The MeatEater

This week on the show, Mark's joined by the one and only Mark Drury to explore nine big ways he’s changed his mind about deer and deer hunting in recent years.

Presented by Moultrie

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This season on Blood Trails, host Jordan Sillars follows eight brand-new cases: hunting trips gone horribly wrong, decades-old disappearances, suspicious deaths, and crimes hidden deep in the woods. Some cases are ice cold. Others have been solved—at least, according to the law. But every case in Season 3 is still haunted by unanswered questions. Through firsthand interviews, archival audio, court records, and investigative reporting, Blood Trails digs into what happened, what may have been missed, and why these stories still refuse to stay buried.

Follow the show now to get notified when Episode 1 drops, Thursday, October 15.  

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Steven Rinella and the MeatEater Crew Discuss: last spring’s Wisconsin turkey hunting tragedy; how to get the right blend with your burger meat; is the snow goose free-for-all coming to an end; a kid gets busted for peddling black market turtles; 14 bears are euthanized in Bozeman thanks to an illegal bait pile; and more!

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President Ronald Reagan was heading into his final year in the White House when Vermont hunters last shot antlerless deer during November’s 16-day firearms season.

Vermont’s no-doe hiatus, which began after the 1987 gun-deer season, will end at dawn Nov. 14 when roughly 77,000 deer hunters hit the woods for opening day of the gun-deer season. The state’s Fish and Wildlife Board voted 7-5 in July 2025 to reopen antlerless hunting during firearms season this year. The delay allowed the Department of Fish and Wildlife to assess antlerless quotas and success rates for the state’s 21 deer-management units and publicize the changes early to reduce confusion.

Although other states occasionally restrict their annual rifle/shotgun deer seasons to buck-only in some regions, only Vermont imposed a statewide doe ban for nearly four decades. Vermont, however, has offered either-sex bowhunting during archery season since 1955, and it has issued antlerless tags during its muzzleloading deer seasons since 1993.

Nick Fortin, Vermont’s deer and moose project leader, said he’s pushed for antlerless hunting during gun season since taking the job 11 years ago. Fortin said milder winters, declining hunter numbers, changing land practices, and less hunting access made it increasingly difficult to control deer herds in some areas with arrows and muzzleloaders.

“We’ve struggled to harvest enough antlerless deer in our more productive areas,” Fortin told MeatEater. “Most of our board members saw the old system not working the past few years, and that message is getting through. It’s been a long, slow process changing the program, but we think we can better apply hunting pressure where it’s most needed by issuing antlerless tags to gun-hunters.”

In fact, since Vermont first regulated deer hunting in 1912 with a three-week firearms season, only three times—1979, 1980, and 1981—has its statewide antlerless harvest exceeded the buck kill. That happened after Vermont’s Legislature surrendered its regulation-setting authority to the DFW in 1978 after the state’s herd boomed during the 1970s.

From 1971 through 1978, Vermont’s growing deer herd generated an average kill of 9,515 bucks and 1,073 antlerless deer, a 9-1 buck/doe ratio. Further, the annual buck kill ranged from six to 16 times larger than the antlerless kill. The 1971 tally was 7,871 bucks, and 480 antlerless deer (16-1); while the 1978 total was 7,430 bucks, and 1,336 antlerless deer (6-1).

When the DFW took charge of the antlerless quotas and regulations after 1978, the buck kill increased even further but finally fell short of the antlerless deer kill for the first time in modern deer hunting’s history. Even then, the combined archery/firearms deer kills weren’t lopsided:

1979: 6,921 antlered bucks and 9,591 antlerless deer (1-1.4)

But after a brutal winter in 1977-78 and other harsh winters in the 1980s hit the herd hard, the Vermont Legislature rescinded the DFW’s deer-regulations authority after the 1987 hunting season. Deer numbers had declined in the mid-1980s, and hunters blamed the DFW—not harsh winters—for killing too many deer. Lawmakers sided with hunters, even though the annual antlerless kill from 1982 through 1987 never exceeded the buck kill, averaging 6,641 bucks and 4,240 antlerless deer annually.

Even so, Vermont lawmakers reclaimed control of antlerless quotas in 1988. The Legislature also forbid the DFW from issuing antlerless tags during November’s 16-day firearms season, a hunt that generates 93% participation rates by the state’s deer hunters.

From 1988 through 2025, Vermont relied entirely on bowhunters and muzzleloader hunters to shoot antlerless deer. The state’s archery season attracts 43% of Vermont’s deer hunters, while December’s muzzleloader season attracts 39%, and October’s muzzleloader season draws 24%. But not once in the past 39 years did Vermont’s antlerless kill exceed the buck kill statewide, and nothing in the data suggested that system would ever manage the state’s deer herds.

