Big Hunt Guys

This year we are giving you a double dose of noises in the dark, unexplained encounters in the backcountry, and experiences that will never make sense. The Big Hunt Guys are sharing listener-submitted spooky stories from the hunting woods. From unsettling nights in the mountains to encounters that are hard to explain, these are the stories that make you think twice about being alone in the backcountry.

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Noises in the dark, unexplained encounters in the backcountry, and experiences that will never make sense. This Halloween, the Big Hunt Guys are sharing listener-submitted spooky stories from the hunting woods. From unsettling nights in the mountains to encounters that are hard to explain, these are the stories that make you think twice about being alone in the backcountry. We've got close encounters with lions, unexplained visitors in the night, and strange floating balls of light. Turn off the lights, settle in, and decide for yourself what’s out there. This will be a two-part series.

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On this episode of the Big Hunt Guys, GOHUNT's own Scott Christensen sits down with Trail to tell the story of his hunt for a giant California bighorn ram. Scott breaks down how he drew the tag and how the hunt unfolded. Hunting a giant bighorn ram is an experience few hunters get to have, tune in to hear the details behind an unforgettable experience in the mountains.

Trail and Brady sit down to recap Trail’s September archery elk hunts on this episode of the Big Hunt Guys Podcast. They talk about the highs and lows of chasing elk with a bow, close encounters, tough days in the mountains, and the lessons Trail took away from the month. From bugling bulls and long days in the backcountry to the moments that almost came together, Trail and Brady break down what September elk hunting was really like and what it takes to keep grinding when the mountain doesn’t give you an easy opportunity. If you love archery elk hunting, mountain adventures, and the stories that come with chasing big bulls, this episode is for you.

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Jess Laughter is back, and she brought a great hunt story with her. After drawing a tag in a state where she'd never hunted deer, Jess did everything she could to prepare.

Once the hunt started, the water she'd found while scouting was gone, two big bucks sort of gave her the slip, and she passed a lot of good deer while trying to find one of her target bucks. By day five, she was low on food and second-guessing everything. Finally, after pushing hard day after day and trusting her gut, it happened. Jess walks us through dry-firing on him, losing sight of the buck for an hour, and finally closing the deal at 180 yards on a crazy-cool buck, which is now her biggest buck ever. It only takes one.

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Austin Folkman from our GOHUNT Insider+ team is back on the podcast! We talk big-buck stories to giant-buck stories, and much more. Brady kicks things off with a quick look at how Insider+ is helping members fill tags across the West, and why now is the time to start your 2027 plan with updated Draw Odds already live for a bunch of states.

Then it's mule deer talk. Austin grabbed a leftover archery tag days before the opener... after plenty of years without bowhunting, a scramble to find his bow, and just three arrows that didn't even match. Four stalks over nine days of weekend-warrior hunting to close the deal, including five straight hours spent sitting in range, waiting for the buck to stand, and it ended with one of his best bucks ever.

We wrap up with the story of a 216" velvet giant that Austin helped his best friend's dad take on a draw tag, and I share a few details (more to come) from my own recent muzzleloader deer hunt.

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I've had the Leica Geovid Max binoculars in hand for a while now at the range, scouting, and an upcoming hunt with them, and I gotta say, throwing all bias aside, even though we sell a ton of optics here at GOHUNT... Leica knocked it out of the park with the new Geovid Max.

On this episode, I sit down with Hamilton Boykin, Leica's Product and Training Manager, to go deep in the weeds on what makes this rangefinding binocular special. The Geovid Max means max everything: max range, max optical clarity, max speed. We discuss Leica's customizable heads-up display and how you can add as much data as you'd ever want, or clean it up and just see the essentials, depending on how you want the optic to work for you. The Geovid Max is rated to 8,200 yards on reflective targets, 4,600 yards on rock faces and trees, and 2,900 yards on deer-sized targets.

Hamilton's been with Leica for 18 years and clearly lives this stuff, and I'd say he truly loves optics, just like me.

