Ep. 74: 21 Tips for 2021

for the entire world. I think there's something always symbolic about New Year's and you're just turning a new page, You're you're turning things over. Last year, I quite wildly and accurately predicted how the year was going to go. But a lot of the stuff that I had planned for this year will now be rolled over to next year. And I think one of the one of my favorite things about New Year's and is it kind of resets people's focus us. I really like that. I'm big on

setting goals. I'm big on planning and and trying to be better year in and year out. So this year, what I want to do is I've kind of outlined what I would consider the three important things to punching more tags, and really it's going to come down to fitness, planning the hunt, and shooting whatever you're shooting. So this week I'm going to recap some my favorite moments of and then I'm going to go into the twenty one tips to just make you better in the field. Three

sixty five days of awesome. Here we go. One thing that I like. At the end of the year, I can sit back and reflect on some of the experiences. Now, I was very fortunate. I had a really great not the hunting season that I had planned, but I definitely had a great hunting season. I was able to get a couple over the counter type tags to fill in for some trips they got canceled, and I felt very fortunate about that. I had some other trips planned that

didn't get canceled, which was pretty cool. I was able to hunt some caribou. I got a wolf on that cariboo trip, got a great cariboo bowl, got an elk with my long bow. I had a little bit more time to hunt archery season myself because some of my guided hunts got canceled, So I felt very fortunate to take that time, I was like, oh, you know what, I'm gonnahunt with my long bow this year for Elk And I was able to film that and do that.

That was pretty sweet. But if I were to think of my favorite hunting memory from this year, you probably wouldn't guess it because it was a hunt where I didn't get a pull the trigger. But I was hunting geese in Alaska with my dad. Not just any goose, but an emperor goose. Now an emperor goose is it's a fairly rare species of goose. It looks, I guess it's kind of like a snow goose, but very beautiful.

It's like white head black underneath barred sides. It was in Kodiak, and man, is it an adventure to embark on one of these. We flew to Kodiak, we flew from there on a small plane to Old Harbor, got on a boat, took the boat and around the island like in some rough seas, and it was just an incredible adventure. And my buddy Jeremy rus Sink was with us. He he had deer tag and he actually he was a resident so he could hunt. And then our friend, a codo is a resident so he can hunt them.

But as a non residents, really hard to get these tags. So um, I put my dad in. He had absolutely no clue even what an emperor goose was t I put him in, and um, for guys that are way into waterfowl and other things, it's like this goose is like the sheep tag of goose hunting. I guess my dad was like, oh, what a goose. I'm going all the way to Kodiak for one goose. But we got some deer tags and it was a lot of fun deer hunting, and we actually ended up hunting the goose

the last couple of days. But it was on the last day, the day before we set up, and Jeremy had seen him coming into this this beach, so we figured we'd set up there. So we set up and there's just kind of too many of us. I think the first group kind of flared as they came in. Then they actually committed to our decoy set up. Jeremy and my dad got shots off, but they're kind of far and nobody hid anything, and so we're like dang, okay, And the morning went on, we figured okay that that

was all the geese that were gonna come in. Let's just go spend our time. There's a slough behind us. We're gonna go jump shoot for Mallard. So we decided, okay, of course you should never do this, but not they should never jump shoot, but they should never walk away from your decoy set up. They're like, yeah, we're just the goose hunts done. There's no more geese coming in. We're gonna go jump shoot. And then Macodo decided to stay and just hang out at the decoys. As we're

jump shooting Mallards, he shoots his emperor goose. So when comes in like practically lands and the decoys like, okay, crap. So the next day we're gonna go to a new spot. We got weathered in. We're gonna hunt the same spot again. It's pretty much our last day to goose hunt. We set up. It's just me and my dad. We set up actually where the geese land of the day before. It seemed like nothing was coming in. We're like, the tide was a little bit different that day too, so

it tides up. We set up. Our decoys were like waiting, nothing, nothing, nothing. All of a sudden, these two geese like later in the morning fly by cruise. Our decoys circle back in the land where we're sitting the day before. Oh crap is that it is? It over? Start of watching them, and sure enough they start swimming our direction. I'm like, oh my gosh, this is gonna happen. Then they must have seen the decoys and like knowing they were there.

