The MeatEater

Brent's talking about music this week and the role it plays in his life. We can all relate to the moment when a song from your past takes you to a remembered place or triggers a memory of people or events. Hearing new songs that describe what you thought was indescribable is another joy altogether. Having the opportunity to spend time with the artists that can do that makes for a great story we think you'll enjoy.

Shop This Country Life Merch

Connect with Brent and MeatEater

MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Youtube Clips

Subscribe to the MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube

Shop This Country Life Merch

Shop Bear Grease Merch

Hosts Randall Williams, Brody Henderson, and Cory Calkins chat with Zach Lentsch and Chris Allen of the Protect Wyoming PAC about their new advocacy group, attempt to suss out Fake News, talk with Mark Kenyon about his new role as MeatEater's Director of Conservation and the latest news surrounding public lands, and cap off the show with another edition of Meat Poll.

Watch the live stream on the MeatEater Podcast Network YouTube channel.

Subscribe to The MeatEater Podcast Network

MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube

My state boasts one of the longest rifle seasons in the country. While there are a few “primitive weapon” seasons scattered throughout on public lands, folks can gun hunt on private land from the weekend before Thanksgiving to the end of January. That’s two and a half months of gun season for you folks up North that complain about the orange armies flooding the woods for a whole week or two. With nearly a quarter of the year dedicated to gun season, you’d think most hunters could kill a deer from the hip, but that’s just not the case.

After working in a gun shop for nearly a decade, I saw hunter after hunter swap rifles, thinking it would cure their shooting woes. I’d bet 90% (or more) of gun hunters only shoot their rifle just before the season opens to make sure it’s “on.”

I’d also bet that “on” for most hunters constitutes hitting a paper plate at 100 yards. This type of marksmanship, or lack thereof, doesn’t account for the quick, offhand, or abnormal shooting positions that you encounter in the woods. You can buy the best deer hunting rifles, but they won’t make up for bad shooting. Whether you’re toting a hand-me-down or a brand new rifle, a little practice can turn any rifle into a reliable hunting rig.

Is the one you already own. Mistakes and missed (or unrecovered) deer color the way we view certain rifles or cartridges. On the other side of that coin, we build pedestals from successful hunts or taxidermy bills to immortalize others. The truth is, shot placement plays a much larger role than you might think.

No, you don’t need sub-MOA capabilities from your rifle, but you do need to be able to consistently hit your mark in a variety of shooting positions. That type of marksmanship only comes from (drumroll) practice.

Everyone looks like a pro at the range, propped on bags or the best shooting rests. Throw in a spiked heart rate, running deer, or an offhand shot, and the most seasoned hunters can look silly. Unless you’re taking all your shots from a shooting house, you need to practice shooting drills to emulate the types of positions and scenarios that you might encounter in the woods.

Most missed deer stories start with an offhand shot. They’re understandably difficult, especially if you don’t practice them. Still, you might find yourself in a situation where you have to make a quick shot with no rest. If you’re not practiced, I would advise against it. Otherwise, get some reps in at the range.

Offhand shots shouldn’t be more than 100 yards, and even that distance is difficult. If you’ve never practiced this at the range, you might be surprised at how your groups change from the bench to a standing offhand position. Start at 25 yards, regardless of your rifle or scope. You can then work your way to 100 yards, but start building confidence with closer shots. Focus on controlling your breathing, squeezing the trigger, and staying on target even after the shot. After logging some good reps, graduate to a moving target.

Before the rise of treestands, running shots were a given. Nowadays, they’re scoffed at or neglected altogether. Yet, they remain a dying art that every hunter should practice.

There are a few cheap ways to do this. I know some deer dog hunters who practiced on swinging jugs or pieces of plywood shoved into the middle of tires so they could roll their target. It’s about the cheapest and closest thing to simulate a running deer.

If you need a humbling day at the range, try shooting a swinging milk jug at fifty yards. Oh, and start with your rifle slung on your back or down at your side like you would if you were still-hunting through the woods. If you’ve never tried it before, make sure you have plenty of ammo and a good backstop.

The majority of shots you’ll take in the field will probably be kneeling or propped against a tree. While these might come natural or feel the most stable, you still need to practice them at the range.

While you can’t simulate buck fever, you can do some jumping jacks to get your heart rate up. You don’t have to go crazy, just something to get you breathing harder. Then, shoot from a kneeling or propped position. Practice breath control and squeezing the trigger. Again, you won’t exactly replicate a hunting scenario, but it’s close enough.

You don’t have to graduate from sniper school to be a good shot in the deer woods. In fact, practicing with a .22 or even dry fire drills can help you perform better shots. Develop a loosely structured shooting routine, and you’ll notice a major difference come rifle season. Sure, it’ll cost you more in ammo, but you’ll (hopefully) cut down on your misses.

This week, on this special 1,000th episode of the Wired to Hunt podcast, I’m joined by Randy Newberg to discuss the future of hunting in America. Plus, I share some news about my future at MeatEater.

Check out the Wired to Hunt vintage hat!

