Podcasts about onx

This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, Cal and Carter are joined by Gavin for a shorter episode after wrapping up two weekends at Game Fair. With duck season right around the corner, the guys get into a debate about why waterfowl hunter numbers are declining and whether duck hunters simply aren't as hardcore as they used to be.  The conversation covers everything from declining Minnesota waterfowl stamp sales and habitat loss to drain tile, public land access, and the changing effort hunters are willing to put in. Are fewer people hunting because there are fewer ducks and fewer places to hunt, or have modern hunters become less willing to walk into a field, knock on doors, battle bad weather, and put in the work? That leads into a bigger discussion about how technology has changed the outdoors. OnX has made finding landowners easier, modern hunting gear is better than ever, and tools like LiveScope have completely changed fishing. The guys debate whether technology is lowering the barrier to entry or simply changing what it means to be a hardcore outdoorsman. Plus, the crew recaps Game Fair, talks about the excitement of early goose season getting closer, and Gavin explains why he still keeps detailed notes on everything from weather and wind to the exact conditions surrounding a successful hunt. Topics Covered: •Why waterfowl hunter numbers are declining •Are today's duck hunters getting soft? •Drain tile and waterfowl habitat loss •Knocking on doors vs. paying an outfitter •How hunting technology has changed •Getting ready for early goose season Thanks for listening to the Midwest Flyways Podcast! Be sure to check out the Flyways Hunt Club for even more exclusive content every week.
   Join Flyways Hunt Club and get 1 month free! Flyways Hunt Club New Waterfowl Film out now! Out West | Waterfowl Hunting in Montana Stay comfortable, dry and warm: First Lite (Code MWF20) Go to OnXHunt to be better prepared for your hunt: OnX Learn more about better ammo: Migra Ammunitions Weatherby Sorix: Weatherby Support Conservation: DU (Code: Flyways) Stop saying "Huh?" with better hearing protection: Soundgear Live Free: Turtlebox Add motion to your spread: Flashback Better Merch: /SHOP

Welcome to the land podcast, a platform for people looking to educate themselves in the world of land ownership, land investing, staying up to date with current land trends in the Midwest, and hearing from industry experts and professionals. On today's episode, we are back in the studio with Michael Engelmeyer. We discuss: - Michael buys his first 80 acres as a tax play and leases it back to his own photography studio. - He "liberates" an underground spring with a bulldozer and has four gobblers on the dam by sunrise. - Michael doubles his money in three years, going from $1,400 an acre to $3,000 an acre. - He sells the farm himself with a full-page newspaper ad built from his own trail camera photos. - Michael skips the 1031 exchange on purpose, pays the capital gains, and invests the proceeds. - He explains how a 90-day 1031 clock pushes buyers into farms they never should have bought. - Michael walks away from a 3,400-acre Ozarks ranch over $200 an acre and gets it a year later. - The sellers refuse $1,500 an acre at auction, then call him back and take $1,100. - He argues square and rectangular parcels hunt better than odd-shaped ground at any price. - Michael's due diligence starts with a drone and a call to the sheriff about meth in the area. And so much more! Chapters: 0:00 The 1031 Everyone Does, and Why He Didn't 0:58 Meet Michael Engelmeyer, Great Outdoor Studios 1:31 From St. Louis Fashion Shoots to the Outdoor Industry 4:27 Why He Bought Land in the First Place 5:13 The 80 Acres Between Two Big Tracts 6:19 Trading Hunting Rights for Construction Equipment 7:19 "Liberating" a Spring to Build a Pond 9:55 Four Gobblers on the Dam at Sunrise 10:58 Leasing the Farm Back to His Own Business 13:17 Doubling His Money in Three Years 17:40 The Neighbors Lowballed Him 19:36 Selling It Himself With a Full-Page Print Ad 22:39 $1,400 an Acre In, $3,000 an Acre Out 23:36 Why He Skipped the 1031 Exchange 27:20 Square or Rectangle: The Property Shape Rule 31:56 Finding the 6,000-Acre Ozarks Ranch 36:15 The Auction and the No-Sale 39:52 The Call a Year Later: Bought at $1,100 44:09 Treat Your Twenties Like Boot Camp 46:55 His Punch List: Drones, Aerials, and the Sheriff 51:04 Keep the Farm Within an Hour of Home 52:34 If He Started Over With $100,000 54:29 Why He'd Never Buy Land With a Partner 57:16 Patience, and Why Land Keeps Going Up 59:26 Where to Follow Michael Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! - Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding  -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_  -OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt  -Painted Arrow: bit.ly/PaintedArrow  - Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/  - Use code 'HOFER' to save 10% off at www.theprairiefarm.com  - Massive potential tax savings: ASMLABS.Net 

Antelope and mule deer don't just test your shooting. They expose every mistake in your glassing, rangefinding, wind reading, patience, and ability to disappear into terrain without blowing the whole stalk. Dan Johnson and Kurt Belding trade hard-earned stories from the field and break down what actually works when you're chasing pronghorn and mule deer with a bow. From 80-yard antelope shot windows to the brutal reality of crawling across open country only to watch deer melt into the next drainage, this conversation is packed with the kind of details western hunters usually learn the hard way. You'll discover: Why antelope hunting can be more mentally frustrating than elk hunting How Kurt decides whether a stalk is even worth starting Why mule deer success often comes down to patience, glassing, and staying with an animal long enough to make a smart move The importance of OnX waypoints, accurate rangefinding, and knowing exactly how terrain changes your approach Why bucks bed the way they do, how other deer ruin stalks, and when freezing in place beats trying to sneak away Dan and Kurt also compare prairie hunts to mountain hunts, talk water, shade, bedding behavior, and explain why mule deer can seem impossible until everything finally lines up. Kurt shares the mindset that keeps him effective in the bubble, including the value of backing out, relocating, and waiting for the right moment instead of forcing a shot. If you hunt the West, want to hunt the West, or just love the chess match behind a successful stalk, this one is essential listening. It's a real-world masterclass in reading animals, reading country, and staying disciplined when the whole hunt is trying to make you panic. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Antelope and mule deer don't just test your shooting. They expose every mistake in your glassing, rangefinding, wind reading, patience, and ability to disappear into terrain without blowing the whole stalk. Dan Johnson and Kurt Belding trade hard-earned stories from the field and break down what actually works when you're chasing pronghorn and mule deer with a bow. From 80-yard antelope shot windows to the brutal reality of crawling across open country only to watch deer melt into the next drainage, this conversation is packed with the kind of details western hunters usually learn the hard way. You'll discover: Why antelope hunting can be more mentally frustrating than elk hunting How Kurt decides whether a stalk is even worth starting Why mule deer success often comes down to patience, glassing, and staying with an animal long enough to make a smart move The importance of OnX waypoints, accurate rangefinding, and knowing exactly how terrain changes your approach Why bucks bed the way they do, how other deer ruin stalks, and when freezing in place beats trying to sneak away Dan and Kurt also compare prairie hunts to mountain hunts, talk water, shade, bedding behavior, and explain why mule deer can seem impossible until everything finally lines up. Kurt shares the mindset that keeps him effective in the bubble, including the value of backing out, relocating, and waiting for the right moment instead of forcing a shot. If you hunt the West, want to hunt the West, or just love the chess match behind a successful stalk, this one is essential listening. It's a real-world masterclass in reading animals, reading country, and staying disciplined when the whole hunt is trying to make you panic. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I sat down with Jordan Bales this week for one of those conversations that starts as a catch-up and turns into a full-on masterclass — and I didn't even plan it that way. It's been way too long since Jordan and I recorded together (we live in the same town, so we keep telling ourselves we don't need a podcast to catch up — turns out we do). Jordan's got a trail camera bull he's chasing this fall — a mid-July photo puts him around 340", with room to grow into the 350 range by September — and he wanted to pick my brain on how to actually turn this thing up before archery season opens. So that's exactly what we did. We get into the real difference between hunting a "201-level" six-point and hunting a genuine target bull — because trust me, those are two completely different games. We talk about why elk don't respect your neat little three-mile circle on OnX, why a good bull might blow off his summer ground and go rut ten miles away, and why "air miles" is the only way to actually think about elk movement in big mountain country. We also get into backpack-hunt logistics, meat care in the backcountry, why purple roads and hiking trails matter less than you think (until they don't), and the mental shift it takes to go from "find one bull" to "learn four different herds at once." If you've got a shooter on camera right now and you're trying to figure out your game plan for opening week, this episode is basically a free coaching session. Grab a coffee and get ready to think differently about how elk actually use the mountain. This Episode's Sponsors Tricer This episode is brought to you by the good folks over at Tricer. I always want to call them Tricer Tripods, but they make a lot more than tripods — the RP Bipod is one of my favorite pieces of gear I own. At 10.5 ounces it's stupid lightweight, it comes with long legs and short legs, and it works on both Picatinny and ARCA. All that for $350 is a no-brainer. I've shot a lot of critters off this thing. Check it out at tricer.com and use code TRO to save 10% off. Maven Optics This episode is also brought to you by Maven Optics — a direct-to-consumer optics company out of Wyoming that I've been running for years. The comment I get every single time someone picks up a pair is, "Oh man, these are actually really good." Yeah — I told you. From binos to rangefinders to rifle scopes, Maven is hands-down the best bang for your buck in the optics world, because cutting out the big box store markup means better glass for less money. Check them out at mavenbuilt.com and use code TRO at checkout for a special gift. Chapters Timestamp Segment 0:00 Intro — Welcome to the Elk Hunt Podcast 1:15 Sponsor: Tricer RP Bipod 2:45 Sponsor: Maven Optics 4:00 Catching up with Jordan Bales — wedding recap 6:30 First elk hunt four weeks out — this year's scouting mission 8:15 The trail camera bull — first photos and initial score estimate 11:00 Piecing together bull location vs. known cow herds 14:30 Why elk wander farther than most hunters assume 18:00 201 vs. 301 hunting: chasing a six-point vs. chasing a target bull 23:00 Why it takes a team to hunt one specific giant bull 27:30 Thinking in "air miles" instead of trail miles 31:00 Bachelor herds, rut timing, and reading bull behavior in late August 35:00 Strategy: kid gloves vs. hard-charging a target bull 39:00 Backcountry logistics — backpack hunting, horses, and pulling meat 43:00 Meat care and temperature management in the backcountry 46:00 Recreational hiker traffic — does it actually affect elk? 48:30 Roly-poly country vs. big mountain drainages — which makes you a better elk hunter 51:30 Hunt West coaching — booking a consult with Jordan 53:00 Outro — free hunt planner and show links (Note: these timestamps are estimated proportionally based on conversation flow within the 50-minute runtime — swap in your actual DAW/editing timestamps before publishing.) Three Key Takeaways Think in air miles, not trail miles. The mental trap most hunters fall into is measuring distance the way a human experiences it — on foot, along trails. Elk cover ground on a completely different scale. A bull that seems "close" to a herd on the map might actually be far enough that he's already moved on to check her and bounce. Recalibrating your sense of distance is one of the biggest jumps from intermediate to advanced elk hunting. Targeting one specific bull requires understanding every herd around him, not just his. The moment you commit to "301-level" hunting — chasing one specific animal instead of just filling a tag — the job changes from finding an elk to mapping an entire drainage system: every bachelor group, every cow herd, every likely wind-and-terrain funnel within a few miles. It's genuinely harder and less fun than general elk hunting, which is exactly why it usually takes a team. Patience beats pressure with a known target bull. The instinct to hike straight into a bull's last known location and start calling is usually the fastest way to lose him for the season. Watching from a distance, learning what the herd is doing morning and evening, and staying in "kid glove" mode until you actually have eyes on him gives you a far better shot than blowing him out of the country on day one.

Welcome to the land podcast, a platform for people looking to educate themselves in the world of land ownership, land investing, staying up to date with current land trends in the Midwest, and hearing from industry experts and professionals. On today's episode, we are back in the studio with Leo Spoto. We discuss: How Leo went from a Bronx apartment to owning 245 acres of Iowa timber and creek bottom. Why buying 100 acres near Albia at $1,850 an acre felt like overpaying back in 2013. The expired driver's license that stranded Leo at the Des Moines airport before his first showing. Why Chase Bank wouldn't touch a land loan and a local Iowa banker wrote it anyway. How Leo closed on his first farm with $30,000 down when the bank wanted closer to $40,000. The 1031 exchange that rolled two small farms into one 214-acre piece he bought sight unseen. How walnut timber checks and an Iowa operating account carried a $2,600 monthly payment. Why Leo would now rather buy a landlocked 30 with an easement than a farm with road frontage. The roughly 250% return Leo has seen on Iowa ground since his first purchase in 2013. Why point creep and four kids finally pushed Leo to list the entire farm this year. And so much more! Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt Painted Arrow: bit.ly/PaintedArrow Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/ Whitetail Master Academy https://www.whitetailmasteracademy.com Use code 'HOFER' to save 10% off at www.theprairiefarm.com Massive potential tax savings: ASMLABS.Net

