Hunt West Podcast

This week, Adam Foss joins me to talk about the craft of backcountry bowhunting and the lessons that only come from spending years in the mountains. We get into how modern gear, mapping apps, and satellite communication have made hunters more capable, but also why none of it replaces real experience, sound judgment, and basic backcountry skills. Adam also breaks down the archery gear he carries on...

This week's episode is a little different. I sat down with two of the people I spend the most time planning hunts with: my brother Tyler and my good friend Hayden. We pulled back the curtain on exactly what our own fall planning conversations sound like after draw results come out. The tags we expected to draw didn't happen. Backup plans became Plan C, then Plan D, and eventually Plan E. Rather th...

This week, Weatherby Marketing Manager Tyler Grethen joins the Hunt West Podcast from Weatherby's headquarters in Sheridan, Wyoming. Tyler shares his journey from growing up in Missouri and working as a commodities trader to building a career in the outdoor industry and eventually landing at one of the most iconic rifle companies in hunting. Along the way, we swap stories from DIY Alaska adventure...

Few people have spent more time around hunters, wildlife, and the wild places of Wyoming than retired game warden Scott Werbelow. Scott spent 33 years with the Wyoming Game & Fish Department, working everywhere from elk feedgrounds in the Pinedale country to supervising game wardens across northwest Wyoming. Along the way, he investigated poaching cases, responded to grizzly bear conflicts, checke...

Jim Zumbo has spent more than six decades chasing adventure across the American West. From writing thousands of hunting articles and more than 20 books to following in the footsteps of Jack O'Connor at Outdoor Life, few people have witnessed the evolution of western hunting quite like Jim. In this episode, Jim shares stories from the golden age of mule deer hunting, horseback elk camps, and some u...

Most optics conversations eventually turn into a competition over who owns the most expensive glass. This one goes a different direction. In this solo episode, Jaden breaks down the craft of glassing and why finding more animals has far more to do with patience, technique, and time behind your optics than it does with owning the latest and greatest gear. From mule deer to elk to pronghorn, he expl...

This week on the Hunt West Podcast, I sit down with Beau Pullin of Cervara Gear to talk about solo elk hunting, brutal packouts, scouting for mule deer, predator encounters, and the ultralight pulley system he created after learning the hard way just how difficult meat care can be deep in the backcountry. Beau shares the story that sparked the idea for Cervara Gear after killing his first backpack...

Most hunters think scouting means hiking around and hoping to stumble into elk. In this episode, Jaden breaks down the actual system I use to scout elk hunts before season ever opens. From e-scouting to boots-on-the-ground work, we talk about the three phases of scouting that help you stay in elk and avoid wasting precious hunting days figuring things out on the fly. The Three Phases Jaden Dives i...

This week on the Hunt West Podcast, I sit down with guide, archery coach, and all-around bowhunting addict Keifer Rogers to talk about what actually matters when it comes to becoming a better hunter. We dive deep into shot process, target panic, offseason preparation, and the biggest mistakes most archery hunters make long before the season ever opens. Keifer shares how he went from a Pennsylvania...

Using real stories from Wyoming elk camps, OTC mule deer hunts, and Nevada trophy deer tags, Jaden explains how understanding  how other hunters move through the landscape can completely change your success. Sometimes the guy "stormtrooper-ing" through the woods isn't hurting your odds at all. Other times, a single serious hunter on the right angle can completely change the game. This episode dive...

In this episode, I sit down with Lyle Hebel from  MTNTOUGH to talk about what it really means to be prepared for a Western hunt. We dive into everything from long-range shooting and gear choices to spring bear hunting tactics and how fitness actually plays into success in the field. Lyle shares how he went deep down the shooting rabbit hole, and how chasing improvement across different skills has...

Fresh off a trip to Argentina, this episode breaks down what happens when you treat a hunt like a training ground instead of a one-shot opportunity. Jaden spent the week chasing blackbuck with a bow while the rest of the crew hunted red stag, stacking reps in open country that feels a lot like pronghorn or mule deer terrain. The result? A pile of blown stalks, a couple missed opportunities, one cl...

