Ep. 62: An Outfitter's Take on Common Hunter Mistakes
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Welcome back to another episode of Cutting the Distance Podcast. I'm your host today, Dirk Durham, and I've got a really special friend with me today, Bradley Dammerman here. Bradley messaged me on Instagram a few years ago and said, hey, would you like to go mountain lion hunting? And I said, boy, would I? So we put together a plan and we come up here in the dead of winter and went cat hunting. And if you guys haven't watched it, it's on the Phelps YouTube channel. The

The thumbnail is a picture of me holding the big old mountain lion. We had a heck of a time with chasing cats with dogs. I've always said if you can spend five or ten days in the mountains with somebody and still like them at the end of that five or ten days, then that's a pretty special person.

Immediately, I found that with Bradley. He was easy to be around. It was like we were old friends. He owns and operates a guiding business called Idaho Whitetail Guides, which is kind of a misnomer for the business because he runs a lot of mountain lion hunts, runs a lot of bear hunts, lots of elk hunts, and...

deer hunts too. And maybe deer hunting would be, maybe not even your biggest draw, really. Probably some of your other stuff is a bigger draw, wouldn't you say? Yeah, for sure. I would say elk probably is my biggest one. It was, I had purchased the business and the name was Idaho Whitetail Guides. And then I had a lot of things added, you know, elk and bear and everything added throughout the years. And I just didn't go

through the name change. I just kept it the same, but it's worked out. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You stay real busy every fall, but anyway, thanks for coming on today.

As I get to know Bradley a little bit more, I've known him and I know a lot of same people, you know, through, you know, it's a small world. And it seems like every time we get to talk and we know all these different people. And one thing I've always heard about Bradley is what an elk hunting machine he is. And unfortunately, he don't get to hunt much for himself. Right.

but he had an elk hunt here a couple years ago, two falls ago. You finally were able to get out for yourself. You normally guide clients. You had an opportunity to go with your father-in-law and you guys went out and chased some big bulls around and you got just a dandy, just a giant, an Idaho giant. Yes, that was well needed. I really enjoy watching whether it's a first timer kill a

his first elk you know it's really fun but every once in a while you know I got to get out there and do a little hunting for myself and that was a good opportunity to spend time with my father-in-law and heck we're still talking even you know after that long trip back to if you can spend some time in the mountains with somebody and still like them yes exactly we're still getting along so that's good that's good no that was a fun hunt and one one I'll never forget for sure yeah

And luckily, I would have probably killed just about any bull. You know, I wasn't going to be picky. I didn't have a lot of time, but I was fortunate enough to get a really nice public ground bull. Yeah. Yeah. And you guys kind of videoed that. It's on Outdoor the Core YouTube channel? Yes. Yeah. You can watch it there. And I use kind of a GoPro in my cell phone, so it ain't...

It ain't no Dirk Durham video or anything, but it still gets the point out there. Yeah, no, that was good. I enjoyed watching that. Thanks. You know, what a lot of people don't know about Bradley is, well, I'll tell you this right now. He's not ever going to brag about himself, so I'm going to brag about him a little bit. He's the real deal. He's grown up right here in the heart of elk, deer, bear, mountain lion country. Like, it's...

We're at his place right now, and it's absolutely beautiful here. And he grew up in the same house that he lives in. He went right out his back door as a kid, you know, with grandpa, with his dad, chasing hound dogs for bears and cats. And how old were you when you went out on your own and got your first bear with dogs? I'll start with the lion hunt just because I can remember that one the best. I was about...

10 or 11, and my dad was working, and we got two inches of fresh snow, and I begged my mom, my poor mom. I had this old...

yellow Yamaha three-wheeler that God gave to me, you know, and I had, I actually built a platform on the back of it to haul two dogs, believe it or not, a three-wheeler. That sounds safe, huh? Yeah. Definitely, definitely no helmets or anything like that. Oh, yeah, yeah. Anyways, I begged mom, you know, to...

take the dogs out. So I actually didn't load them up. Then I just jumped on the four-wheeler and I drove up the canyon here, up the drainage here by my house and found a lion track. And I knew it was fresh because it snowed in the middle of the night. So I come back and I got these two plot dogs that I had out here that were basically my dad's, but I kind of claimed them as mine. My dad trained them and stuff. Bear and Jack were the two dogs I grabbed. And I went out there and

I drove out there, and this three-wheeler I got, it's a real peach. I had the throttle on it. It broke, so I just had the wire tied to a piece of stick. I was kind of pulling that stick and driving. I had the two plot dogs on the back. I know my mom was just worried to death about me. It was cold and everything else. But anyways, I got out there.

and put them on the track and they went right out of hearing barking. And I was a little nervous. Back then we didn't have near the logging roads and stuff like we do now. So I started going on foot behind the dog tracks. I couldn't hear them anymore. Anyways, walked quite a ways.

And there was my first, you know, I'd been to lion trees with my dad and grandpa, like you said, but there I had my first lion tree by myself with my two dogs, my dad's dogs, whatever you want to call them.

say I had it treed there and I'll never forget that because it was a real special moment for me as a hound guy, you know, and I thought to my first thoughts was nobody's going to believe me, you know. So I went back and got my mom and she bundled up. I just left the dogs, you know, we didn't have wolves to worry about back then either, you know, there wasn't wolves around here. So I just left the dogs treeing on the cat and

Come back and drove all the way back here and got my mom and loaded her up. And I'm like, mom, you got to walk in. Nobody's going to believe me. I got one treed and I hauled my poor mom all the way in there. So I had proof that I actually caught one. So that's awesome. That's a good mom. Yeah. And where I grew up, you know, my dad, he was pretty, he's a lot, I'm nervous wreck, you know,

with my kids out there on four-wheelers and pickups and everything. But I actually was driving a pickup up the canyon here way earlier than I should have before I had the driver's license. Oh, yeah. So I had...

I had the hounds out and hunted a lot at a really young age. I hunted with my dad and grandpa, but if they weren't going, my dad was fine with me loading them up and going. Hounds are definitely a big passion of mine. I'm glad to have them. It's a lot of fun, and it's necessary. It's a good way to manage the predators, too. I'm not a big killer. I let a lot of stuff go.

you know, but I do manage them, you know, it's a good managing tool. And, um, um, yeah, hounds are important. Yeah. How many, how many days a year do you hunt your dogs? Oh man, I, at least, at least 150, probably pushing, you know, 180 closer to 200 days. Um,

Depending on the year. Depending on the year. But, you know, I, I hunt, you know, I'll start hunting here at the end of the November here and I'll be hunting clear till March, you know, I'll go to a show or two. Um, but other than that, I'll be hunting every day pretty much. And then, you know, our, we have a, I do every once in a while in fall, the fall season, even last fall, I,

i bear hunted we have a good fall september season here but that's always been a tough one for me because you got bugle and bulls or listening to the hounds but i try to do both you know i'll hunt a week or so sometimes if i'm lucky and um september you know if the bugle and slow or something and one of my clients want to go on a bear hunt or something i'll i'll do that and then but and then in the spring and summer you know i'm hunting

I'm hunting from around April 15th or May 1st, somewhere right in there, you know, depending on what units open. I'm clear till the end of July. Yeah. So, and I mean, I don't miss too many days in between, so. Yeah. Yeah.

