American Roots Outdoors w/ Alex Rutledge

Send us Fan Mail This week on American Roots Outdoors, Alex Rutledge and Redbone sit down with special guest Travis Smith — turkey hunting enthusiast, former Missouri legislator, and lifelong outdoorsman. From growing up in West Plains and working for the Atlanta Hawks/Braves, to coaching football, raising grandkids, and chasing gobblers with his grandfather's old shotgun, Travis shares stori...

Send us Fan Mail Alex Rutledge and Redbone dive into the best fishing streams of the Ozarks — Current River, Jack's Fork, Gasconade, Eleven Point, and more — sharing trout fishing stories, smallmouth tales, and grilling tips, alongside Cardinals/Royals talk, World Cup soccer, and shoutouts to sponsors Eagle Seed, 12 Point Hunting Blinds, Wiseye Technologies, Spandow/Spandau Arms, and Hornady...

Send us Fan Mail Alex Rutledge, Redbone, and special guest Cole Legman from WiseEye Technologies discuss why running trail cameras year-round is essential for hunters, farmers, and property owners. Topics include new WiseEye features (DC2 live streaming, population studies via Hunt Control), law enforcement and government camera uses, security applications, the Ranch Plus subscription plan, CWD an...

Send us Fan Mail Alex Rutledge and Redbone dive into everything you need to know about Ozarks river fishing — from post-spawn smallmouth behavior to bait selection, color theory, and reading river conditions. They also catch up on local tournament results, upcoming events, a Hannah Harper concert recap, and the hottest sports stories of the week. Stick around for the bonus segment where Alex and R...

Send us Fan Mail This week on American Roots Outdoors, host Alex Rutledge and Redbone Rick sit down with 2024 RiverMasters Elite Series Classic Champion Rick York to break down everything you need to know about chasing river smallmouth bass in the Ozarks. Rick shares how these fish think like predators, where they hold in current, what they eat, and exactly how to present your baits to trigger str...

Send us Fan Mail  Alex Rutledge and Redbone sit down with Chef Corey Freeman — a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, apple orchard owner, and passionate hunter on a mission to harvest a wild turkey in all 49 states. Corey shares what it was like cooking at turkey camp alongside Tyler Farr, breaks down his Japanese-inspired wild turkey karaage don, apple cider glazed pork chops, and fire-grilled tomahawk...

Send us Fan Mail Alex Rutledge and Redbone welcome Kentucky Headhunters co-founder Richard Young straight from a tomato plant run in Glasgow, Kentucky. Richard delivers a masterclass in Southern storytelling — from brother Fred's midnight tractor rides and his collection of 50 antique machines with only 4 batteries, to the band's history-making leap from a Kentucky holler to Sweden Rock...

Send us Fan Mail Alex Rutledge wraps up his Turkey Tour of the Northeast, sharing stories from turkey hunts at First Class Whitetails in PA, a tough morning in Maryland with David Zook, and a close encounter on retired Eagles linebacker Trent Cole's New Jersey farm. Alex sits down live with Jason Lapp, National Sales Manager for 12 Point Hunting Blinds, at their headquarters in Gap, PA to unv...

Send us Fan Mail Alex Rutledge and co-host Mike "Redbone" Crase call in live from 1st Class Whitetails in Rutland, Ohio, for Turkey Camp 2026. Joining the show are hunter Jason Weekley — a former professional rodeo roper turned farrier from Florida — and digital marketing pro Sam Santorita of Sharp Line Growth Media. The crew recaps three days of grinding Ohio Easterns, including a heart...

Send us Fan Mail Host Alex Rutledge and Mike "Redbone" Crase is joined by country music recording artist Tyler Farr and Kentucky turkey hunter & butcher chef Tim Harris for a jam-packed episode straight from the Ozarks. They cover a tough spring turkey season in Missouri, a wild story about getting permission to hunt an elderly woman's farm — and killing a 24.5-pound gobbler wit...

Send us Fan Mail Alex Rutledge is calling in from his little red tracker deep in Missouri turkey country, joined by the one and only Bad Bob, Jimmy, and a very special mystery guest known only as "Jack." Country music artist Kevin Weldon drops in to talk about his iconic redneck hunting songs that racked up nearly a billion downloads, what he's been up to since stepping back from re...

Send us Fan Mail Alex Rutledge and Red Bone are joined by special guest Richard Kraft — owner of Gelco Outdoors in Fort Smith, Arkansas — to share the story of his 11-year-old grandson Scout's successful Missouri youth Turkey hunt. After two years of near-misses, Scout finally closes the deal on a longbeard in the Missouri Ozarks. The guys break down the full hunt strategy — roosting the bird...

