A (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. Now for those that don't know, Mountain Tough is an online based training app that's designed for hunters to train you both mentally and physically for the mountains so you can go on. And there's programs designed with workouts that are specifically made to get you ready for the things you're going to encounter out there in the wild. And while a lot of you probably know that their programs are designed to get you ready, they also have programs designed to keep you ready during the season. It really is a year round process to help you be the best you can be on the hunt. If you're looking for a great gift this holiday season, Yeti has you covered with their Rambler Drinkware. It's a leak fruit, stackable, ton of different colors and everything for drinking water, coffee, wine or beer. They even have shot glasses and flasks. They're great stocking stuffers and an awesome gift to give this holiday season. Welcome back to Live Wild Podcast everyone. I first want to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. This time of year for me, I just really like to do a lot of reflecting, looking back at those past adventures, really analyzing my successes and failures and then just using that to be better. You know, this whole podcast is really built around hunting tips through trial and error, through real life experience and those days spent in the field. So for me it seems like every year is different and every year almost has this thing theme to it. There's a certain pattern some years where it just goes a certain way and at the end we really get to take that step back and look at it as a whole. So as we head toward the new year, I thought it'd be fun to just do a year in review and reshare some of the highs and the lows, lessons and the changes. I'm going to make this podcast a two part. So this week we're going to look back at the year and some of the happenings and some of the behind the scenes on and off the hunt. Then next week we're Going to dive more into the tactics based portion and we're going to break that down. What I learned in 2020 and the major takeaways and the lessons and tips that I can take into 2026. So let's dive in and look at the year through the rearview mirror. I always like these year end reviews because it's kind of a way that I can candidly look back and kind of summarize the year in a way, but also it gives me kind of a path forward as well. And I think 2025 for me was definitely a year of change and also a year of reprioritization. One of the things that happened this year, I actually turned 40 this year, which, man, time goes really fast. I still don't believe that, but it happened, right? You go one day you're 24, whatever, and then all of a sudden you're 40. But if I knew what I like, I think When I was 24, I owned my own outfitting business for two years. I'd been guiding for however many years. And I thought that I knew everything there was to know about elk and elk hunting in it or whatever, bow hunting, whatever have you. And I was, you know, hunting nearly every day, traveling around, guiding different places around the world. And if I would, if I would have the knowledge that I have now back then, I always think back, like to certain situations, thinking back in the past and go, man, if I knew then what I know now, that I would have done that completely different. Especially there's like some, you know, some definite hunts where things didn't go right or did something stupid in, in a bad situation, what, whatever in a situation. And. But it's those, it's those mistakes and those experiences that got me to where I am today, where I can look back and go, man, when I thought I knew a lot, I hardly knew anything. And I try to think like, man, 20 years down the track, what am I going to think about this period in my life right now? But I had a lot of great hunts planned this year. And then also I think a lot of changes for me on the personal and business side of things. So for the majority of my adult life, I worked as a guide and outfitter and that was a big portion of my time and energy and a lot of, in some ways, identity too. And so a lot of things changed this year for me. Kind of kind of stepping away from that role and stepping into purchasing and taking over Day six Aero company, you know, for, for myself and my family, that's a big change. You know, and it was a big kind of leap of faith in a big new direction and of course still doing a lot of the things that, the content, that kind of thing. Continuing the podcast, obviously continuing, you know, the filming and the writing and all those things continuing. But then taking on this role of owning something that's doing manufacturing here in America for a product that I use and really trust in. And then in a lot of ways too, just on a personal note, essentially starting over for. For myself, you know, having done certain things for a very long time and now kind of getting into something new. You know, definitely the manufacturing side is new. One thing for me is, you know, I love hunting and I, I love being out in the field and all that, but I also enjoy the business aspect of. Of running a business. I started my first business when I was 22 years old. Like I mentioned, it was my outfitting business. And then have created multip. That all coincide with hunting and being outdoors. From media, media company to a spice company to online store, all these things. And through all that, just as much as the hunting, I've learned through a lot of trial and error, a lot of making mistakes and learning from those mistakes and then kind of figuring things out as you go. And for me, that. That's exciting and fun as well. And I think this year, you know, it kind of felt like a big change, like a really big change for me. And also in some ways that. That's exciting and scary, right? We. We had to essentially took everything that we had and put it into now this day six company. So a lot of like fear and apprehension, a lot of anxiety