Each of us looks back now and then on our hunting career, if you want to call it that, our exploits, our adventures over the years.

And if you hunt long enough, eventually a couple of things may emerge as the worst mistakes

you've ever made. Decisions that you made, whether on the spur of the moment or

after a bit of logical contemplation, that return to haunt you.

And today I want to tell you about the two that haunt me the most.

One was all hunting, the other was mule deer hunting.

But first, let's take a few minutes for a Q&A from some of our podcast listeners.

And this is brought to you today by Browning, one of our all-time favorite makers of serious backcountry hunting gear.

Check them out, at Browning.com.

Okay, this first question is from Paul.

Via email, and by the way you can send any questions to Joseph at backcountry Podcast.com.

I'll try and answer all of them personally and like this one we'll try and use the really interesting stuff in upcoming episodes.

Paul wrote,

Hi Joseph, I started listening to your podcast a few months ago and I really enjoy the information you share

I appreciate that it is down to earth and honest information

I have a young family and I'm a weekend warrior type of hunter and not able to spend the

money for high dollar gear. Along those lines I have a very simple and inexpensive Winchester

XPR rifle and 338 Winchester Magnum that I bought a few years ago. I've been

very impressed with how accurate it is and it is performed well on several mule deer and cow elk.

The load I normally use is a federal premium

250 grain nozzler partition.

With my equipment and skill level, the very max distance I would take a shot at game is around

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