6 Ranch Podcast

Part two of our series on early season elk tactics continues with a brilliant hunter and elk caller, Les Welch. Les has been hunting since he was three. Growing up in Northern Wisconsin, he chased small game, whitetails, and bear with archery, rifle, and muzzleloader. Around 2006, Les decided that he wanted to hunt elk and antelope out west. He put in 2 years of research before embarking on a life...

Throughout archery season we will be releasing a series on elk hunting tactics. These guests will be the greatest elk hunters alive today,  here to give some advice that might change the way you hunt forever. First up is Ryan Carter, guide and owner of DC Outfitters in southern Utah. Ryan is beyond knowledgable. This guy has spent more hours studying trail camera footage, and hiking elk country th...

It's been a tough week, as we watch, with heavy hearts and minds, as Afghanistan fall into Taliban control. As a Marine who served in Afghanistan, I knew this was coming, but it still hits me hard. This past week, I've heard a lot of rumors and untrue statements about this very complicated issue. In order to understand what's happening right now, and dispel some misinformation, I wa...

This week I'm recording in Soldotna, Alaska, where I recently took a tour over this rugged landscape in a Cessna 185, piloted by Dustin Moore. Dustin works in the oil and gas industry, and is a bush pilot on the side. Alaska is enormous, 663,300 square miles, much of which is fairly untouched. With his float plane, Dustin has the opportunity to explore, hunt, and fish some incredible and remo...

A good knife is probably the most useful and versatile tool you can have. In fact, humans were using knives to cut meat before they were cooking that meat over a fire. Mike Rowley has been interested in knife making since he was a child. A high school teacher in my hometown, Mike is self taught and has been honing his forging skills for the past 8 years. He competed on the History Channel’s show “...

For the past 22 years, Rachel Ahtila has been working in hunting camps and guiding for pretty much every major game species in the Pacific Northwest. As a fellow guide, I know how important it is to go hunting yourself, and I also know that it can be difficult to take the time to do so. This year, Rachel is doing just that, with an upcoming stone sheep hunt, and hopes of later harvesting a Canadia...

Chad Dotson has devoted A LOT of time to observing game animals, in Africa and right here in Northeast Oregon. He's spent a couple of stints in Namibia trading work on a large game ranch for room and board. There, he had the opportunity to harvest an incredible kudu, amongst other species. Since 2013, he has guided for elk on the Zumwalt Prairie, an enormous grassland here in Wallowa County....

There's no one in this world that I respect more than Jack Ramson. He currently serves as a USMC First Sergeant with the NWSS Unit for the Air Wing. I first met Jack at tank school in Fort Knox, Kentucky where he was one of my instructors. After deploying in Afghanistan as a Tank Platoon Commander, Jack eventually joined my platoon serving his last combat deployment as my wingman. Words canno...

Laura Zerra is the real deal. She's a primitive survivalist, hunter, and nomad who has competed 5 separate times on the Discovery Channel show “Naked and Afraid", living a total of 156 days in full survival mode. As a former vegan turned hunter, Laura's relationship to hunting is both fascinating and relatable. Through hunting, Laura has connected with animals and the land in a deep...

Buckle in folks, because this episode is packed with information. Pat Valkenburg is a retired wildlife biologist who spent most of his career studying moose and caribou for Alaska Department of Fish and Game. He now owns a flying business where he specializes in wildlife surveys. With my upcoming moose hunt this fall, I wanted to sit down with an expert, and learn everything I can about this anima...

Tom Bonamici is a craftsman. With a background in product design and architecture, he has produced bags and clothing for several companies including his own. He's a custom wood worker specializing in furniture and timber framing construction with all wood joinery. Tom also happens to be the best person to have on a hunting trip if you forget your titanium spork. In this episode, Tom gives us...

We just wrapped up the first ever SIG Sauer Hunter Games at the Queen Mountain Guest Ranch in Evanston, Wyoming. This competition was meant to challenge each hunter's shooting, glassing, and physical abilities with realistic hunting scenarios. At the Hunter Games, Dustin Parent served as the range safety officer for Team Wolverine and is the perfect person to go over this competition with. Du...

What do you get when you ask two people with no hunting experience listener submitted hunting questions? Turns out, some surprisingly good advice. This week, I'm at the Queen Mountain Ranch in Evanston, Wyoming getting ready for the SIG Sauer Hunter Games, where celebrity and SIG elite guide hunters will compete for the crown. But before the competition starts, I had the chance to sit down wi...

