Ep. 22: New Year's Resolutions to Make You a Better Hunter
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As a guide and hunter, I've spent thousands of days in the field. This show is about translating my hard-won experiences into tips and tactics that'll get you closer to your ultimate goal, success in the field. I'm Remy Warren. This is Cutting the Distance. This podcast is presented by Yeti, built for the wild. Happy New Year, everyone, and welcome to the first Cutting the Distance podcast of 2020.

Wow, that's actually weird to say. 2020, I just feel like seemed so far off. I feel like I should be doing some intergalactic space travel by now, but I'm still pretty happy with our current state of technology.

It's crazy though that I could be talking from anywhere and giving hunting tips to a lot of people. So I'm pretty fortunate for the times that we live in and that there's still some extremely awesome wild places to hunt and explore. Now, the new year is for a lot of people kind of a time where you reset. You review last year and go forward for this year.

A lot of resolutions get made. A lot of fitness goals are made and broken oftentimes. But now is the time that you start thinking about what you want your next year to look like.

So on this episode of Cutting the Distance podcast, as promised, what I want to do is I want to go over some of your guys' questions. So people have written in, they've got some questions. I want to do a Q&A today, but I also just want to talk a little bit about some resolutions as well as just something that was really inspiring to me that my dad did after a

a New Year's quite a few years ago. So I'll kind of give you the story of his goals to get in shape. We'll do a top 10 resolutions list to make you a better hunter. And then we'll go into the Q&A. My dad is probably one of the most inspiring people in my life.

for a lot of reasons. He's done a lot of things. He got me into hunting. But I think that it was later on in life when I really realized the dedication he had. And he came to a realization. It was actually around 2008, so 11 years ago. I would guide a lot and was out hunting all the time in really good shape. All my brothers, we all stay in really good shape.

And my dad would go out on these hunts with us and he's the type of guy, he was always a little overweight or in some stages quite a bit overweight. But there's a lot of guys out there that you would consider overweight that just don't quit. They'll get to the top of the mountain no matter what. And he never had problem really keeping up. Growing up as kids, he was always the guy that he just never gave up.

So it didn't matter what kind of shape he was in. He was always what I would call mountain fit. He was able to throw a pack on and just trudge. He might not be as fast as everybody else, but he would always get there. And there's a lot of guys out there like that. Like you might look at some guys, you know what, you're a doll sheep hunter. I've seen some guys that are, that are bigger guys that can just move in the mountains.

but a few years earlier my dad had won a doll sheep hunt from the wild sheep foundation and it was pretty awesome because they let me tag along on the hunt as well and i actually got to shoot a sheep on that hunt that was my first doll sheep hunt in alaska and on that hunt my dad had kind of realized that he let his fitness level out of control he felt very underprepared for the task at hand

We ended up both getting sheep, but it was difficult for him to make it happen. The following year, we were elk hunting and deer hunting a lot in Montana. He drew a special tag. And there was just times where we needed to get over the next ridge and he felt like he was getting left behind. He came to this realization that he's getting older. The weight was weighing him down, literally.

And that he really enjoyed hunting with his kids, but he wasn't going to be able to do it like that forever. And he knew that looking forward into the future, he was going to miss out on a lot. He would slowly get left behind and he didn't want that to happen. So in 2008, he made a new year's resolution that he was going to work out every day for 30 minutes. We call it as 30 minutes. 11 years later, he has not missed a single day.

And his life is drastically different now. All because he wanted to be in the best shape for hunting and enjoy his experience out there.

I mean, it's really an incredible story to see where he is now and where he used to be. I mean, my dad, he was always tough in the mountains. He was always able to go, but I think he lost 80 or 90 pounds. He wears the same pant size as I do. And before he used to be 280 or somewhere in there, 250 to something like that. Now he's down to about 180 pounds, 190 pounds. He's lean, he's in shape and the guy can go.

Because of that, he's able to do hunts that he probably never thought that he could do with ease. He's the guy that's on a trip that we want to take with us. I know guys half his age that can't carry what he can carry, go as long as he can go. He just doesn't quit. He's the guy that's there with you no matter how hard it gets. He's lifting you up.

He's always been my number one hunting partner, but because he dedicated to staying in shape just for hunting, honestly, we can do any hunt in the world together. And I know that he'll be physically able to do it.

Sometimes he has more energy than I do. I go out there. Most of my fitness is just because I'm out there all the time, hiking, staying in shape just by doing. But he has that fitness regimen of every day getting some kind of workout in. And it wasn't immediate results.

