I understand that the family thinks BM is an awesome hunter but once again, we have only Barry's word for it. Suzanne's brother, IIRC, grew up - like BM - Indiana. Maybe they hunted occasionally, but there are no reports of hunting in the Mountain West or Intermountain West. It's a whole nuther ball game, if you ask me. The Big Leagues (and I am including especially places like the Yellowstone region or up into Canada).
One of the taxidermied heads shown in the Christmas Picture was in the MLS picture when the house was for sale. So BM didn't kill that one - but like everything in his world, there's a spin. He sits under it, and most of us would think he killed all of those animals - I now doubt him rather than believe him, whenever I hear what he says. I'll believe he's a real hunter when some actual, experienced Colorado or Montana or Wyoming hunter says he's hunted alongside the Great Hunter. It's probably like his claims about push-ups. I doubt those too.
SM's brother very likely never went hunting with BM in CO, owing to the lack of contact after BM moved to short time that BM had lived there - they moved to CO during one hunting season and only had one more.
I do believe BM spends a lot of time outdoors, moving dirt and pouring concrete and hardscaping. I can see the physical evidence and the man who ran for Mayor of Indiana says that's what Barry does, and it seems LE thought that was his job as well.
So I agree with your point about him scoping out the landscape - although I truly wonder how far from his house he'd actually wandered. He went to Salida a lot, for companionship at the gym (IMO).
I also agree that right now, the most likely way Suzanne will be found is by hikers or hunters. Off trail hikers. But I think she's very well concealed out there. I do wonder if further use of cadaver dogs at this point might be helpful (that's what families usually set up a G_F_M account for, in a situation like this, IMO). Or does LE have a reason to believe that method wouldn't work?