Duck’s Unlimited’s Chief Biologist Tom Moorman makes his return to the show this week. We head to Greenland to discuss one of the most fascinating behaviors I’ve ever seen geese exhibit.

The Barnacle goose nests as high as 400 feet up on rocky cliffs. At a day old, the goslings hurl themselves off the cliff with no ability to fly whatsoever. Amazingly, a very high percentage survive this tumble. Why do these geese choose this reproduction tactic? If you haven’t seen the Hostile Planet episode on Barnacle Geese I recommend you check it out on NATGEO. Highly entertaining.

We also discuss Hawaii’s waterfowl and hit on blue winged teal behavior in this episode.

Then we spend some time with Sportsmen’s Alliance VP of Communications Brian Lynn. Sportsmen’s Alliance exists to protect hunting and trapping rights and they do it by monitoring legislation in all 50 states.

Brian talks about the Alliance’s history and how they go about keeping tabs on potentially dangerous legislation across the country while seemingly understaffed. The main focus of the discussion however, is on the anti hunting faction’s targeted effort to introduce wide scale anti hunting legislation during the 2019 legislative session. It is a nationwide effort unlike anything we’ve seen previously. (Brian with a nice pronghorn)

Follow @SportsmensAll on Instagram for their news alerts like the one below:

The Cecil Act is hands down the most alarming piece of legislation that the hunting community has ever seen. Proposed by Arizona Representative Raul Grijalva, this bill would systematically take international wildlife management out of the hands of the US Fish and Wildlife Service and give it to a newly formed, leftist committee with no experience in wildlife management at all.

The gross overreach would signal the end for Africa’s mega fauna species and could impact the importation of American hunter’s trophies across the globe. Dallas Safari Club Executive Director Corey Mason is well versed on this bill and I am excited to have him break it down for us.

550 miles over 5 plus weeks. From Telegraph, TX and the headwaters of the Llano River to the Gulf of Mexico.

Ethan West shares his experience on this week’s show. Ethan West breaks down some of his essential gear items, dives into some of the crazy things he witnessed. Plus he goes over the planning/logistics of this epic kayak adventure.

Sidenotes: The only other 3 people to do this stretch was in 1939. Three 18 year old boys who opted for this over getting summer jobs. Ethan also has done the entire Appalachian Trail.

The state of Idaho estimates that there are between 700-800 wolves in the state. These are based solely on the number of wolves they are able to collar and track. In reality, there are closer to 2,500-3,000 wolves according to Foundation For Wildlife Management Director Justin Webb.

Justin joins the show this week and we discuss the history of wolf reintroduction in Idaho and how things have spiraled out of control from a management standpoint. Hence, Justin’s creation of the Foundation for Wildlife Management- which offers a reimbursement check to any of it’s members how successfully trap a wolf.

We also discuss the truth about wolves and the fact they do often times just kill to kill and don’t eat their victim. This fact coupled with the number of wolves currently in Idaho isn’t sustainable for cervid populations. The moose pictured below was mortally wounded by wolves and left to die a miserable death being picked at alive by scavengers.

The wolf I trapped in British Columbia. One of the most rewarding experiences of my career in the outdoors.

Next we spend some time with our buddy Zach Gates of All Seasons Feeders. 2019 has All Seasons pushing the envelope once again in feeder innovation with the new Monolith and Cotton Seed Feeder are paving the way. We also discuss the new Feed Sync Timer as well.

It’s not always as clean and quick as you see on outdoor television these days. Sometimes hunting is messy and it can be something we’re not proud of. While those times are few and far between, it does happen.

And one of those rodeos unfolded a couple weeks ago when I had all three kids and my better half in the deer stand. While there was a happy ending, it was a circus getting there. Albeit one I wouldn’t trade for anything as I feel incredibly blessed to share a hunt with my girls for the first time.

By now you’ve probably become aware of the dumpster fire Cabela’s has been trying to put out regarding the renewal contract they sent one of their pro staffers. Life long huntress and 3 year member of the Cabela’s team Jeanette Hall joins the show this week to discuss exactly what happened.

For a company like Cabela’s (that makes a profit off the hard earned dollars of big game hunters) to mandate pro staffers refrain from posting image of their exotic or African trophies is flat unacceptable. Jeanette explains her reaction and how she believes the Bass Pro/Cabela’s merger has affected the Cabela’s brand and their future. (Jeanette with a Gemsbok she took while on safari in South Africa- the exact kind of photo Cabela’s mandated she refrain from posting on her personal social media accounts in 2019)

The contract renewal that Cabela’s Pro Staff Team sent Jeanette:

We wrap up the broadcast when our old friend and Dallas Safari Club Executive Director Corey Mason makes his return, and boy do we have a lot to discuss! From his recent trip to South Africa to meet with big game policy makers and DSC partners PHASA to an epic mule deer hunt in Texas Panhandle, the class action lawsuit filed by a British Columbia outfitter against the current government due to the grizzly bear ban and of course the upcoming Dallas Safari Club convention- ‘Mogambo’ 2019. We dive in headfirst with Corey.

(Heck of a mule deer! 190 inches of mature grey ghost)

2016 was a banner year for quail numbers and quail hunters alike. But since then the bobwhite has again fallen on hard times. Is it due to weather or other factors like predation or even the increasing number of feral hogs on the landscape, what about parasites?

Our old friend Dr. Dale Rollins of the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch makes his return to the broadcast to shed some light on the before mentioned topics and why bobwhites are once again on the skids. Dr. Rollins is currently enjoying his 52nd season chasing these sporty little birds

Then it’s the buck everyone has been talking about. The Collin County monster taken by hunter Chad Jones. When I heard the buck was killed in my home county, I figured we needed to hear the tale firsthand.

