6 Ranch Podcast

In my home county, at the head of Wallowa Lake, sits a local heirloom, the Wallowa Lake Lodge. Built in 1923 from trees cut and milled on site, the lodge has seen nearly 100 years of visitors and locals alike enjoying the property, as the world changed around it. In this episode, the lodge's General Manager, Madeline Lau, sat down with me to share some fascinating history, from reintroducing...

Kevin Plew has been fascinated with hunting his entire life, working as a hunting guide since the age of 14.  Elk is his passion, but he also guides for mule deer, white-tail, and buffalo. On a very recent hunt, Kevin found himself alone, face to face with an aggressive 225-pound black bear. His story is incredible, and further illustrates the need to carry a pistol while in the woods. And to kick...

Cougars are one of the most divisive animals in the state. Hunting cougar with dogs has been illegal in Oregon since 1994, which creates strong opinions on both sides of the issue. And with incredibly low success rates, cougar hunting in Oregon is one of the toughest hunts in the nation. In today's episode, I'm joined by cougar expert, Derek Broman, for a deep dive on Oregon cougars. Der...

Nils Christoffersen comes from a long line of connection to land and natural resources. His family has operated the same farm in Norway for 22 generations. That's 600 years, folks, and it's still going strong. Nils' passion for working landscapes and the role of rural communities in their stewardship, has taken him around the globe. He's worked in ranching in Australia, farming...

On February 5th, 2021, Greg Jones was tagging wolves from a helicopter when the worst happened. The helicopter crashed, injuring those inside, but miraculously, both Greg and the pilot survived. Even more incredibly, another pilot saw what happened and was able to call 911 just 30 seconds after they hit the ground. But according to Greg, the aftermath was far worse than the crash itself. This near...

It's that time of year again. The weather is getting cooler, and folks are heading out into the backcountry, sometimes solo, to hunt. With colder weather comes far deadlier consequences if you're caught unprepared. That's why I wanted to take an episode to share my solo, backcountry gear list, from my weapon and ammo choices to my clothes and camp setup. I've been hunting my en...

My cousin, Mona Mathews, is a canyon kid. She grew up in cow camps and weigh stations, navigating crazy steep country and checking for rattlesnakes on the playground of her school of less than 20 kids. Growing up in a rugged, sparsely populated community shaped Mona, teaching her self-reliance.  And it's that self-reliance and curiosity that has led her to travel the world, learning jiu-jitsu...

It's been an incredible archery season so far, and we're exhausted. The good kind of exhausted, where you know you've put in the work to successfully guide your clients. During a break, I sat down with fellow guides, Kevin Harlander and Greg Jones, to chat about how the season's been going. We share our biggest lessons from this year and some advice for setting up, calling, and...

Trapping is an incredible sport, business opportunity, and conservation tool, but there seems to be fewer and fewer people doing it these days. Generational trapping knowledge will fade away unless we talk about it. Greg Jones is happy to share that knowledge. As a professional trapper, he knows the patience and perseverance that it takes to be successful. In this episode, Greg gives us step-by-st...

Derek Olthuis hates complaining. When a problem arises, he's the type of person to find a solution. As public lands are sold, and sporting opportunities become privatized, Derek sees North America moving toward the pay to play model. The private vs public land debate is a complicated issue with great points and a lot of passion from both sides. But Derek was able to come up with a brilliant s...

Bill Stark has led a full life. He served in the Navy during the Vietnam War on a guided-missile frigate. After that, Bill worked a string of tough jobs in logging and construction before becoming an electrician. But his passion lies in rebuilding classic cars. I had a beer with Bill at the Wallowa Mountain Cruise Car Show, where we sat beside his 1947 Ford Coupe. With a chopped top, custom interi...

This week on the podcast, I once again sat down with my grandma, Janie Tippet, to catch up and tell stories. As an almost 89-year-old woman, Grandma Janie has plenty of stories and life lessons to tell. In this episode, we get into some of the changes she's witnessed since the mid 30s, from archery's growing popularity to advancements in technology. She also gives great advice, such as h...

Cate Havstad cares deeply for the land she farms. Along with her Husband, Chris, Cate runs the Casad Family Farm out of Madras, Oregon, an organic farm using biodynamic principles. The farm produces hundreds of tons of human and animal food every year through dedication to biodiversity, sustainability, and biotic health for soils, humans, and communities. Some might think it odd to farm in a high...

