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by Cody Rich
Elk Hunting tips, tactics, and stories, from some of the greatest elk hunters out there.
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Man, this one's a good one. Cliff Gray's back on the show — if you remember, Cliff and I try to link up around this time every year, and it's turning into a bit of a tradition. This time we're diving deep into what he's picked up from running his Elk Hunting Masterclass this season — 35, 40 guys through scenario-based training — and honestly, some of the patterns he's seeing are gonna hit home for a lot of you. We get into why indecision kills more hunts than bad luck does, how to actually recognize when you're sitting in a 0% probability situation (and why guys freeze up instead of doing something about it), and the exact playbook for what to do when a bull hangs up and starts barking at you. Cliff breaks down solo tactics for getting a bull raking and using that window to close the distance, why he's skeptical on rattling but won't rule it out, and a mountain goat stalk story of mine that gets into precision at distance versus just "getting close enough." We also talk about why knowing the exact location of a bedded animal is one of the biggest differentiators between guys who close the deal and guys who don't, the "it's always right where you left it" mindset, why playing peekaboo on a stalk will get you busted every time, and the psychology behind why we all feel the urge to rush a shot the second an opportunity shows up — even when patience would serve us better. Cliff and I also get into the whole calf-calling-only debate that's been floating around elk hunting circles, and why having a system beats bouncing between tactics every single sit. If you've ever wanted to sit in on one of Cliff's in-person scenario trainings, he tells you exactly how to find it. Grab a coffee, this one's packed. Sponsors onX Hunt This episode is brought to you by onX Hunt — check out their new Share feature in the Go Track section of the app. You can now share your live location with your hunting buddy right on the map (when you've got service), which is a huge upgrade for staying coordinated in the field.onxmaps.com Maven Optics Also brought to you by Maven Optics — a direct-to-consumer optics company out of Wyoming making binos, rangefinders, and rifle scopes. Great glass, great price point, because you're skipping the big-box markup.mavenbuilt.com — use code TRO at checkout for a special gift. Chapter Timestamps (estimated from content pacing across the 56-minute episode) Time Chapter 0:00 Intro — Welcome to the Elk Hunt Podcast 0:30 Sponsor: onX Hunt's new Share feature 2:00 Sponsor: Maven Optics 3:30 Welcoming Cliff Gray back to the show 5:00 What Cliff's learned coaching 35-40 students this year 8:00 Indecision and the 0% probability trap 12:00 The "bull hangs up and barks" scenario, breaking it down 18:00 Solo tactics — getting a bull raking and closing distance 23:00 Does rattling actually work? 27:00 Biggest rifle-hunting mistakes: knowing exactly where the animal is 33:00 Trusting your mark — "it's always right where you left it" 37:00 The peekaboo mistake on a stalk 40:00 Precision at distance — the mountain goat stalk story 45:00 Fighting the urge to rush a shot 49:00 Building a consistent system vs. jumping tactics 52:00 The calf-calling-only debate 55:00 Cliff's Elk Hunting Masterclass and how to sign up Three Key Takeaways Indecision is the silent killer. When a hunter is stuck between a low-probability option and doing nothing, doing nothing is almost always the worse choice — a 10-15% chance beats a guaranteed 0%. Know exactly where the animal is before you commit to a stalk. Vague landmarks ("that big stump") fail in the field — pick a precise, trackable reference point, and trust that the animal is still there even when things go quiet. The urge to rush a shot is often just your body wanting the stress to be over — not a real signal that time is up. Learning to distinguish genuine time-sensitive moments from manufactured urgency leads to better decisions and better shots.