Well, they rack up pretty fast. Yeah. Right. And your dogs show it. I mean, they get hunted a lot. They're, they're just, they're, they're in good shape. They know what to do. Um, I, I had the pleasure of going cat hunt with you and then Phelps came out and we went bear hunting that time. And I really wanted Jason to get to shoot the bear and the bear kept running over into, into an area that he couldn't hunt because he was a non-resident, but I could since I was a resident because of licensing and stuff.

um hound hunting licensing but anyway um that was funny because you know we had jason and i'm like i'm i hope you get the bear but in the end i got the bear yep you got the red star yeah that was pretty fun that was fun i enjoyed uh meeting jason and hunting with him as well and um

You guys are a lot of fun to be around, just at camp even. Yep, yep. We even videoed that one. So if you guys check out the Phelps YouTube channel, that one's on there too.

But the real reason I brought Bradley on today is I wanted to kind of go over some common mistakes made by elk hunters every year. He has a lot of folks. He brings hunting every year. He sees a lot of people come through the door. He's been guiding a lot of years. And, you know, some of the things that...

um, people could do to, to help their success maybe before they get here. And while they're here on hunting, whether, whether you're on a guided hunter, a DIY, I mean, this is all applicable stuff. Um, so I kind of, I thought, you know, I always have my,

ideas of mistakes people make, but that's usually, I'm like looking inward at my own mistakes. So, um, as a, as someone that's taken lots of people hunting every year, you probably see a few things that like, um, people that may not think about before they ever come hunting. And, uh, it'd be really good for our listeners to hear those, those problems and, and, and mistakes and maybe find a way to, to avoid those before they come hunting. Yes. Yeah.

Yeah, for sure. That's important stuff. And I think the most common, probably the number one thing that seems obvious on an elk hunt, you know, and this definitely depends on the hunt you're going on, but we're talking elk here, is being in shape, you know. I take a lot of, and I'm careful when I say that because I do take a lot of older people and stuff. And so you don't have to be a...

elk-shaped guy, you know, I mean, a hundred percent, you know, but any kind of exercise that you can do, you know, talk to your outfitter that you choose, you know, kind of figure out, you know, what kind of walk and how many miles a day and try to every day, just walk it at home, you know, for a couple of months before your hunt, any little bit helps, helps,

up your odds and helps us as a guide, you know, because we can only go where you can go. And so that's probably the number one thing that I see is just people, man, I should have exercised more. I should have been a little more prepared.

physically for this hunt i see that a lot yeah it'd be number one yeah i talked about this before on another podcast earlier this year about getting ready for elk season and stuff and and you know no matter what your physical condition is when you start getting in shape like you know um you can do it like maybe maybe get doing exercise for you is walking

around the block at home once a day because you have a sedentary job or maybe you just you don't get out much and you know you got to start somewhere right if you can walk around the block

every day for a month and then make it two blocks, three months, you know, you just build upon that. By the time it's time to go out cutting, you're going to have, you're going to feel better than just going from a sedentary, you know, maybe a desk job or something to immediately jumping into the mountains, you know, maybe hiking roads and trails and off road or off trail and through some steep stuff. Um, you know, and I always said too, um,

put, put a backpack on. Cause you're probably going to, you know, be wearing a backpack with you, you know, um, and man, you're sure your shoulders and your back, if you're not used to carrying a backpack around your shoulders and back kind of can get sore after day one. And it, by the time the end of the hunt comes around, you're about into shape carrying a backpack seems like for me, it is at least, but if I can, if I can,

start carrying a backpack a month before season as I'm walking and doing my other exercise, you know, put a little bit of weight in it to it. And, and if you're doing this for a two month spread, by the time elk season comes, maybe have 40 pounds in your pack. Um, and,

That way, when you get out here in the mountains, whether you're on a guided hunt or a DIY, you know, your back and your shoulders feel pretty good. You're not going to be like, oh, this is, oh, I'm sore every morning when I get up and I put my pack on and it's difficult. Now your mind's off task. Your mind's thinking about your aching back or your legs that are sore instead of thinking about elk hunting. Yes. You nailed it there. So, yeah.

definitely use it as an incentive to, to get in shape. You know, I'm going on this hunting trip, man. Yeah. You don't have to be an elite athlete, which is awesome if you can get that way, but, but, you know, get in better shape than, than you were before. And, you know, it'll help. Absolutely. Yeah. Just any little bit helps, like I said, any little bit. So very important that you take that serious. And then, uh, I would say, uh,

and something that seems obvious but i i bump into it a lot is people show up here with their brand new boots still in the box yeah i've ran out of band-aids putting it on blisters oh yeah guys um break your boots in and i i know this is most people probably do know this but i see it a lot um again on depending on the hunt you're on if you're if you're going on a whitetail hunt somewhere and you're going to be sitting in a

a blind or a stand, you know, well, you're, you're probably not doing a lot of walking. So, you know, you could probably bring your boots brand new then, but, um, put those boots on, break them in. However, you'd want to wear them a lot, you know, um, before you come on the hunt, very important because you, you don't want to go, you know, hunt the first day and then be kind of lamed up and sore and just kind of miserable the rest of the trip, you know, and, and a lot of the

places you might be going with an outfitter you know there might not be a store real handy to go get a different pair try a different pair or whatever so make sure they're gonna work for your feet and um

that's, uh, I just, you, it's just amazing how much I see that, you know? Yeah. Yeah. And yeah. And try to incorporate that in your exercise routine. So, you know, two months before the hunt, you know, just start breaking those boots in, you know, wear them every day on your hike, um, wear them around town, where I'm shopping, where I'm to work, whatever, um, where I'm doing chores in the yard, maybe mowing your lawn or whatever. But, uh, yeah, if, uh,

A blister, it's so funny to me, like a blister, it's such a little thing. It's a little part of your body.

But it can just wreck your day. It can wreck your hunt by having that painful blister back there. It's like it'll stop you. If they get really bad, they'll stop you in your tracks. Oh, yeah. You may have to take a couple days off to try to heal up before you can walk anymore. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I've seen people just not go out. Yeah, it's crippling. They've paid for a hunt, and they're just like, I'm going to hold back. My feet are sore. I'm kind of miserable. And I'll usually adjust for that as a –

a guide you know I we're kind of we've got lots of places to hunt so we're okay well he's pretty lamed up we need to take him over here maybe set him you know we'll work around it obviously but um you know

It's just kind of a bummer. It's going to put a damper on your hunt. Yeah. Yeah. And bring in another thing about that point, bring some, I mean, Bradley said he've ran out of some band-aids, but bring some of your own stuff to keep them in your pack. Um, I like Luco tape. You can get it on Amazon. Um,

Luco tape, it's like a medical tape. And this stuff, once you get it stuck on, it almost won't come off. You have to take it off, get it soaked in the bathtub to get this stuff to come off. And it's great for blisters. It's not bulky. It's real thin. It almost looks like the tape that's on a rubber bandaid.

but it's like super sticky super tough and um you'll let's say you get a blister on day one you put you start getting a hot spot you put that over the hot spot and the blister and get it stuck on there and that thing may be on your foot at the end of the week like it will stay on there really good so i highly recommend that stuff yeah i'll have to get some of that and stick in these cabins yeah yeah yeah your hunters will be happy for it yeah

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This is Brent Reeves from This Country Life. What makes South Dakota the greatest for pheasant hunting? With over 1.2 million pheasants harvested last year, South Dakota boasts the highest population of pheasants in the nation. In fact, you'd have to add up the total harvest from neighboring states just to get that many birds.

There's also millions of wide open acres chock full of different landscapes, meaning the hunt in one county is often completely different from just a few counties over. But what really makes South Dakota the greatest goes way beyond just hunting a colorful bird. It's the pursuit of something more like the camaraderie that awaits all kinds of hunters from all walks of life and partaking in South Dakota tradition over 100 years in the making.

