WEBVTT - Ep. 109: Backcountry Mule Deer Hunting with Tom Schneider 0:00:13.360 --> 0:00:16.040 All right, we're back with another episode of Cutting the 0:00:16.040 --> 0:00:20.520 Distance podcast. This week, my guest is Tom Schneider. You 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:24.639 probably remember Tom from our Wolf episode earlier on, and 0:00:24.640 --> 0:00:28.040 then we did a couple of episodes of rifle hunting 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:32.919 tactics which were wildly popular and much appreciated from our listeners. 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:34.400 Tom. 0:00:34.479 --> 0:00:36.800 If you don't know, if you haven't listened to those Tom, 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:39.600 And if you don't know who Tom is, he's probably 0:00:40.000 --> 0:00:43.159 one of the best all around hunters that I know. 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:46.479 You put this guy in the woods chasing elk with 0:00:46.520 --> 0:00:48.760 a bow. You put him in the woods chasing elk 0:00:48.800 --> 0:00:51.640 with a rifle, mule the air with a rifle, white 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:53.680 tails with a rifle, a bow. 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:54.279 You name it. 0:00:54.960 --> 0:00:59.240 Tom and his family can They're very accomplished hunters. So 0:01:00.040 --> 0:01:02.320 welcome again to the show. I'm glad to have you on. 0:01:03.200 --> 0:01:04.399 Thanks again for having me. 0:01:04.880 --> 0:01:08.040 I appreciate it absolutely. So how was your fall this year? 0:01:08.080 --> 0:01:10.680 We haven't talked. I know, I feel like you've been busy. 0:01:10.720 --> 0:01:11.160 I kind of fall. 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:14.039 We I watch on social and you're like, you go 0:01:14.120 --> 0:01:17.760 from working like a madman to being hunting like a madman, 0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:20.480 and it's like, I don't know, you probably haven't hardly 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:23.479 had a breath to breathe. How's your fall been? 0:01:24.120 --> 0:01:26.959 Oh, just like you pretty much summed it up and 0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:30.600 that one sentence, working and hunting. And I took on 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:35.920 more work than I should have this hunting season. So 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:38.000 so anytime I am home, it's like, oh, should it 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:40.839 be time spend with the wife and kids or going 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:43.880 back to full on, you know, long days working in 0:01:43.920 --> 0:01:47.040 the woods. So but no, it's it's it's always trying 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:51.760 to find that balance. It was. It's been a good fall. Yeah, 0:01:51.800 --> 0:01:55.120 I started in Alaska. I did a moose on Alaska. 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:59.040 It's been a long time since I hunted moose, and man, 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:01.960 I stayed way longer than I should have. 0:02:02.520 --> 0:02:07.520 Yeah, well, I was like, I was seeing pictures in Alaska, 0:02:07.640 --> 0:02:08.960 and then I seen more. 0:02:09.080 --> 0:02:11.720 I'm like, is he still up there hunting? Like, what 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:13.800 the heck? RD, He's gone a long time up there. 0:02:14.200 --> 0:02:16.040 That's a lot what a lot of people were saying too. 0:02:16.080 --> 0:02:18.120 And I had some friends at home we were talking 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:20.080 about wolf hunting, Like, I got some friends at home, like, hey, 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:21.840 I got a good lead on a wolfpack. I'm like, 0:02:22.760 --> 0:02:25.360 I can't go, but I'm like I'll be home soon 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:28.480 a week or two goes by and they're like, hey, 0:02:28.520 --> 0:02:30.480 are you back yet. I'm like, no, I'm still in Alaska. 0:02:30.520 --> 0:02:34.920 You're like, you're still in Alaska. Oh man, Yeah, it 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:38.440 was interesting, but yeah, I'd say so. I left to 0:02:38.440 --> 0:02:42.440 Alaska September fifth, and I got back the twenty eight. 