Becoming a Bowhunter

This week Matty sits down with Zoran Art, President of Twin City Bowmen and a bloke with a heap of experience chasing deer with a bow. After spending time together around the Trophy Takers event, we got into Sambar hunting around the Albury-Wodonga region… when Zoran likes to call, why patience matters after making a call, and the hunt that ended with his biggest Sambar stag to date. From there we cover his Snake Island hog deer hunt, chasing whitetail on Stewart Island, bowhunting elk in Montana and getting amongst scrub bulls and buffalo in the Northern Territory. But a big part of this conversation is simply years spent bowhunting. Learning from other hunters, making your own mistakes, developing your "bush eyes" and realizing that sometimes the only way a lesson really sticks is to get out there and bugger it up yourself. 🔍 What We Cover: How Zoran, Tarryn and the crew have built Twin City Bowmen around practical bowhunting and 3D archeryWhy September and October can bring increased Sambar rutting activity around Albury-WodongaCalling Sambar hinds and why a stag may be following behindWhy Zoran will wait 20–30 minutes after calling instead of moving too earlyThe stalk and calling sequence that produced Zoran's biggest Sambar stagUsing wallows, game trails and tree stands to target SambarHunting Stewart Island whitetail from tree stands and broadleaf feeding areasFive days on Snake Island before spot-and-stalking a hog deer on the final eveningWhat Zoran would do differently when hunting the later Snake Island ballot periodsA frustrating guided Montana elk hunt that changed once Zoran decided to make his own moveStalking scrub bulls and buffalo in the Northern TerritoryShot placement, shoulder hits and why bad shots are an unavoidable part of learning to bowhuntHow time in the bush develops the "bush eyes" experienced hunters use to pick out tiny movementsWhy the next generation matters for Twin City Bowmen, Trophy Takers and Australian bowhunting 🧠 Key Takeaway You can listen to every tip and hunting story you can find, but eventually you've got to get out and do it. Make mistakes, learn what works for you and keep putting time into the bush… that's where the lessons really start to stick. 🔗 Find Our Guest Zoran Art Instagram: @zoran_art Twin City Bowmen 🎙 Follow Becoming a Bowhunter Instagram: @becomingabowhunter.podcast Hosted by: @mattyafter 🎧 Episode Sponsors Dog and Gun Coffee – Fuel your hunt with premium coffee. Use code BOWHUNTER for $10 off @dogandguncoffee Kayuga Broadheads – Precision and reliability for every shot. Use code BAB10 for 10% off @kayuga_broadheads Venture Hunting & Outdoors – Gear up for your next hunt @venturehunting Jab Stick Outdoors – Precision-engineered carbon shafts. Use code BAB10 for $10 off @jabstickoutdoors

This week Matty sits down with Willie Waldrip, a 21-year-old bowhunter from Texas who's already packed an unbelievable amount of hunting into his life. Willie grew up in a hunting family, killed his first deer with a bow at seven and was hunting by himself at 10. Today he's balancing full-time college with guiding, filming and spending pretty much every spare day he can hunting. We get into axis/chital, bison, sheep, a Kodiak brown bear at six or seven yards, and a wild Utah public land mule deer hunt that eventually ended with Willie taking a buck just shy of 197 inches. But what really stood out was Willie's approach. Slow down when you get close. Learn something from every stalk. Stay present when the pressure builds. At only 21, he's already got a heap of experience… and a really interesting perspective on what it takes to keep getting better with a bow. 🔍 What We Cover: Growing up in a family where holidays meant hunting tripsKilling his first bowhunted deer at seven and hunting solo by 10Why networking and simply being a good person has opened hunting opportunitiesLearning something from every stalk, failure and successful huntWhy axis/chital are one of the toughest animals Willie has ever spot-and-stalkedStaying calm when a hunter starts losing their shot process in the final momentsWhy the closer you get to an animal, the slower everything should becomeBowhunting a bison and why Willie kept sending arrows when given the opportunityThe chaotic Utah public land mule deer hunt that ended with a near-197-inch buckShooting a Kodiak brown bear from six or seven yards and the brutal pack-out afterwardsHow sheep hunting taught Willie to take things one step at a timeTurning hunting, filming and YouTube into the life he wants to build after collegeWhy a five-pin slider has simplified Willie's shot process in fast hunting situationsHow Willie changes broadheads and arrow setups depending on the animal he's hunting 🧠 Key Takeaway Every hunt gives you something to learn if you're willing to look for it. Slow things down, control what you can control, and keep stacking those lessons… because that's how hunting starts becoming instinct rather than something you're constantly trying to figure out. 🔗 Find Our Guest Willie Waldrip Instagram: @williewaldrip_ Youtube: @WillieWaldrip 🎙 Follow Becoming a Bowhunter Instagram: @becomingabowhunter.podcast Hosted by: @mattyafter 🎧 Episode Sponsors Dog and Gun Coffee – Fuel your hunt with premium coffee. Use code BOWHUNTER for $10 off @dogandguncoffee Kayuga Broadheads – Precision and reliability for every shot. Use code BAB10 for 10% off @kayuga_broadheads Venture Hunting & Outdoors – Gear up for your next hunt @venturehunting Jab Stick Outdoors – Precision-engineered carbon shafts. Use code BAB10 for $10 off @jabstickoutdoors

