The Western Rookie - Hunting Podcast

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks with Ryan Romero a Wyoming native and Colorado transplant about his passion for chasing bugling bulls in the mountains. Ryan has been hunting and fishing since he could walk. His passion started during his first pheasant hunt with his dad. Ever since that moment he has lived for hunting and being in the backcountry. Dan and Ryan discuss the effects o...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks with Pennsylvania native and Arizona transplant Stephen Tyrol about the differences and challenges of learning to hunt the west. Stephen grew up hunting in PA where there was no shortage of deer and seemingly unlimited tags. That all changed when he moved to Arizona and had to relearn most of the things that go into hunting. Having been in AZ for ove...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks with Chuck Petka about a final day elk tag that was filled during his first season at elk camp. Dan and Chuck met during the 2022 rifle season in Colorado. Dan and Chuck relive the events from the week and the culmination of a lot of hard work  and prep that went into Chuck’s first elk hunt. Throughout the week their group was fortunate to take 7 bea...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan and his family take a mid season break to discuss how their deer season has gone so far. Dan along with his mom, brother and nephew share all of their success stories and try to wrap their heads around the insane season they have had. Dan and his family have been hunting a 40 acre chunk of woods in West Central Wisconsin for the past 40ish seasons and have...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan and his wife Samantha sit down to discuss the impending Gun Deer Season in Wisconsin. Every year Dan and his family travel to Wisconsin to take part in the orange army that makes up Wisconsin’s firearm portion of the whitetail season. Dan’s family has been hunting the same property in Western Wisconsin for nearly 40 years and this year won’t be any differe...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks with Jason, Adam and Joe, three first time elk hunters that all found success this season at Elk Camp. Dan attends an elk camp in Colorado with some of his closest hunting buddies. Each year they make it a priority to help other hunters that have never had success hunting elk. This year they set the bar high by successfully taking 7 bulls down (5 of...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks with Sam, David and Michael from Infinite Outdoors about their app that connects hunters with landowners for single day and short term leases. Infinite Outdoors is a platform dedicated to providing private access to hunters and anglers of all skill-levels and backgrounds to high-quality game habitat while giving landowners full control over their lan...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks with Carter, Kaleb and Perry from Hunt Lift Eat about their experience hunting big game animals across the country. Carter, Kaleb, and Perry are all die hard hunters ranging from vastly different places like Georgia, North Carolina and Colorado. Kaleb is the most experienced when it comes to Western Hunting, living in Colorado. Perry and Carter are n...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks with Jacob Coons about a complete comparative rating and review of the major map softwares for hunters. Jacob is a die hard outdoorsman and an educator from Kentucky. He loves analyzing hunting gear, apps, units,weather patterns and so much more. He uses his highly analytical mind to create hunting guides and to give insight into items that hunters s...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks to Jonathan McCormick from the RedBeard Outdoors Podcast about the value of fitness when it comes to hunting. Jonathan loves being outdoors with his family and loved ones. Although he has a normal 9-5 job he loves hosting the podcast, running the RedBeard's Fit Crew and helping grow the 1st Phorm outdoors crew. Jonathan enjoys sharing hunting camp wi...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks to Reed and Jordan Tolotti about their passion for chasing chukker in the mountains.  Reed and Jordan grew up hunting and fishing in Nevada with a focus on upland bird hunting, they enjoy big game hunting the west as well but their true passion is chasing chukker with their dogs. Joran and Reed started a youtube channel in 2020 to document their adve...