I sat down with Jordan Bales this week for one of those conversations that starts as a catch-up and turns into a full-on masterclass — and I didn't even plan it that way. It's been way too long since Jordan and I recorded together (we live in the same town, so we keep telling ourselves we don't need a podcast to catch up — turns out we do). Jordan's got a trail camera bull he's chasing this fall — a mid-July photo puts him around 340", with room to grow into the 350 range by September — and he wanted to pick my brain on how to actually turn this thing up before archery season opens. So that's exactly what we did. We get into the real difference between hunting a "201-level" six-point and hunting a genuine target bull — because trust me, those are two completely different games. We talk about why elk don't respect your neat little three-mile circle on OnX, why a good bull might blow off his summer ground and go rut ten miles away, and why "air miles" is the only way to actually think about elk movement in big mountain country. We also get into backpack-hunt logistics, meat care in the backcountry, why purple roads and hiking trails matter less than you think (until they don't), and the mental shift it takes to go from "find one bull" to "learn four different herds at once." If you've got a shooter on camera right now and you're trying to figure out your game plan for opening week, this episode is basically a free coaching session. Grab a coffee and get ready to think differently about how elk actually use the mountain. This Episode's Sponsors Tricer This episode is brought to you by the good folks over at Tricer. I always want to call them Tricer Tripods, but they make a lot more than tripods — the RP Bipod is one of my favorite pieces of gear I own. At 10.5 ounces it's stupid lightweight, it comes with long legs and short legs, and it works on both Picatinny and ARCA. All that for $350 is a no-brainer. I've shot a lot of critters off this thing. Check it out at tricer.com and use code TRO to save 10% off. Maven Optics This episode is also brought to you by Maven Optics — a direct-to-consumer optics company out of Wyoming that I've been running for years. The comment I get every single time someone picks up a pair is, "Oh man, these are actually really good." Yeah — I told you. From binos to rangefinders to rifle scopes, Maven is hands-down the best bang for your buck in the optics world, because cutting out the big box store markup means better glass for less money. Check them out at mavenbuilt.com and use code TRO at checkout for a special gift. Chapters Timestamp Segment 0:00 Intro — Welcome to the Elk Hunt Podcast 1:15 Sponsor: Tricer RP Bipod 2:45 Sponsor: Maven Optics 4:00 Catching up with Jordan Bales — wedding recap 6:30 First elk hunt four weeks out — this year's scouting mission 8:15 The trail camera bull — first photos and initial score estimate 11:00 Piecing together bull location vs. known cow herds 14:30 Why elk wander farther than most hunters assume 18:00 201 vs. 301 hunting: chasing a six-point vs. chasing a target bull 23:00 Why it takes a team to hunt one specific giant bull 27:30 Thinking in "air miles" instead of trail miles 31:00 Bachelor herds, rut timing, and reading bull behavior in late August 35:00 Strategy: kid gloves vs. hard-charging a target bull 39:00 Backcountry logistics — backpack hunting, horses, and pulling meat 43:00 Meat care and temperature management in the backcountry 46:00 Recreational hiker traffic — does it actually affect elk? 48:30 Roly-poly country vs. big mountain drainages — which makes you a better elk hunter 51:30 Hunt West coaching — booking a consult with Jordan 53:00 Outro — free hunt planner and show links <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir=
Alright guys, this one is mind-blowing. I know Mark Livesay is talented — you all know him from Treeline Academy, the best e-scouting course on the planet — but I was not ready for what he showed me on this episode. Mark's been locked in a cave for six months building something called Hunt Research IQ, and he brought it to the Elk Hunt Podcast for the very first reveal. First show. Nobody's seen this yet. This isn't a draw odds app. This isn't a spreadsheet. This is 20 years of harvest data for elk and deer across 11 Western states, run through AI, and turned into heat maps, custom scoring sliders, unit comparisons, moisture tracking, remote-core calculations, and print-ready reports that make every other research platform out there look like it's stuck in 2005. We get into how the scoring system works, why averaging three, five, and twenty years of data matters more than looking at last year's numbers, why Montana's fractional bonus