Backcountry Hunting Podcast

SHOW NOTES Wild game meat should be incredibly good—not dry, gamey, and tough to eat.  Field care for clean-tasting meat "Ice Aging" meat for tenderness and mild flavor Pre-cooking prep for roasts and steaks Grilling techniques for the perfect steak or roast Professional meat processors: A good way to get your wild game meat ruined Even old, rut-worn bulls are tender and great-tasting if aged properly, prepped correctly, and grilled skillfully.  Searing in Olive oil: a magic recipe for juicy, tender meat Steak seasoning Steps to aging perfectly Proper pre-grilling prep Grilling and resting Cardinal Sin: Overcooking wild game meat A challenge for listeners

SHOW NOTES Challenges of late-season elk hunting Bulls are solitary and hard to find Antlers are often broken Extreme cold can be a major factor Elk are pressured and spooky Wintering grounds often present public/private land conflicts Shooting in extreme cold is always difficult Techniques that work:  Glassing. How to find the best vantage points, how to choose optics Hunting elk mentally. Think like a wise, exhausted old bull.  Tracking in snow. Methods for big herds vs. solitary old bulls Ambushing. Patterning, setting up, and moving on late-season elk

SHOW NOTES • Work Sharp Tools: the Genesis • Edge technology and what makes "sharp" • Most common sharpening mistakes, and how to correct them • Edge angle: What's best for a hunting knife? And how do you control it?  • Under the microscope: What creates sharpness • Different knife steels, and how to address them • Keeping a razor edge, almost effortlessly • Ultralight Work Sharp tools for backcountry hunting RESOURCES Work Sharp Tools Guided Field Sharpener Micro Sharpener & Knife Tool Pocket Knife Sharpener Victorinox Swiss Paring Knife (a taxidermist's favorite) Buck Knives Siembida Custom Knives (on instagram)  

SHOW NOTES Why reload: Pick your bullet Tune your accuracy Create premium ammo for budget-ammo cost Getting started:  Instruction sections in reloading manuals ABC's of assembling a cartridge The Three "B's" of accuracy Choosing cartridge cases Prepping cases for accuracy Choosing a gunpowder Working up a propellant charge Choosing a projectile (toughness, aerodynamics, accuracy) Tuning seating depth for accuracy Reasonable accuracy expectations Rifle quality Shooter skill Handload quality Testing handloads for reliable chambering prior to hunting Wrap: A question for listeners... check it out, and let me know! Lapua cartridge cases Nosler brass Federal Gold Medal Match primers Alliant gunpowders Hodgdon gunpowders

SHOW NOTES Host introduction: Evan Siembida of Siembida Custom Knives  Hunting knife design evolution and performance characteristics  Handle materials and practical advantages  How size, blade shape, and edge geometry affects use  Bushcraft and fire starting  “Spa Treatment” knife restoration service  Micarta handle material: linen, canvas, paper, and boutique burlap  Sharpen-ability and edge-holding characteristics of stainless steel vs. non-stainless  Specific types of steel optimum for knives  Carbides and the microscopic edge  Different degrees of “stainlessness,” i.e. rust resistance  SHARPENING Sharpening correctly—and using a Strop  Recommended sharpening stones  The drawbacks of “V” type pull-through sharpeners  Choosing and using the right blade for backcountry hunting   RESOURCES • Siembida Custom Knives Instagram • SiembidaCustomKnives@gmail.com • Gator sharpening stones • EZE-LAP pocket diamond stone • EZE-LAP diamond shop stone • Leather strops for sale    

SHOW NOTES • Follow-up on episode No. 40's discussion on worst elk wounders • Characteristics that make ideal elk cartridges AUTHORITY Bullet weight Frontal diameter Bullet construction Velocity REACH Velocity Aerodynamic bullet • List of great elk cartridges • LIst of great elk bullets RESOURCES:  Web link to stock pack detailed in episode No. 40: SPEC-OPS BRAND Accu-Pack  

SHOW NOTES Making The Shot intro: After all your planning, prep, and hard hunting, everything comes down to one moment where you’ve got to succeed or fail in taking your quarry. • Two real-life scenarios with heartbreaking consequences, and how they could have been avoided • Correcting the mistakes before they occur: Pre-hunt shooting prep and in-the-moment decision-making • Pre-hunt shooting prep: 5 practice steps to success • In-the-moment decision-making: This one is harder. You can't practice, you can only conceptualize. Moving animals Shooting in desperation Fleeting opportunities at whopper bucks, bulls & rams BONUS MATERIAL • 6.5 PRC: Is it an elk cartridge? Exit holes, blood trails, the “knock-down power” myth, and slowing big-bodied, tough bulls down.

