The MeatEater

In the battle over public land access, the sides often seem to have heroic DIY hunters on one side vs villainous landowners scheming to keep us out on the other.

But it’s hardly ever that simple. Take, for example, David Faubion, a Wyoming-based big game hunter who has been chartering a helicopter to fly him and his hunting partners into landlocked public ground in Wyoming over the past few years. You can read about his no-holds-barred approach over at Guns and Ammo, where Faubion is an editor and staff writer.

Faubion has certainly chosen a fitting place for his chopper hunts: according to OnX, Wyoming has around 2.4 million total acres of inaccessible public land, an area roughly the size of the Big Island of Hawaii.

So a scrappy hunter hiring a helicopter for the five-minute trip up and over into that public land? Seems like an obvious protagonist.

However, the details muddy the picture. If Faubion had a five-mile-long pole vault to get to this land, there would be no issue, but there are very strict rules around the use of aircraft when it comes to hunting. For example, in Alaska, it’s illegal to hunt on the same day as you fly in–this prevents people from spotting game from the air, dropping down for a quick shot, packing that meat up, and flying out of there. That’s a hunt that violates fair chase, and the laws are in place to enforce that.

That’s also the case in Wyoming: law on the books states, “No person shall use any aircraft to spot, locate, and aid in the taking of any trophy game animal.” However, there’s plenty of grey area here. If the aircraft is only used for transportation, not for spotting or pursuing game, then you’re okay. So, if Faubion were a helicopter pilot himself and flew into and out of these areas, then there would be no problem. There are lots of amateur small-aircraft clubs that fly hunters around free of charge to keep their skills up–that kind of cooperation would also be fine.

But other rules apply to exchanging money for aid in hunting–that is, guiding or outfitting. Wyoming’s legal definition of an outfitter is anyone who, quote, “for the purpose of financial gain,” provides “guide or packing services for the purpose of taking any big or trophy game animal.” Faubion paid a helicopter operator to get him in and the animals he killed out, and moving that meat and equipment sounds like the packing services that an outfitter provides. Since this helicopter company did not have an outfitter license, these trips may have been illegal.

But it gets even more complex. Wyoming law also defines “packing services” as, “...transporting for hire or remuneration, hunters, game animals or equipment in the field for the purpose of taking any big game or trophy animal.” The key phrase there is “in the field.” Faubion argues that because the helicopter company isn’t advertising itself as a hunting-specific transportation company, it isn’t an outfitter, and because the flights take off from public roadways and land on service roads within BLM land, the helicopter is never technically “in the field.”

You might argue that everywhere on BLM land where there are elk running around is “the field.” However, it’s illegal to shoot game from a truck on a roadway, which would imply that the road is not “the field,” so maybe it is legal to pay for a helicopter trip if you make sure to stick to the roads. After all, UPS wouldn’t need an outfitting license to get your game meat from a pickup in downtown Gillette, Wyoming, to your front door in Orlando, Florida.

So after all these semantics, what do the motives of all our players look like? It’s easy to identify with parts of David Faubion’s mission, and he is forcing an issue of what is or isn’t legal on public lands, regardless of how influential the surrounding landowners are. But he isn’t exactly in a David and Goliath story: it costs several thousand dollars to charter a helicopter, and he has the institutional backing of a major media outlet working on his behalf. And zooming out, do we want rich people in helicopters flying over our heads when we’re in the outdoors?

How about the landowners? Well, of course, some have been pretty unhappy, and some charge significant trespass fees to allow outfitters to cross their land in order to get to public. While at the same time, others do allow occasional access. Does it serve the animals themselves to have helicopters buzzing them overhead?

What’s motivating established outfitters in this situation? Of course, they have a vested interest in keeping things the way they are: if all of a sudden a lot of heli-hunters are killing the trophy elk they’ve had near-exclusive access to, that puts their business in jeopardy. But being rigorous about licenses is important: it means outfitters have insurance, that they’re reputable, that if something bad happens out there, clients can hold them accountable.

Here’s how you can get involved—the Wyoming Board of Outfitters and Professional Guides is holding their quarterly meeting Thursday, December 18th. This body can set rules to clarify all this and help everyone involved. In particular, they could define exactly what “in the field” means. If you’re on your way to a place to kill elk, does that count as in the field, even if you stick to roadways? Answering that question would go a long way.

They could also clarify when general passenger transport becomes hunter transport, subject to outfitting rules around packing services. All you out there in the Cowboy State no doubt have lots of opinions, so tune into this meeting–the Board will be posting a virtual meeting link soon.

