6 Ranch Podcast

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Fellow guides Chad Dotson and Kevin Harlander recap their hunting and guiding seasons and we talk through the changes to the new deer hunting regulations and unit boundaries in Oregon. 

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Amy got bucked off a horse and broke her neck. She refused surgery, healed through exercise and visualization, then left the high desert of Oregon to college. She was recruited for the rowing team where she quickly became the strongest person on the oar. Then she got in a boat wreck and broke her back. After recovering from that she tried out for National team and despite being rejected by the coach due to her height, she forced her way onto the boat by demonstrating she could pull harder than anyone else in...

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In this special episode of the 6 Ranch Podcast, James connects with Rob Gearing and JT from Spartan Precision— from Branded Rock Canyon in Colorado. 

Rob shares the story behind the innovations, the challenges of building world-class ultralight hunting gear, and how decades of experience in the field shaped Spartan’s newest releases. From engineering insights to real-world application, this episode dives into what it takes to design equipment trusted on the toughest hunts around the world.

We also discuss Land Rovers, Land Cruisers, the INEOS Grenadier, hunting in the Briti...

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Learn how to do an overland trip to Baja, find free camping locations, navigate the border and not get arrested at military check points in this informational episode following my 93 hour road trip. I also discuss the gear I used, how I used it, what worked well and what didn’t. 

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I drove 52 hours and 12 minutes to Baja, Mexico to freedive and spearfishing for Marlin. After day two of the trip I sat down with my guide, Angelo, from La Ventana Dive Center for part 1 of a two part episode. We talk Marlin, how I almost got arrested on the way here, the challenges of guiding spearfishermen, and how Angelo almost got eaten be a tiger shark. 

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Taylor organizes and guides expeditions to the North and South Pole, across Greenland, over South Georgia Island (following Shakleton’s route) and has some good stories to tell as well as insights into what it takes both mentally and physically to endure these climates. Enjoy the show and check out Polar Explorers if you want to do a trip like this. 

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Fan favorite, Madeline Lau is in studio this week with her precious yellow lab puppy sleeping at my feet to talk about river ecology, responsible tourism and to discuss the aspects of marine corps leadership that can be applied to parenting. Enjoy!

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Taylor Chism is just your garden variety blonde gal who flies helicopters to fight wildland fire, jumps into canyons from hovering helicopters to tackle wolves, elk, and bighorn sheep for science, flies to Baja by herself in her 70 year old airplane to swim with whale sharks, rescues cow dogs, hunts moose, and has strong opinions about how a life should be properly lived. After a two year absence we welcome back to the 6 Ranch Podcast the one and only..

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What started as an off-road race using cars that cost less than $500 has turned into the largest organized clean up of trash on public land in the country. Tune in for some laughs, good stories, and to hear how the Sons of Smokey are taking care of our national forests and BLM. 

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Danny Bolton is a father, skateboarder, spearfisherman, off-road driving instructor, and hunter— among other things. He’s also a good friend and an all around interesting guy. He came out to Oregon from Hawaii to guide archery elk with me this season and we sat down to talk elk, off-roading and a number of other subjects. Enjoy the show and if you haven’t already, write a review on whatever platform you listen to this show on. This show is expensive to produce and is how my editor and I make a living, your r...

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My guests this week are several herds of rutting elk. This may be the best audio recording of elk ever made. Over the next hour you will hear up-close vocalizations from bulls, cows and calves like never before. In some cases you can hear the bulls breathing into the microphone. I captured low frequency growls, grunts and glunks that can only be heard within a few feet of an elk. You’ll hear huffs, hisses, whines, and even a flat out bull fight— not to mentioning epic bugling and chuckling. While listening to this...

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In this episode, we sit down with Cate Havstad-Casad—a hatmaker, rancher, and founder of Range Revolution—to unravel the hidden environmental cost of America’s closets and how she’s forging a different path. From handcrafting custom western hats and wrangling cattle to building a 1,400-acre regenerative farm and launching a luxury leather goods brand, Cate reveals the waking moment when she learned that over 5 million cattle hides are discarded in the U.S. each year. She explains how Range Revolution is more than a business—it’s a radical redesign of the leather...

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There is only one overland company that was born on an elk hunt, and I sat down with the owner and inventor of the Lone Peak to hear the story while mine was being installed on my truck. Since then I’ve spent a few nights in it and used the other features on a daily basis and I have to say, I’m impressed. After another 40 nights sleeping in it, this thing will have paid for itself. Anyhow, enjoy the episode and dig in to see if this is a piece of gear...

