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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!