points might be sabotaging your odds without you even knowing it, and how Mark's moisture-tracking tool is already changing how he plans hunts around drought years and burns. Then we shift gears and talk burns, same-year fire strategy, moisture-driven elevation shifts during the rut, and Mark's own busted rotator cuffs — which means he might be strapping a crossbow to a llama this September. You don't want to miss this one. Take a listen, then go dig into Hunt Research IQ yourself. Links below, and use code TRO for a discount from our guy Mark. Brought to You By onX Hunt This episode is brought to you by onX Hunt. If you've been through our free four-hour e-scouting course over at elkhunt201.com, you know I preach building color-coded waypoints, markups, and tracks for every hunt. Building a folder, building a plan — that's the difference between showing up and figuring it out versus showing up ready. This is what onX is superior at: hunt planning. If you're not an Elite member yet, Elite has a ton of tools to help you plan better. onxmaps.com Use code TRO when you upgrade to Elite for a special discount. Maven Optics This episode is also brought to you by the good folks over at Maven Optics. Direct-to-consumer optics company right out of Wyoming, and I've been using them for years. My favorite thing is watching people get their hands on a Maven for the first time and go, "Oh man, these are actually really good." Yeah — I told you. From binos to rangefinders to rifle scopes, Maven is the best bang for your buck out there, because you're not paying the big box store markup. mavenbuilt.com Use code TRO at checkout for a special gift. Chapters Time Segment 0:00 Intro & sponsor reads (onX Hunt, Maven Optics) 4:30 Welcome Mark Livesay — the big reveal, first show, six months in build mode 8:15 Elevator pitch: what is Hunt Research IQ? 12:00 Why averaging 3/5/20-year data beats single-year snapshots 17:30 Building custom scoring sliders and unit health trends 23:00 The heat map: dragging, hovering, live data pulls 28:45 Comparing units side by side & the "unit profile card" 34:15 Rankings tab, health trend colors, and finding sleeper units 40:00 101 / 201 / 301 hunter framework — what stats matter at each level 47:00 Print reports, unit briefs, and AI-written unit descriptions 53:30 Montana's fractional bonus point trap explained 58:00 Remote core, road density, and what "remote" really means 1:03:00 Bull-per-square-mile harvest density and reading hunting p
Alright guys, today's episode is a good one. I'm sitting down with Kevin Gower — a Colorado public land guy who's been in the elk woods since he was 12 years old and has packed out more elk than the years he's been hunting. That's 22 elk in 23 seasons. Not luck. Not private land. Public dirt, over the counter, doing it the hard way. We get into it — why most guys aren't consistent on public land, the "cover ground" era of learning to elk hunt, and why the YouTube backpack-hunting romance can actually work against you when you're trying to learn a mountain. We talk mindset — the "today's the day" mantra, why you can't write the story before the hunt is over, and why the guys who stack hard experiences early end up with the confidence to go get it done later. Kevin also walks through his biggest bull — a solo four-mile pack out in thirteen inches of fresh snow — and why moments like that are what separate hunters who quit from hunters who figure it out. We dig into silent bulls and why they're some of the most killable elk in the woods, calling strategy, reading pressure on the edge of private land, when to leave elk to go find better elk, and why learning to hunt the storm front instead of fighting the wind might be one of the most underrated skills in elk hunting. This one's packed with real public land wisdom from a guy who's put in two decades on the same mountain. Grab a notebook, this is a good one. Sponsors onX Hunt Today's episode is brought to you by onX Hunt. If you haven't checked out our free 4-hour e-scouting course yet, go grab it at elkhunt201.com — it's completely free. Building a color-coded system of waypoints, markups, and tracks for your hunt is one of the most important things you can do before season. Too many guys draw a tag and just show up to figure it out — don't be that guy. If you're not an Elite member yet, Elite unlocks a ton of extra planning tools that'll make your prep this fall way more dialed in. onxmaps.com Use code TRO when you upgrade to Elite. Bridger Watch This episode is also brought to you by Bridger Watch — a smartwatch built specifically for hunting. All your normal smartwatch features (health tracking, fitness tracking, texts) plus, in my opinion, the