The MeatEater

Hosts Spencer Neuharth, Janis Putelis, and Seth Morris speak with Sue Richardson about her great-great uncle, Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley, and his groundbreaking nature photography, talk some gear, share Top 3s, and chat with Peace River K9 Search and Rescue's Michael Hadsell about the world's only search-and-rescue otter, Splash.

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This week Brent's trying his hand at competition gumbo cooking. He and his friends from the Cache Bayou Hound and Mallard Club have entered a gumbo cooking contest. If it was a gumbo eating contest they'd win easily but it's not. Do they have the right stuff to come out on top, you'll have to listen and find out for yourself. He's also sharing a listener story about the perils of extreme cold weather duck hunting that could've ended tragically and almost did.  

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Three active duty soldiers were just convicted of multiple misdemeanor wildlife charges after poaching five mule deer on Fort Carson, also known as “The Mountain Post,” and one on the surrounding state land. While it is legal to hunt on military bases, you still have to abide by local and federal wildlife laws.

According to a CPW press release, this case started back in November ‘24, when a hunter reported a poached mule deer buck to Fort Carson Conservation Law Enforcement Officers (CLEOs). The CLEOs then called in for Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) backup. Wildlife Officer Deme Wright arrived on scene and discovered a buck with only a piece of the hindquarters removed and the antlers sawed off, along with a dead doe located approximately 100 yards away, also only partially processed and abandoned. The evidence at both locations clearly indicated poaching to the wildlife officer.

“It didn’t look like a normal harvest,” Wright told Colorado Outdoors. “That’s when you slow everything down.”

Wright processed both crime scenes and followed physical evidence, identifying a vehicle associated with the case. She quickly uncovered social media images that identified now-convicted Army Sergeant Jacob Curtis Keyser and his accomplice, Army Staff Sergeant Juan Salcedo. Search warrants for Keyser, his vehicle, and cell phone identified evidence of poaching and proof of multiple instances of trespassing on military and state lands.

“There’s no way a 21-year-old doesn’t take pictures of everything he shoots,” she said. “Cell phone imagery documented more poaching activity and provided digital metadata evidence with times, dates, and specific locations linked to each image. Messages and videos extracted from the phone showed deliberate disregard for hunting laws.”

Investigators later confirmed the involvement of a third soldier, who was fined for disposing of the illegally-taken venison before Keyser’s initial interview with Wright.

Keyser faced 30 wildlife charges, was fined $19,005, issued 180 suspension points, and forfeited his hunting rifle which will be destroyed by CPW. Co-conspirator Juan Salcedo faced 15 charges, was fined $8,817, and issued 65 suspension points. The third soldier, who remained unnamed, received a $900 fine.

“This case would not have moved forward without the help of the Fort Carson Conservation Law Enforcement Officers, Mike Allen, Paul Everett, 4th Judicial District Attorney's Christian Wiesenberg and James Malis, and the timely reporting from hunters who discovered the crime scene,” Wright said. ”Poaching is a serious, costly crime which harms legitimate sportspersons, wildlife viewers, small business owners and taxpayers.”

Additionally, a CPW suspension hearing will occur to determine the duration of hunting and fishing suspensions, if any, that these poachers will face, with the possibility of a lifetime ban with reciprocity across all 50 states because of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact.

“I care about wildlife, I care about the science behind what we do, and I have great respect for our law-abiding, ethical hunters,” Wright said. “If you poach in Colorado, I’ll follow the evidence, I’ll find you, and I’ll cut your rifle into scrap metal.”

Feature image via CPW.

Hunters drool over fresh rubs and scrapes. They’re thrilling to see during a scouting session or hunt, but deer are drawn to them for other reasons. Research from the University of Georgia shows that fresh rubs and scrapes actually glow for deer like “neon lights.”

This first-of-its-kind study highlights the photoluminescence observed in signposts (i.e., rubs and scrapes) used by deer and indicates that a combination of secretions from peeled tree bark and a deer’s forehead glands might contribute to this phenomenon.

