On today's Thrive Vodcast show, Mark is joined by Jeff Helm, they are fresh off the Peax Elk and Bear Tour events, and they break down the latest Western hunting news.

In this episode, they dive into Montana's new license changes, including mule deer B tag restrictions, elk, deer, and antelope regulation updates, and a 233% increase to the nonresident base hunting license.

We also cover the brand new nonresident shed hunting rules on Montana WMAs, upcoming tag deadlines for New Mexico, Montana, Colorado, and Utah, and the growing resident vs. nonresident divide across the West.

If you're applying for tags this year—or trying to understand where Western hunting is headed, this episode is for you.

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Additional Thrive Resources

Use My Code TREELINE For Peax Discount.

Treeline Academy Courses – (Use code THRIVE to save 20% on any Treeline course)
https://www.treelineacademy.net

Treeline Podcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/podcast-main--b42b4

Peax Elk & Bear Tour
https://www.treelineacademy.net/peax-tour

In this special edition of The Thrive Vodcast, No Middle Ground Mark and Chiam cut through the noise of modern Western hunting with zero fluff and zero filter.

Has Western hunting peaked, or has the rising costs and demand finally broken the system?

Do you run a 0° or 15° sleeping bag, and what are the real-world tradeoffs, and does it actually matter in the backcountry?

UV pens vs water filters, what does the science really say, and do we even trust "the science" anymore?

Solo hunting vs group hunting! Do you prefer soul-searching solitude or shared adventures?

Llamas vs pack goats: the capability, cost, and the reality!

No scripted takes.

Just opinions, hard lines, and real conversations.

Let's get to it.

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Additional Thrive Resources

Use My Code TREELINE For Peax Discount.

Treeline Academy Courses – (Use code THRIVE to save 20% on any Treeline course)
https://www.treelineacademy.net

Treeline Podcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/podcast-main--b42b4

Peax Elk & Bear Tour
https://www.treelineacademy.net/peax-tour

Elk 101 Destination Elk Eight
https://youtu.be/f8U7GW2L3go?si=N7f93gpuq2VtGt7h

Lark Bottle
https://amzn.to/4aCubGK=

Ringconn
https://amzn.to/46OjKib

Grakksaw (Use Code Treeline For Discount)
https://www.grakksaw.com/

Today's Thrive episode is a little different.

No hunt tactics. No gear talk. No strategy.

We will get back to that, but today I want to explore a topic that's been on my mind.

It's about us! More specifically, the disconnect of the modern man.

You don't need a PhD to see it, men are drifting and some are completely off course.

Society is conditioning our boys to be soft, disconnected, and addicted to comfort.

They're not being built to lead, to endure, or even to rise to the challenges of life.

Instead, we've got men in their prime, avoiding discomfort, addicted to dopamine, and wandering further from who they were meant to be.

The modern man has become disconnected from adventure, and ultimately, from who he was designed to be.

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Additional Thrive Resources

Use My Code TREELINE For Peax Discount.

Treeline Academy Courses – (Use code THRIVE to save 20% on any Treeline course)
https://www.treelineacademy.net

Treeline Podcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/podcast-main--b42b4

Peax Elk & Bear Tour
https://www.treelineacademy.net/peax-tour

Elk 101 Destination Elk Eight
https://youtu.be/f8U7GW2L3go?si=N7f93gpuq2VtGt7h

Spring bear season doesn't start when the tag hits your pocket, it should start right now!

This year, the snow isn't normal; the prime bear elevation zones they may not line up like they have historically.

Spring bear hunting is snowline game. An elevation game and a timing game. The bear hunters who are guessing are about to get exposed.

2026? It's going to punish the unprepared.

In this Thrive episode, I'm breaking down what you need to be doing right now to get ahead of the season.

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Additional Thrive Resources

Use My Code TREELINE For a Peax Discount.

Treeline Academy Courses – (Code THRIVE to save 20% on any Treeline course)
https://www.treelineacademy.net

Treeline Podcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/podcast-main--b42b4

Treeline Thrive Vodcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/thrive

Peax Elk & Bear Tour Events
https://www.treelineacademy.net/peax-tour

Gritty Movie Night Tickets & Trailer
https://staygritty.com/pages/movie_night

Backpacking Grizzly Bear Hunt – Gritty Films
https://youtu.be/CzV_ihfnElk?si=n-4hcgpfQ9NxFCEE

Remember when elk hunting out West meant hitting the mountains, not crunching numbers, gaming odds, or dodging fine print and deception?