0:02:43.200 --> 0:02:47.760 Holy cow, Wow, that's a that's a long time. That's 0:02:47.760 --> 0:02:48.680 an amazing trip. 0:02:49.440 --> 0:02:52.480 Oh yeah. Well, the moose just whipped our butt, you know. 0:02:52.520 --> 0:02:53.960 And I felt like, so the hunts I've done in 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:56.040 the past with moose, and this was before my brother 0:02:56.040 --> 0:02:59.480 in law's sister Ever moved to Alaska, you know, Chavis 0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:03.000 Sny used to just do DIY hunts, and you know, 0:03:03.040 --> 0:03:05.880 I felt like finding the moose was never the problem, 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:09.320 Like it was just the hardest part was packing them out. 0:03:09.760 --> 0:03:10.880 Oh yeah. 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:13.040 And this was one of those hunts where I'm like, 0:03:13.400 --> 0:03:16.600 it really humbled me on moose hunting because I felt 0:03:16.600 --> 0:03:19.480 like it was always more of work than it was hunting. 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:22.720 And we did a lot of hunting and trying to 0:03:22.720 --> 0:03:26.160 find a moose to kill, and it was just I 0:03:26.200 --> 0:03:30.040 think a lot of hunters, you know, have this experience 0:03:30.120 --> 0:03:32.680 of being just in the wrong spot at the wrong time, 0:03:33.480 --> 0:03:37.680 over and over and over and over again, and we 0:03:37.800 --> 0:03:44.400 just it was just yeah and so, but I try 0:03:44.440 --> 0:03:48.560 to shorten my story up the last day of moose season, 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:50.480 I wanted to moose with the boat, but I said, 0:03:50.480 --> 0:03:53.520 screw the boat at staying at camp. I'm sorry, hoyit, 0:03:55.360 --> 0:04:00.280 but yeah, I left the boy at camp and and 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:02.240 some like the rifles in the hand, you know, and 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:04.320 we could even get we were even having a hard 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:06.640 time getting a moose in in lot, you know, within 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:09.800 six hundred yards. I was like, how do respects expect 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:11.280 to get one with a bow if we can't even 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:13.280 get them that close, you know. And I say the 0:04:13.320 --> 0:04:15.640 biggest struggle we were fighting the area we were hunting. 0:04:15.760 --> 0:04:19.080 Without giving too much detail, there just wasn't really good 0:04:19.120 --> 0:04:21.279 elevation where you can sit up in glass these moose. 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:24.160 You're kind of hunting these bottoms. You got a lot 0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:27.640 of alders, and so your visibility is very slim. And 0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:31.760 I don't feel there like there wasn't one time, right say, 0:04:31.800 --> 0:04:33.799 like we were in a good spot where we could glass. 0:04:33.839 --> 0:04:36.400 There was a lot of moose activity, they just you 0:04:36.440 --> 0:04:38.760 couldn't glass them up. And then when when the sun 0:04:38.880 --> 0:04:44.040 rise and everything would bed down and just everything went quiet, 0:04:44.240 --> 0:04:47.159 you know, and you'd sit there and you know, hike 0:04:47.240 --> 0:04:51.080 the mountain and grunt, and you know, Adam is a 0:04:51.120 --> 0:04:53.560 really good hunter. I'm a really good hunter. But I 0:04:53.600 --> 0:04:56.320 also feel like, you know, you get two guys that 0:04:56.400 --> 0:04:59.400 have different opinions on how to hunt, and you know, 0:04:59.480 --> 0:05:01.720 I left a lot of it to Adam, but there 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:04.360 was times where I'm like, you see me, I'm kind 0:05:04.360 --> 0:05:06.880 of the skinny guy that always wants to hike. And 0:05:07.040 --> 0:05:10.360 I know glassing is important too, but I'm like, especially 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:12.479 when there's not a lot of visibility, I'm like, Adam, 0:05:12.520 --> 0:05:15.520 I think we should just hike, you know, right, And 0:05:15.560 --> 0:05:17.240 he's like, if we just sit here, because it is 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:19.080 the rut, He's like, well, if we just sit here, 0:05:19.160 --> 0:05:22.920 we'll see moose passing through. And I'm like, okay, you know. 