and worry, but also a lot of optimism and excitement in this. In the same coin, on the same token. And so I think that for me, you know, that that focus of things changing was. It was a big deal. And I think that this year will kind of mark that, that big season of change for me personally. But I also think that there were some things that I did starting at the beginning of this year that I focused on that I think really lent itself to the hunting season, to even this business side and other things. So I think that it's kind of fun to talk about not just the hunts and the successes and the other things, but the kind of behind the scenes in, in some ways too, that that behind the scenes stuff plays into those hunts and the, the ways they. Sometimes you just, you kind of get this theme of the season. Like some years are just the hunts are tough or whatever. What can go wrong will go wrong. And you Just kind of got to work through it. I feel like this year on the hunting side, I had a lot of last day successes, but when you look at it, there's still successes, right? So I think that a big theme for me this year was just that persistence, that grinding it out. And it doesn't matter how much you know or how good you are at this, that and the other thing, sometimes it just goes to the bitter end and you make decisions and things work out or don't work out, or you pass things and it just goes whatever it is. This year happened to be a lot of last day success. Seems like last year a lot of successes came easier. I would say, like a lot of first days, it just all balances itself out. So this year I think was, was marked by a lot of persistence, but then also a lot for me of kind of, I don't know, getting back to the roots, back to the basics kind of thing, doing some hunts with friends and family that maybe I've missed out on for years or haven't had the time to do because of maybe, you know, being out guiding, you know, all, essentially all season. A lot of my hunts and I go on, I go on a lot of hunts and fortunate to spend a lot of time hunting. But for the vast majority of my life, a lot of my hunts fall would fall between guiding seasons. So the majority of my guiding would be all of essentially September 1st part of October, then end of October through November. Any personal hunts would be in between that. And a lot of my hunting would actually just be kind of like weekend warrior stuff. A lot of the solo hunter stuff that you might see might have been two or three days off in between air quotes, working when I'm guiding and then doing it that way. So it didn't lend itself a lot of time to jump in on hunts with friends and family or, or what have you. And a lot of that is like I'd have time to go hunt for myself and I might probably be alone because maybe nobody else could go or what have you, or I just, you know, find a hunt earlier, later than those seasons. But this transition from guiding and outfitting into day six and manufacturing actually gave me this, this, this little bit of time where, or this little bit of time window where I was focused on. I could kind of focus on getting out with some people that I haven't hunted with for a while that I used to hunt with all the time. And even just doing a few hunts, it just felt like taking it back to the basics. And, and for Me, it was so much fun there. There was a lot of. I mean, hunting for me is always fun. The ones that are grinding and grueling are really fun. And the ones where I've got the kids and wife in the truck and we're literally just driving around doing a little bit of glass and going on short walks, I mean, those are just as fun, if not more fun. Ones where I went out with my dad and all the grandkids were there, or hunting pronghorn antelope or hunting with my father in law, just looking for a meat bucket or anything. And that to me was kind of getting back to the basics. So I got to do a lot of that this year. And I think that that, that big transition in. In some things kind of got me to do a little bit of that. I'm just gonna call it like, back to the basics, if that makes sense. But that's. That's what I. I felt this year. And it was a lot of fun and kind of grounded, I think it was. It was good to. To do those kind of hunts. And it just kind of grounds you back in the things that you love. Not that, you know, hunting. Hunting is like, I am through and through a hunter. Like, there's. I never get tired of being out in the field. I could be, well, my biggest day when I was younger, 323 days in the field, through hunting, guiding, whatever, scouting. And it's just. Just all encompassing for me. Like, I never get tired of being in the field and being on the hunt. Maybe it's a sickness, whatever. Maybe there's something a little. I think there's people that relate like, yep, that there is not enough. And then there's people that are like, I love to hunt, but they hit. They hit a point in the hunt or in the season where they're like, all right, I can turn it in. I've never. I've never experienced that. So for me, you know, I love being out there. But then also it's fun to experience hunts in different ways, to get out with people, and also to experience new hunts. This year at the beginning of the year, one of the. One of the big things for me is I'm big into goal setting, I would say, and just always trying to improve. The big thing for me this year and my big focus, like, we'll call it a New Year's resolution for my wife. And I was just really focusing on health and wellness. I don't know if it was just like getting older or what have you, but last year like last year, I was sick a lot. Like, really sick a lot. And honestly, I think that there was some things that I think were probably just became bad habits out of life changes that I really wasn't accustomed to. I'd spent the majority of my life out in the field, like, all the time, right? And that meant I was hiking all the time. I had a heavy pack on all the time. There wasn't a lot of downtime. And then kind of transitioning into having a