If we don’t figure out permanent legal access to our public land, we’re going to be dealing with things like this; it’s supply and demand. Should you outlaw helicopter access, even though it is not for everybody? If that’s the only way you can get into a chunk, you should leave that door open. But if there are other avenues of access, then a helo operation probably isn’t in the best interest of the access seeker or the animals.

Feature image via Adobe Stock.

Western states have a mule deer problem. Deer populations are down across the board, leaving fish and game commissions grasping for means to mitigate the declines. Often, the only lever immediately within reach is a control on hunting pressure, which commissioners are reluctant to touch, as it obviously comes at the expense of hunting opportunity.

Last week, however, commissioners in Montana made the decision to reduce nonresident deer tags by about 2,500 for the next two years, with the goal of reducing both overall hunter numbers and crowding from out-of-state hunters. The commission also reduced the number of deer tags resident hunters can hold in a season from eight to three.

But will the cuts be enough to make any meaningful difference on deer populations? Or were they even necessary? Among hunters, the jury is split. MeatEater spoke with several hunters in the state who have made efforts to influence policy or have their voices heard.

Leading up to the regulation-setting meeting, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks solicited input from a Mule Deer Citizen Advisory Council, formed of 14 hunters from across the state. One member, Gwen Cooper, offered insight into the discussions held over the last two years.

“Everyone was on the same page that something needed to be done,” Cooper said. “But a huge argument between all of the board members was that some people thought limiting buck tags would improve the population overall and result in more healthy and larger deer, and then another side of the room was like, ‘that’s not true.’”

Another council member, Eric Albus (also a legislator, rancher, and outfitter in eastern Montana) was of the former opinion. “The pressure that we get here with an unregulated five-week-long rifle season—which encompasses the rut—the hunting pressure has totally destroyed the mule deer population in eastern Montana, along with any quality that might have been here,” Albus told MeatEater. “Some of the places that I hunt down in southeast Montana are all private, and we average 6.5 years of age on our mule deer. The oldest deer we killed last year was 9.5 years old. So it’s not rocket science to manage a deer herd. You just have to limit opportunity to harvest.”

However, that model of management might not hold true everywhere. Just ask Marcus Hockett, who is on the crew of Fresh Tracks. “I used to be amongst the crowd that thought we should have more special permits; that we should not be hunting mule deer bucks in the rut because we hammer them and there’s no more mature bucks,” Hockett said. “But I’ve since changed my mind, because I’ve hunted and filmed some of the most amazing mule deer hunts that you can go on—hunts that take a lifetime to draw—and some of them have been absolutely awful.”

On a recent ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ Kaibab deer hunt in Arizona, Hockett and the crew didn’t see a buck over three years old. But even after hunting all over the West, Hockett says the best deer hunting he’s ever had has been on a Montana general season deer tag. Still, he agrees, the quality of hunting has decreased overall in recent years.

Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to the problem. Hunter observations are anecdotal, and commissioners are tasked with balancing a number of factors (quality, opportunity, CWD management, etc.) when setting regulations. Not to mention, Montana is a large, diverse state. “How do you manage Region 7 the same as you manage Region 2 or Region 4?” Cooper asked. “There’s such different territory. The terrain is so different, the lifestyle is different, the people are different, and it’s hard to have one plan that makes everyone happy, given all of those.”

However, there is one thing all three hunters—Cooper, Albus, and Hockett—agree on: the state needs even more limits on doe hunting. From a population standpoint, mule deer depend more on the number of does than the number of bucks. In Montana, the state aims to manage most units to have between 10 and 40 bucks per 100 does, but it can take decades for a change in hunting regulations to alter the buck-to-doe ratio in a hunting district, according to a 2018 study. That’s to say, reducing buck harvest is a better way to improve the age structure of a population (over a long time period), while reducing doe harvest can have more of a population-level impact.

Yet Montana commissioners are reluctant to limit doe harvest to the extent that most hunters would consider necessary. Cutting resident tags from eight to three will certainly help, but in large swaths of the state, a hunter can still shoot a doe with a general deer license. With the new regulation changes, about 12,000 nonresident general deer licenses will still be available, in addition to the nearly 135,000 resident tags sold every year.

Albus is frustrated by the lack of action. “We needed to cut these tags, and we need resident numbers cut as well. We need to end the harvest of any mule deer or whitetail doe in regions 6 or 7 for several years.” As an outfitter, Albus said it would cut into his bottom line, “but I’m a resource-first person. I believe we manage the resource first, and everything else will fall into place.”