Still, Vermont’s bowhunters and muzzleloaders tried to make it work. Harvest data for the past 20 seasons (2006-2025) show muzzleloaders shot 4.4 antlerless deer for every buck they harvested, including a high of 5,059 antlerless deer and 1,146 bucks (6,205) in 2018. Likewise, Vermont bowhunters arrowed three antlerless deer for every buck they killed from 2006 to 2025, including a high of 4,877 antlerless deer and 1,292 bucks (6,169) in 2020, a 3.8-1 ratio.

Unfortunately, muzzleloading hunters typically filled only 14% of the available antlerless tags each year. Further, few Vermont deer hunters (all weapons) shoot more than one deer annually. In 2025, for example, 80% of all successful hunters (11,241) shot only one deer, while 15% of them (2,185) shot two deer, 4% (528) shot three deer, and 1% (152) shot four deer.

Fortin said the Vermont DFW will take a cautious approach with its restored authority to regulate the deer harvest. He said his predecessors in the late 1970s used an aggressive plan to reduce deer numbers, which “possibly worked too well.” Though smaller herds in the late 1970s and early 1980s helped habitats and browse conditions improve, and bucks produced phenomenal antler growth and body measurements, the biological data didn’t convince hunters to stay the course. And thus began Vermont’s nearly 40-year run of buck-only gun seasons.

Meanwhile, as the new century unfolds, Vermont is seeing fewer severe winters to control the herds, and deer-license sales have tumbled 30% from 174,281 in 2000 to 121,961 in 2025. License sales have stabilized a bit, but the DFW thinks it isn’t enough to control herds in many areas without help from gun-hunters filling antlerless permits.

Fortin said the DFW will keep permit levels conservative this year, gauge the state’s new harvest rates, and adjust accordingly in 2027. “We’re easing back into it,” he said. “We’re trying not to repeat the early 1980s.”

Fortin also said the DFW will monitor how hunters respond to a new regulation that allows them to “earn” a second buck tag in some areas by killing an antlerless deer and a buck with at least three points on one side. The second buck, however, must be taken in a different, later season than the first buck.

Fortin expects more hunters to support the DFW’s new opportunities for increasing antlerless kills, but he knows it won’t be unanimous. “Most of our younger hunters are aware of the importance of hunting antlerless deer,” he said. “But among our hunters over 60, there’s still a big chunk who are dead-set against antlerless harvests. In general, if they can remember the mid-1980s, they adamantly oppose these changes no matter what we show them.”

A researcher who studied Vermont’s deer hunters 20 years ago understands that opposition. In his 2009 book, “A Matter of Life and Death: Hunting in Contemporary Vermont,” Marc Boglioli, an anthropology professor at Drew University in New Jersey, discussed his visits with hunters at several Vermont deer camps. Boglioli wrote that weather and deer regulations dominated all discussions about the deer herd’s size and health.

What topic seldom arose? Boglioli wrote, "What always surprised me was the extent to which habitat does not come up in these conversations. Indeed, the hunter who describes habitat as a key determinant of the health of the deer herd is a truly noteworthy informant. On the other hand, in my conversations with Fish and Wildlife personnel, habitat conversion and fragmentation are considered the most important factors influencing the deer herd.”

Boglioli thinks little has changed in the 17 years since his book’s release. “I checked in with my brother (who lives and hunts in Vermont), and his feeling was that people still don’t think the state knows what it’s doing,” he told MeatEater.

And when Boglioli contacted a local hunter he knows for his thoughts on the new regulations, the hunter responded, "We're still blaming Fish and Wildlife, lol. I improved my habitat a lot, though. The deer hunting was just starting to get good, it seemed, and they’re now going to allow doe hunting. Gonna wipe them out again.”

Boglioli wasn’t surprised by those responses. “This is what I was hearing 25 years ago,” he said. “Even when people see how better habitat improves their own area, their ‘big picture’ thinking is that doe seasons are a bad idea.”

DFW commissioner Jason Batchelder acknowledges that antlerless hunting with rifles and shotguns remains contentious, but he sees no way to avoid it. “The Board’s vote (7-5) to approve these changes was a nail-biter,” he said. “But ultimately, they supported Nick Fortin’s position. Nick’s a thinker and a pragmatist, and he has a goal for the herd that we won’t reach without modern firearms.

“Wildlife managers don’t have it easy,” Batchelder continued. “Theirs is the only profession where you go to work every day knowing someone will say you’re wrong. If you’re a mechanic and you tell customers their car’s struts are shot, they don’t say, ‘No, it’s the brakes.’ People typically trust their professionals in everything except deer management.”

