Backcountry Hunting Podcast

SHOW NOTES • Work Sharp Tools: the Genesis • Edge technology and what makes "sharp" • Most common sharpening mistakes, and how to correct them • Edge angle: What's best for a hunting knife? And how do you control it?  • Under the microscope: What creates sharpness • Different knife steels, and how to address them • Keeping a razor edge, almost effortlessly • Ultralight Work Sharp tools for backcou...

SHOW NOTES Why reload: Pick your bullet Tune your accuracy Create premium ammo for budget-ammo cost Getting started:  Instruction sections in reloading manuals ABC's of assembling a cartridge The Three "B's" of accuracy Choosing cartridge cases Prepping cases for accuracy Choosing a gunpowder Working up a propellant charge Choosing a projectile (toughness, aerodynamics, accuracy) Tuning seating de...

SHOW NOTES Host introduction: Evan Siembida of Siembida Custom Knives  Hunting knife design evolution and performance characteristics  Handle materials and practical advantages  How size, blade shape, and edge geometry affects use  Bushcraft and fire starting  "Spa Treatment" knife restoration service  Micarta handle material: linen, canvas, paper, and boutique burlap  Sharpen-ability and edge-hol...

SHOW NOTES • Follow-up on episode No. 40's discussion on worst elk wounders • Characteristics that make ideal elk cartridges AUTHORITY Bullet weight Frontal diameter Bullet construction Velocity REACH Velocity Aerodynamic bullet • List of great elk cartridges • LIst of great elk bullets RESOURCES:  Web link to stock pack detailed in episode No. 40: SPEC-OPS BRAND  Accu-Pack  

SHOW NOTES Making The Shot intro: After all your planning, prep, and hard hunting, everything comes down to one moment where you've got to succeed or fail in taking your quarry. • Two real-life scenarios with heartbreaking consequences, and how they could have been avoided • Correcting the mistakes before they occur: Pre-hunt shooting prep and in-the-moment decision-making • Pre-hunt shooting prep...

SHOW NOTES Backcountry Gear Challenge: fit 10 days worth of gear into 55 pounds Top-of-the-list item: Tag/Hunting license! • Sleep systems: Sleeping bag, pad, & tent • Backpacks: Types and recommendations • Raingear: Jackets & pants, pack covers, drybags for camera & electronics • Clothing & footwear: From skin to shell. Underwear, base layer, pants, shirts, the annoyance of layering, puffy coats...

SHOW NOTES: • Intro: Remington's M700, episode recording, guest Carlos Martinez,  • Listener questions & comments • Remington's Custom Shop (also covers Marlin & Dakota) • Why the Model 700 has such accuracy potential • How the Custom Shop maximizes performance • How you can order any configuration you want • Dakota Arms: The ultimate in controlled-feed rifles • Marlin Custom-Shop lever-actions: B...

SHOW NOTES: • Hearing protection: Loss-incurring damage never heals. Protecting hearing is paramount.  • The dangerous game conundrum (gotta be able to hear) and TETRA Hunt's superb solution • TETRA's tuned-frequency hearing enhancement/protection, and dedicated profiles for elk, turkey, geese, waterfowl, and the new Dangerous Game profile  • How the ear gathers sound • How we pinpoint direction •...

SHOW NOTES: • New Zealand: The Shangri La of modern backcountry hunting • Bag limits? What bag limits?  • Gnarly, steep, challenging, beautiful country • What island to hunt, and how to find and access a good spot • Game types, habitat, and taxonomy, and how to hunt them • Logistics of traveling to New Zealand and accessing the backcountry • Importing a hunting rifle and ammo to New Zealand • Crit...

SHOW NOTES:  • From Tradition to Technology: Picking a muzzleloader for backcountry hunting • Exploding boundaries • From the beginning: Traditional muzzleloaders, common inline muzzleloaders, and uncommonly accurate long-range muzzleloaders • Traditional muzzleloaders: Why to hunt with them, and how to get the best out of them. What they shoot (blackpowder and patched round balls), caliber restri...

SHOW NOTES • Prep, planning, and gear • Tyce Erickson: master dog trainer and high-country big-game hunting genius • Hot off the BBQ: Shiras moose, elk, musk ox, black bear, deer, and more • September bulls: Tactics for finding, calling, and stalking rutting elk • Holding it together under pressure: Stories of jubilance and heartbreak on monster bulls • Alpine mule deer: Locating, patterning, stal...

SHOW NOTES:  • Guest Cork Graham: International best-selling author, Discovery Channel personality, combat veteran, PTSD counselor, and Alaskan subsistence hunter.  • How hunting rebuilds those suffering with PTSD  • Graham's personal experience recognizing and recovering from PTSD • Steps to recovery (that resulted in 89 percent success in Graham's patients) • Hunter, Warrior, Healer: the three v...

SHOW NOTES: • The older you get, the less you like to carry—yet the more you appreciate remote backcountry.  — Condors & lead bullet correlation update: The science behind it. Please listen to Randy Newberg's Episode No. 87 of Hunt Talk Radio. Here's a link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzBbxm2cFhw BACKPACKS vs. PACK ANIMALS Backpacking favors daily adaptability. Live out of your pack. Hunt ex...

