EatWild Podcast

EatWild 84 - Stand Hunting for Big Bucks with Mike Bridger

Mike Bridger shares his process for finding and hunting big whitetail bucks.  Mike breaks down his process of e-scouting, placing trail cameras, stand placement and putting as shares the story of hunting Chuck, a once-in-a-lifetime buck. 

 

In the conversation, we compare the experiences of still hunting and sitting. We discuss the scouting process and key features to look for, as well as the importance of access and wind direction in setting up hunting sites. We talk about the challenges of calling deer, the benefits of using tree stands, and the differences between still hunting and sitting in blinds. Additionally, we touch on the use of bait to attract deer, the significance of security and cover in hunting spots, and the joy of enjoying a cold beer after a hunt.

 

This episode is supported by BC Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BCBHA). The BCBHA is a young conservation organization dedicated to protecting wild places and critters that live in these wild places. Come out to a local event and get to know the BCBHA community. 

The iHunter App supports the Eatwild Podcast and other programs. The app is an essential tool to make you more comfortable in the woods. The mapping layers, navigation tools and hunting regulations are all packed into the app to give you the info you need on your next adventure. 

As always, this podcast is brought to you by Seek Outside. They make unique ultralight tents and packs for your next adventure. Use the discount code EATWILD on your next purchase.

 

Chapters

 

00:00 Introduction and Passion for Hunting

01:19 The Excitement of Camera Checks

02:25 The Heartbreak of Camera Failures

03:57 Determining the Success of a Camera Spot

05:37 Comparing Still Hunting and Sitting

07:15 Introducing Chuck and Hunting System

09:31 Preparing Hunting Sites

11:13 Checking Cameras and Hunting Sites

13:13 Ground Blind Setup

14:54 Managing Multiple Hunting Sites

18:11 Transitioning from Hunting to Scouting

20:32 Scouting Process and Key Features

22:31 Understanding Deer Scrapes

25:22 Creating Mock Scrapes

33:28 Considering Access and Wind Direction

37:06 Heartbreaking White Tail Hunts

40:06 Dealing with White Tails and Movement

41:38 The Failed Grunt Call

42:52 Utilizing Tree Stands

43:26 Rattling from a Tree Stand

45:00 The Effectiveness of Calling Deer

46:13 The Difference Between Still Hunting and Sitting in Blinds

47:07 Adapting Hunting Methods to Age and Ability

48:41 The Evolution of Hunting Methods

51:27 Introducing New Hunters to Hunting

53:10 The Challenges of Still Hunting

54:18 Choosing the Right Bullet for Hunting

55:38 Using Bait to Attract Deer

57:56 The Importance of Security and Cover in Hunting Spots

59:51 The Benefits of Using Trail Cameras

01:00:39 The Joy of a Cold Beer After a Hunt

01:03:51 The Game-Changing Gear: Ultra-Light Backpack Chairs

01:05:59 Dream Hunt in British Columbia

 

EatWild 83 - How to Still Hunt - Tips from a lifetime of timber hunting with Geoff Horsfield

Trying to be invisible. Quietly sneaking through the woods, waiting, listening, and observing. Meticulously searching the forest with your eyes for a flicker of movement or a fraction of a silhouette. This is the essence of still hunting. 

In this episode, I am joined by my hunting mentor, Geoff Horsfield. Geoff taught me how to hunt. Geoff is a master still hunter, and I can still remember our first hunt together 35 years ago where he showed me how to sneak up on a whitetail. 

 

Geoff and I are warming up by the wood heater in the wall tent after successful day of Whitetail hunting.  Geoff share his thoughts and processes for how he still hunts. 

 

There’s lots of generous tips from a great hunter in this episode. Enjoy. 

 

If you want to learn more about how to still hunt, I released a still hunting online course which you can access on our website. It’s over three hours of videos, strategies, and storytelling to help you  build your skills to be a better hunter. EatWild Still Hunitng Techniques.

 

This episode is supported by BC Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BCBHA). The BCBHA is a young conservation organization dedicated to protecting wild places and critters that live in these wild places. Come out to a local event and get to know the BCBHA community. 

The iHunter App supports the Eatwild Podcast and other programs. The app is an essential tool to make you more comfortable in the woods. The mapping layers, navigation tools and hunting regulations are all packed into the app to give you the info you need on your next adventure. 

As always, this podcast is brought to you by Seek Outside. They make unique ultralight tents and packs for your next adventure. Use the discount code EATWILD on your next purchase.

