Close Range Hunter

I finally got my old friend Lance Altherr to stop by to record a podcast. I've known Lance for over 25 years and he has some great stories to tell. He is the guy I've been archery coues deer hunting with down by the border for the last couple years. He's killed a bunch of big bucks and bears in the Borderlands and shares some of his secrets for both. Lance is a former Border Patrol officer and is currently a BLM Special Investigator. (Bureau of Land Management not the other BLM!) So, he has some first hand stories to tell about what goes on at our southern border too.
This one is a little over two hours long, but there is some great info and some great stories, like when he treed a bear by barking like a dog while wearing nothing but his underwear! I hope you enjoy it and get some valuable info to help on your hunts. Bonus fishing stories at the end too.

It's been quite a while since my last episode, but I'm back! Since Christmas Janice and I have been pretending to be retired, not just from our regular jobs, but also our pack llama business. No social media, podcasts, or YouTube videos. Just fun enjoying the Arizona backcountry.
In this episode I first catch up on some of the adventures we've had and tell a couple of hunting stories. After that I go into an analysis of the data from the first year of the Arizona archery deer hunt quota system. I get into some of the questions I've had like: How did it work out? Which hunts closed and when? What are some of the problems and solutions? (Hint: It's not all bad.) I also go into the proposed changes for the upcoming 2023 Arizona general deer hunt tag numbers and how that compares to changes to the archery hunts for the upcoming seasons.
Thanks to all the people who have continued to download and listen to my past episodes and have encouraged me to get going again. If you enjoy them please share with your friends.
Thanks, Chris

Josh has a wealth of knowledge, and more importantly, experience with backcountry search and rescue, whitewater and technical rescue, wilderness first aid, exercise physiology, and lots of other interesting and useful stuff. He's a family man and very accomplished hunter, college professor, SAR and SWAT team member, and all around good guy. He's one of the very few people I will hunt with anytime anywhere. Even when things are rough he has a positive attitude. He's also the guy you want backing you up if a mountain lion is about to jump on you! In this episode we tell some hunting stories and talk about the simple things you can do to decrease the chance that you will need him to come rescue you. Lots of useful information. Let me know if you want Josh back on another episode or on a regular basis. Message me on IG @closerangehunter.
Sorry but there is a bit of bleed over between the two microphones. While recording it sounded great, but after downloading from the recorder it has a little excess "stereo" sound. This is the first time I've used this particular recording setup and I'm still learning.

They say the first step is admitting that you have a problem. In this episode I do just that, and talk about my debilitating addiction to archery hunting for trophy coues deer.
This quest has caused 30 years years of frustration and unfilled tags not to mention the paranoia that came with finding and pursuing a true world record class buck. Yes, I spent six of those years attempting to match wits with and obsessing over a giant buck I called Big Fork. After he died of natural causes in 2013 I was crushed and hit rock bottom. Because of that I quit archery deer hunting cold turkey for ten years, but this year I fell off the wagon and picked up the bow and the bad habit again, just as bad as ever. Yet another frustrating early archery deer season, complete with close calls, has me thinking about quitting again. Maybe I need a Slump Buster and should go after an ugly carp deer.
In this episode I talk about hunts gone by and my eventful 2022 early archery season in an effort begin taking the first steps to kick this nasty habit.

Archery elk season is right on top of us! In this episode I cover five big picture strategies that I think are the most important, overlooked, or misunderstood aspects of archery elk hunting during the rut, especially if you are solo hunting. This isn't meant to be a comprehensive treatment of elk calling, tactics, and gear. There are already many sources for that kind of information. I could write a book about all the lessons I've learned from chasing big bulls, but here I have summarized an overall approach to solo elk hunting that has evolved from first hand experience and success in the field. If you are a new elk hunter this is a good primer to get you started in the right direction. Even if you are experienced I bet there will be something here you haven't tried. No matter who you are, adopting even one of these strategies should improve your hunt.
Let me know if you have other questions or topics you'd like to hear about. Send me a message on Instagram at closerangehunter. Enjoy!