East Meets West Hunt

Beau Martonik breaks down a peer-reviewed study from the UGA Deer Lab published in December 2025 that found whitetail rubs and scrapes emit measurable UV photoluminescence that deer can detect and humans can't. Beau covers the core finding, what's causing the glow in rubs vs. scrapes (more specific than most coverage reported), a timing detail that most outlets got wrong, and what the study doesn'...

Beau Martonik sits down with Pat Burns, a big woods hunter from the Northeast who has been hunting mountain laurel thickets for years, killing giant bucks in cover most hunters won’t go near. Pat breaks down how he finds openings and funnels inside a sea of laurel using leaf-off maps, why he considers all those ladder stands on the edges to be the equivalent of hunting a field edge, how he creates...

Beau Martonik sits down with Johnny Stewart -- a PA-based DIY public land hunter with 30+ years of big woods experience across Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Ohio, and North Dakota. This one is all about summer scouting. Johnny breaks down how he runs trail cameras from April through September purely for inventory (confirming a buck survived the winter), why he almost never moves came...

Beau Martonik sits down with Allie D'Andrea (Outdoors Allie) and Nick Berger for the first time in four years. A big chunk of this one is wild game cooking. Allie ran a head-to-head venison burger experiment comparing pure venison, pork shoulder, bacon, butter, mayo, and egg. Pork shoulder at 80/20 won. Mayo was last. She also covers how to handle bear meat, how to render bear fat, where to source...

Beau Martonik sits down with Ryan Leary, a PA hunter who has been grinding big woods public land for six years and put together back-to-back mature buck kills including a 7.5 year old eight point in 2025. Ryan breaks down both hunts — the 2025 buck he killed at 10 yards after trusting his gut on fresh sign mid-morning, and the 2024 deer he killed the same evening he bumped on foot while hunting wi...

Beau Martonik sits down with Bill Vanderheyden of Iron Will Outfitters — 10 years of engineering broadheads and arrow systems built around what a setup actually needs to do when conditions are not perfect. They open with Bill's Colorado elk hunt — 10 miles back in the wilderness, a 4-hour chase into dark timber, and a frontal shot at 30 yards through a 3-inch window in the pines. From there the co...

Beau Martonik sits down with Pennsylvania Game Commission elk biologist Jeremy Banfield to break down the biggest changes to Pennsylvania's elk hunting program in years. They cover the new October season that overlaps the rut, once-in-a-lifetime bull tags, the non-resident cap and higher application cost, how bonus points from all three old seasons are now combined into one application, and the co...

Beau Martonik sits down with Josh Ilderton and Mason Holz of The Untamed, recorded from the truck on the last morning of a West Virginia turkey hunting trip. They recap the week — tough conditions, birds that gobbled all day but wouldn't commit, the grind of hunting hard while balancing real jobs, kids' sports, and a weekly YouTube channel. Josh talks about what camp culture means to him and why t...

Beau Martonik sits down with Jason Redd of Timber Ninja Outdoors, recorded off the tailgate on the last day of a turkey camp trip in West Virginia. They recap three days of hunting — birds that gobbled all day on day one, a tom that put on a show for 90 minutes and never committed, roosted birds that got crashed by trespassers on day two, and a quiet final morning that just didn't come together. G...

Beau Martonik sits down with Dioni Amuchastegui, one of the most respected public land mule deer hunters in the country, to break down what it actually takes to consistently find and kill giant bucks in the West. They cover how Dioni approaches scouting from the macro level down, why most hunters are picking spots before they understand the area, how to efficiently cover country to find where deer...

Beau Martonik sits down with Brad Watts, a 15-year muzzleloading hunter and precision rifle competitor who works at CVA, recorded live at the NWTF show. They break down everything a hunter needs to know about muzzleloaders — how to choose the right one for your hunting situation, the difference between pellets, loose powder, and Blackhorn 209, how to properly clean and maintain your gun, and what...

Beau Martonik sits down with Bobby Worthington — 21-time national and 8-time world archery champion, author of Final Quest, and one of the most respected whitetail hunters alive — to break down the funnel system he's used to kill mature bucks for 60 years. Bobby explains why most hunters overcomplicate the rut, the exact window when hunting sign matters vs. when to focus on funnels, how to read te...