Daniel DeRose-Broeckert, a graduate assistant at the UGA Deer Lab, spearheaded the experiment. To observe the photoluminescence of rubs and scrapes, he shone UV lights on them and measured their wavelengths with a spectrometer. In a recent interview, Derose-Broeckert spoke with NDA about his findings.

DeRose-Broeckert compiled data from 109 fresh rubs and 37 fresh scrapes and essentially found that fresher sign glows more than older sign. During the rut, scrapes tended to glow more as deer frequented them. On the other hand, rubs glowed more during the pre-rut.

Concerning rut activity, DeRose-Broeckert’s advisor, Dr. Gino D’Angelo, told NDA that these glowing signposts might expedite the “transit of deer” during the breeding season. Essentially, these “highway reflectors” might provide a visual for deer to locate other deer during the rut or even deter certain deer from others. Since deer can observe these signposts from a distance and use their incredible sense of smell, bucks can navigate the landscape quickly during the peak rut.

Deer are crepuscular mammals, meaning they are most active around sunrise and sunset. It’s no coincidence that UV light, according to NDA, appears most prevalent around dawn and dusk—peak deer movement time. Around dawn and dusk, this increased UV lighting allows deer to spot fresh rubs and scrapes from a distance.

Rather than visit a scrape or rub, deer might gather info visually as the rut advances, especially during peak activity hours (dawn/dusk). Understandably, a deer’s nose gets all the attention. However, DeRose-Broeckert’s research suggests that deer vision might play a larger role than hunters think.

If you’re hoping this research might tell you how to kill a buck over scrapes or rubs, it’s not that simple. In fact, it further supports the research that most deer sign is made at night. However, it does provide some insight into when you might want to target rub lines or scrapes.

As hunters, we tend to associate rubs and scrapes as a simultaneous occurrence. However, the varying levels of photoluminescence observed in both rubs and scrapes during specific windows of the rut suggest that hunters might want to focus on one or the other, depending on the time of season. Even if this research doesn’t help you kill a big buck, it shows another reason why deer are so cool.

If you’ve watched MeatEater Roasts and thought to yourself, “I can outcook those yahoos!” Well, buddy, it’s your time to shine. We’re calling for contestants to star in the cooking show where conservation wins.

Anyone can enter, but you do have to be willing to drive yourself to Bozeman for filming. Here’s what you have to do to throw your name in the hat:

If you’re chosen, we’ll reach out to you and sort out the details from there. We can’t wait to see your videos!

Join Rich and the crew break down their ideal mid-budget training setups and immediately get lost in plate math, duplicate lists, questionable equipment choices, and relentless chirping. From arguing whether 190 pounds of plates is “enough,” to sleds, sandbags, bikes, rowers, racks, yokes, ropes, and rucks, this one is part practical, part ridiculous, and fully honest. Along the way, the conversation drifts (as it always does) into accountability partners, why Snapchat might be sketchy after 30, GHDs that absolutely should not have been done, and what actually matters if your goal is to be harder to kill, not just fitter on paper.

They also talk Conquer90, hybrid training, running volume, upcoming events at Western Hunt Expo, and why sometimes the best programming ideas come from testing things the hard way.

If you’re building a home gym, training for the hunt, or just want to hear a group of competitive people argue over equipment like it actually matters, this episode delivers.

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This week on the show I’m doing a solo "Ask Me Anything" episode, in which I’m answering your questions about my new role at MeatEater, conservation issues, deer hunting tactics, regulations, and more.

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On Tuesday, January 20, the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife (KDFW) announced more than 700 criminal charges for 25 individuals in one of the most eye-catching poaching cases in recent memory. The sprawling investigation, dubbed “Operation River Raid,” involved catfish. A lot of catfish.

