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Travis Bader, host of The Silvercore Podcast, discusses matters related to hunting, firearms, hiking, outdoor adventure, success, health and more with the people and businesses that comprise the community all from a uniquely Canadian perspective.
Today's guest works with on X, a premier
hunting navigation tool that you can
download on your phone, use on your
computer, and if you're a Silvercore Club
member, you've already heard him share
some of his insider tips on the outpost.
He's talked about some of the biggest
lessons he's learned in the field.
Mistakes new hunters should avoid how
to handle pressure on public land,
and even his go-to advice for how
to prepare for backcountry hunts.
If you are a member and you haven't
tuned into the outpost yet, you're
missing out, log into Silver core.ca,
go to your club portal and you can
download your personal podcast link.
If you're not a member,
head over to silver core.ca.
We can learn how you can join the
Silver Core Club and get access
to exclusive content like this
and all of the other member perks.
Now, one last thing before we
get rolling with this podcast.
If you enjoy listening to this Silver
Core podcast and you want to see it grow,
I'm gonna ask you to do me a huge favor.
Take a screenshot of a review that
you've left for this Silver Core
Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify.
Send it on in to info@silvercore.ca
with your mailing address, and I'm gonna
send you a free Silver Core sticker.
As a thank you.
Now, without further ado,
let's get on with this podcast.
He grew up in the wide open
country of eastern Montana, chasing
adventure with his dad and building
a lifelong passion for hunting.
Today, he channels that same passion
into his work with On X, where he
spent nearly a decade helping shape
the way hunters connect with the land
through technology and storytelling.
From epic hunts to his role in OnX
leading Western big game marketing,
his work has left a lasting
mark on the hunting community.
Welcome to the Silver Corp
podcast, Dylan Dowson.
Thank you.
Thanks for, uh, thank
you for the introduction.
That was a heck of an introduction, and
thank you for, uh, for having me on.
It's always good to, good to
talk a little hunting, and, uh,
especially this time of year, I'm,
I'm excited that it's coming Quick.
Yeah, we're gearing up, aren't we?
Well, it was, it was Joe Appel friend
of mine in the Squamish area who
actually put me on to you and onto
on X. 'cause uh, prior to that it was
something that I'd kinda looked at and I
thought, ah, this is only for Americans.
And, uh, being a Canadian,
what has this got to do for me?
And well, sure enough, you guys are
in Canada too, and it works amazing.
And you got some pretty cool features
that are, uh, that are kind of fun.
But, um, well let, let's get
this thing kind of rolling.
Why don't you tell me a little bit
about what got you into the outdoor
space and into OnX, and then we can
start sharing some hunting adventures.
Yeah, I love it.
Um, like you said in the intro,
I, I grew up in Eastern Montana.
Where hunting and fishing and
just the outdoor lifestyle in
general is, it's easy to get into.
Right?
I am very fortunate and blessed that I
did not grow up in an area that there
was strong barriers to get into it.
I mean, heck, I've shot some, some of
my best animals within five, 10 miles
from, from the town I grew up in.
So there wasn't a big barrier of
entry of like, yeah, you gotta, you
know, apply for these tags and then
if you get them you can go hunting.
It was just like something,
something we just did.
Right.
It was a way of life.
Uh, and that's, that's what I grew up
doing and very, very fortunate to do that.
But yeah, Eastern Montana, I
mean, primarily over there.
I grew up mul, deer, whitetail
hunting, um, antelope hunting as well.
And then I, I kind of cut
my teeth on elk hunting.
Shoot, I was probably 11, 12, the
first elk hunt that I went on.
Um, and just right away was hooked, right?
Like.
The age old question, if you could
pick one animal, what would it be?
For me, it would have to be
elk with a bow in my hand.
Um, pretty, pretty tough to beat that.
I still remember the day that I
heard my very first beagle, and it
was one of those mornings that was
just like chaos and just magical
that you, you strive for every year.
And I mean, that night I heard my
first bugle and I think I heard my a
hundred 50th bugle in that same night.
Just crazy, crazy evening.
So anyways, uh, needless to
say, I was beyond hooked on,
on elk hunting specifically.
But uh, yeah, I grew up in my hunting.
When I grew up it was pretty secluded to
Eastern Montana, you know, if it wasn't,
you know, two, three hour drive for an
elk hunt, it was right close to home base.
And now one of the things, you know,
as I have expanded and especially
working with Onyx and the opportunities
that's brought me to hunt other states.
Uh, to come up into Canada
a few different times.
Um, Alaska did Hawaii this year,
went down to Mexico this year.
Hunt KZ deer.
I mean, just my, my hunting
has expanded from, okay.
Montana has a lot of really cool
opportunities to, you know, we have some
of the tools even to draw, you know,
whether it's draw odds and application
stuff for all the other states.
Like, I now have the, the tools
and the means and, and the drive, I
guess I would call it, to apply to
other states and to hunt new species
and to hunt new areas and stuff.
So, um, yeah, it's been,
it's been a pretty wild ride.
Um, actually just about a week
ago, I crossed my 10 years working
here at OnX, so a lot has changed
in the last 10 years of OnX.
When I started, it was relatively
small company, um, you know, 20,
30 folks that worked here and now
it's, uh, it's really blown up and
has, uh, a ton of employees and.
We're do, we're able to do cool
things now, like be in Canada, right?
Um mm-hmm.
We found a, a need for folks in, in the
States and we're like, we can find some,
some data for Canada and provide that
product and, and, uh, whatnot to you
guys, our, our good friends up north.
So yeah, it's, it's been a pretty
cool, pretty cool decade working
here at OnX and, and getting
to do some awesome things.
Well, what do you think the
secret to the OnX growth has been?
Has marketing and storytelling
been an, an integral part of that?
It really has.
Yeah.
And, uh, when I started, actually,
I started out in customer service.
It was like the job opening at the
time, and, and I took it, right?
So I was the, the single
person on the phones.
Emails.
There was like one other guy that
would help out when we got real
busy, but there's a good chance,
you know, if somebody had bought
the chip or at that stage, the, the
app on the phone was very early.
Um, if they had questions or
anything, I was a person they
were talking to back in the day.
So, um, you know, I wasn't always on
the marketing side, but needless to
say, I say that because you know how
much we've expanded from that day.
We had one customer
service rep at the time.
Now we hire a bunch of seasonal help as
well, but I don't know, it's probably
40 plus folks just in customer service.
Um, wow.
And, and yeah, I think part of that is
that the marketing and storytelling and,
you know, the adoption of the product, but
a big part of that is just the flywheel
of, you know, I, I give it a try, right?
If you and I are hunting buddies and I
try something that is, you know, very,
very impactful in, in the way that I
hunt and it lets me go hunt new areas
and you see that as my hunting buddy
and I'm either a gonna be like, Hey.
You have to download this because
I'm trying to send you a way point,
um, you know, to where we're gonna
meet up at this trailhead in the
dark that you've never been to and
without this way point, you know, it's
gonna be chaos without cell service.
Um mm-hmm.
All the way to, you know, maybe I go on a
hunt in a different area and find success
and like, how did you go find that spot?
I tell you, OnX, you download it, you tell
three friends, they tell three friends.
And, and it really has just kind
of created that flywheel of, um,
you know, 10 years, 10 years ago.
A lot of folks still use the
product and, and relied on it.
But today it's kind of becoming one of
those things where I'm going hunting.
I need my, my rifle and my
boots and my orange and I
better have my onyx downloaded.
'cause if not, it's gonna
be a, a pretty tough hunt.
You know, I, I love technology.
