Ep. 87: Answering Your Questions, Part 17
48:30 Share

Check engine light on? Take the guesswork out of your check engine light with O'Reilly Veriscan. It's free and provides a report with solutions based on over 650 million vehicle scans verified by ASE certified master technicians. And if you need help, we can recommend a shop for you. Ask for O'Reilly Veriscan today. O, O, O'Reilly Auto Parts.

You ever get that feeling, the walls closing in, the concrete jungle suffocating you? You crave some wide open spaces, the chance to connect with nature, maybe in a spot all your own. Well, head over to land.com. They've got ranches, forests, mountains, streams, you name it. Search by acreage. You can search by location. You can search by the kind of hunting and fishing you're dreaming of. Land.com. It is where the adventure begins.

Market House has the cleanest, leanest, juiciest meat and seafood shipped to your home overnight. Expect the service of a local butcher and the convenience of a large supplier. Unlike many online butchers, you can grab just one meal's worth or lock in for a subscription box. Choose from grass-fed and grass-finished beef, American Wagyu, free-range poultry, grass-fed lamb, wild-caught king crab, seafood, and more.

and more. For 15% off your first order, use code COUNTRY at checkout. Just visit markethouse.com. That's M-A-R-K-E-T-H-O-U-S-E dot com. And use the code COUNTRY.

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.

Welcome back to the podcast, everybody. You know, we're just going to start off with a little bit of podcast news. For those of you that haven't heard yet, this is going to be the last podcast. The government's going to be shutting us down because there's reports of people listening to the podcast and being too successful outdoors, too successful hunting. So they want those success numbers to go down. So we're just going to have to close the podcast up.

April fools. That is, I think of a few, hopefully your heart dropped. If your heart didn't drop, then come on, man. That's a happy April fools, everyone. I had to just throw that out there. I know it would be funny though, right? Get shut down. Like state agency calling me up. Hey, um, you know, in our models of success, we don't factor in that that many people are successful. We need those success rates to stay around five to 10% max. You know, you're doing too good of a job teaching people how to be successful.

But that's the goal here. That's what I'm all about, sharing in that success. On this week's podcast, the rest will not be April Fool's jokes. I will answer things seriously and be truthful and honest in my opinion. As I head to the mail sack where your burning questions are answered. This is the part where I get to interact with you guys, where you send me the things that you want. I try to say it nearly every time, but I really want this podcast to be about sharing

Helping everybody be successful and also kind of make it a thing where, you

it's focused on the things that you guys want to learn. So all the input that I get goes into kind of helping me build out what I talk about. And then also I like these kind of once, once a month check-ins with the listener questions, because, you know, there's a few things maybe in podcasts in the past or kind of a sharing of success, things that people are interested in. And it allows me to kind of really tailor to those of you that listen. So yeah,

I appreciate everybody that has sent in their questions. Let's right now just dive into the questions and start with, got a little bit of a testimonial here. So let's jump into it.

This first letter actually is more of a testimonial, and I think this is pretty cool. It comes from Justin Jensen. He says, my wife teaches a PE archery class for the University of Idaho, and she has used your Archery 101 and Archery 102 podcast as part of her lessons for her new students. Just thought I'd let you know we both enjoy listening to your podcast. Thanks. That is awesome to hear. I really enjoy doing those archery lessons.

If getting into bow hunting, something that you're thinking about, go back, check those out. I know those have been some of the ones that I've gotten a ton of response on. And the reason I get a ton of responses because I had a ton of questions come in about that. And so I made the podcast for those of you that wanted that. And so I really appreciate the feedback on that. That's awesome to, um,

see people getting into archery and kudos to your wife for that archery class. It's awesome to see people out in their community doing things to bring people into the sport of archery, whether it's, and that's the cool thing about archery too. I can be a bow hunter, but there's a lot of other people out there that could just be getting into archery for the sake of archery. And that's what I love about it because it's so fun to shoot your bow. And as we go into spring, as we go into summer, that's the time. I mean, there's no better time right now. I'm looking out at a beautiful day and you're

you better believe that on my list is going to be shooting that bow. I like to shoot rain, wind, snow, sleet, shine, but it's just a lot more fun when the sun's shining and it's just that like nice weather. So,

Thanks for that feedback. And I'm pretty stoked on it. And for those of you that haven't caught those episodes, feel free to go back through a little library here. Nice thing about cutting the distance is there's no such thing as an old episode. There's just episodes that we've posted. Go back and find stuff that's topical to what you're looking for, what you want to get into, because we're building out a pretty extensive library.

This next one comes from Eric Innes. It says,

what should I look for when e-scouting a one-on-one episode would be awesome. I really like that. I think, um, definitely see a full pronghorn one-on-one episode in the future, but I, I think that it's, it'd be cool to just jump on and answer a little bit of this right now as well. When I think about any kind of e-scouting, it doesn't matter what, whether it's elk, whether it's mule deer, whatever, um,

The first thing I think about is the type of habitat and terrain that those animals need and what makes that animal very specific to that hunting style. So when it comes to pronghorn, their major defense is their eyesight. They have incredible eyesight. It's like I've heard it compared to looking through a pair of eight power binoculars.

So when you think of that, if your main defense mechanism is your eyes, well, what kind of habitat do you need for that? The answer is open country. Now you can find open country based on a map like pronghorn country is relatively flat because in the flat stuff they can see further and open without a lot of timber because then they can also see further.

