DSC Campfires with Larry Weishuhn

In this solo episode of DSC’s Campfires, Larry Weishuhn shares a collection of his favorite whitetail hunting memories and biological insights. He recounts a fascinating story of predicting a buck's location from a napkin map in a restaurant, which inspired a popular magazine feature. Larry also details the exhausting but rewarding pursuit of the "never give up buck" on the Cotton Ranch. Transitioning to deer biology, he discusses the unpredictable nature of antler growth peaks, highlighting a breeder buck that reached its maximum size of 232 inches at 13 years old. Along the way, he reflects on the importance of learning woodsmanship, hunting during the midday hours, and the nostalgic memory of his very first rifle—a Model 33 Remington .22.

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In this episode of DSC’s Campfires, Larry Weishuhn sits down with acclaimed wildlife photographer and author Dave Richards. Dave shares the origin story behind his photography career, starting from his first whitetail hunt in South Texas to documenting mature bucks for Big Roy and Little Roy. The two friends discuss the meticulous process of photographing whitetails, understanding deer behavior, and the incredible journey of creating the definitive book, Observing & Evaluating Whitetails, alongside wildlife biologist Al Brothers. Dave also highlights his wife Beth’s wildlife artwork and his upcoming spring bird photography workshops.

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In this episode of DSC's Campfires with Larry Weishuhn, host Larry Weishuhn is joined by Dr. Mike Arnold, a geneticist, conservationist, and author. The discussion focuses on the critical role that hunters have historically played in saving species from extinction by relocating them out of hostile native habitats. Dr. Arnold also explores the science of animal adaptations, environmental shifts over time, and the stark contrast between historical market hunting and modern regulated sport hunting.

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An Interview with the legendary Sam Old

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This episode is brought to you in partnership with DSC (Conservation, Education, and Advocacy). BigGame.org, Hornady (Accurate, Deadly, Dependable), Taurus, Stealth Vision, Agara Cafe, Destination Hunts, Choctaw Hunting Lodge, and Double Nickel Taxidermy.

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This episode is brought to you in partnership with DSC (Conservation, Education, and Advocacy) as well as other wonderful sponsors that include Hornady, Taurus, Stealth Vision, Agara Cafe, Destination Hunts, Choctaw Hunting Lodge, and Double Nickel Taxidermy, The Crown Bar in La Grange Texas, Texas Wildlife Association, Habit, and Burnham Brothers Game Calls.

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Around this week’s campfire, Larry Weishuhn welcomes respected outdoor writer, firearms authority and veteran international hunter Phil Massaro for a lively conversation about Africa, dangerous game, wildlife conservation and the classic rifles that have defined the safari tradition.

Phil serves as editor of the Gun Digest annual, contributes to the NRA’s publications and has written extensively about firearms, ammunition and hunting. He and Larry have shared hunts, contributed forewords to one another’s books and developed the kind of friendship that makes this episode feel less like an interview and more like two experienced hunters swapping stories beside the fire. (Podscan)

The conversation begins with some good-natured teasing about the One Shot Antelope Hunt in Lander, Wyoming, where Phil cleanly took his antelope while Larry jokingly recalls making an excellent shot on a mound of grass and dirt.

From there, the discussion quickly travels to the wild country of southern Africa.

Phil recounts a recent safari in the Sango Conservancy, located within Zimbabwe’s vast Save Valley Conservancy.

Having completed approximately 13 or 14 African safaris across countries including South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania, Phil has experienced many remarkable hunting areas. Even so, he describes Sango and the greater Save Valley as one of the most beautiful and biologically diverse places he has ever visited.

The conservancy encompasses an enormous landscape that was transformed from former cattle country into productive wildlife habitat. During the safari, Phil encountered an extraordinary range of wildlife, including black and white rhinoceros, painted dogs, bateleur eagles, lions, leopards, elephants, honey badgers and large herds of Cape buffalo.

Phil and Larry agree that Zimbabwe deserves greater recognition as a safari destination. Its buffalo, elephants, cats and plains game offer hunters a complete African experience, often at a more accessible cost than some of the continent’s better-known destinations. (Podscan)

The rifle at the center of Phil’s Sango adventure was the Griffin & Howe Criterion, a beautifully crafted dangerous-game rifle built around a double-square-bridge Mauser-style action.