family, which for me is the best thing I've ever done in life. But I think that some of that, like, I used to just eat whatever I wanted whenever, because I was burning so many calories all the time, it didn't matter. Like, I could just sit down, crush whatever, and never even thought twice about it. Like, it just. It. I always ate good, but it. You know, I never really thought about that kind of stuff too much. And I think it just kind of, I think slowing down a little bit and then not paying attention, kind of caught up. And then also just having kids and then bringing home every kind of sickness in the world. I used to think that I was very immune. I was like, man, my immune system's so good. I never get sick. And I think that in retrospect, I just was never around sick people. I was always so isolated that I don't think that I ever encountered much, much sickness. I guess the only time that I would be around that very many people would be going to a couple trade shows throughout the year, and I'd probably get sick after that. But really, you know, fairly isolated lifestyle, not around a lot of people outside all the time, I guess, like the. I was social distancing before. Social distancing was social distancing. And then last year, just, you know, getting sick all the time and being like, man, something's off. So I really dove into health and wellness stuff and really just making it more of a priority. Not that it ever. I don't. I don't know. Not that it ever wasn't, but just really, like, really making it at the top of the list of things that I. That I would do. And so it started with eating, you know, like, just super clean eating. And then. And then in, when I wasn't in the field, you know, being very regimented about hitting my mountain, tough workouts and training. And one thing I like to do every year is like, do something different. Do something out of the box. I've never done. So this year, my wife likes to run marathons. And that was something That I was like, oh, we can do together. She's kind of, she was kind of sidelined a little for a little bit of time on the marathon stuff, just with having kids. So it's kind of her first time, like getting back and getting into the groove of training for a marathon. And so we signed up for a marathon, we trained for it. And I really enjoyed that. Like it was really good. And I've. And honestly, I think having really focused on health and other things and just checking in on my health, getting, you know, like I was, I was never a supplement kind of guy. Now it's like, you know, taking supplements and doing, doing all the things right. And I've never felt better, to be honest. Like, I feel really good. I haven't been sick, I think just that focus on health and wellness and then going into hunts. Very prepared this year, like backpack hunts. Very prepared. I've always been prepared. But I feel like there was a different level of preparation this year. Whereas it. Maybe the intention behind it made it feel different, maybe it was different. But also I think that my life has changed a little bit where I still spend a ton of time hunting in the field. Like that hasn't changed, but it's not as much as I used to. Which sounds crazy because I mean, in one, you know, I feel very far, I'm not saying this like braggadociously, but in one year I might even spend as much time as most people will spend in a lifetime out in the field hunting and whatever because I can, because it's part of my job and all that stuff. And I'm very blessed to be able to spend that time doing that. But it compared to like years in the past pre family and all that stuff, it's not as, it's not as much as I used to. And so I think just having more sideline time, more time at home, more time working on the business and the other things, more, more even potential time to be sedentary, like working on whatever it might be, taking that focus of off season training, health and wellness. I just, I just felt so much better than the last couple years of that new change, like being a new dad and getting in to that and that's, that's just, I don't know, I mean, maybe there's some of you that are like in that phase, right, where you're, you've got the family or the, you know, you used to be. Even if you're still. I'm still like even with the family, very active. But you can always be More. You can always be better. It doesn't matter where you're at. I feel like no matter what I do, I can always be better. And I think that that's a good mindset to have in every aspect, because I feel like I'm continually learning, continually improving, continually changing the way that I do things. And you can see the benefit when you commit to it. And I think that that's been. That's been a big thing for me this year on the personal, family and business side. And it translated into the season and a lot of the. The way that, the things that I got to experience and encounter during the season. Now on the hunting side, it's always fun to look back at those hunts and there's. There's always things that go right, things that go wrong. I think no matter what, I like to be a person that learns from every experience out in the field. The good, the bad, the ugly, the near misses and the triumphs or whatever. Because there are. No matter what, there are the highs and the lows of hunting, especially when it comes to bow hunting. So I think that a couple of the things that stood out for me this year, a couple of the cool, cool experiences and encounters that I got to have, one of them was getting to go on a dream hunt of mine, which was hunting for mountain caribou. It was, I told the story on the podcast, the last caribou species that I needed with a bow. Actually, if you got Western Hunter magazine, I wrote an article in there as well. And it was the last caribou species that I hadn't hunted with a bow. One of the caribou species that I wanted to hunt probably more than anything. And, and especially doing it with a bow and in the Mackenzie Mountains, like, just the place, too, was, was all