The way that they rut, the way that they interact, the way that they survive is using their eyes and their speed. They're the fastest undulant land mammal in the world. Second fastest land animal only to a cheetah. And I actually think that their endurance would far surpass a cheetah. So I bet you, if you put a race over a certain amount of distance, I would be willing to bet that the pronghorn antelope would actually outpace that cheetah. I

I've seen Cheetos hunt. I've seen them, their massive bursts of speed, but I've also seen them right after that burst of speed, they just lay down and like panting and trying to catch their breath, which of course they've been running at the speed of most automobiles. So of course it makes sense that they, they build up lactic acid and need to cool down and take a break. But

But pronghorn, man, I have seen them run for miles at like a truck pace, just cruising across the flats. So one thing you want to think about is like looking on whatever you're e-scouting with, looking for that flat terrain. So what I'll do, like I can look at the different topo lines and then I can switch between like a

of like a Google Earth style image, a 3D image, and just see like, okay, what's the vegetation look like? Mostly through aerial images, you're gonna be looking for that brown, that grass, that stuff that antelope like plains type stuff. And most antelope areas have that. And then, you know, you're gonna wanna cross-reference that with,

public land, unless you've got a place where you can hunt private. So depending on where you cast your points in, you're going to now say, okay, we're in this area has this antelope habitat, because there's a lot of areas that don't hold antelope habitat. I mean, I look at a lot of the areas that I've hunted antelope and there's mountains, but you know, those antelope are going to be at that bottom end of the mountain in the flat in the valleys.

And then you might find some antelope up in the hills too. Like it's not that they avoid those places, but it's gotta be like less timbered, more open. And you should be right there zooming in and finding some solid places to check out when you get into there. And then the other thing is like when you get into antelope country, do it smart. Check out as many places as you can. The first day you get in there, drive around and look around. You should see antelope all day long. The cool thing about antelope is you,

They live out in the open. They don't necessarily go down into like thick cover to bed. So you can find antelope all day long. Now they will bed down and be out of sight, but they do move around a lot during the day. And it's probably one of the, in my opinion, one of the most fun hunts out West because you're seeing stuff all day. You got multiple opportunities, uh,

It's just, if you aren't having a lot of fun antelope hunting, you're antelope hunting wrong. That's just the best way to put it. So give that a try, check that out, and that should get you started. And we'll go into some more antelope tips and tactics a little later on in the season as it gets a little closer. So thanks for the question, Eric. All right, this next question comes from Alec, Alec Robbie. He says...

I listened to your thoughts and situations on calling elk, most of which take place during the rut, September through October. My question is, have you had success calling in the later season, November through December when the behavior has changed from rut to post-rut? How would you go about calling during those later months compared to traditional rut months?

And he says, if you've talked about this in the past episodes of your podcast, I'd love to track it down and listen to it. Thanks. That's a great question. Now, I actually have answered this question multiple times on the Q&As, but I honestly think it like bears repeating because it's maybe I probably should just do a whole podcast on it, to be honest. Elk are not super receptive to...

uh, calls later in the season. What I mean is like calling an elk in may not be, it's, it's not really going to happen in those November, December timeframes, but it depends on the area. I'm not out there in November, December ripping bugles. Um, however there I say that, and I've actually called like only once in all my time of hunting. I think that I can remember I had a bull like bugle at me, um, November, um,

I hear a bugle up on the hill and I'm like, that's weird. So I just like bugle back. He bugles back.

I'm like, okay, this is weird. And then a few seconds later, like it's getting closer and I'm like, what is going on? He bugles, I throw out some cow calls and ended up calling this bull right into like 30 yards and shot it with my rifle in November. But that's happened one time out of, I don't even know how many, probably 1500 days of elk hunting. So it's like one in a thousand chances, you know, it's, it's pretty low.

I will say though, that I still always have a call throughout the end of the season, but what I'm using it for is cow calls. And I use it in three ways. So the first, the number one reason that I use a cow call all times a year is to stop an animal.

If I, if say I spook something where they didn't wind me or I shoot it an elk and either hit it or need a follow-up shot, it doesn't matter. When I get into elk, I hit that cow call. Like if they're starting to spook or start to get uneasy, it puts them back at ease. It makes them curious. It makes them stick around. And that could be the difference between getting a shot and not.

The next way that I use a cow call is as I'm like hunting or still hunting through timber to possibly locate cows, like as a locator, I'll use that cow call as like,

throwing out like cow chatter where they think, oh, it's just another elk talking. I have in some instances had cows call back, especially later on in the season when it's like maybe they're grouping up from migration. The elk will start piling in areas and start creating these big groups. It's like a safety in numbers thing and new elk keep moving in.

you will hear elk talking later in the season, mostly cows. But it's a good way to maybe identify elk in an area that's like thicker timber. And then the third way I use it is just kind of the same thing when I'm still hunting. But if I am making noise, like let's say I crash and crack a stick and I'm going into an area that I think might be a bedding area, it's just to put the animals at ease. Now, I won't necessarily expect to hear something call back, but maybe things will come in and investigate or it's just giving like,

them an idea that that noise that they hear walking around is another elk and not a hunter. So kind of the same as the last one, but I use it that way a lot. Now, depending on the area, if you're hunting an area that has a lot of hunting pressure, I try to lay off the elk calls later in the rifle season. I don't really want other hunters knowing where I'm at. So pretty much for me, like when I'm hunting general areas, that cow calls just to stop or slow down or calm down elk that I've already encountered.

And that's a good way to think about it.

All right. This next question, I actually, uh, a lot of these questions I'll actually pull from multiple places. Uh, one's Remy at the meat eater.com, but I would say that probably the more popular one that I pull from is just my at Remy Warren Instagram page. So if you don't follow me on Instagram, if you've got Instagram, uh, please go over there, check it out, give it a follow. Um, you'll see a lot of cool, like, you know, I try to share most of my hunts on there. A lot of the stuff I talk about on the podcast is on there.

