DIY Sportsman - Sportsmen's Empire

Mini Shotgun Setup for Turkey

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett discusses what has become his favorite shotgun setup for specifically hunting turkeys. This is a gun he originally purchased for his wife, but after setting it up and making a couple of customizations, Garrett has been using it for all of his hunts as well. In the episode, Garrett breaks down the actual make and model of the gun, the choke setup, after market stock, pistol grips versus standard sporter style grips, sling mounts, and red dots compared to the standard bead sight. He also mentions a couple drawbacks of the concept that could be noteworthy depending on your preference.

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Mike Funderburk and Hunt Better

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 9 Mar 2023 10:00:00 +0000

On today's episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett sits down with Mike Funderburk out of South Carolina to talk about the Hunt Better platform. This new content platform puts a focus on teaching and preserving woodsmanship skills through livestreams, detailed video hunt breakdowns, and long format video conversations. Mike explains what initiated the idea, what people can expect, and where things are headed. In addition to talking about the Hunt Better platform, Garrett and Mike talk about hunting in the South and how it differs from the Midwest, what types of deer habitat features that seem to be common across the country, technology, challenge hunts, and how experience can often be one of the best guides for learning skills first hand.

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Planning Efficiency for Post-Season Scouting

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 10:00:00 +0000

In today's episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett lays out a short and sweet planning method to help you scout efficiently as we get closer to early spring and prime-time for most post season scouting. It's key to remember what the main focus is for post-season scouting, what you can learn, but also what you can't. Then use the amount of available time combined with goals to methodically pre-plan routes and loops and adjust as necessary. It's an easier method to ensure you gather the most amount of good intel in the time you have available.

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Calling In-Season Audibles with Rendell Erik

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 9 Feb 2023 10:00:00 +0000

On today's podcast Garrett speaks with guest Rendell Erik. He's been on the podcast now a few times to talk about scouting and hunt recaps. Based in Iowa, much of his focus is on finding and targeting the biggest and oldest bucks that he can find across a variety of public land pieces that he keeps tabs on. Today's episode is a little different. It's more about calling audibles, dealing with challenges, trying to make the best decisions on the fly as possible when plans A, B, and C blow up. Often Rendell Erik fills his tag earlier in the season before the rut kicks into full gear. This year, after sacrificing some of his season to scout and hunt with a good mutual friend of ours who had drawn a non-resident tag, he had to dig deep and hunt throughout the rut and even into the later gun seasons. He also saw more pressure this year than in years past, and had dry conditions and crop rotations that made early season patterns less repeatable than normal. This is an insightful episode because because it looks at how you can take a good mental approach and take the right actions when things aren't going your way.

Alabama Veteran's Hunt Recap

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 10:00:00 +0000

In this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett recaps his recent trip down to Alabama for the second annual Veteran's Hunt put together by Spartan Forge. This event helped raise money for two organizations supporting vets as well as provide a fun hunt atmosphere for everyone involved. Prior to the actual hunt starting, Garrett had driven down from Minnesota to do a day of scouting and still hunting a vast area of public land, which ended up yielding deer sightings at close range and confidence for any potential future trips going back.

Once the hunt started, Garrett paired up with a marine corps vet to hunt with. They ended up killing deer on back-to-back-to-back evenings, and Garrett describes some of the hunts in more detail which were a combination of pre-sets, hang-and-hunts, and still hunting in the rain. Camp camaraderie, stories, jokes, and food were top notch.

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Top 5 Things You Can Be Doing Right Now as a Deer Hunter

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Today on the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett discusses five of the best things you could be doing right now related to hunting. Seasons have ended in most midwestern states, and if you're towards the northern edge of that you've still got 1 to 2 feet of snow on the ground. Seems like ice fishing could be your best bet. But there are some pretty valuable activities that you can still do during the winter months. Some of the items include analyzing certain details of the 2022 hunting season, some are more forward thinking, and others are just a bunch of fun.

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Deer Season Strategy Review

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 10:00:00 +0000

On today's episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett does a strategy review and analysis as a baseline for how to improve next year. He doesn't review any of the specific hunt details because those already have their own hunt breakdown episodes. This exercise is one that Garrett does each year with to help review and analyze what did or didn't work to try and improve for the following season. That action is something which can help anyone, and it's a useful tool even outside of deer hunting.

Garrett will plan on doing much of the same weapon type hunting next year, using a combination of traditional and compound hunting across a handful of tags. But there might be a change to the location of the earliest velvet hunt, and there will certainly be a change in the location of any firearms hunting. Garrett also talked about an additional strategy he'd need to employ to help be better prepared to tackle his pre-rut hunts next year.

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String Jumping and Arrow speed, Ranch Fairy and Darrel Barnette

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 10:00:00 +0000

On today's episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett sits down with Troy Fowler (aka the Ranch Fairy) and Darrel Barnette, who some of you may have also seen on either the Ranch Fairy channel or watching the Hunting Public. Garrett put together a string jump timeframe dataset corresponding to arrow speed and time of flight for discussion. The data was derived entirely on video footage Garrett had from deer shot at inside of 30 yards, but mostly inside of 20. Much of the string jumping debate seems to revolve around longer shots and whether or not speed is irrelevant compared to how fast deer can react. But rarely do you hear people talk about the relationship for close range shots. The group discusses that topic and also some of the longer range unknowns. There's not really any agenda pushing in this episode. It's just open dialogue discussing a data set, how it might apply to your own decision making, what limitations are there, and what type of additional questions we still have and data we'd like to collect and analyze to continue to learn.

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Gun Season BowHunt Success

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 1 Dec 2022 10:00:00 +0000

On this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett breaks down his archery hunt success out of state. This hunt was during a firearms season as well. That pressure did play a role in strategy, but so did timing in proximity to the peak breeding timeframe of the rut. Garrett describes the thought process and strategy going in, how that changed over the first several hours in the woods, what type of sign he found to trigger setting up in a tree right away, and the play-by-play of the hunt. In addition, some of the details related to the frontal shot were broken down in this episode.

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Rut Hunt Success Breakdown

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 10:00:00 +0000

In this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett reviews the hunt strategy and breakdown of his Wisconsin buck. In addition to discussing terrain features, setup relationship to bedding, and the actual hunt unfolding, he discussed some unforeseen challenges through late October that required a change of plans, strategy, and goals heading into the rut. This was also the first deer in a long time Garrett had shot using a lighter arrow and big mechanical, so he gives his performance observations there.

Sam's Solo Success and Season Update

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 3 Nov 2022 09:00:00 +0000

On this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett does a recap of the season thus far, including early season hunts with the recurve, some things that really surprised him about observations in the woods and on camera the past couple of weeks in October, dealing with nearly record high warm weather in the pre-rut, and a breakdown of Sam's recent successful solo hunt on public land.

Clothing Systems for All-Day Rut Hunting

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 09:00:00 +0000

In today's episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett breaks down clothing for the rut. The rut entails two major considerations - wild ranges of potential temperature and weather along with sitting all day. In just the last couple of years in the upper midwest, temperatures have ranged from as warm as 70 degrees to below zero. True all day sits don't give much of an opportunity to recharge your metabolism throughout the day, meaning that it's easy to feel like your clothing warmth is underperforming if you don't plan correctly.

Garrett covers keeping your feet dry and warm, choosing appropriate base layers, layers worn into the woods, and layers packed in along with accessories to keep hands and head warm and dry. For the purposes of the rut, Garrett's general plan and recommendation has shifted somewhat over the years from being more efficient while packing to being more functional while in the tree while making minimal compromises.

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October Bow Hunting Tips

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 6 Oct 2022 09:00:00 +0000

On today's episode, Garrett talks about bowhunting in the month of October, which has become his favorite month overall to hunt in the Midwest. September can be nice because of the mild weather and of cover to help hide you in the tree. Bed to food patterns can be easy to identify, and deer can be less on edge. And of course November can also be incredible, though the second half of that month is usually the heaviest hunting pressure of the entire year with the various gun seasons, so often the best rut hunting is isolated, it can be very cold, and you can still put in long hours and slow days waiting for that one key flurry of activity.

October seems to blend the best of both months. Dressing for the weather is very manageable. Deer movement can be average to very good, and it steadily improves over the course of the month. Deer movement is also much more predictable than November, both from a bedding perspective as well as year-over-year repeatability. The cover has been knocked down a bit since September which improves shooting lanes, but not so much so that the trees you're hunting out of are barren. Hunting pressure usually isn't too bad either. So in this episode Garrett covers eight tips to keep in mind to help making October hunting successful.

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Hunting and Climbing Gear Choices

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett discusses his mobile hunting gear along with key considerations to make when choosing between popular styles. While weight, noise, and bulk are items hotly discussed, a very key influencing factor for Garrett is versatility, function, and ease of use in a wide variety of scenarios, habitats, and states.

Some of the main choices discussed are platform size, platforms versus ring of steps, multiple climbing sticks versus single sticking, fixed aiders compared to moveable aiders, minimalist packs against more rigid hybrid-frame packs, and self filming options. This podcast is also supported by a link which contains the gear talked about in more of a broken down list view: https://diy-sportsman.com/2017/12/29/deer-hunting-gear-list-2017/

North Dakota Early Season with Bill Thompson and Johnny Stewart

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 8 Sep 2022 09:00:00 +0000

On this episode of the DIY Sportsman Podcast, Garrett sits down with Bill Thompson, owner of Spartan Forge, and Johnny Stewart while at hunting camp in North Dakota. While Garrett's done this trip a few times of the past couple of years, a bunch of members all got together this year to share camp near some of Bill's old stomping ground. Garrett and Johnny recap what exactly they've been keying in on in terms of sign while the primary food source is shifting day by day and how they've adapted to pressure. Johnny goes over the moves he made while reading sign to set up in an area where he got an opportuntiy at a giant, Bill provides some historical detail and reference for how things have changed in this area since he hunted it growing up. The group also dives into one aspect of hunting which can really help drive success in low odds situations which is how and why to maintain a positive outlook and have confidence feed off of it.

Breaking Down new Public Properties with Shane Simpson

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 25 Aug 2022 09:00:00 +0000

On today's podcast episode I have Shane Simpson on as a guest. While Shane has hunted a ton of different public hunting properties over the years, in the past two years he's begun a focus to try and learn a new, large piece with the intent to build a library of information and continue to focus on it for years to come. It's somewhat similar to what I've done on a couple properties. So the episode focuses mainly on the multiyear strategy to learn as much as you can each year while also having realistic expectations about what can be achieved each step of the way. We cover summer scouting, spring scouting, trail cameras, talking with other local hunters, focusing on rut vs bed hunting, the fall shift, and more.

We also touch on some of the tracking data collected from over 150 deer recoveries with Shane's dog Callie. Shane and a friend of his had distilled the information down to determine what factors for broadhead and shot style led to the highest chance of recovery along with what some of the key findings were for order of operations with grid searching.

Preseason Preparation List

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 11 Aug 2022 09:00:00 +0000

In today's episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett talks about some of the items you should do your best to check or do prior to the season actually opening. With some exceptions, your first tag might be starting as soon as three weeks from now. Or it might be a little less than two months if you have an October opener and aren't traveling. Regardless, it's right around the corner, and checking some of these items as soon as possible can help give you time to make any corrections prior to the season actually opening.

In the podcast, Garrett breaks down down key details regarding archery and gear checks, practicing with your climbing gear, double checking hunting properties even if you hadn't planned on glassing or using trail cameras prior to the season, and reviewing and analyzing the goals you've set for the season.

Arrow Weight Testing Revisited

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 09:00:00 +0000

On this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett discusses results from an in-depth round of testing different arrow weights and speeds for hunting. These ranged from setups shooting over 315 fps down to setups shooting around 200 fps. Test data included energy and momentum readings both out of the bow and at 40 yards, time of flight to the target, bow noise, arrow noise, broadhead grouping with both fixed and mechanical heads, and range estimation forgiveness for misjudging yardage around 30 yards as well as 60 yards. With Garrett's setup, he learned that the "happy medium" arrow setup he had been using probably wasn't the optimal choice for whitetails.

Early Season Deep Dive with Rendell Erik

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 09:00:00 +0000

On today's episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett has a part-two discussion with Rendell Erik. They talked about summer work in the last episode, but this one focuses a lot more on early season hunting and strategy. It's a conversational format, where they just talk and throughout the process dive into quite a few specific rabbit holes. The recording starts talking about hunting fresh sign versus hunting spots that you found in post-season without fresh sign. But then they shift to talking about crop rotations and early season ag field setups and bedding, how many deer will bed corn but you can still glass or set up on them while they're in that pattern before the harvest. They also discuss hill country, including how to take advantage of wind switches, learning to identify key transition areas in river-bottoms to set up on, primary versus secondary food and browse in staging areas, what to do differently in areas with a high tonnage per acre of browse, using wind and thermals, and even set up specifics like height in the tree on early season hunts among other things.

Summer Scouting with Rendell Erik

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 09:00:00 +0000

On today's episode of the DIY Sportsman Podcast, we're talking summer scouting and strategies once again. This time, I'm talking to Rendell Erik who hunts primarily public land located in Iowa. This is a good contrast to the episodes I posted with Steve Sherk since the terrain is different. However, you'll still see similar tendencies in many cases for what deer are doing throughout the summer months and how to capitalize and maximize your intel. We talk about boots-on-the-ground scouting versus minimizing intrusion, running trail cameras, where to place them, how often to check them, whether it's better to cluster them or spread them way out, mock scrapes, glassing, and even how to start to transition some of the intel into early season plans.