It's about taking the greatest shots and watching your dog work the greatest fields in the greatest lands, carrying on the greatest heritage and making the greatest memories. So what are you waiting for? From the rush of the flush to the stories at the end of the day, experience a thrill like no other. Learn how at huntthegreatest.com. Okay. Something else I, I see a lot and, uh,

It's not too big of an issue, but it's something to think about, in my opinion. Choosing your hunting partner. Now I'm talking about a guided hunt here. So we sell two-on-one. We sell one-on-one hunts or two-on-one hunts. Right. Which a two-on-one is two hunters and one guide, if you're not sure what that means. But what I see a lot as a guide is all...

I'll get two buddies that'll show up on a two-on-one hunt. One of them's in shape and one of them's not. And so kind of, you know, maybe if you can, you know, pair up with somebody that's similar condition that you're in, if that makes sense. Because, you know, it's a two-on-one hunt, so I'm hunting you both. A lot of times we're walking together in the morning. You know, in the evenings and stuff, I'll set you in different spots, but...

elk hunting you know I you know we're hiking you know in the timber and and walking a long ways you know and and uh you know one guy's like I can't go anymore you know and the other guy's like he's not even breaking a sweat you know um so I've ran into that issue a lot and I and I do understand like on the flip side of that is you know I get a lot of father son things you know just right you know where and a lot of times on those the dad will just go without me take him get him an elk you know but um

It's something to think about, you know, or at least be aware of it, you know, that your partner could slow you down on a guided two-on-one hunt. Yeah. So... I see, like, another thing with hunting partners is...

before your hunt. Um, and I, I think people kind of don't do this a lot because you'll talk to, I talked to a lot of folks is they don't have a real good conversation with their partners. Get, let's get deep. Let's have a deep conversation with your hunting partner and find out what their expectations of the hunt are and what are yours. Cause sometimes we, we kind of assume what the expectations of the hunt is. And then when you get there,

opinions or expectations collide and one person's like, yeah, dude, I just want to go hunt the mornings and come back and eat lunch and then go hunt the evenings. And one guy's like, I want to hunt all day. And if you have two different mindsets like that, that can be a clash and that can be a big deal. And you might end up

hating your buddy over the deal. I mean, so you have to iron out any of those little bumps before you ever go hunting. Yeah. So, um, you know, maybe the kind of style you use, you know, maybe your friend, he's more spot and stock, you know, a minimalist when calling, maybe you're very, um,

um, heavy on calling. You want to use their calls a lot. Um, those two people don't usually blend well when you hunt together. Um, cause one person's like, geez, I wish that guy would just quit calling. Shut up. Quit calling so much. The other guy's like, man, why don't you blow his call some? We need to get these calls. He's out going. So those two different mindsets are just really clash. So if you can iron out your, your,

all your expectations and your, your thoughts of the hunt and stuff before you go, you can really kind of figure that out. And then you can explain to each other and like work that out before you ever get there. And then when you get there, you know what to expect and then you can make, you know, you can make it easy for each other to have a good time. Yes. Right. Yeah. Those are good points for sure. I've definitely, uh, I've seen, I've actually, uh,

Seeing hunting partners show up, you know, laughing, having a good time, you know, the first couple days. And then literally at the end of the week, drive back to Pennsylvania with a complete stranger that was here this week that was close to them. Yeah. The hunting partners were so mad at each other by the end of the week that they didn't even ride back home together. Oh, my God. Yeah. So that's pretty extreme. But it's kind of what you're saying, you know, they just clash too much, you know. Yeah.

One guy wanted to hunt this way. The other guy wanted to hunt this way. And by the end of the week, they were just not real happy with each other. So yes, very important to think that through. Yeah. Or at least be aware of it and talk about it. Sure. And it may not be a complete deal killer. Let's say you guys are doing your DIY hunt and it turns out you want way different things out of the hunt, but that doesn't mean you can't go and camp together and enjoy each other's time.

in the evenings or whatever, um, camp together and then say, okay, bud, you go this way. I'll go that way and I'll see you tonight. And if I get one or you help me pack it out and if you get one, I'll help you pack it out. You know, there's ways to still, you know, it's not a completely deal killer. You don't have to hunt maybe with each other side to side all the whole time, but you know, there's, there's solutions to like, if you, if you enjoy your friend or maybe it's a relative, um, and you want to make it work, um,

there's ways of making it work and still go but not clash as much yes absolutely yeah it's definitely it's definitely you can definitely work it around especially on a do-it-yourself you know um a two-on-one guided hunt you know you're kind of stuck but i even can work around it some yeah um you know as in like set somebody somewhere and then you know hunt with the

hunt with the other guy, you know, on foot and then alternate the next day. I've done that. So there, there's always ways around stuff, but it's tough to think about for sure. Absolutely. Sure. Yeah. Another thing, if we want to move on, uh, optics and shooting distance. Uh, that's when I first started outfitting or guiding hunts, you know, um,

the the scenery around here's changed you know there's more logging and stuff you know i hunted growing up i hunted the timber a lot you know and uh you got a hundred yard shot and the timber was rare you know just really didn't happen around here so i didn't really shoot that you know that far away you know i'd cite my gun in for 100 yards and go you know um what i see a lot um on a guided hunt is

is uh you know they're not from around here a lot of times they might be from back east or wherever wherever they're from and how how uh how hard it is for some of these guys to see stuff i'll see elk you know and um and i can't get them to see them sometimes you know and i'm like you know trying to explain as fast as i can you know you see that busted off snob over there on the ridge and they're like right below it a little bit to the right and they just can't see it um

And so what I've learned is a lot of times, you know, they'll buy an expensive hunt, you know, to go on and be dedicated and a plane ticket or whatever or travel all the way out here. But they'll have a 40-year-old pair of binoculars with them, you know. Yeah.

So I think optics are, are really important, especially in back to what I meant by timber, you know, things change around here. We can see so much, you know, here in Northern Idaho, or at least where I hunt, you can see so much further now, you know, all the logging and stuff, logging and stuff. You, you can glass a thousand yards or 2000 yards now. So, um,

You don't want to have your chance on a guided hunt and the elk walk into the timber. And I've had it happen several times and never even laid eyes on it. And it's even... When you're a guide, that's a horrible feeling because you think...

They're like, well, I've never seen it. They're looking at you, and I'm like, I swear there was a nice fight point there, I promise. And they're kind of looking at you funny, and you're like, okay, we're walking over there. I'm showing you tracks where it walked into the timber. Right, right. So I think – and I'm not saying you have to go spend a bunch of money on it. Don't break yourself. If it's in your budget, though, buy a decent pair, 10x42s even, something –

Something better than grandpa's old pair of binoculars anyways. Yeah, you don't want grandpa's World War II binoculars. That's right. And I can say, you know,

there's some pretty decent binoculars for two, 300 bucks. I mean, they're not the best, but they're, they're better than 20 years ago. Yes. Uh, two or $300 binoculars. They've come a long ways and, you know, by the best optics that you could afford for your budget. And, um, another thing, um, this is off topic a little bit, but same, but, but, but relative to binoculars, um,

There's nothing worse than being hunting and you look up on the hill and you see another hunter and they're eyeballing you with their rifle scope. They're pointing their gun at you and they're looking at you with their scope because they don't have binoculars. And that's a pretty unnerving feeling. And I feel pretty strongly about that. That's kind of BS, like BS.

But binoculars, I think everybody can afford a pair good enough that you can tell, you can scope out, look through your binos at a guy or an elk or a deer or something. There's no excuse to be throwing your rifle up and eyeballing people with your scope. No, absolutely not. Yeah, I've had that happen a lot to me too. Yeah. Yes, have a pair of binoculars. Don't use your scope. Nobody wants a gun pointed at them, that's for sure. Yeah. Distance.