You know, people send in questions through that. And I just, I screenshot the ones, like if a question comes in, I screenshot it and then just kind of go through and pick some that are like other ones or, or ones that I like. This one came from Instagram. I actually don't have the person's name on here, but, uh, rough country restoration. It says, Hey, Remy, uh, looking for some advice. You may be able to help me with myself and three buddies are looking to go out in a complete DIY in the backwards elk hunt this fall with our bows.

but we aren't 100% on an area we should try to put ourselves into to do it as we all live in Maryland and West Virginia. Any advice at all or suggestions is much appreciated.

Now, I mean, in many ways, that could be just a question of, hey, where should I go? But I think, you know, right now, first, you got to say, okay, well, what's even available? At this point in the game, your best bet is going to be Colorado. There's going to be some over-the-counter tags, and that's pretty much where you're going to be focused if you want to just go make sure that you got a tag and can hunt.

Now, I would definitely go back and check out the tag application series that I did recently and kind of give you an idea of, okay, maybe some states to think about in the future. Wyoming is another great state that you can kind of build preference points to and plan two or three years out. If you want to go this year, anybody listening, I think Colorado is going to be your best bet. Maybe your only bet.

Because pretty much all the other draws are ending. Montana's deadlines today, the first, everything else kind of wrapping up. Now, that's just, you know, if you want to guarantee that you can make a plan. And the other thing, the cool thing about that is finding an area where, you know, I would look at it like this. How many times do you think you guys could go? I really suggest if you're going to do it, do it with a couple of buddies where you can kind of share expenses of going out, getting yourself out there.

And then, you know, think of a spot, maybe you could do it two years, three years, whatever, and find a place that you could reasonably get that tag multiple times. Because just like anything, that first year is going to be a major learning curve. You should kind of think of it like this. The first year you do it, yeah, you want to be successful, but it's really going to be like figuring things out.

And I guarantee you that the second time you do it is going to be a lot more successful. But kind of look at that first trip is like, hey, where can I go where I could do this maybe twice or three times or like reasonably within a five-year period, do it again. Because you're going to learn so much on that first trip that your second trip is going to be a lot more successful. And hopefully, you know, in there, you guys will have found some success. I mean, that does happen. But just knowing like...

If it was me and I'm like, hey, it's a long way to go. I'm going to pick somewhere that I think I could go maybe if I planned out within five years, let's do this twice kind of thought. And I know that is a big ask, but it's going to be probably the best for success. So finding an area that's easy to get into a couple of times would be my suggestion. Okay. This question, I got a lot of these questions right here. This is a good question. It comes from Griffin. He says,

Remy, love the podcast. It really helped me last archery elk season. My question is about sidearms to carry while hunting. I carry bear spray, but I'm looking to buy a sidearm as well. Any advice on why handguns, what to get, and what caliber has enough stopping power, but isn't going to add unnecessary bulk? That's a good question. I actually, literally the very next question that came up after this was from Ryan. He says, Remy, just curious if you carry a backup handgun when hunting in bear country. And if so, what do you do?

what is your preferred caliber? I know people have their opinions, 44 mag, 10 millimeter, 357.

whatever you train with, et cetera. He says, I live in California, but plan to hunt as many Western states as I can. Any information is greatly appreciated. So that was two of probably like more than a dozen questions that I got since the last Q&A about handguns. I mean, I've tried a little bit of everything and had to use very little, which is good. When I'm in big bear country, I personally like to carry a .44 mag.

So one of my favorite bear protection sidearms is the Model 329 PD Smith & Wesson. It's like an air light, super light frame, 44 mag. I like it because it's light. I also like it because it's a revolver. I will say this, it came with a wood grip handle. First thing I did was get rid of that because the wood started to swell with water and everything like that.

The other thing I did have a major problem with it after one trip, they actually have a lock on the cylinder of the gun is like a safety feature that's in there.

I didn't know that. I had no clue that that happened on a trip in Alaska. Luckily, it happened right after I unloaded it. So I was in the field. I had it loaded up, everything. I unload it. I close the revolver and then I cannot get it open again. And I'm like, what the heck? Thankfully, I had happened to unload it and was leaving. And I had to actually take it to a gunsmith. They're like, yeah, there's a lock on here. I didn't, there's no key that I knew of to open it up.

And so I actually had a gunsmith just remove that safety mechanism because I thought, man, if it like completely inoperates the firearm and if it's something that I need to pull out and shoot a bear with and it's locked up for whatever reason, that would suck. I don't know if anybody else has had that problem with it, but if that would be my suggestion is first thing, like take it to a Smith and have them remove that. Because I don't know if it's something that's commonly goes wrong, but I did have it that

that happened to me. And then I thought, man, what if I wasn't able to open it and it was still loaded? I wouldn't be able to fly with it or anything like that. But I have, I have really enjoyed that pistol. I shoot it really well as well. It's got a little bit of kick and some people like the more semi-automatic pistols for bear defense because they're quite accurate, but also you can fire off a few more rounds and get a few more rounds down range.

