Chad sits down with Tony Vandemore of Habitat Flats, for the conversation we are all wanting to hear right now. The season is just around the corner, and things are more exciting than they have been in years. Tony was up at 1 a.m. watching radar and hoping for rain. That's the preseason nobody sees.

The prairies are wetter than they've been in fifty years. Baby ducks on every piece of water. Tony breaks down what that means for the season, why mallards only move as far as they have to, and what five billion extra bushels of corn in the northern states is doing to migration.

They get into Canada's new ten-day license rules, the possession limit debate, instant credibility on social media versus the way they actually came up, and whether we're really living in the golden age of waterfowl hunting right now.

Tony started Habitat Flats in 2007. He knows this stuff as well as a person can. It's his entire life, and we are so grateful to have him back on the show to share his knowledge. This one's worth every minute.

Book a hunt at habitatflats.com or email [email protected].

This episode is brought to you by Benelli Shotguns, Federal Premium Ammunition, Banded Brands, Mojo Outdoors, Avery Outdoors, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Realtree Camo, CamoSpace, Rob Roberts Custom Gunworks, and GATR Coolers & Drinkware.

Chad's been around guns his whole life. Shotguns, handguns, sporting clays, turkey hunting, duck blinds. Tens of thousands of rounds, and for most of that time, hearing protection was an afterthought.

That changed when he met Jeff and the team at ESP Hearing Protection and got custom fitted for the first time. This episode is his full, honest take on what that experience was like, why he resisted it for so long, and what's different now.

He gets into how the custom molds work, what it's like to call turkeys while wearing them, why he's hearing gobbles from further away on the roost, and how his handgun training has completely changed. He also talks about the guys he knows in their 50s, 60s, and 70s who can't hear their phone ring without hearing aids and why he's not willing to go down that road.

At 50, Chad's not slowing down. He wants to hunt hard for the next 30-40 years. And that means taking care of everything! From the body and mind to his eyes and ears.

And this one is presented by ESP Hearing Protection. This episode is brought to you by Benelli Shotguns, HiViz Sights, Nutrien Ag Solutions, CamoSpace, Avery Outdoors, Realtree Camo, Rob Roberts Custom Gunworks, and Bodyguard Bumpers.

The deadline is August 7th. Act now.

ducks.org/save-the-duck-factory

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/24/2026-14995/national-wildlife-refuge-system-request-for-information-on-implementation-of-drain-tile-setbacks

The prairie pothole region; stretching across Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and up into Canada, is responsible for producing up to sixty-five percent of the ducks that fly down every flyway in North America. Since the 1960s, duck hunters have invested in 1.7 million acres of wetland easements through duck stamp purchases to protect those wetlands permanently. No drainage. No impact. Forever.

That protection is now being threatened.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has published a request for information regarding the 2024 rule that governs tile drain setbacks on those easements, and has signaled an intent to repeal it. If that rule is weakened, those wetlands could lose up to twenty-eight percent of their inundated area in the first year alone. Fewer wetlands means fewer pairs. Fewer pairs means fewer ducks. This is the science. This is what's at stake.

Chad sat down with Dr. Scott Stephens, Sr. Director of Prairie and Boreal Forest Conservation Strategy at Ducks Unlimited, and Dr. Mike Brasher, Senior Waterfowl Scientist at Ducks Unlimited, for one of the most important conversations ever recorded on this podcast. They break down what easements are, what tile drainage is, what the 2024 rule does, why it matters, and exactly what you can do right now to protect it.

If you've ever bought a duck stamp, you are an investor in this habitat. Your voice matters right now.

The comment deadline is August 7th.

Go to ducks.org/save-the-duck-factory to sign the petition and submit your comment to the Federal Register. The direct Federal Register comment link is also in the show notes.

This episode proudly features Ducks Unlimited and is brought to you by Benelli Shotguns, Nutrien Ag Solutions, MOJO Outdoors, Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels, Corning Ford, LEER Truck Toppers, and GATR Coolers & Drinkware.

In this episode, Midwest host Joel Kleefisch and the single most important tool for migratory patterns. What happened to bird banding?! In this exclusive Fowl Life Podcast, Midwest Host Joel Kleefisch pins down Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources Chief Game Bird Ecologist Taylor Finger about what you can expect when it comes to bands, neck collars, and GPS backpacks. Don’t miss this fascinating insider info!

This episode is brought to you by Travel Wisconsin and Realtree Camo!

In this episode, Midwest host Joel Kleefisch and the single most important tool for migratory patterns. What happened to bird banding?! In this exclusive Fowl Life Podcast, Midwest Host Joel Kleefisch pins down Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources Chief Game Bird Ecologist Taylor Finger about what you can expect when it comes to bands, neck collars, and GPS backpacks. Don’t miss this fascinating insider info!