I love learning new things as they come
out, but I'm also torn because I love
doing things in an old fashioned way.
I still carry a map and compass with
me on my hunts, and I, I, I look at
the features that OnX has, and I know
I'm only scratching the surface on
all the different things it does.
Uh, I, I like, I like when I'm driving to
a location and I see areas that look good,
that it's right up there on my CarPlay.
I can just whoop, press the thing
and then check it out for right off.
It tells me, yeah.
Or I can download the maps, which I don't
wanna sound like a, a shill for OnX here.
But I'm just gonna tell you the boat,
the things I'm, uh, excited about.
I like how fast it will download maps,
uh, high resolution, high quality maps.
And a lot of the areas, most of the
areas that I hunt, I don't have cell
reception, so I want that stuff downloaded
and I can see that all up on my vehicle
if I'm driving into a location or if
I'm on the side by side or a quad or
that I get on out, uh, there's one,
uh, piece that I think OnX can do.
I'm not a hundred percent
sure I've heard of it.
I've never used it, but if you
down an animal and you can see
it, there it is over there.
It's like I shot, it's in that
direction and it kind of bogeyed
off and I'm pretty sure it's, it's
dyed over somewhere over here.
But if I laser it, it can show
up with certain laser devices.
If I do a range find, it can show up on
my, uh, app and show me how to get there.
Is that, is that fact or fiction?
Yeah, no.
That, that is fact.
We work, uh, right now with a couple
different companies and uh, got
some other ones coming out soon.
But essentially right now loophole in
six hour, uh, we work with those range
finding devices that have Bluetooth.
Essentially, yeah, you can, you
can pin on your map using those.
Um, and there's other
ways of doing it, right?
There's, we have a compass mode
within the hunt app to where if you
tap your location twice, it puts
you in what we call compass mode.
And then it has a range finder tool.
So even if you don't have a capable
range finder to connect with
that, um, any range finder, right?
So I can range something and say,
that's where I saw that, that animal,
after the shot run into the trees.
I, I know right where it is, but as
soon as I lose visual, as soon as I lose
elevation to get up to that other side,
I'm not gonna be able to see that anymore.
And I think we've all done this, right?
It's like, I, I know exactly
where that bull is standing.
I know where that bear was standing.
I'm just, I'm excited.
I'm just gonna go, I just shot it.
I'm excited.
We waited, you know,
six days, just had it.
I'm gonna go find it right now.
I'm pumped up.
And then you get up there
and you start scratching your
head, it's like, was it here?
Was it here?
Mm-hmm.
Am I a hundred yards
away from where it was?
Am I two yards away from where it was?
Everything looks different.
You know that specific bush and tree?
Mm-hmm.
From across the canyon that you pinpointed
and you haven ant etched in your brain.
You get up there, it doesn't look like
the same bush and tree all of a sudden.
So, um, essentially, yeah, you can
put your phone into compass mode
and long-winded way of saying it,
but you can arrange it and say
it's, you know, 327 yards away.
Well then in the app, I can orient
my phone in compass mode and turn
right in, line up that area and type
in 327 yards and it will drop away.
Point you can drop away point
327 yards from your location.
Lined up exactly in that
direction, um, with that bearing.
So now you're, you're, you've
got a way point, right?
You still need to go up there
and do your due due diligence.
Can't just walk right to the way
point, and you're a hundred percent
accurate a hundred percent of the
time, but I'm telling you, it will
put you within a couple feet or a
yard or two from where you want to be.
So, um, that's huge.
You can do it through,
yeah, through the app.
And then also again, uh, that
loophole, the, and sig, you know,
you can also just Bluetooth to it
and, and do it that way as well,
huh.
All right.
Well, my, my wife's using the sig.
I'm gonna have to see if
she's got the Bluetooth model
and, uh, see how that works.
And, um, the kilos, I
think is what she got.
I've got, uh, Leicas and I've
been, been working on Leica to see
if, if they'll, uh, trade mine in
for their new Bluetooth version.
But, uh, so far no luck, but we'll see.
We'll see what we can do there.
There we go.
Yeah, we, uh, we're, we're in
conversations with Leica as well, and,
uh, yeah, excited about some of the
stuff that, that we're able to do there.
And, um.
Yeah, it just goes to show that
the technology too and, and
letting the technology expand.
10 years ago when I first started
working here, there's that just that
technology wouldn't have existed.
Right?
It didn't exist.
So it was impossible to add
features like that today.
You know, we, we've got that capability
and it's also one of those things too,
where just because you can do something
doesn't necessarily mean you should.
Um, you know, to your point there
with technology and where it's
going, there's some, some things
that we probably could do that we
are going, you know, have chosen and
are going to choose not to do, right?
At the end of the day, we, we
love getting outdoors, we love
hunting, we love the pursuit.
And if we ever get to a point
where it almost becomes too easy
because of technology allows it
to, you know, there's, there's
some areas for barriers there.
Um, and that's just a good
conversation to, to keep having.
Right.
And whether it's you.
Long range hunting or
you know, you name it.
Some of the gear we have now really
allows us to be a lot more successful
and stay out there longer and
shoot further and, and whatever.
And technology.
And, and these right here, your
cell phones are, uh, another
piece of that conversation that
we continually have here at Onyx.
Yeah, that, that was where I
was gonna go with this too.
Uh, do you get many, I mean, there's
always gonna be people, especially
in the hunting firearms world.
Well, you're not a hunter.
You use quads.
You gotta use a quads.
God gave you, well you're not a
hunter 'cause you use a rifle.
I use a bow.
Or I'm a musket.
I'm a muzzle loader.
Yeah.
There's always gonna be those things
and there's gonna be the naysayers.
Do you get much heat from people
saying, nah, nah, nah, this, this
technology's making an unfair for hunters.
We get more heat from,
I'll call it spot burning.
Than we do for technology.
Um, not to say, and I, again, I'm not
really on this side of the business
anymore with customer service.
I'm sure that there's been folks
that have reached out and said,
Hey, I don't like this feature.
I think this is crossing the
line, or et cetera, et cetera.
Um, but yeah, we, we get more heat from,
Hey, I had this amazing honey hole before
OnX because I was the only one that did
the research to get back in this one piece
of public using this age old easement.
And now with OnX, everybody
knows about it, right?
We, we get more of that, um,
which I totally understand, right?
Like we, we've got our spots, I've
got my spots, I like going and I
don't like running into other hunters.
And, um, a hundred percent,
you know, that's fair.
And we, we recognize that and kind
of our, not rebuttal to get into
an argument about it, but our.
You know, our conversation back
is like, well, how many new spots
have you found because of vnx?
Right?
Like, sure, you might have that one spot
that, you know, there's a couple other
hunters that know about how to legally
get in there now and hunt successfully.
But what about all the other spots
that you found because of it?
And, and usually folks
are like, yeah, okay.
That's actually a good point.
I've got, you know, I just hunted a
brand new state that would've been
really hard to do without the tool.
So, um, yeah, there's, there's, you know,
pros and, and cons to, to some of that,
and we, we absolutely recognize that.
But honestly, it's, it's so small.
The, the feedback that we get
like that it is, uh, you know, a
percentage of the percentage of
folks that, that feel that way.
And, uh, usually we get the
stories of like, man, you gotta
look at this picture of this buck.
Like, I, I took my kid hunting
for the first time in a new state.
Like there's no way possible without
OnX that we would've been able to shoot
this buck and, and that type of stuff.
So it's overwhelmingly
positive, uh, responses.
But yeah, we, we recognize,
you know, with uh.