Alright guys, this one is mind-blowing. I know Mark Livesay is talented — you all know him from Treeline Academy, the best e-scouting course on the planet — but I was not ready for what he showed me on this episode. Mark's been locked in a cave for six months building something called Hunt Research IQ, and he brought it to the Elk Hunt Podcast for the very first reveal. First show. Nobody's seen this yet. This isn't a draw odds app. This isn't a spreadsheet. This is 20 years of harvest data for elk and deer across 11 Western states, run through AI, and turned into heat maps, custom scoring sliders, unit comparisons, moisture tracking, remote-core calculations, and print-ready reports that make every other research platform out there look like it's stuck in 2005. We get into how the scoring system works, why averaging three, five, and twenty years of data matters more than looking at last year's numbers, why Montana's fractional bonus points might be sabotaging your odds without you even knowing it, and how Mark's moisture-tracking tool is already changing how he plans hunts around drought years and burns. Then we shift gears and talk burns, same-year fire strategy, moisture-driven elevation shifts during the rut, and Mark's own busted rotator cuffs — which means he might be strapping a crossbow to a llama this September. You don't want to miss this one. Take a listen, then go dig into Hunt Research IQ yourself. Links below, and use code TRO for a discount from our guy Mark. Brought to You By onX Hunt This episode is brought to you by onX Hunt. If you've been through our free four-hour e-scouting course over at elkhunt201.com, you know I preach building color-coded waypoints, markups, and tracks for every hunt. Building a folder, building a plan — that's the difference between showing up and figuring it out versus showing up ready. This is what onX is superior at: hunt planning. If you're not an Elite member yet, Elite has a ton of tools to help you plan better. onxmaps.com Use code TRO when you upgrade to Elite for a special discount. Maven Optics This episode is also brought to you by the good folks over at Maven Optics. Direct-to-consumer optics company right out of Wyoming, and I've been using them for years. My favorite thing is watching people get their hands on a Maven for the first time and go, "Oh man, these are actually really good." Yeah — I told you. From binos to rangefinders to rifle scopes, Maven is the best bang for your buck out there, because you're not paying the big box store markup. mavenbuilt.com Use code TRO at checkout for a special gift. Chapters Time Segment 0:00 Intro & sponsor reads (onX Hunt, Maven Optics) 4:30 Welcome Mark Livesay — the big reveal, first show, six months in build mode 8:15 Elevator pitch: what is Hunt Research IQ? 12:00 Why averaging 3/5/20-year data beats single-year snapshots 17:30 Building custom scoring sliders and unit health trends 23:00 The heat map: dragging, hovering, live data pulls 28:45 Comparing units side by side & the "unit profile card" 34:15 Rankings tab, health trend colors, and finding sleeper units 40:00 101 / 201 / 301 hunter framework — what stats matter at each level 47:00 Print reports, unit briefs, and AI-written unit descriptions 53:30 Montana's fractional bonus point trap explained 58:00 Remote core, road density, and what "remote" really means 1:03:00 Bull-per-square-mile harvest density and reading hunting pressure 1:09:00 Moisture tracking tool & elevation focus bands 1:14:00 Hunt planning suite, checklist tool, and hike time calculator 1:18:30 Talking burns: mosaic vs. straight-edge fire boundaries 1:24:00 Live demo — analyzing a current Utah fire for same-year burn potential 1:29:00 Mark's Island Park story: why elk drop elevation in dry years 1:34:00 Rut timing shifting later into September 1:37:00 Mark's rotator cuff injury, crossbow talk, and this year's hunt plan 1:39:30 Pricing, free trial, and where to find Hunt Research IQ 1:40:30 Outro & free hunt planner (Timestamps are approximate — built from transcript flow, adjust to actual audio if needed.) Three Key Takeaways Averaging beats snapshots. A single year of harvest data can be wildly skewed by a low tag allocation or a random survey year. Looking at 3-year, 5-year, and all-time averages side by side — and watching whether a unit's score is trending up or down — tells you far more than last year's numbers alone. In Montana, buying a bonus point can hurt you. Mark's tool surfaced something almost nobody talks about: hunters with zero points had roughly a 53% draw chance in some units, while hunters with a single fractional point dropped to 0%, because a set percentage of tags are reserved specifically for zero-point applicants. Understanding your state's fractional point system can change your entire application strategy. "Go high" isn't a universal rule — moisture matters more. The common advice to push to the highest elevation in September doesn't always hold. In dry years, the grass at the top dies off first, and cows follow the moisture downhill toward better feed. Tracking soil moisture data for a basin can tell you more about where elk will actually be than elevation alone.

This week, Caleb Frostman makes a trip to the Okayest Hunter podcast studio for an in-person discussion on his journey in hunting. Caleb discusses his vast experience in just about every type of terrain WI has to offer, along with MN.  Caleb cut his teeth as a rifle hunter in the Northwoods of the National Forest and later got the opportunity to hunt a large tract of private property in the Driftless Region of SW WI. There he was able to hone his skills at killing deer, and some big bucks, while observing how deer move through the hill country terrain.  Around 2019, Caleb got the OnX mapping application, which helped him find some public land to turkey hunt on, and after walking some public land and coming across some buck sign, the light bulb went off, and he decided to explore public land for deer hunting. Caleb discussed a great honey hope spot he found right off the get go and how he killed two bucks from the spot in his first two years.  Caleb has killed the majority of his archery deer from the ground, which we discussed heavily. Caleb talks about a few other properties he has scouted and what he looks for when scouting for archery and why a limited hunting schedule shapes his view of scouting for a timeframe as opposed to all season sign.  We wrap up the discussion with a dive into how he turned a late start morning in November into an incredible memory of a beautiful 8 point buck. We end with Caleb's upcoming season goals, and his selfless disposition shines through with his willingness and desire to take 3 different first time hunters into the deer woods this season. That is exactly what our hunting community needs! Thanks for being an excellent exemplar, Caleb! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alright guys, today's episode is a good one. I'm sitting down with Kevin Gower — a Colorado public land guy who's been in the elk woods since he was 12 years old and has packed out more elk than the years he's been hunting. That's 22 elk in 23 seasons. Not luck. Not private land. Public dirt, over the counter, doing it the hard way. We get into it — why most guys aren't consistent on public land, the "cover ground" era of learning to elk hunt, and why the YouTube backpack-hunting romance can actually work against you when you're trying to learn a mountain. We talk mindset — the "today's the day" mantra, why you can't write the story before the hunt is over, and why the guys who stack hard experiences early end up with the confidence to go get it done later. Kevin also walks through his biggest bull — a solo four-mile pack out in thirteen inches of fresh snow — and why moments like that are what separate hunters who quit from hunters who figure it out. We dig into silent bulls and why they're some of the most killable elk in the woods, calling strategy, reading pressure on the edge of private land, when to leave elk to go find better elk, and why learning to hunt the storm front instead of fighting the wind might be one of the most underrated skills in elk hunting. This one's packed with real public land wisdom from a guy who's put in two decades on the same mountain. Grab a notebook, this is a good one. Sponsors onX Hunt Today's episode is brought to you by onX Hunt. If you haven't checked out our free 4-hour e-scouting course yet, go grab it at elkhunt201.com — it's completely free. Building a color-coded system of waypoints, markups, and tracks for your hunt is one of the most important things you can do before season. Too many guys draw a tag and just show up to figure it out — don't be that guy. If you're not an Elite member yet, Elite unlocks a ton of extra planning tools that'll make your prep this fall way more dialed in. onxmaps.com Use code TRO when you upgrade to Elite. Bridger Watch This episode is also brought to you by Bridger Watch — a smartwatch built specifically for hunting. All your normal smartwatch features (health tracking, fitness tracking, texts) plus, in my opinion, the best mapping capability of any wearable on the market. You can save offline maps, ship them straight to your watch, and pan around right on your wrist with a screen that's genuinely impressive for its size. Bridger Watch also integrates directly with onX — share a whole hunt folder or a single waypoint from the field straight to your watch, so if your phone dies or you lose it, you've always got a backup. bridgerwatch.com Timestamped Chapters (Approximate — based on episode flow, total runtime ~1:02:00) 00:00 – Intro / onX Hunt: free e-scouting course & building a hunt plan 02:15 – Bridger Watch: mapping-focused hunting smartwatch & onX integration 04:00 – Welcome Kevin Gower — gearing up for elk season 06:00 – Kevin's background: 22 elk in 23 seasons on public land in Colorado 08:15 – What most hunters get wrong: sitting in the same meadow vs. covering ground 11:30 – The YouTube generation, backpack hunting romanticism, and today's pressure 14:30 – Blocking out other hunters without losing your own game plan 17:15 – Mindset: "today's the day" and staying positive in the field 19:30 – Don't write the story before the hunt is over 22:30 – Early lessons learned solo, the 90/10 rule, and being more aggressive 25:30 – Kevin's biggest bull: solo 4-mile pack out in 13 inches of snow 29:30 – Stacking hard experiences to build confidence over time 33:00 – Pushing limits early — lessons for newer hunters 36:15 – Hunting a brand new unit for the first time this season 39:00 – E-scouting: finding elk vs. figuring out where people will be 43:00 – Staying balanced as a hunter & always having backup plans 46:30 – E-scouting and boots-on-the-ground as separate, underrated skills 49:15 – Recognizing elk in the field — don't walk past what's right in front of you 51:30 – Silent bulls: why quiet elk are often the most killable 55:00 – Calling strategy, patience, and reading stick breaks/non-verbal cues 58:15 – Reading pressure on private edges & when to leave elk to find elk 1:00:30 – Hunting the storm front instead of fighting bad wind 1:02:00 – Wrap-up, why you hunt, and closing advice for the season 3 Key Takeaways Don't write the story before the hunt is over. It's easy to mentally give up on a season five days in when things aren't going your way. Both Kevin and the host agree — stay in the present, trust your prep, and don't decide the outcome before you've actually run out of time. Silent bulls are still killable bulls. Pressured public land elk often won't respond to calls, but that doesn't mean they're unhuntable. Learning to locate, approach, and call elk in silently — without over-relying on a bugle response — opens up way more opportunities than waiting for a screaming match. Sometimes the right move is to leave elk to go find better elk. Whether it's a herd locked up on private land or elk buried in noisy, impossible-to-approach downfall, burning days trying to force a bad setup can cost you more than it gains. Recognizing when a situation is unwinnable — and moving on to find more huntable elk — is a skill in itself.

Send us Fan MailThe internet will argue about anything, but a boat still has to run when the ramp is slick, the water is skinny, and the decoys are heavy. We sit down with Lucas Haygood, Darryl Moore, Tim Scott, and Michael Shocklee and get real about duck hunting season, the grind behind social media, and why “opinions” in the comments rarely match what happens on the water.We talk duck hunting in Arkansas, traveling for hunts, and how tools like OnX, better waders, modern mud motors, and more capable shallow-water boats have changed access and crowding. That leads to the bigger question: what does all this technology mean for waterfowl pressure, duck limits, and the long-term health of the migration? We also touch on Canada hunting pressure and why breeding grounds matter as much as what happens down south.Then we go deep on boat setup: the new HB22 talk, why jack plates exist, what clean water pressure and leverage actually do, and how a rig behaves from zero to wide open throttle. Lucas shares real-world feedback on running a Freedom-style hybrid setup versus a true surface drive, including scouting range, noise, torque, and what holds up when you “run it like you hunt it.” We close with the stuff most brands avoid saying out loud: warranty, honesty, fixing problems fast, and how taking care of customers beats any boat show booth.Subscribe for more hunting and boat rigging conversations, share this with your best boat-rig buddy, and leave a review with the one setup mistake you learned the hard way.GUEST SOCIAL: @haygood84 OUR WEBSITE/OTC MERCH: https://offtheclockwithbscott.comHAVOC GEAR SHOP: https://havocnation.comHAVOC BOATS WEBSITE: https://havocboats.comHAVOC DEALERS: https://havocboats.com/dealers/WREAKIN' HAVOC CREW WEBSITE: https://wreakinhavoccrew.comSOCIAL LINKSTruth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@OffTheClockwithBScottFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Off-The-Clock-With-B-Scott/61557737220814/Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/OTCwithBScottInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/offtheclockwithbscott/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwu6_wWcXDoBzhpHv4YgZGQRumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-5644782Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2g76hRDp9d609LETevSH2U?si=0ba23ae282c94e88&nd=1&dlsi=d9f84d7699b84724Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/off-the-clock-with-b-scott/id1734265760Support the show

In this podcast episode, Trent and Matt interview Cody Rich, founder of Bridger Watch, about why he built a hunting-focused smartwatch and how it evolved from wanting usable offline maps and hunting features on a watch. Rich shares his background from Perrydale, Oregon, moving to Montana, early work in Marine Corps training using Hollywood-style special effects, then entrepreneurship through Powder River Cartridge and learning marketing/SEO before starting The Rich Outdoors podcast and building Backcountry Fuel Box. Seeking a larger legacy business, he pursued a Garmin-adjacent niche, raised money, and assembled teams including former Fossil talent and connections to Google leadership and a CTO with Garmin dog-collar experience, ultimately building custom hardware and a new operating system. He describes key features: offline topo maps with panning/zooming, onX waypoint/track/markup syncing, integrated ballistics via Sierra True Data, redshift mode, frequent over-the-air updates, and ongoing battery-life improvements, with purchasing available at bridgerwatch.com, GuideFitter, GovX, and via HSA through TrueMed.

Welcome to the land podcast, a platform for people looking to educate themselves in the world of land ownership, land investing, staying up to date with current land trends in the Midwest, and hearing from industry experts and professionals. On today's episode, we are back in the studio with Mike Cantrall. We discuss: Why two years of house-loan rejections came down to being newly self-employed and a DTI formula. How Mike found a lender who looks at the whole financial picture instead of a W-2. The Roth IRA withdrawal that covered his down payment when income alone wouldn't get him approved. Going self-employed with no college degree, no plan, and two deer dropped off at a friend's shop. Why the pressure of working for yourself is what finally forced him to figure out land ownership. How he got pre-approved first, and had a landowner call him about 40 acres the very next day. Buying, improving, and selling his first farm inside four months — and why he skipped the 1031. Why he walked away from a 500-acre lease that cost about what a farm payment does. What a permanent CREP easement restricts, plus the DNR visit that comes with owning one. Why two used car payments a month is roughly the cost of a small farm. And so much more! Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:00 Starting a Taxidermy Business 04:19 Financing Land While Self-Employed 10:46 Mindset for Land Ownership 13:56 First Farm Purchase Strategy 17:40 Leasing Versus Owning Land 22:25 Rapid Farm Transactions 30:31 1031 Exchange Lessons 34:43 Reflections and Lessons Learned 41:26 Future Plans and CREP 50:37 The Home Building Challenge 53:05 Final Advice and Outro Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt Painted Arrow: bit.ly/PaintedArrow Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/ Whitetail Master Academy https://www.whitetailmasteracademy.com Use code 'HOFER' to save 10% off at www.theprairiefarm.com Massive potential tax savings: ASMLABS.Net

The gang sits down to cover all their top deer stories from the 2025 season, including Austin's buck and Scott's buck from tent hunting with Brian. The crew also covers what's in store for 2026 from BWB on the business and product side of things. Learn more about hunting deer, moose and more in the Big Woods, find informative articles and the best wool and gear at https://www.bigwoodsbucks.com Check out the BWB Edition tent here: https://www.seekoutside.com/redcliff-6p-2-0-bwb-edition/ Check out the BWB Edition bundle here: https://www.seekoutside.com/redcliff-6p-2-0-bwb-edition-hot-tent-bundle Big woods land and camps for sale: www.landandcamps.com Save 20% on your OnX subscription with code 'ADK' https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt Hal and the Big Woods Bucks Team's Gear: https://www.bigwoodsbucks.com/Wool  

This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, the guys keep it short as they get ready for one of the biggest outdoor events of the year—Game Fair. The crew shares everything attendees need to know before heading out, including where to find the Midwest Flyways crew, what's new this year, and all the giveaways, merch, and events planned throughout the weekend. The guys introduce The Pit, a brand-new collaboration with Molt Gear on Waterfowl Hill featuring exclusive Midwest Flyways and More Mallards merchandise, daily giveaways, and a chance to hang out with the crew each afternoon. They also talk about the newest More Mallards apparel drop, Migra Ammunitions, Ducks Unlimited prize packs, Turtlebox giveaways, OnX memberships, and everything else happening around the booth. The conversation wraps up with stories from Delta Waterfowl's recent event, why building a stronger waterfowl community matters, and, as always, a few completely off-the-rails conversations about TV shows, recurring nightmares, and the strange things that somehow end up on every Midwest Flyways Podcast. Topics Covered: •Game Fair 2026 preview •Introducing The Pit on Waterfowl Hill •Daily giveaways and exclusive merchandise •More Mallards apparel launch •Flyways Hunt Club updates •Delta Waterfowl event recap •Building a better waterfowl community •TV shows, dreams, and random tangents   Thanks for listening to the Midwest Flyways Podcast! If you're heading to Game Fair, be sure to stop by The Pit and say hello. And if you want even more behind-the-scenes content, join the Flyways Hunt Club.   Join Flyways Hunt Club and get 1 month free! Flyways Hunt Club New Waterfowl Film out now! Out West | Waterfowl Hunting in Montana Stay comfortable, dry and warm: First Lite (Code MWF20) Go to OnXHunt to be better prepared for your hunt: OnX Learn more about better ammo: Migra Ammunitions Weatherby Sorix: Weatherby Support Conservation: DU (Code: Flyways) Stop saying "Huh?" with better hearing protection: Soundgear Live Free: Turtlebox Add motion to your spread: Flashback Better Merch: /SHOP

