Ep. 103: Answering Your Questions (LIVE), Part 1

it besides myself just talking. So thank you guys. This is like a first for me and I'm pretty excited about that. Um So, for those listening to the Cutting the Distance right now, we're at the uh, we're at the Pope and Young Club convention in Reno, Nevada. Is the sixtie anniversary this year, and there's some incredible animals, a lot of the one the exhibit thing that I've been looking at, the most of the older oh man,

just some nice meal, there's some good elk and uh. Yeah, it's pretty cool to get so many bow hunters here together. Um So, I'm gonna open it up and I just want to do kind of like any kind of questions and answers, any questions you have about anything. I mean, my specialty is bow hunting, Western big game hunting, public land hunting. But I mean, if you've got a question, I'm sure I can find an answer for you. I'm not going to tell you it's a right answer, but

I think most of them are pretty correct. So I want to open it up. Who let's maybe start with somebody that came the furthest. What's who's come from? Where is the furthest that somebody's coming from atlant that's pretty far. Welcome to my hometown of Reno, Nevada. Except we're right now. I said this the other night. We're in Sparks. So if this is like, if you're having a bad experience, blames Sparks, not Reno. Um, you gotta if you have a question or anything. If you don't, don't feel the

pressure to open it up for us. But uh, just curious where some other people might be coming, Yeah, or your experience. Which wastern state is the most friendly to non residents? Which western state is the most friendly to nonresidents the standpoint of sharing their tags, from the standpoint of tag availability or specific Yeah, I mean that's a really good question. I think, Uh, It just depends on

the way that you look at it. Um. I mean, like my home state here in Nevada, I think is really good because they have dedicated nonresident tags, so whereas some other states, you're in a pool, but you can only draw a certain percentage where it's like, hey, there's tags allocated to nonresidents, which I think is pretty cool because there's a sheep tag that you know is going to go to a nonresident. Where many states you might apply and say I'm applying in a nonresident pool, they

can draw up to ten percent. You're in the same pool as everyone else, and then once that quote is drawn, um, you're out. And it doesn't matter if the first three people three units got a nonresident, your choice might not ever even get looked at. And so I kind of dislike that approach. Now when it comes to maybe planning a hunt. Uh, states that offer over the counter tags, I would say that's really you know, amicable to nonresidents.

So UM for ELK. When it comes to ELK, you know you've got Colorado which has probably the most over the counter opportunities for nonresidents between archery and rifle seasons. Um, then there's you know one often overlooked state, And I mean I hate to just put a certain state on blast, but as a nonresident to California, there's actually some really good hunting opportunity there for just looking to pick up a tag and do a Western big game style hunting.

It gets often overlooked. There's a lot of hunters, but there is the opportunity to buy two over the counter deer tags, and there's plenty of public land, plenty of wilderness areas. There's some tough hunting, but um, there's some good hunting as well. So anywhere that there's those kind of opportunities, I feel like those are those are pretty good to nonresidents. Now when it comes to um residents

like saying, hey there's some nonresidents hunting here. We're gonna, you know, give him a show around and and open the doors. Um, I think that, uh, well, I don't know what state would probably be the best if anybody has says like all my home states that I think you're here in Nevada were pretty We're pretty welcoming to nonresident hunters for a couple of reasons. Um. One is you know you've got your own tags, those aren't you aren't taking them out of our resident pool or anything

like that. We've got special tags for you. But the other thing about that is we know that a lot of our tags are we have no over the counter tags, it's all draws, and we know that nonresident dollars, most of you are buying a hunting license to apply here, and you're never gonna hunt here. You know, you're just applying and getting points, and so that funds everything that we do as residents. That funds are water projects, that funds are other things. So it's like, hey, you finally

got a tag suite. Um. I know, I've run into other people that have run into hunt, like resident hunters in Nevada, and they're like, yeah, we'll show you around

and you know, like come check this out. So I think that that's you know, it's a little uh sales pitch from my own home state, but I think that it's pretty good because there are other places I've gone as a nonresident and they see an out of state plate and you're immediately getting um, your tires slack in whatever at the trailhead and that happens to um, Yeah, any other any other questions or I can just start

calling on people. So let's we'll do a format of like say your name maybe if you want where you're from. If you're incognito, nobody knows you're here, then you just don't say, make up a name. John Doe's f j D from Central Oregon. Um. Does your optics set up change much from the beginning of the season to the end or do you primarily stay with the same Yeah, so my optics set up it really Yeah, it does change a lot. So I kind of tailor my optics to the hunt that I'm doing at that time. Um,

there's a few reasons for that. One is weight savings, and two is like every hunt has kind of its own optics. I would say, like a certain thing that the optics you're gonna make better. So if I am, for instance, let's say I've got an over the counter general area ELK tag and I'm archery hunting and it is a backcountry hunt, my optics is just pretty much just gonna be my binoculars or and or a super small light spotting scope. Because I'm not necessarily interested in

