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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 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 the Live Wild podcast, everyone. This week we're going to prepare you for that moment of truth. The shot. And while all the tactics in the wheelhouse lead to this moment, it's these few seconds of pulling the trigger or releasing the arrow that really determines that final outcome, success or failure. It's that last linchpin in the process. Now, how that moment plays out may or may not be an ideal situation. You might have all the time in the world, a dead rest, plenty of time to get your pack down, lay down, get steady, and make the shot. Or it might be the exact opposite of that, and probably more likely be the exact opposite of that. It might be a situation where you have no rest. You can only see maybe the animal when you're standing. You have limited time and you need to make a perfect shot. So this week we're going to talk about that scenario. We're going to talk about preparation for that offhand shot. We're going to look at the mechanics of making a perfect shot, no matter the situation, and how to be ready for the opportunity given. But before we do that. I want to share the story of my last hunt of the season and a whitetail buck that stood around just long enough. I guess I kind of alluded to this hunt story earlier when I was recapping last year, but didn't get a chance to share it yet. So I thought it would be a fun one to talk about today. For me, hunting mountain whitetails is a lot of fun. And so I had a late season elk hunt, just general area tag, and then had a deer tag, general area deer tag that I could use as well. And I often like to utilize that tag toward the end of the season when the bucks are running. I like to get into some places that maybe just don't have as much pressure as many people and try to turn up a good whitetail bucket. Actually probably more so. I was probably more excited about hunting deer than elk. Honestly this year toward, once that rut hits, just, it's so fun to, to be out there and you just, you, you honestly never know what you might turn up. And so my plan was I had kind of like the end of the season. I was planning on elk hunting, but I was hoping to fill my tag early and then have enough time to hunt deer as well. Well, as things generally go, the elk hunt took longer than I was expecting and I, I guess it was just more of like a cat and mouse game and, and just took more time than I was expecting. So I kind of ended up cutting my deer hunt shorter than I would have liked. But anyways, I was able to get out and one of the days during the elk hun, I actually switched gears and started, went somewhere else to go chase deer because it was just really bad visibility, just bad for looking for elk. And I figured, oh, this might be a good opportunity to try to get on a buck or turn up some tracks. Like the week before. I'd actually seen quite a few good deer this year and just had high hopes of, of just trying to turn up like a decent buck or a good mature buck. So I went out, it was a very snowy day, went to a spot that I really wanted to kind of hit, especially with the snow, seeing, okay, if the deer running, they're probably hunkered down, but they're probably hunkered down. But the snow could be a good option for tracking and turning up deer. And so ended up driving to where I wanted to hunt. And of course it was one of those days where the snow, it just started dumping snow. And generally when that happens, the deer kind of hole up and, and really Aren't moving much. But I figured, well, maybe I'll try a little bit of calling. On the way to where I was going, I had. I crossed through some. There's a bunch of private ground and stuff on the way there. And there was quite a few deer. They were all just bedded. So it kind of gave me an idea of what was going on as far as what the deer were doing. And they kind of seemed to be a little locked down. It's like one buck and doe. I use that like private land as my barometer of what I might be looking for When I'm out where I can hunt. But, like what the deer are doing. So it just seemed to be deer hunkered down. It was bucks locked with single does. So I kind of just gauge that they're. They might be in that lockdown phase. And it could be a little. Little tough to turn up, Turn up a good buck. But anyways went out and started hiking into the. The zone and doing a little bit of calling rattling. And it was just dumping snow. Really bad visibility wasn't. Wasn't great conditions. And ended up moving spots and cutting a. Cutting a set of tracks. Like, oh, this is a. This is a good set of tracks. It looked like a big track, but it was snowing so much that it was like filling in the track. So I couldn't really read the track well, But I just knew it was a cruising buck track. So followed that track. Turned out to be a mule deer buck. I wasn't able to hunt mule deer in that unit. So that was just. It was fun to actually have tracked that deer though, and got on that buck and. And seen the deer. So kept going. The weather lit up a little bit. I was able to glass a little bit and really just trying to move and cut a few tracks. Ended up cutting another set of tracks and working up the hill. I figured it was going to bet on this ridge Just the way that these tracks were going. And it to me like, it was a smaller buck track, but it was a good option. I was already on it and might as well have continued. Ended up bumping it out of his bed. I never actually saw the buck, but got on the. Where he was bedded and could tell it was. You know, I definitely just bumped him right then and decided to. To drop back down and maybe hit some areas where it cleared up that I could glass. Turned up a few small bucks. Nothing I was really interested in, but it was a good day, you know. And. And now there was snow on the ground. Which meant that the next day could be a lot better. So the next day just started out. It was one of those where it got. It was kind of foggy in the morning, but it was. Ended up getting high enough on the mountain where I was above the fog and figured, okay, the temperatures are cold. I'm probably going to be able to pick up some deer in a feeding pattern and just out feeding first thing as that sun starts to come up. So I got into a position for glassing. And just while I'm glassing, I'm doing a little bit of calling just in case it wasn't necessarily set up like, with the anticipation of this is how I'm going to find a deer is calling a buck in rattling. But sometimes in the big mountains, the deer densities are so low that that rattling does work pretty well. And it might just catch something that you didn't see behind you or. Or what have you wherever. So. So it can be pretty effective. So I'm glassing. And sure enough, I ended up turning up some small bucks, young deer, a couple little bucks sparring. I saw some groups of does. And it's like every group of doe that I does that I picked out had fawns with them. And it really wasn't the type of doe that I figured would be holding mature bucks. So my guess was a buck was probably going