NDA's Coffee and Deer

As if the time involved in being successful in the classroom and performing at the highest level of college football isn’t demanding enough, Cade Brock and a few of his teammates are making a difference by introducing non-hunting and fishing teammates to the outdoors. They founded DGD Outdoors, eventually incorporating it as a non-profit, and now they’re making a mark on people’s lives. DGD Outdoo...

The National Deer Association recently teamed up with Baptist Homes & Healthcare Ministries to put on some very special Field to Fork programs for the senior residents of the Baptist Home of Arcadia Valley in Ironton, Missouri and the Baptist Home Ozark in Ozark, Missouri. In Ironton, five “reactivated” hunters were given the opportunity to go out on the 160-acre campus property to try and har...

It’s that magical time of year in the deer woods; the rut! For most hunters, this is the time of year that the day-to-day gets set aside for some time on the stand so in this episode we’re talking with outdoor communicator and veteran whitetail hunter Josh Honeycutt about strategies that we hope can help you be successful. Josh also shares the story of his early season Kentucky bruiser, “Big 12.”...

After the excitement from the first few days of deer season wears off, many hunters get frustrated during the early part of the pre-rut for a number of reasons, ranging from lack of deer sightings to warm temperatures to the perception of an October lull. In this episode, Nick and The Doctor share their personal tactics for filling tags during the early part of the season. They discuss the best av...

When you ask most hunters who have successfully gotten close to mature deer what their number one priority is when heading to the woods, they’ll tell you scent control and hunting in the right wind conditions. You could be hunting the best spot in the country with mature bucks everywhere, but if you don’t control your scent, it won’t matter. A whitetail’s nose is its number one line of defense so...

If you’ve been hunting for more than a few years, you’ve undoubtedly shot a deer that didn’t go down immediately, necessitating a tracking endeavor. With any luck, the tracking job is short, and your deer is recovered quickly. In some cases, though, it may take longer than anticipated and in the worst cases, you find yourself scratching your head wondering what went wrong and what to do next. Ther...

Archery seasons are open in several states with many more to start within the next few weeks so now is the time to make sure all of your gear is in order. Often forgotten in the process of preparing for the season is making sure your broadheads are razor sharp. Being a consistently good sharpener is part skill and part science and expert sharpener Ron Swartz, inventor and owner of KME Sharpeners,...

We are often contacted by deer hunters who own and manage land in states that allow hunting deer with the use of hounds about conflicts when hounds enter their private property. NDA does not have a policy opposing hunting deer with the use of hounds but instead relies on state wildlife management agencies to handle decisions related to method of pursuit or take. NDA strongly supports the rights of...

There are many benefits to shooting suppressed rifles on the range as well as in the deer woods, and the process for purchasing a suppressor isn’t as difficult as you might think. Silencer Central offers a one-stop shop for buying suppressors and painlessly going through the process of obtaining and legally owning one. Nick and The Doctor are joined on the show by company owner and CEO, Brandon Ma...

American Outdoor Brands is home to some of the most recognizable brands in the hunting industry, and among the most popular are BOG and Schrade. It’s getting to be that time of year when going over hunting gear and deciding what you’ll need for the coming season is important, so Nick and The Doctor invited Jason Nickerson and Zack Smith on the show to talk about tripods, backpacks, and knives. The...

The MeatEater Working for Wildlife Tour brings attention to the critical work hunters and anglers are doing to create, conserve, and restore wildlife habitat through volunteer on-the-ground projects. These events include everything from creating brush piles, wildlife openings and early successional habitat, to cleaning up debris on public lands, improving deer forage, collecting acorns for native...

Have you ever wondered how much leaving your deer’s gut pile behind benefits other wildlife, or how many different critters visit it for an opportunistic snack? The Offal Wildlife Watching Project was designed to answer those questions and much more. It is a research and citizen science project aimed at better understanding the scavenging of deer gut piles provided by hunters. Although it’s focuse...

The Coffee and Deer podcast has reached a milestone! Believe it or not, this is the 50thepisode and Nick and The Doctor are celebrating by talking with the show’s first-ever guest, Lindsay Thomas, Jr. Lindsay is NDA’s long-time Chief Communications Officer and was the one who originally conceived of the idea that NDA could have two podcasts. Now the Coffee and Deer and Deer Season 365 podcasts hav...