Man, this one's for anybody who just loves talking to a regular dude who's put in the years and killed a lot of elk — because that's exactly what this episode is. Brian Rae grew up in Idaho with an outdoors family, killed his first buck AND his first bull at 12 years old within two weeks of each other, and has been chasing bulls in some of the nastiest, steepest, most brutal backcountry ever since. We get into it all in this one. Brian tells the story of getting truly lost overnight at 19 — no coat, dead flashlight, sleeping next to a fire he built with toilet paper and a lighter, and the almost unbelievable coincidence of how he found his way back to camp. We talk about how close that feeling of panic really sits, even for guys who know these mountains better than anybody. Then we get into the good stuff — the hunting. Brian breaks down calling in two six-point bulls back to back with his buddy Chad, a wounded-bull recovery that turned into "a bathtub full of blood," and an eight-yard, full-draw standoff with a black bear that walked right down a game trail at him. But this isn't just war stories. Brian gets into the real strategy behind killing a herd bull consistently — why getting close beats bugling every hundred yards, why he mimics satellite bulls instead of challenging the herd bull head-on, and why wind and thermals will beat you every single time, no matter how good your setup is. If you want to hear what it actually takes to kill mature bulls year after year — not the highlight reel, the real work behind it — this episode is for you. This Episode is Brought to You By onX Hunt This episode's hunt-planning talk is powered by onX Hunt. Whether you're building color-coded waypoints, markups, and tracks or organizing an entire hunt folder before you ever set foot in the field, onX is where the planning happens. If you drew a tag this year, don't just show up and figure it out — build the system, build the plan. Upgrade to onX Elite and unlock the full hunt-planning toolset. onxmaps.com Use code TRO when you sign up or upgrade to Elite. Bridger Watch A smartwatch built specifically for hunting — with the best mapping capabilities of any wearable on the market. Save offline maps, pan and zoom right on your wrist, and integrate directly with your onX account to send waypoints, tracks, and markups straight to your watch. It's not replacing your phone's mapping — it's your backup when your phone dies, drops, or gets left in the truck. bridgerwatch.com Chapter Timestamps Time Segment 0:00 onX Hunt sponsor read — hunt planning & Elite features 2:15 Bridger Watch sponsor read — the wearable built for hunters 5:00 Welcome Brian Rae — Idaho roots and growing up in an outdoors family 8:30 First buck and first bull at 12 years old, two weeks apart 13:30 The "Hell Hole" story — lost overnight at 19, no coat, building a fire with toilet paper 20:00 Finding his dad's voice at the outfitter camp — the wild coincidence 24:00 Getting the whole family GPS units for Christmas 27:30 Arizona 2021 — dropping his phone miles from the side-by-side, texting his wife via inReach 34:00 Switching from rifle to archery in the early 2000s after wolf reintroduction 37:00 The double bull story with hunting partner Chad Booth — calling in two six-points back to back 44:00 The "laughing bull" and getting outsmarked by herd bulls 47:30 The tree-falling, sneaking-in six-point stalk 51:00 The wounded bull recovery — "a bathtub full of blood" 56:00 What actually makes a hunter successful year after year: luck, time, and physical work 59:30 Herd bull strategy — the satellite bull / "bar fight" trick 1:04:00 Small sounds vs. big bugles — reading what a bull is really telling you 1:08:30 Wind, thermals, and the "New Zealand" drainage they've never killed in 1:11:30 The buck brush bull that got away — twice 1:14:30 The eight-yard black bear encounter — full draw, standoff, and the "live grubs" story 1:17:00 Last season recap, plans for this year, and closing out the episode Three Key Takeaways Proximity beats volume. Once you locate a bull, the move isn't to keep bugling every hundred yards — it's to close the distance quietly and get as close as physically possible before making another sound. Herd bulls pinpoint calls with scary accuracy, so every call you make should come from a position you're willing to defend with a shot. Make the bull jealous, not challenged. Instead of bugling head-on at a herd bull (which he may recognize as a threat or ignore entirely), mimicking cow sounds followed by subtle satellite-bull sounds — grunts, chuckles, raking — plays on his instinct to protect a cow from a sneaking rival. It's a subtler, often more effective way to pull in a smart, mature bull than an aggressive challenge bugle. Wind beats setup, every time. No matter how well you know a drainage or how good your calling is, areas with constantly shifting thermals and crosswinds can make a spot essentially unhuntable — elk bed there specifically because the wind keeps them safe. Recognizing that some encounters are unwinnable on a given day is as important as any calling tactic.

Over the last two months I put 40 hunters through live elk training in the field. Not lectures. Real stalks, real glassing, real archery setups that run two or three hours. The same three failures showed up over and over, and every one of them traces back to the flood of content hunters are drowning in right now.This isn't an anti-content rant. There are hundreds of skill videos on this channel and you need that baseline. The problem is what happens when guys try to apply every framework at once: analysis paralysis, decision fatigue. I break down handicapping your options instead of hunting a flowchart, why inaction is almost always the worst probability you can pick, how to actually mark an animal with OnX, landmarks, and terrain reading before you commit to a stalk, and why proximity (not calling sequences) is the dominant factor in archery elk.---FOLLOW CLIFFYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/CliffGrayInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/Cliffgry/Facebook - https://facebook.com/PursuitWithCliffPursuit With Cliff Podcasthttps://pursuitwithcliff.com/interviews-and-podcasts/Cliff's Hunt Planning and Strategy Membership https://pursuitwithcliff.com/membership/Hunt. Fish. Spear.  (Experiences, Courses and Seminars) https://pursuitwithcliff.com/ExperiencesMerchhttps://pursuitwithcliff.com/shop/SUBSCRIBE TO CLIFF'S NEWSLETTER:https://PursuitWithCliff.com/#Newsletter

Why do we hunt? It's one of the simplest questions a hunter can be asked—and one of the hardest to answer. In this episode of the Okayest Hunter Podcast, the crew starts with summer fishing stories, archery practice, scouting updates, new hunting gear, upcoming seminars, and preparations for another deer season. But the conversation eventually turns into something much deeper. What keeps us coming back year after year? Is it the challenge? The meat? The tradition? The friendships? The pursuit of mature whitetails? Or is there something much more instinctual buried within all of us? The hosts share honest perspectives about why they continue to hunt, discussing everything from mindfulness and personal growth to adrenaline, responsibility, conservation, and the emotional experience that comes with harvesting a deer. It's an authentic conversation that every hunter—new or experienced—can relate to. Along the way, they also discuss: August deer scouting and e-scouting strategies Bow practice and cold-shot preparation Hunting gear updates and mobile hunting setups Trail cameras, OnX tools, and scouting technology Upcoming hunting seminars and community events Building a hunting community through podcasts and shared experiences Whether you're counting down the days until opening morning or reflecting on what hunting truly means to you, this episode offers plenty of laughs, practical insights, and one question every outdoorsman should answer: Why do you hunt? Be sure to leave a comment with your own answer and join the conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the land podcast, a platform for people looking to educate themselves in the world of land ownership, land investing, staying up to date with current land trends in the Midwest, and hearing from industry experts and professionals. On today's episode, we are back in the studio with Joe Chambers. We discuss: How Joe moved to Nebraska in 2007 after a divorce and built Chambers Custom into a high-end pistol shop. Why you're not a member of a Midwest community until you buy ground — ten years, zero wedding invites. How a farmer neighbor's phone call and a passed first-right-of-refusal got Joe his first 21 acres in 2015. Why seven years of living on cash left Joe with no credit score at all and nearly killed his first farm loan. The bank that wouldn't write a $6,000 car loan but offered a $20,000 unsecured credit card instead. How a 23-year-old small-town loan officer named Toby became Joe's fifteen-year lending partner. The county records website that exposed a neighbor's 99-year windmill lease days before an auction. Why Joe bought a 246-acre farm with no access that had been overgrazed and mined for sixty years. The first line of Don Higgins' plan that read "I'm 90% sure Joe will not follow this" — and what happened. How Joe went from 80 deer with 75 does to a 201 and 1/8 inch buck in three seasons. And so much more! Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt Painted Arrow: bit.ly/PaintedArrow Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/ Whitetail Master Academy https://www.whitetailmasteracademy.com Use code 'HOFER' to save 10% off at www.theprairiefarm.com Massive potential tax savings: ASMLABS.Net

When OnX's Western Big Game Marketing Manager Dylan Dowson lined up a bucket-list tahr hunt in New Zealand and a mountain goat hunt in British Columbia, he realized his old strategy of "suffering through" the mountains wasn't going to cut it anymore. In this episode, Dylan opens up about his evolution as a hunter—from growing up in eastern Montana to managing marketing for one of the biggest names in navigation. He breaks down the exact steps he took to transform his physical fitness and nutrition, the eye-opening reality of tracking calories, how he navigated trade shows and travel without derailing his progress, and what it actually felt like to conquer 3,000-foot vertical climbs in New Zealand without gassing out. Key Takeaways & Highlights The Shift from "Suffering Through" to Peak Prep: Why baseline toughness is fine for local hunts, but bucket-list trips demand a total lifestyle shift. The Nutrition "Aha!" Moment: Dylan's experience going from knowing nothing about calorie intake to finding a sustainable rhythm that fuelled his body without over-restricting. Navigating the Chaos of Travel: Practical mindsets for staying on track during work trips, holidays, and trade show seasons (without resorting to extreme fasts or burnouts). Proof on the Mountain: What happens when the hard work pays off—gaining thousands of vertical feet on steep New Zealand terrain and coming off the mountain feeling energized, not broken. - - - - -  Check out more resources at Valley to Peak Nutrition.  Apply for coaching at Valley to Peak Nutrition Learn more about OnX

Welcome to the land podcast, a platform for people looking to educate themselves in the world of land ownership, land investing, staying up to date with current land trends in the Midwest, and hearing from industry experts and professionals. On today's episode, we are back in the studio with Travis "T-Bone" Turner. We discuss: Travis bought his first 27 acres in Hogansville, GA in 1999 with a loan from his dad. He explains the "pride factor" of hunting deer on ground you personally dictated and built. Travis is now fighting a proposed data center planned right across the street from his farm. He shares his "planting seeds" strategy of quietly telling landowners he'd buy if they ever sold. Travis breaks down why Kansas and Oklahoma are his top picks for buying land today. He explains why land prices never really fall back — $3,000 an acre never returns once it hits $5,000. Travis recalls the two-handed, shaking-hands nerves of signing for his first property in 1999. He compares Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa's hunting rules, calling Illinois his personal "nemesis." Travis explains why he prefers buying rough, neglected land he can fix up himself. He'd rather keep the land he already owns than ever draw a bow again. And so much more! Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt Painted Arrow: bit.ly/PaintedArrow Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/ Whitetail Master Academy https://www.whitetailmasteracademy.com Use code 'HOFER' to save 10% off at www.theprairiefarm.com Massive potential tax savings: ASMLABS.Net

I’ve known Chris Piper for a couple years now, ever since a mutual friend put us in touch and he told me he wanted to get into the hunting industry. I didn’t think that was a terrible idea — okay, I kind of did — but this guy’s skill set is legit. He’s built marketing and ops departments for a $5 billion car company, ran point for Cody Sanchez at Contrarian Thinking, and now he’s out on his own helping companies bridge the gap between marketing and operations. But this episode isn’t really about business tactics. It’s about the whole arc — losing the fighter pilot dream to asthma, racing Formula cars and street racing through his teens, becoming a dad at 21 with zero parenting rights and fighting his way back from that, and grinding through corporate America to build the life he actually wanted. We get into whether buying “boring” small businesses is a real path to freedom or just a fancy way to buy yourself a job, why being a generalist beats being a specialist in the AI era, and what losing a neighbor to a sudden brain tumor taught him about “someday.” We also talk hunting — his first elk hunt, what he picked up from a week at Cliff Gray’s Elk Camp, and why patience in the mountains is the same skill as patience in business. If you’ve ever felt like you’re behind, or like you’re waiting for “someday” to start living the life you actually want, this one’s for you. Sponsors Bridger Watch This is a project I’ve personally been working on for a long time — a smartwatch actually built for hunting. Everyone told us we couldn’t take on Garmin, but I think we’ve built something amazing. The standout feature is the mapping. On top of all your normal smartwatch stuff — health tracking, fitness tracking, texts — Bridger Watch has the best mapping capability of any wearable out there. You can save offline maps, send them straight to your watch, and pan around right on your wrist with a screen that’s genuinely impressive. And because we integrate directly with onX, you can share your waypoints, tracks, and markups right to the watch — so if your phone dies or you lose it in the field, you’ve always got a backup. We’re not trying to replace your phone maps. We’re trying to give you redundancy in a wearable you’ll actually use every single day of the year. bridgerwatch.com Maven Optics (Note: the ad copy for Maven wasn’t in the transcript I was given, so I’ve written this based on Maven’s general brand positioning — swap in the actual episode read if you have it.) Maven builds premium hunting optics — riflescopes, binoculars, and spotting scopes — and sells direct to the hunter instead of marking everything up through a retail middleman. That means you’re getting glass that goes toe-to-toe with the big legacy brands, at a price that actually makes sense, backed by their unconditional lifetime warranty. mavenbuilt.com Use code TRO at checkout for a discount. Chapters 00:00 – Cold open: onX Hunt’s new Go Track “share your location” feature 01:00 – Sponsor: Bridger Watch 03:00 – Welcome Chris Piper, how they met and reconnected 05:15 – Chris’s original dream: Air Force pilot, shut down by asthma 08:30 – The street racing years — the helicopter chase story 12:30 – Becoming a dad at 21 and the custody fight that followed 17:00 – Choosing responsibility, insurance sales, and the climb into corporate America 21:00 – Director of Market Strategy at DriveTime and the biggest lesson from his 20s 25:30 – Chasing money vs. mastering a skill — building a “Swiss Army knife” career 30:00 – Generalist vs. specialist in the age of AI — why curiosity is the real edge 35:30 – Leaving corporate for Tucker Max, moving the family, and near-jail custody stress 41:00 – Joining Cody Sanchez at Contrarian Thinking, buying “boring” businesses 47:00 – Is buying small businesses real, or are you just buying yourself a job? 53:00 – The most successful (and surprising) small businesses to own 57:30 – Specialists vs. operators — why the best welder shouldn’t run the company 1:00:30 – What Chris wants his 40s, 50s, and 60s to look like — the forever ranch and an elk tag in every western state 1:04:00 – Losing a neighbor to a sudden brain tumor and why “someday” isn’t guaranteed 1:07:00 – Where the audacity to go get what you want actually comes from 1:08:30 – Wrap-up: Cliff Gray’s Elk Camp, patience in hunting vs. business, and where to find Chris Three Key Takeaways Disappointment comes from unmet expectations, not from reality itself. Chris talks about resetting his expectations daily instead of holding himself (or his team, or his family) to a fixed standard 24/7. Some weeks call for going all-in on the business; other weeks, the win is just showing up as a present dad. Adjusting the bar to the moment isn’t lowering it — it’s being honest about what’s actually needed right now. In the AI era, being a curious generalist beats being a narrow specialist. Chris didn’t get ahead by mastering one skill — he stacked social media, SEO, PPC, PR, and operations, then learned to move fluidly between marketing and ops. The real leverage now isn’t knowing one thing deeply; it’s having enough taste and curiosity to judge what AI (or anyone else) hands you and say, “that works” or “that’s BS.” Buying a small business can absolutely change your life — but it’s still a job, just a different kind of hard. Chris saw thousands of people go through the acquisition process at Contrarian Thinking. Some genuinely built freedom and equity; others just bought themselves a demanding new job with their name on the door. The difference wasn’t the business model — it was whether the buyer had real operating leverage (sales, marketing, or ops chops) going in.

