The Scientific Outdoorsmen Podcast

Should you harvest bucks with smaller antlers to get their genes out of the population, leaving more big bucks in the woods to pass on their trophy racks? Probably not. In this episode, we explore models led by scientists at Mississippi State University that evaluate how selectively culling deer herds can influence antler growth based on the number of points and overall antler size. We discuss two...

In this episode, we dive into whitetail deer scrape networks to learn how individual deer use scrapes during fall. We look at results from a manuscript out of Tougaloo University that used trail cams on a bunch of fresh scrapes to see which deer came by and how often. Turns out not all deer interact with scrapes the same way and time of day and within the season can change whether that big buck is...

There are lots of factors that influence where elk, deer, and other animals decide to spend their time. In this week's episode, we dive into research from Colorado led by researcher Storm Crews that tracked movements of over 400 elk from four elk herds in the Rocky Mountain state. The researchers determined if individual elk had resident or migratory movement strategies and from there, looked...

Have you ever wondered how elk or other big game change their distribution when facing hunter pressure? Do they respond to different hunters differently whether it's archery or rifle season? What if elk aren't targeted but other hunters are in the area? This week, we dive into research by Joshua Smith and his colleagues out of Oregon to answer these questions. In this study, bull elk are t...

This week we are excited to have Brittney Parker from BHA join us to talk about the ways recreationists impact wildlife in the outdoors. Britt has spent a lot of time thinking about this topic and wrote up a great article on it that you can find at this link . As the human population grows and more people access public lands, recreational trails will see more use and become more present on the nat...

This week we dive into some of the complexities associatedwith conservation and wildlife management focusing on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. We are joined by the Chief Conservation Officer with FWC, George Warthen, to learn how the commission operates and uses facts and science to inform their decisions and policies. We also discuss some history of conservation and recogn...

Announcements: - Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission meeting on August 13th and 14th to discuss a potential bear hunt - Colorado Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers annual Rendezvous August 8th-10th This week we’re joined by George Zaragoza from the University of Central Florida to learn about the ways predators can affect the activity and habitat use of their prey. To address...

In this episode, we find out what makes pronghorn differentfrom other hunted mammals: their horns. We dive into pronghorn management looking at results from research led by Lee Tafelmeyer looking at the effects of hunting pressure on pronghorn horn size. While antler-growing ungulates like deer and elk get larger antlers with age, pronghorn have most of their horn growth in their first couple year...

If you want to read the full paper, you can find it at this link Announcements: South Florida Deer Scouting Workshop and Lunch In this episode, we dive into the spring bear hunt and its affects on black bear orphaning rates following research by Hank Hristienko and his colleagues. Their study looked at reproductive data from harvested sows in Manitoba, Canada and used scientific literature to esti...

In this episode, we dive into a scientific study on Red Snapper (Lutjanus campechanus). In this study, they use known harvest numbers from both recreational and commercial fisheries to train a model for population growth to predict how different regulations will affect the population of snapper in the future. They look at reducing effort, using pressurized release devices to address barotrauma, di...

Current events: - Register for the Lake Kissimee Mudboat Poker Run (May 17th) at the following link: http://www.tinyurl.com/kissmudrun - Buy raffle tickets for the Uncle J Custom Boat at: http://www.tinyurl.com/unclejboat - BHA Beers, Bands, and Barbwire Strands, May 16-18, Gunnison, Colorado: https://www.backcountryhunters.org/beers_bands_barbwire_strands_2025 - Florida Commission meeting May 21-...

In this episode, we round off our turkey discussions with yet another paper out of Dr. Mike Chamberlain's lab. In this peer reviewed article, the researchers looked at how hunting pressure affects the way that adult male turkeys (Toms) choose their roost location and investigate if there is any pattern in roost selection through the hunting season. We discuss how this might influence decisions...

Current Events: o   FWC is hosting 3 identical virtual meetings to get your opinions on HOW a bear hunt should be done in Florida. These meetings will occur on April 2, 3, and 5 at varying times. Find more info at http://www.myfwc.com/hunting/bear In this episode, we are talking about turkeys yet again. In this one we are answering the question: How do turkeys change habitat selection during hunti...

Find papers discussed in completed episodes here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EytbWQ1NieajqUTuBUjhaEe_AOzTzaJ7?usp=sharing Current Events:- FWC is asking for YOUR input on the potential bear hunt. Go to the following link on March 13th at 6pm EST: https://myfwc.com/news/all-news/bear-meeting-225/- Get registered for the Lake Kissimmee Mudboat Poker Run at http://www.tinyurl.com/kissmud...

Find papers discussed in completed episodes here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EytbWQ1NieajqUTuBUjhaEe_AOzTzaJ7?usp=sharing Current Events: o   Comejoin us in Tallahassee at Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Pint Night at ProofBrewery on the FSU Student Union on Feb 26th at 7pm. This event o   LakeKissimmee Mudboat Poker Run, May 17th (tinyurl.com/kissmudrun)Raffling off a custom Uncle J...

In this episode, we take a break from the regimented and structure approach that we are used to and just have a unstructured chat over drinks. We bring in Mark's girlfriend/wife, Patricia Izbicki, and Cody's fiance/wife, Natasha Viadero. We discuss a variety of topics including what it's like to date a hunter when you are not a hunter yourself, why women should select guys on dating apps that only...

Find papers discussed in completed episodes here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EytbWQ1NieajqUTuBUjhaEe_AOzTzaJ7?usp=sharing Current Events: -          Join the Florida Chapters of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and American Daughters of Conservation for small game hunt at Upper Hillsborough WMA on February 16th. More details and RSVPs can be found at: https://www.backcountryhunters.org...

Find papers discussed in completed episodes here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EytbWQ1NieajqUTuBUjhaEe_AOzTzaJ7?usp=sharing Submit your public comment about the potential Florida Bear Hunt by emailing: BEARCOMMENTS@myFWC.com BHAxADC Small Game Hunt - Upper Hillsborough WMA:RSVP here: https://www.backcountryhunters.org/small_game_hunt_with_fl_bha_upper_hillsborough_wma In this episode, w...

Find papers discussed in completed episodes here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EytbWQ1NieajqUTuBUjhaEe_AOzTzaJ7?usp=sharing To contact Matt about his National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) posters, email us at: scientificoutdoorsmen@gmail.com In this episode, we are joined by our guest Travis Thompson to take a deep dive into the 2023 paper titled " Sixty Years of Community-science data...

Find papers discussed in completed episodes here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EytbWQ1NieajqUTuBUjhaEe_AOzTzaJ7?usp=sharing To contact Matt about his National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) posters, email us at: scientificoutdoorsmen@gmail.com In this episode, we dive into a study that looks at whether or not the solunar charts that are often made available in hunting apps have any real...

Find papers discussed in completed episodes here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EytbWQ1NieajqUTuBUjhaEe_AOzTzaJ7?usp=sharing To contact Matt about his National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) posters, email us at: scientificoutdoorsmen@gmail.com In this episode, we take a deep dive into the 1980 paper titled " Effect of Fall Orphaning on White-tailed deer fawns and yearlings" by Dennis Woo...

Find papers discussed in completed episodes here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EytbWQ1NieajqUTuBUjhaEe_AOzTzaJ7?usp=sharing To contact Matt about his National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) posters, email us at: scientificoutdoorsmen@gmail.com In this episode, we take a deep dive into the 2022 paper titled "Behaviour of a large ungulate reflects temporal patterns of predation risk" by Ke...