Big Woods Hunting Tactics with Steve Sherk

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 09:00:00 +0000

On today's episode we have Round 2 of taking to Steve Sherk from Pennsylvania as a guest. In the last episode with Steve, the discussion focused more on summer scouting and trail camera strategies. In today's episode, we're taking that information and transitioning into fall. Steve starts out with the story of his buck last year, how he used information from scouting to capitalize, and even how he shifted his strategy according to what he was seeing amongst multiple bucks he was following. Then we also talk about other fall hunting strategies, scrapes, clear cuts, ground set ups, and mature buck tendencies surrounding weather and time of year that Steve sees consistently repeat themselves.

Summer Hunting Strategy with Steve Sherk

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 2 Jun 2022 09:00:00 +0000

On today's episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Steve Sherk is on as the guest. Steve guides deer hunters in the vast national forest land of Pennsylvania and gathers annual observational data from a huge multitude of trail cameras in addition to visual sightings from boots on the ground scouting year round and hunts in the fall. Steve and Garrett finally met in person for the first time recently at a Spartan Forge retreat. With summer right around the corner, Garrett asks Steve about scouting and trail camera tactics specific to the summer months. Steve doesn't have agriculture around in the areas he hunts, but the deer do have other summer food sources which are heavy draws in the summer months leading up into the early fall. They discuss those food sources, where and how to place cameras for inventory, how far a buck might shift from summer to fall, whether or not to dive into the bedding areas and fall hunt locations, how Steve sets up his cameras and whether he does any protection for ants or bears, how often to check cameras, observational sits, and what to do if you get a single picture of a new big buck and want to take the next steps to honing in your search and learning more about his patterns going into the fall.

Wisconsin Turkey Double

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 19 May 2022 09:00:00 +0000

On this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett talks about his recent weekend trip to hunt public land in WI in which he shot two birds on back to back mornings. For the first bird, terrain layout and tree type played a massive role in the setup, because the bird appeared to be roosting in a place where his most likely travel after fly-down was likely to be in one specific direction. The second bird required a bit more trial and error to try and locate and roost, but the set up was driven more by prior experience hunting that area than it was strictly looking at the map. Garrett also talks about the opportunities for over-the-counter late season tags in WI and choosing between smaller areas with higher turkey populations versus larger areas with lower turkey densities.

Turkey Roosting and Hunting Strategy

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 5 May 2022 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett gives two hunt breakdowns from his recent Iowa hunt with Shane Simpson. On the first hunt, which ended in a successful setup, Garrett discusses the hunt details. However, perhaps more importantly, he dives into the decision making process of the access and set up pre-dawn, knowing exactly where to best position on the terrain for pulling the bird into shotgun range and not hanging up. On the second hunt breakdown, Garrett describes a similar scenario that ended up with a big tom hanging just out of shotgun range, and what the two could and should have done differently in hindsight.

Commitment to Traditional Archery Hunt

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 09:00:00 +0000

On today's episode, Garrett dives into his plan for filling a traditional tag this year, along with the detailed steps to build confidence along the way. In the past, Garrett has hunted with a traditional bow and even built a bow to hunt with. However, due to confidence and repeatability issues had largely kept it just "for fun" the past couple of years. But that doesn't have to be the case. There are many fantastic resources and training tools available to the modern archer, and there is no reason you can't build yourself up to the point where you have total control and confidence in your shot, despite the weapon of choice. In addition to talking through and reviewing some of those tools, Garrett also talks about the focus areas and how they'll change over the next several months leading up to the season.

Turkey Hunting Basics

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 7 Apr 2022 09:00:00 +0000

In today's episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett talks turkey hunting. But instead of picking a particular topic and doing a deep dive on it, this one is more high level. There are a lot of guys who've just been getting into turkey hunting, and apart from being able to watch videos online, might not necessarily know what they might be doing right or wrong, or what gear is seen as essential vs just nice to have vs gimmicky. Some of the topics and items I'll cover might seem pretty basic to experienced turkey hunters, but some of it is stuff I didn't even realize, figure out or learn until several years of doing it.

Spring Scouting with Rendell Erik

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 09:00:00 +0000

On today's Episode I have Rendell Erik on again as a guest. Today's discussion is focused on post season scouting. He's got a goal of hitting the 300 mile mark this season, and at the time this episode drops, he's already pretty close to if not over 100. Instead of spending large amounts of time on ultra vast landscapes, Rendell Erik casts a net over dozens of smaller properties to keep tabs on. In this podcast, we discuss what he looks for, how he stays efficient, how he qualifies a public property that's worth coming back to, and how he's thinking about the overall fall plan during the process. The episode starts off with recent intel gathered on a river bottom property; however, specific examples are given in multiple terrain types along with how successful hunts and observations relate to learning the land in the off season.

Ice Fishing Essentials with Sean McVeigh

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 10:00:00 +0000

On today's podcast we have a little change of pace. One of my friends, Sean McVeigh recently took up ice fishing, which has been something I've done now for a couple decades. Being so new and not really being sure of all the ins and outs, Sean and I had talked quite a bit about how to get started. This included defining what the bare necessities are and what the pros and cons are for various levels of equipment. Ice fishing is another one of those things where it seems like you can spend as much or as little as you want, but there are definitely certain areas you don't want to skimp out on. We recorded this episode in the hopes that anyone else new to ice fishing might have a resource to look into and be able to help guide their decision making process for choosing rods, augers, line, reels, shelters, and electronics.

Benefits and Pitfalls of Spring Scouting

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 10:00:00 +0000

On this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett discusses six benefits of spring scouting but also six pitfalls of spring scouting. It's never a bad idea to get out in the woods and cover some ground in early spring before the woods green up. But there is a risk to putting too much stock into certain aspects of what you learn. In years past, Garrett had chosen to hunt areas almost entirely off of intel gained in the off-season, which can be fine during certain times of the year, but could be wasting time in others without paying attention to additional contextual clues.

Biggest Lessons from the 2021 Hunting Season

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 10:00:00 +0000

On today's podcast I'm going to discuss some of the biggest lessons learned through the 2021 season. Now that the season has been over for several weeks, I've taken time to reflect and write these things down for myself, in the hopes that I can make improvements for the next year. In the episode, I talk through my list and give some specific examples, along with what I'm doing this next year to improve. I tried to focus on items that most people can hopefully learn from as well. Some topics are specific to general deer hunting, some to travel hunting, some to trying to hunt older deer, some to hunting with others, some to trail cameras, and some to trying to easily film with minimal camera gear.

Jared Shaffer's Incredible 2022 Season

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 10:00:00 +0000

On today's Podcast we have Jared Shaffer on the line. He's a past guest and good friend of mine. Even though he's located out in West Virginia we end up seeing each other a fair amount through work with Tethrd. Jared has had an absolutely phenomenal season, shooting 5 bucks across various states, plus filming each of his family members filling tags, plus shooting a giant sika stag, and a bobcat.

Jared and I discuss some of the specifics of his hunts, but also dive into what, if anything he did differently to see so much success this year in comparison to years past.

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Iowa Muzzleloader Hunt Recap

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 13 Jan 2022 10:00:00 +0000

On today's episode I'm discussing my recent Iowa trip. This year I'd gone down there to do a late season muzzleloader hunt, as it's still a somewhat easy tag to draw, but gave more time than the shotgun seasons, with less hunting pressure. I'll discuss the initial strategy, what changed, what things I wasn't expecting, where I located bigger bucks, hunt strategies employed, and things I would do the same or differently if doing it again in the future.

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BS Session with Paul Putera

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 30 Dec 2021 10:00:00 +0000

On today's episode we once again have Paul Putera. If you didn't listen to the last episode, we discussed some of the tools and techniques that Paul uses for hunting, and it was full of a lot of great info. This episode is more of a BS session in which we discuss a variety of topics.

Discussion areas on this episode include tag strategies, broadhead and arrow setups, shot selection and tracking dogs, proficiency tests, staying warm in colder weather, saddle hunting platforms, and tips for efficiency with both tree stands and saddles.

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Detailed Strategies and Tools with Paul Putera

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 10:00:00 +0000

On this week's episode I have Paul Putera on as a guest. This isn't Paul's first time on the podcast, but he's always fun to listen to and dive deep into the weeds on his very in-depth style of scouting and hunting, which seems to always bring him success in the some of the seemingly vast areas in the northeast. Paul's already taken a couple of great bucks this year by dry ground tracking them back to their bedrooms and setting up close.

In the episode, Paul and I talk a bit about some of those hunts, but also his overall process, in how he tackles an area from an e-scouting perspective but also a year-over-year historical perspective. We spend a good bit of time on hills and how deer can shift even throughout the day, and how to pick up that a buck is in an area without necessarily even having photos or sightings and how to systematically figure out where he's spending most of his time.

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Late Season Hunting Strategy with Johnny Stewart

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 2 Dec 2021 10:00:00 +0000

On today's podcast I've got Johnny Stewart on again as a guest, and we're talking about Late Season. Now, some might call Johnny somewhat of a rut and Late Season specialist, because his job doesn't give him a ton of free time in the early season. So he'll often hunt until the bitter end in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, or even Iowa, and has killed a number of good deer during that timeframe. We discuss big woods, like the national forest that we walked together during the Spartan Forge veterans hunt a couple of weeks ago, and how to find likely food sources in vast areas. Then we also talk about more pocketed areas of land where there might even be ag as a food source. In addition to finding food, we talk setups, access, pressure, weather, and off-the wall tactics like scouting at night when the deer are out feeding away from their bedding areas.

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Being Consistent on Public Land with Brian Dombrowski

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 10:00:00 +0000

In this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett sits down with Brian Dombrowski of Wisconsin, who he originally met while hunting public land on an out-of-state trip. Brian hunts many different habitat types but really enjoys tackling bigger parcels or timber or marshland, where he's been able to take several nice deer over the years. His methods and descriptions of hunting marshes differ a bit from the typical media we here describing them.

In addition to talking about Brian's year round process and using in-season scouting to hone in on a particular area, we also do two hunt breakdowns... one for an old central WI buck taken this year, and another for a giant out-of-state buck that Brian shot in early September.

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Hunt Breakdown with Rendell Erik

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 4 Nov 2021 09:00:00 +0000

On today's episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast we have a great guest, Rendell Erik. We'll be diving into the finer details of his public land Iowa hunt from this year, where he shot a giant, which is also a becoming a fairly regular occurrence for him it seems. One thing that becomes very apparent is the attention to detail for all of the little things, like access, wind, thermal pull, picking the right tree in the right spot the first time in, figuring out what the hottest food source was that current day, being able to stay hidden with deer going through. It's pretty clear that the thought processes and attention to detail, along with knowing what things are truly important and which aren't, are what really helps drive his annual success.

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Hunting Clothing Review

info@sportsmensnation.com (Sportsmen's Empire) — Fri, 22 Oct 2021 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett discusses clothing. Instead of talking about layering philosophy or how to stay warm on stand, Garrett goes into more detail about very specific garments that he's been using new in 2021. These reviews include likes, dislikes, and the best times and areas for application. Clothing discussed in the review include almost all of the new offerings from Thlete, the Savanna and Windbrace sets from Scentlok, the IWOM XT, the new Sitka Incinerator bibs, and even a couple of new boots.

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Navigating the October Lull through Pre-Rut

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Spotsman) — Thu, 7 Oct 2021 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett talks about how to navigate the vast amount of changes that occur between the beginning and the end of the month. Changes include food sources, amount of available security cover, hunting pressure, and hormones. Garrett reviews data of daylight mature buck sightings from the 2020 season in locations near doe bedding throughout the month, and how it compares to sightings before mid-month.

Strategy wise, being successful in early October requires a different mindset and skillset, and it can be important to not overpressure good pre-rut areas too early before bucks have started shifting over or showing up in daylight because of impact on the does. However, Garrett talks about a scouting strategy that has proven to be fairly low impact to gather intel before the pre-rut to help stay on top of anything that may have changed from the prior year.

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Hill Country Hunting Strategy with Jake Bush

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 09:00:00 +0000

On today's episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett interviews Jake Bush about hill country bucks. Jake has lived and hunted in both New York and more recently southern Ohio, and has been able to find a great degree of success scouting, locating, and patterning bucks in the big woods hills.

They breakdown each portion of the season and talk about strategies for each. Jake discusses why a less commonly sought after wind direction is actually his favorite for setting up because the wind and thermal interaction allow him to get set up more undetected. Jake also discusses his experiences hunting scrapes, and which ones he likes to focus on or ignore, and he talks about his scouting methods from shed hunting through summer glassing and trail camera work.

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Nebraska Hunt Recap

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 9 Sep 2021 15:29:49 +0000

In this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett and his wife Sam discuss their recent Nebraska public land deer hunt. Nebraska is of course a large state with some varied habitat, but they decided to go to a region where mule deer were more sought after to reduce the likelihood of pressure from other whitetail hunters. In the episode, the couple talks about the challenges they faced, lessons learned about the area and habitat, as well as a recap of their hunting strategy.

Sam was successful in shooting a doe, so she talked about her mindset during the closing moments and how it compared to some of her experiences earlier in the week with close calls and calming of nerves.

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Pre-Season Hunting Checklist

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 09:00:00 +0000

On this episode of the DIY Sportsman Podcast, Garrett outlines a list of things to do now before the season starts, to make sure that the opener goes as smoothly as possible. The three categories where there are some great opportunities are Archery, Gear, and final Pre-Season Scouting. We are close enough to the season in many states that if everything isn't already flushed out and tested, you can feel a little behind. The last few weeks before the season should be allocated for getting reps in and building additional confidence with a system that has already been locked. However, not everyone will find themselves in that type of a scenario. So in that case, Garrett outlines some things that you can do to try and play catch up and have maximum confidence going into the season.