I think knowing your gun and knowing your bullets is extremely important. I see this a lot where either they brought old grandpa's gun, you know, with, again, not a very good scope, you know, and they can only shoot 100 yards, you know. And I'm not saying I'm a big long-distance shooter, and I know some people are into that, some ain't.

But at least try to be able to shoot 300 yards, in my opinion. I mean, that's going to up your chances so much, where I hunt anyways. Well, and another thing, I see a lot of people will show up here with the most expensive scope you could think of, night force, whatever it might be, you know, expensive, fancy scopes.

a fancy gun and me and the guys are like, Hmm, I want that guy, you know, we'll come to find out he's only good to about 250 yards. He'll tell you. Right. And I just, I kind of shake my head at that. Well, why do you got all this expensive gear, you know, but, um, I think, uh, uh, practice in like, if you're from back East or somewhere, you know, I know it's hard to find a place to shoot. I know a lot of my guys have told me, well, we don't really have a spot to shoot 300, you know? And so that could be a challenge, but, um,

practice further than you think you're going to shoot, you know, practice shooting a ways I think will up your elk hunt a lot here where I'm hunting. Um, because anymore, you know, it's, we can take a four or 500 yard shot easy anymore, you know, and if you can't shoot that far, your opportunity might walk into the brush and that might be your, that might've been your only opportunity for that week. So, um, practice, practice, you know, um,

Shoot, even if you're not, you know, when you're practicing, you know, who cares if you miss, you know, I mean, just shoot as far as you can.

you possibly want, you know, further than what you think you're going to shoot on the hunt anyways. Right. And then that helps. And I think if, if you can't get those long ranges, if you can't get like that 300 yard shot at your local range, or, you know, maybe broaden your views a little bit, you know, search surrounding counties that like, well, there's that one shooting range over here that they've got a really nice one. You know, they, maybe they hauled some competitions at them or whatever you, maybe you can reach out to a thousand, but maybe before,

Before your hunt, go over there. You may have to drive for an hour to get to a place to where you can shoot at distance. Or if that's just like, I've looked, I can't find nothing. I would recommend, so maybe you can shoot 200 yards, 100 yards. Instead of shooting a large target...

make your target very small. Make the aiming point very small on your target. So instead of having a, you know, a two feet by two feet big piece of paper to shoot at, maybe now we're shooting at a playing card, you know, and now you're trying to shoot the diamond on the playing card. That's your aiming point, right? And you're not just going to sit on the bench at the range and just shoot that. Like, because typically when you're hunting, that's not...

a shooting from a shooting bench is, is a hundred percent never going to happen when you're on an elk hunt or any kind of a, unless you're shooting out of your backyard. Right. Right. So, um, shooting awkward positions, you know, stand up, um, lay on the ground, um, take a knee, you know, find yourself, um, getting comfortable shooting those shots, getting those, that muscle memory down, um,

I'm not a big bipod guy, but what I do instead of a bipod is I use my hunting pack. I've got a pretty decent-sized hunting pack, and I get good at pulling my pack off, throwing it on the ground, getting my gun on it, laying down, finding the target, and then executing the shot. So those little things...

will, will help you immensely like getting on target. Um, it's, it's really hard to like sometimes find the animal in the scope, especially if it's, it's moving or something. And like you alluded to is like the hunter's like, I can't see it. I can't see it. You know, I've seen this with my wife and kids before you get them on something. They're like, I can't see it in the scope. I can't see it in the scope. It's, it's really tough. Um,

So just this weekend, I had my friend Lee out and he's new to deer hunting. And we did some, some drills with, instead of using the rifle that he's going to hunt with, we used a 22, which is a full size 22 rifle with a full size scope on it. And by, you know,

putting it up quickly, finding the target quickly in the scope and shooting, and then just doing, doing that from different positions, standing up, laying down, kneeling, all these different finding. Maybe we, we did this with Lee. We, we, there was a tree close by. Okay. Let's pretend that's the deer over there. You need to get to that tree quickly and quietly, and then find the target, lean against the tree, rest your rifle on it, take the shot. Um,

And that made, that, that helped him a lot. He's like, wow, I'm just, I'm starting to, I'm starting to get it. You know, I'm starting to feel good about this. Then they have confidence in finding, finding the animal and the scope and then making that shot. Yes. Yeah. I'm glad you brought that up. Cause I, that's a big issue, you know, with people just,

um, you know, a lot of, a lot of my hunters will have the scope, you know, zoomed way in, you know, and, and, you know, too. And you, you realize, shoot, they've got their, their scope turned all the way up high power, you know, have that, you know, turn, turn down and then you got a little wider view to, to look and find it in your scope. But yeah, just, uh,

I'm finding it in the scope is major. Yeah. I mean, and that's so easy to practice. Like Dirk said, you know, you can, there's lots of things I, I got, you know, we got ground squirrels around here. So my kids, you know, and Amy and stuff, you know, that's, you know, if you have, if you got an opportunity to hunt squirrels, even, you know, it's just good practice to getting your gun pulled up and, and getting on stuff, you know, because most of the time, as you know,

They're not standing there forever, you know, so you've got to be quick. And that could definitely cost you an elk. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So I was not telling your outfitter if you have any health issues. It's something I've learned on the fly. Yeah, that's a good point. That's something you might not think of. You know, it's something I didn't think about when I first started, and I'll just –

I'll tell you what happened to me right out of the gate when I owned the business. I've guided since 99, something like that. But I've owned the business 13, 14 years or whatever. But the first year or two anyways, I had a white tail hunter out here and he

I, I said, I'm, you know, I was setting them in pop-up blinds and tree stands and stuff. I could tell right away, this guy was extremely impatient, which I don't judge because I'm not the most patient guy sitting in a stand either. Um, but he was getting a little frustrated, sitting in the stand, not really seeing much. And, um, and this guy is probably, uh, I would say around 50, early fifties, something like that. But, uh,

Anyways, I told him, I said, well, why don't we go for a walk and do a little spot and stalk, and I'll bring my rattling horns and grunt tube, and we'll see if we can maybe rattle one in or just catch one out there. He was losing patience. So anyways, I drove out somewhere, and we started hiking and setting up and rattling and grunt calling and not having any luck. So

We just kept getting a little further, further away, you know, and I just kept, you know, hunting. I didn't have no reason to be back right away. And we were walking through the timber there and he tapped me on the back of the shoulder. And he says, Brad, and I could just see, I just looked at this guy's face. And I mean, he does not look right. He looks sick. And he says, I need you to go back to the pickup.

And get my backpack. I'm diabetic and I'm about to have a blackout. Oh my God. Well, I'm, you know, I don't even really know what that means at this point. And he's like, I need you to hurry. I said, the pickup's like two and a half miles away. He says, Brad, I need you to get my backpack immediately. And I ran, I about killed myself getting back to the truck. Yeah. And I,

getting this guy's backpack for him and getting it back out. Luckily for this guy, I got his backpack out and I can't remember, he had some medicine or a candy bar or something, whatever, to help his diabetic. But he told me, you know, I've been a diabetic for like 35 years and he said that was the closest chance

I ever was to black it out. And I, and I don't know, I don't understand the diabetic real well, but what he told me was a blackout is you pass out and you never wake up if you're diabetic, diabetic. So I was like extremely close call. Like I was an eye opener for me. Um, another story is you, anybody that's hunted in September, at least around where I'm at Northern Idaho, the bees can be mean. Oh yeah. Um, I've, uh,

I've had guys out there that were allergic to bees and get stung and never had their... Like I said, this is early on in my guiding career. This is stuff I've learned. They never had their insulin shot or whatever. EpiPen. EpiPen, sorry, yeah. And with them. Well, that's a big problem. We're out here a ways. We're not getting back to the truck anytime soon, even if we're running. And I've had some close calls like that where people...

it was pretty scary so very important i mean if if you're not comfortable you know a lot of times we'll you know there'll be five or six clients in a week and we're kind of all talking at night and if you're not comfortable blurting that out your health issues in front of everybody at camp when you know you're there the first night just just pull your outfitter aside and uh

Tell him, hey, you know, just so you know, you know, I've got a bad heart or, you know, I'm allergic to this and make sure, you know, you know, that guy, you know, I don't think, you know, back to the deer hunt. I don't think he realized we were going to walk that far. And I never really told him. So that was maybe kind of my fault.