Dillon Ness is back on the show, and dude, this one's a good one. If you haven't heard our last conversation, go find it — I've always considered Dillon one of the best open country elk killers I know. But what people don't realize is the guy crushes it in the mountains just as hard. Well-rounded doesn't even cover it. In this episode, Dillon walks me through the full story of last year's mountain bull — a hunt that started with him throwing a dart at a map, glassing bulls pouring off the alfalfa at first light, getting boogered by other hunters, losing the herd, and eventually catching them in the dark on their last drink of water before bed. It's one of the best hunt breakdowns we've recorded, emotional gut-punch ending and all. From there we get into the nuts and bolts — how to actually dog a herd in the dark without blowing them up, why satellite bulls are your best friend, what 20 failed days of hunting really look like (because that's 90% of the season, not the highlight reel), midday strategy for guys who don't have 27 days to burn, and the biggest lesson 301-level hunting has taught both of us: elk are never random, and neither should your strategy be. We also get into a mindset shift that I think is worth the price of admission alone — using onX the wrong way is probably costing you elk without you even knowing it. Grab your coffee, settle in, this one's just shy of an hour and fifteen, and it's packed. This Episode's Sponsors

This week on the Midwest Flyways Podcast, Joey and Cal are joined by Ben Brettingen from onX for a conversation that goes far beyond maps and technology. The discussion explores the growing division within the hunting community, why hunters seem more divided than ever, and what it will take to protect the future of conservation and the traditions we all care about. Ben also shares updates on onX Fish, how the platform has grown, and where outdoor mapping technology is headed next. Along the way, the guys swap stories about family life, bird dogs, trout fishing, sporting clays, carved decoys, and plenty of the off-the-wall conversations you have come to expect. Topics Covered: •The division within the hunting community •Social media and hunting culture •Waterfowl conservation challenges •Domestic mallards and migration •Hunter recruitment and community •onX Fish updates Thanks for listening to the Midwest Flyways Podcast! Be sure to check out the Flyways Hunt Club for even more exclusive content every week.   Join Flyways Hunt Club and get 1 month free! Flyways Hunt Club New Waterfowl Film out now! Out West | Waterfowl Hunting in Montana Stay comfortable, dry and warm: First Lite (Code MWF20) Go to OnXHunt to be better prepared for your hunt: OnX Learn more about better ammo: Migra Ammunitions Weatherby Sorix: Weatherby Support Conservation: DU (Code: Flyways) Stop saying "Huh?" with better hearing protection: Soundgear Live Free: Turtlebox Add motion to your spread: Flashback Better Merch: /SHOP

Welcome to the land podcast, a platform for people looking to educate themselves in the world of land ownership, land investing, staying up to date with current land trends in the Midwest, and hearing from industry experts and professionals. On today's episode, we are back in the studio with Tyler Tisue. We discuss: Tyler explains why land investors need a "base hit" mindset instead of always swinging for the fence. How EHD wiped out Iowa's mature bucks—and why Tyler predicts giant bucks return within two to three years. Tyler reveals 86% of Iowa farms are owned outright, with zero debt against them. A Twitter poll shows 44% of farmers expect a profit in 2026, only 25% expect to lose money. The wild story of an Amish family bidding war that pushed land to $250 per CSR point. Why most recreational land buyers 1031 exchange instead of holding a farm forever. Tyler previews his 86-acre Van Buren County, Iowa auction on August 5, split into two tracts. Jake previews his 40-acre Hancock County, Illinois auction, home to a booner buck shot last season. Tyler breaks down why today's roughly 6.5% interest rates are historically normal, not a red flag. Tyler's rule for every seller: never fall in love with a farm you're planning to sell. And so much more! Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt Painted Arrow: bit.ly/PaintedArrow Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/ Whitetail Master Academy https://www.whitetailmasteracademy.com Use code 'HOFER' to save 10% off at www.theprairiefarm.com Massive potential tax savings: ASMLABS.Net

Alright guys, this one's a good one. Darin Hardy's back on the show, and dude, we go everywhere in this conversation — broadheads, blood trails, mountain lions with broadheads stuck in their throat, turkey hunting like you elk hunt, and the mindset work that actually separates the guy who kills every single year from the guy who's still hoping to get lucky. We start off nerding out on pre-season bow prep — what "long distance" actually means, why I want four-inch groups at 80 before I ever worry about a 40-yard shot, and the drills Darin runs to build pressure into his practice instead of just chasing tiny groups. We get into the fixed-blade vs. mechanical broadhead debate (and why I think too many guys aim right behind the shoulder when middle-middle gives you way more margin for error), then Darin tells a wild story about tracking a bull for a mile and a half off almost no blood — and an even wilder story about a mountain lion he shot that had been living for years with a broadhead through her throat. From there we get into the real meat of this episode: what actually makes a 201 hunter. Darin breaks down why the guys who kill consistently aren't the ones who need every condition to line up — they're the ones with an adaptive mindset who can find the shot that's three steps to the left instead of only seeing the one they planned for. We talk about the 90/10/1 framework, calling audibles in the field, why it took Darin 23 years to kill his first bull, and why the "10 straight days in September" rule matters more than almost anything else for a new elk hunter. We close out talking about Darin's new venture, Level Seven High Terrain, where he's using horsemanship and hunting as vehicles for leadership and mindset coaching — and honestly some of what he shares about "demand vs. ask vs. offer" will change how you think about pressure, calling elk, and life in general. If you're gearing up for season, this episode's got tactics, gear talk, and the mental framework to actually go use it. Enjoy, guys. Sponsors onX Hunt — onxmaps.com This episode is brought to you by onX Hunt. Remember the old Garmin Rino days where you could see your buddy on the map? onX basically reinvented that with their new Share feature. Head into the app, go to the new Go Track section, and hit Share Your Location — now you and your hunting buddy can see each other on the map in real time (works while you're in service). It's a small feature but a genuinely useful one for staying connected with your crew in the field. Go check it out at onxmaps.com. Bridger Watch — bridgerwatch.com This episode is also brought to you by Bridger Watch — a smartwatch actually built for hunting. On top of all the usual smartwatch stuff (health tracking, fitness tracking, texts), Bridger Watch has the best mapping capability of any wearable on the market. Save offline maps, pan around right on your wrist, and thanks to the onX integration, you can share waypoints, tracks, and markups straight from your onX account to your watch — so if your phone dies or gets left in the truck, you've always got a backup. It's built to work alongside your phone, not replace it. Use code TRO at checkout at bridgerwatch.com for a discount on your watch. Chapter Timestamps (estimated based on episode flow — adjust to exact audio if needed) Time Chapter 0:00 Intro — Welcome to the Elk Hunt Podcast 1:00 Sponsor: onX Hunt's new Share/Go Track feature 3:00 Sponsor: Bridger Watch — mapping, onX integration, and redundancy in the field 5:30 Pre-season excuses, scouting (or lack thereof), and getting back into bow shape 9:00 Switching to broadheads Aug 1 and Darin's practice progression 12:30 What counts as "long distance" — 4" groups at 80, and how standards have changed 16:00 Tack drivers vs. tactical shooters — building a foot in both camps 19:30 Darin's pressure drills: cold bore walk-up shot and the 3-second draw timer 24:00 Random range drills, pin setup philosophy, and avoiding the 30/40/50 gap 28:00 Cody's 104-yard follow-up shot story and shot placement lessons 31:30 High lung vs. low lung — the biomechanics of a shot and why tracking differs 36:00 Why "middle-middle" beats aiming right behind the shoulder 40:00 Fixed blade vs. mechanical broadheads — guiding clients vs. personal preference 45:00 Jarrett's bull — an incredible mile-and-a-half track job off almost no blood 50:00 The "Shot Science" idea, uphill/downhill elk myths, and animal toughness 53:00 The mountain lion with a broadhead through her throat 55:30 Darin's turkey hunting film, elk-hunting-for-birds strategy 58:00 What separates a 101 hunter from a 201 hunter — the adaptive mindset 61:30 The 90/10/1 framework and calling audibles in the field 65:00 Journey vs. destination — why Darin's first bull took 23 years 68:00 The 10-consecutive-days rule for new elk hunters 71:00 Level Seven High Terrain — horsemanship, leadership, and mindset coaching 75:00 Demand vs. ask vs. offer — lessons from horses that apply to elk and life 78:00 Closing thoughts, shoutouts, and outro (Note: since I don't have your actual episode audio, these timestamps are placed proportionally based on the order and length of topics in the transcript. Send me the real runtime markers if you want these tightened up to the minute.) Three Key Takeaways Consistency beats conditions. The hunters who kill year after year aren't the ones who need the wind, weather, and lane to all line up perfectly — they're the ones who stay adaptive when things go wrong and still put themselves in position for luck to find them. Shot placement margin matters more than pinpoint accuracy. Aiming for the middle of the lungs instead of tight behind the shoulder gives you a much bigger margin for error — and understanding the difference between a high-lung and low-lung hit changes how (and when) you should track. Time in the field compounds. Ten consecutive days in September, rather than scattered weekend trips, lets you actually read the mountain's rhythm — and for a new elk hunter, sustained immersion (not luck) is what shortens the road to a first bull.

Scott Vix returns to the North American Waterfowler Podcast for another campfire-style conversation covering everything from social media's impact on duck hunting to California waterfowling, OnX, spinning-wing decoys, and bringing home a new finished retriever. We dig into the increasingly common claim that "social media has ruined duck hunting" and ask a simple question: How? Is the hunting itself actually worse, or have expectations and hunting culture changed more than the hunting? We also discuss: California duck hunting and public land Season structures and youth/veteran hunts OnX vs. spinning-wing decoys—which changed duck hunting more? Buying a finished retriever instead of raising a puppy Transitioning from an aging hunting dog to a new partner Early teal season and why it's one of our favorite times of year If you enjoy thoughtful conversations about duck hunting, conservation, dogs, and the culture surrounding our sport, this is an episode you'll enjoy. Want to watch future podcast recordings live and interact during the show? Join the North American Waterfowler Patreon:https://patreon.com/freelanceduckhunting Partners Weatherby ShotgunsWhether you're chasing teal in September or late-season mallards, Weatherby shotguns are built for reliability and performance in the marsh. Learn more at https://weatherby.com. Flight Day AmmunitionPremium waterfowl ammunition built by hunters who understand what matters when birds are working the decoys. Visit https://flightdayammo.com and use code FDH10 to save. Shotty GearFrom shotgun accessories to practical gear for the field, Shotty Gear has products designed with waterfowl hunters in mind. Visit https://shottygear.com and use code FDH10. Mammoth Guardian Dog CratesProtect your retriever with the Mammoth Guardian Dog Crate—built with strength and safety for serious hunting dogs. Visit https://mammothpet.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Man, this one’s special. Doug Champion is back on the show for round two, and honestly, this is exactly why I love doing this podcast — you meet someone, you have a great conversation, and a year later you’re picking right back up like no time passed at all. If you don’t know Doug, he’s the guy behind Champion Living, building the first real athlete development system for rodeo — fitness, nutrition, mental training, the whole thing — because for way too long rodeo has been behind the curve compared to sports like motocross when it comes to taking care of its athletes. His brother Richie Champion is a legend in bareback riding, nine-time NFR qualifier, and Doug just watched him ride his last horses ever at the Calgary Stampede. That story alone is worth the price of admission — chills, dude. But this conversation goes so much deeper than rodeo. We get into the real stuff: what it actually costs to build a business that’s bigger than you, the guilt of missing time with your kids while you’re out chasing elk or building something for your family’s future, losing a dog that raised you into adulthood, and the discipline it takes to stop lying to yourself about why things keep going sideways. We also get into hunting — my brutal 2024 season, tracking a bull nine miles after he got up and walked off, Doug’s buddy Travis and the giant mule deer that got away (and then didn’t), and why I’m changing my whole approach this year to actually see more animals instead of just walking more miles. This is one of those episodes where we start talking about rodeo and end up talking about life. Grab your coffee, settle in, and let’s get after it. Sponsors onX Hunt Big shoutout to onX for this episode. They just rolled out a new Share feature inside the Go Track section of the app — think old-school Garmin Rino “see your buddy on the map” tech, but done right for 2024. You and your hunting partner can now share your live location with each other right in the app (works when you’re in service, so keep that in mind). It’s a small feature but a genuinely useful one if you hunt with a crew. Check it out at onxmaps.com and use code TRO for a discount on your membership. Bridger Watch This one’s personal — I’ve been building this thing for a long time and I’m proud of what it’s become. Bridger Watch is a smartwatch built specifically for hunters. It does everything a normal smartwatch does (health tracking, fitness, texts) but the mapping is where it separates itself — best-in-class offline maps on a wearable, and a direct integration with onX so you can send waypoints, tracks, and markups straight to your watch. Park your truck, drop a waypoint in onX, send it to your wrist — now if your phone dies or you lose it, you’ve still got your way back. It’s not trying to replace your phone maps, it’s the backup you didn’t know you needed. Go check it out at bridgerwatch.com Timestamps 00:00 – Sponsors: onX Hunt’s new Share feature & Bridger Watch’s smartwatch/onX integration 03:30 – Welcome back, Doug! Catching up a year later 05:00 – Doug’s all-in on hunting now — the struggle of finding time to scout with a growing business 10:00 – Burnout, growing a “lifestyle business” into a real company, and redefining what leveling up looks like 14:00 – The guilt of stepping away from the kids, and why the newborn years might actually be easier 18:00 – The 40th birthday Baldy lap story — missing fireworks, and what your kids actually see when you chase big goals 21:00 – What’s driving the business boom — investing in mentorship and the Alex Hormozi workshop 24:00 – Richie Champion’s final rodeo at the Calgary Stampede — the 90-point ride, the old horse, and an ending you couldn’t script 30:00 – Losing a 16-year-old dog, leaning into faith, and the journaling/affirmation practice that changed everything 36:00 – Business wins piling up — the Hooey collab, PBR partnership talks, and the new Montana State rodeo development program 39:00 – Why rodeo culture is behind other sports on fitness (and the motocross parallel) 44:00 – What actually separates great athletes at 22 — fearlessness, trainability, and coming to terms with risk 47:00 – Doug’s comeback from a broken back — seven years off, CrossFit, and the best ride of his life 50:00 – Cody’s rough 2024 season — a release malfunction, and tracking a bull nine miles after a bad shot 53:00 – 2024 plans: Utah spike hunt, general tags, Travis’s giant mule deer story, and using LandTrust to find new ground 56:00 – Closing thoughts on staying present, choosing positivity, and where to find the Champion Living x Hooey collab Three Key Takeaways Discipline beats intensity, every time. Both Doug and Cody hammer the same point from two totally different worlds (rodeo and elk hunting): the guys who succeed aren’t the ones grinding 80 hours a week or hiking 20 miles a day — they’re the ones being methodical, controlling what they can control, and getting a little better every single day. Effort without direction just burns you out. Presence is a practice, not a personality trait. Doug’s shift toward journaling, writing daily affirmations, and consciously catching negative thought patterns didn’t happen overnight — it took months before he noticed a real shift. The takeaway: rewiring how you show up for your business, your family, and yourself is trainable, even if it feels slow and unglamorous at first. The guilt of chasing your goals doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. Whether it’s missing a birthday for a training run or being gone during hunting season, both guys wrestle with feeling like they’re stealing time from their families. But as Doug’s own kid showed him — sometimes what looks like absence to you looks like inspiration to them.