to be locked down in these little timber pockets, maybe just out feeding or cruising and hoping that if I saw a big group of does, maybe there would be a buck that was hanging around there and just watch that. Saw quite a few deer that morning. Just nothing. Nothing that I really wanted to shoot. Nothing. Nothing big, just younger like little fork and horns, stuff like that. Young bucks. So anyways, I decide to work up the ridge, up toward this big burn. And I get on this ridge and it just. Everything about it screams good, good spot. I can't. It's not somewhere I can glass, but there's these. Just more open little fingers. There's some dead fall around. And I thought I heard something moving through the deadfall below me. So I wasn't sure if I spooked something. Of course, there was elk tracks around, deer tracks around. But there were deer tracks in and around where I was at. So I knew that there was deer within this. This particular area. So I got up on this. This one spot and it just looked. It just looked really good. It was. It was. The sun was kind of now starting to come up, starting to warm up around there. Just. Everything about it just screamed there's a deer here. You know when you just get that, like, weird feeling that you're gonna. You're gonna run into something good. And so I decided to stop and do some grunting and rattling. So I'm sitting there grunting and rattling, and nothing. And now I'm kind of thinking, well, I do want to move up into this location. I was just. There's just something about this one particular little spot. I felt like this is the spot that a deer. Deer would pop out. And so I start moving up there, and I hear a stick crack. And it could have been. It was just. It just happened, like, very faint. Could have been a squirrel throwing a pine cone or whatever. But I just had that. I'd just been calling. I felt like this is where a deer would be. The wind was good, and so I got. I immediately got down. I got my gun up. I was already. I was ready to go, just. Just in case. So I let out a few calls, and on the ridge across from me, out steps like a doe, and she's not far. I don't know how far. Probably 50, 80 yards, something like that. So now I'm looking. I'm looking at her through the rifle scope, and my head is telling me, okay, just stay on her, Because I've got this little opening. It's like thick timber. And I have just an absolute perfect shot on this doe. And all I need is a buck to come out and cross through this thing. So she walks through the opening and then kind of stops. So I'm looking off in my periphery to the left, and I think to myself, man, I wonder, you know, realistically, if a buck was with this doe. It was just the perfect setup for a buck. A spot where a buck would lock down with it. It's just everything about it screamed in all my years of experience, this is where the buck should be. And instead of staying pinned on what would walk out behind her, I thought I caught movement kind of where she went, and she had stopped. So I decided to, like, get down and try to peek under the tree to see if maybe the buck was off to the left. And it already been through there. Maybe there was another deer there. So I'm down kind of looking that direction as I'm doing that. It was kind of simultaneous where she caught my movement, I think. And at the exact same time, I think as she started to now walk off through that one opening where she was. Here comes a nice, mature buck. Just. And by the time I. I threw the gun back up, it would have. I Just did not feel comfortable taking that shot. The buck was moving. There was stuff in the way. It just wasn't a good, clean shot. They moved, and then at that point, he started to push her. I don't know if he ever spooked from us, but. Or if they were just kind of pushing and chasing each other. Now. They were. They were kind of running. They ran down. I moved up quick, caught him in the bottom, and then they were just moving up, over and disappeared. I tried calling. I. I dropped back down, and unfortunately, they went into the. The side of the hill that the snow was already burnt off of. So I did cut a couple tracks, but never picked them back up. Drop down to the bottom to try to find tracks and figure out the best route from there and see what I could do, and that was it. It was a bummer because I felt like I just missed my opportunity. I was set up all I had. Like, the doe walked through, but there was enough time between him not showing up and me being curious that he ended up walking out. An inopportune time. I mean, it would have been absolutely perfect if I would have just still been on that spot and been ready. And so I was a little bit bummed. Ended up hunting some different areas and just not turning up any particular bucks. And so, like, kind of as far as, like, that was the time that I had to hunt. But also now it was after Thanksgiving, and I was spending. I had my family there with me. And so we just decided. We were like, okay. I was hunting by my. Like, oh, someone was filming with me, but just me and my buddy Zach were going out on that and just really, really hunting and focusing, right? And now it's like the last weekend of the season. And I decided. I. My wife and I were talking. I was like, let's just go out. I was like, I still got a deer tag. My wife had already filled her deer tag. Like, let's just take the kids out. We'll throw the sled in the truck. We'll just go have a good time. We'll bring some hot chocolate. We'll. We'll go for a drive. We'll glass a few spots. We'll see what we can find. You know, we might see something, we might not. But we're just getting out with the kids. It was pretty cold. We're like, oh, there's a little bit of snow. Like, it'd been such a mild fall winter that, you know, the kids were pretty excited about maybe getting out in the snow and doing whatever. So my Hardcore deer hunt, you know, didn't really pan out for any success. But I was going to get out with the kids, and I really was. You're always kind of hopeful, like, oh, this would be great to find something. But the fact of finding something where we can all get to and the timing and all that good stuff. Right. You almost don't have too high hopes. And so we just. I was kind of more just along the lines of thinking, let's just drive up to where. Cause the snow started to burn off. And I was like, let's just drive up to a place where we can get the. I brought the little sled. The kids really wanted to get out in the snow and stuff. So I was like, let's just make it fun. The kids want to go out hunting. They want to go sled. They just want to have fun. So let's go do that. So we're going to. Going out to do that. And. Well, I guess it was. I spotted a couple deer, like, up on the hill as we were, like, I parked the truck and was glassing and spotted some deer and looked, and I was like, man, just does here. Does there? A lot of does. And. Oh, I guess I forgot. There was a couple days before. I guess it was a day before I did end up tracking another buck. And is one of those where you're tracking him, he sees you, you see him, and the game over, right? So I did have a couple of good potential