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Mature Buck Behavior with Johnny Stewart

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 09:00:00 +0000

In today's episode Garett talks to Johnny Stewart, who's got quite a bit of experience hunting in the northeast but also is a traveling hunter and has spent time in many states across the Midwest as well. The topic of conversation is mature buck behavior, which seems at a first glance like it could be a narrow topic but really isn't. One thing that's very obvious in this discussion with Johnny is that older bucks don't operate the same as other deer, but on top of that, they individually have so many different characteristics and behaviors that trying to describe what any given buck might do is challenging. There are so many specific scenarios that could be at play.

Johnny talks about what commonalities he does see, how he goes out to locate and keep tabs on deer, and how he knows when he's ready to go make a move on a particular deer. There are plenty of examples throughout the episode that might help someone relate to something they might be seeing in their own neck of the woods.

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Stabilizers for Bow Hunting with Sam Shaffer

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 09:00:00 +0000

On this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett talks to Sam Shaffer, owner and operator of Titanium Archery products, to talk bow stabilization. After the background discussion, they first dive into vibration suppression and noise, which is a really interesting topic when it comes to deer hunting and one which deserves more research. Then they talk bow stabilization, and what the perceived benefits are for bowhunters, how they can be measured, pitfalls to watch out for, and putting together a set up that actually works for you rather than attempting to band-aid underlying issues or creating new balance issues. It's a good discussion that definitely goes a little into the weeds at some points, as with most of these gear focused podcasts. That said, the information should be helpful for new or experienced archers alike.

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How to Plan Out of State Hunts

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 10:00:00 +0000

In today’s episode Garrett discusses some of the logistics for planning out of state hunts. Let’s face it, more and more people are trying their hand at doing these types of hunts. The popularity has certainly increased due to the media and content from people doing them, and surely the pandemic in some ways is likely boosting those numbers as well. Most of the hesitation to doing an out of state hunt is either due to the confidence level that you’d actually be able to get what you would want out of that hunt. But a large part is surely also due to the logistics, and not knowing what you don’t know.

Over the past several years, Garrett has hunted in Missouri, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Iowa, Colorado, and Georgia, outside of his home state of Minnesota. This year he'll be adding Nebraska and Pennsylvania to the list of states as well. Some of those trips have been group trips, others solo. Some early season, some rut, and some late season. Most were driving, but a couple have been flying, so hopefully this episode will be able to shed some light on the things to be aware of if you’re looking to plan your first out of state hunt this fall.

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Bow and Arrow Prep for Hunting Season

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 1 Jul 2021 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett discusses getting your bow and arrows set up for the upcoming hunting season. Perhaps this is the year you're deciding to try your hand at doing your own bow work, or have maybe dabbled in it in the past, or just have not been happy with something about your hunting setup in the past. The episode goes over bow set up and tuning from scratch.

After discussing bow the bow tune, Garrett discusses arrows and tuning. Unlike bow tuning, arrow tuning has more to do with finding the more forgiving match to your overall system and ensuring each arrow flies consistently with the rest.

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Summer Plans and Public Land Challenges with Greg Litzinger

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 15:16:43 +0000

On this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett talks to Greg Litzinger, who some of you might also know as the Bowhunting Fiend. Although he's located in the northeast, there are definitely many parallels from things that he sees and posts about compared to what Garrett sees in the upper Midwest.

The conversation starts with discussions about scouting, summer plans, and tendencies and challenges faced when trying to hunt various terrain types of public land. Greg located a giant buck close to his home with trail cameras and talked about some of the actions he's putting in place now to try and have a chance at him this fall. Some types of public land seem to get pressured more based on the quantity of social media content describing how to hunt them. Greg and Garrett have both noticed lower pressure in areas that seem harder to pick apart. Later in the episode, Greg talks about technology, the challenges of self filming, and even archery.

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Summer Public Land Trail Camera Strategies

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 3 Jun 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Trail cameras are the topic of today's discussion. In particular, I'll be talking about summer strategies on public land. It seems like much of the info we hear on summer trail cameras focuses around putting them in high visibility areas, along field edges, fence rows, or next to minerals. Well, what if you don't have access to agriculture? What if minerals or other feed is illegal on the land that you hunt? What if you're afraid of theft in high traffic areas? Well, today I'm going to outline some alternative strategies that I'll be employing throughout the summer to try and inventory several different pieces of public across multiple states to get a good preparation for the upcoming season.

In addition to discussing what some of the higher odds locations to place those cameras might be, I also talk about camera density in an area, how to minimize false triggers, maximize the number of true triggers, and how to keep those pesky ants from destroying your camera electronics.

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Late Season Turkey Hunting

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 20 May 2021 09:00:00 +0000

For many people throughout the country, turkey seasons are winding down or have ended. But there are still plenty of opportunities in states like Wisconsin or Minnesota which still have ongoing seasons throughout the month of May. Turkey hunting can require a little shift in strategy this time of year. Birds have been pressured hard, but that same hunting pressure has largely relaxed by now. Hens are spending a lot more time on the nest, and the days are very long. That can give some great opportunity for those willing to put some time in the woods.

This episode does a detailed breakdown of my wife Sam's successful public land hunt this past weekend, and I go into some of the methods and strategies that have proven to be successful on late season gobblers. Many of the questions you see from other turkey hunters revolve around "what type of calling". But that's only a very small, and less important in my opinion, piece of the puzzle.

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Tracking Mature Bucks with Todd Havel Pt. 2

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 6 May 2021 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Todd talks about some of the experiences he's had starting up bowhunting again more recently. Much of the knowledge he's gained over the years tracking fed right into his archery strategy, and he was able to tag a nice buck. It wasn't without its own set of challenges however. Notably, Todd talked about how hunting pressure from guys who had a similar hunting style caused some challenges he wasn't used to from rifle hunting.

We discuss the relative ease of patterning specific bucks in the big woods. Todd feels that there is a common misconception of those deer being nomadic, but he finds that the commonly repeat the exact same things year after year, without minor disturbances like crop rotation present to alter patterns. We talk boots on the ground and trail camera strategies to learn those patterns and take advantage of them.

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Tracking Mature Bucks with Todd Havel Pt. 1

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Todd Havel from Wisconsin is the guest on this podcast. He's spent decades hunting and tracking mature bucks in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. The conversation we had went into enough detail that it made sense to split into two parts. In the first part, Todd talks about his experiences tracking, and breaking down the habitat and tendencies of older bucks. Todd has witnessed them doing things differently than other deer. They spend most of the year in a tight area, but tracking during the rut gives a great opportunity to locate what otherwise would be a hard-to-find deer.

We discuss habitat features, sign that might be left, and tracking skillsets, with several examples. For instance, what happens when there isn't any snow? How far will a mature buck travel in a day? What do they do before bedding down? How do you practice being able to take a quick shot? Even though some of the topics are tracking specific, there are many parallels that can be applied across the board for hunting older bucks in the northern timber.

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Turkey Hunting and Kayaks with Parker McDonald

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 8 Apr 2021 09:00:00 +0000

On today's episode we have Parker McDonald. Those of you who are diligent listeners to the Sportsman's nation podcast network will of course know Parker already through his Southern Ground Hunting Podcast. Or, perhaps you've seen some of his deer or turkey hunting episodes on YouTube. He's one of my go-to guys when I have any questions related to water access or kayak set up, and we certainly go in-depth into kayak rigging, propulsion, and accessories that make the most sense for hunting. Some of his thoughts on motors and lighting were not what I would have originally expected.

Being from the South, Parker's turkey seasons are now well under way. We start off with a great discussion into what Parker's been doing so far, and sort of expand into a general discussion that talks about hunting in Alabama vs other states, access strategies and other topics.

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Hunting From The Ground vs. Treestand

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Over the past several years, I've started incorporating more and more ground setups into my hunting routine. Sometimes they're intentional, while other times they're impromptu, but they are always situational. In this episode, I dive into what makes a set up better or worse for a ground hunt as opposed to a hunt from a tree. Certainly there are obvious scenarios in which there are no suitable trees where ground hunting makes sense. However, there are even times and situations where ground hunting in hardwoods could make sense.

Once the location and scenario calls for ground hunting, there are definitely several things that can impact how good or poor the setup is on a micro level. Back cover, front cover, overhead cover, sun location, wind and thermal flips, and expected shot location all play a key role in whether or not you'll get picked off. Many of these lessons I've found out the hard way either hunting for deer or turkeys. Comfort plays a key role in preventing fidgeting, so I discuss the various seat and back support options that I've found to work best over the years.

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Spring Scouting Tips

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 10:00:00 +0000

On today's podcast, we're going to try something a little different. Right now is absolutely prime time to be out in the woods doing some post-season scouting. Here in the Midwest, the snow is pretty much all melted in most places with the recent warm weather. I've been out in both Wisconsin and Iowa putting boots on the ground, and I will be back out every weekend from now until turkey season.

For this episode, I've gone back through some of the guests we've had on historically who I've discussed post-season scouting with, and I've taken relevant snippets from each of those episodes. I think it's interesting because each guest has their own little spin based on the terrain they hunt and their style.

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Locating & Hunting A Single Buck with Troy Pottenger

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Today we've got a great episode lined up with Troy Pottenger. We go into a great level of detail on his process for systematically locating specific deer to go after, along with perspective on the amount of time and energy generally associated with finding even a single deer Troy would go after. We talk about when he does his boots on the ground scouting, when he sets up is trail cameras, where, and very importantly how and when he checks them to keep a low impact.

We also dive into the specifics of what makes a bulletproof setup. How, in the mountains, wind speed and thermals can override one another or combine to give general wind directions. Troy discusses how he accesses his areas, be it from ridgetop or valley access, and how he makes his final approach, and what types of natural barriers are in place to prevent deer from ever discovering his scent trail. There's a lot of good info packed into this episode, and I learned quite a bit on the finer details that I'm really interested in implementing in some of the areas I hunted last year.

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Mature Buck Behavior with Paul Putera

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 10:00:00 +0000

We have a great episode today. I've got Paul Putera back on as a guest. Now, I did an episode not too long ago with Paul detailing his Big Woods scouting and hunting tactics in a lot of detail, and breaking down the story of his Pennsylvania hunt. Well, he's kept at it and even in the time since recording that last episode has knocked down a couple more great bucks in the Northeast.

Today, we're more specifically discussing mature buck behavior. What do they do differently that all of the other deer we see in the woods, and why do those things make them so hard to hunt. There's some good real-world examples in this one, as well as a good general feel for how much time in the woods you really feel like you need to be spending to accumulate a handful of dynamite big buck spots.

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When is the Best time to Scout after Season?

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 10:00:00 +0000

The obvious answer to "when to post-season scout" is "anytime you can". Most hunters though are limited by family obligations, house projects, or desire for other pursuits like fishing or shed hunting that time of year. So being able to choose the most effective time to get out in the woods to learn the land and previous season's sign can be important.

In this episode, we discuss how to answer that question. In addition, the answer is broken down by habitat type. Certain types of terrain have much more forgiving scouting windows than others, and it can make sense to strategize a spring scouting season around which land has the tightest window for "best scouting" and filling in the gaps around it.

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Wild Game Cooking with Ted Bright

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Ted Bright is one of those guys who takes an above average approach to overall health and wellness. Fitness and hunting are both large contributors, with most of his meat consumption coming from wild game, be it venison, wild turkey, or even other "non traditional" types of meat.

In this podcast we discuss Ted's primary approach to cooking venison, how he ages meat, why he likes to cook large amounts, like a whole shoulder, at once, and how he incorporates planned secondary dishes from leftovers of the primary meal. His methods are usually artsy in nature, rarely following a set recipe. He also utilizes venison fat much more commonly than the average deer hunter. We also touch on portions better suited for "hot and fast" versus "low and slow", cooking wild turkey, and even an experiment with groundhog.

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2020 Gear Review

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 31 Dec 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Although the deer season isn't 100% oven quite yet, many hunters have begun to transition over to other winter activities, which makes this a good time to recap 2020 with the annual gear list review. Some of the items mentioned have already been thoroughly reviewed in other podcasts or YouTube videos, so I spend less time on those specifically. Other items, particularly the ones in bold on the list, I go into a little more detail on.

2020 has certainly been an odd year, but my gear list has finally gotten to the point where it's refined enough that I could happily move on into the next season without any strong desire for changes. That said, there are always new things I like to try, or items for specific use cases. Each one of these categories therefore also has a "wish list" portion in regards to things I'd like to try out for next year.

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Iowa Shotgun Recap

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 16:50:14 +0000

I traveled down to the state of Iowa for the first time to perform a firearms deer hunt. The gun tags for non-residents take significantly fewer points to draw than do non-resident archery tags. In some zones, this could allow a hunting opportunity nearly every year, in a timeframe that doesn't interfere with any other rut hunting. My primary strategy with no prior boots-on-the-ground knowledge was to utilize e-scouting with an emphasis on expected hunter pressure to determine the best locations.

In addition to breaking down how the strategy worked out, I also talk about whether or not I'd plan on doing another shotgun hunt in the future versus applying for points towards an archery tag every few years. Clothing usage was also something I experimented with, using only puffy layers as my primary outerwear to scale the large hills.

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Missouri Rut Recap

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 15:37:08 +0000

This podcast is a rut recap from my 3rd annual Missouri hunt. This hunt starts with a day-by-day breakdown of what areas were scouted, what decision was made based on deer sign available at the time and the overall context of peak breeding timeframe. Overall, I managed to spot around 25 deer in the four days of hunting the big rolling timber, and had shot opportunities, as did other people in the group.

The back end of the podcast recaps more of a lessons learned, and strategy changes based on hindsight. It also dives into advice for others finding themselves in the same type of scenario, which might have been different than what I did with the group hunt atmosphere and location.

