The Stickboys Podcast

Episode 21, re-release On this episode we sit down with two of the most knowledgeable woodsmen we know. Alan and Nathan discuss in detail the skills we can all improve on to become better woodsman. If you're new to traditional bowhunting or hunting in general, or a seasoned veteran you can gain a lot of information from this one!

This week Alan goes over lots of great woodsmanship lessons pertaining to early season. It's almost here, and this is some timely information you don't want to miss!!

Allan and Ethan are joined this week by Flip Pallot and Don Davis. Don and Flip have been friends for years and have chased all kinds of critters from pigs with a bow to tarpon with a fly rod. As Don likes to say, "he enjoys sticks and strings and sharp feathered things"! Topics were wide ranging from the changes Florida has seen over the past decades in culture and habitat, the challenges of traditional bowhunting, and the wildness that still resides in the swamps and paddocks of Old Florida! Great talk and we hope you enjoy it!

Time is drawing near and soon those bachelor groups we've all been watching will start disbursing, antler will turn hard, testosterone will increase, and food sources will start to change. As bowhunters, our job is to figure out how deer will adapt and relocate them. There are a lot of subtleties that effect how animals move and use their surroundings. On this episode Alan and Nathan discuss what some of those factor may be, now to identify them, and what to look for to key in on what to do next. You'll definitely want to give this on a listen, and be on the look out for some videos on this topic soon!

Chris Weist joins Dalton this week to talk about whitetails and making the transition from modern compound to traditional bowhunting. Chris is a very accomplished mountain buck hunter from Pennsylvania, and this year he's going all in on trad! The guys talk about the foundations of successful bowhunting and the added challenges of the stickbow!

Super fun episode this week! Dalton and PaPa Lewis man the booth at Etar for a few days of way more fun than should be legal! Dalton sits down with a few listeners for some really cool hunting stories and the important nuggets that made it work! This was fun to record, fun to edit, and we think it'll be fun to listen to as well. In fact, it was so fun there will probably be more coming down the pipe!!

This week Robert Carter joins Dalton for a great talk on woodsmanship. We focus pretty heavily on hunting in the mountains and we've been asked for a flatlands specific episode. Robert was the first fella that popped in our heads! Robert talks about the importance of burning boot leather and how you can't learn this stuff sittin' on the couch! He also drops some hard truth bombs in regards to the reality of gaining woodsmanship and what it really takes to become a successful bowhunter. Great episode you will not want to miss!

Going back to the well with another woodsmanship episode!! Great knowledge to learn or review, especially this time of year as our minds really start to get cranked up for fall, and we start to strategize about the upcoming season.

On this weeks episode Alan, Nathan, and Dalton talk everything from past experiences to woodsmanship. Lessons learned play a big part in our success in life, and bowhunting is certainly no different. They also make us who we are as people and as hunters. Great episode to kick us off as we start to gear up seriously for the upcoming season!

This week, our friend David Tetzlaff joins us on the podcast. David is the co-editor of Traditional Bowhunter Magazine. He's a self described late onset hunter, but David has had many adventures around the world with bow in hand, and is a very accomplished writer. We talk about everything from learning something new everyday, reading and writing, mentors, taking ownership, and big cats. How's that for a spectrum! Great episode you'll not want to miss!

This week John Schneider joins us for a great conversation about all things bowhunting. John hales from Canada and is the host of the Food Afield Podcast. He's been a traditional bowhunter for decades and spent his early life guiding for bit northern whitetails in Canada's bow zones. He's an avid fly fisherman and farmer in addition to being a dedicated traditional bowhunter. We talk about Canadian bruiser bucks, defining you own success, managing expectations, and the traditional bowhunting journey.

This week we're going back to the well a bit with a rerelease of Woodsmanship episode 50. It's almost July, and the gears are starting to turn for the upcoming bow season. Alan shares his thoughts on past lessons learned, subtleties, and adapting through the seasons progression. This is about as good of a way to kick out brains into whitetail gear as we can think of, and some great things to keep in mind as we start to strategize on the upcoming chess match!

This week our friend Michael Arnette of Tall Tines Archery joins Maribeth and Ethan to talk about "why you hunt". This is a difficult topic to articulate, but one everyone should give some thought to. Sustenance, conservation, knowing where your food comes from... those are all very important topics and byproducts of what we do as hunters. But drilling down to a deeper level, and being able to articulate that to non-hunters is challenging. This episode will hopefully give the listeners a little pause and challenge them to contemplate their WHY.