opportunities and saw a few nice bucks. But this now it's like, just seems to be does and hadn't really seen any bucks, so. But every time you see a doe, you go, oh, this could be the doe. Like, there should be a buck here, right? It's the rut. This is the time of year where this is happening. There's a little bit of snow on the ground. You get a little excited. And so ended up not watching those deer for a little bit. Nothing ended up transpiring there. So just kept going. And anyways, we're driving to go to this one spot and stopped. And my wife was like, danielle's looking across the mountain. She's like, I see a deer over there. And I'm like, oh, okay. It's a different. Different doe on different mountain. I'm like, okay, I'm gonna. I'm just gonna get the scope out and look at her and see if there's any bucks there. And so I get out, I start. I look at. I look, and I'm like, man, I just don't see any other Deer there. But, I mean, it just is weird. We've seen too many. I feel like at some point there's gonna be a buck. So I decide. I'm like, why don't you guys just stay here? I'm just gonna go investigate and. And see what I can find. So. So I started going over there, and it's, like, pretty steep. Loud. Like, it's just not ideal conditions, right? And the fact that I can't. I'm, like, coming up from the bottom, and I don't think that I'm gonna be able to. I don't know. I'm just. I'm just like, I just gotta go look and see if there's a buck over there more just to check it off the list. So it's not in my head, like, there might have been a bu. And so I see the doe. She's by herself, and I'm pretty much. I'm glassing, I'm looking. I don't see a buck. I'm like, well, I better get back. So I work up a little ways, and sure enough, look up to my right. And behind her, somehow obscured from every angle that I'd already had, is a nice buck. And I go, oh. And now, you know, I probably wasn't being as stealthy as I should because I was actually just getting out of there, to be honest. I was like, okay, there's the dough and time to go. I was still being very cautious, but, you know, in all honesty, I was probably thinking, like, all right, let's get back to the kids, whatever. And so I'm like, that's a good buck. And at this point, there is no time to find a rest to move. He's. I believe that he probably sees me, and I just know that I have a split second that it's a buck. It's a good buck. I've got a good backdrop. I've got a good shot. I'm gonna have to shoot him from this standing position. The hill was steep. If I tried to get down, I wouldn't be able to see him. I had an opening. I just moved over a little bit, lined the rifle up, put it on. You know, the scope was zoomed out. I guessed it. Probably like 150 yards or so, Squeeze the trigger, and boom, the recoil, the rifle went off. And then I saw deer running up over the top, which I thought. I didn't know if it was the doe or the buck, because in the timber, I did see. I see a white tail going up over the top. So I'M like, man, I didn't hear a hit. I had my suppressor on. Generally, you hear the big thwap. And I was kind of. I'm like, how did I. Did I. Did I just miss? Like, did I. If I did, I must have just got excited and, like, jerked the shot or something. I don't know. And so I go over there to. To look, and I. And I find tracks. This is like, some snow and then patchy snow. So it's not, like, really good tracks. It's not like fresh snow. It's all kind of frozen. The tracks aren't, you know, showing up real great. But I see where a deer went over, so I follow that, and it goes down, and then I follow it, and there's no blood, and it's like a set of tracks. I follow it down the canyon, and I'm thinking, man, you know, I guess I missed. I don't know. But part of me was also thinking that I practice that shot all the time, and sometimes it's just good to. When you do practice a lot, when you do shoot a lot, you gain a lot of confidence in. In your shot sometimes. And I never like to. To second guess. I. I kind of am always the pessimist when it comes to the recovery. Like, okay, well, I better go look. And. And I was. I was kind of, in some ways, kicking myself. Like, that was my opportunity. That. That was as good opportunities as ever going to get. I mean, I don't know how that worked out. And, you know, I'd been talking about it, hoping, and. And sure enough, got my shot. And then to get your shot and blow it, and you start thinking, okay, could I have gotten. And I'm thinking about. I'm like, I got to go back to where I shot from and reassess this. Like, I haven't seen enough to say that it's written off. And so I'm hiking up, and it's just so steep and so slick. And I go to where I'm like, okay, I see this. This. You know, I remember where I was shooting through this little opening here. Like, there's this tree. So. So I walk up there, and I'm looking around. I'm like, I don'. Any tracks. So I. I move up a little bit and end up moving up over to kind of probably where the deer came from. And I. And I see a set of tracks. I'm like, okay, this is where he walked to where I. You know, I couldn't see where I was shooting from yet. So I start following those tracks. And I'm like, okay. I think I was. I was right here. Like, the buck would have been standing right here. And I looked down, like, just right by me, right where the buck was standing, essentially. And there he was, piled up dead. The shot was perfect. Like, it just dropped him in his tracks. And he just probably dropped and rolled not very far and got wedged under this log. And I didn't see it on my first pass. Like, I walked my tracks, went right below the log that he was under. There was, like, no blood on this, on anything. It was just right through. Pretty much a perfect heart shot. And the buck was down, and it was pretty cool. It was pretty exciting. So I ended up just sliding him down to the bottom and then going back and getting my wife and kids. And we came up to the buck. They were so excited. It was so fun, too, you know, I. I actually. Between that, you know, so we set up the camera and then got some pictures, Put the deer. We actually got to put the deer in the sled and then pack it out. So we got to. We got to have the deer in the sled. Maybe the kids didn't get a sled, but they thought it was way cooler to have the deer in the sled. And. And dad got a buck and. And loaded up the buck, and it was awesome. It was such a fun hunt, and it was fun to have the kids there. And, you know, I think part of it, too, was one of those things where the opportunity was not ideal. But that shot was one that I think is probably the shot that I take the most when I practice. I mean, I sight my rifle in, I get all my dopes and things set up. But I also feel like I do a lot to prepare for those kind of moments, the moments where you. It's not ideal, but you gotta make it work. And honestly, I couldn't have made a better shot on it. I'm not. I mean, I guess it's like you're kind of patting yourself on the back in a way, But I just felt like that was a shot that I was ready for. And then that was the shot that was given. And then I made good on that. And it was. For me, I