I completely understand that as well. So I've got a lot of friends that started carrying 10 millimeters. There's been many trips in big bear country where I also carried a 10 millimeter. Unfortunately, I think I got the, the 10 millimeter I have isn't as light as my 44. So I don't carry it as often, but I w I'm kind of looking at, I think the next gun that I would get would be a

maybe a Glock 10 millimeter. Um, I think that 10 millimeter would work on big bears. Um, there's a lot of evidence that says it suggests that it does. Plus you can put a few more rounds into a tight area pretty quick. I think like, uh, Ryan said, you know, anything that you're trained with, anything that you can shoot well is going to be key. Um, that the larger 10 millimeter I have, it's a SIG Hunter 10. It's pretty dang heavy, but man, do I shoot that really well? Um,

Um, it's a, like a full frame, big pistol. It's heavy, but I mean, I can put every round into where I want real fast without having to think. And I've got to actually like a fiber optic site on my, which is nice. Like it's got a little bit of high, high visibility and you just kind of intuitively throw up and go. You can definitely empty a clip pretty fast. And in some ways that's good. Some ways that's bad. Um,

But in most situations, you know, you want to have it the gun ready. I think in any situation where I've ever needed a pistol, if I didn't have one in the chamber, it wasn't going to be enough time to actually defend with it. So that's, I like the revolver for that reason. I like, you know, semi-auto is good for that too. I just think some are feel a little safer than others.

And then I would say the number one that I actually carry is a nine millimeter. I know it's a little underkill for a lot of things, but a lot of places that I hunt where I know there's not real large bears, but I do want some kind of additional predator protection or whatever. I carry my nine millimeter a little bit more. That's also, I think it's a Smith & Wesson

mp9 it's it's a smaller frames like it could even be a little more of a concealed carry type firearm i like it because i shoot it super well i know that anything you know like black bear mountain lion even the occasional place where it's like hey the odds of actually running into a grizz or low but i could pretty much shoot where i'm aiming pretty quick and it's light it's a

I don't know. This is a lot of rambling on just personal preference, to be 100% honest. I think for big bears, pick a big caliber. 45 is even good. But 10 millimeter and 44, I think, would be my top two choices for going into big bear country. I think that if you like that idea, if you're familiar shooting a semi-auto, you think that it'll hold up in weather and other things, then I would go with the 10.

If you like, you know, the idea of a revolver and maybe just a little less moving parts, I would go with the 44. That's my personal preference on that. And that's what I carry. So take that as you will. But I think that there's a lot, I mean, there's no right or wrong answer. I would say the rightest answer would be make sure you get pretty solid ammo if you're shooting for bear defense, some pretty heavy bullets, some solid lead bullets, and you should be good to go.

You definitely do not want to, and I see it all the time, people putting like cheap plinking ammo in their bear defense pistol. That's a bad idea. I know because I've actually had cheap plinking ammo in my bear defense pistol and had to use it on a bear, one that had been shot. I didn't shoot it, but a client of mine shot it.

And he was going in and I said, here, use this. You know, he didn't want to destroy the hide or whatever. So I handed him my pistol, but I didn't realize that I had like not very good rounds in it. And we realized real fast that those rounds didn't work very well. So he ended up having to use his rifle again, which is fine, but we were trying not to damage so much meat. So that's my suggestion on all that.

O'Reilly Auto Parts are in the business of keeping your car on the road. I love O'Reilly. In fact, the other day, I'm not kidding you. The other day, I went into an O'Reilly Auto Parts looking for a part. I needed a different thing that wasn't really in there, you know, only like tangentially related to what they carry.

They did not have it, and the dude told me specifically where I would go down the road to find it is how nice they are. They offer friendly, helpful service and the parts knowledge you need for all your maintenance and repairs. Thousands of parts and accessories in stock, in-store, or online, so you never have to worry if you're in a jam.

They'll test your battery for free. If you need your windshield wipers replaced, a brake light fixed, or quick service, they'll help you find the right part or point you to a local repair shop for help. Whether you're a car aficionado or an auto novice, you'll find the employees at O'Reilly Auto Parts are knowledgeable, helpful, best of all, friendly. These guys are your one-stop shop for all things auto, do-it-yourself,

You can find what you need in-store or online. Stop by O'Reilly Auto Parts today or visit them at OReillyAuto.com slash MeatEater. That's OReillyAuto.com slash MeatEater. We've all seen plenty of gadgets and fads come and go, but here's one product that stood the test of time. Seafoam Motor Treatment. Lots of hunters and anglers know that seafoam helps engines run better and last longer.

It's really simple. When you pour it in your gas tank, sea foam cleans harmful fuel deposits that cause engine problems. I'm talking common stuff like hard starts, rough engine performance, or lost fuel economy. Sea foam is an easy way to prevent or overcome these problems. Just pour a can in your gas tank and let it clean your fuel system. You probably know someone who has used a can of sea foam to get their truck or boat going again. People everywhere rely on sea foam to keep their trucks, boats, and small engines running the way that they should the entire season.

Help your engine run better and last longer. Pick up a can of Seafoam today at your local auto parts store or visit seafoamworks.com to learn more.

This is Brent Reeves from This Country Life. What makes South Dakota the greatest for pheasant hunting? With over 1.2 million pheasants harvested last year, South Dakota boasts the highest population of pheasants in the nation. In fact, you'd have to add up the total harvest from neighboring states just to get that many birds.

There's also millions of wide open acres chock full of different landscapes, meaning the hunt in one county is often completely different from just a few counties over. But what really makes South Dakota the greatest goes way beyond just hunting a colorful bird. It's the pursuit of something more like the camaraderie that awaits all kinds of hunters from all walks of life and partaking in South Dakota tradition over 100 years in the making.

It's about taking the greatest shots and watching your dog work the greatest fields in the greatest lands, carrying on the greatest heritage and making the greatest memories. So what are you waiting for? From the rush of the flush to the stories at the end of the day, experience a thrill like no other. Learn how at HuntTheGreatest.com.