This week Gene Hopkins and Russell Lantier join us for an episode of Back Trails to talk about the pioneers of modern bowhunting. By the late 1800's, bowhunting was almost completely a thing of the past. There were a few men that kept the flame alive and were able to pass along the knowledge that was almost forgotten. Along the way pioneers like Will and Maurice Thompson, Ishsi, Will Compton, F.S. Barnes, Art Young, Saxton Pope, Glenn St.Charles, and Fred Bear led by example and paved the way for those of us that have come to love the simple art of traditional bowhunting.

Our buddies Tom Jenkins and Brad Hawkins join us this week to talk about their recent trip to Manitoba Stickglingers for Canadian black bear! Ryan with Manitoba Stickflingers is well known in the traditional bowhunting community and Brad and Tom's recent hunt definitely lived up to expectations! If you're gearing up to head into bear camp, or have ever wanted to, this episode's gonna get you fired up!

This week Dalton sits down with our friend Jamie Holler. Jamie and his tracking dog Spud have tracked more deer than probably any 5 people you know combined! Jamie is a wealth of knowledge and shares some of his insights learned over hundreds of tracking jobs with Spud. Things that would have been impossible to have seen unfold without the help of a solid tracking dog, and some of them may surprise you! We all think we're good trackers, but even the best trackers pale in comparison to even an average dog. So sit back and take notes, this is a good one!

This week Maribeth sits down without the guys to talk to Melody Haege about bowhunting from a ladies perspective. Melody is the host of the Gone Before podcast, mother of 5, writer, instructor, teacher, and of course a traditional bowhunter. Melody brings a unique perspective to bowhunting and this is a great discussion about everything from life and raising children in a hunting family, to discovering bowhunting as an adult and becoming successful in the woods through self taught lessons and observing nature. We hope you like this fresh outlook from a ladies point of view, and hope to bring you more in the near future!

This week's episode is with our buddy Brian Koelzer. Traditional bowhunting has been a huge part of Brian's life since he was a kid. And even though he has an impressive collection of trophy's to show it, he's a very down to earth and humble guy that deeply loves chasing critters with a stick and string. His favorite thing to chase though are big mule deer bucks and this week he sits down with Dalton and Ethan to talk about hunting them. Great chat with an even greater guy!

On this weeks episode, our friend David Hoff of Colorado is back on the podcast with us to talk about his love of hunting lions and raising lion dogs. David is a very accomplished stick bow hunter and we talk all about one of his passions. From training pups to chase mountain lions, some of scrutiny lion hunting is under these days, and of course a few good old fashioned lion hunting stories, David tells us all about it!

This week Nathan and Ethan sit down with Trevor McGurran. Trevor is very much a "fly under the radar" kind of guy that just loves to chase critters with a stickbow! Growing up in central Montana, Trevor loves spending his time chasing elk and whitetails in particular, and he's killed some good ones! We talk bout bucks, bulls, bears, adventure, the future of bowhunting and even some of the history of some of the greats that have hailed from Montana. Coupled with his love for his family and faith in God, Trevor is our kind of guy!

This week Ethan is joined by our friend Michael Arnette from Tall Tines Archery and they sit down once again with Harold Fahrenbrook to talk about some of his Alaskan adventures. Harold is a taxidermist from Colorado and 39 years ago he started guiding sheep and bear hunts in Alaska with Johan's Alaskan Outfitters. Harold has a lifetime of experience in the remote Alaskan bush in both guiding and hunting. Along the way, he's amassed some pretty cool adventures, including a few hair raising ones he shares with us this week. From grizzly and brown bear charges, wolf encounters, and lessons learned, to perspectives and the wonderful things we as bowhunters are privileged to witness in the field, this episode has it all!

This week Ethan and Nathan sit down with our buddy Jeff Lander of Primitive Outfitting in Canada. Jeff guides for moose, mule deer, and bear in British Columbia and Alberta. Jeff has a wealth of experience on both black and grizzly bears. We chat about all aspects about hunting bears from shot placement to habits and patterning. We even talk a little about the banning of grizzly bear hunting in B.C. and the negative impacts it has caused.

This week our buddy Curt Cabrera sits down with Dalton to talk to our friend Joey Buchanan. And if you're a serious turkey hunter, especially if you chase them with a stickbow.... do you really need more than that....?! Joey talks about his approach to hunting gobblers with a bow, lots of lessons he's learned along the way from both failed and successful hunts, and of course lots of funny stories. If you can't wait to get into the turkey woods right now take warning... this one's not gonna help matters!

Mention the name "Wensel" to any serious bow hunter and they will immediately conjure up images of mature whitetail bucks with more horns than a brass band! But Barry Wensel has been a passionate bear hunter for many years, taking several dozens of them from all over the United States and Canada. This week Alan and Dalton got the chance to sit down with Barry and hear some of his many adventures with our North American black bear. From funny stories of past hunts, to little know facts and tricks he's learned along the way, if you want to hunt black bears you won't want to miss this one. If you don't want to hunt black bears.... you probably will after listening to this one!