Chambered in Phil’s favorite African cartridge, the .404 Jeffery, the rifle reportedly carries a price approaching $70,000. That figure inspires some humorous concern from Phil, who jokes about the pressure of carrying such an expensive firearm through the African bush.

The rifle was put to proper use on both a bull and a cow Cape buffalo. Although professional hunter Mark Jansen initially promised shots inside 50 meters, both opportunities ultimately came at distances beyond 100 meters. Phil nevertheless made the shots count.

The discussion becomes a celebration of the classic cartridges designed for the world’s largest and most formidable game. Phil explains his affection for the .404 Jeffery, while Larry recalls having a Thompson/Center Encore built in .416 Rigby for an earlier African hunt.

They also discuss the enduring reputation of the .375 Holland & Holland, widely respected as one of the most versatile all-around cartridges for African hunting. (Podscan)

One of the episode’s most meaningful stories comes from Phil’s participation in a management elephant hunt.

After the elephant was taken, government representatives carefully weighed portions of the meat and recorded each amount before it was delivered to a nearby village. The system ensured that the village received the full quantity allocated to it and that the meat was distributed responsibly rather than disappearing before reaching local families.

For Phil and Larry, this is conservation in its most practical form.

A properly managed hunt can provide food, employment and revenue for rural communities while also funding habitat management and anti-poaching work. When local people receive a tangible benefit from wildlife, they have a strong reason to protect both the animals and the land that supports them.

The story demonstrates that the results of a safari extend far beyond the hunter, the animal or the trophy. (Podscan)

A central theme of this episode is the important difference between conservation and strict preservation.

Conservation recognizes that wildlife populations and habitats must be actively managed. That management may include habitat restoration, anti-poaching programs, scientific population surveys and the selective harvest of animals when numbers exceed what the land can sustainably support.

Preservation often promotes a completely hands-off approach, regardless of population size or ecological conditions.

Phil and Larry discuss areas where unchecked elephant populations have severely damaged vegetation and reduced the land’s ability to support elephants and many other species. Protecting every individual animal without considering habitat limitations may sound compassionate, but it can eventually create greater suffering and ecological decline.

Their message is clear: responsible, science-based hunting is not separate from conservation. In many parts of the world, it is one of conservation’s most effective funding and management tools. (Listen Notes)

Phil’s fascination with Africa began long before his first safari.

In 1996, he made the unusual decision to skip the opening day of deer season so he could see the film The Ghost and the Darkness. The story, setting and imagery awakened a fascination with Africa that he could not shake.

That interest eventually led to his first plains-game safari in South Africa in 2004. Once Phil experienced Africa for himself, the fascination became a lifelong passion.

Of all the game he has pursued, Cape buffalo remains his favorite. For Phil, buffalo hunting represents the complete safari experience: tracking on foot, reading sign, moving carefully through dangerous country and approaching an animal that demands both respect and complete concentration. (Listen Notes)

Despite his international travels, Phil remains deeply connected to the hunting traditions of his native New York.

He grew up pursuing deer and turkey in upstate New York and continues to appreciate the challenge of traditional North American hunting. As the conversation closes, Phil shares his enthusiasm for an upcoming deer hunt in the rugged Adirondack Mountains.

That contrast captures Phil’s outlook perfectly. He may dream about African buffalo and classic safari rifles, but he can still become just as excited about carrying a deer rifle through the autumn woods close to home. (Listen Notes)

This episode is about much more than rifles, cartridges and African game.

It is a conversation about the places that call hunters back, the responsibilities that come with using wildlife resources and the friendships created through shared adventures. Phil Massaro brings both technical expertise and genuine enthusiasm to the campfire, while Larry adds decades of wildlife experience and his own memorable stories from Africa.

For hunters who appreciate classic firearms, African safari history, dangerous game and the real-world connection between hunting and conservation, this is an episode not to miss.

Subscribe to DSC’s Campfires with Larry Weishuhn, share this episode with another hunter and support the conservation, education and advocacy work of the Dallas Safari Club.

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Episode Overview

Some of the best outdoor stories are not told from a script. They unfold naturally among old friends who have accumulated decades of hunts, road trips, close calls and unforgettable characters.

In this episode of DSC’s Campfires with Larry Weishuhn, Larry visits with legendary outdoor writer and hunter Jim Zumbo, while longtime friend and outdoorsman Rick Lambert remains an important part of the stories and adventures surrounding their close-knit group.

