KIFARUCAST

Hunting Season Q&A

Thinking about backpacking in this hunting season?  Aron answers listener questions regarding where to camp, what to bring, and how to stay in touch.
 
Bivy hunt or base camp? 00:01:04 - 00:05:58Where to place your camp 00:05:58 - 00:08:08 How far into the backcountry should I go? 00:08:08 - 00:10:05Condensation 00:10:05 - 00:13:04How much do I leave at the truck? 00:13:04 - 00:16:39Gear/clothing list 00:16:39 - 00:24:44Pack size 00:24:44 - 00:27:35How many arrows should I bring? 00:27:39 - 00:29:27Boots 00:29:27 - 00:30:14How long can you leave meat in the backcountry? 00:30:14 - 00:33:40Communication devices 00:33:40 - 00:34:43

Ryan Harder

Guide Ryan Harder joins Aron on the podcast.  Ryan has been a guide for thirteen years and has been running his own outfit Hunt Harder Guide Services for the last six years.
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Know Your Limits with Levi Morgan

World champion Levi Morgan joins the podcast to discuss his latest tournament season, his tournament and hunting bow setup, and the importance of knowing how to tune your bow.
 
About levi Morgan
I grew up in the small town of Rosman, NC. One red light kinda town and if you didn’t like to hunt or fish there just wasn’t much to do. Maybe thats the reason I grew to love archery so much at a young age. My dad was a big bowhunter so naturally I would shoot and spend time outdoors with him. He started taking me to local club shoots when I was 5 years old, and I won pretty much all of them.
From there he noticed something in me I guess and he took me to my first world shoot when I was only 6. I took first runner up in my age division. I was in love with competition and the bow and arrow. I continued on through my youth competing in ASA and IBO events and winning most that I entered. Bowhunting was also a huge part of my life and as I got older I grew to love it more than the competition. Through high school I quit competing and I focused on other sports. I loved basketball and baseball but in my heart I always knew what I was gonna do. My senior year I had full rides in both sports but turned them down to pursue my real passion…..Archery and Bowhunting.
Looking back its a little scary how as an 18 year old kid I threw scholarships away to chase an archery career. 2006 was my first year as a pro I was very successful but didn’t get a single win. Maybe because I spent the entire year trying to win the heart of a girl named Samantha Kline, now my wife. I did win rookie of the year that year and in 2007 I got my first professional win. I went on to win Shooter of the Year that year as well as the ASA World Championship. I have now won Shooter of the year 10 years in a row and several more World titles. Samantha and I also started a outdoor television show in 2008 and now that is a huge part of our lives. That show is now called “Bow Life” which really describes our past, present, and hopefully future. We have a 4year old son named Landon who is our world and I cant wait for him to start his own journey in the outdoors with mom and dad tagging along! God has been so good to our little family and we owe all of our success to HIM.
(excerpt from bowlife)
 
LEVI MORGAN BACK AT MATHEWSTen-time Shooter of the Year, Levi Morgan, returns to Mathews’ Pro Staff more confident than ever.
“When you’re competing at this level, consistency is everything. I need to go into every tournament knowing my bow will hold its tune.” says Morgan. “That’s what I had with Mathews for 15 years. They make the best-tuning, most accurate bows in the world.”
Born and raised in Rosman, North Carolina, Morgan began competing in archery tournaments at age six. Since first signing with Mathews at age 18, he has become one of the most decorated archers of all-time. His long list of accomplishments includes 8 World Championships, 40 National Championships, 10 Shooter of the Year, 3 Triple Crowns, and 10 World Records.
“I was super impressed with Mathews’ new target bows,” says Morgan, “I shot perfect scores on my first three rounds shooting the new TRX, which has made me more confident than ever going into this season.”
Morgan, and his wife Samantha, return to Mathews’ dominant Pro Staff just one month after 5-time World Cup Champion, Jesse Broadwater, also joined the team shooting the new TRX. “Levi Morgan is the best 3D shooter of this century and we’re excited to have him back,” says Mathews Pro Staff Manager, Derek Phillips. “I think it speaks volumes to what we have created for our new target line. It’s catching a lot of attention from the best competitors in target archery.”
(excerpt from Mathews Archery)

