Ep. 426: From Tech Hacker to Adirondack Buck Hunter! w/ Mike Zusman

Beau Martonik is joined by Mike Zusman on an incredible journey as he trades in his keyboard for a rifle, going from a tech hacker to an Adirondack buck hunter! They discuss Mike’s journey of getting into hunting, building a successful tech hacking business, outdoor writing, seeking out a life of adventure, long-term vision, a 4-year journey in the Adirondacks to shoot a buck, the art of conversation, and much more! Topics: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:00 - Introduction and Technical Challenges 00:02:57 - Hunting Equipment Insights 00:06:00 - Personal Hunting Experiences 00:09:01 - Background and Career Journey 00:11:50 - Writing and ADHD 00:15:09 - Transitioning to Business and Consulting 00:18:11 - Hacking and Hunting Parallels 00:21:00 - Vision and Leadership in Business 00:23:55 - Life Goals and Adventure 00:27:13 - Maximizing Life and Enjoyment 00:30:24 - Balancing Time and Money in Hunting 00:32:31 - The Importance of Long-Term Vision 00:34:30 - Patience and Delayed Gratification 00:37:05 - Learning from Mistakes and Target Fixation 00:42:06 - Adirondack Adventures: A Hunter's Journey 00:54:23 - The Emotional Journey of Hunting Success 01:03:25 - The Journey of Hunting and Friendship 01:06:03 - Dining Alone: A Personal Story 01:10:01 - The Art of Conversation and Connection 01:13:04 - Storytelling in Hunting Culture 01:19:55 - The Adventure of Local Hunting 01:23:11 - Future Aspirations in Hunting and Consulting Resources: Instagram:   ⁠@eastmeetswesthunt⁠ ⁠@beau.martonik⁠ @mikezwrites Facebook:   ⁠East Meets West Outdoors⁠  Website/Apparel/Deals: ⁠https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/⁠ YouTube: Beau Martonik - ⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJon93sYfu9HUMKpCMps3w⁠ Partner Discounts and Affiliate Links: ⁠https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/partners⁠ Amazon Influencer Page ⁠https://www.amazon.com/shop/beau.martonik⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beau Martonik is joined by Rendell Erik. Rendell is an Iowa resident who has successfully put his tag on multiple booner bucks on public land in agricultural areas. On a recent scouting trip, Beau met up with Rendell to scout some areas with the expectation of Beau drawing a coveted non-resident Iowa archery deer tag this fall. They discuss what types of public land areas produce the best bucks in the Midwest, rut hunting funnels, best time of year to plan an Iowa deer hunt, long-lining big bucks, buck bedding, key food sources, hunting the corn inside-out, and much more! Topics: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:03:56 - Letting the deer teach you 00:14:41 - What type of public land areas in the Midwest produce the best bucks 00:18:16 - Rut hunting funnels 00:23:04 - Best time of year to plan an Iowa deer hunt 00:26:19 - Long Lining Big Bucks 00:33:42 - Field judging deer and reading sign 00:39:48 - Micro points - the terrain feature mature bucks like to bed on 00:43:11 - Honey locust trees - when/why deer love to eat them 00:46:41 - Scouting the food ahead of time 00:54:36 - Hunting the corn fields “inside out” 01:00:09 - Advice for hunting Iowa as a non-resident Resources: Instagram:   @eastmeetswesthunt @beau.martonik @rendell_erik Facebook:   East Meets West Outdoors  Website/Apparel/Deals: https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/ YouTube: Beau Martonik - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJon93sYfu9HUMKpCMps3w Partner Discounts and Affiliate Links: https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/partners Amazon Influencer Page https://www.amazon.com/shop/beau.martonik Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beau Martonik is joined by West Virginia native Luke Humphreys. Luke has sent in multiple Mountain Buck Monday submissions of big mountain bucks, including an absolute giant that he shot with his grandpa’s old sidelock muzzleloader from this past January during the West Virginia heritage season. They discuss practicing turkey hunting in the mountains, family hunting traditions, finding old hunting stands, key terrain features, wind and thermals in the mountains, finding the perfect tree, the four-year quest for “Bobby Fischer”, lessons learned from chasing a buck for years, and much more! Topics: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:06:30 - Background and Early Hunting Experiences 00:09:31 - Challenges of Access and Land Ownership 00:12:35 - Learning the Ropes of Turkey