Dan Staton, a man driven by his love for family, faith, fitness, and hunting. For over two decades, Dan has been a cornerstone in the fitness industry, helping thousands of individuals achieve their fitness and hunting goals. His unwavering dedication to his principles – family, faith, and fitness – defines his approach to life and hunting.
With a master’s degree in exercise physiology, Dan brings a unique blend of expertise to the elk hunting community. His background in fitness seamlessly integrates with his love for hunting, emphasizing the importance of physical and mental preparation in the pursuit of elk and other game. Through ElkShape, Dan shares his wealth of knowledge and experience, empowering hunters to elevate their fitness levels and hone their hunting skills. In this article Dan shares his thoughts on digiscoping, e-scouting, and hunting fitness.
How has digiscoping changed the way you scout and hunt?
So, digiscoping has changed the way I scout and hunt in a few ways. For scouting, it’s pretty much something we use if we want to capture an animal, take a closer look and be able to bring it home or compare animals. It’s nice to have really high quality, clearly defined animals—Deer or elk or what have you. As far as hunting goes, I have to have it with me to get great footage for when we’re capturing hunts for films, we need that digoscoping footage. Also it’s nice for me to be able to film across the canyon and have that saved on my phone so when I’m maybe making a stalk and I’m now on the side of the canyon I was filming, I can pull up that footage and be reminded of some landmarks. It’s just helped my stalks quite honestly taking photos and video across canyons so that when you get to the other side you’re able to be more effective and know exactly where you are and where the animal was, so that you can choose your path correctly, it’s really a help with stalking.
Do you recommend e-scouting? If so, where do you suggest beginners start out if they are planning a hunt in a new area?
So coming from a guy who hunts a new area every year, specifically for elk, I can’t think of a year where I haven’t tried at least one new to me area. E-scouting is everything from creating a plan, to understanding the logistics, to knowing what kind of terrain you’re looking at, what kind of elevation changes and where the animals might potentially be. It’s a bird’s eye view of how to get about the country, how the animals get about the country, and how to have multiple plans, so that if plan A is not jiving, it’s not working out, you have a plan B and so on and so forth. E-scouting is an overlooked step, one that I rely on year over year. I rarely hunt my own home state, so a lot of times I’m scouting other states and trying to figure out a really good solid plan because the last thing you want to do is try to remember what you saw months ago. I literally put an e-scouting plan in writing while I’m doing it in real time so I can refer back while I’m in the field and make good decisions because time is finite and you really need to maximize your time especially if you’re traveling out of state.
What’s the most common mistake you see hunters make when trying to digiscope, and what simple tip do you have for getting a clear, crisp, and steady image on the mountain?
If you’re going to run MAGVIEW specifically or maybe you’re using a competitor, I would still download the MAGVIEW app. It’s free in the Google Play Store, or the Apple Store, and that will help lock in your lens. A lot of people don’t know that you can lock your lens and your settings on your phone, but you can use the MAGVIEW app as well to lock in the lens so that when you snap on, it’s clear and concise and it’s perfect, and the camera’s not competing in-between lenses, so that your animal acquisition when digiscoping is real time and fast. That’s so important because the animals move and whatnot and it’s very stressful if an animal is moving and he’s in an opening and you want to get it digiscoped right then and there to not be bouncing back. So, if you know how to set that up in your phone without the app, do that. Or just download the MAGVIEW app. It’s free like I said, and it’ll be seamless.
What are some reasons why you would choose MAGVIEW® over competing digiscoping products?
One, it’s made in the USA. Two, it acts as a cover for your glass, specifically your spotting scope, so it protects your glass. Three, I don’t need a special phone case, which is really handy. And four, it works great. It’s fast and is efficient. So those are some reasons I have used the MAGVIEW.
The “ElkShape” philosophy emphasizes being physically ready for the hunt. How does physical conditioning directly improve a hunter’s ability during the hunt?
The animals live in the mountains. You probably don’t. Some do, but most people don’t live at altitude, not year-round. And most of us have four walls in a roof, a refrigerator a few yards away, a warm bed, hot food, running water. So when you’re out in the elements with the animals, that’s where they make their living, you are a visitor. You don’t have home field advantage. So what you can control is your physical ability, that is your cardiovascular system, your strength to be able to go through the mountains with a backpack on and not tire out. I think you’ll have a more enjoyable experience as well. Like the better shape you are, it opens up more options for you, which could mean more success and a more enjoyable experience. And I think getting that animal out of the backcountry and back to your tailgate could be improved as well. So physical fitness is not only going to help you for that hunt but it should keep you healthy for years to come. It’s like longevity trajectory there’s no downsides to be in in shape for hunting.