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:25.520 And after a couple of days of that, I'm just like, 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:29.279 I think we should start doing more moving around, hiking 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:33.159 a lot more and stuff. And it seemed like either 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:35.960 way nothing was working. 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:38.719 It's frustrated. 0:05:39.320 --> 0:05:41.680 So we're just like, hiking's not working, and trying to 0:05:42.120 --> 0:05:46.240 locatable not hikings not and it was just right. But 0:05:46.480 --> 0:05:49.200 the last day last it was the last day of season, 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:51.919 you know, we saw a meadow and it was just 0:05:52.400 --> 0:05:56.360 moose right activity, like crazy, but we were I'd say 0:05:56.400 --> 0:05:59.120 we were probably at thirteen hundred yards. But as soon 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:03.840 as you start closing the distance, cutting that distance to 0:06:04.600 --> 0:06:07.880 about you know, to even just long range rifle range 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:10.040 between eight hundred and six hundred yards, you couldn't see 0:06:10.080 --> 0:06:12.440 them anymore. And so you couldn't tell where they'd even 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:15.280 bet down, you know, because there was a lot of metal. 0:06:15.320 --> 0:06:17.880 There was small small amount of meadows, but a lot 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:19.880 of alders, and so when they bet down, you're like, 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:22.960 I have no clue where they betted, and so because 0:06:22.960 --> 0:06:25.360 they can move another one hundred to two hundred yards 0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:28.840 into this to the alders and disappear. But anyways, kind 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:31.920 of the plan was, because you know, sun Rose, it 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:34.479 was a warmer day, they all bet it down. I 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:37.240 was like, I know, Adam, this sounds like a crazy idea, 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:39.760 but I think we need to do is just do it. 0:06:39.760 --> 0:06:43.240 It's a huge loop around, walking through bog, walking through 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:45.680 a lot of masts, but to keep our wind in 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:50.719 our favor, and I think just waiting that meadow about 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:52.600 right in the evening, when all the moose had come 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:55.720 back to feed and do there's you know, the cow 0:06:55.839 --> 0:06:58.440 mooster feeding, but the bulls are rutting like crazy. But 0:06:58.600 --> 0:07:02.960 just wait for that last last hour before dark. It's 0:07:02.960 --> 0:07:07.240 a long ways out from our camp, but I think 0:07:07.279 --> 0:07:10.080 if we wait there, then I think that last hour 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:12.200 before dark, I think we should just grunt the heck 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:15.280 out of that, you know. And that's what we did, 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:18.960 you know, like I said, Morning wrote the sun rose 0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:22.760 moose all betted down, pretty much everything was shot for 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:24.480 the day there, and so we're like, well, let's just 0:07:25.120 --> 0:07:32.160 well take naps, trike lasting do what we can. And 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:34.200 I kid you, nod. It was so on the last 0:07:34.320 --> 0:07:36.800 it was the last two hours before dark. We got up. 0:07:37.080 --> 0:07:39.880 We're like, let's move. Let's just every single meadow we 