Hunt Talk Radio

In this episode of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy is joined by Dan Gates of Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management. Topics covered include examination of how I-127 was defeated in Colorado, new attempts to circumvent the ballot initiative and use the legislature and Wildlife Commission, strategic communications for non-hunting voters, using a 501(c)(4) rather than a 501(c)(3), and many o...

In this episode (#263) of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy is joined by members of the North American Pronghorn Foundation to discuss the launch of the organization and their efforts to "future-proof" pronghorn. Topics covered include the state of pronghorn, trends impacting pronghorn numbers, challenges of starting a new organization, goals, on the ground work plans, and many reasons why our pron...

Randy shares the mic with Ryan and Jillian Garrett of Washington. Ryan and Jillian share details of the path that has led them to be some of Washington's most successful advocates for hunting, conservation, and wild food. Topics covered include their tactics for success amidst daunting odds, speaking outside our own circle, finding common denominators (food), how everyone is an ambassador for hunt...

In this episode of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy is joined by one of the most avid elk hunting US Senators, Senator Martin Heinrich from New Mexico. Randy is in DC to lobby on public land issues and was invited by Senator Heinrich to have a discussion about public lands, conservation, funding, the challenges ahead, the reality of the current political landscape, the Senator's connection to publ...

In episode 261 of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy is joined by Brandon Maddox, founder of Silencer Central. The discussion covers Randy's journey from being an old school traditionalist to now hunting exclusively with a suppressed rifle, and losing most of his left-ear hearing along the way. Topics covered include the story behind Silencer Central, debunking myths around hunting with suppressors,...

In this episode of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy is joined by Brant Chutter and Quynn Nielsen, two avid lion hunters from British Columbia, who Randy happened to spend a lot of time with last summer in the MacKenzie Mountains. Brant grew up in a home with two wildlife biologist-parents, who formed his view of science and sustainability. Brant and Quynn now own Rival Outfitting in British Columb...

In this episode of Leupold’s Hunt Talk Radio, Randy had the opportunity to record a podcast in front of a live audience with the new Director of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Debbie Colbert. The conversation covers a wide range of topics - wolves, deer, elk, fish, endangered species, and more. Debbie talks about some of ODFW's achievements as well as the reality of how their work is...

Randy is joined by Charles Whitwam and Mike Costello of HOWL For Wildlife. HOWL is an organization designed to help hunters organize, communicate, and be effective when advocating for their cause. Using new technology and communication strategies, HOWL has built the infrastructure that brings hunters together on important issues. Topics covered include every hunter as an ambassador, strategy of me...

In this episode of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy and Marcus sit down with Jim Baichtal to talk about the new conservation group known as the Blacktail Deer Foundation. Originating within the Mule Deer Foundation, Jim is leading the efforts for Sitka Blacktails in Alaska, while his co-workers lead the efforts for Columbia Blacktails in the Pacific Northwest. Topics covered include a lot of hunti...

Randy discusses conservation easements with Jennifer Doherty of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Kendall Van Dyk of Montana Land Reliance, both who have extensive careers helping private landowners conserve their landscapes with conservation easements (CE). Topics covered include CEs, CEs as one of many tools working landowners need, willing-seller/donor exercising one of their property right...

Randy and Marcus join Joel Webster of Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partners (TRCP) on Joel's Nevada elk hunt. Topics covered include a great elk hunting story, conservation issues creating huge challenges for native wildlife, specifically feral horses, invasive cheatgrass, conifer encroachment, changing fire cycles, and the need to increase priority of those issues. Mule deer, elk, pronghorn, a...

Randy sits down with three hunttalk.com regulars - Gerald Martin, Sean Clancy, and Eric Albus to talk about how a group of people with different backgrounds can talk about solutions and not just problems. How do you improve the health of Montana's mule deer herds while keeping the solution socially acceptable, maintaining hunting opportunity, and keeping Montana FWP's operating budget as-is? Comin...

In this episode (#253) Randy is joined by David Willms, an attorney with the National Wildlife Federation and avid hunter from Wyoming. The guys explore Utah's latest attempt to demand 18 million acres of BLM lands be transferred to Utah. Utah is known for selling their state lands to fund their school system. What's the motivation? Why now? This is another repackaged effort to rekindle the moveme...

