Cat Road Shuffle: Trent Fisher’s OTC Elk Hunting Blueprint

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This is the Elk Hunt podcast. Home to everything elk hunting. I'm your host, Cody rich. From fellow DIYers to elk hunting legends, we have elk hunting stories, tips, tactics and more to get you pumped for elk season. Join us every week for great elk hunting content. All right, today's episode of the YoCon podcast is brought to you by my good friends over at Maven Optics, a Wyoming based company that just absolutely crushes it. Love the team, love the product. Been using it for years, can't recommend them enough. I always say it's the absolute best bang for your buck. You know they're a direct consumer brand.

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Welcome to the podcast. How we doing? It's Almost elk season. You ready to do this?

I. I'm ready to. I was just making sure the record button was. I've done that before.

It is. Yeah. You scared me.

I know, I know, I know. Oh, good to see you, man.

Yeah, good. Good to be here.

Yeah.

Sweet office.

Yeah.

This is the first time I've been down to see you in person.

Yeah.

Yeah. So, like it. You ready for season?

No, dude, it's. It's like you go through show season, right. So you're at the shows and everything, and then it's just like, you blink and then boom, it's hunting again.

Yeah. I'm. I'm gonna put words in your mouth, but I think the hardest part about owning a business in the hunting industry is, like, the busiest season is July and August. And then you're like, you're supposed to shift gears and just like, be like, okay, we go hunting. And you are on a whole other level. But it's like, you go on four or five hunts and you're like, I'm supposed to do all that, too.

Yeah.

Yeah. So when people with business. Yeah. When people think they have to, like, appease the wives and, like, the family. We were talking about cashing in family bonus points before, like, we really screwed up for a while.

Well. And that's the time to do all the housework. Right. That's the time. Supposed to be your slow time Right. Before season, you know?

Yeah. And you're supposed to be rebuilding your house.

Oh, man. Yeah.

So you have, like. Yeah. Even more stress, but that's right.

Yeah.

Yeah. You. You start out in Utah.

Start out in Utah, like the 24th, I think. Something like that.

So. And I was telling you, I. I keep saying. And I want to do that same hunt. I want to film it. So I'm glad you're doing it so I can.

What I've always said, too, yeah.

Like, everyone in the world wants to go on their first elk hunt, and they're like, yeah, I'm gonna go to Colorado because I might be. And this is tough because you've done this. You've done very well. But, like, I want to go to Colorado and. And, you know, shoot an elk, and I choose Colorado because maybe I can shoot a six point. But the difference is, like, you're not going to see a damn elk in Colorado. And then you go to Utah and in theory, never done it. Armchair quarterback.

Me neither. Me either.

But you're like, I just feel like it's going to be a better elk hunt. You're getting more at bats, you're going.

To get more experience.

Like, that's the theory. So is that kind of what you wanted to do here?

Well, I. So. So I kind of set out this year to do just a bunch of. Try to do as much over the counter as I can. So, Oregon, obviously over the counter, that you can buy over the counter, but I talked to. I have a good buddy, couple buddies, Garth Jensen and Cody Smith, and I'm going with them.

Oh, you're going with Garth.

Yeah. Okay.

Yeah.

And so. And Garth, like Trent, he goes. It may not sound like the most appealing thing ever. He goes, it is probably. And you know that man has hunted everywhere. And he goes, it is probably the. One of the most funnest hunts you'll ever go on. And so I'm like, I gotta go try it. I gotta go do it.

I 100% agree. Because, well, I mean, you. You like shooting elk, so you're not a trophy hunter. So I.

This is right up here in range. I can't guarantee anything, but it's gonna get. It's gonna get flumpy.

You're not holding out for that trophy, Spike?

No, no, no, no. I think it'd probably be harder to kill us, but I don't know. Maybe not maybe, maybe. I don't know, but either one. And there is. I think I was talking to another guy and there is units in Utah that you can do over the counter. And it's still. You can kill a bull. Yeah.

But you're not going to see a bull.

That's the problem.

That's what I. I don't know. Yeah. I don't know if they're even. Yeah.

So, hey, I mean, you guys, obviously. YouTube channel, you put out a ton of content. What's. What's the goal for this piece of content? Is it educational?

Yes. Yes. So that's going to be my goal. A lot of this season, I think is going to be the goal of just kind of turning it back to when we just kind of started. And that's going to be just like. If you. I think it's. Dude, it's breaking down the barriers. Right? So it's. I think there's so many people out there. And we were talking about this this morning, like, you still. You think everybody has heard your message, but they just haven't. And so it's like, dude, anybody can go alky. Anybody can do it. And we've been just trying to just shout that from the rooftops, like guys with technology these days. And I was just talking to you about the watch and everything. And that just blows my mind and everything. But like, there shouldn't be that much fear, right? There should be just a. All right. Hey, me and my buddy, we're going to come out there and go do it.

Yeah, that's what we're trying to. I. My buddies are the bearded butchers. The first time I ever met him and Seth and I were talking and he was like, man, someday an elk hunt is like the dream. It's the dream that is very common. It's. It's up on this pedestal. But if you can be like, don't put on a pedestal because it's not A, it's not that hard and B, you're never just going to do it once, you know, like, it's not something.

Everybody that does it once, right?

Yeah, yeah. They do it every year. So you might as well just start because you're going to fail your first year. You're going to learn and like you're going to go back and try to get better areas and whatnot. But like, like you said, it's so accessible that you got to just.

And it's not that expensive. The tag's probably the most money. Other than that, get your gas money there.

Yeah.

And you're camping. I mean, you're pretty much camping every day. So.

Yeah. And I'm a huge believer in Utah. I think, like, I want, I want to see how you do it. I've wanted to do the film you're about to do because it's like if you want to go get at bats, you want to get elk experience, like.

And you didn't grow up in the.

Woods, then this is a great way to do it. Because just being around elk, that's this, that's the secret, right? Like learning what to do.

And a lot of people only have that seven day window every year to do it. Right. We're very blessed that we, you know, get more time in the woods than that. But at the same time, that's kind of, that's not. I mean, that's.

Yeah.

Discouraging right there. Day three. Haven't heard a bugle yet.

That's.

You know what I mean? I got four more days left and I'm out of here, you know. Oh, man. So, yeah, but I mean, I'm super.

How many days are you going for?

I think I'm gonna do at least seven or eight, maybe nine. I don't know.

Is that the longest alkaline you do?

Yeah, it's the longest. Well, you get to start in August.

Yeah, that's true.

So you're not.

You don't have any pressure to go somewhere else?

No, no. And then I'll. Then I'll jump back to Oregon. I think I'll follow up in Oregon and then be here for that. So. But meet up with the guys.

Yeah. And then Oregon. I mean, dude, that's over the counter. Yeah, that's over the counter.

Yeah.

