Jaden Bales is a sportsman and western hunting tag expert from Wyoming. He’s written for outdoor media websites like Rokslide and Modern Huntsman, and has appeared regularly on podcasts such as Eastman’s Elevated and the Rich Outdoors. When he’s not hunting or talking about hunting, he’s advocating for wildlife as the communications director for Wyoming Wildlife Federation, an organization that provides leadership in conservation for Wyoming’s wildlife, hunters, and anglers through policy, education, advocacy, and habitat projects.

We did a deep dive into western hunting, from some of Jaden’s personal stories, to how he helps people find good opportunities through his new venture, Hunt West. A few days after this recording, I hired Jaden for a consultation. He put a lot of effort into producing a custom package for me to help me achieve some of my hunting goals and understand where and how I need to be applying for tags. Well worth it for anyone from new hunters trying to understand the system to experienced sportsmen looking for some new opportunities or places to hunt.

One aspect of this podcast is that it gives me an avenue to connect with people that I admire and can learn something from. I found Jaden’s early hunting stories to be very relatable to my own experiences so far, and he’s been able to advance as an outdoorsman to the point where he’s having consistent success and some amazing adventures, so it was nice to pick his brain a bit, and I hope you enjoy the conversation. Even if you aren’t into hunting, this is about growth and love for the outdoors.

You can learn more at Huntwest.net, follow Jaden on Instagram at @HuntsWest, and see what the awesome team at Wyoming Wildlife Federation is doing by visiting Wyomingwildlife.org.