Backcountry Hunting Podcast

Effective scouting, mapping, and navigating backcountry areas is crucial to hunting success. The onX Hunt app is an incredible tool and resource for doing so—so much so that it's become indespensible. This episode, onX's Dylan Dowson joins us to walk listeners through several of the newest, coolest features included with the onX app, and shares the story of his giant 2023 public-land, solo DIY arc...

Folks, I think we often miss the mark when we talk about guns for defense against trouble bears. It's crucial to keep in mind that although a handgun or a deer rifle is far better than nothing and is sometimes the only option, they're still a distant second-best to powerful big-bore guns.   This 5-minute episode details three top choices for actually STOPPING a charging bear. Not just killing it,...

In the world of light, zippy cartridges that serve double duty on deer and varmints, what's best? Two of our most popular crossover cartridges are the classic .243 Winchester, and the cutting-edge6mm Creedmoor.  This episode takes a deep dive into the pros and cons of each, pitting the two against each other in terminal performance, inherrent accuracy, ballistics, barrel life, practical versatilit...

"Do you think the 6.8 Western is here to stay?" We field a lot of this type of question. Survival rate of modern cartridges is a valid concern, especially for hunters that don't handload. So we've featured three really new cutting-edge rifle cartridges that we're pretty sure are here for the long haul. My criteria was that each had to be from a different designer, each had to be introduced very re...

Few things are worse than an equipment failure when you're about to take a shot at a buck, bull, ram, or boar of a lifetime. One of the least suspected but frequent culprits of shots going astray in the field are inconsistent riflestocks. This episode with accuracy nut Austin Brown digs deep on how to maximize the accuracy potential and consistency of your rifle's stock—and is generously supported...

What handgun cartridge should you carry in bear country? That depends on the local species and your personal shooting ability. Spotlighted here are three of the most practical options available.  This is the eighth of a new podcast element: fast-paced, fact-filled five-minute episodes showcasing three top backcountry hunting tools, tricks or techniques.  We're filming these brief episodes and post...

Want a quick-handling, hard-hitting lever-action hunting rifle? Here's an in-depth look at the three primary types, with notes on cartridges and configurations.  Traditional lever actions: Winchester and Marlin models for vintage cartridges Cartridges: .44 Magnum, .30-30, .45-70, and so forth Characteristics: Classic, historic, best at close range Advanced traditional lever actions:  Savage 99, Wi...

What fire starting aids should you carry in dangerous country? Spotlighted here are three of the best: Products proven to work in harsh conditions.   This is the seventh of a new podcast element: fast-paced, fact-filled five-minute episodes showcasing three top backcountry hunting tools, tricks or techniques.  We're filming these brief episodes and posting them on Patreon, so if you'd like to put...

Back to the Dark Continent... This episode is raw and unedited, just as we recorded it beside a campfire along the Okavango river late one night, with lions roaring and elephants trumpeting in the background.  On the second half of our fall 2023 safari with Kowas Adventure Safaris in Namibia, my daughter Audrey shot a wonderful old kudu bull and a gnarly-horned impala. Then Austin Brown and I brok...

What cartridge should you take on an African plains game safari? Spotlighted here are three outstanding, versatile cartridges, recommended by our guest Jacques Strauss, my favorite African PH.  This is the sixth of a new podcast element: fast-paced, fact-filled five-minute episodes showcasing three top backcountry hunting tools, tricks or techniques.  We're filming these brief episodes and posting...

Recorded live and raw in the field, this episode takes us to Africa. In addition to lots of great hunting stories, we address safari research, logistics, planning, and prep with the help of my long-time hunting partner and world traveler Austin Brown.  Plus, Namibian Professional Hunter Jacques Strauss of Kowas Hunting Safaris talks us through pre-hunt practice and skills crucial to success in the...

How do we overcome our human (read "weak") eyesight? With good optics!  Spotlighted here are the three primary glassing tools every backcountry hunter should have, along with tips and tricks on how to pick the right one and how to use it.  This is the fifth of a new podcast element: fast-paced, fact-filled five-minute episodes showcasing three top backcountry hunting tools, tricks or techniques. ...