0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:42.160 know of, let's go to it and grunt and see 0:07:42.200 --> 0:07:44.200 if we can get something to talk. And we got 0:07:44.240 --> 0:07:48.640 a bowl of talk, grunting hard. And so we worked 0:07:48.680 --> 0:07:50.640 and worked and worked him. Adam worked him at him 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:52.520 has a lot of experience calling moose and he's great 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:57.080 at it. And he called that moose in the sixty 0:07:57.160 --> 0:08:00.400 yards and I blasted with the rifle. Holy smokes, and 0:08:00.440 --> 0:08:03.400 I was like, and then when I walked up to 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:05.640 the dead moose. I looked at the sun. It's the 0:08:05.720 --> 0:08:09.360 last day of moose season. The sun is touching the mountains. Oh, 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:11.920 it is literally the last day, last out. And I 0:08:12.040 --> 0:08:15.040 just like, I said, I couldn't be more humbled in 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:17.680 a situation like that, because I always looked at moose 0:08:17.720 --> 0:08:21.560 as a stupid, dumb animal U And I'm like, I 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:23.800 had a lot of respect for them. They outsmarted us 0:08:24.840 --> 0:08:29.640 multiple different times, you know, and I was just like, man, 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:31.720 I can't believe the moose are doing this to us. 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:34.560 And Adam even said, he's like, this is the hardest 0:08:34.600 --> 0:08:36.680 I've ever had to work for a moose, like just 0:08:36.720 --> 0:08:40.240 to get a moose shot. And I'm like, I promise, Adam, 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:46.120 I'm not a rookie. It seemed easier in the past. 0:08:46.200 --> 0:08:49.600 But but then yeah, then after that, then Tana, you know, 0:08:50.160 --> 0:08:52.360 because Adam when he was helping me, Tanna has to 0:08:52.400 --> 0:08:54.320 watch the kids, and Tanna wants to break from the kids, 0:08:54.320 --> 0:08:57.320 and she's like, I want a cariboo. So I'm like, well, 0:08:57.360 --> 0:09:00.200 I better stay for another week or so for and 0:09:00.240 --> 0:09:04.120 so I stayed with Tana just and so Adam watched 0:09:04.120 --> 0:09:07.080 the kids and a lot of bears over there and 0:09:07.200 --> 0:09:10.320 we helped her, but we did help her get a cariboo. 0:09:10.480 --> 0:09:16.120 And we kind of had a situation though where it 0:09:16.200 --> 0:09:18.400 was the So it was the days that she shot 0:09:18.440 --> 0:09:20.839 her cariboo, we saw him, we she wanted to get 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:24.439 it with the bow. We belly crawled for several hours 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:28.319 to get in Archie range, and we had a little 0:09:28.440 --> 0:09:30.920 like there's in this particular area where the caribou where 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:34.440 it's just flat tundra, there's nowhere to hide. But this 0:09:34.480 --> 0:09:39.120 one group finally decided to bed right next to an 0:09:39.120 --> 0:09:42.199 older patch. We're like, let's belly crawl to that older patch, 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:44.520 and as soon as we get to the older patch, 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:46.560 we can get up, get up on our knees, get 0:09:46.559 --> 0:09:48.800 as close as you need to to the caribou, get 0:09:48.840 --> 0:09:51.760 your arrow, and shoot that bowl. And because Tana was 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:53.960 really selective with cariboo, so there was a lot of 0:09:54.040 --> 0:09:57.720 that we could have killed. But she's like it doesn't 0:09:57.760 --> 0:09:59.920 have a bez on this side, or doesn't have a show. 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:02.760 I'm like, ken, I'd be sticking that bowl all day 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:03.080 with her. 0:10:05.080 --> 0:10:06.720 She's a bit of a caribou snob. 0:10:07.240 --> 0:10:09.439 She's a caribou snob, which is not a bad thing. 