Spring bear season doesn't start when the tag hits your pocket, it should start right now!

This year, the snow isn't normal; the prime bear elevation zones they may not line up like they have historically.

Spring bear hunting is snowline game. An elevation game and a timing game. The bear hunters who are guessing are about to get exposed.

2026? It's going to punish the unprepared.

In this Thrive episode, I'm breaking down what you need to be doing right now to get ahead of the season.

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Additional Thrive Resources

Use My Code TREELINE For a Peax Discount.

Treeline Academy Courses – (Code THRIVE to save 20% on any Treeline course)
https://www.treelineacademy.net

Treeline Podcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/podcast-main--b42b4

Treeline Thrive Vodcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/thrive

Peax Elk & Bear Tour Events
https://www.treelineacademy.net/peax-tour

Gritty Movie Night Tickets & Trailer
https://staygritty.com/pages/movie_night

Backpacking Grizzly Bear Hunt – Gritty Films
https://youtu.be/CzV_ihfnElk?si=n-4hcgpfQ9NxFCEE

Remember when elk hunting out West meant hitting the mountains, not crunching numbers, gaming odds, or dodging fine print and deception?

Is the elk tag game rigged, and are the rules changing while you're still in line?

What's happening in the Western elk tag system isn't just frustrating, it's broken. The states know it. The math proves it.

Application season is here, our annual collision of hope and reality. It's when we obsess over draw odds, dissect point strategies, and hustle every angle to and elk tag for next season.

Today, elk hunting has become a two-tiered game: those with points… and those without. The hard truth? Both camps are in trouble.

In this week's Thrive episode, we're pulling back the curtain, digging into the trends, the tag systems, and the truth about what it really takes to hunt elk in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Colorado.

It's not just about tag costs, its exposing a system that's quietly become a lottery that you pay to lose.

Do these systems still work… or are we all stuck in an expensive spin cycle?

Additional Thrive Resources

Use My Code TREELINE for a discount on your Peax Equipment gear!

Treeline Academy Courses – (Use code THRIVE to save 20% on any Treeline course)
https://www.treelineacademy.net

Treeline Podcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/podcast-main--b42b4

Treeline Thrive Vodcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/thrive

Points, Odds & Reality: Our 2026 Hunt Application Strategy – GOHUNT Big Hunt Guys Podcast – Episode 207
https://youtu.be/Q7l6mnD-ol8?si=AsGEIL3OWZnSQqHQ

On X Hunt – Elk Draw Trends: Study Of Western US Data 2018-2022
https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt/blog/elk-draw-trends?

Most Western hunters don't fall short because of bad luck—or bad gear.

And no one sets out with the goal to be average.

But somewhere along the way, comfort and familiar creep in and take over. This is how the cycle begins, and you need to be intentional to break it.

· Same familiar spots

· Same excuses

· Same half-ass preparations

· Expecting different results

· Doing the same things, in the same places, in the same way, yet still expecting different results

The Truth: The surefire way to stay an average Western hunter is to keep acting like one.

Today, we're talking about why average hunters stay average and breaking down four common pitfalls that keep hunters stuck year after year.

Hope is not a strategy.

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Additional Thrive Resources

Use My Code TREELINE at Peax Equipment for a discount.

Treeline Academy Courses – (Use code THRIVE to save 20% on any Treeline course)
https://www.treelineacademy.net

Treeline Podcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/podcast-main--b42b4

Treeline Thrive Vodcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/thrive

In the last Thrive episode, I laid out some hard truths. Montana's deer herds are in trouble.

The response to that episode was immediate, emotional, and a bit overwhelming.

Hundreds of comments, strong opinions, and a lot of understandable frustration from people who care deeply about Montana's deer herd.

But here's the thing, pointing out the problems was only step one.

Today's episode isn't about outrage; it's about your comments, ideas, and potential solutions.

I'm going to address the biggest questions you asked, and then I'm going to lay out several ideas for your consideration.

Doing nothing is no longer an option; we've been wearing that option out.

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Additional Thrive Resources

Use My Code TREELINE For A Discount and to show support for the Vodcast.

Treeline Academy Courses – (Use code THRIVE to save 20% on any Treeline course)
https://www.treelineacademy.net

Treeline Podcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/podcast-main--b42b4

Treeline Thrive Vodcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/thrive

Understanding Mule Deer & Antler Point Restrictions: The Mule Deer Working Group
https://wildlife.utah.gov/pdf/mule_deer/mdwg-6_point_restrictions.pdf

Have you ever seen something coming from a mile away? Yet, nobody does anything about it?

Montana's deer herds didn't just disappear overnight. It wasn't random. This was a slow-motion train wreck, and the people in charge of the tracks, well, they stood there and watched it happen.

That's Montana's mule deer story. From over 386,000 animals to under 250,000 in just seven years.

While other states pulled back and course-corrected, Montana kept feeding the tag machine.

Now they want a pat on the back for finally cutting a few nonresident deer tags?

I mean seriously…..

In this episode of the Thrive Vodcast, we will work through the numbers, policies, and patterns, and let you judge for yourself.

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Additional Thrive Resources

Use My Code TREELINE For A Discount and to show support for the Vodcast.

