EP 321 – Is Private Equity Ruining Hunting Brands? Plus: The Truth About Long-Range Hunting with Zack Boughton

🎁 WIN A KOWA 88 SPOTTING SCOPE: Mindful Munitions is officially open. Every $5 spent at Forged in the Backcountry or Mindful Munitions earns one entry to win a Kowa 88 spotting scope. The giveaway ends October 30 at midnight Pacific Time. 👉 Forged in the Backcountry: https://forgedinthebackcountry.com/👉 Mindful Munitions: https://mindfulmunitions.com/This week Dimitri and I are recording from Alberta mule deer camp, where we are getting ready for a run of guided hunts and answering a pile of listener questions. Before the Q&A, we catch up on a backpack mule deer hunt, a float bear hunt, and a goat hunt that turned into a hard lesson in weather, access, pressure, and making a shot count when the opportunity finally shows up.Then we get into the stuff that actually helps you hunt better. We talk about how to structure a hunt in totally new country, why I would rather scout before the season opens than force myself to “just look” while the tag is valid, and why gathering broad information before narrowing down is usually the better play. We also cover solo hunting versus hunting with good buddies, keeping meat clean on a backcountry pack-out, finding alpine mule deer habitat, when to move a glassing point, and the gear that earned its way into our packs this year.We finish with budget hunting gear and the one-rifle question: 22 ARC, 6 Creed, 25 Creed, 7mm-08, or 6.5 Creedmoor. The reality is that most new hunters will kill more animals by buying the right basics, practicing to realistic distances, and learning one or two species properly than by chasing the newest cartridge or the flashiest gear list.Guided hunts: We have limited openings for backpack mule deer and float bear hunts next year, plus one remaining guided Coues deer hunt in Mexico during the third week of January. Email [email protected] for details.Chapters0:00 Alberta mule deer camp, guided-hunt updates & listener Q&A1:18 Backpack mule deer hunt recap: a big buck and a deer mix-up6:29 A simple phone trick for finding an animal in the spotter7:18 Why we nearly shot the wrong mule deer10:06 Four days of hiking for two hours of mule deer hunting11:30 Float bear hunt recap: a 29-yard archery opportunity15:24 Bear shot placement: why middle-middle beats the shoulder17:28 Goat hunt recap: 32 km in two days and brutal weather20:13 What a missed goat opportunity teaches about shooting pressure24:23 September guided-hunt results, 2026 openings & Kowa giveaway26:16 How do you structure a hunt in completely new country?28:54 Why scouting before season changes your decision-making35:15 Should you hunt solo or with other good hunters?38:37 How to pack out meat cleanly and avoid spoilage41:20 What to look for when scouting alpine mule deer45:37 Morning glassing, weather, and knowing when a hill holds deer48:58 Dimitri and Jay’s best gear items for 202659:36 How long should you glass before moving?1:06:04 Will there be a best budget hunting-gear list?1:11:09 22 Creed, 25 Creed, 6 Creed, 7mm-08, or 6.5 Creedmoor?1:22:39 Wrap-up, hunt bookings & Kowa 88 giveaway reminder Jay [email protected]://www.mindful-reviews.com/https://www.mindfulhunter.com/ Forged In The Backcountryhttps://forgedinthebackcountry.com/ Merchhttps://www.mindfulhunter.com/shop Newsletterhttps://www.mindfulhunter.com/contact IGhttps://www.instagram.com/mindful_hunter/ Podcasthttps://www.mindfulhunter.com/podcast Free Backcountry Nutrition GuideFree Training Guide For Mountain Huntinghttps://www.mindfulhunter.com/tools Kowa TSN-88A SweepstakesNo purchase required. Contest begins on August 18, 2026, at 12:01 a.m. PST and ends on October 30, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. PST. There is a total of 1 prize available to be won consisting of: (i) A previously owned Kowa TSN-88A Spotting Scope Body with Eyepiece (APR) $5,500.00 CAD; Skill testing question required. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States, The District of Columbia, Canada (excluding Quebec), United

🎁 WIN A KOWA 88 SPOTTING SCOPE: Mindful Munitions is officially open. Every $5 spent at Forged in the Backcountry or Mindful Munitions earns one entry to win a Kowa 88 spotting scope. The giveaway ends October 30 at midnight Pacific Time.

