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Our Rokcast co-host, Jaden Bales spends a lot of time diving into the nuts and bolts of western hunting through his own Hunt West Podcast. While the Rokcast is focused on episodes of the most experienced hunters in the industry and the latest big game research across the West, The Hunt West Podcast is a place where Jaden and his guests unpack the systems and lessons they’ve learned through guiding, hunt planning, and hundreds of days spent chasing mule deer and elk across the West.
This episode has become one of the most popular in the Hunt West catalog, and we thought it was worth bringing over to the Rokcast feed because it’s timely, and the ideas translate no matter where you hunt. Whether you’re planning your first western adventure or you’ve been doing this for decades, there’s value in stepping back and thinking about how animals use country and how we can become better at finding them through scouting fundamentals.
Rather than focusing on specific locations, this conversation is about developing a framework for scouting. Jaden walks through the way he thinks about terrain, animal behavior, seasonal movements, and hunting pressure, all with the goal of helping hunters become more confident when they step into unfamiliar country.
Along the way, he shares stories that shaped his own approach. He talks about finding three bucks during a July scouting trip and helping a friend kill one of those same deer three months later. He discusses the frustration of chasing a target buck that seemed to disappear, only to discover it had been living within a few hundred yards of its summer range the entire time. He also explains why scouting for mule deer often centers around individual bucks, while scouting for elk is more about finding cows and understanding how entire herds move across the landscape.
The conversation covers everything from high-country basins and fresh burns to sagebrush deserts and pinyon-juniper country. You’ll hear why some meadows consistently produce elk while others don’t, how hunting pressure changes where animals spend their time, and why understanding bedding areas, travel corridors, and feed is often more important than simply finding animals once.
Whether you’re looking to fine-tune your scouting this summer or just enjoy hearing how another hunter breaks down country, we think you’ll find something useful in this crossover episode from the Hunt West Podcast.
Check out the Hunt West Podcast here >>
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You can find Robby’s books, Hunting Big Mule Deer and The Stories on Amazon here
or signed copies from the Rokslide store here
