Remy Warren (0:00)

Foreign I'm Remy Warren and I've lived my life in the wild as a professional guide and hunter. I've spent thousands of days perfecting my craft. I want to give that knowledge to you. In this podcast, we relive some of my past adventures as I give you practical hunting tips to make you more successful. Whether you're just getting started or a lifelong hunter, this podcast will bring you along on the hunt and teach you how to Live Wild. This podcast is brought to you by Mountain Tough and Yeti. A lot of the tactics I talk about here require you to be in top physical shape. So I partnered with Mountain Tough to help get you ready for the mountain with their science based hunter specific training app. You'll get in shape and mentally tough able to tackle any hunt. Because we really believe this will help you be more successful. As a listener to this podcast, we're giving you six free weeks to get you started. Just use code livewild. Well, everyone, welcome back to Live Wild podcast. Man, it is crazy. It's already December. I just feel like this year has flown by and for me, I feel very fortunate for this past year because it's probably been one of my best or top seasons to date. I feel like last year I really struggled, and then this year it was just like everything fell into place. I had a lot of great hunts, a lot of good conditions for good hunting, and just a phenomenal year. You know, one of my favorite things is to get to take new hunters out. And there's a lot of reasons for that, but one of them is that it helps me identify the things that people do that might hinder a lot of successful hunts. And they probably have no clue that they're doing it. So this week I'm going to cover a few of those basics that you might not even realize you're doing wrong. Maybe you've been hunting your whole life and you don't and you go, oh, I never paid attention to that. And you can really correlate that to a lot more success. So we're going to talk about a few of my pet peeves when it comes to walking in the mountains. A few of the little things that lead to big success. But before we do that, I want to recap a cow elk hunt from last week with a good friend of mine and their first successful hunt. So last week I got to take a really good buddy of mine, Niko, out for, I guess it'd be his first rifle hunt. He started hunting. I kind of got him into hunting maybe two years Ago, and he started with bow hunting. And he's been on a 2 Nevada Archery Mule deer hunts, which in my opinion, that's like the hardest hunt there is. And he had tags in pretty tough units. So he got his foot in the door, you know, started hunting. He's, he's been, you know, on a few hunts with me where I've been successful, but hadn't found success for himself yet. And so this year I was like, he's like, I just need to, to get on that successful side. So. And he, and he definitely wanted to bring home some meat and be able to feed his family with wild game. So we kind of planned this cow elk hunt and his rifle season late season cow elk hunt. In my opinion, it's a very high success type of hunt, but also it's a, it's a good hunt, you know, for incredible meat and a good learning experience. So Nico got a cow elk tag and I was able to take him out for a couple days. You know, unfortunately with the schedules and everything, we had like the, the last weekend of the season to, to do it and find success. So there's a lot of, a lot of pressure riding on a couple days, you know, big trip for just a couple of days hunting. But I felt like, you know, we'd be able to make it happen. So first morning we went out and saw, it was like right off the bat, saw a bunch of elk. But unfortunately they weren't where we could hunt. They were on private that we couldn't hunt. So we kind of watched those elk and you know, hoping that they might filter into where we could hunt. And unfortunately they didn't. They just went deeper into where, where they were safe, which is what cow elk generally do late season. Right. So they were in a place that, you know, we couldn't go into. So we watched those elk for a little bit, decided to walk around and just check some pockets. So like a lot of logging, like I guess it'd be, you know, unused logging roads, like just walking on the logging roads, kind of steep mountain country with logging roads cut into it. So we're walking around, you know, the one corner, and we come around the corner, actually spotted a really good mule deer buck. I popped up the spotting scope, put my phone with the mag view on it and got some awesome video. This, this nice non typical buck. And then, you know, moved around, saw a lot of mule deer, but just no cows where we could shoot one. And so we, we worked around the mountain, went on the other side. And by this point, you Know, we'd hiked a fair ways, you know, pretty easy walking, like, just flat logging around. And we bumped up to the next road up above, worked that out, and then started working back into this pocket of timber where I was like, we pretty much hunted all day to get to this one timberpox. I'm like, there's a big herd, elk on the private. But every once in a while, there's like a few cows that hang out in this one pocket on this piece that we could hunt. And so we dropped down, and the wind's good. We kind of went all the way around the mountain, and now we're walking down