trophy potential. I'm just saying, like here I'm looking for an ELK, I'm gonna have to go light and fast them in the back country. I don't want a lot of weight um and I don't need to really pick

apart a certain animal. Now, if you're saying, hey, I drew a Nevada early season archery deer tag, my optics package is going to change from binoculars a high power spotting scope and maybe even a high power set of binoculars because it's gonna be a super glassing intensive glass ng more country is gonna lend to potentially, you know, finding more animals, but also I might be wanting to check out what exactly does that buck across the canyon

look like. I don't want to have to walk over there and find out because I'm gonna say that's not exactly. It doesn't have the forks that I'm looking for, it doesn't have the width that I'm looking for, doesn't have the age that I'm looking for, and I want to be able to tell that from my glass a vantage and cover a lot of country with my eyes. Spring bear hunting is another an example, uh spot sox spring

bear hunting, big open country, super optics intensive. I don't mind adding that extra weight for optics on those kind of hunts. And then there's certain hunts where it's like, man, I'm not really picking them apart. I can. It's maybe like denser country, or I might be doing more still hunting, and I lighten or increase the amount or types of

optics that I'm using based on the hunt. UM One one thing that I've found like super helpful that I've kind of incorporated into a lot of my hunts, specially back country type hunts. I'll have uh, maybe a higher pairer power pair of binoculars around my neck, like a twelve by fifty, and then a small like um, I can't remember it is like a thirteen thirty three with a small objective lens spotting scope, super lightweight. It's like

it's in my pack. I can use it for verification and for most things, but um, I got it a little bit of that weight saving and for me though, I'm carrying a lot of camera gear too, so my pack isn't like if I didn't have if I wasn't filming, didn't have that any need for extra Like I've got all the stuff on my back and I don't have extra camera stuff in there, then I would probably always throw in better optics as well, but for me, it's like I'm kind of doing a delicate balance between carrying

camera gear and then also, um, you know, needing the right tools for the right hunt. Who's anybody here from the Reno Tahoe area? You got any questions? I guess one of my questions. I know, like the first episode I watched with you, I think you had that defornation tag, right? I had that last year, very difficult tag, and you're successful. It was a hard huh. Yeah, yeah, he's asking about, Um, I ended up getting a pretty big velvet ball out

of Nevada on a depth tag and what that was. Essentially, they're trying to say, get rid of the elk here, um, and I think I don't know when I got that tag. They gave you a letter like there are no elk, you won't see any elk. Shoot the first elk you ce, please, and it's like yeah, And I was like, well, the first elk I saw it was a three eight three bull and then I kept looking for that three evil and six days later ended up finding it again, which

is pretty incredible, but just really thick country. Um, not a lot of not a lot of I mean, you know there there's definitely out there and there's but you know, now it's completely different too because there's quite a few different depth punts in the state and there's um something that have been going on for a while and issuing

a lot more tags and other things. But that's probably one of those hunts that always remember is being very fortunate that I was able to take such a good bowl and a velvet bowl, which I was kind of like set my sights on and this might be my only opportunity to get a velvet bowl, So that's what I was really looking for, um, and it's just it's just ended up working out. So that was pretty cool.

One question I did have about I mean, sure you were like early archery season for bowl hunting, and it's very difficult because we don't get hunt the run right and you know, at summary you might catch the beginning of the run of your lucky like an early one day, Um, they just started bugling towards the end with like in those earlier hunts like Obvious six wants seven one where

they start like August sixteen and then you got two weeks. Um, it's pretty difficult, like and a lot of places, you know, a lot of places have a lot of waters and I have no water. Um oh would your advice to US archers and those? Yeah, so for those for those archery hunts where it's a in a seat and there's a lot of states that have those like limited draw archery tag in great Elk units and you're like, man, this season is really too early to hit the rut and I've got a bow in my hand. Um you know.

So there's a couple of things. The first thing I do is kind of play on that what are these bulls doing pre rut? So you got to think about before you even get to that. So, like I step in the unit, let's say it's that August first season, You're like, well, what were they doing? I like to know what they're doing up until I get into that area. So what are they doing in the summer? So you think about, okay, elk behavior those bulls, Like what are

the big bulls doing right now? Because you waited your whole life to draw that tag. You want to make it, you want to make it happen. So those big bulls are gonna be bachelored up, you know. And what they're doing is there one you know, from spring until through summer growing their antlers, and so they're focused on that growth. That the energy that an elk puts into antler growth is the same as the energy that a cow does

to produce a calf. So you think about it, it's like it's growing a baby on its head, and what's it gonna need. It's gonna need a lot of fuel, it's gonna need water, it's gonna need some security. But it's minds completely focused on feeding and growing, feeding and growing, because this just is craving those nutrients. It's craving those minerals, is craving growing those antlers, and so you're gonna think about, Okay, where are those areas where that elk can do that