Connect with Mark Kenyon and MeatEater

Mark Kenyon on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook

MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Youtube Clips

Subscribe to The MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube

Shop Wired to Hunt Merch and MeatEater Merch

On this episode of In Pursuit, Rich Froning sits down with Matt Johnson for a raw, wide-ranging conversation about purpose, pain, faith, and the power of fitness to change lives.

Matt opens up about his journey from a turbulent childhood and military service to discovering endurance sports as a lifeline. What starts with running becomes a calling—one that leads him to ultra-endurance feats, running across Texas, and raising significant funds for veterans through Valor Fit. Along the way, Matt shares the realities of trauma, failure, marriage, identity loss, and near-breaking points—and how faith, community, and fitness pulled him back.

Rich and Matt dig into what it really means to prepare for life when the stakes are real: learning from failure, stewarding influence responsibly, using fitness as a gateway to community, and serving something bigger than yourself. This episode isn’t just about running far—it’s about running toward purpose, choosing discipline over isolation, and changing the trajectory of entire families by bringing veterans back into community.

Connect with Rich Froning

MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Youtube Clips

Subscribe to The MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube

MeatEater is proud to introduce Mark Kenyon as our new Director of Conservation.

“As a lifelong hunter, angler, and father of two young boys, I view the future of wildlife and wild places as a very personal issue. So when Steve asked me to join MeatEater, back in 2017, the opportunity that excited me the most was the chance we might have, as a group of leaders in the hunting and fishing community, to make a positive difference on the future of conservation and the hunting and fishing way of life. I've looked at that as our ultimate goal ever since, and I'm proud of the strides we've taken in the last 8+ years. That said, I've always felt that we could do even more,” Mark said.

Mark has been hosting the Wired to Hunt Podcast since 2014. He is the author of That Wild Country: An Epic Journey into the Past, Present, and Future of America's Public Lands and will be publishing a second book in 2027 exploring the future of fish and wildlife in America through the lens of a hunter/angler.

He’s on the national board of directors for Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, National Deer Association, and Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters. Additionally, he was recently the recipient of the 2025 Backcountry Hunters & Anglers' Ted Trueblood Award for exceptional communications work informing and inspiring people for the benefit of public lands, waters, and wildlife. He was also the 2014 Quality Deer Management Association Communicator of the Year.

While working at MeatEater, Mark founded the Working for Wildlife Tour, which rallied more than a thousand hunter/angler volunteers to participate in public land habitat improvement projects across the country at ten different events. He also hosted the Back 40 YouTube series, which explored the intersection of private land hunting and stewardship, and the role that hunters can play in addressing the biodiversity crisis.

To say Mark is well-equipped to take on this role is an understatement. The previous Director of Conservation, Ryan “Cal” Callaghan, agrees.

“Mark is the right guy for this job; he’s the best conservation communicator in the game,” Cal said. “The role of for-profit businesses in pushing for sustainable management, responsible use, and the power of public lands, waters, and wildlife cannot be understated. Plus, it's the right thing to do. Mark has my full faith and expectation to lead in this space.”

Mark’s goal is to educate, inspire, and activate the MeatEater audience to participate in pro-conservation efforts.

“Expect more world-class conservation content, a higher velocity of conservation education and news, a greater focus on driving tangible action to conserve wildlife and wild places, and a more strategic approach to harnessing our voice and resources to influence change,” he said.

“This means, for example, continuing to lead in the fight against the sale, transfer, or degradation of America's public lands in new and bolder ways. It means a greater focus on directly improving or acquiring hunting and fishing opportunities, and wildlife habitat, through our Land Access Initiative, our Working for Wildlife Tour, and other new efforts. And it means turning up the volume across the MeatEater platforms to make sure the voice of hunters and anglers is heard loud and clear.”

As Teddy Roosevelt famously put it, “the wildlife and its habitat cannot speak, so we must and we will.”

Ultimately, Mark says, we want “more mule deer on the hill, more trout in the stream, more squirrels in the pot, and more wide-open, healthy landscapes and waters to explore along the way.”

“If I do my job right, our efforts will be seen, heard, and felt on the airwaves, on the ground, and in Washington, D.C., and state capitols all across America. I can't wait to partner with the diehard hunters and anglers of the MeatEater community to help make this a reality, and I look forward to seeing many of you out there, getting our hands dirty together, and raising our voices as one in defense of wildlife and wild places.”

In this episode of the Bear Grease podcast, Clay Newcomb interviews Ty Evans, one of the country’s top mule trainers and clinicians. After a broken femur in the arena benched Ty’s rodeo career, he began studying a different approach to training horses and mules than the "Cowboy Way". One based not on brute force, but on trust and understanding how animals actually think. What he discovered taught him that sometimes the solution to problems isn't doing more of the same, but adopting an entirely new way of seeing the world.  

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

Connect with Clay and MeatEater

Clay on Instagram

MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Youtube Clips

MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube

Shop Bear Grease Merch

This week, Tony takes a deep dive into the olfactory capabilities of our dogs, and explains how that knowledge not only helps us be better trainers, but also allows us to give our dogs better lives.