This question comes from Eric. He says, Hey, Remy, love the podcast and all information you provide to make everyone a better hunter and help more people to enjoy the outdoors. I'll be going on my first caribou hunt in Alaska in early August. I have previously listened to your podcast on proper meat care since I'll be bringing home the meat if successful. But one thing I haven't heard anything on is bringing back the antlers and head. Will I need to ship this separately or will the airlines accept these as a check item?

along with the meat? Also, what is a good way to prep these items for travel? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Again, love the podcast. Keep up the great work. Thanks, Eric. That's a great question, Eric. So, you know, when you're thinking about, you know, obviously the meat care is very important, but when you're talking about

bring home antlers on a trip where you're flying, there is some special things that I do. So first of all, August, you know, you're going to be hunting caribou, especially early August. So the first step would be, you got to think about, you've got velvet on the antlers and velvet has to be treated like meat and it's going to have to be treated. So I found a product recently called Velvalock.

So it's like a antler preservative and you spray it on. I would absolutely bring a bottle of that. I had some antlers in the freezer, uh, that I just did the other day, actually, um, this week. So, uh,

it works really well. And you got to think like, man, if you want to keep that, preserve that velvet on that caribou early August, you're definitely going to need something for the velvet. So you can get a bottle of this and you just spray it on super easy. I mean like way better than injecting in my opinion, because it's more practical and you can do it right away. So it's a velvet antler preservative. That's like 30 bucks for a bottle. You should definitely have that in your kit if you're hunting velvet. Um,

You know, there is the option to strip it. I hate stripping velvet. Not because, I mean, velvet can be a pain in the butt. But when you strip it, the antlers haven't been polished up and they aren't, they're like super porous. So they'll never color. They just don't stain up right. Especially early August, they just don't look right. You really want to try to preserve that velvet the best you can. And it's super hard to do. Now, unfortunately, my last caribou bull that I had, it was like all the bulls should have been stripped. And there was like maybe five.

I think in the whole trip, we saw five bulls that were still in velvet. I did not want to have to shoot a velvet bull that late. Like,

It was just already ready. It was like probably going to come off in a day or two and pretty much within the first 300 yards of packing out the bull, I could smell like the velvet underneath was rotten and it just like fell off. So I wasn't able to keep the velvet on last one, even if I'd preserved it, it wouldn't have mattered, but I wasn't actually planning on running into any caribou that had a velvet on their antler still, but that's just something to think about that maybe would get overlooked. So you are going to have to first take care of the velvet. Now we get into the situation of the airlines.

So there's a couple rules when you're flying with antlers. It doesn't matter whether it's a caribou in Alaska, a mule deer from Colorado, an elk, whatever. There are certain regulations that you have to follow. And those regulations include all the points must be wrapped and taped over. So one thing you're going to want to bring with you is some cardboard, some duct tape, and I bring saran wrap.

just like plastic wrap. So what I do, my system is you cardboard the tips or pretty much the entire antler.

If anything is exposed, any type of point, doesn't matter whether it's in a box, whatever. If anything is exposed, they're immediately going to flag it and you're going to be the guy in the airport that they're like kicking out a line and it's like trying to fix it and doesn't have all the materials. I pack extra pieces of cardboard and then I pack some tape and some saran wrap. So what I do is I fold the cardboard over, I tape it, and then I wrap everything in the cellophane.

And that keeps it like nice and tight. I also split the antlers on my, um, cause you gotta have a, it's gotta be in a box. So you gotta have some kind of box that you can build to fly back home in, you know, maybe ahead of time, wherever you're at, if it's going to be something big plan on finding somewhere where you'll be able to buy a box. And then, um, I split the antlers on my skull. So the best way to split the antlers is going to be skull capping it.

And then what I do is I do a little bit of a saw mark in the back and a little bit in the front. And then I use pressure to snap them, like to break the plate along that line. Because if you just run the straight saw, you're going to have a quarter inch gap that it won't necessarily fit back. Right. So I like that natural break line where I can then later on reattach them. If you're using a taxidermist to mount or whatever, they're really good at that. If you're doing it at home, that's the best way that I've found. Yeah.

Now, if you just want to do like a European mount on the skull, what sometimes what I'll do is I will actually saw one of the antlers off at the pedicle and then I'll reattach it later using like a drilling method and posts and epoxies and Bondo. But the other concern that you have to have when you're shipping at home is you probably have to have the brains removed.

Skull has to be, it doesn't have to be boiled out, but it has to be somewhere where it can't drip. So what I use is I use the saran wrap. I'll put like a garbage bag over the skull, tie it real tight. And then I will just wrap the crap out of it with that saran wrap, that cellophane and get it super tight into this like nice little tight package. Cause if there's anything that can leak, they're going to throw it out. And the last thing you want is your skull or your antlers to get tossed.

So if everything's clean and kind of dry wrapped up and doesn't stink, you're going to be good. So those are the considerations you want to think about with your flying with anything. And even if you're like on a deer hunt, you get a deer and you're just, you could like a lot of times I'll just throw it in my luggage. If it'll fit, like I usually carry an extra duffel bag and then I put the antlers in that, but the antlers inside of it need to have the tips wrapped and then the skull plate or whatever else wrapped and

really well. So it won't drip. And so it doesn't, isn't showing really anything because if they look at it and inspect it and there's like a time that could potentially poke out of a bag, which probably will never happen. Um, it's just in their rules and regulations that it has to be covered by something. And that covered something would be, um, the cardboard that's for caribou for things with like other points, mule deer. I always carry, like, I've got an old garden hose and I cut sections out of that garden hose.

And I put them in a Ziploc baggie and I travel to my hunting destination with that if I'm flying. Because then what I'll do is I'll throw that garden hose over the tips of the points and then wrap electrical tape around that to secure it. That's a really easy way to cover the tips is just with that garden hose. And then you can also fold it over and then tape it around again. And you got to make sure you do every point. And that's a really solid way to transport antlers through the airlines.