Yeah. And so I was gonna. So that is one shocker to anybody that's talked to me and I said I was going to do Washington this year. I've researched it and I'm still gonna do it at some point because it's an over the counter on the west side. Same like Oregon. And I'm like just, man, I have not. I've on X it. I've looked and stuff. I just haven't got any real super confidence and going there right now. And so I'm like, Oregon. I know.

Yeah.

I know it so well. And so it's like it's still pushing that narrative of over the counter but you know. Yeah, I should, I should have went to Washington but just travel all over the place. I'm just doing a lot of travel this year.

What's your thought? What's the best over the counter hunts? Like if you had to classify top three because you're going in this change. Yeah.

You know, I mean obviously for me like success wise would be Roosevelt's just in Oregon. But for just the regular Joe, I would not recommend it at all. Yeah. At all. You know, been hunting all my life. That makes a lot easier. But when Colorado had over the counter there was. It spread people out a little bit and you could find some good stuff. Stuff. And then, you know, I don't. There's not very many other ones, man.

Do you. I mean you guys had a crazy success in Colorado.

Crazy.

Was that. Was that over the counter stuff or was that really dude.

And big bulls, like. So we did the research and everything on it and that's. And talked to the, you know, biologist, did all the thing and they just said, hey, this is. And all we wanted to do is go to a unit that actually had opportunity.

Yeah.

So that's all we were looking for. And they said a lot of opportunity here and. But not very many big bulls.

Oh really?

Oh yeah.

It wasn't supposed to be big.

Totally good. I'm good with that. Then we kill a 364 and you know, I mean, we're just like, what in the world? Yeah, it was drought and we killed. On that hunt. We killed four bulls in seven days.

Didn't you guys go back there? And it was like a ghost town, dude.

It. Well, it was packed. It was.

And that's.

That's the biggest regret that I have, honestly. It's like when you put anything online, someone knows someone, so we get really kind of. And I. I hate it, doing it just because it's for the guy that's been there all his life, hunted there with his grandpa, and now I just blew the spot up, and now it's just, you know, crushed, and so it just sucks. And so I've been trying to do different spots every single year so I don't go back to the same spot. And it's been a lot of fun, because when you're. When you don't have a preconceived notion of a spot, you turn over every little rock looking for what you know? Whereas, like, we went back there, and we're like, yeah, we'll go on this ridge and the bugle day, you know, and then nothing. Nothing. We killed. We killed two bulls, but it took us, like, seven days to do it, and it was not the same as it was.

Yeah, there's somebody said for going somewhere new. I, I. So I'm going to Wyoming this year and e. Scouting a ton, researching a ton. Yeah, just general. General tech. I mean, it's still a lot of points, but, like, it's.

What is it, six now?

Yeah, I got it with five. I had to go special. Special, okay. Yeah. That's a wild statement. I feel like I could have got that tag three years ago for the general.

We should do it almost every year.

That's insane.

Yeah. We're old.

Yeah. Yeah. And I was like, I, I. It was hard enough to go five, like, cash five points on a general tag, but then when I was like, oh, if you want to do it this year, you got to go special. It's like, that stings a lot. Like, I could have had this tag.

14, now 12.

Yeah. Yeah.

Isn't it? I don't know, because I think the tech usually it was back when I got one, it was like 700 for the general.

It might.

You almost double it.

Yeah, I think it was 12, but I could be wrong.

Okay, that sounds right.

1200.

Yeah.

So.

But I do like that such where it's like something new. I like going new places.

The.

The thrill of the unknown. Right. Like, you're, like, a little bit excited. Like, I got somewhere new. What's it going to be? What's going to happen.

And Wyoming's so rad.

It's.

Every time I've been there, it's just like. It's been a dynamite hunt.

Yeah. Yeah. You've had. You had some good luck there. What's your favorite state to hunt?

I would say Wyoming's right up there.

Really.

I've never hunted Utah before, so this year will be a lot of fun to do that. Wyoming. Montana has been beautiful. Montana is beautiful. Big sky is the real thing. I've never. I've killed some bulls in Montana, but I've never had like a dynamite. I just haven't. It's just been. It's just always been a grind and tough. So it just seems like that's not. That's not on the beautiful list anymore. But Wyoming, it's always been fun. And then Colorado is hard to beat. I did an elk hunt with my daughter this last year. She drew a rifle tag and we went down there and the biggest snowstorm of the. Oh. Anyway. But she killed a really nice bull. But just, just Colorado, there's so many 10,000 foot places and call it like, they're just. It's so beautiful. It's so, so pretty. But. But yeah, I would say Wyoming. Yeah, probably Wyoming. Colorado or probably two, but okay.

One of the things you're known for is the cat road shuffle. Yeah. Colin covering ground. Colin covering ground. You guys own a call company. Has that changed or are you still like that and it hasn't changed?

I won't say it's changed any. I think we've changed a little bit. I mean, back in those. Back in the day it was just looking for a biter. Right. And just like just smash and grab. All right. Bugle, bugle, bugle, bugle, bugle. Now I think we've. We do the same thing until we can get a biter. And then it's like we slow way down. Like way down versus back in the day. It's like, what's the wind doing? Let's go. You know, and now it's just like, okay, where's he at? Is he on a bench? Is he bedded? Is he. You know, all these tiny little.

Don't screw this up.

Yeah. Tiny little things like. Because it doesn't seem like we get, you know, any more. It doesn't seem like you're getting as many opportunities as back in the day we used to, you know.

So back in the day when you were falling timber, you were in the woods literally as your job. How many elk did you know about at any Given time.

Yeah, a few, A few. But it's just my covering my little space and so yeah, everybody's like, oh yeah, you know, where all the. But at the same time, like when I cut a job, I'll be there for two months in the same spot. Spot. So I knew everything around there, but I didn't know what was going on because I'd be there at daylight every day in the same spot. So. But yeah, I would, I would toodle around. But it did help a lot.

Yeah, it did. I mean I was just curious like from, you know, and I was just talking with a buddy. I was fishing in PC and we were talking about Oregon elk hunting. And it was like, ah, it's gone to. There's people on every ridge. And I was like, man, I mean I haven't a hunted Oregon 10 years, but I feel like there was ever people on every ridge then there was. So like, was it. I mean, you're still trying to find the pockets. You're still trying to get away from.

People and, and you're, you are dealing with better hunters now. I think with all, with all the knowledge and YouTube and social media and stuff. Like you're dealing with better hunters now. I, I think I.

For sure, better callers, but for sure, for sure. And like back in the day it was like, I mean even I only had a berries bugle or whatever and like no one was, no one could call.

No.

So like, yeah.

And now it's just like, was that an elk or was that a. Oh yeah, back in the day I was like, yeah, that's dope. Doug Flutie. Every time. No, not anymore. It's like you've got some good callers out there.

So.

But yeah, it's just a. You just gotta change. Just like you said, dude, you gotta find them. Hardest part of elk hunting are none is finding the darn things. Yes, that's just what it is.

