WEBVTT - Ep. 99: Elk Hunting with a Purpose 0:00:12.039 --> 0:00:14.600 Welcome back to another episode of Cutting the Distance. Elk 0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:17.320 season is literally right around the corner. We're about a 0:00:17.360 --> 0:00:20.439 week and a half away, and the majority of us, 0:00:20.520 --> 0:00:22.520 you know, in September rolls around, that's our time to 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:25.880 go chase buglin bowls. And in my opinion, there's no 0:00:26.000 --> 0:00:29.240 better critter to hunt than elk. Why they're biglin. You know, 0:00:29.400 --> 0:00:31.120 I'll argue with the meal deer hunters and the white 0:00:31.120 --> 0:00:33.320 tail guys all day long. There's nothing that quite gets 0:00:33.320 --> 0:00:35.400 the hair to stand up on the back of your 0:00:35.440 --> 0:00:38.240 neck like a buglin bowl at close distance. 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:40.479 But anyways, I decided to. 0:00:40.440 --> 0:00:44.800 Take today and kind of go through my seminars that 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:47.280 I typically do, and I name that seminar Elk Cutting 0:00:47.320 --> 0:00:51.239 with the Purpose. And you know, those that know my background, 0:00:51.280 --> 0:00:55.240 I overanalyze everything. I try to figure out why, the 0:00:55.320 --> 0:00:58.360 how comes and the why is and try to methodically 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:01.800 figure out what matt and why. And so when I 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:06.600 did that, I ended up like reducing that down to 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:09.360 having a purpose when you're out there, Like what is 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:11.800 your goal? Are you out there just to have fun? 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:14.320 Are you out there to kill any legal elk? Are 0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:17.039 you out there strictly to put meat in the freezer. 0:01:17.240 --> 0:01:18.959 Are you out there to kill the biggest bowl in 0:01:18.959 --> 0:01:22.240 the mountain? And I'm all of those are acceptable. Is 0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:23.679 it to go out there and hang out with friends 0:01:23.680 --> 0:01:25.880 and family and laugh and you have a couple of 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:28.520 whiskeys around the fire? Is it to you know, watch 0:01:28.560 --> 0:01:31.319 the sunrise with your kids? Whatever that may be. You 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:34.319 needed to find that and make sure you know before 0:01:34.360 --> 0:01:36.040 you're in the middle of the hunt that you've got 0:01:36.040 --> 0:01:38.520 that well to fined and and that you're gonna go 0:01:38.560 --> 0:01:41.240 out there and you know, do the best to fulfill 0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:48.360 you know, everything and that purpose. So to break this down, 0:01:48.800 --> 0:01:51.360 you know how to elk coume with the purpose. So 0:01:51.440 --> 0:01:54.080 you've you've created that purpose and we just went through 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:56.560 a list of you know, some of those. It could 0:01:56.560 --> 0:01:58.560 be you know, many many more. Whatever it may be. 0:01:59.800 --> 0:02:04.279 You know, you only you can define that. But from there, 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:08.320 when I'm on the hunt, from the time I'm going there, 0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:10.839 from the time I arrive, every decision that I make 0:02:10.960 --> 0:02:15.880 at that point should be with the intention of that purpose. 0:02:15.960 --> 0:02:18.400 It's a building block towards the goal that I've set 0:02:18.400 --> 0:02:23.639 for myself. So I don't like, you know, if if 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:29.239 you know a rockstar monster, you know, at whatever energy drink, 0:02:29.280 --> 0:02:32.359 red Bull, whatever your your choice, you know, black rifle, coffee, 0:02:32.440 --> 0:02:35.640 whatever you're looking for, you know, a latte down at 0:02:35.680 --> 0:02:38.520 the coffee stand, if that sounds good. 0:02:38.600 --> 0:02:40.760 But yet I need to be and I. 0:02:40.720 --> 0:02:42.800 Can somehow talk myself into going and getting that in 0:02:42.880 --> 0:02:45.040 town that might be a twenty minute away from you know, 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:48.720 twenty minute drive or twenty mile drive from camp versus me. 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:50.959 You know, going and finding elk in the middle of 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:53.160 the day. That is a bad decision, no matter how 0:02:53.240 --> 0:02:55.639 much you know. And then all even the grimlins kind 0:02:55.639 --> 0:02:57.600 of kind of creep in and like, but it'll be 0:02:57.680 --> 0:02:59.400 like a picker up or you know, it'll it'll help 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:03.200 your mental game. And I don't buy into that anymore. 