Operation River Raid was a 10-month multi-agency effort that relied on surveillance, intelligence sharing, and field inspections across six counties in Kentucky. During the course of the investigation, wardens uncovered significant amounts of illegal activity that “involved harvesting catfish from public waterways and transporting them for sale to unregulated or illegally operated pay lakes.”

In fact, KDFW officials say that the defendants of the recent charges failed to report the harvest of more than 300,000 pounds of catfish. Yes, 300,000 pounds. The impact of such an astoundingly large illegal harvest is significant.

“A critical piece of information to properly manage any fishery is accurate harvest rates," explained Dave Dreves, director of the KDFW Fisheries Division. "That is why commercial fishers are required to report their harvest each month. This egregious underreporting undermines our ability to properly monitor catfish populations, especially trophy catfish."

Catfish pay lakes are particularly popular in parts of the Midwest, where, according to local angler Chris Lanham, some lakes provide fishing for farm-raised catfish, some for wild-caught trophy catfish, and some both. The practice of planting wild-caught trophy fish in pay lakes has long stirred debate in the catfishing world. Many claim that it threatens natural fisheries through overfishing and limits opportunities for recreational anglers on public waterways. Wild-caught catfish in pay lakes are typically legally harvested by commercial fishermen. The recent bust, however, shows that’s not always the case, and the recent wildlife violations announced include “the unlawful operation of pay lakes across Kentucky.”

“This case reflects our commitment to safeguarding Kentucky's natural resources," said Col. Jeremy McQueary, director of the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Law Enforcement Division. "Illegal commercialization of wildlife — especially through the exploitation of native fish populations — undermines conservation efforts and lawful recreation. We will not tolerate it."

Of the 700-plus pending charges, KDFW wardens plan to present more than 100 felony counts to local grand juries. KDFW will not release the names or further details in the case while active court proceedings are underway.

Feature image via Adobe Stock.

For all the advancements in weapons technology over the last 100 years, the bolt-action rifle has remained remarkably constant. The design is durable and accurate, and much to the chagrin of gunmakers looking to make a splash, tough to improve upon: the same up-out-in-down motion British Tommies used in World War I is mimicked by American snipers, SWAT operators, and hunters in 2026.

Of course, that’s not to say we haven’t seen any improvements over the last century. Bolt guns today are smoother and more accurate than their predecessors, and modern manufacturing has lowered the costs of achieving that quality. If you don’t believe me, look no further than the PH3, the latest innovation from Idaho gunmaker, Seekins Precision.

The PH3 is pretty much everything you want in a modern hunting rifle. It combines an innovative new action with all the bells and whistles: a TriggerTech trigger, an adjustable stock, a 20-MOA scope base, a full-length M-LOK rail, a 60-degree bolt throw, a silky smooth action, and Seekins’ quick-change barrel system. It’s tough to think of a feature the PH3 doesn’t have, and its sub-$2000 price point should make it an attractive option for anyone looking at the high-end hunting rifle category.

However, despite that feature set, the PH3 hasn’t enjoyed an enormous amount of attention since it was announced at SHOT Show last year. A quick Google search reveals that few major gun or hunting outlets have published a full hands-on review, and apart from forum posts and SHOT Show coverage, there isn’t a ton of information on the new rifle.

Does the PH3 suffer from a major flaw thwarting its success, or could it be one of the best modern rifles still flying under the radar? That’s the question I aim to answer below.

Seekins sent me the “NRL” version of the PH3, a model tailor-made to enter the production category of NRL Hunter competitions. It’s similar to the base model, but it adds a Seekins ATC Muzzle Brake, a TriggerTech Diamond trigger, and a stock with a Glacier Shadow hand-painted pattern.

It’s only available in the following caliber/barrel configurations:

I prefer a shorter barrel to compensate for a suppressor, but I can see why a rifle designed for NRL would be set up to squeeze as much velocity as possible from those three calibers.

