Elk Hunt

What’s up everyone! This week I’ve got my buddy Sidney Smith back on the podcast, and dude, this guy is one of the most inspiring humans I know. Sidney was one of the earliest supporters of this show. He had one of my first podcast stickers slapped on his prosthetic back around 2015, when he still had one leg and a Forrest Gump brace on the other. Now he’s a double amputee who has done marathons, an Ironman, a bodybuilding competition, and this year he swam from San Francisco around Alcatraz Island and back. No swim prosthetics, just his stumps, 50-degree water, brutal currents, and a shark caught by a fisherman right next to his boat (which, thankfully, nobody told him about until after).

Sidney lost his legs to Charcot-Marie-Tooth, a progressive genetic disease that’s now creeping into his hands. That’s a big part of why he decided not to turn back his once-in-a-lifetime Boulder, Utah archery elk tag this year, even though he drew it while squeezing pus out of an infected limb on a bear hunt in the Bob Marshall. His thinking was that if he couldn’t get it done this year, it was only going to get harder.

And man, this hunt story is one of the wildest I’ve heard. Weeks of sitting water in 95-degree heat, a miss on a 360-class bull, then the second-to-last day he stumbles into a bedded herd, calls in a giant five-point with what he calls the sweetest lip bawl of his life, and shoots him at 18 yards. But a branch he never saw deflects the bolt. What follows is 2,200 yards of blood trailing, a sleepless night of negotiating with God, crawling a meadow on his hands and knees, and jumping the bull again with no shot. Just when Sidney’s ready to throw in the towel, a random Great Pyrenees sheepdog wanders up while he’s taking a leak, becomes his hunting buddy, and points him straight to the bull. You can’t make this stuff up.

We also dig into Misogi, the idea of picking one hard thing every year with a 50/50 chance of failing, and why doing hard things on purpose prepares you for when hard things choose you. Sidney talks about faith, gratitude, and his buddy Red, who lost a knee to infection right before this hunt and still kept texting Sidney encouragement on his inReach.

If you need a reminder that your excuses are smaller than you think, or you just want to hear one of the best elk recovery stories ever, this episode is for you.

onX Hunt - I use onX for way more than mapping. It’s my planning tool, my e-scouting tool, and everything in between. Now they’ve added onX SOS, an emergency rescue add-on that connects you directly to Overwatch Rescue for 24/7 crisis response. My phone works almost everywhere these days, so having that insurance right inside my onX account means I carry an inReach a lot less. Check it out at onxmaps.com and use code TRO to save 20% on an Elite membership.

Maven Optics - Love the Maven guys and love their products. They’re a direct-to-consumer optics company out of Wyoming, and I always say they’re the best bang for your buck in optics. From rifle scopes to spotting scopes to binos, I run Maven across the board. The B6 is my go-to bino. I run the 12x50, but the 10x42 is amazing too. Head to mavenbuilt.com and use code TRO for a special gift at checkout.

Bridger Watch - Bridger is the smartwatch I wish existed, so we built it. We’ve been developing it for three years. It does all the health, sleep, and fitness tracking you’d expect, plus features built for hunters: offline mapping, onX waypoint integration so you can send waypoints straight to your watch, ballistics integration with Hornady or Sierra, a red-light-only Redshift mode that protects your night vision, and a built-in flashlight. Built by hunters for hunters. Check out the Reckon at bridgerwatch.com and use code TRO.

