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The Team

Andrew Walter

President 
Andrew Walter CEO of Wild Edge Inc.
Andrew Walter is driven each day by his passion for the outdoors and his growing family.  As a kid, he could be found in the woods no matter the season or hogging the remote in the TV room rewinding VHS tapes of Drury Outdoors.  Headlines like, “Over 90 Minutes… 12 On-Camera Kills… Whitetail Madness” rippled through the house.
 
Guided by his father and his uncles, Walter grew into an incredible outdoorsman with a supernatural sense for finding big bucks in the swamps of Connecticut.  At age 15, he put down the buck of a lifetime, earned a place in the Northeast Big Buck Club, and never looked back.  Each subsequent year became a challenge to outdo himself.
 
Walter went on to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology from the University of Southern Maine.  He also served in the United States Army National Guard as a 31B, Military Police Officer.  While on reserve status, Walter aided numerous suburban deer management programs, spending countless hours studying deer movements and behaviors.  He has been part of many island conservation programs, established by the federal government, to eradicate non-native ungulate populations and reinforce the native species’ ecosystems.
 
Walter’s passion for hunting carried him headfirst into the conception of Wild Edge Inc.  When approached by Jim Stepp, inventor of the Steppladder, Walter committed to bringing the Stepps back to market along with the products to give every outdoorsman the tools he needs to become a run and gun, mobile hunter.
 
When asked about his mobile hunting technique, Walter has coined the phrase, “slow is smooth, smooth is fast.  I can cover a ton of ground, but you’ll never find me running through the woods trying to get from point A to point B.  I am constantly moving like a predator, with purpose.”
 
Walter looks forward to sharing his passion with son, Bryson and baby number two on the way!

Duck hunting with Andrew Walter Wild Edge Inc
Deer Hunting in New England With Andrew Walter
Andrew Walter Wild Edge Inc, Duck Hunting Connecticut

Lydia Walter

Chief Marketing Officer
Lydia Walter Wild Edge Team Member
Lydia Walter grew up in East Haddam, CT on a dead-end street.  She would spend her days trying to prove that she could keep up with her older brother, often finding herself madly peddling her bike or sprinting a few paces behind.  Andrew made the options very clear; keep up or go home.  
 
Walter considers herself lucky to have been raised outdoors and pushed to always give it her all, but the competitive spirit was all her own.  She remembers always wanting to do more than keep up; she wanted to be the best.  “My dad would always take me along on Boy Scout backpacking trips, rock climbing, hunting, you name it, while my mom encouraged me to compete in every sport I loved.  There was never a line in the sand saying, these activities are for boys and these ones are for girls.  I did it all and whatever I did, I wanted to do well.”
 
Walter received a full academic scholarship and played four years of collegiate softball for Western Connecticut State University.  She graduated in 2016 with degrees in chemistry and biology and delayed entry into the workforce to complete her dream of hiking from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail.
 
Walter has been hunting since she was old enough to take the bowhunter safety course, but saddle hunting has sparked a new love for the sport.  “I love all human-powered adventures.  Everything from backpacking to kayaking, to bowhunting.  You have to trust not only your body but your mindset to take you to the next level.  Saddle hunting has been a game-changer because it has truly freed me in my pursuit of whitetail.  I’m more confident with my gear, and able to set up anywhere at the drop of a hat without having to lug around a climber or rely on preset stands.”  
 
Walter looks forward to the growth of mobile hunting and seeing the impact it has on encouraging young women to live wild.

deer hunting with lydia walter new Hampshire
Lydia Walter climbing mountain in Maine
Lydia walter wild edge inc, deer hunting

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Pro Staff

Matt Wiltsie

Matt Wiltsie Wild Edge Pro Staff team member.
I'm a 37-year-old outdoor enthusiast. In the spring, I keep busy gardening, chasing down gobblers, or fishing streams searching for trout. In the summer, I like to shoot and scout. You'll also catch me in front of a grill pretty damn often. In Autumn, I'm usually chasing whitetail and harvesting my last crops. In Winter, I may occasionally hunt for squirrels and hare. That's all done when the kids allow me, and my honey-do list is pretty well checked off!
 