However, the base PH3 model (image below from Seekins' website) is available in far more configurations. Here’s the full list:

Short Action: Barrel length 16”

Short Action: Barrel length 20”

Short Action: Barrel length 24”

Long Action: Barrel length 22”

Long Action: Barrel length 26”

This cartridge selection is more limited than you’ll see at Ruger or Savage, but I think it still offers something for everyone. Old-school aficionados will be happy to see .300 Win. Mag. and .308 Win. while new-school lovers have their PRCs and Creedmoors. Plus, the various barrel lengths allow you to match your suppressor or muzzle brake with whatever bullet velocity you’re hoping to achieve.

Base PH3 models ship with the following features:

All those bells and whistles come with a cost, of course. For the base model, the MSRP is $1,895.00. For the NRL model, that jumps to $2,295.00. That might be more than most hunters hope to spend on a rifle, but if you compare the PH3 with other rifles in its category, it’s not unreasonable.

As with any bolt gun, the heart of the PH3 is its action. The bolt features a new three-lug design that incorporates an extractor within one of the lugs. The extractor doesn’t grab the rim of the cartridge until the push-feed action closes, but once a round is fired and the bolt is pulled to the rear, the dual-plunger ejector flings the spent cases to the side.

I can’t speak to the long-term durability of this design, but I’ve had zero issues during my trips to the range. The bolt smoothly strips cartridges from the carbon fiber magazine, and spent cases are extracted and ejected without any sticking or stuttering.

In fact, the PH3’s action is among the smoothest I’ve tested. The 60-degree throw helps, but locking and unlocking the action requires noticeably less force than other bolt guns I’ve owned. It feels more like a bolt that’s been broken in with thousands of rounds rather than something just pulled out of the box. The bolt body slides back and forth through the receiver with very little friction or wobble, which makes follow-up shots marginally faster. Plus, the bolt handle is removable, so if you don’t like the size or angle, you can replace it with an aftermarket option that uses the same thread pattern.

The safety keeps the trigger from being pulled, but it doesn’t lock the bolt handle in place. Some prefer this functionality because it allows the rifle to be unloaded with the safety “on.” However, since the bolt handle is so easy to raise and lower, it might accidentally work its way open if the rifle is carried with a sling or strapped to a backpack. That potentiality can be mitigated, but it’s something to keep in mind.

The action is smooth, but so are many older rifles. What really brings the PH3 into the 21st century is its quick-change barrel system.

That starts with the bolt head. Unless you’re switching to a cartridge that uses the same bolt face as your previous one, you’re going to need to change the head. The PH3 simplifies that process by allowing users to remove the bolt head without tools. As you can see in this video, disassembling the bolt requires a few simple pushes and twists, and then the firing pin can be used to slide out the pin holding the bolt head in place. Seekins offers four bolt face sizes for $99 each, and the bolt carrier is easy to reassemble.

Once you have the correct bolt face, you’re ready to install the new barrel. A Seekins rep told me they hope to offer their own HAVAK PH3 barrels sometime this year, but as of this writing, you’ll have to commission your own from a different gunsmith. The good news is that Seekins published all the information needed to spin up an aftermarket barrel, and it’s free right here. If you want a new barrel for your HAVAK PH3, just send that document to the barrel maker, and they’ll know what to do.

Installing that new barrel is remarkably easy. Seekins’ quick-change barrel system has been around for a few years, but this was my first time getting my hands on it. Here’s how it works:

To Remove the Old Barrel

To Install the New One

That’s it. I completed each step, reinstalling the same barrel that came with the rifle. Other than needing a vice to remove the barrel, I didn’t experience any issues.

It’s a pretty ingenious system. The barrel is safely secured to the receiver because the barrel clamp is threaded to interface with the threads on the barrel extension. The clamp only needs to be tightened to 30 inch-pounds (about as tight as scope rings to a picatinny rail) to keep the barrel from moving and harming accuracy. Color me impressed.

