EatWild Podcast

This is a fun episode. I am stoked to share Jenny's first elk story with you. Throughout this episode, we discuss our thought process for deciding where to go elk hunting. We evaluate the four critical parts of choosing a spot to hunt. Quality habitat, presence of elk, huntability and potential hunting pressure. All these factor into our decision-making process for planning our 2023 pack rafting adventure.

We discuss the pros and cons of hunting the three-point season versus the six-point season here in British Columbia.

Our evaluation and decision-making paid off, and we share a fantastic story of elk hunting on our pack raft adventure this year.

Please support this podcast by using our partner discount codes. 

If you're interested in learning the foundations of how to hunt elk, you should check out the EatWild Learn to Hunt Elk program - you can find that on our website or on our EatWild Thinkific platform. It's pretty cool and you will learn a ton.

This episode is supported by BC Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BCBHA). The BCBHA is a young conservation organization dedicated to protecting wild places and critters that live in these wild places. Come out to a local event and get to know the BCBHA community. 

The iHunter App supports the Eatwild Podcast and other programs. The app is an essential tool to make you more comfortable in the woods. The mapping layers, navigation tools and hunting regulations are all packed into the app to give you the info you need on your next adventure. 

We are talking about how to hunt mature Mule Deer timber bucks! Jordan Kowalchuk of @bcbackcountry joins me, and he shares his passion and process for hunting mature bucks.  For Jordan, preparing for a successful hunt is a year-round process and can take years to come to fruition. 

We talk about habitat, hunt timing, strategies, processes for finding mature deer and strategies for hunting.  I learned a ton in my conversation with Jordan, and I can't wait to get out on the hunt. 

If you like this type of podcast, let me know, and I will do more "how-to-hunt" topics.  Good luck in the Mule Deer woods this season! 

Please support this podcast by using our partner discount codes. 

If you're interested in learning the foundations of how to hunt elk, you should check out the EatWild Learn to Hunt Elk program - you can find that on our website or on our EatWild Thinkific platform. It's pretty cool and you will learn a ton.

This episode is supported by BC Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BCBHA). The BCBHA is a young conservation organization dedicated to protecting wild places and critters that live in these wild places. Come out to a local event and get to know the BCBHA community. 

The iHunter App supports the Eatwild Podcast and other programs. The app is an essential tool to make you more comfortable in the woods. The mapping layers, navigation tools and hunting regulations are all packed into the app to give you the info you need on your next adventure. 

In this episode, we're talking elk. More specifically, we're talking elk calling. I've asked Bill Ayer of Slayer Calls to come join me and talk about innovations in elk calls to help make elk calling a little bit more accessible.

I found Slayer calls because I was looking for an alternative to help me improve my elk callling technique. I have always opted to go with external tube and handheld calls that produce consistent elk sounds, and I rely more on my setup for my success than my calling prowess. I have always struggled to get consistant result from a reed call.

Bill shares the benifits and challenges of using a mouth reed call to get the full range of elk sounds. We discuss the tools that are available for folks like me who are looking for alternatives to a mouth reed, but want the vocabulary you can get from a mouth reed call.

So you'll enjoy this episode if you want to learn about elk hunting and elk calling.

If you're interested in learning the foundations of how to hunt elk, you should check out the EatWild Learn to Hunt Elk program - you can find that on our website or on our EatWild Thinkific platform. It's pretty cool and you will learn a ton.

This episode is supported by BC Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BCBHA). The BCBHA is a young conservation organization dedicated to protecting wild places and critters that live in these wild places. Come out to a local event and get to know the BCBHA community. 

The iHunter App supports the Eatwild Podcast and other programs. The app is an essential tool to make you more comfortable in the woods. The mapping layers, navigation tools and hunting regulations are all packed into the app to give you the info you need on your next adventure. 

Bill Jex is a wildlife biologist for the Province of BC, and he is the wild sheep and mountain goat specialist who leads the management of these tremendous mountain species. I have asked Bill to join me on the podcast to share his knowledge on mountain goats and how they are managed in BC. 

I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to talk goats with Bill. Bill is a great storyteller, and he is generous in sharing his knowledge about goats.  In the conversation, he helps us better understand this tough, magnificent animal that lives in some of the most unforgiving wilderness areas. Bill talked about studying goats,  mountain goat behaviour, habitat requirement, hunting regulations, and so much more. 

Miki and I are heading goat hunting in August so we will listen to this on our drive up North. Don't miss this one! 

This episode is supported by BC Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BCBHA). The BCBHA is a young conservation organization dedicated to protecting wild places and critters that live in these wild places. Come out to a local event and get to know the BCBHA community. 