I, I'll say it this way, with great
power comes great responsibility
with technology and uh, um, yeah,
continuing to have that conversation.
That's one thing that I've been proud
about, you know, working at Onyx is,
um, having those conversations and
making sure that, you know, we, we feel
good about what we are doing and that
the much more important larger scale,
you know, system of, of the hunting
industry that we, we happen to work in.
So a friend of mine called up says Trav
got a general open season hunt here in bc.
It's something that I found this area I've
hunted with my family and this year, uh,
we're not able to get the family members
up for whatever reason, still want to go.
I'd love if you'd come
up and join me with it.
This is gonna be for an elk hunt, so
of course I said yes a hundred percent.
Absolutely I will.
Um, being somebody who has
a passion for elk hunting.
Being somebody who works for OnX who
can provide some tips and tidbits,
what sort of advice would you give
me if you wanted to see me or anybody
else out there successful on a
northern British Columbia elk hunt?
And what sort of things would you be
relying on or use utilizing with the
OnX app to, uh, to help in that success?
Yeah, yeah, that's a,
that's a great question.
The, the thing I'll start off by
saying there is how I use the Hunt
app and how you use the Hunt app
are going to be entirely different.
And that, the cool thing about the, the
tool itself is it's just a tool, right?
Same thing as a, a bow or a rifle.
You know, if you go, if you, if we are
rifle hunting and we both get the brand
new long range fancy Leica optic on top
and all this fancy stuff, and you go shoot
it and learn it and, you know, figure
out the dope on it and practice with it.
I don't, I zero it at a hundred
yards the day before season.
You're gonna be a lot more efficient
with that tool than I am, right?
So it, at the end of the
day, it's, it's a tool.
And there there is some, I'll call
it, practicing with it just like you
would with a rifle or breaking in
a new pair of boots before a hunt.
Um, that is, I wouldn't say required, but
it's very helpful to be more successful.
Um, so I guess that's a little
bit preseason going into it.
I would say if, if somebody hasn't really
explored the app and, and know it's
ins and outs, which most folks don't,
to your point, you know, you, you feel
like you haven't scratched the surface.
And I will say, I've said this for a
long time, that this is, I don't have
data to back this statement up at
all, but I feel like 90% of Onyx users
use less than 10% of its capability.
Most folks out there are just using it
to see, okay, where am I at on the map?
I might mark a waypoint where the truck
is so I can find it if I get lost.
And that's about it.
And the cool thing is, is they're
still finding enough value in that
to subscribe and, and still be
loyal, you know, customers of ours,
but they're so much more to it.
And the biggest thing I tell folks
is to get in there and practice.
Like, heck, last night I was laying in
bed and I'm ESC scouting for this coming
weekend where I'm gonna go put some boots
on the ground in some new country for
a, a rifle elk permit that my wife drew.
Um, but essentially my point there
is like, if you're laying in bed at
night or sitting on the couch or.
Sitting at an airport and you've
got a couple hours, get in OnX
and just tap all the buttons.
See what they do.
You're not gonna break it.
People are so afraid with
technology, they're gonna break it.
But get in there, tap the buttons, turn
the layers on, turn the layers off.
See what that does to your maps.
See how you are going to
find the most value in it.
And, and that's step one, right?
Just tap the buttons, see what they do.
Mark away point, change the color on
it, add notes to it, add a photo to
that way point, text it to your buddy.
Just see how that works.
So when you get out there in the
field, you're not, you know, when
you get out there, the last thing
you want to do is spend a ton of
time on your phone anyways, right?
Mm-hmm.
You wanna use the tool to be
successful, but you don't want to
learn OnX while you're on a hunt.
You've got better things to do.
You're out there to hunt.
So learn it before would be my first
thing, and, and tap those buttons
and share waypoints and do all that.
Fun, fun, cool stuff.
Um, and then definitely save a few
offline maps, which you alluded to.
A lot of folks don't, you know,
realize that maybe where they're going,
they don't have service or whatnot.
But, uh, regardless, even if
you're not a hundred percent sure,
just save a few maps, you can
save multiple maps on top of it.
So you could save a giant area.
For example, I've got the entire state
of Montana saved on my phone in low
resolution maps, so it doesn't take up
a ton of storage because there's a lot
of areas in Montana I don't need saved.
But I want to make sure that anywhere
I go, I've got a map, I can see
what's private, what's public.
I can see my location, I can
like get a map, and then the
areas that I specifically know
I'm going to go in and hunt.
Then I will dive into those areas,
whether it be an entire unit, a mountain
range, a general area, and I'll save
medium or high resolution maps there.
So the reason that you don't just
save the entire, you know, state of
Montana or a large chunk of area in
high res maps is that it just eats
up a lot of storage on your phone.
Mm. If you
have the storage, great, go for it.
Um, but if you don't need to be able to
zoom in really tight on the imagery and
see like, oh, that's a rock outcropping
with a tree on the right side, like
very, very specific detailed imagery,
um, you can get away with the low res
maps and then go in and saved medium or
high where you are going specifically.
So then once I cross over that
border of that saved map, now
I can zoom in really tight.
I've got like the best imagery saved.
I've got all the, you know,
everything I need there.
So learn it, save maps off on use.
And then, um, as far as layers
and stuff, that's where we really
get into how I use it and how you
use it are going to be different.
One of the layers, for example,
that excuse me, I really
like is slope angle layer.
So you turn on slope angle
layer and it kind of, it, it.
Changes the colors on your map, and at
first it can be a little overwhelming.
Uh, you got red, so you got greens,
you got blues, and it's like just a, a
color vomit on your map all of a sudden.
But you look at the top and
there's a scale bar and it'll tell
you what that color gradient is.
And so this is really helpful for
identifying, um, benches and saddles
and just if you're going up through a
Cliffy mountain, for example, it will
identify better than almost anything
else, your best path to hike to the top
of the mountain and not get cliffed out.
Um, so think of it like a topo map
or lidar, but more, almost more
detailed and based on past hunts.
I know like we, we did a spring bear hunt
a couple years ago in Idaho and we packed
out two bears out of a canyon and with the
slope angle turned on, there was a lot of
purple involved in our hike up in purple.
I now know having been in it is like
hands and feet, like you're, you're
grabbing onto trees above you to
pull you up the mountain essentially.
Um, and so especially when you look at
way points and have, when you've been
in areas that you know what it was like
to come outta that canyon, and then
you look at slope angle and it's like,
okay, now I start to understand, you
know, we want to stay in this area.
Or if there's little blotches of purple,
uh, and blue mixed within that mountain.
Those are generally cliffy areas
where you will get clipped out.
If you look at a topo map and even
three DA lot of times you don't see
those little cliffy pockets where,
you know, if you're coming out heavy
or in the dark with a headlamp and
it's raining and it's slippery.
You want to just avoid
those at all costs, right?
And the slope angle layer can really
help you depict that and help, help
A, find navigation routes for you.
B, find navigation routes
for the game you're pursuing.
And c you know, little things like
benches and, uh, you know, I've, I've
used it to find water before on the side
of a mountain and all that good stuff.
So that's one example of, uh, you know, a
layer, a piece of data that I like using.
Now you might use it and be like, nah,
it, that's not really helpful for me.
But what is helpful for me is, uh, you
know, using Terrain X on the desktop
beforehand and, and finding like north
facing stuff between 15 and 22 degrees,
um, between this elevation band, right?
Like, there's so many things
that you as a hunter are gonna
approach it differently than I am.
And again, it just goes back to
the tool and, you know, what's,
what is your method of hunting?