SHOW NOTES Backcountry Gear Challenge: fit 10 days worth of gear into 55 pounds Top-of-the-list item: Tag/Hunting license! • Sleep systems: Sleeping bag, pad, & tent • Backpacks: Types and recommendations • Raingear: Jackets & pants, pack covers, drybags for camera & electronics • Clothing & footwear: From skin to shell. Underwear, base layer, pants, shirts, the annoyance of layering, puffy coats & pants, neck gaiters and warm hats, appropriate boots, Crocs and manliness, crampons, and more.  • Cooking systems: backpacking stoves, fire starters, water filters, water containers, and the critical Life Straw • Optics: Rangefinding binoculars, Badlands bino harnesses, spotting scopes,  • Communication: inReach Mini, Midland handheld radios, lithium batteries, solar chargers, battery reservoirs, smartphone headphones, headlamps, and compasses.  • Camera: Smart phone vs. compact lightweight DSLR, plus Phone Skope • Tripod favorites: Outdoorsman Medium and Spartan Precision Sentinel • Rifle, Ammo

SHOW NOTES: • Intro: Remington's M700, episode recording, guest Carlos Martinez,  • Listener questions & comments • Remington's Custom Shop (also covers Marlin & Dakota) • Why the Model 700 has such accuracy potential • How the Custom Shop maximizes performance • How you can order any configuration you want • Dakota Arms: The ultimate in controlled-feed rifles • Marlin Custom-Shop lever-actions: Best value on the market RESOURCES: Remington Custom Shop Dakota Arms Marlin Custom Shop PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!

SHOW NOTES: • Hearing protection: Loss-incurring damage never heals. Protecting hearing is paramount.  • The dangerous game conundrum (gotta be able to hear) and TETRA Hunt's superb solution • TETRA's tuned-frequency hearing enhancement/protection, and dedicated profiles for elk, turkey, geese, waterfowl, and the new Dangerous Game profile  • How the ear gathers sound • How we pinpoint direction • How TETRA not only maintains directional hearing, it enhances it • Cost: Can you afford NOT to protect your ears?  • Hearing loss as an indicator of potential early onset Dementia and Alzheimers • Why hearing loss accelerates Dementia and Alzheimers, and how to reverse it RESOURCES: TETRA Hunt Test your hearing here

SHOW NOTES: • New Zealand: The Shangri La of modern backcountry hunting • Bag limits? What bag limits?  • Gnarly, steep, challenging, beautiful country • What island to hunt, and how to find and access a good spot • Game types, habitat, and taxonomy, and how to hunt them • Logistics of traveling to New Zealand and accessing the backcountry • Importing a hunting rifle and ammo to New Zealand • Critical gear & planning time • Recommended rifles, optics, and ammo • Do it now: Laws will never be better, and you'll never be younger ENJOY! Please subscribe, rate, and review!

SHOW NOTES:  • From Tradition to Technology: Picking a muzzleloader for backcountry hunting • Exploding boundaries • From the beginning: Traditional muzzleloaders, common inline muzzleloaders, and uncommonly accurate long-range muzzleloaders • Traditional muzzleloaders: Why to hunt with them, and how to get the best out of them. What they shoot (blackpowder and patched round balls), caliber restrictions, barrel length, sight-in and effective range determination.  • World record flintlock elk: a first-hand account of the hunt • Common inline muzzleloaders: Why to hunt with them, and how to get the best out of them. Hunting history. What they shoot (blackpowder substitutes and saboted or belted conical bullets), configurations, and how to work up a great load. Determining maximum lethal range. Cleaning and maintaining.  • Long-range precision muzzleloaders: a burgeoning trend. Why to hunt with them, and how they are different. What they shoot (Blackhorn 209 blackpowder substitute, Parker bullets), how to set up

SHOW NOTES • Prep, planning, and gear • Tyce Erickson: master dog trainer and high-country big-game hunting genius • Hot off the BBQ: Shiras moose, elk, musk ox, black bear, deer, and more • September bulls: Tactics for finding, calling, and stalking rutting elk • Holding it together under pressure: Stories of jubilance and heartbreak on monster bulls • Alpine mule deer: Locating, patterning, stalking, and arrowing big early-season bucks • After the shot: What to expect in the high country • Erickson's favorite broadhead • BONUS MATERIAL: Best dog breed for everything from packing and hunting big game to upland and waterfowl hunting RESOURCES Utah Bird Dog Training Utah Pointing Labs Field Bred Golden Retrievers Follow Tyce on Instagram: @lichenoutdoors, @utahbirddogtraining  

