On this week’s BONUS episode we discuss mastering locator calls. Everybody has a “go to” call and we learn from Rip Dickerson and Shon Wright of Woodhaven Calls what all is available, plus how to run them. What’s the craziest sound you’ve heard that makes a turkey gobble? We’ll ask the group. It’s a fun one! Listen, Learn and Enjoy. Show Notes: Woodhaven Calls: https://woodhavencustomcalls.com/ Send a text message to the show! When does deer season start? If you want the best deer herd possible ...
May 03, 2024•1 hr 10 min
This week we’re thrilled to be joined with one of the most interesting and well versed wildlife and forestry professionals we’ve ever met, Mark Thomas. Marks insane resume proves he’s been exposed to more than can be explained in one podcast. We have a fun discussion and look back at what he has learned over his lifetime of managing properties for enhanced wildlife experiences to help the average guy be a better Gamekeeper. You’ll learn about ecotones or edges, QVM, hunting pressure, fire ants, ...
Apr 30, 2024•1 hr 26 min
This week we are joined by entomologist Dr. Blake Layton from the Mississippi State Entomology Department to explain the Cicada phenomenon that’s is occurring. For the first time in 221 years, both 13 year and 17 year periodical cicadas will emerge from their underground lairs at the same time. In certain areas of the country the sounds of courtship will be deafening with millions of bugs per acre vying for a chance to reproduce. But what does it mean for the wildlife? Will it be a beneficial? W...
Apr 26, 2024•59 min
This week with a joined by lifelong whitetail fanatic Doug Roberts, to discuss what he has learned through trials and errors to help Gamekeepers can grow healthier whitetails. Doug has some incredible insight into what it takes to grow a big whitetail and he surprised us with some of his answers. He also explained to us what he knew about the Mitch Rompola buck that was killed in Michigan back in 1998. It was said to be the largest typical ever killed and then faded from view just a quick. It’s ...
Apr 23, 2024•1 hr 24 min
On this week’s BONUS episode we have Bill Sugg, Ronnie “Cuz” Strickland and David Loftis join us. We learn quickly from Mr. Loftis that the push button is WAY more than a beginners call. In fact, his calling inspires a normally mild mannered Bill Sugg into joining him with even more push button chaos. Later, Cuz gives us a deep dive on his famous tube call and he teaches us how he uses one to locate turkeys. It’s an educational experience. Listen, Learn and Enjoy. Show Notes: Loftis Custom Turke...
Apr 19, 2024•58 min
This week we are joined in studio by one of our favorite guests, Dr. Bronson Strickland, for a lively discussion on whitetails. Bronson also brought Moriah Boggess, a brilliant young Deer Biologist who works with him at Wildlife Investments where they work with landowners to implement habitat management plans. We ask them both to help explain what Gamekeepers can be doing right now to influence herd health and antler development. We discuss habitat enhancements, forest stand improvement, mineral...
Apr 16, 2024•1 hr 31 min
On this BONUS episode we interview Ernie Calandrelli of Quaker Boy about wing bone turkey calls. Ernie is a master wing bone caller, a larger than life character and a legend in the wild turkey world. He explains the history of the call, how to make one and how to call on one. This one is special. Listen, Learn and Enjoy. Show Notes: Quaker Boy Calls: https://www.quakerboy.com/ Send a text message to the show! When does deer season start? If you want the best deer herd possible this fall - then ...
Apr 12, 2024•47 min
This week we have Barry Smith, a highly respected fisheries scientist with a lifetime of innovation and experience around managing sportfish. It’s a conversation that includes crappie, catfish, flathead catfish, shell crackers, river fish, bass, crawfish, fathead minnows, the bream spawn, aerators, stratification, fertility, liming water, all female bass ponds and the biggest bass he has grown. Barry puts on a history and fisheries class and we all learn something and laugh as Clyde (his alter e...
Apr 09, 2024•2 hr 1 min
On this episode we have an old school call designer, Mike Battey explains turkey vocalizations and why you should have a trumpet call in your vest. Mike was the first to use high tech recording equipment to study wild turkey sounds and his recordings are amazing acoustic experiences. He is also an expert on the mysterious turkey call called the trumpet and the wing bone call. Mike explains it all and also tells the story of killing the “Ghost of the Cowden Plantation” many years ago. (the solid ...
Apr 04, 2024•1 hr 28 min
This week we are joined by Dan Moultrie and Derrick Duke of Moultrie Feeders to discuss managing for deer and turkeys plus learn about the latest in technology. Dan has been a part of managing several high profile hunting properties and through his obsession with growing big deer has seen some of the best ideas others have put in place. We did our best to glean some of these concepts and learn how everyone can better improve their hunting grounds. It’s an interesting discussion that is rooted in...