But they picked up off the water, flew in. My dad raised up shot the backbird, rolled it and it was just like it actually went out in the ocean. I shot a shot one more time just to secure it and ran out. I'm like, run grab it, like the waves are crashing in. It's just like cold ocean. He runs out into the ocean, grabs his bird, and we're just like so pumped. It's just kind of a really cool, unexpected like I didn't think I would be that.

I was just so excited for him, so excited to be a part of that experience so unique and different for me. It was very unexpected, but it was just like a really really cool experience. And I would say one of my favorite hunting experiences of the year. I didn't think I would say that, but yes, a goose hunt was one of my favorite hunts of the year, and I got I had some pretty awesome hunting experiences

this year, so that was pretty cool. Now, as promised, going into I figured, I'm going to break down sixty five days of just being more awesome. Things that you can do to punch more tags. You know, this is the time of year where hey, you get a little bit of a pep talk. I say things like fail to plan, you plan to fail, And I truly do

believe that. I think that you know your success strategy if you're really into hunting and you want to be more successful, and whether it's bow hunting, whether it's right, it doesn't really matter. If you just want to be more successful, your success strategy should be threefold and that should be prepared or your body, plan your hunt, and shoot your ship, whatever you got, gun, bow, muzzleloader, shotgun.

I don't care do more shooting. So what I did was, since I made twenty one of the best tips out there for those categories, seven of each. So we're gonna kick it off right now with fitness and some things that you can do thinking about going into this next year, things you can do to be more fit, to have a better experience Honestly, a lot of the hunting that I do is very physical, and unfortunately get to do it all the time, and I'm in good shape to

do it. But I understand as a guide, I see it all the time that a lot of people aren't in that shape. And it's not that they can't be, it's just that they don't take the initiative and that they maybe don't have like the motivation or the know how to do it. And I am, by no means a fitness expert. But what I do know is that a lot of the people that I've taken out and myself included, you can get yourself to the point of making the hunt more enjoyable and more successful by physically

making yourself more physically capable to do it. So we're gonna start with number one tip number one right here, Set a goal. I'm big on this and it works for everything in life. But set a goal. Write it down something that you can't do now, and then something that you need to work up to right figure out, Be honest with yourself, Say where am I at, how far? How many days can I hunt hard? And then say

how many where do I want to be? And then how am I going to get there writing it down and like creating a set of this is what I'm gonna do throughout the year. I don't know what it is for you. I don't know what you do. But I also am big under when it comes to preparing for hunt, practicing or training, like you're gonna do? You know you can? You definitely should be in better overall fitness. You should be able to lift more, You should be

able to do whatever. But you need to build your endurance and build that endurance while carrying weight in hiking shape. So there needs to be some form of whatever you're doing more hiking, more running, more boots on the ground. I think you should just write down and say, hey, okay, before the hunting season this year, I'm gonna try to hike hundred miles. I'm gonna try to hike. Set a goal and then figure out a way to make that

goal actionable to meet that goal. It works with everything in life, but it definitely works with fitness and for me. I actually, you know, last year I was supposed to have a sheep tag that is now pushed to this year. Anytime I have a big hunt like that where I think, hey, this is a once in a lifetime I call it once in a lifetime type deal, like it's a really good opportunity. I want to make sure that I make

the most of it. And even me personally, I'm like, Okay, what do I need to do to get into that next level of shape? Every year, I'm constantly trying to push myself to be better, to hurt less, to just be able to go further, hunt longer, or harder, and be in the action of the hunt. And so for me, what I'm doing is I'm just kind of setting a goal of the amount of miles that I want to hike. I want to work out. In those days where I'm not hitting them mountain, I'm doing some other form of

fitness routine. For me, it's it's rowing, it's biking. Um, I like those more endurance type things, but also you know, some body weight training and some other things to add in for those times when I'm not hitting them out Number two for fitness, like I said, doing what you're doing is the best way to train for what you're gonna do. Pack training I say it anytime I talk about fitness, but it is integral. The thing that slows most people down is not being used to packs or boots.

