The Rookie Season: Taking First-Time Hunters from Zero to Tagged Out
From Elk Hunt by Cody Rich
April 17, 2026 · 1h 1m · Season 1
About this episode
Cody Rich interviews Dillon Deitz about his new film series aimed at teaching first-time hunters the basics of hunting.
What's up everyone! This week I've got Dillon Deitz back on the podcast—probably for the ninth time, which makes him the most requested guest in the history of Elk Hunt. And by "requested," I mean Dillon requests to be on the podcast. But honestly, I love having this guy on because he's genuinely one of the most passionate people I know about getting new hunters into the game. Dillon just dropped a new film series called " The Rookie Season ," and it's honestly one of the coolest projects I've seen in the hunting space in a long time. The premise is simple but powerful: take grown adults with zero hunting background—I'm talking computer geeks, software engineers, people who've never even thought about hunting—and show them that hunting isn't some secret club reserved for people who grew up doing it. The tagline says it all: "Hunting is not for everybody, but it could be for you." Over the course of the series, Dillon takes three complete rookies—people who didn't even know why you have to check the wind—and teaches them everything from hunter safety to field dressing to making ethical long-range shots. And here's the wild part: all three of them filled deer tags within a couple…
People in this episode
Host: Cody Rich
Guest: Dillon Deitz
Topics covered
- first-time hunters
- hunting education
- rookie hunters
- hunting safety
- field dressing
Keywords
- hunting
- rookie season
- hunter safety
- field dressing
- ethical hunting
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