Leon Kachelhoffer, the current operator in the NG13 elephant hunting block in northern Botswana joins Robbie to talk about what it’s like to operate in this hotspot. This episode was purposefully created so that we can unpack everything that has happened in the NG13 hunting block of Botswana. It has been a block that has made headlines news from 2022 when a big 100 pound elephant was taken there - ever since there has been a lo of anti hunting rhetoric, alongside issues of corruption, and more. We talked to Leon 2 weeks ago to get an idea of what is going on.

Ashlee is joined by Anna Van Nostrend, also known as Anna V, a prolific wing shooter and adult-onset hunter who enjoys several accreditations by awards organizations and who raises and trains gun dogs (labs AND short hairs). Anna gives her tips to Ashlee on how to get started wing shooting, proper techniques, how to choose and buy a gun, where to find pheasant, quail and grouse, and more. 

This podcast is one of those that came out of left field. A connection from a past podcast guest, and an invitation to podcast about an industry that if you looked at from the outside looking in, in a place like Scotland, one may think it's an industry that is not compatible with wildlife and sustainable use conservation. Stefan Rijnbeek, an expert on forestry initiatives and how they’re tied intimately to conservation efforts in the UK, spends the better part of an hour schooling Robbie on the complexities of forestry in the UK and Scotland in particular. As a reminder the opinions of Stefan in this podcast are his own, they are not born from hard evidence, nor represent the stance, policy, or opinions of his employer.  This is a fascinating podcast that everyone should listen to...

Robbie is joined by Marilyn Vetter, CEO of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, for a conversation about the incredible work of these organizations, Marilyn’s perspective on the future of hunting and habitat conservation, and an inspiring dialogue between two deeply passionate conservationists. If you want to learn more about Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, please visit https://www.pheasantsforever.org 

Robbie is joined by Carlos Lozano, the marketing manager for Bushnell (a sponsor of our show!). Listen as Carlos explains who they are now, what they’re going to do, what the brand needs to do to position itself, and much more. Listen all the way to the end to see how you can enter a special contest to win an amazing trail camera package.

Ky Furlough and Calem O’Grady are a dynamic duo of survivalists and Michelin-star-grade chef and, above all, partners in crime and in life that love the Outback, serving on the team of Wild Origins: Australia. Robbie sat down with them at the Wild Deer Expo to talk about this thing we all love so much - hunting and harvesting wild food, what it takes to make a life outdoors, and more.

Sam Lawry, a self-professed “sandhill crane” (that is, someone who migrates from Montana to Arizona and back annually, rather than a traditional “snowbird”), has been in the wildlife conservation field for 43 years, with the vast majority of that time spent on the wildlife law enforcement side of conservation. Sam regales Robbie with stories around wildlife law enforcement and the work that he has been involved with. An incredible conversation with a man who has been in the proverbial trenches of wildlife conservation for many decades.

Arguably the biggest fight (and let's be honest there are a lot of fights) within the hunting community is the use of euphemistic terms to potentially lessen the impacts of words. The biggest euphemism utilized is using harvest vs. kill. Is it truly a cop-out? Should we be changing our language depending on the audience we are talking to? Are we apologizing for being hunters and what we do when we change terms? Charles Whitwam from HOWL for Wildlife, James Nash from the 6 Ranch Podcast, and Robbie get together on this podcast to have a very frank and open discussion about this. This is definitely a thought provoking podcast that will make you think and outlines the perspectives on both sides of this eternal debate.

Robbie and Ashlee kick off legislative sessions across the country with a few highlights from Idaho (4 technology law restrictions proposed), Wisconsin (sandhill crane hunting season up for a vote), and Colorado (facing a shutdown of their wolf program by the feds), as well as the nomination of Steve Pearce to lead the Bureau of Land Management and a crazy situation with NG13 in Botswana involving elephants and other big game hunting.  

Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has made headlines lately for its controversial decision to end its postseason Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) targeted deer removal program. Join Ashlee as she connected with MO MDC Director Jason Sumners, and they explain the decision and discuss MO’s deer and elk program, and CWD efforts in general.  Ashlee and Jason also go into his background and the Missouri deer program writ large. This podcast is an incredibly informative resource for the CWD discussion, and all of the elements associated with it.

On this week’s Roundup, Robbie and Ashlee hit the New Year running as they discuss the national order issued by the USFWS to review all wildlife refuges across the country, a showdown between Colorado and the Feds over wolves, the MO Department of Conservation’s decision to end their post-season CWD targeted deer culling program and other hot topics.

Mike ‘Trapper Mike’ nee ‘Python Cowboy’ Kimmel joins Robbie on the podcast recorded on-location in sunny South Florida. Mike, who has made a name for himself as a prolific python catcher using German wire-haired pointers, talks about sustainability, invasive species, and what drives him to hunt.

Whenever Robbie is in Australia, he likely eats his bodyweight in pies (yes, those fluffy pastry things). One pie maker that Robbie was eager to meet was the incredible Jo Barrett. Jo Barrett, master chef, master pie maker, now a hunter herself, and one of the partners at Discover Wild Foods, who are taking wild venison and crafting it into incredible dishes—well, in Jo's case, incredible pies. It was by pure coincidence that Robbie was standing in line for a wild pie and saw Jo—and as is the common phenomenon around social media—they both met for the first time and managed to connect. Robbie convinced her to jump on a podcast in between pies being cooked at the Wild Deer Expo in Victoria, Australia.

In today’s society, we need all the voices we can get to champion hunting and the sustainable use of wildlife. There is no greater mechanism to do that than influencers, especially those who have used the sustainable use of wildlife for survival. Australian influencer Karla Pound became well known for her escapades on the show Alone. She joined Robbie from the floor of the Wild Deer Expo in Victoria, Australia, back in October. Robbie went into the interview cold, knowing nothing about Karla, and peels back the layers of the onion to get to the bottom of her life as a survivalist, hunter, and more.

Ashlee and Robbie sit down with newly appointed Director of Arkansas Game and Fish and former President and Chairman of the Board for Ducks Unlimited, Doug Schoenrock, to discuss why he made the decision to come out of retirement after an illustrious career in the private sector to become the head of a government wildlife agency. Ashlee, Robbie, and Doug cover the two recent bear attacks in Arkansas, the massive die-offs in both state and federal hatcheries near the Norfolk and White Rivers and the emergency regulations for anglers that followed, his personal hunting history, and the vision he has for the future of AGFC.

There are legends in the Hunter conservationist world, and we are fortunate to be able to meet a few of them. Pud Howard is one of these individuals. Pud (a nickname given to him as a young boy) of Sale, Victoria in Australia grew up in the duck hunting scene and has dedicated his life to ducks, duck hunting, and conservation of ducks in Australia. Pud recounts heart and soul efforts to purchase and restore a block of land from nothing but a desert to a thriving wetland ecosystem that holds waterfowl and takes Robbie on an in-person tour of the property, exploring the Heart Morass and talking about what it means. This is a heartfelt podcast straight from the heart of an individual that has never done a podcast before, and lives everyday on how he can better wetlands for ducks 

One of the most misunderstood actvitiies in sustainable use is trapping - including how trapping has evolved over time to include best management practices to ensure the humane trapping of animals.  Robbie is joined by Jason Wisniewski, the current President of Fur Takers of America, to talk about the science and stories behind trapping in the US. From the myths to what’s happening in the trapping world, to what’s happening in the fur taking trade, and beyond. 

Robbie is across the pond, so Ashlee is joined by special guest host David Willms to discuss the news of the week, including an epic battle between the Oklahoma Attorney General and the Governor over tribal hunting rights, the new classification of bison in Colorado, Wyoming considering allowing landowners to sell hunting tags, and Ohio constitutional right to hunt and fish. 

