Ep. 486: How We Scout Big Woods with No Habitat Diversity (Real Hunt Breakdown) w/ Just Hunt Club
East Meets West HuntShow Notes
Beau Martonik sits down with Jon Lewis, Eli McArthur, and Justin Mueller from the Just Hunt Club crew after a full day of scouting together in the PA big woods.
The conversation focuses on hunting remote terrain that has plenty of topographic diversity but almost no vegetation diversity — steep ridges, drainages, and saddles in mature timber where everything looks the same once you're on the ground. They break down how to find micro diversity in the vegetation, why that's what actually separates good spots from dead ones, and why you have to put boots on the ground to figure it out.
Jon tells the full story of his 2025 PA rifle buck — two days of tracking through fresh snow, committing to a track in the afternoon with 14 miles already on their legs, and packing a deer out in the dark. One of the better hunting stories you'll hear this season.
Topics:
00:00:00 — Intro
00:04:20 – Getting to Know Eli
00:07:13 – Just Hunt Club and the Filming Experience
00:14:13 – Scouting Remote, Rugged Big Woods Terrain
00:20:47 – Hunting Strategies in Rugged Terrain
00:28:48 – Micro Diversity and What It Looks Like
00:43:18 – Jon’s Buck Story and Tracking in the PA Big Woods
01:01:49 – The Aftermath of Packing Out a Mountain Buck
01:09:32 – Expectations
01:13:00 – Resources to Connect with Guests
Resources:
Just Hunt Club IG
Just Hunt Club YouTube
Just Hunt Podcast
Instagram:
@eastmeetswesthunt
@beau.martonik
Facebook:
East Meets West Outdoors
Shop Hunting Gear and Apparel:
https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/
YouTube:
Beau Martonik - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJon93sYfu9HUMKpCMps3w
Partner Discounts and Affiliate Links:
https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/partners
Poncho Outdoors - Poncho Outdoors makes tough, sharp-looking, no-BS apparel for hardworking outdoorsmen who put in the time year-round. Go to ponchooutdoors.com/EASTMEETSWEST to save $10 and free shipping
Amazon Influencer Page
https://www.amazon.com/shop/beau.martonik
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from East Meets West Hunt
Bonus episode. Beau Martonik sits down with Todd Bumgardner of Packmule Training Co., a performance coach who’s trained NFL linebackers, special operators, and a lot of hunters. Todd wrote an article for the East Meets West journal last October on managing your body and mindset through the whitetail rut, and this is the conversation behind it.
Beau Martonik sits down with Jeremy Ballantine at Huntstock. Jeremy grew up in southern Vermont tracking big bucks on snow, has guided moose hunters for over 25 years, and hunts Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.
Beau Martonik sits down with Dan Infalt of The Hunting Beast at Huntstock, with Johnny Stewart as co-host. Dan has been asked about bedding areas on every podcast there is, so this one skips the tactics and goes after the story behind them.
Bonus episode from Wyoming elk camp. Beau Martonik sits down with his cousin Tyler Martonik and cameraman Derek Testerman at the end of a 10 day archery elk hunt on general tags.
Beau Martonik sits down with Jim Gallagher at Huntstock. Jim is in his 50th year of hunting, has been bow-only for close to 40 years, and has killed 233 deer with a bow, almost all of them in the swamps and thickets of the Northeast.