0:03:03.240 --> 0:03:07.400 Like if I can't with the you know, honestly answer 0:03:07.400 --> 0:03:10.480 the question that this decision and this effort will be, 0:03:12.120 --> 0:03:14.560 you know, a building block towards my goal, and I 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:17.640 won't do it anymore. During a hunt, I'm out there 0:03:18.080 --> 0:03:22.800 with a specific purpose to kill a ball, you know, 0:03:23.040 --> 0:03:26.600 the biggest bowl that I can find. And you know, 0:03:26.800 --> 0:03:28.760 I have a lot of fun, so I try to 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:31.959 balance those street. Now, if your purpose was to take 0:03:32.000 --> 0:03:35.520 your kid hunting, and if going to the store and 0:03:35.520 --> 0:03:38.760 getting an ice cream or or whatever was you know, 0:03:38.840 --> 0:03:41.400 helps you fulfill that purpose, then by all means that's 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:42.920 part of your goal. But we you know, you have 0:03:42.960 --> 0:03:45.840 different goals. So I'm kind of talking, you know, with 0:03:45.840 --> 0:03:47.760 with out of both sides of my mouth, But it 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:49.920 really goes back to what your purpose and what your 0:03:49.920 --> 0:03:54.120 goal is for that hunt always question what you're doing 0:03:54.360 --> 0:03:57.640 after you make the initial decision. I'll make some crazy 0:03:57.680 --> 0:04:01.560 decisions at times where in my mind, going back into 0:04:01.600 --> 0:04:03.440 basin that's seven or eight miles deep that had a 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:06.120 bunch of elk in last year was just loaded, is 0:04:06.160 --> 0:04:09.440 the best decision I could make. And while I get 0:04:09.480 --> 0:04:12.560 in there, I can't find any sign or the elk 0:04:12.600 --> 0:04:15.440 maybe aren't there, or there's a bunch of boot tracks 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:18.440 in there or something. So I'm always you know, even 0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:20.320 if I'm only two or three miles in and things 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:22.679 aren't starting to add up, or the tracks are starting 0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:26.760 to show, or something just isn't isn't jiving, and I 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:29.080 start to question that plan, like is this still the 0:04:29.160 --> 0:04:30.440 best thing to do? 0:04:30.600 --> 0:04:30.800 You know? 0:04:30.839 --> 0:04:32.560 Maybe it's like, well, I'll give it two more miles 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:37.440 to another main trail junction and I'll reevaluate but don't 0:04:37.480 --> 0:04:41.719 just always go be willing to adapt and change your plans. 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:44.920 For me. My goal is and purpose. I want to 0:04:45.000 --> 0:04:45.760 hunt hard. 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:49.960 All the time, from from sun up to sundown, all 0:04:50.040 --> 0:04:52.200 day long, even after the sun goes down, before the 0:04:52.200 --> 0:04:55.680 sun comes up. If that, if my plan dictates that 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:57.479 I need to be up two hours before dark so 0:04:57.560 --> 0:04:59.799 I can get the wind right, which means getting down 0:05:00.520 --> 0:05:04.400 below the elk, typically down valley, down slope, and I 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:06.040 need to be in that spot, then if that means 0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:07.800 I got to set my alarm clock for three thirty, 0:05:07.839 --> 0:05:08.600 then that's what I do. 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:10.680 I try not. 0:05:11.120 --> 0:05:13.239 There were times where I would be lazy at times 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:15.400 and like I'm gonna have an easy one because I 0:05:15.600 --> 0:05:17.920 was fortunate where I grew up hunting that I could 0:05:17.920 --> 0:05:20.440 typically find one that wasn't going to be a whole 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:22.360 lot of extra work somewhere along the hunt. 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:24.320 Nowadays, not so much. 0:05:25.279 --> 0:05:27.560 I've also been at this long enough that I hunt 0:05:27.560 --> 0:05:31.920 hard all the time because it only takes one one 0:05:31.920 --> 0:05:35.400 opportunity to go right. It only takes you know, the 0:05:35.400 --> 0:05:37.520 wind to be right one time, the bowl to react 0:05:37.560 --> 0:05:39.520 and to everything he needs to for me to make 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:42.080 the perfect shot. It only takes one but I've also 0:05:42.160 --> 0:05:45.839 been on hunts to know that that one opportunity maybe 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:48.000 on day nine or ten or the last. 0:05:47.880 --> 0:05:50.560 Day of the hunt. So it could come early in 0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:50.880 the hunt. 