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This week I have a very special guest, my mentor and friend, Tim Butler. Tim served in the Marines in the gulf war and since then has worked as an engineer for many if not most of the major gun manufacturers in America. While he may argue this point, I believe he has influenced firearms more than any other individual in the past century, and more than likely, if you’re an American hunter, you own a firearm that Tim worked on. Make sure to check out the portion of this episode where he...

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The broadhead is the most important part of any archery system. Every other piece of gear you wear, use or carry is simply a supporting effort for delivery your broadhead to the vitals of an animal. This week I drove to Casper, Wyoming to sit down with the intelligent and experienced Mr Bryan Broderick to talk about arrow systems and broadheads. He politely challenged some of my own long held beliefs from a position of knowledge and authority. In some aspects he convinced me to rethink these beliefs, in other ways I’m st...

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Nutrition doesn’t have to be complicated so in this episode we make it simple, tell a few hunting stories, and rate the nutritional quality of everything I planted in my garden this year. Check out their website here.

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Hannah Mabbot runs Hunt Oregon and guides elk from August 1st through March. Last year she guided 65 hunters with a 90% success rate. I don’t know of anyone who guides more elk hunters than her. We talk about the guide life, hunter expectations, and other goodnesses. 

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My guest this week travelled all over the world to work as a cowboy. In fact, he worked on all six continents where the job is done. Meet The Lost Cowboy, Mr J.B. Zielke. From surviving cartel gunfights in Mexico to finding nomadic reindeer herders in Mongolia, to mustering wild cattle in Northern Australia with motorcycles and helicopters, he has had some wild experiences. If you enjoy this episode, share it with a friend, and leave us a review wherever you listened to this episode. 

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I love long range shooting and close range hunting, but let’s say something went wrong and a critter is wounded and the only chance you are going to get is across a canyon at 1,000 yards— can you make that shot? I got invited to attend the first class of the Salmon River Shooting School and this show was recorded after the school was done. We talk about the ethics and reality of long range hunting as well as some stories about how Cameron gets after it on his backcountry mountain hunts where he r...

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Half a million years ago an early human in Java engraved a zigzag pattern into a shell, and ever since then engraving has been a lasting form of art. Amy Raymond is famous for engraving silver in a western style. We sat down to discuss her art, gun engraving, and many other subjects in this fun episode. Amy has a great sense of humor and is renowned not only for her art but also as a teacher. I’m pretty sure most of us own something that’s engraved in one way or anot...

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Building a small business is hard. Take a few minutes to listen to the folks at Sound Off Suppression talk about suppressors and the crazy dynamics of reducing the sound of supersonic gases from a rifle and the challenges of starting a suppressor company. 

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Steve Bartkowski could’ve played baseball, basketball or football at damn near any university in the country and chose football. He’d go on to be the number 1 draft pick and a hall of fame quarterback. We talk about what professional football was like in the 1970’s and how he started one of the first hunting shows on television. Pretty cool story from an American legend. 

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I’ve been a fan of Paul Cauthen’s music since I first heard it, and later learned that him and my little sister were buddies when they lived in Austin. Finally got the chance to sit down with Paul backstage before one of his concerts and talk about stories from his youth where he worked a chain gang in jail, the inspiration for his genre defying music, and his love for hunting and food. Here’s a great chance for you to learn about the man behind the music like you’ve never he...

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Anna studies 6 languages. Has four degrees. Has lived in at least three countries. And for a living, she slaughters animals and butchers their meat for people to eat. I deeply enjoyed our conversation where we discussed life, death, knives, quantum theory and more than a little bit of nonsense. Anna Borgman is a rare individual. Give her a follow on instagram and leave us a review with your thoughts on this episode. It’s a dandy. 

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Archery is a mental game. Get good equipment that is well setup from a pro shop, develop the skills to use it and then the hard work begins of simply executing the same shot every time. In this episode we get into the mental side of archery. John Appleton is a veteran and archery pro shop owner who has been nationally ranked in multiple disciplines of target shooting. I encourage archery hunters to listen to this episode so they can start developing skills now so they’ll be ready when that moment arrives th...

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No words in this episode. Just a small mountain stream in the spring, tumbling over large boulders and winding through fallen logs into a pool where two redband rainbow trout dart from the shadows of a rock to eat passing nymphs. Birds singing as light drips down the side of the canyon. Give yourself the break you deserve and listen. 

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We welcome back Vic Coggins for his second appearance on the show to talk about how he traded beer to wildlife biologists to reintroduce bighorn sheep into Oregon. Vic has been a wildlife biologist for close to 60 years now, and if it weren’t for him we might not have mountain goats, bighorns, turkey and more. He tells stories of the Wild West days  of getting species from other places to introduce to Oregon. A program that was so successful that now Oregon gives wild sheep away to other states. 

