Hunt Talk Radio, Randy Newberg Unfiltered | Hunting | Conservation | Politics | Tactics

In one of the most fun podcasts we've ever done, Randy sets up his podcast kit at the Sitka Gear Inaugural Converge Event in Bozeman, Montana, welcoming anyone who wants to put on a headset and talk hunting.  Taking the invitation are Mark Kenyon from Wired to Hunt podcast and David Brinker from Sitka Gear.  Part way through we are joined by Brian Call of Gritty Bowmen, then added to the conversation are Dustin Roe, a serious sheep outfitter from Cranbrook BC, and Cole Kramer, a Brown Bear outfitter from Kodiak, Alaska.  Topics covered are endless, ranging from sentimental hunts, untold conservation stories, hunting the Great Basin states, unexpected encounters, misses, worst shot you ever made, pressure or just unprepared, hunting with pack dogs, clients not listening to guides, the normal small dose of marital advice, videoing your own hunt, breaking body parts while hiking, language edits on camera, hunters seeing the world through a different lens, and more.

In this Episode (EP 60) of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy travels to scorching hot Las Vegas to discuss the many options you have to hunt the west every year, regardless of your luck.  Randy is sharing the mic with Lorenzo Sartini and Brady Miller of goHUNT.com to explain how many hunts are available to the person who wants to go hunting every season.  Topics covered start with Nevada as the most overlooked western state, deer hunting Arizona every year, impartial gear testing, gear that works not what your paid, application strategies, swinging for the fences, lifetime licenses, what state to live for a hunter, Wyoming is the west's great hunting, foolish TV rule that you can't shoot animals in their bed, elk hunting Idaho and Colorado every year, sharing too much information, save a few secrets, figuring it out by yourself, burn your Arizona elk points, leftover tags in Nevada and Wyoming, sharing your harvest, thermals and unpredictability, retirement v. quiting, closet pronghorn hunters, buy two buck tags in Idaho, and then the conversation gets into some serious gear discussions about trekking poles or not, high altitude cooking stoves, lightweight sleeping pads, weight versus comfort, backpacks, water filtration systems, how much food, favorite Mountain House Meals, and lots of other gear issues that can be solved at the new Gear Shop created by goHUNT.com.

In this episode of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy continues on the topic of elk and elk hunting, expanding on his new Live Video Q&A program called "Elk Talk."  In the first two episodes of Elk Talk, over 300 questions were provided and not nearly enough time to answer even a fraction of those.  So, Randy sits down with Marcus and Matthew to expand the Elk Talk Q&A session to the Hunt Talk podcast.  Topics covered include hunting hot weather, does moon phase matter, where to find consistent wind, setting data for shooting dials, tips for weekend warriors, hunts for those with more time and less money, gear to film your own hunt, how did this platform get started, fear of failure, the perfect point drawing system, using hunting pressure, public land etiquette, when to scout, don't hunt with Debbie Downer, when to stay and when to move, rifle weights and muzzle breaks, homemade camp meals, best advice ever learned on Hunt Talk forum, how to get info from biologists, Randy's big mistakes, only one hunt and what would it be, lots of Colorado-specific questions, meat care in the field, the standard question about ethical shooting distances, daily routines for elk fitness, shooting bigger one versus better shot opportunity, cow elk are trophies, don't send Randy Facebook messages, and a ton of other elk hunting questions.  To watch Elk Talk Live Video Q&A, go to these Facebook pages; Randy Newberg, Hunter, Bowtech, and Leupold.  Tune in on Wednesday nights at 8:00pm Mountain Time and you might win a new Bowtech Reign 7.

Randy and his TV crew, Marcus and Michael, take up the mics during a day when the blizzard chased them off the mountain and ruined a bear hunt.  This is a Q&A session, with all questions coming from listeners and viewers.  Topics include tactics for weekend warriors, scouting close to season opener, elk hunting success without being a gym rat, Randy's training regimen, replicating hiking elk country, Marcus' mountain relay team, how camera guys stay in shape, elk conditioning for urbanites, more fitness is "gooder," trekking poles are an elk hunter's tool, folly of shooting surprised game, complications of filming your hunt, gun safety above all else, elk is a glassing game, mental toughness grows with age, mind overcoming the body, diet and nutrition for an elk hunter, hunting with a bum liver, quality food input, home-cooked meals in camp, Super Size Me documentary, glassing techniques, gridding horizontally v. vertically, bino power choice, giving camera guys credit for spotting critters, camera guys who are hunters, public property posted as private, encountering other hunters on public land, meat care while on the road, Randy's passion for guttin' & gillin', satisfaction in processing game, best first hunt for an adult onset hunter, learning through success, assumptions by experienced hunters, Randy's favorite hunting books, YouTube replacing Randy's book deal, terrible high school haircuts, ideal tag drawing system, overlooked item in Randy's pack, easy public land advocacy, do we want dirtier air/water, hunters risking the claim as conservationists, corner crossing, and too many other question to list here.