Classic French onion soup is one of those dishes that rewards patience, and venison is right at home in it. This recipe is truly a labor of love with a two-part cooking process that gives each component the time it needs.

The meat is braised first with a splash of Cognac and stock, while the onions caramelize separately until deeply browned and sweet. This results in fork-tender venison and deeply flavorful onions that come together in a savory broth. The cheesy toast served on top makes it hearty and comforting.

It’s not a quick weeknight meal, but it’s exactly the kind of recipe worth making when you want to turn a freezer full of venison into something truly special.

It’s fall, and that means it’s time for Deer Stories. This year’s collection has it all: giant bucks, exploding pork and beans, yellowjackets, close calls, and a deer-hunting accident that nearly cost a man his life.

We hear from hunters across Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas, including the story of Teddy Villines and a Boone & Crockett class typical buck whose rack was given up in the name of friendship. William McKinley tells the story of an unforgettable archery hunt that goes spectacularly wrong. Clay Chapman recounts the terrifying boating accident that nearly ended his life, and the buck that brought him back to the woods a year later. Lane Weaver shares how a deer nearly killed him—and ultimately taught him a lesson that may have saved his life years later. Cody Villines delivers one of the funniest deer-camp stories you'll ever hear, involving a can of pork and beans and a nest of yellowjackets. And Jason Caylor closes things out with a 166-inch anniversary buck taken under some decidedly unconventional circumstances.

These aren't just stories about deer hunting, but more than that, they're stories about friendship, family, perseverance, and the incredible privilege of experiencing another fall in the woods.

Thank you to our sponsor, Tecovas.

If you have comments on the show, send us a note to [email protected]

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How close is too close? This week, Jack Huston (Missouri), Scott Peceny (Michigan), and Christian Babcock (Oklahoma) join the show with fresh, boots-on-the-ground reports from across whitetail country. The conversation centers around hunting close to bedding areas: how tight these hunters are willing to get, what they're seeing from bucks right now, and how their approach changes based on conditions and fresh sign. We also cover current deer movement, food sources, weather, and what’s changing as we move deeper into October. Tune in for real-time whitetail intel from three different regions and a look at what hunters are experiencing in the woods right now.

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Spencer Neuharth hosts MeatEater Trivia with Janis Putelis, Mark Kenyon, Brody Henderson, Randall Williams, Reva Hansen, and Nick Glenn.

Presented by Busch Light

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Hunting isn’t a cheap hobby, but if you’re looking to recoup some of your expenses this season, you could put a few bucks back in your wallet. That’s right, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will pay you to hunt with lead-free ammo. The agency’s voluntary lead-free ammunition incentive program is entering its third year, and it’s bigger than ever.

For the 2026-27 hunting season, the program has expanded to 26 National Wildlife Refuges across 19 states, doubling the number of participating refuges from last year. Hunters at participating refuges can receive reimbursements for purchasing lead-free ammunition, including up to $50 per box for rifle ammo and $25 per box for shotgun or muzzleloader ammo.

Getting your money is fairly simple. On the USFWS lead-free incentive website, hunters can follow a link to submit their reimbursement request along with a copy of their current year refuge hunting permit, a photo of the lead-free ammunition box, and their purchase receipt. Once approved, the reimbursement is issued on a prepaid debit card.

Don’t think you’re going to get rich stocking the gun safe with free ammo, though. The program is limited to two boxes per hunter in an effort to spread the incentives among as many hunters as possible. Reimbursements are also available on a first-come, first-serve basis and will continue only until the funding allocated to each participating refuge is exhausted.

So why go lead-free?

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, there are three primary reasons hunters should consider making the switch. First, lead bullets can fragment when they strike an animal, leaving behind tiny pieces of lead that may be too small to see with the naked eye. Second, lead left behind in gut piles and carcasses can be eaten by scavengers, potentially exposing wildlife such as eagles and other birds to lead poisoning. And third, hunters now have an alternative. Lead-free ammunition, typically made from copper or copper alloys, can provide effective hunting performance without leaving lead fragments behind.

The impacts of lead exposure are particularly well documented in endangered California condors. USFWS data tracking condor mortality from 1992 through 2022 lists lead poisoning as the leading cause of death, ahead of predation and fatal encounters with powerlines.

So, if you’re hunting one of the participating refuges this season, you might as well do the environment a solid and save yourself a few bucks in the process.

Hunters can visit the USFWS Lead-Free Ammunition Incentive Program website to view the full list of participating refuges, eligible hunts, reimbursement amounts, and instructions for submitting a claim.