Wind and weather will get you every time, but a dedicated hunter never gives up. Steve Raudenbush with Mnt2Coast Outdoors is one such hunter. His YouTube videos have attracted thousands of views, and as a filmmaker and hunting enthusiast, he’s particularly attune to the sport’s challenges and victories. 

Fall 2022 was a particularly eventful season for Raudenbush, who was keen to chase down Roosevelt elk in Washington and Idaho. Modern outdoorsman that he is, Raudenbush is a savvy e-scouter and even uses an e-bike to traverse old logging roads. He’s not afraid to sleep rough, though. He’ll hike into a decent area with little more than three days’ worth of food and his Seek Outside Cimarron tent. The reward? A symphony of surround-sound bugles all night long. 

In this episode of The Slayer Hunting Podcast, host Tommy Sessions gets all the details of Raudenbush’s Fall 2022 archery season, hunting big bulls in Washington and Idaho. Stick around until the end to hear which Slayer products are Raudenbush’s favorites in the field. 

Elk hunting articles:

- E-scout to maximize success on out-of-state elk hunts

- Star of The Wild Race lands a 6x8 bull on her first elk hunt

- How to speak the language of elk

- Elk hunting with pack animals: Part I

Slayer calls related to this episode:

- ArchAngel acrylic elk call

- 200 Series Gladiator

- Slayer mouth reeds

---

What was it like the first time an elk responded to your call? Drop us a line at [email protected] to share.

Thanks for listening! We’d love to have you back, so subscribe to The Slayer Hunting Podcast to make sure you don’t miss an episode. Listen to The Slayer Hunting Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

Connect with us on Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel to feed your obsession between episodes.

If you’d like to support Slayer Calls, 10% of each purchase goes to organizations that protect the environment and wildlife, support conservation efforts and preserve America’s hunting heritage. Grab a gift card for the hunters in your life to celebrate everything from birthdays to holidays to the start of duck season. 

#Hunting #HuntingLife #ElkSeason #ElkCalling #ElkHunting #Elk #BullElk #CowElk #BigGame #ElkCalls #BugleTube #MouthCalls #ElkReeds #IdahoHunting #WashingtonHunting #Podcast #HuntingPodcast #SlayerCalls #CallTheWild #SlayTheDay #SlayEm

RMEF World Elk Calling Content finalist Joe McCarthy knows a thing or two about bugling for bulls. He's been hunting elk along the ridgetops and drainages of Idaho's mountains for decades. 

McCarthy shares his expertise on reading the language and emotion of bulls, cows and calves, from mews and chirps to barks and bugles. For new hunters, McCarthy explains the classic rules of archery elk hunting: choosing your location, calling, and staying downwind. But those rules? They're all meant to be broken, if it means you'll be eating elk steaks by the end of the hunt.

In this episode of The Slayer Hunting Podcast, host Tommy Sessions talks with Slayer Calls CEO Bill Ayer, Slayer PRO Tanner Hardy and Slayer product innovation lead McCarthy about the language of elk and the secrets of successful bow hunts.

Elk hunting articles:

- 7 tips for your first archery elk hunt

- How to choose your first elk call

- E-scout to maximize success on out-of-state elk hunts

- Star of The Wild Race lands a 6x8 bull on her first elk hunt

Slayer calls related to this episode:

- ArchAngel acrylic elk call

- Swagger handle

- Enchantress push button call

- Slayer cow external call

- Slayer mouth reeds

---
#Hunting #HuntingLife #ElkSeason #ElkCalling #ElkHunting #Elk #Bulls #Cows #BigGame #ElkCalls #BugleTube #MouthCalls #ElkReeds #HowToCall #LearnToCall #FieldHunts #IdahoHunting #Podcast #HuntingPodcast #SlayerCalls #CallTheWild #SlayTheDay #SlayEm 

What was it like the first time an elk responded to your call? Drop us a line at [email protected] to share.

Thanks for listening! We’d love to have you back, so subscribe to The Slayer Hunting Podcast to make sure you don’t miss an episode. Listen to The Slayer Hunting Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

Connect with us on Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel to feed your obsession between episodes.