This week we talk to our ol' buddy Curt Cabrera. Anyone that follows Tradlife Films knows the Curt is turkey killing machine! We always love having Curt on the podcast when things start to green up a bit and everyone gets birds on the brain! Curt talks about every aspect from decoys, ghillies and string trackers to shot placement! If you hunt turkey with a stickbow or if you're thinking about it, you don't want to miss this one!

This week Maribeth and Ethan sit down with Harold Fahrenbrook of Colorado. Harold has been guiding in Alaska for sheep, black/grizzly and brown bear. To say he's "been around the block" is an understatement. Harold has a wealth of experience both in the field, and in the political arena acting for the preservation of bowhunting. In fact, as badly as we wanted to have Harold on to talk about his may adventures and hunts, we dedicated this visit specifically to the political side of his involvement. This is an area where we can all do better and getting your feet wet in this arena can be a bit overwhelming at first. We talk about Lots to chew on in this one and great food for thought!

This week Dalton and Ethan sit down with our buddy Corey Bailey of South Louisiana. Corey is one of those hard working, quiet bowhunters that just flat gets it down year in and year out. We talk about the great fall he had last hunting season, future plans, and hunting from the Atchafalaya Basin up into the Mid-West. Corey is a down to earth and humble guy and we really enjoyed catching up with him!

This week Ethan, Dalton, and Alan sit down to chat with the one and only Gene Wensel. Gene entertains us with stories on everything from how his season went, wearing masks, a little bowhunting history, today's youth.... you name it and Gene covers it! Always fun to have this guy around! You don't want to miss this one!

This weeks Back Trails episode is chocked full of adventure and connections to history! Rick Snell grew up in Illinois, but spent over half of his life in Alaska. While there, Rick squeezed in a lot of bowhunting and along the way became the first bowhunter to take all of the big game species in Alaska including many grizzly bears, and he used recurves of his own making. Over the years, Rick also made lots of connections to some of the pioneers of modern bowhunting. Our friend Mike Mitten got us in touch with Rick to talk about all the bowhunting he'd done in the last frontier. But along the way we learned about his connections with Mel Johnson, Fred Bear, Glenn St.Charles, Jay Massey, Ed Bilderback and the Valiant Maid, just to name a few! This was a really fun episode to record and we thought it was only fitting to release this one as a Back Trails! Hope you enjoy it!

While at the Kalamazoo Traditional Bowhunter Expo, Ethan had a chance to sit down for a chat with Joe Elsworth of Michigan. Our buddy Greg Darling co-hosts and we spend some time listening to Joe talk about some of his many adventures in Alaska over the years. Joe is a humble man that had the passion to make it happen on many adventures. Along the way, he discovered several "ways to die in Alaska" and he recounts some of those tales with us. This is a fun episode and you're gonna enjoy this one!

This weeks episode was recorded live at the 2023 Traditional Bowhunting Expo, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Nathan conducted a seminar on bowhunting mountain whitetails and we're happy to bring it to you! Hope you enjoy!

This week Dalton and Ethan sit down with our buddy Bryan Broderick of DaySix Gear. This is a good ol' fashioned shooting the bull episode and we talk about everything from arrow set up to bowhunting vs bow shooting and even a little bit of "industry" in this one.

This week our buddy Chris Parrino drops by for a chat. This episode was an off the cuff discussion with Chris about hunting grizzly, brown bear, and polar bear. Chris has taken several of these bears with a traditional bow, and not many people can make that claim. Chris is also the type of guy that never brags about what he's done, but he's done a lot! We even talk about meat care and some wild game recipes. It's a fun conversation and we hope you'll enjoy it!

This week our good buddies and current President's of both the PBS and Compton's, Matt Schuster and Bryan Burkhardt join us to talk about both the importance and benefits of these two phenomenal organizations, and why you should be a member of each!

This week Ethan and Dalton sit down for a chat with our buddy Jack Spinks, of Australia. We love having Jack on because we never know exactly what we're going to talk about.... we just know it's going to be epic and hilarious! Jack bowhunts constantly, and while we are jealous.... it does make for great adventures! Hope you enjoy this one as much as we did!

This week Dalton and Ethan sit down with our friend Jeff Lander of Primitive Outfitting. From British Columbia, Alberta and Texas we talk about rattlesnakes, grizzly bears, big mule deer bucks, and pigs.... both feral and prize winning 4-H hogs!! Fun conversation for sure!!