part of that, I think, in. In the scheme of dream hunts for me. I don't like to call them bucket list hunts, but like dream hunts, there's a couple of hunts that I've just wanted to go on forever. The mountain caribou is one, I think the one that I have been on but wasn't successful is a stone sheep hunt for me, like, it just sucks. Like, that kind of hunt's like the most expensive hunt on the planet at this point. And you're like, that sucks because you're, it's, you know, I was fortunate to be able to go on that hunt once. Never saw a legal ram, unfortunately. Like, hunted my ass off. Never saw legal ram. This is the circumstance of the situation for that year, and everything Kind of sucked. But the mountain caribou was the other one that's really high up on that list. And actually, while I was hunting those stone sheep, I did get to encounter mountain caribou, but I had a focus on the sheep. So to be able to go with my bow and hunt mountain caribou and then go in the Mackenzie Mountains, absolute dream hunt. And then on that hunt, if you remember, maybe you missed the story, but I ended up shooting a wolf with my bow, which was incredible. Like it was just a really cool hunt, really cool place. And then found a good caribou bull. What had been plaguing me the whole time of feeling like something was going to go wrong with my bow and then losing my bow or not. I didn't lose my boat on the way there, like I guess Canada or just throw them under the bus. Lost my bow. And it was just like the worst customer experience, customer service experience I've ever experienced. Like just zero, I don't know, just zero apt to. To get that bow and whatever. But it turned out it worked out. By happenstance, I ended up getting my bow, being able to take it on the hunt. And then I'm stocking in on this dream bowl with my bow. It's bedded. I decide to restock. I put. I'm going to put my arrow back on the string and I clip my cable with the broadhead and nearly cut through it. I mean, it's holding on by strands and just the highs and the lows of that. And then I. So I didn't know if I was going to be able to. If that bow was going to go off, is going to explode. Like it was probably pretty. I probably shouldn't have taken that risk being there, like drawing back and shooting. I decided to. I think it, I think it will hold. Like, I saw how many strings were there. I know kind of a little bit of the tolerances, but I also didn't know what it was going to do to the tune of that. That bow anyways, stock in, make a shot. The shot hit lower than I would have liked. And then it was just this roller coaster of like that bull ran aways and. And I thought I wasn't going to get him. He ended up betting down and I snuck in and made a. A really good shot. After, like figuring out how. How the bow is off and. And actually the bull was expired. You know, in hindsight, in the moment, like, I honestly thought that bull was going to get away. What ended up happening was I don't even think I needed that second shot, but I'm glad I took it and, And, And. And got the bull. And. And so that was one of those where it was like, that's something that has never happened. It's something that I've thought about could happen. The clipping, the string, the whole, like. I mean, I was millimeters away from like, what do you do? I had no backup. I had. It would have just been. That would have been it for. For the dream hunt. I guess we had a shotgunning cam. I could have maybe, like, shotgun with buckshot. I don't even know. I guess it'd be legal. I'm not sure we would. Had to, like, verify that before doing it, but I guess I could have, like, snuck in and maybe shot a caribou with a shotgun, but that wasn't my dream. It was to hunt him with a bow. So it worked out, thank God. But it was high stress on the mountain and. And just one of those where it's like, that's the ups and downs. That's the hunting. Like, sometimes stuff goes wrong, and it's all part of the adventure. It was. It was an awesome adventure and in just an incredible place and really a really cool hunt that I can look back on and learned a lot from as well, which is good. So I think that that. That was kind of one of the pinnacle hunts for me. Another one was my wife's mountain goat hunt. I think, like, last year, her elk hunt was when people are like, what's one of your favorite hunts you've ever done? And my wife's archery elk hunt last year was, in my mind, one of the coolest, most incredible hunting experiences I've had. I think that the. And we're like, we'll never top that. And then she drew a mountain goat tag this year, and we're, like, thinking, okay, we might. We might actually top that experience. And I don't know if it's topped it, but it was an equal experience of being an incredible hunt. I think that it was a really cool hunt for me to do with her, and I think it was. I don't want to necessarily speak for her, but I know what she said to me about it, and I think that it kind of like, brought some more clarity to some of the stuff. Like, she's always understood what I do, but I think for it being her first, like, goat mountain type hunt, like a real. A backpack hunt and real kind of crazy terrain, I think that. And it went really well. Like, it didn't drag. It could have been an absolute. The day that we killed the goat was a long, big, big day for anyone. But it could have been way worse the entire hunt, right? Like the weather was coming in. It could have just been an absolute shit show grind, all that stuff. And it worked out. She got like everything that she wanted out of it. A big bill, an old mature billy. Like, we climbed them out. We. We just had it. We had a great time. And it was a very difficult hunt. And I think it gave her a little bit of perspective of like some of these backpack hunts that I go on and just the physical and mental toll that they take out of you. And it actually gave me very good perspective on that because I've done it for so long that you just kind of. You get numb to it. You forget what some of these