The MeatEater

Tyler Madden (20) of Dyersburg, Tennessee, has pleaded guilty to 24 hunting-related charges spanning Dyer, Crockett, and Madison Counties, which include illegally taking 30 turkeys over the 2024 and 2025 seasons. The charges include two counts of big game violation, seven counts of statewide wild turkey bag limit violation, small game season date violation, statewide waterfowl season date violation, hunting without permission, hunting from a public road, hunting from a motor vehicle, and ten counts of illegal possession.

On October 12, 2024, Madison County game wardens received multiple anonymous tips that Madden had poached a leucistic turkey, known widely by locals, on county-owned property.

Game warden Austin Parsley responded to the call, matching photos from Madden’s social media to the parcel where the turkey had been poached. Parsley also verified that no one had permission to hunt that parcel (in Jackson, hunters have to obtain written permission from the mayor to hunt county-owned land). These tips launched a year-long investigation into Madden.

“He’s been on our radar for a while,” Parsley told MeatEater. “We knew it could be big if we let it play out. We were able to monitor the situation through social media and a couple other avenues.”

Big indeed. Madden’s sheer numbers are comparable to entire Wildlife Management Areas’ documented turkey harvests in a given season.

On April 25, 2025, Tyler Madden and another individual not involved in the case were ticketed for hunting a property without permission. The other hunter didn’t have a Tennessee license at the time either. Game wardens found a dead turkey in the back of their truck and confiscated Madden’s Mossberg SA20 Tactical Turkey.

Officers noticed 42 gold “tick” marks on the gun’s receiver, Parsley told Meateater. When questioned by gamewardens, Madden admitted that they signified turkeys that he had killed with that gun or called in for other people to kill.

“That’s when the biggest breakthrough occurred," Parsley said. “I’m an avid turkey hunter, and I know that specific gun was only released a few years ago.”

Mossberg didn't release the SA20 Turkey until December of 2022. Even if Madden had bought one that December, the math still wouldn't add up.

Madden let his ego betray him. At the time, he only had 11 total turkeys checked in—well shy of the 42 kill marks on his receiver, Parsley told Meateater. Parsley noted that social media played a big role in the case. Officers were able to match turkey fans from Madden’s social media posts to ones in his possession or other photos and determine which ones weren’t tagged.

Officials confiscated 47 illegally harvested turkeys from Madden, 30 of which were taken between 2024 and 2025. The court ordered Madden’s hunting privileges to be forfeited for eight years, pay $10,000 in restitution, $4,183.50 in fines and court costs, and forfeit a shotgun and compound bow.

The investigation also led to the convictions of four other Tennessee hunters, one of whom is Madden’s brother. In total, officers recovered 79 turkey beards, 17 fans, 4 shotguns, a compound bow, and the white turkey, which kickstarted the investigation.

Madden’s staggering poaching numbers come as a gut punch to Tennessee hunters who have seen their season and bag limits decrease in response to declining numbers across the state. In 2023, the Volunteer State decided to delay its season and decrease its seasonal bag limit from three to two adult gobblers in hopes of providing better hunting opportunities in the future. Illegally taking 15 years worth of bag limits doesn’t help.

“It’s the biggest turkey bust anyone can remember in our region," Parsley said. “As a turkey hunter, this one just hurts.”

Spencer Neuharth hosts MeatEater Trivia with Janis Putelis, Brody Henderson, Randall Williams, Nate Mason, Roman Schnobrich, and Anthony Finissi. 

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When Cody Villines prepared to draw down on three dark approaching turkeys, he definitely gets more than he expected. Janis Putelis hangs in for a fourth quarter double, Clay and Lake get a big surprise about what comes into their call, and a miraculous retrieval—all exciting stories from Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas, sure to get you fired up for Spring Turkey Season.

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Spring means gobbling turkeys, pleasant temps, and more daylight. It’s also the start of a long offseason of whitetail scouting that spans the summer months and into fall openers. Unfortunately, it’s also the time that insects, spiders, snakes, and a host of other critters resurface.

Depending on what part of the country you live in, these critters might not pose much of a threat to you. If you live in states that serve sweet tea or promote dry, arid temps, you probably think about them a lot. While the odds of getting bit by a snake remain low, and even lower for death-related bites, I’m willing to bet most hunters would still rather exercise a bit of caution when it comes to creepy crawlies. Even if you aren’t worried about snake bites, no one wants to give up red meat because they forgot their tick repellent.

