Will Brantley is a permeant fixture in the outdoor industry. One that wears many different hats you might say. 
From his freelance writing, he's also the  Hunting Editor of Field and Stream magazine, as well as along with  his wife they own Brantley Outdoors which specializes in content management and consulting for some of the industries largest brands.  Ohh, let's not forget,  they also do some guiding in the fall at their place in Western KY.  They stay busy. Will is very versed in "all things Outdoors" 

Topics discussed but not limited to: 

• The unfortunate shooting on Reelfoot lake
• Trials and tribulations of a Public Land Hunter
• Hunter recruitment 
• Youth involvement

As always please share your thoughts and feedback. 

Enjoy! 

Whoa! Hold on boys and girls of the hunting scene, this is going to be a HOT TOPIC!! 

On this episode of the Ryan Furrer Podcast I'm joined by past President and current Board Member Jim Willems from Pope and Young. 

The main topic of discussion was the highly debated issue of the modern day Crossbow.
 
Yes! There I said it- we're actually sitting down having a discussion about crossbows and if they have a place in the actual bow season.  Let's be honest if you're a bowhunter the advancements in crossbow technology in the last few years really has to leave you scratching your head.  Just the other day I saw a crossbow ad where their marketing read "Meet your next rifle!" HA! 

So why not sit down with one of the top guys at Pope and Young. I mean P&Y is the organization that is actually responsible for us as bowhunters having an actual bow season in the first place, so I would think their opinion would be valid.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I'm personally not anti-crossbow, I am however starting to question how far this is actually going to go. Where does it end? So this isn't a crossbow bashing podcast,  It's a discussion that more hunters should be having.  Hopefully from this episode they do. 
If you don't stand up for something, you'll fall for anything. 

We said it in the podcast- speak up, become heard, get involved with Pope and Young, or your State Bowhunting Organization.  
As the great Fred Bear said, "If you're not working to protect bowhunting, you're working to destroy it" 

Please, as always have a listen and feel free to share your comments or questions. 
 

Here we go! My first ever solo episode. I thought about it, kicked it around for a while and figured- ahh, why not!? So here it is. 
I mention in the beginning that if you don't like it you can turn it off at any point. Lol

I had some listener questions that I wanted to spend some time on with the details. 

Things covered;

• Flintlock Muzzleloaders
• The late season Pros/ Cons
• My season in a nutshell
• Is it to early to think about shed hunting!? 
• Things to look forward to with the podcast

And much more.. 

I really hope you like it. I also enjoy the feedback so please keep it coming. 

In this next episode of the Ryan Furrer Podcast ( RFP) we are joined by one of the greatest Whitetail Bowhunters of all time.  He also happens to be the twin brother to one of the greatest Whitetail Bowhunters of all time as well. Twin  brother to Barry,  Mr. Gene Wensel! 

Even though this episode was a bit longer, we didn't even scratch the surface. Gene has already agreed to follow up with a sequel- Part duex coming soon. Stay tuned ( pun- intended)

It's important to me to introduce (via the podcast)  the likes of Barry and Gene Wensel to all hunters
As hunters we owe a great deal to them as they paved the way for a lot of today's Outdoor Television. Not only that- they're just great down to earth, funny guys. The type you just want to sit around the fire and listen to.  
Most- if not all of the younger hunters today know the modern day "celebrity" hunters, but have never heard the likes of the Wensels, Rodger Rothar, Bart Schleyer, Paul Schafer etc.
Hopefully I can do my part to help change that.   

Things we covered, but not limited to.
On the not so serious side:

• Barry's boogers
• Gene's eating habits
• Who's older?
• Fred bear's toothbrush, and socks

On the more serious side, but not so much;

• Hunting and technology
• Getting kids involved
• The back country

And everything in between.
In all seriousness this episode will give you good insight to Gene Wensel as a person. We were just more so shootin' the breeze. So grab a drink, sit back and enjoy the listen.  

As always let me know of your questions and comments.  
Thanks!

In this episode I'm joined by Giant Chasing, Master of Bowhunting Legend, Mr. Don Higgins.     (yes- I capitalized that as it should be his title.)

Some things covered, but not limited to:

Don and I had some great conversation about why we, or in this case, he hunts rather than the typical what, and how one hunts. 

We went over some of Don's past hunts- from his early childhood where he killed his first buck on his family farm which started that internal fire of learning everything there is to know about whitetail deer and habitat they need to thrive in. That in-turn lead him on a 20 year journey of changing the landscape of that farm that eventually not only has many other deer calling it home, but also Don's biggest buck harvest to date. 

We also  talked morning vs evening hunts.

Cold weather sittin' 

And the fact that Don's has NEVER turkey hunted. 

Plus much more..  As always, give us a like, subscribe and leave any question or comments you may have

Enjoy! 

  



 

Super excited about this next episode of the Ryan Furrer Podcast with my friend and legendary Bowhunter, Barry Wensel.  

I was very anxious to get this podcast recorded and out to the masses, as over the years I've found that a lot of new bowhunters, or even hunters in general for that matter have never heard of Barry and/or his twin brother Gene. ( Check them out on Brothers of the Bow.com) 

That's really unfortunate especially in today's world with the amount of hunting "content" that's out there floating around all the different platforms.  Here's why. 

