Ohio Outdoors Podcast - Sportsmen's Empire

If you are wondering how much it would cost you to get into waterfowl hunting, then we've got you covered!  Jeff is getting started as a new waterfowl hunter this year so we thought it might be helpful to go through what he bought to get started and how much it cost him.  We discuss what deer and small game hunting items he was able to repurpose for waterfowl.  We run through what decoys and calls...

This week on the show we venture into the topic of the ODNR lottery hunts.  We start the discussion with how the application process works in Ohio.  We discuss various tips and tricks that we have discovered over the years that may increase your draw odds. We also discuss the illegal but accepted practice of selling lottery hunts and what we think could be done to try and combat this practice.   O...

This week's show was a bit of a good old fashion BS session.  We start by discussing Jason's scare with the 'rona' then cover a variety of topics including kayak registration, should non-consumptive users have to pay to help support the public resources, 350 legend feeding issues on AR platforms, and Jeff's adventure trying to purchase a duck stamp at his local post office.   Ohio Huntsman is Powe...

This week on the show we discuss how to start your hunting season off with a bang.  Early season success can often set the table for an overall successful season.  We discuss various strategies we plan to use to be successful early in the season hunting not only whitetail, but also dove, waterfowl, and squirrel.   Ohio Huntsman is Powered by Simplecast

In this week's Ohio Huntsman episode, we tackled the question of how much does it actually cost to harvest a whitetail deer.  In a time when "specialty" gear comes with a pretty high price tag, we thought we should remind our listeners just how affordable it is to hunt whitetail.   We decided to each develop a list of what we think is required and the corresponding cost associated with it and then...

This week on the podcast we change gears just a little bit and talk with Travis Hartman from the ODNR. He is the Lake Erie Program Administrator stationed at the Sandusky Fish Research Unit. He's responsible for managing the Fisheries Management and Research Program on Lake Erie.  We had him on to discuss the status of the Lake Erie walleye fishery.   We discuss how the resource is managed between...

This week on the show we discuss The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (more commonly known as the Pittman-Robertson act).  Due to some of the grocery store shortages recently, there might be people deciding to get into hunting or people getting back into hunting.  Because of that, we thought it would be a good time to dive into the details of the Pittman-Robertson Act.  We discuss the histo...

Anyone who spends much time bowhunting knows how much gear you can accumulate over time.  This week we discussed what we each think the most important piece of gear is for a bowhunter is to be successful other than a bow.  As you'll hear in the episode there's no "right" answer to this question so we want to hear from you.  What do you consider to be the most important piece of hunting gear for a...

We are trying something different with this episode. This is an interactive map scouting episode where we break down how we would scout and potentially hunt a section of Woodbury Wildlife Area in Coshocton, Ohio. It's interactive because the map images provided at the link below will help you to see what we are referring to in the audio. Woodbury Wildlife Area is interesting because it's old strip...

This week on the podcast we discuss the Great American Outdoors Act and why this bill is so important to the future of our public lands here in Ohio and across the country.  We also give a quick update on the ODNR acquisition of the AEP lands that was announced last year.  We also take a little time at the beginning of the episode to catch up on what the three of us have been up to and what projec...

This week on the show we discuss all the craziness that has happened in the world over the last few months.  We discuss how the pandemic has impacted each of us and our families and what we have learned or plan to change in order to be slightly better prepared for similar situations in the future.  We also discuss the impact the virus has had on fishing license sales on Ohio and some thoughts on w...

Have you always wanted to try an out of state hunt but didn't know where to start?  In this episode, we discuss a couple of options that are close enough to Ohio for a relatively short drive and don't' take a ton of money to pull off.  The other cool thing is these aren't your typical whitetail hunt, in fact, we don't have any whitetail hunts on the list.  So give it a listen and let us know what...