For many hunters out West or down South, there’s a long list of critters that bite and sting. A lot of them can be venomous, poisonous, or carry diseases. Here are a few.

You don’t need to develop a phobia, or even expect to see these every time you hunt, but a little awareness and a few helpful pieces of gear can save you a headache—or a trip to the ER.

I prefer to hunt in hiking boots, but the vast bottomland habitat and swamps of the South don’t make that feasible. Nor do the cottonmouths, eastern diamondbacks, or copperheads that call it home. I’m fascinated by snakes, and I love seeing them in the wild, but I’m not interested in paying for antivenom. Snakes are mostly docile. You have to agitate them (or mistakenly sit on them) for them to strike at you. But if you’re frequenting areas where they live, consider investing in a pair of snake boots.

The Lacrosse Alpha Agility Snake Boots make a great option. They’re uninsulated, and I don’t mind covering several miles in a day during turkey season because they’re relatively lightweight for rubber boots. The uppers are also plenty stiff enough even if a snake were to strike. So far, I’ve logged dozens of miles in a single pair over the past four years, and they’re still going strong.

If you hunt in dry, arid parts of the country, a pair of gaiters can serve the same purpose as snake boots without the added weight or sweat.

Along with transmitting diseases like Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease, and a host of others, ticks (lone star tick in particular) can even transmit alpha-gal syndrome, which causes an allergic reaction to red meat in those affected. Luckily, there are easy, cost-effective ways to combat these pesky parasites.

You can treat your clothes with permethrin prior to a hunt or scouting trip to repel ticks and mosquitos. I’ve used Sawyer permethrin in the past. You spray it on your clothes the night before, and it supposedly lasts six weeks before you need to reapply. My hunting clothes usually go through several washes within a few weeks, so I end up reapplying sooner anyway. For around $15, it’s a budget-friendly way to make sure you don’t leave the woods with any unwanted guests.

If you’re in the market for new hunting clothes anyway, consider gear with built-in insect repellent. First Lite’s Yuma synthetic hoody incorporates Burlington No Fly Zone to repel mosquitos and ticks. This means you’re covered if you happen to forget your Thermacell or spray back at the truck.

Clothes with built-in insect repellent are typically rated for so many washes. This means after a certain amount of washes or time (whichever comes first) the repellent wears out. So, you will have to invest in spray or treat the clothing again at some point.

Whether you’re visiting a buggy destination for hunting or scouting, here are a few things to keep in mind when the temps rise.

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A road trip with Steven Rinella across the High Plains to the Blackwater Draw Unesco Site on the border of Texas and New Mexico leads to an assessment of 13,000 years of change in one western environment, where people have practiced every kind of life way from hunting elephants to turning the plains into cotton fields and oil country.

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This week, Tony talks about how expanding our social circle in the interest of whitetail hunting can be a great move, but only if it involves the right people.

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If you ever hunt overseas, you will undoubtedly encounter DIY shooting sticks. In places where there are few trees or rocks to brace a rifle on, like parts of Africa, a tripod shooting stick is standard issue. Simple, cheap, and effective, shooting sticks allow a foot-bound hunter to brace themselves for a shot just about anywhere. And while these tools have been eclipsed by more modern tripods in the U.S., I’d argue they are more versatile and easier to pack around.

With practice, a rifle shooter can quickly pick off targets around 300 yards away with a set of sticks. When not in use, your shooting sticks make a perfect walking stick. Best of all, they are far lighter, less complicated, and cheaper than modern tripods or anything you can find at a sporting goods store. Here’s how to make your own shooting sticks for less than $50.

In my opinion, aluminum garden stakes make the best shooting sticks. You can find them at most hardware stores. They are lightweight, sturdy, and affordable. They are also coated in plastic, which makes them quieter than bare metal tubing and more impervious to the elements than wooden shooting sticks.

For this project, I went to my local Ace Hardware and bought three 72” x 0.6" long stakes. They make these kinds of stakes in several thicknesses, and I find the 0.6-inch to be the ideal blend of sturdy and not too thick.

For the rest of the materials, I shopped online and rummaged around the house, but you could easily find the inner tube at a bicycle shop and the tennis racket grip tape at a sporting goods store.