SHOW NOTES:  • Guest Cork Graham: International best-selling author, Discovery Channel personality, combat veteran, PTSD counselor, and Alaskan subsistence hunter.  • How hunting rebuilds those suffering with PTSD  • Graham's personal experience recognizing and recovering from PTSD • Steps to recovery (that resulted in 89 percent success in Graham's patients) • Hunter, Warrior, Healer: the three vital characteristics that enable humankind to provide, protect, and heal.  BONUS MATERIAL: the .338-06 Graham believes may be the ultimate cartridge for all-around use in Alaska.  Resources:  International bestseller The Bamboo Chest: An Adventure in Healing the Trauma of War Cork Graham's website  

SHOW NOTES: • The older you get, the less you like to carry—yet the more you appreciate remote backcountry.  — Condors & lead bullet correlation update: The science behind it. Please listen to Randy Newberg's Episode No. 87 of Hunt Talk Radio. Here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzBbxm2cFhw BACKPACKS vs. PACK ANIMALS Backpacking favors daily adaptability. Live out of your pack. Hunt extreme terrain where horses can’t go. Pack animals favor major shifts in location, and eliminates restrictions on how deep you can hunt for big-bodied game. Both methods have advantages and limitations Limitations:  • How deep can you hunt? How much food and gear can you carry in? How much meat can you carry out? • Heat and distance: meat's primary enemies when backpacking • Maintaining and caring for pack animals while hunting • Weight and distance are limited when backpacking, particularly when hunting big-bodied animals such as elk. • On-the-fly adaptability is limited when horse packing. Advantages:  • Backpa

SHOW NOTES:  • Are monometal bullets as good a traditional lead-core bullets?  • Rights & Freedoms, Laws & Regulations • Top manufacturers of non-toxic monometal bullets • Monometal vs. Lead-core bullets: THE DIFFERENCES 1. Behavior in the bore 2. Behavior in flight 3. Behavior on impact 4. Trauma & terminal performance 5. Exit wounds & blood trails 6. Non-ideal shot angles 7. Bullet failures & anomalies 8. How to pick a monometal bullet • Accuracy, Design, & Weight • Factory ammo and various loads RESOURCES Barnes Bullets Hornady Bullets Nosler Bullets Federal Bullets Black Hills Ammunition

SHOW NOTES • The backcountry is hard on optics • All brands and types of optic can and occasionally will fail • User-induced failures • Properly mounting riflescopes for ultimate toughness • How scopes get knocked off, and how to re-zero them • Protecting lenses against grit, grime, water, and ice • Sideways impacts to scopes, and related weaknesses • When you fall on your scope • Something you need in the backcountry: Enough ammo to re-zero a scope • Iron sights can save a hunt • Fogged lenses, and how to avoid them • Snow clogs and snap shots • Scope covers, and how to pick one • When binoculars go south • Cleaning lenses without causing damage • BONUS MATERIAL: Ammunition corrosion and reliability issues

SHOW NOTES: • Backcountry in Africa • On the menu: Cape buffalo, hippo, and plains game--particularly big kudu bulls • Prep and packing • Shooting practice for success in Africa's bush country • Buffalo charge stopped at 4 yards • Big kudu bulls • Stalking a monster hippo through other aggressive hippos, past Cape buffalo, and amongst crocodiles • New and veteran hunters: What we'd do different next time • Staying flexible and rolling with logistical challenges • Advice from a PH: How to avoid most common mistakes made by American hunters • Filming your hunt: How to plan for great results RESOURCES Kowas Hunting Safaris Reinhardt Bronner Productions (pro cameraman & film producer) Federal Ammunition Turnbull Restoration Kimber Firearms Browning Firearms Winchester Firearms Facebook: Kowas Hunting Safaris Instagram: Kowas Hunting Safaris Instagram: Turnbull Restoration Instagram: Reinhardt Bronner Productions  

SHOW NOTES • Your rifle or bow is the one tool you can't be successful without--so prep it properly for backcountry work, and know how to perform emergency fixes. • Barrel break-in  • Action tuning • Stabilizing sighting systems and accuracy  • Gun oil in your barrel: Best friend and worst enemy • Non-oil moisture barriers for barrels and actions • Barrel blockages and catastrophic failures • Compact kits and improvised tools to remove barrel blockages • Hunting through the worst weather mother nature can throw at you RESOURCES Sharp Shoot'r solvent Hoppe's Bore Snakes Otis compact cleaning kits Fix-It Stix

SHOW NOTES • Mule deer addiction & the wonderful wives that deal with it • What makes mule deer different?  • Critical hunting methods & tools • Field scoring: The flash glance • Field scoring: when time is on your side • Realistic public-land, DIY expectations • Colton's favorite mule deer cartridge • Top tricks for success RESOURCES Instagram handle: @muleycrazy89