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You only get so many firsts in your life and to witness a good one with your kids—well, that's something really special. Brent's sharing a listener story about a first fish, and one of his own that happened with his youngest daughter Bailee. He's also sharing exciting family news and details about how we can help a great kid oriented non-profit. There's news about the World Championship Squirrel Cook Off as well. It's time for MeatEater's "This Country Life" podcast.

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I’m a sucker for dumplings, so when I saw the viral “blanket” dumpling trend, I couldn’t help but try it with wild game. Inspired by Japanese gyoza, these blanket dumplings offer an easier way to get your fix without the tedious work of folding each one by hand. It’s essentially just a meatball draped with pre-made wonton wrappers. The bottoms are fried until golden and crispy, then a splash of water is added to the pan to steam and soften the tops.

Although gyoza is traditionally made with pork, these can be made with virtually any ground wild game, including venison, feral hog, goose, or even bear. Finely chopped cabbage is mixed right into the filling, making it a sneaky way to serve vegetables to picky eaters without sacrificing flavor.

Serve the dumplings over rice with extra stir-fried cabbage and chili oil. They are juicy, savory, and completely addictive. This is one of those meals that is sure to become a family favorite.

The Sunshine State just opened its application period for its recently revived black bear season. Last year, after a decade’s long hiatus, Florida reopened its black bear season after the state’ Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) felt the population (approximately 4,000) supported limited hunting opportunities.

That decision, however, was met with backlash by antihunters within the state, especially the Sierra Club’s Florida chapter. The anti-hunting organization concentrated efforts to “buy up all the tags to keep them out of hunters’ hands” in their “Spare a Bear, Bag A Tag!” campaign. This year, the anti-hunting organization looks to continue their cause.

According to its bear hunt fact sheet, the Sierra Club’s Florida Chapter “threw a wrench in things” by pushing its members to apply for bear permits and purchase them if awarded. The fact sheet claims that out of the 172 awarded permits “more than 52” were purchased by non-hunters, though it’s unclear how they gathered that specific information. Not to mention, those odds seem a little skewed, considering that 163,459 applications were submitted. “This year we will be working to spare even more bears,” the fact sheet reads.

In fact, the FWC post-hunt survey report revealed that only 40 permit holders of the 138 that opted for the survey chose not to hunt. Of those 40, 38% reported obligations (family, work, etc.) as their reason, while 13% reported not having time. Another 13% said they didn’t agree with bear hunting, and 25% preferred not to say. It’s hard to know why 25% didn’t specify their reasons, but that does mean that of the 138 permit winners, 13% (5.2 permit holders) could have been from anti-hunting groups. While that number isn’t 0, it’s a far cry from 52.

In spite of the Sierra Club’s efforts, Florida counted its 2025 bear season as a huge success, according to George Warthen, the Chief Conservation Officer for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. For the 2025 season, 172 permits were claimed. While only 98 of those permit winners reportedly hunted bear, 52 were successful in harvesting, resulting in a 53.1% success rate statewide.

Warthen pointed out that some of the survey responders acknowledged that they were not hunters or were not intending to hunt, while most of the others intended to hunt but couldn’t for various reasons. “Whether you use hunter success based on permits issued versus permits filled or permits issued to people who use them versus filled, both percentages are at the peak, if not higher than most national averages in states that allow bear hunting,” he told MeatEater.

Even though some of the claimed permits went unused, Warthen noted that unused tags factor into any conservation plan, not just bear hunting. Warthen said he and the lead bear manager estimated that at least 30% of the issued permits would go to people who wouldn’t use them (whether for anti-hunting purposes or not). Those numbers were already considered in their determination of permit allotment. Even if anti-hunting groups managed to account for all of the state’s unused permits, Warthen said that number “didn't make a significant impact.”

Even if anti-hunting groups theoretically snagged a significant amount of bear permits and decreased the hunter success rate, that post-hunt data would be used in determining the next year’s harvest needs and probably lead to an increase in issued permits for hunters. MeatEater’s Jordan Sillars covered this issue last year and alluded to a similar, albeit hypothetical, outcome.

Though FWC didn’t see its harvest goals thwarted by anti-hunting groups, it did increase the number of permits this year from 172 to 215 (22 of which are designated for the Private Lands Bear Harvest Program). Unsurprisingly, the Sierra Club’s Florida Chapter included this new opportunity in its fact sheet, calling it a "privatization" of bear hunting.

Like a lot of states that offer incentives to private landowners who participate in state conservation plans, Florida offers similar opportunities through its deer and now bear harvest programs. While anti-hunting groups might lead their readers to believe that the state is simply allowing wealthy landowners to “bypass” the rules and regulations, that’s hardly the case.

The minimum acreage requirement for landowners who want to participate in the bear harvest program is 5000, but that’s just part of what the state requires. Landowners must demonstrate that at least 50% of their property is deemed “suitable bear habitat,” implement and follow a bear management plan approved by a certified wildlife biologist, follow a list of qualifying conservation activities on that property annually, and document a required minimum number of bears determined by the property size.