First, figure out what height you want your sticks. I like mine about chin height because I can use them in a standing, kneeling, or seated position. However, if you hunt brushy terrain and plan to only shoot from a standing position with the sticks, I suggest cutting all three to be about head height. Turkey hunters and those who hunt from a ground blind might want to make a set of short sticks to be used only in a seated position or kneeling. For this, I suggest going about waist-high.

Mark the first stake to your desired height from the bottom, pointy end of the stake, then measure and mark the others. Cut all three with the hacksaw, leaving the covered top end of the stake, then cut one of them five inches shorter. You should be left with two long sticks and one slightly shorter, each with the top plastic caps still in place.

The bottoms of the stakes will not be finished off because the bare metal/plastic edge grips the ground better than anything I’ve tried. If you’d like to paint the stakes camouflage or any other color, now would be the best time to do that, though I usually just leave mine the way they are.

There are two ways to wrap the stakes. If you’re using big rolls of tennis racket tape, you can wrap the whole thing, saving about 10 inches at the bottom. This will give you a grippy surface over the entire shooting stick. The tennis racket tape I use comes in smaller rolls designed for one racket grip. I like to wrap the three stakes at the top to grip the rifle and at the midpoint to keep the stakes from banging together and making noise.

Starting with the shorter stake. Give a few wraps with the tennis racket tape to form a knob on the top end. Make another wrap, only one layer thick and about two inches long, then form another bulge or knob in the wrap below that by stacking the tape up more and more. Once that bulge is about as thick as the first one, continue wrapping either down the entire stake or until your tennis racket tape roll is finished. Finish the end off with electrical tape.

For the other two, longer stakes, don’t form a knob at the top. Just wrap from the top down about 10 to 12 inches (or cover the entire stake), then finish off the bottom ends with electrical tape. If you’re using short rolls of tape, wrap each stake around the middle, and finish off with electrical tape at each end to keep them from unraveling.

Roll out the bicycle tire inner tubing and cut a two-inch piece with a pair of scissors. On the tubing I use, the inside feels almost powdered, and the outside is more tacky rubber. If you have tubing like this, turn it inside out so the tacky side is on the inside.

Gather the stakes and stack them so the bottoms are all even, then stretch the section of inner tube around all three. Work it down so it rests between the two knobs on the shorter stake and stays put. You now have a set of shooting sticks.

Open the sticks into a tripod with the shorter stake pushed forward and the longer stakes crossing and extending to your right and left. This will give you a fork just below shoulder height. Rest your rifle or shotgun forend—not the barrel—in the fork, then shoulder the rifle and grip the stakes right where the forend meets the bottom of the fork. I like to hold a bit of the forend and the stakes at the same time.

Most of the steadiness when shooting from sticks comes down to body position and footwork. You want to square up to the rifle instead of blading off from it. Your shoulders should be perpendicular to the rifle on target, instead of having one shoulder in front of the other, and the same goes for your feet. Try to place the buttstock as close to the center of your body as possible, bring the comb to your cheek, and raise and lower your body by spreading and locking your legs to shoot higher or lower. You can get even steadier if you use the rifle sling to cinch your off-hand arm just below the elbow. If you need to raise or lower the rifle, adjust with the sticks, spreading them more or less.

The reason I cut my sticks a little on the short side, compared to ones you’ll see in Africa, is that I like to use them for different things. I typically don’t like to shoot from a standing position if I can avoid it. It’s always more steady to shoot from a reverse kneeling or seated position. By spreading the legs of the sticks wider, I can bring mine down for either position. Using the reverse kneeling, I can steady the forend of the rifle with the sticks and my off-hand elbow with my knee. This gives me a lot of support, and it’s a position I can get into much more quickly than a prone position.

You can also spread the sticks and shoot from a kneeling or seated position by bracing your rifle on just one of the legs. It can often be just enough support to make a shot that would have otherwise been very unsteady. For an even faster shot, you can use the three sticks gripped together as a monopod. For this shot, I usually place my rifle’s forend on the top end of the shorter stake and grip everything together with my support hand, much like you would do when bracing a rifle against a sapling.

One of my favorite uses for shooting sticks is glassing. A lightweight rear shooting bag, like a Pint-Sized Game Changer from Armaggedon Gear, balances between the forks of the sticks perfectly. From there, you can rest a binocular and glass while sitting, kneeling, or standing. This will steady your binocular almost as much as a tripod for a fraction of the weight and about 1/10th of the cost.