The Woodsman Perspective

Opening day of dove season is more than just a regular opener.  It is the official kick off of hunting season in the south.  It also coincides with the beginning of football season and the long Labor day weekend holiday. When you combine all of those elements, you've got the makings of a great southern social event.  On this episode we take a step back and discuss the traditional southern opening dove hunt and the social aspect of it.  We have special guest Bob Phillips of Columbus MS in with us to discuss his families long tradition of hosting large annual dove hunts.  Bob and the Phillips family have been hunters, land managers, and involved in the outdoors for generations, and as you'll hear that isn't going to change any time soon.  

We get a rundown of what all Chris does this time of year to manage his farms and prepare for fall.  We talk herbicide, clover, planting, drainage and road maintenance, doves, ducks and second place travel ball trophies. 

 Can't get American Joint vetch, join the crowd.  We'll touch on that and on the way out we mention a great tract of land that Brent has listed for sale. 

Thanks in advance to all our buddies we name drop on this one, including Brian Hollis, Jason Hollis, Bobby Cole, Hunter Crimm, Hometown Realty, Tim Brooks (our buddy from the corps), and I'm sure I'm missing someone.  

What happens when a Mississippi boy has an unbridled passion for archery, turkey hunting, and people?  We sat down with Noxubee county native Steve Brown to find out for ourselves.  Steve has combined these three passions in a way that is hard to do justice with words.  Steve has completed 8 world slams on wild turkeys with archery equipment, spends countless  hours guiding clients to help them check off the most difficult of boxes for the ambitious turkey hunter, and has more great stories than a book store.  We had a good talk about this and more, we hope you enjoy it.  His instagram is BrownandCompanyoutfitters

Spring has always been turkey time for us. This year more than ever there is unprecedented attention on the wild turkey and its apparent decline.  We wade into this topic from 3 perspectives, discussing the hype, hunting, responsibility, and reality.   With firsthand experience managing turkeys and turkey habitat, Mitt and Chris point out that turkeys are in fact doing very well in places.  This success could be replicated on a larger scale, or could it? 

We make several references to studies and commentary previously discussed on The Wild Turkey Science podcast as well as The Mossy Oak Gamekeeper podcast.  We encourage you to listen to those as well.  We also mention our friends at Apex ammunition, the are local guys to our area that make an exceptional product.

For our 12th episode we bring in Jack Robertson. As an owner and developer of the Hogeye Camera system Jack is in the fight against the wild hog as much as anyone.  Not only are they leaders in the advancing technology to get rid of hogs, but he travels extensively to help private landowners, farmers, corporations, and government organizations understand and eliminate wild hog invasions.  If you've seen those videos of a trap dropping on an unsuspecting sounder of  hogs, you were probably watching a Hogeye camera system.  Check out www.hogeyecameras.com to see more on their products.  You can follow them all social media platforms as well.  Instagram is @hogeye_cameras and facebook is Hogeye Trap Cameras.  

Jack also hints to an upcoming cost sharing program here in Mississippi that we will be following closely!  

On episode 11 we bring in a very respected member of the trapping community.  Chip Davis is one of us, a woodsman and habitat manager from the Ms Delta area that happens to have nearly 40 years of trapping experience.  He has also served twice as president of the Mississippi Trappers association as well as served on state and national trapping boards.  Chip not only brings the boots on the ground knowledge, but experience in advising those who make policy.  This talk is thought provoking in areas of ethics, management, and recruiting new trappers.   He can be found hosting other podcasts occasionally at www.trappingradio2.com and is the owner and developer of the Expand-a-pan.  

Also check out the find a trapper resource at www.mstrappers.com this is a great resource for landowners who would like to add trapping to their management plan but may not have the time to do it themselves.   

Enjoy!

The old fashioned deer camp is a dying tradition.  Not just the hunting club or lease, but the club where you have a camp cook, cabins and a bunk house, and the infamous skinning rack.  We talk with guest Shane Grantham who lives this lifestyle with his family as they are now 3 generations deep in the Dancing Rabbit hunting club in east central MS.  

In the first episode of 2023 we briefly discuss the Christmas freeze and the foodplot recovery so far.   That leads us to unpack a few things about how much deer actually depend on winter plots here in the south as well as the undeniable efficacy of feeding corn, for better or worse.  It's an open ended discussion this time, we hope you enjoy. 

We address the question of when to harvest does, but take a deeper dive with a discussion about whether to harvest any does or not.  What goals you have, and the specifics of your property may dictate that you do not take any does in a particular season.  How your actions create a culture on your property and how that culture impacts hunting quality.  

A first hand story of a fall from a climbing stand, complacency, and God's grace and healing on the road to recovery.