You migh...

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Cody Sheehy is an award winning documentary film maker who lives on a sailboat in Mexico. He broke the story about China genetically engineering and DNA editing babies, and is about to launch his next film about a Vietnam veteran who befriended a 22’ wide manta ray that would swim up to his boat, slap the side of it with its wing, and then swim with him. They did this together for 19 years. Excellent stories and a wide ranging conversation that was interesting in every moment. 

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Amos was my tracker in South Africa. He speaks 7 languages and reads tracks like you are reading this sentence. In this episode we translate from English to Xhosa and back to English to get this one of a kind perspective on tracking wild animals in dry country. Listen for the nuance in what he says. 

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Leopard, Cape buffalo and many other critters in Africa can pose serious threats to hunters, especially when they are wounded. With over 25 years as a guide and professional hunter in Africa, Sean has some good stories. You may also be interested in the new hunt he is offering. A western backcountry style Kudu hunt for $3,500. Hike in, sleep in a tent, wake up and start glassing and stalking kudu bulls. Enjoy the show and check out fort governor’s safaris to contact them. 

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I’m in South Africa hunting with my new friend Sean and this is part one of a two part episode. First we discuss African wildlife, agriculture, and the persecution of farmers in South Africa as well as breaking down myths of African hunting. Make sure to come back next week for an episode of hunting stories. Learn more about his hunting operation at Fort Governor’s Safaris. 

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At age 5 Dale’s dad abandoned his family. At 11 he contracted polio and became paralyzed from the neck down for 18 months at 17 he set a national record in the mile, 4:11 seconds. He’d go on to win the first ever NCAA National title in the 5,000, an event he ran barefoot in 30° weather. He’d later set a world record in the 2 mile 8:46 seconds. Following college he became a school teacher in Wallowa, Oregon where he worked for 33 years instructing science and forestry while also advocating for wilderness preservation. Dale was also a legendary bow hun...

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This episode has a brief introduction and then over an hour of listening to a river flow over a rapid in the bottom of a canyon  lined by wildflowers while songbirds sing. Use this to fall asleep, meditate, or to help focus you at work. No music, no ads, just the sounds of nature for free. This episode is dedicated to young Olsen Harlander, who was born while this recording occurred. 

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Just a good conversation with a couple young fellas who get after it in the mountains. We talk trapping, mule deer, elk, whitetail, and a bit of nonsense in between. Check out more from them on the show they just started called The Middle Class Man on Spotify. 

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Recorded in Panama on a sailboat in a stunning saltwater bay illuminated at night with bioluminescence, this podcast goes into the adventure, technicalities and beauty of spearfishing for yellowfin tuna and reef species 7° north of the equator. Anthony Dooley from Life Below the Surface has guided spearfishing for three decades and he makes the short list of people I’d trust with my life in situations like this where the potential for things to go wrong is ever present. Cliff Gray of Pursuit with Cliff is a lifelong spearfisherman, guide, and a great fri...

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Ticks. Nobody likes them. They carry and spread diseases to people, wildlife and pets. This spread is made worse by misinformation about tick ecology and behavior. In this episode I sat down with Dr Thomas Mather, one of the nation’s foremost experts on ticks to dispel myths and help people learn what they need to do to prevent getting bit and infected by these terrible diseases. Check out more articles and research about ticks at tick encounter and if you catch and tick and want to know what kind it is and wh...

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This is big. For the first time, a new product is being launched on the 6 Ranch Podcast (actually two new products from Spartan). AND we are announcing an opportunity for three people to join me next year at Avon Valley Safaris in New Zealand for a week of hunting with many species available. Check out the new gear from Spartan here

Check out Avon Valley Safaris here

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One of my favorite forms of animal art is gyotaku, the centuries old process of making prints using ink, fabric or paper, and the natural textures of a fish. Brandon has been practicing this art form for 16 years and it’s now his full time job— people from all over the world send him fish to make his prints. This episode is all about the combination of fishing, food and art. We all like that. Follow Makai Impressions on Instagram and check out their work. 

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Tyler Hauk guides elk in some unique terrain which mixes the deceptively flat rolling short grass prairie of eastern Oregon and the unreasonably steep canyons that border them. He also used to take cruise ship tourists on trips to view bears and you’ll want to hang out until the end of the episode to hear that one. Trust me.  Follow his Instagram here. 

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Silencers continue to be misunderstood. I sat down with the folks at silencer central to answer some of your questions: what’s the process to get a silencer? How long does it take? How do I pick one out? What are the benefits? Any downsides?

We cover all that and a bunch more. Enjoy. 

Get yours coming from Silencer Central and it’ll show up at your house in the mail before you know it.