00:00 - Intro and sponsors
03:30 - Re-recording the best podcast in years
04:45 - 10 years of friendship and the original TRO sticker
06:15 - Charcot-Marie-Tooth and losing both legs
08:30 - Becoming an athlete after amputation
10:00 - What Misogi is and why you need one
11:45 - Swimming around Alcatraz with no legs
15:30 - Fighting the current: swimming on a treadmill
18:30 - Cold water, wetsuits, and could anyone escape Alcatraz?
21:00 - How to choose your own Misogi
24:30 - Learning to bugle on drives to the prosthetist
27:00 - Drawing the Boulder tag in the middle of an infection
30:00 - Early-season archery: water sets and tree saddles
32:30 - Missing a 360-class bull
34:30 - The last week: going higher and hunting alone
36:30 - Walking into a bedded herd at 20 yards
39:00 - The giant five-point and the perfect lip bawl
41:00 - An 18-yard shot and a branch that changed everything
43:30 - 2,200 yards of blood trailing
46:00 - Jumping the bull with no shot
49:00 - The sheepdog that found the elk
53:00 - Lessons on prayer, gratitude, and his buddy Red
57:00 - Sidney’s speaking, DO Utah, and how to help
1:00:30 - Wrap up

Eight years ago, Jack Lander and I did a podcast right after he killed a bull with his compound. This time he's back after another absolutely nuts season with a longbow and a recurve in the thick Roosevelt country of the Pacific Northwest. If you've heard that this was a rough year to find elk, Jack's crew still managed to put four bulls on the ground, and some of those were at seven yards.

We start with why Jack walked away from the compound. He says it comes down to the challenge, and he found that nothing beats a trad kill when it all comes together. From there we get into what makes Roosevelt hunting so different from Rockies and sagebrush country. Think 18 yards without ever seeing the elk, tunnels you have to crawl through like a rabbit, and bulls that will actually come to a terrible little squeal after they've pegged you.

Then Jack walks me through his season. He and his buddy Sam killed two bulls in the same day, an hour apart, and I can't name another person I know who's done that. We also dig into hunting pressure and the road-rig bugle circus, why cow and calf calling into good habitat might be the move, and how finding a canyon with a hot cow can change everything. Jack also tells the story of the time he lost Larry D. Jones in the woods (search and rescue included). We wrap with a last-day-of-season bull that died in 13 seconds on camera.

Whether you chase Roosevelts, Rockies, or just want to understand how to hunt pressured elk, there's a lot to take away here.

Go subscribe to Jack's YouTube channel, Golden Rosie Outdoors. And if you want a free hunt planning tool to track your hunts, plans, and points, grab it through the link in the show notes or at elkhunt201.com. If you liked the episode, send it to one of your hunting buddies.

Tricer – Lightweight, packable gear built for guys who actually put miles on it. If your tripod system is bulky and overbuilt, you're working too hard. Drew is a good friend and a mad scientist, and the whole system is worth a look.
🔗 tricer.com – use code EH for 10% off

Maven Optics – A Wyoming, direct-to-consumer company that I'll always say is the best bang for your buck. From rifle scopes to spotters to binos, I love their stuff. The B6 is my go-to binocular. I run the 12x50, and the 10x42 is awesome too.
🔗 mavenbuilt.com

Bridger Watch – The smartwatch I've spent the last three years developing, built by hunters for hunters. Health, sleep, and fitness tracking, plus offline mapping, onX Waypoint integration, Hornady and Sierra ballistics integration, Red Shift night-vision-friendly red light, and a flashlight. Check out the Bridger Rekon.
🔗 bridgerwatch.com

Man, this one's a good one. Cliff Gray's back on the show — if you remember, Cliff and I try to link up around this time every year, and it's turning into a bit of a tradition. This time we're diving deep into what he's picked up from running his Elk Hunting Masterclass this season — 35, 40 guys through scenario-based training — and honestly, some of the patterns he's seeing are gonna hit home for a lot of you.

We get into why indecision kills more hunts than bad luck does, how to actually recognize when you're sitting in a 0% probability situation (and why guys freeze up instead of doing something about it), and the exact playbook for what to do when a bull hangs up and starts barking at you. Cliff breaks down solo tactics for getting a bull raking and using that window to close the distance, why he's skeptical on rattling but won't rule it out, and a mountain goat stalk story of mine that gets into precision at distance versus just "getting close enough."

