”

Just five minutes after she made the shot, Casey drove up in his truck with the intent of getting Nate and Tiffany out of the storm. He had no idea that Tiffany had just killed a nice 130-inch10-pointer.

“I was the only one who closed the deal on that hunt,” Tiffany said. “Everyone else went home empty-handed, but we still all had a great time and we enjoyed celebrating our anniversary with Jeff, his wife, Deb, and David.”

The Lakoskys did a lot of reminiscing that week while pondering how they became so successful in just six years. “Life was very different for us back when we first got married,” Tiffany said. “Lee was a chemical engineer and I was a flight attendant with Northwest Airlines. We both loved to hunt. In fact, we were so serious about it that we moved to Iowa to establish a farm and build our lives around hunting. We never set out to do exactly what we’re doing now, but we were lucky enough to be blessed with several opportunities that we just couldn’t pass up.” In 2003 Scent-Lok Technologies approached the Lakoskys to host a reality hunting show, “Gettin’ Close.” The couple accepted the offer, and thanks to their energetic personalities and good looks, their show soared in popularity. They quickly became a household name in the outdoor industry.

The Crush

Now fans can watch the couple on their new reality show, “The Crush,” which airs on the Outdoor Channel Mondays at 1 a.m., Fridays at 3 p.m. and Sundays at 7:30 p.m. And, they may even get a glimpse of the couple’s new Crush Bus when traveling America’s highways, interstates, back roads and byways.

Originally belonging to the lead singer of Rascal Flatts’ Gary LeVox, the bus has now been custom-fitted for the Lakoskys. Covered with images of the couple and their sponsors and decked out inside with reclaimed wood and all the creature comforts, the bus will carry the couple across the country from one hunting destination to the next in style.

“No doubt, this season is far busier than the seasons of the past for us,” Tiffany said. “We are growing in popularity, which means we have a lot more to do. That’s why we have the awesome tour bus. I also have a new XT Bad Boy Buggy that’s decked out in Realtree AP Pink just for me. I love it, and I especially like the fact that it has all new independent suspension.”

Tiffany and Lee are certainly living the hunter’s dream life traveling around the country in their own top-of-the-line tour bus and hunting in the most fabulous locations with the best gear available, but as only they can attest, getting to where they are today took a lot of hard work and patience.

“The neatest thing about all of this is the people who come up to us at various trade shows and events and tell us that they’ve picked up hunting because of our TV show,” Tiffany said. “I especially love when women, both young and old, tell me that I’ve inspired them to give hunting a try.”

ATV Safety

All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) can open up a wealth of opportunities and generally make life easier for a hunter in an area where their use is permitted. Side-by-sides (SxSs or UTVs) such as the Yamaha Rhino and the electric Bad Boy Buggy are growing in popularity among sportsmen every year. Useful as these machines are, however, tragedies associated with their use occur too frequently. Most of these can be avoided with good training and common sense. These recreational vehicles are designed for off-road use. Operation on public highways or roads, paved asphalt and other byways isn’t part of the intended formula. ATVs and SxSs are designed for use away from other vehicles, and most definitely not in traffic. Stunts aren’t part of a safe driver’s deal, either. All passengers—driver and otherwise—should stay inside the vehicle during operation. All riders should be able to put both feet on the floorboard, backs against the seat back, arms able to reach the hand holds. Those passengers should also be dressed for safety. This apparel includes long shirt sleeves and pants, worn to protect riders against flying rocks and other off-road debris. Over-the-ankle boots, gloves and eye protection are all part of the picture. That seatbelt you just moved aside? It’s not there for that reason. Buckle up, man. Most of all, wear that helmet. Are you old enough, moreover licensed, to drive a car? If not, then you likely have no business sitting in that ATV driver’s seat. According to www.atvsafety.gov/, “Children are involved in about one-third of all ATV-related deaths and hospital emergency-room injuries. Most of these deaths and injuries occur when a child is driving or riding on an adult ATV. Children under 16 on adult ATVs are twice as likely to be injured as those riding youth ATVs.” From Steve Hickoff

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