And he knew better. He told me he should have had that stuff with him. Right. But in his mind, we were just going to walk out there 100 yards and come back to the truck. So, you know, you can't leave it all on your outfitter. If you know you need that EpiPen or whatever it might be, make sure you have it with you. And your guide or your outfitter is aware of it. Yeah, that's a really good point. Yeah. Yeah.

I would never think of that, but I don't have any life-threatening issues right now. But I could see where that'd be really a big problem. Yes, it is for sure. Yeah, we take that pretty serious. And I go over all that, you know, with everybody the night they go up, just because, like I said, I've learned this through the years of guiding. But, yeah.

But definitely, definitely let your outfitter know. Or if you're doing it yourself, you know, make sure you have all the stuff you might need. O'Reilly Auto Parts are in the business of keeping your car on the road. I love O'Reilly. In fact, the other day, I'm not kidding you. The other day, I went into an O'Reilly Auto Parts looking for a part. I needed a different thing that wasn't really in there, you know, only like tangentially related to what they carry.

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This is Brent Reeves from This Country Life. What makes South Dakota the greatest for pheasant hunting? With over 1.2 million pheasants harvested last year, South Dakota boasts the highest population of pheasants in the nation. In fact, you'd have to add up the total harvest from neighboring states just to get that many birds.

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I wouldn't say that it's every hunt. Well, obviously, it's not every hunt. But I see it more on my mountain lion hunts or even like an archery elk hunt that I'm going to the backcountry and hunting pretty hard and maybe even possibly staying a night out there or two. If you've dreamed of going on an elk hunt for 10 years or whatever and it's been something, your bucket list deal...

Don't wait too long on pulling the trigger on that. I've guided I don't know how many older guys that they did their best, and God bless them. They finally got to a point in their life where they could afford it, I guess, and show up and go on a hunt. But I don't know how many times I've heard these words, I should have done this 20 years ago. Man, I'm mad at myself. Why didn't I do this?

20 years ago so if it's something you we only live once right you know and um if it's something you got and i know for like me and my business i can't speak for other outfitters but like my wife if it's you know this might be a do-it-yourself and you just figure it out but like if you're going with an outfitter i know like amy's setup especially with some of the younger people you know that have kids and a family and we know how expensive it is to to live nowadays but uh

Well, she'll set up payment deals for them. It might be a two-year deal where they're making payments to pay for the hunt slowly. But figure out something. If it's on your mind, don't wait too long because time flies, man. And we're not going to have our youth forever. Yeah, yeah. For sure. We're not getting any younger every year. No. Yeah, that's a good point. I think if you book with an outfitter and you think you got a good –

good outfit that you're going with and you're um something bugged you you know you're there for a week something bugged you something made you mad either the guide you know maybe he wasn't working hard enough or the outfitter said something to to make make you mad or the the the conditions of where you were sleeping whatever might be were weren't that great um

And this is easy for me to say because I'm the outfitter, but I think I highly suggest you just go to the outfitter with your issue. Immediately. Immediately. And set down. And I know for me and my business, and I still do this, I'll have a group of guys in for the week and hunt them. And I'll ask them at the end of the week, is there anything that I could have done different? Or maybe put in the cabins or whatever.

or had different meals, or is there anything you can think of I could have did different? I'd love to hear it. And we appreciate that. So you might have an issue that made you mad, but I think going to the outfitter and talking to them, they're more likely, I know I am, I'm going to try to make it right. This is our reputation on the line. I want to make it right, and whatever that might take. I know I'll work with you if you come to me.

I just don't, I don't really think I really, I don't really like the guy that, uh, you know, goes and just complains to other people. Right. Oh, this was horrible. And this was this. And, and that might be, I mean, I've heard horror stories, but I think if you have an issue, it's important to let your guide know. Cause then they can work on it and, um, maybe make a better hunt for the next guy's coming. Sure. Yeah. Like for instance, let's say the hot water tank wasn't working and you just don't know, you don't stay in the cabin. Right.

you gotta let them know you don't want to sit there all week with cold showers and right and they'd be mad that you had cold showers they'd be like the dang hot water tank wasn't working or the mattress was lumpy or something you know if there's something bugging you like gee whiz they don't have decaf coffee or right some little things some little things go a long way with people you know they they're not happy with it and if you mentioned it in early and say hey you think we could get some decaf or we think we could get a different mattress i can't sleep a wink

I'm sure you'd jump through the hoop to, oh, shoot, I didn't know. Let's fix that thing up and get you going. Right. Yeah. Definitely. You want people to be comfortable. Yeah. You know, we want you to be comfortable and want you to have a good time. So, yes, please let them know, you know. Yeah. Because if they don't know, they don't know. Or if it's your hunting partner. Let's say you're doing a DIY and your hunting partner is doing something that's really grating on you. Don't stew on it all week. Just say, hey, man, can we have a talk? Say, hey.

you're picking your nose all the time. It's really bugging me, whatever it is, whatever it is. Make it too much noise. You're making too much noise. You pick up your feet, you know, and if you do it with a, in a diplomatic way, instead of acting like a hothead or something,

Usually the other person's like, oh, wow, they didn't know. Right. Be happy to, you know, work on it. And that way everybody's happy. And sometimes, you know, the person maybe that's complaining should then say, was there anything I'm doing that's bugging you? And they may say, well, now that you bring it up, you snore like a freaking grizzly bear. Okay. I'm sorry. I'll try to work on that.

Yeah, I remember sleeping in a wall tent with you one time. It was kind of loud. Dang it. Sorry about that. I'm sorry about that. I've held a grudge ever since. I'm surprised you'll talk to me. No, but those are definitely good things to go over. You know, I mean, you book a hunt with somebody. These are things that you don't really think about until you're there, you know. They're small things, but they add up, don't they? They sure do. For sure.

Okay, another thing I see hunters making a mistake, which might sound kind of weird, and this all depends on the hunt you're going on, obviously, is I see hunters with too much gear, believe it or not. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That's just completely like, what the heck we got going here? I don't have room in my pickup for this stuff. Right, right. Yeah.

