In this episode, Brandon Waddell, the host of Wilderness Attitude, talks about rediscovering his passion for life, health, and the wilderness. Through his podcast, Wilderness Attitude, he shares his story and of others that may be the inspiration someone needs to re-engage, or redirect their lives. Brandon dives into the importance of staying in shape even in the off-season. He reveals the knowledge that was passed on to him by experienced hunters and how he’s doing the same for the younger generation.
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Achieve A Wilderness Attitude With Brandon Waddell
I’m privileged to have a fellow Coloradoan and he lives down by Durango. His name is Brandon Waddell, but some people call him Waddell. Brandon is the host of Wilderness Attitude and he definitely does have an attitude. Brandon, welcome to the show.
Thanks for having me, Bruce. I’m glad to be here. I appreciate you reaching out and having me on.
You’re welcome. I’ve been watching you since you started. You’re from the Durango area in Hesperus. Is that correct?
Yes. It’s about twelve to thirteen miles West of Durango, Colorado.
That’s an oppressed country, isn’t it?
Hesperus is right on that edge. We’re basically at the southern tip of the Rocky Mountains. It’s the gateway to the southwest. You can go 45 minutes north and be at 12,000 feet or you can go 45 minutes south and you’re in the desert water skiing on the warm water. Some refer to it a little bit like the banana belt because you’re in the Rockies and you’re not, but it’s a great place to be.
It’s down by the San Juan River, too. The San Juan Farmington and San Juan River isn’t too far away, is it?
That’s a good 60 miles or so south of us, maybe 45 miles. The San Juan comes out now the whole lake which is the lake I’m referring to. You can go down water ski all you want. That is gold metal water and that is some of the best fly fishing you can have.
We used to go down there. What’s the name of the guys with eight motels right there on San Juan? That little community that’s right there and we caught a lot of trout.
Down the river from there is a cool place. The canyon is down below Navajo Dam has some cool people and scenery. They’ve got the wine of San Juan’s down there. You can be down at fishing land and in the wine country at the same time.
A few years since I’ve been down there, I did not realize that. We were drinking beer when we were down there.
To each their own flavor, right?
A cleaner body and a better shape put you in a better mindset. Share on XThat’s it. If you never traveled to Southwestern Colorado, it is a gorgeous country. In the wintertime, it’s not hot so you can enjoy it. There is a beautiful business and Mesa Verde is down there. There is a history that goes back thousands of years.
Mesa Verde is 30 miles from Hesperus. You got the million-dollar highway that goes up out of Durango to Silverton, Ouray, Ridgway, cruises around the Telluride, and back over in the Mancos. Maybe I’m prejudiced because I live in that area, but it is by far, the most beautiful unique drive in the United States in my opinion. People come from all around the world to drive the million-dollar loop. It got its name from when they first built that road. I’d be butchering the date, but it was a long time ago that it passed the million dollars to make that road. We all know that that road would probably be a trillion dollars to build.
Animas River is a gorgeous country. One thing that you don’t know about Durango is you can kayak right down through town.
That’s cool, too. We’ve got it all there. We have spectacular hunting, amazing fishing, and the white water going through town is great. The white water coming out at Silverton is ghastly. You better be at the top of your game to do the upper Animas. We’ve got ice climbing in Ouray where they do the World Championship. We were the first area that hosted the World Mountain Bike Championships in ’91 and we’ve had a few more times. Our area is where a lot of people go to train in the outdoors, even downhill skiers. Shaun White built an amazing facility up out on Silverton to do his training for a couple of his Olympic games. We have everything there. It’s the ultimate wilderness community.
The State of Colorado and the Durango area has the flag that’s going out thousands of people.
It doesn’t need any help. Outside Magazine, everybody votes Durango and somewhere in the top five all the time. It’s a great place. We have that amazing Durango narrow-gauge train that goes from Durango to Silverton. There are only two of those left in the world.
The Weminuche Wilderness area is huge.
The Weminuche is an amazing wilderness area. It’s someplace that you will be hunting a goat and a sheep at some point. Hopefully, I’m preparing myself for Alaska. I’ve talked to plenty of people in Alaska that come and hunt at Weminuche. They say that it’s got its own level. There is something for everybody in there.
When they think anything about hunting Weminuche, what’s the nickname for it? What do they call it?
Maybe some call it Nuche but it deserves its full name because it’s that epic. Let’s leave it that.
You’re going to hike and you’re not going to motels. You are going to take narrow-gauge railway out of Durango. You’re going to get off one of the trails that goes up in the Chicago Basin. You’re east of the Animas and then you start climbing. There are no huts, there are no hospitals, and there is nothing. Everything you have is in your bag and it is wilderness. The experience of being those high up in basins is worth the price of mission whether you hunt or not.