In this episode (#252) of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy is joined by Mike Kautz and Paul Kemper of American Prairie, known as AP. Topics focus on access and conservation. AP has enrolled 88,000 acres of their private land in Montana's Block Management access program, along with allowing access across their private land to reach otherwise inaccessible public lands. The focus is on an uncrowded "...

This episode (#251) of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio is the first of hopefully four that explore statewide candidates and their views on hunting, fishing, public lands, and conservation. Both US Senate candidates have been invited as have both Gubernatorial candidates. In this episode Ryan Busse gives his views and ideas on hunting, fishing, conservation and public access. Invitations have been sent t...

In this episode (#250) of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy is joined by Curt Meine of the Aldo Leopold Foundation to talk about the legacy of Aldo Leopold as we celebrate 100 years of the Gila Wilderness and 75 years after the Sand County Almanac. Topics covered include expansion of the Land Ethic Leopold started, history of Gila Wilderness, revolutionary thinking, Wilderness Society, Thinking Lik...

In this episode of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy talks mule deer, research, and migrations with Dr. Kevin Monteith from the University of Wyoming. In addition to some pronghorn and other points, topics covered include habitat being primary importance, fidelity to a core area, migrators learn from mom, fat does mean healthy fawns, mule deer as specialists, migration distance changes peak rut dat...

Randy and the crew (Marcus, Michael, and Jace) talk about the new video series Beyond Stock, where the guys built their own semi-custom rifles, competed in NRL matches, and share their learnings. Shooting skills are an important part of rifle hunting, and there is a lot to be learned from competitive shooting - everything from handloading ammunition to improving your form. Learn more about your ad...

In this episode (#247) of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy is joined by Doug Duren. Doug is a leading advocate for putting Aldo Leopold's Land Ethic into action. On his Wisconsin farm, Doug practices sustainable and regenerative land management with a focus on the land. He is famous for his motto. "It's not ours, it's just our turn." Topics covered include many of Leopold's essays, the relevance o...

Randy shares bison hunting stories with Andy Morris and Jake Ahmann. Topics covered include their free-range bison hunts in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming, the amazing meat, field dressing challenges, bison history, bison tragedy as the conservation genesis in America, how to create advocacy for more bison, tribes leading bison restoration, concerns of those most impacted by bison, and a lot of other...

Randy is joined by long-time friend and past guest, Hal Herring. They summarize a day of walleye fishing that allowed them to discuss many topics, danger in focusing on abstraction, including do our actions mirror our words, how we can do better, paying more for the comforts we demand, society being subsidized by nature, spending the resource inheritance of future generations, getting people to th...

Randy is joined by Gaspar Perricone, hunter, strategist, former Colorado Parks & Wildlife Commissioner, and influential member of Colorado Wildlife Conservation Project, the group fighting ballot initiative 91 in Colorado. Ballot Initiative 91 would prohibit hunting for Mountain Lion, Lynx, and Bobcat in Colorado. In this episode, we talk about how hunters can effectively communicate to the 80% of...

Randy is with Leupold's Bruce Pettet and Tim Lesser. Topics covered are Leupold's new products, the Leupold company story, company conservation as a core value, investing in conservation is an investment in the future, workforce as the core company asset, a Montana turkey hunting story, too many rules in turkey hunting, RMEF's contribution to our hunting life, improving access to elk, new rangefin...

Randy shares a mic with Rachelle Schrute. The discussion starts with their stories of advocacy burnout, what causes it, and how Randy overcame it. Other topics include outside pressures, media's role in hunting, why we care so damn much, and a lot of tangents from Rachelle's perspectives as a hunter, advocate, and outdoor writer. Remember, find the music and ignore that static. Learn more about yo...

Randy shares the mic with Tim Sakai and Alex Rich of Mystery Ranch. Topics covered include some elk hunting stories, evolution of the Mystery Ranch Metcalf, Mystery Ranch in the hunting space, MR approach to problem solving, load carriage, identify the problem, R & D, experiments, everyone learns to sew, the Mystery Ranch DNA, accessories, multi-year lead times, change in pursuit of improvement, a...