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:52.800 On day one. We've had that happen. It could come 0:05:53.160 --> 0:05:55.120 on the very last day of the hunt. So when 0:05:55.120 --> 0:05:57.720 I say it only takes one, you don't know when 0:05:57.760 --> 0:05:59.760 that one's going to be. And so we're always hunting hard. 0:05:59.760 --> 0:06:04.359 We're always trying to treat every stock, every opportunity like 0:06:04.400 --> 0:06:07.240 it's the last. It's it's kind of crazy when we 0:06:07.320 --> 0:06:08.920 when we think about it, we always seem to do 0:06:10.520 --> 0:06:14.160 things a little bit better, a little more deliberately on 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:16.479 that last couple of days of the hunt, because things 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:18.200 are now critical if you screw this up. But and 0:06:18.200 --> 0:06:21.400 then I always remind myself, why don't you why don't 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:24.279 you give you know, your early you know your early 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:27.360 hunt stocks that much attention, and and why aren't you 0:06:27.560 --> 0:06:29.440 at that height and awareness all the time. And so 0:06:30.040 --> 0:06:32.280 I've been able to kind of to tweak my brain 0:06:32.320 --> 0:06:34.360 a little bit, and we treat everything like this as 0:06:34.440 --> 0:06:37.240 your only opportunity because it does only take one, but 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:40.800 you may only get that one. As I just mentioned, 0:06:40.800 --> 0:06:42.440 treat every stock like it's the last of the season. 0:06:42.480 --> 0:06:44.720 That's kind of on the next bullet point, and my 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:49.120 my slide always you know, this is kind of going 0:06:49.160 --> 0:06:52.480 into my purpose. I always remind myself you can't cheat 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:54.479 the win. There are times where it's like, I want 0:06:54.480 --> 0:06:59.320 to make a four hundred foot loop around this elk 0:06:59.400 --> 0:07:01.040 with the wind going to them. I'm going to give 0:07:01.080 --> 0:07:03.440 them the wind, but I think because of the ridges 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:05.560 and the way this lays out, the wind won't get 0:07:05.600 --> 0:07:09.320 to them, and I will risk that, and I used 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:09.840 to risk that. 0:07:09.920 --> 0:07:11.240 I will no longer risk the wind. 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:13.560 I'll go half mile a mile out of my way 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:16.680 to get around the elk, to make sure that they 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:19.160 are still in that location, they're calm and comfortable when 0:07:19.200 --> 0:07:21.320 I get there and I haven't buggered them up and 0:07:21.440 --> 0:07:23.080 have to try to, you know, deal with elk that 0:07:23.320 --> 0:07:25.080 most likely aren't going to be called in at that point. 0:07:25.120 --> 0:07:28.320 So you can never cheat the wind. Always put in 0:07:28.360 --> 0:07:32.400 more effort, you know, and get around them. And you know, 0:07:32.480 --> 0:07:35.600 so we can argue over how in perfect conditions and 0:07:36.040 --> 0:07:38.480 certain winds, like how far can elk smell you. 0:07:39.680 --> 0:07:41.360 I've always just assumed five. 0:07:41.240 --> 0:07:43.640 Hundred to seven hundred you're going to get picked off, 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:45.920 and so if you're outside that seven hundred. But nowadays 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:48.000 I don't really look at a distance. I look at 0:07:48.080 --> 0:07:51.560 terrain and just make sure that whatever my approach is, 0:07:51.600 --> 0:07:56.040 I'm not going to get winded. The next thing which 0:07:56.040 --> 0:07:59.400 people could see is false confidence or cockiness is I 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:03.240 expects on every out kind I'm on, whether it's over 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:07.000 the counter Washington tag, whether it's the best tag that 0:08:07.360 --> 0:08:10.840 I've gotten, you know, Wyoming, or wherever it may be, Idaho, 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:15.640 I expect to find success every single hunt I'm on. 0:08:15.800 --> 0:08:19.560 And that starts with my Google you know, my Google scouting, 0:08:19.880 --> 0:08:22.320 my on ex map scouting, you know, everything that I'm 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:26.320 looking at. I'm drawing up these plans that and almost 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:30.000 visualizing I'm gonna kill a buck or a bowl. You know, 0:08:30.000 --> 0:08:32.320 we're talking about bulls, but you know, I'm gonna kill 0:08:32.760 --> 0:08:34.800 a bowl in this basin because it's going to be there. 