because you're you're focusing on what do those animals need? Now? Now, as it progresses from summer into that season, what starts to happen. They start to shed their velvet, they start to split off from those bachelor groups, and then they're kind of doing this thing in between where they're they just spend all this energy growing, but they're just about

to hit into the rut. And elk are completely different from deers where they grow their antlers and then they pretty much start rutting very shortly after, so there's gonna be this huge like bulk up phase, you know. So the way that I think about it is they're gonna bulk up for the rut. And that's why when you notice, like during the rut, it's like cows and are kind of run by these like satellite bulls and they do all this expending energy, expending energy because they just don't

know any better. And those big mature bulls, they're like, you know, I'm gonna beef up. I'm gonna wait my turn, and then I'm gonna like that old adage like the young bull runs down like I'm gonna go get a cow, and the bull bulls like I'm just gonna walk down there and take them all. Um. So you know, he's he's really like left this summer feeding cycle split off from the herd because he's like, hey, now these are my enemies. But he's like, I'm gonna bulk up for

the next one. And so what I tend to find is a lot of people lose those big bulls in that in that split time frame between the rut and between the summer feeding. And what I've found is they kind of like those bulls split off and they're very close to where their summer feeding because they already know those patterns, but they've gone into a more security pattern as well, so they're still hitting those same kind of summer feeding things and that's where that summer scouting can

play off really well on those early hunts. So where you've seen them where they've got a really good, high quality food source where they can bulk up before that rut, that's where you're gonna find them. They aren't probably gonna be with those cows checking those other areas. Another thing they'll be doing is possibly, you know, like finding that

spot where they've got that water source. But like you say, you know, sometimes there's water everywhere, sometimes there's no water, so a water source could be a good way to focus in on another thing that they need. Um, but really focusing on that food source um and like thinking food minded, I think a lot of people forget about

that early archery season. ELK is like they're still focusing on food because your mind's like they're gonna start running focusing on the cows, and some will they'll be cruising and checking things out, but they aren't gonna be you know, like if you find a big basin where there's a lot of action, yeah, you might start seeing some you know, some bulls coming in, but you'll notice like in Nevada and some some of more arid places, I feel like things progress a lot quicker than maybe some of the

more mountainous places where it's like they do that and then all of a sudden it goes from like no rut to rut. I'm sure you've realized that it's like there's no big bulls out and now all of a sudden, the big bulls are bugling, and it seems earlier or whatever.

But I think it's because it's more of a density thing, like higher bull to cow ratios, and that kind of pushes the activity um or progresses the activity a little bit faster in my opinion, where you go to somewhere mountainous like Montana, Colorado, whatever, where they've got water and everything, and they've got herds of nine cows and it's like everybody can kind of get a cow, so that rut action doesn't increase at the same rate that it does

in a more arid place where there's bull the cow ratios, and maybe likewy To one and where they have to fight harder get those cows and there's less resources for those bulls. Yeah, We've got a question from the Pope and Young page. What's your workout regimen and preparation for season? Yeah, so,

I mean it depends on the year. For the most part, the scouting is the workout for the hunt, know, and then and then pre scouting would be looking for shed antlers, and then and then before that would be chucker hunting and small game hunting. So my thing is like I love to train by doing, and it's just getting out

and being in the field. But on like years like this where it's completely I'm you know, I wasn't able to normally I'm spending three months in New Zealand hunting and guiding and doing whatever or or um you're going on other hunts and being in other places. So you know, I just the same train by doing, putting on a weighted pack, getting that aerobic activity and just like building up that muscle memory for what I'm gonna do and

then to do in a short amount of time. I just increase the speed and the weight, so it kind of mimics that fatigue that you might get later on by carrying that heavy pack up a hill if you don't have a hill. An incline on a treadmill is stair or what a stair climb or something where you can kind of mimic that muscle memory in those movements

that you're gonna create out in the field. Number one tips for archery analope hunting spot, I mean number one tip for archery antelope hunting spot and stock has to be you have to focus on, Like anything that I hunt, you gotta focus on what are the strongest at, like what is their defense mechanism and then how do I trick that with a prong horn? Their defenses their eyes. So anytime you can you say like, oh, any time you can fool their eyes, well, how do you do that? Um?

