Pennsylvania Woodsman

On this week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman Mitch is joined by fellow podcaster Clint Campbell.  Clint is a Pennsylvania native and diehard bowhunter who is no stranger to the challenges of hunting high pressure states.  Clint discusses some encounters over the past few years and the learning experiences that resulted.  We also touch on how stepping away from bowhunting whitetails througho...

This week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman Mitch is joined by friends and hunting partners Mark Lesher, Mike Lesher, and Jason Miller.  The four have a round table BS session revolving around their New Jersey hunting trip that took place Oct 9-14.  The area was new to everyone so we first discussed the scouting trips from late summer into fall.  The terrain and habitat type was much differen...

This week's guest of the Deer Season Special bonus episodes for the Pennsylvania Woodsman is Bill Thompson from Spartan Forge.  Bill recaps his recent elk hunt this fall and the highs and lows which transpired.  We go into detail about the recent update from Spartan Forge which includes lidar mapping.  Bill shares why he has chosen the Spartan Forge team he works with - work ethic.  Out working th...

On this week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman, Mitch sits down with the Ruffed Grouse Society's resident group of experts in Southeast PA.  Joining the show is Ben Larson, Jan Christen, and Dave Henry.  Combined these minds understand the need for forest and habitat manipulation, as well as how to get it done.  We address forest stands including health and age, appropriate forestry practices...

On this week's Deer Season Special bonus episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman, we chat with the leader of the Sportsmen's Empire Podcast Network, Dan Johnson.  Dan may work in the outdoor industry, but he is just like the rest of us; family comes first.  Mitch and Dan converse over what it's been like to reach milestones in podcasting, such as launching 100 to 1000 episodes, or building a network...

On this week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman, Mitch sits down with Aaron Hepler for a whitetail hunting B.S. session.  Aaron is a diehard bowhunter and family man.  He spends countless hours in the offseason scouting and running cameras on public land in the big woods.  Camera data is excellent, but it becomes easy to rely on obtaining a picture first before having the confidence to hunt a...

Welcome to the Pennsylvania Woodsman Deer Season Special series!  These bonus episodes will launch every Friday from October through December.  Each week's show revolves around hunting stories and experiences with an array of deer hunting fanatics.  This week's guest is Arron Bleise, the host of The Fall Podcast.  We discuss Arron's podcasting journey to over 300 episodes, balancing family life wi...

Bear seasons are opening throughout parts of the Northeast; New York just finished an early bear season in parts of the state, New Jersey opens Oct. 9 and Pennsylvania on Oct. 14.  When food is in abundance, your chances are the greatest to run into bears.  But even with fall bear seasons and a multitude of food sources, your statistical chance of killing a bear in PA each year is less than 2%.  H...

Opening day of Pennsylvania statewide archery season is opening this coming weekend, so if you're not fired up by now, this episode should help!  On this week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman, Mitch is joined by Grant Forney and Brandon Miller of the Everyday Outdoorsmen YouTube channel.  This is an old fashioned B.S. Session discussing many topics including: - videoing hunts and content pro...

On this week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman we sit down with Brian Good from Triple Trophy Taxidermy.  Brian has pursued this art of taxidermy from a young age and has never ceased learning and honing his craft making trophies come alive (almost).  Brian is an avid hunter, and we of course discuss his interest in turkey hunting, hunting with his children, and everyone's favorite, whitetail...

On this week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman, Mitch catches up with owner and operator of Little Mountain Outfitters in Richland, PA, Devon Zimmerman.  Devon is a diehard bowhunter that loves to tinker with archery equipment and share his knowledge and experience.  For most of his bowhunting career, Devon has chosen to shoot mechanical broadheads with moderate arrow weights between 450-525...

On this week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman, we are taking a slightly different course. With deer season right around the corner, we've been focused on preparation. From strategies to harvest your target, to meat preparation, we've got you covered for this fall. But everything revolves around filling an antlered deer tag these days. What about antlerless deer? Are enough being harvested in...