We also talk about why knowing the exact location of a bedded animal is one of the biggest differentiators between guys who close the deal and guys who don't, the "it's always right where you left it" mindset, why playing peekaboo on a stalk will get you busted every time, and the psychology behind why we all feel the urge to rush a shot the second an opportunity shows up — even when patience would serve us better.

Cliff and I also get into the whole calf-calling-only debate that's been floating around elk hunting circles, and why having a system beats bouncing between tactics every single sit.

If you've ever wanted to sit in on one of Cliff's in-person scenario trainings, he tells you exactly how to find it. Grab a coffee, this one's packed.

onX Hunt
This episode is brought to you by onX Hunt — check out their new Share feature in the Go Track section of the app. You can now share your live location with your hunting buddy right on the map (when you've got service), which is a huge upgrade for staying coordinated in the field.
onxmaps.com

Maven Optics
Also brought to you by Maven Optics — a direct-to-consumer optics company out of Wyoming making binos, rangefinders, and rifle scopes. Great glass, great price point, because you're skipping the big-box markup.
mavenbuilt.com — use code TRO at checkout for a special gift.

Time Chapter 0:00 Intro — Welcome to the Elk Hunt Podcast 0:30 Sponsor: onX Hunt's new Share feature 2:00 Sponsor: Maven Optics 3:30 Welcoming Cliff Gray back to the show 5:00 What Cliff's learned coaching 35-40 students this year 8:00 Indecision and the 0% probability trap 12:00 The "bull hangs up and barks" scenario, breaking it down 18:00 Solo tactics — getting a bull raking and closing distance 23:00 Does rattling actually work? 27:00 Biggest rifle-hunting mistakes: knowing exactly where the animal is 33:00 Trusting your mark — "it's always right where you left it" 37:00 The peekaboo mistake on a stalk 40:00 Precision at distance — the mountain goat stalk story 45:00 Fighting the urge to rush a shot 49:00 Building a consistent system vs. jumping tactics 52:00 The calf-calling-only debate 55:00 Cliff's Elk Hunting Masterclass and how to sign up

I sat down with Jaden Bales this week for one of those conversations that starts as a catch-up and turns into a full-on masterclass — and I didn't even plan it that way. It's been way too long since Jaden and I recorded together (we live in the same town, so we keep telling ourselves we don't need a podcast to catch up — turns out we do).

Jaden's got a trail camera bull he's chasing this fall — a mid-July photo puts him around 340", with room to grow into the 350 range by September — and he wanted to pick my brain on how to actually turn this thing up before archery season opens. So that's exactly what we did.

We get into the real difference between hunting a "201-level" six-point and hunting a genuine target bull — because trust me, those are two completely different games. We talk about why elk don't respect your neat little three-mile circle on OnX, why a good bull might blow off his summer ground and go rut ten miles away, and why "air miles" is the only way to actually think about elk movement in big mountain country. We also get into backpack-hunt logistics, meat care in the backcountry, why purple roads and hiking trails matter less than you think (until they don't), and the mental shift it takes to go from "find one bull" to "learn four different herds at once."

If you've got a shooter on camera right now and you're trying to figure out your game plan for opening week, this episode is basically a free coaching session. Grab a coffee and get ready to think differently about how elk actually use the mountain.

 Tricer
This episode is brought to you by the good folks over at Tricer. I always want to call them Tricer Tripods, but they make a lot more than tripods — the RP Bipod is one of my favorite pieces of gear I own. At 10.5 ounces it's stupid lightweight, it comes with long legs and short legs, and it works on both Picatinny and ARCA. All that for $350 is a no-brainer. I've shot a lot of critters off this thing.

Check it out at tricer.com and use code TRO to save 10% off.

Maven Optics
This episode is also brought to you by Maven Optics — a direct-to-consumer optics company out of Wyoming that I've been running for years. The comment I get every single time someone picks up a pair is, "Oh man, these are actually really good." Yeah — I told you. From binos to rangefinders to rifle scopes, Maven is hands-down the best bang for your buck in the optics world, because cutting out the big box store markup means better glass for less money.