Next question comes from Brian. He asked about spring bear hunting and he says, I've seen or read some conflicting information on hunting bears in the morning. Is it largely a waste of time or should we be on the mountain before the sun comes up every morning? Thanks again for all you do. Appreciate the tips. Brian from Fort Worth, Texas. That's a good question. Now, here's my thoughts on it. I feel like three different things.

A lot of time bear movement in the spring, when it comes to spot and stock, the hardest part is because bears can be nocturnal. They can be very solitary. Finding the right timing where you're catching them out in the open. Now, the funny thing about bears is I've seen them in the middle of the day. Some years it's like the middle of the day and that's when you see them. And other times it's the mornings or evenings. I have found like over the years, I used to hunt from sunup till dark and

And in the springtime, if you're at a far northern latitude, those are really, really long days. If you're going in ahead like for light and then you wake up and you're glassing in the morning, it's like essentially you get two hours of sleep and you're just hunting and looking and it's just mentally draining. My clients just could not handle it. They're like, this is just – it's too tiring. And I'm like, okay. Okay.

So then I kind of switched to this, like, I will just hunt, like not necessarily half day, but like go in. Yeah. Like I have to go in around noon and then hunt till midnight kind of thing. You know, like you're hunting till dark and then hike out. And by the time you get to the truck and drive back out, it's about midnight. And we, I realized we see just as many bears, but that's not because we're

I think it's an evening thing. What I do oftentimes is like the first part of the trip or like if I'm going somewhere, I'll hunt kind of like I'll glass the mornings. I'll spend a couple days kind of hunting all day, which is the best if you got like the energy, you know, and you can always take a nap, whatever. I'll hunt the morning and the evening because I have seen a lot of bears in the morning. Because the other thing I realized is like if I just hunted the morning, sometimes when I'm

when I'm just like, I'm hunting for myself and it's like, I got to work or whatever. I'll go out and like hunt the morning and then go to work. And I, it's like, oh, I still see bears. So it's not that they aren't out in the mornings. I think it's just maybe where you're at and when you're concentrating. There are times too, where it's, you see more bears in the morning than the evening. So the first couple of days, figure out the bears pattern. What are they doing? And a lot of it, honestly, I think is based on the moon phase that you're currently in. So

Are the bears like more nocturnal? Um, is that moon coming up in the middle of the night and then staying through the morning? Then in which case I would maybe consider like hunting mornings longer. The nice thing about mornings is they tend to stay out longer in the morning. If it's cold, it's also kind of a temperature thing. If it's real hot out, um, and it's hot in the evenings, they're probably going to be moving around more in the morning when it's, you've got that like cool temperature than the evenings when it's hot. So, um,

Uh, honestly, if you can hunt as much as you can do both, I mean, logistically, it can be exhausting and you might not be as mentally focused to go, you know, all day, just like glassing and looking. And there's times where it's like, you won't see anything and it kind of puts you off to paying attention at the peak times. Then you kind of got to gauge it based on the weather, the moon, and kind of the little bit of the activity that's going on in that area. Yeah.

I know that it's kind of like convoluted and some of that's just going to take a little bit of experience to know when's going to be the right time. For me, you know, it's been years of kind of like understanding and being around them and kind of doing both to know, oh, this is going to be a morning hunt or this is going to be an evening hunt. But I think generally bears tend to be a little more active in the evening. So if you had to pick one, I'd probably just go with evenings. That was a long way to get to the answer of,

It's very dependent on many things. So this question says, Hey, Remy, question for you. Last whitetail rifle season, I hunted pretty rough, steep hill country here in Kansas. I hunted mostly public lands on multiple shooter bucks as they're running over the hill. I have very little to no access to being able to scout this place out throughout the year. Do you have any tips on how to get on lone bucks after the rut? So that's a great question. And I think it's probably one that a lot of people encounter.

Um, you know, you, you might not be able to, to go check out these areas ahead of time. And honestly, most of my hunts are this way. Uh, I go into an area and maybe it's the first time I've been there, or maybe you get to go back to the same spot, but you don't have a chance to scout it out ahead of time.

Now I'm assuming, and this really makes sense just based on the little bit of information in here, you're hunting public land, but you're seeing these good bucks and it's like they're running away because you're blowing them out of thicker cover or you're blowing them out of areas where they're kind of recuperating after the rut. What happens is after the rut, these bucks, these, especially these mature bucks, they've

They've kind of bred their does. They've spent all their energy. Now they've got a bulk backup. So what they're going to do is they're going to pull into these pockets and almost go like what people would call nocturnal. But I almost think they aren't really moving much in the night either. What they're doing is they're recuperating.

They will feed, but a lot of them might just be like regaining energy because they're going to start going into this feeding pattern and they're going to be moving around the least amount. So they're going to be in stuff that's thick where they've got good cover, where they probably aren't going to be bothered. And then where they can have quick access to food and other things right there without having to move a lot.

I see this happen, especially even with our like big mountain whitetails. I've found this to be the case. It's like you see deer, you see deer, and then they just disappear. And it's like the big bucks are off by themselves somewhere.

One thing that I kind of find is there's a couple things. The first thing is, what time of day did you blow this deer out? If you blew the deer out in the middle of the day, I'm going to say that this is probably that deer's preferred bedding area. And I'm going to look around and say, where did that deer go? And is there anything else like this where he can go? If there's not, I would maybe even focus in on that area and plan on hunting that other times and just being in that area to glass and check out that area like,

in those crepuscular times when those loan bucks might start to move right at first light, right before dark.