Backpack Hunting With Kendall Card

Entrepreneur Kendall Card joins the podcast to discuss the rigor and joy of backpack hunting.  Kendall runs a multitude of companies including Black Ovus, Camo Fire, and Crispi USA.
About Kendall Card
I was born in Springville, Utah where I spent my childhood. When I was 12 my family moved to a suburb of Portland, Oregon named Tualatin where I “grew up”. Frequent trips to Mount Hood to ski, a crew of great friends and reggae concerts at the Pine Street Theater in Portland made for solid high school year memories.
After traveling solo in Europe for a summer followed by a 2 year mission for my church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I moved back to Utah for school at Brigham Young University where I could go to school spring, summer and fall and then quit school for the winters in order to ski.
Fortunately for me I met a girl who thought that was perfectly normal. We were quickly married and have been enjoying life together for 13 years and counting.
After graduating from BYU we moved back to Park City where I worked for The Canyons ski resort for 6 years as the Utah Sales Manager before jumping ship to Backcountry.com where I managed grassroots and community marketing for nearly 3 years. I worked for a stint with Base Camp Communications as Director of Social Media
With my longtime friend Mark Strickland, we started Camofire.com in late 2008 and I am now working full time in my business, feeling blessed for the success we’ve seen and confident and optimistic for our future.
My outdoor passion is backcountry skiing, followed by climbing, road cycling, trail running and ski mountaineering. I’ve recently taken up archery hunting, an extension of my many years as a youth and teen hunting and fishing with my family.
 
What is BlackOvis.com?
BlackOvis.com is set up to be your best hunting asset. In its essence, we want it to be a one-stop place for you to find all of the hunting gear you need from all of the top brands you know and trust. With a full catalog of items you can browse through and with posted reviews from our customers and gear experts about brands and products, BlackOvis is ready to get you properly geared up for your next big hunt.
 
About Camofire.com
Camofire.com is all about bringing you back to back deals on top quality hunting products at prices well below retail, prices so low it’ll almost feel illegal. We strive to get gear from all the best brands that every hunter wants and offer it at a ridiculously low price. Unlike most hunting websites that offer a full catalog of items, Camofire is unique in that we offer five deeply discounted hunting deals at a time, each with limited quantity and limited time to “Pull the Trigger”.
kendall@camofire.comkendall@crispius.com

Elk Calling Part 2

Wildlife biologist Chris Roe owner of Roe Hunting Resources offers science-based information about animal behavior, vocalizations, and their communication on part two of our Elk calling series.
 
THE GENESIS OF ROE HUNTING RESOURCES
From my childhood and youth in the dairy country of Upstate New York, I developed a fascination with, and a passion for, animal behavior and the manner in which certain behaviors affect the outcomes of hunter/animal interactions. As my level of learning and understanding of animal behavior grew, so did my hunting success.
Elk calling and hunting seminars with Primos Hunting CallsThat success, in part, helped me land a position with Primos® Hunting Calls as one of their ProStaffers. As I began to give calling and hunting seminars across Colorado, SE Wyoming, and northern New Mexico, the truly unique material that I taught, how I taught it, and the success of my "students," others came, hungry for the type and level of education I provided.
Between 1999 and 2003, demand for my seminars increased to the point where—in the months preceding turkey and elk seasons—I was speaking to a different group of hunters nearly every weekend, and even on some weeknights.
Because others across the country were starting to put out hunting-related educational material on CDs and in various video formats, the pressure built for me to do the same. While I did record some material for private distribution, I held off on producing material for the public at large, not only because of increased demands on my time as a wildlife consultant, but also because I just was never satisfied with the production quality, or the professional appearance, of what could be produced economically.
While my material was circulated around the country (with its influence being seen in the educational resources provided by some of my competitors over the years), I put off producing my own video material until I had sufficient time to devote to the effort, and until the necessary technology became faster and more affordable. Moreover, while some hunters were asking for “portable” resources such as DVDs, others were asking for more in-depth educational opportunities. To satisfy the latter demand, in 2003, I started conducting three-day clinics, which focused on elk behavior, vocalizations, communication, and hunting strategies.Online hunting instructional videos
But demand continued to grow. People grew increasingly hungry for quality information, yet disappointed with much of what was available to them outside of actually attending one of my seminars or clinics. Between 2003 and 2008, demand grew to the point where, in 2009, I finally committed to start producing educational videos for the public-at-large. With today's technology and internet streaming capabilities, there really was no reason why I COULDN'T provide what you all wanted: professional, science-based information about animal behavior, vocalizations, and their communication, that could be accessed through a high-quality, web-based, affordable format. Thus was born Roe Hunting Resources.
 