0:08:35.120 --> 0:08:37.560 I'm gonna kill this in that spot. You know, I 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:40.360 can visualize it happening, and I can see that I 0:08:40.480 --> 0:08:42.559 visualize that there's not going to be that many people 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:45.040 in on this trailhead because it's step or it's rugged. 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:46.880 I can start. 0:08:46.640 --> 0:08:50.360 To to you know, almost you know, force the success 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:53.400 to happen. And if I can't buy into that planet, 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:56.720 if I can't you know, fool myself or or convince myself, 0:08:56.760 --> 0:08:58.520 then I'm going to have success. Then I need to 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:00.480 go back and change my plan. And well, I buy 0:09:00.480 --> 0:09:04.560 into that plan. It's very very important for me to 0:09:04.600 --> 0:09:08.439 see this through from beginning to end in order to 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:12.000 to kind of, you know, materialize that success. If I'm 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:13.800 not bought into the plan and I'm just going through 0:09:13.800 --> 0:09:16.840 the motions, I'm I'm, you know, a tenth of the 0:09:16.840 --> 0:09:19.440 Elk hunter I should be or can be because I'm 0:09:19.440 --> 0:09:20.120 just not bought in. 0:09:20.160 --> 0:09:20.839 I'm not in the game. 0:09:20.880 --> 0:09:23.400 I'm not expecting elk to be in certain patches of Timber, 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:26.800 and I just hunt kind of lacks daisical and and 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:30.360 I just I'm not on my a game. The next 0:09:30.400 --> 0:09:33.120 bullet kind of ties into that. Don't just go through 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:35.400 the motions. If you ever find yourself just hiking because 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:37.720 there's a trail in front of you and not because 0:09:37.720 --> 0:09:41.600 there's a there's an elk destination or there is a 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:43.559 spot you need to get to or want to get to, 0:09:43.960 --> 0:09:46.520 then find a new plan or do something different or 0:09:46.559 --> 0:09:48.400 change your purpose or goal like if you're just going 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:50.160 through the motions because you want to hike, you know, 0:09:50.200 --> 0:09:52.160 and maybe run into an elk, then that that's what 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:54.480 you need to set your goal as. But with me, 0:09:54.720 --> 0:09:56.480 I don't want to go just go through the motions 0:09:56.520 --> 0:09:58.719 because I've got a purpose of killing a bowl and 0:09:59.000 --> 0:10:01.520 I'm trying to kill a good b So if you're 0:10:01.559 --> 0:10:03.719 just going through the motions, you reevaluate your goals and 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:06.720 purpose or reevaluate what you're doing and make a change. 0:10:07.360 --> 0:10:11.600 And I get probably too too caught up, but I 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:13.679 still have a lot of fun. But I found that 0:10:13.720 --> 0:10:15.960 I have a lot more fun when I'm successful. When 0:10:16.040 --> 0:10:18.640 me and my buddies are grinding and out with the 0:10:18.760 --> 0:10:21.680 full pack meat on our backs, you know, getting horns 0:10:21.679 --> 0:10:23.720 out in tough, difficult spots like that's when we have 0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:24.440 the most fun. 0:10:24.679 --> 0:10:24.840 You know. 0:10:24.880 --> 0:10:28.200 It is definitely type too fun, but but that makes it, 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:31.959 you know, funner for us. But it's it is important 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:33.840 to have fun, no matter what your purpose, no matter 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:36.480 what your goal is. I know, we can get into 0:10:37.640 --> 0:10:40.800 debates all over the place on whether hunting's supposed to 0:10:40.800 --> 0:10:44.040 be fun or if it's a food gathering. You know, 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:48.199 exercise and fun is just a byproduct, I'll argue with 0:10:48.240 --> 0:10:49.960 those people all day long. I have a ton of 0:10:50.000 --> 0:10:51.840 fun elk hunting. I have a ton of fun with 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:54.600 my buddies, my family, people that I get to meet. 0:10:54.679 --> 0:10:56.640 I have a lot of fun while we're out there, 0:10:56.760 --> 0:10:59.160 you know, sweating our asses off, you're kind of grinding 0:10:59.200 --> 0:11:02.880 it out, chasing bigling. So while it may seem like 0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:06.920 with all of this, you know, effort put into finding 0:11:07.360 --> 0:11:10.200 success as my purpose or my goal, I still do 