While Robbie was making his way through South Australia and Victoria, he connected with team members of Field and Game Australia throughout Victoria. Robbie is joined by Trent Leen, the Conservation Director of the Geelong Field and Game Branch—similar to his counterpart (and previous guest) Graeme Wall. The Geelong Branch has a storied history in Field and Game, and Trent joins on location from the wetland his family donated to the headquarters of Field and Game. He discusses his history and passion for ducks, his heritage, and why this is about more than just shooting ducks for him.

Graeme Wall, the Conservation Director of the Rushworth Field and Game Branch of Field and Game Australia, is an enigma. We first learned about Graeme and his branch last year and celebrated all the things they do for conservation because they love to duck hunt. During Robbie’s tour down under, he managed to stop in and see Graeme in Rushworth. Graeme joined Robbie on the podcast to discuss his tiny little town of just 1,000 people in the middle of nowhere—Victoria, Australia—and his role as the spear tip of conservation in his community. The two discuss Rushworth’s rural success in conservation, all recorded on location in the middle of an Australian wetland in the middle of nowhere (check out the YouTube video).

Ashlee and Robbie are back after a couple of weeks off traveling, and discuss the statewide warning from Maine not to eat wild turkey and deer due to PFAS, the recent mass killing of almost 400 ostriches on a farm in Canada after 2 tested positive for H1N1 over a year ago, the Louisiana Wildlife Commission 4-3 ruling to shrink the Menhaden (pogie) commercial fishing buffer zone from ½ mile to ¼ mile against overwhelming pushback from conservation community, a new study discussing the massive decline in global biomass of wild animals, the uptick in bear attacks around the globe.

Returning guest, sponsor, and CEO of Silencer Central, Brandon Maddox, sits down with Robbie at Silencer Central HQ in Sioux Falls, SD, during their 20th anniversary celebration to talk about the past, present, and future of silencers. From humble beginnings selling them face-to-face out of the back of his car to becoming the largest seller of silencers in the world—and sharing things you may not know about their 20-year run and achieving the American dream—this podcast dives into some little-known territory about the brand and the man behind it, Brandon Maddox.

Wicus Diedericks, owner of Rockwood Conservation, dropped a bomb on the rhino conservation world on Friday, when a court ruled that he can trade in rhino horn (devil is in the details). It’s not quite that simple, but the ruling stated that the CITES exemption for conservation-bred rhinos is part of South African law - i.e., he should legally be able to get an export permit for horns that have been dehorned from his herd. This is huge news for rhino conservation and potentially the legal mechanism by which rhino horn can be purchased by the east and the Middle East. This is absolutely breaking news, with this court decision occurring last Friday. We do not know the extent of the implications of the court ruling, we do know the MEC of the Northern Cape has 7 days to respond to the issuance of the export permit. We also know that in 2 1/2 weeks CITES COP starts in Uzbekistan and this will be the talk of the town there!

In celebration of National Bison Day (November 1st), Jon Flocchini, the generational farmer of the Durham Bison Ranch, joins Robbie to give a State of the Union on bison in the U.S. All Jon knows is bison, and he dives deep into the state of these iconic American mammals and the practices it takes to keep a herd of these majestic animals thriving for over a century. If you have been fascinated by bison or are interested in learning more, then this is the podcast for you.

When one thinks of poaching, the mind often turns to Africa—snares, and people involved in the illegal bushmeat trade. Few would think of poaching occurring in the United States of America. Boone and Crockett Club President Tony Schoonen and researcher Jon Gassett join Robbie to talk about the Club’s new Poach and Pay program. This enormous undertaking to understand poaching in the U.S. revealed a massive “dark number” of poachers—and what that means for the landscapes and lifestyles we love. It’s an incredibly fascinating episode where you’ll learn the data and science behind the true impact of poaching in the U.S. today, what motivates it, and what steps can be taken to combat its staggering scale. This is the kind of podcast you’ll definitely be talking about with your colleagues around the water cooler—or the coffee pot—in the morning.