Beau Martonik sits down with Jon Lewis, Eli McArthur, and Justin Mueller from the Just Hunt Club crew after a full day of scouting together in the PA big woods. The conversation focuses on hunting remote terrain that has plenty of topographic diversity but almost no vegetation diversity — steep ridges, drainages, and saddles in mature timber where everything looks the same once you're on the groun...

Brent Reaves of MeatEater joins Beau Martonik to talk turkey hunting, storytelling, and why the best parts of hunting have nothing to do with pulling the trigger. From chasing gobblers across the South to lessons learned over decades in the woods, Brent shares stories, hard-earned wisdom, and why patience, tradition, and community still matter today. They dive into turkey hunting tactics, how hunt...

Beau Martonik sits down with Jacob Lishen to talk about the mindset shift that helped him kill two of his best North Carolina bucks to date. They discuss hunting pressure, confidence, community, learning from mistakes, and why mature bucks are so tied to security cover and sanctuary. This episode goes beyond tactics and gets into the deeper side of why we hunt and how the right perspective can mak...

In this episode, Beau Martonik sits down with Jonathan “Catman” Boehme at the NWTF show in Nashville.  They talk through Catman’s background, how he got into hunting, and what learning the hard way taught him over time. The conversation covers turkey hunting in hill country, adapting to pressure, food sources and tree identification for deer, self-filming, and the mindset that comes with experienc...

Beau Martonik talks with Adam Kristan about his experience battling Lyme disease and why hunters need to take tick-borne illnesses seriously. Adam shares how his symptoms started, the challenges of being misdiagnosed, and what finally led him to the right treatment. They also discuss early warning signs of Lyme disease, common misconceptions, and practical ways hunters can prevent tick bites while...

Beau Martonik sits down with Andy May, Johnny Stewart, and Joe Miles to break down the mindset behind becoming a versatile and efficient DIY hunter. Andy shares how hunting pressured whitetails and challenging terrain across different regions has built the confidence and adaptability that allows him to succeed anywhere. The group reflects on lessons learned from tough seasons, the impact of EHD on...

Beau Martonik sits down with Jeff Bynum, founder of Financial Outfitters Group, to talk about becoming fiscally fit and building financial structure that creates more freedom to hunt and live on your terms. After the 2008 financial crisis shifted Jeff’s career from construction to finance, he began helping people prioritize structure over chasing returns and redefine wealth as control over their t...

In this episode of the East Meets West Hunt podcast, Beau sits down with Mark Kenyon (Wired to Hunt / MeatEater) for an in-depth conversation about the current state of hunting, public lands, and conservation in America. They dive into how becoming a father changes your perspective on the future, why public lands are facing more complex threats than ever, and how hunters and anglers can actually m...

In this episode of the East Meets West Hunt Podcast, Beau Martonik and Josh Stewart continue their conversation in part two. Josh shares the full story of a hunt that started with heartbreak. Missing his target buck at five yards and ended with one of the most intense and rewarding bucks of his life. They break down the decisions that mattered most, such as staying put rather than leaving, reading...

In this episode of the East Meets West Podcast, Beau Martonik talks with Josh Stewart. Where Josh shares the full story of his recent archery black bear harvest, including intense close-range encounters, navigating rugged laurel-choked terrain, and the tactics on how to hunt bear in big woods. The conversation also tackles common myths around bear meat, why bears are so misunderstood, and how prop...

Beau Martonik talks with Todd Bumgardner of Pack Mule Training Co. about staying consistent with training when time is limited. They discuss realistic fitness for busy hunters, how to adapt workouts to fit your life, and why consistency matters more than intensity. Todd shares practical advice for year-round training, redefining success, and building habits that support long-term health, performan...

Beau Martonik teams up with Todd Bumgardner from Pack Mule Training Co. for a winter ruck as they discuss effective training methods for hunting. Todd has been a strength and conditioning coach for the last 19 years and spent 8 years as a human performance coach for a Tier 1 tactical unit. They explore aerobic threshold testing and the importance of low-intensity workouts for building endurance an...

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has proposed major changes to the 2026–27 hunting seasons — and this is the window where hunter feedback matters. In this bonus episode, Beau Martonik breaks down the proposed changes and explains why he believes moving regular firearms deer season one week earlier puts rifles deeper into the rut, increases vulnerability of mature bucks, and could hurt the quality...