the ridge, and we're gonna drop down into this little pocket of timber. So we start dropping down, and we're just kind of, you know, earlier it was one of those things where we're walking and I'm like, okay, listen to the way you're walking on the logging road. And then listen, now I'm walking. And so you start, you know, we adjusted the walking, get him to walk a little more quiet. And. Which was good because now we're walking down in through this timber. We're both being really quiet. I stop, and I spotted just that color change. Just like instantly go, ooh, elk. Throw up my binos to confirm. It's only eight. I don't even know. 50 yards away, maybe, at this point. Yeah, it had to be 50 or 40, 50 yards away. Some cows bedded. So the hill's steep enough, though, that I can just see the back of one. Well, the back and body of this one. I can't even see its head. So I'm like, that might be a spike. I don't know. I just know it's an elk. And then there's like a calf and then another. I could see the ears of another cow over. And so we're standing there for a little bit, and I slowly dropped down. Cause I'm thinking maybe we could just scoot over a little bit and get a better shot for when they stand up. And as I'm down, they stood up and moved off. And I kind of whispered to him, like, you might just have to take a shot. Like, you could probably shoot him offhand. But they moved off, and he didn't really have a clear shot. So we dropped down. They didn't like, run off. And I hit the call immediately, so I figured they'd stop. So we dropped down to the next little logging road. Come around the corner, or we're dropping down to the next logging road. Didn't make it yet. Come around the corner, and there's two cows kind of standing there feeding. So we. We get set up, and he's just a little too slow getting on the gun and getting him into position, because laying down had a bipod on my rifle and he was using my gun, so, you know, the bipod, but laying down, he couldn't see him. So it's like, well, you're probably gonna have to, you know, just get on a knee and. And shoot that way. And by the time we got that sorted, they just kind of moved off, seen us, maybe this was. They were probably only 80 yards and got out of there. And it's just one of those things, like, man, that was a really good opportunity and a bummer because they were so close yet kind of so far away. And the thing I know with, like, anybody just getting into hunting, it's not the same as somebody that's done it forever. Like, you know how to get set up and all those things. It's all second nature. But when it's your first time, you know, trying to get lined up and get everything right, sometimes it just doesn't work out. So it didn't work out. We work back to the truck, go check a new spot, and kind of go around the corner on this other logging road and see some more mule deer. And then we're actually walking back to the truck. And I glass up maybe about a mile away and see a group of elk, like, moving to where we can shoot. So we decide to go that way. And it's toward the end of the day. We go work our way there, and this is looking pretty good. They're probably within 200 yards of where, like, the boundary line where we can hunt. And they're coming our way. And there's this ridge. And actually we were over there already, and there was a bunch of tracks on that ridge. That was the ridge that we worked into the wind. So it's very likely that these elk are going to drop down and give us an opportunity. And I hunted this particular spot a bit, so I knew a good, like, rest little rock pile that I was planning on getting to. And so we. We work our way over there and we get set up, and I'm moving up, and there's a couple of live trees blocking where we can see the elk. And so get up to the spot and I. I drop down, trying to stay hidden and drop down around this big, like, rock face. It's super steep, like one of those cliffy rock faces. A lot of shale and stuff on it. Like, knob, pretty steep little pocket here. And I peek through the trees, and I see that they're actually way closer than they were when we last saw them. So they were up on the top of this knob. They'd moved down already on the ridge, and they were now feeding out probably, I don't know, I would say like 200 yards away. So we get down and sneak down around the rock to get a good position. So I peek up and can see him feeding up on this ridge. And it's like just. It's absolutely perfect. It feels like, okay, we. We blew an opportunity earlier. This is our redemption. And so, you know, Nico has the gun. I'm like, okay, crawl up to the top of this little knob, this little rock pile, and take a shot, man. I mean, this is just as good as it gets. So he's crawling up and he gets up to the top, and I don't think that. I don't really know, like, there's. We actually had a big tree behind us, so we wouldn't have been skylined. Everything looked good. And so he's getting ready. He's crawling up to the top and. And his right foot is on a rock. And it just makes this sound like one of the rocks falls off. Just this little falling of a rock sound. And those elk blow out of there like they didn't even take two seconds. I hit the call and it was just like, that was it. They didn't even want to stop for that call. They were out and gone before it ever started. And it was just like, man, what a deflating