​When I was a young lad, about 7, I would go on hunts with my father and grandfather. They are the ones responsible for my passion for hunting. I killed my first whitetail at the age of 15, and I've been hooked ever since.
 
I've solely been a rifle hunter up until a few years ago. For most of my life, I was a meat hunter. I never passed smaller bucks and hunted to fill the freezer. That ended four years ago when I picked up a bow for the very first time and practiced shooting every single day. I became addicted to archery and shot for hours on end. Most days, I would easily shoot over 100 reps! Once I had enough confidence in my shot, I set off on my very first bow hunt.
 
My first season was in 2017, and it was a killer! On opening day, I killed a 200lb black bear! On November 4th, mid-rut, I killed a 215lb dressed 9ptr and two mature doe during late bow season. All of those bow kills in one season were such a high. Bowhunting was the drug, and I was addicted!
 
This season has been the most rewarding season to date. It is a first for me for a few different reasons. I made a goal of killing a mature gobbler with the bow. I did that twice! Run-n-gun style with no blind. I religiously watched Heartland Bowhunters show 'Full Strut.' It paid off!
 
Saddle hunting has truly changed the way I hunt. Instead of sitting in a blind, ladder, or lock-on stand, hoping the deer come my way, I now find them and set up where I need to be. Combining my Berserker and the Wild Edge ladder system enables me to kill target bucks that I've been keeping tabs on since the beginning of May. The mobility and versatility of this system together proved to be the ultimate tool to get the job done.
I'm looking forward to upcoming seasons using this system!
 
I'm your average working-class bowhunter. I'm in the home inspection industry, and I truly enjoy it. Without the support of my (soon-to-be) wife, I'm not sure I would be where I am today. She has been holding down the fort while I'm out there chasing whitetail (love you, babe!) We have three wonderful children whom all enjoy the great outdoors. I hope to hand down the knowledge and passion I have for the outdoors to them one day.
 
Wild Edge or NO edge! 


Mike Nutto

Mike Nutto Wild Edge Pro Staff team member.
​So I've been hunting and fishing my whole life.  My father had me in the woods at five as far as I can remember. He used to put me on his shoulders and take me Pheasant hunting. I'm from Northwest New Jersey. Yes, you read that right; I grew up on or around farms and greenhouses when I was younger. I had a bow in my hand as far back as I can remember. I used to make them out of trees we cut down. So the bow has been a part of my life since childhood.
 
I didn't start bow hunting deer till I was older, however. We always did it with a gun, and I never really enjoyed it. I like the challenge of the muzzleloader these days if I am going to hunt with the gun.
 
I started bowhunting when I was about 24 and pretty much haven't stopped, except when I lived in Oregon for 8 years chasing steelhead. That is its own story. I did, however, live right near a bow shop where I met professional archers, all sponsored by Hoyt. I was given a lot of help back then, and my shooting improved significantly. I love how much there is to learn in bowhunting and how much it relates to life.  
So, I moved back to Jersey after my father had a heart attack to help the family. My buddy had acquired a spot to hunt, which is all uphill. It's still one of the most challenging places I hunt, and the deer are remarkably adapted to pressure and humans here. We have some big bucks here, and getting on them isn't easy.  You deal with the neighbor baiting deer to a small private property you can't go on. People are very crazy about their property in New Jersey. Many places I hunt are surrounded by houses one way or the other, even if it is 300 acres! 
 
So I started hunting there, and I would see bucks and carry a summit climber; I'd climb up this hill, and it would kick my ass! So one day, I went up and got to this tree and jacked up the tree with my climber. By the time I got set, I was sweating and exhausted. I said to myself, "Why am I doing this ?" So I took a nap, woke up and hit the grunt tube, and rattled the horns, and a buck came in, tore up a tree, and came right to me. I shot him and killed him. That was the day everything changed. 
 