Check them out at mavenbuilt.com and use code TRO at checkout for a special gift.

Timestamp Segment 0:00 Intro — Welcome to the Elk Hunt Podcast 1:15 Sponsor: Tricer RP Bipod 2:45 Sponsor: Maven Optics 4:00 Catching up with Jordan Bales — wedding recap 6:30 First elk hunt four weeks out — this year's scouting mission 8:15 The trail camera bull — first photos and initial score estimate 11:00 Piecing together bull location vs. known cow herds 14:30 Why elk wander farther than most hunters assume 18:00 201 vs. 301 hunting: chasing a six-point vs. chasing a target bull 23:00 Why it takes a team to hunt one specific giant bull 27:30 Thinking in "air miles" instead of trail miles 31:00 Bachelor herds, rut timing, and reading bull behavior in late August 35:00 Strategy: kid gloves vs. hard-charging a target bull 39:00 Backcountry logistics — backpack hunting, horses, and pulling meat 43:00 Meat care and temperature management in the backcountry 46:00 Recreational hiker traffic — does it actually affect elk? 48:30 Roly-poly country vs. big mountain drainages — which makes you a better elk hunter 51:30 Hunt West coaching — booking a consult with Jordan 53:00 Outro — free hunt planner and show links

(Note: these timestamps are estimated proportionally based on conversation flow within the 50-minute runtime — swap in your actual DAW/editing timestamps before publishing.)

Alright guys, this one is mind-blowing. I know Mark Livesay is talented — you all know him from Treeline Academy, the best e-scouting course on the planet — but I was not ready for what he showed me on this episode. Mark's been locked in a cave for six months building something called Hunt Research IQ, and he brought it to the Elk Hunt Podcast for the very first reveal. First show. Nobody's seen this yet.

This isn't a draw odds app. This isn't a spreadsheet. This is 20 years of harvest data for elk and deer across 11 Western states, run through AI, and turned into heat maps, custom scoring sliders, unit comparisons, moisture tracking, remote-core calculations, and print-ready reports that make every other research platform out there look like it's stuck in 2005.

We get into how the scoring system works, why averaging three, five, and twenty years of data matters more than looking at last year's numbers, why Montana's fractional bonus points might be sabotaging your odds without you even knowing it, and how Mark's moisture-tracking tool is already changing how he plans hunts around drought years and burns.

Then we shift gears and talk burns, same-year fire strategy, moisture-driven elevation shifts during the rut, and Mark's own busted rotator cuffs — which means he might be strapping a crossbow to a llama this September. You don't want to miss this one.

Take a listen, then go dig into Hunt Research IQ yourself. Links below, and use code TRO for a discount from our guy Mark.

This episode is brought to you by onX Hunt. If you've been through our free four-hour e-scouting course over at elkhunt201.com, you know I preach building color-coded waypoints, markups, and tracks for every hunt. Building a folder, building a plan — that's the difference between showing up and figuring it out versus showing up ready. This is what onX is superior at: hunt planning. If you're not an Elite member yet, Elite has a ton of tools to help you plan better.

 onxmaps.com

Use code TRO when you upgrade to Elite for a special discount.

This episode is also brought to you by the good folks over at Maven Optics. Direct-to-consumer optics company right out of Wyoming, and I've been using them for years. My favorite thing is watching people get their hands on a Maven for the first time and go, "Oh man, these are actually really good." Yeah — I told you. From binos to rangefinders to rifle scopes, Maven is the best bang for your buck out there, because you're not paying the big box store markup.

mavenbuilt.com

Use code TRO at checkout for a special gift.