hunts, like, what it takes from you and what it takes to do and the difficulty and the experience. And I think back to some hunts where the backpack sheep hunt in Alaska where we just gave it everything we had and we came up empty. And you're like. And just. I think that unless you've done one of those type of hunts or it doesn't even have to be that kind of hunt, but just like a hard mountain, multi day backpack trip where you're putting climbing and just. It's just the amount of physicality and mental stress and anguish and just the difficulty of some of these things. I think a lot of people just will never understand in their life. And then to. To go on it, I think it gave like my wife a little bit of perspective into some of the. Some of the trips where I've come home and just been like, absolutely drained in some way. You're like. She's like, oh, man, I get it. Like, that is so. It's just everything is. Everything you have goes into that. You're like, yeah. And so I think that it. It was cool for us to experience that and for her to experience that and even on that, maybe not on that on some level, and just gave us a. Her a better understanding of me and me a better understanding of, you know, the whole experience. Like. Like a renewed appreciation of that experience, I think. So that was cool for me, I guess. I don't know if I'm explaining that well, but it was one of the things that for me really stood out this year. A couple of the other things that just looking back, a couple of other adventures and things that really stood out. I got to go to Spain and hunt ibex with my bow with my buddy Pedro, and that was a Lot of fun. I've hunted with Pedro in the past, other places, but it was cool. It's always cool for me to go somewhere where that's where that person grew up or they have a history with it, especially a friend, and to go experience something new that. I've never hunted in Spain. I've actually never even been. Well, yeah, no, I'd never been to Spain, and that was awesome. Like, an incredible country, beautiful country. A lot of cool stuff. We got in. We got to go to a bullfight. That was, like, one of the funniest experiences. I was. It blew my mind. The bullfight was cool. I. I didn't know what I was expecting. It was. It was probably like traveling back in time and going into the gladiator arena. It was a big bull fight for whatever. I guess it was, like, one of the big celebration. I don't know what it was, but it was pretty much sold out. We got these seats, like, in the very back, this coliseum. It's like this coliseum thing, and the seats are so narrow and steep, and. And we get go to sit, and we're like, okay, I think these are our seats, like, right at the very highest point up against the top, and there's, like, this big guy sitting. Sitting there, like, excuse me, I think you're in our seat. And he's like, no, no, your seat's right here. Well, it's like you have a person below you between your legs, and we. And there's just. I mean, not very much room. We were laughing so hard. I was just packed in there like sardines. We were. But it was just a fun memory and being like, oh, my gosh. What. What is this? What are we getting ourselves into here? Just laughing at the whole situation. But it was so fun watching the bullfight and then getting to hang out with friends after the hunt. And that whole part was cool, too. And then just being on the mountain there and getting to experience a completely different hunt in a. In a fairly different way. Just new country is always fun for me, and a new species. So that. That was really fun. That was a really cool adventure and something that I think, like, looking back at the year, that was one that kind of set this year. Set this year off a little bit different. Another fun memory this year was getting to hunt with my brother Jason on my birthday in Hawaii. Actually took a axis deer in Maui on my birthday, which was a lot of fun with my bow. So that. That was like. That was. That was an awesome way to spend my 40th. The morning of my 40th. And then that night came back or that afternoon came back with the family and cooked up like a big Axis deer feast. I. I did a little bit of slow cooking and. And made some. What did I. What did we make? I think like some. Some tacos and some other stuff. It was just a couple different cooked access deer a couple different ways. It was. It was a lot of fun. And then did some sushi with some fish we got too. So just an awesome day to kind of cap off that. I don't know, that 40th birthday. And then I think going into the season, you know, one of the highlights and the highlight for the September for me was some of. I had some of the best archery elk hunting I've ever had as far as action goes. I mean, this year was I was just in screaming bulls after screaming bulls. I had lots of action. I did on my personal hunts. I did a decent amount of passing elk. There was a couple of. I was in some good areas this year, so I had. I had some good tags. I guess this is like the. It was one of those seasons where I was in a lot of action, but it was more of a grass is greener situation where I did do. I did get to take some hunters and guide some, you know, general area public land hunting, and it was successful. And we had some really good action on that hunt too. So I had really good action. And then on my personal hunts, I had a couple good tags. So I don't know, it was just like a lot of bugling and a lot of just bulls fighting. And I just ran into a lot of running action this year. I don't know. It was a good September for me. Not everybody experienced that where they were hunting, but I just. Everywhere I was, I just kind of hit it, like, perfect. I didn't necessarily so because it was so much action and I was having a lot of fun. I passed up a lot of l. Probably a lot of elk that I would have shot. And I ended up shooting elk. You know, on the last, like, both my elk hunts went to the last day. One elk hunt I had. I don't remember six or seven days planned for the hunt. And I actually