The Hunter Spotlight Series | Dontae Thorne
- Cliff Cadet
- 6 days ago
- 8 min read
This weeks Hunter Spotlight Series takes us to none other than Virginia the home of Equalized Outdoors
Name: Dontae M. Thorne
Hometown: Ettrick, Virginia
Currently Residing: Richmond, Virginia
How long have you been hunting?
"I didn’t grow up with the same kind of hunting background that a lot of people in the outdoor industry did. My journey into hunting came later, which is actually one of the reasons I’m so passionate about bringing other people into the outdoors now.
"I really started getting serious about hunting around 2018, when I picked up my Remington 870—a shotgun I still hunt with to this day. I was 27 and finally had enough extra money to purchase one. I kept overhearing coworkers talk about hunting with dogs and, every now and
then, archery. It caught my attention and made me want to learn more. I had owned other firearms, but that Remington 870 became special to me. It’s the shotgun I
learned to hunt with, made mistakes with, grew with, and one I plan to pass down one day. Part of the reason I chose it was because I had already been trained on the law-enforcement version of the 870 back in 2015, so the platform was familiar to me.
"In 2019, I bought my first bow—a black Hoyt PowerMax RTH package from Green Top Sporting Goods. That bow really started my archery journey. I missed a lot of deer in those early years and lost a whole lot of arrows, but that’s part of the process. Those experiences actually inspired some of my early Inhale Exhale Outdoors merchandise ideas, including the Carbon Tax shirts. The name represents all those broken arrows, missed opportunities, and expensive lessons you pay for while learning archery.
"Since then, I’ve harvested deer with a bow, shotgun, and bolt-action rifle, hunted waterfowl, and taken a coyote with a rifle. Over time, though, archery and bowhunting became the part of hunting I connected with the most. That journey eventually grew into Inhale Exhale Outdoors and also pushed me toward becoming a Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources Hunter Education Instructor. I want people—especially people who may not have grown up around hunting—to understand that there’s a place for them in the outdoors."
We peeped your Instagram and saw that you bowhunt AND rifle hunt. Which is your preferred method of hunting and why?
"Definitely bowhunting.
"I enjoy firearms and have a pretty extensive background with them. Professionally, I’ve served in federal and state law enforcement, including specialized tactical units, and developed a high level of firearms proficiency over the years. I’m very comfortable behind a shotgun or rifle. Honestly, I was into firearms long before I ever got serious about archery.
"But that’s actually part of what makes bowhunting different for me. With a firearm, especially with training and experience, there are situations where you can create significantly more distance between yourself and the animal.
"Bowhunting forces me to get close. Everything has to come together—the wind, entry route, stand placement, scent control, movement, timing, shot angle, and your ability to stay composed. There’s something completely different about having a deer inside bow range and knowing one small movement can end the entire encounter.
"Archery also gives me something I can work on year-round. There’s always something to improve: shot execution, bow tuning, arrow flight, broadhead setup, judging distance, shooting from different positions, or simply learning how your equipment performs. That’s part of why I started my One Arrow a Day challenge. Since June 22, 2026, I’ve committed to shooting at least one arrow every single day leading into deer season. Some days it may literally be one arrow. Other days, that one arrow turns into an entire practice session.
"The purpose is consistency. When the first real opportunity of hunting season presents itself, I want that shot to feel familiar because I’ve been doing the work every day.
Bowhunting slows everything down for me. It requires patience, discipline, preparation, and being completely present in the moment. That’s a huge part of what Inhale Exhale Outdoors represents."
What does your bow setup look like?
"My primary setup is a 2024 Xpedition XLite 32. I’m currently running it at 80 pounds with a 29-inch draw length.
"My release is a Carter Nock 2 It, paired with a Hamskea Epsilon V2 rest and Hamskea Raptor peep.
"For stabilization, I’m running Bee Stinger bars, including a 15-inch front MicroHex bar and a 10-inch rear/V-bar setup, along with a recurve-style nose button that gives me another consistent reference point at full draw.
"My sight setup is a Spot Hogg Boonie base paired with a UV 3XL scope and three-vertical-pin cartridge.
"I recently switched arrow systems and am now building out ALTRA Arrows Phantom .166 shafts, which I’m still tuning and finalizing for hunting season.
"For broadheads this season, I’m running a mixed quiver of 125-grain, right-bevel single-bevel heads, including:
● Tooth of the Arrow Single Bevel — use code TAE10 for 10% off
● Toulou Broadheads Single Bevel
● KuduPoint Contour heads with bleeders
"My vane setup is a three-fletch configuration using DCA vanes with a 2-degree right
helical.
"I take a very hands-on approach to tuning and arrow flight. I don’t just build setups. I test them, break them down, make adjustments, and rebuild them until I understand exactly how they perform in real-world hunting conditions.
"That process is honestly part of the fun for me."
Also from your Instagram feed, we saw that you put down a beautiful buck last year. Can you share that story with us?
"If we’re talking about the buck I named Cochise, that deer will always be special to me because he was my first buck, and I named him after my uncle. I’ve been fortunate enough to harvest two bucks over the last two seasons, and both meant something to me for different reasons.
