Oklahoma Outdoors

EPISODE 100! Holy smokes can you believe that. What better way to celebrate 100 episodes than with a good ol big buck success story! Finally, John is telling his October muzzleloader buck story this week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast. It was a weekend full of rain and very little deer movement, but in the end John was able to find some success and put his tag on a really nice Oklahoma buck.

John was very limited in hunting time this year after the birth of his daughter in July, and had put most of his season's hope into the last weekend of October during the state's muzzleloader season. The weekend had been good to John in the past, with several mature buck sightings over the years. John put in for a vacation day that Friday to make it a long weekend, but as the time approached, so did the bad weather. After a few slow hunts, John kept telling himself that as soon as the weather breaks, the bucks would be coming out. His patience paid off, and he was rewarded with a dandy Oklahoma 10 point buck!

Check out the Sportsmen's Empire Podcast Network for more awesome content!

It is hard to believe November is almost halfway over, and for John and his hunting partner Nate Jasper, that means their attention is turning to late season elk hunting. John and Nate started hunting elk together in Idaho during college in 2009, but this is a totally different type of hunt than anything either of them have ever done before. The two started out rifle hunting elk in October, but then transitioned to September archery hunting and have done that ever since. The hunt they are about to experience however, is Colorado's fourth season rifle hunt. This hunt takes place the week of Thanksgiving in late November. Cold and Snowy are probably the best way to describe the conditions, two things John in particular is not very experienced with as of late since graduating and moving away from Idaho in 2013.

On this episode of the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast, John and Nate discuss their upcoming trip. They talk about the gear they plan to bring for a trip that has a lot of uncertainty when it comes to weather. It could be anywhere from 60 to -20 at any given time and everywhere in between. Apart from clothes, the guys also talk about gear such as packs, binoculars and spotting scopes, guns, and even four wheeler accessories.The guys also discuss some strategies they think will be helpful on the trip, and where they might be able to find some bulls. 

Check out the Sportsmen's Empire Podcast Network for more awesome content!

This week the guys from Arrowhead Land Company (aka the title sponsor of the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast) join John for an informative and fun episode about both land and deer hunting. Will Bellis and Andrew Schultz started Arrowhead Land Company with the goal of becoming the premier land company in the state of Oklahoma, and less than a year in, they are well on their way. Will and Andrew kick things off by giving a quick market update with how things are going in these crazy times, and give a few pointers that folks can use if they are looking to buy or sell land. 

After a little land talk, the guys talk about their other passion of whitetail deer hunting. Will was able to harvest a heck of a buck during Oklahomas muzzleloader season and talks about the unique way he was able to gain permission to hunt the Oklahoma monarch. After Will tells his story, Andrew answers a few questions about what it was like to come from the midwest big buck state of Illinois to Oklahoma. Andrew talks about what it was like being able to use bait and how that now plays into his hunting strategy, but also how it takes a lot more than a corn pile to kill a great buck. This is a great episode for anyone looking to be either educated or entertained!

Check out the Sportsmen's Empire Podcast Network for more awesome content!

We finally made it. November is here! It's the time all deer hunters dream about 11 months out of the year, and the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast wants to make sure you make the most out of it. John has become a big fan of the two part podcasts, and this week is no different. After talking about his recent and upcoming hunts, John goes into full on rut mode with a November break down. John breaks the month into thirds, and talks about what kind of deer activity a person can expect as the month goes on. From an all out frenzy to a slow lock down grind, John discussed what you can expect to see and the best tactics to use during each phase. 

After the November break down, John goes into some best practices that he has learned over the years. He talks about what to do when the action on your cameras goes dead, and a trail camera strategy he learned that has directly led to putting a buck on the ground. Grunt tubes, rattling, decoys, it's all covered in this episode. And be sure not to forget the most important thing when it comes to hunting November, just be out there!

Check out the Sportsmen's Empire Podcast Network for more awesome content!

This week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast John finally gets to talk about a topic he has been trying to cover since he started the show, Oklahoma Antelope hunting! Antelope are one of the hidden species in Oklahoma that many don't realize are here, much less that there is a hunting season for them. Josh Barnthouse started applying for one of the coveted controlled hunt rifle tags several years ago, and it was then that he learned Oklahoma offered an over the counter archery option. He and a buddy set out with a goal of harvesting a speed goat with a bow, which is no easy task in any state or circumstance. 

