In this episode of Becoming a Bowhunter, Matty is joined by Brad Murphy and Ben Atherton for a deep dive into Australia’s most elusive and challenging deer species: Sambar.

Brad shares his decades of experience as a bowhunting coach, explaining how to pattern sambar behaviour, know where to find them and how to best set your expectations for hunting them.

Ben has hunted Sambar deer his whole life… It’s only within the past few years he’s chased them with a bow, but in that time he’s successfully taken them with a stick bow and has a lot of incredibly useful knowledge on Sambar deer to share.

We break this detailed overview into a few sections. Seasonal hunting, how to find them, habits of the deer, and how to best be successful on public land.

Whether you’re planning your first hunt or chasing your 20th, this is the most comprehensive and practical episodes we’ve ever recorded on hunting sambar deer with a bow.

🔍 What We Cover:

• How sambar differ from other deer (and why so many hunters get it wrong)
• What to look for when trying to locate Sambar deer in new locations
• Sambar deer are Browsers… Which means what exactly?
• Visiting preach tree’s year-round
• Sambar are creatures of habit like every other deer.
• How to plan a trip and hunt them on public land.

And a heck of a lot more.

Find Our Guests:

Brad Murphy

Instagram: @thebowhuntingcoach

Ben Atherton

Instagram: @ben_atho_hunts

Follow Becoming a Bowhunter:

Instagram: @becomingabowhunter.podcast

Hosted by: @mattyafter

🎧 Episode Sponsors:

Dog and Gun Coffee – Fuel your hunt with premium coffee. Use code BOWHUNTER for $10 off

@dogandguncoffee

Kayuga Broadheads – Precision and reliability for every shot. Use code BAB10 for 10% off

@kayuga_broadheads

Venture Hunting & Outdoors – Gear up for your next hunt

@venturehunting

Jab Stick Outdoors – Precision-engineered carbon shafts. Use code BAB10 for $10 off

@jabstickoutdoors

In this episode of Becoming a Bowhunter, Matty sits down with a true icon in the world of archery, Fred Eichler. Known for being the first person to complete the North American Super Slam with a recurve, Fred is absolutely full of life and an amazing storyteller, but he’s also a hunter, outfitter, and steward of the bowhunting tradition.

In this episode, Fred recaps some of his favorite hunts of various species from the Super Slam. Fred opens up about the real-life highs and lows of being a bowhunter, including the grit it takes to hunt with traditional equipment and the mindset required to stay sharp.

This episode is packed with stories, strategies, laughs, and life lessons from one of the most respected voices in the game.

Podcast Topics:

• The Super Slam: What it is, how Fred accomplished it, and what it taught him
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• Recurve Realities: The extra challenge and satisfaction of hunting with traditional gear
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• Fred’s Favorite Game Meat: Listen to til the end to find out what it is.
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• Mindset Over Muscle: How mental preparation often trumps physical prowess in bowhunting
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• Hunting stories Fred shares stories of Muskox, Bison, Antelope, Dall Sheep, Rocky Mountain Goat, Grizzly Bear, Caribou, Moose, Elk & Deer.
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• The real trophy is: Fred shares his absolute love for each hunt and being in the outdoors.
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Whether you're a die-hard trad bowhunter or just picking up a bow for the first time, this chat with Fred is a refreshing reminder of what bowhunting is all about: connection, challenge, and conservation.

Find Fred Eichler:

Instagram: @fredeichler

Website: www.fredeichler.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fredeichler

📲 Follow Becoming a Bowhunter:

Instagram: @becomingabowhunter.podcast

Host: @mattyafter

Episode Sponsors:

Dog and Gun Coffee – @dogandguncoffee

Fuel your hunt with premium coffee. Use code BOWHUNTER for $10 off.

Kayuga Broadheads – @kayuga_broadheads

Precision and reliability for every shot. Use code BAB10 for 10% off.

Venture Hunting & Outdoors – @venturehunting

Gear up for your next hunt.

Jab Stick Outdoors – @jabstickoutdoors

Precision-engineered carbon shafts. Use code BAB10 for $10 off.

In this episode of Becoming a Bowhunter, Matty sits down with Troy Fowler, better known as Ranch Fairy, to dive deep into the science, ethics, and gear setups behind repeatable bowhunting.

Troy’s known for testing gear, sharing data, and helping bowhunters take clean, lethal shots on animals. He works closely with the Ashby Foundation, and everything they do aims to use physics and numbers to speak for the results.

Whether you’re brand new to bowhunting or you’ve been flinging arrows for decades, this episode may challenge the way you think about arrow weight, broadheads, tuning, and arrow speed.

What you’ll hear about in this episode:

• Heart Vs. Lung shots
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• The different compartments of the lungs and how they function
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• Why bowhunters need to stop chasing speed and start chasing penetration
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• Why bow tuning + arrow nock tuning should be the standard
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• Kinetic energy vs Momentum and what this actually means
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• Arrow weight, mechanical vs fixed, and the real test: shoulder bones
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• Troy’s journey into bowhunting and how Ranch Fairy was born from hard truths and experimentation
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• Stories from the field: pigs, elk, shoulder shots, and what makes Troy trust his system
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This episode is a wake-up call. If you’ve ever hit an animal and wondered why it didn’t die… you need to hear what Ranch Fairy has to say.

Follow Troy Fowler (Ranch Fairy)

Instagram: @ranchfairy

YouTube: Ranch Fairy Channel

Website & Resources: ranchfairy.com

https://www.ashbybowhunting.org/

Follow Becoming a Bowhunter

Instagram: @becomingabowhunter.podcast

Hosted by: @mattyafter

Episode Sponsors

Dog and Gun Coffee – Fuel your hunt with premium blends. Use code BOWHUNTER for $10 off.

@dogandguncoffee

Kayuga Broadheads – Precision-engineered for every shot. Use code BAB10 for 10% off.

@kayuga_broadheads

Venture Hunting & Outdoors – Gear up for serious hunts.

@venturehunting

Jab Stick Outdoors – High-performance carbon shafts. Use code BAB10 for $10 off.

@jabstickoutdoors