If you want an epic adventure, you take the train up there and you get up to Chicago Basin. You go find yourself somewhere to sit and trust me, you will not be disappointed. It will be hard work to get where you’re at. You’re talking some good work to be able to get there, but it is worth every penny. If you can get up there and walk a few sunrises and sunsets, you can mark something epic across your bucket list. That’s for sure.
In the lower 48, you can get up in the Tetons and there are some wild places. There is no question about it. The Weminuche is one of those wild places that can’t be duplicated. It goes on forever and that‘s the other thing about it.
It’s enormous. I’m sure there are no places in the Weminuche where nobody has ever been and never will. It’s grand.
One thing that we both espouse is real people and real places. Let’s talk about another plug to Wilderness Athlete, you want to lose some weight and things came together. Tell us that story.
I went to Pope & Young Convention back in Phoenix that goes on about a couple of years ago. I’ve been building the trucking company and I was working hard for my family, me, and building this company. In the meantime, I lost the aspect of taking care of myself. I found myself in the Pope & Young show. I was entering a raffle. I sat down with Chris Denham in the booth and talked to him briefly about his product. Chris sat down with me and talked to me. We got deep quick because I was passionate about wanting to find some way and a new level of changing of my life, my hope, my philosophy on eating, and a lot of different things. He sold me.
All the tickets I bought I put them all in the Wilderness Athlete bucket. I didn’t spread them out or anything else in this show at the silent auction. I won the 28 Day Challenges from Wilderness Athlete. I got home and it took me about a month to get it to put together and start. Sometimes it’s hard to start a life change. It wasn’t something that I was taking lightly. I did a few 28 Day Challenges and I lost 35 pounds. I got after it in the gym and I found myself a year before in oak season in a bad situation because of my health and my fitness. I want to work hard to get more prepared for the hunting season and I did that. I got up every day at 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning. I went to the gym and I’ve to hurry home and get my kids. I’ll take them to school and then go to work. I did that every day for six months and it was amazing. The mental transformation I went through during that period of time as well.
When I hit my hunting season, it’s the best hunting season I’ve ever had. I was able to arrow a bull, cow, fox, doe, and a bear. I’m in an epic season. The only thing I still can’t figure out is how to hit a turkey. It changed in my life and it’s brought me full circle to even having the Wilderness Attitude podcast. When I was working out after the hunting season, I’m still working out outside on the elements and doing some things. I have always been in Wilderness Athlete because I was happy and proud to be a part of something like that. I always wore the stuff because it resonated for me and it meant something to me on how it changed my life. The next thing I know is I found out about this train hunting before Thanksgiving. I started to look into that and I was like, “I’m going to keep training through the winter and I want to go to this Train To Hunt.” I want to see if I can finish the Train To Hunt. I didn’t have any clue what to expect. I went there humble and ready to see what I was made of. That’s the ideas that go where you’re at in your level or your hunting. Do the competitions and see if there is something you can work on to get you prepared for your hunting season and a little bit of a parameter.
A year to the day which is crazy. The year of the day that I started my first 28 Day Challenge was the first Tucson event. It was in Phoenix that year. I went down there and competed. To my surprise, I made it to the podium. I got third place and I couldn’t believe it. I had no clue what I was capable of with my new mindset, my new body, my new strength, and my new will. I can’t thank them enough, the Wilderness Athlete, Chris or any other team there, especially Chris who’s sitting down with me in that booth not knowing me. He spoke to me passionately and that changed my life. I owe so much to him. I can’t even express it. I don’t have enough lifetimes to express to him how much it meant to me.
Have you had Chris on the show?
No. We’ve talked back and forth quite a bit this guy. It’s Western Hunter and all this stuff this he’s got going on, it’s crazy. He is a hard one to lock down, but we’ve had some good conversations. I spent my time next to Chris camping that mountain next to that buck, hearing him on, helping him with water and doing anything I could to help him out. He is amazing. For his age, he is a beast.
How old is he?
He is in the Super Masters so he is over 50. That’s all I can tell you. I don’t know his exact age but he is in the Super Masters who Train to Hunt. He can grind. I hope that I’m in shape he’s in his 50s.
Jesse Paulsen and a friend of mine, Jerry Kerber at Fit To Hunt get together about a year. I drew an archery sheep tag here in Colorado. I went from 230 something to 212. I spent 22 days above 10,000 feet. I climbed my first fourteener looking for a sheep. I wasn’t climbing a fourteener, but I was looking for sheep.
Hunting is not getting easier because you're getting older. Share on XIt looks like that’s where you are going to go if I see you.