Too, because if I like calling in
bulls and you like stocking into them,
or spot and stalking, like we we're
probably gonna use the, the tool a
little bit different, um, you know, for
those different use cases of hunting.
So hopefully that answered
your question a little bit.
It was kind of a long-winded way of,
there's a lot to it and, uh mm-hmm.
You know,
everybody's gonna use it differently.
There's not really a cheat code.
Right.
I think a lot of times with, with
OnX, people want to say like, what
do I need to do to use it to be
successful and what's the cheat code?
And, and there's not just like,
there's no cheat code of okay, you
just bought a fancy rifle with a high
dollar liquor on top, and that doesn't
mean you can go shoot an animal at
seven, 800 yards out of the box.
Mm-hmm.
Um, nor should you, so there's,
uh, yeah, there's, you, you kind of
get out of it what you put into it.
And that is to, again, circling back
to the folks that are like, oh, OnX
just makes this easier for everybody.
It's like, well if you're, if you're
really passionate about your hunting and
you want to learn and be more successful.
You can use it to be successful, but it's,
uh, just because you download the the
OnX ONTAP does not mean everybody's on
the, the same level playing field with,
with maps and how they use 'em, you know?
So if we were to take OnX outta the
picture and you wanted to provide some,
let's say, elk specific tips that suit
your style of hunting, what would you
suggest to somebody going out, uh, if
they wanted to be successful for elk?
Are you thinking, uh,
archery or rifle or rut?
Rifle, I guess I should call it rifle.
So I primarily, I will just say firsthand,
I've shot three Cal Elk with a rifle.
I've not shot a single bull with a rifle.
'cause archery elk is
like, kind of my, my thing.
Hmm.
I like hunting them in the rut.
So all of my bull elk have been, uh.
With a bow and then rifle.
Once rifle season happens, I kind of
transition to deer antelope and stuff.
So I don't have a ton of rifle elk
hunting experience besides filling
the freezer with some cow elk.
Um, but I guess, you know, rot
hunting in general, I'll say that.
'cause your guys' rifle,
does it start pretty early?
Can you rifle hunt during the rut?
Yep.
Yeah, so perfect.
Um, how I have found my success in elk
hunting during the rut is it's a little
bit dependent on the, the country, right?
I grew up in eastern Montana.
There's elk over there in pockets,
like it's open, more open terrain.
There's timber, but it's not
like, you know, a dark black
wall of timber, for example.
Now I live in western Montana
where I'm looking out my window
to some pretty rugged mountains.
Yeah, there's some open parks and
whatnot, but primarily like there's a
lot of timber in mountainous country.
So.
If I'm in mountainous timbered
country, I love calling in elk like
it is, I, I just love it, right?
It might not be the most successful
way, the best way to kill a bull on that
particular day, but I really love that
rush of playing that cat and mouse and
having a bull cut me off and scream at
my face while he is tending his cows.
And like, there's nothing
that beats that feeling to me.
So that's how I choose to hunt elk.
Um, over here where there's
timber is I like to find them.
I like to locate 'em, and a lot of
times what I'm doing there is covering
country at night, whether in the
vehicle or on foot or just sitting
and listening to different basins at
night just to get a, a gauge for it.
There's a bull in this drainage.
I can hunt him tomorrow.
I, I, I hate nothing more than
hunting in the morning and not
knowing if there's elk in the area.
I'd rather be up a lot the night
before and hear a bugle and be
like, Hey, there's a bull there.
I know I'm at least in the game.
Tomorrow morning, because I know
there's a bull in this area.
Um, so again, I, I spend a lot of time
in the evenings and at night or getting
up very early to, to hear a bugle.
So I'm, I'm hunting elk.
I'm not just hunting, right?
I, I know there's a bull
there that I can go after.
I'm either gonna screw it up or kill him,
but at least there's an outcome hunting.
So, uh, yeah, locating him is big for me.
And then also after that,
again, calling him bulls.
Like I love getting in close, challenging
him when you can and, and having that
bull upset and coming in mad is, there's
nothing cooler, but depending on how
fired up he is, if he has cows or not,
you know, I, I'm using calling techniques
or having, hopefully a buddy calling,
uh, a little ways behind me to, to suck
in a bull and have a close encounter.
Like, that's how I cut my teeth
out cu my very first bull.
Called him in.
My uncle called him in for me.
To like six or seven yards max.
And he turned broadside and screamed.
And it was like, I still
remember that, that noise.
Wow.
That close to me as I was at full
draw and I shot him at like six yards.
Um, wow.
Yeah.
It was just like the, and actually
that bull is right here next to me.
One of, you know, just a
great mountain timber bowl.
Like it was, that hunt was amazing.
Uh, so anytime I'm in the, the mountains
in, in the timber, I, I just prefer to
call them in because it's more fun for me.
Um, transitioning a little bit
to, you know, east more eastern
Montana style hunting or just
more planes hunting, right?
Like, it's not dedicated to
Eastern Montana, but it's a
little bit more open country.
It's breaky.
It's craggy.
There's timber pockets, but it's not
like deep dark timber in the mountains.
I have found way more success
in that country located in elk.
Letting him, and sometimes
I try to get him talking.
Last year I killed a bull and um,
I, I found him the night before.
I glass him up the night before.
So I went in there.
I knew there was an elk
in the area, he had cows.
And I went in there and, uh, it
was just silent that morning.
Not a peep, nothing going on.
And I'm sitting there and I'm like,
I need to know where he is before
I commit to, to getting in there
so he doesn't, you know, win me.
And I don't blow it
before I even start it.
Hmm.
So I bugled he responded.
I'm like, okay, I got him.
I know where he is.
And then we, we kind of did that
for another four or five times.
I would cover a hundred
yards, 200 yards and sit.
'cause at the, you know, I don't
know if they're coming toward me.
I don't know what they're doing.
And so I'd sit there for a while, nothing.
So I'd, I'd bugle again.
He, he would respond.
I'm like, okay, I got 'em now.
I'd move another two, 300 yards.
Sit, wait, nothing.
So we kind of did that until I got
close enough that it made him mad.
And then he started
bugling a lot on his own.
Once he started bugling a lot on his own.
I just shut up.
I didn't, didn't cow call, didn't beagle.
And as long as he was giving up his
location, all I was doing was making
sure the wind was right and slipping in.
And that's how I've killed probably
the last five or six bulls is
letting them talk and just slipping
in and, you know, without any
of the elk knowing you're there.
'cause there's been so many times,
right, like when I shot my bull
last year, he stepped out and I, I
shot him, there was a cow like under
10 yards right to the left of me.
Just over a rise.
I could see like her ears if I were
to call and stop that bull or try to
get him to come out like that, cow's
just gonna pick up her head and see me.
I'm pretty much in the
wide open at 10 yards.
Like it's gonna be game over.
They've been with the same elk all night.
They know what elk are around.
All of a sudden you throw in
a different cow call like.
In the, the kitchen of all these
elk and they're like, whoa, what?
Like, who, where,
where's this coming from?
What's going on here?
Oft like, obviously there's times where
I've gotten away with it and I have called
in bulls in that country, but, uh, wildly
more oftentimes than not, let 'em talk,
get slip in there and, you know, get an
arrow or, you know, rifle if you can.
Obviously makes it a little bit easier
because you don't have to get in
that, you know, 50 ish yards or, or
in, um, but yeah, let 'em talk and,
and slip in undetected is, is kind
of how I've been doing it recently.
More in open terrain.
Hmm.
So I'll be, I've got a northern
British Columbia elk hunt.