So what you need to do is whatever you're gonna hunt in, start training with that wear weighted pack. I use a sandbag in my pack, like a forty pound salt bag. Um works pretty good. And that's like just getting used to wearing a heavy pack day in and day out. When I'm doing any kind of workout that's involving hiking, moving, running, even just like back and forth sprint, I like to throw that pack on as often as

I can. So put that into your schedule, your way to pack, because that's really the type of stuff that's gonna help boost you into preparing for your hunting season. Number three, I'm gonna say, set aside four weekends for just all day grinding throughout the year. Right now, pull out your calendar, find some weekends that work in your

schedule between now and hunting season. One thing that I realize is when people get into the hunting season, they work out, they do everything, they're prepped, yet they haven't had that all day grind. Pick a Saturday where you can go somewhere. Maybe you have to, maybe you don't have it near your house, You might have to travel a little ways or maybe whatever. Pick a time set aside, whether it's maybe you can combine it with something else. I like to combine it with upland bird hunting, like

checker hunting somewhere that's really steep and difficult. I like to combine it with looking for sheds. I like to combine it with just maybe something else that I want to do, maybe a peak or something like that. Make a trip out of it, but something where you have to be walking and hiking all day with a pack on. That's what hunting is. You're you're hiking with a heavy pack on all day for days on end. There should be multiple times throughout the year where you schedule yourself

sometime to do that. If you can make it in a thing, make an event, make it fun, whatever, have some friends join you, whether it's a backpacking trip or whatever you've got, whether it's today, whether it's two days, something where you gotta have some weight on and grind for a full day, not just an hour around the neighborhood.

But you actually get that, Okay, this is what it's like, this is what it feels like, and it helps build your mind in a better mental state when you actually get out in the field and encounter those hard days. Actually having gone through some all day grinds before the hunting season. I think that huge. So just scheduling a couple of things like that throughout the year, that's gonna pay huge dividends when it comes time for hunting season. And I know a lot of people that this is

your lifestyle. You're already doing that anyways, But for those of you that maybe this is new, I just think that's a great way to get in and you can kind of build some of these other skills to while you're out there doing that. Number four, I really think staying fit and like being ready and being in hunting shape, elk shape, whatever sheep shape is as much eating as

it is staying active. So you gotta stay active. But like I told last year's story, my dad, who kind of um is like my personal fitness inspiration, a guy that was overweight and just completely changed his life to be better in the field hunting. So you can keep up with his kids. And I mean that guy. I've got a lot of friends that are half his age,

and he will out hike, out carry out perform. He is just a machine and he does it because he made a commitment to work out just thirty minutes a day, and he has not missed a day in thirteen years, which is incredible. And that's the kind of fitness inspiration that I have in my life. And to see it firsthand, you're like, wow, I want to be like that kind of dedication. But also he noticed that he would work out, workout, work out, but until he started eating better, he kept

on that weight. And it just it's a lot easier to shed some weight on your body and then add some weight in your pack. I'd rather have the weight in my pack than on my body because it's not with me all the time. And I think that eating is as much part of fitness, and like when when you go in your daily routine of what you eat. I'm not big on like just counting all these calories and really worrying about it, but I do try to live a healthy lifestyle and a lot of that comes

with wild game cooking at home. Obviously, during this COVID thing, I think I've never been more healthy because I've I've been eating out less. But one thing that I did add into my regiment was just um within my workout and everything like that, just adding started to do like meal replace shakes as opposed to like eating big breakfast in the times of year where I'm not as active and I just use my w a like meal replaced

shake and then do my workout. It's like, Okay, it's a workout, but it's not like my all day hunting, hiking, working kind of stuff. So for me, that's really helped, especially on a year where like last year, whereas like at home more than I've ever been in my entire life, and I think that I went into the hunting season it's surprisingly good shape because of adding that into my regiment, where normally most years for me, it's hard for me

because I I just do it all the time. So I'm always out in the field, whether it's guiding or doing whatever, so I'm doing it. But this year was a little bit different. I was like, Okay, I'm not doing it all the time, so how do I balance physical activity being active? And it was just working out at home and then you know, adding in stuff like the meal replacement shakes and just eating good whole foods, meats and vegetables and cooking myself something good, healthy, tasty, nutritious,

that kind of stuff. Simple stuff. But it's fun to hear from somebody that's like, I only do this so I kill more elk, And that's God's honest truth. Otherwise I probably wouldn't do any of this. Who knows, but um, yeah it does. It does make a big difference when it comes time for hunting season, especially in Western big game hunting number six And this is something that I kind of try to live by. Take the harder route and in your training, get some vert you know, hunting.