You say finding the dark legs. Yeah, that's such a Roosevelt term.

It is.

Looking under the brush.

It is like it is. And that's the thing about here. Like I still love hunting here, don't get me wrong wrong. But it's just like, dude, you've been to the same drainage multiple times. You've done. If they're not here, then either they're going to be here or here and if they're not there, I'm going somewhere. You know what I mean? Like, it's just, I don't know, I love the, the out of state stuff of something new. Going to a Different spot and.

Yeah, but you guys still crush Roosevelt.

We do. We do. Yeah. It's good. Don't get me wrong.

And then opening day, like, how do you guys kill so many bulls on opening day?

We. We've done well, I don't know. And that was weird last year. That was crazy because we drove between the morning hunt and the evening hunt. We drove almost three and a half hours clear south all the way down, and just on a whim and then killed one in the evening. So, I mean, yeah, opening weekend, we killed three this last year, which was crazy. Yeah.

And you knew where they were is like, pockets you've killed them in before.

Pockets that we knew. And so. And that's what I tell everybody. Like, dude, don't be afraid to get in your rig and go clear to a different wherever if it's, you know, obviously a legal unit or whatnot. Like, have these things mapped out, and if they're not there, they're not there. They're just. That's just. They're not. And don't beat a dead horse in the same spot. Same spot. Same spot.

Right.

So what makes you tell. What tells you to go to a new spot to go three hours.

That's huge.

Yeah.

They live. I mean, they leave tracks, they leave sign, they leave crap, you know, so.

If you go into. And these Roosevelts live in little pockets. So you go in this pocket and you're like, he's not here.

Yeah.

Yeah. Like, we're out. Like, next. Next. Best spot on my to do list is in a different county. Like, we're going there.

Whole different. Whole different. Yeah. Hours and hours of driving. Yeah. That's wild, dude. That's. But it's been successful for us. It's just like, if they're not there, they're not going to just materialize, you know, They're. They're huge.

You think, like, with the pressure and hunters and everything, like, you still have these micro little pockets. Yes, we both have. Like, oh, yeah, that's that little spot. We've gotten into elk before. If they're not talking, like. Which is pretty common, right? Like, yeah, you're like, okay, is it a. Let's come back in a couple days or like, how do you guys approach.

We'll run circuit. So it's great. Yes. You're 100%. Yeah, we'll. So we'll run circuit. So we'll go in a spot and like, last year, I beat this one spot up because I knew this. These bulls were in there. I knew they're in there.

They weren't saying anything.

They didn't talk and they just didn't. It just wasn't playing our game. And I. We jumped him once and it's like, okay, there's a lot of times like you've seen Roosevelt, like there won't even be a bull in the herd. What in the world is going on? You know, that's just the way it goes.

Yeah.

And then to get him to talk on top of that and all this stuff, it's like, you know, sometimes tough, but it's. Dude, we've. We've changed a lot of game to like night bugling and stuff like that. Roosevelt's. If they give up their location at night, you know.

Yeah.

You know they're there, know they're there.

And that's how many of those opening day bulls you guys just cow calling and getting in super tight.

But see, dude, with the Roosevelt game, that's what we've noticed. Like it seems to be earlier than like the Rocky game.

Really.

To us it does. We'd rather hunt them opening weekend and then at the. At the end of season.

Is that cuz they're not pressured?

I think so. I think it's because it's kind of fresh and I think it's because there's not been someone bu. Going off the same landing.

Yeah.

You know what I mean? For a hundred times. And they've heard it, you know, So I do. And I also think that like that first rut, that pre rut where everything's kind of getting established, so much easier to kill them versus them being very herd established.

Oh, yeah.

And they're just like, nope, I'm not. I'm. I'm with these girls or whatever.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And we're just, we're not saying anything.

Yeah.

And I mean, if you're just trying to kill an elk and to be fair, if you're hunting Roosevelts, you're just trying to kill an elk. That early time frame, you know, like you said, they're not spooked, they're not pressured. But those raghorns are small fives. You know, like fives are like cruising around and they're, they're killable. That's the big thing. I don't know where those fives go because it does feel like later in the season you got a herd and a. Whatever and a herd bull and he's got him tucked into a pocket. I feel like I don't see the satellites as much crazy.

Like right now. So we've been running camera Cameras more. We never ever have around. Ever have red cameras. We're, we're running cameras and stuff now just in places you got reception. Right. And stuff like that because we just get the satellite photos. So when they're run, like when they're running these ridges and so they're starting right now. Actually there's a few rags right now that are half all the way rubbed out. Really Right now that's what we're finding. This just last week. But all these bulls are like you said, five points. We have one picture there. It's got like six or seven, five points.

Where did they go? Yeah, where do they go?

We've searched and searched and searched and you'll find like one. But it won't be the same bulls that you're seeing in velvet. It's just so. They are so weird.

Yeah. If you can find a pocket and this is where cams are good, you can find a pocket with a group of five points.

Yeah.

And they're using a clear cut or they're going into timber. Man, they're so killable.

And if you can get them early.

Yes. Before they get pressured. And as soon as they get pressured, I don't know where they go. They're harder to find than the damn herd bowls.

Yeah, yeah. No, they're like you said, but if you get them in a unit or something like that and something stalkable, you can, you can definitely make a play on them that first.

Do you like clear cuts or wait till they get back in the pocket?

You sure?

We always, we always try to wait till they get back in the pocket. But if he's bugling in a unit or something like that, you gotta try. Yeah, we. Yeah, last year that's what we did. We tried. Pretty soon they winded us and then they went down in. And we waited two hours and then we went down and shot them.

Yeah. So for listeners, it's like a unit's clear cut. So it's like it's the only opening in the entire mountain range. So like it's. You take your chance with a 10 yard to 30 yard shot or you try to slip in on the clear.

Cut, which if you have the topography.

To do it right.

Yeah, yeah. No, and units are great though, for just. Okay, they're here, you know, they're at least here and then you know, where are they going to go?

Do they stop using it as soon as they get pressure?

No, but they'll use just corners. Usually they'll just come out. Just a little bit of corner of the unit or something of that nature. And they won't be just out, just in the middle. It's usually. Which is good because it's like, okay, when they go back in, they're going to be somewhere by that little bench or in that bottom or something like that. But. But then you just never know what it looks like down there.

When you guys find elk at night, are you finding them in the cuts or in just pockets? Usually.

Just pockets, Usually. And a lot of times it's weird. So sometimes you will, you know, bugle and then that bull will be in that same spot the next day. Sometimes they're traveling, though, from wherever to wherever. And so sometimes you never turn it off again.

I think people have this, this notion that like, elk go out into the clear cuts and feed at night. And I haven't, I have hunted a lot of elk that I don't think use clear cuts at all.

Yeah.