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Wisconsin Hunt Breakdown

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 10:00:00 +0000

In this podcast I tell the story of how I scouted into an area that I ended up killing my biggest buck to date. From the time we left the truck, we'd gotten a near shot opportunity, climbed trees and hunted from the saddles, got back down and covered a total of 4.5 miles before finding a spot that dictated that we sit in ambush again. No sooner had we gotten set up on the ground than this guy came walking in, and I got my opportunity.

In the podcast I talk about the weather and its impact on the decisions we made, along with specifically what sign we saw that caused us to stop scouting and sit again. I also had this buck on camera from October a few times but nearly three quarters of a mile away at the time, and primarily nocturnal photos with with unpredictable travel. Mobility really was what made it happen.

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Big Bucks in Big Woods with Paul Putera

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Today's episode is a must listen for anyone hunting big woods areas or who deem themselves mobile hunters (or simply would like to become more mobile). Paul Putera has a knack for locating older bucks in the big timbered lands of the Northeast, scouting and hunting them down, and shooting them with a bow. Most of his bow kills are even from the ground.

Throughout the episode we do a hunt breakdown on his most recent Pennsylvania buck, and discuss some of the details behind his methodology and strategy. For instance, how does one actually still hunt a big buck successfully? How much scouting versus hunting time should you expect to put in? Is the pre-rut better than the rut? (spoiler alert: Paul says very much so for older bucks) We also talk about food sources and seasonal shifts from early season all the way until the end of the year, and how to employ tracking as a key skillset.

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Top 10 Public Land Mistakes

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Everyone is prone to making mistakes on public land. I'm certainly not immune, as I've made many over the years. Reflecting back on some of my failures or shortcomings, I've come up with a list of ten potential pitfalls that can be easy to fall into when hunting on public land.

This list is certainly not all encompassing, but hits on a lot of key items that would be good for new public land hunters to be aware of. There are also a few mistakes that I think even some of the more experienced guys can fall victim do without having someone else to bounce the idea off of or refresh their viewpoint.

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Hunt Breakdown, New Tethrd Sticks, and Cell Cams

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 1 Oct 2020 09:00:00 +0000

This week's episode starts with a more detailed hunt breakdown from North Dakota. The group podcast and videos don't go into as fine of detail to the exact lay of the land, wind direction, and learnings about deer bedding in river bottoms as this description. Next, I give an overview of the new Tethrd One sticks, their design aspects and things I either like or don't like about them at this point.

The latter part of the podcast dives into how we're trying to stay on top of the transitioning patterns of the deer locally. The acorn crop has been very weak overall, which has shifted much of the diet to browse. We keep holding hope that there's still an oak to stumble across that actually dropping acorns and is a major draw, but in the meantime deer are still bedding and feeding in the areas we'd expect in the marshes. Cell cams, where legal, have started to become a bigger part of the game plan this year, from monitoring other hunter pressure to determining when some of these pattern shifts will occur throughout the year. I review models from Spypoint, Tactacam, and Exodus.

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North Dakota Roundtable

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 09:00:02 +0000

Today's episode was recorded in North Dakota during our public land trip. Like I had mentioned on some earlier podcasts, Shane Simpson was of course up there again. Plus some of the Tethrd crew tagged along. And, the Ranch Fairy showed up. So we essentially got together and did a little round table with Greg Godfrey, Jared Shaffer, Carl Kossuth, Shane, Troy aka Ranch Fairy, Dylan Hazen, who was filming for Tethrd, as well as myself. We talked about our experience thus far, broadhead and arrow setups along with some ad-hoc broadhead testing on a deer carcass, cyber scouting, North Dakota laws, and lessons learned on the trip. We recorded outside, so there is a little bit of wind noise, but not too bad. A tornado siren started about 40 minutes in, so we apologize for that, but it was a little out of our control.

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Spartan Forge with Bill Thompson

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 3 Sep 2020 09:00:24 +0000

In today's episode I have Bill Thompson as a guest to talk about Spartan Forge. In essence, this is an app that hunters would be able to utilize to tell them when and where are the best times and places to hunt. What makes Spartan Forge unique, however, is how those predictions are made. See, Bill has spent a couple decades working in military intelligence where massive amounts of data are filtered through computers to identify patterns. Then the computers will use those patterns to predict what will happen on future events. This is what's referred to as machine learning, and a big part of the beginning of the podcast goes into a little more detail on exactly what's going on, and why such a massive amount of data couldn't be analyzed meaningfully by an individual or even groups of individuals. During development, Spartan Forge's machine would be fed more and more data to make it more accurate, but would then be tested against new real world deer data to assess accuracy. So, really, there's no human bias. As a data guy myself, I found this whole discussion very interesting.

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Early Season Strategy

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 09:00:12 +0000

Today's podcast focuses on early season strategy. The exact timing of that early season opener can have a huge impact on the exact scenarios at play. September 1st is a different world than October 1st. That said, the overall strategy is the same, which is to try and capitalize on a bed to food pattern. In the episode, I'll lay out specific plans and scenarios for how those should play out in the back-to-back-to-back openers of North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

Another topic of the podcast is locating early season bucks. Locations before and after velvet certainly change, but inventory gain can still be a huge value add, especially if you have room to roam. The trickier scenario is locating deer in areas where glassing, shining, and trail cameras aren't viable options due to terrain or legality, and I discuss possibilities and strategies there as well.

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Q&A and Final Arrow Recipe

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 6 Aug 2020 09:00:30 +0000

In today's episode I'm tackling some of the more common questions that have been coming through with the season right around the corner. Some are mobile gear related, but many are also archery related. Quite a few people are adjusting their arrow set ups and recipes in an effort to achieve better penetration. While some are working through the process just fine, there are some other issues that frequently pop up with challenges in getting good arrow flight. I discuss some of the very important key steps that need to happen before the parts of the process that get the most visibility. Unfortunately, they can be some of the harder things for individuals to adjust at home, but they are important nonetheless. Lastly, I do a quick run down on the arrow setups that both my wife and I are locked in on for the hunting season.

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Bowhunting Roundtable with Tethrd

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 09:00:09 +0000

This podcast is a recording of a bow hunting discussion that occurred at a recent Tethrd get together near their headquarters of operation in Minnesota. Members at the table were Jon Eberhart, Andy May, Ernie Power, Greg Godfrey, and Jared Shaffer. Plenty of topics were discussed in detail, starting with a chat about archery, going peepless, and realistic practice for hunting season. Greg and Garrett talked about out-of-state preparation, and Andy dove into detail about his updated strategy for his nonresident Iowa hunt, as well as a high country mule deer hunt. Jon Eberhart also gave great insight about what things to look for in plains state habitat to help hunters focus in on the simplier, high probability areas.

Andy and Jon discussed their preseason strategies, from glassing to speed tours. The group all discussed tips that have helped them achieve success along the way. This one is a must listen. This episode is also co-released on the Tethrd Nation podcast, which is another great place to learn about saddle hunting.

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Identifying Pinch Points

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 9 Jul 2020 09:00:31 +0000

Today's podcast focuses on identifying pinch points. They are certainly more sought after in hunting strategies revolving around the rut, but pinch points can also provide value in locating deer movement from bedding to feeding. Pinch points or funnels can take one of several major forms: Terrain, Vegetation, Water, and man made pinch points.

During the podcast, I talk about specific examples of pinch points for each of those categories, how deer might use them, and also how to find them through either topo maps, aerial imagery, or boots-on-the-ground scouting.

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Gearhead Archery with Skip Peterson

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 09:00:16 +0000

Today I have Skip Peterson on the podcast, the Director of Operations for Gearhead Archery. I wanted to get Skip on because I've had a fair number of questions and comments about Gearhead after buying one this spring. I've only of course had a decent amount of experience with the B24, but less so with all of their other models. And I can tell by certain conversations that when some people think of Gearhead their mind goes to some generalizations about the bows from back when they first came onto the scene, which might not necessarily apply to their current bows, like draw length ranges and extended releases.

Skip gives some background about how the company progressed from their original offerings into the current lineups, how someone would choose between a B series, T series, or Disrupter, and how he strongly believes that some of the technologies not only make the bows unique, but also impact how well they perform both in the woods and on the target line.

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E-scouting and Planning for Gun Hunting Setups

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 09:00:20 +0000

I did something that wasn't sure I'd ever do... apply for an Iowa tag. Specifically, I applied for a 1st shotgun season tag, which is relatively easier to draw and doesn't interfere with other archery rut hunts like South Dakota or Missouri. In fact, it doesn't really interfere with any of my other planned firearms hunts either. But this does bring up a topic that's obviously very fresh in my mind, which is scouting and preparing for gun hunts. It can be very different than an archery hunt, unless it's a gun hunt during the rut and in a low pressure area.

In this podcast I talk about the three primary factors I look at in relation to a gun hunt: Timing, Pressure, and Terrain. Timing and pressure both dictate to a fairly large extent the overall strategy, but terrain dictates the exact set up. I dive into three specific terrain types that I have the most historical experience with: Hills, Marsh/Swamp, and Big Woods terrain, and how I tackle each a little differently when it comes to exact setup.

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Archery Deep Dive with Andy May

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 28 May 2020 09:00:23 +0000

On this Podcast, I talk with Andy May about all things archery with a bow hunting focus. Most people know Andy as a meticulous, detail oriented deer hunter, but his mindset works the same with archery. He actually started archery before becoming a bow hunter. We discuss various things on the equipment side of bow hunting, from his arrow building process to releases, peep sights, broadheads, vane configuration, proper stabilization, and bow fit to minimize the amount of pin float that you see at full draw.

In addition to the equipment side of archery, we also talk at length about the mental side and the shooting process. Having struggled at times with target panic in the past, Andy explains exactly how he activates his release now based on advice from several professional shooters. Certain circumstances like fast shooting opportunities or high winds can create minor differences in how he activates the release, but everything stems back to a achieving a reliable, high-confidence shot. One thing Andy does that many people could likely benefit from is record data from most of his shooting sessions. That allows him to track trends over time to determine which combinations of gear actually provide the best forgiveness, instead of basing opinions on other reviews or good/bad days at the range.

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Incredible Turkey Season with Ted Bright

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 14 May 2020 08:00:10 +0000

On today's episode I have a guest you should be familiar with, Ted Bright. Ted and I did a podcast about his deer season last fall where he knocked down a couple of really nice public land bucks in Missouri. Well, he also had a banner season this year turkey hunting as well. Between birds he killed or called in for his son or close friends, Ted totaled up over a half a dozen gobblers this year. It was a significant jump from previous years, so a lot of what we talked about was exactly what he did this year and how it was different from years past. We talk about several of those hunts in detail. The general style is the quintessential run and gun style of hill country hunting.

The turkey hunting style Ted has adopted isn't entire a new concept, but it is one that many people try to employ, especially when hunting larger chunks of non-agricultural land. He's refined his strategy and gear list to carry only the absolute essentials, which we go over as well. I hope you enjoy the episode; I certainly did.

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Sam's Turkey Hunt Recap

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 30 Apr 2020 02:54:41 +0000

My wife shot her first turkey during her first ever turkey hunt this past week. The hunt took place in western Minnesota, on private land that was a mixture of rolling hills, woodlots, and hardwood swamps. Minnesota season structure saw some changes this year. Instead of each of the early seasons being draw only, each week was opened up to over-the-counter. That combined with many people being off of their normal work schedules, has caused a big spike in public land pressure. Therefore a hunt like this one was really enjoyable to have access to.

This podcast breaks down the details of the hunt and answers some of the questions that remained unanswered in the video, like why we didn't shoot a coyote that had snuck in to under 5 yards. The turkey season is far from over, with the vast majority of our hunts still yet to happen. I also discuss some of our favorite way to cook wild turkey legs.

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Utilizing Unique Access for Hunting

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 01:36:51 +0000

We all know that access can be vitally important for deer hunting, yet it's often still overlooked in terms of ease or convenience. This is especially true in areas where you might only have one parking area or location to access a property. Depending on the type of habitat you're hunting, a unique access could be either water-based or land-based. Water based access has the advantage of typically allowing you to enter from an area where deer aren't used to. It can also allow for less scent on the ground, and easy back-side morning access when deer are bedded in brush against a creek, for example. You generally have options for kayaks (either sit-in or sit-on-top kayaks), canoes, or small boats. They each have pros and cons and areas where they excel, and I talk through those considerations in the podcast.

Land-based access doesn't have as any tools or equipment associated with it, but there are still important considerations for unique access. Wind or thermals and other hunting pressure are very important. Dropping thermals in hills can make morning access from the bottoms more advantageous, especially when deer are feeding up high at night. Accessing from up high in the morning could blow those deer out before you're even set up. Morning access in swamps or flat ground can often mean looping around to the backside for set up options. In the evening, rising thermals and the fact that deer are bedded are the important things to note. Deer in hill country will often bed close to busy access points where either sight or rising thermals allows them to keep tabs on access. It can be to your advantage to access from higher locations, even if it means starting out low, climbing up and then paralleling the hilltop before a final top-down access opportunity.

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Mobile Hunting with Jared Shaffer

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 2 Apr 2020 01:13:51 +0000

Jared Shaffer is a successful mobile hunter from West Virginia and Media Director at Tethrd. Despite not hunting in a well known state for deer, in what can be challenging terrain, he is able to get on bucks and turkeys every year. A large part of that success has come from taking on a very mobile strategy and employing so-called Beast tactics in hill country. Unlike hills in Midwestern states, the land in West Virginia has more of a big woods feel. There isn't much agriculture, and the woods can be fairly thick.

