For those who have visited Hog Wild, Matt Wetzel is a familiar face. As our lead guide, he’s responsible for coordinating every hunt and making sure that our visitors have a fun and safe experience.
He shares his in-depth knowledge to help our guests become better hunters on and off the reserve.
Hunting from the start
Matt was born and raised in Wisconsin. He began hunting when he was eight years old and went on frequent hunting trips with his family - bringing down his first deer on a trip to the wilds of Montana.
Those early trips sparked a lifelong love of the sport and he’s chased new and exciting opportunities to hunt ever since.
Towards the end of high school Matt visited a friend whose family owned a hunting outfitter in northern Idaho. This trip kickstarted his career as a guide and he returned at every breaking in his high school and college schedule to build his skills an eventually began leading hunts.
Big game expert
While working at Russell Pond Outfitters in Idaho, Matt became an expert at hunting big game including elk and mountain lion. Deep snowfall, high elevations, and rough terrain helped him quickly develop and impressive set of stalking and tracking skills.
He met hunters from all over the world and was invited to lead exotic hunts for many of those visitors. In fact, that’s how we met Matt - while hunting with him in Idaho.
When it was time to start our reserve, we knew who to call.
Instant camaraderie
Matt’s said that the favorite part of his job is meeting new people.
Fans of hunting have an instant connection. Even if they’re complete strangers, people who visit the reserve can find that in common. There’s no searching or straining for small talk.
If you haven’t met Matt yet, booking a hunt with us may be worth it just for his stories alone.
We’re happy to have him as our guide and if you come out to the reserve, we think you’ll be happy with him too.
