The MeatEater

For as long as I've been around, would-be suppressor owners faced two barriers to entry: the process and the tax stamp.

The process for legally purchasing a gun muffler was long and complicated, but the $200 tax stamp was, for many, the straw that broke the camel's back. It was bad enough to drop $1000 on a suppressor and then wait a year to take it home-adding a $200 tax forced many to reconsider the endeavor entirely.

A lot has changed in the last few years. The ATF streamlined their approval process to make it quicker and more efficient, slashing wait times from months to just a few weeks. Then, in a move no one saw coming, Congress voted last year to cut the tax from $200 to $0.

If that new discount is making you consider buying a suppressor for the first time, you've come to the right place. The process can be intimidating for first-timers, but the benefits are tremendous. It's more pleasant to shoot a rifle with a muffler on the end, especially the large calibers hunters tend to prefer. A suppressor will save your hearing, reduce recoil, and let you avoid fumbling around with hearing protection with a target animal in sight.

To help you make the best decision possible, we've compiled a complete suite of resources with advice about which suppressor to purchase, how to legally take it home, and then use it out in the field.

This week, Tony recalls a recent blood trail he and his daughter went on in northern Wisconsin that involved a buck, a wolf, and a lot of lessons on how deer are true survival machines.

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When the U.S. Census announced in 1890 that the Frontier was over, America was plunged into a period of anxiety. As evidenced by the grand Indian photographs of Edward Sheriff Curtis, western nostalgia became a dominant theme of art, film, and pop culture. Another artist of the age, though, showed that the West endures into the modern age.

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Check out more MeatEater's American History audio originals "The Long Hunters" and "Mountain Men"

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On December 16, Brian Nesvik, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), posted an order to all internal department staff to perform a “comprehensive review” of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) and National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS). The intent of this review is to identify “refuges or hatcheries established for a purpose that no longer aligns with the mission.” It also requests seeking “opportunities to achieve efficiencies in the areas of governance, oversight, and span of control,” among other factors.

While many see this review as a first step in liquidating public lands, others approve of it. Congressional Sportsmen Foundation (CSF) stated in a press release that, “CSF believes that it is valuable for FWS to conduct an audit of what is and is not working, and more importantly, an audit to determine how individual refuge management and the overarching Refuge and Hatchery Systems can best fulfill their goals of meeting the primary purpose(s) of each respective refuge.”

An initial summary of organizational change recommendations was due Monday, January 5. The timing and rollout of this directive speak volumes about its intentions. Issued the week before employees’ Christmas vacation, with a deadline of the Monday after that vacation, the order essentially gave no time to complete this review. The final detailed results of the review, along with actionable recommendations, are due February 15. The quick timeline may suggest that the administration already has refuges picked out for closure or overhaul.

Representative Jared Huffman questioned Nesvik on the order during the Committee of Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries oversight hearing titled “Hunting and Fishing Access in the Great American Outdoors,” on January 13.

Rep. Huffman began by inquiring about the specific criteria that will be used to determine if a refuge’s purpose no longer is in alignment with the USFWS mission.

“I gave the team broad latitude to look at the documents that were originally used to execute the acquisition of the refuge and to look at what those purposes were at the time the refuge was established,” Nesvik said. “Then evaluate that and make sure that the purpose is still the mission for that particular refuge and is still being executed. And then to compare it to the current priorities and objectives for the service.”

When asked if there was an example of a refuge that might be misaligned with current objectives to prompt this investigation, Nesvik failed to provide specifics.

“I don’t have any preconceived notions of a specific refuge or specific fish hatchery that doesn’t meet those [objectives], but I have had folks indicate to me that this is something worthy of looking at. And it makes sense to me, when you’re going to do a top-to-bottom audit of a system that is so large that it makes sense to look at the founding purpose.”

Huffman then brought up concerns about selling off public lands. “Can you assure us that this directive and this investigation are not going to result in the selling off of refuge lands?” He asked.

“The intention for this order is in no way trying to find lands to sell off. In any way.” Nesvik said.

However, when pressed on the matter of selling public lands, Nesvik responded by saying, “We oftentimes have exchanges of refuge lands for other lands that are alike for a similar trade that are authorized by Congress. Like value for like value.”

What could “like value for like value” look like? Well, according to the New York Times, officials at Fish and Wildlife might be planning to transfer 775 acres of the Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which has a rocket launch pad close by, in exchange for 692 acres somewhere else. Other land exchanges might advance plans, such as a road through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Furthermore, Nesvik doesn’t seem to believe that we should be concerned about the sanctity of our public lands at all, particularly after a recent, vague order issued by Secretary Doug Burgum titled “Expanding Hunting and Fishing Access, Removing Unnecessary Barriers, and Ensuring Consistency Across the Department of the Interior Lands and Waters.”

“I don’t believe that anyone should be worried about what this administration is doing with public lands,” Nesvik concluded.

And yet, the Republican Study Committee just released its framework for a second reconciliation package, titled “Making the American Dream Affordable Again.” Within this document is a decree to “Direct relevant federal agencies to sell off or lease at a low rate underused and/or underutilized federal properties to expand access to affordable private-sector housing that enables homeownership.”