He started doing the 30 minutes. And then at some point he said, look, I've been working out for a year and really haven't lost any weight. He's like, I know I'm in better shape, but the weight didn't really shed off like he was expecting. So then he added a little bit of a diet to it, counting his calories, doing a meal plan. And he started dropping weight like that. The combination of the workout and then the diet, he started losing weight and getting in better and better shape.

He's so dedicated to it. Say he's doing a road trip that's going to take all day. He will pull off the road and go run for 30 minutes, get back in the truck, and

and drive. No matter where he is in the world, he does not miss 30 minutes. Now, if he's out on a hunt, obviously he's getting his 30 minutes in by hiking and they don't have to be crazy, crazy workouts. Most of them are cardio based. A lot of it could be hiking with a pack. He does a lot of hiking uphill stuff that keeps him in shape for his goal to go hunting.

It's his primary reason for doing it. And because he's committed to it, now he's in probably the best shape of his life. He's able to do hunts that 10 years ago he would never have dreamed of doing. And he's able to stay out there longer, be persistent, hunt with his kids who are much younger, and remain successful.

And I truly believe that physical fitness has a lot to do with translating to success in the mountains, especially on big Western or backcountry hunts. Now it is New Year's and there's probably a lot of you that are thinking, well, I'm going to start some kind of New Year's resolution. So what I've done is I did a top 10 resolutions to make you a better hunter countdown in 2020. That's kind of a mouthful.

I wanted to list off 10 things that I think you could do. It doesn't even have to be a big thing. Some of these are just small things, but they'll make you overall a better hunter. So I'm going to run through this list. And if you hear one you like, write it down. Maybe you try multiple ones of these, but I truly believe that if you pick one of these off this list or a few of these off your list next hunting season, you're going to have a better season.

So let's start this countdown. Number 10: Find a new spot. What that entails is do some e-scouting, do some real scouting, and this doesn't matter what you hunt. If you're a turkey hunter, you're a duck hunter, you're an elk hunter, a whitetail hunter, find a new spot. Whether it's public land, private land, the act of investigating and picking a place that could potentially be successful

builds up skills in finding things, places that are unfamiliar. When you get out of your comfort zone, no matter where you go, the skills that you make learning those spots are going to translate into success. There's a lot of hunters out there that aren't fine spot hunters. They're guys that go out with their friends who always have the spots.

Just pick a goal of finding one new spot. If you hunt new places all the time, still every year, I always try to find a new spot, a new honey hole. Even in places that I've hunted my entire life, every year I dedicate to finding one new good spot. And because of it, I learn the area, I learn the animals, and I become a better hunter.

Number nine, pick a new species to hunt. That goes for anything. If there's something you haven't hunted, whether it be small game, large game, elk, deer, white tails, it doesn't matter. Picking a new species allows you to once again get out of that comfort zone and do something new. What it's going to do is it's going to call up the skill sets that you might already have and challenge you and push you a little bit to do a hunt that you haven't done before.

By doing that, you're just going to get better at hunting other things. I really value the skills that I've learned by constantly trying to chase new species. Because every time I hunt something new, I learn something new. I might go, well, actually right now, I'm hunting axis deer in Hawaii, which is one of my favorite hunts. A few years back, it was something that I'd never done

But yet hunting those animals, I've learned a lot of techniques as far as still hunting that I take when I go hunt mule deer or white tail spot and stalk because you get a little bit more practice or I pick up new nuances with that new species that translates to a lot of different hunts.

Number eight, learn to hunt with a new weapon choice. Now, if you're a rifle hunter, this year I want you to consider picking up a muzzleloader or a bow. If you're a bow hunter, consider maybe going on one rifle hunt or one muzzleloader hunt. Maybe it's a shotgun hunt.

Trying a new weapon, it's twofold. One, it extends your season because some seasons might end if you're just a rifle hunter. Once that rifle season's over, well, that's your season. If you extend your season into archery, into muzzleloader, it gives you more time in the field, more excuse to get out. The other thing is you learn stuff from each different weapon choice.

A lot of guys that are bow hunters think, oh, well, I'm already at the pinnacle of hunting. I've done the hardest way to hunt. Yes, that's true. But a lot of general area public land hunts, some of those rifle hunts can be a lot more difficult than the bow hunt.

So when you struggle to just find animals, what that's going to do is going to make you a better hunter when it comes down to going back to the next archery season, when maybe the conditions aren't perfect, you're going to pick up skills from hunting different weapon choices just by being in the field longer and having more opportunity to get out there and interact with the animals that you're hunting. Number seven, take a new hunter out.