If you’d like to support Slayer Calls, 10% of each purchase goes to organizations that protect the environment and wildlife, support conservation efforts and preserve America’s hunting heritage. Grab a gift card for the hunters in your life to celebrate everything from birthdays to holidays to the start of duck season. 

The duck hunters at Slayer Calls are the ones you might see out hunting every day of duck season. During a recent morning hunt, they limited out long before a nearby group of hunters. The difference? How they read the ducks.

The type of land, weather, time of year and even specific flock of ducks impacts the way serious duck hunters build blinds, set up their decoy spread and call in ducks. These longtime duck hunters discuss the ways they read ducks and make adjustments, including what calls they choose and how they blow them.

In this episode of The Slayer Hunting Podcast, Slayer's Tommy Sessions talks with Slayer Calls CEO Bill Ayer, Slayer PRO Tanner Hardy and duck hunter Collin Cooper. For these guys, every day of duck season is another opportunity to wake up early and do the thing they love.

#Hunting #HuntingLife #DuckSeason #DuckCalling #DuckHunting #Ducks #Geese #GooseHunting #Waterfowl #DuckCalls #OpenBore #Cutdown #DoubleReed #SingleReed #GooseCalls #HowToCall #LearnToCall #WaterHunts #FieldHunts #Podcast #HuntingPodcast #SlayerCalls #SlayTheDay #SlayEm #CallTheWild

Duck calling and hunting tips:

- Call the Wild training

- 7 killer late-season duck tactics

- Duck calling tips for beginners

- A hunter's guide to waterfowl guns and ammo

- 5 tips for success hunting on public land

Slayer calls mentioned in this episode:

- Drake Slayer, Double Reed

- Drake Slayer, Single Reed

- Suzie Slayer — bocote wood

- Pearly Gates Cutdown

- The Ranger, Double Reed — open bore design

- The Ranger, Single Reed — open bore design

- Slayer Cutdown 00

- Honker Slayer Goose Call

--- 

What helped you figure out how to read ducks? Drop us a line at [email protected] to share.

Thanks for listening! We’d love to have you back, so subscribe to The Slayer Hunting Podcast to make sure you don’t miss an episode. Listen to The Slayer Hunting Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

Connect with us on Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel to feed your obsession between episodes.

Her first-ever elk hunt. On public land. On opening day of rifle season. And she lands a 6x8 bull.

The Wild Race star Jessica Ann grew up whitetail, turkey, small game and predator hunting in Wisconsin. She added waterfowling to her list of passions a decade ago. When she got bariatric weight loss surgery in 2020, she set a goal for herself: Go on an elk hunt and, in Jessica's words, "don't die."

Traversing the steep Idaho terrain and taking down a massive bull checks that goal off Jessica's list. But that's not all. By the age of 30, she's made a name for herself as an outdoorswoman, hosts her own hunting show and runs a nonprofit to teach kids safe and ethical hunting practices from a young age. 

In this episode of The Slayer Hunting Podcast, Slayer's Bill Ayer and Tommy Sessions talk with Jessica Ann about landing her TV show, starting The Wild Race Foundation and, of course, that wild first elk hunt.

Connect with The Wild Race's Jessica Ann:

- Video of Jessica Ann's Idaho elk hunt

- Jessica's Instagram

- The Wild Race on Instagram

- The Wild Race on YouTube

- The Wild Race website

- The Wild Race Foundation

More for elk hunters:

- Slayer Podcast: How to maximize success on out-of-state hunts

- Elk hunting tips for beginners

- Troubleshooting your elk hunt

More for duck hunters:

- Slayer Podcast: Call more ducks, kill more ducks

- A hunter's guide to waterfowl guns and ammo

- Clothing tips for staying warm and dry on your duck hunt

--- 

How do you give back to the hunting and outdoors community? Leave a comment or drop us a line at [email protected] to share.

Thanks for listening! We’d love to have you back, so subscribe to The Slayer Hunting Podcast to make sure you don’t miss an episode. Listen to The Slayer Hunting Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

Connect with us on Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel to feed your obsession between episodes.

If you’d like to support Slayer Calls, 10% of each purchase goes to organizations that protect the environment and wildlife, support conservation efforts and preserve America’s hunting heritage. Grab a gift card for the hunters in your life to celebrate everything from birthdays to holidays to the start of duck season. 