Like, and you find these old bulls and I remember night bug on a lot. And you'd find a bull down in a nasty hole. There's not. Maybe there's food, feed somewhere. He's doing something, but like, he doesn't leave that damn thing. It's not. People have this like, notion that they feed out to a clear cut and then back in the timber. I don't, I haven't found it to be true.

I don't know. We. I mean, what do they say? Roosevelts, they have about what, two square miles maybe. Maybe that they live their whole life in, you know, it's like, yeah, that's not a lot of area.

But I think as they get older.

Too, some of them are just staying in one pocket, you know, I don't want to eat, but it's different than that. So like rocky bulls, you know, they have migration. You, you know.

Oh, yeah.

These bulls, they don't. But how they can disappear. No idea.

Yeah. So I grew up on Roosevelts, obviously, but I started hunting eastern Montana and I used. I, I knew they went farther than Roosevelts, but I was always hunting them as it was like, oh, the next timber over, you know, whatever. And I got the caller data and it was like they're going to call it an average of 10 miles between feed at night. And that's something. That's a different county when you're hunting Roosevelt.

Those are different. Those are different units. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You had to like, wrap your head around that. And I, I don't know. Roosevelt's probably do some of that. Like, I've seen big herds go long.

Yeah. I think so in general though. So they've, they've collared a bunch of them and I've kind of dipped in on the studies and stuff like that from ODF and W and everything generally like all the collared out but they're. I don't know of any bulls they're calling cows. So I think the bulls will travel a little further I would assume just checking you know different herds. But the cows they seem pretty general and they're in the same areas every year and then you know how they do.

They just make a loop, big loop.

Make a circle and that's what we're looking for. Like at some point they're going to be back in this spot and so we have these spots like you've seen us hunt these swamps and stuff like that before. Like we, we very confident if we can get the wind right that we can kill one there.

And so is that just because you have like a trail or a tactic for that.

We cut every trail we cut. Shooting lanes we've got. So if they're here all right we know we've super confident. How about that? Rather than just kind of going and chilling up be like well hopefully it works dude.

That's the secret to Roosevelt hunters is like all the timber faller guys would always cut these trails cuz you like you know you can get there quickly. That's the key is like they got to be in the right spot and then you can do it.

And it might be terrible crap in between those two spots but where they're going to live is where they live.

Oh 100%. Like I don't know how many times you'd hear a bugle and you're like you know he's there. It you can't find a rabbit trail. You're just. And you can't get there fast enough. You just like using your bow is to fight the salmonberries and and then all of a sudden you pop out it's like whoa. What is this? Paradise. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you guys ever use tree stands?

No. So that's interesting you say that. So Noah and Trevor they've got back into the black. We used to do late season blacktail all the time and in southern Oregon and anyway and now they're getting back into that last year they sat for a long time so they're doing these saddle things. I hunted with Levi Morgan and Andy Morgan this last year in Nebraska. First time in a stupid saddle. I'm sitting there, my ass is asleep. I can't. I just. What am I doing? But anyway, and so it was a fun hunt, but it was a whole different style of hunting that I've never done before. And Trevor and Noah have just loved it. They just loved it.

So is Trevor gonna try it for elk? Do you think it would work for elk?

Or is it just.

You gotta.

We're so mobile. I don't know that I think it would be boring as hell. I don't know. Maybe not. I. I mean, but you hear these people in eastern Oregon all the time. Like they just set up on these water holes and stuff and they set up on these travel corridors and. Yeah, yeah. And it works for them. But I don't think I would. I just couldn't do it, I don't think. Could you?

Oh, no, I've tried it.

Have you?

Maybe now, like. Well, if there was a bull, had a camera and there was a bull that was like in that area and giant, like, I'll try it. I'll try anything. Right. And you know, I remember this old timer way back in the day killed a bull. Roosevelt. And he had cut trails, probably had them for years. But then the elk were using that trail and I was like, I'm just going to sit on this because I know they're coming through here. Right. And so sat on the trail and he actually was cow calling. He just couple cow calls every once in a while. Super, you know, slow. Yeah, yeah, Subtle. Like once every 30 minutes. Right. And just like that, curiosity kills the cat because you get in the right timber patch and you know those satellites can hear it for a while and you know, throw out enough cast and it's going to bite. And so like, eventually it comes. I think you have to be the right person.

Yeah. We had one year in Colorado where it just wasn't. It was just tough. Just, they just weren't talking. They weren't, you know, and anyway, and so we thought we're just going to do that. We're going to slow plan. And three different times in that day, just sit there for half an hour. And it was just killing me. Like, this is, this is stupid. Three different times. We set up a bunch, stood up. Yeah. Just got to go and. And then didn't go 100 yards. And they're just little tiny bulls. But they were still coming in.

Yeah.

You know, but they weren't saying anything. They were super subtle and. But it was super frustrating. It was just like that year was tough. Really tough.

Okay.

So you've hunted more over the counter units than most people and definitely in multiple States.

Yeah.

You were a good person to ask. What do you do when it's not working? El Cunning's not working. What do I do? What's the game plan?

And that's the. Our playbook isn't very thick if it's not working. Move. You know what I mean?

Cover more ground. Oh.

I was hunting with Brady Miller one time in Wyoming, and there was bulls everywhere, and I couldn't call one of the things in to save my life. And Brady's like, what do you want me to do, Trent? And I'm like, I don't know, man. I don't know. And they're bugling all over, and I think there was just too many. There was just too many. And they just like, I don't need to go check it out. And so we had to. To the point where they would bugle. I would stay there, and he would sneak in on them.

Yeah.

And try to shoot them. And. And he ended up shooting one. But it was. Dude, it was so frustrating because it's like there was elk everywhere. It was the easiest, awesomest thing ever. Couldn't even kill one.

I been there when it's like, you get too high of a bull to cow ratio and just there's bulls bugling everywhere, it don't matter. It's like you're just another voice in the crowd.

Yep.

No one's coming.

Exactly.

So, I mean, you maybe just go crazy with the cow calls, but, like, that's about.

That's what we ended up doing. And that's. I've always said, like, if a bull's gonna bugle, I. It's. I would like it to be a Roosevelt. Because they're so much more territorial than a Rocky.

Yeah.

I mean, they just. They. You can actually push their buttons. So much better than a freaking Rocky. I don't know what your guys's bulls are wrong with them, but they just walk away and bugles like, come on, man. Yeah. A lot of times.

What's. What's the one thing you want to get better at this year?

This year?

It doesn't be all going. It could be like filming because you're multifaceted.

Yeah. Yeah. A few different things. Business. How about that? I can always do better than that. Learning that kind of stuff. Biggest thing that it's starting to do really good on views and stuff like that. Because me and you were always talking about. About, you know, the next kind of end. The next kind of way and Is kids, man. Taking my kids hunting has been so much fun for me for the last what? Oh, man. Probably six years now. Getting older. It's just been so much fun. So much fun. And so, like, the last hunt this year, Wyatt and I, so we all know now Colorado is a draw state, and so. And I have eight points in Colorado. Well, he doesn't have any. And so we put in second choice for a unit, and we both drew it.