Jim and Larry look back on the early days of the outdoor industry, when writers, hunters and emerging personalities gathered in rustic camps to exchange ideas, test equipment and create the relationships that helped shape modern outdoor media.

The conversation moves from a once-in-a-lifetime Colorado moose hunt to the unpredictable realities of traveling across America on the NRA Great American Hunters Tour. Jim also shares the unlikely story of how a legendary Adirondack whitetail helped launch a writing career that would eventually include decades with Outdoor Life, numerous television appearances and more than 20 books. (Apple Podcasts)

Drawing a moose tag is a dream opportunity for many hunters, but the presence of a rare license does not guarantee a simple hunt.

Jim recalls encountering an enormous bull—estimated at approximately 50 inches—early in his Colorado hunt. The bull was close to an active elk camp, and Jim chose not to shoot because of the people and activity nearby.

As the hunt entered its final day, Jim faced a familiar conflict. He wanted to make the most of the license and bring home valuable wild meat, but the giant bull had not reappeared. Jim ultimately harvested a considerably smaller moose.

The story gained one final twist when he learned that a chiropractor from Boulder later harvested the massive bull Jim had passed.

The memory illustrates an important truth about hunting: every decision is made within a specific moment, using the circumstances and information available at the time. (Apple Podcasts)

Larry and Jim also revisit their years traveling together as part of the NRA Great American Hunters Tour.

The tour required long hours on the road, repeated public appearances and presentations in locations that were not always designed with outdoor speakers—or basic comfort—in mind.

One memorable stop placed the speakers inside a freezing ice-skating rink in West Virginia. Another adventure unfolded in a California parking garage when Larry and Jim became convinced that their blue van had disappeared.

After an increasingly frantic search, they realized the garage’s yellow lighting had created an optical illusion. The blue van appeared white beneath the lights.

It was exactly the kind of stressful moment that becomes increasingly funny with each retelling—and the kind of story that could only come from years spent traveling with close friends. (Apple Podcasts)

The episode provides a glimpse into a formative period in outdoor-media history.

Larry and Jim remember a large writers’ gathering at Tony Knight’s Illinois farmhouse, where approximately 30 people crowded together for an event filled with hunting personalities, emerging companies and future industry leaders.

Among those discussed are Bill Jordan, who would become one of the most recognizable names in camouflage and outdoor television, and Jim Shockey, who made a memorable appearance dressed in an all-white hunting outfit.

Today, many of the people from those camps are recognized as outdoor-industry icons. At the time, however, they were hunters, inventors, writers and entrepreneurs attempting to establish themselves and introduce new ideas.

The stories serve as a reminder that major careers and companies frequently begin with small gatherings, shared opportunities and genuine relationships. (Apple Podcasts)

Jim’s writing career began with a legendary Adirondack whitetail known locally as Old Joe.

While attending forestry school, Jim harvested the buck and wrote about the experience for the student newspaper. A professor saw potential in his work and encouraged him to pursue a larger audience.

Jim eventually submitted an ice-fishing story to Outdoor Life. That early opportunity helped launch a career that would make him one of the most recognizable outdoor writers of his generation.

Jim went on to work in forestry and wildlife biology before becoming a major voice in outdoor journalism. His career has included decades of articles, books, speaking appearances and outdoor television. (My Site)

The episode also reflects the longtime friendship shared by Larry, Jim and Rick Lambert.

Rick is an accomplished outdoorsman, guitarist and songwriter whose friendship with Larry and Jim has led to numerous hunting trips, fishing adventures and evenings spent swapping stories around camp.

The three friends are looking ahead to another memorable experience together as part of a team participating in the One Shot Antelope Hunt in Lander, Wyoming. (Apple Podcasts)

Their friendship represents one of the episode’s strongest underlying messages: animals, destinations and accomplishments may bring people together, but the relationships created through the outdoor lifestyle are often what matter most.

A great outdoor career is not built from one trophy, article, television appearance or successful hunt.

It is built through curiosity, perseverance, friendships and a willingness to keep saying yes to the next adventure.

Jim Zumbo’s journey—from writing about a legendary Adirondack buck to becoming one of America’s best-known outdoor communicators—shows what can happen when natural talent is combined with encouragement, opportunity and decades of hard work.

The episode is also a celebration of outdoor friendships that have survived missed opportunities, exhausting road trips, changing technology and countless miles across hunting country.

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