Which, you know, most outfitters, I think almost probably all of them, and I know I do, is we have a gear list. You know, we have a gear list. This is what you have to have. So if you book with an outfitter, make sure you get a gear list. And, you know, and then I might recommend some stuff that you can bring or you don't have to, you know, but, you know, just the basics. But, and a lot of it depends, you know, where you're going, obviously, you know, if you're walking or camping or hiking in, but...

my style of hunt you know where i hunt you know a lot of times we hunt for two three hours in the morning and then stuff kind of dies down then we we kind of take a break so what i see a lot of these hunters they they show up with a 50 pound backpack loaded i'm thinking man if we have to put a quarter on that thing it's really going to be heavy but yeah they've got more gear and then they're in there than they'll ever use and then by the end of the week

they're we're hunting and they're all that stuff staying in the pickup and they realized they didn't even need it um they brought it and it just sat in the cabin or whatever and um they've lightened up a lot because you know that's another thing that that's going to wear you down is just having too much stuff on you and nowadays you know it's kind of normal you know even me it's like

i remember when i used to you know grab a pocket knife two extra bullets and a gun and go you know pretty much and and now it's range finders and radios and cell phones and all the stuff you know it just adds up yep um have the right gear but don't have too much of it for the hunt you're going on you just spend a lot of time researching and asking a lot of questions and um

figuring out what you're going to need. Do I really need this? Probably not. I'm going to leave it. But I see that a lot where guys are just way over packed. That's a good point. Oh, shooting sticks. This is something I just thought I'd bring up. So

Say there's three or four guides, four or five guides, whatever I have here for the week. Honestly, I like shooting sticks. I think they're important because I see a lot of misses as a guide. Shoot and miss. But I definitely have better luck with shooting sticks. But having the right shooting sticks are important too. If you're going to be setting somewhere in a pop-up blind or whatever, you might...

you know, choose your shooting stick a little different. I like ones that are adjustable quick, you know, pull the trigger and just for the spot and stock, you know, like those trigger stick one trigger sticks. Yeah. Yeah. I like those the best for the style elk hunt I do with the rifle. But, um, then I have a couple of guides that,

They'll look at my clients and say, break those things in half and throw them over the bank. Because it's actually cost them. They're fiddling around with their shooting stick and cost them elk. But I'm a firm believer in shooting sticks, but they need to be quick on the style elk hunt I do. Yeah.

A lot of times I'll pack the trigger sticks for the hunter. Oh. And it works out good because I'll use it to rest my binoculars on or something when I'm kind of spotting stuff. And then if I see something, I can throw it out in front of the client real quick and get their gun on it. But...

shooting sticks um and the right ones are important for sure yeah yeah i always kind of go back and forth like should i get some because my buddy lee this week he's uh new new at deer hunting and i'm like should i get some of them shooting sticks for him and should i not and like you say they're kind of a pain in the butt to carry and um i'm thinking i'm gonna get some i'm gonna think i'm gonna get some yeah and

I think you'll like them. I think they're good, yeah. I might even like them for me. Right. And again, it goes back to having too much gear. How much stuff do you want to be fiddling around with, too? Like a one-man band. Yeah, I know I like, especially for some of my heavier guns, I like to rest them if I can. And, you know, there's different kinds you can go with and practice with them.

Yeah. You know, I, I get guys here that we go out the first day of their hunt and we see something and they can't even figure out how to unfold their shooting sticks or whatever they got. Right. Right. And, uh, so kind of maybe there's something else you could maybe kind of practice with is getting those up quick and it's all time, right? I mean, we got, sometimes you just don't have a lot of it on the hunt and so you don't want it to like, like one of my guides, Travis always says it's cost me more elk than messing around with their shooting stick, you know? Yeah. But, um,

anyways something to think about if people are looking to book with an outfitter i thought i should ask you so what kind of questions should you ask an outfitter before you put your money down so i feel like there's probably some questions you need to ask you maybe need to um do some checking what do you what do you what do you recommend like when you're vetting an outfitter yes that was very important ask a lot of questions first of all uh um

And don't be scared to, if, if, if say you're at a trading show or something and you've walked around and kind of looked at, don't be scared to ask questions. Don't be nervous. Just start somewhere. Yeah. Walk up to an outfitter and start somewhere. Just ask them a questions. Uh, we're not going to judge anybody or at least I'm, I know I'm not on any questions they ask. Just, just get the conversation rolling. It'll go into place. But, um,

It might not be the first question I ask if I go up to somebody's, an outfitter's booth or something. But one thing that you're going to want and I think is important is references. Yeah. And fairly recent references. Don't have references. Yeah, I hunted with them 10 years ago, you know. Right. You know, in the last year or two, get some references. And I know that I, when I'm at a show, I actually have a list of references. And on my references, I actually...

And have people, obviously, people are kind of, well, of course, you're not going to put some guy that had a bad hump on there. And that is true. Right. You know, to an extent. Yeah.

But why I think it's important to ask them is, well, back to mine, is I have people that killed stuff and I actually have people that didn't kill stuff with me. I think that's important. Sure. You know, if your outfitter doesn't supply, the guy you're looking to go with, if he doesn't supply like references that didn't kill, maybe ask him, you know, like, hey, can I have a couple of guys' phone numbers that, you know, weren't successful with you? Yeah. You know, and...

One thing I've learned in this business, in any business, I think you could probably agree, Dirk, is you're not going to make everybody happy. Right. So one or two guys that complain about an outfitter, I wouldn't think too much in it. Right. Because...

I think any outfitter that's been in business for a while is going to probably have a couple guys that can find something to complain about. That's just how it is. It's really hard to make everyone happy out there. It is. As hard as you try, you know, it's sometimes it's like maybe it's a personality thing. Maybe they expected way too much out of an outfitted hunt. It's hard to say. Right. Right.

Yep. So definitely check with that. And if he doesn't have any references, I'd be a little leery, you know, maybe go on, on. Like I said, when I'm at a, at a trade show, I have them there and I might not hand them out to everybody, but I, I, I definitely, if I'm talking to them and I think they're pretty interested in, in booking a hunt with me, I'll say, why don't you take some references?

And yes, and they might be some guys that have hunted with me and I know they're going to talk highly of me, but it might not even just be about me or my family. Well, it would be too, but it might be something that I forget to tell you. Like you could ask them, you know, well, how was the cabins you stayed in? How was the food? Right. You know, there's lots of questions that you could ask somebody on a reference and kind of

You know, did they run you into the ground? I mean, how far did you walk? You know, there's a lot of things they can ask him. So important. References are important. And I know not every outfitter hands those out because I've been at shows where they

I've handed them out and I've had them come back and say, by the way, you're the only outfitter that handed me references. Really? I'm like, oh. I feel like that would be kind of standard, really. And it would, I would think, but I've had them do that. And I'm sure most outfitters do or at least have them if the client asks. And they might not hand them out unless you ask, too. Right. Because, you know, I don't want 50, 60 people calling me.

guy so right it could be serious and inquiries. Yes, exactly sure Definitely asked again lots of questions. How physical is the hunt? I'm gonna be you know, what kind of terrain out altitude, you know What am I looking at because I I get a lot of guys here that you know Maybe miss communication and and stuff on their end our mine even you know, I've learned I'm learning I'm only human but on

I just didn't think it was going to be this hard. Right. You know, I thought it'd be a little more of a challenge, you know, really get detailed on, on that for sure. And, and maybe you should tell the outfitter, explain your expectations. This would, here's what a dream elk would be to me. You know, I wake up every morning about 9am to a five-star breakfast, you

I sip coffee for a while as I look at the lake and enjoy a beautiful view. And then about

10 we get in the vehicle and drive around and look for animals and maybe take a shot or two and then we get back early and and i take a soak in the hot tub and yeah you know yes is it that i mean i'm being silly here but but you have to like find out like tell the outfitter what your expectations are and he might just say well that's not really the kind of hunt we do yep um we don't this is more what we do and you know kind of like

I feel like that whole expectations versus reality thing is what really throws people off sometimes. So if you don't tell them that your expectations, you may just go there thinking it's something it ain't. Right. If you haven't asked the questions and like, you just assume all these things. Yep. That happens a lot, you know, and I, and I've told people, you know, several times, you know, that were detailed about that, that I'm not sure I'm the guy you're looking for. Right.

you know i'll recommend i'll recommend a few guys to you yeah i think you'd you'd have a little more of an experience with what you want you know so yes and and um so important to know what you're getting into and and if you're gonna like it or not you know another one is uh i hear you know i hear all the a lot of these guys that hunt with me have been hunting other with other outfitters and

and different places and stuff and and one i hear that hunters complaining about not not necessarily my setup i i feel like i have a decent setup for sleeping but make sure you ask in the outfit or you know where am i sleeping at you know like oh you know it might now now i know i wouldn't you know might not bother some people but i wouldn't want to show up um

on a guided hunt and be stuck with five guys sleeping in the same tent or, you know, that I don't know. Right. And that might not, you know, I would if I'd at least want to know about it, you know. Right. Like, who am I going to get stuck with? Am I going to be sleeping with the cook somewhere? You know, whatever it might be, you know. Have that all ironed out, you know, so there's no, when you get there, it's all about hunting. There's no surprises, you know.