🎁 WIN A KOWA 88 SPOTTING SCOPE: Mindful Munitions is officially open. Every $5 spent at Forged in the Backcountry or Mindful Munitions earns one entry to win a Kowa 88 spotting scope. The giveaway ends October 30 at midnight Pacific Time.

🎁 WIN A KOWA 88 SPOTTING SCOPE: Mindful Munitions is officially open. Every $5 spent at Forged in the Backcountry or Mindful Munitions earns one entry to win a Kowa 88 spotting scope. The giveaway ends October 30 at midnight Pacific Time. 👉 Forged in the Backcountry: https://forgedinthebackcountry.com/👉 Mindful Munitions: https://mindfulmunitions.com/ In this episode, Jay sits down with a longtime buddy for a wide-ranging conversation about elk hunting, parenting, fitness, content creation, guiding, and what it really takes to become consistently successful in the field. They start with early-season hunting updates, family time in the outdoors, and the reality of trying to balance hunting with work, kids, and the rest of life.The conversation gets blunt when it turns to elk hunting. Jay explains why he no longer believes backpacking as deep as possible is an effective elk strategy in many places, why you cannot start hunting elk until you find elk, and why YouTube, podcasts, E-scouting, and fancy gear are not a replacement for actual days in the field. They also talk about aggressive hunting, understanding regional elk behavior, recovering wounded animals, learning not to give up too soon, and why BC may be some of the toughest elk country on the planet.Later, they get into the mental side of injury and fitness, how identity and ego can get tied up in training, the pressure of making hunting content, and why the best content often comes from simply being yourself. Jay also shares why guiding continues to be so meaningful: helping someone experience their first animal and seeing familiar country through the eyes of a hunter who has never been there before.🏔️ THE ALPINE MULE DEER + FLOAT BEAR HUNT: This was one of the best BC adventures Jay has ever put together, and it is now being offered every September as an extended 8–9 day hunt. Email [email protected] for details. One guided Coues deer spot remains for early February 2027, and 2027 Spring Bear openings are also available.Chapters0:00:00 Catching Up: New Shop, YouTube Grind & Family Hunting Season0:08:39 Early-Season Elk Action, Heat & Hunting Aggressively0:13:18 How to Structure September: Day Hunting vs. Taking a Full Week Off0:18:37 The Biggest Predictor of Hunting Success: Time in the Field0:19:00 Forest Fires, Pivoting a Goat Hunt & Why Pre-Season Scouting Matters0:21:18 You Cannot Podcast Your Way to Dead Critters0:24:59 Recovering a Bear in Rain, Thick Brush & Crocs0:27:00 Perspective, Tenacity & Why You Should Not Give Up Too Soon0:29:40 Why BC Is Some of the Toughest Elk Hunting in North America0:31:45 Hunt the Hunt You Actually Have—Not the One You See on YouTube0:33:21 Why Backpacking Deep Is Often a Terrible Elk Strategy0:36:32 Finding Elk vs. Getting Lucky: How Successful Elk Hunts Actually Happen0:42:49 Injury, Losing the Ability to Run & the Mental Side of Fitness0:48:58 Fitness, Ego & Learning to Be Okay With Changing Priorities0:53:37 Content Creation, Motivation & Finding Your Own Lane1:01:57 The Ethical Tension of Hunting Content & Why Guiding Matters1:04:39 Why Jay Still Guides Despite the Time Away From Family1:06:18 Most People Love the Idea of Hunting—Not the Reality1:09:08 Why Being Yourself Is the Only Sustainable Content Strategy1:10:51 Returning to Solo Podcasts & Making Content That Feels Natural1:15:52 Closing Thoughts: Perspective, Discipline & Doing What You Love Jay [email protected]://www.mindful-reviews.com/https://www.mindfulhunter.com/ Forged In The Backcountryhttps://forgedinthebackcountry.com/ Merchhttps://www.mindfulhunter.com/shop Newsletterhttps://www.mindfulhunter.com/contact IGhttps://www.instagram.com/mindful_hunter/ Podcasthttps://www.mindfulhunter.com/podcast Free Backcountry Nutrition GuideFree Training Guide For Mountain Huntinghttps://www.mindfulhunter.com/tools Kowa TSN-88A SweepstakesNo purchase required. Contest begins on August 18, 2026, at 12:01