Apr 02, 2024•1 hr 47 min
BONUS Podcast. Box Calls. Join us and experience a Turkey Calling “Master Class” on running a box call. Guest Lyle Gilbert of Houndstooth Calls answers all our questions and teaches us about the versatility of an old school box call. Most hunters learn to call with a box, BUT everybody should have one in their vest. Listen, Learn and Enjoy. Show Notes: Houndstooth Game Calls: https://houndstooth-game-calls-2.myshopify.com/ Send a text message to the show! When does deer season start? If you want...
Mar 29, 2024•1 hr 4 min
This week we are joined by two interesting guests, Dr. Will Gulsby of Auburn and Dr. Marcus Lashley of Florida – and we have a lively discussion. We learn about a pneumatic dart gun for capturing deer and then get into discussing the latest topics in turkey research. Suffice it to say, if you like turkeys, you’ll enjoy this one. Listen, Learn and Enjoy. Show Notes: Follow Dr. Gulsby on Instagram @dr_will_gulsby Follow Dr. Lashley in Instagram @drdisturbance Send a text message to the show! When ...
Mar 26, 2024•1 hr 37 min
BONUS Podcast. Mouth Calls. Join us and experience a Turkey Calling “Master Class” on running a mouth yelper. Guest Josh Grossenbacher of Rolling Thunder Game Calls answers all our questions and explain to us just how to get the sounds we want. He talks and demonstrates bubble clucks, yelps, purrs, cutts and cackles and gives a great explanation of how air moves the reeds to create sound. Listen, Learn and Enjoy. Send a text message to the show! When does deer season start? If you want the best ...
Mar 22, 2024•1 hr 32 min
This week’s podcast can only be described as a deep discussion with Dr. Mike Chamberlain aka @wildturkeydoc on some thought provoking issues. We discuss social dominance issues, the latest research that is trying to understand a gobbler's personalities (whether they are home boys or risk takers), and how that affects their mortality. It gets deep when we talk conceptually about killing the risk-taking turkeys, and how we may end up with turkeys that behave in ways that make them more difficult t...
Mar 19, 2024•1 hr 50 min
BONUS: Mastering The Pot Call. Join us and experience a Turkey Calling “Master Class” on a running a pot style call. Guest Terrence Williamson answers all our questions and teaches us how a little friction can sound like a sweet hen with some practice. Listen, Learn and Enjoy. Send a text message to the show! When does deer season start? If you want the best deer herd possible this fall - then deer season starts NOW. For a limited time podcast listeners get 10% off with coupon code: GKPOD Suppor...
Mar 15, 2024•1 hr 7 min
This week we have a truly special guest in Mr. Benny Herring. Anybody that turkey hunts in Mississippi owes him a debt of gratitude, you see Mr. Herring was one of the first team of biologists that trapped and relocated wild turkeys across the state. During the late 1960’s through the early 80’s he was involved in over 90 cannon net captures and releases. His stories are fantastic and transport the listener back into time when there weren’t many turkeys or turkey hunters. The story of this small...
Mar 12, 2024•1 hr 47 min
This week we share a podcast recorded recently at the NWTF national convention with none other than Dr. Bret Collier of LSU. Bret has been studying turkeys a long time and actually took part in the first GPS turkey study. He tells the story about how it all this got started at a bar with a drawing a sketch of the GPS unit on a napkin. Later he melts our minds as he explains his thoughts of raccoons and other so-called nest predators actually being nest scavengers. You might have to listen to thi...
Mar 05, 2024•2 hr
This week we are joined by one of our favorite turkey hunters, Doc Weddle. It’s a fun discussion of turkeys, strategy, calls, public land issues and having the right attitude to enjoy it all. We really benefited from this one and know you will also. Listen, Learn and Enjoy. Show Notes: Stay Connected to Doc Weddle: Instagram: @docweddle Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tom.weddle.104/ Send a text message to the show! When does deer season start? If you want the best deer herd possible this fal...
Feb 27, 2024•1 hr 28 min
This BONUS episode is all about Barred Owls. We are joined by world class owl hooter Tony Graydon who teaches us some of his contest winning techniques that we hope to apply to locating gobblers. Lannie demonstrates hooting on a reed call and then Dr. Scott Rush from Mississippi State gives us a scientific insight and understanding of what the owls are doing when they make their ubiquitous calls each spring. Who doesn’t love an owl? Listen, Learn and Enjoy. Show Notes: Dr. Scott Rush: https://ww...
Feb 23, 2024•1 hr 3 min
This week we are joined by Tes Randle Jolly, a world class wildlife photographer that specializes in wild turkeys. This lady is a lifelong hunter and practically lives with a flock of birds each spring while witnessing behaviors that we as hunters often miss. She also manages her farm to the nth degree to make her turkeys and other wildlife feel welcome. It’s a fascinating conversation and we all learned something. It’s a long one, but trust us, it’s a good one. Listen Learn and Enjoy. Show Note...