Mountain hunting is vertical. The part where people slack in the part where people struggle is the uphill. So find things where you can get the uphill. I know, not everybody lives in mountains. I am very fortunate that I can just climb a mountain any day that I feel like at any I can walk out right now after I finish this podcast and go climb a big mountain without having to do much. But there are other ways

to get vertical. And that could be stairs, um, that could be stair machines, that could be anything where you build that lunk capacity for hiking up hill and heck, you still got your COVID mask, might maybe throw that on when you jump on the old StairMaster, throw your pack on and make it hard for yourself. Take the hard route. I think that you're going to find that you're gonna be able to push through a lot more

when you do that. Throughout the year number seven, do something this year that's really hard, something that you didn't think you can do, something that you've never done before. I don't care what it is, but something that's physical. If you've never run ten miles, make it a goal that you're gonna run ten miles. I don't it doesn't I don't know where you're at. But make it something that you haven't done seems hard and is going to be difficult for you. If you haven't gone a marathon distance,

do that. If you haven't done a multi day hike or something, do something like that. Do something, Find something that's hard for you to do, and do it. And I think that being able to overcome things that are difficult really gets you in the good mental state when you're out there, to keep pushing further, to hunt harder, to do what your body is capable of, but not

talking yourself out of it. And I think that it takes some I realize over my course of my life, and like interacting with a lot of people on hunts, and I mean, year in and year out of here, this is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, and I go, this is not this was not a difficult hunt. Not not saying it's a difficult hunt for me, but I can understand how it was a difficult for someone.

So I also think that just getting into the mindset of doing something that's out of your comfort zone that's difficult, and it doesn't even have to be something crazy. It just has to be something that is difficult, that is uncomfortable for you to do, that you haven't done before. That kind of gets you into that mode. I personally do something like that every year, maybe multiple times a year.

I think it's one thing that's really helped build that mental toughness of your I I guarantee ninety not unless you have like some real serious health thing. Most people are capable of a lot of stuff that they didn't know they were capable of, but they just can't talk themselves out of it. So those are my fitness tips, And if you take those going into this year, start building out a plan that includes those things, you're gonna

find yourself way more ready when it comes time to chase. Ok, when you see that, got to go that next ridge. When you've got when it's day five of a seven day hunt, and you hunt it as hard as you can, you've got two days left to keep going. The next section is going to be all about hunt planning. Whether you live out west, whether you want to embark on your first elk hunt this year, you know whatever, deer hunt,

antelope hunt, whatever you got going. Now is the time to start planning because now you've got to start applying for tag. Yous gotta figure out what you're gonna do. If you're new to it, it seems daunting. So I'm gonna start you out with the seven tips on just kind of like the basic run through of where to go, what to do. So we're gone number eight here, which is number one for hunt planning. See how I did this? Uh so it's gonna be the first thing I do.

This is I'm just going through my step process. So number eight we got line out all the deadlines for the applications. What I do I sit down, I figure out what deadlines for what states, what applications. When I need to buy tags by some have already passed, but for the most part, most of them are coming up. I figured that all out. I make a master calendar. I say, okay, now i've got a plan. Now from there, we're gonna go to number nine. I say, pick the

states you're interested in and get regulations once I have. Okay, here's the states that are available. Okay, maybe I'm interested in. For me, I'm interested in my home state of Nevada. I'm interested in places that are close by and places that maybe have some more over the counter type opportunities and places that I've been applying. So I kind of pick areas that are close to me. You know, maybe

do the same. If you live further further east and it's you're making a trip, maybe pick somewhere that's reasonably easy to get to where you might be able to go out once during the summer and scout it out and then go hunt it. Who always ask what's the best state to hunt? Honestly, I think it's one where you can spend some time. For most people, it will probably be Colorado because it's closer to where they live. Um, there's a lot to be said. Now. Some people are like, well,

I'm already driving twenty hours, what's forty hours? Should I go somewhere else? I don't know. It's up to you. The place doesn't necessarily matter. But what you need to do is just pick places that you're interested in, that have animals that you want to hunt, or an experience that you're looking for. Get the regulations and see what kind of tags are available, what it might take to get a tag, and where you might be able to hunt. Now number ten is going to be look for your hunt.

