Lone Star Outdoor Show Lone Star Outdoor Show

Anyone that listens to this show knows I’m no fan of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. I tried it and it wasn’t for me based off beliefs of the individuals that were at the helm of BHA national.  However, I’ve never been critical of the state chapter model and believe they can and do accomplish positive things for sportsmen and conservation. And when I saw what the Montana Chapter recently accomplished, I knew it was only fair to have them on the show to discuss a new way to raise conservation dollars by replacing a Governor’s Tag with a public raffle.

Joining me on this episode are Montana BHA’s John Sullivan III and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Commissioner Jeff Burrows. We dig into the shift in philosophy from pay to play (Governor’s Tag)  to the highest bidder to the raffle where anyone can throw their hat in the ring. Montana BHA and Commissioner Burrows worked hand in hand on this raffle and we discuss whether this could be a recipe for future wildlife fundraising.

Then we shift gears and check in with one of our oldest friends when Mossberg’s Linda Powell makes her return to the show. We talk recent African Safaris & spring bear hunting in Canada before moving onto other conversation points that include:



* What does the recent political witch hunt and fraudulent conviction against former President Trump mean for firearm sales leading up to the November election?

* Cable’s .22 confession

* Over/Under shotguns for waterfowl and turkey hunting

* New stock design on Patriot LR Hunter rifles

* Optic ready shotguns and red dots

* Biden’s latest attempt to circumvent the 2nd Amendment





(new Monte Carlo stock on the Patriot LR Hunter)

Why aren’t more sportsmen up in arms regarding the way TPWD changed mountain lion regulatory policy without any science to support a need for change? Pandering to the anti hunters is a new step (in the wrong direction) for Texas Parks and Wildlife, and one that gives me a great deal of concern. The advancement of anti hunting ideologies infiltrating TPWD finally caused former Texas state trapper Caleb Hill to come forward and share his personal experience dealing with the agency and mountain lions.

I did not seek Caleb out for the record, he reached out to me and said he wanted to share. So I handed him a microphone and said ‘lets do it’. Full disclosure: what you hear during this conversation might piss you off. Maybe it should. Either way, TPWD is headed down the wrong road. The anti hunters and animal rights activist groups like Texans For Mountain Lions celebrated a huge victory with the founder of Texans for Mountain Lions claiming “this was one of the most important days of my life”.  It’s the beginning of the end of our rich Texas hunting tradition unless we stand up as a united group of hunters and say that enough is enough.

 

Can hunting a species actually save it? It’s a thought provoking question to the non hunting community (like 95% of America), a question that on face value would likely lead one to the conclusion that killing an animal would be counter productive if the goal is to save it. However,  hunters know that if an animal has a monetary value, it remains worth protecting and worth saving. Take the value away and the wildlife loses every time. Where you once saw thriving herds of native game, you will find clear cut pastures for cattle or agriculture.

Sporting Classics  Chris Dorsey’s career in the hunting space is as storied as it is varied. From hosting and producing various outdoor television entities, to writing books and articles and public speaking on behalf of our community. After reading his recent Forbes article: Recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ruling Sparks Debate Over Elephant Hunting, I knew I wanted to explore things further with Chris. During this episode we hit on quite a few issues but the underlying theme is the reality that the USFWS has abandoned it’s core foundation that strictly adheres to the model of sustainable use hunting and conservation. Their shift in focus thus delivering a substantial blow to the sustainable take of African elephants by American hunters.

Other important notes for the discussion include:



* Recent Saskatchewan bear hunt

* Should hunting NGO’s like DU, RMEF etc be eligible for Pittman Robertson dollars?

* Africa’s elephant population in comparison to the number of elephants taken annually by hunters

* What did the USFWS ruling affect?

* If the USFWS (and the politicians that oversee it) actually cared about elephants wouldn’t they try to influence the countries most responsible for the black market trade of poached elephant parts?

* What happens to an elephant once a hunter shoots it? Where does the meat go? Who benefits?