I kept telling myself there has to be an easier way to do this. That was when I found the DIY sportsmen. He took me on a journey, from sticks and how to climb to one day , he made a video of himself in a rock-climbing harness. Well, the madness began.  Next thing you know, I am researching climbing methods and saddles. All this because I wanted an easier way. 
 
In my research, I came across a Jim Step video on YouTube. He put me in touch with Drew, and soon after, Wild Edge started showing up on Saddle hunter.  The next thing I knew, I was following Wild Edge and then went to Harrisburg and met Drew. I got my steps, and there has been no turning back since! They just made the most sense to me, and they were easy to put on the tree. Here is what I know, The steps are a system that can be changed and used the way you want! You can climb by using as many as you want to and climb like your on ladder rungs; you can use an aider, you can use a naider, swaider, and so on. You can drag a deer out with one like a handle or even use it to hang a deer for butchering if need be. That's what makes them unique.
 
They are compact and let you get more streamlined to move through the woods. They allow you to get down and move to another tree in minutes! To me, that is Wild Edge steps! That is what Wild Edge brings to the game, an ever-adapting system.
 
What I bring is just time in the tree, time climbing, and finding what works and doesn't for me. These steps have brought me closer to my goals, brought me closer to deer than ever before. The saddle is the most intense way to hunt. I've hunted out of all kinds of stuff. We used to have to build wood forts in the woods to have a treestand. Now my stand is my saddle, and I can go places and hunt like never before! What crazy times we live in today, yet I can't believe we can hunt this way. The technology we have at our hands is amazing to me! I remember the first wheel compounds coming out.  Now I have this bow that was unthinkable at that time.
 
I've seen bow hunting change over the years, and it is undergoing a massive change now. Saddle hunting isn't going anywhere. So, I'm the old blue of the group, and I'm cool with that. I mean, for you that dont know me, I'm the old guy of the group. I'm bringing the old guy knowledge.
 
That's enough about me, though.
 
I've been watching a young man build a dream, along with the rest of his family. I have huge respect for that. I own my own small business, and it is no fun project. Yet, I work for my goals, just like the rest of you are all doing. There is a lot to be proud of there! The sport is growing faster than most people can keep up with. If you love to bow hunt and do it with a passion, that is the Wild Edge!
 
Well, it's getting late here out in the woods.
 
Mike Nutto
AKA Rhienhart, or Old Blue



​Jason Ketcham

Picture
​I live on my family's dairy farm here in Otisville, NY. I am an Electrical Engineer for a local firm specializing in Data Center design and construction services. I've been hunting since I could walk and always had a great appreciation for the outdoors and the wildlife within it. 
 
As was typical of the times and especially in my local area, there were rarely any big, mature bucks seen around our farm as I was growing up. Unfortunately, our property and many surrounding areas did not follow any guidelines for "managing" the local deer population.  Most followed the simple rule of "if it's brown, it's down," and filled the freezer with whatever crossed first.  
 
Within the last 10-15 years, we worked with our neighbors to change that mentality, and it has shown incredible results. As a result, I was contacted by the Regional Director of what was then the Quality Deer Management Association (now the National Deer Association) about starting a local branch in the lower Hudson valley.  Along with some friends and, we started the branch in February 2018 - I am the branch president. 
 
Since then, we have hosted a few regional educational events on wildlife habitat management and raised over $30,000 as a 501c3 organization in support of the conservation of our privileges as hunters. This year, we have plans to sponsor a local scholarship and are looking into starting a local tool/implement borrowing program for active members interested in wildlife habitat work.
 
Oh yeah, and I own a small business with my wife making custom tumblers. So that's been fun too!
 