situation where they're right there. Everything was absolutely perfect. And it's just that one little movement, that one little noise. Those elk had clearly been hunted before. You know, sometimes with elk, you can get away with a little noise or whatever, but they had. They wanted no part of that. And they were gone. And just like, you know, then that. That part of the thing that all of us hunters know, the shoulda, woulda, coulda's, and how we could have done it different, you know, and so I just went through with him and been like, okay, here's how I would approach this rock just to make sure. Like, you know, one of the things. This is like, one of the reasons I really like taking out new hunters is because I realize the things that I do, that's just second nature, you know? So I was like, okay, as I'm crawling up, I would have got my body set and I wouldn't want to be real close to the Gun not trying to reach over long, but, like, being real tight. So I would have crawled low. I would have, like, slowly out of sight, completely out of. Move the rifle up and set it and then position my body and had my right knee up here. And then I'd have my feet close. I wouldn't be supporting myself on my feet, and it'd be super quiet. And then I just did, like, a quick run through. And, like, okay, now, you know, you try it, and it's like, okay. That makes so much more sense. You know, it's just something that you don't even think about. Just crawling and getting that gun set up and being aware of everywhere your foot is and where the rocks are and what's moving, what's not moving. And it's so hard when you're new at it because you just. You've got, like, the task of getting on the gun and getting the animal in it. You're thinking about the whole setup and whatever. It's something that I don't even think about. But the way that I do it is definitely quiet, smooth, efficient. So we just ran through that. I'm like, okay, you know, here's the thing. And then sometimes, too, like, it seems like you have a lot of time they're there, right? But what happens is, I noticed this with a lot of new hunters. They kind of move or go fast in the wrong times and slow in the wrong times. So, like, here's a time where you want to move smooth and slow, but you want to get the animal in your crosshairs as fast as possible. And then if you have time, wait and get more comfortable or do whatever, but acquire them in the scope quickly. And so we just. We went through all that, and it was just like, an awesome learning experience, right? It sucked that it didn't work out. And we're also thinking, like, okay, well, that might have been our. Our opportunity. So we. We knew that they all could blown out of there, and. And so we had, like, two hours for the rest. I think maybe three hours till shooting time ended, probably two something. And, you know, we could see around, and it's like, all right, I think we. There's definitely elk that we could find, maybe move in here, but just made the call to. To pull a Hail Mary, essentially, and just completely switch areas. I don't know. I just thought, there's another spot that I want to go check. Let's go hit that, like, hike back to the truck, blaze over there and just completely relocate. Because we kind of, in a way, tossed this salad here, we just kind of blew everything out. So the two spots that I figured we would find elk, the elk were there and then they weren't there anymore. So we kind of hustle back to the truck. Kind of like a. It's like, let's just do that fast. Walk, jog, get back, get out of here, go to a new spot. Sometimes that's good. Sometimes it's like, you know, you're thinking, are we wasting our time moving? And then we're going to get to that other spot and by the time we get there, it's just going to be too close to the end of shooting time or not make it. But we did that completely relocated zones. And we get to the new spot and immediately see a group of elk and it's like, okay, here's our. We're gonna get another opportunity. Nice thing I love about hunting cows is oftentimes they're in groups and you just have to get one that does something. Right. Right. So I. There was a group, like a big group, and there's actually some bulls. This is the funny thing. This is the end of. Well, yeah, I guess the end of November, like almost decent beginning of December. And both the morning. That morning there was a group elk and there was bulls bugling. And that evening, in a completely different spot, there was a group of elk and bulls bugling, like two completely different areas, two herds of elk, a lot of bugling that day. I heard more bugles this beginning of December, end of November in that one day than I probably heard in most of September this year. It was insane. I don't know what's going on. I got need if you're a biologist and you've got an answer for this, I mean, every once in a while you hear bugling in these, like, groups later in the season. But this was a large amount of. I've heard more bugling in November this year than I ever have. Like, what's going on is. It's like a cow coming into estrus or this is just like spikes just testing out their bugle skills, you know, raghorns, not big bulls, but, you know, a little five points and whatever. And they were just screaming like constantly. I thought that was wild. So if you've got an answer to that, I mean, I've got my