I actually tend to not necessarily hunt for antle. Like you can go out spot and stock. Analop hunting in the flats and see hundred thousand antle open a day doesn't mean anything. You gotta trick their eyes and if you if they can see you coming from a long ways away, it's no good. So there's a few things that I do. First, I actually look for antalope habitat where I know that it's broken enough that I'm actually

gonna be able to trick their eyes. And there's gonna be fewer antal open there because they kind of feel at disadvantage. But I'd rather hunt those areas where I know I can find a buck, I can watch him, and I'm gonna be able to get a stock. And by doing that, I've been extremely successful spotting stock antalope hunting. UM. Last year was the first year that kind of messed up my record, But UM, I generally had this thing. I was like, I would go out and I would

give myself one day and I just and oh. The other thing is pretty much, chase every antelope you've got an opportunity at. And that's that's another good, good tip. UM. The other the other thing I would say is like if it if it is super flat, UM, it's just a lot of crawling because you know that you can you can kind of be under that perceived You don't

want to seem like, um a predator. So being like under that threshold of perception, and so I kind of keep telling myself this like over and over, like go slow enough, low enough that like they don't perceive you as a threat. You're just something else out there, and that I've had a lot of success doing that. It's a lot of work. Your neck will be like I tracked it one day and I crawled six miles and I couldn't figure out why. I had like the worst headache in my life, and my whole body hurt. And

I was like, oh yeah, I crawled six miles. But in that day I snuck on two antelope and shot a really good buck. So like, okay, cool, you know, but when it doesn't work out, you know, then you got to do that three or four days in a row. That makes it tough. So then you might want to start looking for that more broken terrain. Um. And then there are other tricks and tactics decoys. UM. I haven't had a whole lot of success with decoys in my life. UM, but you know, every once in a while, I mean

I've had a buddy. I gave him one of those cow uh like a cow shields kind of thing, like here, use this, you know. He's like they were just using it to cross those big wide opens behind antelope. And there's a boot and crocket buck out there about half a mile away. Saw that cow decoy charged him and his wife shotted in twenty yards you know, so like that doesn't really happen for me, but that's also a good tactic. Yeah, so you're I know, how busy you are.

Everybody here can imagine how busy or what's your archery practice routine, Like how do you find time and what do you focus on when you do at the time. Yeah, that's that's a good question, um for me. I mean, well, I'm sure like with most Bohners, I just I love eating my bow so pretty much any time that I am, even during the season, Like when I'm hunting, I'm always

practicing shooting. I've got a three D target that I normally shoot at, and I'm fortunate that I can shoot kind of like I mean, I I can just walk out and climb a mountain behind my house and start shooting. Um, So I get a lot of that angle practice. I get a lot of that. I kind of do a little bit everything, but I'm mostly like if I'm practicing,

I'm mostly shooting at three D targets. Um. I like to kind of get in that perception, that headspace of like I'm here hunting and like my practice is based on hunting. So I don't do a lot of shooting at spots. I don't do a lot of shooting. I just shoot at an animal for not even for a score,

but for like what would be an ethical kill? Um get those angles like the quartering away quartering too, um up and down, left and right, sideways, the one of my and like any time I a past high season, if I have a miss or whatever, I really replay these things in my head, and I then try to recreate the things that I find a week and us in in the field. So one thing that I've noticed over the years, like if I I like keep track of like okay, man, there's this hunt meal your hunter,

or this hunt. I remember, there's quite a few, and I was like, okay, I missed that animal or this this went wrong. And I found that there's actually like one position that I was really bad at, and it was shooting downhill like while crowd, like in a semi crouch squat position, because your muscles are all going real weird. But that's like the most natural, Like you sneak up from above something, I mean, every like the best stocks are sneaking in from above and then you draw back

out of sight and then you rise up. Well, as you're rising up, I don't want to be full fledged skylined let him see me. So I'm always kind of like just barely over the rise, half squatting, drawn back, and I tend to miss those shots, and so those are like okay, then I start. That's like the majority of the way I practice now is those ways that like those really awkward, uncomfortable things that I encounter in the field as opposed to just flat ground shooting, um

or shooting at a specific thing. I like to like build in hunting practice with that archery practice, and then um, you know, out on the road whatever, if I'm out like even during guiding season or whatever, or in camp, I take those rubber blunt tips and I just like to rove, like shoot pine guns, shoot things like the things that I've learned about the way the practice as

a kid with my recurve. I'll do that with my compound bow in hunting camp or in a back country setting, Like, hey, I don't want the first time that like you know, you just knock the dust off. It's like, yeah, I'll be out there midday seeing like a rock across the canyon, just send it, you know, it's just like, yeah, it feels good to get that shot in in the field where you're at and know that like, hey, if that was a deer there in the middle of the day, cool,