This will be my 4th season hunting primarily with the WEI Steppladder system and 3rd season hunting primarily from a saddle. While I continue to refine my complete hunting system to improve efficiency and effectiveness, my climbing method has remained very simple. I always carried 9 stepps with me. I would climb with 6 or 7 and the adjustable aider and use 2 or 3 as a platform. The Battlement has been the perfect supplement to that system. I now have dropped two stepps from the climbing system and had typically used at least one stepp set next to the platform. I found that the additional foot position helped during long sits and overall steadiness in movement around the tree.


Paul Stewart

Paul Stewart Wild Edge Hunter Team member.
​My name is Paul Stewart. I live in Newburgh, NY (soon to be Bloomingburg, NY when we close on our house next week) with my girlfriend Kristel Sherwood and her amazing 5 (yes 5) kids and our dog. I am medically retired from the US Navy and am a Bow Technician at B&B Archery in Middletown, NY. Feel free to reach out if anyone needs any bow work done!
 
I grew up in Walden, NY, in a big family. I spent my childhood summers fishing and crabbing near Bear Mountain, fall freezing in a deer stand with my dad, and winters shooting squirrels. I took a hiatus from hunting as a teen when I got into team sports. That carried through until my Navy and college days where I got back into hunting when it wasn't lacrosse season. After college, I moved to Winston Salem, NC, where I owned Blue Rock Athletic Performance. I remained there until I needed to have my colon removed (due to the medical condition that caused my medical retirement from the Navy) in 2016.
 
Thirteen surgeries and the better part of 2 years later, and here I am today, living my best life with an ileostomy. After the surgeries, I dove fully into hunting and the outdoors. It became a sort of therapy for me and is now involved in every aspect of my life.
 
I started using the Wild Edge Steppladder 3 years ago while lugging around a 14lb hang-on stand. Two years ago, I started hunting out of the saddle, and I haven't looked back. I've tried and tested almost everything on the market when it comes to saddle hunting but found myself always going back to the simplicity of the Wild Edge lineup. I was ecstatic to hunt the second half of this past season out of the Battlement look forward to breaking in the Berserker!


​Kristel Sherwood

​Kristel Sherwood Wild Edge Team Hunter.
​Hey guys! My name is Kristel Sherwood. As Paul Stewart has already stated, I am a mother many. Haha. (5 kids, in fact - 4 girls and 1 little boy who is the light of my life.) But I'm also so much more than just a mom.
I am a former Marine. My MOS was 5831, Corrections Specialist. AKA, I got to babysit grown men in the brig. I spent most of my time in Okinawa, Japan which was an awesome experience. There was a lot to do on the island, and they had no age limit for drinking over there, so it was one big party, to say the very least. 
 
When I got out of the Marine Corps, I took a cross-country road trip home from California to New York. Then I bounced around from living in Tennessee and Florida. But I always seem to find my way back home to New York, where I was born and raised.
 
I am a 2X Ironman Triathlete with a few Half Ironman's, marathons, and a shit ton of short distance races under my belt. I am a fitness junky and outdoor enthusiast. I love to throw heavy weights around and get outside any chance I get. I am currently trying to fulfill my goal of climbing all 46 peaks in the Adirondacks with Paul.
 
I am absolutely hooked on hunting, and it is a way of life to me. I'm fairly new to hunting; I started right off the bat with archery. This will be my 3rd year with a bow.  I didn't have any family or friends who were into it, so I self-taught myself through picking many brains online, researching, and simply doing. Just like most, I started with a ladder stand. Last year was my first season saddle hunting. I honestly have Paul to thank for teaching me how to become a mobile hunter. He gave me all the gear and showed me the way. My first evening out in the saddle, I killed two does in one night with my bow. From that point on, I was hooked. I have no desire or intentions to ever sit in a ladder stand again.
 
I am grateful for this opportunity. I look forward to roping more women into hunting along the way.


Ryan Davis

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​I'm Ryan Davis. I currently reside in Coshocton, Ohio. I was raised on a farm in Warsaw, Ohio. I'm 38 years old Navy Seabee Veteran and currently work as an HVAC/Maintenance technician at a custom chemical company here in Coshocton.
I grew up as a gun hunter and, approximately 12 years ago, began bowhunting. I was a videographer for a great group of people who shared the passion of the outdoors and traveled the country, capturing all types of adventures. I met Andrew in Harrisburg a few years ago through a mutual friend Garrett Benner.

