This week on the podcast we welcome back Rich Fowllab.

We start off by talking about some recent hunts and how we've had some oddly uncommitted coyotes and very few hard chargers.

We talk with Rich about his recent switch to hunting with a thermal optic, (he recently got the PTO Mission thermal scope) and his transition from going from thermal scanner, shooting NV to Thermal/Thermal.

We discuss the pros and cons of NV vs thermal, target identification and how it relates to experience level of the hunter and the quality of the optic, scenarios where it is important to have positive ID (It is ALWAYS important, but some areas require an added level of target ID).

We also get into talking about data taken from the Tactacam Reveal cameras. Rich has about 2 years of data now from his cameras for predators, where Kevin resets his each year. Rich has accumulated over 400 data points in those 2 years and Kevin is at only about 70. We talk about the trends, and variables that we get from that data.

As always, THANK YOU for listening.

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This week Kevin is joined by Ross Graveling.

We invited Ross on to tell us about the recent Youth predator workshop that was put on by Sportspersons Ministries with some of the funds coming from the donations provided by the Answering The Call charity hunt put on by SPI and Overdrive Outdoors.

We get a rundown of how the weekend went, how many people participated and worked at the event, that went from Friday evening until Sunday morning.

We get to hear about the activities that both the kids and parents got to experience, from trapping, to predator calling, seeing and learning about the tactics, equipment and processes involved from start to end of what it takes to target predators.

There were a couple kids that were successful during the hunt, and we get to hear about that as well.

Thank you Ross and all the other folks that came together to make this event happen.

Then Kevin asks Ross about the recent NRC meeting that took place in Grand Rapids, and his thoughts on what took place and how we as sportspersons need to come together to continue to try and preserve our way of life.

As always, THANK YOU for listening.

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This week Kevin and Josh are joined by Michigan Trappers and Predator Callers Association public relations director, Merle Jones.

We talk a bit about tournament hunting and how the tournaments went for Merle and his team.

Then Merle catches us up in regards to the Michigan hunting political situation.

He tells us about the status of both the lawsuit, the appeal and a possible reversal of the season that was imposed.

Merle goes into detail on the when's and why's of what is going on in Lansing, with the MTPCA and MUCC.

He then tells us more about the path forward that is contingent on the possible reversal of the season by the NRC, what it would mean for the appeal that was introduced by MTCPA and MUCC, and the meaning of what may happen.

Thank you for joining us and giving us the updates Merle.

As always, THANK YOU for listening.

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This week Josh and Kevin have another fireside chat.

First off, we talk about weather conditions, what types of conditions we really don't care for and weighing success vs how much noise you're going to make or hunting in adverse conditions.

How the noise you make may or may not affect your hunt success, and weighing that against waiting for better conditions.

We discuss dealing with anti hunters or uninformed people commenting on hunting related posts (specifically a video Kevin posted when calling for bobcats), its amazing how some people don't know anything about hunting methods, or believe common methods such as calling and using bait are "not hunting", and often the comments by them are hilarious as well as the replies by our friends in the community.

Josh asks Kevin about his rifle project so they talk guns for awhile, specifics of the bolt action rifle Kevin is working on, parts, the what's, whys and how's. We also delve a little bit into other types of rifle builds (AK, FN FAL), trouble shooting a build and WHY to build a rifle vs buy one.

As always, THANK YOU for listening.

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This week on the Overdrive Outdoors podcast, Kevin welcomes Ryan Mareno to the show. Ryan is from south Louisiana, and operates a guide service called Moreno's Outfitters.

In this episode, we talk about how Ryan grew up in southern Louisiana in the early years,  fishing and water fowl hunting and eventually getting into deer. He tells about how he at first thought deer hunting was boring using a rifle, but then got hooked when he switched to archery.

Ryan tells us about his experiences Spearfishing, going spear fishing around oil rigs in the Gulf, and all the way over to Florida. He talks about the different species that he likes to target, and potential dangers of deep water spearfishing.