A lot has changed for my little sister, Adele Schott, since she was last on the show. Adele and her husband have raised cows and kids through a drought, an endless winter, and a relentlessly wet spring. They're leasing land, managing a ranch, running their own cows, and have taken over the cattle operation and grass-fed beef business at the 6 Ranch. Adele and the 6 Ranch also hosted the first...

Bert Sorin grew up with a barbell in his hand, and that iron shaped his life. He's an outdoorsman, hunter, weightlifter, Olympic trials athlete in hammer throw, and currently the President and Co-Owner of Sorinex Exercise Equipment. Founded in 1980 by Bert's father, Richard, Sorinex sells high end, American made strength equipment. Bert also happens to be the winner of this year's S...

I have a tremendous amount of respect for Major Brian Hubert. He leads by example, utilizing the principles of servant leadership. Brian and I met over a decade ago at Officer Candidate School. Since then, he's served deployments in Yemen and Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. Between deployments, he was the Officer in Charge and Executive Officer for several advanced infantry courses at the Sch...

Lyle Witherrite is a fascinating person. He started working when he was 11 years old and has since had a long career of many interesting jobs, from bucking hay bales, to serving in the Navy, to creating intricate works of art as a blacksmith. He’s also an incredibly passionate person with a talent for just about any medium of art he picks up. Besides blacksmithing, he paints, draws, plays music, a...

Major Ryann Engholm has always held herself to the highest standard. Ryann and I met back in Quantico at The Basic School, where she kicked most of our asses and ended up serving as a USMC Logistics Officer. In Afghanistan, she also served as a Platoon Commander for a Female Engagement Team, a specialized unit of Marines that had the unique ability to communicate with and search Afghan women. Ryan...

Sgt. David Martinez is badass. He grew up hunting in the Sierra Nevadas and joined the Marines at 17. There, he served 9 years in the Infantry before getting wounded in Iraq and medically discharged. David has always been drawn to the mountains and recently left the city and California to move to Bozeman, Montana. Inspired by the landscape, he decided to take up photography. He worked hard to beco...

As a first-generation Greek American, Elias Cairo has spent his entire life in and around restaurants, with a father who would make charcuterie at home. At a young age, Elias decided he wanted to be a chef, and dropped everything to move to Switzerland, where he spent 5 years in an apprenticeship learning the art of old-world meat and cheese preservation. Now, Eli is the founder, owner, and operat...

People who seriously hunt western upland game birds are tough, and Matt Hardinge is the kind of guy who can handle pain and suffering. Chasing a chukar thousands of vertical feet up a canyon, only to have it fly back down before you catch up, is a lesson in patience and endurance. Not only is Matt chasing chukar in Hells Canyon, but he's also successfully hunting the toughest bird out there,...

Fresh from competing in the SIG SAUER Hunter Games, I recently had the chance to chat with the very funny, Baker Leavitt. Baker is an avid hunter, both for big game and bay scallops, which he likens to "an underwater easter egg hunt for adults." He also works in business development for Black Rifle Coffee Company, a veteran owned business. In this episode, Baker and I discuss scallop hun...

Want fly fishing and tying advice from one of the saltwater greats? My guest this week, Drew Chicone, is it. Drew is an author, award-winning outdoor writer and fly designer, photographer, lecturer, and materials expert, whose passion for teaching led him to write numerous articles and fly tying guidebooks. He's a certified casting instructor and sells premium saltwater flies through his comp...

Carp are the soccer of fish. Here in the states, they're underappreciated and rarely utilized. But the rest of the world seems to have figured out that carp are an awesome fish to target. They're enormous, challenging to catch, and they fight like hell. Derek Rivchin is one of the few who specializes in carp. Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Derek started Lo Water Guide Service to sh...

It's finally here. This gun has been in the works for years, and at last, I can hold it in my hand and tell you about it. As someone who's personally been charged by a bear and defended myself with a Sig 10mm, I take this stuff seriously. I carry a pistol, and now I'll carry this one. The Sig Sauer P320-XTEN 10mm is a semi-automatic striker fired handgun. It uses a polymer grip modu...