Trent and Matt continue their multi-part "skill and craft" hunting series, reflecting on woodsmanship, learning through failure, and the hard work of elk hunting. They discuss how confidence affects shooting, including experiences with target panic and a dangerous bow failure that created lasting doubt, emphasizing practice and equipment checks before season and after travel due to elevation changes. They outline a practical glassing method: quickly check close cover and perimeters, scan distant areas, then systematically work back through a unit, and stress the importance of quickly landmarking and communicating an animal's location to partners. They frame elk hunting as a team sport where shared "comms" and defined roles (like shooter/spotter) improve success, and they describe stalking and calling strategy: pin locations, consider wind/time, wait for bedding, avoid obstacles that cause hang-ups, and reposition rather than forcing a stalled bull. They close with plans for future guests and broader topics beyond hunting.

In this special episode, we welcome Troy Cribbins, candidate for State Representative, to the barn. Troy shares his diverse background—from being born in Myrtle Point and raised in Portland, to his career as a physical therapist with a doctorate and experience running and owning healthcare businesses. He opens up about his journey, including moving back to Coos Bay to be close to family, his current roles on the Bay Area Hospital Board and Coos Bay City Council, and the reasons he's stepping up to run for state office.

In this podcast episode, Matt and Trent discuss building hunters through skill and craft, focusing on woodsmanship as a learned "puzzle" of understanding animal behavior, terrain, and sign. They emphasize starting with fundamentals—food, water, shelter—then using tools like OnX to locate clear cuts/units, plan routes, and mark rubs, wallows, trails, and notes to build an experience-based map. They describe practical methods for Roosevelt elk: covering ground by truck/bike, glassing for fresh rubs, bugling every 200 yards to locate elk, listening for stick pops, and learning to judge freshness of tracks, scat, and scent. They compare Roosevelt vs Rocky Mountain elk behavior, stress constant wind-checking, and highlight mindset: don't overthink or talk yourself out of clues, accept the effort, and treat each attempt as learning, illustrated by a story of following cows that led to a close encounter with a large bull.