Time Segment 0:00 Intro & sponsor reads (onX Hunt, Maven Optics) 4:30 Welcome Mark Livesay — the big reveal, first show, six months in build mode 8:15 Elevator pitch: what is Hunt Research IQ? 12:00 Why averaging 3/5/20-year data beats single-year snapshots 17:30 Building custom scoring sliders and unit health trends 23:00 The heat map: dragging, hovering, live data pulls 28:45 Comparing units side by side & the "unit profile card" 34:15 Rankings tab, health trend colors, and finding sleeper units 40:00 101 / 201 / 301 hunter framework — what stats matter at each level 47:00 Print reports, unit briefs, and AI-written unit descriptions 53:30 Montana's fractional bonus point trap explained 58:00 Remote core, road density, and what "remote" really means 1:03:00 Bull-per-square-mile harvest density and reading hunting pressure 1:09:00 Moisture tracking tool & elevation focus bands 1:14:00 Hunt planning suite, checklist tool, and hike time calculator 1:18:30 Talking burns: mosaic vs. straight-edge fire boundaries 1:24:00 Live demo — analyzing a current Utah fire for same-year burn potential 1:29:00 Mark's Island Park story: why elk drop elevation in dry years 1:34:00 Rut timing shifting later into September 1:37:00 Mark's rotator cuff injury, crossbow talk, and this year's hunt plan 1:39:30 Pricing, free trial, and where to find Hunt Research IQ 1:40:30 Outro & free hunt planner

(Timestamps are approximate — built from transcript flow, adjust to actual audio if needed.)

Alright guys, today's episode is a good one. I'm sitting down with Kevin Gower — a Colorado public land guy who's been in the elk woods since he was 12 years old and has packed out more elk than the years he's been hunting. That's 22 elk in 23 seasons. Not luck. Not private land. Public dirt, over the counter, doing it the hard way.

We get into it — why most guys aren't consistent on public land, the "cover ground" era of learning to elk hunt, and why the YouTube backpack-hunting romance can actually work against you when you're trying to learn a mountain. We talk mindset — the "today's the day" mantra, why you can't write the story before the hunt is over, and why the guys who stack hard experiences early end up with the confidence to go get it done later.

Kevin also walks through his biggest bull — a solo four-mile pack out in thirteen inches of fresh snow — and why moments like that are what separate hunters who quit from hunters who figure it out. We dig into silent bulls and why they're some of the most killable elk in the woods, calling strategy, reading pressure on the edge of private land, when to leave elk to go find better elk, and why learning to hunt the storm front instead of fighting the wind might be one of the most underrated skills in elk hunting.

This one's packed with real public land wisdom from a guy who's put in two decades on the same mountain. Grab a notebook, this is a good one.

onX Hunt

Today's episode is brought to you by onX Hunt. If you haven't checked out our free 4-hour e-scouting course yet, go grab it at elkhunt201.com — it's completely free. Building a color-coded system of waypoints, markups, and tracks for your hunt is one of the most important things you can do before season. Too many guys draw a tag and just show up to figure it out — don't be that guy. If you're not an Elite member yet, Elite unlocks a ton of extra planning tools that'll make your prep this fall way more dialed in. 

onxmaps.com Use code TRO when you upgrade to Elite.

Bridger Watch

This episode is also brought to you by Bridger Watch — a smartwatch built specifically for hunting. All your normal smartwatch features (health tracking, fitness tracking, texts) plus, in my opinion, the best mapping capability of any wearable on the market. You can save offline maps, ship them straight to your watch, and pan around right on your wrist with a screen that's genuinely impressive for its size. Bridger Watch also integrates directly with onX — share a whole hunt folder or a single waypoint from the field straight to your watch, so if your phone dies or you lose it, you've always got a backup.  

bridgerwatch.com

(Approximate — based on episode flow, total runtime ~1:02:00)

Man, this one's for anybody who just loves talking to a regular dude who's put in the years and killed a lot of elk — because that's exactly what this episode is. Brian Rae grew up in Idaho with an outdoors family, killed his first buck AND his first bull at 12 years old within two weeks of each other, and has been chasing bulls in some of the nastiest, steepest, most brutal backcountry ever since.

We get into it all in this one. Brian tells the story of getting truly lost overnight at 19 — no coat, dead flashlight, sleeping next to a fire he built with toilet paper and a lighter, and the almost unbelievable coincidence of how he found his way back to camp. We talk about how close that feeling of panic really sits, even for guys who know these mountains better than anybody.