I’ll give a shout out to Jesse. He could have been nicer to me through the nutrition work and everything that they did for me. You’ve got two guys that understand who Wilderness Athlete is, understands what their products can do and you can transform yourself. You want a couple of bucks, I spent a couple of bucks, and they’re promoting me a couple of bucks. All of a sudden, I’m in the Wilderness. I’m doing what I want to do and it gives you confidence. It gave me was confidence because I knew there wasn’t anything Colorado that I couldn’t handle. Am I going to be the fastest guy up in the mountain?
No.
It is not going to happen but when I get up the mountain?
Yes.
Will I get down the mountain?
Yes.
Let’s talk about why the bedrock in any hunting season needs to be physical fitness, correct nutrition and we can work it together.
After my journey in the beginning there with Wilderness Athlete, it became apparent to me that you’ve got to be in shape. You may not be in the best shape you’ve ever been in your life where none of us are eighteen anymore or 25 and some of you reading maybe. As you grow older, it plays a more critical part of being able to do what you want to do. The year before when I got myself in trouble, my mind had full intentions to do whatever I wanted to do. My body couldn’t keep up with where I wanted to go and where I needed to go get the interaction with the animals that I desired. As an archery hunter, you got to make some move and you got to get yourself in places where you have the opportunity to make your kill.
If you got good health, do anything you can put in to be in better shape and anything you can do to eat plainer. Get out of the middle of the score and work on the outside. Talk to people that raise vegetables and do different things. Hopefully, you can put yourself in a place where you can put meat in your freezer. It’s super valuable to have a cleaner body and one that is in better shape because it puts you in a better mindset and it puts you in a different place. It raises your self-esteem, it raises that confidence level, and it raises your ability. Let’s be honest, hunting is not getting easier every year. Hunting is getting harder every year. One reason is you’re growing older, there are more people in the backcountry and there is not as much opportunity. Sometimes, you’ve got to create that opportunity and hope that luck follows you. If you’re not in the physical state and mental clarity to be able to go and do some of that, then your experiences in some of what you might be able to accomplish are going to be limited.
The NFL championship games are coming off and you think of everything that those guys do to play 60 minutes.
It’s week after week. The crazy part is the longevity they have to play through as well. Sixteen weeks plus to get to the Super Bowl, that’s a lot of toll on the body. You’ve got to give your body every opportunity and every chance. Your body is a machine but if you’re not lubricating it, you’re not giving it clean fuel and you’re not giving it what it needs to be at its best performance, then those are the questions you have to answer later for yourself.
Cameron Hanes is taking his passion. One, for physical fitness and two, for hunting. Many years ago, people didn’t know who Cameron Hanes is. His name was popping up into magazines, on things happening, social media. He has turned into a brand but that’s something to inspire through because none of us is going to be Cameron Hanes. That’s not going to happen. None of us is going to be Aaron Rodgers. It’s not going to happen. Brandon Waddell and Bruce Hutcheon are going to be the best of us that we can be. That’s where the physical fitness comes in and I’ve had some bumps and bruises along the way so it’s tough. I want to get back to it, get back in the gym and do the things I can within reason. I’m going to start getting back almost 90 days and they didn’t want me working out until 90 days had gone by. That’s the way it is.
You’ve got to give it that chance. I made that podium and then my hip deteriorated fast. I broke like a PEZ dispenser. I probably didn’t even know to get my hands on something better than that. I probably would have because I was living my days in a lot of pain. I couldn’t walk right and I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t get to go to the national championship of Train To Hunt. We even tried to do that. I had that hip surgery and it’s the same scenario for you being in your acts and you roll over. We got to give our bodies time to heal. I couldn’t even walk for a month and I couldn’t lift for eight months. I was doing PT and stuff which was good. It was great mobility work and it was great stuff. I want to get back under the steel and get back to some strength training. He didn’t clear me for eight months so your 90 day’s out. It’s hard to be patient. You want to get back in and you want to go.
There is no doubt about it. I went to some of the train hunters and encouraged by some friends and whatnot. I reconnect with some of the community and I didn’t even have a pack on. I was running down the mountain and I was gasp because I was way out of shape and I was way fat. Even running into Willie Smith was like, “You’re looking good.” I’m like, “Thanks,” because he must have seen a difference which I sure hope people would because I’ve been working my butt off. It’s not for everybody else, it’s for me. We do this for us because we want to be successful and we want to be comfortable. I want to be better than I was yesterday. The healthier I’ve been, the more clearly I’ve been mentally and it has made me a better father, husband, and boss. It’s encouraged and empowered me to be happier and better in every way of my life.