Elk Calling Part 1

Wildlife biologist Chris Roe owner of Roe Hunting Resources offers science-based information about animal behavior, vocalizations, and their communication on part one of our Elk calling series.
 
 
About Chris Roe
I have a degree in wildlife biology from Colorado State University and—in addition to running Roe Hunting Resources—am also a managing partner of a separate wildlife management and consulting company. In this capacity, I am fortunate to be able to work on a variety of wildlife conservation and management issues ranging from routine wildlife surveys for capital development projects, to designing comprehensive wildlife and habitat management plans for large property owners. My specialty is the understanding, and utilization, of wildlife behavior to maximize the success of my wildlife and habitat management plans and projects. In addition to my wildlife expertise, I bring to the table a background in range and forest management.
As a hunter, my credentials run even deeper. Starting out as a wide-eyed kid tagging along with my uncles hunting across the farm country of Upstate New York, I have continued to hunt across the country, and credit my passion for wildlife behavior and communication as the basis of most of my success. The only hunting seasons that I missed since those early childhood days were during my assignment in Germany with the U.S. Army. This didn't stop me from taking after-hour jaunts into the German countryside to observe and discover new aspects regarding the behavior of some of that country's most notable big game species: the roebuck, red stag, and wild boar.
Study of Elk Vocalizations and InteractionsWhile knowledgeable about the habits of a variety of game species, my real passion is hunting turkey and, even more especially, elk. Over the past 20+ years, I believe I have become a leading expert in elk behavior, communication, calling, and hunting. My knowledge of elk behavior grew exponentially in the late 1990s when he served as a research field technician on the Upper Eagle River Elk Study near Vail, Colorado. For three years, he hiked Colorado's backcountry recording the behavioral interactions of wild, free-ranging, public-land elk in their native habitat.
Study of elk biology and behavior to understand elk calls and vocalization for elk hunting Logging several thousand hours of direct observation of physical interactions between elk—from when they entered their spring calving areas, to just prior to the fall rut—I couldn't help but be exposed to literally THOUSANDS of vocal interactions. Like a sponge, I soaked up every vocalization, interaction—and the result(s) of those vocalizations and interactions—and began to tease out what specific body positions and vocalizations meant, and how the combinations of vocalizations and body language translated into very deliberate and specific elk communication. During the fall of each of those years, I took what I had learned and applied it to my hunting efforts, with great results.
I continued my investigations into elk behavior and communication through the seasons, including winter. Throughout these years, I began to realize that elk were consistently using the same vocalizations and methods of communication regardless of whether it was early spring, the middle of summer, the peak of the rut, or the dead of winter. This shattered my previously held notion that elk use "special" vocalizations during the rut; an idea that is still being taught by many “professional elk callers” today. Study of elk behavior, communication, and calls to improve hunting success As I continued my investigations over the years, I was able to codify certain vocalizations and behavioral characteristics of elk into what I truly believe are almost “universal truths.” These truths now form the foundation of the educational program found here at Roe Hunting Resources regarding elk behavior and communication.
Since my initial work, I have continued to follow elk through the seasons—from their summer ranges to their winter ranges—and use that ever increasing knowledge not only in my own personal elk-hunting efforts, but now bring it to you, through the resources found here at Roe Hunting Resources. This in-depth, science-based information regarding elk behavior and communication is unmatched anywhere else. 
THE GENESIS OF ROE HUNTING RESOURCES