had to be somewhere the day after, but there's a full day drive. I ended up being able to hunt the next morning. I was like, I have to be on the road, but I'm gonna hunt the next morning. Ended up hunting the next morning and killing my bull in overtime, essentially. And like driving through the night, pulling over, sleeping For a couple hours, getting back on the road and making it to where I needed to be about 30 minutes late. So it all worked out. But it was like, it was, it was fairly stressful. That drive. I'm like trying to, okay, how long can I sleep for? Okay, just drive through the night. It was, it was a. But it worked out. I did it in overtime. And then the other bowl that I got with my bow this year, it was last day kind of thing. And the, the funny thing about this season, outside for my own bulls when I was guiding I. The bulls that were shot were called in. But for me it was just calling action, calling action, interaction, calling in bulls. I called in a lot of elk this year. And yet the two elk that I shot, I spot and stalked. It's like the best calling I've ever had. And yet the two elk I killed was not due to calling. So there, there's that. It's. It's one of those things where you just kind of have to adapt to whatever. The, the one bull that I killed was bedded. He was bedded by himself. And I think there was just so many elk on the, on the first hunt that I kept, you know, the, the bulls that I was going after, there was just too many other elk and things would move around and things would change and just didn't work out. When I found a bull that was by himself, it gave me the opportunity to move in, to slip in, sit on him and get a shot. The other bull that I got was just. He was screaming his head off and it was more of a rut fest. But instead of calling, I just moved in up the gut and they popped out. Kind of an ambush setup and, and got my shot. So passed a lot of bulls, had one of the best archery elk hunts. I'm going to release those videos this in 2026, but there's just, there's so much action in it. I just had such good elk hunting. Oh, and then I almost forgot about this. I missed a bull this year, a good bull. Because I was shooting. There was some cover, like just following this bull, dogging this bull. Drawback. I had some stuff to shoot through. It looked clear. I shoot and that arrow was like, like tracking perfect. And then off into the never nevers. And it hit one pencil size little, little branch that I couldn't see with my eye. It went through the stuff, but it was just one of those little pencil sized branches that center flying and I forgot about that. Oh, why did I have to relive that right now, but it ended up working out. I. I got on another bull and had a great hunt. And it was. It was a good, good elk season in some ways. A lot of. I spent. It felt like most of my hunts this year all kind of came down to the last day, last hour. Toward the end, it was just a real grind it out, even when the conditions were really good. And yeah, I did pass some bulls, but also I didn't have a lot of great opportunities for as good as the action was. I. I will say, it just seemed like a lot of the hunts, we just took it till the bitter end. The last day, I hunted with my brother for mule deer. And that was. That was a really fun hunt for me to get to go on a hunt with my brother. My brother and I, I mean, we guided together. We. It was like we would go on a trip or two to Alaska, DIY kind of hunt every year. We. We did so much hunting together. And then of course things happen. You know, everybody, you. You get a family, work, all this other stuff and just kind of. It. Ben, I was thinking back, I'm like, dude, when was the last time we went on a hunt like this together? Like actually hunted multiple days on a. On a hunt together. And, and he got a great buck. And then as last day of the season, I ended up getting a buck like the last evening of the last day. I swear, every hunt that I. Every tag that I had, for the most part, it felt like it went to the last day. Just a lot of continuing to grind. It's just like, grind it out, grind it out, grind it out. And it all, you know, in the end, it was a lot of success, A lot of last day success. And I'm like, I'll take it. It's still success. I don't know what it is about me in the last day. I'm not talking about like, oh, it's the last day because once you tag out, you stop hunting. I'm talking like the last day that I had to hunt for it's season ends or it's time to go home. And a lot of those hunts just. It was like last day hunt, last day hunt. I don't know what it was. My deer hunt was last day. I had a whitetail hunt. Pretty much went down to the last day of bull elk hunt. Like last. It was just a lot of last day hunts, but it worked out. And I think that it's always good to know that some. It's just. It goes back to the thing that I say all the time you just have to be persistent enough to run into luck or just be out there. You just grind. And until you find that intersection of persistence and luck. I think one of the other things that I mentioned about this season is kind of that in some ways I don't know if, I don't know if it's called getting back to the basics, but just I, I pretty much spent all of November for the most part. Really it was like, okay, I, I wasn't guiding, but I was doing the exact same thing except just with friends and family, taking people hunting, going on hunts. I didn't do as much hunting. I did a lot of hunts helping people this year, which I, I always do. But I think I did a lot more helping friends and family on hunts than I have in the past because that was time that was spent guiding. And I think that that to me was kind of getting back to the basics, growing up and even, I mean, still to this day. There's so many aspects of hunting, right? You've got that, that adventure aspect, that, that grinding it out aspect, that physicality and the, the big mountain hunts. Yeah, that you've got that aspect of going out solo in the, the wilderness experience