theories, but I don't know what's going on. So there's some bulls, there's a bunch of elk bugling, but this is big herd and it's kind of like this sparse timber and a little open And I look over to the right, and there's a cow bedded just above this, like, gully, and which is going to be perfect. So we. We drop down, we move around, and I want to go after this one that's off in the fringes. Not this massive herd, because the massive herd is actually kind of toward the top as well. And they're going to be sk. And there's just a lot of problems with getting a shot on those ones. There's a lot of elk kind of clustered up, and they're kind of getting run around by these bulls like it seemed like you would see during September. Just wild. So we make a play on this bedded cow, and we've got this, like, wash creek bottom kind of thing that we're going up. It's off in the sparse timber, bedded, and there's some other trees behind it. And so we crawl up. I get set up behind him. He does like, that little what we practiced. He does that perfect. Just boom. Gets into position, gets on the cow. As soon as he gets set up, he's about 300 yards, just the scope. And the cow gets up and starts to move off. I don't know if she seen us at this point or what. Or maybe they just, you know, that other herd was starting to move. And I think kind of like this happens a lot with elk, where the herd's moving off and then whatever. Elk aren't there, want to go catch up. So it's like the elk are up and now moving. There's actually a lot more elk there. I only saw the one cow originally. There's probably a little pocket of 10 cows. I don't know, maybe more, maybe less. And so I've got the call in my mouth. Anyone that stops, you know, first I was like, we'll be picky and find a little cow. And I'm like, anyone that gives you a shot take? So I blow the call, and most of the elk had filtered into the timber. And this one cow stops, and for me, it's like her shoulder. He's over to my right, so he has a clear shot on her, but I can't see. So he shoots. And I see the elk run into the trees. I'm like, it's. I could hear a hit. I was like, that was a good hit. You know, sounded solid, but you just don't know because there's cows, elk running all over now. And then those other elk went to the herd, and that other herd's now kind of messing around with the cows chasing each other around like, I don't know, some kind of crazy rut action going on over there. And so we, we work our way in quiet and slow. And I, I throw up the glass and there's the cow he shot at. Ended up being a perfect heart shot, like absolutely perfect shot, which is exactly what you want for somebody's first success. So we get up there and yeah, it was a great cow. And so, you know, it was pretty cool to just be a part of that first successful hunt and sharing that. And also too, for me, it's fun because it's kind of like that, that relearning experience or noticing things that people do that you would just never know. Right? It's like it might take you years to figure this out. I think back to when I started taking my wife out hunting for the first time. And it was really fun for me because I got to teach her all the little things that I'd kind of gathered over the years that you don't even necessarily think about. And I think it's those little things that really pile on the success. And over the years, you know, through guiding, through taking new hunters, through even just taking hunters that have been hunting for a while, but you know, maybe not a lot or what have you, just these little things that maybe most people don't notice and the guys that are really successful probably do. And so I think this week it would be fun to kind of break down a few of those things that I learned on this hunt or just kind of noticed on this hunt and, and, and give you guys some of those tips and tactics to help you be more successful when you're out there next time. So one of the fun things, you know, that I, I'm a big fan of and I think that a lot of hunts end before they start, especially when it comes to bow hunting. But not just bow hunting, just hiking, whatever in, in country where you can't see very far or even just, you know, walking through the mountains, especially when there's snow on the ground or you're on a covering country, on a logging road, something like that. The way that people walk is way more important than people realize. And I think that walking quiet is definitely an art and not something that you think about in your day to day life. Most everybody knows how to walk for the most part. Like if you're physically able to walk, you've walked probably since you were two years old. One year old, Yeah, I guess earlier than one year old. Nevermind. Yeah, I guess my son's been walking For a while since he's been a little around one. We all know how to walk in our day to day lives. I don't think there's any emphasis on the way that we walk. We just walk how we walk. When it comes to hunting. I've noticed that the way that you walk is extremely impactful on what animals hear, what they pick up and how alerted they are to something coming. I think that like when I'm by myself hunting, I sneak up on things that I didn't know were there almost every time. Like I find a lot of success just when I'm moving locations or other things and I walk very quiet. I notice when I'm walking next