Now that you've got those regulations, you've got you know what you want to hunt, start looking for a tag that you can obtain or one that you can start applying for. What does it have that you like? There's also services out there. Um. I recently this year started using the go hunt app. It's I like that one because you can do your own research on it. There's a membership. I think that's been worth its weight in

gold this year. Last year, I talked a lot about prepping and gave a lot of tips in the way that I do. It is pretty our kick because now there's software that essentially does what I. All the conclusions that I came to I was able to figure out in thirty seconds. So stuff like that's cool. UM. One services that I use a lot as well, Hunting Fool, Epic Outdoors. Those kind of things are just research tools. Um,

but those are just research tools. I still think that you should do a lot of this research and find what fits for you, uh and what you can reasonably do and how you can get a tag and just start looking for a hunt somewhere to go. That's what you need, a place to go. And then what you need to do on that look for hunt is select somewhere that you're like, okay, you maybe you apply for a few places, but find some find a hunt that you can go do and then do it. There's a

lot of hidden gems out there. I think one that surprised me this year was just California over the counter your tag. I think it's widely underutilized. Um. There's some great hunting, maybe not some giant bucks, but some incredible country and some some great tags. There's stuff like that all over the country. You just have to look for it.

But once you have that, then you can go into number eleven logistics of getting the unit sorted, so you figure out what you're gonna do now is where we're gonna be like, Okay, how am I gonna get there? Am I gonna drive? Am I gonna fly? Um? Where am I gonna can't? Can I get a tag? What kind of tag can I get? What are the season dates? Planning out the logistics. Now you're in the actual phase

of getting your hunt going. You're planning a hunt. You've got your dates set you know where you're gonna be, you know the unit you're gonna be, Maybe not exactly where you're gonna hunt, but you've got that set out. Then I jumped to number twelve, and that's start map scouting. This is where I figure out where I'm gonna hunt. I've I've narrowed it from wide like big broad, don't

know what I'm gonna do. I'm looking at deadlines in different places, to picking a state too, then looking for a hunt and picking a unit, to getting the logistics of the dates and the times and the seasons that I can go. Now I'm going to start scouting and I'm gonna do that on my ONYX map. Pull out my map, looking for different features, um topography, access points, trailheads, campsites, roads,

Start planning and this can all be done. At this in this application season, in this time, and you can even just do a brief planning of Okay, look at the unit and say, maybe before you even buy a tag, say is there good public land access? Is there somewhere I'm going to hunt? Look on the map, say, okay, there's a lot of public land, there's not a lot of public land. Start over, look at maybe another place,

another unit. Now, once I've decided I found a place that I can actually do, I'm going to commit to that area. Then number thirteen, I would say, in hunt planning, listen back to a lot of these podcasts. I've got map podcasts, I've got species specific podcasts. I think there's enough information go back and listen to some of it as you get further into planning your trip, planning your hunt.

I think they're really valuable tools. You can zoom past the stories, listen to the tips, you can ignore the tips and listen to the stories. Some people get more information out of stories, and people get more information out of tips. But I think that's a great resource to have. Um Also, you know there's plenty of great online resources and other resources out there. Magazines, Western Hunter Magazine, a lot of great just like ways to prepare yourself for

the skill set that you're going to need. And then number fourteen is gear up throughout the year. What I like to do If I've got a hunt planned, um, start thinking about the things you're gonna need things that you start looking for that stuff. Maybe you need a new pack, maybe you need to new this. Maybe you want one high quality piece of gear that you don't have. Start gearing up, Start looking for that gear. Maybe you can find some good deals. But also just kind of

start mentally planning. Okay, what logistical things am I gonna need? How am I going to do my food? How am I gonna when I get something? How am I going to get it back? What am I going to bring with me? Start making a master list, like a packing list, of the things you're gonna need for this trip. Once you have all that button down, you are well on your way to success and you've done the steps that really I mean, it sounds like a lot, but it's really not that that much. It's the steps that most

people want to take but don't. It's how you get from sitting at home thinking about it to getting out in the field and doing it. Now we're gonna go into the third category, which is shooting, And I think shooting is huge. You've got yourself to this point, you are fit, you have hiked all week, you have finally found the elk, you have put in the time planning and preparing and spent a whole year thinking about it. Then whatever you're hunting walks out and you miss it.

That sucks. I've been there, We've all been there. It sucks, and I think the ways to mitig eight that are just spending a lot more time with whatever you're shooting. And as a as a professional hunting guide, I can tell you most people don't spend enough time with what they're shooting. Most hunters, I would say that that is um being fit and being not ready for when that moment arrives. And that is the easiest place to mess up,

because that's when the excitement should happen. That's when everything is so exciting. That's when you panic, that's when stuff goes down. That's just the easiest place to make a mistake. And so I think that you can kind of mitigate those mistakes with practice, and I personally know from myself. I do it all the time, and I still need to continually be better at it, because I don't think that I'll ever get to a point where I say, oh yeah, I've had enough. I've I've got to that point.