You often hunt extremely rugged, high-elevation terrain. What is the single most important training discipline (e.g., strength, endurance, rucking) that every aspiring elk hunter should prioritize in the off-season?
I think it’s more important to stay in elk shape than to get out and get back in elk shape year over year. That yo-yo is a tough one, especially the older you get. It’s going to be harder and harder to lose those unwanted pounds and to be ready. So if you can just shake hands with maintenance and stay in elk shape year-round, it’s going to boil down to consistency. There’s not one exercise or one thing, but it’s consistently eating clean and consistently getting regular exercise. I hope rucks are involved but doing that year-round will pay dividends so that it’s not as daunting when you’re approaching that hunting season the last couple months. You’re already in a pretty good baseline and just kind of tweaking your training a little more specificity so that you’re hunt ready. But I think the overall goal is for everyone to stay in elk shape year-round.
Sometimes hunters run into physical issues after several hard days of hunting. Can you share a quick, in-the-field mobility or recovery tip that you use personally to stay effective after a grueling day in the mountains?
Yeah, I think most people face reality by day three. You know, you’ve hunted hard for two full days and that day three, getting out of your warm, cozy sleeping bag in the dark, where it’s cold, and you know that you have a huge hike, a big ascent ahead of you, and you’re feeling it. Your feet hurt. Maybe your joints hurt. Your back’s tight. You’re not sleeping in your own bed. And, you know, it’s tough. One thing I do is make sure that I am back filling my nutrition with good supplementation. I take a bunch of multivitamins and joint support, fish oil, probiotics, and electrolytes, salt, things like that to keep myself in check and try to provide as much nutrients as possible, given that you have kind of limited resources when you’re in the backcountry. Staying hydrated is key and pre-hydrating up to the hunt, especially when you’re adapting to high altitude. I don’t live that high. I live at 2,000 feet, but I spend most of my September above 9 ,000 feet. So just hydrate as good as good, nutrition and backfill with supplementation every day to give yourself every advantage to recover between hunting bouts and get as much sleep as you can.
Many hunters see the physical challenge as a barrier. What is your advice for a busy person who is just starting to prioritize fitness but wants to be “ElkShape” ready by the hunting season?
If you’re just starting out, I think I want to give you some kudos for deciding to start. The biggest thing is to get off the couch, to get off the phone, and to take time out of your day to make yourself better. It doesn’t take much, it could be 20 to 40 minutes, there could be a pair of dumbbells and a jump rope in your basement, you don’t need a lot of equipment, you just need to be intentional, and you need to have a plan. So, I typically tell a lot of our athletes to plan your work then work your plan and schedule the workouts on your calendar like an appointment. Don’t be late, show up, get it done and get back to what you need to do. Everyone’s super busy, it shouldn’t take a ton of time, but it should take some time that you have scheduled in writing making an appointment and it’s honestly just like prioritizing yourself over everything else which you should be doing. You deserve a lot more than a lack of physicality and not sweating and not moving. Your body was meant to move. Motion is lotion. Get off the couch. Get moving. Make yourself a date with yourself. Take care of business. Don’t spend an abundance of time and just get started. Plan your work, work your plan.
If you could distill the entire ElkShape mindset into one sentence for a hunter looking to level up their game this season, what would it be?
I think our tagline “separation is in the preparation” is what I would suggest. Meaning you have competition out there, other hunters and whatnot, but your biggest competition is yourself and you have to say that competing against yourself day in and day out is what’s going to get you to your goal. There’s always going to be a part of you or a small voice whispering, telling you to take the day off or you don’t have time and they’re lying to you. You do need, you do have time, and you don’t deserve a day off and you need to take care of business, and this will pay off come September or whenever you’re going hunting. It’s delayed gratification and it’s also helping you stay on a path or a trajectory to have multiple elk seasons under your belt, not just one, and that you will be fit and ready to go even in your 50, 60, 70’s. You might be taking your grandson elk hunting and keeping up because you took care of business now. So don’t just be stuck looking down the road for this season. Look down the road for multiple seasons and create a pathway for yourself.