In this podcast, Jared discusses his annual strategy and what things have played the biggest impact in his learning curve over the years. He does a complete hunt breakdown of his oldest buck ever, a 5.5 year old shot less than 100 yards from his bed. In addition, we discuss how tactics change from early season through the rut, what specifically to look for, and how to set up on the right sign.

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Turkey Hunting with Jonathan Boehme of Catman Outdoors

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 03:00:13 +0000

Jonathan Boehme runs the Catman Outdoors YouTube channel, where he posts great content on self filmed deer and turkey hunts, fishing, scouting, and DIY projects. You may have also seen him on other channels like The Hunting Public and Southern Outdoorsman. Though Jonathan is a great resource to talk about many things outdoors, today we focused on turkey. His home territory in Tennessee shares many similarities to some of the hilly public that I hunt in SE Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.

In the podcast, we discuss Tennessee's turkey management structure, locating birds, calling strategies, seasonal changes, gear, and setting up without decoys. Jonathan often hunts with his homemade wingbone calls, and he talks about how he makes them and what he sees in the woods versus using more common call types.

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Saddlepalooza Recap 2020

info@sportsmensnation.com (Dan Johnson) — Thu, 5 Mar 2020 02:00:19 +0000

Saddlepalooza 2020 is in the books. The trip was almost cancelled last minute due to flooding, but some last minute heroics from some of the group members allowed for a location change and the trip to go on. The annual get-together/hog hunt took place at Ft. Stewart in Georgia. This is a massive military base that is open to public hunting but only under strict rules. Some areas are open to archery only, while others are open for all weapons. Various zones can open or close for access on any given day.

I went out into an archery only unit with a few other guys on the first hunting day. With a little bit of luck, I was able to shoot my first hog at about 10 yards. The second day, I hunted with Catman in a rifle zone, using a rifle. I talk about that hunt as well on the podcast. Of course, part of the event that's exciting for most is the saddle demo day, where people can get together and try out different saddles, climbing methods, platforms, and accessories to experiment, learn, and discuss. I talk about some of the popular or newer items or methods from the demo day as well.

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Spring Scouting Overview and Strategy

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 02:00:05 +0000

It's getting to be about time for spring scouting in many areas. It's one of those types of scouting that can pay big dividends, especially in certain areas. One thing you need to be aware of, however, is to focus in on things that you know will be relevant during the time you'll be hunting the area in the following fall. Fresh sign this time of year might not translate due to differences in food sources and even bedding. Last year's fall sign will typically be visible, however. It's also important to realize that boots on the ground in the spring is a nice supplement to looking at aerial photos. I will often look at the map and plan a route and walk it. Afterwards, I'll look back at the map with a newer perspective and determine the next area I want to check out.

Beyond the basics of spring scouting, in this podcast I go into deeper detail for the exact strategies I have employed and will be employing this spring in the specific areas that I hunt. Sometimes, an overview doesn't go into quite enough detail, but specific examples can shed additional light. I talk about cattail marshes in Minnesota, farm country in North Dakota, and both hill country and big woods in Wisconsin.

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New Gearhead Bow and Q&A

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 6 Feb 2020 19:50:55 +0000

In this Episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, I start off by answering listener and viewer questions. Sometimes I get good questions via private message that would be useful to answer for a larger crowd. These questions range from archery and arrow setups to hunting specific strategy questions.

The exiting topic of the podcast, however, is the new bow that I bought not long after ATA. I picked up a Gearhead B24 after shooting several models of shorter bows and reflecting for a few weeks before making a decision. Although I have only had the bow for a short time, I give my thoughts so far about the string angle, ability to hold on target, balance, adjustability, and grouping at long range. I have to say that I'm very happy with the decision so far.

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Average Jack Archery

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 00:32:27 +0000

Nate Sellers is an archery and bowhunter from Pennsylvania. He runs a YouTube channel titled Average Jack Archery as well. In addition to being a teacher during the school months, Nate has been putting in hours at the local bow shop for years and has helped hundreds of archers get set up with hunting rigs and arrows. In the podcast, we talk quite a bit about archery. In particular, we talk quite a bit about what things are practically relevant for most guys out there vs which things are fun to talk about but over the head of the average guy looking for basic advice.

Nate has an inviting demeanor and good way of convening helpful information in a way that makes sense. He also took two deer in Pennsylvania this season with his bow, so we talked a bit about the differences in the season structure and hunting culture in his state compared to most other whitetail states out there. In PA, up through this year, there is still no Sunday hunting or hunting during the peak breeding date range.

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Favorite Gear of 2019

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 9 Jan 2020 03:00:10 +0000

In this podcast, I recap my hunts from this year along with specific gear highlights. First, there were certain pieces or gear or systems that really stood out and made a positive enough impact that they will surely continue to be a part of my system going forward into next year. Next, I discuss gear that I used where I had overall positive experiences with, along with some downsides or quirks that left some room for improvement.

To finish the discussion, I talk about gear that didn't play much of a role in my 2019 setup but I'm really excited about for 2020. It ranges from climbing methods to camera systems. And finally, I give some initial thoughts on what I'd be really interested to see out of ATA this year.

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Bowhunter Breakdown with Ted Bright

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 03:26:40 +0000

In this episode I interview Ted Bright from Missouri. He's knocked down two nice bucks this year and has historically done very well in the rolling hill country public land of Missouri. Ted and I talk about his hunting background as well as the stories of his success this year.

Ted gives insight on his scouting style, climbing method for run and gun hunting, and experiences with a recent change to an arrow setup built for better penetration.

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Cold Weather Layering Philosophy

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 03:00:02 +0000

In this podcast I discuss an alternative to the usual layering advice given to and by whitetail hunters for tree stand use. Nearly everyone is familiar with using the big, bulky insulated parkas and jackets, whether they're inexpensive or from top shelf brands. Those garments are usually well thought out and useful in the tree. The downside is that for mobile hunters in particular, the amount of bulk and weight carried in just for layering gets fairly extreme in cold weather.

Western hunters are familiar with packable insulation, but often those options are noisy and don't have good windproofing or pocket layout. The compromise here is a system in which you layer a functional whitetail specific shell garment overtop of a packable insulation layer. Base layers can be worn while walking in, and the shell can provide additional wind blocking if needed while the insulation takes up minimal pack space. You ultimately have to weigh out which type of system makes more sense. One is easier in terms of purchasing and sizing. The other offers benefits for long treks to the tree.

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The Whitetail Drifter with Conner Wakefield

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 28 Nov 2019 03:00:19 +0000

Conner Wakefield hasn't been hunting for all that many years, but his experience gained during that short time is definitely above average. In addition to hunting his home state of Iowa, he also travels to hunt out of state, generally sleeping in a tent and self filming the trips for his Whitetail Drifter channel on YouTube and social media pages.

In this podcast, Conner talks about the decisions made during a recent successful hunt on public land in Wisconsin. We also talk about lessons learned, adapting to sign, gear, and filming hunts.

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Missouri Hunt Recap

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 03:00:07 +0000

Garrett and his wife Sam went down to Missouri for a public land group hunt with some of the crew from Tethrd. The overall hunt for them was Saturday through Tuesday. Most of the first day was boots-on-the-ground scouting with a few hour sit at the end. Warm weather continued into Day 2 with highs in the 60s and very little daytime deer movement for the entire group. Sunday night into Monday, a big weather front moved in, and the temperatures would drop straight from 65 to 12 degrees by Tuesday morning.

Monday morning was windy, with temps in the mid 30s and rain. We waited inside until the rain turned to sleet and eventually snow by around noon and then hit the woods. Knowing we'd only have a few hours and that Tuesday morning would be the clear, calm day after the storm, we hung our saddle platforms in a thermal hub and started walking back to a spot to ground hunt. As we worked back through a riverbottom area, we found several sets of tracks in the fresh snow (hours old) and saw a small buck following a doe. We found a deadfall and decided to tuck into it for the evening. It turned out to be a good decision, and the story plays out fully in the podcast.

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Late October Hunts, Gear Mods, and Rut Planning

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 15:01:11 +0000

In this episode of the DIY Sportsman, Garrett recaps the strategy and sightings of the past several weeks, and how the setups have related to deer sign, particularly scrapes and bedding. His wife Samantha has also been hitting the woods for the first year ever. They've been attempting to work into areas and setups where there are high odds of seeing any deer, even if the movement and patterns end up being more sporadic and unpredictable.

Garrett's been experimenting with a boot system that so far has been paying big dividends in terms of warding off cold feet as well as being quiet and capable of crossing deep water. He also compares and contrasts the Mystery Ranch Pop Up 28 with a recently acquired 2019 Sitka Fanatic Pack. Each have their pros and cons relating to functionality and intended use.

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Three Key Skill-sets for Whitetail Hunting

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 02:00:01 +0000

Through observation and study of other successful hunters, there are certainly common themes that keep showing up. In an effort to try and summarize those themes, I believe we can lump many of the key techniques or thought processes into one of three key areas of skill-sets: Analyzing big picture research, performing boots-on-the-ground activities, and general woodsmanship or knowledge of the animals we're pursuing. Some people will emphasize certain skills or techniques as being the key to their success, but often a deeper inspection shows a blend of scouting techniques combined with an underlying level of woodsmanship that is difficult to teach or express into words.

In this podcast I separate these skill-sets to identify certain tasks or methods that can improve your intimate knowledge with an area (boots-on-the-ground), ability to take a step back and gather larger scale intel from maps or observation (big picture), and why a huge stepping stone for a lot of people (woodsmanship) tends to be the lesser talked about gap for people to really tie everything together.

Western Hunts Recap

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 3 Oct 2019 02:00:05 +0000

Garrett and Bobby both did planned Western bowhunts in early September. Bobby hunted mule deer bucks around timberline in the heavily hunted public lands in northern Utah. He talks about his strategy throughout the hunt, strategy behind camp location, water collection, and glassing. He was able to locate a couple of decent bucks and even place some stalks.

Garrett went elk hunting in an OTC Colorado archery unit. This steep, heavily timbered unit doesn't have the best elk numbers; however, they are definitely around and can be called in despite not being vocal. The strategy that Garrett and his hunting partner employed was to be very mobile and call often. Their encounters all occurred during stationary calling sequences. Garrett talks through all of these encounters, including a shot taken, with lessons learned and gear comments.

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North Dakota Hunt Lessons Learned

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 16:02:13 +0000

Garrett's North Dakota hunt ended with a buck on the ground. Shane Simpson also shot a nice buck on the trip. The YouTube videos for the hunts show a lot of strategy and important details that led to the kills. That said, in this podcast, Garrett dives into a little further detail about the findings and adaptations needed to try and find deer in this new area.

The plans discussed in the previous podcast worked in some instances but not in others. Primarily, the strategy of glassing deer in fields was nearly fruitless with one small exception. After finding this out, Garrett discusses how the plans had to change. In addition, he talked about additional scouting that they did after the tags were filled and plans to scout again in the off season based on this seasons' learnings.

North Dakota Season Prep

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 5 Sep 2019 02:00:02 +0000

In this podcast, Garrett goes over his final season checklist, including the gear he's taking out to North Dakota later this week to hunt alongside of Shane Simpson. By this point in the year, all of the bow shooting and testing is locked in - no more changes. The first trip of the year will be based solely on map scouting, and the plan will vary from there. If multiple nice deer are located from the road, the plan will be different than if glassing isn't proving to be fruitful.

The next trip following up the North Dakota hunt will be elk in Colorado. Since there's so little time to prepare between hunts, all of the prep work for that trip has been done as well, so Garrett explains how the two person strategy this year will deviate from past trips out west.

Replaceable Blade Hunting Knives

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 02:00:13 +0000

Bobby Boswell has an intense passion for replaceable blade knife design. He uses this style of knife on a very regular basis throughout the year doing work as a wildlife biologist, and he also uses them in the field for gutting or skinning game. The list of knives that Bobby has tested include models from Havalon, Tyto, Kershaw, Kestrel, Gerber, Civilware, Outdoor Edge, Columbia River, Gerry McGinnis and more. Topics of review include weight, ease of use, handle style, folding vs. fixed, safety, price, and utility.

There are even replaceable blade knives that have attachments for things other than blades, such as bone saws or even backpacking sporks. Every knife seems to have a set of pros and cons, but Bobby lays out what features he's found to be the best in certain brands as well as what he'd wish to see from certain manufacturers.

Hunting Strategy with Ricky Kohler

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 8 Aug 2019 02:00:28 +0000

Ricky isn't a well known guy on the hunting scene, but that's mostly because he likes to fly under the radar. He has a ton of hunting experience on both public and private and has a man cave full of mature bucks to show for it. Part of his strategy is to target multiple states and have a multi-year plan in place. This allows him to increase opportunity while not spreading himself too thin. The primary states he focuses on are Minnesota, which he can hunt every year, North Dakota and Iowa. Each of those states has a very different range of habitat types and hunter pressure. Ricky tries to get on a good buck in Minnesota as early as possible so he can focus valuable rut time for one of his other states.

Ricky is very calculated in his methods and strategies, but also has an open enough mind to work with whatever situation is presented. He hunts out of a tree stand, saddle, or on the ground. One of his detailed North Dakota hunts takes place in a tree in below zero temperatures. The next has him in a ghillie suit sneaking into 30 yards of a 170" buck. We talk about his thoughts on weather, moon phase, clothing, boots, scent control regimen, landowner permission strategy, and scouting strategy. This is definitely a podcast where you can pick up tidbits to apply to your own hunting methods.

