PRESTON, IDAHO. Every new hobby you pick up has a steep learning curve. That's just a fact. It doesn't matter if it's crocheting, motorcycling, snowboarding, fencing, or chess. Hell, even learning how to build LEGO sets can be tough if you've never done it before.
There are pitfalls, there pratfalls, and there are a hundred thousand small instances of unlearned stupidity that will catch you out, cause you to fail, and likely make you ask yourself whether or not what you're doing is even worth the effort. None, however, have the sort of stakes as learning how to hunt. Why? Because unlike learning which LEGO block goes where, how to drop a knee, or whether shredding powder is right for you, hunting involves taking a life.
And that, for me, is something that I take immensely seriously. It's why I train with a 60-pound Sitka backpack. It's why I've shot thousands of arrows and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. It's why I scout whenever I can with UTVs and dirt bikes and ATVs. It's why I practice and try to learn everything I can through the means I have at my disposal.
But those means only go so far.
I didn't grow hunting. I didn't grow up with relatives or parents or grandparents who hunted. And like I've said in past stories, my friends who do hunt are all out of state. So they coudn't take me under their wings, show me the ropes, and show me what those potential pitfalls are—though I've incessantly texted and called them over the last two years. And though I've found success, I've been left to learn, and fail, mostly by myself.
You don't know what you don't know, however. And there are some teachings and thoughts you can only acquire from having someone in person who's done it a million times over show you the proper way. That's why when I got the chance to go to the "Built to Hunt Summit" put on by Huntin' Fool and Outdoor Solutions, a pack of wolves couldn't stop me from attending. And I learned so much from the three-day school.
I also brought along a Can-Am Defender HD10 Max because who the hell doesn't want to ride around Idaho's mountains at Day Mountain Ranch Resort, learning how to be a better, more ethical hunter with a bunch of gear and rifles in the bed?
For those unaware of Huntin' Fool or Outdoor Solutions, the two groups are very much different sides of the same coin.
Huntin' Fool, which put the event together, is your one-stop shop for help drawing Western big game tags, as they've cracked the code and understand draw systems like no other. Trust me, I've been only applying in my home state of Utah for three years, and the whole system still seems like ancient Greek. The team also offers consultations with experts, help understanding of where you're going, gear recommendations, and a whole lot more.
Outdoor Solutions, however, is there to provide you with a specific set of skills to get you ready to go on those hunts. Over the years, they've held classes in how to be a better long-range shooter, its Field to Table series of events where folks get to learn how to kill, dress, and cook their own wild game—something I might be doing in the near future with this team—and oh so much more.
But in the last few years, a lot of newcomers have found their way to hunting. Myself included. Yet, the two groups saw that they could improve those statistics further, as well as reduce the amount of folks who give up after only a few outings, if they put something on like the 'Built to Hunt Summit', a gathering where you take new and seasoned hunters, and teach them not only how to be better hunters, but how to overcome some of the chief obstacles of learning something new as difficult, and with the towering stakes, as hunting.
The event is all new for the year, and billed as a way to "elevate your outdoor experience and prepare for your next hunting adventure out West." And it's for both the "seasoned hunter or just starting your backcountry journey." I felt sort of in the middle of those two camps, as I've been doing it, learned a lot over the last two years, and found success last year. But the potential to learn from the experts was the main draw.
Broken into four days—and costing participants $1,950—the 'Built to Hunt Summit' covered a range of topics. We talked e-scouting utilizing our friends at onX, how to choose the right caliber and ammunition for your chosen game with the folks at Federal Ammunition, how best to field dress an animal and butchery techniques with Outdoor Solutions' Chef Albert, all the ways you can set up your rifle in the field to give you the best chances of success for a solid anchor point, backpack selection, the physicality needed to do a backpack hunt with Dr. Preston Ward at MTN Physio, a multitude of shooting scenarios and yardages with my man Jimmy Durham, and the importance of having adequate medical training and supplies with you—RIP Huntin' Fool's Garth Jensen who played the most unlucky hunter on the planet.
And while that sounds like a lot to cover in four days—and it was—each section didn't feel rushed. We had time for the instructors to delve into the topics in real ways, and after we began asking questions. Participants could really drill into things that didn't make sense to them or needed further explanation on. Maybe it was because of my background knowledge I'd already acquired, too, but I felt like the things that our teachers were talking about, the tips, tricks, and schoolings they had to offer, were concentrated in their form so that you got the most out of those four days. But done so in a way that made it still really accessible.
