

Today on the Rokcast, Robby hosts Josh Boyd. Besides being a very dedicated hunter, Josh is also a Hydrologist for USFS. Josh has measured and studied winter severity for over 20 years from SE Arizona to NW Montana. With some certainty, Josh can predict mule deer winterkill.  They dive into Snow Water Equivalent, where and how it’s measured, the data that comes from it, and how it can help you make better decisions when planning your mule deer hunt around winterkill. Winter severity could be the number one predictor of the size of a mule deer population.

Visit NRCS Snowpack Map here

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/wcc/home/snowClimateMonitoring/snowpack/basinDataReports/

Find Robby’s lastest book: Hunting Big Mule Deer: The Stories on Amazon here



This is the follow up to his first book available in the Rokstore here 

or on Amazon: How to Take the Best Buck of Your Life.

How to Predict Mule Deer Winterkill

Gear reviews and tips and tactics for backcountry hunters

Sports

Wilderness





Robby hosts Idaho Fish and Game Deer & Elk Coordinator, Toby Boudreau, and Justin Binfet, Deputy Chief of Wyoming Game & Fish's Wildlife Division to talk Elk Hunting.

They discuss the recent article by Dac Collins of Outdoor Life: "Elk Hunters had a Phenomenal Season in Wyoming, While Idaho Saw the Worst Harvest in a Decade" here

https://www.outdoorlife.com

They dive deep into what may have caused this harvest difference. Is Wyoming managing their elk herd better than Idaho? Or is Idaho ahead of Wyoming in limiting too much harvest? Or was this article just click-bait? Listen in and become a better elk hunter.

Rokcast is powered by onX Hunt. For 20% off, use Promo Code “Rokcast” at onX Hunt here https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt/app

You can find Robby’s books, Hunting Big Mule Deer and The Stories on Amazon here

or signed copies from the Rokslide store here


Best State for Elk Hunting: Idaho vs. Wyoming





#31 Tipsy Tuesday has Blake Brown taking us along on his big bull elk hunt in Fiordland National Park on New Zealand's South Island. Roy Sloan president of the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation https://fwf.net.nz/ walks us though the ballot process on how to draw this amazing big bull elk hunt. Roy shares the foundations successes and describes the legal fight to keep New Zealand's Wapiti/Elk herd in Fiordland National Park. Ryan Sapena joins in to let us know what's new at Seek Outside https://seekoutside.com/. Black Ovis team members Ty Hinds and Jace Johnson roll out the new Plateau tripod https://www.blackovis.com/blackovis-plateau-carbon-fiber-standing-tripod-with-panhead. Sam then shifts the talk toward the other Rokslide.com gear reviews [https://www.rokslide.com/category/gear/] and recaps the latest Western news.

Donate to save the Wapiti-Fiordland Wapiti Foundation - Save the Wapiti (fwf.net.nz)

Discount on all Black Ovis branded gear code- Rokslide for 10% off

Enter the 2024 Cold Bow Challenge- https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/2024-cold-bow-challenge.355440/

Howl for Wildlife https://www.howlforwildlife.org/take_action 

Check out Rokslides 2023 Favorite Gear- Here

Visit Rokslide's Rokcast Forum to submit questions, request a topic or give feedback.

To be a guest on Tipsy Tuesday please send an email to Sam@Rokslide.com

[ Rokcast is powered by onX Hunt. For 20% off, use Promo Code “Rokcast” at onX Hunt here https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt/app


TT#31 Hunting Big Bull Elk In New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park

At the recent Mule Deer Days in Rock Springs, Wyoming, Robby caught up with Cody Robbins of the TV show Live 2 Hunt with Cody & Kelsey.

If giant mule deer are your thing, this is your episode! Cody has taken 11 bucks between 200" all the way up to 288"! He's one of the most successful big buck hunters out there.

In this episode, Cody talks everything about hunting giant mule deer:

 	His early days of filming with Jim Shockey
 	How shed hunting helps him locate giant mule deer
 	Hunting public land
 	Staying focused on one giant buck
 	Taking the world record mule deer in 2011
 	The incredible hunt for a buck named Sleepy
 	How giant bucks can consistently show up in a given area
 	Genetics vs. Nutrition for growing giant bucks
 	Laying it all on the table for the chance at a giant buck
 	How CWD has affected him

Don't miss this exciting episode. Even if you've watched his TV show, you'll learn more about giant bucks by tuning in to today's Rokcast episode.

Cody Robbins' TV show airs every Sunday evening on the Outdoor Channel!



Rokcast is powered by onX Hunt. For 20% off, use Promo Code “Rokcast” at onX Hunt here https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt/app

You can find Robby’s books, Hunting Big Mule Deer and The Stories on Amazon here

or signed copies from the Rokslide store here

    


Hunting the Biggest Mule Deer on the Continent with Cody Robbins

USGS Migration Route Data. Notice Interstate Locations and Migration Barriers.

We hear all the time about urban sprawl affecting mule deer populations. I think the average hunter, (me included) usually only thinks about habitat destruction directly related to communities, homes, and businesses. We don't even consider the road system that link all of these communities together and the impact roadways have on wildlife, especially mule deer.  Of course when we do think about roads and wildlife, the first thing that comes to mind is wildlife-auto collisions, but it is much more complex than that. In fact those collisions we see are a drop in the bucket when we compare it to the loss of historic migration routes, and loss of access to habitat that comes with migration.

Change has been everywhere you look nearly over the past half a century. It wasn't until 1956, that the Interstate Highway System was dreamed up under the Eisenhower administration. The speed limit on the highway during the 70's, 80's, and early 90's was 55 MPH, of course now, we would all lose our minds if we had to drive that slow.

The big question- How has this complex system of multi-lane highways, changes in speed limits, and road noise affected the wildlife in the State of Utah, and around the west, particularly the mule deer herds?

Here to address some of those questions, and many more is Matt Howard, the Utah Department of Transportations Natural Resource Manager. Matt is a biologist by definition, and a guy that studies "Road Ecology", which is a fairly new science. He explains what the State of Utah is doing to help reduce wildlife fatalities, improve migration corridors, and mitigate wildlife and automobile collisions.

Constructing "Main Street of America" Route 66

To learn more on Utah Migrations- www.wildlifemigration.utah.gov

The rest of the United States (besides Montana for some reason) www.westernmigrations.net

If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more about different episodes, you can check here for detailed show notes and overviews. Rokcast Podcast

Another great Rokcast on Migration Routes. ROKCAST MIGRATION

The Highway and Mule Deer With UDOT’s Matt Howard

Robby reads from Hunting Big Mule Deer: How to Take the Best Buck of Your Life. His chapter on Ambush Hunting is a must if you want to be a complete mule deer hunter.

Before he dives in, he recaps some mule deer news and checks in with The Mule Deer Foundation’s spring edition of their magazine--always a good source for on-the-ground mule deer updates. As Robby always says, this stuff will make you a better deer hunter, and better at Ambush Hunting, too

Rokcast is powered by onX Hunt. For 20% off, use Promo Code “Rokcast” at onX Hunt here https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt/app

You can find Robby’s books, Hunting Big Mule Deer and The Stories on Amazon here

or signed copies from the Rokslide store here


How to Predict Mule Deer Winterkill

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