Oh, nice.

And so, yeah. So there's still opportunities. What I'm trying to say, in Colorado, it's not like, oh, it's a drawing unit now. You can still draw a lot of stuff with zero points is the way they have it put up. But it's going to be his first backcountry hunt.

Hell, yeah.

So we're going to go. I picked a spot, it looks like about three to five miles back in there to find. It's an old burn kind of and everything. And so we're going to hike into that, and it's going to be fun, like, learning those things. Things over again. Right.

How do you.

How to pack your pack and all that? Yeah.

How do you.

I don't want to say you're go, go, go. Like, when you get in the elkwoods, you're running gun, right?

We cover. Yeah. Yeah.

How do you. How. How do you slow down for the kids? Or like, how. Like, what advice do you have for taking kids when you're like, this is how I kill elk, dude.

I took my daughter to Alaska a couple years ago, caribou hunting. And when you sink a caribou, I mean, when I think of caribou, I think of National Geographic. You know, they're coming over the mountain by hundreds. Yeah. We went three days and never saw a caribou. And I'm like, this is not good.

Yeah.

And so. And it's. And it's my head saying that. And so I'm taking her through the tundra. She has clothes on that don't fit her hardly. You know, it's pouring down rain and everything. I turn around, she's bawling, and I'm like.

That'S a daughter. It's not a son. It's like a little son.

I'm not going to say suck it up. Yeah. And so I'm like, gosh dang it, that is stupid, Trent. And so it was, like, from then, we just sat there and picked blueberries for like, two and a half hours right in that one spot. And it was just like, okay, what am I doing here?

Yeah.

And so it would be slowing down. That's what I would recommend. Like, just slow down and just remember when you learned it the first time, you know, how long it took for it to kind of set in of how these little steps, how to pack your pack, how to pull, you know, make a mountain house at night. Okay, son, it's time. Time that we shut it down and, you know, recoup, you know, some energy and everything. So all those things I'm super excited to do, but I. It was an epic fail, right?

Yeah, right off. It's so hard because you know what it takes to go kill elk, and you're not allowed to do it in a way. Like, you're not. It's like, you know, we have. We can't go that hard. You know, we have to, like, keep it fun, but also, like, hey, we just. We just push a little bit harder, you know, and you want to push them, too.

You got to. You go. And my son's 19, so, I mean, he's.

You can push him.

Oh, yeah. He's gonna.

You don't run into anything.

Push me.

Yeah, He's.

He's getting in better shape and everything. He's doing pretty well, so I'm super excited for that. That'll be fun.

What was it like? So what do you think was the, like, you know, the thing that got him into it? Just. I mean, obviously, you're doing it and whatnot. Just, like, keeping it fun.

It was. It's interesting, and I think this is. With any kid. Well, there's. Especially sons, I guess.

Yeah.

There's a competition a little bit there. Like, that's what it's been for him. Like, his goal was to go out and kill one without me right off the bat. And he. And he achieved that. But now his whole goal, he's like, I'm not even hunt this season, dad. I want to hunt with you. Which is really fun, super fun for me. But there's that competition still. Like, we compete every single night. Every single night. We have a dollar. It's a dollar bill, and it's. It's. It's on this slider in the shop, and it's like, all right, best arrow, you know? And so we shoot groups and shoot groups, and. And whoever wins that night gets the dollar put in their category, and it's only a dollar, but every single day, that's what it is. I mean, it's that every single night. So the competition is good, I think, for me, like, when we just learned how to call, and he said this talking last night, and he says, dad, what I want to learn is like, he goes, he's a good caller. He's better, probably better caller than I am. And he. But he says, I want to know when the call and why I'm calling. And that was interesting to hear that, because some things.

So second nature.

Yeah. You and I, it's just like, this is what they do, you know, if he chuckles at me, I'm probably going to start raking and chuckling, you know what I mean? Or whatever it may be. And I think it's. I think those are things that I want to live again kind of relive, like, why do I do this? And it could make me better, you know, in the end. Yeah. Every time.

What was your answer?

Every time in the elk woods, we learned something.

Oh, yeah. We get our butt kicked. Yeah. It's a separate changing, too. Like when you and I were 19, it was very different. Like, different hunting.

We've seen the heyday. I promise you, it will never be as good as it was. I promise you.

That's sad.

But, yeah, you're. You're 100, right?

It's.

Dude, I look back at our old videos, I'm like, wow, you know, that was pretty awesome. And it's not going to be that way ever again.

Your son's gonna be like, dad, how come you don't take me to those spots?

Yeah, no kidding. Just, they don't exist anymore because you can drive a truck, you know, you could buy a permit. You know what I mean?

Yeah.

There's no. Everybody's asking us all the time, like, we want you guys to get back in the mountain bike thing and all that. Tell me where I can. Yeah, you know, that's everywhere. You can. You can drive a truck. You can do anything now. And so it's like. Doesn't make any sense.

I would love to see you on a mountain bike again. Oh, dude, I can't. I have to go back and watch those videos. I can't imagine.

So old school. Dude, it was.

That was the way it was done. That was the way it was done back then.

If you could access. If it had loud walk in, it was. It was good hunting, usually.

Yeah. No one would be there.

Nobody.

No one would be there.

It was awesome. But those days are gone. Yeah, those are gone.

It's just changing, right? It's like.

Yeah, no. And you have to adapt, and that's the whole thing. It's like, it makes you a better hunter, I think. I mean, it definitely does, but it's still more difficult.

Yeah. I mean, but, you know, then, like, now we hunt in different states. We can do all these things. Like, you know, you kind of have to evolve as a hunter. It's like, yes, I never want to be the hunter that's, like, lives in the glory days. And it's like, oh, we used to be so good. It's like, okay, what's next? What's the future look like? Whatever. How do I. Where's the gaps? Now, I do say that there's always a pendulum swinging. So, you know, before Onyx, it was like, you know, no one, you know, no one could hunt these little public lands. Onyx comes, and everyone can hunt the little public. But now no one's asking permission. And, you know. Yeah, and so, like, there's always a pendulum swinging. And so, like, what you. To me, this is business, too. You're always looking for, like, okay, if everyone's over here, what's that doing? Where's that void? I did a podcast last night with Brinker, and he was talking about hunting Idaho. And, man, everyone, every gate, everything was just five trucks deep. And it was like he found this one little pocket that didn't even look like elk country. There was like, there's no reason for elk to be there. And, like, that's why no one was looking at it. And he goes in there and kills an elk.

And.

And it's like, yeah, sure, it's not what it used to be, but, like, you could still go and do it.

Well, and it. And it drives you more. That's why I said at first, you know, like, dude, I like hunting new area every year because then it's kind of like it drives you more to just turn over every stone and to find.

