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The Pack String Life: Passion, Pain & the Pursuit of Sheep Country with Tysen Bjorn
In this episode, we sit down with one of the most recognizable new faces in BC’s mountain hunting community — Tysen Bjorn, owner of Custom Pack Rigging, sheep hunter, devoted dad, and a guy who doesn’t do anything halfway.
Tysen shares the unlikely, honest, and downright gritty story of how he went from a Lower Mainland kid with no horses in his life… to a full-blown horseback mountain hunter with a 15-horse string and ownership of one of the most iconic pack gear companies in Western Canada.
We walk through his early years chasing alpine mule deer, his first transformative trip up the Cassiar, and the life-changing events of 2020 — a season that brought him his first ram and a head-on collision on the drive home that made him rethink everything. The result? A “now or never” moment that launched him into horses, mountain hunting, and ultimately the reins of Custom Pack Rigging.
Tysen talks candidly about the steep learning curve, the suffering, the magic, and the raw honesty of building yourself from the ground up in the horse world. From raising unstarted yearlings, to mentoring from old cowboy hands, to taking his young son Jeremy along for the ride, this is a conversation about legacy — both personal and generational.
We dive deep into:
- The pull toward horses and why it’s all or nothing
- The therapeutic and grounding nature of working with animals
- How Custom Pack Rigging came into his hands — and what he’s building for the future
- The importance of preserving old-school horsemanship and mountain hunting traditions
- Bringing youth and women into the pack-horse world
- Community, mentorship, and the responsibility every sheep hunter carries
- The upcoming Horse Packing Competition at the Northern Fundraiser — and why you should throw your name in the ring
This episode is a mix of humour, humility, real talk, hard-won lessons, and a whole lot of passion for the lifestyle that defines the wild sheep community.
If you’re a backpack hunter curious about horses, a young person dreaming of the mountains, or someone who appreciates the “legacy” of our hunting culture — this conversation will hit home.
Presented by: @sitkagear
Supported by:
@yeti
@zeisshunting
@frontiersmengear
@onxhunt
@stoneglacier
@wild_tv
@schnee_hunt
@precision.optics
@gunwerks
Published on 2 weeks, 2 days ago