It doesn't matter how long you've been hunting. If you've been out and you've done it, take somebody else that hasn't. When you take out a new hunter, and I get this from guiding all the time, or especially when I take out new friends or my wife, I start verbalizing the knowledge that I do have. Even if you've just been hunting for a season or half a season, somebody took you out and

Just by showing somebody how to do something, it teaches you at the same time. It also potentially gives you a new hunting partner to go out with. It's one of the best things you can do to increase your skills is to take somebody that has less skills than you because you're going to have to kind of pay attention to what you do and then teach that to someone else.

I always learned, whether it was like school or studying, to really know what you're doing means that you could take that and teach it to another person. I like to translate that to everything. How would I explain what I'm doing to someone else? Because when I go through the process of thinking of how I would explain it, I'm truly understanding the fundamentals and the mechanics of what I'm doing. Number six, hike 100 miles before the season.

Now, this is kind of fitness-based. You might think, whoa, 100-mile hike. No, I'm not even just saying 100-mile hike. I'm saying between January and September 1 or whenever your first fall season starts, make a goal of logging 100 miles out hiking. That's with a pack like you would in a hunting scenario. Really, if you break that down, that's 25-mile hikes. That's a two-and-a-half out, two-and-a-half back.

it's very doable. But the reason I suggest that is it's really hard to train for something and be in the right shape for it, but by not doing it. What that means is you can spend a lot of time in the gym, but when you go out hunting, you're going to be carrying a pack and you're going to be hiking. And the best way to build muscle memory for that is to do it. So if you just set a small goal,

100 miles, it seems like a lot, but it's really not. It's a few weekends a year, getting out, maybe bring your family out, do some shed hikes, do some scouting, or just trail hikes in a local park or forest, whatever, record it on an app, and try to log 100 miles before next season. It's just going to train your body and just keep you doing it throughout the year, not just when hunting season comes around.

Number five, save up for a better pair of optics. If you're looking at your kit and you need one piece of gear to improve this year, I would say budget for a good pair of optics. If you don't have a good spotting scope, grab a good spotting scope. If you don't have good binoculars, maybe this is the year to upgrade what you have.

Western hunting, even if you're a tree stand hunter, having a good pair of binoculars really just increases your success for all kinds of hunting. I use it when I'm bird hunting, when I'm whitetail hunting. It doesn't matter. Having a good pair of binoculars really ups your game and allows you to find animals that you may not pick up otherwise. You can go back and listen to a few of our glassing episodes, but I

But I highly suggest, I think optics are a key piece of kit, especially for spot and stock hunting or Western hunting. So if that's something that might be one of your goals, this is the year to upgrade your binos. Number four, pick one new out-of-state hunt.

It doesn't matter where you live. Just the idea of crossing a state line and going somewhere else, it causes you to really pull up the hunting skills that you have and creates, I would say, a system where you have to read a new set of regulations.

You have to find a new spot. You have to go somewhere that's very unfamiliar and get out of your comfort zone. What that does is it increases the skills that you can take home because you're doing all the things and taking extra steps for each hunt that you might not take when you keep hunting the same place over and over. Even for myself, I constantly try to go somewhere new. I pick a new out-of-state hunt and I'm going to do that very same thing this year.

So it's just something that expands your skills as a hunter. Even if you're a new hunter, think about planning a trip somewhere else, maybe for something new. Back up in number nine, a new species, you could check two of those off the list at once, pick a new species out of state. It's gonna allow you to try something different. When you go out of state, here's the other thing that I love about it. Sometimes when you hunt at home, you just, you go out hunting.

But when you go out of state, it's an adventure. It's a trip and you're committed to hunting during that time that you're away. You specifically set a longer period of time to get out. And by hunting a longer period of time, say it's a three-day trip, a five-day trip, hunting multiple days in a row, it really allows you to understand an area, to see something new and really dive into that hunt.

You've got nothing else going on. You can't go run into work the next day. You aren't dealing with other things. You're just in the hunt, focusing on the hunt. And it's a great way to expand your skills. Number three, shoot more. If you are a bow hunter or want to get into bow hunting, make some goals on shooting. If you shoot a couple times right before the season, bump it up. Start shooting every week. Start shooting every day. Start shooting multiple times a week.

The same goes for rifle hunters, shotgun shooters. It doesn't matter what your weapon of choice is. We can all be better. I constantly continue to practice with whatever weapons that I'm using. This year, I shoot hundreds of rounds with shotguns, hundreds of rounds with a rifle.

thousands of bow shots a year because when I get into the field, I know that I might have one chance at that animal. And I want to make sure that I'm 100% ready, confident, and can make a clean kill because that's our responsibility as hunters. I know so many guys that get into bow hunting. They start out strong. They start practicing shooting. And then they're like, oh, I know how to shoot my bow. And then they shoot it once or twice right before they go out just to make sure it's sighted in.