Welcome to the land podcast, a platform for people looking to educate themselves in the world of land ownership, land investing, staying up to date with current land trends in the Midwest, and hearing from industry experts and professionals. On today's episode, we are back in the studio with Nate Hicks and Devin Cole of Painted Arrow. We discuss: Michigan officially becomes a one-buck state in 2027, with a pilot earn-a-second-buck-tag program in select counties. Nate and Devin recap how advocate Josh Arbogast and "The Whitetail Project" helped push the one-buck rule through the NRC. Devin lists his starter home at a "crazy" price and gets three offers over ask within 24 hours. Devin and his pregnant wife move into a rundown double-wide with no AC to grow their hunting ground to 44 acres. Painted Arrow's first batch of MagPros gets built on a card table in that same double-wide's living room. The 40-acre farm Devin and his wife eventually buy drops $150,000 in asking price inside two weeks. Devin and Nate both shoot the best bucks of their lives within 90 minutes of their first sit on the new farm. Painted Arrow moves production out of Devin's yard after 11 cars a day start drawing questions from the township. Nate shares his craziest listing yet: a horse farm owner who wants the buyer to let him be buried on the land. Painted Arrow gear now sells in Bass Pro, Cabela's, Walmart, and soon Dunham's, with a secret new product in the works. And so much more! Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! -Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ -OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt -Painted Arrow: bit.ly/PaintedArrow -Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/ -Whitetail Master Academy https://www.whitetailmasteracademy.com -Use code 'HOFER' to save 10% off at www.theprairiefarm.com -Massive potential tax savings: ASMLABS.Net

In this exciting episode of the Soul Seekers Podcast, host Johnny Mack is joined by Paul Ronto from OnX to ... Read more The post Ep. 380 | Into the Wild: Preparing for a Once-in-a-Lifetime Moose Adventure with Paul Ronto appeared first on Soul Seekers.

Learn more about hunting deer, moose and more in the Big Woods, find informative articles and the best wool and gear at https://www.bigwoodsbucks.com Check out the BWB Edition tent here: https://www.seekoutside.com/redcliff-6p-2-0-bwb-edition/ Check out the BWB Edition bundle here: https://www.seekoutside.com/redcliff-6p-2-0-bwb-edition-hot-tent-bundle Big woods land and camps for sale: www.landandcamps.com Save 20% on your OnX subscription with code 'BWB' https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt Hal and the Big Woods Bucks Team's Gear: https://www.bigwoodsbucks.com/Wool

Dude, this episode hit different. I sat down with Jacob Albaugh Tenet, founder of Tenet Products, and what started as a guy from Ohio racing four-wheelers turned into one of the wildest entrepreneurial grinds I’ve heard on this podcast — and that’s saying something. Jacob was a national champion ATV racer before he ever picked up a rifle. Then he had a kid, watched his buddy crash at 45 mph, and walked away from racing cold. He poured that same obsessive, pro-level mentality into western hunting — and that’s where this story really takes off. After blowing out his eardrums on a mule deer at 32 yards, losing an animal off a cliff because he couldn’t spot his own shot, and surviving a blizzard SOS situation in Idaho that he says changed his life, Jacob became convinced there had to be a better way to hunt suppressed without sacrificing accuracy. So he built one. In his garage. With a grinder and a welder. Five years, 87 iterations, seven pending patents, and a lot of 20-hour days later, Tenet Products exists — suppressors that combine brake-level recoil control with real suppression, at weights (5.1–5.9 ounces) that sound made up until you see the data. We talk about the midnight idea that led to the patented Horizon Brake System, why he thinks outsiders solve problems industry veterans can’t, the torture testing that’s put over 1,400 rounds through a single can, and what happened when Tenet showed up to Joseph Ewing’s massive 145-suppressor shootout in Montana against every serious competitor in the space. This one’s part origin story, part engineering deep-dive, part conversation about grit, faith, and what it actually takes to build something from scratch when nobody in the industry believes you. If you’ve ever thought about running suppressed in the backcountry, or you just love a good underdog build story — this is a must listen. This Episode Is Brought to You By: onX Hunt Remember the old Garmin Rino days when you could see your buddy’s location on the map out in the field? onX just brought that idea into the modern era — and made it way better. Head into the onX Hunt app, go to the new GoTrack section, and hit “Share Your Location” to see exactly where your hunting partner is on the map in real time. It only works while you’re in service, but for the hunts where it applies, it’s a total game-changer for staying coordinated with your crew.  Check it out and get outfitted for your next hunt at onxmaps.com Use code TRO for a discount at checkout Bridger Watch Full disclosure — this one’s mine. Bridger Watch is a full-feature smartwatch built by hunters, for hunters, made for the entire hunting lifestyle, not just the hunt itself. No compromise, no fluff. It handles your training, your mapping (the big one), your text messages, and it’s built with the kind of battery life that actually survives the backcountry — because we know battery life matters when you’re days deep with no outlet in sight.  Learn more and grab yours at bridgerwatch.com Episode Chapters Time Segment 00:00 Cold open — onX Hunt’s new GoTrack share feature 01:47 Bridger Watch — full-feature smartwatch for hunters 03:15 Welcome Jacob Albaugh — intro to Tenet Products 05:30 From national champion ATV racer to walking away cold 09:40 Discovering western hunting in college 13:20 The frustration that started it all: muzzle devices & long-range shots 17:00 The mule deer that blew out his ears — the tinnitus wake-up call 20:15 Going suppressed… and losing accuracy in the process 24:00 The Idaho blizzard, the lost animal, and finding faith 28:30 Building the first prototype — “redneck engineering” with a welder 33:00 Pitching suppressor companies the idea for free — and getting rejected 37:15 The midnight idea: birth of the Horizon Brake System 42:00 Why an outsider could solve what 100 years of experts couldn’t 47:00 87 iterations — the last 10% that takes 5x the work 52:00 Solving the weight problem with additive manufacturing (5.1–5.9 oz cans) 57:00 Torture testing: 1,400 rounds, melted titanium, and mag dumps into water 1:02:00 Launch pride and building the Tenet team 1:05:30 Inside Joseph Ewing’s 145-suppressor shootout in Montana 1:12:00 The slow-mo footage that shows five years of shot-control focus 1:16:00 Jacob’s 7-300 wildcat build and the sub-8-pound rifle 1:19:00 Where to buy, inventory plans, and what’s next for Tenet Three Key Takeaways You don’t have to choose between quiet, light, and controllable anymore. For decades, suppressor design has forced a trade-off — get recoil control from a brake, or get hearing protection from a suppressor, but rarely both without adding serious weight. Tenet’s approach of engineering the suppressor itself (not just the brake) for shot control is what let them break that curve. Passion-driven problem solving can outperform decades of industry expertise. Jacob had no suppressor background and no entrepreneurial ambition when he started — he was just trying to fix his own hunting setup. His point that someone solving their own problem out of obsession will often out-innovate someone doing it as a job is a great reminder for anyone building something in any industry. Recoil management matters more than caliber size for accuracy in the field. The current trend toward smaller cartridges (6.5s, 6mm) exists because lower recoil equals better shot placement. Jacob’s insight — that you can get that same manageability out of a 7 PRC or 300 PRC with the right muzzle system — means hunters don’t have to give up knockdown power to get accuracy anymore.

Welcome to the land podcast, a platform for people looking to educate themselves in the world of land ownership, land investing, staying up to date with current land trends in the Midwest, and hearing from industry experts and professionals. On today's episode, we are back in the studio with Thomas Damren. We discuss: How Tom went from Marine Corps officer to full-time tree farmer. The landlocked 273-acre Maine property that five other buyers walked away from. How he negotiated deeded access with a holdout neighbor before he even had financing. Why banks won't lend on raw land the way they lend on a house. The failed tree plantings that pushed him into starting his own nursery business. Building a primitive cabin in two days with his uncle's help. Why Maine's trespassing laws make absentee land ownership a constant fight. The low-maintenance trees and food plots that work best for hunting land. How mountainous terrain adds far more usable acreage than the map shows. Balancing a growing tree nursery business with habitat work on his own farm. And so much more! Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! -Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ -OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt -Painted Arrow: bit.ly/PaintedArrow -Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/ -Whitetail Master Academy https://www.whitetailmasteracademy.com -Use code 'HOFER' to save 10% off at www.theprairiefarm.com -Massive potential tax savings: ASMLABS.Net

Welcome to the land podcast, a platform for people looking to educate themselves in the world of land ownership, land investing, staying up to date with current land trends in the Midwest, and hearing from industry experts and professionals.  On today's episode, we are back in the studio with Wesley Steege. We discuss: How Wesley transformed a 40-acre farm into a 150" buck property. Why a small clover plot and water hole changed everything. The habitat improvements he'd make immediately on any new farm. Why buying your first farm creates momentum for the next one. How Kansas became the perfect choice for his second hunting property. The process of finding, negotiating, and purchasing land out of state. Using AI to visualize habitat improvements before breaking ground. Long-term strategies for building equity through land ownership. How Kansas landowner tags influenced his future buying strategy. Lessons learned after owning, improving, and hunting two different farms. And so much more! Connect with Alec: ⁠https://asmlabs.net/irs-180/⁠  Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! - Buck Land Funding: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -OnX:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bit.ly/PaintedArrow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Latitude Outdoors: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Whitetail Master Academy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.whitetailmasteracademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Use code '⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HOFER' to save 10% off at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theprairiefarm.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Massive potential tax savings: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ASMLABS.Net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This episode of The Western Rookie podcast focuses heavily on tactical e-scouting and mastering digital mapping techniques to maximize success in the field, specifically using the onX Hunt app. The conversation breaks down into a few core areas: Terrain and Topography: The hosts dive into how to properly read topography maps, understand complex terrain features, and use that layout to predict how big game moves through an area. Spotting Game Indicators: They discuss what specific visual markers and land features to look for while e-scouting from home to increase the odds of finding animals before ever stepping foot on the mountain. Navigating Boundaries & Collaboration: A breakdown of the practical, day-to-day functions of onX—including how to seamlessly navigate confusing public vs. private land boundaries and how to use the app's collaborative tools to share pins, waypoints, and scout effectively with your hunting partners. Handling Real-World Hurdles: The episode wraps up with advice on how to remain adaptable when things don't go according to plan, offering strategies for dealing with heavy hunting pressure, unexpected road closures, or a frustrating lack of wildlife in your primary spot. It is essentially a masterclass for newer western hunters on how to turn digital map data into a concrete, adaptable game plan. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode of The Western Rookie podcast focuses heavily on tactical e-scouting and mastering digital mapping techniques to maximize success in the field, specifically using the onX Hunt app. The conversation breaks down into a few core areas: Terrain and Topography: The hosts dive into how to properly read topography maps, understand complex terrain features, and use that layout to predict how big game moves through an area. Spotting Game Indicators: They discuss what specific visual markers and land features to look for while e-scouting from home to increase the odds of finding animals before ever stepping foot on the mountain. Navigating Boundaries & Collaboration: A breakdown of the practical, day-to-day functions of onX—including how to seamlessly navigate confusing public vs. private land boundaries and how to use the app's collaborative tools to share pins, waypoints, and scout effectively with your hunting partners. Handling Real-World Hurdles: The episode wraps up with advice on how to remain adaptable when things don't go according to plan, offering strategies for dealing with heavy hunting pressure, unexpected road closures, or a frustrating lack of wildlife in your primary spot. It is essentially a masterclass for newer western hunters on how to turn digital map data into a concrete, adaptable game plan. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to the land podcast, a platform for people looking to educate themselves in the world of land ownership, land investing, staying up to date with current land trends in the Midwest, and hearing from industry experts and professionals.  On today's episode, we are back in the studio with Alec Bean. We discuss: Section 180 has existed since the late 1950s. Excess soil fertility can create significant tax deductions. Most farmland owners have never utilized the deduction. Recreational farms with tillable acres can qualify. Timberland generally does not qualify. Active participation creates larger tax advantages. Some buyers use soil tests before making offers. Midwest farms commonly show $500-$2,500/acre in value. One client generated over $2.5 million in deductions. Data center money is creating major farmland demand. And so much more! Connect with Alec: https://asmlabs.net/irs-180/  Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! - Buck Land Funding: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -OnX:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bit.ly/PaintedArrow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Latitude Outdoors: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Whitetail Master Academy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.whitetailmasteracademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Use code '⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HOFER' to save 10% off at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theprairiefarm.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Massive potential tax savings: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ASMLABS.Net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