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:12.400 have a lot of fun. And at times I have 0:11:12.480 --> 0:11:16.360 to remind myself to have fun because you know, I'll 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:18.760 get down on myself when something doesn't work out or 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:20.839 I make a wrong decision and I start to question, 0:11:21.280 --> 0:11:24.920 you know, everything that's going on. But but that's where 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:28.040 you know, you need to remind yourself to have fun 0:11:29.080 --> 0:11:34.840 while you're on that hunt. And and so, like I 0:11:34.920 --> 0:11:37.800 mentioned earlier, we kind of go through what's your goal? 0:11:37.880 --> 0:11:39.920 You know, is filling the freezer, having fun, killing the 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:41.920 mature bowl, spending time in the woods within you know, 0:11:42.040 --> 0:11:44.400 friends and family or is it a combination of many 0:11:44.400 --> 0:11:46.120 of those things? And I think for ninety nine percent 0:11:46.160 --> 0:11:48.360 of people it is a combination of those things. They're 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:49.960 trying to fill the freezer. They're trying to kill the 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:52.080 best bowl in the hill. They're trying to have as 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:55.680 many laughs as possible to friends define that, and that's 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:57.800 going to kind of dictate, you know, how you approach 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:02.000 the hunt, you know, and then I always put a 0:12:02.040 --> 0:12:05.360 plan together, multiple plans, you know, plan A through Z 0:12:05.880 --> 0:12:07.800 in case things don't go right or I show up 0:12:07.840 --> 0:12:10.120 and things are wrong, or I can't camp on the spot. 0:12:10.120 --> 0:12:11.800 I always thought I was gonna camp, and then I'm 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:15.480 always evaluating, you know, reevaluating my plan as I mentioned earlier, 0:12:15.840 --> 0:12:17.520 and then I need to go out and execute. And 0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:20.079 so we're going to talk about now is and I'm 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:23.120 gonna probably walk through the majority of this, you know, 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:26.079 elk hunting with the purpose, with the intention of being 0:12:26.160 --> 0:12:30.840 successful and and you know, trying to kill a bowl 0:12:31.920 --> 0:12:35.120 and put it in the freezer. So one thing I 0:12:35.160 --> 0:12:37.120 asked myself a long time ago when I started talking 0:12:37.160 --> 0:12:40.040 about elk hunting, and really at the first time when 0:12:40.040 --> 0:12:42.040 somebody asks you, because you just go through the motions, 0:12:42.080 --> 0:12:44.320 you know, I've I found success with a bow. I 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:48.480 found success with calling elk early on, and it not 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:50.840 until a few years later I kind of had to 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:54.319 had to sit down and reevaluate what makes a successful 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:56.400 elk hunter, and I kind of came up with three 0:12:57.080 --> 0:13:00.840 h three excuse me, eight key factors, uh that that 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:03.480 seem to kind of matter, and I'm gonna kind of 0:13:03.520 --> 0:13:08.720 walk through these and explain them. So scouting, scouting or 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:12.400 the ability to find the animal bull elk that you 0:13:12.400 --> 0:13:15.400 you're after. So scouting is huge. Are you out in 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:17.160 the woods all the time? Guys that are out Guys 0:13:17.160 --> 0:13:18.520 and gals that are out in the woods all the 0:13:18.520 --> 0:13:23.360 time will typically always be more successful than people that 0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:25.400 show up on opening day or go back to the 0:13:25.440 --> 0:13:30.080 same spots year after year. Some hunts can solely be 0:13:30.960 --> 0:13:34.120 the success that can be like solely attributed to scouting. 