On this week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsmen, Mitch starts off with an update on season preparation.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute to get stands, plots, and more ready for opening day!  Habitat management and private land hunting strategy are something Mitch enjoys deeply, and these recent projects got him fired up; prompting a little bit of philosophical argument between priv...

On this week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman, Mitch speaks with none other than Mr. Whitetail himself, Larry Weishuhn. Larry is an award winning outdoor writer and professional biologist who has forgotten more about whitetails then most folks will ever know. Mitch and Larry reconnect after meeting a year ago at a local game dinner where Larry spoke, and begin by discussing Larry's one hunti...

On this week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman, Mitch talks with the executive director from Hunters Sharing the Harvest, Randy Ferguson.  Since 1991, HSH has received nearly 2 million pounds of donated venison provided to food banks and shelters; 200,000 pounds alone was donated during the 2022-23 deer season!  Randy shares how this grass roots program has grown over the past 30 years and wh...

This week on the Pennsylvania Woodsman we chatted with Garrett Regalski, co-owner of PABoyzOutdoors social media page.  Garrett eats, sleeps, and breathes goose hunting, and we have a good old fashioned B.S. session on the matter.  Garrett talks about last season's success from multiple limits to multiple bands.  This year may require a slight adjustment to time available with a new job in place,...

Welcome to the 100th episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman!  It's hard to believe it's been 2 years already since the beginning of this show.  Thank you all for your support!  On this week's episode, Mitch is joined by 3 guests he has personal connection to - his father Jeff Shirk, and his two grandfathers Raymond Shirk and Kenny Mengel.  Mitch grew up hunting with these three, harvesting his first...

Summer scouting season is in full swing.  Burning boot leather in the hot summer sun, moving cameras and gaining intel with the velvet rut around the corner, doctoring mock scrapes, all to prepare for fall.  Tackling new areas and large chunks of public land can be intimidating.  It can also be tough to read the woods this time of year with summer vegetation present. This week's episode of the Pen...

On this week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman we catch up with Al Tomechko from Vitalize Seed.  After discussing some big projects that took place during the off season at Al's place, we dive into Vitalize seed.  Vitalize uses a two-pass planting system with the summer mix called "Nitro-boost" and the fall mix called "Carbonload".  Al breaks down the plant species used in Carbonload and how...

We are following up with part two of our conversation with Sherwood Schoch this week on the Pennsylvania Woodsman.  We picked up from last week with the continued development and material first used in Jennings bows.  Using trial and error they began to revolutionize the archery industry we know today.  One of the four authors on the National Archery Association manual is Sherwood - and he also pl...

On this week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman we interview an archery legend, Sherwood Schoch.  Sherwood is originally from Boyertown, Pennsylvania, and was one of the four men responsible for developing and marketing the first compound bow.  He worked side by side with Tom Jennings and changed the industry forever with Jennings compound bows.  This interview will be broken into two episodes...

On this week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman we have Duane Dunmire from the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen and Conservationists.  Duane is the Vice President of PFSC striving to advocate outdoor heritage of hunting, trapping, angling, boating, shooting sports, the Second Amendment, and natural resources.  This is accomplished by their constant presence in Harrisburg protecting our out...

On this week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman we have a treat for you reptile fans!  We were joined by John Hebenthal who is a rattlesnake hunting phanatic!  John loves the outdoors and all creatures that walk it... or slither it!  He takes passion learning as much as he possibly can about wildlife, and sharing his knowledge with those who are willing to listen.   We begin by learning how th...

On this week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman we have repeat guest Bryan Hale from Elk County Outfitters.  If you tuned into the previous episode with Bryan, you know how devoted he and his team are to having quality elk hunting in the Keystone State. We begin by catching up with Bryan on the previous season's success and new records that were broken. Bryan transitions into discussing the up...

On this week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman we chat with Chris Heskett.  Chris is a PA native that specializes in physical fitness and nutrition.  Chris is also an avid hunter that strives to fill his freezer every season with quality meat for he and his family. Mitch and Chris discuss how maximizing your physical health has many benefits in the field during the fall season. Men are extrem...