Hunting Ain't Easy

Ep 9 California D-Zone Deer Hunting with Doug Dreher, aka The Sierra Stalker

CA deer season is coming in hot and we're all getting the itch to glass up bucks in the high-country! Doug Dreher is one of the most consistent (and persistent!) hunters in California. He's a self professed DiY, public land, OTC DZone hunter, and a weekend warrior on 9 out of 10 hunts! He generously shares his scouting and hunting on Instagram (www.instagram.com/the_sierra_stalker).  We chat about Doug's approach to scouting throughout the summer and early archery seasons, and we dig into his perspective on buck habits as the summer turns into fall.  

Doug shared a GREAT story about his 2019 hunt - not just the fact that he and his buddy Kirk knock down a DOUBLE on opening day as a September snow storm is rolling in - but also the backstory about this little honey hole where he found the bucks.  Based on Doug's experience, don't forget to pack your KARMA when heading into the deer woods. 

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HOWL For Wildlife

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California hunting, deer hunting, bear hunting, black bear, mule deer, blacktail deer, blackbear, backcountry hunting, habitat management, backpack hunting, bow hunting, archery, conservation, wildlife management 

Ep 8, part 4 of the Black Bear Series with biologist and author Preston Taylor

For this episode I had the privilege of sitting down with Preston Taylor to talk about tracking of black bears as a scouting and hunting tactic. Preston is a professional wildlife biologist with a passion for wildlife and gets to spend a lot of time in the woods studying, tracking and observing behavior of numerous game animals. He recently authored the book "Tracking the American Black Bear" ( https://amzn.to/2VNYR5b ) and shares his passion for wildlife tracking, with a specific emphasis on how to interpret and follow bear markings, scat and tracks to get close to black bears in the wilderness.  

We get to touch on some hunting philosophy and policy issues, but really focus on his experiences and how a new bear hunter can build the knowledge and skill set needed to intentionally and successfully hunt California black bears. 

Hunting Ain't Easy on IG: HuntingAintEasy@instagram.com 

Preston Taylor on IG: tracker_longbows@instagram.com 

 

California hunting, deer hunting, bear hunting, black bear, mule deer, blacktail deer, blackbear, backcountry hunting, habitat management, backpack hunting, bow hunting, archery, conservation, wildlife management, tracking, cyber tracker 

Ep 7 Black Bear Series part 3 with Western Bear Foundation

The California black bear series continues (part 3 of 6)! I got to sit down and talk with Joe Kondelis of the Western Bear Foundation. For nearly 15 years Western Bear Foundation has been an active conservation org working to preserve, protect and support healthy black bear populations and the opportunity to hunt them. They're close to the issues of human/bear conflict, and the impacts that are taking place as unhunted apex predators (G-bears) expand their habit and exceed population targets. Joe has committed much of his life's work to being passionate about black bears and the issues that relate to their success on the landscape, and our opportunity to hunt them.  

Joe's experience with Western Bear Foundation connects to many of the lessons we can learn and apply here in the state of California as the hunting community comes together to become the thought, science and policy leader for issues that impact wildlife populations and hunting opportunity. 

Check out Western Bear Foundation and for just $30 join the roster of supporters as success in their mission will ultimately help CA black bear populations and hunting.  https://www.westernbearfoundation.org/  https://www.instagram.com/westernbearfoundation  

 

California hunting, deer hunting, bear hunting, black bear, mule deer, blacktail deer, blackbear, backcountry hunting, habitat management, backpack hunting, bow hunting, archery, conservation, wildlife management

Ep 6 California Black Bear Series part 2 with Seth Watts ”Black Bear Pursuit”

In the 2nd of several parts of our black bear series I get to spend some time with Seth Watts.  Seth runs the "Black_Bear_Pursuit" IG page and has been bit hard by the black bear hunting and scouting bug.  His IG page is one of the best out there for black bears, with some outstanding trailcam locations, some highly entertaining bears show up on his cams and they hang around long enough for us all to learn a few things. 

Seth's bear scouting and hunting is not in what most people would consider typical "ideal black bear" habitat - which just shows how much we have to learn about bears.  His prime spots range from 1500-5500 elevation typically and he sees more bears down low in late season.  We get into his approach to scouting, finding sign and habitat these bears frequent, and how he sets his cameras up to learn as much as possible. 

If there's anything you should do after this episode it's 1) consider lower elevation black bear habitat if you can find water, food and cover that bear love and 2) follow Seth @ Black_Bear_Pursuit on IG. You'll be inspired and entertained by the content he is sharing. 

