6 Ranch Podcast

My guests this week are several herds of rutting elk. This may be the best audio recording of elk ever made. Over the next hour you will hear up-close vocalizations from bulls, cows and calves like never before. In some cases you can hear the bulls breathing into the microphone. I captured low frequency growls, grunts and glunks that can only be heard within a few feet of an elk. You’ll hear huffs...

In this episode, we sit down with Cate Havstad-Casad—a hatmaker, rancher, and founder of Range Revolution—to unravel the hidden environmental cost of America’s closets and how she’s forging a different path. From handcrafting custom western hats and wrangling cattle to building a 1,400-acre regenerative farm and launching a luxury leather goods brand, Cate reveals the waking moment when she learne...

There is only one overland company that was born on an elk hunt, and I sat down with the owner and inventor of the Lone Peak to hear the story while mine was being installed on my truck. Since then I’ve spent a few nights in it and used the other features on a daily basis and I have to say, I’m impressed. After another 40 nights sleeping in it, this thing will have paid for itself. Anyhow, enjoy t...

This week I have a very special guest, my mentor and friend, Tim Butler. Tim served in the Marines in the gulf war and since then has worked as an engineer for many if not most of the major gun manufacturers in America. While he may argue this point, I believe he has influenced firearms more than any other individual in the past century, and more than likely, if you’re an American hunter, you own...

The broadhead is the most important part of any archery system. Every other piece of gear you wear, use or carry is simply a supporting effort for delivery your broadhead to the vitals of an animal. This week I drove to Casper, Wyoming to sit down with the intelligent and experienced Mr Bryan Broderick to talk about arrow systems and broadheads. He politely challenged some of my own long held beli...

Nutrition doesn’t have to be complicated so in this episode we make it simple, tell a few hunting stories, and rate the nutritional quality of everything I planted in my garden this year. Check out their website here .

Hannah Mabbot runs Hunt Oregon and guides elk from August 1st through March. Last year she guided 65 hunters with a 90% success rate. I don’t know of anyone who guides more elk hunters than her. We talk about the guide life, hunter expectations, and other goodnesses. 

My guest this week travelled all over the world to work as a cowboy. In fact, he worked on all six continents where the job is done. Meet The Lost Cowboy, Mr J.B. Zielke. From surviving cartel gunfights in Mexico to finding nomadic reindeer herders in Mongolia, to mustering wild cattle in Northern Australia with motorcycles and helicopters, he has had some wild experiences. If you enjoy this episo...

Half a million years ago an early human in Java engraved a zigzag pattern into a shell, and ever since then engraving has been a lasting form of art. Amy Raymond is famous for engraving silver in a western style. We sat down to discuss her art, gun engraving, and many other subjects in this fun episode. Amy has a great sense of humor and is renowned not only for her art but also as a teacher. I’m...

Building a small business is hard. Take a few minutes to listen to the folks at Sound Off Suppression talk about suppressors and the crazy dynamics of reducing the sound of supersonic gases from a rifle and the challenges of starting a suppressor company. 

Steve Bartkowski could’ve played baseball, basketball or football at damn near any university in the country and chose football. He’d go on to be the number 1 draft pick and a hall of fame quarterback. We talk about what professional football was like in the 1970’s and how he started one of the first hunting shows on television. Pretty cool story from an American legend. 

I’ve been a fan of Paul Cauthen’s music since I first heard it, and later learned that him and my little sister were buddies when they lived in Austin. Finally got the chance to sit down with Paul backstage before one of his concerts and talk about stories from his youth where he worked a chain gang in jail, the inspiration for his genre defying music, and his love for hunting and food. Here’s a g...

Anna studies 6 languages. Has four degrees. Has lived in at least three countries. And for a living, she slaughters animals and butchers their meat for people to eat. I deeply enjoyed our conversation where we discussed life, death, knives, quantum theory and more than a little bit of nonsense. Anna Borgman is a rare individual. Give her a follow on instagram and leave us a review with your though...

Archery is a mental game. Get good equipment that is well setup from a pro shop, develop the skills to use it and then the hard work begins of simply executing the same shot every time. In this episode we get into the mental side of archery. John Appleton is a veteran and archery pro shop owner who has been nationally ranked in multiple disciplines of target shooting. I encourage archery hunters t...

No words in this episode. Just a small mountain stream in the spring, tumbling over large boulders and winding through fallen logs into a pool where two redband rainbow trout dart from the shadows of a rock to eat passing nymphs. Birds singing as light drips down the side of the canyon. Give yourself the break you deserve and listen. 

We welcome back Vic Coggins for his second appearance on the show to talk about how he traded beer to wildlife biologists to reintroduce bighorn sheep into Oregon. Vic has been a wildlife biologist for close to 60 years now, and if it weren’t for him we might not have mountain goats, bighorns, turkey and more. He tells stories of the Wild West days  of getting species from other places to introduc...

Cody Sheehy is an award winning documentary film maker who lives on a sailboat in Mexico. He broke the story about China genetically engineering and DNA editing babies, and is about to launch his next film about a Vietnam veteran who befriended a 22’ wide manta ray that would swim up to his boat, slap the side of it with its wing, and then swim with him. They did this together for 19 years. Excell...

Amos was my tracker in South Africa. He speaks 7 languages and reads tracks like you are reading this sentence. In this episode we translate from English to Xhosa and back to English to get this one of a kind perspective on tracking wild animals in dry country. Listen for the nuance in what he says. 

Leopard, Cape buffalo and many other critters in Africa can pose serious threats to hunters, especially when they are wounded. With over 25 years as a guide and professional hunter in Africa, Sean has some good stories. You may also be interested in the new hunt he is offering. A western backcountry style Kudu hunt for $3,500. Hike in, sleep in a tent, wake up and start glassing and stalking kudu...

I’m in South Africa hunting with my new friend Sean and this is part one of a two part episode. First we discuss African wildlife, agriculture, and the persecution of farmers in South Africa as well as breaking down myths of African hunting. Make sure to come back next week for an episode of hunting stories. Learn more about his hunting operation at Fort Governor’s Safaris. 

At age 5 Dale’s dad abandoned his family. At 11 he contracted polio and became paralyzed from the neck down for 18 months at 17 he set a national record in the mile, 4:11 seconds. He’d go on to win the first ever NCAA National title in the 5,000, an event he ran barefoot in 30° weather. He’d later set a world record in the 2 mile 8:46 seconds. Following college he became a school teacher in Wallow...

This episode has a brief introduction and then over an hour of listening to a river flow over a rapid in the bottom of a canyon  lined by wildflowers while songbirds sing. Use this to fall asleep, meditate, or to help focus you at work. No music, no ads, just the sounds of nature for free. This episode is dedicated to young Olsen Harlander, who was born while this recording occurred. 

Just a good conversation with a couple young fellas who get after it in the mountains. We talk trapping, mule deer, elk, whitetail, and a bit of nonsense in between. Check out more from them on the show they just started called The Middle Class Man on Spotify. 

Recorded in Panama on a sailboat in a stunning saltwater bay illuminated at night with bioluminescence, this podcast goes into the adventure, technicalities and beauty of spearfishing for yellowfin tuna and reef species 7° north of the equator. Anthony Dooley from Life Below the Surface has guided spearfishing for three decades and he makes the short list of people I’d trust with my life in situat...

Ticks. Nobody likes them. They carry and spread diseases to people, wildlife and pets. This spread is made worse by misinformation about tick ecology and behavior. In this episode I sat down with Dr Thomas Mather, one of the nation’s foremost experts on ticks to dispel myths and help people learn what they need to do to prevent getting bit and infected by these terrible diseases. Check out more ar...