I didn’t do it for hunting. I did because I want to be in good enough shape that when I have grandkids, I can get on the floor and I still get back up. If I got grandkids and they want to go hunting, I can go. I can maybe lead them into the mountains somewhere. I might be able to go and do their sheep hunt. We’re going hunting on 60 something years old or 70 years old. I can still go with them and they don’t have to worry about me, they don’t have to carry my stuff or whatever. It’s simple. Do it for you and the rest falls into place.
Thinking about helping your grandkids. Along the way, there have been guys that had helped you get into hunting. Brandon started hunting a few years ago until he had some interesting experiences. Along the way, he has met some guys and he is a better fort. Let’s tell that story about getting those mentors and what they meant to you.
The first time I got a bow in my hands, Tommy Romero, a good friend of mine came out to hunt on my property. He shot a nice dear and I want to try this bow thing. I’ve shot bows when I was in boy scout but they were those fiberglass bows that I don’t think there was any consistency to trying to swing an arrow out on any of those. It was fun to try it to a fail. When I first show his compound bow, I was like, “That is cool.” I was in a place trying to find some mood therapy. I’ve been roaming around on Harley at Triple Digit for a long time. I’m going fast because I have a problem with speed. I need a different place to turn the world off. I figured out that if you are not in your moment in archery, you’re not with each arrow every time you draw your bow, and you’re not in that moment tuning out the rest of the world then you’re not going shoot well.
I ended up figuring out it was a great place for me to have quiet time if you will and time where I can block out the world and be in my little space and my little moment. I realized that maybe I’d like to hunt this thing so I surrounded myself with a few key people like Lew Webb, John Gardner, Dennis Howell, Tommy Romero, my nephew Jacob Gonzalez, and people that have all been hunting a long time. When I first met Dennis Howell, I never knew a whole lot about him. When I walked into his mansion and started looking around. I don’t know how many times he has been on the cover of Bowhunter Magazine and how many elk and mule he has killed in his life. He has lived in Colorado for many years and he has killed twenty bulls out of those many years and the same with his mule hunts.
Lew Webb is a great guy and he is a longbow shooter. He’s a naturalist and appears as they come in the archery form. He thought me some of that being in the woods hunting. The stealthiness and being patient in becoming one with the forest, slowing down, using your senses, and being a part of the things. Along with everybody I mentioned, they all hand me down something. I’ll hunt with anybody at least ones to try to battle them. If you will watch them, there is so much you can learn. You watch people hunt especially experienced hunters. There are things they will never say to you and things they will never specifically tell you. If you go watch their body language, watch how they move through the wilderness and how they react, it’s awesome.
Dennis spent a lot of time in the garage teaching me how to bugle and we had full-on conversations like we’re elks. I need you some of this stuff and he will yell at me, “No. That’s not how you do it. Listen to me again.” We tried to have conversations without talking to each other but that doesn’t work in this scenario, “You can’t do that. The bull’s left so you try this.” It was cool as they all gave me a lot of instructions and they all gave me a lot of things. They would push me out and say, “Go hunt,” and I’ll be like, “Take me hunting.” They’ll say, “No. I’m not taking you hunting. Go and hunt.” I would go and hunt 80% of the archery season. I would call them up or they’ll call me and be like, “Tell me about your hunt.” I go, “I’m telling this and telling that. This is what I did and this is how I bugle. This is how cow call and this is where I stand.” I dissect my hunts and tell them all about it. They’ll say, “Go try this. In this instance, try this. In this instance, try that. Go again.”
I talked to Lew a lot throughout the four years in my elk hunting. He is like, “You are doing the right things. Keep after it and be confident. Change this, quit that, and keep going.” In the last week of the season, I had some encounters. I should have had an elk. I didn’t have confidence in my shooting to shoot 42 yards on a good bull. I kept thinking I had to be closer. Lew being a longbow guy be like, “You got training wheels. I’ve seen you shoot. It has to be bounded. Let it go. Let it fly. I’ve seen you shoot. You can shoot an elk at 42 yards. I’m positive you can.” I’m like, “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I need to be about 22,” and he was like, “Brandon, get some confidence.” I hunted four years for elk before I got my first elk. Finally, Lew says, “Come to my house.” I went to his house and we went out in about. He says, “I want you to go here and I want you to go there. I want you to call over there and I want you to get ready.” I went up there and I got called in. I got all these bulls from about half-a-mile away, he came into twelve yards and he gave me that shot.
