The Woodsman Perspective

On this episode we talk about how hunting on property lines can impact more than just how your neighbor feels about you. With recreational property values soaring, the hunting quality and experience means more today than ever to potential buyers. Shooting houses, deer stands, and feeders on the line are an indication of future problems to buyers, so it certainly does impact the marketability and buyer pool of a property. What can y...

Several states have seen recent challenges to the long accepted practice of game wardens entering private land without warrants.  The precedent that established this is from a prohibition era moonshining case, where the judge ruled that landowners did not have the assumption of privacy on land that was not inside the curtilage of their home.  In other words, the 4th amendment did not extend protection beyond your yard, even if you ...

I did some bird hunting with Hunter and Johnny Crimm this evening and afterward we sat down with one of the deerhunters that he had in camp. It turns out that Travis Libby is a professional Outfitter in Northern Maine. We discuss their similar approaches and reasons for getting into this business as well as spotlight what both have to offer. Travis operates Libby's Lodge and Cantys and they specialize in bear, moose, & deer hun...

Today we are talking about developing habitat for ducks.  Clay Davis has developed duck  holes on his own properties, and also works with Mossy Oak in and around much of their waterfowl areas.  He has spent the time on the tractor seat and in the blind, and has a ton of knowledge on what works and what doesn't.

We also talk about how to minimize reduce pressure on your ducks and how best to hunt it.  The underlying theme from our d...

2025 has been a record breaking acorn crop, and along with that a significant impact on deer harvest. Many hunters across the SE have seen a sharp decline in camera activity around foodplots and feeders. The deer have abundant food adjacent to cover and bedding areas. We discuss the possible reasons, as well as the impact to deer and business. Including a 50% drop in corn sales and a big time slow down for deer processors. What wil...

Venison is arguably the perfect protein. It's lean, it's clean, readily available, and versatile. On this episode we talk about the standard ways to cook it, the fancy ways, and give you an inside look into a deer processor operation. Families today are more particular than ever about where their food comes from, this alone has led some people to take up hunting. We feel like you should not overlook the value and quality of a good ...

On this episode Chris and I take a look at cutover.  This is the last thing that most people want when shopping for hunting land, especially if they have visions of a legacy farm that their family will enjoy for years.  We are going to examine why that thinking is flawed, and how you could be missing a great value as well as the opportunity to design a property layout economically.  Not only that, but cutovers are absolute deer fac...

These days everyone has a seed blend with a fancy bag and marketing tagline. Do you really know what is in there, and should those things be in same bag to be planted with the same methods? With cereal grains requiring up to a 1" seed depth, and clover no more than 1/4", how to you plant them both from the same bag and get a successful stand? Often times seed blends serve as an insurance policy for seed companies. The more varietie...

Pierce Young has been around deer his whole life. Early on in his career he was instrumental in the success of the deer tagging program that was conducted in NE MS across 27,000 acres of private land. He has worked along side many of the best deer researchers in the world, including Drs Steve Demarais and Bronson Strickland. Now Pierce is a biologist and assistant coordinator of the MDWFP Private Lands program. They work as consult...

A well trained retriever can add enjoyment and efficiency to your hunting. A great family pet and companion adds a whole lot of smiles and love in your home. You can have both, and our friend Tyler Cofield of  @MarlenGundogs  has made it his mission to develop his line of British labs into just that. We discuss this and more on this episode. Also with dove season approaching we get into some of the dos and don'ts when it comes to w...

Dave Owens, creator of The Pinhoti Project, sat down with me and talked about social media, calling championships, and conservation. Dave recently won his second Grand National Title at the NWTF in Nashville this year, and is an active participant and supporter of the various state calling contests. Social media figures, or influencers, often get blamed for the increase numbers and reduced opportunities on public hunting land. Whil...

The term Co-op has become synonymous with farm supply, feed, and seed.  But do you know why it's called "the co-op"?   These organizations came to existence out of necessity and from local farmers and landowners coming together to leverage their collective buying power.   It is more than just a name, and odds are there is one in your community.  We sat down with Jeff Hays, the manager of Lowndes Farm Supply to discuss the Co-op dif...

Landlocked properties are more and more common as land and estates are fragmented.  There are a lot of misconceptions around access, easements, and what the adjoining landowners must do to provide access to landlocked tracts.  Jay Nichols is our good friend and an expert real estate attorney.  Jay and his father have worked with landowners in Mississippi for decades and have seen just about every access and easement situation imagi...

The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural and forest land managers to enhance their conservation efforts. It helps producers adopt new conservation practices and maintain existing ones, compensating them for improved resource management. Eligible lands include private agricultural lands, non-industrial private forest land, and associated lands. We mention CSP and other pr...

Clover is a high protein legume that whitetail deer and turkeys love to eat.  Additionally it fixes nitrogen in the soil, and when maintained it will return year after year without replanting.   It is no wonder that clover is at the top of every land manager's list when it comes to food plot plant varieties.

  But there are varieties and practices that can be implemented to fine tune your approach with clover to maximize deer utili...

Dr. Bronson Strickland is the foremost authority in whitetail deer research right.  He is also our friend.  Over the years we have had a great relationship with Bronson centered around the mutual love for whitetail deer and a desire to properly manage habitat in a way that maximizes the overall herd health as well as antler production.    On this episode we will be  talking about summer foodplots and deer nutrition.  We also discus...

Precision shooting has become a popular off season sport among hunters. Many of the traditional hunting rifle manufacturers now offer models specifically for long range shooting in calibers that are very versatile for hunting. Pair that with affordable high quality optics, and you can be ringing steel at 500 yards with an over the counter package. This isn't just for the off season though, there are plenty of good applications for ...