NDA's Coffee and Deer

Any seasoned deer hunter will tell you that there’s nothing more exhilarating than hunting a particular buck over more than one season. It’s a rarity for most to get more than a second season to match wits with the same deer let alone three, but that’s the challenge Heartland Bowhunter Co-host Michael Hunsucker faced while engaged in a chess match with a giant buck he named Floppy. Oddly, the Miss...

It doesn’t matter if you have the best bow or gun or have the luxury of hunting great land crawling with big whitetail bucks if you’re not able to put adequate time in the deer woods. Being comfortable in any weather condition is key to successful hunting and our friends at First Lite have all day comfort nailed. During a recent hunt in Kentucky, Nick sat down with First Lite’s Senior Whitetail Ca...

There’s a reason this time of year is often referred to as the Super Bowl of whitetail hunting. It’s the rut and NDA’s Chief Conservation Officer, Kip Adams, joins Nick and The Doctor to talk about their favorite rut-hunting strategies while also debunking the many myths surrounding the rut. While much of the whitetail world still remains a mystery, there’s some great research available to deer hu...

Regardless of whether or not you have the best gear on the market and are hunting the best properties and the best spots, none of that will matter if you’re not adequately controlling human odors. In fact, most hunters who consistently tag mature bucks will tell you that their number one tactic is hunting with the wind in their face while taking care to hide their presence by limiting human scent....

The Armed Forces Initiative of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers is an effort designed to help serve the Veteran and active-duty military community by treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury(TBI) through direct engagement in the outdoors and involvement in the organization’s robust public lands advocacy and conservation work. The program aims to provide veterans wit...

Deer season is finally here and it’s our annual preseason preview show where Nick and the Doctor talk about their plans for the 2022-23 hunting season while sharing a few of their favorite tips and tactics. Joining them on the show is Jason Redd from Timber Ninja Outdoors. A lifelong hunter, Jason chases whitetails in his home state of North Carolina and a few Midwestern states. The guys cover eve...

We have a treat for Coffee and Deer listeners in this episode! The highest scoring typical whitetail buck ever shot in the United States was taken last year in Decatur County, Indiana by Dustin Huff, and he joins Nick and NDA’s Chief Communications Officer, Lindsay Thomas, Jr. The 211 4/8 inch net typical Hoosier State giant fell just 2 1/8 inches short of the world record whitetail shot by Milo H...

If you want to start a good debate among deer hunters, start talking about your list of the best hunters in the country, and let the fun begin. The reality is there are a lot of outstanding hunters who consistently take mature bucks who you’ve never heard of. Nick Skinner of Iowa Land Company is one of those hunters. Nick’s humble personality doesn’t allow him to brag, so Nick and The Doctor do th...

For most of us having the privilege of seeing, let alone getting close to, a buck carrying almost 200 inches of antler is more of a dream than reality. Knowing the deer exists and getting more than one chance to hang a tag on him seems like something out of a fairy tale, but that’s the position Georgia hunter Cory Croft found himself in last fall. Some deer stories are short and start and end the...

When you have years of experience hunting deer in different states and in a lot of different ways, it stands to reason you’ve learned a few things along the way. From public land hunting, to using a saddle, to understanding the best cover to find big bucks, to habitat enhancement, Nick and The Doctor cover it all with today’s guest, Brian Grossman. Brian is not only a lifelong avid whitetail hunte...

The use of suppressors for hunting and shooting is steadily growing in popularity. There are many benefits to using one ranging from hearing protection to reduced recoil to spooking less game. Despite their benefits, many shooters have the misconception that obtaining one is too cumbersome and not worth the hassle or expense. Our guest on this episode is Brandon Maddox, the founder and CEO of Sile...

In case you missed it or have been too consumed with life to notice, July 4th weekend is this coming weekend. For many of us, that means time to dust off the trail cameras and get them back into the woods. Antler growth by this time of year is starting to give an indication of what to expect from bucks by fall, and who doesn’t love getting photos of fawns, turkey poults, or other baby critters tha...

