Rack Junkies

What really happened behind the scenes of my interview with Vivek Ramaswamy? In this episode, I break down how the interview came together, what happened before and after the cameras were rolling, why I pushed Vivek on hunting, conservation, the Fourth Amendment, and political accountability—and some of the things I would do differently next time. I also talk about what’s coming next. Ohio Liberta...

I sat down with Vivek Ramaswamy for a wide-ranging conversation about hunting, fishing, wildlife management, and what his policies would mean for Ohio sportsmen. We talked about a constitutional right to hunt and fish, Ohio’s open fields doctrine and warrantless searches on private property, DEI policies inside wildlife agencies, conservation funding, and his personal moral beliefs surrounding hun...

In this episode, I talk about a huge interview I have coming up next week with Vivek Ramaswamy, what I plan to ask him, and why having direct conversations with political leaders about hunting and wildlife issues matters. I also break down President Trump’s new “Reinvigorating America’s Hunting Heritage” executive order. The order directs federal agencies to look at expanding hunting access on fed...

I just got back from the RNC in Dallas, and this was unlike anything I’ve ever done. Hunter Nation invited me to join them, helped get me press credentials, and gave me an opportunity to put a microphone in front of some of the most influential people in government. Over two days, I interviewed members of Congress, senators, lieutenant governors, political leaders, celebrities, and others—and I go...

I’m headed to the RNC with Hunter Nation, and in this episode I talk about why this trip could be a big opportunity for hunting and wildlife issues at the national level. I also break down the fight to delist wolves and return wolf management back to the states. This has never been about wiping wolves out—it’s about managing them like every other wildlife species. The delisting process is a major...

This episode is about something I think hunters have ignored for far too long: how laws actually get changed. Complaining online isn’t enough. If we want to protect hunting, private property rights, and our freedom to make our own decisions, we have to know which state legislators control the process, which committee chairs decide whether bills ever get a hearing, and where public pressure actuall...

Ohio’s wildlife agency is supposed to manage deer, turkey, fish, habitat and hunting opportunities. But behind the scenes, the Ohio Division of Wildlife has been working with the Wildlife Management Institute and a team of consultants on something called the “Relevancy Roadmap”—a plan designed to change how the agency operates, who it tries to reach and even its internal agency culture. In this ep...

Hunters paid for a study that argues state wildlife agencies need fewer traditional hunting-minded employees and more people with non-hunting beliefs about wildlife management—including an emphasis on hiring nonbinary employees and other underrepresented groups. In this episode, I break down the $142,974 Pittman-Robertson-funded project, what researcher Michael Manfredo and others mean by “traditi...

The Open Fields Doctrine allows game wardens and other law-enforcement officers to enter private land without a warrant, probable cause, or the landowner’s permission—and in this episode, I explain why the Supreme Court got it wrong. I break down the major court decisions that created and expanded the doctrine, examine the constitutional arguments behind them, and explain why private land should n...

In this episode, I dig into the people and organizations influencing wildlife policy from inside and around America’s game agencies. We look at former Wisconsin DNR wolf manager Adrian Wydeven, Ohio State professor Jeremy Bruskotter, Project Coyote, the Humane Society, and the millions of dollars state wildlife agencies send to universities for research that can shape future hunting and predator-m...

In this episode, I’m digging into the Wildlife Management Institute using their own words, their own grant reports, and their own documents. WMI keeps showing up in the middle of R3 hunter-recruitment money, state agency consulting, grant management, reports, ad campaigns, “message testing,” and private consultant pipelines. Hunters are told this money is being spent to save hunting, recruit new h...

In this episode of the Rack Junkies Podcast, Stephen Ziegler breaks down how millions of dollars move through the wildlife, hunting, conservation, agency, and nonprofit world — and why hunters should be asking a lot more questions. This episode looks at the money pipeline behind wildlife management, NGOs, government agencies, conservation groups, research funding, salaries, contracts, and the peop...

In this episode of the Rack Junkies Podcast, Stephen Ziegler talks about wildlife studies that make hunters and outdoorsmen wonder what happened to common sense. This is not an anti-science episode. It is about the difference between useful wildlife research and studies that seem disconnected from real-world hunting, land management, predators, deer, conservation, and the people who actually spend...

Today I discuss the viral controversy surrounding the corner crossing debate. It has the attention of the politicians in Montana and we need to keep it up. At the end I also discuss the massive win you guys got from the viral post I put out on Erie county New York! 12 and 13 year old's were told they can not hunt but public pressure from this podcast and the Facebook pages got that overturned...

I am in the process of building a studio and taking this podcast to the next level. today I will give inside information on my research into the governor of Montana and his connection to the outfitters and why they want corner crossing banned.  Rack Junkies and the hunting news

today I talk about going to the Deer farmers convention and what I learned about CWD.  Rack Junkies and the hunting news

The National Deer Association has been caught red handed in a quid pro quo taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Missouri Department of conservation and hiring their employees to as a propaganda arm of the department.  I also talk prince of poachers and wolves! Rack Junkies and the hunting news

On this episode I talk about the coolest small businesses that I found at hunting shows around the country! There are a lot of really cool companies that have innovative products that most hunters have not seen because they are not sponsoring the major hunting media companies. I have viral videos for all of them and now is your chance to get products to help you hunt that very few people have.  Ra...

I wanted to give my thoughts on the Jason Sumners interview so I dive into the entire thing. I reference a couple of studies that we disagreed about and I will add them below. Does this study say deer are dying on mass from CWD or is the declining deer population due to increased deer tags and the end of APRs? Here is the study. You decide.  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12779150/? Rack...

unedited interview of myself and the head of the Missouri Department of Conservation Jason Sumners. we discuss their relationship with the National Deer Association in the first half. the second half is about CWD policy. Let me know what you think. Rack Junkies and the hunting news

Introducing the Rack Junkies podcast presented by DeLong Lures and Killshot Coffee. I am Stephen Ziegler and I wanted to give a deeper dive into the topics I am writing about on Facebook.  Rack Junkies and the hunting news