As we criss-crossed the valleys at make up Day Mountain Ranch Resort in the Can-Am, maybe adding a few people to the side-by-side's bed and testing out the rig's payload, as well as in the moments while we had some downtime, I talked with the other participants to not only get their takes on the event, but also to ask them why they were there. And I found this truly diverse group of folks that, like myself, didn't especially come from heavy hunting families or even have much of hunting backgrounds.
There were a handful of already dyed-in-the-wool hunters who'd been all around the world chasing game, hunters who'd given it up years ago only to more recently return, folks who'd never shot guns, and a lot of people who'd never even been in the field. And there were people from the West, the South, the East, and the North representing, including from urban populations like Los Angeles and Washington D.C., and rural locales where hunting is more of an everyday way of life. There were even a few folks from my portion of Utah who now all routinely text each other.
Hunting, it seems, is still very much a human connector.
"I don’t come from a hunting background. I come from the inner city," said Josh Rosario, one of the event's participants, adding, "I wanted to learn about hunting when I moved to Utah because it seemed to be a huge part of the western culture. I kept pushing off hunting season every year due to my lack of knowledge. When I visited the Hunt Expo in Salt Lake City, my wife and I met a couple standing by an Outdoors Soultions booth with a pretty awesome Malinois dog. It was through the pup that we learned about Built to Hunt. I thought it would help me to gain more confidence about the process of breaking down deer, applying for tags, and becoming proficient with rifles. And at the Summit, I was connected with a whole host of extremely professional staff, each one proficient in their craft. No shenanigans. Just execution and results. Classes were scheduled in a way where we got the maximum amount of knowledge in a day. Everyone I met had a cool story and interesting back ground. I was able to make great connections and hopefully long lasting friendships."
"Retreats and workshops are all about programming and vibes. The Built to Hunt Summit had both," furthered Max Sloves, telling me, "As someone new to hunting, it was a deluge of valuable information. But what was really fun was watching the experienced hunters, including reps from Christensen Arms, Huntin Fool, and Eberlestock and seeing how much fun they were having learning from each other and sharing knowledge with noobs like myself. Greg and his team are such terrific people that if you have the opportunity, I don’t see how you turn down a weekend of shooting, hiking, and learning with these guys. Especially at Day Mountain Ranch. That place is beautiful."
And I heard variations of the two from others, as well. Along with assurances that they'd be heading out into the field either this year with an over-the-counter tag they could pick up or next after applying somewhere cool. My personal learnings feel almost too numerous to count, though I have to admit that the 1,000-yard shot that Durham helped me achieve is one that I'll absolutely savor.
But having Huntin' Fool's Garth Jensen sit down with me and go through my elk hunting grounds and pointing out some possible areas to target and avoid was one of the highlights, as well as now having his number so I can bug him about my other questions. As was watching Chef Albert breakdown an axis deer in what seemed like 20 seconds after recalling the longer work I did on my muley last year, hearing how out-of-state draws work—and the best ones to apply to—from Huntin' Fools' Austin Atkinson who broke it down to simple terms even I could understand, the best ways to pack your backpack by the good folks over at Eberlestock, how bullets actually work and what you should be looking for when targeting specific game like elk, and a thousand other little things like which bandages to pack for when shit hits the fan.
Each one helped me put together that next little puzzle piece in my hunting journey. And suffice it to say, after everything I learned at the event, all the little pieces of knowledge I gained from the instructors who have numerous animals down over decades of experience, well I feel the most prepared I ever have to go into the woods, something that's fast approaching.
At the time of writing, I have two big game tags in my pocket. Both are archery tags, so my long-range steel-ringing won't quite yet be tested—though I'm actively working to remedy that. One is for early season elk, while the other is for mid-season mule deer. And because of the stuff I learned, I've got plans for both. Not just that, I have a Plan A, Plan B, and as I texted Huntin' Fools' Jensen, a Plan 'Oh No, Everything's Gone Wrong'.
I don't think I'll have to use the latter, though. Again, I feel more ready than ever.
This event isn't the last or a one-off, as Huntin' Fool and Outdoor Solutions are already planning the next one. And they're modifying a few things to make the next one even better than this was. But for those who've been thinking about getting back into hunting, for those absolute novices who've always wanted to know where their food comes from, and for those hunting savages who know you can never have too much schooling, I'd absolutely recommend signing up for the class.
It'll do you a world of good, and you'll likely make a few pals along the way. More folks to share your camp-fire hunting stories and pictures with is always good.