I could have made that shot. So kind of like constantly constantly practicing in those situations. Do you practice with the tips that you hunt with? Yeah, so, I mean a lot of it. It depends on the how well tuned my bow is. You know, I've had bows in the past. It's like, once I get the broadheads on, I can't get the field tips to fly right, and then I've got most of my bows though, I get to tune where it's like it's it's pretty negligible the

difference between my broadhead and my field tip. Um. So. But most of the time, yeah, I always make sure that I shoot with those broadheads, and I like to

it tune to my broadheads. Um I use fixed blades a lot, just because some of the places that I hunt, you can't even use mechanicals, and I just don't like I mean, it's just personal preference, Like a lot of I like to hunt all kinds of different terrain and I don't want grass or something, and I like to be able to shoot through whatever I'm aiming at, whether it be grass or an elk or whatever. I just always want there to be on the other side of

whatever I'm shooting at. Um, So that's yeah, I shoot with the products. Are there any bucket list hunts that you haven't completely hand that are still out there that a bucket list hunt? That's a good question. I mean there, Yeah, they're there, definitely are there's I think for me, there's like some adventure type stuff, some sheep and some like weird places. There's a lot of a lot of the hunts that I've always wanted to do. I've somehow I

managed to go on them and which is pretty awesome. Um, but I a blue sheep, and Nepal is like something that I think would be pretty cool just to be in like a really high altitude and kind of see that country and the way that the people are there and just kind of like a crazy adventure. And then some even just some like just more of these places

like uh, mid Asia. There's some places I still haven't explored yet that I'd like to ibex and stuff there, and um and some places in like Russia that I think are kind of remote and untouched, just some just some places that you go and you're like, it's more about that place, so it could be. I mean, I'd probably just one hunted jack rabbit there if I could, you know, just like just to go on that and you kind of experience that place and see just like

the culture around it. I really love going to like far flung places and just seeing like the coolest thing to me is like being in a place that's so different than where we're at and then meeting up with somebody that hunts or whatever and just realizing like we have the same exact passion. We've got like the same drive, we understand the same thing, we do things a smilar way. Like it's just a really cool I don't know, it's like this, I mean, you can talk about it like

this is a really cool connection with hunters. It's like we all kind of do the same thing and we don't even know that. And like one thing that I thought was cool is like even starting guiding and then going international and guiding, and there's certain things that I picked up from certain people, and then there's things that I found I just had nobody teach me how to quarter an animal, but I just found the most effective

way to do it for me. And then I go to like sent mid Asia and there's people that live off the land there and they quarter the animal the exact way that I do, you know, with a small knife and never have to break a bone or use a saw because they just don't have those tools. And you know what I mean, they could they could essentially do the thing with a rock, and it's like, well, they found the most efficient way to do it, and somehow on my own I found the most efficient way

to do it. And it's like a really cool like aha moment where you're like, whoa, this is a really cool experience that we kind of do the same thing and don't even know. It's like in our DNA or something about it is like very very familiar yere um, whether you know the language or not, Like you can you know, connect over that fire and you're like you've got you, Like I get you. I was like one of my favorite one of my favorite things is like last year I was in Kurgus or not last year.

We just skippy year, will just pretend last year was like nineteen whatever. Um it was in Kyrgyzstan and driving out there there's like these two guys and I was like, this is like three days in a car kind of thing. And we're like driving through this mountain pass and they stopped in the little village and you got like this breakdown old shotgun and we're driving up this mountain pass road and these chucker like fly across the road and his eyes got big and he slams on the brakes

and gets out. He's like loading up that shotgun, like sneaking down the road check or flush and he shoots these chucker and I'm like that dude straight out of Nevada. Like I was like, I know you, bro, Like we are the same person, you know. I was like this guy, he was just all about his chucker hunting, and I was like I've been there, Like I know what it's like to drive Dusty Rhodes forever and then you see

a checker and you're like, hell yeah, run up. I mean he was running up the mountain like I was like, I've been there. So it's just, uh, I don't know this this fun story to though. Yeah. Yeah. Other than a passport, some of the basics what are like firky items or otherwise for those international hunts that are like you gotta hea it um for any kind of like

international hunt. That's a good question. Um. One thing I think is just like a good a good strategy of how you're gonna get like logistically planning ahead, like how you're gonna get things back. So um, I found like I use the Yeti panga bags a lot um because I know it's like water. It's like it's a weird thing to think, like, oh, what's a really important thing, And just like having a durable waterproof bag is pretty important because it's like your stuff is gonna be everywhere.

You're gonna have to get like maybe you know, hide or meat back or whatever. So something that you can like freeze things in, put him in, zip it up. You know it's safe, Like nothing is gonna leak out, you're gonna get some airport violation whatever. Um. You know, like having that logistical plan of how to get things back.

