Tennessee historian Tony Turnbow recounts the Natchez Expedition during the War of 1812, in which Andrew Jackson’s troops marched from Natchez to Nashville, and the militia general’s fierce, long-standing rivalry with an army brigadier general that earned the profoundly stubborn soldier the moniker “Old Hickory.”

My guests today are Grant Wisenbaker and Shane Olson of Salt Plains

Outfitters. Grant joined us back in episode 26 and one of the things we

talked about was their strategic use of and reliance on varied habitat

management practices. So Grant is back but this time we have Shane Olson of

Habitat Solutions joining us to go much deeper into that habitat

discussion.

My guest today has been more than a very good friend he has been a trusted

advisor, he has been a prayer warrior and he has been a driving force

behind some really cool new directions for the Revelation Outdoors

ministry.

David Bowen

Southwoods Duck Club

My guest today is David Bowen of Southwoods Duck Club. David and I met on Instagram not too long ago, the thing that drew me to David’s page is I noticed he ran his operation out of the Mississippi Delta, which many of you know where my duck hunting heart is. As I got to know David, I learned he is a husband, a father, a brother in Christ and a Delta cotton farmer. David and I had a great conversation about something that I knew very little about and that is farming cotton. I’ve been around enough farmers to learn a little about farming beans and rice and corn, but never about farming cotton so this to me was really interesting. We talked a lot about creating habitat and making properties more attractive to hungry wintering mallards and David actually gave a really good tip for you that hunt flooded corn. He does something very interesting with his water levels to maximize the attraction of his corn crops so listen closely for that. My favorite food source to hunt over is smartweed or barnyard grass. I’ve said before, if it grows in water, chances are it’s a great duck attractant and food source and we talk about that as well. We get into what I think is the most important component of a successful duck hunt, and that is scouting. I know some of you guys are probably rolling your eyes cause you think you don’t have to scout, we go to the same few blinds on our private ground so we don’t need to scout. For the other 98% of you guys listening, pay special attention because a lot of the guys that I have hunted with, especially on the Delta public ground I hunted, were good at finding ducks, but they weren’t effective in scouting for a successful duck hunt. Now you may say what are you talking about. Stick around and listen because David and I discuss the difference in finding ducks and scouting for a good hunt. We finish up talking about Southwoods Duck Club as a public hunting club, we talk about why guys come to Southwoods, what you can expect when you go, lodging meals everything. Personally I am drawn to outfits like Southwoods that know what their focus is and don’t go outside of their core competency, and Southwoods focus is a smaller, relationship focused operation, often one group at a time, max of 8-10 guys and they are going to give you and your bro’s a great experience in camp and in the blind, you’re going to feel like you are hunting with guys that you’ve known your entire life. That’s the kind of camps and clubs I love and hearing David and his passion for the Delta and for making new friends, I can’t wait to get up to Southwoods this year. Oh yeah, we also talk about that one thing that Greyducks do that just drive you nuts so listen for that as well

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My guest today is Vice President of Sales for Sitka gear Ryan Bassham. I am

very excited to finally have Ryan on the podcast, not only are we a HUGE

supporter of the gear and content that Sitka produces, I am also a big fan

of Ryan personally.

My guest today is Dr Brooks Tiller. Brooks is a doctor of physical therapy

and author of The Healthy Hunter – Becoming the Ultimate Predator which is

a book about improving, not becoming perfect, but improving your health so

that you can live longer and be a mentor and leader to the people you love.

Brooks has a unique style of blending two of the things I really love and

that’s hunting and become the man that your creator expects you to be.