#Hunting #HuntingLife #ElkSeason #RifleSeason #Elk #BullElk #DuckSeason #DuckCalling #DuckHunting #Ducks #Waterfowl #IdahoHunting #WisconsinHunting #Huntress #WhatGetsYouOutdoors #TheWildRace #Podcast #HuntingPodcast #SlayerCalls #SlayTheDay #SlayEm 

 Matt Carey is the guy calling in the blind who makes you decide to quietly tuck your lanyard back under your jacket. His duck calling is good. It's make-you-feel-embarrassed-about-your-quack good.

But Matt Carey is also the guy who wants every kid, man and woman to be as self-assured about their own calling as he is when they're working ducks. And so he teaches them.

"I just want people to feel confident," Matt says on this episode of The Slayer Hunting Podcast. "And then I want people to be able to kill ducks."

Easier said than done. New hunters often struggle to learn the basics of calling. And we've all been in the blind with someone who clearly, um, missed a few crucial lessons. But Matt has helped dozens of waterfowlers improve their calling. Now, he's the lead instructor for Slayer's Call the Wild how-to series, doling out the kind of guidance that he thinks is missing from YouTube tutorials.

It turns out, you can put a price tag on confident calling. It's $16.99.

In this episode of The Slayer Hunting Podcast, Slayer's Tommy Sessions talks with Matt Carey about his outdoor lifestyle photography, his passion for duck calling and how every hunter can become a better caller.

Connect with this episode's guest, hunter and outdoor lifestyle photographer Matt Carey:

- Instagram
- Facebook
- Matt Carey Photography website
- Previous podcast episode with Matt

Slayer calls mentioned in this episode:

- The Ranger, Double Reed — open bore design
- Drake Slayer, Single Reed
- Drake Slayer, Double Reed
- Suzie Slayer — bocote wood

Duck calling and hunting tips:

- Call the Wild: Learn to call with Matt Carey
- Pre-season waterfowl checklist
- Pre-season decoy prep
- A hunter's guide to waterfowl guns and ammo
- 5 tips for success hunting on public land

What was the best duck calling tip you ever got? Leave a comment or drop us a line at [email protected] to share.

Thanks for listening! We’d love to have you back, so subscribe to The Slayer Hunting Podcast to make sure you don’t miss an episode. Listen to The Slayer Hunting Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

Connect with us on Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel to feed your obsession between episodes.

If you haven't filled your elk tag yet this season, Steve Raudenbush can teach you a thing or two. 

Steve and his brother, Jake, are the guys behind Mtn2Coast Outdoors. You've probably seen some of their hunting videos on YouTube. The duo are obsessed with hunting the backcountry of the West for elk, black bear and deer. Even when it's a pain in the rump, Steve films their hunts — which means he catches all the wild moments and amazing shots on camera. 

Steve and Jake spend the autumn months chasing bugles any chance they get. To make it happen, Steve Raudenbush spends hours analyzing hunting data, compiling spreadsheets and prioritizing zones for out-of-state tags. After he's locked in his hunting zone, Raudenbush spends even more time e-scouting and, of course, making spreadsheets to prioritize hunting spots. The hard work pays off with meat in the freezer for both Steve and Jake … like the two bull elk they bagged on public land in five days, or the two black bears they took the first night of a hunt. 

The Raudenbush brothers didn't grow up in a hunting family, so what these adult-onset hunters know about e-scouting, tracking and slaying big game comes from videos and podcasts like this one. 

In this episode of The Slayer Hunting Podcast, Steve Raudenbush wows Slayer Calls' Bill Ayer and Tommy Sessions with scouting and elk hunting tips from his stories in the backcountry — proving that every hunter still has something more to learn.

Connect with this episode's guest, Steve Raudenbush from Mtn2Coast Outdoors:

- YouTube channel

- Instagram

- Facebook

- Mtn2Coast Outdoors website

- Video: Slaying two bull elk

- Video: Taking two black bears

Get ready to bag your own elk with these articles:

- The top 5 mistakes elk hunters make

- 4 hot weather elk hunting tips

- Elk hunting tips for beginners: The do's and don'ts

- Inside the hunting pack: Elk season essentials

- Tips for choosing your first elk call

Connect with us on Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel to feed your obsession between episodes.

Joe McCarthy knows elk hunting.