We then talk about being a guide,  guiding for alligators, hogs and coyotes.

Ryan talks about taking new hunters unfamiliar with the sport out and considerations for safety and to help the hunter be more successful.

Ryan tells us about taking Aaron Lewis on guided hunts and how, even though he is a celebrity, is a very down to earth person, and is there to enjoy the hunt.

We talk about what gear he prefers for hunting, how he got involved with ATN, and some of his favorite ATN gear for both hunting and law Enforcement applications.

   We also discuss our recent experience at SHOT show,  this being Ryan's first time at this show and what he thought of it, as well as the things of interest that he was able to check out.

As always, THANK YOU for listening.

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This week Kevin and Josh are joined by Josh's brother Kyle and guest Bryan Watson of Trapline Beard Oil LLC.

Kyle has recently gotten into trapping and as a person being new to it, he had a few questions, so we had a Q&A session!

Bryan is originally from Michigan but now resides in North Dakota where he traps, hunts and runs Trapline Beard Oil LLC.

We discuss many topics of trapping with Kyle to try and give him some advice based off our experiences including water trapping of Muskrats, Beaver (Bryan has more experience here) and land trapping (Both Kevin and Bryan have experience here).

We discuss baits and lures, different types of "sets" and specifics of how we set them, Public land vs Private land trapping and the challenges of each, Incidental catches, using the wind in trapping and scent control including you, your equipment and tools, time and learning the patience to let a trap work, checking traps and the differences legally between SD and Michigan. Different uses of the trapped animals, including, you guessed it, eating them (Beaver and Muskrat specifically), dispatch methods of your catch and more.

Take a listen if you have an interest in trapping.

As always, THANK YOU for listening.

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SHOT show recap.

This week Josh talks to Kevin about his recent trip to SHOT show in Las Vegas, the largest shooting and hunting expo in the country, with aprox 50000 people in attendance and people from 100 countries, there is more to do and see than you can take in the 5 days of the show.

Kevin talks about the new product releases from ATN, specifically the new clip on thermals, then talks about other products he saw and the people he saw at the show and conversations had.

Josh talks about some new thermal products being released as well from Predator Thermal Optics.

Josh also goes into a little bit about his recent hunting trip to Illinois..

As always, THANK YOU for listening.

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This week Kevin and Josh welcome back Dave from Razor Broadheads.

Dave has been doing a fair amount of coyote hunting and had a few scenarios and questions he wanted to talk with us about.

We start by talking about some recent hunting, how the bobcat hunting is going (or not going in this case).

Then we get into Daves questions.

We talk about-

* calling cadence

* how we respond to vocals

* prey sounds vs vocals

* moving on coyotes after getting a response.

* setting up and hunting the full moon

* hunting environmental conditions (barometric pressure, temperature, snow depth, wind speed)

* different terrain and how it can affect how you hunt and how the animals move.

* the 4 triggers for calling predators.

and more.

As always, THANK YOU for listening.

Predator Thermal Optics code "ptothermal" for 10% off all Predator Thermal Optics brand Scopes and Monoculars www.predatorthermaloptics.com

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1st episode of the new year!

Welcome back everyone.

On this episode Josh and Kevin start by talking about recent hunting experiences, including some specific info regarding bobcat hunting here in Michigan, as well as Josh's last hunt with his friend Todd.

Then we jump into the Answering The Call (ATC) charity hunt that took place last weekend.

1st and foremost we wish to thank everyone involved for making our first event a success, thank you to the sponsors, volunteers, the kids, and all of the people that attended.

We ended up earning $10800 for charity, that money raised was donated to 3 charities, all of which help people get out into the outdoors that otherwise may not be able to.

We had between 140-140 entrants that toughed it out in less than desirable conditions.

It was nice meeting new people, and catching up with others that we haven't seen in person for a bit.

We really feel the event was a huge success, with people having fun, sharing stories, putting faces with names, good food, and a heck of a lot of prizes for everyone.