I'll be on that for a couple
weeks or going up early and
then going into the rut.
Uh, I get back from that.
I'll be up to Alaska.
There's a, uh, it'll be
my first time in Alaska.
Never been there before, so
I'm looking forward to that.
Awesome.
A friend of mine.
A friend of mine, she's, uh, big
in the fishing world, April Vokey.
She says, I got this thing going on over
in, uh, uh, this company called Chrome
Chasers, and you should come on over
and let's, let's do something together.
So we'll be, we'll be there for a week.
Her and her family.
And me and my family.
And then, uh, I've got
another elk hunt in Alberta.
I've never hunted in Alberta
before, but this is gonna be
your more open planes type thing.
So, uh, I'm observing what I can
from you, from your experience and,
um, I've got a lot of research to
do before I jump into that one.
So that'll be, uh, that'll be fun.
How about you?
What kind of, what kind of plans you
gotta, uh, lined up for this season?
It's, it's gonna be a busy fall.
The, the draws were good to
us this year, thankfully.
Um.
So I'm gonna kick it off.
Uh, plans are a little bit up in
the air right now, but I'm gonna
kick it off with a Wyoming elk hunt.
So, as I was just saying, you know,
I typically archery hunt elk with,
uh, you know, I, I just archery hunt
elk if, unless I'm trying to fill the
freezer with a, a cow or something.
Late season Wyoming this year.
The plan right now anyways,
is to take a rifle.
Um, I might still take a bow
depending on, and then hit like
the last few days of archery and
then be there for rifle opener.
But that one's gonna be
a horseback style hunt.
Um, kind of a, a wilderness back country.
Like, really, really cool.
It's been a while.
You know, I, I usually do a horse hunt
every year, every other year or something.
I unfortunately have some friends
with some horses and, uh, it's kinda
like a boat, you know, that saying,
it's like the be, you know, the only
thing better than owning horses is
having a friend who owns horses.
Yep.
So, anyways, I, uh, I've done a little
bit of it, but not necessarily a. Hey,
we're going deep in the back country
for 10 days and we're, we're taking
a horse string type type of hunt.
So I'm excited for that
one to kick it off.
Um, and then actually after I
rifle hunt Wyoming, I'm gonna come
back and archery hunt Montana.
It'll be kind of a later
season hunt into October.
Um, but I found some success, you
know, there when a lot of folks come
third week of September, second week
of September, and, you know, hunt it
out and there's a lot of competition.
And then after, after that, a lot of
folks go home and it's kind of nice to
have less, less competition in the woods.
Uh, and some, some bulls
still fired up late season.
So come back in.
Archery hunt Montana, uh, followed up with
a rifle, mul deer and rifle antelope punt.
I drew my antelope permit
this year in Montana.
And then, uh, my wife, this is kind of
the, I've got a lot of hunts this year,
but this is the one I'm most excited for.
My wife drew one of
Montana's hardest to get.
Rifle bull elk tags, and she's
never shot an elk before.
Um, wow.
Yeah.
And it's, I mean, it's
a, it's a heck of a unit.
I'm gonna go put some boots on the
ground, uh, this weekend actually, and,
and scout it, learn it a little bit
better, but just the, the trophy potential
in there is pretty, pretty crazy.
And she's never shot an elk before.
So super excited for, for that hunt,
probably more than any of the other ones.
And, and just, uh, help her, you
know, hopefully shoot her first bull.
And I, I hope I told, I keep telling
her, I hope it's bigger than any bull
I've killed, um, for her first one.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
So that's, that's kind of my goal.
But, uh, we'll see.
It'll be a blast no matter what.
A little bit challenging,
because we didn't, didn't really
expect her to draw this tag.
It's so hard to get.
And we have a four and a 2-year-old
at home, so we're a gonna be
hunting and b gonna be, you know.
Having babysitters hang out with them
and grandparents are gonna be involved.
And um, but the goal, what I would
love is for them to be at least in
camp when she shoots a bull so they
can come, you know, experience that.
Um, and we did that last year with some
antelope and they were there kind of
along for it and got to experience it.
And, uh, just to see them like, you
know, we, we went fishing this past
weekend, for example, and then we
ate, ate some fish two nights ago.
And, and to see that connection, right,
of like, oh, here's what we're doing.
And now we're eating
it, and this is awesome.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, my 4-year-old, you know, he'll we'll
be eating steak and he just knows now at
this point, if we're eating burger steak,
it's elk and we will be eating steak.
And he is like, dad,
which, which bull is this?
You know?
And then he wants me to like point
to which one it is that, that
we are eating and and whatnot.
And so that's super cool, uh, to see,
and especially from an early age.
And so, yeah.
Long-winded way of saying I'm, I
hope at least that they're in camp,
um, or can be close when, when
she does, uh, shoot her first elk.
I think that's a really
important piece of the puzzle.
I think, uh, people in general are fairly
disconnected from their food and however
you can bridge that gap, whether that's
gardening in the backyard or going to
the farm market, um, seeing the process
of where food lives, if you're a meat
eater and how it ends up on your table.
And if you're a hunter, having
the kids involved with this.
'cause it creates such an
appreciation, not just for the
food, but also for life in general.
And I find that death is such a
closed door activity nowadays,
that it creates a warped idea,
uh, in a lot of people's minds.
What they see is death.
The closest thing they get
is gonna be video games.
And, uh, that's not really a healthy
representation of, uh, of life and death.
I, I think it's really important to
be raising your kids and raising your
family with that connection to nature.
Have you, yeah.
Done a lot of hunts with your wife
and of course your kids being young,
two and four, probably not a ton
with them, but is hunting with a
family a uh, a big thing you do?
It is.
Um, so my wife, when, when we first
met, she had never shot a gun.
Um, so actually the very
first time we ever, you know,
hung out, we went to, to the.
The, the country and shot some
guns and like that was kind of
how we got to know each other.
But, uh, yeah, so it wasn't, she didn't
grow up hunting or anything like that.
But, uh, we've hunted deer for probably
six or seven years now together.
Um, she shot a lot of really nice bugs
with me, a couple of antelope, um,
hopefully a big bull elk this year.
But, you know, we, we get out when
we can and, and it is important and
we, I really appreciate that time.
A lot of the hunts I do too are
like somewhat work related, and
so they're outta state stuff.
So I, I wouldn't say like we're hunting
partners every time, but when we, when we
can, we definitely make time to get out
with each other and yeah, I'm excited for
the, the boys to start coming with us and
yeah, the, the antelope last year, for
example, the boys, uh, were with my dad
in the pickup and my wife and I went out
and made a couple stocks, shot two nice
bucks, and then they were able to come.
Get pictures, you know,
with us and the animals.
And then also see like us breaking
them down in the field and, and
then putting that meat on ice.
And to me that was like very important
for them to be there for that because,
you know, like you said, not only the,
the connection to death in your food,
but it's like, here's the process and
like, here's the work that goes into it.
And it's really hot out right now
and like, you know, you're, you're
cutting up meat and getting it on ice
and that's like, we value this a lot.
And yes, it's really, it's fun to go
hunting and it's fun to get that shot
on a nice buck, but we, we really
value, like taking care of the meat
and then, you know, processing it
ourselves if you can or whatever
you, whatever you need to do there.
Um, but then pulling it outta the
freezer and being like, Hey, this
is the animal animal buck that mom
shot last year that you were with.
Like, and that connection, like you can
already just see, see the wheels turning
in their minds, which is really, really
important and, and cool to be able to do.
It's funny, some of the
similarities that I'm sensing here.