to someone else, they could be 10, 20 yards away. I can't hear my own footsteps, but I can hear them way too loud. And through the years of guiding or taking people out, like Nico asks, he's like, what's your biggest pet peeve? After I was talking about the loud walking and I'm like, I really do think it's the loud walk. And it made me laugh because after this hunt I was talking to my wife about it and I was like, you know, I remember when we first started going out and the thing that I first stressed, it was like the most important thing about anything that I taught her when we first went out is like, this is how I walk, this is what I do. These are the things that I think about that I don't think anyone would ever think about unless being told or have done it a million times. So especially when you're walking on a logging road or something like that. I think there's a couple of things that I do that might be different. Doesn't, you know, whatever, wherever you're walking, crunchy snow, whatever, a lot of people walk and you hear that bipedal walk of a human, just very rhythmatic, very like impactful, like a hard hit on the ground. The first thing I do is I do not walk on my heel. I essentially walk more flat footed or tiptoed where it's like when I set my foot down, it's less of a stomp and more of a just quiet letdown. Sometimes it might be like, it depends on the terrain. So if it's like crunchy snow, I might even like put my heel in and then roll or not my heel, my like side of my foot and roll onto my toes. I can do this in like my standard gait because I've just kind of practiced it and done it for a long time. But I really Control my footfalls. And I also think that, like, the speed in which the way that you walk makes a big difference. My grandpa used to always kind of in. In a joking manner, but this is the way that he taught us. He'd be like. He. I think he was also like, any guide you ever hunted with probably gets really annoyed with the way other people walk because, like, when a lot of people walk, it's very repetitive. I walk in. In, like, this. The right. The exact right speed for where I need to go in a way that isn't. So it's like, it's more broken up. It's quieter. And it just. It's weird because it's not like step, step, step, step, step in, like, the same pattern every time. It's like, I. I step short and long. I like, I. I try to step quiet. And it's something that now I don't even think about ever. But it's something that I definitely do. And when I listen to my walking, it's not. So it's just more like. I don't know if you can even hear that, but just, like, it's more randomized. It's really hard to explain, but, like, when you're walking, you can figure. My grandpa used to always say that, like, he would walk, like, one step and then he would sidestep, and then he would sidestep the other way. But it was kind of. He, like, he made, like, this dance out of it, like, kind of a joke. But I think it was his way of, like, getting us to stop walking. So. So harsh and so hard. And paying attention to that walk is extremely important. You know, not walking, slamming your heel down or slamming your toes in, but just controlling your footfall and controlling. Distributing that weight more evenly as you walk. And it's something you just should do. Like, I practice. I mean, now that's just how I walk. And I've talked about walking a lot on this podcast, and most people probably think this is the dumbest tactic. And in my opinion, it's probably like when I was teaching my wife how to hunt. This is the first thing that I even talked about. It's like, change the way that you walk. Change the way that your foot hits the ground. Be more quiet. Then the other thing is, like, understanding where to walk. So this is especially true when, like, anybody that hunts a lot of, like, still hunts a lot of logging roads. Be hunting with someone. It's like that gravel logging road. You notice people drag their feet. It's like they're constantly kicking gravel Kicking the ground or crunchy snow. It's like that drag as they. They move, you know, pick your foot up, place your foot. Pick your foot up, Place your foot. Don't skip your foot. I don't think there's any animal out there that walks and drags their foot like we do. And it's something that you can hear and something that the animals notice. You know, place your foot directly down. Don't. Don't skip it around on the ground. And then where you walk, like, if it's dry and I've got, like, a logging road or whatever, and there's like a softer grass, I'll walk off the gravel in the grass if it's more quiet, and then I'll switch to the other side where it's more quiet. Or if it's like snow and it's like, maybe, you know, crunchy on this one side, but the edge is a little bit softer where the sun set it. Then I'll walk in that softer, quieter spot, understanding, like, and I'll constantly move to find those quiet spots. Okay, where's more quiet? Where's more quiet? Where's more quiet? This is the loudest spot. Okay. Then I'm gonna adjust where I'm walking as I do that. And this is all, like. It's not really slowing me down. It's just kind of second nature of finding those soft and quiet spots. And that was something that. Yeah, like, when I was teaching my wife hunting, those were the things I'm like, okay, now walk in this part of the road. Walk this way. Okay, here. This