That's not the best way to do it. You want to remain proficient. You want muscle memory. So when something goes down, it's quick, it's easy, and you make an ethical shot. Number two, this one's super important. We've talked about it a little bit in the story, but get in shape and really commit to it.

Everybody can do better in this aspect. It doesn't matter what kind of shape you're in. Maybe get in better shape. If you lift a lot or whatever, get in good hiking shape too. Do some cardio, wear a pack, get in hunting shape, get in mountain shape, get in the shape that you want for the field.

And that might just mean 30 minutes a day, maybe 30 minutes every other day, maybe 15 minutes a day. I don't even care. Maybe it's five minutes a day. Start somewhere that you know you can do it and don't quit. When I'm working out or running, if I'm home for a little bit, I might go on a hike or whatever just to keep my fitness levels up. What I like to do, and I've done this ever since I can remember, is that when I'm working out or doing something that I don't really like to do,

I just picture chasing some animal up a mountain, like that last little push. When I see an animal a long ways away, if I'm on a backpack hunt, nothing slows me down or stops me from getting over there. And I use that same motivation off season as well. Just visualize it, pretend like you're on the hunt and you keep that hunting goal in mind. If you're a hardcore hunter, it's real easy to visualize your success and use that as a motivator

to stay in shape. At least for me it is. And now we're down to number one. The number one top thing you can do this season to increase your success is listen to the Cutting the Distance podcast once a week. Of course I had to add that in, but I truly believe the reason I'm doing this podcast is to make you a better hunter.

Now, I get so many messages from people that are white tail hunters or maybe don't necessarily do the same kind of hunting that I do. It doesn't matter if you live in Australia, New Zealand, North America. The tactics that I generally use, maybe you've never hunted elk before, but you can glean tips from that species and translate it to so many other things.

I've hunted a lot of places around the world, a lot of different species. And it's funny how many things you take from one thing and move it on to the next.

And I love getting messages from that as well. I got some from a guy. He's a white tail hunter, but that glassing tactic helped him be successful this year. Or the shoes off situation. Guys have been doing that creeping into their tree stand. It's like use those tactics and modify it for what you do. And then as well, maybe you're going to go out of state. Maybe you're going to hunt a new species. Just listening to these tips and logging them in your mental catalog, it's overall going to make you better.

So listening to this podcast, that's an easy one. You can just tune in on your way to work and share that with your friends too, because it's great to bounce ideas off of each other. You got a buddy, make sure he listens to it every week and then talk about it. Like, Hey, what did, what did we learn this week? How can we translate that to what we're doing? Talk with your friends. Maybe it'll inspire you to try something new this year, to plan a new hunt, to

It's always easier to get motivated when you've got somebody else that's pushing you along. Pushing each other is a great way to go further. So that sums up my top 10 countdown for

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Go to fishingbooker.com today. That's fishingbooker.com. My personal resolutions, I've always loved shooting my trad bow, my long bow, my recurve, but I know that I don't shoot them enough.

So what I've been starting to do is just when I go out to shoot my compound bow, I've got my recurve or my longbow there. I really want to just continue honing my skills with that shooting. So this year, that's one of my resolutions, my goals. And then of course, I'm going to pick a new out of state hunt. And if I can, a new species to chase this year, you know what? I'm just going to go that same list. I'm checking off one through 10. So that'll be my goal.

checking off one through 10. If anybody else does that, I would love to hear about it. So let's jump into the Q&A. We'll finish that up. Thank you guys so much for sending in your questions. A lot of these questions come from emailing me, remy at themeateater.com, as well as on my social media, at remywarren, generally on Instagram. That's where I'm the most active. I'm

Now, if you've sent in an email and you haven't got a reply, I apologize. There's quite a few of them that we just can't get to all of them, but I do try reading. I pretty much read everything. So a lot of it's in my mind. And when I go to plan these episodes, some of those questions will hopefully get hit. And then some of them I'm just going to read right now. So I pulled out about five or so

The first question here comes from Austin O'Neill, Fort Worth, Texas. He says, "Hey there, Remy. Love the podcast you have going right now. I've been hunting my entire life in both Texas and Louisiana. I've hunted nearly all these states have to offer, mostly on private land except for public land waterfowl. My dream is to go west on a backcountry mule deer or elk hunt. I haven't even the slightest clue where to start. I think a lot of folks are in the same camp. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated."

That is a great question. And it kind of ties into some of the 2019 resolutions and goals. Go out of state, hunt something new. It can be daunting where to start. Now, there's a lot of things to consider. There's some general over-the-counter type tags, but there's also a draw system. So here's where I would start. I would pick a state.