Raised in a family of hunters, McCarthy has been calling the wild since he was a kid. He started with ducks but thrives on the thrill of calling in big game. He's dedicated enough — and good enough — that he once bugled a grunting bull in so close that he was getting splashed with pee. 

McCarthy put his bugling skills to the test in 2022 at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's world elk calling championships, where he made it to the final round of competition in the professional division. As the product innovation lead at Slayer Calls, McCarthy has been able to put his decades of experience to use developing calls and building elk reeds that work exactly the way a serious hunter wants them to. He's been archery and rifle hunting for elk all over Idaho for decades, scouting out reliable hunting spots, scrambling over the rugged landscape, and packing out hundreds of pounds of meat for the freezer.

In this episode of The Slayer Hunting Podcast, McCarthy shares wisdom earned from long years of hunting elk in the Rocky Mountains. Slayer Calls' Bill Ayer and Tommy Sessions get McCarthy to reveal his best advice about scouting, breaking in new gear, getting in shape, filling your hunting pack, and packing out that massive elk you bagged. 

Check out posts and resources from this episode:

- onX Maps

- Garmin inReach

- Eberlestock hunting packs

- Slayer Calls brings Joe and Cody McCarthy into the blind

- Joe McCarthy takes 4th place at RMEF World Elk Calling Championships

Get ready to bag your own elk with these articles:

- Tips for choosing your first elk call

- Inside 2021 world elk calling champion Cody McCarthy's hunting pack

- Archery elk hunt: 7 tips for a first-timer

- 4 hot weather elk hunting tips

- Elk hunting tips for beginners: The do's and don'ts

--- 

"I'd never start elk season without ______." Leave a comment or drop us a line at [email protected] to share your top tip to prepare for a successful elk season.

Thanks for listening! We’d love to have you back, so subscribe to The Slayer Hunting Podcast to make sure you don’t miss an episode. Listen to The Slayer Hunting Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

Connect with us on Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel to feed your obsession between episodes.

#Hunting #HuntingLife #ElkCalling #ElkHunting #BigGame #ElkCalls #ElkTags #HowToHunt #LearnToHunt #HuntingPack #IdahoHunting #ArcheryHunting #RifleHunting #RockyMountainElkFoundation #RMEF #Podcast #HuntingPodcast #SlayerCalls #SlayTheDay #SlayEm

When this pair of blue-collar Michigan hunters hits the road for their first archery elk hunt, their destination is a unit in mountainous northern Idaho. Their plan? Pick up over-the-counter tags and see what happens.

After 33 hours of driving, countless attempts to perfect their elk calling, and an awkward urinal conversation, these first-timers are traversing peaks and gullies on their do-it-yourself hunt. Swarms of angry bees, a handy fanny pack, and an 800 lb. monster bull await them on this wild adventure.

In this episode of The Slayer Hunting Podcast, Tagged Outdoors Media's Art'om Rank and Mitchell Langer talk with Slayer Calls' Bill Ayer and Tommy Sessions about waterfowling, fishing and their group's mission to "Hunt as One."

Follow the team at Tagged Outdoors:

- Tagged Outdoors Instagram and Art'om's taxidermied bull

- Tagged Outdoors YouTube

- Tagged Outdoors Facebook

Get ready to bag your own elk with these articles:

- Archery elk hunt: 7 tips for a first-timer

- 4 hot weather elk hunting tips

- Elk hunting tips for beginners: The do's and don'ts

- You've located a bull. Now what?

- Tips for choosing your first elk call

--- 

What last-minute decisions made all the difference in your big hunt? Leave a comment or drop a line to [email protected] to tell us all about it. 

Thanks for listening! We’d love to have you back, so subscribe to The Slayer Hunting Podcast to make sure you don’t miss an episode. Listen to The Slayer Hunting Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

Connect with us on Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel to feed your obsession between episodes.

If you’d like to support Slayer Calls, 10% of each purchase goes to organizations that protect the environment and wildlife, support conservation efforts and preserve America’s hunting heritage. Grab a gift card for the hunters in your life to celebrate everything from birthdays to holidays to the start of elk season. 