Sometimes, you need to pop the cherry and then you are good to go. You got some confidence and you can do it. I was able to corner my first elk and pack it out. I do a few things and I look back on some of that. You can’t replace mentoring somebody. It’s the most joy you will ever get in your life. I’m in the position now where I am passing down everything I’ve learned to my kids. My kids have killed more animals than I have in the last few years. Hands down, they are feeding my family better than I am right now. That’s what this is all about. It’s about learning, growing, caring, passing down what you learned, and passing down what you know whether it was good, bad or ugly. Teaching the younger generations to come up underneath you and be hunters to arise themselves. Have some idea what it is somewhat self-sufficient in this crazy world. I can’t say enough about that. I’m through and I’m leaving people out. When social media got me when I first got in, I read every magazine and I read every article. I listen to every podcast and I’m an archery geek. I shoot every arrow, every bow, every broadhead, and everything I get my hands on it. I got a little archery shop and I was figuring out a way to make myself for family and unpaid employees. I could stoke it all up and try to do whatever I could to be better.
We didn’t talk whitetail, but we talked about elk. It doesn’t matter. If you’re looking to become an archery whitetail hunter, then there are people around you whether in North Dakota or Kansas that will help you. If you meet them three quarters often, they’re not going to do it for you. Brandon had to go out and get pounded and keep making a mistake. That made him better. He didn’t realize it at that time, but it made him a lot better because he comes back and listens to the quiet. It makes sense, “I did that and that didn’t work,” but here is why it didn’t work. In the same thing with archery whitetail hunting, we have more people. I read an article in the Milwaukee Journal that for the first time ever, crossbows have superseded compound in harvesting whitetails. A couple of reasons for that is one, because kids can do it. Two, to say we can do it. Women can do it a lot easier because they can shoot a crossbow a lot easier than a compound. They’re easier to shoot and there is no question about it but you still have to be a hunter.
Mentoring somebody is one of the greatest joy you will ever get in your life. Share on XI have had this conversation in many bars in Wisconsin, “You shoot a crossbow.” I’m like, “Yeah. I shoot an Excalibur Crossbow,” but that doesn’t change. I can go to the same stand you have and the deer still has to come by. It doesn’t change anything about how you are as a hunter. You have a better opportunity if you practice with it to harvest the game and to kill the game. Apply what Brandon said and look around because there are guys right in your neighborhood that are good but you will never know that they are good. You have to find them and then be sincere enough to say, “How do you this? How do you take the best buck in the River Valley every single year?” They are not going to tell you so you will get disappointed. Don’t get disappointed. Over the months and years, you will have an opportunity to learn and if you learned, then your day will come.
That’s right. The biggest thing when you’re going to learn from these people is you check your ego at the door. You got to go there and be humble, teachable and you got to try new things that they tell you to do. If you’re not willing to change your setup, your gig, how you call or few different things, then you’re not going to give three weeks before weeks for the change to settle in and how you hold your bow, maybe what release you use or whatever. You’re not willing to give it a chance. Most of these guys are going to be like, “Do it your way.”
You’ve got to show them respect and go push yourself and go try. If you’re not trying and you’re not putting it out there, then they are not going to teach you. When you put the hard effort in, you are eager and sincere about what you are trying to learn or what you’re trying to do, they will recognize that and they will help you out. A lot of these guys were quiet, even some of the guys that I’ve interviewed on the podcast from Pope & Young. These guys are not egotistical, they are quiet. You got guys that done sheep slam three times. If you ask them how many they’ve done it, they’re not going to tell you three times. They’re going to tell you, “I’ve done it a few times.” They are always humble and downplay their accolades. They are what I call the quiet giants of the industry.
They’re writing good articles for peoples, magazines, and things like that but rarely do you see him on the cover of something. Rarely do you see him playing the Hollywood style of the industry and those people mean a lot to me. Those people attract me big time. It doesn’t matter what you’re hunting and it doesn’t matter what you’re using, get out in the wilderness and give it a shot. Own your craft and be your best. The animal deserves that for you to be as good as you possibly can be and it doesn’t matter. You still got to find an animal. You still got to hunt. You still got to play the wind. You still have to execute the shot. There is a lot to be involved. Technologies are going crazy in the industry and there is a lot going on around different things that are not the primitive situation anymore, but you still got to get in there. You still got to make it happen. If you’re shooting any stick with spring regardless of whether it has got training wheels or not, or it’s vertical or horizontal, it doesn’t matter, you got to go out there and hunt. You still have to do your part.
Have you ever had Jim Willems on your show?
Jim has dodged me a few times and he’s allergic to Farmington, New Mexico. He is close and I run into him a lot. I keep asking him and he tells me, “Anytime you want to have on, I’m up” When you call him and you tried to get into his schedule, that is crazy. You want to talk about a guy who is linked in this industry and doing a lot of good work for it between Pope & Young, Four Corners SCI, and CBA. I don’t know how many groups he is involved in plus the committees he is on and everything. He is a busy guy plus he is trying to hunt. I saw him and we’re both out at New Mexico archery tag. He told me to call him sometimes to finally get it penciled in and get it done, so hopefully.
