Ep. 25: Father Stephen Gadberry - Not Your Normal Priest
In Pursuit
MeatEater
4.9 • 6.8K Ratings
🗓️ 29 January 2026
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of In Pursuit with Rich Froning, Rich sits down with Father Steven Gadberry (the same Father Steven you’ve seen on the Shawn Ryan Podcast) for a mix of backcountry stories, real faith, and a lot of laughs.
They relive the “Gunnison days”—two guys who had no business being that deep in the mountains, a bull elk at 54.5 yards, and the kind of near-miss you never forget. Then it gets even crazier: a snowstorm that turned into a full-on survival scramble, getting turned around on the ridge, and the legendary GoPro freakout that still makes camp laugh.
From there, Father Steven shares why solo time in the mountains can be miserable at first—but powerful once the noise finally dies—plus the simple practices he leans on out there: Scripture, journaling, and silence. They also hit whitetails, kids getting into hunting, and why the “trophy” talk is mostly noise—any hard-earned animal is worth celebrating.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an IHeart podcast. |
| 0:02.6 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:04.1 | That was wild, man. Dude, we had no business being in those mountains and hunting. And we almost killed on that first hunt. Remember that? Yeah, yeah. He messed up. I wasn't going to say that. Hey, hey, hey, I don't know if I messed up. He didn't mess up. It was a 54-a-half yards. You passed. It's 54.5 yards. |
| 0:22.2 | Bull bedded behind a stop. |
| 0:24.2 | I didn't know if I messed up. He didn't mess up. It was a 54-5 yards. |
| 0:21.6 | He was... |
| 0:22.6 | Bull-bedded behind a stump. |
| 0:23.6 | I didn't see stump, but he was bedded. |
| 0:26.6 | Maybe I was a young man with visions having... |
| 0:28.6 | All I know is... |
| 0:30.6 | Out here, the stakes are real. |
| 0:35.6 | Effective preparation starts with fitness, but it requires so much more. |
| 0:41.3 | This show explores the tools, knowledge, resilience, and skills needed to be ready when it matters the most. |
| 0:48.4 | Join me, Rich Groening, as we apply the decades of wisdom I have gained through training and competition to hunting in the backcountry. |
| 0:57.1 | This is In Pursuit. |
| 1:00.0 | Brought to you by Mountain Ops. |
| 1:04.1 | In collaboration with Mayhem Hunt. |
| 1:07.1 | All right. Father Stephen Gadbury here. |
| 1:10.0 | You might know him from Sean Ryan podcast. |
| 1:12.5 | You're a big deal now. |
| 1:13.8 | I feel like we're like low man on your podcast. |
| 1:17.0 | You knew him when he was just... |
... |
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