0:10:09.480 --> 0:10:11.920 I think I'm a meal there snob. She's a caribou snob. 0:10:11.960 --> 0:10:15.880 We all have, we all have our things. And well, anyways, 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:19.199 she was. It was a big bull. And it was 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:21.880 kind of cool because we're hunting the rut and you're 0:10:21.920 --> 0:10:24.520 just kind of seeing the rut take place with with caribou, 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:27.000 which is really cool, you know. So we're seeing new 0:10:27.080 --> 0:10:29.640 bulls moving the herds, pushing new balls out. It's just 0:10:29.679 --> 0:10:32.240 like hunting elk. It was really cool to watch. And 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:36.480 they have these beautiful white manes and well, anyway, so 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:39.120 they were bedded and we were so we had to 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:42.920 belly crawl on another thirty yards, you know, and every 0:10:43.240 --> 0:10:46.320 every yard do we move, it would take five minutes 0:10:46.440 --> 0:10:48.120 or so, you know, so it was moving really slow, 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:53.200 but you're but those cows were they're on alert, and 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:55.720 they were like on a little just on a little knoll, 0:10:56.000 --> 0:10:58.800 just enough to where they had some pretty good eyes, 0:10:58.880 --> 0:11:01.000 you know. And I'm like, and every time we'd move 0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:03.679 a couple of yards, they'd look our way. We'd stop 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:05.520 and they'd look away, and I'm like, we will make 0:11:05.520 --> 0:11:07.120 this work. As soon as we get to the elders, 0:11:07.200 --> 0:11:11.000 we're in the clear. The caribou just all got up 0:11:11.040 --> 0:11:14.719 and just started to run. We're like what and right 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:19.040 beside us, we had no clue. Was there a grizzly 0:11:19.559 --> 0:11:22.920 runs right past us as we were laying flat in 0:11:22.920 --> 0:11:26.520 the tundra and is chasing the caribou that we have 0:11:27.440 --> 0:11:30.040 that we have spent so many hours in belly crawling. 0:11:30.840 --> 0:11:34.240 And d was just like, give me the gun I 0:11:34.320 --> 0:11:36.360 want at this point, just give me a gun. I'll 0:11:36.360 --> 0:11:39.600 shoot the caribou with the gun. And that I said, 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:41.840 are you sure like I did the hole? Are you 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:44.720 sure you don't want to do it the bout? She's like, Tom, 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:49.200 don't question me, give me the gun. Okay, the gun. 0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:52.600 There you go, And and she got up and shot 0:11:52.640 --> 0:11:54.840 the caribou. And then then we're like, oh, shoot, now 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:56.800 we have a cariboo that's dead. We have a bear 0:11:57.280 --> 0:12:00.560 still chasing caribou, trying to get a dead Caribooh so 0:12:00.559 --> 0:12:02.640 so now we have our heads on a squibble as 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:07.760 we're skinning out. But our savior came. Tanna sent an 0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:14.120 inReach message to Adam's come get us, and he came 0:12:14.200 --> 0:12:16.800 and landed pretty close to the cariboo, so we were 0:12:16.840 --> 0:12:22.200 able to debone it right then and there Oh no, that. No, 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:24.320 we didn't debone. That one. We kept the bones in 0:12:26.160 --> 0:12:28.560 because yeah, we got the got the plane right there, 0:12:28.600 --> 0:12:32.160 so that was nice and yeah that makes an easy 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:33.680 pack when you have a plane that you can land 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:37.800 next to, you know. But yeah, no, So that then 0:12:37.840 --> 0:12:41.960 I finally got back home and unfortunately I missed elk season, 0:12:42.280 --> 0:12:46.800 so I know, but but I haven't had it moose 0:12:46.840 --> 0:12:49.240 in a long time. So I'm like, you know, it's 0:12:49.280 --> 0:12:53.520 a sacrifice. But I'd say the mistake I made was 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:56.640 I purchased the