Today on the Transition Wild Podcast, I am joined by returning guest, Fred Bohm. It’s always a pleasure having Fred on the show to talk hunting and this episode was a lot of fun. During our discussion, Fred walks us through his season so far and all of the exciting animals he’s been chasing with a bow in hand throughout 2020. We start things off with his recent elk hunts in Wyoming and Colorado, where he was able to take a cow and bull on public land within about a week time frame, on back to ba...
Oct 08, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 256
Today I’m covering my recent archery mule deer hunt from early September in Colorado where I cover the events that unfolded during the hunt, as well as the preparation that lead up to it. I begin by covering how I decided on a certain unit and the reasons why I chose to do this hunt in the first place. I then talk about the preparation such as totally revamping my bow and shooting form, along with physical fitness for an above tree-line excursion around 13,000 feet elevation. I then cover my dig...
Oct 01, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 255
Today I’m joined by my friend Ben Guttormson for another badass elk hunting podcast. What’s cool about this episode is that it’s positioned as a question and answer format of various hunting situational and preparation scenarios, where Ben explains what he would do and the reasons why. During our discussion of preparation, I have him rank five categories of scouting, fitness, shooting, gear, and calling and how he prioritizes them in order of most important to least important. I also have him br...
Sep 10, 2020•1 hr 59 min•Ep. 254
Today we have Cody Rich on the show to hit us with all kinds of elk hunting knowledge, advice, and wisdom. For those of you who might not be familiar with Cody, he hosts The Rich Outdoors Podcast and talks with some truly remarkable guests on elk hunting tactics and strategy. In addition to that, Cody has many years of hunting experience and many bulls under his belt to boot so he is walking book of elk hunting knowledge, to say the least. We cover a number of topics during this episode but a bi...
Aug 27, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 253
Today my guest is Tim Andrews, owner and operator of Gypsum Creek Outfitters, based in Gypsum Colorado. Tim grew up in New York hunting whitetails, moved to Colorado in 2013 and instantly fell in love with elk hunting in the mountains. Tim is an everyday, DIY guy that followed his passion and purchased this outfitting business in 2019 to make a lifelong dream come true. During this episode, we talk about his progression as an elk hunter and how it ultimately led him to owning and running a big g...
Aug 13, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 252
Today we have a really cool episode where we are talking solo, DIY public land elk hunting with Brandon Mcdonald. Brandon embarked on his first archery elk hunt in 2019 and we cover everything from preparation, gear, the highlights, and the struggles. We also talk about what he learned from his experiences and what he changing up for 2020 in order to tip the odds in his favor. It takes grit and a whole lot of mental toughness to keep grinding even when every voice inside your head is telling you...
Jun 19, 2020•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 251
On this episode, we are joined by returning guest, Cliff Gray of Flat Tops Wilderness Guides to talk about what you should be doing right now to prepare for an elk or deer hunt in the west this fall. Cliff walks us through why gear is important, but also why it shouldn’t necessarily be at the top of your list based. We also touch on a 2020 Colorado hunting outlook where we highlight a number of potential outcomes based on various weather patterns and changes in hunting pressure due to the corona...
Jun 12, 2020•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 250
Today we are joined by Justin Allen, founder of Woodroad Gear Co. to talk about his high quality, performance based socks that are built for western hunters and outdoorsman. If there is one thing for sure when it comes to mountain hunting, your feet are everything so its important to have a good pair of socks inside your boots. Prior to this episode, I thought socks were just “socks” and I never put much thought into the design and technology, but Justin explains what makes Woodroad Gear differe...
May 21, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 249
Today I talk with Dan ‘The Man’ Johnson about our upcoming mule deer archery hunts that we have planned for later this Fall. Dan will be chasing muleys again in South Dakota and I’ll be partaking in my first archery mule deer hunt in Colorado. Dan and I both describe our scouting process and our hunting styles based on the areas we will be hunting. We also cover a little bit of turkey hunting, shed hunting, and a much anticipated Michigan public land whitetail hunt for Dan later this year. This ...
May 07, 2020•57 min•Ep. 248
On today’s Transition Wild podcast, we are joined by PJ Delhomme, hunting editor of Bugle which is a nationally published magazine by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Ever since I moved to Colorado in 2015, I’ve been a member of RMEF and I sincerely enjoy reading every issue of Bugle so it was a true pleasure being able to sit down with PJ. To start off the episode we talk about PJ’s background of where he grew up, how he got into hunting, and his path that lead him to working and writing for ...