 

California hunting, deer hunting, bear hunting, black bear, mule deer, blacktail deer, blackbear, backcountry hunting, habitat management, backpack hunting, bow hunting, archery, conservation, wildlife management

EP 5 California Black Bear Series - Biologist Jonathan Fusaro

Kicking off the Bear series I sit down with Jonathan Fusaro. He's a wildlife biologist, hunter and former researcher for the California Dept of Fish & Wildlife.  Jonathan's focus of study has been the Eastern Sierra Nevada region (Mono County and nearby zones including X8, X9a/b, X10 and X12.  We discuss some of his published work as well as some bear population surveys in CA which have not yet been published, then get into the habits and habitat and population estimates for these "east side" bears. Jonathan describes how he would approach hunting the high alpine zone just east of Yosemite in X12 as well as where he would look for bears feeding on pinon nuts in the late season. 

The bear hunt opportunity in the eastern Sierra zone is incredible, with healthy and growing populations and relatively low hunter pressure or harvest. If you're seeking a wild and scenic bear hunt in some of the most spectacular mountain or high desert habitat consider a trip to this area.  

 

California hunting, deer hunting, bear hunting, black bear, mule deer, blacktail deer, blackbear, backcountry hunting, habitat management, backpack hunting, bow hunting, archery, conservation, wildlife management

 

Episode 4 with Kevin Vella, NWTF Biologist

Our first guest on Hunting Ain't Easy is Kevin Vella, the Pacific Region Biologist for the National Wild Turkey Federation.  We cover 3 sections of discussion in this episode: 1) NWTF work in CA and how habitat mgmt for turkeys helps wildlife diversity and our big game populations 2) Insights into our allies and agencies such as CDFW, F&G Commission and where laws, rules and regulations come from.  3) our first "how would you hunt this" segment!  

Listen in and take some notes because Kevin drops some great knowledge that can benefit any CA hunter.  

While you're at it, check out https://www.nwtfcalifornia.com/ and drop your $35 to join their conservation efforts, you'll get a $25 coupon code in return, so net costs are just $10!.  Not a turkey hunter, no problem - NWTF is going great work in prime deer habitat so the herds and hunting improve too. 

 

California hunting, deer hunting, bear hunting, black bear, mule deer, blacktail deer, blackbear, backcountry hunting, habitat management, backpack hunting, bow hunting, archery, conservation, wildlife management

Episode 3: 2 bear tags, 1 deer tag = more opportunity.

With the CA big game draw complete there's a whole lot of chatter online about how messed up CA is. Some of this sentiment is accurate, some of it is simply uninformed - but all of it does NOTHING when vented and then forgotten. In this episode I present a few of my ideas for policy changes that'll improve our opportunities over the next few years. 

I have a feeling these ideas will be met with some disagreement. Bring it on. The end goal is more and better wildlife populations that lead to more & better big-game hunting opportunities. 

 

California hunting, deer hunting, bear hunting, black bear, mule deer, blacktail deer, blackbear, backcountry hunting, habitat management, backpack hunting, bow hunting, archery, conservation, wildlife management

Episode 2 Hunting Ain‘t Easy - FOMO, Scouting for 2022 draw zones, hunting familiar habitat.

Episode 2... Solo show.  FOMO!! I have points that would probably enable me to draw a limited entry tag in a few different zone in CA - but I'm not throwing in for that until I've done the scouting and know where the bucks are! Talking about scouting these X zones this year and the multi-year pursuit that is needed to locate deer in CA.  Scouting, hunting and putting in time in an area you can spend a lot of time in brings familiarity and *hopefully* success! 

 

California hunting, deer hunting, bear hunting, black bear, mule deer, blacktail deer, blackbear, backcountry hunting, habitat management, backpack hunting, bow hunting, archery, conservation, wildlife management

Hunting Ain‘t Easy - Episode 1: why we‘re here for another hunting podcast

The Hunting Ain’t Easy podcast brings listeners of all skill levels and experience stories, knowledge and perspective to make them better hunters and more active conservationists. Based in and focused on public land hunting opportunity and issues in California the undeniable fact is that... hunting ain’t easy. 

Easy or not, hunting in California offers rewarding and fun experiences chasing some of the most iconic big game species in North America.  We believe that hunting in the Golden State can only get better if more people participate, appreciate or at least understand the positive role of hunting in our wildlands

Find our pictures and stories on Instagram @ www.instagram.com/huntingainteasy 

 

California hunting, deer hunting, bear hunting, black bear, mule deer, blacktail deer, blackbear, backcountry hunting, habitat management, backpack hunting, bow hunting, archery, conservation, wildlife management