0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:37.160 I mean not solely, but the majority. That factor is 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:41.560 the overarching majority of why you were successful. The second 0:13:41.559 --> 0:13:45.720 one was physical conditioning. Be in as good as shape 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:48.280 as you can. It's never gonna hurt, it's always gonna 0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:50.400 get e too farther. You're never gonna give up on elk. 0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:57.319 And physical conditioning really kind of translates over into mental 0:13:57.840 --> 0:13:59.920 you know, your mental game, because if you're in bad sha, 0:14:00.200 --> 0:14:04.920 your body's gonna start to question, you know, are you 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:06.840 should you be going or we should probably come up 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:08.520 with a different plan because your body's starting to break 0:14:08.559 --> 0:14:13.080 down a little bit. You know that just being as 0:14:13.080 --> 0:14:14.920 good as shape as possible. I'm not gonna dwell on 0:14:15.000 --> 0:14:18.800 that topic, but that's always gonna help. It's always gonna help. 0:14:18.800 --> 0:14:20.920 It's never gonna hurt you by being in better shape. 0:14:23.120 --> 0:14:26.640 Your gear, you know, I wouldn't spend too much time 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:30.600 on this either, but just have the best gear you 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:33.040 can afford. You don't need everything, doesn't have to be 0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:35.480 top of the line, but good gear does make the 0:14:35.560 --> 0:14:36.440 hunt more. 0:14:37.320 --> 0:14:38.320 You know, enjoyable. 0:14:38.440 --> 0:14:40.320 You you know, if you have better optics, you will 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:42.280 probably spot more elk. If you have a better range, 0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:43.960 find or you might not get a missed range. If 0:14:44.000 --> 0:14:45.360 you have a better bow, you may be able to 0:14:45.400 --> 0:14:47.400 shoot a little bit faster and not miss the vitals. 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:49.960 If you have better you know, a tent, you may 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:52.000 be able to stay longer. It may be lighter, you 0:14:52.000 --> 0:14:54.800 may be able to pack farther. You know, a broadhead, 0:14:54.920 --> 0:14:57.720 A good broadhead may provide better blood. Any of these 0:14:57.760 --> 0:15:00.440 things can be attributed to gear, But I'm not going 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:02.200 to dwell on that one. Let's just find the best 0:15:02.200 --> 0:15:04.800 gear you can afford or the best gear for your 0:15:04.800 --> 0:15:09.240 situation and roll with it. Number four is elk calling. 0:15:12.640 --> 0:15:15.440 I've I've probably hung my hat on this one more 0:15:15.480 --> 0:15:19.440 than anything else. But I also understand the elk cunting knowledge, 0:15:19.480 --> 0:15:21.040 you know, being able to shoot my bull, you know, 0:15:21.080 --> 0:15:25.520 setting up all these other things are also very very important. 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:29.120 I feel that by being a good ELK caller, you 0:15:29.240 --> 0:15:32.680 open up just another another chapter in the playbook to 0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:36.000 killing elk. Anybody that's listening to me long enough, I've 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:39.200 admitted multiple times that you know, spot in stock on 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:42.000 big herd bulls that are buggling and rutting can be 0:15:42.120 --> 0:15:46.280 very effective calling elk and bushing elk, sitting over water 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.360 whatever it may be, you know, sitting in pinch points 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:51.760 can all be very very effective ways to hunt elk. 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:54.040 I love to call elk, and so that's what I'm 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:56.640 out there trying to do. And by being able to 0:15:56.680 --> 0:15:59.400 call elk, I've killed some great bulls. So why you 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:01.520 know some people will say you can't kill herd bulls 0:16:01.520 --> 0:16:04.840 by calling. You can't do this, you know, with calling, 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:07.920 calling scares them off. You can't call elkin in this area. 0:16:07.920 --> 0:16:10.600 You can't call elk in New Mexico or Arizona. 0:16:10.120 --> 0:16:10.760 Whatever it may be. 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:14.120 And I've I've proven the majority of those wrong as 0:16:14.160 --> 0:16:17.000 well as others. So it just gives me another tool 0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:18.960 in my toolbox. And if I elect to use that 0:16:19.080 --> 0:16:21.320 or not is on me. But being a good ELK 0:16:21.360 --> 0:16:24.400 caller and having those tools and you know or are 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:28.359 very important. And then the next one is elk and acknowledge. 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:32.600 I feel that somebody's ability to know where elk will be, 0:16:32.840 --> 0:16:35.320 where elk will go, what elk are wanting to do, 0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:40.240 what elk you know have been doing, is very important. 