In this episode, a friend of the podcast, Rob Minturn, flipped the script. Rob interviews Jaden to deep dive into tactics for sealing the deal after his crew put a full season of elk lessons to the test. The guys get into the real stuff. Thermals that screw you, bulls that won't commit, when to send it versus when to slow down, and how to actually hunt elk with a group without blowing everything o...

In this solo episode, Jaden takes you back through some of his earliest and messiest hunts. From a chaotic first archery mule deer that turned into a full-blown river chase, to grinding through low-success elk and pronghorn units, these stories all point to one core lesson. The unit you draw isn't what determines your success. It's how well you understand and adapt to the hunt in front of you. Too...

Randy Burtis is one of those guys who's done more in the hunting world than most people ever will, and he's still just getting warmed up. From growing up surrounded by Wyoming bowhunting legends to becoming a Pope & Young and Boone & Crockett scorer, Randy's life has been shaped by being around people who really know what they're doing . And in this episode, you get a front-row seat to what he's l...

Spring bear season is right around the corner, but this year isn't shaping up like a normal one. With historically low snowpack across the West, the typical "hunt the snowline" strategy goes out the window. In this episode, I sit down with my brother Tyler to break down how we're thinking about finding and killing bears when everything is greening up fast and access is wide open. We dig into how l...

If you're hunting multiple states this fall, this episode is a must-listen. In this solo episode, I break down the most common ways hunters get into trouble across the West and how to avoid them. From access and road navigation issues to hunter orange requirements and post-kill procedures, we cover the real-world mistakes that cost hunters time, money, and sometimes their entire hunt. The big take...

Josh Jenni joins the Hunt West Podcast to swap bowhunting stories from the last few seasons. We dive into encounters with big mule deer during both early and late season archery hunts, including close calls on some stomper bucks, tough stalking conditions, and the lessons that come from opportunities that almost came together. Josh also shares the story of a hard-earned New Mexico archery elk that...

Western hunting only exists because the land and wildlife exist first. In this episode, I sit down with Zach Lentsch and Chris Allen of Protect Wyoming to talk about why hunters need to start paying attention to the political side of public lands, wildlife policy, and scientific management. We dig into the growing push in Wyoming to transfer federal public lands, the ongoing fight around landowner...

Western hunting is harder than you think. Not impossible. Not unattainable. Just harder than most people expect when they're looking at a grip-and-grin photo on Instagram. In this solo episode, I walk back through my first archery elk in 2019 that took seven seasons to seal the deal, nearly 200 mountain miles in one September, blown opportunities on opening morning, and a full send on the final we...

Six years ago, Kenneth Thrall cold-emailed me asking what would happen if he moved to Wyoming. Then, he bought a house in Riverton and believed if he went full send, he'd figure it out. Fast forward to today and he's a key part of  Kifaru International , grinding behind the scenes and in the mountains. In this episode, we talk about what it really looks like to bet on yourself, start at the bottom...

This week we're doing something a little different. We're rewinding back to a 2020 Muley Monday episode with former Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff member, J.T. Romantzke to talk mule deer management, buck ratios, season structures, crowding, and chronic wasting disease. At the time, Colorado was entering a new five-year season structure and beginning to lean harder into CWD management. A lot of...

Nothing is a guarantee when you're hunting out west, so this episode is all about building contingencies that keep you in the game no matter what. Jaden and his buddy Hayden Richins break down how they plan archery mule deer seasons when draw odds are shaky, wildfires are a real threat, and Plan A rarely survives first contact.  Using their own multi-state strategy as an example, they walk through...

What happens when everything goes right… and wrong… in the same hunting season? In this episode, Jaden sits down with Wyoming native Alex Aguirre to unpack what might be the most unhinged fall any hunter has ever lived through. We're talking mountain goat, moose, multiple elk, a giant mule deer, a commissioner's tag, lost horses (plural), grizzly bears on carcasses, night pack-outs, and a season t...

In this episode of the Hunt West Podcast , I sit down with my buddy Garrison Kinsel for a deep dive into what it actually takes to be successful on low-point and "easy draw" Western hunts. We cover Colorado elk strategy, the realities of the reissue list, OTC pressure, and why point creep is a trap so many hunters fall into. Garrison breaks down how elk behavior changes under pressure, how to find...