Oklahoma Outdoors

It felt like the day would never come, but the 2023 deer season is underway! Professional archer Chris Hammond is this week's guest on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast, and he has quite a September ahead of him. This episode timed out perfectly with John's upcoming trip to Nebraska as well, so the guys get together to talk about early season velvet hunts. This year Chris will be hunting Tennessee's early velvet season, Kentucky's early September season, and then he heads west to Wyoming with several of the Mathew's team shooters to chase mule deer. 

John's only September hunt is his trip to Nebraska which he hopes to now make a yearly tradition. The guys talk about early season topics like hunting bed to food patterns, corn vs beans, water holes, and how terrible mosquitoes can be when hunting so early in the season. They take a little time to discuss Oklahomas proposed velvet season and the effect it could have on the state's hunters and deer herd.

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The Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast welcomes Josh Jeffreys of Habitat Solutions to the show. This is an episode John has been wanting to do for a while, and the stars finally aligned to make it happen. Josh is a southern Oklahoma native who joined the military out of high school and spent a good number of years in North Dakota. While there, he continued his passion of whitetail deer hunting and eventually started a consulting company focused on helping people improve their properties for better deer hunting. After moving back down south, he has set to work on his own property and teaching folks the in's and out's along the way.

Josh and John cover a variety of habitat topics relevant to most people who hunt in Oklahoma and beyond. They talk about feeders VS food plots and the advantages of both. They cover water, fire, cover, and pretty much every essential piece of habitat management it takes to grow quality whitetails. Josh talks about the importance of herd management, and John talks about how his philosophy on herd management has changed in recent years. This episode is both entertaining and educational, so be sure to give it a listen and check out Habitat Solutions.

It's an action packed show this week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast! John starts things off with a bold prediction for this year's deer season you are going to want to hear. After that, Oklahoma State University Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management Assistant Professor Colter Chitwood joins the show to talk about a few research projects he is involved with around the state of Oklahoma and beyond. The first topic the guys discuss is a research project following pronghorn in the Oklahoma Panhandle. Colter and his team have been collaring and tracking pronghorn to learn more about their home ranges, fawn recruitment, and most importantly, whether or not the population is declining or not. 

After a nice long chat about pronghorn, Colter talks about another similar research project on wild turkeys. It is no secret that numbers appear to be declining across much of the country and especially in the southeastern United States, and Colter sheds some light on a few reasons why a decline may be taking place, and some practical things hunters and conservationists can do to have a positive impact on those populations.

And just because why the heck not, John and Colter finish the episode off with some good old wolf talk. Colter is fortunate enough to work on a grey wolf population study on Prince of Wales Island off the coast of Alaska. John talks a little bit about his experience with wolves in the north west while in college, and the guys talk about how sometimes the biggest obstacle in managing a species is just how cute they are.

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Trevor Johnson of My World Outdoors is this week's guest on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast. Trevor is a southwest Oklahoman who has a passion for whitetail deer and is fortunate enough to get to hunt elk on a consistent basis near the Wichita Mountains. Trevor and John start off by talking about some of the differences in hunting whitetails on opposite sides of the state, and the two surprise each other with how different deer act in the big timber versus the open mesquite country. While the terrain and some behavior varies, there are also several traits that seem to remain true no matter where you chase mature whitetails.

The second half of the episode focuses on the special and rare Oklahoma elk. Trevor is fortunate enough to have access to some amazing elk hunting opportunities that are hard to find. He talks about the different methods he has used to hunt them over the years, and how they have opened the doors to opportunities in the outdoor industry. This is a great episode with a great guy that you won't want to miss.

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The time has come! The tags are bought, the dates are set, and it's time to figure out what on earth the goals for the 2023 "year of the whitetail" are going to be. This week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast, it's time for John to set the calendar for his 2023 hunting season. John has buck tags in Oklahoma, Iowa, Nebraska, and Texas that are burning a hole in his pocket. This could truly be the season of a lifetime, or a set up for the biggest heartbreak on earth. So tune in to see when John plans to be where, and what he expects to accomplish at all of his destinations.

