Oklahoma Outdoors

150 Episodes of the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast! This week, John is joined by good friend and hunting partner Ryan Adams. John has been blessed to join Ryan and his family at a few of their deer camps over the years, and his family is a big reason why John enjoys whitetail hunting so much today. Ryan grew up in a hunting family, but they had always leased land to hunt until a few years ago when they were able to purchase their own piece of property. Ryan talks about some of the big differences between owning and leasing land, and how it took more getting used to than he thought it would. He also talks about what a big change it was going from sandy brush country to lush oak ridges, and how it was a completely different type of hunting, even though they were after the same animal. 

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On this episode of the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast, John uses his upcoming Iowa trip to talk about some key whitetail rut hunting strategies. John lists his four keys to being successful during the rut, and then goes through his week-long rutcation plans and talks about how he is going to use those four keys. This is John's first ever true rutcation. John has never hunted whitetails for more than three or four days at a time, but on this trip, John will have at least 6 straight days to chase big ol Iowa bruisers. Or at least he hopes! John breaks down the property he will be hunting a little bit and gives a rough breakdown of his daily plan. While John knows he will have some prime areas to hunt, he is still walking in completely blind, having never actually stepped foot on the property. Aerial scouting and conversations with the land owner are all he has to go on, which should make for a wild and exciting week!

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This week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast John is joined by Kevin Osborn and Austin Morton of the Oklahoma chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. BHA is a nationwide organization that helps protect the millions of acres of public land that so many outdoorsmen and women enjoy every year. BHA does it all, from picking up trash to fighting for our rights in Washington D.C. and beyond. Kevin and Austin help bring those big goals into a more Oklahoma focused narrative by helping protect and educate people right out their back door.

In this episode Kevin and Austin talk about the many projects the Oklahoma chapter of BHA has completed over the last few years, along with some future plans that are in the works. BHA also puts on educational events like deer camps and waterfowl hunts, and entertainment events like hunting and fishing films. BHA is all about getting people outside, and protecting our state lands for future generations.

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The late season junkie tags one early! This week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast, John tells the story of his early season archery buck he named Stone. John is not a big early season hunter. In fact, he has repeatedly preached how early season is not a good time to hunt for the majority of people out there. But, leave it to mother nature and a buck named stone to make a fool out of him. With drought like conditions, a major storm, and a buck who held on to his summer pattern a little too long, things worked in John's favor only 5 days into the 2023 deer season.

In this episode, John talks about the off season scouting and habitat work that laid the groundwork for his October hunt. With the dynamic of his neighbors changing, John has had to rethink his habitat and property layout. Those changes and a lot of hard work in the spring payed off with a solid buck at 18 yards on October 5th! By far the earliest in the season John has ever tagged a mature buck, or any whitetail for that matter.

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We have our first successful hunt episode of the fall! Special guest Amy McTauge joins John this week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast to talk about her opening day buck. Amy is still fairly new to hunting, but likes to challenge herself every year with a new method or weapon of some kind. This year's challenge was to harvest a deer with her bow from a tree stand, and as you can see it didn't take her long to accomplish that goal!

This episode isn't all about storytelling though, Amy is also a full time taxidermist and owner of Prime Time Taxidermy. She gives listeners some helpful tips on how to take care of an animal for transportation and delivery to the taxidermist, some helpful skinning tips, and even teaches John a few things he has been doing wrong. John and Amy cover caping deer, skinning bear, what to do with a bobcat, and how there's no need to cut up your moms pantyhose to keep a ducks feathers organized. 

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This week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast, John is joined by Keith Hammer of Stratton Seed Company to talk about their wide variety of food plot blends and how to create successful food plots even in dry conditions. One of the things that drew John to Stratton Seed Company years ago, was that most of their seeds are grown and produced locally here in the south around Stuttgart, Arkansas. Their target customers range along the southeastern United States from Oklahoma and Texas across to Georgia and Alabama. The seeds and mixes they produce are designed for the soils and climates of the south, and not the typical midwestern whitetail hunters that so many products cater to. 

Keith and John go through the lengthy product line that Stratton offers, but also dig a little deeper into specific food plot strategy. They talk about when folks in the south should plant as opposed to what most people in the midwest suggest, and Keith gives some tips for people trying to grow food plots in these drier than usual conditions Oklahoma and surrounding states have been experiencing. John also lets Keith talk about a subject that he has essentially no experience with due to his abundance of wild hogs, which is growing corn for deer. Over all, this is a great educational episode that you won't want to miss!

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This week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast we are excited to announce that hunting season is here! John's long time friend Charles Admire joins him on the show to talk about all the fun adventures that await for the fall of 2023. The guys talk about their whitetail seasons and a few other fun hunts that Charles is looking forward to like New Mexico mule deer and west Texas sandhill crane. The guys also discuss their re-emerged love of waterfowl hunting and share a few stories from last season that have really fueled the fire for the upcoming fall.

Both fellas share some of their muzzleloader failures and what they learned from them, and give some warnings to folks who are new to black powder. While the guys talk whitetails, John admits he may have to eat his words as his top target buck has been daylighting a lot leading up to the archery opener this coming weekend. John often warns against being overly excited for opening day, but when a target buck is showing himself, it may just be time to go all in!

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Let's cut to the chase. Deer season is already open in some states, and the Oklahoma archery opener is just days away. So why beat around the bush? This week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast John gives his 5 step plan to killing a mature whitetail buck this fall. Over the past 5 seasons, John has hung 10 mature bucks on his wall from three different properties and two different states. Mature doesn't always mean giant, but it doesn't matter if the buck you're after scores 120 inches or 200, if it is a mature whitetail, they are just different. 

John starts at the beginning. Sometimes the hardest part about killing a mature buck is just finding a mature buck to chase. As the episode goes on, John dials in his approach including map scouting, trail cameras, weather conditions, and finally that moment of truth. When that buck of your dreams is standing in front of you, will you be ready? In his mind, if you don't go into the woods expecting to kill that buck, there's just no reason to go!

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We have actual hunting to talk about this week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast! John headed to Nebraska to hunt their early September 1st opener and was hit with some tough challenges. Even though John was welcomed with hotter than average temperatures and drought type conditions, he still put his nose to the grindstone and had several good hunts, including a face to face encounter with a full velvet 10 point buck!

There were several good lessons learned on this trip. John quickly realized that just because soybeans are still green, that doesn't mean they're still attractive. He also knew that water would be important, but when it's that hot and that dry, water is everything. John also had his first experience saddle hunting, and talks about some of the advantages and disadvantages to hunting out of a saddle vs a traditional hang on stand.

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We live in a technology driven world these days, so why not use that technology to our advantage? Rhett Acker of Oklahoma Drone Recovery Company joins John on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast this week to talk about how drones could help you recover more deer. Rhett was well prepared for this episode and brought a lot of knowledge to the table. Not just about recovering deer, but also animal behavior, and even more importantly the laws surrounding recovering animals with drone and thermal technology. 

One thing John wanted to be sure to cover in this episode, is the advantages and disadvantages of both tracking dogs and drones when it comes to recovering downed game. Rhett actually sought out dog owners to learn from them and get their take on the subject as well. Whether you are pro or anti more technology in hunting, this is an important episode to listen to. While there are certainly advantages to using tools like drones in the outdoors, there is definitely an open door for them to be used in the wrong way and Rhett does a great job of covering that topic as well. 

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