Hunting 00:15:43 - Patience and Strategy in Turkey Hunting 00:18:33 - Scouting and Multi-Tasking in the Spring 00:21:42 - Diverse Terrain and Hunting Experiences 00:24:41 - Nostalgia and Family Traditions in Hunting 00:32:06 - Old Hunting Stands and Their Stories 00:34:45 - The Journey to the Perfect Spot 00:55:22 - Chasing the Monarch: A Four-Year Quest 01:04:26 - The Challenges of Small Property Hunting 01:10:30 - Navigating the Terrain: Understanding Wind and Deer Movement 01:13:17 - Conservative Hunting Strategies: The Importance of Patience 01:15:11 - The Challenge of Muzzleloading: Precision and Preparation 01:17:16 - Tracking and Stalking: The Art of Deer Hunting 01:22:32 - The Thrill of the Chase: A Successful Hunt for Bobby Fischer 01:30:23 - Lessons Learned: Growth as a Hunter 01:40:57 - The Journey of Learning: Mastering New Hunting Grounds Resources: Instagram:   @eastmeetswesthunt @beau.martonik @thelukeduke Facebook:   East Meets West Outdoors  Website/Apparel/Deals: https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/ YouTube: Beau Martonik - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJon93sYfu9HUMKpCMps3w Partner Discounts and Affiliate Links: https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/partners Amazon Influencer Page https://www.amazon.com/shop/beau.martonik Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beau Martonik is joined by Lee Lakosky. Lee Lakosky is a well-known figure in hunting and whitetail deer management. He's best known from the popular TV show "Crush with Lee & Tiffany," which he co-hosts with his wife, Tiffany Lakosky. They discuss his upbringing hunting the big woods of Northern Minnesota, how he bought his first farm, the journey to success with The Crush, setting high goals and achieving them, conquering buck fever, chasing the challenge, EHD vs. CWD, a lot of hunting tips, stories, and much more! Topics: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:10:49 - Lee’s favorite animals to hunt 00:14:54 - The allure of hunting Iowa 00:16:04 - Hunting the big woods of northern Minnesota 00:21:54 - Must be nice 00:29:34 - How Lee bought his first farm 00:36:44 - Dream big and work your ass off 00:47:54 - Learning new things and delayed gratification 00:57:29 - What it takes to be a great hunter 01:01:59 - How Lee conquers buck fever 01:07:23 - Summer archery practice that translates to success 01:19:08 - How much pressure will a buck take before leaving his bedding area 01:23:44 - Spot and stalk 01:26:44 - “You’re just a horn hunter” 01:36:14 - Is EHD the biggest threat to deer hunting? 01:40:59 - Getting his kids into hunting - balancing making it tough, but enjoyable 01:46:19 - The weather condition that produces the BEST deer hunting 01:50:29 - How long do bucks lock down with does in an area? 01:54:28 - The best time to rattle in BIG BUCKS 02:03:28 - Rebirth of Outdoor Television? 02:12:44 - CWD vs. EHD - Where Should the Money Go? 02:31:14 - Iowa Public Land and what makes Iowa great Resources: Instagram:   @eastmeetswesthunt @beau.martonik @thecrushtv Facebook:   East Meets West Outdoors  Website/Apparel/Deals: https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/ YouTube: Beau Martonik - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJon93sYfu9HUMKpCMps3w Partner Discounts and Affiliate Links: https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/partners Amazon Influencer Page https://www.amazon.com/shop/beau.martonik Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beau Martonik is joined by John Lewis and Cody McIntyre of Just Hunt Club to share their passion for turkey hunting, strategies for public land, humorous encounters, and insights on challenges and opportunities in New England. In addition, they discuss hunting turkeys out-of-state, their favorite habitat types to find turkeys, the craziest places they’ve discovered turkeys, encountering venomous snakes, and a few big buck stories from last season. Topics: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:03:55 - How Just Hunt Club got started 00:17:25 - Getting into turkey hunting 00:23:55 - Out-of-state turkey hunting and different experiences 00:28:25 - Habitat types to find turkeys 00:35:25 - The craziest spots where turkeys lived 00:43:25 - Rattlesnakes, spiders, bears, and other scary things 00:56:45 - Black squirrel paradise 01:02:45 - Turkey hunting in the northeast 01:11:50 - Benefits of turkey hunting in steep terrain 01:18:15 - Finding adventure on the east coast 01:21:57 - New Hampshire Giant Buck 01:29:09 - Jon’s New York Early