All of these are required for eligibility and do not guarantee landowners a permit. Not to mention, those limited permits for the private land program are capped at 22 and separate from the 193 tags allotted for the general lottery. That long list of minimum requirements costs a lot more than just $100 for a bear tag for landowners. You can read the detailed list of requirements here.

“A lot of these landowners are already enrolled in the deer program,” Warthen said. “They’re already going above and beyond and putting a ton of money and resources into wildlife management.”

The extensive requirements of the bear harvest program, contrary to what the Sierra Club claims, isn’t about creating “exclusive” hunting opportunities for private landowners. Rather, this initiative allows the state to work closely with willing landowners to implement certified wildlife management and conservation programs outside of the small percentage of state and federal lands where FWC has agency.

Regardless, Florida hopes to build upon their successful 2025 bear season this year. The small, yet significant increase in permit availability will give hunters more opportunities to pursue black bears and participate in one of the state's coolest conservation stories.

Florida’s black bear application period closes on September 21. Application chances are $5 each. Selected residents will pay $100 for a permit, while non-resident permits cost $300. Go to FWC’s website for more information or to purchase your application.

This week the Jordan Buck was officially supplanted from atop the Boone and Crockett record books. The Aiuppa Buck, a 207 ⅞-inch Illinois typical whitetail with foot-long eye guards, takes its place by 1 6/8 inch. But it didn’t dethrone the Jordan Buck overnight. In fact, it might have gone unnoticed if it weren’t for an electrician who spotted the buck passing slowly into obscurity 32 years after Sam Aiuppa killed it.

After a day of pheasant hunting in LaSalle County, Illinois, in 1991, Sam Aiuppa decided to spend the remainder of the evening in a deer stand, he told Rack Magazine in an interview. Aiuppa swapped his birdshot for a slug in his Remington 870, and after just 40 minutes in his stand, he spotted the massive buck approaching. Once the buck stepped into range, Aiuppa dropped it in its tracks. But it would be over three decades before the buck made it into the record books.

Once word spread about the giant rack hanging in Aiuppa’s basement, antler collector James Martin drove to Illinois, bought the rack from Aiuppa, and started the process for official Boone and Crockett scoring. Officially, the buck scored 207 ⅞, still shy of the Hanson Buck (213 5/8), but enough to propel it all the way to the no. 2 spot for the biggest whitetail ever killed.

Images via Boone and Crockett.

Steven Rinella and the MeatEater Crew Discuss: Outdoor Life’s public land helicopter debacle; Etsy is the Devil (maybe); does fishing save you money; will MT send a smoke-jumper to Congress; and more!

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This week on the show, Mark's joined by Dan Johnson for our annual review of our goals, hopes, and hit lists for the 2026 hunting season.

Presented by Moultrie

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Some stories are just too good to only hear once, so we are going back to listen again to Clay Newcomb as he ask talks with New York Times best selling author Steve Rinella and Dr. Dan T. Carter, professor emeritus at the University of South Carolina about black-listed book “The Education of Little Tree.” The book, an alleged semi-autobiographical story about a Cherokee boy growing up in southern Appalachia, was written by Forest Carter, which was the false identity of famed white supremacist, Ku Klux Klan chapter founder and speech writer for Governor George Wallace, Dan Carter. In part 1, Clay reflects on the honest, insightful, and empathetic context of the book and explores the nuance and dissonance of what to do with with art in light of an artist’s beliefs.

Thank you to our sponsor, Tecovas.

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Spencer Neuharth hosts MeatEater Trivia with Brody Henderson, Randall Williams, Seth Morris, Cory Calkins, Nate Mason, Laura Mascari, and Logan Dove.

Find our favorite ATVs, SxS, and Utility Vehicles at www.can-am.brp.com

Presented by Busch Light

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We’re excited to announce the upcoming launch of our latest addition to the MeatEater Podcast Network: Gunfighters with Bryan Burrough.

It’s the first collaboration between MeatEater and Bryan Burrough, an award-winning journalist at The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, and Texas Monthly. Bryan is also the author of eight books, four of them New York Times best-sellers. This new podcast is based on his 2025 book, The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild, published by Penguin Press.

In the podcast, Bryan tells the narrative history of what he calls The Gunfighter Era, from 1865 to 1901, the thirty-six years between the first post-Civil War gunfight to receive national acclaims and the moment the frontier’s last two outlaws of note, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, boarded a steamer in Brooklyn to flee to South America. It wraps the stories of all the great Old West gunfighters, from Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Hickok to Billy the Kid and Doc Holliday, into a single overarching narrative story.

Most episodes focus on a single gunfighter or a single incredible exchange of gunfire. You can watch the trailer below for more information.

“This is the first podcast I’ve done like this, and I couldn’t be more excited to be doing it with MeatEater," Bryan said. “This is based on research and reading I’ve been doing since I was like eleven years old. These are just great American stories, crucial little building blocks in the cultural structure America has become. Just to be able to exhume these stories and present them in the freshest way possible, to give them the attention and the context they deserve, I mean, it’s a real honor."

The first episode of Gunfighters, with Bryan Burrough, debuts Tuesday, Sept. 15th. New episodes will drop weekly. Get notified when the first episode drops by following the show now on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.