Jim Willems is the President of Pope & Young. We had him on the show and he’s a great guest. He is one of these guys that Brandon said. What he has done with traditional archery gears, not one person could have done what he has done well. He has done it.
Lew, John Gardner, and Jim Willems are full of tradition. They keep trying to talk to me and they’re going back to the trap bow. I don’t know if I want to do and I’m not sure if I want to go through those. I remember all through well this first four years of hunting and never killing anything. It was defeating that I don’t know if I’m mentally ready to go back to a place like that again. I’m enjoying my training wheels’ success at this point and I’m going to ride that out a little further.
I’ll jump into your buddy’s camp and they’ll say, “You know how to hunt now.” I think of Marv Clanky, an exceptional traditional archer. That’s always hunted with and he said, “Bruce, it’s about patience and it’s about hunting. I don’t care what you have in your hands. If you practice with it, you’re going to get the deal done. It doesn’t matter.” Are you going to shoot 42 yards in the stick in the spring? Probably not. It’s thinking to rush when you have that bull over your shoulder at 22 yards, that’s exciting.
I have yet to get a bull as close as twelve yards to get my first one. Dallas Smith, I had on the podcast and everything he said to me resonated. When a bull comes in, he is supposed to be on the east. I’m getting thickened skin just thinking about it. It’s one of my favorite things because obviously, we are fortunate in the number of elk we have in Colorado. I’m super lucky. I can be 35 minutes from my house and I’m going to hunting all. It was hard enough to want to that. I’ll give a shout out to all the whitetail guys. I have had people say to me, “There’s nothing to that. They go sit in a stand and just sit there. I’m like, “In the elk woods, you can move, you can make noise, and you can do all this stuff and still get close to the elk.”
There is a certain amount of grit and a certain amount of patience when it comes to whitetail hunting but I’m not sure I have it. I can’t sit in a tree stand all day, I can’t wait for that opportunity to walk by. I like to stop, duff, spot, stop and chase things. I’m way more ADD than I ever thought I was until I got in the hunting. I realized that maybe that’s a deal with this ADD because I like chasing squirrels and rabbits. I was like, “The next thing.” I give a shout out to a lot of those whitetail guys. I don’t know how they do it sometimes. They are smart and all the animals in the wilderness have a connection than a sixth sense if you will. Whitetails are like the Rain Man of big game. They are off the chart connected. At least, if something the leaves out of place, they know it.
Everything you said is the truth and they can do magic tricks on 40 acres. You and I both live in Colorado and 40 acres is absolutely positively nothing.
I tried to hunt mule deer on my 40 acres and that’s a challenge in itself, too. I could imagine whitetail. There’s a whole other level of hunting that I’ve never had the experience doing. Hopefully, here in the next couple of years, I’ll make that opportunity. I look forward to the challenge and I look forward to learning the animals and being in their presence. At this point, if I can sit in a tree stand all day and I can watch a good eight-point walk by 100 yards and I get to see him or maybe hear him grunt or something, that will be a success for me.
Dan Johnson of Nine Finger Chronicles, he hunts with a running gun so he sees that there is a perfect little illustration. He sees that buck at 100 yards on a ridge tarp and he is grunting. He is doing whatever he is going to do. He’ll spin up and he’ll put a tree stand in there at noontime and over back there, he will hunt it for two or three times. Either deer comes through or he gets him or not. That’s being adaptive and that’s no different than what you do with elk hunting. You see that bull, you see the water hole, you see the scrape, and you see all the sign similar. What you want are those smoking hot pellets. You want the green ones in this squish and they are hot. You put them on your boots and everything. You should know that you’re 100 yards of a live breathing elk.
I like listening to stories of whitetail guys. If you stand over here and the deer walks into where they were, they’ll put a stand back over here, the deer walks, they toss and leave moving their stand around. The deer they’re always a day behind.
I remember the first time a long time ago that I hunted out west and we hunted an outfitter out here in Colorado. We are off in Wisconsin, drove off to Wisconsin and I said, “I love having you Wisconsin boys here.” Me and Roger, we go, “Why?” He says, “You understand how to hunt an elk.” I never hunted an elk. He said, “You understand the patience and how to look.” You’re saying how to move through the forest, how to look and see things that are there when you can’t see him there. I always remember that because the traits that we learned if we were successful whitetail hunter, then if you fly them out west, you had a good chance of seeing an elk. I’m not saying killing them.