Send us Fan Mail Alex Rutledge and Red Bone welcome Jason Lapp, Director of Marketing and Sales for 12 Point Hunting Blinds, to talk spring Turkey season and youth hunting. They cover why a quality blind can make all the difference for young hunters, how to build their confidence in the field, and what to do when the forecast calls for rain. Plus — stick around for the bonus segment where the guys...

Send us Fan Mail Alex Rutledge and Red Bone kick off the spring Turkey season with current hunting dates for Missouri and Arkansas, then sit down with Jahred Gamez — Director of Marketing for SDS Imports and Spandau Arms — for a wide-ranging conversation about what makes Spandau shotguns the hottest value in the Turkey woods. Jared shares why affordability doesn't mean compromise, how to patt...

Send us Fan Mail Alex Rutledge and the American Roots Outdoors crew welcome back hillbilly barber, outdoor writer, and river conservationist Richard Whiteside from Donovan, Missouri for a packed episode. The guys kick off with a discussion on a controversial Illinois bill that would tax ammunition and require serial numbers on every round — and what it could mean for hunters across the Midwest. Th...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Rutledge and Red Bone Mike Grace for an action-packed episode covering turkey hunting techniques, local sports championships, and memorable hunting stories. In this episode, Alex demonstrates advanced turkey vocalizations using multiple diaphragm calls (M150, Little Loose Lips, E250), shares expert tips on turkey behavior and breeding patterns, and recounts unforge...

Send us Fan Mail Oregon County Commissioner Jake Parker joins Alex Rutledge to discuss the critical tax base crisis facing southern Missouri counties with large National Forest holdings. Learn how 106,000 acres of federal land in Oregon County generates minimal tax revenue, threatening local schools and infrastructure. Jake explains the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) problem, salvage timber sales...

Send us Fan Mail Join Alex Rutledge and Red Bone on American Roots Outdoors as they dive deep into the art of turkey hunting and vocalization techniques. In this comprehensive episode, you'll learn essential turkey calling methods including tree calls, clucks, purrs, cutting, and aggressive calling strategies. Alex shares expert tips on setting up for success, reading turkey behavior, underst...

Send us Fan Mail Join Alex Rutledge and Red Bone from American Roots Outdoors for an in-depth masterclass on turkey hunting. Learn essential turkey vocalizations including tree calls, fly-down cackles, clucks, yelps, and cutting techniques. Discover expert strategies for calling hung-up gobblers, handling multi-bird scenarios, and mastering diaphragm calls. Plus, hear Alex's unforgettable sto...

Send us Fan Mail Join Alex Rutledge and Red Bone for an in-depth guide to scouting turkeys for the 2026 season. Learn expert techniques from traditional listening methods to modern trail camera strategies using Wise Eye data cams. This episode covers everything from understanding turkey behavior patterns and strut zones to building your own scouting algorithm. Plus, get tips on landowner relations...

Send us Fan Mail "Join Alex Rutledge and Mike "Redbone" Crase on American Roots Outdoors for an exciting conversation with Kenny Zuspan of First Class Whitetails, who's hosting an unprecedented turkey hunting competition in Ohio and West Virginia. With $50,000 on the line for first place and total payouts exceeding $120,000, this tag-team turkey hunt is changing the game for co...

Send us Fan Mail Join Alex Rutledge and special guest Cole Legnon from Wise Eye Technologies for an in-depth discussion on using trail cameras to maximize your turkey hunting success. Learn how Wise Eye's innovative camera technology and Hunt Control app can help weekend warriors and serious hunters alike pattern gobblers, save time and money, and close the deal on your next tom. In this epis...

Send us Fan Mail Join Alex Rutledge and trapper extraordinaire Terry Weaver (TW River Rat Pump Works) for part two of "So You Wanna Become a Trapper" on American Roots Outdoors. This in-depth episode covers everything you need to know about setting traps properly to catch predators like coyotes, bobcats, and raccoons. Terry shares expert techniques for both live traps and steel foothold...

Send us Fan Mail Join Alex Rutledge and Red Bone for an in-depth exploration of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) - America's greatest conservation success story. In this special episode, we dive into the fascinating history of how one man's vision in 1972 transformed wild turkey populations from near extinction to thriving across all 50 states. We discuss the upcoming NWTF Nati...

Send us Fan Mail Chapter Markers Introduction & Weather Talk NFL & Sports Discussion Segment 2: Meet Terry Weaver Terry's Background & Business Segment 3: Introduction to Trapping Eagle Trapping Story Trap Preparation & Bait Segment 4: Types of Traps Getting Started with Trapping Preparing Traps (Black Walnut Method) Bonus Segment: Terry's Values & Recipes Cooking Suc...