In this week's episode, we discuss a few different topics related to the outdoors that have recently been in the news here in Ohio.  We discuss a recent case involving a high ranking employee at the ODNR and the outcome of the accused wildlife violations.  We discuss the recent discovery of a new species of crayfish in Ohio and what that hopefully means for the protection of this newly discovered...

Summer is a great time to do some of those hunting projects to prep for fall.  In this episode, we talk about what projects we've got going on and some of our plans for the fall.  We are working on treestand maintenance, waterfowl season prep, property management, and more.  We'd love to hear what projects you have going on as well, so give the episode a listen and be sure to send us a message wit...

With turkey season coming to a close across the state, this week we discuss how the season went for us personally and also for Ohio as a whole.  We look at the harvest data that was recently provided by the ODNR and compare that information to the previous spring in order to try and paint an accurate picture of how Spring Turkey season was for the majority of hunters.  We also give a few personal...

There is nothing more important than sharing our love and passion for the outdoors with the next generation.  This week we discuss what we have tried to do to introduce our own children to the outdoors and also why we feel it is so important to introduce children to the outdoors.  We also discuss the importance of not setting your expectations too high and keeping their experiences enjoyable.  We...

This week on the show we talk with Curt Wagner from the ODNR Division of Wildlife about Ohio's only native inland trout species.  Ohio's Brook Trout was once thought to be completely eradicated by most industry professionals; however, there was a small native population left in Northeast Ohio.  We discuss how and where the trout were discovered and also what efforts have been done to attempt to pr...

Turkey hunting tends to be very hot or cold for us, so in this episode, you get to hear if turkey season has been hot or cold for us so far. That means this is just a good ol' storytelling episode!  We talk through our turkey hunting adventures so far this season, about Jacob & Jeff's turkey hunting weekend in southern Ohio, Jeff's race against the noon season end, and running into other hunters i...

This week we discuss why the idea of wild game leaves a literal bad taste in the mouths of non-hunters.  We cover our theories on why many people feel that wild game often tastes "Gamey".  We discuss things like the importance of cooking it properly due to the decreased fat content and also not comparing it to farm-raised meats.  We also share a few of our favorite wild game dishes that we have en...

Have you ever introduced someone to firearms and more specifically the act of shooting those firearms.  There are many misconceptions and misunderstandings that can be present in society today around firearms that can make this task more difficult.  This week we discuss how we have had success in introducing members of our families to firearms and also some of our failures along the way.  We also...

Many outdoorsmen hit the woods every spring in search of shed antlers from the bucks they spent all fall chasing; however, there are more "treasures" to be found while taking those spring walks through your hunting grounds.  In this week's episode, we discuss wild edibles that grow all over our great state.  We discuss Morel mushrooms and where we have had success locating them and Jeff also discu...

What do you do when nothing seems to be working?  I'm sure we've all been there, you had a great plan figured out and it just falls flat.  Nothing is working and you don't even feel like you're in the game.  It's hard to sit still, stay focused, and stay out in the woods when you feel like you're wasting your time.  In this episode, we discuss tactics to try when nothing else seems to be working. ...

There are a lot of firearm and caliber choices for deer hunting in Ohio but which one is the best?  Like most things, the answer is "it depends".  In this episode, we discuss the legal deer hunting calibers and some of the firearm choices you have that shoot those calibers.  We discuss the pros and cons of the more common rounds and how we've seen them perform in the past.  We also discuss some of...

I think most hunters spend a fair bit of time looking at maps, so this week we do a deep dive into the various mapping tools out there. We discuss the free options like google earth and county GIS maps as well as the more premium tailored products out there like onX Maps and Huntstand.  We break down how we use each of them, what each tool is good for, and some of the really helpful features. One...

Have you ever hunted Ohio's public lands?  Unless this is your first episode of the podcast you know we spend at least half of our time hunting on public lands.  With access to quality private hunting land becoming less and less as more and more private land is being developed or sold we decided to talk about how we find public land spots.  We discuss digital mapping tools and how we use them as w...