And then the other thing is definitely having a you like having that plan and then knowing that none of that plan is gonna work out like whatever you do, just knowing that like, hey, things are gonna go wrong, like things are gonna get lost. I mean I've been on uh some trips where it's like, you know, nothing showed up for however many days and like, hey, it didn't matter when you just go out, I'll just go hiker,

like we'll do whatever. Um, you know, like having that mentality of like things are gonna go wrong probably and there's nothing you can do about it. Just have a good time. UM. I would say, you know, as far as like specific gear items, I mean, it's pretty much

just my standard main hunting stuff. One thing that I would do highly suggest, um, if you're traveling and you're gonna like I've done a lot of like international d I Y type stuff, and so I think that some of the things that I've learned maybe don't apply to everyone, but I think they are good tips. First thing if

your phone getting unlocked phone, um. And then the first thing I do when I get in the airport is I take my SIM card out and I put in the SIM card from there, Because what happens if you like if you run into someone or whatever, even if you're guided, like how are you going to contact? Like they can't call an international number? Put a put a local SIM card in your phone, and then you can order a pizza somebody needs to or you can do

whatever you need. You know, you can actually call a hotel, you can make like if something gets lost, your luggage gets lost, you don't have to call a fifteen party over in call center from an internet you know what I mean. Just called that airport directly and that makes

a big difference. Um. That's like the probably the single best tip I could ever give you is just like as soon as you get there, get a different simcard and then you can make calls and connect with people and things will happen and you aren't like reliant on I hate that feeling of like, oh I need somebody to do something for me. You can just kind of like get it done yourself. Um. So that's another little travel tip. What about gloves or gear for the crawling

for antelope putting? Oh yeah, um, I've I think kneepads are a great idea. I've just never had them with me. I don't know, like, um, and yeah, gloves definitely definitely h one thing that I do. Like, Um, I've got some gloves that almost have that like uh like plastic e knuckle guard like Moto gloves. Um, because you gotta think about your like crawling with your bow and other things. I also have a stabilizerz are on my bow that I kind of use as like a crawling crutch. Um,

So I'll use that sometimes. But having some kind of like protection on your knuckles and then any kind of like if you were able to uh put something over your knees that always helps. UM. I generally do kind of like this modified like I kind of depending on where the animal is and whatever, I kind of do different crawls. Did not like burn out a certain burn

out a certain way. Like a modified crab crawl is always a little bit easier like on your back, on your butt scooting than kind of crawling than army crawling. Throw the bow on your back and kind of move and then that where you kind of like set the bow forward, squirm up and then grab the bow, set it up, squirm up. Um. But I would say, yeah, I mean there's like I've got uh, well, one time I was just out there and I was like, man,

my knees were killing me. So I just got some like uh, cow patties and like strapped it to my knees. You know. It's like so I thought, yeah, probably knee pads at work, but you know, sometimes you're like it's hot, you don't even think about it. I've I've had them in my kit for years and actually never really used them because I'm always like, I don't know, it just escapes me or something. But I feel like they would

be pretty good, like knee pads, elbow pads. But then I'm like, you know, being quiet and trying to do it, I don't know how well it works. So something like even just even just an extra piece of material or something you can put over your knees or the side that you're using. I've done that a lot, just taking out like extra shirt or whatever, wrap it up, tie it around, and kind of going That's kind of just the way I've always done it. Yeah, usually go to

gear pack if you're on a two to four day yourself. Yep, Um, so my go to I I like, Um, generally I always kind of have my pack is like the same pack that I would use on a five day, seven day backcountry trip is the same pack that I'm hunting on day hunts most of the time. Every once in a while, if it's like I'll you know, like I know, I gotta be running around a lot. Um and I'm

pretty close. I'll use a lighter pack. But just because when I get in somewhere, I don't want to have to go back to the truck to get a pack frame I want I want that first trip back to have as much meat as that second trip is going to be. UM. So I always kind of have my big kit on with me. UM. Just I use a stone glacier bag right now, and then I just sent it down, you know, make it smaller in there. I

have obviously pretty much just the basics a knife, game bags. UM. Always have that kit for processing, so some kind of I generally have some kind of pecord or something if I need to tie something up. UM. I always have a trash bag just for after the fact, like putting the meat in as a liner from my backpack. UM. Then outside of that, I got my optics, which should

be a spotting scope tripod. UM obviously my binoes on me and then um whatever food or whatever I'm taking any kind of overnight so if i'm if I'm overnight, and I'll have my sleeping bag, sleeping pad um, and then shelter system whatever it is, whether it's a tarp or a tarp tent or something like that. And then UM, I do keep a small first aid kit in there, UM with kind of like the essentials. It's just one

that rows with me. I kind of use it for everything. UM. And in that first aid kit, I always have a little bit of extra, not a lot, but I've I always keep a fire starter in there and UM and uh, you know, like a spare lighter. And then I do now in my in my day packs, I keep a UM like a sterry pen because I like, I you know, I spent a lot of time hunting in Alaska, hunting in New Zealand, where it's like you walk, you stop, you drink, you don't feel, you don't have to think

about filtering, you don't have to do anything. And so I'm just so used to that. Like I don't like carrying weight of water if I can help it. Now, desert hunts are completely different. But if I don't have to carry twenty pound the water, like I'll drink, I'll dump my bottle and I'll just keep going and then I'll find the next water source and drink out of it. So I started carrying that sterry pin um because for the longest time, actually didn't do anything to my water,