"My first buck ever was an 11-pointer taken with my bow on October 19, 2024, after years of learning, missing deer, losing arrows, making mistakes, and growing as a hunter. That buck represented persistence and finally putting everything together in the archery woods. More importantly, it became part of the story behind #TravisSTRONG, an initiative honoring my uncle Travis.
"My second buck came the following season. That deer was taken with my Savage 110 in 6.5 Creedmoor. He was a solid six-pointer, harvested from a ladder stand at approximately 80–100 yards. It was a clean, ethical shot and another reminder of how important patience and shot discipline are regardless of what platform you’re using. What made both moments bigger than the antlers was everything that went into getting there. Hunting teaches you pretty quickly that success isn’t guaranteed. You can prepare, scout, practice, spend countless hours in the woods, make mistakes, learn
from them and still go home empty-handed. When those opportunities finally came together—two seasons in a row—it reinforced something
"I believe strongly: Consistency matters.
"Those hunts are deeply connected to the philosophy behind Inhale Exhale Outdoors.
Breathe. Slow everything down. Stay in the moment. Make the shot count.
Those deer weren’t simply harvests. They represented progression, patience, family, memories, and proof that putting in consistent work eventually creates opportunity."
We got a chance to meet at TAC (Total Archery Challenge), in Pennsylvania, a few months back. Do you find 3D archery events to be a good way to prepare for deer season?
"Absolutely.
"I’ve been attending the Total Archery Challenge at Seven Springs, Pennsylvania, every
year since 2021, and I think TAC is one of the best environments you can put yourself in as a bowhunter.
"My first TAC in 2021 was humbling. I lost 14 arrows on the Nock On course alone.
It was one of those experiences that either breaks you or builds you. I chose to keep coming back. Honestly, I still had a great time even though I left the mountain with about two good arrows. And I did keep coming back. Year after year, I kept learning, improving, and
getting better.
"By 2024, I even had the opportunity to be interviewed by John Dudley. During that interaction, he encouraged me to keep doing what I was doing and go for it. That encouragement played a part in me continuing to build what eventually became Inhale Exhale Outdoors. That moment meant a lot because it validated work I had quietly been putting in for years. At TAC, you’re shooting uphill, downhill, across valleys, through tight windows, at awkward angles, and at distances you probably wouldn’t normally shoot during hunting season. The important distinction is that I’m not saying somebody should shoot a deer at every distance...they shoot a foam target at TAC. That’s not the point. TAC expands your capabilities.
"If I can learn to maintain good form and execute a clean shot under difficult conditions at longer distances, then a responsible hunting shot inside my established effective range becomes much more comfortable. It also exposes weaknesses quickly.
Maybe your third axis isn’t right. Maybe you struggle judging distance. Maybe your shot process starts breaking down when you’re tired. Maybe your stabilizer setup feels completely different after hiking up and down a mountain all day. You learn a lot about yourself and your equipment. I also compete in the Virginia DWR Archery Open, participating in both the inaugural event in 2025 and returning again in 2026.
Between events like the DWR Archery Open and TAC, 3D archery has become an important part of how I prepare for hunting season.
"Over time, TAC has also become much more than a shoot for me. It’s become a family tradition and yearly vacation. My wife and my mother have attended for several years, and my oldest son experienced TAC for the first time in 2026. It’s something we plan our year around now. At this point, it’s bigger than archery. It’s time together."
Be honest…what’s it like being one of a handful of brothers at an event like TAC?
"You definitely notice it. At an event with thousands of people, there still aren’t always many people who look like me. But I don’t look at that as a reason not to be there.
I look at it as another reason to be there. Representation matters."
"Sometimes somebody needs to see another Black hunter, archer, father, or family enjoying the outdoors before they realize, “I can do that too.” At the same time, my experience at TAC has overwhelmingly been about the shared love of archery.
Once everybody gets on that mountain and starts losing arrows together, everybody has something in common pretty quickly. Trust me, I’ve paid my share of the carbon tax. I lost another six arrows at TAC in 2026.
"My family has also made TAC part of our tradition. My wife and mother have been attending for several years, and my oldest son got to experience it for the first time in 2026. That’s bigger to me than simply attending an archery event.
We’re creating a family outdoor tradition. I also want to continue being visible in outdoor spaces because there are people from communities like mine who simply haven’t had someone introduce them to hunting or archery.
"There shouldn’t be division in the outdoors, even though we live in times where it can
sometimes feel like everything is divided. Professionally, I see some of the worst moments people experience on a daily basis. To juxtapose that with an event like TAC—where your background, occupation, race, or where you came from really doesn’t matter because people are helping one another get through a course—is refreshing.
"We’re all out there chasing the same thing: becoming better archers, enjoying the outdoors, spending time with people we care about, and hopefully leaving with at least a few arrows. You can’t become passionate about something you’ve never had the opportunity to experience.
"Sometimes all somebody needs is an invitation."
That's the Hunter Spotlight Series for this week folks! Follow Dontae via social media on Instagram: @inhaleexhaleoutdoors, on TikTok: @inhaleexhaleoutdoors, and on YouTube: Inhale Exhale Outdoors | Dontae Thorne
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