The National Deer Association is blessed with dedicated volunteers and Branch leaders that help deliver our mission to serve as the guardian for wild deer, habit, and hunting. Still, most of our members are not active in a Branch or are unaware of the opportunities to support NDA beyond getting their annual membership. Kristen Giger is NDA’s Director of Grassroots Support and she joins Nick and Th...

Dogs are remarkable. They’re much more than just "man’s best friend." When trained, dogs can help humans with a long list of tasks ranging from finding bombs and drugs to searching for lost people, detecting low blood sugar and other health concerns, and much more. Also on the list is detecting wildlife diseases including chronic wasting disease (CWD). In this episode, Nick and The Doctor talk wit...

Let’s face it. Most people don’t enjoy knocking on doors to seek hunting or fishing permission. Not only is it awkward for the asker, but it’s also a disruption to the landowner and sometimes an unwelcome one. While it can work and many are still successful using this tactic, it’s not ideal for most. This is where LandTrust comes in. LandTrust was founded to make communication between landowners a...

Do you feel that deer management only extends to your boundary line? Or, that what occurs beyond the border has traditionally been looked upon as the wild west? Wildlife Cooperatives (Co-ops) are changing that mindset. A Wildlife Co-op is comprised of neighboring landowners and/or hunters working toward common interests. NDA has long recognized the importance of a cooperative effort among neighbor...

It’s hard to beat a good, old deer hunting story. Imagine sitting around a campfire with the drink of your choice in hand as you listen to this podcast episode with our guest, outdoor writer Dave Maas. Dave is the editor of Bowhunting World and Archery Business magazines for Grand View Outdoors, and he joins the show to talk about his profession and how he got to where he is now. Dave also shares...

In this episode of the Coffee and Deer podcast, we're talking hunting packs and what to look for when buying a pack to match your hunting needs. Nick and The Doctor talk with Zach Scheidegger and Joe Schroeder of ALPS OutdoorZ, both experienced hunters and pack experts. They cover everything from various types of packs to how to know how much weight is safe to carry. The guys also review some of A...

Shed antler hunting season is upon us and turkey seasons are opening across the country, which makes this the perfect time to have Mark Boardman from Vortex Optics join the show. Nick and The Doctor talk with Mark about something you may not have thought of, and that’s the importance of using binoculars to help you in your quest for shed antlers. In addition, they discuss why a red dot scope can b...

The NDA Deer Steward Program is entering its 14th year of existence and it remains the only deer management certification program of its type in the country. In this episode, Nick and The Doctor are joined by NDA’s Director of Conservation, Matt Ross, and Conservation Coordinator, Ben Westfall, who talk about the history of the program as well as the launch of a brand-new Deer Steward 1 online cou...

Traveling out of the local area to hunt is steadily gaining in popularity. While going on a destination hunting trip can be exciting and rewarding, it can be equally frustrating and disappointing if hunters don’t properly plan for the excursion. There are few people who travel to hunt more than our guest, Melissa Bachman, who has seen and done it all at this stage in her career. Melissa is the lon...

Our hearing is one of our five finely tuned senses and arguably the most likely to be compromised by our lack of protection of it. This is particularly true for hunters and recreational shooters who often put their hearing in danger by pulling the trigger on firearms, even with lower calibers, without proper ear protection. High-intensity impulse sounds will permanently damage the inner workings o...

Did you know that 38.3 million Americans suffer from critical hunger every day, or that one in six children lack the daily nutrition necessary for healthy growth? Imagine a situation where you were forced to secure a loan to put gas in your vehicle and food on your table. Unfortunately, that’s the reality for a startling number of people and much of it flies under the radar of awareness. The good...

It’s hard to believe that the 2022 fall hunting season has come to an end. We spend so many months preparing and thinking about the coming season that the few months of hunting we have seems to flash by in the blink of an eye. In this episode, Nick and The Doctor recap their seasons and share stories of filled tags and missed opportunities. More than just telling hunting stories, the guys share wh...