Is the elk tag game rigged, and are the rules changing while you're still in line?

What's happening in the Western elk tag system isn't just frustrating, it's broken. The states know it. The math proves it.

Application season is here, our annual collision of hope and reality. It's when we obsess over draw odds, dissect point strategies, and hustle every angle to and elk tag for next season.

Today, elk hunting has become a two-tiered game: those with points… and those without. The hard truth? Both camps are in trouble.

In this week's Thrive episode, we're pulling back the curtain, digging into the trends, the tag systems, and the truth about what it really takes to hunt elk in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Colorado.

It's not just about tag costs, its exposing a system that's quietly become a lottery that you pay to lose.

Do these systems still work… or are we all stuck in an expensive spin cycle?

Additional Thrive Resources

Use My Code TREELINE for a discount on your Peax Equipment gear!

Treeline Academy Courses – (Use code THRIVE to save 20% on any Treeline course)
https://www.treelineacademy.net

Treeline Podcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/podcast-main--b42b4

Treeline Thrive Vodcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/thrive

Points, Odds & Reality: Our 2026 Hunt Application Strategy – GOHUNT Big Hunt Guys Podcast – Episode 207
https://youtu.be/Q7l6mnD-ol8?si=AsGEIL3OWZnSQqHQ

On X Hunt – Elk Draw Trends: Study Of Western US Data 2018-2022
https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt/blog/elk-draw-trends?

Most Western hunters don't fall short because of bad luck—or bad gear.

And no one sets out with the goal to be average.

But somewhere along the way, comfort and familiar creep in and take over. This is how the cycle begins, and you need to be intentional to break it.

· Same familiar spots

· Same excuses

· Same half-ass preparations

· Expecting different results

· Doing the same things, in the same places, in the same way, yet still expecting different results

The Truth: The surefire way to stay an average Western hunter is to keep acting like one.

Today, we're talking about why average hunters stay average and breaking down four common pitfalls that keep hunters stuck year after year.

Hope is not a strategy.

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Additional Thrive Resources

Use My Code TREELINE at Peax Equipment for a discount.

Treeline Academy Courses – (Use code THRIVE to save 20% on any Treeline course)
https://www.treelineacademy.net

Treeline Podcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/podcast-main--b42b4

Treeline Thrive Vodcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/thrive

In the last Thrive episode, I laid out some hard truths. Montana's deer herds are in trouble.

The response to that episode was immediate, emotional, and a bit overwhelming.

Hundreds of comments, strong opinions, and a lot of understandable frustration from people who care deeply about Montana's deer herd.

But here's the thing, pointing out the problems was only step one.

Today's episode isn't about outrage; it's about your comments, ideas, and potential solutions.

I'm going to address the biggest questions you asked, and then I'm going to lay out several ideas for your consideration.

Doing nothing is no longer an option; we've been wearing that option out.

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Additional Thrive Resources

Use My Code TREELINE For A Discount and to show support for the Vodcast.

Treeline Academy Courses – (Use code THRIVE to save 20% on any Treeline course)
https://www.treelineacademy.net

Treeline Podcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/podcast-main--b42b4

Treeline Thrive Vodcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/thrive

Understanding Mule Deer & Antler Point Restrictions: The Mule Deer Working Group
https://wildlife.utah.gov/pdf/mule_deer/mdwg-6_point_restrictions.pdf

Have you ever seen something coming from a mile away? Yet, nobody does anything about it?

Montana's deer herds didn't just disappear overnight. It wasn't random. This was a slow-motion train wreck, and the people in charge of the tracks, well, they stood there and watched it happen.

That's Montana's mule deer story. From over 386,000 animals to under 250,000 in just seven years.

While other states pulled back and course-corrected, Montana kept feeding the tag machine.

Now they want a pat on the back for finally cutting a few nonresident deer tags?

I mean seriously…..

In this episode of the Thrive Vodcast, we will work through the numbers, policies, and patterns, and let you judge for yourself.

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Additional Thrive Resources

Use My Code TREELINE For A Discount and to show support for the Vodcast.

Treeline Academy Courses – (Use code THRIVE to save 20% on any Treeline course)
https://www.treelineacademy.net

Treeline Podcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/podcast-main--b42b4

Treeline Thrive Vodcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/thrive

Fish and Wildlife Commission Votes Ro Reduce Nonresident Deer Licenses
https://montanafreepress.org/2025/12/05/fish-and-wildlife-commission-votes-to-reduce-nonresident-deer-licenses/