Thanks to the power of social media I was able to get in touch with Chad and he was more than happy to come to the studio to talk about hunting this once in a lifetime buck. The Green Score was 235 3/8 inches which would put the deer top 5 all time for Texas archery bucks.

We kick things off with an outside of the box culinary treat. I know, many of you will be skeptical, but weren’t we all the first time we tried Rocky Mountain Oysters?

On this week’s show we take it a step further when Greg Pavur of Pavur Outdoors jumps on to talk wild boar testicles and how they became a hunter favorite around the Pavur lodge. Keep an open mind and you’re taste buds will thank you.

Then we’re joined by Yukon/Northwest Territories guide Lorne Stourac for some harrowing bear tales from life in the Canadian bush. There is no way to sugar coat it, sometimes it comes down to the bear’s life or yours.

Lorne defines how he makes those life and death decisions in a split second’s time. When does it go from bluff charge to unloading a large caliber rifle at the bear’s head? These things are only learned though experience and I am happy to have Lorne share some of his with us.

The old boar below tried to attack Lorne. It was aged at 28 1/2 years old by a biologist, the advanced age a likely reason for his attempt on a human.

Perhaps the greatest conservation success story of our time is that of the wild turkey. Market hunting, timber cutting and a general disregard for the resource resulted in less than 30,000 birds left in North America by the early 1930s.

Our TPWD Turkey Program Leader Jason Hardin makes his return to the broadcast. We take a look back at the history of the recovery effort and what Texas Parks and Wildlife is still doing today to continue that mission in East Texas.

Next our old friend and renown big game hunter and world traveler Corey Knowlton jumps on to discuss a rare firearm malfunction that left him temporarily blind while on safari in Tanzania. We also get into Governor Tags and what geographical characteristics the average guy should look for if trying to kill a monster bull or buck on on public land out west.

One thing that truly bothers both Corey and myself is the hunting community’s insatiable appetite to destroy itself from within. We get into that irritating phenomenon. Also the “I only kill what I eat” mantra…Corey has some fundamental issues with that movement as well. Of course we revisit the controversial black rhino hunt and the hell that it brought on Corey and his family. Now that we’re a few years removed, would he do it again?

Our good friend and firearms writer Kevin Reese of Pulsar Night Vision and Thermal Imaging dropped by the studio to discuss some outside of the box applications for thermal optics.

I have long been a fan of scouting with my Pulsar thermal monocular (Helion XP 50 pictured here) but over the past year or so I have started using it more and more during daylight hours. Invaluable tool to have in your hunting pack. Thermal doesn’t discriminate between night and day, it simply detects heat signatures. I found the Illinois buck I would eventually shoot while daytime scouting with the Helion.

Then we dive into Midwestern whitetail hunting with Kyle Pavlick- 2nd generation operator at Golden Triangle Whitetail in Pike County Illinois. I recently had the opportunity to chase some of their giant bodied, big racked bucks during the Illinois muzzle loader season. We discuss that hunt and why they grow them so big in the corn belt.

My better half and I recently celebrated 10 years of marital bliss by taking a trip to the Dominican Republic. Being the saint that she is, Erin agreed to go offshore fishing with me while we were in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, I fear her first blue water outing might be her last. Erin jumps on to discuss how she feels the trip went. Between her and the other tourists on the charter boat, it was quite the circus! ( I was all smiles while Erin was doing some ‘chumming’ of her own )

Next, our old friend Mark Boardman of Vortex Optics drops in. We dive into his budget friendly Do It Yourself Alaskan Moose hunt. Plus, a successful late season Colorado mule deer hunt. Mark and I then take discuss the validity of the saying “don’t pass something the first day that you’d gladly shoot on the last day.” Then we switch it up and hit on the newest gym from Vortex, the Razor AMG HD rifle scope (which I just put on my 7mag). Mark tells us why this scope is a cut above the rest. (Mark with his Alaskan bull)

If you’ve been following along on social media or tuning into the show, then you know I’ve been dealing with some serious BS on my Oklahoma deer lease. I’ll give you the details on how that thing played out. You always hear about big bucks turning otherwise good people into the shadiest scum out there. This was my first time experiencing it firsthand.

As a father, you experience things that leave a lasting impression when it comes to your offspring. The first time they score a goal in a soccer game, the first fish they catch and damn sure the first time they go deer hunting with you. But I’m not going to get all sappy on you guys. Rather, I figured we should experience through a young boy’s eyes and so I invited Henry to join the show this week to recount everything about his first time hunting big game with dad. (Our Clay County 9 pt I shot with him in the blind with me).

He was a bit nervous when I put the microphone in his face, but the warmed up pretty quickly once we started talking about hunting. I am not sure when he will be ready to pull the trigger himself, I hope maybe next season. Ultimately, however I will leave that decision up to him.

Then we spend a couple segments with a couple old friends from First Lite when Ryan Callahan and Tag Spenst jump on to discuss Tag’s Alaskan Dall Sheep hunt. You might recall we had Tag on the show prior to heading out for this once in a lifetime ram hunt, a hunt he won through a drawing at Sheep Show in Reno last year. Ryan provides some interesting prospective as he played an instrumental role in helping Tag get ready for this hunt. You might not be aware that prior to this Alaskan adventure, Tag had harvested a mallard hen, and that was it! Talk about baptism by fire.

We discuss the training and preparation that goes into preparing a non hunter for a once in a lifetime opportunity. Tag gives us the details on how the hunt played out in Alaska’s famed Brooks Range. We also discuss gear, his First Lite kit he took, bear spray vs sidearms and much more. Good times and great conversation with a couple solid dudes.