As always, THANK YOU for listening.

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This week Kevin and Josh sit down for fireside chat and a discussion of "hot topics"

We talk about recent hunting experiences, Josh with deer and coyote and Kevin with lack of deer.

Then get into talking about some "Hot Topics" for Michigan folks.

We discuss several bills and changes that have been proposed and some voted on already.

1st one is the license fee increases. HB 6229: The bill would raise the license to fish from $25 to $38 for residents and from $78 to $88 for nonresidents. It also lower the age requirements for acquiring a fishing license from 17 to 16 years old. Hunting licenses would be changed as follows, Wild Turkey - from $15 to $23, Waterfowl - from $12 to $18, Pheasant - from $25 to $38,Deer - from $20 to $30, Bear - from $25 to $38, Elk - from $100 to $150, Residents wishing to get a combined hunting and fishing license would pay $113. It's currently $75, For out-of-state residents, fees climb from $265 to $273, For a resident adult, from $10 to $15, For a resident minor, from $5 to $8, For a nonresident, from $150 to $163.

(source https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Bills/Bill?ObjectName=2024-HB-6229).

During a time when hunting numbers are declining, it seems the state wants to mess with the sportsmen we have left.

Then we have firearms related bills, starting with the ludicrous ban on "colored guns"

Senate Bill 1134 would apply to firearms which have any colors other than black, brown, dark green, silver, or similar colors.

Polehanki also created the exception for already possessed “deceptively colored” firearms before the effective date of the bill, if passed.

For those who possess such “deceptively colored” firearms may face a $500 fine or a year in prison.

Next would be

Senate Bills 1149 & 1150: Propose restrictions on "home built" firearms and the raw materials used to make them. Even though it is legal, under federal law, for a person to make a firearm for their personal use using non serialized components, and selling them is already illegal. This would affect the sale and or possession of 80% lowers and other similar components.

Senate Bill 942: would ban bump stocks, making them illegal to own, sell, or possess in Michigan—imposing stricter regulations than those governing machine guns. This comes despite the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the federal ban on bump stocks earlier this year.

House Bills 6183, 6184, and 6185: Directly undermine the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act by abolishing immunity for firearm manufacturers and opening them up to frivolous lawsuits and vastly increased liability exposure. These bills also mandate the purchase or offer for sale of a trigger lock or secure storage container when transferring a firearm, which again, is already a requirememt.

House Bills 6144, 6145, and 6146: Require law enforcement agencies to destroy any firearm that has been confiscated or returned during a "gun buy-back".

(source https://www.nraila.org/articles/20241213/michigan-take-action-against-anti-gun-legislation-today)

There are more as well, including House Bills 6222 and 6223: Require anyone selling a firearm to report any attempt by a prohibited person to acquire said firearm to law enforcement within 24 hours. Failure to do so would be a FELONY.

SB 857 and SB 858: Expand "gun-free zones" in Michigan by prohibiting gun owners from carrying a firearm in the Michigan State Capitol Building, the Binsfeld Senate Office Building, and the Anderson House Office Building, with an exception for legislators. The Capitol Commission in recent years banned both open and concealed firearms carry in the Capitol and Democrat leadership restricted citizens' rights to carry in legislative office buildings by rule. This legislation would expand and codify those restrictions into state law, making it near impossible for citizens to regain the right to carry in these areas.

House Bills 5450 & 5451: Mandate public schools annually post and distribute information regarding the state’s mandatory storage laws to the parents and guardians of every enrolled student.

(source https://www.nraila.org/articles/20241213/michigan-take-action-against-anti-gun-legislation-today)

It really seems that during this lame duck session the democrats are trying to ram through a lot of restrictions. As we have said before, you voice is the sword we need to wield in these battles.

Contact your reps, make you voice heard. If you don't do your part, you can't complain when your rights and lifestyle are affected.

As always, THANK YOU for listening.

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