Josh walks us through his three years of chasing antelope in the pancake flat Oklahoma panhandle. He started on one of the few public areas that offered hunting opportunities, but after putting in some time and miles, was eventually able to gain some private land permission. Josh talks about the different strategies he and his buddy and most recently his wife have implemented over the last few years. They have done it all, from sitting over water holes to spot and stalk, and even decoys. Josh talks about what he has learned, what worked and what didn't, and how anyone could take advantage of this unique opportunity.

Check out the Sportsmen's Empire Podcast Network for more awesome content!

We have another two-parter this week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast. First, John takes us through his weekend hunting adventure where a last minute change of plans landed him on a brand new piece of public land that might just be a hidden gem. John talks about how and why he chose the spot, what he looked for in a stand site, and how a deer ended up 8 yards from the base of his tree! This is definitely a spot he will be back to in the future.

In the second half of the show, John welcomes back returning guest Taylor Jones. Taylor is a man on a mission. So far that mission has included two great early season bucks, including a Kansas velvet buck. Taylor talks about how water played a big roll in his success this year because of the dry conditions, and how he has learned how important entry and exit routes are. Taylor and John also have a little bonus conversation about getting your significant other into hunting, and things to do or not do.

Check out the Sportsmen's Empire Podcast Network for more relevant, outdoor content. 

We are off and running this deer season! This week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast we are joined by successful bowhunter Jesse Edwards who tagged a slammer of a buck on Opening day. This is one of those episodes that is both entertaining and educational. Jesse picked up a 50 acre property part way through the 2021 deer season, and quickly found that this little piece had a lot to offer. Jesse spent all off season prepping his lease for this particular buck, and all that hard work paid off on opening day of the 2022 archery season. Not only do Jesse and John relive the hunt, but also the months of work and preparation that went into a single hunt that ended with Jesse bagging the buck of a lifetime!

The 2022 Oklahoma hunting season is underway! To celebrate, we have a very special guest this week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast. Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Director J.D. Strong joins John to talk about all things big game. Right out of the gate the two tackle one of the big issues creeping up on Oklahoma and surrounding states, chronic wasting disease aka CWD. JD outlines what the state is doing to combat a potential spread of the disease, and also talks about some best practices for people to implement to help keep our deer herd safe. 

After the CWD talk, the conversation takes a much more light hearted turn. The guys talk about the state's two elk herds and how the state tries to manage them on both private and public land. Black bears are also a topic of conversation and JD discusses the growth of Oklahomas population and why the state manages the hunting seasons the way that they do. 

You can't talk about Oklahoma big game without spending some time on white tail deer. John asks the controversial "one buck vs two buck" question and JD offers some very insightful responses. JD also talks about the states mule deer population and how it can be challenging to manage such a small and varying herd on the edge of its natural range.

Have you ever asked yourself if your camo pattern really makes a difference? Or wondered how much hunting pressure is too much? This episode of the Oklahoma Outdoors podcast has been building all off season long. John is constantly learning about whitetails and their behavior, habits, and how they move about the landscape. This week, John teaches a crash course in everything he has been learning over the last several months, and how it can be used in hunting scenarios. He has read, listened, and watched countless hours of information from experts all across the country such as the MSU Deerlab and other biologists. The bulk of this episode is about science and research backed data outlining some of the most important things he has learned about how deer see, travel, and react to hunting pressure. John takes these lessons, and applies them to how it can help you be more successful this deer season.

After the deer behavior 201 course, John also throws out some good reminders for folks to keep in mind heading into the fall. Tips like not wasting your time chasing unkillable bucks or not getting hung up on summer trail camera photos. As fall quickly approaches the time has finally come! This is the last episode before Oklahomas bow season opens up, so what better time to talk deer hunting! 

We have our first success story of the year this week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast! Returning guest Chris Hammond (episode 74) joins us again on the show to talk about his early season Kentucky velvet buck. Chris was invited out to Kentucky by a fellow professional archer and was blessed to hunt a very lightly hunted and secluded farm. This episode timed out well with John recently returning from his own early season hunt, so the two were able to bounce new experiences off of each other.

Chris is a great story teller, but the story is only half the episode this week. John and Chris also talk about several lessons they learned from hunting new states with different terrain and circumstances. Chris talks about hunting corn early season, which is not something people talk about a lot. The guys also talk about using ozone out in the field, and the things they have learned from using it for several years now. Last but certainly not least, Chris and John talk about Oklahomas CWD rules, and how it makes out of state hunting a little more challenging now that you can no longer bring whole deer from other states back into Oklahoma. They also discuss a few Oklahoma CWD thoughts as well, so listen in and feel free to give your thoughts on the subject on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast social media pages.