Well, it makes you better at. The best thing is finding elk. And I, like you had said earlier, it's like, if you want to be great at something, get great at finding elk. Killing elk. Killing elk's easy. Like, being able to find it, being able to, like, it's a superpower to go pick a unit, go there and find elk. If you can find elk in a unit, the. The killing is just a matter of time. Like a number, effort, whatever. Like, you get close enough, it'll happen.

I would agree. I would agree. Yeah. Finding them is by far the hardest. But it's one of those things where it's just like you. You turn over every stone and make sure they're not there. Like, that used to be our motto. We're either going to kill them or blow them out.

Yeah, right.

Used to be the whole. That used to be what we said, well, I guarantee you they're not going to be around if we do find them.

I'd rather blow them out and find them. You know, like I. I said this the other day is like, I think people, they go in the woods and they sneak around. Like there's an elk behind every tree. And then you, like, spend some time. You're like, oh, there's not very many of these things. They're pretty far apart. So it's like you have to go very quickly. And like, you were just searching. We're searching for elk, these big loops. And like, we gotta find them to hunt them. And if you don't, if you're going. If you're hunting around every tree, you're not covering enough ground to find them. And that's things like, you know, cover ground quickly.

And we used to clock it all the time. I don't anymore, but we used to do it from 8 to 13 miles loops a day.

Really?

That's what used to be. But not in Oregon. You can't. No way. You can do that in Oregon, but like, open stuff in Wyoming and Colorado and stuff like that, making those big loops. And if you, if you do that, if you, you know, and if you can read sign. Whole nother podcast. But the one thing I've gotten into more is woodsmanship. Like, dude, that is so much of hunting, just reading a track. How old it is, how, you know, how. What. What's the. Is it in mud? Is it. Is it going to water? Is it leaving water? All these little things. But yeah, if you can make that loop and not find anything. Yeah, you best be getting in the pickup. Yeah, I'm going somewhere.

Like, even rubs, like looking around.

Exactly. And that's a huge rub. Lines. That's huge.

Yeah. And is this like a rub they were using when they were shedding velvet, or is this a rub that's like, you know, got a lot of, you know, activity around it?

Yep. Like, age smell like. You know what I mean? Like, did he pee right there and just. Was he testosterone driven? Was. All those little tiny cues can really, really, like, lead to a big picture of picking the puzzle apart. And I think that's what that we've gotten better at over the years is just reading those little. Little tiny things that could make a big difference. Yeah.

Do you think it's worth. I mean, like, I think the bugle is obviously the best way to find elk. A lot of times you have to take that away. Say, Colorado or these, you know, high pressure.

Yeah.

Would you Rather. I mean, in most places you can't glass. What's your go to? Like, is it like hunting the Crick bottoms and looking for sign? Like, if you. If I took the buell away and I took the binoculars away and you can only find elk with your feet and your outdoorsmanship, how would you do it?

That Roosevelt stuff? I'd be in the bottoms.

Yeah.

That's just the way they live. It just seems like where they really like to hang out. It's.

Would you just like, hike up bottoms and.

Yeah, I would be going through drainages. I'd go down on one side. And there's a lot of stuff in Oregon especially, too. There's cat roads a lot everywhere. That's why we call it the cat road shuffling. So, you know, park two rigs or something, do a walk through through, and either you find them or you don't. Especially when your bugle's not working. And there's just times, I mean, we'll go. You see on tv, it's not this magic of editing five days without hearing a bugle. Lots of times, you know, not even hearing a squeak, and you're like, oh, that's cool.

So that's when you got to go like, pound the dirt, you know, pound that. Check water. And I think you can do the same thing. Say Montana.

Right? You can go in Montana. What's your. What's your go to Bottoms?

I would say bottoms or wallows. Like more water.

Yeah.

You know, if you're. If you're Audi, it's just like, check every water hole. And like you're gonna. The hard part is like, can you. Can you differentiate between cow traffic and elk traffic? You know, like, that's a.

Is there a lot of catalyst?

Yeah, a lot of eastern Montana. Like, every water hole is gonna have cows on it. And so like trying to find those elk tracks in there.

Sure.

And sometimes it's not very many. Or like, sometimes you got cows just living on it. And so, like, if you're only seeing one or two tracks, you're like, okay, it's. There's probably elk here. Like, if you see one or two elk tracks, and I mean, little secret sauce. But like a lot of cow. A lot of the elk aren't. They're not taking like the cow trails. And so if you can kind of start searching around, you can find some open dirt that's like, not where the cows will follow that trail every time. And so like, get off that a little bit and see if you can see some elk tracks. Cuz Sometimes the cows will just cover it right up. But like say, I don't know, Wyoming, western Montana, all that. This is very similar. Like check the bottoms, right. Like check for water. Like. And I think a lot of people think of like water holes. Most mountain units, there's water everywhere. There's little drainage or creek.

So it's tough.

And that's where like you get in those thick bottoms and like, you'll see the trails, right. Like they live in those things. And anytime you can find that swamp grass anywhere.

I was just gonna say that it's usually a lot of windfalls and stuff like that some in places. But yeah, that's.

And then like, you know, I don't know you, you know this well. But finding like you look at the topo, you find those little benches in a, in a drainage or whatever. Benches, Benches and that stuff. So you're like, I mean like, if I couldn't use my bugle, couldn't use my binos or just middle of the day, right? Like middle of the day it's like, hey, let's just walk up this drainage. You know, a lot of Montana has old cow or moo cow trails. And you'll walk up there and like, you know, like, man, there's smells like elk in here. Ta da. Found him.

So, yeah, that's the best feeling ever when you, yeah. Just throw out a big old bugle on a moo cow just lets it rip. Have that a lot.

You avoid cows or. I mean, I don't know.

I've heard, I've heard mixed is decisions on that and it. I. I don't think it's. I think it's just they live where they live sometimes. I've heard sheep too. Like deer and sheep do not mix. Like you're never going to find a deer where sheep are. I don't know if that's true or not, but I've heard those things before. Like they don't mingle with the cows. They don't. Yeah. But dude, when they, when they're used to seeing them all the time, I gotta think it's just where they live.

Yeah, I mean I, I definitely found elk and cow.

So.

Yeah, I think water holes for sure. I think everything's different too. Like. Yeah, for the most part I would say they. If cows are going to be hunkered up in a spot elk will probably avoid it is my opinion. But like, I don't think it's a rule of thumb. Like, it's not like, yeah, like, oh, I saw a cow get out of here. Like, I would definitely check it 100. And it really depends on where you are. Like, I think a lot of that Utah stuff, there's a lot of, you know. Yep. Cattle and whatnot.

Is there quite a bit.

The ones I know. I don't know where you're going, but, like. Yeah. A lot of fruit.

Yeah. Which is common nowadays, too. It just. I don't know. It doesn't seem like it growing up. I don't know why, but it's like, hunting burns wasn't really a thing.

Dude. Now everyone.

Well, now there's so many. I don't know if it's because there is a lot more burned area and everything. Like, that seems like a. Like a thing.