It really doesn't matter what state. Maybe it's based on the amount of tags. Like Colorado has more elk tags than everywhere. Wyoming, it could be just based on, oh, that's an easy drive for me. Idaho could just be, yeah, it sounds like a fun trip. Montana, wherever, pick one or two states and then dive into that state.

So here's how you dive in. Start first by ordering the regulations for the two states that you've picked. You can start by doing a little bit of research online. Where are states so that I could get an over-the-counter tag? Where are states that I have a good chance of drawing my first year? Okay. Once you get that, read through those and identify areas that you could potentially get a tag or potentially start hunting.

Once you've done that, now you jump into the research aspect. Honestly, the Onyx Hunt app is one of the best ways that I do hunt planning. Because what I'll do is after reading through the regulations, I figure out where I can hunt. I go on that app and I go to that unit and I look for public land.

Once you've found the public land, you go, okay, there's access here. I've got public land. I've got an area I can get a tag. This is where I'm going to start my research. Once you've narrowed down the area, it's way easier to pinpoint places to go or give yourself ideas on where to hunt. You can call local biologists, Fish and Game. You can do a lot of research online, just even Googling the area and maybe even get into a forum about people that have hunted that area.

create, what I do is I start a folder for every new area. I still do a lot of handwriting, whatever. When I learn something or find something interesting on it, I write it down. And that's going to start narrowing your approach to that specific unit. And through that research, a lot of times you might even encounter some people that have been there. You might get some numbers from some guys to talk to, or through a forum, maybe just kind of get somebody's take on it.

Then I'll go back to my maps. Now go back to our, one of our e-scouting episodes we did early on. And maybe I got it. I'll probably do some more episodes in the future on tag draw systems, as well as hunting new areas. Those are all going to be coming up. So,

that's where I would start. And I think that kind of answers it. And then just keep listening to the podcast because really you're going to glean a lot of tips on the how to hunt part. But I'm also, I like that idea and maybe cover some more getting started in future episodes.

All right, this one I'm going to just paraphrase. It's from Ben. He says, most of my hunts are rather stationary in a blind in central Texas, where it's usually hot but can get into the 20s. So he's planning his first elk hunt late in September 2020 in Idaho. He's purchased a lot of outdoor gear. He's got some Gore-Tex Windstopper jacket,

for extra warmth, rain protection. He bought some Ridge Reaper pants. He bought Gore-Tex pants as well. So his question is, should he just throw on a base layer and go lighter pants? Or should he go heavier pants that are too hot for Texas, but he doesn't want to get too cold in Idaho? So late September in the mountains, it can be a little bit of everything.

I would say if you're going on your first hiking type hunt, you dress completely different than you do when you're sitting. I actually did a sitting hunt in Oklahoma this year and I froze. It's a completely different experience sitting stationary. You need a lot of clothes and you need a lot of warm stuff. When you're hunting the mountains, you're moving.

you can never go too light. It could be 30 degrees out or freezing out. And I generally start off the day if I know I'm hiking in a light pant and my shirt. I'll leave my jacket in my pack because I know that as soon as I start moving, I'm going to heat up and I'm going to start sweating.

I would say that if I was to choose between one or the other for late September, I would go the lightest pan I could find and then throw in like a mid-season base layer. Because western hunting and movement hunting is all based on layering. If you're stopped, you might cool down. So that's when you would throw on that rain jacket or a down puffer, something like that to keep you warm.

And then you can take it off. And as soon as you start hiking again, go mobile, go lightweight and let whatever you're wearing be breathing. Because if you just bundle up and start hiking, you're just going to overheat. All right. This next one is from John Kinter. He says, first of all, huge fan. Second of all, I've been watching you on solo hunters and listening to your podcast for a couple of months now.

And I've seen you make some very impressive shots in the field. His question comes down to mountain rifles. He also asks what gun scope I've had the most success with. And then he sees that I generally use a muzzle brake. He has a question about the muzzle brakes and whether he should get one. And then what type of caliber of rifle. That's a great question. And I get gun questions a lot.

The number one gun question I get is what caliber and then what type of rifle. So if you want a mountain rifle, there's a ton of great lightweight mountain rifles out there. Currently, I work with Saco. I'm actually sponsored by Saco Firearms, the Finnish firearm company. They do make some really good lightweight guns, the Carbon Light as well as the Finlite II. Those are probably two of my favorites.

But they also make what I would consider the best mid-range light rifle, which is the Tikka T3 light. For the price and the weight, that gun can't be beat. I've probably recommended that gun to more people than others. In a lot of the solo hunters that I've done, I've shot a lot of Christensen arms. Those are great rifles as well. Also lightweight. They've got the carbon fiber. I do suggest muzzle brakes on a rifle.