SHOW NOTES:  • Are monometal bullets as good a traditional lead-core bullets?  • Rights & Freedoms, Laws & Regulations • Top manufacturers of non-toxic monometal bullets • Monometal vs. Lead-core bullets: THE DIFFERENCES 1. Behavior in the bore 2. Behavior in flight 3. Behavior on impact 4. Trauma & terminal performance 5. Exit wounds & blood trails 6. Non-ideal shot angles 7. Bullet failures & an...

SHOW NOTES • The backcountry is hard on optics • All brands and types of optic can and occasionally will fail • User-induced failures • Properly mounting riflescopes for ultimate toughness • How scopes get knocked off, and how to re-zero them • Protecting lenses against grit, grime, water, and ice • Sideways impacts to scopes, and related weaknesses • When you fall on your scope • Something you ne...

SHOW NOTES: • Backcountry in Africa • On the menu: Cape buffalo, hippo, and plains game--particularly big kudu bulls • Prep and packing • Shooting practice for success in Africa's bush country • Buffalo charge stopped at 4 yards • Big kudu bulls • Stalking a monster hippo through other aggressive hippos, past Cape buffalo, and amongst crocodiles • New and veteran hunters: What we'd do different ne...

SHOW NOTES • Your rifle or bow is the one tool you can't be successful without--so prep it properly for backcountry work, and know how to perform emergency fixes. • Barrel break-in  • Action tuning • Stabilizing sighting systems and accuracy  • Gun oil in your barrel: Best friend and worst enemy • Non-oil moisture barriers for barrels and actions • Barrel blockages and catastrophic failures • Comp...

SHOW NOTES • Mule deer addiction & the wonderful wives that deal with it • What makes mule deer different?  • Critical hunting methods & tools • Field scoring: The flash glance • Field scoring: when time is on your side • Realistic public-land, DIY expectations • Colton's favorite mule deer cartridge • Top tricks for success RESOURCES Instagram handle: @muleycrazy89

SHOW NOTES • AlpenFuel founder talks inspiration • Planning for various types of terrain and conditions • Energy supplements • Charting your body's needs over the hunts' duration • Performance food • Recovery food • Indigestion, and how to avoid it • Minimalist stoves and dehydrated meals • COFFEE! Convenience meets great taste • Overpacking, and how to avoid it RESOURCES Best Backpacking Food of...

SHOW NOTES: • Black bear hunt in northwest Montana's deep backcountry • Special guest: Adam Weatherby • Special gear: Prototype Weatherby rifle & cartridge This hunt turned out to be aggressive, eventful, adventurous, and a fantastic success in every possible way. We covered 32 miles in four days, climbed over 8,000 vertical feet, stalked past a sow grizzly and her cub, and proved Weatherby's new...

SHOW NOTES • Introduction: Pros and cons of hunting with match bullets • Listener's questions: Tok Air Service, DIY drop-camp moose hunt costs, .257 WBY cartridge for deer, vintage controlled-feed rifles for backcountry work, hunting as PTSD therapy, downsides of carbon fiber barrels, and more.  • History of hunting with match bullets • Data on Sierra MatchKings and humane killing ability • Berger...

SHOW NOTES: • O'Conner and mountain rifles • What makes a true mountain rifle?  • Weight, Accuracy, & Reliability • Review-type episode: Kimber's Mountain Ascent in .280 Ackley Improved • Swarovski's Z5 3.5-18x 44mm BT riflescope • Less than 7 pounds with scope, sling, and ammo aboard • Sub-MOA accuracy guaranteed • Controlled-feed action and the resulting robust reliability • .280 Ackley Improved...

SHOW NOTES:  • Intro: Near-death experience while spring bear hunting • NW Montana with Adam Weatherby, Kevin Wilkerson, and Justin and Shane of Limitless Outdoorz • Trekking Poles: Not just sissy sticks • Advantages of trekking poles, and types to look for • Crampons: What they are and the spider skills they offer • Advantages of crampons, and types to look for • Life-saving devices: why & how •...

SHOW NOTES  • Gear list by item & weight:  TAG & License!!! Leica camera & batteries       35 oz. Handheld Midland radios       12 oz. Lithium batteries  6 oz. Podcast recorder          15 oz. Swarovski spotting scope      51 oz. Swarovski EL Range bino in Badlands harness  57 oz. Spartan Javelin bipod    5 oz. Spartan tripod & spotting scope head      48 oz. Spartan tent         20 oz. Cabela's B...

SHOW NOTES:  • Wild Yukon with Greg McHale: Canada's new award-winning hunting TV show.  • Building the team: How the unique three members of Wild Yukon came together and began producing arguably the most compelling footage currently on hunting TV.  • Yukon Territory: Hunting opportunities and game species • Sheep hunting: the point of the sword • Greg McHale: adventure racing and the fitness life...