Summer Scouting Discussion with Shane Simpson

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 02:00:13 +0000

Shane Simpson is a guest once again on this episode. Garrett and Shane have both been doing a large amount of boots on the ground scouting in mosquito and deer fly infested swamps in Minnesota and Wisconsin. This type of scouting isn't the most popular or enjoyable, but it can still have value depending on the type of intel needed. Shane discusses how the locations where he plans on hunting this year aren't new, but the tactics and techniques are. People who know Shane from his turkey series know that he possesses good woodsmanship, so applying new tactics will come more easily to someone like him. Shane discusses some of the key things he's been focusing in on with his summer scouting and how he plans on using that information this coming fall.

Arrow Weight Testing

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 01:21:00 +0000

Garrett tested a bunch of different arrow weights from under 400 grains to over 1100 grains and then analyzed the speed, kinetic energy, and momentum. Often there’s a fair amount of debate for which metrics are most important when it comes to choosing a hunting arrow. In this podcast, Garrett and Bobby discuss why they think momentum is the more important metric than kinetic energy when it comes to penetration (although kinetic energy certainly isn’t worthless) and they discuss the results of the testing. Spoiler alert, momentum increased with higher weights… a lot. And it showed no signs of slowing down.

It’s important to remember that momentum is just one factor to look at when choosing a setup for hunting. Speed (trajectory), arrow flight, shot placement, broadhead style, and the animal you’re shooting at, all play into the equation. This podcast does get pretty technical, but it does have some no-nonsense takeaways for even the typical whitetail hunter.

Alaskan Honeymoon

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 02:00:00 +0000

In this podcast Garrett talks about his recent honeymoon trip with his now wife, Samantha. This trip was to the Kenai peninsula of Alaska. The trip was certainly fishing focused with some free days for hiking and other activities. The three main species of fish pursued were Sockeye salmon (reds), Chinook Salmon (kings) and Halibut.

Garrett explains the differences in the three types of trips and which are most feasible from a DIY perspective. In addition, Bobby and Garrett discuss the main differences between what you could expect from hiring a guide for any of those species of fish versus what you could expect on a DIY trip. Bringing home fresh fish is a huge component of this type of trip, so Garrett also discussed the procedure for getting fish from the river back home in a reliable and inexpensive manner.

Traditional Bowhunting and Wilderness Podcast with Jason Samkowiak

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 13 Jun 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Jason Samkowiak is a traditional bow hunter from Michigan. He takes pride in scouting and learning how deer utilize the natural landscape throughout the season, and he has been very successful over the years. He is also one of the most meticulous people I know in regards to his system and his gear.

In this episode, we talk to Jason about hunting in Michigan. In particular, we talk about strategies throughout the year, including breaking down big woods habitat, natural food source transitions, and scouting strategy. We also talk about his out of state trips and how he travels, camps, and packs his deer out of the woods most efficiently. The Traditional Bowhunter and Wilderness podcast that Jason runs is another wealth of information, and he recently launched an online course teaching his methods as well, which we discuss near the end.

JX3 Hybrid Review

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Wed, 29 May 2019 20:53:00 +0000

The JX3 Hybrid is a revamped version of the old Guido's Web, a saddle-like hunting system that blends some components of saddle hunting with some of the familiar comforts of a tree stand. In some ways, the Hybrid feels like sitting in a lawn chair up in the tree. An extendable aluminum fork holds you out away from the tree to help with positioning and keep knee pressure non-existent.

I used the Hybrid while hunting longer days in November this past fall. That gave me a good opportunity to test the comfort as well as other important aspects like tree selection, weight trade-offs, and modularity. The Hybrid can definitely have a place in some people's systems. Like anything, there are pros and cons which need to be factored into your style of hunting.

Aero Hunter Kestrel Flex

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 16 May 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Aero Hunter is releasing a new saddle to their lineup. The Kestrel Flex offers minor, but significant changes to the popular Kestrel saddle that really put them on the map in the bow hunting community. After tweaking multiple designs since the release of the Kestrel, tested and modified by people like Bobby and others, Aero Hunter finally got to a design they were happy to release.

This podcast goes over the key attributes of the Kestrel Flex and answers some of the main questions a consumer might have. For instance, what are the main differences between the Kestrel and the Flex? Will the Kestrel be discontinued? What will the price point and order delivery times be like? Is there a difference in comfort. In addition to answering those questions, Bobby gives additional background to help explain the thought process and reasoning behind bringing the Flex to the market.

Bobby's Utah Turkey

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 2 May 2019 02:00:00 +0000

In this episode Bobby talks about his recent Utah turkey hunt. Yes, Utah has turkeys - and yes, they do live up in the mountains. This is the third straight year that Bobby drew an early season tag to hunt turkeys in Utah. Typically it's the type of tag you'd only draw about every other year. Most of the birds he was able to locate were not too far under the snowline on the mountains. In the past he'd attempted to hunt these birds by roosting them and then sneaking close to the roost trees before first light the next morning. This year, he changed up his tactics and had success.

Bobby talked about what calls and gear he took into the woods for this western style turkey hunt, and the two discuss how often times minute differences in the particular call's sound can get some birds to respond when nothing else will. Garrett also discussed his first season experience in Minnesota and upcoming plans to hunt Wisconsin with Shane Simpson.

Bayou Bowhunter with Harmon Carson

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 02:00:00 +0000

This week's guest is Harmon Carson, located in the state of Louisiana, a state not known for good deer hunting. Hunting pressure is high, the firearms season is extremely long, the woods are dense, and hunters are able to use dogs. Despite all of this, Harmon has had consistent success, and he gets it done with a traditional bow.

Much of this podcast focuses on Harmon's strategy for hunting deer in these dense Louisiana landscapes. He heavily relies on trail cameras due to the lack of agriculture, and he puts a ton of time in the woods with boots on the ground. We also talked to him about some of his hunts out west, about traditional archery, self filming, and saddle hunting.

Whitetail Scouting Trip with Sean McVeigh

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 4 Apr 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Garrett went on a scouting trip with Sean McVeigh from Sean's Outdoor Adventures YouTube channel. The two have been trying to plan a group hunt for the past couple years and should finally be able to make it happen this year. The location chosen was an area of "big woods" habitat in Central Wisconsin that neither person has been to before. The idea is to have a March scouting trip, and August follow-up scouting trip, and finally a weekend hunt in early October, before the rut.

Sean and Garrett primarily chose different areas within the forest to focus their time on. So much of the discussion in the podcast goes in depth on why certain terrain features or strategies were focused on. Sean's strategy focused largely on the combination of oak trees and topographical funnels. Garrett's strategy also focused on oak trees, but mainly those located near bedding in swampy areas.

Spring B.S. Session

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 02:00:00 +0000

In this episode Garrett and Bobby cover a wide range of topics. Rapid thawing is happening in many areas, which affects spring scouting plans and has caused localized flooding in areas. The absolute best time of year to cover a lot of ground in marshes or wooded swamps is the narrow strip of time when the water is still frozen yet most of the snow is melted. Food sources can become really obvious if there is some remaining snow. Garrett noticed a large volume of tracks moving through and around a tamarack swamp. While pressure and thermal cover could have been good assumptions for why the deer were there, the pressure hasn't been strong in months and the tracks are too sporadic to be just bed to feed. Bobby and Garrett talked about what type of secondary browse sources could be located in that swamp.

While discussing upcoming plans for turkey hunting and western trips, Garrett and Bobby talked about why some states ask for additional costs when applying for tags, such as mandatory small game or fishing licenses, while others allow you to apply with just a few dollar fee. Many midwestern states manage their tags through OTC purchases and doe harvest numbers. Would creating a limited draw system for bucks with easier tag availability to meet doe harvest numbers create more revenue for the state and its conservation related programs? Or would it cause fewer people to hunt? In addition to those topics, Garrett and Bobby talk about how they'd potentially change access or hunting strategy in the Missouri hills based on thoughts and observations after the season.

Whitetail Hunting Boot Review

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 7 Mar 2019 01:00:00 +0000

In this podcast Garrett does a quick review of all of the boots he has used for whitetail hunting over the past several years. Some boots have served as great all around options for scouting, turkey hunting, and western hunting in addition to whitetails, while others are very specific use.

The boots reviewed in this podcast share a similarity. None of them are rubber. That isn't to say that rubber boots are inferior - certainly they have their place. That being said, there are lace up options that many whitetail hunters overlook because of reasons such as scent control that can really be great options due to their support, weight, and breathability.

One important characteristic of boots for the later whitetail systems is insulation and warmth. While Garrett has packed in heavy pack boots to change into at the tree, he also believes there can be better options to have insulated feet without dealing with moisture from sweat on the walk in.

Kyle Null and New Breed Archery

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 02:10:00 +0000

In this episode, Garrett and Bobby talk with Kyle Null, president of New Breed Archery. Kyle basically started building bows in his garage for himself and his friends. That eventually grew into a full time business. Now New Breed specializes in one-of-a-kind bows direct to consumer. Kyle explains the logic and reasoning behind how he designs his bows: axle-to-axle length, titanium limb bolts, the cam system, limb stops, etc.

Kyle isn't just a bow designer, he's also an avid bow hunter and target archer. So Garrett and Bobby made sure to ask all sorts of questions regarding shooting, tuning bows, and arrow set up. If people are interested in getting a new bow, there's also a discount code introduced in the episode.

Sika Hunt and Ice Fishing Cutthroats

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 7 Feb 2019 02:21:00 +0000

Bobby went on two big trips near the end of 2018. First he hunted the isolated population of Sika deer on the Delmarva peninsula with a good group of hunting buddies. Shortly after, he went ice fishing in Utah for the first time in his life, catching a good bag of cutthroat trout. We discuss that first-time ice fishing trip first, then dive into the Sika hunt in greater depth.

Sika deer are not native to the United States. A very small group of them was brought from overseas, where they slowly populated the peninsula of land containing bits of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Despite the name, they are actually more closely related to elk than deer. However, they are similar in size to a whitetail fawn.

Hunting strategies for Sika deer vary based on game laws and time of year. Maryland manages their Sika herd, whereas Virginia allows for more of a depopulation strategy, where hunters can take liberal daily bags of the non-native on a national wildlife refuge. Early season bowhunters can stand hunt or call if they're willing to brave the mosquitos. Later season gun hunts tend to revolve around still hunting, stand hunting, or making small pushes in the watery swamp.

DIY Sportsman | Sean McVeigh of Sean's Outdoor Adventures

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 24 Jan 2019 02:56:00 +0000

On this episode we chat with Sean McVeigh from the Sean's Outdoor Adventures YouTube channel. Sean has produced hundreds of videos over the years with a focus on helping people hunt whitetail deer. Most of what he's known for is hunting in the Northeast, on public land in states like Pennsylvania and New York. Over the last couple of years however, Sean has made a move to the big buck state of Iowa.

In our discussion, Sean talked about some of his perceptions about Iowa, and his initial experiences doing an out-of-state public land hunt as a non-resident. He also told us about zone structure, private vs. public, and landowner information. Now that he's an Iowa resident, Sean wants to try and purchase land. Maybe not enough to totally replace public and permission-based access, but enough to have a worthy investment.

Lastly, given Sean's involvement in content creation, we wanted to get his thoughts on the modern era of information sharing and social media. It has certainly changed the way people learn and grow within hunting. However, it has come with a few downsides as well. Overall, it was a pleasure chatting with Sean and learning about his recent adventures in Iowa.

DIY Sportsman | Pre-ATA and Broadhead/Arrow Recap

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Wed, 9 Jan 2019 03:50:00 +0000

The ATA show is right around the corner, so Garrett and Bobby discussed all the things that they really hope to see come out of the event. The industry tends to cover two very separate styles of hunting. One caters to the private land crowd, with box blinds, food products, and land management resources, while the other (growing) side caters to the run and gun hunter. Of course, there are plenty of brands and products that are a potential fit for all archers as well. Technology improvements will receive a lot of press and debate, so the two are interested to see what product "steals the show".

Besides just ATA talk, Garrett and Bobby wanted to revisit broadhead and arrow selections. With a few podcasts earlier in the year specifically based on arrow weight, terminal performance, and broadhead style, Garrett in particular tried a more "deeply penetrating" setup of a heavy arrow and small cut-on-contact monolithic fixed blade. The potential advantages to such a set up are allowing for increased shot opportunities when the shoulder becomes a non-issue on whitetails (with the right setup). After trying the heavy arrow setup for a whole season, Garrett discussed whether or not he'd stick to the high penetration setup or dial back to something allowing for bigger blood trails next season. Bobby is still on the hunt for a perfect traditional arrow. Trying to choose the perfect setup is something that simply never gets old.

DIY Sportsman | Climbing Methods Update - Thoughts after the Season

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 22:38:00 +0000

Bobby and Garrett have certainly spent time discussing various climbing methods in past podcasts; however, this time Garrett goes more in depth, reflecting on various methods used now that the bulk of this year's season is now over. While many mobile hunters are totally satisfied with 4 climbing sticks as their end-all-be-all method for climbing trees, there are plenty of guys who push the envelope. Some climb with a single stick. Some climb with nothing but rope and arborist techniques. Others climb with spikes or gaffs. Each could potentially have an argument made in favor of it.

This year in particular, new climbing aider methods to use in conjunction with Wild Edge steps really started to make waves throughout the mobile hunting community. With the ability to bounce ideas off of one another on forums and social media, mobile hunters came up with a couple very unique ways to climb upwards of 20 feet with as few as three steps, equaling close to three pounds. These methods look really good on paper, but are they as good in reality?

Garrett tried a multistep aider in conjunction with steps throughout most of late October into November. In addition, he used his trusty climbing sticks early in the year and again in late season. Reflecting on the season allowed him to make some honest insights about the pros and cons of each style of system, and when one might be better than the other for speed, safety, ease of use, and portability.

