Before he ever pulled a trigger, Dustin Daniels was wrapped in a sleeping bag with his grandpa, watching the woods wake up. These days, he’s building his own muzzleloaders, hunting with a .54 caliber cap and ball, and passing the same tradition to his son one misfired round and muddy drag at a time. Dustin’s from Madison Heights, Virginia, and co-hosts the D&D Outdoors Podcast where he talks outdoor news and shares hunting stories with his buddy Dell. In this episode, he talks about gett...

In this gritty, down-to-earth episode, Mitchell Fox sits down with John Padgett from Georgia. He’s a woodsman shaped by riverlines, traplines, and the kind of Southern upbringing that’s getting harder to come by. They dig into the moment a sharp old doe somehow sensed John’s presence. No scent. No sound. No sightline. Just instinct. That brush with wild awareness leads into deeper ground, as John shares how bowhunting slowly became his last true link to a vanishing way of life. From running t...

From throwing decoy bags bigger than him as a kid in Erie to running a waterfowl guide service in southern Ontario, Hunter Libra has packed a lifetime of hunting grit into just 27 years. The path hasn’t been easy, and it sure as hell hasn’t been boring. In this episode, Hunter shares how a Tinder match turned into a cross-border move, a family, and a new life in Canada. He talks about chasing turkeys with his dad back in the day, dragging gear through the woods before he could even aim straig...

She didn’t grow up in the stand. Never had a mentor walk her through it. Just saw her dad get hooked on bowhunting and figured, “Why not me?” Destiny Campbell out of central Minnesota picked up a cheap kid’s bow, learned how to shoot, and two weeks later dropped her first deer in the snow. Now? She’s eaten up with it. Archery’s taught her patience, humility, and how fast a hunt can fall apart when your gear ain’t tuned right. In this episode, Destiny shares what it’s really like being a new b...

Some hunters grow up in it. Jonathan McCormick grew into it by accident. A simple favor for a neighbor, a garage full of euro mounts, and one big question changed everything. That moment pushed a North Carolina kid into the heart of the Rockies, and years later he is still chasing the lessons hidden in those mountains. In this episode, Jonathan sits down from Bountiful, Utah and talks with the honesty of a man who never pretends to be more than he is. Early thirties. Five kids. Nine to five j...

He’s killed over 20 of North America’s big game species. No sponsors. No shortcuts. Just grit, maps, and a fire that won’t quit. Leo Boman checks in from the road as he gets ready to head to Montana with a bighorn sheep tag in his pocket. That’s one of the final species standing between him and the legendary North American 29. From chasing cats and bears as a kid to guiding brown bear hunters in Alaska, Leo’s hunted more than most folks could dream of… and he’s done it the hard way. This epis...

What do 39 turkeys, two alligators, and one very unfortunate cactus have in common? They’ve all tangled with Knox Guajardo—an eight-year-old Kansas hunter with more stories than most grown men. In this episode, Knox joins the conversation to talk about long sits in the blind, missing his first deer, and why jerky, waffles, and playing in the dirt are non-negotiables when hunting with Dad. From scoring his first antelope with a crossbow to chasing turkeys across ten different states, this youn...

Kayla Harrod isn’t out to impress anyone. She’s a part-time nurse practitioner, full-time mom of three, and a bowhunter with a Mathews bow and a dream. Based in Central Arkansas, Kayla grew up in the woods—literally in a backpack on her dad’s back during early hunts and never left. Now, she’s passing it down to her kids, hunting solo, and chasing her first archery buck with raw determination and zero shortcuts. In this episode, she opens up about growing up in a hunting family, the grit it t...

He’s edited film for Realtree, worked the grind with Midwest Whitetail, and built one of the largest Facebook hunting groups around—but Cody Huhn’s still sleeping in his car, running on ramen noodles, and hunting with whatever gear he can piece together. In this raw, no-fluff episode, Cody sits down with Mitchell to talk about the reality of chasing big bucks on public with almost nothing in the wallet and even less room for mistakes. He breaks down how Michigan’s pressure shaped him, why mo...

Some stories remind hunters why the woods always have the final say. This week, Michigan bowhunter and entrepreneur Tom Spisz sits down with Mitchell Fox to talk about lessons learned from business, black bears, and getting turned around in the dark timber. Raised outside Ann Arbor, Tom grew up running behind his dad and uncles—“the OG Michigan hunters,” as he calls ’em—cutting his teeth on bait piles, red-tipped youth bows, and long, cold sits. Over the years he traded that pile of corn for ...