So my wife as well had never shot
a firearm prior to meeting me,
and she came from a very liberal
left-leaning, uh, family and background.
Uh, so much so, so her
maiden name is Sinclair.
Uh, she's directly related to
Margaret Sinclair, who was, uh,
Pierre Elliot, Trudeau's wife,
Justin Trudeau's, uh, mother.
There was always that sort of liberal
sentiment in the family and to see where
her upbringing was and where she is now.
What, uh, the driver for her,
she's a chef by trade, was that
connection to the food and wanting
just to be deeper connected to it.
And, um, it's funny watching people
who come from a very liberal background
and, uh, opening up to what's more this
redneck hunting, fish and sort of culture.
Not in a redneck way.
Yeah.
And, and seeing how, seeing how
that resonates with them and
seeing how their lives change.
And I can tell you without a doubt,
my best hunts have always been with
family, with, uh, my wife, with my kids.
And, uh, there's something really
special about that when you're sitting
down at the table and everyone, like,
my son is this, is this from the deer
that I shot last season going on and
telling his sister about the adventure.
I mean, there's, there's
something to that.
Yeah.
No, it's, it's really cool.
And, um, yeah, I feel very fortunate
to be able to, you know, kind of tying
it back into OnX in some sense, right?
Like I, I've gotten to do a lot of
really cool things because of the
opportunities that I've been given
through, through this job that I currently
have and, and working in the industry.
And, um, yeah, it's just expanded.
Expanded what I personally have,
have done or probably would've done.
With my personal hunting, you know,
Montana, there's a lot of things to do.
There's a lot of, a lot of
critters, a lot of seasons, and
that's kind of where my mind was.
And, uh, you brought up Alaska and I've
been to Alaska twice and they were, you
know, both kind of opportunities through
my job, uh, to go explore and hunt Alaska.
It was just amazing.
Like the first one was Kodiak.
Uh, we hunted sick of Blacktail
on Kodiak, just the, the coolest
place probably I've ever been.
Um, amazing.
And then last year went up to
Northern Alaska and, uh, I shot
a, a caribou with my bow up there.
And just another thing that, you know,
I probably, I wouldn't say that I,
I wouldn't have done it right, but
it would just be a lot harder to do.
Um, and it's less likely that I would
get to go do those type of things
without, uh, without some of the things.
So yeah, I just feel super, super
fortunate, uh, to be able to do those
things and explore new areas from, you
know, deer hunts in Colorado to Alaska.
Uh.
My wife, and actually this, this one
definitely wasn't a work one, but my
wife, and actually we got married,
uh, it's just been a little over five
years ago right in the, the peak of
the, the COVID and, uh, pandemic.
And, you know, we couldn't really
travel anywhere for a honeymoon, right?
Like it was hard to travel and
go do anything, uh, at that time.
So we, we had our wedding and got
married and kind of set aside a honeymoon
fund in the, the gun stay for five
years, and thankfully didn't touch it.
Mm. This year we, we went to Hawaii
and, uh, did our honeymoon on our
five year anniversary, or close
to our five year anniversary.
And, um, I hunted access
to deer down there.
So it was, it was cool to tie in
a, a morning of access to your
hunting in a, a new area and,
uh, be able to do that on quote.
My honeymoon was pretty awesome.
Nice.
What island?
Uh, we were on Maui.
Okay.
I, I hunted axis on Molokai.
That was, uh, that's kind
of a neat experience.
They're everywhere.
Yeah.
And yeah, it's, I've never had a deer bark
at me before, but that was kind of cool.
Yeah.
Yeah, it was, it was
an experience for sure.
I mean, we saw, shoot, we were a
little early, earlier than the rut.
Um, but we saw in one morning
probably three, 400 deer.
Crazy, I mean, a ton of deer,
only a couple mature bucks.
Um, but yeah, it was just, it was cool,
cool hunting and Yeah, I know not, not
too many guys can stay on their honeymoon.
They went hunting, so very
fortunate on that end.
A hundred percent.
Can you tell me about scuba moose?
Yes.
You, uh, yeah.
So Scuba moose, uh, that's, that's
a whole podcast by itself there.
That's, that's a pretty
crazy, pretty crazy story.
So this was, shoot, probably.
Five, six years ago at this point, maybe
a little longer even, uh, my dad called
me and he said, well, he called me much
earlier than this, but he called me and
he said, Hey, I'm thinking about doing a
archery moose hunt in British Columbia.
And I was like, you've got my interest.
What, uh mm-hmm.
What's going on?
And so him and a friend of his were, were
talking about going up and, and doing this
kind of once in a lifetime moose hunt.
Um, and it was one of those things where
I, I didn't, you know, have the money
to go do it myself, but I was like,
100% I'm coming with, uh, figure out
what it would cost for me to come, you
know, just as a, a non hunter in camp
and, and be there and experience it.
So I, I went up with him.
Uh, we drove like 35 hours from
Montana, hopped on a float plane,
you know, just crazy stuff for us.
Like I know some folks that live up there.
That's just kind of what.
What you do, right?
But, uh, it's not what we do in Montana.
We don't use float planes and,
and get dropped off in the
middle of nowhere like that.
And it was just a really cool experience.
And, uh, again, this could be a
two hour long conversation with
this, this hunt in particular, but
essentially had an amazing hunt.
Uh, the hunting was relatively
slow for the first four or five
days weather started to come in.
Um, and this was an
archery, archery moose hunt.
And the lakes were starting to
freeze up a little bit and then
they would thaw during the day.
Fast forward a couple days and
we, we saw and called in just
like an absolute giant bull.
Um, I don't know.
I mean, I've been around some
SHIs moose in Montana and whatnot.
You know, you know, you, you
watch videos and whatnot.
You know what a, a big bull
is just like any animal.
Mm-hmm.
But it was like one of those bulls
that you didn't have to know a single
thing about moose to know like,
holy cows, this thing is giant.
Um, and so, yeah, I was standing right
next to my dad when this bull came
across in front of us, like 40 yards.
And, uh, he drew and the bull, the bull
stopped like kind of quartering to us.
And, um, I videoed this whole thing,
you know, just on like a, a crappy
little handycam and whatnot and
put together a, uh, a video on it.
But, uh, yeah, the bull stopped quartering
to, and my dad was at full draw and like
I whispered his ear like, don't shoot.
Like that shoulder was just right there
and it would've been a pretty risky shot.
And, uh, he obviously was
thinking the same thing.
And when that bull went to leave,
he turned, my dad shot, got narrow
in him, and he drew his bow again.
And, and I stopped that bull as
he was kind of going outta sight.
He shot again.
Got a second arrow in him.
Um, and uh, yeah, that bull went around
embedded and there's, there's so many
pieces to this story that kind of made
it all like a really unique scenario.
But keep in mind that the
lakes were freezing over.
That's a key part.
So this bull goes over in,
in beds and another bull.
We accidentally called in another
bull and it came and got him out
of his bed, bumped him up, and
we watched him go in the timber.
And we could tell like this, it was a
fatal shot, like you could tell for sure,
but it might take a little bit of time.
So we're, we had some discussions.
It's like, should we back out?
Should we wait?
You know, should we wait till dark
and then go try and recover him?
And we unanimously decide
like, let's just back out.
That bull's gonna be there.
We'll come in right away.
First thing in the morning
that bull's gonna be there.
Let's not push him.
Um.
Let's, let's do the right thing here.
So we hiked all the way back out,
went to go get picked up, and
uh, the main guy picked us up.
We told him about, you know, the,
this crazy bull and this crazy,
you know, what just happened.
And he was excited.