Treeline Academy Courses – (Use code THRIVE to save 20% on any Treeline course)
https://www.treelineacademy.net

Treeline Podcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/podcast-main--b42b4

Treeline Thrive Vodcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/thrive

Fish and Wildlife Commission Votes Ro Reduce Nonresident Deer Licenses
https://montanafreepress.org/2025/12/05/fish-and-wildlife-commission-votes-to-reduce-nonresident-deer-licenses/

There's one thing that will end a hunt faster than a blown stalk or busted gear—and that's getting cold and wet.

Once extreme cold sets in and your feet start to go numb, your hunt is headed downhill fast.

Yes, you can tough it out for a little while, but the truth is, you're on borrowed time and your hunt might already be over!

I've been on enough late-season hunts to know this all too well.

Getting chilled to the bone doesn't happen by accident. Avoiding it requires intention and a systematic approach.

If you get it wrong, you're likely to end your hunt early.

In this Thrive episode, I'm breaking down five tactics that can help keep you warmer, drier, and more prepared for the cold days ahead on late-season backcountry hunts.

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Additional Thrive Resources

Use My Code TREELINE For A Discount and to show support for the Vodcast.

Treeline Academy Courses – (Use code THRIVE to save 20% on any Treeline course)
https://www.treelineacademy.net

Treeline Podcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/podcast-main--b42b4

Treeline Thrive Vodcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/thrive

Grakksaw – Use Discount Code Treeline
https://www.grakksaw.com/

Peax Christmas Giveaway Video – Dumb & Dumber
https://youtu.be/CNYo1hcFhAw?si=wJuwNJwyaiT8Rz6M

Today's show is going to be a bit different, OK, a lot different.

This Thrive episode isn't about hunt planning, elk strategy, or bear tactics. It's about something that comes up more than just almost anything else:

Merging Western hunting & successful marriages, and what it looks like when one of you disappears into the wilderness for long periods of time.

I've been on over 100 podcasts, and I rarely get through one without being asked:

"How does your wife handle the 100+ days your in the backcountry each year?

"How do you keep your family on the right path when you're hunting that much?"

We are going to dive into that topic head-on. I invited the expert, my wife Amy, onto the show—she's lived it all with me. And today, we're going to sit down and talk honestly about what works, what's hard, and what we've learned navigating over two decades of adventure seeking, sometimes the hard way.

We've had this conversation before, but never quite like this. I'll be honest, I might end up under the bus a few times. But if I do… It's probably because I earned it, and maybe you will benefit from it.

I've broken the show into nine segments so we can work through this together—openly, truthfully, and hopefully in a way that helps you navigate life with your partner.

This is another one's real one. And I think it's going to hit home with a lot of Western hunters.

Let's get to it.

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Additional Thrive Resources

Use My Discount Code TREELINE at Peax Equipment.
https://www.peaxequipment.com/

Treeline Academy Courses – (Use code THRIVE to save 20% on any Treeline course)
https://www.treelineacademy.net/

Treeline Podcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/podcast-main--b42b4

Treeline Thrive Vodcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/thrive

Hunting Marriage & Redemption – Mark & Amy Livesay – The Gritty Podcast
https://youtu.be/IS5ni0xB7so?si=2nMfR5zYvu7fMJIy

The Best Kept Secret In Elk Hunting? - Elk Shape Podcast
https://youtu.be/jOFPGO9cPE8?si=_qNLnK2e76ys0dHD

In this special Live From the Hunt edition of the Thrive Vodcast, I sit down with my good friend Chiam — cameraman, hunter, freeze-dry fanatic, and world-class skinny-jean-wearing tech gear junkie.

Warm weather has delayed the elk migration, the elk aren't cooperating, and we were grinding through long days deep in the backcountry. This was the perfect chance to dive deep into some "new" gear that truly performs in real backcountry conditions.

From power bank myths, solar panel failures, daily food bag disasters, freeze-dried McGriddle experiments, and new tech that is changing how hunters film, glass, and stay powered — this is a full gear breakdown straight from the mountain.

If you're a Western hunt gear guru, this Thrive Episode is for you!

Let's get to it.

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Additional Thrive Resources

Use My Discount Code TREELINE at Peax Equipment.
https://www.peaxequipment.com/

Treeline Academy Courses – (Use code THRIVE to save 20% on any Treeline course
https://www.treelineacademy.net/treeline-map-toolkit-description

Treeline Podcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/podcast-main--b42b4

Treeline Thrive Vodcast Archive
https://www.treelineacademy.net/thrive

Harvest Right Freeze Dryers
https://affiliates.harvestright.com/2013.html

Renogy Backcountry Solar Panel 30W
https://amzn.to/48ctUJF

Renogy 72000mAh High-Capacity Power Bank
https://amzn.to/43IoMeM

Nitecore NB10000 Gen III Ultra-Slim Power Bank
https://amzn.to/4ptikko

Hollyland Lark M2 Wireless Microphone
https://amzn.to/4pp6mbe

DJI Osmo Namo Standard Combo
https://amzn.to/43EQg56

Flextail Zero Pump – 1.2 Ounces
https://amzn.to/4ob2PMU

Flextail Portable Air Pump 2X – 3.3 Ounces
https://amzn.to/43LMxTg

Aero Gogo Giga Pump Air
https://www.aerogogo.com/

Epoch Outdoors Digiscope Mountain Mag
https://epochoutdoors.com/