think it was one of those where I felt like at first I thought maybe I'd missed it. And I was pretty bummed. Honestly, I was like, man, this sucks. This is why it's like, you get that one opportunity. Cause you're bummed because you get those one opportunities. And then the fact that it actually worked. Out great. And I made good on that opportunity. It completely changed that moment in that encounter, in that situation. And so sometimes that's all it takes is that, that one right move and having that, I guess, muscle memory and practice that makes that opportunity come out. On the successful side. Before we dive into our tips and tactics, one of the things that I wanted to talk about was Montana Knife Company. They make some incredible blades. But the thing that I really like about Montana Knife Company, one of my favorite things about them is that it's built by hunters for hunters. You know, they. They've really dug into the American manufacturing here. They're. If you've been following their story, it's just an awesome, incredible story. They're about to move into their new facility in outside of Missoula, Montana. And. And it's just. It's really cool to see how they've grown and what they've been able to build. And not only that, but they, they make some incredible knives. I. If you aren't from, if you don't have a Montana knife, the easiest way to get some of their. So like a lot of the new designs or whatever that they have come out on drops on Thursday. So the easiest way to just understand that is get on their email list because then you get notified of the blades that are there. But I was just. I'm actually on their website right now and they've got a ton of great blades in stock right now. They've got their Magnacut Super Cub like drop Point Hunter. They've got some mini speed goats on there. Those. They've only got one color left, so maybe when I mentioned this, they'll be gone. But they've got mini speedgoats on there. They've got the Magnacut mini Speedgoat. They've got some speedgoat 2.0. Those are just awesome classic knives. The Stone Goat, another incredible knife. They've got some stub horns on here. They've got some good knives in stock. I know they've been really digging in and trying to build up that stock for people that are like, man, I missed a drop or what have you. But they've got Blackfoots on there. They've got a lot of great knives in stock now. A little bit of a hack that I don't know if. I guess I'll just say it. I know that there are knives that a lot of people or like, oh man, I didn't get that knife or I'm waiting for that drop. If there's a knife that you maybe didn't get and you're looking for a specific like you know, the one that I did with them or other knives. People always like when are those coming back? A little bit of a Montana Knife company hack is this, I mean obviously sign up for the email so you know when they drop. But like sheep shows coming up, Montana Knife company I'm pretty sure is going to be there, Western Hunt Expo as well. Some of these conservation expos swing by their booth, go there first thing on the days that you know when, when nobody else is really there because they always have a few knives that just aren't on the website that you know are popular knives that they reserve for some of these shows. So if you're like looking for a particular knife, that's the little, that's the little hack that's a little secret. Go, go check out their booth. I'll be at the sheep show this year. I've got a booth for my Live Wild and day six Arrow company so you can swing by, check out my booth there. I know Montana Knife Company is going to be having a booth. There's some other, you know, some other hunting and conservation expos that they'll be at I know as well. So that might be another way so you can see what's in stock on their website. You can check out their drops and as a little behind the scenes pro tip, you can also check out their booths at some of these hunting expos. Now you know, you might get there and they might be sold out or what have you that happens. But I know they always pull out a few like they always have something, something there that you're like oh, I didn't, I didn't see this or oh, I missed that. You know it's always one of the things that I know a lot of people, it's like the first stop they make is when it opens. Going and checking out the Montana Knife Company booth and seeing what they have and if they've got anything that you might be looking for. So just a little bit of a pro tip before we get into the tips and tactics for today. One of the things that I like to stress is the things that we can do outside of the hunting season that lead to in season success. And I think that, you know, maybe it gets talked about a lot. I think it probably doesn't get talked about enough is the value that we put on practice, especially when it comes to rifle shooting. I feel like bow hunters and, and shooting your bow, the practice part gets talked about all the time because there's such an art to it because it's, it's very nuanced because you gotta, that it's so difficult. You gotta be ready in those moments. And we talk about it a lot on this podcast as well. But I think one of the things that probably gets overlooked is the practice when it comes to shooting a rifle and preparing for that, that opportunity that might present itself during rifle season, during the muzzleloader season, during the firearm season. And it's one of those things where I think like long range shooting gets talked about a lot or, or what have you. And that's great. You know, there's the time and the place for that. There's, you know, it all. You also really develop a lot of great habits. Understanding trajectory, understanding your rifle, you know, dialing in your gear, shooting it. It's fun. I mean, I love going out and shooting it long. I mean, I've got some plans. That's like what I do a lot during this time of year is I've got a rifle, I'm gonna go, you know, get it all tuned in and dialed up. And shooting in different weather conditions, when it's cold, when it's hot, test my dopes and other things out at different distances, Ring steel, It's just fun. It's a good, it's good practice and it's good skills to have. But then there are also those times where I think majority of hunting situations. And as a, as a professional guide for over 20 years, I see one of the biggest struggles with hunters is the fact that, like, when it comes time to make that shot, getting comfortable, getting steady, having confidence in that shot, and being able to execute a good shot in less than ideal conditions, you know, so I kind of tailored my whole, like, guiding style to just creating those perfect rest conditions. But there was a lot of opportunities that maybe we couldn't do or maybe got messed up because, you know, people just didn't have that comfortability, couldn't get comfortable with the rifle fast, didn't have, you know, the skills or skill set or knowledge or practice for when the ideal situation wasn't there. And what do I mean by that? I'm thinking of so many hunts or opportunities where like this, this, this white tail was a perfect example. I had