About Hunt West

Hunt West was founded to help people have more enjoyment on their hunts by teaching them how to draw tags & make better hunt plans.

There are a ton of resources available for the aspiring DIY western hunter, but very few options for custom help and coaching for who has limited time and a reasonable budget.

Too often, poor expectations and a lack of planning mark the highlights of people’s hunt experiences, and Hunt West is here to change that.

Your hunt begins with trusted advice from those who eat, sleep, and breathe western hunting.

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Happy Hunters We’ve Helped

Jaden Bales

Owner/Operator of Hunt West

P | 541-910-1482 E | jaden@huntwest.net

Jaden was fortunate to be born into generations of hunters in rural Eastern Oregon. While he started hunting by doing mule deer drives on his family farm and it was not until he moved away for college that he realized how tough it was to start from scratch to go hunting out West.

Today, he finds himself in Lander, WY where he spends as much time outdoors as possible. He’s hunted in seven different western states for pronghorn, mule deer, elk, and black bear with a variety of weapons. He’s passionate about helping people do the same. Feel free to reach out via email at jaden@huntwest.net.

Favorite Hunt Stories

First Rocky Mountain Archery Elk

Hunt Type: Public Land Elk | License: General

It took me 5 hunting seasons, 5 missed shots, 70 in-season days, over 500 boot miles, and an unknown (but absurd) amount of gas money before I killed my first bull elk with a bow. I made nearly every mistake in the book (and probably some that weren’t in the book) before my broadhead found it’s mark. While I will admit that the journey to harvesting my first elk was anything but smooth, developing a hunt plan was the first step:

Hunt the high country & be there early
Hunt the lowest parts of the forest that borders private land
Hunt aggressively from the truck

Looking back, the mindset shift from “I hope I luck into an elk” to “I will create a plan to find success” has led to consistent success every year since.

A Snowy Nevada Hunt

Hunt Type: Public Land Mule Deer | License: Landowner

Late October 2021 found me lucky enough to have a Nevada landowner mule deer tag in my pocket in a very good unit in Southeast Nevada. The catch? It was a filmed hunt, so finding success on a nice buck was of high priority. Prior to the hunt, I had talked with biologists, previous tag holders, and e-scouted to build a 3-step plan.

Hunt lowland BLM ground near ag fields.
Hunt high on the mountain where it is glassable.
Hunt mid-mountain burns.

On day four, I was lucky enough to turn up a buck at the top of the mountain range (step 2) after the blessing of a snow storm came through and got all the deer on their feet. This 4.5-year-old buck might have been the youngest I’ve taken in a while, but he was still my best yet.

Late Family Elk Hunt In Oregon

Hunt Type: Public Land Elk Hunt | License: Drawn with 4 Preference Points

I split my 12 preference points with my father and brother on our first family hunting trip since dad had taken us deer hunting as kids. Our hunt plan was built around a 3 step family-style hunt.

Glass the burn from the road systems.
Hunt behind private land sanctuaries.
Find a gnarly canyon you cannot see close to the road.

We focused on hunting terrain where our dad could be with us instead of going deep into the backcountry. Though we passed on some elk trying to get a nice bull and had a great time doing it. It was quite possibly my favorite hunt of all time.

Hunt Type: Public Land Pronghorn Hunt | License: Drawn 2nd Choice

My first year living in Wyoming, I pulled a pronghorn tag in a second choice hunt area as a nonresident. I was bound and determined to get one with my bow and also too antsy to sit on waterholes. I bounced around from parcel to parcel of small sections of BLM and state lands, laying down 25 unsuccessful stalks. It wasn’t until my good friend, Riley, came to hold a decoy for me that we were able to get into range. My first pronghorn was a story of persistence and ended with a heckuva good memory with a good friend. From this point forward, I recognized that any good hunt plan truly only works when it all comes together with a combination of persistence, skill, and always a little luck.