Then we get into the good stuff — the hunting. Brian breaks down calling in two six-point bulls back to back with his buddy Chad, a wounded-bull recovery that turned into "a bathtub full of blood," and an eight-yard, full-draw standoff with a black bear that walked right down a game trail at him.

But this isn't just war stories. Brian gets into the real strategy behind killing a herd bull consistently — why getting close beats bugling every hundred yards, why he mimics satellite bulls instead of challenging the herd bull head-on, and why wind and thermals will beat you every single time, no matter how good your setup is.

If you want to hear what it actually takes to kill mature bulls year after year — not the highlight reel, the real work behind it — this episode is for you.

This episode's hunt-planning talk is powered by onX Hunt. Whether you're building color-coded waypoints, markups, and tracks or organizing an entire hunt folder before you ever set foot in the field, onX is where the planning happens. If you drew a tag this year, don't just show up and figure it out — build the system, build the plan.

Upgrade to onX Elite and unlock the full hunt-planning toolset.

onxmaps.com Use code TRO when you sign up or upgrade to Elite.

A smartwatch built specifically for hunting — with the best mapping capabilities of any wearable on the market. Save offline maps, pan and zoom right on your wrist, and integrate directly with your onX account to send waypoints, tracks, and markups straight to your watch. It's not replacing your phone's mapping — it's your backup when your phone dies, drops, or gets left in the truck.

bridgerwatch.com

Dillon Ness is back on the show, and dude, this one's a good one. If you haven't heard our last conversation, go find it — I've always considered Dillon one of the best open country elk killers I know. But what people don't realize is the guy crushes it in the mountains just as hard. Well-rounded doesn't even cover it.

In this episode, Dillon walks me through the full story of last year's mountain bull — a hunt that started with him throwing a dart at a map, glassing bulls pouring off the alfalfa at first light, getting boogered by other hunters, losing the herd, and eventually catching them in the dark on their last drink of water before bed. It's one of the best hunt breakdowns we've recorded, emotional gut-punch ending and all.

From there we get into the nuts and bolts — how to actually dog a herd in the dark without blowing them up, why satellite bulls are your best friend, what 20 failed days of hunting really look like (because that's 90% of the season, not the highlight reel), midday strategy for guys who don't have 27 days to burn, and the biggest lesson 301-level hunting has taught both of us: elk are never random, and neither should your strategy be.

We also get into a mindset shift that I think is worth the price of admission alone — using onX the wrong way is probably costing you elk without you even knowing it.

Grab your coffee, settle in, this one's just shy of an hour and fifteen, and it's packed.

This episode is brought to you by the good folks over at Maven Optics. Love those guys, love the product, love the team, love everything about it. Maven is a direct-to-consumer optics company right out of Wyoming, and I've personally been running their stuff for years. My favorite comment I get when someone picks up a Maven is, "Man, these are actually really good" — and I just say, "Yeah, I told you."

Binos, rangefinders, rifle scopes — Maven is, hands down, the best bang for your buck out there. Because they sell direct-to-consumer, you're not paying the big box store markup for the same glass quality.

 Check them out at mavenbuilt.com 

This episode is also brought to you by Bridger Watch — a project I've been building for a long time now. Everyone said we couldn't take on Garmin. Here we are anyway, and I think we've built something amazing: a smartwatch built specifically for hunting.

The standout feature is the mapping. On top of all your normal smartwatch stuff — health tracking, fitness tracking, texts — Bridger Watch has the best mapping capability of any wearable on the market. Save maps offline, pan around right on your wrist, and the screen clarity is unreal. We've also built a full onX integration, so you can push waypoints, tracks, and markups straight from your onX account to your watch. Set a waypoint at the truck, drop a pin on a bedded bull, and it's on your wrist — even if your phone dies. This isn't about replacing your phone's mapping. It's a redundancy for the woods, and a watch you'll wear every day of the year, hunting season or not.

