Transition Wild - Sportsmen's Empire

Today on the Transition Wild Podcast, I am joined by returning guest, Fred Bohm. It’s always a pleasure having Fred on the show to talk hunting and this episode was a lot of fun. During our discussion, Fred walks us through his season so far and all of the exciting animals he’s been chasing with a bow in hand throughout 2020. We start things off with his recent elk hunts in Wyoming and Colorado, where he was able to take a cow and bull on public land within about a week time frame, on back...

Today I’m covering my recent archery mule deer hunt from early September in Colorado where I cover the events that unfolded during the hunt, as well as the preparation that lead up to it. I begin by covering how I decided on a certain unit and the reasons why I chose to do this hunt in the first place. I then talk about the preparation such as totally revamping my bow and shooting form, along with physical fitness for an above tree-line excursion around 13,000 feet elevation. I then cover my...

Today I’m joined by my friend Ben Guttormson for another badass elk hunting podcast. What’s cool about this episode is that it’s positioned as a question and answer format of various hunting situational and preparation scenarios, where Ben explains what he would do and the reasons why. During our discussion of preparation, I have him rank five categories of scouting, fitness, shooting, gear, and calling and how he prioritizes them in order of most important to least important. I also have...

Today we have Cody Rich on the show to hit us with all kinds of elk hunting knowledge, advice, and wisdom. For those of you who might not be familiar with Cody, he hosts The Rich Outdoors Podcast and talks with some truly remarkable guests on elk hunting tactics and strategy. In addition to that, Cody has many years of hunting experience and many bulls under his belt to boot so he is walking book of elk hunting knowledge, to say the least. We cover a number of topics during this episode but...

Today my guest is Tim Andrews, owner and operator of Gypsum Creek Outfitters, based in Gypsum Colorado. Tim grew up in New York hunting whitetails, moved to Colorado in 2013 and instantly fell in love with elk hunting in the mountains. Tim is an everyday, DIY guy that followed his passion and purchased this outfitting business in 2019 to make a lifelong dream come true. During this episode, we talk about his progression as an elk hunter and how it ultimately led him to owning and running a...

Today we have a really cool episode where we are talking solo, DIY public land elk hunting with Brandon Mcdonald. Brandon embarked on his first archery elk hunt in 2019 and we cover everything from preparation, gear, the highlights, and the struggles. We also talk about what he learned from his experiences and what he changing up for 2020 in order to tip the odds in his favor. It takes grit and a whole lot of mental toughness to keep grinding even when every voice inside your head is...

On this episode, we are joined by returning guest, Cliff Gray of Flat Tops Wilderness Guides to talk about what you should be doing right now to prepare for an elk or deer hunt in the west this fall. Cliff walks us through why gear is important, but also why it shouldn’t necessarily be at the top of your list based. We also touch on a 2020 Colorado hunting outlook where we highlight a number of potential outcomes based on various weather patterns and changes in hunting pressure due to the...

Today we are joined by Justin Allen, founder of Woodroad Gear Co. to talk about his high quality, performance based socks that are built for western hunters and outdoorsman. If there is one thing for sure when it comes to mountain hunting, your feet are everything so its important to have a good pair of socks inside your boots. Prior to this episode, I thought socks were just “socks” and I never put much thought into the design and technology, but Justin explains what makes Woodroad Gear...

Today I talk with Dan ‘The Man’ Johnson about our upcoming mule deer archery hunts that we have planned for later this Fall. Dan will be chasing muleys again in South Dakota and I’ll be partaking in my first archery mule deer hunt in Colorado. Dan and I both describe our scouting process and our hunting styles based on the areas we will be hunting. We also cover a little bit of turkey hunting, shed hunting, and a much anticipated Michigan public land whitetail hunt for Dan later this year....

On today’s Transition Wild podcast, we are joined by PJ Delhomme, hunting editor of Bugle which is a nationally published magazine by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Ever since I moved to Colorado in 2015, I’ve been a member of RMEF and I sincerely enjoy reading every issue of Bugle so it was a true pleasure being able to sit down with PJ. To start off the episode we talk about PJ’s background of where he grew up, how he got into hunting, and his path that lead him to working and writing...