Barry and Gene are 76 years young- Barry started self filming his own hunts when he was 14 years old! That's right, 62 years ago! Ha! He's also credited with killing not only the first deer but the fist 2 deer on video back in the early 80's (Bowhunting October Whitetails) which started the ball rolling with what now has become the "industry" of oudoor television. Yes- he/ they are the epitome of what we like to coin certain old-school types as the O.G's
Yeah I'm sure someone would have filmed their own hunt sooner or later, but at this point Barry was the first. 
Since then Barry still continues to hunt, self film and kill giant Whitetails like no other. Oh yeah! let me mention, he has only ever hunted with traditional equipment. Yep! Big mature 5.5 yr old or older bucks all inside the 25 yard line with mainly a recurve bow in hand. The real "Stick and String"  Pet peeve of mine.. 

As with all the other episodes please give a like and subscribe to the podcast. You can give feed back or submit listener questions via social media, or at [email protected] 

With that- out of the respect of Bowhunting I bring to you, Barry Wensel. 
Hope you enjoy! 

In this next episode of the RFP I was joined by special guest(s) John Plowman (Director) and Ben Moyer of Pennsylvania's Hunters sharing the Harvest (HSH) 

This program is special, it will pull at your heart strings. I helped with HSH a few years ago and it really raised my eye brows as to how needed it is/was.  I learned 1 in 6 PA families are food insecure this time of year. 1 in 6 folks!

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture estimates that before the pandemic more than 1.53 million Pennsylvanians experienced chronic hunger EVERYDAY! Including 478,500 seniors, and 437,000 children. 
Since the pandemic the food banks are reporting a significant increase in their communities with an average of around a 65% increase in food demand. 

Hunters can help! Hunters are helping! Hunters as a group are some of the most passionate, caring, giving people I know. 
Last year alone (2019) HSH had a record setting year with over 160,000lbs of venison donated. ( The most in the Country) To break it down for you 1lb of venison is roughly 4 meals. That's 640,000 meals donated by hunters! Guess what though!? It wasn't enough- they still fell short, the food banks needed more. This year HSH has set a goal of 200,000lbs of donated venison. If you ask me, that's very achievable. I don't like to use the term "we need awareness" As awareness is just a word thrown around by some as it's going to fix an issue. But more so, we need people to ACT on their awareness! It's one thing to be aware, but it's a whole other to do something. 
That's why I'm doing this podcast, now we as hunters need to do more, do your part if you can.  
Go to sharedeer.org find a participating butcher in your area and help fight hunger! 

In this episode of the RFP we have special guest and family friend, Josh Merschat. Josh along with his wife and kids are the owner(s) of Northwest Montana Outfitters out of Trout Creek Montana. 

Not only is Josh the owner, he's one of the hardest working backcountry guides in the business. (Seriously, you better lace up your boots when you hunt with this guy, he'll walk your toenails off!) Ha! I mean it- He's done that before.  You see,  his dad, uncle  and grandparents we're taking him to the mountains when Josh was just old enough to walk.  It's literally in his blood.  It's who he is and what he's meant to do. 
He and his family are from PA,  but every year for about the last 18 or so when those summer days were starting to wain and the bulls were going hard antler, he'd pack up and be gone! After he's done chasing  screaming bulls and rutted up bucks- he moves on to running hounds after those big cats that lurk in the shadows of the mountains that very few people see.  That gets him through late winter.  Then he's home for only a short break then back at it treeing the spring bears. 
He's a hunter- he hunts. hard.

 But... Not only is he a backcounty guide, he's dabbled in bull riding, raising bulls to bull ride, rodeo clown, horseman, stone mason and as I mentioned, a houndsman (specializing in big cats, and bears) basically- a modern day cowboy, an  all around great dude and dad! 

So- If you have any interest in hunting anything in the west, or chasing big bears, and big cats with hounds, or just want to hear some cool story telling-  give this episode a listen. 

As always- let me know what you think! 

Its NOVEMBER! This episode is a must listen for you as you travel to and from your favorite hunting spot. Here's why.
If you're anything like me (aside for trying to pick a restaurant to eat at with my family) This is a very daunting task.  You end up going back and forth in your mind hundreds of times trying to decide which spot to sit.  Well, give this episode a listen as it just might help you decide on what stand you should sit that day....Possibly, maybe? 

Some of the things covered but not limited to:

• Skipping work to hunt. (rutcation)
• The wind and the rain (I left out fire)
• Ridgetops and creek bottoms 
• The misnomer of sex ratios- (simple) Math with a deer nerd. Ha!
• The secret to killing big bucks! (yep- there's a secret)    

And much, much, more . 

As always please enjoy. Leave some feedback, ask questions, or just simply tell us some stories. 
There is more to come as we "work" and by work I mean "hunt" our way through November.

Good luck out there! 

Big Buck Breakdown! 
Who doesn't like to hear about world class-  giant bucks!?  Well in this episode I had the pleasure of sitting down with avid bowhunter Chad Lytle.  Get this, Chad had not one, but two encounters with this mega giant in the same day! 

Some of the topics discussed were, but not limited to;

• Playing the lottery
• When it comes to mega giant bucks, do we really have friends!? 
• The nose bleed section 
• Lucky Buck
• Interrogations after the fact. 

Please give it a listen and as always leave some questions or comments below.