This episode is brought to you by Travel Wisconsin and Realtree Camo!

Chad doesn't spend a ton of time in the rodeo world, but sitting down with Dusty Tuckness, it's hard not to see how much it mirrors everything The Fowl Life stands for. Dusty's a hunter, so this one was a natural.

Dusty has been voted into the National Finals Rodeo by the top bull riders in the world 17 years in a row. This is a record that's never been touched. A lot of people in the stands don't even know who he is. That's the job. Step in, take the hit, protect the guy everyone else is watching.

They sit down the day after Dusty took a hard one. A subluxed hip, stretched hammy, sprained MCL — and went back out and fought 11 more bulls. They get into the split-second decisions, the two-man team, and what it really means to do a job nobody sees coming, but everybody needs when things go wrong.

Dusty talks openly about his faith, getting through a compound fracture of his tib and fib, and why he considers himself a Christian who just happens to fight bulls. Chad brings the mallard duck story, the veterans he's hunted with, and what this lifestyle has actually given him.

Animal ethics, the hunting and rodeo crossover, Rocker Steiner, Stetson Wright, and Caesars Rodeo all come up too.

This episode is brought to you by Benelli Shotguns, Federal Premium Ammunition, Banded Brands, Avery Outdoors, Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels, Corning Ford, Resistol Hats, Rob Roberts Custom Gunworks, LEER Truck Toppers, GATR Coolers & Drinkware, and HiViz Sights.

Chad had his crosshairs on a 225-pound Axis deer for over ten minutes. A brand-new round from Federal Premium he'd never shot on game before. And the whole time, one thought he couldn't shake... is the bullet big enough?

That moment of doubt, the breathing, the trigger squeeze, and what happened when they walked up on that deer within 20 feet of where the shot landed; that's what this episode is about.

Chad recaps his Axis deer hunt at Iron Game Ranch in Stonehouse, Texas with Federal Premium CEO Jason Vanderbrink, breaks down the brand new 6.5 Creedmoor Plus Peak and what it's capable of, gets into why Axis deer might be the best eating game animal in North America, and talks through how he's using every piece of this animal from hunter's ham to custom purses to pillows.

It's a hunt recap, a shooting system breakdown, and an honest conversation about confidence, doubt, and what it means to trust your gear when it counts.

Season 18 of Benelli's The Fowl Life is on the Outdoor Channel now. Season 19 filming starts in September.

This episode is presented by Federal Premium Ammunition and brought to you by Benelli Shotguns, HiViz Sights, Rob Roberts Custom Gunworks, Nutrien Ag Solutions, CamoSpace, Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels, Corning Ford, LEER Truck Toppers, and GATR Coolers & Drinkware.

On this special episode from Raised In The Woods, Chad and the crew Travel Wisconsin to the State’s Capitol. They discuss everything from social media’s impact on the hunting world to technology’s effect in the waters and woods. Guest host Brittni Christiansen and host Ellie Lawton give their take on women in the outdoors. Don’t miss this controversial discussion from the seat of TFL Midwest.

This episode is brought to you by Travel Wisconsin, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Benelli Shotguns, Federal Premium Ammunition, HiViz Sights, CamoSpace

As Chad Belding Travels Wisconsin, The Fowl Life lands in the Capitol of Madison for Midwest Host Joel Kleefisch’s radio show, Raised in the Woods. Ride along on this laugh-filled adventure. From an unbelievable turkey hunt to the greatest eats to a guest appearance by the one and only Wando, the godfather of “The Jump Around”, you don’t want to miss this fantastic journey.

This episode is brought to you by Travel Wisconsin, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Benelli Shotguns, Federal Premium Ammunition, HiViz Sights, and CamoSpace

Mitch Petrie joins Chad from a campsite in Wisconsin, and the two get into it. They talk Wisconsin versus Minnesota, the political tension Mitch has watched build at home, and the infighting that's been creeping into the hunting community, including Chad's response to Matt Rinella's Hunt Quietly podcast and the argument that outdoor TV has done more harm than good.

Mitch breaks down where outdoor television actually stands right now: the audience, the numbers behind My Outdoor TV and Game and Fish TV, why linear isn't dead even if it's changed, and whether a new producer could ever build a show like The Fowl Life from the ground up today. Chad and Mitch close it out talking sheep tags, axis deer recipes, and nineteen seasons of The Fowl Life still going strong.

This episode is brought to you by Benelli Shotguns, Federal Premium Ammunition, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Travel Wisconsin, HiViz Sights, Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels, Avery Outdoors, Banded Brands, Corning Ford, Rob Roberts Custom Gunworks, LEER Truck Toppers, and GATR Coolers & Drinkware.