Check it out at bridgerwatch.com

Time Segment 0:00 Sponsor reads — Maven Optics & Bridger Watch 3:15 Welcome back Dillon — new baby, real estate license, fencing life update 6:30 Why "time" is the real secret to killing big bulls 10:15 Setting up the story: last year's mountain bull, throwing a dart at the map 14:45 Glassing bulls off the alfalfa at first light, finding the herd bulls' pattern 19:30 Getting boogered by other hunters, losing the giant at 58 yards 24:00 Relocating, finding the sanctuary drainage where elk funnel every night 29:15 The morning of the kill — dogging the herd in the dark through the willows 35:00 The shot, and the emotional final bugle exchange between the two bulls 40:30 Blending mountain calling with open country tactics after the kill 44:00 The underrated skill of dogging herds in the dark without bumping them 49:30 "Chumming the water" — using satellite bulls to create chaos 55:00 What 20 failed dogging days actually look like (the other 90% of the season) 1:01:15 How long to wait before going back after blowing a bull out 1:05:00 Midday strategy — mountains vs. open country, and what changes with less time 1:10:00 101 vs 201 vs 301 — the biggest lessons each level teaches you 1:12:30 The onX mistake most hunters make (turn off the purple lines) 1:13:30 Two totally different hunts this year — mountains, then prairie, and "upgrading your lens" 1:14:20 Wrap-up and free hunt planner

(Approximate timestamps — adjust to final edit.)

Alright guys, this one's a good one. Darin Hardy's back on the show, and dude, we go everywhere in this conversation — broadheads, blood trails, mountain lions with broadheads stuck in their throat, turkey hunting like you elk hunt, and the mindset work that actually separates the guy who kills every single year from the guy who's still hoping to get lucky.

We start off nerding out on pre-season bow prep — what "long distance" actually means, why I want four-inch groups at 80 before I ever worry about a 40-yard shot, and the drills Darin runs to build pressure into his practice instead of just chasing tiny groups. We get into the fixed-blade vs. mechanical broadhead debate (and why I think too many guys aim right behind the shoulder when middle-middle gives you way more margin for error), then Darin tells a wild story about tracking a bull for a mile and a half off almost no blood — and an even wilder story about a mountain lion he shot that had been living for years with a broadhead through her throat.

From there we get into the real meat of this episode: what actually makes a 201 hunter. Darin breaks down why the guys who kill consistently aren't the ones who need every condition to line up — they're the ones with an adaptive mindset who can find the shot that's three steps to the left instead of only seeing the one they planned for. We talk about the 90/10/1 framework, calling audibles in the field, why it took Darin 23 years to kill his first bull, and why the "10 straight days in September" rule matters more than almost anything else for a new elk hunter.

We close out talking about Darin's new venture, Level Seven High Terrain, where he's using horsemanship and hunting as vehicles for leadership and mindset coaching — and honestly some of what he shares about "demand vs. ask vs. offer" will change how you think about pressure, calling elk, and life in general.

If you're gearing up for season, this episode's got tactics, gear talk, and the mental framework to actually go use it. Enjoy, guys.

onX Hunt — onxmaps.com This episode is brought to you by onX Hunt. Remember the old Garmin Rino days where you could see your buddy on the map? onX basically reinvented that with their new Share feature. Head into the app, go to the new Go Track section, and hit Share Your Location — now you and your hunting buddy can see each other on the map in real time (works while you're in service). It's a small feature but a genuinely useful one for staying connected with your crew in the field. Go check it out at onxmaps.com.

Bridger Watch — bridgerwatch.com This episode is also brought to you by Bridger Watch — a smartwatch actually built for hunting. On top of all the usual smartwatch stuff (health tracking, fitness tracking, texts), Bridger Watch has the best mapping capability of any wearable on the market. Save offline maps, pan around right on your wrist, and thanks to the onX integration, you can share waypoints, tracks, and markups straight from your onX account to your watch — so if your phone dies or gets left in the truck, you've always got a backup. It's built to work alongside your phone, not replace it. Use code TRO at checkout at bridgerwatch.com for a discount on your watch.

