After Season Arrow Setup Report 2023/2024

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Feb 11, 2024
Josh Kirchner from Dialed in Hunter's arrow and broadhead choice for 2024

2023 had no shortage of gear changes for me. I’m always looking for ways to solidify my system even more. The only way to do that is to try out new things. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. During the 2023 season, I was reminded of the phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” My arrow setup is now what it once was instead of something totally new.

Arizona Bear Hunting – IMPRINTED – New Film

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Jan 12, 2024
Josh Kirchner and Brian Straub on a fall bear hunting in Arizona

Arizona bear hunting is something that I fell in love with many years ago. From the beginning I was hooked. I remember sitting at a water hole, not knowing what I was doing in the least, and having a bear stroll by me. A few years later I’d get my first Arizona bear and the fire inside would burn even brighter. This past October I returned back to the area I got my first bear in and was greeted with a flood of emotions, as well as made new memories. The film of this hunt is called Imprinted, and I am so thrilled to share it with you below.

New Bear Film in the Works

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Dec 16, 2023
Josh Kirchner with his 2023 Fall Bear from Arizona

I can’t believe it’s already December. Where does the time go? I’ve been doing my best to soak up the time with family and enjoy the holidays. Hope you’ve been doing the same. Along with that, I’ve been working on something I’m extremely excited to share with you all. It’s a new bear film called Imprinted and it documents my 2023 Fall Bear Season in Arizona.

Hunter Recruitment and Retainment – It’s Not All About You

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Oct 14, 2023
Josh Kirchner and hunting partner hiking on a bear hunt in Arizona

While self-preservation and my own hunting success are incredibly important to me, hunting doesn’t end with me, and it doesn’t end with you either. In order to keep this train rolling, we’ve gotta have the fuel to do it. That means more numbers and that means more hunters. We are a dying breed and if we don’t think about hunter recruitment, we’ll suffocate beneath the surface we once knew.

Arizona Fall Bear Hunting 101 – Octo”bear”

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Sep 30, 2023
Josh Kirchner packing out one of his Fall bears in Arizona

It’s the end of September as I’m writing this. I’ve been seeing tons of success photos scrolling my social media feed and I love it. Big bulls and high country bucks are getting backpack rides and filling the hearts and freezers across the West. While that warms my heart, I can’t stop thinking about the month of October and it’s not for the deer or elk. It’s for Arizona Fall Bear Hunting.

New Film – The Most – Backcountry Bear Hunting in Idaho – And Vortex Giveaway

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Sep 2, 2023
black bear hunting

Fall is officially here, and if you’re anything like me, you’re getting hit with the warm and fuzzies. Hopefully, the fuzzies are in the form of big mule deer antlers! This new film of mine may not be a mule deer film, but I am super proud of it. Dillon Flint and I backpacked into some of the most rugged country in the lower 48 this past spring and what we got out of it was “The Most.”

New Film Teaser – The Most – Bear Hunting in Idaho

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Jul 27, 2023
Josh Kirchner from Dialed in Hunter on an Idaho black bear hunt in the backcountry

Since I was a child, doing difficult things has been something I’ve been drawn to. There is a beauty to it. It’s challenging and keeps one on their toes. Should you come out successful, no matter what that difficult thing is, the reward is so much greater. It means “the most” to struggle and then succeed, than it does to succeed without struggle.

Vortex Rangefinder Review – Diamondback HD 2000

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Aug 10, 2022
Vortex Diamondback HD 2000 Rangefinder on a backpack hunt in Idaho

Rangefinders have changed the game in hunting. They take our accuracy and lethality in the field to a new level and have really become a standard for most hunters. Earlier this year Vortex Optics released a new line of rangefinders to their already fantastic lineup. They are the Crossfire HD 1400, Diamondback HD 2000, and Viper HD 3000. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on the new Vortex Diamondback HD 2000 Rangefinder and have been putting it through the ringer this year.

Spring Bear – “No Regrets” An Idaho Bear Hunt

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Jun 18, 2022
Backcountry bear camp in Idaho

Fall bear hunting is where I cut my teeth as a bear hunter. With that being said, Spring bear has really grown on me through the years. And now, it’s one of my all time favorite hunting seasons on the planet. Each year I try to make it out on several different hunts across the West with the hopes of furthering my overall knowledge of black bears, but also the hope of bringing home some tasty bear meat.

This past spring I spent 8 days bear hunting in the backcountry of Idaho with my good friend Eric. With previous experience in the area, I knew we’d find bears. What I didn’t know was how much weather we’d find. It was a grind of a hunt and the most time I’ve ever spent in a tent as we sought shelter from the rain/snow. All of that said, we had a great time, found a good amount of bears.

2021 Hunting Season – My Biggest Lessons Learned

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Feb 8, 2022
Hunting gear laid out on a 2021 elk hunt in Arizona

Year in and year out life is filled with lessons. If you’re like me and always striving to be better than yesterday, you pay attention to those lessons. This past 2021 hunting season provided me with more than its fair share of takeaways, just like it should be. Here, I’m going to lay out my biggest lessons learned from the 2021 hunting season. I walked away from it with new perspective, and with any hope, you’ll walk away from this article with the same.