Ep. 486: How We Scout Big Woods with No Habitat Diversity (Real Hunt Breakdown) w/ Just Hunt Club

About this episode

Beau Martonik discusses scouting and hunting strategies in the PA big woods with the Just Hunt Club crew.

Beau Martonik sits down with Jon Lewis, Eli McArthur, and Justin Mueller from the Just Hunt Club crew after a full day of scouting together in the PA big woods. The conversation focuses on hunting remote terrain that has plenty of topographic diversity but almost no vegetation diversity — steep ridges, drainages, and saddles in mature timber where everything looks the same once you're on the ground. They break down how to find micro diversity in the vegetation, why that's what actually separates good spots from dead ones, and why you have to put boots on the ground to figure it out. Jon tells the full story of his 2025 PA rifle buck — two days of tracking through fresh snow, committing to a track in the afternoon with 14 miles already on their legs, and packing a deer out in the dark. One of the better hunting stories you'll hear this season. Topics: 00:00:00 — Intro 00:04:20 – Getting to Know Eli 00:07:13 – Just Hunt Club and the Filming Experience 00:14:13 – Scouting Remote, Rugged Big Woods Terrain 00:20:47 – Hunting Strategies in Rugged Terrain 00:28:48 – Micro Diversity and What It Looks Like 00:43:18 – Jon’s Buck Story and Tracking in the PA Big Woods 01:01:49 – The…

People in this episode

Host: Beau Martonik

Guests: Jon Lewis, Eli McArthur, Justin Mueller

Topics covered

• Getting to Know Eli
• Just Hunt Club and the Filming Experience
• Scouting Remote, Rugged Big Woods Terrain
• Hunting Strategies in Rugged Terrain
• Micro Diversity and What It Looks Like
• Jon’s Buck Story and Tracking in the PA Big Woods
• The Aftermath of Packing Out a Mountain Buck
• Expectations
• Resources to Connect with Guests

Keywords

• big woods
• hunting
• scouting
• micro diversity
• tracking

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Scouting Remote, Rugged Big Woods Terrain

Places: PA

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