archery tag and I should have got 0:12:56.640 --> 0:12:59.200 the rifle tag, so because now I'm stuck with the 0:12:59.280 --> 0:13:02.839 archery tag, right, oh yeah, so I'm like, well, shoot, 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:06.880 I should have got the rifle tag, but I ended 0:13:06.920 --> 0:13:08.560 up having you know, I'm like, I had to catch 0:13:08.600 --> 0:13:10.600 up with work anyways in October, so I'm like, I 0:13:10.600 --> 0:13:13.440 didn't really think I had much time to huntoke with 0:13:13.480 --> 0:13:16.040 a rifle anyway. So that was pretty much the sacrifice. Well, 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:18.000 if I hunt moose this year, I'm not hunting elk. 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:21.280 And so I got my moose and I'm super happy. 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:22.040 He's a big bull. 0:13:22.280 --> 0:13:25.959 So yeah, that's awesome. Did you film any of this stuff? 0:13:26.360 --> 0:13:28.480 Yeah, so it was all on film, the moose and 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:31.320 the caribou, and then well, then I had to go 0:13:31.360 --> 0:13:33.199 to Alaska to back up. I had to go to 0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:36.079 Alaska early because Adam had a big bowl down. He 0:13:36.520 --> 0:13:38.880 killed it solo, he worked it up solo. But he's 0:13:38.920 --> 0:13:42.880 just like it's a long hike in and he needs help. 0:13:43.640 --> 0:13:46.280 And so he's like, Tom, can you come to Alaska 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:47.839 a little bit earlier than your planet too? So I 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:52.200 had to do overnight flights to get to Alaska and 0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:54.240 help out him finish packing his So as soon as 0:13:54.320 --> 0:13:57.320 I stepped foot in Alaska with my crocs, I was 0:13:57.360 --> 0:14:01.120 immediately thrown in the bush plane. We were backing moose quarters. 0:14:01.360 --> 0:14:04.840 Oh man, and I literally, yeah, the kid you not 0:14:04.920 --> 0:14:09.360 went from yeah, Idaho? Yeah, so that was it that well, 0:14:09.640 --> 0:14:11.520 I think that was September fourth or something. I don't 0:14:11.520 --> 0:14:13.959 even remember at this point, but yeah, by the time 0:14:13.960 --> 0:14:15.680 I made it to Alaska, I mean here it was. 0:14:17.000 --> 0:14:19.160 We packed out two rears that night as soon as 0:14:19.200 --> 0:14:22.440 I arrived, and so and then we finished finished packing 0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:25.240 out the rest the next day, which we were glad 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:27.160 to do because we're like, we have the household. There's 0:14:27.160 --> 0:14:30.560 a big storm coming and yeah, I think that sums 0:14:30.600 --> 0:14:31.600 up Alaska though. 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:33.880 Man sounds like, yeah, it sounds like a pretty good 0:14:33.920 --> 0:14:36.160 trade off. I mean, I love l cutting, but man, 0:14:36.200 --> 0:14:38.280 that that would be a fun, fun trade off. 0:14:38.720 --> 0:14:40.920 Oh yeah, And the antlers of Moose are just so 0:14:41.120 --> 0:14:44.520 unique and cool, you know. And one thing I love 0:14:44.560 --> 0:14:46.880 with Alaska it's still like I still considered as the 0:14:46.920 --> 0:14:50.720 last frontier where you can get away from people still, 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:54.520 you know, like, and it's getting harder, of course, I 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:56.680 feel like more and more people are discovering it. But 0:14:57.680 --> 0:15:01.440 I feel comparative to the Lower forty eight, you can 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:06.200 you can get in the no Man's Land and and 0:15:06.280 --> 0:15:08.960 it and it's it's nice. It's just there's a different 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:12.280 spirit to it, you know what I mean. So it's 0:15:12.880 --> 0:15:15.760 but yeah, no, I'm back now in the lower forty eight. 0:15:16.320 --> 0:15:20.160 Yeah, well hunting pressure, Yeah, back to normal life, right. 