Not to mention, slashed budgets and mass federal layoffs have left refuges without necessary resources. According to Delta Waterfowl, the USFWS budget to operate the NWR System has declined by 35% or more since 2010, along with the loss of 711 full-time staff since 2011, a 29% workforce reduction.

“To keep refuges running well, you need efficient water delivery and fairly intensive management to maximize habitat productivity,” said John Devney, Delta’s chief policy officer. “In too many cases, there’s not the staff or infrastructure to do it.”

Stay tuned for the results of the review. And in the meantime, consider a trip to your local wildlife refuge.

Steven Rinella talks with Brody Henderson, Janis Putelis, Randall Williams, Phil Taylor, and Corinne Schneider. 

Topics discussed: Canadian hunters helping Canadian hunters; Corrections!; go see Steve's talk about his first trip to hunt in Africa at Safari Club International's 2026 Convention; how skunks can ruin a marriage; a Massachusetts lobster heist; results from the Florida black bear hunt; Alaska's subsistence program under review; a mountain lion kills a hiker; Colorado's wolf program in trouble; and more. 

Enter the raffle for an Alaska mountain goat hunt: https://ohfak.org/raffles/chugach-mountain-goat/

Enter the raffle for an Alaska buffalo hunt: https://ohfak.org/raffles/delta-bison/ 

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This week, Cal covers where cats came from, why the feds might take over the Colorado wolf program, a turtle smuggler heading to federal prison, and much more.

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To learn more and get involved with any Cal to Action, click here.

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Hosts Randall Williams, Seth Morris, and Cory Calkins interview Silencer Central's Brandon Maddox about all things suppressors and changes to the Tax Stamp in 2026, throw a Hot Tip Off, catch up with MeatEater's own Clay Newcomb, and help control the pet population in another round of MeatEater Price is Right.

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

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Everyone needs help from time to time, and it's human nature to offer to do so. There are many ways to do it and this week, Brent's talking about how a conversation he had years ago with an unknown mentor continues to help him today. He's also issuing a challenge to help an organization that's helping people with disabilities enjoy the outdoors.

Hands of a Sportsman non-profit: http://www.handsofasportsman.org/

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There’s a small section on a particular piece of public I look forward to hunting every year during the peak rut. There’s about a three- or four-day stretch that I know I’ll see bucks chasing in this specific stretch of woods. The first year I hunted this spot, I was nearly trampled by a group of does during a midday scout. I was hunting my way into an evening setup when a sweet buck chased these does into my lap. They made a quick 180, and I had just a quick glimpse of tall tines speeding back through the switch cane.

Fast forward to that same day the next year, and I watched three borderline bucks (my state imposes antler restrictions) run a pair of does through my setup in almost the same spot. That pattern played out for two more seasons, including this last one.

Aside from does coming into heat, that spot has good screening cover, natural browse, and the convergence of multiple habitat and terrain edges. No, it doesn’t stand out on the map, but it’s a place that deer feel comfortable traveling season after season, especially during the rut.

It’s easy to think of the rut as an isolated event. You might have a mature buck run by your stand and chalk it up to rut brain, but there’s a reason that buck is there. While it might seem like a random occurrence, mature bucks don’t just daylight for no reason. And that intel could benefit you for seasons to come.

History repeating isn’t always a bad thing. That’s why it’s important to make note of your deer encounters even if they seem insignificant.

Mapping apps like onX make it too easy not to log some information. You don’t need a book’s worth of details. A simple waypoint with a quick description goes a long way. Something like “shooter buck chasing a doe” works great. onX automatically logs the date and time for you, so there’s no excuse not to take notes.

I prefer hunt observations to trail cam photos any day, but they can both be just as valuable for historical data. Time on stand allows you to observe a bit more of the situation, while trail cam photos can sometimes be misleading. But, if you’re consistently getting daylight pictures of certain bucks, especially if they’re trailing does, you’ll want to make note of that for next year. The Moultrie Mobile cell cam app allows you to take bookkeeping-level organization for your photos. This type of organization makes it easy to store photos by specific dates, so that you can quickly reference the data when you’re planning out next year’s hunts.

Even if you don’t have the camera data to back up the deer movement. You can feel confident that the deer are likely to do the same thing this time next year, barring any major habitat or landscape changes. You might have to make minor tweaks to your setups, but this is an area where you can go with your gut, knowing that does typically come into heat around the same timeframe every year.

Whether you’re tracking historical data in your phone or a notebook, the more you accumulate, the more options you’ll have come deer season. That way, if you don’t have the right wind or someone beats you to a spot, you’ll have a backup ready to go.

It also helps if you have a problem overanalyzing hunting setups. When you already have spots that you know produce historically, you can easily make a decision on where to hunt based on the conditions and data. You’re more likely to have success when you can revisit a proven spot than just going in blind. That doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to see a mature buck in that spot every year, but even watching young bucks dog a doe through your setup is reassuring (and fun).

It can be hard to trust your gut, especially if you want hard evidence that bucks are using a specific area. Sure, fresh rubs and scrapes are great, but don’t let the lack of this typical buck sign convince you that they’ve deserted the area.

Remember, it’s the does you’re hunting anyway. I’d much rather see a ton of fresh tracks and droppings than a monster rub from the early season. It’s sort of one of those things that you have to experience to understand. You can listen to podcasts or read all the articles you want, but it won’t click until you do it yourself.