DIY Sportsman | Cold Weather Clothing and Layering

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 03:12:00 +0000

Garrett and Bobby discuss cold weather clothing. While there are certainly similarities between what garments a western hunter might choose to wear versus an eastern tree stand hunter, there are even more differences. Part of the contrast between regions is where the discussion starts off. Puffy jackets, down, synthetic, and face material noise properties are main areas of discussion.

Apart from base layers and insulating garments, there are other major areas of interest for whitetail hunters. One is choice of gloves of muff. Another is whether or not to wear a facemask. A huge area where a lot of hunters have issues is boots. The interesting thing is, many of the challenges that hunters face in regards to cold feet aren't a direct result of what boots they wear. Other things such as foot sweat, sock choice, chemical warmers or lack thereof, and breathability can all play a role. Even the choice of whether or not to wear pant legs inside or outside of rubber boots can have a major impact with deep snow on the ground.

Ultimately, late season clothing can make or break a hunter's ability to grind it out in the late season months and take advantage of the increased patternability of deer as the season nears its end.

DIY Sportsman | Missouri Hunt Recap

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 03:24:00 +0000

Garrett and Bobby met up to hunt the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri, in an area close to where Bobby grew up. From the start, this was going to be a very limited time hunt, since archery season essentially shuts down during firearms season, and the two each only had archery tags. That area of the forest is like many areas that are known as "big woods" in that the habitat is mostly a monoculture. Apart from varied topography and creek bottoms, there isn't much in terms of habitat variance and transitions. Oak trees can be found in all elevations, meaning food, at least at this time of year, is found nearly everywhere for the deer. Private agricultural fields can break up the monotony; however, they typically aren't found on the public ground.

The first several days of the trip included many hours of scouting both on maps and on foot. Initially, it seems as if the deer could travel anywhere, at any time, for any reason. However, after comparing notes and looking at all of the sign as a whole, patterns began to emerge in terms of cruising elevations and funnels. On area in particular that really stood out was a steep, round bowl in the terrain. This bowl, possibly the result of a decades-old sinkhole, created a sharp ledge that deer needed to go around. While there wasn't as much sign there initially, Garrett decided to sit there anyway based on the likelihood that any deer seen would come within range.

After recapping the hunt, Garrett and Bobby conclude with lessons learned, and what they would have done differently the next time around. Many people shy away from large, unbroken blocks of timber; however, they represent a large amount of the public lands that we have available in this country for whitetail, and hunters can certainly hope to have success when knowing and learning about the key things to look for. Missouri Hunt Recap

DIY Sportsman | More Harvests and Rut Strategy

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 1 Nov 2018 12:49:00 +0000

Bobby and Garrett discuss their recent hunts and harvests as well as plans for the coming weeks. Bobby flew back to his Missouri home down and was able to shoot a doe within an hour of being in the tree. One of the interesting things for that particular hunt was that Bobby used an EZ V flipped around backwards only hours out of pulling it out of the package. That's a pretty bold move, and he explained his process and also thoughts around using the sight for the first time. Missouri has a ton of public land, so in addition to that success, Bobby started heavily scouting for rut sign and pinch points.

Garrett is headed down to Missouri to hunt; however, first he's headed to southeast Minnesota. This is the same area of the state that the public land challenge was held. The pressure in this area of the state for firearms opener is very high. That leaves two potential strategies. One strategy is to anticipate pressure and hunter access routes to set up over escape funnels leading into a lower drainage full of security cover. The other, which Garrett plans to do, is to find overlooked and hard to access public that is likely surrounded by lower pressure private land. In that case, there could be a mixture of hunter-based deer movement and normal rutting activity.

Garrett also recently shot a doe on a "Beast-style" hardwood point leading out into the cattails. The large doe was bedded in seclusion around 50 yards from the set-up tree. What was interesting about that particular hunt was the body language and behavior of that lone doe. The two discuss ageing methods such as tooth wear and lab-based data and why it might be challenging to get the actual age of that doe.

DIY Sportsman | Bow Hunting In October

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 02:30:00 +0000

The subject of this podcast is bow hunting through the transitions of October. Deer aren't on their summer patterns, and they aren't moving like they will during the rut. That doesn't mean that they aren't huntable or even killable this time of year. Just take a look at social media. While there aren't as many success photos as you'll see during the rut, there are still an awful lot of deer dropping... even nice bucks. There are plenty of hunters who even prefer early season over the rut when they are after a specific deer.

Food sources are one thing that is undergoing changes. Depending on what location of the country you're in, acorns might still be a key factor. In the upper midwest, the best of the acorn crop is starting to wind down, but that might not be the case further south. In any case, change in food sources is a key aspect of movement to be aware of, because it can be a huge reason as to why deer seen a few weeks ago seem to have disappeared.

Weather over the course of October can vary intensely. In the upper Midwest, you could have temperatures that are either above 70 or below freezing with snow. Weather is hotly debated in deer hunting, especially that "first big cold front of October". Countless hunters wait for that big event before they really start hitting the woods. But what does the science have to say about it? GPS studies have been gathering data that contradicts what hunters have always preached about weather conditions and deer movement.

Most hunters use October as a precursor month with which they use to get some reps in the woods before the real action heats up in the rut. But there's much more to it than that for those who are willing to read the sign and stay on top of transitioning deer patterns.

DIY Sportsman | Charged by a Mountain Lion

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 01:09:00 +0000

On this episode DIY Sportsman podcast, Aaron Lasco shares the graphic details of being charged by a mountain lion while archery elk hunting in Montana. Without a handgun or any type of bear spray or other protection, he picked up his bow out of instinct and shot the quickly approaching cat in the face.

The story didn't end there. Aaron called the Fish and Game department to report the incident, and they quickly arrived on the scene to do a thorough investigation of the self defense claim. We asked Aaron about the thoughts and feelings rushing through his head, the lessons he learned, what he'll be doing differently next time, and how the logistics of the wildlife department's response might be able help others who find themselves in a similar situation.

DIY Sportsman | Self Filming Tips and Equipment

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 6 Sep 2018 02:30:00 +0000

Garrett has been self filming his hunts for over 12 years. In this episode, he covers many of the details for those looking to either get started or refine their game. One of the biggest questions initially surrounds equipment. What type of camera? How many cameras? What type of camera arm? But equipment is really just one initial piece of the puzzle. There are various options for different needs; however, self filming has a specific set of equipment that tends to best blend quality and ease of use. The next biggest question is on video editing software. There is software that is free, software that is thousands of dollars, and a whole lot in between. Garrett explains what features he uses on a regular basis to help the listener determine what might be best suited for them based on their needs.

The most challenging part of self filming is getting footage without screwing up the hunt. The easiest thing to do is to film with only action cameras and forego a camera arm. That does give you a bit of a hit in production quality. Self filming with a camera arm can certainly be done. It is challenging, but there are logistical things that help. They have to deal with stand setup, camera settings, and most importantly, knowing how and when to move.

DIY Sportsman | EZ V Bow Sight with Aaron Lasco

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 02:40:00 +0000

On this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett and Bobby announce the winner of the Aero Hunter saddle giveaway, but also have a discussion with the inventor of the EZ V sight, Aaron Lasco. The sight concept was born out of necessity for Aaron, but it looks radically different than any other pin sight on the market. The shape of the V inserts allow the hunter to frame up an animal to judge its range. Ranging devices such as this one have been used in the military for over 100 years, but they have never made it into the archery world.

Some archery sights in the past have offered ranging claims by using the height of the animal, which we know can vary widely. Aaron claims that his sight works because it works on the width of the animals vitals, which varies very little within a species as that animal grows old. There are plenty of questions that pop up when people first see the sight or hear its claims. We made sure to ask Aaron as many questions as we could to both satisfy our own curiosity and provide accurate information for those who might be interested in the concept or thinking about getting one for themselves.

DIY Sportsman | Season Plans and Preparation

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 9 Aug 2018 01:52:00 +0000

In this episode of the DIY Sportsman, we are giving the listeners instructions on how to win an Aero Hunter saddle. But much more than that, Garrett and Bobby dive into their season plans, and what work they've specifically done over summer to help make the season a success. Bobby will start off chasing mule deer with his recurve, and transition to elk and then Missouri whitetails. Garrett will start off September bow hunting both Minnesota and Wisconsin for whitetails with both longbow and compound. He explained his summer task of scouting new areas on foot, the reason for finding new land in the first place, and how continuing to learn that land over the season will plan out.

While the two start off by simply stating plans and intentions, they also discuss various other topics in the hunting world, such as the metro hunts, what they do when the find illegal tree stands, using drones for aerial scouting, and the use of cellular trail cameras for gathering real time intel.

DIY Sportsman | Blood Trailing with Dogs with Shane Simpson

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 26 Jul 2018 01:49:00 +0000

This week we have Shane Simpson back on the podcast. Many people know Shane as a turkey hunter, but he also recently bought a dog and trained it to track specific scent trails. In just the first fall, his dog Callie tracked over 30 deer with a very good success rate.

Shane and Bobby were able to connect very well since they both have experience in using dogs to track deer. They compared notes and talked about the advantages of certain breeds over others depending on the terrain. In addition to just talking about the dogs, Shane gave some insight on what the deer would typically do once hit. Often the general rule-of-thumb guidelines that hunters are taught don't hold up, or at least might be misunderstood. This fall, Shane will be documenting and producing videos on YouTube for his tracking jobs as part of The Callie Chronicles.

DIY Sportsman | Listener Q&A: Part 2

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 12 Jul 2018 03:00:00 +0000

In the second part of the Q&A podcast, Garrett and Bobby go over the remainder of the questions sent in by listeners through Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Part one answered quite a few questions relating to saddle hunting and set ups. Part two contains more questions about saddles, but also mobile hunting logistics in general. Cold weather clothing, packing gear efficiently, archery set ups, and more are all covered.

DIY Sportsman | Listener Q&A: Part 1

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 01:44:00 +0000

In this week's episode we're answering listener questions. There were actually enough that we needed to split the podcast up into two separate parts, so we really do appreciate you guys being so involved. The topics are all across the board but generally geared towards mobile whitetail hunting. In both segments, there are lots of questions pertaining to tree stands, saddles, and climbing methods.

In the first part, we also answer questions about what specific locations we hunt, choosing a camera set up for self filming, planning a DIY bear hunt in the Boundary Waters, arrow fletching, and handheld GPS. And we are doing a GIVEAWAY. Details are in the podcast.

DIY Sportsman | Terminal Arrow Performance with Troy Fowler

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 03:00:00 +0000

In bow hunting, we care not only about getting the arrow to the animal, but also getting the arrow through the animal. Troy Fowler, also known as "The Ranch Fairy" does a ton of experimenting with various arrow and broadhead setups to investigate their performance on game. With an unlimited access to hogs, Troy is not only able to fling lots of arrows at live animals, but also wait for the specific shot opportunities to test how a setup performs in ideal or non-ideal situations.

With his background and experience, Troy really wants to help share what he's learned with deer and elk hunters. Since large hogs are such a challenging animal to penetrate, set-ups that consistently perform well on them also work well on antlered game. We talk about arrow weight, FOC, broadhead types, and even fletching options that perform best.

DIY Sportsman | Saddle Hunting - Aero Hunter Kestrel

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 31 May 2018 02:10:00 +0000

In today's episode we're featuring the Aero Hunter Kestrel, a hunting saddle that is the result of years of development and prototyping. You'll learn about Bobby's involvement with Aero Hunter and the design history of the kestrel. For those of you who are still on the fence or really don't understand the reasons behind the whole saddle hunting thing, we will be going into detail on some of the advantages and common questions that we see.

In addition, we'll be discussing features that are making their way into an all new Kestrel model to be released. If you're even remotely interested in learning about what saddle hunting has to offer, this is the episode for you.

DIY Sportsman | In-Depth Broadhead Discussion with John Lusk

info@sportsmensnation.com (DIY Sportsman) — Thu, 17 May 2018 02:14:00 +0000

On today's episode, we have special guest John Lusk, the man behind the Lusk Archery Adventures YouTube channel. John has hunted a variety of game in the US and Africa and is a total broadhead junkie. He's shot and tested most of the broadheads on the market, both in controlled tests and through animals. He's also not afraid to talk about what he likes and doesn't like.

We discuss cheap knock-off heads, premium machined broadheads, 2 vs 3 vs 4 blade, single vs. double bevel, mechanical vs. fixed, broadhead concepts that have never been brought to market, steel choices, and selecting broadheads based on species and terrain.

DIY Sportsman | Snow Gobblers and Sturgeon

info@sportsmensnation.com (Garrett Prahl & Bobby Boswell) — Thu, 3 May 2018 01:27:00 +0000

This episode takes a dive into two great spring past times, turkey hunting and sturgeon fishing. The Rainy River sturgeon run is unique. There aren't a ton of opportunities for anglers across the country to intentionally fish for lake sturgeon (and even harvest them). Given that it also takes place during a time when most other area fishing opportunities for game fish are closed, it tends to draw a pretty massive crowd. A fight with a sturgeon can take dozens of minutes, even on heavy tackle, and often the fish are older than the people catching them.

Obviously most of the listeners will be familiar with turkeys, and many already have several weeks in the books for 2018 depending on their location. Minnesotans had to deal with over a foot of snowfall 72 hours prior to opening day, which is a rare occurrence, even that far north. The opening morning hunt was significant for reasons other than the snow, however. It also used a strategy that is still somewhat overlooked in the modern age... ignoring the toms and communicating with hens, a strategy that was also discussed on our recent podcast with Shane Simpson.