I just think, when are you good enough? Never? Um So, I I always am constantly trying to change things, do things different. And that's why I've set up these tips for or shooting, because it's all part of punching more tags. So number fifteen in this whole master list, Number one of shooting would be to create a regiment um with with a seer, a bow hunter. How many arrows a week can you shoot? Just like the fitness thing. I say, let's say it's fifty arrows, a hundred arrows, I don't know.

Make it something that's obtainable. It doesn't have to be crazy. I mean, even if it's twenty arrows a week, I don't care what it is. Don't just be the guy that grabs your bow right before the season, like pick a time. It's like okay, yep, it's ten arrows a week. I don't care what it is, but just pick something

and stick to it. You know, Yeah, maybe you're gonna be out of town and you can't whatever, but you know, write down how many what your goal is, and then meet that goal because it gets you in the habit of doing something good that's gonna benefit you. And I definitely think that people that rifle hunt definitely skip this step to For archers, it's easy because you can do it at your house, but it's getting ranged time is hard.

So maybe you're a rifle hunt or maybe it's just saying once a month, I'm going to shoot ten rounds. You know, as AMMO gets in short supply. It doesn't even have to be the rifle that you're shooting. Maybe you've got a lighter caliber rifle it's twenty two. Get out, do some shooting, create a schedule and a regiment, and it's gonna make you better. Number sixteen. This is I call this like the gear tuning phase. So let's think of it as like throughout the year, what I would

schedule is January through April, April April. I can't even talk today. January through April, it's just gonna be that gear tuning time. And this is something you know, for me personally, I get a lot of new gear and then I'm trying and I'm mixing in between the season and that's why I've got like some stuff that's older that I just stick with because it's just I know, it's it's nailed in, like it's set, it's solid. I

don't need to mess with anything. So in this beginning part winter through January, April, whatever, this is the time should tune your gear, not right before the season. You know, if you're gonna put new stuff on it, change it now if you want to. If you want to get new arrows, um, now is a good time to do it for me, Like last year, I did it this, That's what I did. I I switched up my arrows, set up, I tweaked a few things on my bow. Now maybe you're gonna try it. You know, obviously new

stuff comes out once you get it set. You can always change things later, but you know, mess with it now, like, um, I mount my rifle, my new rifle scopes. This. I try to get it this time of year where I can really make sure that everything is set level, put right, Like put in a little bit of time on this end so that way, as you get closer to the hunting season, you're practicing with what you're gonna hunt with, and you don't have to change it later. I know.

I mean it always surprises me. I'm like, archery sales are always the biggest, Like the few weeks before archery season. I'm like, how is that possible. It's so difficult to really get everything set up how you want in that short amount of time. So now is the time you need to tune, do your your broad tuning, do your

get your bow tuned well, get everything dialed. And for me this year, that's going to be a huge focus of mine, is just really getting back to that where I get it dialed early and then I have a lot more time to do other kinds of practice. So number seventeen, it kind of brings us into this what I call hunt minded practice, and maybe we call it like may may slay time, Like it's just my mind switches gears from getting everything set and practicing to just

going hunt focused practice. And one thing that I find very effective and you should definitely plan on doing is roving. And what that is is um walking around in the hills with whatever you're hunting with bow, longbow, reeker. I do it with everything. I use the rubber blunt tips, I walk around and shoot safe targets, you know, like

pine cones, random stuff, whatever. Three D target shooting is good to um at different yardages, to practice judging distance, to practice understanding drop compensation, to practice shooting in field type positions. I My practice is focused toward hunting. I've talked about it before, but I definitely think that you need to think about that, especially coming into the new year. Something to think about. UM, it's also something you do

with a rifle. Uh, go out shoot rocks. Obviously you need to make sure that one there's no fire danger too. You've got a solid backstop and it's not dangerous. Don't be stupid. But like you can definitely go out and do that with a rifle as well. Very I think not enough people practice with the rifle, and it gave me even something. You go out with the twenty two and do so. UM. I've talked about all this before, but I think it bears repeating, especially this time of year.