a small window to make a good shot. And in this particular setup, the uphill, like there was, if I got down, I couldn't see. There was no trees that I could lean up right there. There was, you know, not the ability to lay down, to put out shooting sticks. There wasn't the opportunity was this. It was, I could stand and shoot or I could not get a shot. And now there's probably people that are listening like, oh, an offhand shot is not an ethical shot. And I am. I will 100% disagree with that, because I think that there are people that could take a shot from an absolute bench rest. I mean, even using, like, a lead sled on a bench and shoot worse than other people that can shoot standing. And that's an absolute fact. And so it's very situational and very much depends on the skills and abilities of the shooter. You're like, well, can anyone have confidence with those kind of shots? Yes. And not just those kind of shots, but shots where you got to throw down your pack real quick and shoot, or get down on a knee and use your knee to shoot, or get the best rest that you can, but you don't have a lot of time, and you can still make a perfect, lethal, ethical shot. And in many cases, those might be more ethical, lethal, and perfect than somebody that has no practice and is still trying to get a perfect rest. Because it's a fluid motion. It's something you've done a thousand times. You're comfortable with it, and. And you're practiced in it. And so I think that when it comes to rifle shooting, we don't talk enough about the practice of shooting. And I think that there's way more to rifle practice shooting than going to a range and shooting at a bench, just shooting at, like, a stationary paper target at the range with a concrete bench and a stool and all that good stuff. And even more than that, not just laying down prone with your bipod and all that stuff. I think that when it comes to practicing for hunting with a rifle, I take the same philosophy that I do with a bow. I want to practice those scenarios that I'm going to encounter in the field. And the way that I do that is I shoot a lot. And to be 100% honest, it's probably when I'm shooting a lot is not the rifle that I'm hunting with. You're like, what? What are you talking about? Shooting a lot doesn't have to be your 300 Weatherby. It doesn't have to be your 7 millimeter backcountry. It doesn't have to be YOUR 7 REM. It doesn't have to be your deer rifle, your elk rifle. You want those to be dialed in and accurate and know where your holds and all that stuff is. Yes. But when I'm talking about shooting a Lot. I'm talking about building mechanics of shooting that can be with a.22, that can be with a 17 HMR, that can be with a.22. 250, that can be with a pellet rifle. I shoot more of those throughout the year than I do. I mean, I still, like, ever since I was a kid, I, I shoot a, like a pellet gun constantly. Like, I'll shoot ground squirrels, I'll, I'll go out, I'll just shoot whatever. Now that I've got little kids, we've got the Red Rider BB guns, right? But just building repetition through shooting. And when I'm shooting those, I'm not getting a backpack rest and like laying down and putting the bipod out. No, I'm just plinking with the.22. I'm shooting cans, I'm shooting targets, I'm shooting whatever. I'm shooting offhand, I'm dropping down, I'm shooting. I might be hunting rabbits or small game with a small caliber rifle. And all that builds is muscle memory. It builds repetition and it builds confidence and being able to steady your rifle fast. It teaches you a lot of things. When I was younger, I did like, I guess it would be like competition rifle shooting per se. I didn't do a lot of competing, but I did a lot of like indoor range shooting, like Olympic style shooting. I guess that's what it was. But it was open sights, you know, shooting at a circular target. And it's all offhand. And you just really learned a lot about controlling your breathing and making good shot and trigger control and all those things. And those are great exercises to do. And you can do that at any range. And you can just, you know, you could do it with a scoped.22, you can do that with a small caliber rifle, you can do that with a pellet rifle. It doesn't really matter. You're just really building repetition of shooting and shooting a lot. And I think that there's a lot to be said about that. Archers do it. But I feel like the, the average rifle hunter doesn't put in the same amount of time commitment that a lot of archers do. I kind of take my archery philosophy into every avenue of hunting where I'm like, okay, I practice a lot with my bow and it's all standing. I might as well practice with my rifle standing too. You know, I've had a lot of cool opportunities over the years, and one of my favorite things was getting to shoot at a range in Finland where they have these like, moving moose targets. And there in Order to get now it's changed a little bit, but you have like a while and it wasn't even that long ago. You still have to take a shooting proficiency test to be able to hunt. So like before you go out hunting, you have to, you shoot your like proficiency test and you have to. And then like how good you are depends on what animals you can hunt actually. So the proficiency test used to be, it was a moose target, I think it was about, it was 100 meters, I think, or 120 meters, something like that. So about 150 yards. It was running at about 30 miles an hour. You got three shots and all three shots had to be in the kill in the vitals at a 30 mile an hour moving target offhand at 100 and something yards. And that's how you had to pass that test to hunt. Now that the proficiency test I think has changed to just shooting a group at a stationary target. But they still have those targets to practice and shoot. And I'm like, well, that one. Their type of hunting is driven hunting. So the moving target thing makes sense. But also you realize, wow, with the practice, like to do that, to pass that test, you have to practice. And when you practice, you become proficient at it. Many of those hunters are, are making these essentially offhand running shots that are more lethal than a lot of the people that I had guided using packs and bipods and tripods and all that good stuff. Why? Because they were well practiced and well versed in that style of shooting and they shot a lot. And so when it comes to being proficient at that type of shot, practice is going to be key. And I think shooting a lot, small caliber rifle and really just going out and having fun with it, maybe it's like hunting ground, small game, ground squirrels, squirrels, rabbits, cans, whatever. Just having that proficiency in shooting is gonna go a long ways. Now the other thing that I've kind of taken from archery and adapted to my rifle hunting practice. And for the part of keeping it interesting and fun, when I go out to shoot my like, say my actual hunting rifle, I will also practice with that gun and shoot that gun offhand farther than I would ever want to hunt with it. So I've got like a 4 and 500 yard gong that I right where I shoot a lot and I'll shoot from the bench and you know, get my nice