0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:24.880 Yeah. So I hear a bunch of background noise. Where 0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:26.080 are you at? 0:15:26.400 --> 0:15:29.320 So this is a funny sit. Well, I've not given 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:32.560 too much detail my unit. I set up a base 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:34.960 camp kind of in the valley next to the town, 0:15:36.440 --> 0:15:38.880 and and so that's why you might hear a little 0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:42.320 bit of background sound. There is a highway behind me. 0:15:42.600 --> 0:15:44.400 But but I thought was really nice. I was like, 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:47.040 this saves a lot of money from spending on a 0:15:47.160 --> 0:15:50.080 motel or hotel, which just I just I did as 0:15:50.080 --> 0:15:52.760 I paid for a camp spot and I have power 0:15:52.840 --> 0:15:56.240 and running water. Oh sweet, So I have a power 0:15:56.280 --> 0:15:58.240 with a with a big heater right here. It gets 0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:01.000 really cold that night. It's been in freeze temperatures at night. 0:16:01.080 --> 0:16:05.240 And yeah, I'm toasty in here, and so and from here, 0:16:05.240 --> 0:16:08.040 I'm kind of like to where I can get to 0:16:08.120 --> 0:16:10.200 my areas pretty quick, you know. And then I what 0:16:10.360 --> 0:16:14.880 I did. Well, I guess people can't out necessarily, They're 0:16:14.920 --> 0:16:17.160 not necessarily have a video to watch. But uh, I 0:16:17.200 --> 0:16:20.520 packed a smaller tent to if I have an area 0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:23.080 where I really want a camp back there, I have 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:25.400 a smaller tent that I can I can pack on 0:16:25.440 --> 0:16:27.800 my back, you know, and go farther back. But this 0:16:27.880 --> 0:16:29.600 is kind of like my base camp. This is like 0:16:30.760 --> 0:16:33.760 this is where most my stuff is. Okay, and you're 0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:36.560 hunting mule there and I'm going after mual there. 0:16:36.640 --> 0:16:40.160 Yes, yeah, tomorrow is the first day for your tag. 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:43.640 I'm finally starting to feel it, like it's starting to 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:46.760 creep up on me. You know, I've got the what 0:16:46.800 --> 0:16:48.720 do you call it? The butter butterflies. I got the 0:16:48.760 --> 0:16:52.280 butterflies today, just like I did it. I got here 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:55.760 a couple of days early to scout. But when I 0:16:55.800 --> 0:16:59.040 when I mean scout, it was there's more for I 0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:01.280 wanted to see where my access points were. I want 0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:03.480 to see where I can get my pickup at. I 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:07.080 spend a lot of time E scouting. I mean, I've 0:17:07.080 --> 0:17:10.240 been working a lot lately to prepare for this hunt 0:17:10.240 --> 0:17:12.879 and to get all my projects caught up. But every 0:17:13.000 --> 0:17:18.840 evening I've been on the computer E scouting, and I 0:17:18.880 --> 0:17:22.439 have I have three main trail systems that I'm like, 0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:25.040 one of these trail systems is gonna pull. Is going 0:17:25.080 --> 0:17:26.840 to help me get a buck? I know it is, 0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:29.400 you know. So that's and and I felt like I've 0:17:29.440 --> 0:17:34.320 accomplished my first mission, which was being able to get 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:36.320 my pickup to all those sites because I've I know 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:39.320 one thing I know about Colorado. There's a lot of these, 0:17:39.440 --> 0:17:43.800 uh these road systems. They look great from the scouting, 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:48.080 and I don't care the clarity of the scouting. You 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:50.560 know of Google Earth and Onyx or whatever you guys 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:53.280 like to use. You get there and you're like, holy crap. 0:17:53.320 --> 0:17:55.280 I actually can't get a pick up up this road. 0:17:55.359 --> 0:17:59.840 It's so bad, right right, Well, New Mexico's a lot 0:17:59.920 --> 0:18:01.800 like that too. It's like, oh, yeah, there's a road 0:18:01.840 --> 0:18:04.280 here and it's open, and you get there and it's 0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:06.439 like washed out eighty seven times. You know, you have 0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:07.960 to have a side by side to do all the 0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:09.240 little crossings and stuff. 