The best word I can use to describe Kirk Skovlin is tenacious. He's the hardest worker I've ever met, and is something of a local legend here in Northeast Oregon, known for his grit and determination in everything he does. Kirk is an excellent bow hunter and artist. He's been packing horses and mules into the wilderness for decades and has some crazy backcountry stories to tell. I l...

Jim Akenson has led a full and adventurous life. He and his wife, Holly, spent over two decades living in the extremely remote Frank Church Wilderness where they served as caretakers for University of Idaho's Taylor Research Station. While  at Taylor, Jim and Holly studied bighorn sheep, cougars, bobcats, wolves, and made countless contributions to our understanding of wildlife biology. For t...

Lorenzo Sartini has wanted to work in the hunting industry since he was a kid. An avid hunter himself, Lorenzo saw a need for convenience in the way western hunters research and plan for hunts with filterable data to accommodate their personal goals. In 2013, he founded goHUNT, the premier and full suite of western hunting products. A goHUNT Insider membership helps you research applications, maxi...

It can be intimidating for people new to hunting and fishing to get into these sports. Women, in particular, often have to deal with the added barrier of being the only female at the range or fly shop. My guests today, Christi Holmes and Jill LaPlante, are two avid outdoorsman doing the work to break down those barriers and mentor women interested in hunting and fishing. Both engineers, Jill and C...

Only 11 people live year-round in the 2.3 million acres of the Frank Church Wilderness, and Aubrey Barton is one of them. Aubrey is the caretaker at Indian Creek Ranch, where she homesteads alone through long cold winters and blistering hot summers. With only 2 weekend trips a year into town, Aubrey is as capable and self sufficient as they come. She grows and harvests hay, packs horses, hunts bea...

My little sister, Adele Schott, is tough. She's raising kids and cows all at the same time. With her sons, 2 month old Ira and 2 year old Hank in tow, Adele and her husband have recently started a ranch of their own. Mother's Day is just around the corner, and in this episode, we cover what it was like growing up on a ranch, how to raise the next generation of good land stewards, and the...

One year ago, I recorded the first ever episode of the 6 Ranch Podcast on the wild and scenic  Snake River with Bruce Wassom, founder of Rogue Jet Boatworks. It seems only fitting that I chat with Bruce a year later after running jets up the Salmon through the Frank Church Wilderness. And this time we're also joined by Bruce's good friend, Pat Juhl. Pat's passion is mule deer, havin...

True Pearce wears many hats. He's a practicing attorney, the editor of Guns America and Hunt 365, a competitive shooter, firearms instructor, Cabela’s Pro Staff,  and avid hunter. He’s a sponsored 3 gun shooter but has also competed in other disciplines including long range F Class, USPSA, and IDPA. With a new president in office and a national ammo shortage, these are scary times for respons...

Lars Skovlin just got off his first season crab fishing in the Bering Sea aboard the Lady Alaska. If you've ever watched the Deadliest Catch, you know how dangerous this work can be. Sometimes out for 30 days straight, crab fisherman work long, hard hours where it's easy to get in trouble if you're not on your A-game at all times. As a greenhorn, Lars experienced and learned a lot i...

Today, I'm joined by the CEO of Nautilus Reels, Kristen Mustad. Nautilus' mission is to make the world’s best fly reel, and through years of persistence and innovation, they have created a truly excellent product. Kristen's family has been in the fishing industry since the 1830's, and his vast knowledge and life experience have lead Nautilus Reels to be the industry standard. I...

This week, we're recording from south Texas, fresh off two incredible hunts for axis deer and feral hogs. I'm joined by my hunting guide, Brandon Blanch of El Sapo Guide Service. Brandon's breadth of knowledge is unreal. He guides for an insane amount of species, from trophy Texas whitetails to an array of trophy exotics, covering over 50,000 acres of land. When folks think of Texas...

Week two of the Sig Sauer Elite Hunter Training Forum has just been incredible. The opportunity to be surrounded by so many talented and dedicated hunters is unreal. My guests on this episode are all experts in their field, but hunt for very different animals. Jake Herak tracks mountain lions and is featured on the History channel's show Mountain Men. Brian Sanders of Oregon Backcountry Outfi...