groups and I do a lot of different types of practice where I'm just off the bench trying to get the tightest group possible. And then I do a lot of hunting Scenario type shots. And one of the ones that I do a lot is the 4 and 500 yard offhand shot. You know, like what? That's crazy. That's impossible. It's like I would do this with nearly every client that I would guide. When we're just at the range getting ready for the hunt, I'm like, okay, you know, we're gonna, I'm gonna shoot. And I'd shoot the 400 yard gong offhand and then I would give them a few basic instructions and I would say 70 to 90% of them would hit it on their first or second shot at the 400 yards. Having never done it before, like, you can actually build up to it pretty quick, but it makes it fun, it makes it interesting. And also when you've got that four and 500 yard offhand shot, when you have something that 100 yards, it feels like a chip shot. It's the same that I do with my bow when I practice out to 120 yards and then I get to 40 yards or 20 or 30 yards and it just feels like a chip shot. All the mechanics have to be a lot tighter at that further distance. And once you've dialed that in, you really start to notice, okay, my breathing's a little heavy, my trigger squeezes a little hard. Okay, I'm really, I'm kind of anticipating it a little too much. You really start to learn those things when you, when you push the limits of how far and where you can shoot. So as long as you know the dope of your rifle, you can set it. So it's like, hey, if the crosshair is where it's supposed to be, and I squeeze the trigger, the gong goes ding. And I made the shot. And then getting those good mechanics of that offhand shot at those further distances really makes those 100, 120 yard, 80 yard shots that you just, you're maybe moving through country, you're still hunting, you're in a position where you can't lay down and get a good rest. You don't have as much time. That's kind of the range at which those kind of more, I don't know, spontaneous type shots happen. I think back of some of my best deer. And there I got this one general area buck, really good, deep forked 4x4. And I spotted him across the canyon, like long ways away. He was like 8 or 900 yards moving. It's like. And then he goes over the top of the mountain and it was just this sea of burned timber. So I tried to hustle my way over there, got over there and I'm glassing across and he's not there. So I'm just working down. It's all this really tall, like bear grass. The bear grass was real tall that year. And I catch antler tips below me. And it's one of those where it's. I actually there was this fallen log and I had to, in order to see his vitals, I had to stand up on this falling log. I'm like, on this fallen log, offhand shot, shoot and take a great buck. A buck that any other shot would not have worked. And it was a, it was a shot that was probably within that 100, 150 yard range. And I felt absolutely confident with it because I knew that all summer I'd been shooting 4, 500 yards offhand. And this just felt like a little chip shot. Stand up, do the exact same thing I would do anywhere else and make a good shot. And it was a perfect shot. And the buck went down. And I lend that to that. Practicing shooting a lot and shooting further than you want to hunt. Now I'll give you a couple little tips. When I shoot, if you haven't done a lot of offhand shooting, couple of things that I do, I like to shoot with my scope magnification zoomed out a lot. And even at a little bit further distances, I try not to zoom it in all the way. And there's a reason for that. So it's, it's similar. Something that I've kind of taken from archery hunting, bow hunting a lot is the way that I see it is like the same as in bow hunting. If you move your sight further away or closer to the riser, it does a few things. So you have more pinpoint accuracy the further out your sight is from the riser. But you also see more movement now, like guys that are doing like target shooting and really trying to pick a spot. And it's really this delicate balance of picking that spot. You know, I used to shoot with my sight as far out as I could get it. And then I started with it really close, went too far out. Now I've resorted back to like, it's pretty much just a lot closer. Because what you don't get so much is you don't notice all the movement. Now when you don't notice all the movement, you're like, well, is it less accurate? Is it more accurate? It kind of depends. And it's something fun to mess around with a little bit. So you could go and you Go off hand and you zoom in, and you can see the target really well. Okay. Maybe you can get more pinpointed on the bullseye. Okay. But you're also seeing so much movement that it kind of tricks your brain in a little bit of a way where you're. You. You get a little more, I would say, almost more jumpy with it. Whereas when it's zoomed out, you see less of that movement. So the perceived, like, focus on the shot and everything else seems to be more locked in. More dial. You can focus on the process more and have it, like, stay within that zone, in that kill zone where you want it longer. It's something fun to play with. So mess with that a little bit. But I actually shoot a lot better not fully zoomed in, especially if there's a lot of movement. One allows me to acquire the target, allows me to relax. One of the things that I do when I'm shooting offhand is I really try to think about relaxing. My. Like, everything gets tense, and you start to notice that. And when everything's tense in a way, you want to be steady and locked in, but you don't want to be tense. Like, I try to relax my face, relax my eyes, look through it. I actually shoot with both eyes open. So that zoomed out actually helps for that because it allows me to just focus on the spot. So I actually will focus on the spot of the animals, same way that I do when I'm bow hunting. And maybe this is just my technique. I don't know. I haven't really done a lot of digging into the way that other people shoot offhand with rifle scopes. This is the way that I do it, and I find that it works really well. So I do it the same way that I shoot my bow. I focus on the spot of the animal, and I just let the crosshair line up with that spot. Because what it does is it'll allows my body to kind of, through practice and repetition, execute the shot when it needs to be executed in a relaxed manner. That's not going to allow me. That's not going to cause me to flinch, pull or move the crosshair from where it's supposed to be or try to anticipate the shot. I'm just focusing on the spot on the animal I want to hit and lining up the crosshair with that spot. So focus on the spot. The same thing that I would tell a new bow hunter when they're going out for their first hunt. Like, focus on. Pick a spot on the animal, focus on that let the crosshair line up with it. And when it's zoomed out a little bit more, it's easier to do that. It's easier to focus on that spot on the animal. You know, you might want to mess with the focal and you go like. I actually like to shoot it like 6 power. I don't like to shoot it like 15 