🎁 WIN A KOWA 88 SPOTTING SCOPE: Mindful Munitions is officially open. Every $5 spent at Forged in the Backcountry or Mindful Munitions earns one entry to win a Kowa 88 spotting scope. The giveaway ends October 30 at midnight Pacific Time. 👉 Forged in the Backcountry: https://forgedinthebackcountry.com/👉 Mindful Munitions: https://mindfulmunitions.com/ Can a 500-yard shot actually be easier than a 150-yard shot? And is all the E-scouting, gear research, and hunting content in the world just an illusion of preparation if you never put boots on the ground? In this first guided-hunt recap, Jay breaks down a brutal but unforgettable BC combination hunt: an alpine backpack mule deer hunt followed by a float trip for black bear.Jay’s client Matt came in looking for his first mule deer and first black bear. After forest fires forced a last-minute pivot, the two relied on months of prior scouting, camera intel, route planning, shooting practice, and fitness to make the hunt happen. The result was a velvet mule deer taken at 496 yards from a perfect prone position, followed by a black bear on a river float hunt in a much harder, faster-moving shooting situationThis episode is a full behind-the-scenes look at what actually made the hunt successful: knowing the ridge before the hunt started, understanding when mule deer are visible, trusting intuition while glassing, building a stable shooting position, staying calm around a client at the moment of truth, and having the Zone 2 capacity to grind through a 10.5-hour, 10.5-mile pack-out with a boned-out buck. Jay also explains why he will never blindly take a different route out of a basin again, why an unsupported 100–150-yard shot can be far more difficult than a prone shot at distance, and what made recovering Matt’s first black bear in driving rain and thick river-bottom brush so intense.🏔️ THE ALPINE MULE DEER + FLOAT BEAR HUNT: This was one of the best BC adventures Jay has ever put together, and it is now being offered every September as an extended 8–9 day hunt. Email [email protected] for details. One guided Coues deer spot remains for early February 2027, and 2027 Spring Bear openings are also available.Chapters0:00:00 Introducing the New Guided Hunt Recap Series0:01:49 The Ultimate BC Combo Hunt: Alpine Mule Deer + Float Black Bear0:02:36 The Truth About Hunting Success: You Cannot Hack Preparation from Home0:05:27 Treat Yourself Like a Guided Client: Scouting, Cameras & Backup Plans0:06:29 Hiking into the Alpine Mule Deer Basin0:07:36 Why We Saw Nothing on the Evening Glassing Session0:08:26 The Morning Window: 35 Deer, 18 Bucks & 4–5 Shooters0:09:57 Why Boots-on-the-Ground Scouting Beats E-Scouting Alone0:11:42 The 4.5-Mile Move to the Deer0:12:23 Why Some Ridges Hold Deer and Others Don’t0:15:14 The Backside Bench: Trusting a Theory About Evening Mule Deer Movement0:16:11 Wind Management: Backing Out Before Ruining the Morning Play0:17:04 Finding the Perfect Glassing Perch0:18:50 Intuitive Glassing vs. Methodically Gridding a Hillside0:20:07 How Jay Finds Bedded Mule Deer in the Evening0:21:26 The Bedded Buck Debate & Finding a Shooter at 496 Yards0:21:56 Matt’s 22 Creed Setup, Practice & Long-Range Readiness0:23:35 The Perfect 496-Yard Prone Shooting Position0:24:18 Why a Lightweight Shooting Bag Matters0:24:38 Mindful Munitions, Forged in the Backcountry & Kowa 88 Giveaway0:25:59 Guiding the Moment of Truth: Calm Beats Urgency0:27:44 The 496-Yard Heart Shot on a Velvet Mule Deer0:29:30 Processing the Buck & Planning the Pack-Out0:29:53 Why Zone 2 Training Is the Best Mountain Hunt Preparation0:31:18 The Mistake: Never Take an Unproven Route Out of a Basin0:32:07 The 10.5-Mile, 10.5-Hour Mule Deer Pack-Out0:34:31 Fitness, Attitude & Why Matt Was Able to Finish the Grind0:35:25 Turning Around for the Float Bear Hunt0:36:16 Float-Hunt Logistics & Finding Fresh Bear Sign0:37:19 Why Float Hunts Are One of the Coolest Ways to Hunt0:37