Cody has been involved in the outdoors his entire life. He loves hunting, fishing and really anything outdoors. He rodeo’d for 15 years but recently started a land improvement business with his brothers with the ultimate goal to work for himself and have more time for hunting and fishing. Cody grew up hunting whitetails and turkey but has since turned his attentions towards the western hunting wor...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan and his good friend Linnea wrap up the past 10 days in Utah’s backcountry. Dan and Linnea have been chasing muleys in the high country of central Utah. This episode recaps all their encounters, close calls and strategy along the way. Linnea and Dan are both new western archery hunting, but they have learned a lot in their short time in the mountains. Betwe...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan updates the listeners on how his first ever archery mule deer hunt is going. Dan is midway through an archery mule deer hunt in Utah where he is helping his friend Linnea fill her first ever archery tag on a big mule deer buck. Dan and Linnea met last year when they competed on a van/bus/rv renovation tv show called Gutted. Linnea is a full time van lifer...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks with Cole Quarnberg, an Army and National Guard vet and long time staple in the shooting industry. Cole grew up in a small town in Utah, and after 9/11 decided that he needed to serve. Cole spent 8 years between the Army and National Guard. Upon getting out he got hired on by Remington/ Barnes as a ballistician. He spent 6 years there before moving o...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks with Stephen Walker, a pastor and avid big game hunter from Colorado. Stephen is an avid hunter and father of 3. He has been married 24 yrs to his wife Charity. He is also a Pastor and speaker. Stephen was born and raised in Louisiana. His first experiences with hunting was chasing wild boars with dogs. From there he started hunting whitetails at 12,...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks with Zach Schroeder, a Minnesota native who’s passion for playing football had to take a back seat to his love for the outdoors. Zach is a 22 year old outdoorsman that grew up in the small town of Paynesville, MN. Zach has been hunting since he was 5 years old, it started with a bow for his birthday and then his first bb gun which he used to chase ch...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks with fellow podcaster Brian Krebs about similarities in their Western hunt story as well as what hunts are coming up for the 2022 season. Brian is a passionate outdoorsman and businessman. He is the owner of Bull Elk Beard Oil and recently launched his outdoor entrepreneur podcast Two Bucks. Brian is a die hard whitetail deer and shed hunter but his...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks with friend and fellow western hunter Tucker Johnson about Tucker’s transition from chasing blacktail deer in Oregon to Elk in Idaho. Tucker grew up in Oregon hunting  everything from ducks and geese to big game like black tail deer, mule deer and Roosevelt elk. After high school he joined the Marine Corps and did deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan....

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks with Colorado native Chase Seilheimer about his adventures chasing elk in the Rocky Mountains.  Chase is a self admitted elk addict. He grew up wishing he could go elk hunting with his dad but was too young so he stayed home and shot everything that moved with his BB gun. As soon as Chase could hunt he was following his dad through the mountains. It...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks with Travis Thornton, a Louisiana native who has become a passionate elk hunter. Travis started out as a kid hunting with dogs. He killed his first deer when he was 10 and has been fishing in the gulf since he was 8 or 9. From there he transitioned to a lease in West Texas then found a Missouri lease during college. Around 6 years ago he started elk...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks with Jeremy Koerber from Fit To Hunt about becoming a better hunter, father, spouse and person through mental, physical, financial and spiritual fitness. Fit to Hunt’s mission is to provide outdoorsmen and women with the proper training and fitness programs to take on ANY adventure. Fit To Hunt programs were forged by human instinct and the desire to...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks with Jacob Coons, an Eastern hunter that is passionate about chasing elk all over the country and making sure he is prepared for every opportunity. With time ticking away until hunting seasons start all across the country Dan sits down to talk with Jacob Coons about last minute preparations that everyone can be focusing on in these final weeks. Jacob...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks with Aaron Schmaus, a professional elk caller, author, and podcast host about getting new hunters into the outdoors and how to call in mature bull elk.  Aaron Schmaus is a combat vet that has committed himself to educating his 2 daughters and other individuals about the North American hunting model and wildlife conservation. He is a professional elk...

On this episode of The Western Rookie Dan talks with New Mexico mule deer fanatic Marcus Placencia about the challenges of hunting mature mule deer in the deserts of the southwest. Marcus is a lifelong New Mexico resident that is obsessed with mule deer hunting. Marcus has been chasing animals in “the land of enchantment” since he was 8 years old. His first kill was a cow elk with his bow at age 1...