This week Alan and Ethan sit down with our buddy Tom Jenkins of Zipper Bows. You'll never here Tom say it, but he is a killer on big whitetail bucks. We invited Tom on to talk about the great buck he took this fall, but in typical Jenkins fashion the conversation quickly turns back to hunting in general and woodsmanship skills. Which is always fine by us! Hope you enjoy this one!

This weeks topic is all about the struggles of chasing whitetails in the month of December. This time of year can definitely be a grind and it can be hard to stay positive. We discuss some of the challenges and also some of the strategies for trying to seal the deal in this difficult phase of the whitetail season.

This week Dalton and Maribeth catch up with our buddy Bob Smith of Big Stick Archery. Dalton, Ethan Henson and Bob recently returned from chasing whitetails in the land of giants and it's a fun conversation about their recent hunt, and Bob's following hunt where he arrowed a great mid-western buck. Good ol' fashion deer hunting stories with a great guy like Bob.... what could be better?!!

This week Dalton and Ethan sit down with Bill Thompson of Spartan Forge. Bill spent a large portion of his 20 years of service in the military predicting the movements and targeting of the bad guys. Using those skills, he has developed a mapping application that also utilizes decades of scientific research on whitetail deer to help hunters process information effecting deer habits and movement patterns. Spartan Forge isn't your typical "when to hunt app". Rather, it's a great tool to compliment a hunters woodsmanship skills and a single source for weather conditions, terrain features, moon phases, etc... and breaks down specific areas in the country to help hunters process the information that can help us to be more successful. In this episode, Bill breaks down some of the scientific data that has come from research facilities from across the nation.

This week Alan, Maribeth and Ethan sit down to talk about identifying and hunting transitions, and how animals use them. Transitions are key pieces of the puzzle and often times don't get the thought and study they should. Alan goes over some of his favorite aspects of hunting these overlooked areas.

This episode was a great conversation with our friends and father and son, Scott and Brian Koelzer of Montana. Topics cover everything from hunting whitetails in grizzly country, elk hunting, the future of bowhunting, and growing up a bowhunter. Really fun talk and we're sure you're gonna enjoy this one!

Join us for part 3 of the Bryan Burkhardt and Monty Browning Alaskan Moose adventure! If you haven't caught the previous episodes, you definitely need to check them out. If you have, grab a cup of coffee and pull up a log by the campfire for the conclusion of this epic adventure into the north country!

This week we bring you part 2 of Monty and Bryan's Alaskan moose hunt recorded live each night at the campfire. Bryan and Monty detail the days events allowing us to follow along for the entire adventure. Enjoy and stay tuned!

This week we bring you part 1 of Monty and Bryan's Alaskan Moose hunt, recorded live each night at the campfire. Bryan and Monty detail the days events making it possible to follow along for the entire adventure. Enjoy, and stay tuned!

This week we're joined by two of our favorite people. Bryan Burkhardt and Monty Browning. This episode is somewhat of a teaser and you'll want to stay tuned over the next few episodes for sure! The guys tell us about their recent trip north for Alaskan Moose, hunting in the Alaskan bush, and some big news of things to come. You don't want to miss this one!!

We've gotten a lot of requests regarding saddle hunting lately. Since we're not to familiar with this method of hunting we had our good buddy Jason Redd of Timber Ninja Outdoors on to tell us all about them. Jason, Jordan, and Tyler at Timber Ninja all utilize saddles in specific scenarios and Jason talks in detail about using the saddle hunting system as a tool and when it's applicable.

This week we're joined by a longtime friend, Emile LeBlanc. Emile has been hunting with a traditional bow for over 50 years and is a retired biologist for Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries. To say he know a thing or two about deer biology is a vast understatement. Emile has spent years conducting and coordinating deer studies and shares some of the insights he's learned over a long career in the field. This weeks episode is a deep dive into some of the often overlooked aspects of items we should all have in our woodsmanship tool bag!

This week we catch up with Kirby Kohler. Kirby has been a Traditional Bowhunter Magazine contributor for over 20 years and is one of those quite killers we love to talk to! We talk about the the secret sauce to being successful in the field, the benefits of spending tons of time in the woods, woodsmanship, a little deer biology, and of course lots of bowhunting stories!

Everyone in the traditional bowhunting community has heard of Paul Shchafer and his many exploits in bowhunting as well as his Silver Tip Recurves. Called by many "the greatest bowhunter that has ever lived", we wanted to hear from some that knew him best. Barry Wensel and Scott Koelzer were two of Paul's closest friends and this week they share some of their memories of Paul from both past hunts, his humbleness, and life in general. Pull up a seat close to the fire and join us for a great campfire chat!