And then the look on his face just changed
and we're like, what's, what's the matter?
And he was like, the float
plane called and they have to
pick us up tomorrow morning.
We have a crazy weather system coming in.
And they're worried that like, if
they don't get their hunters out
tomorrow morning, like now that
they're, we're gonna be stuck here.
Hmm.
That changed things from, like, we
were, you know, pretty high spirits
of like that bull, you know, there's
a good chance that bull probably is
already dead, um, laying in his bed.
But we're not gonna push it.
We're gonna just find him first thing
in the morning to looking at the clock.
And we're like, we've got like
45 minutes until it's dark.
Let's go recover that bull now.
Um, because we have to get him
cut up because we have to leave.
First thing tomorrow morning.
So we basically ran all the way back
there, picked up the blood, it was great
blood, found the arrow, uh, we're tracking
that bull through the timber and he, he
was almost expired, jumped out of his bed.
We bumped him and he ran
straight into the water.
Ah,
and the whole time, like the guides
were telling us like if a moose gets
hit and he, he runs into the water.
Like it's, it's okay.
Like it happens.
They've recovered several
moose from the lakes before.
Go get inflate, uh, a raft
if you need to get it shore.
Cut it up like it happens.
Not a big deal.
Well this bull went out there and, uh, and
he died and sunk and did not resurface.
And we were standing there looking right
where we had last seen him and just
waiting, you know, and waiting and waiting
and finally pulling out our headlamps
and stuff and looking and no moose.
And, you know, we just,
it was kind of a weird.
How everything happened was just
a crazy set of circumstances,
but we were just waiting for this
moose to float, and he never did.
Well, it got so dark that we were like,
we don't, there's nothing we can do.
The water was basically freezing.
So at one point I was like, what
if we built a fire and I swam
out there and tried to, you know,
find him and wrap something around
his paddle or whatever, right.
Just all, all options around the table.
Mm-hmm.
And the guide right away was like,
yeah, that's absolutely not happening.
Like even if we build a big
fire, like there's hypothermia
and, you know, risk of whatever.
So anyways, we, we hike back, go back
to the, the cabin and essentially we
devised a plan that the next morning
the float plane would show up.
We would hop in it, we would fly over
to that lake where the moose was in.
He would be floating because Moose
float and recover him and start
working him up while they start
shuttling the other folks in gear out.
And so we were still like, all
right, well that's, you know,
that's what's gonna happen.
And again, the set of circumstances like
that, the float plane ended up not showing
up until like 4:00 PM the next afternoon.
Mm.
Because of some other
things that went wrong.
And so hindsight, we could have left
him, but, you know, it's just you,
you don't know, and you, you mm-hmm.
Play the, the hand that you're dealt.
And essentially when they showed
up, we, we flew the other lake and
we did everything that we could.
Um, and there he still hadn't floated.
There was, there was nothing there
we couldn't see through the water.
There was just no signs of this moose.
And essentially the, the pilot was like,
you guys are, you guys are leaving.
You don't have a choice.
We have to get you out of here right now.
So we essentially did everything we
could and, and we're forced to leave.
Um, and yeah, it was just incredibly
disheartening when we left, you know,
all of our gear loaded behind us.
We flew right over that lake and
between frantically searching for any
sign of, of that moose and knowing
what had happened and where he was, it
was just like, you know, just the, the
craziest feeling ever of super hard
hunt once in a lifetime hunt for us.
No moose sightings to like the biggest
bull that we will probably ever see in our
lifetime at 40 yards to that happening.
And now we're going home and
there's nothing we can do about it,
you know, it's out of our hands.
So, um, essentially some, some phone
calls were made and we were like, Hey, we,
we realized it's incredibly bittersweet
because that, that meat is, is no longer
ours, even if we recover this bull.
But, uh, we, my dad wanted to go up and,
and give it one more shot to try and
find him right, to just kind of more
putting, put an end to the, the story
of, you know, we did every possible
thing we could to recover that moose.
And so I think it was July, June or
July when the ice came off, uh, and
we headed up north, hop back in a
float plane, another 35 hour drive up
there, hop back in a float plane Wow.
With, uh, all sorts of camping gear
with, uh, chains, ropes, pulleys,
whatever we could to poss, you know,
we had an entire winter to think about
how we could recover this moose if he
is still at the bottom of the lake.
Um, and we flew in there with enough
camping gear for three or four days
and, which honestly like, obviously
I wish we would've just recovered
that bull when, when he had shot him.
But it was also really, it was cool
to go back into that country because I
left that following or the previous fall
being like, I'll never be back here.
Like, what are the chance that I will
ever step foot in this country again?
And it was almost like one of those
things where you're sad leaving.
Uh, so it was cool to go
back into that same country.
Um, obviously I wish it was under
different circumstances, but, uh, we.
We got to the lake and we buzzed a
couple times with the plane and didn't
see anything, didn't see anything.
And uh, we were about to get dropped
off and the pilot switched directions
on which way he was flying the lake.
And we flew around the other way.
And I still, still remember I had
a headset on and the pilot did,
but my dad and the, the guy that
came back in with us did not.
And so I was talking to the pilot and
he was like, I think I see something.
And he turned around and went a little bit
lower and banked the plane really hard.
And he's like, I got him.
He is like, that is, that's the bull.
He's red on the shore,
like absolute giant.
Like I see him and I remember I asked him
like five times, I was like, are you sure?
This is like, that's my dad's bull.
Because I didn't want to tell
my dad like, Hey, we got him.
You know?
'cause he couldn't hear our conversation.
Mm-hmm.
I didn't wanna tell him we got him
if it, if it wasn't or if it was just
a different deadhead or something.
Right.
And so he is like, there's no way.
That's not that bull.
It's like one of the
biggest moose I've seen.
Around here and I can tell from the
plane, so I, I tapped him on the shoulder
again with thumbs up and, you know,
it's so loud in those, those beavers
that you can't really hear each other.
But yeah, uh, yeah, it was just a really
cool moment and we, we landed and, uh,
recovered him and, uh, all the bones,
what we had, basically what we had
determined was at some point, uh, I don't
know if it took a while for the ice to
actually get up there or what happened.
I don't know if a, a grizzly, like
if he floated and a grizzly went out
and got him and drug him to shore or
if he floated and pushed to shore.
But that entire embankment around
where that moose was, was dug out
and there was bear sign everywhere.
So at some point, whether it be that, that
spring or the winter before hibernation,
uh, a bear had been on that moose and you
know, had completely dug out the bank.
'cause I had video and photos from
the air of what that bank looked
like before and then after when we
got there, and it was just like.
A grizzly just lived on top
of that moose essentially.
Um, so yeah, it was a bunch of bones
in the water and, and, uh, you know,
the skull and, and that moose was,
he was in perfect shape and brought
him back home and cleaned him up.
And now he is, he's in my, my dad's shop.
Um, which again, it wasn't
necessarily going back for the
trophy aspect of it, right.
It was more just like we
knew he was right there.
There's nothing we could do.
Like we can go back and try to
recover him to, to kind of close
the, the story, if you will.
And it was more a, a sense
of, uh, accomplishment for
us to go back and do it.
Then it was like, oh, it's a
really big bull, so we gotta
go back and get him right.
It was, uh, it was much more fulfilling
just to like, we did everything we could
and, and finally we, we recovered him.
So it was a, it was a pretty, pretty
crazy, you know, from the time he
shot that bull till we recovered
him was like five months or so.
Um, and yeah, just a, just a crazy orde.
What a heck of an
emotional roller coaster.