Do you go towards it, away from it?

I. I fringe it all the time. That's where I've had a lot of luck. It's just fringing burns and stuff.

My problem burns is, like, it's a giant highlighter on the map. So every Tom, Dick, and Harry looks at Onax and goes, ooh, I'm not the burn.

Yeah.

And so I'm like, there's.

I think it has to have age, though. You got it, you know, at least three years for it to green up. I don't know, for them to go really back and start beating on it and using it a lot. But.

Yeah, but then you still got, you know, a lot of people. It tends to attract people. So I'm like.

I would agree. Yeah.

If. Yeah, I would agree if I can go away from. But having said that, I've hunted a lot of burns.

Yeah.

There's a lot of elephant burns.

Montana's got a lot.

Everything's burned.

Yeah. Yeah. But still some good stuff.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, dude. Yeah. Thanks again. What's new this year?

This year? Just getting. Man. Just trying to keep your head to the worst.

How to not get divorced and hunt five states.

Yeah, no, it's gonna. I'm going heavy on it every year. I said, nope, I'm not gonna do that again. I'm gonna back off and back off and back off. And it just seems like I'm right back into it again. So. No, the new Just. Man, like I said, taking the kids. I'm gonna have a. It's gonna be a blast. It's gonna be a blast. And my daughter's been getting into hunting a lot more ever since the invention of the suppressor.

I'd like to thank the guy who invented the suppressor for my kids.

I would love to be a big. Just a big Shout out to him or her, whoever. But, man, it's been a game changer for her. Just, just going out and shooting and stuff like that. Just, you know that. Where you can just. That loud bang. And now anybody that goes on a hunt with us that doesn't have a suppressor, like, what in the.

Yeah.

Doing, man. Yeah. Yeah. Do you not even know how to be civilized? You know, so anyway. But. But yeah, no, just kids, man. It's gonna be. It's gonna be a lot of fun with the kids and the team. You know, everybody as far as getting back into it and helping each other out. That's what, that's one thing that I, you know, if, if I could say one thing as far as, like, if you call in a bull for someone, they didn't kill that bull. You guys killed that bull. Everybody gets that feeling of, oh, man, we all work together for something. If you do that with all your hunting partners, I guarantee you're going to be more successful. You're not more in encounters if don't be the guy that's just always got to shoot it.

Yeah. Yeah. That's good advice. What are their hunting ethics or codes? The code. What's the code? You guys probably share, I guess kill a lot of elk, but, like, what's the. What's your guys's code? Or what's the code on meat? Like kill an elk? What's.

It's been weird. So we used to share. We used to split it depending on who, but usually every season, like we used to, we'd be pretty successful. We've been pretty blessed that way. But anymore, it's. It's been kind of every man for himself. Yeah, it's kind of been every man for himself. So. Yeah.

What is the rule? Okay, so hypothetically, guys going hunting, going with three friends, they're going to Colorado this year.

What.

What's. What's tricky?

Okay. So I think that's got to be a split decision. I think you've gotta. You've got to split it up, don't you? Especially if it's.

They're packing it up.

Right. With your buddies.

Yeah.

Yeah. And if you're the only one that kills one, you gotta at least, you know, at least the front shoulder.

You know what I mean? Yeah, it's always been a. Yeah, you'll give a quarter. Like you help me pack out. Depending on how hard it is, like, you'll get a quarter.

Is that what you do?

I don't know. Like. Yeah, I, I would give away more because, like, I Have plenty.

Correct.

So I would say at least a front quarter.

Give me a grind. Me.

Yeah. If it's like a real tough, a real tough pack out, maybe 2/4 or a quarter and a back strap, you.

Know, like wow, that's awful giving of you.

I say if you're like two buddies hunting you both, you shoot one elk. I could see it being a 50.

50.

Yeah.

If you're feeling real gracious.

And that's what like growing up like my dad and his husband, partner, whoever, it would just split right down the middle, you know, and each person got, you know, everything on one side and that's the way they did it. And I think it's just been like if, if, if there's meat that needs to be distributed, we would definitely, definitely, definitely do it. But.

Yeah, but anybody thinks they're coming along and just like mooching and then getting half an alkane. That ain't happening.

That ain't happened. Depends on how good we do that year.

Yeah, yeah, we'll talk about it and.

We'Ll talk about it in October or December.

There's also like how did it go last year? If my freezer is empty, it's a whole other conversation.

No kidding. No kidding. Yeah, no, we, we did the moose thing last year. It was awesome. Did moose with Trevor and Steve and I and Chase went up and did Alaska, Yukon moose. And like you've been one of those things on the grid. We get. We killed three in what, seven days and 13 trips per moose. Dude, we didn't do stupid, like stupid stupid stuff either. We just, you know, did manageable size and everything. And I. All the hams and everything I just busted at the knuckle. So. Yeah, you know, it was two packs for a ham, you know and dude, it was. But that moose me so good.

Oh really?

Have you ever heard.

I've heard both ways. No, I.

You've heard both ways, huh?

I have heard moose meat's not that great.

It's unbelievable.

Really.

It's the best stuff that I.

How much you bring home.

So they, they inspect. What is the number? I think it's each one. It's got to be somewhere in air. The 800 pound section, something like that. As far as. Because you have to take out every bone except you don't have to take the rib cage, but you've got to take every rib meat. All of that, you got to take all the hip bones out, you got to take all the leg bone. You can't debone.

Yeah, yeah. You can't Even ask it.

And so, and so they weigh it when you get back. Like they, they teach.

I mean, like bring back to Oregon because like a lot of guys will bring like £100 and then give the rest away or whatever.

Right.

And so I don't know know exactly in the end how many. But it was cool where we were at. You could donate as much ever you wanted to the natives that are in the village there. And so it was. You just put it all in those wax boxes.

Yeah.

And then those natives, they were always there and like little kids are coming up to you and everything and they want meat and shoot. I gave, I thought I gave half my moose away to the. You know, just because they don't. They, they, they're kind of, you know.

You could tell it's kind of also like you eat. If you're like, you're like me, we eat oak every day. It's just a normal, it's not like a delicacy. It's like all I've eaten for 10 years. My kids like get beef three times a year.

Yeah.

And so like getting moose is probably like, oh, something different.

It was. Yeah, that's what it was. It was. Well, it's just like me. Everybody's like, oh, man, you eat elk? I cannot beat a ribeye steak. I promise.

Oh yeah.

Never, never see me go, no, I'll take the elk.

Yeah, yeah.

No, never. It's always, no, a big old fatty piece of ribeye. I'm eating that every time if I've got a choice.

Yeah. I love going out to dinner and having a ribeye. Cuz like, I don't. It's so rare.

Isn't it nice?

So rare.

Yeah. They're just. Everybody's like, wow, Matt, all that elk you get. I'm like, yeah, it's good on tacos, you know what I mean? But you've had one elk steak. You've pretty much had all of them. You know, I. Dude, how you season?