From Missoula, MT Randy shares an early morning mic with Damon Bungard of Orion Coolers and Clay Hayes of Twisted Stave.  Topics covered include finding Sasquatch dens, traditional archery, building your own bow, #freezer function, Twisted Stave blog, elk hunts that become grouse hunts, what is a “self bow,” Orion Chronicles TV show, Appalachian backpack whitetail hunting, Backcountry College videos, broken “give a chit filter”, snake fears for fetish, antelope meat myths, hunting public land in the East, hunting jungles of Northern Idaho, Rocky Mountain Black Bear Trifecta, hunting in grizzly country, how NOT to behave when you have a bear encounter, bad hunting luck, stupid things we do while hunting, fearless black bears, elk hunting grouse stories, small game pleasures, whitetail winter range, tag filling pressures, multiple hunting motives, hunt for your own reasons, AOH Adult Onset Hunters, camping as the gateway drug, backcountry as a relative concept, high country rattlesnakes, planners v. free spirits, carving backcountry utensils, how long to hang meat in the backcountry, and a host of other campfire topics from Sasquatch Country.

In this Episode (056) of Leupold’s Hunt Talk Radio, Randy shares the mic with two of the best hunters you never met, Buzz Hettick and Jeff Muratore, both Wyoming residents and public land activists who have an amazing mix of insight to hunting strategies, public lands, and hunting advocacy.  Topics covered include Wyoming as a generous place for non-resident hunters, residents helping non-residents, Wyoming as the best elk managers in the West, use resident draw odds when applying as a non-resident, be your own hunting consultant, it’s OK to disagree with fellow advocates, non-resident antelope hunting as a profit center, tragedy of dying with money that could have been spent on hunting, Wyoming non-resident wilderness bill, the rules are made by those who show up, why State Lands are different in the west, guerilla style advocacy, using social media for activism, policy makers want to hear from you, complaining on Facebook as a waste of time, state hunting access programs, backpack antelope hunting, why everyone should be a pronghorn hunter, put ‘em to bed and fill your tag the next morning, overlooked mule deer, CWD in mule deer versus elk, migration studies, conserving the most critical habitat, and topics that will have you applying in Wyoming for the rest of your hunting years.

From the 2017 Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Rendezvous, Randy shares the mic with Greg Blascovich, Founder of the non-profit organization KeepItPublic.org, and Board Member Randall Williams.  Each having a PhD in relevant topics of history and/or politics, Greg and Randall provide perspective of how public lands came to be and how politics formed America's interest in public lands.  Topics covered include the mission of KeepItPublic, skipping college graduation to go fishing, image of hunters over historical time, public lands as an issue to align unaligned groups, animated video how America got its Public Land, importance of 19th Century politicians to hunting and public lands, excerpts from "Hunting and the American Imagination," party-ism v. conservation, inform/educate/advocate, colonists' rejection of European hunting, tribalism as a natural human element, Americans as centrists v. their elected officials as partisans, did hunters really start the public land movement, voters as apologists, factors that influenced America's view of hunters, clean water as an example of political dichotomy, binary view of the world, political communications labs, abundance thinkers v. scarcity thinkers, public lands as an apolitical issue, history of how Americans form opinions on topics, challenge of keeping a non-profit with one focus and resisting engagement of other topics, the mission of KeepItPublic being to oppose the sale/transfer/degradation of America's Public Lands.  Make a donation at KeepItPublic.org.  #KeepItPublic

Randy travels to Kamiah, Idaho to make good on an old promise he made to Rockie Jacobsen to come and see how Rockie went from being a logger to a leader into the "hunting business" of call manufacturing.  Joined by Kurt Howard, Randy and Rockie talk hunting stories, tips on calling and set up for archery, making your passion a business, how you would never start if you knew the work it entailed, why Idaho elk hunters are wired differently, the benefits of taking your grandkids to the toy store, why loggers make good elk hunters, what elk are actually saying, Rockie's stories of some fellow pioneers in the hunting call world, most fun place to hunt elk, each guest preferred place to hunt elk, finally why elk hunting cannot be replicated by video or other media and must be experienced to fully appreciate.

Randy is joined by field producer, Marcus Hockett, as they discuss elk hunting new areas, E-scouting on YouTube, Wyoming elk hunting quirks for non-residents, elk state deadlines, swing for the fences in New Mexico, skepticism that you can hunt elk every year, elk reintroduction in the east, hunting general areas in Montana, getting elk out whole, Central Idaho is for backcountry badasses, hunt burn areas, track fires today for hunting tomorrow, "pretty elk country", black bear trifecta in MT/ID/WY, trichinosis testing, ease of doing a Western Whitetail Trifecta, leftover deer tags in Wyoming, treestand boredom, hunting boundaries, the blowback of sharing hunting knowledge, hunting units with lots of private land, elk success by eliminating dumb ideas, was Al Gore (internet inventor) a closet-hunter, Wyoming elk harvest rates, CWD and Brucellosis politics, Congress members who are the greatest threats to your public lands, what you should do to protect your public lands, and lots of other things to bend your mind.

Randy sits down with three of the long-time forum members from his Hunt Talk forum who are serious conservationists and public land advocates.  Terry (Oak), Joe (Dinkshooter), and JR walk the walk for conservation and public lands, as do the groups they serve for, Rocky Mountain Bighorn Society and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.  This podcast was recorded in Reno while all members were at the Wild Sheep Foundation national convention.  Topics covered are wild sheep conservation, raising money for conservation, "accountants in conservation," missing a ram with your bow, excuses for missing, Colorado sheep as Republicans/Democrats/Independents, bighorn sheep are born looking for a place to die, wildlife disease issues, comical trophy photos, pack goats as a disease vector, improve your tag drawing odds by putting more critters on the mountain, sheep karma, public land politics affecting wildlife and hunting, missing the biggest black bear of your life, and lots of laughs and jokes.