That's, uh, yeah, it was, so I think you
flew with Nick ha's company outta Burns
Lake there, which is, uh, lake District.
I think that was the, uh,
the company you flew with.
It might have been.
We, yeah, it was, uh, Des Lake.
It was it Des Lake?
Yeah.
Okay.
I I, I saw a little clip I saw on the
back of the playing the LD on there.
But you know, those Bush pilots, they're,
they're built a little different.
Yes.
And, uh, if they say it's time to
come out, you kinda have to listen
to 'em because their threshold for
comfort probably exceeds your threshold
for comfort when you're out there.
Yeah.
I remember, um, Nick
was, uh, flying us to.
Uh, during the, um, the hunting
season, he'll fly people into different
guide outfitters areas and he set
up some cabins on a few lakes and
he is got an agreement and he says,
look it, I don't fly people in for
hunting unless they're coming for you.
But, you know, summertime fishing,
I got my fishing lodges and people
can, can use 'em and rent 'em.
So anyways, went up there with my family,
did a, uh, a fishing trip on one of these,
uh, one of the lakes where he is got a
cabin set up and we're flying out there.
And he's talking about, he says, you
know, I don't mean to scare you Trav,
but man, these things break all the time.
'cause I was asking where
his other plane was, right?
We're flying in on a beaver.
He had a 180, uh, Cessna.
And he's like, these
things break all the time.
He is going to all the problems
and issues that the planes have and
he's taking pictures as we fly in.
It was about an hour
flight that we took him.
And, uh, I'm like, what are you doing?
He said, well, you know, that other
guy at the, uh, that I had at the
docks area, he is helping load.
He's a pilot, he's a helicopter
pilot, and, uh, he also flies fixed
wing and commercially, and he's
just coming on board to help me out.
Oh, okay.
So I'm just taking pictures of the
weather patterns so that he's got a
better idea of what this looks like.
'cause he's used to these short runs.
This longer run is you gotta start making
decisions as do we turn around or not?
Right?
Anyways, uh, he's going on and
he is talking about stuff and I'm
looking like I'm not really seeing
anything that looks too terrible.
Uh, I think most of their flying's
gonna be VFR visual flight rules.
And, uh, every once in a while you
end up getting clouded out a bit.
And so your IFR, but, uh, he says,
we're gonna come around this bank,
we're gonna see it's our final approach
and it's our very last decision
making time if we hit the lake or not.
And this is after about an hour flying
and we're just about ready to land.
And I thought he was joking, just
given, 'cause I, I'm looking,
it looks fine enough anyways.
He goes in, he says, okay, we're doing it.
Lands a plane.
I'm like, I I don't get
why he's acting like this.
We run in, we get the spikes off
the, uh, the door of the cabin
'cause he is got these, uh.
Uh, plywood with spikes coming
up to keep the bears out, right?
And get the boards off the windows.
He says, okay, you're
good starting the fridge.
You're good with the
stuff and, uh, see ya.
We're out.
Right?
And so he's gone.
Fair enough.
We spend the, um, uh, a week out there.
All of our, uh, all of our fresh
food didn't really stay fresh
because his fridge didn't work.
And, um, uh, so thankfully we
were able to catch lots of fish
and that was our fresh food.
He comes back in and I'm asking
him about his, uh, his buddy.
He says, oh, well, how's your buddy doing?
I, I thought maybe he'd be flying out.
He says, nah, he quit.
What do you mean he quit?
He said, I showed him these pictures
that I took and, uh, that was it.
And he says, I can't, I don't
have the stomach for this.
Oh, okay.
So, um, then, then I sit in the
plane and the chair, the seat
breaks, and I, I'm like, I'm okay.
That's fine.
I could do an ab crunch when we go up.
He's like, Nope, if that chair, if
your seat isn't secured in properly,
we're not taken off safety first.
I go, okay, fine.
And gets his leatherman out
and he turns this screw like a
little half turn and just kind of
catching onto the back of my seat.
He's like, there we go.
Now we're safe.
I'm like, all right.
So I'm doing the crotch anyways, right?
We, we take on off and
man, he is great guy.
Uh, very competent pilot.
My, uh, uh, wife and son and daughter
and dog are in the back of this beaver,
and I'm the passenger up front because
he got a little bit more leg room.
They're all crammed in the back.
He's got the plane on the side and
he's pointing out different, uh,
sheep and different, uh, terrain and.
Uh, my son, uh, he was training to
be, become a pilot since an early age.
So I think at that age
he was about 13 or 14.
And so he's cool as a cucumber.
This is all new, this,
he's all used to it.
And my daughter and uh, wife are back
there and they see the light come on, on
the, uh, the plane and this thing start
flashing and my wife's tapping me on
the back shoulder and he's pointing out
the window looking at stuff and all of a
sudden we run out of fuel and, uh, ooh.
But it, but it's got two tanks, right?
We, we got enough room that we could float
down if we needed to glide down to a lake.
And so he's madly pumping
the thing and writing it up.
But I guess all of this is to say that
their comfort level for adventure and risk
is pretty high if they've made a living
outta flying people into the back country.
So if they've.
Call in and say, we have to get you out.
I'm gonna listen to them because Yeah.
Probably have to leave.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It was, it was just such a cool
experience and, uh, yeah, just being
in that plane, it was like, again,
it's not what we do in Montana and
Mm,
yes people have used planes to access
country and whatnot, but that part
was, uh, I wouldn't say as cool as
the hunt itself, but it was just
like a part of the experience.
Right.
And like, talking to those pilots,
um, heard some crazy stories
'cause we were, you know, a little
over an hour flight probably too.
And one way, and, and yeah, just
having conversations and learning
about their life and how they became
to be a Bush pilot, uh, is pretty cool.
And, uh, I don't know how much truth
there is to this, but there's probably
some, uh, Pete, one of the, the main
guy with us was telling us, you know,
about all of his flight stories over
the years and, and situations and stuff.
And he is like, yeah, you don't judge.
Uh.
What do you say?
Something about how you don't
judge a pilot by how many
times if he's crashed or not.
You judge a, a good bush pilot by
how many times he's crashed and
lived, and I was like, mm-hmm.
Oh, that's a, that's a kind of an
eye-opening statement of like, oh yeah,
that guy's crashed a few planes, but
he lives, he's like, he's still flying.
He is doing good.
Uh, which is a kind of a crazy,
crazy ordeal, but, uh, yeah, just a
different, different way of transport
up there and it's, it was pretty cool.
That
is neat.
Is there anything that we
should be talking about that
we haven't talked about?
I don't think so.
Um, yeah, I mean, I guess to, to kind
of bring full circle to the OnX side of
things, but, uh, on X is in Canada now.
Download it, try it free.
Uh, if, if you haven't already, and,
and, uh, put it to use on your hunts.
Let us know what you think of it.
And specifically with Canada, if there's
anything that, you know, we feel that
you guys feel that, uh, we should
add, um, or different, let us know.
We, we love.
Listening to customer's feedback and, you
know, I've got limited experience hunting
in Canada that the story I just told.
And, um, I hunted some black
bears in Saskatchewan last year,
um, actually earlier this spring.
But, uh, yeah, we want to hear from the
folks that are out there using it, like
what is, what's helpful, what's not, uh,
what would you like to see in the product?
But, uh, yeah, I mean the biggest thing
again on XY is just download it for
free, try it, and uh, hopefully it's
one of those tools that helps you,
you know, go more places, explore new
country and, and find more success.
Really
amazing.
Dylan, thank you very much for
being on this Silver Corp podcast.
Yeah, thank you for having me.