is where we're going to walk. And being really cognizant of the sound that you're making when you're walking. There's so many times where I've been guiding people walking down. We're walking through this open face where there's a lot of balsam root and they're kicking every loud bush that there is. Okay, step over the plants. Don't kick through them. You know, step over, place your foot. Don't kick every piece of brush. Don't step on the dry sticks. Like, then. Then it also goes to. Then doing that while looking up and not looking at your feet, and that slowly progresses. And I've talked about that on this podcast, but it just reaffirms that. In my opinion, it's one of the key factors of success, not just for bow hunting, but for rifle hunting as well. Changing the amount of attention that you pay to something that you never pay attention to. How loud are you when you're walking and then changing that up and walking more quiet. Even if it's loud terrain, the more stealthy you can be, the better it's going to be. I always laugh because, like, a long time ago, my. When I was dating my wife, she had a roommate and she would always laugh because she's like, your boyfriend talking about me is like, I never hear him walking in the house. She's like, it's the weirdest thing. He's like, I hear you walking around. And I never hear, like, she'd be in her room or whatever, and I'd be like, walking around that. She's like, I've never heard him walking around. And she never, like, I don't even think she knew what I did, like, as a hunter or whatever. But it just goes to say, like, somebody knows that, like, they never. You're used to hearing people walking around, and yet I don't even think about it. It's not like I'm trying to sneak around the house, but when I walk, I walk quiet. And I think it's just from years of doing it, but it's paying attention to it and understanding that that is something that you need to pay attention to. I've guided a lot of people have hunted their entire life, and I'm like, do you sound like a bull in a china closet? It's just, come on, pay a little attention and slow down or whatever and make sure that you're paying attention to the noise that you're putting off in the way that you're walking. Because it makes a big difference in alerting animals that maybe you didn't know were there and even at distance, just giving you that added a little bit of advantage of moving somewhere and not having everything alerted to your presence. Number two, and this is something that I kind of thought about this week was in hunting scenarios, right? Sometimes, especially with a rifle, right? Sometimes you got a bedded animal, you move in and you have all day. You have all day to set up. You might even sit there for hours. I shot a bull this year that was bedded and I snuck in and I. I had to get him up because I didn't. It was cold and I didn't want to lay there for hours. But you have, like, sometimes you have all the time in the world, but. But I never think of it like that. Most hunting scenarios, things happen fast. Like, you get into position, they're going to be in the right position for a short amount of time. And one thing you don't want to do is rush but you don't want to go unnecessarily slow. So what I say is, like, when I'm guiding someone or what have you, is the first thing to do is get them in the scope, set up fast. Once you're set up on them, then it's time to wait. Don't wait. And then set up, like, get what you need to do settled, and then kind of worry about everything else getting steady, this, that, and the other thing. Acquire the target, then get still, get into position, line it up. Then you'll have more time. And kind of doing it in that order, I think, allows you to get on target faster and have, like, a steadier shot or. Or spend more time setting up once you're on target. And I mean that in a way of, like, I see it, like, when I'm guiding especially, is I'd be like, okay, here's the animal. And then, like, oftentimes I will actually, like, go set the rifle where it needs to be, crawl up and then get into position, because it just gets people moving in the right direction in a smooth and fluid motion. But I think, like, you don't often have, like, things happen fast. You don't want to feel rushed. You don't want to take a rushed shot. So in order to save time, just, like, acquire what you're shooting at and then get them in there, get lined up, and then, you know, get steady, I guess, is the way to. To think about it. It's just. It seems intuitive, I think, but it's also not intuitive because I. I've guided a lot of people. That's like, okay, even with my. I told the story of the hunt with my dad. I'm like, stop looking in your binos every time you're. You're trying to find, like, I'm telling you where the elk is. If you saw. I don't know, you can hear a little bit of frustration in my voice. That's. It's. It was such a fun hunt. And, you know, it's like, oh, it was dad. It's my dad. I really wanted him to be successful. And, you know, it's like, there's more riding on it, right? It's like family, and you're close to it. You're like, come on, man. Like, just get him in the scope, find him, and. And make. Make a good shot. I posted that video this last week, so it's called opener Bull. It's on my YouTube channel. Definitely go watch it. If you haven't watched it, it's