and being alone and relying on yourself and that self reliance. You've got going to these crazy places in the adventure. You've got hunts where it's all about just filling the freezer and getting some meat. And then you have hunts that are about, or hunting can also be about who you spend that time with in the field. I think one of the hardest things to find is a good hunting buddy because the time in the field is so valuable and the experiences, a certain type of experience that it's hard to do with people that you know that it just doesn't mesh with. I'm fortunate that I have family that I get to hunt with and some really good friends that I've grown up hunting with and have a lot of great people that I get to hunt with and friends that I've made along the way as well. They're just awesome people and I enjoy getting in the field with them. And I think that, you know, hunting is also a lot about family, the tradition of hunting, passing that on, being able to share it with my dad, my father in law, my kids, my wife, being able to share it with friends and other things. So I got to go on a lot of cool hunts this year. Hunted sheep with my buddy Mike and his wife Christy. That was, that was awesome to be able to have the time to do that this year and not be guiding during that, that time. And then I also got to go out with my father in law, my wife, my dad, my brother. We got to, we got, we got out with the kids a lot and, and it was cool. Like the hunts that we did with the kids, a lot of them who just take them along. We went with my dad on his antelope hunt and we had the kids with us and had, he had like five of his six grandkids and it was just awesome. Like, we were all there. We were. It was easy kind of hunting. You're just, I mean, practically driving around, glassing, going on little stocks, like, and it was an absolute blast. And the kids loved it. They got to eat their snacks, they got to go on hikes, they got to look through the binos, they got to see papa get his antelope. And it was just an awesome, awesome experience. And then to get to take the kids out on other hunts. And a lot of the hunts that I went on, whether it was with people or by myself, you know, it was like a lot of it was just, yeah, we're gonna, we're gonna go out and look for a deer, you know, like, we're just filling the freezer. And to be honest, I had so much fun doing that and, and not that I don't do that whatever times, but sometimes it's fun to just go out. It's like my wife had her deer tag and she's like, you know, I don't. For this year, I just, I'm like, I'm just gonna go out and shoot a young buck because you couldn't shoot does with the tag. It's like, I'm just gonna shoot a young buck, one that's really good to eat and have a good time. And like, if it's the right one, it's the right one. If it's a good experience, whatever. And we did that. It was so much, we had so much fun. There's like zero pressure. We were just with family. And then toward the end of the season, I ended up going out. I hunted whitetails for myself, like mountain whitetails for a little bit, and ended up killing my buck with the kids and my wife. Like, we're just gonna, we're actually going out. Like, let's go look for a Christmas tree and find. And go on a deer hunt and have some hot chocolate and listen to a few Christmas carols and maybe find some snow. And I have the sled in the back and literally just going out enjoying experience with the Kids and had an incredible hunt and ended up shooting a good great buck. So that was, that was a highlight. And then my father in law filled his freezer and got a deer and my dad shot a shot a buck and we were just. We had such a great time and I had such a great time helping people fill their freezers and. And just go out. I helped a kid on a cow elk hunt. We ended up. We didn't get a cow elk. That one I felt I really wish we would have got a cow. I was. We were trying hard and it was just bad conditions. It was like hot, terrible conditions for late season. And then it was fogged in and raining. It's like one thing or the other, it was hot and then it was raining and no visibility. The two worst things you could have for elk hunting. It was just like a couple of days to hunt. But I had a great time taking them out and just being able to help some people fill the freezer and just have those hunts that are more about the camaraderie and family and the experience around that. And that to me was kind of getting back to the basics and being able to enjoy that stuff. It. It's so much fun. There's so many aspects of hunting for me, whether it's the adventure, whether it's those, those big once in a lifetime hunts are incredible. We got to go on that and then we also got to go on hunt for antlerless doe white tails and. And bucks and just kind of fill the freezer kind of hunt. Have a good time, no pressure, not looking for anything in particular. Just getting out with friends and family and the kids and, and have that as well. And for me that was one of the highlights of just. It almost felt like it slowed down in a way. And I learned a lot through that as well. Of you know, it's good to every once in a while slow down, get back to those basics, plan those hunts that you know some. Sometimes I think we. We get sowing the weeds of what we're hunting and what it is. And of course right like chasing bull elk with the bow in September in the backcountry. There's nothing like it. But there kind of is in some ways. There's. There's something that's. There's nothing like it. But there's other hunts that are just as incredible and it could be going out and chasing does or white tails or whatever or pronghorn antelope with your. Your best friends or your brother or your. Or your family or your kids. Or your wife, whatever it is. There's so many different aspects to hunting, and it's fun to kind of engage in and do all those different forms of hunting that are enjoyable. I've said this before. I'll say it again. Like, at my core, I am a hunter. I love all kinds of hunting. I