0:18:09.280 --> 0:18:12.439 So yeah, and and me being sol in as far 0:18:12.480 --> 0:18:14.320 as I had to drive, I'm like, I didn't want 0:18:14.320 --> 0:18:17.000 to drive a four wheeler down here. But now I'm like, kick, 0:18:17.440 --> 0:18:20.240 there's a part of me that's slightly kicking myself, but 0:18:21.200 --> 0:18:24.359 I'm I'm not because I did find a way to 0:18:24.400 --> 0:18:27.439 get to all the trail systems comfortably with my vehicle, 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:29.640 So I'm like that is a plus. There was one kid, 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:30.879 you know, I was like, oh, I wanted to get 0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:33.280 to that trail so aboud, I'm like, it's just not 0:18:33.600 --> 0:18:36.800 doable with a pickup, And I just did a little 0:18:36.840 --> 0:18:38.760 more ea scouting. I found another way in. So I 0:18:38.800 --> 0:18:42.000 was like sweet. I was like, because that was a 0:18:42.000 --> 0:18:46.720 spot I really wanted to go, but but I found 0:18:46.720 --> 0:18:50.040 some Like we were talking, well, we kind of just 0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:52.400 talked a little bit about you know, with the scouting 0:18:52.440 --> 0:18:55.520 and stuff. And the one thing I really do is 0:18:55.560 --> 0:18:57.960 I'm I'm trying to get far away from people as 0:18:57.960 --> 0:18:59.679 I can. That's like my first step. 0:19:00.359 --> 0:19:02.879 Okay, I was gonna ask you, like, when you're going 0:19:02.920 --> 0:19:05.280 out of state or into an area you're unfamiliar with, 0:19:05.680 --> 0:19:07.800 what are you looking for? Like, Okay, I'm gonna go mule. 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:10.320 You're hunting, So you're like, Okay, how how do I 0:19:10.320 --> 0:19:14.639 get away from the masses. Yeah, we'll find a place 0:19:14.720 --> 0:19:17.760 like that, like get away into a roadless area, I'm assuming, 0:19:19.040 --> 0:19:20.720 and then and then go from there. 0:19:21.320 --> 0:19:23.200 Yeah, So that's pretty much it. So that that was 0:19:23.240 --> 0:19:24.760 the first thing I saw, is like, there's a lot 0:19:24.760 --> 0:19:27.600 of this unit where and what's great with this unit 0:19:27.720 --> 0:19:30.679 there's a lot of deer, which is which makes me 0:19:30.800 --> 0:19:35.480 excited just because there's good numbers here. Quality I don't know, 0:19:35.720 --> 0:19:38.920 but I did just yesterday, just driving around, I saw 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:42.560 a dozen bucks, which is I'm not I'm not used 0:19:42.560 --> 0:19:45.800 to that. Oh I used to. I'm used to hunting 0:19:45.840 --> 0:19:48.840 areas where there's very little numbers of mule there and 0:19:48.920 --> 0:19:51.240 you're putting on a lot of miles on the ground 0:19:51.280 --> 0:19:52.720 just to see a couple bucks. You know what? I 0:19:52.760 --> 0:19:55.920 mean and and so to be able to hunt a 0:19:56.000 --> 0:19:58.560 unit like this is kind of cool. But the only 0:19:58.600 --> 0:20:01.639 thing that slightly concerned me is I talk to a 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:03.280 lot of guys that have hunted this in the past 0:20:03.320 --> 0:20:06.520 and are like, the quality is just not here though, 0:20:06.560 --> 0:20:09.480 you know, that's what a lot of them say, But 0:20:09.640 --> 0:20:13.960 I've also take that in my mind. I'm just kind 0:20:13.960 --> 0:20:17.399 of I'm just trying to make you put you in 0:20:17.440 --> 0:20:21.200 my own mind and how I how it works. But 0:20:21.240 --> 0:20:23.720 for me, I'm like, well, are they going far enough 0:20:23.760 --> 0:20:26.199 back to the big bucks? Are they getting away from 0:20:26.240 --> 0:20:28.639 the hunting pressure to find the big bucks? And so 0:20:28.720 --> 0:20:31.959 for me when they when people are telling me, oh, 0:20:32.119 --> 0:20:34.280