There’s a certain type of person who can’t half-ass anything. The kind of guy who decides to climb the Grand Teton on a whim, rappels off a sheer face having never rappelled before, canyoneers into some of the most remote slot canyons in the American Southwest, and packs mules solo through the dark at midnight to make the opener. Justin Helvik is that guy — and somehow, impossibly, he’s also a 20-year educator who coached high school football and showed up Monday morning with a collapsed lung and six broken ribs, insisting everything was fine. Justin and I go way back. He was with me on one of my early bear hunts. I helped him build the pole barn that would eventually house the mules he didn’t own yet. Life moves fast when you’re the kind of person who’s always got the next adventure already on the calendar. In this episode, Justin breaks down his unconventional path from desk jockey to legitimate mountain mule skinner — and I mean that in the best possible way. We talk about what drove a guy with zero ranch background to go all in on mule packing, the gnarly wreck on a Montana mountain goat hunt that left him with a punctured lung and broken ribs (and how his mule, Bella, somehow knew he was hurt and carried him out of the backcountry gently), and what it actually feels like to go from being intimidated by stock animals to packing 80 miles through the Yellowstone Thoroughfare. But this conversation goes deeper than mules. We get into the philosophy of adventure — what it means to chase that feeling of uncomfortable, why comfort might actually be the most dangerous thing you can do to yourself, and how stacking experiences over a lifetime is the only real way to build confidence that transfers everywhere. Justin talks about identity, ego, legacy, and what Lonesome Dove’s Augustus McCrae got right about living versus dying. He’s also got a Substack — From Desk Jockey to Mule Skinner — that I’d encourage every one of you to go read. He’s a great writer, and the stories are even better on the page. If you’ve ever thought about getting into pack stock, or you’re someone who’s wired to always be pushing the next limit, this one’s for you. Episode Sponsors Bridger Watch This episode is brought to you by Bridger Watch — the smartwatch built specifically for hunters, by a hunter. Cody set out to build something better after getting tired of pulling his phone out 100 times a day just to check his OnX map in the field. The solution? Put the maps on the watch. Bridger Watch is the best smartwatch for hunters, period. If you’re a watch guy and a hunter, this is built for you. Website: https://www.bridgerwatch.com?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss Coupon Code: TRO onX Hunt onX Hunt is the gold standard for hunting maps, and they just dropped a feature that’s going to change how you hunt with a buddy. The new Share Location feature inside the Go Track section lets you and your hunting partner see each other’s real-time position right on the map — like a modern-day Garmin Rino, but actually good. Fair warning: this only works in cell service, so it won’t help you in the deep dark. But for those in-service hunts? This is seriously cool tech that a lot of hunters have been asking for for years. Website: https://www.onxmaps.com?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss Coupon Code: TRO Timestamp Chapters 0:00 Intro & Sponsor — Bridger Watch 2:15 Sponsor — onX Hunt: New Share Location Feature 4:30 Welcoming Justin Helvik / Catching Up After Years 6:00 Justin’s Background: 20 Years in Education, Small Town Roots 9:30 The Path to Mules — Pack Goats, Failed HOAs & Bighorn Disease Concerns 15:00 Justin’s Adventure DNA: Ultra Races, the Grand Teton & Canyoneering 22:00 Olo Canyon & Going Where Few Have Been 26:30 The Moment That Made Him Go All-In on Mules (Elk Down, No Help) 31:00 First Experiences with Pack Stock — Intimidation, Trust & Mule Personalities 36:00 Horses vs. Mules: Self-Preservation, Bells & the Classic ‘Brakes Are Broken’ 40:30 The Mountain Goat Hunt Wreck — A Collapsed Lung, Six Broken Ribs & Bella 48:00 What the Wreck Taught Him About Ego & Risk 51:00 How Adventure Changes When You Have a Family 53:30 Experience Stacking: The Philosophy of Going All-In Incrementally 56:00 Planning the Lee Metcalf Solo Ride & Why You Need the Next Trip on the Calendar 58:00 Wrap Up — Justin’s Substack: From Desk Jockey to Mule Skinner 3 Key Takeaways 1. Comfort is the real killer — not the mountains. Justin makes the point that denying yourself the adventures you’re wired for is a slow death from the inside. It’s not just a mindset cliché — he’s seen it play out in his own life. When he’s not planning something that makes him a little nervous, he loses motivation everywhere else: at work, at home, as a father. The takeaway for listeners isn’t to go do something reckless. It’s to identify your version of “uncomfortable” and book it. Put it in the calendar. Then don’t cancel. 2. Stack experiences, not just kills. One of the most practical threads in this whole conversation is the concept of experience stacking — the idea that every micro-adventure you complete is compounding interest on your confidence. Justin didn’t go from zero to packing 80 miles through the Yellowstone Thoroughfare overnight. He stacked years of backcountry hunting, mule rides with friends, short overnighters, and hard lessons (including that ER visit) until the big trips felt like a natural next step. If you’re waiting until you’re “ready” to do the hunt of a lifetime, you’ll wait forever. Start smaller, go often, and let the experiences compound. 3. The anticipation is half the experience — book the trip. Justin and Cody dig into something that doesn’t get talked about enough in the hunting world: the happiness that comes from having something on the calendar to look forward to. Science backs this up — humans are wired to find joy in anticipation. The planning, the e-scouting, the gear lists, the late-night what-ifs with your buddy — that’s not just prep, that’s part of the experience itself. Don’t wait for the perfect conditions or the perfect budget. Book it now, figure it out along the way, and let yourself enjoy the countdown.

Welcome to the land podcast, a platform for people looking to educate themselves in the world of land ownership, land investing, staying up to date with current land trends in the Midwest, and hearing from industry experts and professionals.  On today's episode, we are back in the studio with a different show. Today, Jake hands the host mic over to Richard Rappley to talk about everything that Jake has learned in 5 years of running the Land Podcast. We discuss: Jake launched The Land Podcast while owning zero acres himself. He bought his first farm just months after starting the show. Most successful landowners make decisions quickly. Analysis paralysis prevents more land purchases than finances. Land ownership requires sacrifices and prioritization. The first farm doesn't need to be your forever farm. Building relationships with lenders is critical. Most landowners regret not buying more land sooner. Information is making the land market increasingly efficient. Five years of consistent action can completely change your life. And so much more! Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! - Buck Land Funding: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -OnX:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bit.ly/PaintedArrow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Latitude Outdoors: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Whitetail Master Academy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.whitetailmasteracademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Use code '⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HOFER' to save 10% off at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theprairiefarm.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Massive potential tax savings: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ASMLABS.Net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

In this episode, the gang sits down and talks with Todd Mead, author of A Lifetime of Big Woods Hunting Memories (2010), Back Country Bucks: From the Adirondacks and Beyond (2012), and Pursuing Public Land Bucks: DIY Hunts from the Mountains to the Midwest (2019). Todd is a distinguished Adirondack hunter who primarily sits, and in this episode he discusses the tactics he uses for success sitting in the big woods. Learn more about hunting deer, moose and more in the Big Woods, find informative articles and the best wool and gear at https://www.bigwoodsbucks.com Check out the BWB Edition tent here: https://www.seekoutside.com/redcliff-...  Check out the BWB Edition bundle here: https://www.seekoutside.com/redcliff-... Big woods land and camps for sale: www.landandcamps.com Save 20% on your OnX subscription with code 'BWB' https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt Hal and the Big Woods Bucks Team's Gear: https://www.bigwoodsbucks.com/Wool

Welcome to the land podcast, a platform for people looking to educate themselves in the world of land ownership, land investing, staying up to date with current land trends in the Midwest, and hearing from industry experts and professionals.  On today's episode, we are back in the studio with Dan Perez. We discuss: Dan's biggest regrets are the farms he didn't buy, not the ones he bought. Land always feels expensive in the present and cheap in hindsight. Many buyers underestimate how much appreciation compounds over decades. Hunting land can provide enjoyment while also building long-term wealth. First-time buyers should explore creative financing options like contract for deed. Leasing ground often costs more long-term than owning it. Small improvements can create significant forced appreciation on a farm. Investors need patience and the discipline to walk away from bad deals. Dan remains highly bullish on land despite rising prices. Growing populations and shrinking rural land supply support long-term demand. And so much more! Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! - Buck Land Funding: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -OnX:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bit.ly/PaintedArrow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Latitude Outdoors: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Whitetail Master Academy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.whitetailmasteracademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Use code '⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HOFER' to save 10% off at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theprairiefarm.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Massive potential tax savings: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ASMLABS.Net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Alright, if you want a raw, unfiltered elk hunting conversation from a guy who is absolutely obsessed with the game — this is your episode. Brandon Schmitz out of North Idaho joins the show for his very first podcast appearance, and let me tell you, this dude brings it. No fluff, no highlight reel — just honest elk hunting from a guy who has spent the last six years grinding through some of the most demanding country in the West. Brandon didn't grow up with a silver spoon handed to him in the elk woods. His dad lost the fire for hunting after wolves moved into North Idaho and wrecked what used to be some of the best big game hunting in the country. So Brandon had to figure it out himself, and that journey is exactly what makes this conversation so good. From his very first elk hunt — where his cousin smoked a bull that basically walked up to a truck parked in the middle of the road — to going toe-to-toe with grizzly bears, packs of wolves, and rutting bull moose in the same drainage, this guy has seen it all. Six-plus years in, Brandon still hasn't notched his tag, but don't let that fool you. This dude is FINDING elk — like, legitimately locating 20-plus bulls in a single season. The problem he keeps running into is the same one that trips up a ton of DIY hunters: closing the deal. We dig deep into that in this episode, and I think a lot of you guys are going to hear yourselves in Brandon's story. We talk about the mental side of solo hunting, what it really means to "be in striking distance," how to work a bull when your setup goes sideways, the art of building a bull's ego so he's absolutely fired up the next morning, and why sometimes the laziest move IS the right move. We also get into the very real challenges of elk hunting in grizzly and wolf country, the predator management problem that nobody in power wants to touch, and what it's like to be solo in the woods surrounded by apex predators that don't have a healthy fear of humans anymore. This is one of those conversations that reminds you why we love this thing so damn much — even when it's hard. Maybe especially when it's hard.This Episode's Sponsors TricerIf you're not running Tricer gear in the field, you're leaving performance on the table. I'm a huge fan of the RP Bipod — at 10.5 ounces, it is flat-out one of the best hunting bipods on the market. It comes with long and short legs, works with Picatinny and ARCA systems, and for $350 you're getting features that compete with bipods that cost twice the price. I've shot a pile of critters off this thing and I wouldn't leave home without it. Tricer makes more than just bipods, too — go check out their full lineup.Shop now: tricer.com | Use code TRO to save 10% off your order.Bridger WatchI built Bridger Watch because I was sick of pulling my phone out 100 times a day to check onX. The idea was simple: put maps on the watch so hunters can keep their phone in their pack and their eyes on the country. We set out to build the best smartwatch ever made for hunters, and I genuinely believe we did just that. If you're a watch guy and a hunter, there is nothing else like this out there.Check it out: bridgerwatch.comTimestamp Chapters0:00 – Intro & Sponsor: Tricer RP Bipod2:15 – Sponsor: Bridger Watch4:00 – Welcome & Brandon's Background | Growing up in North Idaho, impact of wolves on his dad's hunting8:30 – Getting Hooked | Brandon's first-ever elk hunt, cousin CJ kills a bull, truck in the road, borrowed gear, high school kids packing meat17:00 – Six Years Deep | Journey from first hunt to now — tagged out? No. Elk found? Absolutely.21:30 – Finding vs. Killing | Brandon's biggest skill and his biggest challenge; heavy glassing in thick country27:00 – The Mental Game of Solo Hunting | Decision fatigue, second-guessing, the ex-wrestler problem, and why being "lazy" sometimes wins33:30 – Striking Distance Philosophy | Cody breaks down the concept — be close, let things happen, stop trying to kill the elk and start trying to stay near the elk39:00 – Close Call on the Wallow | The mid-September herd bull story — moose sparring, 7 cows, drawn back, two steps short of a shot47:30 – Working a Bull After a Blown Setup | Building a bull's ego, bugling small, raking in the dark, keeping him fired up for first light54:00 – Grizzly Bear Encounter | Sow with three cubs, bear spray + pistol double-fisted, fog rolls in, the Snapchat decision1:02:00 – Getting Back on the Horse | Overcoming the fear, returning to the same hillside, the mental win of facing it1:05:30 – Wolf Country | Multiple wolf encounters — road wolves, pack following them out of the timber, wolves lighting off after a bugle1:13:00 – Predator Management Frustration | Grizzly population, government inaction, hound hunting, trapping, and the reality of wolf numbers in North Idaho1:18:00 – Bull Moose Problems | Moose responding to elk calls, moose following, Brandon's very close call with a bull moose 4 yards away1:20:00 – Wrap-Up & Good Luck | Final thoughts, gratitude, planning a return episode after the kill3 Key Takeaways 1. Stop Trying to Kill the Elk — Start Trying to Stay Close to ItOne of the most useful mindset shifts in this episode: instead of putting the pressure of "I need to kill this elk tonight" on every single move, just focus on getting into striking distance and staying there. Elk hunting rarely goes according to the exact plan, but things tend to happen when you're consistently close. Measure your days by time spent within range of elk, not by whether a shot materialized. This single reframe takes the anxiety out of solo hunting and keeps you in the game longer.2. Let Curiosity Kill the Cat — Silence Is a WeaponWhen a bull hangs up and won't commit, most hunters feel compelled to keep calling. Big mistake. A quiet elk is a suspicious elk — a quiet *location* is a curious elk. When you go dark after a bull responds, you're not losing the conversation, you're winning it. He'll start wondering where you went, and that curiosity will often pull him toward you. Learn to sit on your hands, let the shot clock run a little, and only break the silence if you truly feel him losing interest. When you do break it, try raking over calling — it's less demanding and gives you the chance to move.3. The Decision Fatigue Problem Is Real — Have a Plan and Commit to ItBeing physically tough enough to elk hunt is table stakes. The thing that actually determines success — especially for solo hunters — is the mental discipline to stick to a plan when everything is going sideways. It's easy to leave a drainage after a tough morning and convince yourself the elk blew out. It's harder to say "I committed to this spot for two days and I'm seeing it through." The hunters who string together good at-bats aren't necessarily the ones who work the hardest — they're the ones who make fewer panic decisions and have the confidence (sometimes fake confidence) to stay the course when doubt creeps in.