best mapping capability of any wearable on the market. You can save offline maps, ship them straight to your watch, and pan around right on your wrist with a screen that's genuinely impressive for its size. Bridger Watch also integrates directly with onX — share a whole hunt folder or a single waypoint from the field straight to your watch, so if your phone dies or you lose it, you've always got a backup. bridgerwatch.com Timestamped Chapters (Approximate — based on episode flow, total runtime ~1:02:00) 00:00 – Intro / onX Hunt: free e-scouting course & building a hunt plan 02:15 – Bridger Watch: mapping-focused hunting smartwatch & onX integration 04:00 – Welcome Kevin Gower — gearing up for elk season 06:00 – Kevin's background: 22
Man, this one's for anybody who just loves talking to a regular dude who's put in the years and killed a lot of elk — because that's exactly what this episode is. Brian Rae grew up in Idaho with an outdoors family, killed his first buck AND his first bull at 12 years old within two weeks of each other, and has been chasing bulls in some of the nastiest, steepest, most brutal backcountry ever since. We get into it all in this one. Brian tells the story of getting truly lost overnight at 19 — no coat, dead flashlight, sleeping next to a fire he built with toilet paper and a lighter, and the almost unbelievable coincidence of how he found his way back to camp. We talk about how close that feeling of panic really sits, even for guys who know these mountains better than anybody. Then we get into the good stuff — the hunting. Brian breaks down calling in two six-point bulls back to back with his buddy Chad, a wounded-bull recovery that turned into "a bathtub full of blood," and an eight-yard, full-draw standoff with a black bear that walked right down a game trail at him. But this isn't just war stories. Brian gets into the real strategy behind killing a herd bull consistently — why getting close beats bugling every hundred yards, why he mimics satellite bulls instead of challenging the herd bull head-on, and why wind and thermals will beat you every single time, no matter how good your setup is. If you want to hear what it actually takes to kill mature bulls year after year — not the highlight reel, the real work behind it — this episode is for you. This Episode is Brought to You By onX Hunt This episode's hunt-planning talk is powered by onX Hunt. Whether you're building color-coded waypoints, markups, and tracks or organizing an entire hunt folder before you ever set foot in the field, onX is where the planning happens. If you drew a tag this year, don't just show up and figure it out — build the system, build the plan. Upgrade to onX Elite and unlock the full hunt-planning toolset. onxmaps.com Use code TRO when you sign up or upgrade to Elite. Bridger Watch A smartwatch built specifically for hunting — with the best mapping capabilities of any wearable on the market. Save offline maps, pan and zoom right on your wrist, and integrate directly with your onX account to send waypoints, tracks, and markups straight to your watch. It's not replacing your phone's mapping — it's your backup when your phone dies, drops, or gets left in the truck. bridgerwatch.com Chapter Timestamps Time Segment 0:00 onX Hunt sponsor read — hunt planning & Elite features 2:15 Bridger Watch sponsor read — the wearable built for hunters 5:00 Welcome Brian Rae — Idaho roots and growing up in an outdoors family 8:30 First buck and first bull at 12 years old, two weeks apart 13:30 The "Hell Hole" story — lost overnight at 19, no coat, building a fire with toilet paper 20:00 Finding his dad's voice at the outfitter camp — the wild coincidence 24:00 Getting the whole family GPS units for Christmas 27:30 Arizona 2021 — dropping his phone miles from the side-by-side, texting his wife via inReach 34:00 Switching from rifle to archery in the early 2000s after wolf reintroduction 37:00 The double bull story with hunting partner Chad Booth — calling in two six-points back to back 44:00 The "laughing bull" and getting outsmarked by herd bulls 47:30 The tree-falling, sneaking-in six-point stalk 51:00 The wounded bull recovery — "a bathtub full of blood" 56:00 What actually makes a hunter successf