Whitetail hunters are some of the top. If they can come out west, they circle back. If you’re coming out west, you’re going to start jumping from 1,000 feet, 9,000 feet to 10,000 feet to hunt an elk. That’s where we circle back to the idea that you better be in a little better shape. You’ve got to have a little bit of a game plan in that area or at least have a few days to acclimate before you get after it. Otherwise, as far as hunting ability, techniques, and different things, they definitely have it figured out to build a hunt, to come and hunt an elk. There is no doubt about it.
You read the sign and it’s larger because we’re talking hundreds of acres and thousands of acres rather than 40 acres. The sign is still there if the elk are there. If there is no elk, if there is no sign, then there are no elk. Get out of there.
That’s one of the first things that these guys thought me is like, “If you get somewhere and you are getting a sign, get out of there. Go somewhere else. It doesn’t matter if you go to ten places in five days. Don’t stop until you’re in fresh elk sign because you go mark around the woods with your bow. Go figure it out from the beginning.” What they taught me over four years is how to hunt smarter and not harder. That’s what a good mentor does for you. He doesn’t do it for you. If you like to learn the hard way, they probably teach you how to be the best.
Whitetail hunters, think about what he said. If you don’t see any sign, you see the old sign, you see a sign that left a rub that has been there for a few years but they are not there. Why? It’s because the food and water had changed and there was a forest fire. There are gazillion different things and they cut a new road through. All these things impact where those whitetails are going to be. If you go back to the same stand and Uncle John shot it twenty bucks in a row. You sit it, likely that is not going to produce because it changed.
The travel corridors change all the time like for multiple reasons, weather, moisture, food, development, and pressure. There are a lot of factors that go into how these changes. I have never found the same success year after year on the same hole. There’s always been a variance of success in each spot. I always like to think that you should always have a repertoire of places to be. You guys spend your summer scouting and figuring out which of your repertoire is going to play out this year. For us, in the high country, whether we got a lot of rain or not much rain or is the food green at twelve, five? Where does it end? Did the acorns get frozen so there is acorn? It changes all of their movements. For instance, we don’t have much snow. We have poor snow.
We usually get a few lake deprivation tags right where I live for my kids to get their feet wet and hunt an elk. We haven’t seen any elk until the first of January down low. They have not held off the mountain. I spoke with the biologist that works for Southern Youth. They did their normal time frame, migrated down and they realized that it was dry. It was nothing down there and they went back up the 12,000 feet on the continental divide and stayed there until close to Christmas. They did not come down. Outside of Durango north of us, they’ve been skiing on two or three runs on man-made snow with a little bit of dusting off some natural snow. One time, the majority of the elk came off the hill and went across through Purgatory and destroyed the ski run. They came down later. It was the first year in nine years that I didn’t have a cow in one of those deprivation tags even filled in October, November or December. We got a couple in the last few days because they finally came through. Every year it’s different and you got to figure it out. You’ve got to adapt. There is nothing set in stone when it comes to hunting any North American animal migrated.
Whether you’re hunting out west or you’re hunting the Midwest of States, you got to have a game plan. If this happens, then I need to be here. The only way they can do that has their boots on the ground and this is setup. They should be over three or five places. It is the same thing with whitetails. If we have a hard forage early, that’s going to kill the acorns which are going to put the crops differently. You have to be prepared. That’s one thing that drives you crazy even with my own crew in Wisconsin. They do the same thing year and year out.
It’s a definition of insanity. You can’t go to the same camp every year and expect you get the same result.
They’ve killed the deer. They look at me and they said, “Why are you doing that?” I said, “I don’t want to kill the deer that you are killing. Kill them all, whatever you want to kill.” I’m after a specific age class deer. I have to do completely different than what we have done before. How can we do that? It’s because I want to.”
Own your craft and be your best. Share on XIt’s because that’s my choice as a hunter. I’m a little picker on mule deer I have to say because we got a lot of good mule deer so you can take a little bit of time. We got good numbers so I don’t usually shoot the first mule deer I see but when it comes to elk, I don’t know how many times. If I call an illegal bull and it gives me a 40-yard shot, I’m taking it. I’m going to make the shot. A lot of guys are shooting for the real mature and super big. There’s a gut that is looking for that top-notch bull that is mature and has done his part. I’m a carnivore and I like to eat. I raised nine children and I still have four at home. They are all carnivores, too.
I shoot the first legal bull out because it gives me a shot. I don’t hesitate. I figure someday, I’m going to call in this guy. Someday, he will be the one that presents me that shot. Until then, I’m going to have a good time. I’m going to hunt, harvest, eat, make memories and have a good time. I don’t care if it’s on the first day of the season or the last day of the season. It’s all good with me. It’s not easy to kill an elk. We only have an 11% success rate over the counter archery bull tag in Colorado. I don’t know how people can be picky. This is me.
