Wisconsin Sportsman

You never know how or when you'll cross paths with awesome people but when it happens, you can't help but feel lucky. That happened for Pierce last week as he met Jeff Hintz at the BHA Northern Icebreaker Banquet, after raffling off a guest slot on the show to raise money for BHA.  Jeff is a lifelong outdoorsman, hunting mentor, and current member of Wisconsin's Conservation Congress. In this epis...

It's no secret that Wisconsin has a rich history of deer hunting. Images of flannel and orange clad hunters standing around a buck pole with thick northern forest in the background still come to mind when anyone says they're headed to deer camp. Unfortunately, that image is becoming less and less of a reality in recent years as the North woods of Wisconsin simply aren't what they once were for dee...

This week we're phoning in from across the big river, as we talk with Iowa native, Kent Boucher! Now I know what you're thinking, isn't this the WISCONSIN Sportsman? Yes, it is, but Kent is too awesome of a guy, and possesses a wealth of knowledge too great to miss, and spoiler alert, this isn't the last you'll be hearing from him! Kent hosts the First Gen Hunter Podcast, the Prairie Farm Podcast,...

Well folks, the forecast looks clear, all the snow has been shoveled, and it's certainly been cold enough for the last couple weeks most of our lakes and ponds have frozen over. That can only mean one thing... ice fishing!  In this weeks episode, Pierce hops on the line with Kyle Tyree of YouTube's viral fishing channel, Wisconsin Fisherman. Kyle has been ice fishing for nearly his entire life and...

Deer season is in the rearview and many of us have cabin fever which means it's a great time to try something new! This week we have a first for The Wisconsin Sportsman as we talk all things predator hunting with host of The Predator Podcast, Drew Schliem.  Drew has been hunting for about as long as he can remember, but he really caught the coyote hunting bug in high school and has been piling the...

It's a new year! Whether you're a new year's resolutioner or not, this is a time that most people are taking inventory and looking ahead at what they hope to accomplish in the next twelve months. For outdoorsmen and women, that often involves making plans to take a hunting/fishing trip or two, which can turn into quite the task if you don't have some practice.  In this episode, Pierce and Josh tak...

The holidays are over and it's time to get back to work! For many of us that means the usual work schedule we threw to the wayside sometime back before the rut, but for the Whitetail Partners crew, it means the kickoff of consulting season! In this week's episode Pierce and Josh are joined once again by Sam Bilhorn of Whitetail Partners to discuss where priorities should be immediately post-deer s...

The holiday season is upon us and like everyone this time of year, Pierce & Josh are a little scatter brained... not quite like, "How will it be possible to make it to the in-laws on the same night as a work party?", but more along the lines of should cell cameras actually be legal? What's that one piece of gear the guys couldn't live without this season? Is Josh a hypocrite for telling folks to h...

No matter what kind of hunter you are, you probably have some pretty strong opinions on a few select topics. Everyone has an opinion on who should be allowed to use what and when, what crosses ethical lines, and what constitutes sportsmanlike conduct. In this episode, the guys dive in to a few of the more controversial topics.  In this episode of the Wisconsin Sportsman Podcast, Josh and Pierce ha...

In this episode, we take a break from thinking about deer as Pierce sits down with Erik Woll of Woll E. Bugger Fly Fishing Guide Service. Erik is a lifelong fly fisherman from central Illinois who found home in the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin, where he quickly discovered the giant brown trout that come into the Lake Michigan tributary rivers and streams every fall. In 2019 he founded Woll E. Bugge...

In this episode of The Wisconsin Sportsman, Pierce talks with Jacob Sklenar of The Wild Calling. Jacob is a Wisconsin native, former college wrestler and die hard deer hunter. 2023 was a record year for Jacob after he killed not one, not two, but THREE bucks across three different states, the largest of which was his personal best and came from our great state of Wisconsin. Jacob shares his storie...

Gun season 2023 is now behind us. Whether you filled a tag during the gun season or not, you're likely asking the question, Now what? If you've still got a few bow tags in your pocket, your in luck! There's still plenty of time to chase whitetails in WI! But the bad news is you might have to work a little harder for them. In this episode of the Wisconsin Sportsman Podcast, Josh and Pierce discuss...