#Hunting #HuntingLife #ElkCalling #ElkBull #ElkHunting #BigGame #ElkCalls #DuckHunting #DuckCalls #Fishing #IdahoHunting #MichiganFishing #Podcast #SlayTheDay #SlayEm #HuntingPodcast

When we recorded this podcast in fall 2021, we didn't know we were talking about Jesse Hill's last hunting season.

Richard Tilton is one of the many hunters who Jesse charmed with his outgoing personality, his jokes and stories, and his huge heart. Jesse let others know how much they mattered — and hunting with Richard during elk season in 2021 was no different. Jesse, wielding the Swagger Bugle Tube, made history by calling in the first bull ever killed with a Slayer handle. Richard took down the now-infamous Slayer1Bull with Jesse's loud, aggressive bugling. 

After Jesse's passing at age 46, we devoted the ArchAngel acrylic handle — a call that can truly make a difference in an elk hunter’s success — to Jesse and all hunters whose memories we hold close. We know we'll be killing even more bulls this season with the ArchAngel, and with Jesse watching over us.

In this episode of The Slayer Hunting Podcast, Richard and Slayer Calls CEO Bill Ayer talk about how Richard and Jesse met while elk hunting, and the story of how Jesse called in the Slayer1Bull during Idaho's archery season. 

Be a part of Jesse Hill's story:

- ArchAngel acrylic elk call, the game-changing bugle tube dedicated to Jesse
- Swagger Bugle Tube, the call Jesse used to bring in Slayer1Bull
- Share your memories of meaningful hunters in your life with the Slayer community

Get ready for elk season with these resources:

- Archery elk hunt: 7 tips for a first-timer
- 4 hot weather elk hunting tips
- Elk hunting tips for beginners: The do's and don'ts
- You've located a bull. Now what?
- Tips for choosing your first elk call

--- 

Who set an example for you of livin', huntin' and talkin' to make a difference in others' lives? Leave a comment or drop a line to [email protected] to tell us all about it. 

Thanks for listening! We’d love to have you back, so subscribe to The Slayer Hunting Podcast to make sure you don’t miss an episode. Listen to The Slayer Hunting Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

Connect with us on Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel to feed your obsession between episodes.

If you’d like to support Slayer Calls, 10% of each purchase goes to organizations that protect the environment and wildlife, support conservation efforts and preserve America’s hunting heritage. Grab a gift card for the hunters in your life to celebrate everything from birthdays to holidays to the start of elk season. 

If you’ve ever watched a flock of ducks flying in right before shooting light, you know it’s a riveting and spellbinding experience. It’s a tough moment to capture on film, yet Darren Meharg, a duck and turkey hunter out of Judsonia, Arkansas, has done just that many times. 

Arkansas duck season lasts about 60 days. You can find Darren out in the field for at least 40 of those, hunting the woods and wetlands for everything from mallards to teal. But it’s not just the thrill of the hunt that pushes him outdoors every free moment he has — it’s also a love for observing and photographing the landscape and wildlife, which he does with a variety of equipment.

In this episode of The Slayer Hunting Podcast, Darren shares his passion for Arkansas duck and turkey hunting, as well as his strategies for capturing his quarry on camera.

Follow Darren Meharg on Instagram: @duckhunter_darren_meharg

More tips and tricks from Slayer Calls:

- How to Hide With a Blind: 5 waterfowler tips for blending in better

- Everything You Need to Know About Turkey Decoys

- 6 Turkey Locator Calls You Need to Try

- Canadas are Waterfowl: Tips for hunting Canada geese

- 9 Things Every New Duck Hunter Really Needs: Resources and Gear

Arkansas hunting resources:

- Arkansas Game & Fish Commission: Turkey

- Arkansas Game & Fish Commission: Waterfowl

--- 

What’s your experience hunting ducks and turkey in Arkansas? Leave a comment or drop a line to [email protected] to tell us all about it. 

Thanks for listening! We’d love to have you back, so subscribe to The Slayer Hunting Podcast to make sure you don’t miss an episode. Listen to The Slayer Hunting Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

Connect with us on Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel to feed your obsession between episodes.

If you’d like to support Slayer Calls, 10% of each purchase goes to organizations that protect the environment and wildlife, support conservation efforts and preserve America’s hunting heritage. Grab a gift card for the hunters in your life to celebrate everything from birthdays to holidays to the start of duck season.