power. I probably put it like 4 or 6 power. Sometimes it just depends how close if I'm moving through close cover. I often have it on 3 power anyways. And those kind of offhand type shots might be because you're still hunting in that type of tactic, and you want your scope zoomed out anyway so you can acquire your target faster. So that's something that you probably want to try. And then the other thing you want to think about is that steady in practice is that steady squeeze on the trigger. You want your finger on the trigger. You want just that constant pressure. And the way that I do it is when I'm focusing on the spot I'm looking, everything lines up. That squeezing of the trigger, I'm already starting to slowly squeeze the trigger. That just becomes automatic. It's like a. It's the part of it where I'm not slapping the trigger. You'll see. I think the thing that causes people the most is they kind of panic on the shot. Their fingers off the trigger, they throw the gun up. This is where the guys that haven't practiced, they're like, it's moving around. It gets to where they think it should be, they slap it, and they are either flinching in or flinching out, and they make a bad shot. So one of the things that you don't want to do is create a flinch, create that anticipation, and make a poor shot or make a miss. So that's why it's. I think it's important to practice with the light caliber. I think that it's good to, you know, practice zoomed out. Sometimes I'll zoom in, but a lot of the times, I guess, like, if I'm shooting those, like, further distances offhand, you know, I'll zoom it into where I feel comfortable and can see good. Once you start practicing, you'll know. So do. Do still practice with your hunting rifle and, you know, get the feel for it, but shoot a lot. Shoot smaller calibers, get a lot of practice offhand off a pack. Quick kind of setups where you're. You're steadying on your knee, you're steadying on a tree, you're steadying on something Else figure out how to steady that rifle before you get into the field. Practice, practice, practice. And the other thing is you can practice steadying a rifle without shooting an actual round. You're gonna have to like, absolutely paramount firearm safety that I will stress that more than anything I ever talk about. Be safe, be safe, be safe. Fully unloaded your rifle, don't have any ammunition. But dry fire practice is an awesome way to practice those offhand shots. And that is a. What I do a lot with my hunting rifles, I might do at those further distances. So I'll go like, or even close distances. I'll probably shoot 10 to 1 dry fire shots because what it allows you to do is it allows you to, during your. It allows you to practice and it allows you to like, see your errors before without like any recoil or any feedback from the rifle. And so it allows you to really suss out where you might be making mistakes. So what I like to do, I'll do a lot of dry fire practice offhand on the target. And what I tell my ask myself is, did when that hammer dropped, when that, when that trigger was pulled, was I on target? And you should be able to definitively say, yes, I hit it or no, I missed it, and why? Okay, As I pulled the trigger, it started to break. It broke at the wrong time. Okay. I didn't have really good trigger control. Okay. I wasn't really focusing on the spot. Okay. I moved a little bit. And you really start to work through that process and you start to be able to dial in and go, okay, dry fire on dry fire on dry fire. And you start to see like, okay, I've got it. And then now I'm going to use a live round. Boom. And then gong goes ding. And it's a good feeling. And then I'll do some more dry fire shots and then I'll boom, gong, ding. And that's the way that I like to. I mean, it's an efficient way to practice with your rifle because you aren't going through a bunch of ammo. Right. Once your gun's. Once your hunting rifle is on, you know the dopes and you know, the other things, shooting it a lot is, is fairly unnecessary for the most part. It's fun to shoot it, you know, different distances and, and fun to practice with. Yes. But like live fire with your. Once your hunting rifle's like super dialed, I just continually check that it's dialed. Know that. Okay. Practice with it in different, you know, climates and other things. Really work out my dopes and understand that the majority of the practice that I'm doing with it would be something like this where I've, I've done five to 10 dry fires, fire around, five to 10 more dry fires, fire around. And I feel like I'll get 20 rounds of practice out of five rounds of shooting, which is, which is economical and builds the exact skill that you need. And so that's a really good way to practice. Obviously, make sure the gun's completely unloaded when you're dry firing. Same rifle protocols, good backstop, all that, all that good stuff, right? All our basic firearm safety should not ever go out the window ever. But so the dry fire practice is something that you can do, you know, when you could be roving. Like I talked about, if you've listened to bow hunting podcasts, and a fun way to practice, especially with a long bow or recurve, is like where you're roving around with the blunt tip and shooting rocks and other things with a rifle you can do that is dry fire practice at just getting steady. Okay, I'm, I'm getting into this position, lining up, boom. And that's just really good practice without even having to fire an actual round. You go, yep, the hammer dropped. It was on target. And these are just great ways and great exercises to go through. So when the moment of truth happens, you can be proficient, you can be that guy that's more proficient, you can be that guy that's, I would say in that top percent success category. Those guys that I know, they all shoot their rifles very well offhand. And when they get those, that's their opportunity or they have a quick opportunity where it's not an ideal setup. And they, they don't need four hours to make those like mid range, close range shots. And I see, I've seen guided guys, it's like, okay, it's a hundred yards. Like, we're, we're really. Is 200 yards. What you're looking for out of this shot in this condition is like, it's going to take us too long to find. And you've missed your opportunity because you don't know how to get steady because you haven't practiced. The practice is the key. And just going through all those things, I think in the long run will make you more successful, more confident. And also, like, for me, every time I can get that solid, locked off, steady, no brainer, bipod shot, backpack rested, elbow rested, everything exactly perfect. I do. But if there's a situation where I feel like I have the opportunity to make a shot that I'm extremely confident with because I've practiced it so much. I'll also make that shot and find success that way, too. And so having the repertoire and the skill set in the off season before the season comes around is paramount to that success down the road. I hope you guys enjoyed that podcast. When I think about the season to come, it's always fun to get out, practice, and just be ready