The Western Huntsman Podcast

Return guest, Tyler Oaks from Timber Cruisers Outdoors joins me to share his successful hunt this September on a 300” plus bull!

Tyler shares the calling strategy that worked in this bull on September 3rd, how he moved in closer to get the bull within range, and the final steps to sending his arrow 35 yards into the bull for a lethal shot. We also discuss some rifle elk hunting tips for the upcoming Octo...

Return guest, Zach Hanson, has a new book out, The Trade Gap. His new book covers a topic that I’m super passionate about, and it’s a page turner! In The Trade Gap, Zach stresses the importance of getting people involved in the trades. He learned this lesson well when he lost his white collar job and had to depend on taxidermy and welding to make ends meet. A perfect fallback!

Zach is an excellent writer, hunter, trapper, and impre...

Blake and Justin are with HornScore, an app that estimates scores on antlers from images or video you take in the field. 

In this episode, they tell us about the app and how it works. It’s a sweet product, I’ve been taking trail camera images and scoring them in the app. This is not only useful information for me to know, but it’s incredibly entertaining! Justin and Blake share the details and the why be...

Jordan Breshears is a hunter, writer and content creator for Eastmans, and a nuclear electrical wizard of great proportion. He’s a fantastic archery elk hunter, and joins me this week to kick us off into the first episode released during season!

Jordan and I discuss some last minute gear and preparation stuff. He brings up some great strategies for locating lone bulls and quiet elk. We discuss some major...

In this episode, there is no guest… It’s just me bringing in a last minute episode as a bonus for this month. I break down mountain thermals, answer some various gear questions, and share some stories from past hunts that highlight the exact “failure point” that cost me a notched tag. It’s my hope that those tough lessons I learned will prevent you from having to learn the same one. 

Let me know what you...

Rod Paschke is a rancher, outfitter, hunter, and conservationist. He owns Sizzlin’ S Outfitters in Montana and is part of an advisory group for mule deer management changes. 

In this episode, Rod and I discuss the challenges with mule deer management, specifically in Montana. The advisory group has developed some key changes to help improve muley numbers throughout the state. Rod walks us through the wha...

Return guest, Dan Pickar, joins me for a short but action packed School of September! Dan is a writer, editor, and video producer at Eastmans as well as a co-host of the Life of a Bowhunter Podcast. 

In this episode, Dan and I key in on some elk locating tactics, stalking techniques, calling, killing pressured bulls, and tons more. Dan is the perfect guy for the School of September! I always leave with a...

Josh Caple is a friend, hunter, and member of the Conservation Coalition of Washington. He’s also a return guest and we dive into some of the latest happenings of the Washington fish and game commission. We talk about bear hunting, issues facing hunters, challenges with some of the language being used coming into the next legislative sessions, and the attempt to do a nationwide ban on bear baiting. Josh and I have a gr...

James Nash is a return guest on the show. He’s the host of the 6 Ranch Podcast, an outfitter, a Marine veteran, generational rancher, writer, and without a doubt, one of the most intellectually well-rounded humans I’ve ever met.

I knew James would be a great School of September guest, but I didn’t know how great until I hit the record button. In this episode, James discusses some deeper elk behavioral an...

I promised you guys I would find some unique School of September guests that offer some fresh perspective… Meet my buddy, Bob Capka, AKA Bugling Bob! Bob is one of the longest serving guides at Elk Creek Outfitters, and without question, the most successful guide in the history of the outfitter for archery elk hunting. He is an archery expert at Archers Afield in Tigard, OR when he’s not guiding. Bugling Bob isn’t just a wildly tal...

Tamie Fitchett is one of the owners of Elk Creek Outfitting, she runs the Big Sky Packer and Guide School where her passion is. She's a former game warden, hunter, and competes as a Mounted Shooter throughout the Northwest. In short, she's one helluva great person!               

Tamie and I get into details about the Big Sky Packer and Guide School. Anyone interested in getting into making a living in t...

As luck would have it, I met Bobby Collins on a plane ride to Maui. I was on a family vacation, Bobby was heading home. I'm so glad we crossed trails! Bobby shares his background as firefighter, growing up in Oregon, moving to Maui over a decade ago, and the hunt life he lives within the Hawaiian Islands. He is a survivor of the Lahaina wildfire, the most devastating wildfire in Maui history. He shares the story, and it's a heartbr...

This installment of the School of September features Jon Gabrio. Jon is someone I knew several years ago was going to make a huge impact on the hunting space, and he definetely has! In this episode, Jon and I dicsuss his process for locating elk. From eScouting to boots on the ground, you can't kill what you can't find. We also dive into different strategies for different types of terrain; hunting elk in arid desert country to high...

Editor in Chief at Eastmans, Todd Helms, joins me this week to offer some insight as to what's at stake in this recent public land disposal bill. This is basically something being added to the so-called "Big, Beautiful Bill" by Utah Senator Mike Lee, a familiar proponent of public land thievery and in my book, someone who needs to be removed from public office because of it. 

Todd and I delve into the recent article on the Eastmans...

Thank you all for bearing with me the last few weeks. I haven't put out an episode due to a health issue that popped up out of the blue and almost took my life. 

This episode tells the story, and I hope it provides some insight as to how you can avoid the same issue. I should be back to 100% soon, and I'm officially back in the saddle as of now. 

I am blessed, and very thankful to all of you who tune in and tolerate me every week. ...

We’ve got another special episode of the Western Huntsman podcast this week!
Guest hosts Todd Helms and Scott Reekers from Eastmans’ sit down to tackle some of the hottest current topics impacting hunters today while Jim is out. From grizzly bear management to potential public land sell...

Today’s episode of The Western Huntsman is a special one!
In a unique twist, the tables are turned as Ike Eastman, host of the Eastmans' Journal Podcast Edition, takes over the mic to interview our very own Jim Huntsman.

Dirk returns as requested for an in-depth discussion on September archery elk! We talk about some new calling strategies, lessons learned from last season, we cover early, mid, and late September elk sounds/strategies. As always, nobody delivers like Dirk Durham of Phelps Game Calls!!!

Phelps Game Calls - Use promo code Huntsman10

Dirk on Instagram

Show Sponsors

Phelps Game Calls - The game call company of The Western ...