season buck over an apple tree Resources: Instagram:   @eastmeetswesthunt @beau.martonik @justhuntclub Facebook:   East Meets West Outdoors  Website/Apparel/Deals: https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/ YouTube: Beau Martonik - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJon93sYfu9HUMKpCMps3w Partner Discounts and Affiliate Links: https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/partners Amazon Influencer Page https://www.amazon.com/shop/beau.martonik Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beau Martonik is joined by traditional bowhunter and Doctor of Physical Therapy Meredith Powroznik. Traditional bowhunting is a family tradition for Meredith, having learned from her father and brothers at a young age. Through that, she has learned a lot of lessons “the hard way.” They discuss getting into traditional hunting as a female, injury prevention and body maintenance for hunters, learning the basics of traditional archery, longbow vs. recurve, the little details that matter when getting extremely close to deer, rollercoaster track jobs, and a hilarious first deer story. Topics: 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:04:11 - Introduction to Meredith Powroznik 00:07:11 - Family Traditions and Early Hunting Experiences 00:10:12 - The Competitive Edge: Gender Dynamics in Hunting 00:13:12 - The Journey of a Hunter: From Misses to Success 00:16:08 - The Importance of Physical Fitness in Hunting 00:19:06 - Injury Prevention and Body Maintenance for Hunters 00:22:11 - Traditional Archery: A Family Legacy 00:25:14 - The Learning Curve: Mastering Archery Skills 00:28:58 - Learning the Basics of Traditional Archery 00:31:49 - The Importance of Proper Form 00:35:32 - Navigating the Challenges of Traditional Bow Hunting 00:36:41 - The Art of Arrow Tuning 00:41:11 - Understanding Bow Types: Longbow vs. Recurve 00:44:31 - Strategies for Successful Deer Hunting 00:49:09 - Memorable Deer Hunting Stories 01:00:34 - Roller Coaster Track Jobs 01:18:28 - Unexpected Encounters: A Humorous First Deer Story Resources: Instagram:   @eastmeetswesthunt @beau.martonik @meredith_powroznik Facebook:   East Meets West Outdoors  Website/Apparel/Deals: https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/ YouTube: Beau Martonik - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJon93sYfu9HUMKpCMps3w Partner Discounts and Affiliate Links: https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/partners Amazon Influencer Page https://www.amazon.com/shop/beau.martonik Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beau Martonik is solo on this East Meets West Hunt podcast episode. He discusses some EMW updates, including the upcoming scouting camp, a new apparel launch, a new website, and film releases. Furthermore, he gets into his spring scouting thus far in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, discussing his post-season scouting strategy, focusing on the time of year, finding giant sheds, where he’s been finding most of the sheds, and more! Topics: 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:05:18 - Mountain Bucks Scouting Camp 00:09:08 - Camp Experiences and Learning 00:12:14 - New Apparel Launch 00:13:42 - Exciting Website Updates 00:20:11 - Upcoming Films and Projects 00:22:09 - Scouting Recap Begins 00:23:48 - West Virginia New Property Exploration 00:42:17 - Pennsylvania Shed Hunting 00:44:08 - Late Season Hotspots 00:46:09 - Learning from Late Season 00:51:58 - New Scouting Areas Explored and BIG Sheds Found 01:02:44 - Scouting Insights and Reflections Resources: Instagram:   @eastmeetswesthunt @beau.martonik Facebook:   East Meets West Outdoors  Website/Apparel/Deals: https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/ YouTube: Beau Martonik - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJon93sYfu9HUMKpCMps3w Partner Discounts and Affiliate Links: https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/partners Amazon Influencer Page https://www.amazon.com/shop/beau.martonik Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beau Martonik is joined by Todd Bumgardner, strength and conditioning coach, author, and founder of Human Predator Pack Mule. He trains Tier 1 tactical operators, backcountry hunters, and everyone in between while hunting all over the country himself. They discuss some critical things to prepare for a western hunt, including physical training, building mental toughness, combatting altitude sickness, building hunt plans, emergency preparedness, food planning, and much more! You can