I love elk back strap.

I will say I do too. Okay, here's a question for you. Do you, do you cut it on just. You do all your own process? Yeah. Do you cut it primal style and keep it big and freeze it that way, or do you cut them into steaks?

I cut them in steaks.

That's what we do.

I go inch and like, probably inch and a half. I go pretty thick, pretty thick. And then favorite way to cook a steak. I gotta try a new way. But like, favorite way to cook steaks, cast iron, salt, pepper, you know, Quick, zip, zap, sear.

Let's sear it.

I used to throw it in the air fryer thing afterwards. Really like. Yeah, I know, but I. I was. I just had this conversation. Someone told me that take a frozen steak and put it in the air fryer. I forget what. I was like 400 for like 10 minutes. The best steak you ever had. How many times you been told it's the best steak you ever had, though?

So.

I don't know. We'll see.

A lot. I know what you're saying. I know what you're saying.

It's hard to be just an old cast iron.

Yeah. Though I would agree. I do the Traeger thing a lot too, and just, you know, different.

I don't love traeger steak. I mean, I. I love my Traeger the biggest.

What we've been doing a lot is like finger steak. So you just cut them into smaller strips and everything.

Yeah.

And then, you know, you'd put on whatever marinade or whatever. And I just like finger food, you know, because it's already cut up. Depends on how rough of the bowl it was or how.

Yeah.

And I've never. I've had one. One elk that I just. I couldn't eat it. I just could not eat it. And it just stunk up the whole house and I took care of it. Oh, yeah. One elk. It's only one I've ever had. And we've killed big ones since, you know, real nice. And they've all been about the same.

I. I haven't really found. I mean, maybe I just don't kill big enough bulls. But the. You know the old saying, like, oh, that bull.

I don't think it's. I don't know, maybe in a deer. Like a rutted up deer.

Yeah.

Have you had those? Kind of real gamey, but an elk, I've never. I've never found that. No. And you're killing them right in the rut when they're.

There's one I. Someone else shot.

I was with him.

We shot this old cow and I had some of that meat and I was like, I. Something off about that one.

Didn't taste. Yeah.

I don't know. It was about it. It was in the winter, so it was fine, but I don't know what the hell didn't deal with.

No, I couldn't cook it. I mean, you cook the hamburger, it just really. Oh, it was. It was bad. It was bad. But we did. So I got that bull aged. Actually. It's the boldest Bull I've ever killed. And it was a five point and 13 and a half inches around the base. It was huge. And anyway. And it was aged at 12 and a half.

Oh, really? Yeah, that's old.

Old. And it had been shot with a. When doing the hide and everything. Like someone shot like it like five times with a.22. Just a what? Yeah, so you could tell it was all. The hide was all kind of discolored. And when I got into it, I peeled it back and just inside the hide with like 20 Roosevelt bullets. Roosevelt? Yeah.

Some farmer haze in them.

I don't know. I don't know how at all. Or someone trying to po. Why would you poach with that 20? I don't know.

But it was dumber. Things have been tried.

Yeah, but it was. It was fnaf. It was not good, man. I tried to give it to the game park. The band and game park, they would.

Let's try this first. No, it is not interesting.

Yeah, just like that. It's not good. So. But I've never had one since. That's been years and years ago. And they've all been about the same, you know, it's just milk.

Well, best of luck this year. You're gonna crush it. I can't wait to see the Utah film. I hope it turns out well. Yeah, I'm sure. Do you guys have films coming out between now and season? Are you down?

So right now we're doing Elk week right now. And so we're doing it actually two weeks. We've actually. We're doing eight different videos in two weeks. And so it covers everything from educational stuff to how to pack your pack to. We did clothing, so we're not. We're not with a clothing company. So we.

Naked.

Naked and afraid. So we did like. We've tried everything, you know, first, like Kuyou, born primitive, you name it.

You mix and match like a psychopath.

We are like crackheads. Yeah. But I mean. And you can imagine my brother. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. He's got more camo than my mortgage. Okay. I promise you. But. And so we did kind of our favorite. Our favorite pieces from, you know, whatever it may be. And it was kind of all over the board. But it was fun to do. It was a lot of fun to do. And when you're with a company, you.

Know, you can't do that.

You can't do that.

You can't do that.

So it's been kind of fun. But.

Yeah.

What's your. What was your verdict?

What's your personal Favorite dude, that born primitive makes good stuff. Yeah, they make really, really good stuff. I like a couple of sitka things. Dude, it's hard, hard to beat the. The merino wool from first light. I think. I think I'm not talking all their stuff.

Yeah.

It's just. Dude, it's hard to beat.

Yep.

Yeah. So. But Trevor, he really likes a lot of the Kuyu stuff. As far as pants wise. I. I don't know. I was born primitive. Man. They make some good stuff now. They really do. And like I said, no affiliate with us. Nothing. Just. That's just talking.

Heck yeah.

That's cool.

Shop. Yeah. Have you landed on anything that you.

I've been bouncing around too.

Have you?

Yeah, I've been bouncing around. I work first light for a long time obviously. And then, you know, I wore Kuyu this. We were rocking a lot of stone glacier. Really like stone glaciers.

Are you.

Yeah, most of it. Yeah.

I don't know.

I'm bouncing around.

Solids are coming back.

I know. I'm kind of a camo guy though.

I am too, man. I'm just like, do you make a camo? I don't want to feel like every guy in weimart but do you make a camo?

Yeah.

Yeah. I don't know if you know this about me, but I'm a redneck so.

I want to tell the world, but I do. I wear it to football games, you know, like. Yeah, no, I know what you're saying, man. But at the same time it's like a lot of these companies now are making good, good stuff.

Yeah, it's all good stuff. And like I'm the worst person at like finding, you know, the absolute best.

Yeah.

Like I don't nerd out about gear.

Like give me whatever I would a ton of. I am that guy too.

Yeah, you're like, what are we using for packs? So burlap sacks and bailing twine. Cool. Let's go.

Bit more up killed than the hickory shirt and Romeo's than probably any other piece of clothing out there.

Yeah, it's gonna suck. Probably.

Probably. But yeah.

Yeah. So. Yeah. Well, cool.

Well, good.

Good to know.

Good to see you, man.

Yeah, good to see you.

Let's take care. Have a good luck season. Kill a bunch of giants, take the kids.

No cows and spice. No room for giants.

Tasty ones.

Exactly.

Alrighty guys, thanks for tuning into the show. If you like this episode, do us a huge favor and share it with one of your hunting buddies. Also, if you want a free hunt planner, be sure to go check the link in the show notes. It's 100% free. You can download our hunt planning tool, which is a great resource for kind.

Of keeping track of all of your.

Hunts, your hunt plans, your points, all those things. Pretty great resource. Go check it out links in the show notes. Or you can check our website www.elkhunt201.com.