love duck hunting. I love bird hunting. I love upland hunting. I love big game hunting, small game hunting, hunting for, you know, a trophy unit, and looking for the biggest bull or elk, or looking for the biggest buck, biggest whatever on the mountain, and spending all the time to do that. And I also enjoy going on hunts where it's just like, yeah, it's a. It's a doe, antelope, tag, or what have you. Right? Like, I love all forms of hunting. Rifle, muzzleloader, traditional bow, compound bow. I just, I. I absolutely love hunting. And so it's fun to, you know, remember all those different forms of it and, and get those experiences and. And just enjoy the hunt for what it is. I think one of the. Maybe this is like the greatest travesties, the hunting is when you aren't hunting for yourself. And I think what I mean by that is, like, go out, do the hunt that you want to do. You know, harvest the animal that you want to harvest. You know, I'm obviously talking, like, within the law and whatever, but, you know, whatever makes that hunt the hunt for you. It's not about other people, right? You're the one that looks at the antlers on the wall. You're the one that eats that meat in the freezer. You're the one that has that experience with the people that you're with and. And make it about that. And when it's about that, you're gonna have a good time and you're gonna. You're gonna love the experience and. And enjoy it. And not that there isn't gonna be struggles and things goes sideways and all that good stuff, right? But that's all part of the hunt. That's all part of the adventure. That's what we learn from, and that's what we take out of these hunts when we look back and think, man, I think back on a lot of hunts in my life, and the ones that sucked the most during it are the ones that are the most memorable now. So sometimes it's those grinds and those big hunts that are the ones that are most memorable. Sometimes it's the ones that were the easiest hunt, where you're just driving around with dad looking for an antelope that you can get Close to. That's close to the road and all the kids can be a part of. And that's the beauty of hunting, is it's not just one thing, but it's a lot of things. And that's what I love about what we get to do as hunters. Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that kind of year. In review that retrospect, I encourage you to just kind of look back on your year and think about where you want to go and the things that you want to do moving into the next year. Now, next week, I'm going to look at. We're going to go through some of the tips and things that I've learned throughout the season this past year. Some of the 10 or like, we'll go to top 10 takeaways from this past season and tips and tactics that you can use going into your hunts next year. And then as we move into January, we're really going to look at prepping for that year ahead. We're going to look at getting ready. We're going to look at all the stuff involved in planning those hunts and preparing for the hunt. And that's one thing that I really like to do at the beginning of the year, is just set those intentions, reflect now, and then move into next year with those goals in mind. So we're going to dive into some of that. Speaking about looking ahead, I think one of the awesome supporters of this podcast, Vortex Optics, is all about looking ahead. It's all. They've got some incredible. Not only optics, but I think one of the things that stands out to me about Vortex is their VIP warranty. I've talked about it before, but the coolest thing about that company, it's one of those companies that, when I think about the way that I do business and business in general, I feel like they've built an incredible business around some really great products and then just like, absolutely incredible customer service. I've. I've utilized that VIP warranty as just a, you know, not as somebody that works with them, but just somebody that sends it in and like, dude, this, this has got. This isn't working. This broke. I. I've done dumb things and accidentally drove over spotting scope one time and that kind of stuff and just like, no questions asked, as fast as they can do it, they'll fix it or replace it and, and that's just, it's awesome peace of mind knowing that not only are you getting good gear, but it's gonna last. And if something happens to it, they make it right. So that's one of the things that's like. It's one of the reasons that I really enjoy working with them. Not only do I really like their stuff, but I just really like the way that they. They do things. And then also, I don't know if you haven't checked out, they've got some. They've got a great podcast. They've got some great content and films that they put out. They got their. I just was on their website and they did a cartridge. Talk about 7 millimeter backcountry saying, worth the hype. They got one of my livewild edition rifles in there that they got to shoot. So that's cool. I like that. That's pretty sweet. I just noticed that. But I had to go see what they had to say. You know, that's one of my favorite calibers now. And I got to test out and been running it this season. I don't know how I got on the 7 mil backcountry train, but it just pops in my head. But I. I had to check out their. Their video on it. And they've got some great stuff on there just for hunting and hunters and. And fun stuff to watch. So that's something else you can think about. If you guys are interested in getting something from Vortex, you can always check out my website, RemyWarn.com or you can check out more there. What they've got to offer@vortexoptics.com and check out some of their content and other things there. It's all. It's all easy to find. They got a. They got a really good website. It's easy to navigate and check out all their offerings. But I'm going to say, until next week, happy New Year. We'll catch you guys. Yeah. Next time. Next time you hear from me, it probably will be next year. See you next year. Catch you guys later. Sam.