Check out Brady's full article review here: https://www.gohunt.com/browse/gear-lists-and-reviews/glassing/leica-geovid-max-a-rangefinding-binocular-that-truly-does-it-all

The Leica Geovid Max 10x42 binoculars are available now at the GOHUNT Gear Shop: https://shop.gohunt.com/products/leica-10x42-geovid-max

Trail is back from Idaho and joins Brady to recap his latest archery elk hunt. He breaks down the hunt from start to finish, including the conditions, finding elk, getting into bow range, and ultimately killing a young bull with his bow. Trail and Brady talk through the decisions that led to the shot, what went right, what went wrong, and the lessons Trail is taking into the rest of elk season.

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Brady is joined by Troy Hellman and Anthony Cuomo from SIG SAUER, and this time they're bringing big news: the brand-new ZULU6 HDX PRO 42mm line is officially here! We break down the four new models (12x42, 14x42, 16x42, and 20x42) and dig into what sets this Gen 4 platform apart from the rest of the ZULU6 lineup and how it compares to the 50mm version of the HDX Pro.

We talk through the two different stabilization modes: OmniScan and the new OmniLock mode, which is a huge upgrade. The bump in the field of view. Troy and Anthony also get into the age-old debate of which magnification to use for bowhunting elk, high-country mule deer, and everything in between, and why once you go stabilized, it's almost impossible to go back to traditional binoculars.

Whether you're already running a pair of Zulus or you're still glassing off a tripod, wondering if it's worth the switch. The beauty of this new lineup is that there's finally a stabilized option that fits almost every price point and hunting style.

The ZULU6 HDX PRO 42mm binoculars are available now at the GOHUNT Gear Shop: https://shop.gohunt.com/collections/sig-sauer

Learn more about the binos here: https://www.gohunt.com/browse/gear-lists-and-reviews/glassing/new-sig-sauer-zulu6-hdx-pro-42mm-image-stabilized-binoculars

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Lane and I are back from a recent opening weekend of antelope hunting with two bucks on the table (and the smell to prove it). This one's a full antelope hunt recap: the good, the frustrating, and the "how did that actually happen?" The guys talk about their hunt, what they learned, and how much they both love antelope hunting. A weekend full of memories, a bunch of meat, and both took their biggest antelope ever. Along the way, we discuss judging antelope on the fly, why patience can beat aggressive tactics when you've got a good tag, and Brady's story about how not to cook antelope heart.

Huge thanks to Kifaru for their support of the Miller Tines Podcast: https://shop.gohunt.com/collections/kifaru

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Trail sits down with Brady to wrap up his archery mule deer hunt with the story of a buck, "Andre," that had been months in the making. From the scouting, long days, hunting pressure, and patience it took to finally get within range, Trail breaks down the final encounter and how he was able to put an arrow through a 210-inch mule deer buck. It’s the full story of an unforgettable hunt and what it took to kill a giant with a bow.

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Brady and Trail catch up and recap the opening week of archery deer season. Trail breaks down his deer hunt, the highs and lows of the first week, including the things that went right and the mistakes that were made. Trail also recounts helping his older brother take his first elk with a bow. They talk about the excitement, pressure, lessons learned, and what makes sharing a hunt and a first animal so memorable. This week's episode is a laid-back catch-up filled with hunting stories and the moments that make the season worth waiting for.

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Everyone knows I love to glass. There is a beauty in sitting on a mountain and picking apart every inch of terrain until something clicks. But in my opinion, the most overlooked part of glassing isn't your optics; it's your mind. In this solo episode, I crack the puzzle of why so many hunters glass "casually" and walk away saying there are no deer, when the real issue is they never gave their brain the chance to actually see.

In this episode, I cover:

- The mental side of glassing: why your brain can't run two attention-demanding tasks at once, and why listening to music/podcasts while glassing is quietly costing you deer.
- The Invisible Gorilla experiment: the classic inattentional blindness study, that's a near-perfect analogy for what happens behind the glass
- My full optics setup: spotting scope, stabilized binos, rangefinder, and how I run my tripod and panning head system for long glassing sits.
- Stop glassing for "bucks": why searching for the whole body of a deer sets you up to fail, and what small details (ear twitch, antler tine flicker, horizontal lines, color contrast) actually pop first.
- Why there's no "ideal" glassing spot: how to stop chasing the perfect vantage point and start using imperfect terrain to your advantage.