The iHunter App supports the Eatwild Podcast and other programs. The app is an essential tool to make you more comfortable in the woods. The mapping layers, navigation tools and hunting regulations are all packed into the app to give you the info you need on your next adventure. 

Chef Dan Hayes joins me on this episode. He's known as the London Chef. You may have seen him on the Moose Meat and Marmalade Show, where he teams up with Art Napoleon, an indigenous hunter and a cook. Dan is from England and is a classically trained chef, and the show follows them on adventures visiting indigenous communities across Canada. They hunt, cook a little bit, and tell stories along the way, and it's fascinating. 

I wanted to talk to Dan about connecting people to hunting through food. How do we tell better hunting stories through food? How do we connect more folks to hunting?  

As a relative newcomer to Canada, Dan offers a unique perspective on hunting opportunities, cooking wild food, and connecting with indigenous communities. 

This episode is supported by BC Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BCBHA). The BCBHA is a young conservation organization dedicated to protecting wild places like the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area and the critters that live in these wild places. Come out to a local event and get to know the BCBHA community. 

The iHunter App supports the Eatwild Podcast and other programs. The app is an essential tool to make you more comfortable in the woods. The mapping layers, navigation tools and hunting regulations are all packed into the app to give you the info you need on your next adventure. 

How long does it take to ride a horse across  15,000,000 acres of Northern Rocky Mountain wilderness? In this episode, I’m joined by Wayne Sawchuk. Wayne is a conservationist, author, adventurer, cowboy, and wilderness enthusiast. 

Wayne led the initiative to protect a vast wilderness area in the Northern Rockies, now protected under the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area. I’m excited to talk to him about what wilderness means and what it takes to have an authentic wilderness experience. 

The Muskwa-Kechika Management Area is managed and protected under a unique resource management structure. Wayne tells us how the model was developed and how the model can be applied for future landscape protection efforts. 

Find In The Land Of Dreamers here: https://gem.cbc.ca/documentaries

Find Wayne’s new book, Crossing the Divide, here:

This episode is supported by BC Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BCBHA). The BCBHA is a young conservation organization dedicated to protecting wild places like the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area and the critters that live in these wild places. Come out to a local event and get to know the BCBHA community. 

The iHunter App supports the Eatwild Podcast and other programs. The app is an essential tool to make you more comfortable in the woods. The mapping layers, navigation tools and hunting regulations are all packed into the app to give you the info you need on your next adventure. 

Some stories can only be told properly around a campfire in an elk camp. This is one of them. My good friend Stephanie embarked on a two-day horse trip in the mountains in August, and everything went wrong. Stephanie tells the story of coping with tragedy and takes us on a journey to survive. 

I am very fortunate to have heard the story and to share it with the EatWild community.

Thank you, Stephanie. You are an inspiration, and I am happy you sorted things out with Mother Nature. 

As always, this podcast is brought to you by Seek Outside. They make unique ultralight tents and packs for your next adventure. Use the discount code EATWILD on your next purchase.

I rely on my phone more every year to be precise and advance my hunting process. The smartphone has become an essential tool for navigation, communication, research, documentation, and much more. 

In this episode, I am on a late-season Mule Deer hunting with my friend Adam Pospischil. Adam is one of those hunters that is consistently successful in his hunts. He is a self-thought hunter and his success is built on his pre-hunt research, reliance on data interpretation, use of technology, and lots of committed hard work. Adam shares what tools he uses to make him a better hunter, and some of the lessons learned on his hunting journey. 

We are hunting the grasslands and looking for a mature Mule Deer buck and using the apps and tips discussed on on this episode on the hunt. 

Stick around to the end to find out how the hunt worked out. 

Link to BC 1:20,000 maps link.

IHunter App link 

Gaia Map Link

As always this podcast is brought to you by our friends at West Coast Kitchen Canada. They offer a 10% discount code on all of their nourishing backcountry food. Use the discount code EATWILD.

And our friends at Seek Outside sponsor this podcast. We’ve been using their tents all season to stay warm and dry on our adventures. Use EATWILD on your order for a deal. 

This episode is all about blacktail deer and blacktail hunting. Since moving back to the sunshine coast, I’ve had time to focus on the elusive Blacktail deer. After 10 seasons of poking around these woods, I finally learned enough blacktail hunting lessons that a hunt came together for me. 

I would argue that the Blacktail deer is the most challenging of the deer species to harvest here in BC. They typically maintain low-density populations throughout their habitat, they don't leave a lot of sign, so they are hard to find.  They live in thick, noisy habitats so it's almost impossible to keep from bumping them.  

I hope you enjoy this podcast. And good luck finding your Blacktail secret spot!

As always this podcast is brought to you by our friends at West Coast Kitchen Canada. They offer a 10% discount code on all of their nourishing backcountry food. Use the discount code EATWILD.