Time Chapter 0:00 Intro — Welcome to the Elk Hunt Podcast 1:00 Sponsor: onX Hunt's new Share/Go Track feature 3:00 Sponsor: Bridger Watch — mapping, onX integration, and redundancy in the field 5:30 Pre-season excuses, scouting (or lack thereof), and getting back into bow shape 9:00 Switching to broadheads Aug 1 and Darin's practice progression 12:30 What counts as "long distance" — 4" groups at 80, and how standards have changed 16:00 Tack drivers vs. tactical shooters — building a foot in both camps 19:30 Darin's pressure drills: cold bore walk-up shot and the 3-second draw timer 24:00 Random range drills, pin setup philosophy, and avoiding the 30/40/50 gap 28:00 Cody's 104-yard follow-up shot story and shot placement lessons 31:30 High lung vs. low lung — the biomechanics of a shot and why tracking differs 36:00 Why "middle-middle" beats aiming right behind the shoulder 40:00 Fixed blade vs. mechanical broadheads — guiding clients vs. personal preference 45:00 Jarrett's bull — an incredible mile-and-a-half track job off almost no blood 50:00 The "Shot Science" idea, uphill/downhill elk myths, and animal toughness 53:00 The mountain lion with a broadhead through her throat 55:30 Darin's turkey hunting film, elk-hunting-for-birds strategy 58:00 What separates a 101 hunter from a 201 hunter — the adaptive mindset 61:30 The 90/10/1 framework and calling audibles in the field 65:00 Journey vs. destination — why Darin's first bull took 23 years 68:00 The 10-consecutive-days rule for new elk hunters 71:00 Level Seven High Terrain — horsemanship, leadership, and mindset coaching 75:00 Demand vs. ask vs. offer — lessons from horses that apply to elk and life 78:00 Closing thoughts, shoutouts, and outro

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Alright guys, this week we're kicking it off with Tate Bradfield, founder of Process Based Hunter. Tate's got one of the more interesting backstories I've heard on this show — went from working in a mine, to door-to-door sales, to guiding elk for other outfitters, to eventually running his own semi-guided elk hunting courses where he takes 150-180 people a year and actually teaches them how to hunt instead of just pointing at a bull and telling them to shoot.

We riff on a ton of stuff in this one — his "at-bats" philosophy for picking a guided hunt (spoiler: stop asking how big the bulls are and start asking how many encounters per day you'll get), why he thinks cow calling during rifle season is one of the most underused tactics out there, how he snuck within 60 yards of a 200-inch mule deer with a cow elk decoy and no rifle in hand, and why most guys pack way too much gear and focus on the wrong stuff before a hunt.

If you've ever thought about leveling up your elk hunting instead of just white-knuckling your way through another season, this episode's for you. Tate's semi-guided archery course still has a few spots open for 2026, and rifle spots are open for 2027 — head to processbasedhunter.com or check him out on Instagram @processbasedhunter.

If you're in the market for a new rifle scope, go check out Maven Optics. These scopes are built around world-class Japanese glass and built for hunting — not just for sitting on a shelf. Because Maven sells direct to consumer, you're getting an unmatched value for what you're paying, whether you're just getting into the game or you're dialed in for long-range shooting. Cody's used a lot of them, killed a lot of things with them, and stands behind every one.

👉 Shop now at mavenbuilt.com 💰 Use code TRO at checkout for a special gift

onX just rolled out a new Share feature that's basically the modern, better version of the old Garmin Rino days. Head into the app, go to the new Go Track section, and hit Share Your Location With Your Friend — now you and your hunting buddy can see each other on the map in real time. (Heads up: it only works with cell service, so it won't help you deep in the backcountry — but for the hunts where you've got signal, it's a game changer.)

👉 Check it out at onxmaps.com

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