Of course, just because a system works doesn’t mean it’s useful. A hunter who only shoots his rifle a few times a year might never need a new barrel, and most of us just buy a new rifle if we want a new caliber. Seekins’ system is quick and convenient, but it’s not quicker or more convenient than picking a different rifle out of the safe. Plus, a good-quality aftermarket barrel will run you at least $500, which isn’t that much less than what you’d spend on a mid-tier rifle.

It might seem like I’m throwing cold water on the PH3, but I’m really not. If you want to use the PH3 for competitive shooting, being able to swap out barrels without special tools or equipment is an incredible asset. It lets you replace a worn-out barrel or even change calibers if you decide what you have isn’t working. Even for hunters, the quick-change system can be useful. If you’re traveling for an out-of-state hunt, and you hope to target elk and prairie dogs, the PH3 lets you take a single action with two barrels. That’s much easier to pack than two separate rifles, which leaves room for extra gear or lets you use a smaller rifle case.

The Seekins quick-change barrel system might not appeal to everyone, but I think it definitely has its applications. What’s more, at the end of the day, I think this rifle is priced competitively even without that 21st-century feature.

Speaking of 21st-century features, the PH3 stock deserves a closer look. Its primary (though not only) distinguishing feature is what Seekins calls a “mini-chassis.” There are three metal components to this chassis: the bedding area, the M-LOK slots, and the bottom metal (trigger guard/magazine well). These components can be separated from each other, but when the rifle is fully assembled, they’re mated together with the front action screw.

The aluminum bedding area allows the receiver to be torqued to the chassis/stock with 55 ft-lbs. of force, which reduces movement and promotes accuracy. Aluminum also doesn’t warp or shift like wood or polymer, so the receiver maintains the exact same position relative to the chassis after every shot. This minimizes point of impact shift and increases consistency even during a long day at the range. Most hunters and sport shooters understand the benefits of a chassis, but Seekins’ “mini-chassis” design offers those benefits without adding too much weight and maintaining the traditional look and feel of a hunting rifle.

The metal M-LOK rail allows users to install a variety of metal M-LOK accessories, including the full-length ARCA rail you see on the rifle I tested (sold separately). Torquing metal on metal allows these accessories to be held in place more securely, which is especially useful for bipods and tripids.

The bottom metal features what I think is one of the best magazine releases I’ve used. It’s incorporated into the trigger guard, so it doesn’t stick out and get snagged on anything. But it’s also larger and more textured than similar releases I’ve used on other rifles. That makes it easy to manipulate even with gloves on, which, believe it or not, I’ve actually been needing to use over the last few weeks here in East Texas.

Moving to the rear of the stock, the comb height can be adjusted using a small, springloaded button. The button protrudes ever so slightly from the side of the rifle, but it’s not conspicuous. However, unlike what may look intuitive, you can't depress the button all the way by simply pushing it with your finger. Instead, the mechanism can only be adjusted using a small tool or bullet tip pressed into the middle of the button. This ensures that the button isn’t accidentally bumped while giving a hunter a way to adjust the comb in the field.

Despite these benefits, I would say the quest for the perfect stock adjustment system is still ongoing. The comb won't move from any of the five adjustment heights, so if you don't plan to fiddle with it in the field, it'll work just fine. But the button is more difficult to depress than you're thinking, and the process will mar a bullet tip if that's what you decide to use. You can also use a pencil, small screwdriver, or similarly sized item, but then you have to remember to bring it. There are always tradeoffs in life, and this is one of them.

I figured the PH3 would be pleasant to shoot, especially with a MeatEater Banish suppressor hanging off the end. The TriggerTech Diamond trigger is, in my opinion, the best aftermarket trigger money can buy, and the soft-recoiling 6.5 Creedmoor cartridges are perfect for a long day at the range.

I wasn’t disappointed. The HAVAK PH3 is a great-shooting rifle. That smooth action made quick work of the three-round magazines, and I never experienced any malfunctions or failures. (Note: The NRL version of the PH3 normally ships with a five-round magazine.)