fun. Like, you hear the frustration in my voice a little bit. It's like he made two shots and, like, missed, and then I didn't think it was gonna happen. And then the bowl moved off and he got. He made a perfect shot on the. Thankfully, on that last one. But I think, like, just getting set up, getting, like, getting comfortable getting set up. And I think that this is one of the most important things that people don't practice is like, let's say it's rifle hunting. I think with bow hunting, you kind of practice it in the backyard, but with rifle hunting, it doesn't get practiced enough. Growing up hunting, like, I would constantly, whether it was, you know, my rifle, whatever, like, in the field, I would practice, and even at home, I would practice. I just take the bolt out of my rifle and practice getting steady, the, like, whatever position. So in the field, like, whether you've hunted forever or you're new to it, especially if you're new to it, like, practice so you can get set up fast. That's like. So you can get steady fast. Get, like, be so comfortable and familiar with every appendage of your body that when it comes time to set up, it's just one smooth, fluid motion. You've done it a thousand times. And if this podcast has taught anyone anything, it's like, practice these things. So in the field, it's not the first time you've done it. Practice getting set up and steady on your knees, Practice getting steady standing, Practice getting steady up against a tree. Practice getting steady on a slope of a hill. Practice getting steady on all these things. Like, build out the scenario. And on the hunt, do it a thousand times. Do it with an unloaded rifle. Like, you don't have to take the bolt out when you're hunting, but don't do it with a loaded rifle, but just practice getting steady. Boom. I'm steady. Okay, this is. My elbow's down here. I'm going to bring my right knee up and shoot off the pack and practice all these things over and over and over. I don't know, like, growing up, how many times, how many hours I spent. This is what I. This is like, for me, hunting was my life. And when it was off season, I probably. I would take my rifle and probably practice in my house somewhere. You know, like, bolt out. I'd grab my pack and I would just throw it down for hours and get steady fast. Like, I'm not even joking you. I. I feel like. And then, like, when I'm hiking or whatever, I just, like, practice getting steady on trees in different positions, like, okay, there's something there. Boom. And it becomes so smooth and so fast. It just is second nature. It's just like, you don't ever think about it. It just happens. And you're locked in and you're steady. The same goes for bow hunting. You know, a lot of people practice in the backyard flat. What have you do it, you know, practice. Like a lot of times when I'm hunting with a bow or in the summertime, in the off season, I'll just bring like a blunt tip and shoot pine cones or random stuff. I'll take a target out in the field and just practice these angled shots. These other things like sitting, like getting up, rising up, just whether it's bow or rifle practice getting set up for the shot. And the more you do that, the more smooth it is, the faster you're gonna get into position. Steady, smooth, and quiet. And the third thing is in these scenarios where it's time to get ready for a shot when it's time to whatever, especially with a bow, but even with a rifle, move slow and move smooth. Like, keep everything in line with your body. The thing that I see a lot of hunters do is in that moment of truth, it's like a panic because they haven't really thought through that process. So it's like you go to. You're laying down, you're crawling, and instead of bring pushing that rifle forward within your body line, it's breaking out of your body line and moving up and over something, like big, dramatic movements. I see this with a bow a lot where guys, like, armed the right and then drawing and moving it in all these kind of things, or drawing up high, it's like if I'm drawing a bow with an. I'm pointing at the animal and drawing straight back. If I'm sliding up to get the rifle in position, it's within the framework of my body and like slipping it up and in. And it's smooth and slow. It's not fast and jerky. It's not big arm movements. It's like you would never sneak in on deer and wave your hand, right? It's kind of, well, there they are. Yet people do that with a rifle or a bow when they go to get set up. And I see it happen all the time, especially bow hunting. I've talked about that in previous podcasts this year. But, you know, getting set up. I even talked about it on my outdoor class about bow hunting. If you haven't watched that, it's a. It's A really good one. Whether you're rifle hunter, bow hunter, I think there's some. Some things to learn about practice and getting set up that anybody can take kind of note on. But that moving smooth, moving slow, it. Sometimes moving slow and methodical in the right way is actually faster than just like that panicked, rushed, throwing it up kind of movement. Sometimes that throwing it up movement is what kind of bites you in the end. Like, oh, I gotta get into position. So you're moving quick, you end up scraping or knocking off a rock. The gun's up high, everything's moving and loud, and the animals blow out. With a gun, with a