MeatEater

Subscribe Since the 1903 showing of The Great Train Robbery, film has steadily become our primary way to tell the stories of the American West to the larger world. More than a century’s worth of movies and television shows later, in this episode of The American West Dan, Randall, and guest Dr. Sara Dant reveal their favorite films about the West. Subscribe now wherever you listen to podcasts. YouTube, Spotify, Apple, iHeart, Pandora, Amazon.

The results are finally in from Florida's annual Python Challenge, and one hunter put together a performance unlike anything the competition has seen before. Held July 10-19, the 10 day event drew more than 900 participants from across the U.S. and beyond, all with the same goal: remove as many invasive Burmese pythons from South Florida as possible.

If there’s one disease that needs no introduction in the whitetail world, it’s CWD. Since its first detection in wild deer herds, chronic wasting disease has been a constant source of contention and uncertainty within the hunting community. Studies have repeatedly shown that a high prevalence of chronic wasting disease can tip population growth rates into the negatives, since CWD is categorically fatal for any deer unlucky enough to contract it.

Subscribe What would you think of a whitetail deer herd that jumped from 1200 to over 1.5 million in less than 100 years time? That is exactly what happened in the state of Mississippi. We are joined by Mississippi Deer Program Coordinator, William McKinley who knows all the wild tales that make up this incredible wildlife conservation story.

The nation’s two biggest suppressor dealers allowed customers to walk into their stores yesterday, purchase suppressors, and walk out with them. No fingerprints. No $200 tax. No wait time. They bought gun mufflers like they would firearms, passed instant background checks, and left. And they didn’t do it in secret. They posted about it on X. Here’s Silencer Central announcing they sold a suppressor over the counter to a South Dakota resident who came into their shop.

Subscribe Brent is telling two stories his father told him when he was a little boy. They made an impression on him even at an early age. As he's grown older the meaning of the stories remains the same but the reason they're meaningful is easier to see through the eyes of an adult. Brent is also offering up a little first hand advice that could pay huge dividends for your family later on. It's time for MeatEater's "This Country Life" podcast. Thank you to our sponsors, Case Knives and Stor-Mor.

This is the first instalment of a three-part elk hunting story by FHF founder, Paul Lewis. Stay tuned for the next two segments. The silence was the worst part. Not the sudden silence of elk themselves, but the silence right after the shot, that sudden crushing, anxiety-filled pit in my stomach. For the entire morning of September 21st, the river bottom I was hunting was a chaotic, screaming, bugling rut fest.

Elk hunting requires a lot of physical preparation, a healthy dosage of grit, and a few good elk calls. Here at MeatEater, it’s no surprise that we’re fans of Phelps Game Calls, and that’s exactly what we use to chase bugles through the mountains each September. Whether you’re looking for a bugle tube, diaphragm, or an easy-to-use external call, you’ll find several different options from Phelps Game Calls for a variety of hunting situations and tactics.

I first heard about the frontal shot on an elk from a friend and watched a few clips on YouTube to try and learn more about it. My interest was peaked, but the shot still seemed risky to me. Shooting right at the chest of an elk doesn’t seem to leave much margin for error. Not to mention, in my dozen years of guiding elk hunters, I’d never seen anyone attempt it. Then, in 2020, I went elk hunting with Jason Phelps. While backpack hunting in Colorado, we started talking about frontal shots.

Subscribe The 1538 distribution of Cabeza de Vaca’s Relacion about his shipwreck and trek across the Southwest marks the beginning of books that tell the stories of the American West to the larger world. Hundreds of thousands of books later, in this episode of The American West Dan, Randall, and guest Dr. Sara Dant reveal their favorite western authors and book choices. Subscribe now wherever you listen to podcasts. YouTube, Spotify, Apple, iHeart, Pandora, Amazon.