and I never got well. I got jaredy at once. So after that, I was like, okay, I'm curious ter even but it was stupid. I drank out of like this brown elk wolo water my brothers like dude, and I was like, I'm so thirsty, and it tasted disgusting, like I knew. I just knew. I was like this is this is such a bad idea. But I was like, oh no, they call me iron gut. You know, it's fine, but it doesn't matter how strong your stomach is. You can't avoid it. Um and yeah, and luckily I did

have a Z pack with me. I don't know if that I started taking it. I got better really fast. So um after the bad water incident and took a couple of days for the water to kick You know, when I as soon as I got sick, though I knew what it was. It wasn't like because I was eating mountain house. It wasn't like I got food poison and you know it, I was like, really sick, dude. Um. Yeah, so that about and that's pretty much I think, oh yeah, then you know, like obviously water bottle um. I don't

do the bladders personally. Um, but that's probably I think I've just had really horrible things go wrong with the

water bladders. UM. So I always have like a couple of big bottles UM with me and then maybe something to um to like get out of a small water source, you know, like a smaller bottle or a collapsible bottle or something like that if I need to, and then um, yeah, food I always take, like the willerness athlete drink mixed things just because, um, I don't know, man, I've just you're out there, you're grinding, your sweating, and if you

don't have the right food, the right fuel. That's a huge portion of it is like just being mentally focused, staying in there, being able to just keep going day after day. So like you know, I know a lot of people cut weight on certain things. I don't really cut weight on like the stuff that's gonna feel me. So I'm like I throw in like things that I like to eat and things that I know I'll eat and keep that energy up and if it like gets heavy, I'll just eat it, you know. So it's like it's

all good. Yeah, I got one for you. I mean, so I got three daughters and my wife and do you any kids tricks and kind of effectively you know of her POUNDINGE on your bow. Um, but uh, you know she didn't push up, set up workouts. I didn't know, just just shooting your bow more consistently, you know, because it feels like it's a different muscle that you're using to be able to get that poundage up to where

they can be at the all time. And yeah, that's a great question because I know, I mean my wife just got into bow hunting and it was a it was kind of a that was like our biggest concern and her biggest concern. Um. So we started we had she had a bow, so she has like a hunting bow, but at the time she couldn't really get up to

the poundage to shoot. So I got like, um, I guess it would be like a Genesis bow, you know, where as like it's completely adjustable, and we used that to kind of build her strength, um where it was like, okay, we could start gradually going. And I think a lot of it is the petition of um of just being

able to build those same muscles. One thing that I found works really well for kind of like building like for because I think it's not only just the pulling back, but I think that you're you're you're pushing in your aiming arm has a lot to do with it because you get it back and it's like, okay, I got it back, but now I'm tired and I'm not steady. So one thing is like get an exercise ball, put it up on the wall, and then hold it up there with your hand and you kind of do like

figure eights in different motions like this. You'll be surprised how fast that arm gets tired. It's like a really like you know, just moving like you do the whole alphabet whatever, and that movement builds a lot of that same I don't even I'm not an exercise physiologist by any stretch of the imagination, but I do understand like

bow hunting and that uses those same things. And so that was a really good way to help build that strength of Okay, I can pull it back, but now I can hold it steady and don't have to worry about you know, like I burnt it. She burned, you know, like her burning it all out on that drawback. It's not just the draw it's a lot there's so much more than just being able to draw the bow back. Yeah. Yeah, and then you got to somehow work into the fact, like now there's an elk thirty yards away and panics

sets in. But um, yeah, I think that that's like a that's a good way to do it. And then anything where you just building that same that same motion. Um really, I mean there are other things you could do, other types of equipment you could do, but it really is that just repetition by doing that works really well. Yeah, you you do. You enjoy hunting with more with your friends and fellow hutters or by yourself, and you probably do some of both. Do you have a preference with

this is a good question. I mean I do so. I really love when I get the chance to hunt alone. I mean I do love solo. We did the Solo Hunters. I like, I actually love hunting alone, but I also really like hunting with people. Um. I feel like as a guide, I get it's like I get to hunt with people all the time. So when it's my turn to hunt, I'm like, it's sweet to go out by myself. I was actually talking with Chris Denam about this, uh a little earlier today. Is just this there's like this

instantaneous decision making when it comes to hunting alone. Um, and I think that it's super like it's I'm just more effective. You're just more effective that way when you aren't bouncing ideas off of someone and you're kind of building your own hunting skills in a way that's like it's on you. Um. So it's not like, you know, you could go out and hunt with a guide or your buddy or whatever, and if they're kind of leading

the whole charge you're doing, but you aren't. You might be picking up things, but you aren't necessarily learning in the same way that you learn when you when it's all on you, when you made that decision, when you've got no one to else to bounce it off of, and you kind of you don't have to worry about, um, you know, my buddy sitting back there through the spotting scope, baking in the sun. I better hurry up on the stock. Like me, I'm like a very conscientious hunter. When I'm hunting.