I was introduced to saddle hunting three years ago, and the WEI company's products have forever changed the way I look at the woods and hunt. My passion for the outdoors has taken me to many places, and here we are. I'm beyond grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of this team.

IF YOU AIN'T LIVING ON THE EDGE, YOU'RE JUST TAKING UP SPACE!
 


Dave Collins 

Dave Collins Wild Edge Hunter.
​I grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico doing all the things that were popular at the time, including racing BMX bikes, doing BMX freestyle, and while in Scouts, going camping, hiking, and learning to shoot rifles and bows. My dad took me duck hunting a few times and elk hunting once, and a buddy of his bagged an almost 1,000-pound monster bull that required a jeep to come out and pull the quarters out. 
 
I joined the US Navy in 1984 and spent the next 30 years in the Submarine Force, serving on seven submarines, including two as the Chief of the Boat (COB)/Command Master Chief, the senior enlisted leader aboard. Five of the seven of those "boats" were stationed out of Groton, Connecticut, the birthplace and "home of the US Submarine Force." The extensive time I spent there made Connecticut my second home and where I live today, six years after retiring from the Navy. 
 
In the Navy I learned the importance of mentoring, patient understanding-in-leadership, and the power of teamwork and mission focus. Submarine warfare is all about patience, reading the environment, stealth/stealth/stealth! and most importantly, decisive deadly action when the time calls for it. While in the Navy, I honed my love of shooting sports, volunteered to serve in shipboard security and tactics teams to combat terrorism, and specifically retake the ship should it ever be taken by hostile forces. We were taught by former Special Forces, Army Rangers, and Marine Force Recon experts. Those guys taught me even more about the importance of stealth, patience, and conversely speed of assault, and the art of ambush and decisive deadly action. Those skills, believe it or not, are also crucial to a good hunt!  
 
One of my best friends over the last 20 years has been a CT native and avid hunter, Scott MacGregor.  I knew of his love of and constant pursuit in hunting across all forms. He'd invite me from time to time, but mission or deployment or just plain exhaustion kept me from attending.  After I retired from the Navy I started my second career working as a consultant and engineer for Electric Boat, the principal nuclear submarine designer, and builder in the United States.  With these life and career changes, I finally had the time and focus I needed to re-start hunting.  
 
Scott started taking me out scouting and hunting at the tender age of 51!  He taught me about stealth in the woods, reading both turkey and deer sign, honing focus, attention to detail in preparing for a hunt, learning about weather, thermals, and the importance of reading the wind and the environment.  
 
I'm certainly still a green-as-heck novice, but I feel like Scott and all the patient, supportive people I've met through the Outdoor Drive HuntingPodcast, SaddleHunter.com, local hunting, and outdoor stores, and last but far from least, the incredible team at Wild Edge, have taken years off of my learning curve.  I love posting in various forums and sharing my lessons learned, and probably more importantly, my mistakes and how I overcame them to bounce back toward success.  I love being able to share what I've learned from all the support team around me and reading about how people could either expand upon or even simply try out that new idea. 
 
I do the same. I've tried different DIY tricks with various amounts of
success and now feel comfortable, safe, and effective as a hunter. I'm honored to have been selected as a member of the Wild Edge Pro Staff. I can't wait to share my experiences, my failures, my funny stories, and what I've learned as an older hunter with younger hunters.   I look forward to hearing from other new and experienced hunters and to share their collective lessons learned, successes, failures, and constantly creative ways to have fun, honor the hunt and harvest, and enjoy our beautiful outdoors from New England through the Ozarks, the Carolinas, our bountiful and beautiful midwest, the mountain regions and even our strange West Coast brothers and sisters (haha).  
 
Your friend and fellow and hunter, Dave Collins

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