find more information on these topics by signing up for our exclusive email series here. Topics: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:04:05 - Reconnecting and Catching Up 00:06:38 - Training Updates and Programs 00:08:06 - The Evolution of Human Predator Pack Mule 00:11:58 - Preparing for Western Hunts 00:13:06 - Email Series for Eastern Hunters 00:15:40 - The Hunting Fitness Industry 00:18:56 - Common Misconceptions in Hunting Fitness 00:25:30 - The Importance of Time in Training 00:33:55 - Tackling Packing Challenges 00:41:03 - Focus on Mobility Training 00:46:06 - Combatting Altitude Sickness 00:52:25 - Altitude Awareness 00:52:48 - Strength vs. Cardio 00:56:16 - Importance of Strength Training 00:58:48 - Endurance and Cardio Training 01:07:19 - Backcountry Nutrition 01:12:28 - Building a Hunt Plan 01:26:15 - Emergency Preparedness 01:30:42 - Should I Stay or Go? 01:36:25 - Final Thoughts and Resources Resources: Instagram:   @eastmeetswesthunt @beau.martonik @humanpredatorpackmule Facebook:   East Meets West Outdoors  Website/Apparel/Deals: https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/ YouTube: Beau Martonik - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJon93sYfu9HUMKpCMps3w Partner Discounts and Affiliate Links: https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/partners Amazon Influencer Page https://www.amazon.com/shop/beau.martonik Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beau Martonik is joined by Joe and Mason Martonik, two of the country's most consistently successful big woods whitetail hunters to discuss some of their biggest and most memorable sheds they’ve found in Pennsylvania! They discuss the stories and tactics behind multiple bucks including a 174” match set, and shed antlers off bucks they’ve been able to put their tags on. Topics: 00:00:00 - Intro to shed hunting stories 00:05:47 - MASSive 8 point mystery buck 00:10:48 - “Big Boy” - 4 years of sheds, 6 years of hunting him 00:25:05 - 6 years of sheds within a 300-yard area 00:26:18 - The unicorn buck’s shed that Mason ended up getting years later 00:33:38 - Matching set that led to Beau’s biggest archery buck ever 00:40:36 - The booner split brow buck - 174” 00:50:53 - Missing sheds and shed hunting pressure 00:57:31 - Mason shooting a big buck in October, 100 yards from where he found his shed 01:05:13 - Finding one shed that led to a 3-year journey for a buck 01:08:53 - The Instagram knife blade shed Resources: Instagram:   @eastmeetswesthunt @beau.martonik Facebook:   East Meets West Outdoors  Website/Apparel/Deals: https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/ YouTube: Beau Martonik - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJon93sYfu9HUMKpCMps3w Partner Discounts and Affiliate Links: https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/partners Amazon Influencer Page https://www.amazon.com/shop/beau.martonik Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beau Martonik is joined by Joe and Mason Martonik, two of the most consistently successful big woods whitetail hunters in the country to discuss their 2024 Pennsylvania hunting season. They discuss the story of how Mason shot his 5th 140”+ public land buck in the last 7 years, finding the best access for morning hunts, Joe’s moon theory on buck movement, October scrape setups, and much more! Topics: 00:00:00 - Ice fishing and a long winter 00:07:00 - Mason locating his big 2024 PA Mountain Buck 00:11:00 - The stupidest spot to set up was the best spot 00:17:00 - Finding the best access for morning hunts 00:20:00 - Does headlamp color matter for deer? 00:25:51 - The importance of big hemlocks in the monotonous timber 00:28:30 - Mason’s first year hunting out of a saddle 00:32:10 - Making the shot happen in thick timber 00:36:05 - Having good friends and family help with recovering deer 00:41:00 - Joe’s moon theory on buck movement 00:46:35 - Late October scrape setups 00:51:45 - The November lull 01:00:25 - Up close and personal on the ground 01:08:19 - Joe’s buck in rifle season Resources: Instagram:   @eastmeetswesthunt @beau.martonik Facebook:   East Meets West Outdoors  Website/Apparel/Deals: https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/ YouTube: Beau Martonik - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJon93sYfu9HUMKpCMps3w Partner Discounts and Affiliate Links: https://www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/partners Amazon Influencer Page https://www.amazon.com/shop/beau.martonik Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices