The Scientific Outdoorsmen Podcast

Should you harvest bucks with smaller antlers to get their genes out of the population, leaving more big bucks in the woods to pass on their trophy racks? Probably not. In this episode, we explore models led by scientists at Mississippi State University that evaluate how selectively culling deer herds can influence antler growth based on the number of points and overall antler size. We discuss two models from the paper that predicted generational changes in antlers for simulated deer in a captive, controlled breeding population and those in a free-range environment that most hunters would experience hunting public and private land. Listen in to find out why culling deer in the free-range environment is not practical to have any substantial population-level effect on the deer you’re seeing in the woods.

Announcements:

- Florida BHA small game hunt at Triple NNN Ranch WMA, January 2026

- Florida BHA small game hunt at Upper Hillsborough WMA, February 2026

- Saddle Hunter 3D Archery Challenge and Workshop – February 7 (more info at this link)

- Florida Archery Unleashed – Skullhill Archery – February 6-8 (more info at this link)

- Purchase your 2026 NWTF gun calendar at this link

- Get your tickets to the Montrose CO NWTF annual banquet at this link

In this episode, we dive into whitetail deer scrape networks to learn how individual deer use scrapes during fall. We look at results from a manuscript out of Tougaloo University that used trail cams on a bunch of fresh scrapes to see which deer came by and how often. Turns out not all deer interact with scrapes the same way and time of day and within the season can change whether that big buck is going to stop by. Join us to find out how deer communicate through their scrapes and learn how you can use scrapes to help your success in the woods!

Read the full article at this link

Purchase your 2026 NWTF gun calendar here

Get your tickets to the Montrose CO NWTF annual banquet hereJoin us at the 2026 Saddle Hunter 3D archery event in Okeechobee FL
Florida BHA small game hunt at Dinner Island Ranch (Dec 13th)

There are lots of factors that influence where elk, deer, and other animals decide to spend their time. In this week's episode, we dive into research from Colorado led by researcher Storm Crews that tracked movements of over 400 elk from four elk herds in the Rocky Mountain state. The researchers determined if individual elk had resident or migratory movement strategies and from there, looked at how resource selection varied based on season, herd, and movement strategy. No surprise, all elk tend to avoid areas associated with development, but selection for other habitat characteristics differed, especially among elk herds. So it pays to know what your herd is doing, and you can't assume they all act the same.

If you want to see more from the paper, you can find it at ⁠⁠this link⁠⁠.

Have you ever wondered how elk or other big game change their distribution when facing hunter pressure? Do they respond to different hunters differently whether it's archery or rifle season? What if elk aren't targeted but other hunters are in the area? This week, we dive into research by Joshua Smith and his colleagues out of Oregon to answer these questions. In this study, bull elk are tracked during various hunting seasons and the researchers looked at how they changed the amount they move around, the habitat that they select, and their distribution on the landscape. Check it out to increase your chances on your next hunt!

If you want to see more from the paper, you can read the document at this link.

This week we are excited to have Brittney Parker from BHA join us to talk about the ways recreationists impact wildlife in the outdoors. Britt has spent a lot of time thinking about this topic and wrote up a great article on it that you can find at this link. As the human population grows and more people access public lands, recreational trails will see more use and become more present on the natural landscape. But what does that mean for the wildlife that depend on those places? We dive into a study by Michael Wisdom and colleagues that assessed how elk in Oregon respond to four types of recreation: ATVs, mountain bikes, hikers, and horseback riders. As you’d probably expect, elk aren’t too happy when people are in the woods with them. We consider how all outdoor recreationists, not just hunters, impact wildlife and discuss ways we as outdoors enthusiasts may be able to minimize that impact. Enjoy the episode!

You can read the full paper by Michael Wisdom at this link

This week we dive into some of the complexities associatedwith conservation and wildlife management focusing on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. We are joined by the Chief Conservation Officer with FWC, George Warthen, to learn how the commission operates and uses facts and science to inform their decisions and policies. We also discuss some history of conservation and recognize how challenges that were faced in the past are still common today. Enjoy the episode!

Announcements:

- Fish and Wildlife ConservationCommission meeting on August 13th and 14th to discuss apotential bear hunt - ⁠link⁠

-  Colorado Chapter of Backcountry Hunters andAnglers annual Rendezvous August 8th-10th - ⁠link⁠

Announcements:

- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission meeting on August 13th and 14th to discuss a potential bear hunt

- Colorado Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers annual Rendezvous August 8th-10th

This week we’re joined by George Zaragoza from the University of Central Florida to learn about the ways predators can affect the activity and habitat use of their prey. To address this, we dive into research led by Marta Prat-Guitart at the University of Florida that studied how the Florida panther changes the way deer and other prey species move around the landscape. High predation risk during the evening by nocturnal panthers drives deer to be more active during the day. We discuss how this may affect hunting opportunities if predator populations increase like they are in Florida. We hope you enjoy it!

You can read the full paper at ⁠this link⁠

In this episode, we find out what makes pronghorn differentfrom other hunted mammals: their horns. We dive into pronghorn management looking at results from research led by Lee Tafelmeyer looking at the effects of hunting pressure on pronghorn horn size. While antler-growing ungulates like deer and elk get larger antlers with age, pronghorn have most of their horn growth in their first couple years. This can allow wildlife managers to adjust management plans so more big-horned pronghorns can be harvested while stillallowing good hunting opportunities in future years.

If you want to read the full paper, you can find it at ⁠⁠thislink⁠⁠.

If you want to read the full paper, you can find it at this link

Announcements: South Florida Deer Scouting Workshop and Lunch

In this episode, we dive into the spring bear hunt and its affects on black bear orphaning rates following research by Hank Hristienko and his colleagues. Their study looked at reproductive data from harvested sows in Manitoba, Canada and used scientific literature to estimate the effect of the spring hunt on cubs. These statistics are compared to natural mortality rates to assess the overall impact of hunters on the population.

In this episode, we dive into a scientific study on Red Snapper (Lutjanus campechanus). In this study, they use known harvest numbers from both recreational and commercial fisheries to train a model for population growth to predict how different regulations will affect the population of snapper in the future. They look at reducing effort, using pressurized release devices to address barotrauma, discard mortality, size limits, bag limits, season lengths and timing, and much more. I hope you enjoy this one!

You can find a copy of this weeks episode at ⁠this link⁠ if you want to learn more!