Feb 20, 2024•2 hr 1 min
This week we’re joined by Dave Owens of the Pinhoti Project and we discuss turkeys and turkey hunting strategies. This one has been a longtime overdue and turned into an interesting introspective as to why we do certain things in the turkey woods. We all learned something and Bobby even taught everyone something about pileated woodpeckers. The season is almost here and this one is certain to get you fired up. Listen, Learn and Enjoy. Show Notes: Dave Owens: the Pinhoti Project Website - https://...
Feb 13, 2024•1 hr 44 min
This week’ in studio guests are Bill Duke of Duke Traps along with a very successful husband and wife trapping team, Karen and Dave Linkhart. The unique couple hail from Ohio, but travel all over trapping raccoons, otters, coyotes and many other varmints. This couple has an interesting story and are as serious about trapping and their lifestyle as you should be when setting a conibear. We ask a lot of basic questions about trapping from a nest predator trapping perspective and are certain anyone...
Feb 09, 2024•1 hr 41 min
This week we are joined by one of our favorite guests, Dr. Mike Chamberlain of UGA to talk about his latest study regarding gobbler harvest. Mike has been managing a study of the largest group of radio collared gobblers ever for a scientific study. Mike carefully explains the data so that even Dudley can understand it. If you’re concerned about turkeys and considering adjusting harvest totals on a struggling property, you need to listen to this one. We also have a great conversation about judgin...
Feb 06, 2024•1 hr 53 min
This week we’re AMAZED – and to be honest, we’re ENVIOUS of the 210 inch set of antlers brought in by Austin and Meghan Ashley. It’s one of the biggest and prettiest deer to ever be killed in the South. Meghan killed this deer in south Mississippi, and immediately after the photos hit social media a storm of rumors, negativity, and theories appeared amongst a few congrats. Listen to the very end as we asked the questions that hopefully helped explain how a man obsessed with growing bigger deer h...
Jan 30, 2024•1 hr 40 min
This week we are joined by Shawn Lumsden of the Flint River Plantation in mid Georgia. Shawn is a very disciplined Gamekeeper who is always looking for ways to improve his property. We start out talking about finding sheds, and he has some solid tips to give us. We also talk about managing does, big bucks, wild hogs, conservation easements, being data driven, trusting your biologist, enjoying the process and living the Gamekeeper’s lifestyle. It’s a good one! Listen, Learn and Enjoy. Show Notes:...
Jan 23, 2024•1 hr 17 min
This week we are joined in studio by wild hog trapping experts Jack Robertson and Robbie Taylor of Big Pig Traps. Admittedly wild pigs can be fun to hunt, but they can destroy habitat and cause more damage to the ecosystem than can be quantified with dollars. We learn about how the pigs got here and how they were being moved around the landscape in the dark of the night. We discuss the different stances that states have and what seems to be working, along with what steps need to be taken to make...
Jan 16, 2024•1 hr 37 min
This week we really enjoyed the discussion with our in studio guests, Caroline Winters and William McKinley. Caroline recently graduated from Mississippi State and is working for the MS Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP), and William is the MDWFP Deer Program Coordinator for the whole state of Mississippi. Caroline recently killed a giant 190 inch typical, one that she and others had been watching and passing for at least three years. The story of Caroline and her husband and fa...
Jan 09, 2024•1 hr 22 min
This week we have Dr. Bronson Strickland of the Mississippi State Deer Lab discussing their recent publication on whitetail buck movements. We talk about the rut, moon phases, hunting pressure, vegetation management and notions the old timers trusted that have now been debunked by science. You can’t really argue with GPS collars. Dudley said it’s our best deer discussion to date. It’s a lively conversation that will make you think. Listen, Learn and Enjoy! Show Notes: Dr. Bronson Strickland: htt...
Jan 02, 2024•1 hr 41 min
This week we have waterfowl expert and avid duck hunter, Dr. Brian Davis, from Mississippi State in the Studio to discuss everything “dabbling Ducks.” We learned a lot of interesting facts about how these ducks eat, migrate and avoid hunters. We also hit on creating and managing small waterfall impoundments on our own pieces of dirt! Listen Learn and Enjoy. Show Notes: Dr. Brian Davis: https://www.fwrc.msstate.edu/people/jbd4 Send a text message to the show! When does deer season start? If you w...
Dec 26, 2023•1 hr 43 min
This week on the Gamekeepers podcast we have Mike Yoder of Drone Deer Recovery on to talk about drones with high tech thermal imaging locating dead deer. This modern equipment is not without controversy as the technology is moving much faster than most states game laws. Mike explains the challenges he has met in building a modern means to help deer hunters recover lost animals and the reliability of the thermal imaging and drone. We also have Jim Crumley, the inventor of the old school Trebark c...
Dec 19, 2023•1 hr 11 min