0:16:40.240 --> 0:16:40.400 You know. 0:16:40.760 --> 0:16:42.720 Somebody that can find tracks and tell you if they're 0:16:42.720 --> 0:16:45.200 a day or two old, which direction they're going. Somebody 0:16:45.240 --> 0:16:47.840 that can run across some elkscat, you know, step on 0:16:47.880 --> 0:16:49.200 it with the edge of their shoe and. 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:51.440 Be able to tell you, you know, how old is that? 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:52.920 Have they been here recently? 0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:55.960 Somebody that can walk into a rub and say, well, 0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:58.400 this elk, you know this rub was here a week 0:16:58.440 --> 0:17:01.920 ago because the bark's still kind of pliable, but it's 0:17:01.920 --> 0:17:03.800 still kind of brittle, or if it was, you know, 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:07.600 last year because the needles were red. You know, if 0:17:07.600 --> 0:17:11.320 somebody can look at a map and just almost instant 0:17:11.520 --> 0:17:14.040 instantly know this area is going to hold elk, and 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:16.400 then you can zoom in and see where there's trails 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:19.040 in the alpine or you know, if there's a meadow 0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:21.880 down in the creek bottom, like, oh, something's obviously using 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:24.760 that there's no cattle in this area, that's probably so 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:28.080 just you know, being able to show up to a 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:31.520 spot that you've only ever scouted online and being able 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:35.480 to you know, take your plan, look at it quickly, 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:38.239 reduce the country if if at different, you know, if 0:17:38.240 --> 0:17:40.280 there's differences from what you thought you were going to 0:17:40.320 --> 0:17:42.480 see when you got there, and then within a day 0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:44.399 figuring out if they were elk there, or if your 0:17:44.440 --> 0:17:46.240 plan is going to be able to even work in 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:50.720 this area. So elk cutting knowledge, you know, the ability 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:52.960 to track elk nowhere elk are going to be is 0:17:53.480 --> 0:17:58.719 one of the biggest, you know, the biggest you know problems. 0:17:58.160 --> 0:17:59.879 That people will have on not being success. 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:03.520 And it sounds very cliche, but you can't kill elk 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:06.840 without being able to find elk. So that elk hunting knowledge, 0:18:07.440 --> 0:18:09.160 you know when to call, you know, we go back 0:18:09.160 --> 0:18:10.760 to calling, when do you call? When you can you 0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:14.040 read the temperament of a bowl. You know, all those 0:18:14.040 --> 0:18:18.840 things come in come into play. Shooting your boat is 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:22.480 another big one. Are you confident enough to make the 0:18:22.520 --> 0:18:24.720 shot when all these other things happen? You know, are 0:18:24.720 --> 0:18:27.480 you only confident out to thirty yards? A guy or 0:18:27.560 --> 0:18:29.479 gal that is only confident in shooting an elk at 0:18:29.480 --> 0:18:31.600 thirty yards, it's going to have a whole lot, you know, 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:35.200 a whole lot less opportunity than somebody that's even comfortable 0:18:35.240 --> 0:18:37.480 to fifty yards. You know, the difference on the amount 0:18:37.480 --> 0:18:40.040 of elk that we'll get to fifty versus thirty is 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:42.320 a pretty good stack most of the time, unless you 0:18:42.320 --> 0:18:44.480 know setups and scenarios and the rut and you know, 0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:47.119 everything aligns. But there, I would say, you start to 0:18:47.119 --> 0:18:49.200 lose half your elk that you can't get between fifty 0:18:49.280 --> 0:18:55.280 and thirty, you know, just in general. You know, then 0:18:55.320 --> 0:18:58.080 you go to your tracking kind of kind of touches 0:18:58.119 --> 0:19:00.560 with shooting. There's some there's some skins and being able 0:19:00.640 --> 0:19:02.720 to track, being able to see something that's not normal, 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:04.720 being able to read it. You know, if a bull 0:19:04.720 --> 0:19:06.399 gets hitting the right shoulder and you see them kind 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:08.040 of limp and away, being able to read that that 0:19:08.080 --> 0:19:10.399 front left hoof is going to put more pressure in 0:19:10.400 --> 0:19:12.639