Today I’m joined by Garrett Roe, owner of Heads Up Decoy to talk Spring Turkey hunting and tactics for chasing birds on the ground with a decoy. During the first half of the episode, Garrett gives us a number of tips and strategies to get aggressive on Spring turkeys. We also cover some of the product features of a Heads Up Turkey Decoy and how they are portable, durable, versatile and lightweight. During the second half of the episode, we transition to the story of Garrett’s whitetail he...

On today’s episode, I talk with Brian Sommers, a Montana Game Warden who specializes in criminal investigation and grizzly bear attack training. Brian has been working with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks for over 35 years and has helped develop wildlife attack response guidelines for Montana FWP. We discuss various topics all revolving around grizzly bear and black bear attacks in Montana, how officers conduct investigations and why they are important. We also talk about high risk...

We are already half way through March and before we know it, elk season will be knocking at the door. In today’s episode, I cover 2020 elk hunting in Colorado and what you should expect for archery and rifle seasons later this Fall based on some changes to the season dates and hunting pressure. I also cover some highlights of the 2020 big game application period which is currently open and why you should be applying for preference points during this time. I then cover how to nail down a...

Today I’m joined by Kristin Cannon of Colorado Parks and Wildlife to talk about laws and regulations revolving around big game hunting in Colorado. Kristin has worked for the agency for many years and gives us a background of how she got started in the field of biology and wildlife enforcement. With the big game application period opening up in March, we talk about recent changes for the 2020 draw and new things you should be aware of. We also cover the five-year big game structure season...

Today we are joined by Mike Mershon, a resident of Montana who hunts elk each fall in grizzly country. Since moving to Montana in the 90’s, Mike has grown up hunting among grizzly bears and even though it is second nature to him, he has had some pretty crazy experiences over the years. We talk in depth about his gear preparation against grizzlies which includes bear spray and a side arm for protection. Mike covers how he carries his handgun, where his holster location is, and how he is able...

Today we are joined by Morgan Lommele of People For Bikes to talk about laws, policies, and information pertaining to the use of electric bicycles on public lands. A big reason for recording this episode is not only because I work for QuietKat, an electric bike manufacturer based in Eagle, Colorado but also because I’m an avid e-bike rider on public lands. During the podcast, we cover what People For Bikes does to help with bike and e-bike access on public lands, trails, and roadways and...

My guest today is Matt Dunfee, Director of the CWD Alliance, where we cover the current state of Chronic Wasting Disease in Colorado. We begin by covering what CWD is, what a prion is, how it spreads, and why we should be concerned as hunters and outdoorsman. We then talk about what the history of the disease in Colorado and the prevalence percentage of deer and elk in the state. We then discuss what Colorado Parks and Wildlife is doing to actively manage CWD and the action plan revolving...

Today we are joined by Curt Headington, Vice President of Xpedition Archery, a leading compound bow manufacturer based in Decorah Iowa. During this episode we cover the 2020 lineup of bows which include their flag ship models MX15 and M16 as well as the Denali LX, Xscape, Mountaineer X, Thresher X, and the Perfextion XL. Curt walks us through the entire multi-year process from concept to production on what it takes to manufacture a premium bow in today’s world. We also cover many...

Today I’m joined by returning guest and all-around hunting badass, Fred Bohm. We start off the podcast with a recap of his 2019 hunting season which included antelope, high-country mule deer, and multiple states for whitetails where we cover some the successes, failures, and lessons learned along way. We also talk about introducing his kids to hunting and the outdoors by involving them in every process at a young age. Fred then walks us through his photography series on his website, which...

Today we are joined by returning guest, Cliff Gray who is the owner of Flat Tops Wilderness Guides where we discuss all things related to elk and deer hunting in Colorado. During this podcast, we dive into a recap of the 2019 hunting conditions, success rates and setting realistic expectations for public land elk hunting. We also talk about weather related trends and how precipitation can affect elk and elk hunting conditions. We talk about the current and future state of elk/deer hunting...