 

We also get support from our friends at West Coast Kitchen Canada. So stock up for the adventure season and use the discount code EATWILD.

 

You can stop in at Beere Brewing and take advantage of a 10% discount on the purchase. Use the code EATWILD10 on your next purchase.  Beere makes a great section of bright, crisp beers that are perfect for the patio or around the campfire. 

82 - Where to Hunt Elk - An Elk Packrafting Hunting Adventure

This is a fun episode. I am stoked to share Jenny's first elk story with you. Throughout this episode, we discuss our thought process for deciding where to go elk hunting. We evaluate the four critical parts of choosing a spot to hunt. Quality habitat, presence of elk, huntability and potential hunting pressure. All these factor into our decision-making process for planning our 2023 pack rafting adventure.

We discuss the pros and cons of hunting the three-point season versus the six-point season here in British Columbia.

Our evaluation and decision-making paid off, and we share a fantastic story of elk hunting on our pack raft adventure this year.

Please support this podcast by using our partner discount codes. 

If you're interested in learning the foundations of how to hunt elk, you should check out the EatWild Learn to Hunt Elk program - you can find that on our website or on our EatWild Thinkific platform. It's pretty cool and you will learn a ton.

This episode is supported by BC Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BCBHA). The BCBHA is a young conservation organization dedicated to protecting wild places and critters that live in these wild places. Come out to a local event and get to know the BCBHA community. 

The iHunter App supports the Eatwild Podcast and other programs. The app is an essential tool to make you more comfortable in the woods. The mapping layers, navigation tools and hunting regulations are all packed into the app to give you the info you need on your next adventure. 

As always, this podcast is brought to you by Seek Outside. They make unique ultralight tents and packs for your next adventure. Use the discount code EATWILD on your next purchase.

 

We also get support from our friends at West Coast Kitchen Canada. So stock up for the adventure season and use the discount code EATWILD.

 

You can stop in at Beere Brewing and take advantage of a 10% discount on the purchase. Use the code EATWILD10 on your next purchase.  Beere makes a great section of bright, crisp beers that are perfect for the patio or around the campfire. 

EatWild 81 - How to Hunt Mule Deer Timber Bucks - With Jordan Kowalchuk

We are talking about how to hunt mature Mule Deer timber bucks! Jordan Kowalchuk of @bcbackcountry joins me, and he shares his passion and process for hunting mature bucks.  For Jordan, preparing for a successful hunt is a year-round process and can take years to come to fruition. 

We talk about habitat, hunt timing, strategies, processes for finding mature deer and strategies for hunting.  I learned a ton in my conversation with Jordan, and I can't wait to get out on the hunt. 

If you like this type of podcast, let me know, and I will do more "how-to-hunt" topics.  Good luck in the Mule Deer woods this season! 

Please support this podcast by using our partner discount codes. 

If you're interested in learning the foundations of how to hunt elk, you should check out the EatWild Learn to Hunt Elk program - you can find that on our website or on our EatWild Thinkific platform. It's pretty cool and you will learn a ton.

This episode is supported by BC Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BCBHA). The BCBHA is a young conservation organization dedicated to protecting wild places and critters that live in these wild places. Come out to a local event and get to know the BCBHA community. 

The iHunter App supports the Eatwild Podcast and other programs. The app is an essential tool to make you more comfortable in the woods. The mapping layers, navigation tools and hunting regulations are all packed into the app to give you the info you need on your next adventure. 

As always, this podcast is brought to you by Seek Outside. They make unique ultralight tents and packs for your next adventure. Use the discount code EATWILD on your next purchase.

 

We also get support from our friends at West Coast Kitchen Canada. So stock up for the adventure season and use the discount code EATWILD.

 

You can stop in at Beere Brewing and take advantage of a 10% discount on the purchase. Use the code EATWILD10 on your next purchase.  Beere makes a great section of bright, crisp beers that are perfect for the patio or around the campfire. 

 

EatWild 80 - The Evolution of Elk Calls - with Bill Ayers of Slayer Calls

In this episode, we're talking elk. More specifically, we're talking elk calling. I've asked Bill Ayer of Slayer Calls to come join me and talk about innovations in elk calls to help make elk calling a little bit more accessible.

I found Slayer calls because I was looking for an alternative to help me improve my elk callling technique. I have always opted to go with external tube and handheld calls that produce consistent elk sounds, and I rely more on my setup for my success than my calling prowess. I have always struggled to get consistant result from a reed call.