Dillon Ness is back on the show, and dude, this one's a good one. If you haven't heard our last conversation, go find it — I've always considered Dillon one of the best open country elk killers I know. But what people don't realize is the guy crushes it in the mountains just as hard. Well-rounded doesn't even cover it. In this episode, Dillon walks me through the full story of last year's mountain bull — a hunt that started with him throwing a dart at a map, glassing bulls pouring off the alfalfa at first light, getting boogered by other hunters, losing the herd, and eventually catching them in the dark on their last drink of water before bed. It's one of the best hunt breakdowns we've recorded, emotional gut-punch ending and all. From there we get into the nuts and bolts — how to actually dog a herd in the dark without blowing them up, why satellite bulls are your best friend, what 20 failed days of hunting really look like (because that's 90% of the season, not the highlight reel), midday strategy for guys who don't have 27 days to burn, and the biggest lesson 301-level hunting has taught both of us: elk are never random, and neither should your strategy be. We also get into a mindset shift that I think is worth the price of admission alone — using onX the wrong way is probably costing you elk without you even knowing it. Grab your coffee, settle in, this one's just shy of an hour and fifteen, and it's packed. This Episode's Sponsors 🔭 Maven Optics This episode is brought to you by the good folks over at Maven Optics. Love those guys, love the product, love the team, love everything about it. Maven is a direct-to-consumer optics company right out of Wyoming, and I've personally been running their stuff for years. My favorite comment I get when someone picks up a Maven is, "Man, these are actually really good" — and I just say, "Yeah, I told you." Binos, rangefinders, rifle scopes — Maven is, hands down, the best bang for your buck out there. Because they sell direct-to-consumer, you're not paying the big box store markup for the same glass quality. Check them out at mavenbuilt.com ⌚ Bridger Watch This episode is also brought to you by Bridger Watch — a project I've been building for a long time now. Everyone said we couldn't take on Garmin. Here we are anyway, and I think we've built something amazing: a smartwatch built specifically for hunting. The standout feature is the mapping. On top of all your normal smartwatch stuff — health tracking, fitness tracking, texts — Bridger Watch has the best mapping capability of any wearable on the market. Save maps offline, pan around right on your wrist, and the screen clarity is unreal. We've also built a full onX integration, so you can push waypoints, tracks, and markups straight from your onX account to your watch. Set a waypoint at the truck, drop a pin on a bedded bull, and it's on your wrist — even if your phone dies. This isn't about replacing your phone's mapping. It's a redundancy for the woods, and a watch you'll wear every day of the year, hunting season or not. Check it out at bridgerwatch.com Chapters Time Segment 0:00 Sponsor reads — Maven Optics & Bridger Watch 3:15 Welcome back Dillon — new baby, real estate license, fencing life update 6:30 Why "time" is the real secret to killing big bulls 10:15 Setting up the story: last year's mountain bull, throwing a dart at the map 14:45 Glassing bulls o
Alright guys, this one's a good one. Darin Hardy's back on the show, and dude, we go everywhere in this conversation — broadheads, blood trails, mountain lions with broadheads stuck in their throat, turkey hunting like you elk hunt, and the mindset work that actually separates the guy who kills every single year from the guy who's still hoping to get lucky. We start off nerding out on pre-season bow prep — what "long distance" actually means, why I want four-inch groups at 80 before I ever worry about a 40-yard shot, and the drills Darin runs to build pressure into his practice instead of just chasing tiny groups. We get into the fixed-blade vs. mechanical broadhead debate (and why I think too many guys aim right behind the shoulder when middle-middle gives you way more margin for error), then Darin tells a wild story about tracking a bull for a mile and a half off almost no blood — and an even wilder story about a mountain lion he shot that had been living for years with a broadhead through her throat. From there we get into the real meat of this episode: what actually makes a 201 hunter. Darin breaks down why the guys who kill consistently aren't the ones who need every condition to line up — they're the ones with an adaptive mindset who can find the shot that's three steps to the left instead of only seeing the one they planned for. We talk about the 90/10/1 framework, calling audibles in the field, why it took Darin 23 years to kill his first bull, and why the "10 straight days in September" rule matters more than almost anything else for a new elk hunter. We close out talking about Darin's new venture, Level Seven High Terrain, where he's using horsemanship and hunting as vehicles for leadership and mindset coaching — and honestly some of what he shares