* Botswana’s President takes shot at German policy regarding elephants

* human/wildlife conflict

* If it can happen in Colorado, it can happen anywhere.

* Where do we go from here as a hunting community? What should our message be and how do we deliver it to the public?





(Photo Courtesy Sporting Classics)

We kick things off with an outdoor quick hit segment focusing on Grizzly reintroduction in Washington State, Peacock Network’s new “Queer Planet” documentary and Pennsylvania finally will allow Sunday hunting. You won’t believe the “Queer Planet” stuff by they way, it’s pure insanity.



Then we take an in depth look at how wildlife conservation is funded in North America when our old friend Mark Oliva of the NSSF (National Shooting Sports Foundation) drops by. Some of the highlights from our talk include:



* the recreational shooter’s impact on wildlife conservation

* what are the most popular calibers among recreational shooters?

* Biden’s latest attempt to circumvent the Constitution and attack the 2A by creating new laws

* Cable would be a x2 felon (just in the past 3 months) under the new laws

* Weaponization of the ATF and Department of the Interior impact on Sportsmen

* Axis deer are Mark’s “white whale”

* Annual financial contribution of Pittman Robertson funding

* hunter replacement theory



 

You can’t make this up but you can look up Jenny Keatinge’s resume. The policy writer/advisor for the National Wildlife Refuge System has worked for 3 of the greatest anti hunting outfits in existence. Yep, she’s been employed by the anti hunting Mount Rushmore  of Defenders of Wildlife, HSUS and Center for Biological Diversity… and now she writes policy for the National Wildlife Refuge System. How does that happen, exactly?

Our good friend and District of Conservation Podcast host Gabriella Hoffman makes her return on this installment of Campfire Conversations. Gabby breaks down the amended changes in the BIDEH rule that is at the center of closing the NWRS to sportsmen and women alike.



* History and Mission Statement of the National Wildlife Refuge System

* National Wildlife Refuge System threatens to close 400 refuges to hunters/anglers based on Climate Change initiatives

* Where are the democrat hunters and how do they plan to prevent their party from destroying our outdoor pastimes?

* Preservation vs Conservation with a side of Rewilding

* Hunter Replacement Theory

* Colorado Mountain Lion snuffs out one of the newly reintroduced Colorado wolves

* Gabby’s personal best largemouth

* POMA

* Who is Jenny Keatinge anyway?

* Anthropomorphism

* ESA issues when it comes to large carnivores

My friend Jeff Barstad and I go back about a dozen years. A friendship forged on a thermal hog hunt that lead to shared deer leases and a growing list of international hunting adventures. We take a look back at some of our experiences from our Oklahoma deer lease and sleepless nights spent in a mouse and rat infested camper to some of our big game trips overseas. Jeff is a veteran of 3 African Safaris and most recently, he joined myself and some other friends on our maiden voyage to South America. We relive some of our favorite moments and hunts on safari together from stinky old waterbucks to seeing who could spit dried kudu pellets the furthest in the pub of our South African hunting camp.

More recently, however we discuss our recent trip to Argentina in search of red stag. The ‘roar’ (rut) for these elk sized deer occurs in the mid spring (it’s fall south of the equator). Did the trip and hunting live up to expectations? How did I vet our outfitter before taking 7 good friends to Argentina having never been to Estancia El Carrizal myself? I think we both gained weight on this one as the red meat and Malbecs Argentina is known for were better than advertised.

Strangely enough, the area we hunted eerily reminded us of South Texas as far as climate and vegetation were concerned. We talk about the red stag hunting and then spend a healthy amount of time rehashing my water buffalo hunt that Jeff and his PH joined myself and my PH Alvaro on. It was by chance that it worked out but I was sure glad to have Jeff on that wild ass adventure pursuing the toughest animal I’ve ever hunted.

(Jeff’s beauty of a red stag)



(The 8 of us with our trophies at Estancia El Carrizal)