This week Matty sits down with Jeff Helm, bowhunter, guide and owner of Arrowhead Bow Shop in McGregor, Texas. Jeff's been bowhunting for around 40 years and chasing elk for more than 20 of those… and last season he managed to go four for four on elk across four different states. We work through those hunts and how much the game changes as the season progresses. Calling bulls on public land, switching to spot and stalk when they shut up, reading terrain, predicting where an elk is heading instead of simply chasing it and learning to recognise those little signs that tell you you're suddenly right in the red zone. But what I really liked about this conversation is Jeff's approach to hunting after doing it for so long. He'll be the first to tell you there's an exception to just about every rule. You can have a plan, but you've still got to listen to what the animals, wind and terrain are telling you and be willing to change it. And sometimes you've just got to stay out there long enough to give yourself a chance. Jeff doesn't sleep in, doesn't head back to camp for lunch and doesn't quit when nothing's happening. After 20 or 30 days chasing elk, he reckons you might only get four to seven days where everything really fires… but those are the days you're out there waiting for. 🔍 What We Cover: How Jeff went four for four on elk across four different states and adapted as the rut changed through the seasonWhy Jeff isn't overly aggressive with bugling on pressured public land and how other hunters can change his calling strategyThe Idaho hunt where calling wasn't working, forcing Jeff and his mates to abandon the plan and switch to spot and stalk Why 20 or 30 days of elk hunting might only give you four to seven days where the bulls are really fired up and vocal Reading terrain and predicting where an elk is going rather than simply chasing it... including a move that put an arrow in a bull about 10 minutes later Developing those "Spidey senses" where smell, a hoof, an ear flick or a feeling tells you you're suddenly right in the red zone Why Jeff refuses to sleep in, head back to camp midday or give up when he's committed to an elk huntThe ridiculous moment Jeff and Donnie Drake simultaneously shot the same bull... and the lesson Donnie learned about checking his bubbleJeff's experience guiding axis, whitetail, aoudad, scimitar oryx, blackbuck and pigs across Texas Why Jeff opened Arrowhead Bow Shop in McGregor, Texas, and wanted to build an archery shop where beginners don't feel judgedThe importance of keeping a beginner's mindset, even after decades of bowhunting, and giving keen new hunters a hand up  🧠 Key Takeaway You can learn the rules, but elk haven't read the rulebook. The more time you spend hunting, the better you get at reading the little things... terrain, wind, behaviour and those tiny clues that tell you when it's time to stop following and start predicting. 🔗 Find Our Guest Jeff Helm @helm.yeah Arrowhead Bow Shop – McGregor, Texas 🎙 Follow Becoming a Bowhunter Instagram: @becomingabowhunter.podcast Hosted by: @mattyafter 🎧 Episode Sponsors Dog and Gun Coffee – Fuel your hunt with premium coffee. Use code BOWHUNTER for $10 off @dogandguncoffee Kayuga Broadheads – Precision and reliability for every shot. Use code BAB10 for 10% off @kayuga_broadheads Venture Hunting & Outdoors – Gear up for your next hunt @venturehunting Jab Stick Outdoors – Precision-engineered carbon shafts. Use code BAB10 for $10 off @jabstickoutdoors