She didn’t grow up around guns, blinds, or whitetail stories at the dinner table. In fact, she didn’t even start hunting until her late 20’s. Just a 20-gauge, a dog named Luna, and a stubborn drive to figure it out herself. Trista’s journey into the hunting world is the kind most folks don’t talk about. She fumbled her way through turkey seasons, watched more YouTube than she’d admit, and had her first deer walk out while she was sipping coffee at her backyard firepit. But that’s what m...

There’s something about the first time a Minnesotan hits the Montana ridges—it humbles a man quick. For Peter Herzog, that move west wasn’t just about chasing bigger bulls—it was about building a life from the ground up. Originally from small-town Minnesota, Peter’s story is full of grit, risk, and elk bugles echoing through the timber. He shares what it’s really like to go from managing a 30-man spray foam business to chasing elk across state lines, hunting 7 to 11 states a year, and raising...

She’s lived in eight states, fought wildfires in the Rockies, and worked inside some of hunting’s biggest companies. In this episode, Lexi sits down with Mitchell to talk about the long road from wildland firefighting to bowhunting, burnout, and rediscovering purpose beyond the industry grind. From the back of a fire buggy to the marketing offices of Huntwise and Bowtech, Lexi’s story peels back the curtain on the hunting world—the corporate buyouts, the influencer culture, and the real peopl...

Some stories don’t start in the woods—they start with family, hard work, and a few twists life throws along the way. Forrest Been of Arkansas knows that better than most. A husband, stepdad, veteran, and roofing contractor, Forrest has lived a life built on grit and balance. From learning the ropes of trapping alongside his grandfather to competing in family squirrel hunts on Thanksgiving mornings, his hunting roots run deep. In this episode, Forrest opens up about what hunting means to him ...

The story of Brett Morris isn’t polished—it’s built on cracked boots, busted arrows, and a stubborn drive that never lets up. A blue-collar construction worker from the Midwest, Brett has balanced long days on the job with even longer sits in the stand, chasing deer, turkey, and anything else that calls the woods home. His hunting story started at 13, tagging along with his dad. Back then, sports had most of his attention. But by 15, the pull of hunting weekends outweighed the roar of the cro...

Some stories start with blue jeans, old rifles, and lessons from Dad—and Levi Mason’s is no different. Growing up in west-central Illinois, Levi tagged his first turkey at eight, his first buck at ten, and never looked back. These days, he’s balancing life as a husband, father of two girls, Regional Director with the National Wild Turkey Federation, and a land professional helping folks chase the same dreams he’s lived. In this episode, Levi shares how food plots, neighbors’ sightings, and a ...

Some kids grow up playing video games—Clint grew up as his dad’s “live trail camera,” sitting in a tree stand before he was even strong enough to pull a bow. In this episode, Iowa native Clint shares the stories that shaped him as a hunter, from shooting his first deer with a bow at just nine years old to tagging along on northern Minnesota bear hunts with a VHS camera in hand. Clint talks about his years chasing ducks and building blinds that rarely got used, the lessons learned trapping rac...

Some hunters chase trophy racks. Chris Cannon chases stories worth telling. Hailing from southeast Tennessee by way of Georgia, Chris has been bowhunting since he was a kid—pulled into a tree with a rope by his dad and learning the ropes from his Uncle Jimbo. Over the years, he’s built a reputation not just as a skilled hunter, but as a storyteller, cameraman, and content creator for mom-and-pop hunting brands across the country. In this episode, Chris and Mitchell swap tales of urban deer hu...

It started with a poor country boy chasing squirrels in the Louisiana woods and turned into a lifetime of chasing big game across the country. Roy Withers grew up in the swamps, running coon dogs and deer hunting, eventually finding a way to fund his out-of-state hunts by pulling century-old cypress logs from bayous and turning them into bar tops and furniture. His stories weave through public-land giants, the politics of hunting along the Mississippi River, and the gritty reality of growing ...

Some stories smell like fresh-cut hay and sound like a gravel road under old tires. This one’s got both. Rusty grew up in the hills and hollers of southwest Missouri—working hayfields at five years old, chasing turkeys that scratched through cow manure, and hunting deer long before camo came in brand names. In this conversation, he shares decades of grit, humor, and lessons learned from farming, law enforcement, and a lifetime in the outdoors. From food plots that wither in drought, to climat...