Apr 23, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 247
Today I’m joined by Garrett Roe, owner of Heads Up Decoy to talk Spring Turkey hunting and tactics for chasing birds on the ground with a decoy. During the first half of the episode, Garrett gives us a number of tips and strategies to get aggressive on Spring turkeys. We also cover some of the product features of a Heads Up Turkey Decoy and how they are portable, durable, versatile and lightweight. During the second half of the episode, we transition to the story of Garrett’s whitetail he killed...
Apr 09, 2020•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 246
On today’s episode, I talk with Brian Sommers, a Montana Game Warden who specializes in criminal investigation and grizzly bear attack training. Brian has been working with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks for over 35 years and has helped develop wildlife attack response guidelines for Montana FWP. We discuss various topics all revolving around grizzly bear and black bear attacks in Montana, how officers conduct investigations and why they are important. We also talk about high risk encounters, ...
Mar 26, 2020•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 245
We are already half way through March and before we know it, elk season will be knocking at the door. In today’s episode, I cover 2020 elk hunting in Colorado and what you should expect for archery and rifle seasons later this Fall based on some changes to the season dates and hunting pressure. I also cover some highlights of the 2020 big game application period which is currently open and why you should be applying for preference points during this time. I then cover how to nail down a particul...
Mar 11, 2020•54 min•Ep. 244
Today I’m joined by Kristin Cannon of Colorado Parks and Wildlife to talk about laws and regulations revolving around big game hunting in Colorado. Kristin has worked for the agency for many years and gives us a background of how she got started in the field of biology and wildlife enforcement. With the big game application period opening up in March, we talk about recent changes for the 2020 draw and new things you should be aware of. We also cover the five-year big game structure season dates ...
Feb 27, 2020•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 243
Today we are joined by Mike Mershon, a resident of Montana who hunts elk each fall in grizzly country. Since moving to Montana in the 90’s, Mike has grown up hunting among grizzly bears and even though it is second nature to him, he has had some pretty crazy experiences over the years. We talk in depth about his gear preparation against grizzlies which includes bear spray and a side arm for protection. Mike covers how he carries his handgun, where his holster location is, and how he is able to d...
Feb 13, 2020•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 242
Today we are joined by Morgan Lommele of People For Bikes to talk about laws, policies, and information pertaining to the use of electric bicycles on public lands. A big reason for recording this episode is not only because I work for QuietKat, an electric bike manufacturer based in Eagle, Colorado but also because I’m an avid e-bike rider on public lands. During the podcast, we cover what People For Bikes does to help with bike and e-bike access on public lands, trails, and roadways and what re...
Jan 30, 2020•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 241
My guest today is Matt Dunfee, Director of the CWD Alliance, where we cover the current state of Chronic Wasting Disease in Colorado. We begin by covering what CWD is, what a prion is, how it spreads, and why we should be concerned as hunters and outdoorsman. We then talk about what the history of the disease in Colorado and the prevalence percentage of deer and elk in the state. We then discuss what Colorado Parks and Wildlife is doing to actively manage CWD and the action plan revolving around...
Jan 15, 2020•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 240
Today we are joined by Curt Headington, Vice President of Xpedition Archery, a leading compound bow manufacturer based in Decorah Iowa. During this episode we cover the 2020 lineup of bows which include their flag ship models MX15 and M16 as well as the Denali LX, Xscape, Mountaineer X, Thresher X, and the Perfextion XL. Curt walks us through the entire multi-year process from concept to production on what it takes to manufacture a premium bow in today’s world. We also cover many significant cha...
Jan 02, 2020•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 239
Today I’m joined by returning guest and all-around hunting badass, Fred Bohm. We start off the podcast with a recap of his 2019 hunting season which included antelope, high-country mule deer, and multiple states for whitetails where we cover some the successes, failures, and lessons learned along way. We also talk about introducing his kids to hunting and the outdoors by involving them in every process at a young age. Fred then walks us through his photography series on his website, which is an ...
Dec 19, 2019•59 min•Ep. 238
Today we are joined by returning guest, Cliff Gray who is the owner of Flat Tops Wilderness Guides where we discuss all things related to elk and deer hunting in Colorado. During this podcast, we dive into a recap of the 2019 hunting conditions, success rates and setting realistic expectations for public land elk hunting. We also talk about weather related trends and how precipitation can affect elk and elk hunting conditions. We talk about the current and future state of elk/deer hunting in Col...