bow, doesn't really matter. You know, moving, like, at the right speed, at the right time. There's times where on a hunt, I am absolutely running. I'm moving as fast as possible. And then there's other times where I'm so slow that I could be in plain sight of the animal and they can't see that I'm actually moving. Like, it goes completely unnoticed. So understanding when to move slow and smooth and when to go fast makes a big difference in getting there in time, but not adding anything unnecessary noise or motion. And I think, you know, fairly basic things. But like, I want to title this podcast, you don't know what you don't know, right? It's kind of getting back to the basics and these things of walking, practicing, getting steady and set up, whether it's a rifle, bow, muzzleloader, it doesn't matter. And with the things that you have on you, tripod, shooting sticks, whatever, I mean, these are all things that I've talked about on the podcast before, but bear repeating. Because, you know, obviously not everybody listens to every podcast, and I think that these things are so important that it kind of bears repeating. And then that moving slow, moving smooth. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. I mean, that is absolutely true. Think about with anything, right? I've driven. I don't know people that drive race cars, right? They know where in the track to turn and how to do it. When they drive, it, like, seems real smooth. When I go, it's like, oh, I whip around the corner real fast and a lot of brake and a lot of gas, and I'm way slower than the guy that's just taking the. The course smooth, right? It's a learned motion, and that just comes from repetition. And when you do that repetition, it becomes second nature. And when those things, walking become second nature, walking quiet becomes second nature. Setting up fast and getting steady becomes second nature. And moving slow and Smooth becomes second nature. Then you're set up for a lot of success. Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that podcast. I know getting back to the basics is one of those things that I like to do with this podcast because it just kind of things that you can learn and really have continued success throughout the year. Also talking about success and when you get to the animal, then the processing part takes place. A great supporter of this podcast. Montana Knife Company, in my opinion, makes some of the best hunting blades out there. You know, one of the things that people always say is like, oh, well, what I want isn't in stock. But they're continually. Every week there's drops and there's more and more drops. They're continuing. They're striving to grow the company to have a lot of things in stock. But one of the best things you can do for yourself is just get on their email list. So when those drops, if you know about the drop and you're ready for it, you're more likely to get the knife that you want. You know, we had our elkhorn knife go, and those went pretty quick. Hopefully we'll get another batch of those going. I know that they're continually working on getting new knives out and building knives. They're doing an awesome thing over there, bringing a lot of manufacturing back to the US Knives, you know, finished and a lot of the components built right there in Montana. So it's awesome to see. They're incredible knives. If you guys can get one, get one. There are. I did notice, too, right around this time of year, they've been stocking up pretty good on a lot of. A lot of awesome classics. So there's some available right now. Montanaknifecompany.com you guys can check that out. Also, if anyone happens to be down around this weekend, I'll be down at Cowboy Christmas. I'll hang out at the Rocky Mountain Elk foundation booth for a little bit. I'll be down there. I'm actually gonna. I wanted to do a podcast with some of those guys about just some of the conservation efforts and other things. When you think about this time of year, there's a lot of, you know, I guess, you know, was it giving Tuesday or whatever, when. I don't know when that is that last Tuesday, this coming Tuesday, whatever. But that's a great. If you aren't a member of the Rocky Mountain Elk foundation, jump in, get a membership. It's an incredible organization. You know, I talk about elk hunting a lot, A lot. And so I want to also talk about elk conservation just as much as I talk about elk hunting, because the two go hand in hand. I've got some articles in Bugle magazine, so if you guys are members, you'll start seeing some of my articles and there's some tips and tactics and other things, just some of the things to check out. And if you're should be around, I'll be walking around there this weekend. So if you guys are there, say, hey, you know, hey, I listen to your podcast. It's always great to. To meet people that enjoy the podcast or whatever. So if you guys are down there for that, I'll be there for a couple days hanging out, mostly walking around, just kind of with my family or, well, with my wife and brother and his wife. So we're gonna be down there checking it out. But if you guys see me say howdy, and if not, think about, you know, getting a membership, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. So I'm gonna say until next week. What am I gonna say until next week? Get back to the basics. Catch you guys later.