about "demand vs. ask vs. offer" will change how you think about pressure, calling elk, and life in general. If you're gearing up for season, this episode's got tactics, gear talk, and the mental framework to actually go use it. Enjoy, guys. Sponsors onX Hunt — onxmaps.com This episode is brought to you by onX Hunt. Remember the old Garmin Rino days where you could see your buddy on the map? onX basically reinvented that with their new Share feature. Head into the app, go to the new Go Track section, and hit Share Your Location — now you and your hunting buddy can see each other on the map in real time (works while you're in service). It's a small feature but a genuinely useful one for staying connected with your crew in the field. Go check it out at onxmaps.com. Bridger Watch — bridgerwatch.com This episode is also brought to you by Bridger Watch — a smartwatch actually built for hunting. On top of all the usual smartwatch stuff (health tracking, fitness tracking, texts), Bridger Watch has the best mapping capability of any wearable on the market. Save offline maps, pan around right on your wrist, and thanks to the onX integration, you can share waypoints, tracks, and markups straight from your onX account to your watch — so if your phone dies or gets left in the truck, you've always got a backup. It's built to work alongside your phone, not replace it. Use code TRO at checkout at bridgerwatch.com for a discount on your watch. Chapter Timestamps (estimated based on episode flow — adjust to exact audio if needed) Time Chapter 0:00 Intro — Welcome to the Elk Hunt Podcast 1:00 Sponsor: onX Hunt's new Share/Go Track feature 3:00 Sponsor: Bridger Watch — mapping, onX integration, and redundancy in the field 5:30 Pre-season excuses, scouting (or lack thereof), and getting back into bow shape 9:00 Sw
Alright guys, this week we're kicking it off with Tate Bradfield, founder of Process Based Hunter. Tate's got one of the more interesting backstories I've heard on this show — went from working in a mine, to door-to-door sales, to guiding elk for other outfitters, to eventually running his own semi-guided elk hunting courses where he takes 150-180 people a year and actually teaches them how to hunt instead of just pointing at a bull and telling them to shoot. We riff on a ton of stuff in this one — his "at-bats" philosophy for picking a guided hunt (spoiler: stop asking how big the bulls are and start asking how many encounters per day you'll get), why he thinks cow calling during rifle season is one of the most underused tactics out there, how he snuck within 60 yards of a 200-inch mule deer with a cow elk decoy and no rifle in hand, and why most guys pack way too much gear and focus on the wrong stuff before a hunt. If you've ever thought about leveling up your elk hunting instead of just white-knuckling your way through another season, this episode's for you. Tate's semi-guided archery course still has a few spots open for 2026, and rifle spots are open for 2027 — head to processbasedhunter.com or check him out on Instagram @processbasedhunter. This Episode Is Brought to You By: 🎯 Maven Optics If you're in the market for a new rifle scope, go check out Maven Optics. These scopes are built around world-class Japanese glass and built for hunting — not just for sitting on a shelf. Because Maven sells direct to consumer, you're getting an unmatched value for what you're paying, whether you're just getting into the game or you're dialed in for long-range shooting. Cody's used a lot of them, killed a lot of things with them, and stands behind every one. 👉 Shop now at mavenbuilt.com 💰 Use code TRO at checkout for a special gift 🗺️ onX Hunt onX just rolled out a new Share feature that's basically the modern, better version of the old Garmin Rino days. Head into the app, go to the new Go Track section, and hit Share Your Location With Your Friend — now you and your hunting buddy can see each other on the map in real time. (Heads up: it only works with cell service, so it won't help you deep in the backcountry — but for the hunts where you've got signal, it's a game changer.) 👉 Check it out at onxmaps.com Timestamps 00:00 – Intro & Sponsor Shoutouts (Maven Optics & onX Hunt) 02:38 – Welcome Tate Bradfield to the Show 04:10 – Tate's Backstory: From the Mines to Door-to-Door Sales to Guiding Elk 09:15 – The Birth of Process Based Hunter 12:20 – Who's Actually Booking Guided Hunts These Days 16:05 – Inside the Semi-Guided Archery Course 19:30 – The "At-Bats" Mentality for Picking a Hunt 21:45 – Wall Tent Classroom Days & Elk Calling Fundamentals 24:50 – The Hot Take: Cow Calling During Rifle Season <li class
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