Brooks and I had a great discussion about the foods we put into our bodies

and how we can be a bit more mindful and make better choices, we talk about

how making a lasting change in our lives simple, but it’s not easy. It’s

going to take time and it’s going to take work. Look in the mirror…. That

didn’t happen overnight and neither can you undo it overnight, but guys

like Brooks provide a ton of really good information on how to eat better

and how to exercise smart. We also talk about Brooks’ appearance on

American Ninja Warrior and what that whole crazy experience was like, I had

an absolute blast having Brooks in the studio and digging into a topic that

has really grabbed my attention. We start out by reading a few of the

chapters in Healthy Hunter to set up the whole discussion so lets get

started with the Healthy Hunter Becoming the Ultimate Predator with our

guest Dr. Brooks Tiller…

My guests today are Grant Wisenbaker and Brenton Washausen oowners f Salt

Plains Outfitters in northern Oklahoma. If you want to see more ducks and

geese in one place at one time, than you have probably ever seen in your

life, check out Salt Plains Outfitters. I instantly fell in love with their

social media pages, their images are awesome and they just have the game

figured out in an area that is fast becoming the new waterfowl mecca…

Oklahoma. Grant and Brenton fill us in on how they started SPO, what drew

them to that particular area, all the different settings they have to hunt,

the multiple different species that are available for you to hunt. Whether

you like hunting in pit blinds or layout blinds… maybe you like hunting in

the comfort of a frame blinds or maybe you like hiding in the decoys and

having birds finish in your lap, they have it all. We talk about some of

the different scenarios that may play out with all of this flooding and how

that will affect crops and thus affect the fall migration. We talk about

their new lodge and some of the plans they have for bringing everyone under

one roof and enjoying the comradery and fellowship that only a first class

lodge and hunting experience can bring. We talk about how their

faithfulness to God guided them through this whole journey of starting a

new business based on building relationships and how their Christ centered

focus will continue to be guide everything they do. I really enjoyed having

Grant and Brenton on the podcast and I think you’ll enjoy it too

My guest today is Blake Hamilton founder of Nature’s Eye Consulting and

Nature’s Eye Media. Nature’s Eye is a habitat conservation, land use and

wildlife management company as well as a media and content creative group

designed to tell outdoor lifestyle and conservation stories. Blake and I

have become friends over the last year or so and I just love his passion

and heart for people, nature, relationships and conservation. Blake and I

talk about how he developed his love for conserving natural resources and

habitat, his time at Mississippi State University and how he wound up

working with Mossy Oak. One of the things that I love and admire about

Blake is his humility and his faith in trust the Lord. He is very open and

honest about not only his faith but also how during his life he has had

separation from that faith as we all do. We have a pretty candid discussion

about some of the life challenges Blake has encountered and through all of

those highs and lows, the things that never waivered, were his focus on

Christ and his passion for people and relationships. He is just a super

genuine guy and I loved talking with him. We discussed the missions and

goals of both the consulting and media side of Nature’s Eye and how those

offerings and services can benefit the every day hunter and/or land owner.

We talk about the Journey Magazine, which is an incredibly beautiful

Nature’s Eye publication, all except for the issues with my photo on the

cover… We talk about life, we talk about family, we talk about camp fires

and deer hunting and wood ducks and green timber mallard hunts…. Blake is

just a great guy with a great family and vision for working with people in

the interests of conservation and telling those stories all along the way.

I hope you can listen all the way to the end because Blake closes with a

super touching call out to all of us and great guidance for us to live by

every day. I always enjoy my conversations with Blake, I just love him and

his heart for other people

My guest today is John Devney, Senior Vice President of Delta Waterfowl.

John and I have been friends now for over 15 years and he has a wealth of

knowledge on the challenges surrounding duck production and duck hunting.

Today we talk about John’s background growing up hunting and fishing in

Minnesota and how he came to work at Delta. We talk about the unique value

proposition that Delta brings to the conservation and hunting

conversations. Everything from balancing duck production with farming in

the prairie pothole region to CRP and WRP programs here in the US, the

Alternate Land Use program in Canada,  the farm bill and other legislative

initiatives. We also talk about Delta’s long leveraged use of predator

management as a conservation tool, where it is deployed, why and the

results of predator management. We discuss Delta’s First Hunt initiative

and how that initiative is aimed at hunter recruitment of all ages, not

only our youth but anyone who has never hunted ducks or geese, Delta’s

First Hunt initiative is making great strides in increasing the number of

waterfowl hunters and that conversation actually brought us to a very

interesting cross roads because for those of us that hunt increasingly

crowded public ground, it would seem that hunter recruitment is NOT a

problem, in fact it would appear to be just the opposite. In fact there is

another issue in play and that is public access, so John and I discuss how

decreasing levels of public access compounds and impacts the hunter

recruitment issue, really interesting perspective and look at that whole

equation. We then talk about the overall conditions across the PPR and what

impact the flooding conditions across the Midwest may have on duck

production this year. John has been a great friend of mine for a long time

and we, as waterfowlers, are truly fortunate to have John and Delta working

on policies that impact the future of ducks and the future of duck hunting.

My guest today is James Lancaster. The last time James was on the podcast

he was planning to open a new cross fit gym in Memphis. Now that he has

done that I invited him back on to talk about Deep River Fit. James always

has such a positive mental attitude about everything he does, it’s really

infectious! We chat about Oakley, his chocolate lab and how she’s

progressing in her duck dog training, I check in on his non profit Kings of

Grit which is designed to engage inmates and teach them team work through

cross fit and physical fitness. We then talk about the amazing progress he

has made turning an old warehouse into a complete cross fit training

facility and the plans he has for the next several months. James is an

obsessed duck hunter so of course we talk duck hunting and what impact all

of this flooding may have on the 2019-2020 season. I love having James on,

as I said he is a super positive guy and that’s the kind of people I like

to surround myself with. I think you guys are going to enjoy this episode

with my brother James Lancaster of Deep River Fit in Memphis TN.