Bill shares the benifits and challenges of using a mouth reed call to get the full range of elk sounds. We discuss the tools that are available for folks like me who are looking for alternatives to a mouth reed, but want the vocabulary you can get from a mouth reed call.

So you'll enjoy this episode if you want to learn about elk hunting and elk calling.

If you're interested in learning the foundations of how to hunt elk, you should check out the EatWild Learn to Hunt Elk program - you can find that on our website or on our EatWild Thinkific platform. It's pretty cool and you will learn a ton.

This episode is supported by BC Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BCBHA). The BCBHA is a young conservation organization dedicated to protecting wild places and critters that live in these wild places. Come out to a local event and get to know the BCBHA community. 

The iHunter App supports the Eatwild Podcast and other programs. The app is an essential tool to make you more comfortable in the woods. The mapping layers, navigation tools and hunting regulations are all packed into the app to give you the info you need on your next adventure. 

As always, this podcast is brought to you by Seek Outside. They make unique ultralight tents and packs for your next adventure. Use the discount code EATWILD on your next purchase.

 

We also get support from our friends at West Coast Kitchen Canada. So stock up for the adventure season and use the discount code EATWILD.

 

You can stop in at Beere Brewing and take advantage of a 10% discount on the purchase. Use the code EATWILD10 on your next purchase.  Beere makes a great section of bright, crisp beers that are perfect for the patio or around the campfire. 

 

EatWild 79 - Mountain Goat Management - With Bill Jex - Provincial wild sheep and mountain goat specialist

Bill Jex is a wildlife biologist for the Province of BC, and he is the wild sheep and mountain goat specialist who leads the management of these tremendous mountain species. I have asked Bill to join me on the podcast to share his knowledge on mountain goats and how they are managed in BC. 

I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to talk goats with Bill. Bill is a great storyteller, and he is generous in sharing his knowledge about goats.  In the conversation, he helps us better understand this tough, magnificent animal that lives in some of the most unforgiving wilderness areas. Bill talked about studying goats,  mountain goat behaviour, habitat requirement, hunting regulations, and so much more. 

Miki and I are heading goat hunting in August so we will listen to this on our drive up North. Don't miss this one! 

This episode is supported by BC Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BCBHA). The BCBHA is a young conservation organization dedicated to protecting wild places and critters that live in these wild places. Come out to a local event and get to know the BCBHA community. 

The iHunter App supports the Eatwild Podcast and other programs. The app is an essential tool to make you more comfortable in the woods. The mapping layers, navigation tools and hunting regulations are all packed into the app to give you the info you need on your next adventure. 

As always, this podcast is brought to you by Seek Outside. They make unique ultralight tents and packs for your next adventure. Use the discount code EATWILD on your next purchase.

 

We also get support from our friends at West Coast Kitchen Canada. So stock up for the adventure season and use the discount code EATWILD.

 

You can stop in at Beere Brewing and take advantage of a 10% discount on the purchase. Use the code EATWILD10 on your next purchase.  Beere makes a great section of bright, crisp beers that are perfect for the patio or around the campfire. 

EatWild 78 - Connecting People to Hunting Through Food - With the London Chef Dan Hayes

Chef Dan Hayes joins me on this episode. He's known as the London Chef. You may have seen him on the Moose Meat and Marmalade Show, where he teams up with Art Napoleon, an indigenous hunter and a cook. Dan is from England and is a classically trained chef, and the show follows them on adventures visiting indigenous communities across Canada. They hunt, cook a little bit, and tell stories along the way, and it's fascinating. 

I wanted to talk to Dan about connecting people to hunting through food. How do we tell better hunting stories through food? How do we connect more folks to hunting?  

As a relative newcomer to Canada, Dan offers a unique perspective on hunting opportunities, cooking wild food, and connecting with indigenous communities. 

This episode is supported by BC Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BCBHA). The BCBHA is a young conservation organization dedicated to protecting wild places like the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area and the critters that live in these wild places. Come out to a local event and get to know the BCBHA community. 

The iHunter App supports the Eatwild Podcast and other programs. The app is an essential tool to make you more comfortable in the woods. The mapping layers, navigation tools and hunting regulations are all packed into the app to give you the info you need on your next adventure. 

As always, this podcast is brought to you by Seek Outside. They make unique ultralight tents and packs for your next adventure. Use the discount code EATWILD on your next purchase.