Now, a lot of people go, oh, they damage your ears. Yes. Here's my opinion. I wish that our suppressor laws in this country...

were wide open, like you could just buy them. When I go to New Zealand, you can pretty much buy a suppressor anywhere. It's actually encouraged that you put a suppressor on your rifle because what it does is it acts as a muzzle brake, taking a lot of the kick out of the rifle, but it doesn't blow your eardrums out and they aren't silenced. It just takes the crack out of the rifle, reduces the decibel level a little bit. Now, I think most suppressors, you probably still, when I'm shooting like at the range with a suppressor,

I throw on my ear protection. But when I'm out in the field and I shoot with a suppressor, it just doesn't blast my ears. You'll see that in a lot of videos that I do, I always have those earplugs around my neck or put earplugs in before I shoot. And it is because I have a muzzle break. You might get one shot off, but damaging your ears, I just know too many guys and I've had it happen where my ears will ring for a week.

and it's not worth your ears ringing for the rest of your life. I know a few guys that that's happened to. So the reason that I suggest a muzzle break, I believe that a lot of people overgun themselves. It doesn't matter how tough you are or how strong you are or how manly you are. If you're repeatedly getting a sharp kick in the shoulder, eventually you're going to develop some bad shooting habits.

And I see this happen a lot, especially with young hunters where they might be 15, 16, whatever, and they're just overgunned. In America, we tend to overgun really bad. Like we'll give a 120 pound person a 300 wind mag and say, here, shoot this box of shells and then go out and shoot an elk.

What's going to happen is you're going to start flinching. And I see it happen nearly with everybody that shoots a large caliber rifle for a prolonged period of time. And it might not happen right away, but eventually it will. It's just something that happens and it's super hard to get away from. So I suggest always erring on the side of less recoil, recoil reduction. Muzzle break is the best way to do that. You're better off having a loud gun that you can shoot and

and not develop bad habits with. Also, I love the muzzle brake because when I'm on target, if I'm by myself, the lower recoil allows me to oftentimes still maintain that animal in my scope, as well as reacquire the target extremely quick. Even if you aren't by yourself, that is a great to have. My personal favorite caliber is a 300 short mag. I love it because it's

I can hunt everything from moose and elk down to, I've even taken it to Africa and hunted small steenbuck, which is like a very tiny antelope. It's very versatile.

It's also a short action. So that short action, you can get built into a lighter rifle. If you're a mountain hunter, you're carrying your rifle all the time. Shaving off some weight is huge. Now, as far as scope, I think one of my favorite scopes is the Vortex. It's the Viper series. It's like an HSLR. There's a Hunter version of it now, brand new.

I like having an adjustable turret on my scope, but you know, everybody's different. I like to be able to just dial up to where I'm exactly where that bullet's going to hit.

I would say if you don't do that, if you want to just keep it simple stupid, I know a lot of guys that just having a turret is just a little bit too much. So there's plenty of rifle scopes out there. I would say get one with BDC reticle, ballistic state aligns, something that translates to where your bullet's hitting at different ranges. Now, a lot of those scopes aren't first focal plane, meaning...

it's got to be at a certain magnification for those lines to represent. So you just have to get familiar with whatever scope you do. I like having a little bit more magnification on my scope. So I'll try to get something like a four to 16 is a good range of scope that I like. I like that extra bit of zoom because I like to really be able to pick out what I'm shooting at. You know, I'd say growing up, the standard was the three to nine.

I like to jump it up to the 16. I think when you get into the 20 range magnification, if you've got more of a tactical type setup, that's great. I like higher magnification, but I also want to make sure that I have the low range on it as well.

Because my scope is 99% of the time set on a low magnification. I only turn it up when I need it for those further shots because I want to make sure I take a more accurate shot. Now, if I'm by myself though, I rarely ever go above nine power because I want to be able to retain the sight picture and see what happens on that shot. I don't know if that answers the question that got deep, but I think some people will be able to pick some stuff out of that.

Alright, our next question. I might butcher your last name. Max Mitoli from Montana. Him and a buddy are going on a coos deer hunt December 1st opener. Any advice for first time coos deer hunters?

And then they're going to spend a lot of time glassing. It sounds like he's got a pretty good plan here. He really just wants any advice for spot and stalking the coos deer. Now, the coos deer hunt in Arizona is awesome because there's an over-the-counter archery tag down there. It's pretty much through December through January. I will say I've hunted almost, I don't know if I've hunted every open unit, but I've over the years make it a point to just keep hunting new units down there. And I've got some of my favorites that I keep going back to

But I would say the best advice I could give you is get good glass and find glassing knobs. So you'll find a good knob with the sun at your back and glass the mountain range. I would say most of the deer are going to tend to be at the top third of the hill. Coos deer, I kind of refer to them as a mountain whitetail. Whereas in Arizona, the mule deer are at the bottoms in the valleys and the coos deer are up on the mountains.