It is going to be a busy fall for John. Nebraska velvet bucks, prime Iowa rut hunts, west Texas brush country, and good ol Oklahoma ranch land are all on the docket for 2023. Trying to fit all these states into a single hunting season is the issue. On top of a family and a full time job, John has his work cut out for him. He's not afraid of the challenge however, and is even trying to find a way to throw a south east Oklahoma bear hunt in the mix as well!

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This week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast, John digs through the archives to one of his favorite old interviews with state furbearer biologist Jerrod Davis. Next to bigfoot, mountain lions are Oklahomas second most elusive creature. It seems like every person you meet has one running around in the draw behind their barn, but is that really the case? Jerrod helps John uncover some of the mystery around big cats and just how many may be lurking around in Oklahoma. The guys talk about confirmed sightings, whether the population is growing or not, and what to do if you see one. It's a light hearted but very informative episode that is definitely worth a listen!

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This week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast, John has a message for young hunters. This episode is meant for those boys and girls in the 15 to 20ish year old range, who are looking to get a little something more out of their outdoor experience. John tells a few stories of the adventures he used to have hunting on his grandpa's land when he was in high school, and how others can safely have some of those same experiences. Even if your family doesn't have a chunk of private ground there is still adventure to be had!

One of the main things John stresses in this episode is safety. Looking back at his youth, John put himself in a lot of dangerous situations that could have easily been prevented, especially with modern technology. He also talks about affordable gear, clothing, and other useful tips for young hunters who don't have a lot of spare cash laying around. Oklahoma has so many amazing outdoor opportunities, and most of them are fairly inexpensive and just waiting to be explored!

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This week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast, Ben Harrison of the Bowhunting League is back and he brought along some friends. If you haven't heard of the Bow Hunting league, it is a family friendly nationwide bow hunting competition that is completely free to enter. The main reason it remains free is due to the help of great sponsors like the ones that joined in on this episode. Ryan Stricklin of Native Ground Land Co. and Bren Chapman of Okie Land Bow Hunters archery shop are two of the Oklahoma based sponsors of the league, and they joined Ben and John to talk about all the ins and outs of the competition. 

Oklahoma has held its own in the competition over the years. Last year Oklahoma was second in entries, and multiple Oklahoma Teams finished towards the top of the leaderboard. While it is called a competition, the league is much more about camaraderie and bringing folks together rather than tearing them apart. If you don't have access to prime hunting ground, don't worry. There are all kinds of prizes to be won, some as easily as just signing up! Did we mention it's free?

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After waiting seven years, John finally drew a coveted Iowa bow tag. Now what?? This week on the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast, John is joined by the Sportsmens Empire Emperor himself, Mr Dan Johnson. Being born and raised in Iowa, Dan knows a thing or two about the big bodied big racked bucks that call the Hawkeye state home. This episode is not as much about hunting strategy as it is Iowa specific details that an out of state hunter like John should know. After waiting years to accumulate enough points to draw one of the state's best units, John wants to make sure he stacks as many advantages as he can.

One of the main topics the guys cover is simply what caliber of buck John should expect to encounter. While most think there is a 200" deer behind every tree in Iowa, Dan makes it clear that that is not the case. There is however, on average a much higher caliber of deer and especially if you are on private land which John hopes to be hunting. The guys also cover expected weather conditions, if a saddle is worth it, terrain features vs deer sign, and much more. If you have ever hunted Iowa, or plan to one day do it, be sure to listen to this episode.

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This week's episode of the Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast covers a topic John has been wanting to talk about for quite some time. Greg Willis runs US Hunts, a website that helps hunters find leases for deer, waterfowl, varmints, bears, and more. Greg has been helping connect hunters with land owners for many years now, but has recently upped his game and his outreach. US hunts is a simple to use website, which can filter what a person is looking for, much like any other online shopping.

Greg and John obviously talk about Gregs business, but they also cover many topics that are good for anyone looking to lease land should know. Obviously everyone wants to kill giant deer, but there are other things to consider as well like neighbors, water, food, accessibility for both hunting and other recreational uses, and don't forget about the land owner themself. The guys also talk about the advantages to leasing over owning. Such as being able to hunt multiple areas, or being able to simply pick up and go if something were to happen to the quality of the game a person is pursuing. 

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