We talk with author and trapper Zach Hansen about late-onset hunting, moving to remote Idaho, and why trapping wolves sharpened every other outdoor skill. The path runs through failure, grit, and reclaiming trades we let slip as a country.

• adult-onset hunting sparked by nutrition and self-reliance
• moving to a 35-person Idaho town at the end of an 80-mile dirt road
• bowhunting mistakes, missed shots, and learning discipline
• Sawtooth terrain realities and the mental game of backcountry hunts
• why trades and shop-class skills matter for modern life
• trapping as the fastest route to woodsmanship and animal behavior
• wolf population growth, management needs, and scent control
• policy pressure from lawsuits vs strong local support
• respect for predators, ethical realities, and community mentorship

Make sure you go check Zach out. Make sure you go check out his podcast and his books. If you want to find out more about trapping or how to get into it, don't hesitate. Please hit Zach up. If he can't, he will be able to find somebody and tell them to help you out.

We go deep on Florida’s brutal public land, the move back to New England, and how faith, family, and photography shape a better hunter and a better neighbor. AJ shares bear management realities, turkey plans, and the gear choices that build confidence when pressure rises.

• Florida’s extreme hunts and shifting rut windows
• Learning WMAs, quotas, and local regs
• Moving to Connecticut and finding community
• Balancing family time with a realistic season
• Photography as memory, mentorship, and meaning
• Bear populations, policy, and ethical methods
• Arrow builds for consistency and forgiveness
• Why turkey hunting fuels group camaraderie
• Keeping confidence over hype in gear choices

Make sure you guys go give him a follow. The link will be down in the description below

We dive deep into the 70 Rule with Brandon Barlow, a revolutionary system for timing your whitetail hunts based on fawn development and historical data rather than generic rut predictions.

• Using fawn births to backdate and identify when your local rut actually occurs
• How the 70 Rule gets its name from three key metrics - spots, track size, and body weight
• The story of the 20-point "Magnolia Buck" killed through four years of pattern documentation
• Why bucks found doing natural daylight behaviors are more consistent and easier to kill than those pulled by bait
• The importance of distinguishing between daylight and nighttime buck behavior
• The four types of food sources deer use and how to hunt them strategically
• Why focusing on the "first food" when deer leave bedding areas creates high-percentage shot opportunities
• Details on Brandon's upcoming books explaining his system and the history of whitetail hunting

To learn more about the 70 Rule and Brandon's system, visit https://the70rule.com/or follow https://www.instagram.com/_brandon_barlow?igsh=MTVteDJzMnpyenoxdQ== on Instagram. Brandon has set aside a budget for free books for podcast listeners - reach out to him directly to request a copy.

Help support our show and also our sponsors

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