I had the chance to sit down with Brandon McDow of Tejas Hunt Club at the recent Texas Trophy Hunters Extravaganza in Fort Worth recently. While Brandon and I had met previously at other trade shows, this was the first time we had the opportunity to shoot the breeze for an extended period of time. A full-time employee over at Silencer Shop, Brandon also runs the Tejas Hunt Club Podcast and social media pages. Good times catching up with a lifelong outdoorsman and native son of the Lone Star State. You’re gonna giggle when he talks about his brief bull riding experience!

We’ve all battled it out, chasing ducks or big bass on public water. Of course, those successes are absolutely worth celebrating. However, as we enter different seasons of life our goals often change. Maybe we have less free time than we once did. Maybe we want to make the experience all about our kiddos, or maybe we just want to get an extra couple of hours of sleep before having to get up to meet our hunting buddy at the duck hole. Maybe the goal is to just have an entire lake to yourself and enjoy the solitude that only that kind of experience can provide. Whatever the case, that is where Private Water Hunting and Fishing comes into play. Our good friend Cole Porter of Private Water Hunting and Fishing dropped by the studio this week to talk about the perks of the Private Water experience. Cole and I discuss the lengthy history of the club. We talk about the structure for both the hunting and fishing side of things. How many properties do they have and where? What kind of management do they do in order to increase the odds of catching lunker quality bass? How are the duck holes set up? Can members scout the property before they hunt? How do you reserve your hunt date/location? We also reflect on the 4 legged hunting partners that have impacted us along the way.  

“How bad do you want it?” – that was the question my outfitter Mike Young of Lonesome Mountain Outfitters asked me on the first day of our 9-day British Columbia mountain goat hunt. On this episode I am joined by my friend and hunting buddy of 20 plus years (and Justified Pursuit Podcast co-host) Chisum Cooke. When it comes to embracing the suck of a backcountry hunt, most of those moments in my hunting career have been shared with Chisum on mountain side somewhere in the Western United States. So, with that fact in mind, I figured who better to relive a painfully epic experience with than my trusted confidant and hunting buddy. Highlights from the conversation include: * 3 years in the making * What was I expecting vs what I actually got * Socked in our tents due to fog and rain * Where are the trails? * Most vertically demanding hunt I’ve done * Reflections on a walk through the Grand Canyon * Just a white dot on a cliff a couple miles away * Failed stalk and burning calories * Getting back on him the next day * Take care of those feet! * 30 yards! * A tumble all the way to the bottom * The charcoal goat * A survival night in grizzly country * Need a better cold weather sleeping bag * Goat backstrap on an open fire * Aging your venison * Embracing the suck of the worst pack out * A prayer for strength * Disoriented and sleep deprived * Airline issues

Matt Stoll is eaten up with chasing big whitetail bucks with his bow. His passion for whitetail deer ultimately led him to start creating some insane whitetail art. The self-taught welder and I sat down at the recent Texas Trophy Hunters Extravaganza in Fort Worth to talk big bucks and his awesome steel whitetail european style mounts. Then I sat down with Gun Owners of America’s David Gibson. We talk about a gross 2nd Amendment violation that resulted in his family leaving California for Texas. The GOA Second Amendment Hunters Chairman talks about the organization’s history, what separates them from the NRA, his favorite thing to hunt and much more.

Jeremiah Doughty is one of the most respected wild game chefs in the game. Oddly enough, it was an adult-onset allergy to bovine fat that led him to into a career in the hunting industry that he never imagined. Our old friend and the man behind ‘From Field to Plate‘ makes his return this week for an in-depth conversation covering a myriad of topics including: * What is he still doing living in Californiastan? * How did he find out he was allergic to beef? * The early days of From Field To Plate * Bringing his podcast back from hiatus * Dove season is here! * Getting his daughters into the outdoors * Guys trip! Salmon fishing on the menu * Mystery burritos * Looks like we’ll be in Kentucky deer camp together * The blasphemous behavior of hunters ‘bleeding’ their venison in ice chests for days on end * Self taught photographer – all about that drip! * Worst recipe he’s ever made * An ingredient we aren’t using but should be The Drip!  

Justin Bowerman has a gift.  No singer/songwriter I know can match his talent for telling a hunting or fishing story through a country song. We’ve been friends for the better part of two decades and have shared duck blinds and turkey camps in that time span. Justin’s place in the Lone Star Outdoor Show’s history is also significant because it was in October of 2010 when he became our first ever in studio musician. My how time flies! Justin’s debut record “Rock You” was released in 2012 and shortly thereafter he met a fork in the road. While many other songwriters pursued life on the road, tour buses and sold-out shows, Justin chose to start a family and keep the steady corporate paycheck. Being a husband and father to 3 boys kept him so busy that he put the guitar down for the better part of decade before one of his son’s asked him to teach him to play guitar. The re-ignited his passion for playing songs and writing music and in 2025 he released “In Pursuit” – an album consisting of his best hunting and fishing songs. It was a treat to have him back in studio after all these years to talk some hunting, fishing and hear some oldies and some brand-new stuff as well. You can keep up with Justin on Facebook and Tik-Tok and find most of his music wherever you stream.