 

We also get support from our friends at West Coast Kitchen Canada. So stock up for the adventure season and use the discount code EATWILD.

 

You can stop in at Beere Brewing and take advantage of a 10% discount on the purchase. Use the code EATWILD10 on your next purchase.  Beere makes a great section of bright, crisp beers that are perfect for the patio or around the campfire. 

EatWild 77 - Paying a Debt to Wilderness - Wayne Sawchuck and the Muskwa Kechika Story

How long does it take to ride a horse across  15,000,000 acres of Northern Rocky Mountain wilderness? In this episode, I’m joined by Wayne Sawchuk. Wayne is a conservationist, author, adventurer, cowboy, and wilderness enthusiast. 

Wayne led the initiative to protect a vast wilderness area in the Northern Rockies, now protected under the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area. I’m excited to talk to him about what wilderness means and what it takes to have an authentic wilderness experience. 

The Muskwa-Kechika Management Area is managed and protected under a unique resource management structure. Wayne tells us how the model was developed and how the model can be applied for future landscape protection efforts. 

The Muskwa-Kechika Management Area (M-KMA) is located in northeastern BC and encompasses 6.4 million hectares (16 million acres) of land with varying conservation, preservation and land use practices. Encompassing large areas of the Northern Rockies and Cassiar mountains, it is named after two great rivers that flow through it: the Muskwa and the Kechika. It has more species in greater abundance than anywhere else on the continent, making it of global importance.

 

Find In The Land Of Dreamers here: https://gem.cbc.ca/documentaries

Find Wayne’s new book, Crossing the Divide, here:

This episode is supported by BC Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BCBHA). The BCBHA is a young conservation organization dedicated to protecting wild places like the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area and the critters that live in these wild places. Come out to a local event and get to know the BCBHA community. 

The iHunter App supports the Eatwild Podcast and other programs. The app is an essential tool to make you more comfortable in the woods. The mapping layers, navigation tools and hunting regulations are all packed into the app to give you the info you need on your next adventure. 

As always, this podcast is brought to you by Seek Outside. They make unique ultralight tents and packs for your next adventure. Use the discount code EATWILD on your next purchase.

 

We also get support from our friends at West Coast Kitchen Canada. So stock up for the adventure season and use the discount code EATWILD.

 

EatWild 76 - Tragedy and a Story of Survival with Stephanie Tietjen

Some stories can only be told properly around a campfire in an elk camp. This is one of them. My good friend Stephanie embarked on a two-day horse trip in the mountains in August, and everything went wrong. Stephanie tells the story of coping with tragedy and takes us on a journey to survive. 

I am very fortunate to have heard the story and to share it with the EatWild community.

Thank you, Stephanie. You are an inspiration, and I am happy you sorted things out with Mother Nature. 

As always, this podcast is brought to you by Seek Outside. They make unique ultralight tents and packs for your next adventure. Use the discount code EATWILD on your next purchase.

EatWild 75 - Is Bow Hunting For You? - Adam Foss on learning to hunt with a bow

Is bow hunting for you? I have pondered this question over the years of hunting. If you are new to hunting or well on your hunting journey, you have likely asked this question too. 

 

In this episode, I am joined by Adam Foss. Adam is a professional photographer and is known throughout the community as an exceptional bow hunter. As I have got to know Adam over the past couple of years, I've been inspired to pick up my bow and start my journey as a bow hunter.

 

I've invited Adam on the podcast to discuss the opportunities and benefits of bow hunting. But we also recognize the challenges and commitment to be a successful bow hunter. So we discuss the necessary steps to take to become a bow hunter. 

 

I'm teaming up with Adam to build a bow-hunting workshop. Over the years, many folks have asked when we will create an EatWild Bow Hunting Workshop. Well, here it is, and we've got one of the best bow hunters, storytellers, and good humans to lead it. 

 

In his podcast, we touch on the motivations for the bow hunter, the benefits, the challenges, expectations for practice and reasonable outcomes.

 

You can join us for the inaugural EatWild Bow Hunting Workshop. We're hosting it on May 12 and 13th at the Arosa ranch in the Okanogan. You can find out more on our website.

 

As always, this podcast is brought to you by Seek Outside. They make unique ultralight tents and packs for your next adventure. Use the discount code EATWILD on your next purchase.

 

We also get support from our friends at West Coast Kitchen Canada. So stock up for the adventure season and use the discount code EATWILD.