I'm in a bunkhouse with eight beds and seven guys snoring like bulldogs. Right. So I'll need earplugs. Yeah. Or maybe I don't want to do that. Right. Who knows? Like I said, I've heard horror stories of mice crawling on people and these old shacks have been in and spiders and all kinds. Who knows? Just be aware of where you're going to be. Yeah.

I think we might have touched on this a little bit, but ask your outfitter how far you're going to be shooting. Very important. And like we talked earlier, practice to what

What they say, you know, like I usually tell my hunters, I kind of expect or would like you to be able to shoot 300 yards. Yeah. So practice to 400. Yeah. You know. That way 300 is a chip shot. That's right. So definitely ask them that and then you'll have a little bit of an idea. Mm-hmm. You kind of already talked about this, but what style of hunt and is it going to fit you? Yeah. Like you were just kind of. Sure.

brought up you know definitely make sure you're gonna if you pull the trigger on a hunt that you're gonna be happy with it you know what you're getting into and i think uh if i'm if i'm walking around a trade show or something and trying to pick out an outfitter and i find one and i'm i'm asking him his i'm asking him a lot of questions you know but i think i'm really going to be trying to to

to look at this guy and see, is hunting really his passion or is this just a way to make a living? And you can tell by talking to somebody. Oh, yeah. Real quick. Bring up some hunts. What kind of hunts do you like to go on? What's your favorite hunt? And see if you see that spark in their eye. And I think that that is...

I think that, I just feel like them guys are really going to try harder, know hunting better. You know, they're just going to be a better choice for you, if you can tell. Because unfortunately in this business, there's what I call businessmen, you know, and I guess I'm one too, but...

you know, they're pushing numbers and they might not even hunt themselves really. Right. They just have a crew of guys. They have a crew. They might not guide even, you know. So definitely try to see what you think there. Another good one is find out how many people are going to be in camp. Oh, yeah. You know, and I know for me, I run a pretty small business, but I know if I go somewhere,

I don't necessarily want to show up and there'd be 20, 30 people in camp for the week. Right. You know, that's a big red, red flag to me of somebody just either. And I, and I get, you know, we have to, as outfitters, we've got leases and there's a lot that goes into it. So we have to book a certain amount of hunters to make it, or we're allocated tags or whatever. But, um,

You don't want to go to somewhere where they're just flat being greedy and they're pumping as many. You're just a number. Right. We're pumping as many hunters a week as we can get to. Keep that in mind. Right. And I'm not saying that you're necessarily going to have a bad hunt. I would just keep that in mind. Right. When you're looking. Yeah. Because some places, they might have a...

like a gigantic vast area of, you know, that they lease or they're hunting on. It's just like, you're never going to see, be close to any, but any of the other hunters all for a week, you know, you'll see them at breakfast and dinner, but that would be it. Right. But other places, maybe, maybe you might be like, oh, they're glassing across the hillside. No, there's old Joe from the breakfast table this morning looking at me. You know,

If it was a place that had a lot of hunters in camp, they probably better have a very vast area to take their clients into and not be stumbling over each other. Yes, right. Exactly. And when you're walking around on the show, same thing. Make sure you're talking to the owner operator. And again, I'm not saying that you shouldn't go through a booking agency program.

but at least to be aware of that, like ask those questions. Like, are, are you the owner? Are you the operator? Are you going to be there? Are you going to be guiding? Cause I've known lots of my hunters say, you know, they booked a hunt with a guy and they, he wasn't even there when they showed up, you know, and, um, kind of caught him off surprise, you know? And, uh,

And at least if you do go through a booking agent, you know, like I said, I don't personally use them because I run a small business and I want to be more personal. Sure. I want to talk to the people that are going to come with me and stuff. But if you do go through a booking agent, at least, you know, ask that booking agency, how can I contact the owner, you know, and get a little more detailed and personal with them. Sure. You know, and know, you know, like, okay, are you going to be there? Do you guide them?

Again, if they're not guiding and not involved, it'd probably be a little bit of a red flag for me. Oh, yeah. Yeah, definitely. And then another question you'd ask them is how much ground do you got to hunt? Yeah. If there's five guys in camp and you only got 800 acres to hunt, well, you might want to stay clear of that. Yeah.

Yeah.

not every outfitter some outfitters might have more or less you know so i think that's an important question to ask you know like how much ground do we have to hunt and if you don't have much ground to hunt you know i'm not saying you wouldn't be successful but it's something to it would probably raise a little bit of a red flag to me yeah i like breathing room right you know right i can't find something some something on this mountain i want to go to another one right you know absolutely

how long has our guides been working for them? You know, that's, that's an, an important one to ask, I think, to an extent. So a lot of my guides have been, I've, I've been lucky. I've had some guides that have worked for me from day one. I mean, they're excellent hunters and I'm, I'm grateful for that. But I think it's important to ask. I've been back East at, at shows and I've had outfitters who,

literally hiring guides from back East to, to come work for him and, and Idaho. And I'm thinking, Holy cow, there's no way I'd run my business like that. So you want to, you want to know who, who you're getting for a guide, you know, and those are important. And just because they're, you know, guys got to start, start somewhere. I just trained one up three years ago, super good young kid does a great job, but,

And the technology we got, just because it's his first year, you know, I kind of explained to him and I put waypoints and stuff on his Onyx or base map or whatever he has and, you know, tell him, you know, guide him through like this is how you need to hunt the hunters, you know. So he'll be just as, we all kind of hunt the same style, so he'll be just as successful usually, you know, but it's important to know who you're going to have for a guide and how experienced they are for sure. Yeah.

Definitely a question I'd be asking. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's super important because, you know, and it might tell you something a little bit about the outfit. If they have a revolving door of guides coming and going, maybe there's something else going on too. Right. But if they've got, you know, guides that have been with them for a really long time,

That means, you know, something's, things are getting done right around there and it's been a good experience probably for the hunters and the guides to keep coming back every year and a good outfit to work for. Absolutely. Yeah. And, um,

And, you know, if you do, if you do find out you, you're getting a newer guide, you know, it's his first or second year of guiding, you know, try to dig into how long has he been a hunter? Yeah. You know, how long has he lived here in Idaho or wherever you're hunting, you know, some other things to think about. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. He could be a country first year guiding, but country boy has been hunting his whole life and you know, he knows these mountains like on the back of his hand. All right. Yeah. Or maybe not. Yeah, exactly. Maybe not. It's important to get a good guide. That's for sure. Yeah. Well, thanks for coming on. That was really great. All those points you brought up on the biggest mistakes and the, how to, how to best vet your,

an outfitter, whether you're vetting an outfitter or maybe you're vetting a hunting partner. Those are some really good things to think about and conversations to have. That way you have a really good, a really good experience. Do you have any closing thoughts? Yeah, I think I'd leave it as, as no matter if you're doing it, do it yourself or a guided hunt, go in with a positive attitude, you know, go in,

You know, you might not kill one. That's just reality. But go in there. I'm going to have a good time no matter what happens. You know, I'm going to be positive. I'm going to set a positive tone for the whole camp. Yeah. I love those kind of guys. They're positive from the day they walk in until the day they walk out. And if they don't kill one, they're still positive. We love those type of guys, just positive.