I’ve known Brett Jepsen and Charles Spiegel a long time. So long, in fact, that they both had corporate 9-5 jobs when we first started hunting together. Three Curl Outfitters was in its infancy back then (as was this show) which meant Brett was guiding duck hunts part time and barely making enough to break even after factoring in leases, fuel and gear. So when did Charles come on board as a partner, when did they quit their 9-5 jobs and go all in, and how has their business evolved over the last 15 years? If you’re looking to make it as an outfitter, it requires dedication and a leap of faith to go all in. Highlights from the conversation include: * Taking conference calls from the duck blind * We go way back * Raising our kids in the outdoors * Get them the donuts! * That time I gave Brett a mullet in a Kansas duck camp * GMO corn and how it affects duck migration * More corn and more lakes in Kansas than ever before, what does that mean for Texas duck hunters? * Why don’t any of us guide turkey hunts anymore? * Season leases available (Three Curl Lease Connection) * Dove forecast * Thermal hog hunting offered a way to go full time * Helicopter hog hunting * How do they not run out of product (hogs)? * Charles’ thoughts on TPWD not requiring a hunting license to hunt feral hogs * Are they still mad at the ducks like we all used to be? * “Put the beers away and the fire out” * Make it fun for the kids if you want them to come back * Target Rich Environment on the Pursuit Channel

I traveled down to the New Braunfels area last week to hang out with the good folks over at Woods Cycle Country. The longtime power sports dealership is family owned and operated by hunters and anglers. You walk into the showroom floor and immediately see the taxidermy proudly displayed by their employees. Hunting rifles in gun vices are often worked on during slow days. This is a dealership for sportsmen, by sportsmen.  In addition to picking up a new 2026 Can Am Defender Lone Star Edition, I also had the pleasure of spending a night bowfishing with Sales Manager Dean Morehead and top sales guy Tyler Lynham. After that, Tyler invited us all over to house so we could tape the show in his awesome man cave. Highlights from the conversation include: * Bowfishing on Canyon Lake (first time at full pool in over a decade) * Did I do better or worse than last year? * How a side by side changed the game for our family over the past 12 months * Tyler’s African Cichlids * Texas Cichlids * Dean and his 6.5 Creedmoor * Neck shots on big nilgai bulls * Tyler’s obscure .243 on steroids * Exotic sheep meat * Anyone eating auodad? * Upcoming alligator hunt * New Can Am’s bigger engine and back up cams * Benefits from Can Am, Polaris & Kawasaki, plus a new player in the game (CF Moto) * What side by side would they each choose if money wasn’t an object and why? * Fall hunting and fishing plans (Stunning cichlid display in Tyler’s trophy room)

This was one of the most fun conversations I’ve had in some time. New Jersey native Christian Zeron will tell that he’s “old to watches, new to hunting”. The luxury watch dealer recently went on his first duck hunt which subsequently led to a full-blown immersion into the outdoor lifestyle. Next thing he knew, he was trading in his Ralph Lauren cashmere sweaters for the latest high end hunting apparel from brands he couldn’t even pronounce. Then came gun purchases and his first international hunt (dove hunting in Argentina). I have always said that social media is a double-edged sword, does the good outweigh the bad? Most of the time I’m not sure. However, when Christian randomly popped up in my algorithm, I knew on that day, social media was a good thing.  Being along for the ride as he embraced a lifestyle (that he admits was always calling him) that he knew nothing about has been one of the most wholesome and rewarding things I’ve seen in 2026. Highlights from our conversation include: * Growing up in the New York metro area * Why do metropolitan men fail to get into the outdoors? * Isn’t it in our DNA as men? * “I say ‘Ya’ll” all the time now” * Duck hunting in a Rolex * Tarpon fishing in Florida * An international wing shooting trip * What is Christian’s goal with his newfound passion? * Best bang for your buck luxury watch? * Did cell phones hurt the high-end watch industry * “It’s really just a big flex” * Hemmingway, Capstick and Ruark * Emasculated and hopeless men * A chilled bottle of Vermentino and a half a pound of squid, the good life isn’t that expensive * Thanks Dad

Madie Demaske is a lifelong big game hunter. The 2026 winner of the prestigious Diana Award (highest honor awarded by SCI to female hunters) has traveled the globe in search of the next hunting adventure a dozen times over.  Her true love is mountain hunting for goat and sheep species. Her passion for conservation and legal background lead Madie to a position as full-time member of Safari Club International’s litigation team. Highlights from today’s conversation include: * Madie’s upbringing hunting big game in Colorado * Passion for sheep and goat hunting across the globe * Which of North America’s 4 sheep species is the most challenging to hunt? * Time spent in Africa * How a law degree lead to a career at Safari Club International * Trophy import permitting issues * Bontebuck and Cape Mountain Zebra * What is the Federal Subsistence Board and what purpose do they serve? * Why should Alaska be managed differently than every other state? * Federal Subsistence Board’s lengthy history of unscientific wildlife management * Who loses out when they overstep their boundaries? * SCI’s role in combatting their overreach * Moose and caribou primarily in the crosshairs * What constitutes a “rural user” * Alaska gets it right on predator management, activists interfere * Upcoming hunts for this fall