My one gripe with the configuration of this particular model is the overall weight and the length of the barrel. At just a hair over eight pounds (no scope, unloaded), it’s a little on the heavy side for offhand shots, and it wouldn’t be my first choice to carry up and down a mountain for a week. With a six-inch suppressor on the end, the effective length of the barrel increases to 30 inches, which I know from experience is cumbersome in a tree stand.

Of course, that’s a pretty minor complaint in the grand scheme of things, and the base model PH3 is available in a wide array of barrel lengths and corresponding overall weights.

PH3 Barrel Options

Can you find lighter rifles? Sure. But can you find lighter rifles with the same features at the same price? Maybe, but that list is much, much shorter.

The PH3 is a well-built, durable rifle, and the Seekins Lifetime Warranty means that if something breaks, they’ll replace it. But, as everyone knows, the real test of any rifle is its accuracy.

As with all hunting rifles we test, I shot five, three-shot groups from 100 yards with each type of ammo and recorded the average group size and the smallest group. Bullet velocities were recorded with a Garmin Xero C1, and those averages and standard deviations were noted as well.

These results are more common among high-end hunting rifles than you might think, but they obviously didn’t blow me away. Each type of ammo except the monolithic copper achieved at least one sub-MOA group, and the match and GameKing options averaged less than one inch.

But I would have liked to see better results from the three hunting bullets. Perhaps another kind of ammunition would have produced groups more consistently in the .75-inch range, but with these three, this rifle struggled to hit that mark. If I was a Seekins customer, I might consider taking advantage of what Seekins calls its “Beyond MOA Guarantee.” The company doesn’t guarantee that their rifles shoot groups of any particular size. Instead, they say, their priority is “your satisfaction.”

“We refuse to lump our customers into a singular category guaranteeing them 1/2 MOA at 100 yards,” they say on their website. “The way we look at it, you can’t put a price on accuracy. We recognize and have considered that each of our customer’s demands are unique, and therefore refuse to send a cookie-cutter guarantee out with each new rifle. So long as it’s a Seekins rifle, unrivaled innovation and out of the box precision is our assurance.”

If for any reason you’re unsatisfied with a rifle’s performance, they’ll pay to ship it back. They take a look, field test it, and repair or replace it if something is broken.

I’ve been critical of accuracy guarantees because almost any rifle can shoot one sub-MOA group given enough attempts. I like this approach from Seekins, as long as they follow through. Working through accuracy issues with customers can be frustrating and time-consuming, but if they’re willing to do that, I say more power to them.

Here’s what I like about the PH3: unlike some other gunmakers, Seekins doesn’t slap a $2,000 price tag on a basic bolt-action rifle and ask you to trust that the materials and manufacturing justify the cost. They offer real, innovative features you won’t find anywhere else. From the barrel swap system to the “mini-chassis” to the adjustable stock to the super-smooth action, each feature is thoughtfully designed and useful in the field.

It might not be perfect–some of these features you might not like, and at the end of the day, accuracy is always the most important factor. But many of Seekins’ competitors are more like gun assemblers than actual gunmakers. They buy parts from other companies, fit them together, and charge a profit. The PH3 actually tries to be innovative, and for that I think its designers deserve a lot of credit.

In this episode of the Bear Grease Render, host Clay Newcomb—alongside Bear Newcomb, Dr. Misty Newcomb, and Josh “Landbridge” Spielmaker—is joined by Clay’s squirrel-hunting “sensei,” Michael Lanier. The crew covers a wide range of topics, from Clay’s trophy deer “Jimminy Christmas” and his relationship with his Tecovas boots to the pressing question of whether he needs a haircut. The conversation eventually goes full mule when Michael brings his trusty mule, Willard, into the studio, sparking a deeper discussion about the recent Bear Grease Podcast episode on Ty Evans.

Thank you to our sponsor, Tecovas.

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