Your hunting rifle can be a truckbox tool, or a refined instrument. Either way, you should trust it completely, and it should provide characteristics that help you—the soft tissue behind the system—close the deal at the moment of truth.  This episode discusses essential features of a great hunting rifle:  Accuracy Reliablity Ergonomics Action type, feel, & function Trigger  Scope features Backup s...

Interested in a sleek, lightweight rangefinding binocular? Spotlighted here are the only three available. Thankfully, they're all great. Each provides excellent optical quality, a powerful, reliable laser ranging engine, and cutting-edge technology.  This is the fourth of a new podcast element: fast-paced, fact-filled five-minute episodes showcasing three top backcountry hunting tools, tricks or t...

After a wildly successful evening of hunting mule deer with Audrey and Sophie von Benedikt, we sit down with friend Rob Gearing, who is a certain contender for Most Interesting Man in the World. We talk through the girls' hunt, detail the cutting-edge family of shooting support systems at Spartan Precision Equipment, and get Rob's perspective on how mountain climbing and some near-death survival a...

Success! You've just shot a buck or bull. But should the fun really stop there? Not really. You'll shift gears, sure, but the process of getting great photos in the field, then field processing and breaking down your animal and packing it out can be very rewarding.  This episode, we take an in-depth look at three steps:  PHOTOGRAPHY Positioning your animal Using the light  Positioning the hunter S...

This is the third of a new podcast element: fast-paced, fact-filled five-minute episodes showcasing three top backcountry hunting tools, tricks or techniques. We're calling them the "Top 3 In 5" bonus episodes.  Spotlighted here are three of our all-time favorite classic elk cartridges. They all provide adequate bullet weight, muzzle velocity, and frontal diameter and are proven, authoritative kil...

A good rangefinder is a crucial tool for hunting big country... Leupold's expert Eric Overstreet takes us on a deep dive into how they work, and what makes a really effective rangefinder—Laser shapes and divergence, pulse rate, display types, ballistic calculators and ranging speed and more.  On a very practical note, we talk through the pros and cons of rangefinding binoculars vs. monocular range...

This is the second of a new podcast element: fast-paced, fact-filled five-minute episodes showcasing three top backcountry hunting tools, tricks or techniques. We're calling them the "Top 3 In 5" bonus episodes.  Spotlighted here are three of our all-time favorite lightweight hunting scopes. They span a price range of $500 to $1,650, and all are light enough to pack up mountains, are feature-fille...

When you hunt a wide spectrum of big game—ranging from little deer to big elk—with just one type of bullet, your average whitetail bullet may not cut the mustard. You need a premium bullet that will capable kill anything you shoot it at—and from less than ideal shot angles.  This episode details five of top choices for crossover work on big game from whitetails to elk. First we set the stage by de...

This is the first of a new podcast element: fast-paced, fact-filled five-minute episodes showcasing three top backcountry hunting tools, tricks or techniques. We're calling them the "Top 3 In 5" bonus episodes.  Spotlighted here are three of our all-time favorite backcountry hunting rifles. These are top-end production rifles; we'll do similar episodes on entry-level rifles and full custom rifles...

If you dream about big bull moose drifting through the alders, this episode is for you. Guest Adam Grenda, Alaska bush pilot and co-host of Stuck N The Rut on YouTube, hunter extraordinaire of giant moose, tells his story. How the passion to hunt was instilled in him at the ripe old age of three, how he found a bride with a drive to hunt and fish that equals his own, and how they moved to Alaska a...

Alaska, solo, on a drop-camp caribou hunt in wild country. Scott Hamby recently returned from Alaska, where he adapted and overcame issues with wildfire, fog, and most of all, plans that fell through one after another.  Plan C came together, and Scott came home with a mature caribou bull. This episode tells his story, with deep dives into his planning and logistics; his packing, camping, and hunti...