Connect with Tony, Cal, and MeatEater

Cal on Instagram and Twitter

MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Youtube Clips

MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube

Shop Cal's Merch

Spencer Neuharth hosts MeatEater Trivia with Janis Putelis, Brody Henderson, Logan Williamson, Cory Calkins, and Nate Mason.

Connect with MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and YouTube Clips

Subscribe to MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube

Shop Trivia Merch

A lone mallard kited above us during a late-season duck hunt. It made a hard turn to the right and then flew directly at our blind. I was a guest at a friend’s duck club, a place I had hunted many times before, and knew it was my job to dispatch the bird. The other hunters razzed me before I stood to shoot and promptly missed the greenhead with three errant shots. It was exactly what my buddies had been hoping for as they continued poking fun at my poor aim until a second greenhead cupped in later in the morning, and I dispatched it.

Because it was late in the Illinois duck season, I decided to shoot 1⅜-ounce loads of bismuth No. 4s for added knockdown power. For most of the season, I had been shooting my own 1- or 1¼-ounce handloads of steel No. 5s or 6s. The smaller steel pellets allow for a larger margin of error in comparison to the bismuth 4s, so long as shots on puddle ducks are kept inside 40 yards.

Bismuth, along with tungsten super shot (TSS), and other tungsten alloys such as Hevi-Shot, have been marketed as the best loads for killing ducks. But that’s not necessarily true if you stay disciplined by keeping shots inside 40 yards and pair the right choke and load with your shotgun to optimize pattern density. Steel sometimes gets a bad rap for crippling ducks, but it’s likely due to shooter error, not the shot itself.

There is not much of a cost savings in handloading steel shotshells. Factor in the time it takes to source materials, assemble the loads, and run the press, and you’re actually losing money. But it is satisfying to see your own shotshells dispatch a duck.

I decided to start loading shotshells to learn more about the process, but there are plenty of manufacturers that mass-produce a variety of steel loads with smaller shot sizes, like 5s and 6s, if you don’t have the time or interest.

If you do want to load your own, two great resources for handloading are the Lyman Shotshell Reloading Handbook and the Salt Creek Custom Ammunition YouTube channel. You will need a shotshell loader as well. MEC Outdoors has simple-to-use loaders and plenty of information on their website to help get you started.

TSS (18 g/cc), Hevi-Shot (12 g/cc), and bismuth (9.6 g/cc) all have a higher density than steel (7.86 g/cc). Most will argue that all three are superior to steel, which is true if we’re talking about energy at the target, but there is room for some nuance. Due to their mass, TSS, Hevi-Shot, and bismuth cannot offer the same pellet count as steel if payloads and shot sizes are equal.

For example, a 1-ounce load of steel No. 6s contains 316 pellets. TSS, loaded in the same charge weight and shot size, has only 138 pellets; Hevi-Shot has 207; and bismuth contains 259.

That means your margin for error is greater with steel unless you increase payload weights (which also increases recoil), and shrink shot sizes. Also consider that the average cost of a bismuth shotshell is more than double that of steel, which can still be had for under $1 per shell. Hevi-Shot is more than triple the price of steel, and TSS can be more than 10 times the cost of steel.

If you’re a shotgun writer (like me), the industry standard for testing shotguns and loads requires that you shoot at a stagnant paper or steel target from 40 yards, find the core of the pattern, draw a 30” circle around it, and count the pellet strikes to determine accuracy. This is a fine method that gives you some great information about what your shotgun is capable of.

But a 30” circle doesn’t tell the entire story. You need to shoot at a large enough piece of paper (45” to 50”) to see where all (or almost all) of the pellets strike. With the right choke, ammo, and shotgun, steel 5s and 6s cast a much wider net and will produce multiple 30” patterns at 40 yards that are capable of killing a duck, which creates a larger margin for shooter error.

Physics, and years of shooting at the pattern board, taught me that tungsten patterns tighter than steel; as does bismuth, which can fracture, compromising pattern density. Don’t get me wrong, these metals make fine duck loads and are advantageous when you need sustained pellet energy or more energy than steel shot can produce, to kill a bird. But in wingshooting, pellet count is always king, and steel is the only non-toxic shot that offers superior pattern density at an affordable price.

Yes, Nos. 5 and 6 shot will kill ducks, even hardy December greenheads that produce a thick layer of down and fat that covers their breast plate. Necropsy data and X-rays of 30,000 ducks by ballistics expert Tom Roster confirm that both 5s and 6s are sufficient. You just have to keep shots inside 40 yards.

I also examined the birds I shot this season with 5s and 6s against other hunters who were shooting larger steel and bismuth shot. None of my ducks had fewer than five pellets impact them (a few mallards and gadwall had more than 10). The ducks killed with larger steel shot and bismuth never had more than six pellet strikes.

There are many factors to consider when shooting a shotgun at a flying target, namely the person behind the gun. The results from duck season do not mean larger shot cannot deliver more pellets to a mallard’s head, neck, and vitals than were recorded. But basic math tells us that steel 5s and 6s will consistently put more shot on birds by the sheer number of pellets in the payload. If you don’t believe me, cut open a bismuth No.4 shotshell and a steel 6, then compare.