Now, another thought too, is like just being a little more cautious as you still hunt, taking it a little slower in these areas where, hey, you know, you're blowing out bucks. Maybe say like, what's in this particular spot? Why am I blowing out this deer? Where could I be where I might see this deer earlier? That might even be just like, as you're still hunting, throwing up that glass and just using your binoculars constantly, even in thicker country to pick out the pieces of that deer before he sees you.

Another thing is looking for sign and looking for those areas where it's like, there's those places where, you know, you probably know you're like walking, whatever, especially like maybe somewhere where it's a little more open, like Kansas. And you're like, okay, this bottom definitely is going to hold some deer and you know it, the deer know it, you know, there's deer in there. Maybe figuring out ways where it's like, okay, where would these deer be feeding at? How can I kind of hunt this strategically? Like I already know there's going to be a deer in there. If I walk in there, yeah, I'm going to blow it out.

So maybe I don't walk in there. Maybe I just kind of hunt the fringes and try to figure out a way, make sure my wind's always right and try to figure out a way to outsmart the deer that are in there without blowing them out, just hunting a little bit slower and hunting a little bit more methodically. And that should be a way that you can kind of find a little more success in that. I've had to do that many times, especially with,

late season in some in Montana and some other places. And that translates whitetail mule deer, whatever, uh, very similar tactics because, um, that's what the big bucks do. And in order to find those big bucks after the rut, you kind of have to figure out where are they going to be? And that could just be, I mean, you know, when you see it in many ways, it's like, yeah, there's going to be a deer hiding in here. Um, I've hunted places in South Dakota where it's pretty open and

And you're like, during the rut, you see deer everywhere. And then afterwards, you're like, where did these deer go? And you go into this one draw and you're like, well, that's a really brushy little spot in this draw. And sure enough, you walk through it and your buddy across the way says, yeah, 20 deer ran out of there. And you're like, I didn't see any of them. They're all running away from me. I couldn't get a shot. Just knowing that those areas do hold deer, they will hold deer and kind of focusing in, maybe picking it apart a little bit harder and seeing what you can turn up.

All right, we got our last question here. It comes from Jeffrey.

It's a little bit of a life advice question. Love these kinds of questions. It says, Hey Remy, been catching up on your podcast while painting our baby room and putting together baby furniture. Our baby is due June 24th and is our first from what I understand you and your wife are also expecting. Just curious what your plans are for getting out hunting after the baby is born. Do you plan to take the baby with you within the first year? Has your wife expressed any concerns if you plan on being away for about a week or more hunting?

He says, he goes on to say, my wife is not as outdoor active as yours, despite a few years of trying. Now I have only been able to get her out fishing, but not hunting. So any advice on getting your partner more involved in hunting is also appreciated. Thanks, Jeff from Calgary, Alberta. This is a great question. And actually, um,

I actually wrote an article a few issues back on in Western Hunter Magazine about kind of getting your family and getting new people into hunting, especially your spouse. I'm expecting a baby in June as well. And it's also my first. Now, everybody's like, oh, things are going to change this, that and the other thing. But also people say a lot of things that they may not, you know, people said that when I would get married and other things. So

So we at least have like this philosophy, like we're going to do things the way that we do things. Obviously a baby is going to change many things, but I think it won't change a lot of things. For me, I'm planning on taking the baby. I mean, it's like,

baby's due in June and I'm taking her bow hunting in September. Hopefully I got a little backpack thing and you know, I'm going to have all the stuff and I'm going to, you know, take it easy and maybe cruise around a little bit and look around and just play it by ear. But, um, I'm hoping that, yeah, I'm definitely, she's definitely going to go out with us in the first year of life. And that first fall, uh, there, there's going to be quite a few hunts. Now it's, it's awesome that my wife goes along with me and really enjoys hunting as well.

But, you know, it was something that she never, not, I wouldn't say like her dad hunted, but never took her. And, and it was something that like, she's kind of got into later in life. And it's something that she kind of like, I never really pushed it. She was the one that kind of initiated it. But I also like provided a series of positive hunting experiences. And those positive hunting experiences first started for our family in the kitchen.

It was, you know, preparing like we live off wild game, but, or, you know, that was my lifestyle before meeting her.

And then really like including her in the thing of like, we're making really good food and her understanding where that food came from. And that is like really the basis of her really being interested in hunting. Now, this could be different for a lot of people, but I also know a lot of other hunters that kind of, you know, their wives really got into it based on like seeing the way that I cared for what I ate. And then also understanding that being a part of that process means something to me.

And then my wife, you know, kind of like got into it through fishing as well. She loves fishing. She's probably a much better fisher person than me when it comes to like lucky style fishing. You put a fly rod in my hand, I will dominate the water every time. But when it comes to anything else, any other strategy, whether it's ice fishing, trolling, bait fishing, it doesn't even matter. She just has the knack for catching the fish, which is really fun. She will always catch the bigger fish.

And now I think one thing to think about is, so as you progress and like maybe move into bringing someone on a hunt or whatever, so let's say they decide they want to do it.

Really tailoring that experience to them, not putting your own expectations on that trip, on that whatever. My wife came along on a lot of hunts with me before she decided to hunt. Now, I've seen people ruin family members, kids, their wife, whatever, on a hunt where they just went and it was just all hardcore, all whatever. Trust me. I guarantee you would be hard-pressed to find another person out there that hunts as hardcore as I do.

And I recognize that in myself. And I knew when I took my wife on her first trip, it was not about me. It was not about me being successful. It was about me showing her a positive hunting experience. And we ended up being successful in that way. It was a backpack hunt. And the first day it was like, we were in New Zealand and I'm like, okay, we're going to go chase tar. And me, I would have climbed to the top of the mountain and just like wore everybody out and probably kill the bull tar on the first day or whatever.