Dec 06, 2019•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 237
Today my guest is John Ferkowicz who recently made the transition from whitetail guide to an elk guide, where he worked for an outfitter in Colorado during the 2019 archery season. John owns a food plot business and during his offseason, has been guiding whitetails in Illinois for the better part of a decade. On today’s episode we cover why John wanted to try elk guiding, how he was able to land a job with an outfitter, and what it took to make it all came together. We also cover what guiding el...
Nov 20, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 236
On today’s episode we are joined by Mark Holyoak, Director of Communication for RMEF. During our discussion, we cover the background of how the organization began back in 1984, its overall mission, and what they are doing today to help preserve elk and elk hunting. Mark explains how RMEF is more than just an elk organization by helping open up land access, habitat restoration and forest management to benefit both wildlife and outdoorsman. We also talk about some of the hot button topics RMEF is ...
Nov 09, 2019•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 235
On today’s episode we are joined by returning guest, David Ware to talk about his 377” bull he killed in New Mexico on a DIY public land elk hunt. This hunt just took place last month in September of 2019 and when David sent me photos, I knew I had to have him back on the show. We cover the details A to Z, from when he drew the tag back in April, to scouting and hanging cameras in June, to when he killed the bull in late September. We talk about his scouting efforts, hanging cameras, and how he ...
Oct 25, 2019•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 234
On today’s Transition Wild podcast, I’m joined by my good friend Josh Neville to recap his 2019 archery elk hunt in Montana. After five years of chasing elk in multiple states, Josh was able to experience success in 2019 with a great bull. During this episode, we cover why he chose Montana over other states such as Colorado or Idaho and how he was able to nail down potential areas to hunt. We also talk about making adjustments when things don’t go as planned and the full play-by-play details of ...
Oct 10, 2019•49 min•Ep. 233
Elk hunting, especially archery elk hunting, is no easy task. It takes time, dedication, and grit to pound the mountain day after day on a week long trip. On today’s episode, I talk with Dan Johnson about his past two years of elk hunting in Colorado where we discuss expectations, goals, and lessons learned from his 2018 and 2019 seasons. One big takeaway from Dan’s elk hunt during the 2018 season was just how physically demanding and rugged the terrain is where we hunt, so we talk in great deta...
Sep 27, 2019•54 min•Ep. 232
Today we are joined by my friend Beau Martonik to talk about out of state DIY elk hunting in the mountain west on public land. We cover all aspects of non-resident elk hunting and how he goes about selecting a state, scouting and researching hunting areas, and overall preparation. Beau recently got into elk hunting so we talk in great detail about his hunts from last year in Montana and how he is changing things up in 2019 in regards to gear, hunting areas, and strategy. We also cover physical f...
Aug 29, 2019•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 231
Today we are joined by Ben Guttormson to talk about tactics and strategies for hunting pressured elk on public land. Ben grew up in the Midwest but now resides in Montana and has years of elk hunting experience with a bow under his belt. He is without a doubt the real deal when it comes to killing big bulls. During this episode we cover Ben’s summer scouting routine and how he puts the odds in his favor well before the season even begins. We talk about common mistakes people make when elk huntin...
Aug 15, 2019•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 230
On today’s episode, we have returning guest, Garrett Roe to cover aggressive decoy tactics for elk. Garrett is the owner and founder of Heads Up Decoy, a manufacturer of lightweight, portable decoys for bowhunting. This podcast is jam packed with tips and strategies all revolving around elk bowhunting and how to get aggressive on public land bulls. We first cover the design and features of the decoy that are appealing to archery hunters, and reasons why you should consider using one on every hun...
Aug 01, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 229
If you’re a beginner to elk country and you live 1,000 miles away, chances are you’ll be putting some effort into scouting before you show up to the mountains. Unfortunately, not all of us can drive 30 minutes and dive head first into elk habitat so were forced into doing the next best thing, digital scouting on platforms such as Google Earth and onXmaps. On today’s episode I’m covering digital scouting tips for elk that you can use to help you become a more successful hunter this fall. I break ...
Jul 17, 2019•55 min•Ep. 228
Today I’m joined by my friend Jake Bell who is a super knowledgeable bow technician in Colorado. We talk all things related to archery setups and dialing in your bow for western big game hunting. When chasing elk in unforgiving mountain terrain, your bow has to be bomb proof and Jake talks about the things we can do to prepare and to ensure our equipment doesn't fail in the field or let us down during the moment of truth. Elk and mule deer are bigger animals than your average whitetail and somet...
Jul 05, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 227
