In this episode of The Hunting Dad Podcast, I sit down with Gabe Staggs, the 19-year-old son of super successful public-land hunter, Greg Staggs. Gabe has already developed an impressive track record of finding and killing mature public-land bucks, and we dive into the process behind his success. We talk about growing up learning from his dad, scouting, finding "an edge within an edge," unconventional access routes, hunting pressure, target panic, and the lessons he's learned from both success and failure. Gabe also shares the incredible story of a 173-inch public-land buck, the shot he missed, and the surprising journey that followed. This is a great conversation about learning to hunt smarter, adapting to individual deer, and ultimately beating public-land bucks at their own game.

In this episode of The Hunting Dad Podcast, I sit down with Brad from Triple B Archery in Owensboro Kentucky to break down the world of modern bowhunting and talk about some of the biggest things bowhunters tend to overthink.

From arrow spine, FOC and arrow weight to bow tuning, grip, draw weight and speed, Brad explains what actually matters when it comes to building an accurate and dependable hunting setup. The guys also dive into paper tuning, center shot, modern bow technology and why sometimes keeping things simple is the best approach.

They also get into one of the most frustrating problems bowhunters can face: target panic. Jacob and Brad share their personal experiences battling it, different release styles, and what helped them become more confident and consistent shooters.

And, of course, there are plenty of hunting stories along the way—including forgotten releases, dry fires, equipment mistakes and a few lessons learned the hard way.

The big takeaway? Stop obsessing over the latest gear and complicated setups. Build a bow that fits you, tune it properly, practice until you're accurate and, most importantly, put the arrow where it needs to go.

Straight arrows, everybody. Shoot straight!

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This episode with Jake Bush is the standard of what it means to mature as both a hunter and a father. Instead of glorifying endless scouting and spending every spare minute in the woods, we discuss how becoming husbands and dads forced us to rethink success.

The discussion covers why less scouting has actually produced better results, the importance of being mentally present instead of simply logging miles, balancing family with hunting, developing confidence in your instincts, hunting mature bucks with limited time, and preparing for upcoming trips out of state, specifically Kansas. The episode wraps up with a reminder that the stories, memories, and family moments often outweigh any set of antlers hanging on the wall.