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In this episode of the Game Trail, Trail breaks down one of the most important parts of bowhunting: knowing when not to shoot. Trail talks through the shots he's comfortable taking on mule deer and elk, the shot angles and situations he will pass on, and how he determines effective range with a bow. Trail also gets into the mental side of it—because knowing your limits on the range is easy. Knowing them when a big animal is standing in front of you is a completely different challenge. Trail wraps up talking about why self-control is one of the most important skills an archery hunter can develop. Your maximum range isn't the distance you can hit a target. It's the distance at which you can consistently make the right shot, under real hunting conditions, on an animal you owe a clean kill.

Heads up: technical issues meant we lost our mic audio for this one, so please excuse the sound quality — we'll have it back to normal next episode!

How much does score really matter? In this episode of the Big Hunt Guys Podcast, Trail, Brady, and Lorenzo tackle one of hunting's most debated topics—scoring antlers. The guys discuss whether giving animals names helps or hurts hunters, the social pressures surrounding hunting, and why score has become such a dominant part of modern hunting conversations. Then they dive deep into the art of field judging mule deer, elk and antelope, breaking down the body characteristics, antler features, and mental shortcuts they use to estimate score before making a move. Whether you're trying to judge a mature buck from a mile away or decide if a bull is worth chasing, this episode is packed with practical field judging tips and honest discussion about where score fits into hunting.

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Trail, Brady, and Lorenzo sit down to discuss the complete journey of GOHUNT's newest gear, the GOHUNT down jacket and pants, and the packable rain jacket and pants. They cover why the project started, what they wanted to improve over existing gear, how extensive field testing shaped the final products, and the features they refused to compromise on. This is the behind-the-scenes story of designing gear for hunters, by hunters.

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Chris Neville co-founded Roughridge Stove Company with his brother Josh after four years of obsessive R&D to build the backcountry cook system for hunters they always wished existed. Chris is obviously a really good friend of mine, and I wanted to do a deep dive on the High Country Cook System piece by piece — the patented irregular octagon-shaped titanium pot, removable windguard, the fully enclosed igniter, the built-in fuel regulator, and why boil time is the wrong metric for judging a stove.

They also get into the story behind launching a hunting gear company (with two newborns arriving two weeks before launch day), and what hunt Chris is looking forward to this year.

Learn more about Roughridge Stove Co. here: https://roughridgestove.com/

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Finding a target buck is only the beginning. In this episode, Brady, Trail, and Lorenzo break down what happens after you've located your target deer during the preseason. They cover how to determine bedding areas, feeding patterns, travel routes, and observation points without educating the buck. The guys also discuss wind, access, hunting pressure, how often to scout, when to back out, and how to build a plan that gives you the highest odds when opening day arrives. If you've ever found a buck in July or August but struggled to turn that into a successful hunt, this episode offers ideas to help you finish the job.

This week on The Game Trail Podcast, Trail is answering your hunting questions straight from his DMs. He dives into GOHUNT's new rain gear, the Atmosphere Jacket, talks about the lightweight hunting pants, breaks down his food selection for backpack hunts, and explains how he chooses arrows, bowstrings, and other pieces of gear. He also answer questions about how deer and elk respond to livestock on public land, what he's observed over the years, and how it changes the way he hunts.

Wildfires occur throughout the summer months in the West, but what actually happens to wildlife when the landscape burns? Do deer and elk outrun the flames? Does fire destroy habitat, or can it actually improve it over time? On this episode of the Big Hunt Guys Podcast, Trail sits down with Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Mike Wardle and Madeka Hansen to separate fact from fiction. They discuss how different species survive wildfires, how animals react before, during, and after a fire, the long-term effects on habitat, and what wildlife managers do to help landscapes recover.

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