Welcome to the land podcast, a platform for people looking to educate themselves in the world of land ownership, land investing, staying up to date with current land trends in the Midwest, and hearing from industry experts and professionals.  On today's episode, we are back in the studio with Carter Amundsen. We discuss: Land ownership rarely happens when timing feels perfect. Proximity to home can outweigh acreage size. First-time buyers often overestimate how ready they need to be. State foresters are an underutilized resource. Habitat improvements should follow a long-term plan. Section 180 deductions can create significant tax savings. EQIP isn't the only conservation funding option. Access routes often matter more than stand locations. Land ownership creates value beyond financial returns. Stewardship becomes addictive once you start improving habitat. And so much more! Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! - Buck Land Funding: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -OnX:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bit.ly/PaintedArrow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Latitude Outdoors: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Whitetail Master Academy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.whitetailmasteracademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Use code '⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HOFER' to save 10% off at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theprairiefarm.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Massive potential tax savings: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ASMLABS.Net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

In this episode of Birdshot Podcast, Nick sits down with Keith Marcott to talk about woodcock hunting, bird travel, and a lifetime spent chasing upland birds across North America and overseas. Keith shares stories from hunting woodcock in New Brunswick, Quebec, and Scotland, along with memories from Wyoming, the western bird country, and the years before GPS and OnX made it easier to find cover.Keith Marcott is a retired engineer and lifelong upland hunter now based in Wyoming. After growing up bird hunting in the Northeast, he eventually built a life around western birds — Huns, chukar, sharptails, prairie grouse, and mountain hunts with Llewellin setters. Some of his most meaningful bird hunting memories, though, came from repeated trips into New Brunswick and Quebec, and later to Scotland, where woodcock hunting shaped the way he thinks about dogs, habitat, and travel.In this conversation, Keith and Nick talk about:- Woodcock hunting in New Brunswick, Quebec, and Scotland- What separates woodcock hunting from grouse hunting- How hunters found productive cover before GPS and OnX- Bird hunting travel, border crossings, and old-school camp logistics- Western bird hunting, dogs, landscapes, and the pull of woodcock countryEpisode breakdown:- [00:05:02] Keith Marcott's background and a lifetime of bird hunting- [00:07:01] Moving west: Wyoming, huns, chukar, and prairie birds- [00:09:42] Keith's bird hunting road trip across multiple states- [00:11:07] Camping, snake country, and hunting dogs in the West- [00:13:00] Snake avoidance training and a rattlesnake encounter in the field- [00:19:20] Western hunters, ticks, and the difference between regions- [00:27:07] The first New Brunswick woodcock trip- [00:29:27] Hunting with guide Danny Bird and chasing woodcock full-time- [00:36:47] Repeated trips into Canada and DIY hunting in Quebec- [00:42:05] Alaska, British Columbia, and border-crossing logistics with dogs and guns- [00:48:01] Finding woodcock cover before modern mapping technology- [00:49:27] Why woodcock still matter to a western bird hunterLinks:- Birdshot Podcast: https://birdshotpodcast.com- Instagram: https://instagram.com/hwy22outdoors/- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/17EVUDJPwR2iJggzhLYil7- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/birdshot-podcast/id1288308609- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@birdshot.podcastSupport:- Use promo code BSP20 to save 20% on your onX Hunt subscription: https://onxmaps.com/hunt/app- Use promo code BSP10 to save 10% at Meadow Creek Mounts: https://meadowcreekmounts.com/Birdshot is presented by onX Hunt. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of Birdshot Podcast, Nick sits down with Keith Marcott to talk about woodcock hunting, bird travel, and a lifetime spent chasing upland birds across North America and overseas. Keith shares stories from hunting woodcock in New Brunswick, Quebec, and Scotland, along with memories from Wyoming, the western bird country, and the years before GPS and OnX made it easier to find cover.Keith Marcott is a retired engineer and lifelong upland hunter now based in Wyoming. After growing up bird hunting in the Northeast, he eventually built a life around western birds — Huns, chukar, sharptails, prairie grouse, and mountain hunts with Llewellin setters. Some of his most meaningful bird hunting memories, though, came from repeated trips into New Brunswick and Quebec, and later to Scotland, where woodcock hunting shaped the way he thinks about dogs, habitat, and travel.In this conversation, Keith and Nick talk about:- Woodcock hunting in New Brunswick, Quebec, and Scotland- What separates woodcock hunting from grouse hunting- How hunters found productive cover before GPS and OnX- Bird hunting travel, border crossings, and old-school camp logistics- Western bird hunting, dogs, landscapes, and the pull of woodcock countryEpisode breakdown:- [00:05:02] Keith Marcott's background and a lifetime of bird hunting- [00:07:01] Moving west: Wyoming, huns, chukar, and prairie birds- [00:09:42] Keith's bird hunting road trip across multiple states- [00:11:07] Camping, snake country, and hunting dogs in the West- [00:13:00] Snake avoidance training and a rattlesnake encounter in the field- [00:19:20] Western hunters, ticks, and the difference between regions- [00:27:07] The first New Brunswick woodcock trip- [00:29:27] Hunting with guide Danny Bird and chasing woodcock full-time- [00:36:47] Repeated trips into Canada and DIY hunting in Quebec- [00:42:05] Alaska, British Columbia, and border-crossing logistics with dogs and guns- [00:48:01] Finding woodcock cover before modern mapping technology- [00:49:27] Why woodcock still matter to a western bird hunterLinks:- Birdshot Podcast: https://birdshotpodcast.com- Instagram: https://instagram.com/hwy22outdoors/- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/17EVUDJPwR2iJggzhLYil7- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/birdshot-podcast/id1288308609- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@birdshot.podcastSupport:- Use promo code BSP20 to save 20% on your onX Hunt subscription: https://onxmaps.com/hunt/app- Use promo code BSP10 to save 10% at Meadow Creek Mounts: https://meadowcreekmounts.com/Birdshot is presented by onX Hunt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the land podcast, a platform for people looking to educate themselves in the world of land ownership, land investing, staying up to date with current land trends in the Midwest, and hearing from industry experts and professionals.  On today's episode, we are back in the studio with Koby Kuhnen. We discuss: Coby bought his first hunting farm at 27 years old. He started with public land frustration and a long-term goal. Living at home helped him save aggressively after college. He looked at farms for years before buying the right one. The farm was bigger than planned but priced right. He used an ag-focused lender who understood land. His first moves were food, low pressure, and sanctuary. A major timber harvest reshaped the farm's future. CRP income helped, but he learned not to rely on it fully. His biggest advice to young buyers: pull the trigger. And so much more! Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! - Buck Land Funding: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -OnX:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bit.ly/PaintedArrow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Latitude Outdoors: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Whitetail Master Academy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.whitetailmasteracademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Use code '⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HOFER' to save 10% off at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theprairiefarm.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Massive potential tax savings: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ASMLABS.Net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Man, I don’t know how else to say this — this one got me. I sat down with Christian Zeron, the guy behind the Theo N. Harris Instagram, and what started as a watch-world conversation turned into one of the most honest, wide-open talks about hunting, identity, manhood, and what it means to find something that actually moves you. That’s the kind of episode this is. Christian grew up in New Jersey selling vintage Rolexes in college and built a marketing company around it. He’s sharp, he’s articulate, and — up until about six months ago — he had zero connection to the hunting world. Then a client invited him on a hunt in Kentucky and, well, here we are. He killed his first turkey this spring, he’s already got hog hunts lined up in Texas and a dove trip to Argentina on the books, and the guy is all in. Completely, unapologetically, joyfully all in. What I love about Christian is that he brings this fresh set of eyes to our world. He’s not pretending to be someone he’s not. He’s a Ralph Lauren, vintage shotgun, lever-action rifle kind of guy who gets genuinely emotional talking about his late grandfather while butchering his first bird. That’s real. That’s the stuff hunting is actually made of, and it’s the stuff that’s really hard to explain to people who haven’t lived it. We go deep on the watch world and what Rolex figured out about aspiration and identity that most brands never do. We talk camo as identity, Sitka vs. First Lite, Yeti coolers, LVMH, Omega, Casio — and somehow it all connects back to hunting, brand building, and what it means to be a man who collects experiences instead of just stuff. Plus, we dig into what I’m trying to build with Bridger Watch and Christian gives me some real, unfiltered marketing advice on how to position it against Garmin and Apple. This is the kind of conversation that makes you want to call your old man, fire up a steak, and go outside. Strap in. Episode Sponsors onX Hunt If you’re serious about hunting out west, onX isn’t optional — it’s foundational. We’re talking land ownership, access layers, terrain intel, and a full suite of tools built for every phase of the hunt: planning, preparation, and execution. The difference onX makes is simple. It’s confidence. Confidence that you’re in the right spot. Confidence that you’re legal. Confidence that you can find your way back to the truck when the day goes long and the country gets weird. Download the onX Hunt app and become an Elite member today. Use code TRO for 20% off your membership. Website: onxmaps.com Bridger Watch I set out to build a better smartwatch for the hunting community — plain and simple. I was frustrated. I kept pulling my phone out 100 times a day to check onX in the field and thought, why can’t we just have the map on our wrist? So we went down the rabbit hole and built what I genuinely believe is the best smartwatch ever made for hunters. If you’re a watch guy and a hunter, this was built for you. Use code TRO at checkout. Website: bridgerwatch.com Timestamp Chapters 0:00  —  Intro & Sponsor — onX Hunt 1:45  —  Sponsor — Bridger Watch 3:00  —  Welcome Christian Zeron | Who Is This Guy? 5:30  —  From Jersey to the Deer Woods — How a Watch Guy Found Hunting 9:00  —  Building a Marketing Company on the Back of Rolex 12:30  —  Christian’s First Turkey: Buck Fever, Clown Makeup, and Grandfather Moments 17:00  —  Why Hunting Hits Different — The Emotional Depth Non-Hunters Don’t Understand 20:30  —  Serving Elk Steak & The Pride of the Harvest 23:00  —  Where Does Christian’s Hunting Journey Go From Here? Argentina, Texas, Bear Hunts 26:30  —  Identity in the Hunting World — Camo Brands, Sitka, First Lite & the Yeti Effect 30:00  —  Decor, Taxidermy, and Why Rural Men Are More Aesthetic Than Manhattan Bankers 33:30  —  The Smartwatch Debate — Where Does a Luxury Watch Guy Land on Wearables? 37:00  —  Marketing Advice for Bridger Watch — What Rolex Got Right & What We Should Learn 40:30  —  The Watch World Deep Dive — Omega, Tag Heuer, LVMH, Casio & Vintage Markets 44:00  —  Lever Guns, Grandfather’s .35 Remington, and Planning Future Hunts 46:00  —  Wrap Up — Follow Christian & Final Thoughts 3 Key Takeaways 1. Hunting Connects You to Something Bigger Than the Kill Christian’s story about his late grandfather flooding back while he was butchering his first turkey is one of the most honest descriptions of why hunters hunt that I’ve heard in a long time. The harvest, the meat, the field dressing — it all becomes this vessel for memory and emotion and people you’ve lost. And it’s something you genuinely cannot explain to someone who hasn’t felt it. If you’ve ever felt your dad or your grandfather or someone you loved in a duck blind or a wall tent, you know exactly what Christian is talking about. That feeling doesn’t go away. It doesn’t get old. That’s why we keep going back. 2. Identity Is at the Core of Every Purchase Decision — Hunting Included Christian has been living inside luxury brand psychology for over a decade, and watching him apply that lens to the hunting world is genuinely eye-opening. Whether it’s Sitka gear, a Yeti cooler, or a vintage duck camo jacket — we are all making identity statements with every piece of kit we buy. And what’s fascinating is that hunters, who largely pride themselves on being no-nonsense, practical people, are actually some of the most identity-driven consumers out there. The trophy room, the curated camp setup, the brand of camo you wear — it all means something. Knowing that isn’t a bad thing. It’s human nature. 3. Lead With the Tool — Let the Lifestyle Follow Christian’s marketing insight for Bridger Watch — and honestly for any product in the outdoor space — is worth writing down. The temptation is to lead with the vibe, the lifestyle, the beautiful photos. But for a product that has genuine technical superiority in a specific use case, the smarter play is to lead with education and product proof first, and let the lifestyle layer build behind it. Rolex works because it’s 90% signal and 10% tool. A hunting watch should be the opposite: 90% tool, 10% signal. Prove what the product does for real people doing real things, and the identity follows naturally.

In this episode of the Adirondack Hunt Podcast, Brian and Mark sit down and talk with Tony and Pete Bruno about a lifetime of adventures hunting the Adirondacks out of wall tents set up deep in the backcountry. Learn more about hunting deer, moose and more in the Big Woods, find informative articles and the best wool and gear at https://www.bigwoodsbucks.com Check out the BWB Edition tent here: https://www.seekoutside.com/redcliff-6p-2-0-bwb-edition/ Check out the BWB Edition bundle here: https://www.seekoutside.com/redcliff-6p-2-0-bwb-edition-hot-tent-bundle Book your next hunt on Phindyr: https://www.phindyr.com/ Big woods land and camps for sale: www.landandcamps.com Save 20% on your OnX subscription with code 'BWB' https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt Hal and the Big Woods Bucks Team's Gear: https://www.bigwoodsbucks.com/Wool  

Look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it — life got in the way and we missed a week. But we’re back, and this one was worth the wait. Joe Epple is one of those guys who doesn’t fit neatly into a box. Retired professional football player. CFL veteran. Director of Business Development for Wild TV — Canada’s largest hunt and fish TV network. Co-host of The Edge, now in its 17th season. Father of two boys. Columbia blacktail hunter. Stone sheep chaser. A 6’8″ giant of a man who grew up in Squamish, British Columbia, hunting for meat and mushrooming in the rain just to make ends meet — and who somewhere along the way figured out that all those lessons in the wet coastal bush were actually building the foundation for everything that came after. This episode goes deep on what it really means to make the transition from professional athlete to serious hunter, and why the skills that make you elite in sports — goal-setting, resilience, the ability to learn from getting your ass kicked — translate directly to the mountains. Joe talks about growing up in a logging family that hunted out of necessity, not recreation. About being the fat, knock-kneed kid who nobody bet on, who started going to a rusty prison gym at 13 and never looked back. About how hunting blacktails in the miserable, soaking wet coastal bluffs of BC taught him to push through discomfort long before any football field did. We get into the mental game of hunting — specifically what it looks like when you’ve got 14-day fly-in stone sheep hunts on one end of the spectrum and a four-year-old who snaps every branch and asks to go back to the truck every five minutes on the other. How do you stay present? How do you keep the long game in mind when you’re sitting in the gutter on day 10 of a backcountry hunt wondering why you’re not home with your family? Joe’s got a framework for that, and it’s worth hearing. We talk about Kristen’s bear — a giant boar that’ll likely crack the top 15 all-time in the province. About Joe’s most-prized blacktail taken at 12 yards with a bow. About why archery hunting teaches you more about your weaknesses as a hunter than anything else. About what it’s like to hunt stone sheep as a resident in BC for a fraction of what nonresidents pay, and why he still hasn’t punched an archery tag on one. And about the pressure social media puts on new hunters to skip the learning curve entirely and shoot a 200-inch muley on their first trip out. Joe’s a straight shooter (pun intended), genuinely humble, and packed with perspective from both sides of the fence — the elite athlete world and the deep wilderness backcountry. This one’s got range. Turn it up. Episode Sponsors onX Hunt If you’re hunting out west and you’re not running onX, I don’t know what to tell you — it’s not optional at this point, it’s foundational. Land ownership, access layers, terrain intel, route planning — onX does it all. The difference it makes isn’t just convenience. It’s confidence. Confidence that you’re in the right spot. Confidence that you’re legal. Confidence that you can find your way back to the truck when things go sideways. That’s what elite membership gets you. Website: https://www.onxmaps.com?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss  |  Use code: TRO — Save 20% on Elite Membership Bridger Watch This one’s personal — I built Bridger Watch because I was frustrated. I was pulling my phone out 100 times a day just to check my onX, and I thought there had to be a better way. So we went down the rabbit hole and set out to build the best smartwatch for hunters. Maps on your wrist. Built for the field. If you’re a watch guy and a hunter, this is the one you’ve been waiting for. Website: https://www.bridgerwatch.com?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss  |  Use code: TRO — Exclusive discount Timestamp Chapters 0:00 — Intro & Sponsor: onX Hunt 1:30 — Sponsor: Bridger Watch 3:00 — Welcome & catching up — the missed week, quick intros 5:30 — Joe’s roots: growing up in Squamish, BC — logging family, pine mushrooms, coastal blacktails 10:00 — Why Joe pursued athletics instead of the outdoors — the unlikely path to pro football 14:30 — The transition: retiring from pro sports and returning to his outdoor roots 17:00 — Joe’s current life — Director of Business Development at Wild TV, The Edge TV show 20:00 — Raising kids in the outdoors — Walker and Wyatt, making it fun vs. making it serious 26:30 — Cody’s excavator story — how to build positive associations with hunting for young kids 30:00 — Spring bear hunting as a family — dance parties in the mountains and Kristen’s record-book bear 36:00 — The fat kid with a doctor’s note — Joe’s aha moment at 13, the rusty gym, and building self-confidence 42:00 — Growing up with zero sports culture in the house — how a 6’8″ kid ended up at Washington State on a full ride 47:00 — Blacktail hunting as the foundation — why the gray ghost builds hunters who can do anything 51:00 — Joe’s most prized blacktail — the 12-yard bow shot, the branch deflection, and the bluff recovery 54:00 — The mental game of backcountry hunting — learning lessons on every trip, reframing failure 57:30 — Archery vs. rifle — why Joe hunts with a bow even when he doesn’t have to, and what it’s cost him 60:00 — Dream archery hunts, stone sheep with a bow, and where to find The Edge on Wild TV 3 Key Takeaways 1. The Outdoors Builds the Foundation — Not the Other Way Around Joe flipped the typical narrative. Most people assume athletic success leads to outdoor opportunity. For Joe, it was the blacktail hunts in the BC rain — the cold hands, the wet wool pants, the days you saw nothing and came back a prune — that built the grit that eventually carried him to pro football. The outdoors taught him to show up when it sucks, because the lesson is in the discomfort. If you’ve ever wondered why some people can push through brutal hunting conditions while others fold, this conversation gives you the answer: it’s not a hunting skill, it’s a life skill — and you build it long before you ever draw a tag. 2. Play the Long Game With Your Kids Joe and Cody both land in the same place on this one: the goal isn’t to turn your four-year-old into a stealthy, branch-free hunting machine. The goal is to make sure they ask to go again. Unlimited bubbly water. Bring the toy excavator. Let them jump on every frozen puddle. Have a dance party in the mountains before you sneak over the ridge. The association you build right now — “hunting is fun, hunting is where we laugh and eat good snacks and do dumb stuff together” — is worth more than any lesson you could drill into them about staying quiet. The discipline will come. The desire to be out there has to come first. 3. Stop Writing the Story Before It’s Over Two or three days without seeing an animal and most hunters start mentally packing it in. Joe’s been there on 14-day fly-in hunts when the wheels come off and you start questioning every decision. His counterintuitive advice: that’s the point. That’s the adventure. The highs wouldn’t mean what they mean without the lows, and things change in a moment — a bull materializes, a bear steps into the open, the hunt you’ve been grinding finally breaks your way. The story isn’t finished until you’re back in the truck. Stay in the field. Stay sharp. The last two days have a funny way of making up for everything that came before.