Sometimes when you have a passion for something, you just have to throw caution to the wind and go for it. That’s exactly what our guest Megan Plete Postol did, and it led to her becoming an award winning journalist. She recently won first place in the Outdoor Writers Association of America’s Excellent in Craft Awards in the hunting and shooting sports category for her article, “Hunters of Color C...

Did you know that at any given time there are probably at least 100 different bills in play at all levels of government that involve deer or deer hunting? This is why NDA has made participating in deer and conservation policy one of our top priorities. While it’s not what gets most deer enthusiasts excited and doesn’t bring the adrenaline rush of an approaching buck, engaging in deer and conservat...

Doug Duren is one of the most dedicated conservationists of our time. He’s an Aldo Leopold fan, and his passion for conservation led him to coining the catchy phrase, “It’s not ours, it’s just our turn.” He is a contributor to MeatEater and is a regular guest on the MeatEater podcast. Doug joins Nick and the Doctor to discuss a range of hunting and conservation topics and he shares why he is parti...

Digital mapping and GPS technologies have revolutionized the ways in which sportsmen and women navigate public lands. By pinpointing a user’s real-time location on the landscape, handheld GPS units and smartphone applications allow hunters and anglers to know exactly where they stand relative to property boundaries and other key landmarks. Unfortunately, when it comes to public lands, incomplete a...

Great joy and indescribable sorrow. You get a little bit of both in this emotional episode of the Coffee and Deer podcast. Nick and the doctor start the show by talking a little turkey as they recap Nick’s recent hunts in Delaware where he was able to call in a gobbler for governor John Carney on opening morning, and then one for himself the next day out. The guys talk through each hunt and offer...

With so many different optics and specifications to chose from, whether it be binoculars, rifle and shotgun scopes, or spotting scopes, it’s no wonder consumers are easily confused about what to choose for their needs. In today’s episode we try to take the mystery out of the process while providing a few pointers for success in the field along the way. Nick and The Doctor visit with Mark Boardman,...

Doing more for deer, hunters, and overall wildlife conservation is woven throughout NDA’s current strategic plan, and one of the ways we’re accomplishing that is by leading on-the-ground habitat work with our team. With more than 16 years working for the organization, Matt Ross, NDA’s Director of Conservation, is ideally suited to oversee much of this work. One of his biggest projects is a public...

The term swamp donkey is sometimes used by hunters when referring to giant bucks found in swampy or lowland habitats. There are also several hunting-related products that include the term swamp donkey in their name. The guest of this episode, Ron Haas, has taken several bucks in the swamps of southern Delaware worthy of this popular descriptor but none more impressive than his 2020 11-point. In ad...

You often hear deer hunter saying things like, “It’s going to be hard to top that one,” after they or a buddy shoots a trophy buck. In the case of South Carolina deer hunter Lucy Mahon, it’s going to be nearly impossible to outdo herself by taking a more unique trophy than she did during the 2021 season. A few weeks ago, Lucy, a dedicated Coffee and Deer Podcast listener, shared photos of her beau...

Her first bow was fashioned by her father out of a stick and string when she was a child. Now, Jen Delaney can blow out candles and put an arrow through the opening of a spinning wine bottle and does it with flare as she taunts her doubters. Those are just a couple of her many trick shots she pulls off with her traditional archery gear. Her talent combined with a natural ability to entertain has m...

Do we really need more hunters? Even though the answer to that might be an obvious “yes” for most, not everyone agrees largely due to concerns about competition for places to hunt and the ability to acquire tags. In this episode, Nick and The Doctor are joined by NDA’s Director of Hunting, Hank Forester, to tackle this difficult question and others related to new hunter recruitment. They also disc...

Swing and a miss! It happens to even the most experienced hunters and skilled shooters and not coming through at the moment of truth at some point in a hunting career is inevitable. Being able to recover quickly from these major disappointments is important so that the next opportunity can be taken advantage of. In this episode, Nick and The Doctor are joined by Heartland Bowhunter co-owner and pe...

If you want to hear a deer hunting story that’s sure to give you goosebumps and may even bring a tear to your eye, don’t miss this episode. Nick and The Doctor are joined by Kathleen Savaiano who went on her first deer hunt and found success as a recent participant in an NDA Field to Fork event in Missouri. She tells the story of her long journey from an initial interest in trying hunting to the m...