Hockett has a broader view of the issue. “We spend so much time arguing about how many deer we’re killing, which is fine, but nobody wants to talk about the real issues, which are habitat, competition from elk, and human recreation. All that stuff adds up, and that’s what’s driving mule deer populations down, not hunting mule deer bucks in the rut. So we can talk about that, but to me it’s this giant distraction.”

Hockett acknowledges that his opinion is generally an unpopular one. But when it comes down to tangible actions, wildlife managers don’t have many options aside from controlling harvest, so that’s the lever they pull.

Still, the question remains: will it be enough to stave off a continued mule deer decline in Montana? It could take years to find out, but that’s just the nature of wildlife management.

This week Reid and Dan host Nashville artist and Mr. Long Live Country, Shane Profitt, out in God's Country. If you are looking for a cornerstone good ol' boy conversation you've come to the right place. The three of them cover everything from fishing to deer season to what makes the perfect wild game sausage. They bond over poor man's cheesecake and Shane shares what it has been like to go from mowing ditches for the city to hearing his songs on the radio in a few short years. The episode ends with the three of them singing what should be the anthem of GCP at this point.

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America’s national mammal possesses a troubling story in western history. For a century writers have presented the fate of the buffalo as brought down by a federal conspiracy that plotted the animal’s demise to undermine Native cultures. With an animal this important to American and western history, understanding the more realistic and accurate version of its 19th and 20th century story seems a critical step as we figure out how to go forward in returning America’s most iconic mammal to the modern West.

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This week, Tony explains how weather messes with our hunt plans, but can also teach us to be far better deer hunters if we can get past what we want to believe about certain conditions.

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People often assume that because I cook wild game professionally, I must be a big fan of liver. The truth? I’m not. Not even a little. But I still keep it because it’s one of the most nutrient-dense parts of the animal and a meaningful way to honor the life taken. Still, I want to eat it in a way that’s actually enjoyable, not something I have to choke down. After a bit of experimenting, my favorite way to utilize liver is by adding it to ground meat and sausage.

Big-game liver is loaded with vitamins, iron, and essential amino acids, making it one of the most powerful foods you can bring home from the field. By adding it to ground meat and sausage, you’ll not only boost nutrition, but also increase your yield, especially with venison. And if you're a die-hard waterfowl hunter with a pile of geese, this works beautifully with goose breast and livers, too.

Oh, and if you’re worried about eating toxins because liver is a filter, don’t! The liver breaks down unwanted compounds and sends them out through the kidneys or digestive tract. Those substances don’t build up in the organ itself, which means liver is safe to eat.

Adding liver to ground meat is nothing new. You’ll find “ancestral blends” from farmers and ranchers that often mix in liver, heart, and kidney. You can use all of these in your grind (and if you’re grinding waterfowl don’t forget the gizzard!) but I typically only add liver. That’s because heart is delicious on its own and I enjoy treating it like a steak. Kidney, on the other hand, has an even stronger flavor than liver and can overwhelm a batch quickly.

Any time you eat liver, from any animal, always make sure it’s of good quality and free of cysts, parasites (called flukes) or infections. For more details on how to harvest and clean a liver, check out Anna Borgman’s article How To Clean and Cook Liver.

Finding the perfect ratio of meat to fat to organ is a game of balance. Too little liver and you won’t get the nutritional benefit. Too much and you’ll end up with mushy, iron-forward meat that no one in your household will want to eat twice. And of course, because venison is so lean, I always make sure to add fat such as pork fatback for its clean flavor. After trial and error, here are the ratios I like best:

For Plain Ground Meat (“Burger”)

For Sausage

If you’re new to eating liver, start with bold sausage styles—think Mexican chorizo or a well-spiced breakfast sausage. The seasoning helps balance the liver’s metallic, iron-forward notes.

Grinding meat is one of those tasks where the small details make a big difference, especially when liver is involved. Start by trimming the liver to remove the outer membrane, any large veins, and connective tissue, all of which can create off-textures in the final grind.

If you want a milder flavor, soak chopped liver in salted milk for several hours. This helps draw out excess blood and tones down the strong, iron-forward flavor. Just be sure to pat it completely dry before grinding.

When it comes time to actually grind, temperature is critical. Ice-cold meat grinds more easily and has better texture than meat that is barely cold. That’s even more true for liver because it’s such a soft organ. You want the liver almost frozen, and, if possible, the grinder parts should also be chilled in the freezer for a few hours before grinding.

Once everything is ground, cook it as you would a regular burger or sausage. If you still want to “hide” the flavor of the liver, turn the ground meat into flavorful meatballs, smash gyros, or tacos. The spices and aromatics in these recipes help mask any lingering iron notes.