We packed in. I brought more food than I needed to carry. I set up a bigger camp and a nicer setup than I needed to do. I made it really about...

Like her experience and not in like, in many ways, catering to her comfort level, but also like explaining things like going slow when I needed to. And it was like, in my mind, I didn't care if I got anything, if I got something or didn't, it was just like having a good hunting experience. And that to me was one of my most memorable hunts. I ended up shooting a young red deer, like a free range red stag.

and packed it out. And then, you know, we went back and let her be part of the process and, and kind of, you know, explaining the kind of the kill portion. And, you know, she was sad and I'm like, that's, you know, completely normal. And then, you know, we have like, we made like an awesome meal and just kind of like bringing in that whole experience. But also there was like the point of during the day, it was like, we packed in, we got to the spot and me, I was like, I spotted some deer and it was like, Ooh, okay. We could totally go after those. And I'm ready to roll. And,

most people would just be like, yeah, let's go up there and shoot them. You know? And then instead of like, I could tell that she was a little bit tired or whatever. So it was like, no, let's just set up camp. Let's have a big lunch. Let's take a nap. You know, the kind of things is like progressing along, whereas like that deer will be there or won't be, we'll make it a hunt, but also kind of cater to the person that's with you. And that's, that's huge. And like building those first outdoor experiences, because until someone really understands it,

and is into it, you know, they might not value the same things that we value. So kind of catering to the person that's with you. Now it's like my wife drew an archery deer tag and hunted, I can't remember, was it like

16 consecutive days. I mean, I was wore out by the time it was over. And now those hardcore experiences are just part of the things that we do that she loves because now she understands it as a hunter. But those first steps that you take, whether it's a kid, whether it's your wife, whether it's anyone, building it out slow, progressively, and maybe starting out with something that's like a small game hunt, something where you can go along and just make it like a family thing.

Cater to your wife, cater toward the baby, cater toward your family and make it an outing that you guys get to do together. And I think that that will kind of bring in the hunting and the family aspect. Now, there are some people that just maybe will never understand it, maybe never want to do it. And also, you know, don't push it. It's something that you kind of have to want to do and really take upon yourself because there's a lot of things that you need to learn and a lot of things that you need to do to become a hunter. And it's very hard to do if you aren't really interested in it. So.

That's my life advice take on that. It's kind of funny because my buddy, Chris Denham, who's the editor of Western Hunter Magazine, they've also got a podcast and some other things. And

He was talking to me one day and he was like, oh yeah, I want to do a podcast. And I was like, yeah, I'll do a podcast. And he's like, no, I don't want to talk to you. He's like, I want to talk to your wife. He's like, I want to know what your wife thinks when you go on these long hunts and other things. And I actually think it would be kind of, I kind of want to know what she would say untethered, like what her perspective is on a lot of this and where she's coming from. Maybe that'd be kind of a fun podcast interview.

in the future. But until then, until I've tried to figure that one out, that's kind of my advice. And I hope that that helps some people out there. And I think it's fun if you can make it a family event and whether it's fishing, whether it's any kind of outdoor thing, you know, cater to the people that are with you and soon they'll kind of catch up to your level and you'll be, you know, you'll have an awesome hunting partner, outdoor partner for life.

Well, that concludes our mailbag section for this week. I think I want to focus on a few things to prepare.

in some upcoming podcasts this month, and then maybe spend a little bit of time on the spring bear tactics in some upcoming podcasts. I think we're going to cover some gear choices. One of the things that I didn't read a lot of the questions of were very similar in asking about gear stuff. And it always comes out this time of year where guys are kind of getting their mind around maybe updating their kit, maybe things to look for. And I kind of like when I do gear stuff, I really like to get to the kind of my thought process behind things. So

Um, it's, it's really easy to say, oh, this is a good product. This is a good thing. This is what I use and which, you know, I'll definitely include the things that I use, but also my thought process on gear selection. I like to get kind of like behind the, the, just the superficial stuff of there's a reason that I pick

all these certain products and items. And maybe you can, you could always just pick the same thing that I've got, but you could also understand why I picked that and find something that works for your hunting style or what you're looking for. I would say the top few things that I got like consistently, especially right now was boots and pack selection and

and then what to look for in optics. So I want to break those out. Maybe the next couple of podcasts will be on that. I've got some really good ideas on the way that I want to structure that and kind of make it beneficial to everyone thinking about how to match something to their hunting type or how to match something to the hunting type that they're going to do and the most efficient use of gear and things to get. So,

So that'll be coming up and then we'll maybe jump into a little bit of spring bear tactics in the near future. These are just some ideas that I'm throwing around based on the kind of input that I got. If you've got any more input or more questions, as always, feel free to shoot over those via social media at Remy Warren. So until next week, keep the questions coming and I'll catch you guys all later.

Hey, we're going to take a little break here and talk about interstate batteries. Now, if you're like me, enjoying the great outdoors, you need gear that is as reliable as it gets. That's why I power my adventures with interstate batteries. I use interstate batteries in my boats. I use interstate batteries in my camper. Great for your truck, too. From Alaska to Montana, they're outrageously dependable.

Battery is essential. With over 150,000 dealer locations, finding one is easy. For all your vehicles, land or sea, choose Interstate. Head to interstatebatteries.com and find your power today. You ever get that feeling, the walls closing in, the concrete jungle suffocating you? You crave some wide open spaces, the chance to connect with nature, maybe in a spot all your own. Well, head over to land.com.

They've got ranches, forests, mountains, streams, you name it. Search by acreage. You can search by location. You can search by the kind of hunting and fishing you're dreaming of. Land.com. It is where the adventure begins.