This one's a little different. I was invited to speak at Hunt Fest, and my talk was all about two things that can make or break a hunt... stalking and shot placement. I broke stalking down into a framework I've built from eight years of bowhunting, plenty of mistakes, and hundreds of conversations with hunters through the podcast. It's called STALK: Spot the animal, Test the wind, Assess the approach, Let the animal dictate your pace, and Know your shot. From there, I get into wind and thermals, reading animal behaviour, using terrain and shadows to close distance, and knowing when to move versus when to stay completely still. For me, the goal with a bow is always to get close. Ideally, I'm looking for 20 metres or under rather than stretching the shot just because I can. Then we get into the other half of the Hunt Fest talk... shot placement. I use models of the heart and lungs to show where the vitals actually sit, why shot angle matters, and why I prefer aiming around the vital triangle rather than simply thinking "middle of the lungs." The whole idea is pretty simple: get closer, understand exactly where you're aiming, and give yourself the best chance of making a clean, ethical shot. 🔍 What We Cover: The STALK framework: Spot, Test, Assess, Let and KnowWhy my goal is to get within 20 metres before taking a bow shotUsing a grid system and close-range glassing to find animalsWhy watching an animal for five minutes can completely change your stalkReading herd behaviour and identifying the animals keeping watchTesting wind, understanding thermals and recognising how terrain moves your scentUsing dead ground, trees, bushes and shadows to hide your approachMovement can give you away even when an animal hasn't smelt youReading tails, ears, feeding behaviour and tension to know when it's safe to moveUsing a red light, yellow light and green light system during the final approachKnowing your effective shooting distance instead of relying on what you can hit at the rangeHeart, lung and vital-triangle shot placement across different shot angles 🧠 Key Takeaway A good stalk isn't about getting to an animal as quickly as possible. Watch first, understand the wind, build your approach and then let the animal tell you when you can move. The closer you can get while staying in control, the better opportunity you give yourself to make an ethical shot. Follow Becoming a Bowhunter Instagram: @becomingabowhunter.podcast Hosted by: @mattyafter Episode Sponsors Dog and Gun Coffee – Fuel your hunt with premium coffee. Use code BOWHUNTER for $10 off @dogandguncoffee Kayuga Broadheads – Precision and reliability for every shot. Use code BAB10 for 10% off @kayuga_broadheads Venture Hunting & Outdoors – Gear up for your next hunt @venturehunting Jab Stick Outdoors – Precision-engineered carbon shafts. Use code BAB10 for $10 off @jabstickoutdoors

This week Matty sits down with Frank Megali and Rob Campbell, the creators of The Hunting App For years, NSW public land hunters had access to a free mapping option that allowed them to load their maps, see exactly where they were and head into the bush. When that disappeared behind a subscription, Frank and Rob saw an opportunity to give hunters that functionality back. The result is The Hunting App. An app designed by hunters, for hunters… with a free version that actually stays free. You can load your maps, download areas for offline use, mark waypoints, build geofences, keep track of hunting locations and start building your own database of what you're seeing in the bush. Then there are paid tiers coming for hunters who want to take things further with e-scouting, weather, property boundaries, terrain analysis and a heap more. But what I really liked about this conversation is the thinking behind it. These guys aren't trying to take something hunters already had for free and sell it back to them. They wanted to give the community a useful free tool first… then let the hunters themselves help shape where it goes from there. What We Cover: How Rob got into hunting through a mate's backyard target shoot before discovering R-Licence hunting and NSW State ForestsWhy Rob reckons new hunters should start scouting, setting trail cameras and learning animal behaviour before they've even got all their hunting gearHow watching deer without the pressure of taking a shot helped Rob understand feeding, bedding and movement patternsFrank's background hunting rabbits, foxes and deer, and how he now hunts with big-game indicating dogsHow Frank and Rob train their dogs to recognise deer scent, ignore non-target animals and work within a controlled range in front of the hunterWhy Avenza's pricing change became the catalyst for creating The Hunting App and why keeping a genuinely free version mattered to themHow the free version handles georeferenced maps, DPI maps, offline satellite and topo mapping, pins, notes and up to nine square kilometres of offline mapsHow private-property hunters can use boundaries, geofences, gates and no-go zones to make communication with farmers clearer and saferHow the upcoming e-scouting tools combine property boundaries, routes, watercourses, terrain, slope, weather, wind forecasts and other map layers before you leave homeHow NSW public land hunters can store licences and permissions while still carrying the required DPI-provided maps to remain compliantHow bowhunters can use points and distance markers for blood trailing, marking last blood and navigating back to where an animal was standing when the shot was takenHow pins, photos and hunt history could build a long-term record of wallows, rubs, sightings, weather and animal movement so hunters can start recognising patterns over time Key Takeaway: Good mapping isn't just about knowing where you are. If you can combine scouting, wind, terrain, boundaries and years of your own hunting observations in one place, you can arrive at a new block with a plan instead of burning the first day figuring everything out. 🔗 Find Our Guest Frank Megali & Rob Campbell @the_hunting_app The Hunting App Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/the-hunting-app/id6763955844?utm_source=chatgpt.comGoogle  Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?hl=zh_HK&id=MAP+BASED+APPS+PTY+LTD&utm_source=chatgpt.com 🎙 Follow Becoming a Bowhunter Instagram: @becomingabowhunter.podcast Hosted by: @mattyafter 🎧 Episode Sponsors Dog and Gun Coffee – Fuel your hunt with premium coffee. Use code BOWHUNTER for $10 off @dogandguncoffee Kayuga Broadheads – Precision and reliability for every shot. Use code BAB10 for 10% off @kayuga_broadheads Venture Hunting & Outdoors – Gear up for your next hunt @venturehunting Jab Stick Outdoors – Precision-engineered carbon shafts. Use code BAB10 for $10 off @jabstickoutdoors