I don't like to like I always always worry about the other people with me, you know, And when I'm by myself, it's like, no, I'll be as patient as I need to because it's just me. It doesn't really matter or all or like there's some times where it's like I gotta go real slow and I'm not worried

about getting anywhere real fast. And then it's like, oh, I gotta go and I gotta run and I'm not worried about talking and waiting, And there's so many stages that just like get condensed into you're just doing it and you're gonna learn a lot more, You're gonna be a more effective hunter. Um, but there's this really fun thing about hunting with people. So like I love hunting with my dad, I love hunting with my brother, I love hunting with I. I really enjoy hunting with clients

and taking people out. Like there's a really cool experience in that too. So it is a mix, Like it's not you know, for me, hunting is not just one thing. It's not just doing it this way or there's so many just different facets that I love about it. Yeah, came in light what is your favorite animal my favorite animal to hunt? I Mean I was like, that's a that's such a loaded question that depends on the day. But um, I I think meal there is like pretty

high up there. Uh. People are like always like Elk, Elk, elk, and I love hunting elk, Like I am an Elk guy. That's what I do for a link. But I love calling out like I almost if someone was like, you get a pick, you know, a hunt that you get to do, and I'd be like early season archery mule here for me. But that doesn't mean that I get to give up calling elk for other people because I love that interaction of calling Elk. I love tricking Elk.

I love like I'm I don't know. There's those people that fly fishing is like I only fish with dry flies. When I'm like elk hunting, I only bugle like I only want to fight a bowl like I just like I love screaming back at elk. It's like the coolest feeling in the world. Um So I really love that. But I also really like the child. I think that I personally think that one of the hardest animals to hunt. Maybe and I don't know, it's just like early season

mature mule, dear with a bow. I think it is one of the most difficult and challenging and like rewarding hunts because you get everything of those. And now I say that because like I really love sheep hunting, but you don't get the tags often enough. You know. It's like I'm obsessed with sheep hunting, but it's more about

the places. I love those mountain hunts and I think deers like mule there's something where you can get that alpine sheep type hunt every year, um, especially when it comes like early season bow hunting, Like you get that experience and it's something you can do all the time. And then just big meal there. I like the way that they look. They're cool. But I mean, now if I was just to pick something like it doesn't matter, it's unlimited whatever, I'd be like, yeah, sheep hunting cool, Yeah,

go straight to the top. So but I like, you know, and then tar hunting in New Zealand is really really, really incredible. I love hunting tar um and kind of like any kind of mountain hunt really, so it's more of a place than a thing. Often those filling getting

the way of taking a shot like acent of the time. No, I mean the it's funny because um really the self filming over the years, like it's it's like a challenge that I I've I've really enjoyed, and I think it has made me a lot better hunter because a lot of the times I gotta stock the same thing twice. So I was like, okay, the first stock I got in,

Now I gotta go back out grabbing my bow. Like Actually, the way that I generally do is I stock in with the camera, set the camera up, crawl back because if I bring my bow up there, I'm not going to get the camera. You know. It's like I learned that I have to do it a certain way. Um. So I I stalk in, you know, leave the camera, crawl back out, grab the book. Is it's really hard to be quiet with two really big kungers and things.

Crawl back, get the bow, sneak back in. Um So you know, like by doing that, I've got a lot of experience, like stockings, like a lot of I've I've just become a better hunter, I think. Um And over the years I've gotten you know, I've gotten better at it and learned the things that messed me up. So I would say not as often anymore, but still, if something's gonna mess it up, it's always that, it seems like, because when I'm hunting by myself. I'm like, dang, I'm

pretty efficient, you know. Now. It's like it's like it's like it's like I'm dragging a car around the mountains and then um, all of a sudden, I just got unchained and I can just run around do whatever I want. I'm like, oh, this is a lot of sneakier. Um. So yeah, I would say most of the time it does. If something messes it up, it is probably the camera. And there there are those times where I was like, man,

I look back. I was like, the other day I was going through some footage and I could have killed this probably would have been my best one of my best meals here with a bow, and I just said not to shoot it because I couldn't get it in the camera. Like I just didn't have that and I and I passed it up. Man, I was like, should I have shot that? Should have not? But I was, you know me personally, I was like, it's not about that,

It's about you know me. I was like, I'm actually pretty proud of the fact that I stuck to something that I was trying to do. Because if I if I said, oh, if there's a big deer or there's a certain opportunity, then I'll take that opportunity, I'll hit that easy button. Then every time I would do that, and so I kind of had, like in my brain turned the switch on where it's like I'm either doing it or not. And and by doing that, I think that I've got