It’s about yourself, having fun, experience, and adventure. It’s about sitting there, watching the sun come up and watching the sun cool down. You have set basins the whole day and watch. It’s amazing what you can see. When you think of that, there is no video in the world on Pursuit or Sportsman Channel where they can touch that. It doesn’t exist because you can’t capture that event. You can try it but you can’t capture it. It’s all about the fun and that we’re imparting that you’re looking forward to and sharing it. That’s what hunting is.
It’s a tradition that we own. It’s ours and it’s also some rights to do it ethically and morally. All those things that we better make sure our house in order there. It’s about the adventure. I haven’t killed an elk in a long time and I’ve been to some wonderful mountains. I haven’t closed the deal. The market is catching up to me or whatever. It’s still good because sitting on that basin, it’s like, “Are you kidding me?”
Our brand is this.
I was with a guy from Chicago and he had come up with a friend. I said, “We will go up here and there,” so we climbed about 10,500 feet, 11,000 feet breaking out of the timber. You can see the Maroon Bells. You can see everything. The dust and snow, I said, “I can guarantee you, nobody from Chicago, Illinois has ever stood right where we stayed and seen that.”
That’s a fact. Even the best cinematographers cannot replace what you can see through your own eyes, hear with your own ears and smell with your own nose. Also, having gone there with your own two feet, no one can do that for you. You got to get out there. You got to go to the wilderness. You got to get off your house, disconnect, find a way, and reach out. There are people locally that will help you. There’s your Pro Shop, going to a little cool Sportsman’s Club or anything. I encourage people to do something small locally. It can involve your state archery or whatever and do something nationally. If you have a passion for certain animals, go out there and find it. Join that club but reach out and get out. Go do it, find that for yourself and don’t be afraid. You can do it.
How do people reach out to you if they want to ask you questions, Brandon?
You can email me at [email protected] or you can go to the website. There is a link there to connect with us as well. You can find me on Instagram, @WildernessAttitudePodcast. It’s the same with Facebook. Anywhere in there, you can DM me a message and send me a request. We are on daily and we love interacting with people. If you have any questions about Colorado and if you have any questions about me or anything, I’m an open, transparent, humble, and honest person. I love to talk to people. If I don’t have your answer, I will find someone who has your answer and I will definitely get it to you.
Thanks for that. This is Bruce Hutcheon, the host of Whitetail Rendezvous. You can reach out to me at [email protected] and listen to my podcast at WhitetailRendezvous.com. On behalf of thousands of people that are going to read this, Brandon Waddell, thank you for taking your time and sharing some insider tips.
I hope this helps over to somebody, but thanks for having on Bruce. I appreciated it. It’s a pleasure to get to know you and call you. You’re an inspiration for me and my podcast. Thank you for paving in the way for some of us.
You are welcome.
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Next stop, we’re heading out to Utah. Ogden, Utah is the home-base for Elite Outfitters Utah with Nick Taylor. Nick loves taking people out and with the stick in the strings. It starts in the middle of August and goes to the middle of September, but he has got trail cameras out, tree stands, and ground blinds. This is all for hunting elk. He gets away. He does hunt natural forest, public lands, but his success ratio is good. Take some tips and give Nick a call if you’ve got questions about hunting in the west because I know a lot of my readers want to come out here and mix it up with those big elks. Sit back, relax and enjoy Nick Taylor of Elite Outfitters.
Important Links:
- Wilderness Attitude
- Wilderness Athlete
- Jim Willems – previous episode
- [email protected]
- @WildernessAttitudePodcast – Instagram
- Facebook – Wilderness Attitude
- [email protected]
- Nick Taylor – previous episode
About Brandon Waddell
Brandon Waddell says It’s all about your attitude. A positive, enlightening and informative podcast of amazing adventures from men and women who live in the spirit of the wilderness attitude!In rediscovering his passion for life, health, and the wilderness, he has felt compelled to share his story and other stories in hopes of inspiring people.
After 8 years of being a Scout, earning a variety of merit badges, and very nearly becoming an Eagle Scout, I discovered sex, drugs and rock & roll. The independence of becoming a teenager, getting my driver’s license, discovering girls and partying proved to be a huge distraction that would lead me down a dark path.After a short jail sentence, and the very real possibility of a prison term looming, I realized it was time to make some significant changes in my life. During this time, I was also reunited with my high school sweetheart, Callie, and we eventually married.In rediscovering my passion for life, my health, and the wilderness, I feel compelled to share my story, in hopes of helping others whose lives have followed a similar path. Producing this podcast, Wilderness Attitude, allows me to not only share my story, but the stories of others that may be the inspiration someone needs to re-engage, or redirect their lives!
Publishers Note: Brandon is a positive force not only in the Out of Doors but in the lives of others. Reach out to him he will listen.