Number eighteen. Practice those angles. Plan it into your practice, whether it's a gun or about practice shooting at angles. It's the weak point in the hunt. Shooting up hill, shooting downhill, shooting whatever with a rifle, with a boat, you know, think about it. Most rifle practices at a range flat. Now, not everywhere has the ability to do that, but it's something if you if you do, you should do it, whether you gotta. I've said it before, like don't fall off your roof. But like if you've got

a balcony, practice there. If you could set a tree stand up in your backyard with your bows, practice there, Like figure out ways to practice some of these angles. Do. What you shouldn't do is put your target on your

roof and practice shooting up because that sounds dangerous. But if you can get out in the mountains for a weekend shoot or whatever, do some three D shoots, you make sure to get those angles dialed a number nineteen, you know, stretch it out over the year, whatever, figure out what your effective distances now, and then expand your skills to shoot further, not necessarily to hunt, shoot further,

but just so you know you're capable of it. Like, whatever you're tight group is now at the furthest yardage, plan on practicing to a point where you maintain that same grouping at double the yardage. Whether it's with a rifle, whether it's with a bow, whatever. Um, if you're you're used to shooting in a hundred yard targets range, shoot further, practice reaching out now, and get in the habit of making that your type of practice. I necessarily don't think

it's great for like well, with the bow. You know, I like to shoot further, but I like to hunt close. Um. It's just because it helps me fine tune my whole set up and know that everything is flying right and everything's good to go, and gives me that added skill of, you know, just being a better shot overall. And it definitely plays a factor in rifle shooting. I think too

many people go out sited in a hundred yards. I say it's good, they got their ballistics app and they think they're gonna shoot really far, and they haven't actually proven it in the field or on the bench. So I think that that's a way that you should will make yourself better. Number twenty Field position shooting and the

one perfect shot. One thing that I like to do, whether it's with a rifle, whether it's with a bow, go out, set it up in a field type position and take one perfect shot that what I call a cold boar shot. You don't get any redos, any practice shots when you're out in the field make one perfect shot. And I think it's it's also really good for rifle hunters and field shooting positions, even if it's at the range.

Put out your target. You know that you're going to fire that gun one time, and shoot off your pack, shoot off your knee, make it fast, like like you're in the field. It's better if you can get out into a field type setting and just set up and shoot, and you get one shot and and start recording those

like okay, did I hit? Did I miss? Write it down every day and see your progression, because you want to be getting better over time and see, okay, look when I started out, I was in the ten oring and then hitting the target and missing this many times or whatever, um you know, and then over the course of the year, track your progression. I think it's really good to be able to do that, to look back and say here's where I started, here's where I ended up,

and I can see my progress. And then number twenty one our final tip, I would say on the shooting category, shooting those uncomfortable positions, but practice some offhand type shooting. Uh. If you're a rifle shooter, I mean there are those times where you might have to make a quick close shot. People say, oh, you should never shoot off hand or whatever. Um. I mean I I practice most of my range time shooting not only just for fun. It helps practice trigger control.

And I mean I shoot a lot of two to four yard targets off hand with my rifle because it's more fun, it's a little more challenging, and you just probably will be surprised how much better you can get at it. Now the bow, I would say the opposite. Practice shooting from your knees, practice shooting from a position that isn't um your standard shooting position. All it's trying to do is is mix things up, get you better in whatever scenario you encounter. So when the time comes

to make the perfect shot, you're gonna nail it. As you ring in the new year, I hope that you kind of take some of the off just into practice, into getting better, creating some goals and some things that you'd like to do, and getting out there and doing it and and then tell me you know about your progress. That's one thing that I really love to hear. I hear it all the time. Last year, somebody that went on a trip or did something that they didn't think

they could do and was successful or even just attempted. Um. That's the kind of stuff that I love to hear about. So I appreciate you guys reaching out with that kind of stuff. I'm excited for this new year. I hope that there are some better year ahead than the last one, and whatever looked like, hopefully one looks a little bit better and at least there's some things we can do

to make ourselves better. And I know that all these things that I talk about are things that I do and I'm going to be doing and constantly striving to get better at. So I don't think that there's ever a point where I I never want to hit a point where I'm like, yeah, I'm good enough at that. UM. I constantly want to push myself and be better at it, and because of it, I find more success, I find more enjoyment and what I love so much. And so I hope that you guys can take that to heart.

Happy New Year, everyone, enjoy your family, enjoy your day, enjoy your new year, and we will catch you next time on cutting the distance.