for the opportunities at hand. I know I probably wanted to talk about this because I've got plans to go out and shoot my rifle this weekend and just practice and have fun and also just probably take a.22 or a pellet rifle and shoot a little bit with that. And I'm going to shoot my big game deer rifle too, and shoot at different distances, different ways and just, just have fun with it. It's fun to get out into practice like that and it gets talked about so much for archery and I feel like we kind of neglect it with rifle shooting. And it's something that is just as important, if not more important when it comes to a successful hunt. So I hope you guys enjoyed that. One of the things I also wanted to mention, if you guys are going to be at the sheep show, it's their, I guess It'd be their 49th annual convention. But it's open. It starts the 22nd through the 24th. It's in Reno, Nevada. So that's, that's my hometown. You guys can get day passes for it. It's pretty easy. I mean, just show up. There's. If you go to actually if you're, if you're coming in for it or you're local that I think it's a lot of the sporting stores have like $25 off coupons or whatever. So come in and check it out. There's a ton of awesome stuff. There's a bunch of seminars. There's. There's some videos in their Folk who are theater. I think I might have. I'm gonna release a film. Maybe I'll. I'll see if we can put it in there. That'd be cool. And, and I'll be exhibiting there with my Day six Arrows and Broadheads and then my livewild stuff. So if you're in need for arrows or you just want to check out what we've got, Swing on by will be there. But I also wanted to mention as well, like, you know, one of the things that I loved, like before I bought the Day 6 Aero company, I was a customer and one of the things that I really valued about being a customer was the fact that I could just call up and really talk through my setup. And it was a phone conversation that I had that got me. I was, like, unhappy with my current arrow setup. I told them what I was looking for. They were like, here's what we suggest. And I'm like, absolute. Like, you guys deal. Like, you guys know arrows, right? And I'm like, that sounds like what I want. Let's. Let's roll with it. And it, like, was an absolute home run for me. And I know that there's a lot of. There's just so much information on arrows. There's a lot of like, okay, well, should I get this? Should I do that? There's just. There's actually just too much option. Too many. Too many little things in some ways. And so one of the things that I value about our company and what you can do is if you've got a new setup and you're getting a new bow, you've got a hunt coming up that you're like, hey, I want this kind of. I'm looking for something with a little better penetration. I'm doing some, you know, a little more forgiving setup. I'm looking for this. I'm looking for that. Give us a call, man. Talk it through. Like, we are here to. To really help you have the absolute best setup possible. And we really stand by that. And I think that one of the things about day six, if you've never been a customer before, is that's. That's our customer service. That's why we're different. That's what we do. We are not a multinational corporation that's just slinging mediocre products. We are a company based in America that is building all the components ourselves. We are like, all these arrows are built essentially by hand with the absolute tightest tolerances. They. You know, we're building the best product, and we want to make sure that you have the best experience. So we're going to match you with exactly what you want. And if you don't know what you want, we can help you with that. Or, hey, you just need someone to talk it through. Like, I'm getting this new bow. It's a, you know, a new Matthews. I'm going up. I was 65 pounds. Now I'm going to 70 pounds. I've got a 29 and a half inch drawer or what have you. Like, I mostly hunt elk and deer. I want a real forgiving setup. Whatever it is, we can help you build that. Or maybe you're like, man, I just, I really like to shoot 3D targets and I want less drop. And you know, here, here's kind of some of the things that I'm looking for. Okay, we can help you build that. And then for the guys that really geek out on stuff, I think a thing that not a lot of people know we have is we have what are called our blueprinted arrows. And this is for the guys. Like, every single arrow is weighed out, every ounce of glue, every, like the spine tested, every, like, you get a sheet with these arrows. These are our blueprinted arrows that tell you, like, about each arrow in that package. And they are numbered and they have the specs. We run them through the machines. Like, every. You'll know everything about that arrow between the weight, between the, the deviation of the way that that arrow flexes. Every single thing is, is known about that arrow. And it's handmade and hand picked. Like, they don't get any better than that. But honestly, any arrow you get from us is as high quality as they get. We make extremely high quality stuff designed for hunting. And the fact that you can just call and talk to a person and be like, hey, what do you think? Here's what I'm thinking. Like, if you've got questions, I guess we've got answers. And so that's something to think about. Check out our website, day6gear.com and you know, if you're like, this is overwhelming, I don't really know where to start. Give us a call, send us an email. We go through. You know, we try really hard. I mean, we get, we'll get to everyone. But now's the time to do it. Because in this kind of particular time, and we were talking in a podcast a little a while ago, but there, there's kind of like this, a little bit of downtime where we're doing a lot of manufacturing right now, but we aren't doing as much assembling. And so it gives us time to really help you work through your setup. And so it's a, it's a great time, especially if you're getting a new bow or planning on getting a new bow. Or maybe you're like, hey, here's what I've got. I'm shooting this particular arrow, 300 spine, this length, you know, this, this weight, whatever. Should I, you know, is that, is that even good for my setup? Yeah. Okay. And you like. Or you maybe had problems and you just need somebody to be like, okay, here, here's a problem that I'm having. This, that and the other thing I'm having trouble tuning. I'm having this, that and the other thing. You know, that's, that's what we're here for to, to help you guys through that journey. And I think that it's one of the things that I value so much about our company and what Day six can do. Not only do we make incredible products, but we have the ability to just. We're here for hunters because we love hunting and we want to make the best product and the best thing that you can, like make sure that you're out there with the best setup for you. So if you've got questions about that, now's a good time. Give us a call, shoot us an email. We'd love to help you out and get you set up. So we appreciate you guys. Thank you so much. And until next week, I'm gonna say stand up, catch you guys.