Many factors that make or break an elk hunt are out of your control: the wind swirls and sends your scent right into the nose of an incoming bull or another hunter pushes the herd out of the drainage. ‍However, you can control your physical fitness. We interviewed elk hunting and calling legend Corey Jacobsen and garnered these tips to maximize your performance in the mountains.

Be sure to try this delicious turkey brine From Chef Jaime Teigen.

After the fall big game season, if you’re like a lot of hunters, your hunting pack probably sits in the corner of the garage until April rolls around. But with the snow beginning to melt in the mountains ready to fuel the spring green up, it’s time to take inventory of what you need to add for chasing gobblers.

Your feet. Arguably the most important part of your body when it comes to physical pursuits that keep you hiking all day over rough terrain. As any longtime hunter knows, if your feet aren’t happy, you will not be happily hunting. And the right boot can be tough to find with all the options out there. If you’re a new hunter and don’t know where to start with footwear, or if you’re a seasoned hunter looking to make a change, here are some solid options.

We sat down with Randy Newberg, an authority on public land elk hunting and an instructor of OutdoorClass. He knows that if a bull elk kept a calendar, it might hold entries like "dinner in the old burn at 6" or "drinks at the creek, half past one." Newberg has learned to decode the unwritten schedules of elk and aims to share this knowledge to make us more successful elk hunters.

John Barklow's Backcountry Mission Planning course on OutdoorClass is a must-have for any hunter planning a backcountry hunt. Taking this course will help you learn how to plan and execute a successful backcountry hunt and be better prepared for the untold demands of the wilderness.

If you hope to lure in an elk with a diaphragm call next hunting season, now’s the time to begin building confidence. And it all starts with picking the right one for you. Here, elk hunting expert and 10-time world champion elk caller Corey Jacobsen explores the options.

One of the reasons that this salsa is so versatile is that you can swap out the varieties of nuts and dried chilis to pair with whatever you're putting it on without sacrificing its essential characteristics.

Mexican style carnitas may just be the most popular shredded pork dish in America, outside of pulled smoked pork butts and for good reason. It’s fatty, crispy, meaty, rich and with just enough citrus to balance everything out. You’ll often find that depending on where you dine on this delicious swine, the flavors can vary from place to place.

One of my favorite challenges in the kitchen is converting my dinner guests over to eating foods that they believe they don't like or won't try. Choosing a product to work with is an easy task for me and that choice is offal. I’d venture to say that somewhere in the ballpark of 90 percent of Americans aren't interested in tasting the wobbly bits of animals. So years ago, I came up with a few tips that will lure folks in for a bite and hopefully a clean plate.

In the South, we are known for loving all things pork. We’ve also been known to braise pork in cola and glaze holiday hams with it. So that combination was a no-brainer for me. From my love of Thai and Peruvian cuisine, I landed on the combination of pork and peanuts to make this new delicious dish.

Love it or hate it, the somewhat controversial meat on meat combination of bacon wrapped venison will always be at the dinner tables of hunters across America. Tender, richly colored and lean wild meat wrapped in smoky fatty pork; what's not to love?