In this episode of the Wisconsin Sportsman Podcast, Josh and Pierce recap Pierce's last couple bowhunts of the year and his 2023 WI gun opener buck.  We all know that the gun opener is a sacred holiday in the state of Wisconsin. And this year's opener did not disappoint for Pierce! He was able to tag a beautiful buck on a hunt that took some strange turns! Tune in to hear how it all went down! Che...

In what seems like the blink of an eye, the "peak" days of rut hunting have come and gone. That's not to say there's not still plenty of time to get it done, but for many in the midwest, the last week of October and first two weeks of November are the pinnacle of the deer hunting. With this magical time period behind us, it's time to discuss the ups, downs, and all the little things bow hunting wh...

The guys are on bucks in Wisconsin! The hunting has been up and down for Pierce and Josh, but they've both managed to get eyes on some really nice deer. One of them may have blanked on opportunities at three shooters in five days! Tune in to hear how the hunting is going, what the guys are doing to get on deer, and how they plan to tackle the rest of the rut.  Connect with Josh and The Wisconsin S...

In this episode of the Wisconsin Sportsman Podcast, Josh and Pierce discuss their mindset and game plan heading into November.  Pierce has his hands full with an absolute TANK of a deer on the "Perfect 5". He's had a couple good sits with decent action and has gotten his tail whipped by a new piece of public. Josh still hasn't gotten out this season, but will be hitting it hard over the next sever...

In this episode of the Wisconsin Sportsman Podcast, Josh and Pierce talk with Sam Bilhorn of Whitetail Partners about his strategy for getting on pre-rut bucks.  Sam is the founder of Whitetail Partners, a whitetail habitat and property design company. Since it's inception a few years ago, Whitetail Partners now has five regional design experts who cover the entire eastern half of the United State...

This week on the Wisconsin Sportsman Podcast, Josh and Pierce talk with Doug Duren of Sharing the Land about all things conservation.  Doug's conservation resume speaks for itself. In this episode, the guys cover a ton of ground ranging from Doug's stewardship of his own family farm, how his thoughts and practices have evolved over the years, and how he got where he is today with his Sharing the L...

What's the deal with waterfowl hunting? That may sound like a bad Seinfeld joke, but if you've ever wondered that for yourself, then this episode is for you! On this week's episode, Pierce talks with Chase McCulloch from Somewhere in Wisconsin and Shotty Gear, to talk about all things waterfowl hunting. Chase shares how he made the transition from diehard bowhunter to a full-time waterfowler, stor...

October is finally here! Many whitetail hunters have a love-hate relationship with October, especially the first few weeks of the month. With the frenzy of the rut still a few weeks off, if you haven't done your homework, mature buck sightings can be few and far between. And there are few guys out there who put in the work to get on bucks quite like Ryan Glitsky. In this episode of the Wisconsin S...

As an outdoorsman, why do you do what you do? Why do you care about the things you care about? Better yet, why should anyone else care about what you care about? Is the outdoor lifestyle, and all its accoutrements, one that's worth preserving, promoting, and even passing on? These questions, at their core, are worth wrestling with, and they inform the conversation on this week's episode of the Wis...

Deer season is finally here! Time to talks serious whitetail strategy and tactics, right? Right?! Meh... maybe next week.  In this episode of the Wisconsin Sportsman, Josh and Pierce talk with Eric Clark and Greg Tubbs of the Okayest Hunter about the Okayest ethos and '23 whitetail plans. The Okayest Hunter guys have done a great job of bringing deer hunting, and a whole host of other outdoors pur...

There are quite a few "experts" out there these days when it comes to arrows. But one major problem is many of these experts don't seem to agree on much of anything. Some say you need to shoot 750 grain arrows or you're doing it wrong. Others opt for a 350 grain speed demon. Some swear by mechanical broadheads. Some won't shoot anything but a 200 grain single bevel head. Some are sticking by the t...

Can you believe it?! 100 EPISODES!!! To celebrate, Josh talks with Pierce Nelles to share some big news and talk about their favorites from the last 100 episodes. Thank you so much for your support over the years! We look forward to keeping the fresh Wisconsin-based content flowing! Check out the Sportsmen's Empire Podcast Network for more relevant, outdoor content! Connect with Josh and The Wisco...

Hunting season is one week closer, and to get you fired up, we've got an awesome success story from Wisconsin native Jake Mersberger. Jake grew up hunting southern Wisconsin. In recent years, his job has required him to move and travel, which has opened up opportunities for him to chase whitetails and turkeys in several different states. In 2022, Jake headed to Nebraska where he was able to catch...