I hope this shows that you don’t have to love liver to eat it, and you definitely don’t have to force down chalky pan-fried slices to “be healthy.” Adding liver to your grind is truly the best way to use this nutrient-dense organ, especially if you want a clean-tasting, versatile product that honors the whole animal.

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

Topics discussed: A snow goose with an underbite; Steve betting on NFL teams because their mascots have grrrr; how dolphins always steal the spotlight; how it's just not "huckle bearer"; the trials and tribulations of butchering elk in an apartment building; hunting advice needed and given; how Colorado has now classified bison as wildlife; and more. 

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This week, Cal tells you about a Japanese chef serving bear meat in France, why National Parks are about to get more expensive for international tourists, and a hunter using a helicopter to access landlocked public land parcels.

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For dedicated whitetail hunters, December can feel like a comedown after a killer party. November holds the noise and excitement of the season. Fresh scrapes pop up overnight. Hot rub lines dot the ridge. Antlers clash as big bucks crash through brush on a hot doe. Then December hits, and the woods feel like someone called the cops, shutting the whole party down.

Then you spend one cold evening in the woods and catch a buck shadowing a small doe with that same old look in his eye. That’s the second rut. It doesn’t come with the same frat boy fanfare of the primary breeding season. It’s far more subtle. But it means the story isn’t over yet.

Plenty of hunters have theories about why some bucks start chasing again in late December. But no matter what your Uncle Joe says after a couple post-hunt beers, bucks don’t fire back up because the moon looks different or the weather’s acting weird. It’s the second rut.

The National Deer Association’s Chief Conservation Officer, Kip Adams, has heard every theory under the sun. “Hunters like to call [wildlife biologists] idiots, but there is enough data that shows the rut occurs at the same time each year,” Adams told MeatEater. “It’s not driven by moon phase or temperature. It is 100% driven by photoperiod.”

In other words, the rut runs on schedule, peaking in early to mid-November in most places, with blatant disregard for cold fronts, full moons, or folklore. It’s affected by hours of daylight.

So if the rut hits like clockwork each year, what’s going on with those December bucks?

Here’s the short answer. Some does are still coming into heat. That’s the second rut. It’s not a full replay of November. It’s a small, predictable biological ripple that shows up when conditions are right.

Adams put it bluntly. “The mythical second rut is a thing. But it’s very different than it would have been 20 or 30 years ago.”

Back when hunters shot every antlered buck they saw and ignored does, buck-to-doe ratios went sideways. There weren’t enough bucks to breed all the does on the first cycle, so plenty came back in roughly four weeks. That made the old-school second rut obvious.

“Today, we have better habitat and herd management,” Adams said. “Now the second rut is driven by fawns of the year coming into heat for the first time. If a doe fawn that was born this summer reaches 70 to 80 pounds of body weight this fall or winter, she will hit sexual maturity and breed during the second rut.”

The second rut isn’t the all-out rave of the primary breeding season. Pressure from firearms season makes the big boys gun-shy. Bucks are wary of cruising mid-day. That’s because most of the does have already been bred and aren’t willing to give guys the time of day.

While the primary rut is hot, bucks don’t have to work all that hard to find female company in November. Pretty much every doe is ready to party then. In December, the script flips.

“If you can find a doe in heat during that second rut, the rut activity is even more intense because there are so few deer that are in heat,” Adams said.

Late in the season, all of those bucks are still ready to breed, if they could just find a doe in heat. That’s why one doe in estrus in December will drum up a bunch of attention. I’ve seen one little doe trot past a treestand with three bucks trailing her like they needed to talk to her about her car’s extended warranty.

December may not have the same volume as the primary rut. Instead, the moments are short-lived and packed tight, but no less exciting.

You can’t hunt the second rut using November’s playbook. There’s no chasing the frenzy this time of year. You’re hunting a spark, not a bonfire. To do that, you have to put yourself in the right place when one young doe decides today is the day. Here are some solid strategies for getting it done.

Camp on the Groceries

Glass for Smaller Deer

Hang Tight to the Bedroom

Call Sparingly

A December chase can live and die in a day. Sometimes in an hour. If you spot fresh rut behavior, it’s game on. Don’t wait for the weekend. This window is the outdoor version of seeing a parking spot open right in front of you. Take it now, or you’re going to miss it.

The second rut is a last flicker of life in a season that looks spent. Stay patient. Stay out there. Let the other folks pack it in, because December has a few surprises for the stubborn ones.