It's the exact opposite where I hunt in Idaho or Montana, where the white tails are in the bottom and the mule deer up on the mountains. I like hunting the mountains. So I go with what species live in the mountains, Arizona, it's coos deer. Now, when you're hunting in December, it's going to be a little bit more pre-rut. And then when you get into the January season, I think it's more main rut. I personally prefer to hunt later in January. So if you're looking for an out-of-state hunt, you could jump on that one right now.

The later in January hunt, you can still translate a lot of just standard whitetail tactics or rut tactics. So you do a little bit of glassing, but also think about these deer rutting. They're going to be moving more. Look toward areas where bucks will travel. I like to start out looking first thing on the ridges, finger ridges in the mornings or at that top third of the mountain. As that thermal changes, it's going to be drifting the wind up. Well, the bucks are going to be cruising looking for does.

So what they're going to be doing is they're going to be moving in places where they can cover a lot of ground and hopefully catch the scent of a doe. That tends to be ridges in the mornings as the thermals are rising because they'll catch the wind on either side as well as like the top part of the mountain. That's why I say it's glass the top third of the hill because they're going to be catching the scent of does down below.

Now when it comes to the stalking portion, that is the hardest part because as they're rutting, they might get up and run off. So if you got two guys, two guys is preferred. Leave one guy on point. If you can hunt in pairs, you're going to be a lot more successful. Just because when you go on a stalk, having somebody watch that animal and know whether they're gone or not is huge.

But what I like to do is I like to watch the deer. I like to watch to where they bed down. And then I plan my stock from there. Leave one guy on point. If the animal moves or whatever, have hand signals worked out like, Hey, that deer just decided to get up and run off and chase a doe for no reason. Or he's still in that position.

A lot of the coos deer hunts, stalks that get blown, they get blown by sneaking in and just assuming that they're gone because you don't see them. And then they blow out right at your feet. They will hold very tight, but I'd say most of the time when I'm stalking coos deer, the plan is to come in from the top. It's mountainous. Most mountain stalks are best performed sneaking down on top of the animal because they're bedded looking down. If you can get the wind right, you'll probably get into position for a shot.

And then when you get into that position for a shot, be quiet, be patient, and make sure that you have good shooting lanes for when they happen to stand up. I think that's the simplest way I could walk you through that. And I, you know, I love coos deer hunting. So maybe a little bit later, that's a good topic for an actual podcast in the future. If that's something that you guys would like to hear about, let me know. I mean, also you can always continually send me, you know, ideas on what, what you want to hear about.

This question comes from Luke. It's about shot placement. First, he says, I wanted to thank you for the glassing tips and tricks. Your advice to glass even more in the trees led to my personal best whitetail this season. He eyed a small bedded buck, just the sliver of hair gave him away, and then his much larger buddy. He sent a picture, actually. It was a great buck, Max. Congrats.

So his question is, I ran into a neck shot predicament this season. A large 5x5 whitetail buck, 27 yards, standing broadside looking at me. Only thing I could clearly see was the deer's head and neck through the brush. I opted for him to walk forward and hopefully have a vital shot, but the deer bounded off. I wasn't rushed. He stood there for what felt like a minute. My 30-yard groups are good, but I've heard with a bow these neck shots are frowned upon. Would you have taken this deer?

I think after reading this, you did the right thing. If there's a deer standing broadside, I would never attempt that next shot, especially at 30 yards with a bow. An animal at the sound of that string, even if they aren't super keyed in, has the tendency to jump.

what that could do is there's very little vital in the neck for a bow shot. There's a lot more chance that you would wound that deer, hit that deer bad, or miss that deer than actually killing the deer. You made the right decision. That's the whole part about bow hunting. That's the whole part about hunting. That's the frustrating part. You can have them so close yet so far away. 30 yards and no shot.

That's just classic what happens when you start bow hunting or bow hunt long enough. You're going to have something that was almost an opportunity.

But to be an ethical hunter, remaining patient and waiting for the opportunity when you can make a clean ethical shot is key. It's what separates us from the other animals out there chasing. Wolves don't have those same ethics, but as humans and as hunters, we value those ethics because we want to make sure that when we take an animal, it's clean, it's fast.