DIY Sportsman | Ultralight Mindset for Whitetail Hunting

info@sportsmensnation.com (Garrett Prahl & Bobby Boswell) — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 00:53:00 +0000

For western hunters, ounce counting is fairly common, and it has been for a while. The drive to become ultralight has typically lagged behind for whitetail hunters as a whole. However, for the mobile, run-and-gun hunter, weight is a bigger concern. Accessories that used to be made from steel are now offered in aluminum or composite. People buy smaller tree stands or switch to saddles. Manufactures are now used to listing weights for their products. Some modern whitetail hunters go to the ounce counting extremes of drilling holes, cutting fabric, and swapping components in their store bought equipment.

In this podcast, Garrett and Bobby have a discussion about the whole "ultralight" mentality when it comes to Whitetail hunting specifically. Some items it makes total sense to shave weight on. Trimming some items can have safety impacts. But overall, there are usually certain trade-offs that come into play which need to be carefully balanced for each individual.

DIY Sportsman | Turkey Hunting Tips with Shane Simpson

info@sportsmensnation.com (Garrett Prahl & Bobby Boswell) — Thu, 5 Apr 2018 01:44:00 +0000

In this week's episode, Shane Simpson is interviewed about turkey hunting tips and calling strategy. Shane is lives in Minnesota but produces an annual video series titled, "Calling All Turkeys" each spring. He travels across the country, filming himself and others hunting turkeys on both public and private land. Garrett and Shane hunted turkeys together in 2015, and Shane's run-and-gun tactics influenced how he turkey hunts public land to this day.

Shane doesn't just hunt turkeys; he's also a competition caller. He has won more than 20 calling titles and has placed in numerous others, including winning the Minnesota State Calling Championship in 2011, 2015 and 2017 and he finished 2nd-Runner Up in the 2015 Grand National Owl Hooting Championship. Along with producing Calling All Turkeys, Simpson does freelance work for numerous hunting industry companies including Field & Stream and ScoutLook. He is also an outdoor writer with some of his work appearing in the National Wild Turkey Federation's "Turkey Country" and "Jakes Country" magazines.

DIY Sportsman | All Things Archery

info@sportsmensnation.com (Garrett Prahl & Boddy Boswell) — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 01:27:00 +0000

This podcast is sort of a campfire style discussion about archery setups between Garrett and Bobby. It starts with equipment and styles that they're using, especially with the upcoming turkey season. They discuss shooting with opposite handed bows, using Quivalizer style setups, peep eliminator systems, vanes and feathers, broadheads, limbs, tabs, targets, and other miscellaneous items that are either new or noteworthy.

The discussion also turns into a debate of archery theory. Is is better to follow a strict shot process from the moment you nock an arrow, or mentally hit the reset button as soon as you're at full draw? Does high FOC benefit a compound bow shooter? Are arrow spine calculators actually accurate? Are two blade broadheads always superior? Is it better to adjust your arrow weight to your eye's "natural" trajectory or choose a setup based on ideal numbers and make it work?

DIY Sportsman | Spring Scouting

info@sportsmensnation.com (Garrett Prahl & Boddy Boswell) — Thu, 8 Mar 2018 02:35:00 +0000

On today's Episode, Garrett and Bobby talk spring scouting, or post season scouting depending on your climate. Historically they've each placed a very different level of reliance on this strategy of gaining intel on hunting land and sometimes look for very different things. Garrett uses spring scouting as a primary method for learning bedding areas and piecing together big picture research. Bobby on the other hand places little stock on spring scouting with a much larger reliance on real-time intel from in season scouting later in the year.

They also touch on shed hunting and why shed hunting and spring scouting shouldn't necessarily always be lumped together. Out west, shed hunting has recently been placed under a much larger spotlight due to issues with deer being pressured in their wintering areas in order for people to collect sheds to sell. Shed hunting restrictions and bans have even been put in place in many areas; however, there is still the large question of "where to draw the line" since people are still finding ways of blurring the boundaries while staying within the law.

DIY Sportsman | Saddle Hunting - Saddlepalooza 2018 Recap

info@sportsmensnation.com (Garrett Prahl & Bobby Boswell) — Fri, 23 Feb 2018 12:05:00 +0000

Garrett and Bobby team up with two special guests, Scott Hamilton and Greg Godfrey, to bring a recap of the Saddlepalooza event hosted on the Ft. Stewart military base in Georgia. The event brought people from all over the country who share a similar passion for hunting out of saddles. While one of the main attractions was hog hunting on the base, there was a tremendous amount of knowledge being shared right at camp. Nearly constant demos on tree climbing methods and platform options were being showcased.

The group goes in-depth on their experience at Saddlepalooza as well as thoughts on their favorite climbing methods and gear from the event. There were definitely some opinions that have been swayed after being able to collaborate with several like minded people at the same time.

DIY Sportsman | Hunting Gear on a Budget

info@sportsmensnation.com (Garrett Prahl & Bobby Boswell) — Thu, 8 Feb 2018 02:35:00 +0000

In this episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast, Garrett and Bobby discuss money and hunting gear. The fact is, not everybody has a ton of disposable income. The hunting industry and social media at times makes it seem as if you need the latest and greatest to be successful. In fact, many of the big name guys started out from much more humble beginnings. Often, it's the hunter, more-so than the gear, which makes the difference.

That being said, there are plenty of opportunities for people to get good or even great gear for much less than retail price at various locations and at varying times of the year. DIY solutions can also be a good way to save a few bucks when applicable. These are the types of things discussed on this week's episode.

DIY Sportsman | Ice Fishing Equipment Basics

info@sportsmensnation.com (Garrett Prahl and Boudreaux Boswell) — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 02:54:00 +0000

In this Episode, we discuss ice fishing gear from the perspective of someone with a lot of experience fishing the upper MidWest (Garrett) talking to a total newbie (Boudreaux). Topics covered include electronics, rod styles, augers, safety gear, and shelters. Through plenty of trips with various anglers, Garrett has not only tried plenty of gear himself, but has also had the opportunity to observe other equipment in actual use on the hard water.

It should come as no surprise that which equipment a person chooses will vary greatly depending on the species they're after and the amount of cost they're willing to sink into it. Much of the information in the podcast is presented in a way as to help someone decide what they would need to first get started with minimum investment, along with what the next steps up would be.

DIY Sportsman | The Truth About Ozone

info@sportsmensnation.com (Garrett Prahl & Bobby Boswell) — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 02:39:00 +0000

Today's episode is a special one. We've brought on our first guest, Shawn Chadwick, to discuss ozone with. He has a PhD and works as a chemical engineer, so if anyone understands what's actually going on with ozone scent elimination, it's him. In addition, he's also a hardcore whitetail hunter and understands how we need to address these things in a real world sense. None of us have any affiliation with any scent control products, so what you'll hear is truly our unbiased thoughts.

Just a fair warning, the beginning of the podcast is pretty technical. We go over the background of ozone, what it is, what's it's used for in industries outside of hunting, how it's used in industries outside of hunting, and the mechanism by which it attacks scent. After that though, we transition into the real meat and potatoes of the podcast, which deals with real world application of ozone for both in-the-tree generators and generators designed to go in totes or closets.

DIY Sportsman | Ultimate Gear Review 2017

info@sportsmensnation.com (Garrett Prahl and Boudreaux Boswell) — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 00:35:00 +0000

In their final podcast of 2017, Garrett and Bobby dive into a full on review of all the new products they tried over the course of the year. Archery equipment is tackled first, from compound and trad bows to arrows, insert systems, and broadheads. Next, the two cover new camping gear for spending days at a time in the backcountry. With Garrett's transition to hammock camping, he explains some of the major differences in a high end hammock vs. a cheaper entry level hammock, and the differences in quilt sizing for a hammock vs. sleeping on the ground. Mapping and electronics are covered, as are climbing sticks, saddles, and clothing.

Despite trying a bunch of new gear in 2017, the two already have plans for new things that they want to try for the following year. This includes optics, broadheads, camping gear, and other miscellaneous items. As a supplement to this podcast, listeners can check out diy-sportsman.com, where fully itemized gear lists exist for various hunt types.

DIY Sportsman | Late Season Hunting Strategy and Plans

info@sportsmensnation.com (Garrett Prahl and Boudreaux Boswell) — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 01:20:00 +0000

With December upon us, most hunters have either filled their tags or hung up the towel. However, late season can still be a great time to have success for those willing to brave the elements. Late season hunting extremes and tactics vary quite a bit based on location, but food and bedding are still the biggest keys.

In this episode, Garrett and Boudreaux discuss in detail how their gear and clothing system changes once the temperatures drop, as well as additions such as chemical, electrical, or gas-based hand warmers. They discuss strategies to locate and pattern deer in late season. Garrett hunts in a much colder climate than Boudreaux does for whitetail, and generally deals with more snow, colder weather, and agriculture-based food. In the slightly warmer areas, Boudreaux generally keys in on finding natural browse.

DIY Sportsman | The Science of Rut Timing

info@sportsmensnation.com (Garrett Prahl and Boudreaux Boswell) — Thu, 30 Nov 2017 02:05:00 +0000

Every time mid-October rolls around, hunters frantically search for guidance on rut timing. Will it be earlier or later than last year? How will the weather or moon phase affect the rut? How accurate are the predictions in popular magazines? When should I take my rut-cation? With the increasing popularity of social media, many have turned to Facebook groups to get real time rut reports. But are they just handicapping themselves?

There has been plenty of scientific research of the topic of rut timing. In this podcast, Garrett and Bobby discuss what factors have actually been proven to affect doe estrous cycles as well as overall deer movement. In addition, they tell the listeners how they can take their own data to come up with an accurate assessment of doe estrous timing in their area, which may quite well vary from rut calculators or even nearby areas due to genetic diversity.

DIY Sportsman | Firearm Hunting Strategy

info@sportsmensnation.com (Garrett Prahl and Boudreaux Boswell) — Thu, 16 Nov 2017 02:12:00 +0000

In this episode of the DIY Sportsman Podcast, Garrett and Boswell talk about firearms deer hunting. Garrett grew up hunting the annual 9 day season in Wisconsin which occurs after the rut, and recently started participating in the Minnesota gun season, which is timed during the heat of the rut. Boswell doesn't do as much gun hunting on his own time anymore, but his job requires him to be a avid marksman as he takes numerous animals for both population reduction and wildlife research, often in semi-urban areas.

Gun hunting strategies can vary widely based on terrain, hunting pressure, and time of year. The two discuss very specific strategies for hunting marshes, hill country terrain, and farmland in both high and low pressure areas. In addition, they discuss calibers, bullet type, and proper shot placement to drop a deer in its tracks every time.

DIY Sportsman | Scent Control

info@sportsmensnation.com (Garrett Prahl and Boudreaux Boswell) — Thu, 2 Nov 2017 01:03:00 +0000

In this episode of the DIY Sportsman Podcast, Garrett and Boswell discuss scent control... their philosophies, routines, and experiences. Both use a scientific approach to analyzing scent, and understand the challenges with trying to apply laboratory success and marketing claims to real world scenarios with new variables. They discuss the published studies using tracking dogs as well as weather conditions in which tracking dogs have been observed to follow scent more easily. Spoiler Alert! Rain may not be the friend everybody treats it as.

Scent control has a lot to do with confidence. There are hunters who swear by hunting the wind and have success. There are also hunters who swear by a strict regimen and have success. These types of contrasting examples make it even more challenging to get a mental grip on something that we already have such a hard time comprehending. The fact that we can't smell as well as deer opens the doors wide open for assumptions, marketing campaigns, and arguments. Listen to the podcast in order to learn something new, or possibly reaffirm assumptions you already have.

DIY Sportsman | In Season Scouting Tips

info@sportsmensnation.com (Garrett Prahl and Boudreaux Boswell) — Thu, 19 Oct 2017 15:24:00 +0000

In this Episode, Garrett and Boudreaux discuss in-season scouting. Many hunters do a fine job of preseason scouting - glassing fields, sitting in observation stands, and checking trail cameras. But once the season rolls around, their focus shifts almost entirely to hunting. Often, it's easy to get caught up on what the deer were doing before the season, which can make it hard to adapt once patterns change. Maybe you've secured access to a new piece of property mid-season. How do you go about learning the property without screwing up your hunts? Garrett and Boswell each have fairly opposite, but successful strategies for in-season scouting. Listen to their discussion to help improve your own in-season scouting skill set.

DIY Sportsman | Colorado Hunt Recap and Gear Review

info@sportsmensnation.com (Garrett Prahl and Bobby Boswell) — Thu, 5 Oct 2017 02:29:00 +0000

In this week’s episode, Garrett and Boudreax discuss Garrett’s recent successful DIY public land mule deer hunt in Colorado. After briefly discussing the climax of the hunt, they dig into the gear used, cost of the trip, and lessons learned.

This was Garrett’s first time camping in a hammock, and he used a homemade 9×9 tarp to provide protection against the elements. The two hosts discuss other opportunities for DIY gear and whether they provide value over cheap camping gear you may already own, or top of the line gear from reputable manufacturers.

The intent is that this podcast can help serve as a guide for those who are planning a DIY hunt of their own out West.

DIY Sportsman | Climbing Stick Discussion

info@sportsmensnation.com (Garrett Prahl and Bobby Boswell) — Thu, 21 Sep 2017 01:44:00 +0000

In Episode 2, Garrett and Boudreaux dive into their vast experience using and testing climbing sticks. They discuss the pros and cons of various models on the market, as well as their own personal favorite features, and what they’d like to see from manufacturers in the future. The discussion also includes the value and safety considerations of aftermarket modifications such as webbing aiders.

DIY Sportsman | Introduction

info@sportsmensnation.com (Garrett Prahl and Bobby Boswell) — Thu, 7 Sep 2017 01:49:00 +0000

In the first episode of the DIY Sportsman podcast we meet the hosts Garrett Prahl and Bobby Boswell and learn more about what topics will be covered in this podcast.