EP 681: Connor Koch Some episodes just take a minute to get right. We lost the first version of this one — somewhere out there is an SD card with what I’m sure was a hell of a conversation — and you know what? Maybe that was the universe telling us to go again. Because this one hit different. Connor Koch is one of those guys who just operates on a different level. Arc’teryx ambassador for seven years, a man who’s climbed every 14er in the lower 48, skied big lines from Alaska to the High Sierra, and survived an 1,100-foot avalanche ride in ways that defy explanation. He’s the real deal. And now? He’s deep in the hunting rabbit hole, chasing elk solo through grizzly country with a bow he just learned to shoot, logging 70-plus days in the field and coming home with the kind of stories that remind you why we do all of this. We cover a lot of ground in this one. Connor grew up in a tiny San Diego-area town, never saw mountains until his Nissan’s transmission blew up somewhere near a place called Zzyzx on the way to Colorado. He pulled into Vail Pass, jumped out into the June air, and knew — at a cellular level, he says — that he’d found home. That moment launched a decade of elite mountain pursuits that would shape everything that came after. We dig into what it’s like to be a master of one discipline and a beginner in another — and how humbling it is when all your fitness and mental toughness still can’t outwit a wily bull elk. Connor talks about burning a shot opportunity 45 minutes into his first day of bow hunting, running 70+ days solo in the backcountry, getting his camp ripped apart by a known problem grizz the same night he hit a bull high, and why he doesn’t regret any of it. That’s the journey. That’s the process. But it goes way deeper than hunting. Connor opens up about the avalanche that changed him — a full slope that fractured wall to wall, a 1,100-foot washing machine ride, karate-chopping blocks of wind slab before getting obliterated, and emerging from the toe of the debris alive while his partners tunneled out around him. He talks about what that does to your relationship with risk, with the mountains, and with yourself. And then, the hardest decision of his career: turning down a prepackaged invite to ski 8,000-meter peaks in Pakistan, not because he couldn’t do it, but because he finally understood that some pages in your book are okay to leave blank. This is a conversation about reinvention, risk tolerance, the courage to step off the ship when it’s time, and what happens when a man who spent a decade trying to conquer mountains starts learning to be conquered by elk season. Oh, and also — he’s catering his entire wedding with two cow elk and some deer he harvested himself. That’s the kind of dude Connor Koch is. Pull up a chair. This one’s worth every minute. This Episode Is Brought To You By onX Hunt If you’re serious about hunting out west, onX isn’t optional — it’s foundational. Land ownership, access, terrain, and a full suite of tools built for every part of the hunt: the planning, the prep, and the pursuit. The difference is simple. It’s confidence. Confidence that you’re in the right spot, confidence that you’re legal, confidence that you can get back to the truck. That’s what onX gives you. Become an Elite Member today and save 20% with code TRO Visit: www.onxmaps.com?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss Bridger Watch This one’s personal — Bridger Watch is Cody Rich’s own company, so yeah, shameless plug incoming. It’s a full-feature smartwatch built by hunters, for the hunting lifestyle. Not just for the hunt, but for everything that surrounds it. Training, mapping, texts, and most importantly: insane battery life. Because battery life matters in the backcountry, full stop. If you’re a watch guy, you already get it. No compromise, no fluff. Just a watch built the way it should’ve been built all along. Visit: www.bridgerwatch.com?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss Timestamp Chapters 0:00 — Intro & Sponsor Reads — onX Hunt and Bridger Watch 2:15 — The Lost Episode: A Cop, a Bow, and a County Line 4:00 — Connor Gets His Life Back in Order — Four Months of Spring Skiing 5:00 — The Purcells and the High Sierra — Whitney, Muir, Langley, and a Broken Binding 7:00 — 30,000-Foot View: Arc’teryx, Mountain Pursuits, and a Big Boy Job 9:00 — Climbing Every 14er in the Lower 48 — And Why the Number Is Arbitrary 10:30 — The Origin Story: Erik Weihenmayer, a Blown Transmission, and Finding Home in Colorado 14:00 — Arriving at Vail Pass and Knowing — The Moment That Changed Everything 15:00 — Identity, Selfishness, and the Next Chapter 17:00 — Close Calls: A Rubber Band, a Carabiner, and 200 Feet of Air 19:00 — How Hunting Fills the Gap — And Gives You a More Complete Relationship With the Landscape 22:00 — Vert Records, Big Days, and Getting Old 23:00 — Bringing a Mountain Athlete’s Mindset Into Elk Hunting — Asset or Liability? 26:00 — Going Solo: Three Months, a Bow, and the Backcountry 27:00 — Losing a Bull on September 15th — The Shot, the Rain, and the Grizzly 31:00 — What It Means to Really Want Something and Not Get It 33:00 — Elk Hunting Is Not Meritocracy — And That’s the Point 37:00 — Visualizing Success: How Pre-Prep and Commitment Breed Confidence 38:00 — Confidence in the Face of Doubt — The Dark Arts of High-Exposure Terrain 43:00 — A Duty to the Animal: Why He Never Considered Leaving Camp 45:00 — Hunting as a New Relationship With Death — Feeding His Wedding on Wild Elk 47:00 — Wild Pigs, Weddings, and Getting Attacked at the Worst Possible Moment 49:00 — The Honest Ratio: 70 Days to One Elk 52:00 — If You Only Had 10 Days: The Discipline of Slowing Down 55:00 — Day One, 45 Minutes In, Five-Point at 42 Yards — And Why He Let Him Walk 58:00 — The Advice No One Wants to Hear: Passing Elk Builds the Best Hunters 1:00:00 — Confidence on the Skinny: Why Doubt Has No Place on Exposed Terrain 1:01:00 — The First Avalanche — Skiing Into a Rock Wall and Getting Shepherded Out with One Hand 1:03:00 — The Second Avalanche — An 1,100-Foot Ride, a Bag of Costco Mangoes, and Everyone Lives 1:11:00 — Redefining Risk and Stepping Back From the Edge 1:13:00 — Stealing Fire, Broken Necks, and the Identity Shift Into Bow Hunting 1:16:00 — The Pakistan Trip He Had to Turn Down — And Why He’s Finally Okay With Blank Pages 1:21:00 — What It Means to Move Into the Next Chapter 1:22:30 — Final Ask: Try the Thing That Scares You 1:23:30 — Wrap-Up and Watch Plug 3 Key Takeaways for Listeners 1. Your Greatest Strength in One Arena Can Be Your Biggest Weakness in Another Connor came into elk hunting as an elite mountain athlete — faster, fitter, and more mentally tough than almost anyone in the field. And it nearly worked against him. He was blowing out animals by moving too fast, pushing wind when he shouldn’t have, covering miles that didn’t need covering. The hard-won lesson: hunting rewards patience and animal knowledge above all else. Fitness is a tool, not a cheat code. The most valuable thing a hunter can develop — that gut intuition built from thousands of hours of observation — can’t be outworked or outrun. Know what you bring to the table, and be honest about where the gaps are. 2. The Process Is the Point — Not Just a Cliché Connor spent 70+ days chasing elk solo and came home with hard-earned lessons he wouldn’t trade for anything. He let a five-point walk at 42 yards on day one. He lost a bull to a high hit, a rainstorm, and a problem grizzly. He laid in his shredded tent for days still searching. And he says he doesn’t regret any of it. Not because it sounds good, but because every one of those moments compounded into something real. The hunters who last — and who eventually become consistently successful — are the ones who decide early that the journey is the whole thing, not a detour on the way to the outcome. 3. Knowing When to Step Off the Ship Is Its Own Kind of Courage One of the most powerful moments in this conversation is when Connor talks about turning down an invite to ski 8,000-meter peaks in Pakistan — a trip he’d been dreaming about for years. Not because he was scared. Not because he couldn’t do it. But because he finally understood that some chapters have to close so others can open. He’d survived avalanches, close calls, and years of operating on the edge, and he arrived at a place of genuine peace with leaving certain pages in his book blank. That kind of self-awareness — knowing your season, honoring your current chapter, and resisting the pull of old identity — is rare. And it applies way beyond the mountains.

EP 680: Jeff Peel | Tactacam What does it actually take to build something from nothing in the hunting industry? Not the polished version — the real one. The trailer-hooked-to-the-back-of-a-Buick-Enclave, sell-your-house, answer-customer-service-calls-at-4AM version. That’s exactly what Jeff of Tactacam pulls back the curtain on in this episode, and man, it’s one of the more refreshing conversations I’ve had on this podcast. Jeff and his wife Tara started Tactacam with almost nothing — a plastic folding table, a dream, and an obsession with taking care of customers in an industry that had largely forgotten how. What started as a point-of-view hunting camera has grown into a 500-employee powerhouse that now dominates the cellular trail camera market. But the part nobody tells you? It took 10 years of brute force to make it look like an overnight success. We dig into the pivot from software to hardware (and why everyone told him not to), the customer-first philosophy that drives a $2 million monthly CS budget, and the launch of Habitat IQ — a genuinely exciting AI-powered platform that takes the collective knowledge of the country’s best whitetail property managers and turns it into actionable data for your specific ground. Think SimCity meets your food plot plan meets 20 years of Jeff Sturgis notebooks. And yeah, we talk about dream hunts. Jeff’s answer? Polar bear with a bow on frozen ocean where you’re the bait. His wife thinks he’s crazy. I get it. Whether you’re a hunter who loves to nerd out on habitat, an entrepreneur trying to figure out how to break into the outdoor industry, or someone who just wants to hear what it actually looks like to bet everything on something you believe in — this one’s for you. Timestamp Chapters 0:00 Intro & Sponsor – OnX Hunt 1:30 Sponsor – Bridger Watch 3:00 Welcome Jeff Peel | Catching Up on Spring Hunting Plans 5:30 The Origin Story – From Cemeteries to Cameras 9:00 Meeting Ben Stern & The Decision to Go All In 12:00 The First Employee, the First Trade Show, the Buick Enclave 15:30 Why They Won – Customer Service as a Competitive Moat 20:00 Advice for Entrepreneurs Looking to Break Into the Outdoor Industry 24:30 The Pivot to Cellular Trail Cameras – Did He See It Coming? 29:00 Hardware is Hard – Why Everyone Said Don’t Do It (And Why He Did Anyway) 33:30 Building the Tech Team & Why the CTO Was the Most Important Hire 37:00 Habitat IQ – The Genesis of an AI-Powered Property Management Tool 43:00 How Cameras & Habitat IQ Work Together to Track Real Deer Movement Data 47:30 How Far Should Technology Go in Hunting? Drawing the Line 52:00 Dream Animals – Polar Bear with a Bow on Frozen Ocean 55:30 Tara’s Retirement Season – 5 Deer, All the Jealousy 57:30 Why Billings, Montana? Elk. That’s Why. 59:30 Where to Follow Tactacam & Wrap Up Episode Sponsors OnX Hunt If you’re serious about hunting out west, OnX isn’t optional — it’s foundational. Land ownership, access, terrain, and a full suite of tools not just for the hunt itself but for the planning, the scouting, and everything that goes into being a backcountry hunter. The difference is simple: it’s confidence. Confidence you’re in the right spot. Confidence you’re legal. Confidence you can get back to the truck. Download the OnX Hunt app and become an elite member today. Use code TRO to save 20% on your membership. Website: onxmaps.com Bridger Watch This one’s personal — Bridger Watch is Cody’s company, and it’s a full-featured smartwatch built by hunters, for hunters. Not a general-use watch with a camo skin slapped on it. A purpose-built tool designed for the hunting lifestyle from the ground up. It trains with you in the off-season, maps your hunts, handles your texts, and delivers the one thing every backcountry hunter knows matters most: insane battery life. No compromise. No fluff. Just the watch the hunting world has been waiting for. Use code TRO at checkout for a discount. Website: bridgerwatch.com 3 Key Takeaways 1. Overnight successes take about 10 years. Jeff was told at a trade show early in his career: “It was an overnight success — in only 10 years.” He sold his house, hooked a trailer to his wife’s Buick, and drove the country hitting every dealer and trade show they could find. If you’re building something and it feels like it should be further along by now, this episode is a reminder that the grind you’re in right now IS the success story being written. 2. Customer service isn’t a cost center — it’s your moat. Tactacam spends $2 million a month on customer service and has a 98% retention rate that rivals Netflix and Spotify. In a world where most companies have made it nearly impossible to talk to a real human, simply picking up the phone and knowing your product is a genuinely unfair competitive advantage. If you own a business — any business — this is worth writing down. 3. Habitat IQ could legitimately change how average hunters manage their ground. The idea behind Habitat IQ — scoring your property, simulating changes like new food plots or bedding improvements, and connecting it all to your real camera data — is genuinely one of the most useful applications of AI for hunters I’ve heard of. This isn’t tech for tech’s sake. It’s taking the collective knowledge of the best whitetail minds in the country and making it accessible for the guy with 80 acres and a weekend to hunt. Keep an eye on this one.