It just really sets the tone for the whole camp for the week, and I love it. Yeah, it sure does. And an attitude is so contagious, whether it's positive or negative. If you're exuding positivity and having a good time and people around you are going to have that same vibe, they're all going to start having that same vibe.

maybe they're like on the fence, whether they want to be positive or not. It's easy for them to follow suit. Like, oh yeah, that guy, he's kind of uplifting and cheering me up. Now I'm positive too. But if you're kind of being a poo-poo, you know, if you're having a bad attitude, then that's also really contagious. And it's actually really a lot easier to have a bad attitude than it is a good attitude. Yeah.

And my buddy Dan Staton from Elkshape, he always says, there's only two things on elk hunting that you can control, and that's your attitude and your effort. And that's so true. That is true. I love that. Yep. Yep. And like you said, the negative side.

attitudes are just as intangible but I mean I tell all my guides no matter what happens stay positive and it really helps when the hunter the actual hunter is doing it so yeah keep that number one positive attitude absolutely and you know guided hunts I mean they're just because you're going on a guided hunt doesn't mean it's any less of a hunt than a do it yourself or

I feel like there's this attitude out there in the hunting world right now that, oh, it's a guided hunt. Oh, you drew a tag. It wasn't an over-the-counter, do-it-yourself hunt. Some people kind of turn their nose up at that. And you know what? That's not right. Outfitted hunts is still a hunt. You have to show up. You have to work hard. You have a guide there helping you. So, yeah.

We're all in this together. We shouldn't be trying to tear each other down. As long as the method someone else chooses to hunt is legal and they're observing ethical standards, we should support them. We shouldn't run them down. Yep. Don't divide. Don't divide. We're all in this together. There's too many people trying to take away our hunting rights and trying to tear down hunting as it is. We don't need to do it as hunters. Right. Right.

Yes, and thank you for bringing that up about a guided hunt. I appreciate that because, yes, as a guide, you know, I'm still hunting with hunters, you know, that come with me. Oh, yeah. They're good hunters. They hunt at home. They're just not real familiar. And you can learn a lot. I mean, they can learn a lot. I take these kids—

up north here that you know are really wanting to get into calling and and do it themselves and they actually booked a couple hunts with me and it's worked out real good they've learned a lot and they're out there calling in elk now by themselves and stuff i mean you're there with a good guide for a week you and you're paying attention you can learn a ton yeah so yeah you have a seasoned guide that's been doing this a long time you

you can learn a lot and maybe, maybe that's your goal is to someday do a do it yourself type hunt, or maybe not. Um, or, or maybe you can go with an outfitter and they, they can provide a hunt that you would never be able to do on, on your own. You know, maybe they own, you know, a pack of hound dogs that are really well-trained and they know the area very well. Um, for me, I,

I can't own a pack of hound dogs and train them. I've just, just, I don't have the ability nor do I have the space, um, to do it. And then, and then where to do it, you know, um, I can come with Bradley. We can go, we can go chase cats or we can go chase bears and it's going to be an experience of a lifetime. Um, so, you know,

maybe it's just your checking off a bucket list thing or maybe you've just never gone hunting before and you're intimidated. Just like, you know, I don't know if I can do this by myself and I want to go with a guide and learn everything he knows about elk hunting or deer hunting, whatever kind of hunt it is. And then,

next year I'll feel comfortable to do it myself. And that's a great, great way. There's no shame in that game. That's a great way to do it. It's smart, actually. Yep. Yeah, definitely. And yeah, thank you for bringing the hounds up, you know, just before we go here. You know, if you have a chance, I feel like hounds are kind of,

a little bit in a way, you know. I know not everybody, but, you know, I just encourage anybody to go with a, try to find somebody with hounds if they're willing to take you and go out there and experience that. You know, there's a lot of hard work that goes into that. It's not just turn the dogs loose and we're pulling the trigger. As you know, Dirk. Oh, yeah.

So, yeah, or, you know, like Dirk said, you know, you might not have the knowledge or the space or, you know, the time to raise a pack of dogs, but at least experience it, you know, especially before you judge it, you know, definitely try it out. I think just about anybody I ever met.

Took out for the first time with hounds. I pretty much hooked them. So it's fun. Yeah. Well on social media, anytime, like on the Phelps page or even on my page or, or on our YouTube videos where we've gone hunting with you and it's like hound dog hunting for mountain lions or bears and

Immediately, there'll be somebody, and they say, they'll be like, no thanks. Oh, that's the lazy man's way or whatever. And they'll say that about bear baiting too. And it blows my mind because to me...

hunting with hound dogs or baiting, that is like the opposite of the lazy man's way. That takes so much time, discipline, effort that I don't have, like, I don't have time to deal with, have dogs and train them and all that. Like,

And then it's not like I just show up and shoot something. No. We hunted all week, you know, and you got to be in the cold. You got to be in the hot. You got to hike up in there to the tree. I mean, there's more to it than that. And that baiting too. My buddy Cody Wilson went bear hunting last spring with him in Wyoming and baiting. And people will poo-poo on that. They'll say, oh, that's the lazy man's way.

If you've never baited bears, especially legally, where you have to do it per the law, you can't have it next to a stream. You can't have it next to the road. You have to do it right. Right.

That is an astronomical amount of work. Oh, man. Packing in bait. Yes, it is. Definitely. It's crazy to me that people can sit there and run it down. They obviously have never done it. Right. They just see maybe the fruits of people's success and maybe feel a little jealous or think, oh, man, that's –

that must be nice or whatever. That's easy. It ain't easy. Yep. Definitely try it before you judge it. Yep. And it's definitely, I can promise you not easy. I've got my whole life and dedicated to hounds and, and I know what exactly what it takes. And if, you know, the people that think it's easy, you know, go out and, and train a pack of dogs and catch your first cat and then we'll talk. Yeah. They might have a little different opinion. Yeah. Well,

Well, man, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you coming on here and sharing all your knowledge and stuff with me. And, and, uh, I've been trying to get Bradley to go elk hunting with me. And, uh, we've been kind of talking about that. And he said, you just wanted me to call it an elk for you, which that's true.

but I want to really call one in for him really bad too. So I know one of these days we're, we're going to probably put that together and, and hopefully we'll get to film it and share it with you guys. I think it'll be a probably a hunt of a lifetime really. Oh man, I'll be, I definitely want to do that and I'll look forward to that. And,

Yeah, I'd love for the bugler to call me in a big six. That'd be awesome. Even a big spike. I'm not too picky. I don't want you to have too much pressure. Perfect, perfect. We'll keep our expectations right. Yeah, we'll talk it over again. Well, thanks again. I appreciate it. Thank you, Dirk. I appreciate this. Tell us where people can find you, social and stuff. Yeah, so I do have an Instagram page. I think three...

Well, I started Instagram right about the time six, seven months before you come... About COVID year. Oh, yeah. So I'm not the greatest on it, but I'm on there. You can look me up. We have a website, IdahoWhitetailGuides.com, and there's a lot of information on there, a way to contact us. And like I said, if you have any questions, I'm

I'm happy. You know, a lot of times my wife will take the calls and I might be out in the field hunting or something, but I will eventually get back to you. And even the do it yourselfers, like I said, if, if there's anything I could do to point you in the right direction or, or any kind of information you might think you need from me, don't hesitate to call. Okay. Yeah. Great. And on Instagram, your handles, Idaho whitetail guides, right? Okay. Yep. All right. Well, thanks. I appreciate it. Yep. Thank you, Dirk. Uh-huh.

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