And we did everything in our power to make sure that we secured them. So if I have a deer this broadside and I don't have a clean shot, I'm going to wait for that clean shot. If that clean shot doesn't present itself, that was just how that opportunity worked out. And you keep remaining persistent and hoping for a better opportunity next time. So good work. You did the right thing. I wouldn't beat myself up over that. I would actually pat yourself on the back because that's the move you should have made.

All right. So our final question comes from Brett Cokes. He says, thanks for all your tips. I just fueled my mule deer tag yesterday in my socks. So thanks for that stealthy tidbit.

Shoes off situation, man. Good work. I'm hunting elk for the first time over in Western Washington. Pretty unfamiliar with the area besides online, doing some onyx scouting. And a lot of the forums are saying, you know, hunt the wet side and camo waders. He's not really into that idea. It seems kind of crazy. So he wanted just a few tips on hunting wet areas as well as maybe something for rain gear options.

He also goes on to say, "Really appreciate the tips of cutting the distance. I think this is what young hunters or inexperienced hunters have really needed for a long time. Someone who's willing to spread the knowledge of those of us who didn't grow up hunting or may just need some more confidence. Thanks again." I appreciate that and I love hearing about that kind of stuff as well because otherwise, why do I take the time to do this? I love knowing that these podcasts are actually helping people.

So here's my philosophy on hunting really wet areas. And I'll just break down rain gear because a lot of people ask about it. Real wet stuff. I've tried a lot of different types of rain gear. And I think that for the really wet places that I hunt, say like the West coast of New Zealand or even down South of New Zealand, Southeast Alaska, Kodiak Island, or pretty much anywhere in Alaska, uh,

coastal areas as well. It can be just wet. The grass is wet. It's always wet. It's raining. It's always wet. You're crossing a lot of streams and creeks. That's always wet.

So there's a lot of options for rain gear. The most expensive stuff is generally the best stuff. The Gore Pro I find is probably the best stuff to keep you actually dry, but it's also stiff and loud. So if you're hunting more thick cover or it's going to be a lot of still hunting, it's not necessarily the best option for that.

Now you have to weigh in the type of wet that it is. Is it cold wet? Are you going to be cold and you could get hypothermia? In that case, you definitely want the rain gear. If it's just, hey, I'm day hunting, I'm going to be wet, but I've got a place to dry out every night. Sometimes you might just go find a water resistant pant. You know you're going to get soaked, but at the end of the day, you can go dry out.

It's a lot more quiet, a lot more stealthy. I would say for real wet hunts where I want to make sure I remain dry, I actually just hunt in my rain gear all day. And I start out that way. I see a lot of guys have their hunting pants on, then they throw their rain gear over the top of your hunting pants. Look, you're just, when you put rain gear on, you got to know that you're still going to get wet. You're either going to get wet from the inside out, sweating, it's raining on the inside of your rain gear, or you're going to not wear rain gear and you're

So what I do is I start light. I just wear my rain gear over a really light thermal. So that kind of creates an extra layer that allows my sweat to evaporate and then go through my Gore-Tex layer. Then when I'm hiking or moving, a lot of times I will try to vent if I can, but also think about the places where water seeps in to your clothes. When I'm hunting really wet areas, I see people all the time just walking around with their hoods down.

And then water is just pouring down your back and soaking you either way. So if I'm using my rain gear, a lot of times I seal up the cuffs. I put gloves over the top. I use gaiters to prevent water from...

soaking down into my boots and then I wear very little underneath that rain gear. Maybe just a light shirt, light thermals and just hunt in the rain gear for that day. That's the best way to do it. If you start hunting in waders or other stuff, it's just gonna be thick, bulky, you're gonna sweat even more. But just doing rain gear with a light layer underneath, that's the best way to hunt super wet areas.

I think we covered so much this week. I'm really excited about this new year. I'm excited about that top 10 resolutions. Pick some of those. Let me know how it goes. I love to hear those kind of success stories. Even if you just do one of those things, make some kind of goal, make a hunting goal. I'm big on goals. My whole life I've set goals and tried to achieve those goals. And when you set a goal, write it down.

Don't just pick one of these and make it a mental note. Write it down. Put it somewhere where you can see it every day. Put it on your mirror in your bathroom. Put it when your phone turns on as a screensaver. Put your goals there. Make it something that you see every day that hits you in the face and says, that's what I'm going to do this year. That's what I'm going to do for myself to make myself a better hunter.

That's the whole goal here is to be better in the field, to optimize our time. So when we go out, we're more successful more often. And I think if you pick a few of those things and stick to them, you're going to find some serious success. And if you don't find success, I think that you're going to find a better quality of life and maybe an adventure or two along the way. So until next week, stay thirsty and keep cutting the distance. Oh, that's the first time I've used that as a sign off. The title. I like it.

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