Dr. Ed Ashby

A lifetime of hunting knowledge is shared by Dr. Ed Ashby in this Episode.  Learn from the master, learn to hunt, and find what arrow works best.
 
Dr. Ed Ashby invested 27 years in the study of arrow performance and broadhead lethality. Starting in 1981, while working as a PH in Zimbabwe, Dr. Ed Ashby was recruited by the Mkuzi Game Reserve head Game Ranger Tony Tomkinson to assist in a bowhunting research study. At the time bowhunting was not legal in South Africa. The government commissioned a study to determine if African game could be ethically and humanely harvested with the bow and arrow.
Four years later, Dr. Ashby and his team published what has come to be known as the “Natal Study.” The research was based not on scientific method but outcome driven research. Arrow penetration test were conducted on hundreds of freshly culled animals and results were meticulously recorded and documented.
Read the full bio here

Broadhead Review Part Four

The Broadhead series concludes with Brian Broderick and Aron Snyder discussing the science behind arrow tuning.

RMSGear - Broadhead Review

Danny Clum joins the podcast to discuss Cutthroat Broadheads in part three of our broadhead series.
 
Rocky Mountain Specialty Gear got its start in 1995. Back then, in Denver, if you wanted to buy a quality knife, backpack, or set of binoculars in person then you had to drive to the nearest Cabela's...in Sidney, Nebraska! For this reason RMSGear was started. We have become a niche store specializing in quality hunting products related to traditional archery.
Since the shop's beginnings we have built one of the best knife shops in Denver, if not the best. We currently have over 450 bows in stock and most any other product you would need related to traditional archery.
RMSGear is a family run Mom & Pop type of store with old fashioned customer service. The shop is ran by Tom Clum and his sons, Tommy and Danny. Tom has 40 years of traditional archery experience, and his two sons have been shooting stick bows since they were coordinated enough to hold one up.
In this day and age a brick and mortar retail store devoted to traditional archery is rare. In the whole country there are only a handful, and among them only a small few are open to the public 6 days a week, 10 hours a day. The staff here is proud to serve the traditional archery community. It is their passion and they would do anything to help others get started in this wonderful sport.
In 2015 we decided to jump into the compound world on a small scale, mainly so we can keep quality service as high as possible. We weren't willing to do it without the right guy, and we found him. Matt Hogue runs the RMSGear Pro Shop. Matt has the same kind of professionalism and dedication to personal service as RMSGear has been built on.

Valkyrie Archery Systems

Valkyrie Archery designs, manufactures and sells components for moderate weight extreme forward of center arrow systems for the serious archer.
THE DAYS OF UNSTABLE ARROW FLIGHT IS FINALLY OVER…My relentless quest for superior hard hitting and accurate performance has arrived. For over 25 years, I’ve tested every archery product and component available and have refined arrow technology as you know it by thinking outside the box and simply making it better… A lot better.
The new standard is now available and here for the taking. We’ve changed everything you know about arrow performance and have set the bar for a new era of archers.
For the competitive shooter, every component of the Viking CenterPin™ System works together to deliver precision, forgiveness and stability in all shooting conditions.
For the hardcore bowhunter, you get punishing on target precision coupled with unsurpassed lethality. Valkyrie arrows are designed for zero impact failure on big game. When you couple the Valkyrie Jagger™ with Viking CenterPin™ System, both accuracy and penetration are maximized and pass throughs become the standard.
The days of disposable arrows and components are over.
If you are looking for improved accuracy, dependability, and simplicity… Valkyrie Archery makes the system you need.
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