Episodes
We are thrilled to announce a 2025 offering to you all. We have partnered with Heartland Bowhunter for a one of a kind event at their farm in North Missouri. The event will be a 2.5-day Whitetail Workshop event, May 31- June 2nd, 2025. We are capping the event at 30 people to keep it a very manageable learning environment for all attendees.
The design of this event is to showcase how habitat design and a hunting strategy is interwoven. We will be reviewing successful hunts from Heartland...
Published 11/18/24
On this week's podcast, we breakdown a LandBeat video discussing the missing aspects of most gun hunting setups. Evaluating gun hunting seasons and deer behavior is critical for your success during this portion of the season. Many firearm seasons overlap with peak estrous, if so, you need to have your eyes overlooking dense bedding cover. We examine the different ecoregions of the country and chat through the different habitat types that should be strongly considered when hunting with a...
Published 11/12/24
This week we catch up with Land & Legacy consultant Brady Bradley as he fills his archery tag on a mature Missouri buck. We break down this hunt from start to finish from tactics, access, transitions, acorn crops, and pre-rut behavior. This hunt was action packed from the pre-dawn light until the arrow was released.
Brady is a fine woodsman and a persistent hunter when his time allows. This combination is deadly, even when time is limited, waiting for quality opportunities is key....
Published 11/05/24
We've spent all summer waiting for season to open preparing for that buck to give us a shot, but what should we do after the shot? What if there is no blood or the blood trail ends before we find our deer?
Today we set down with two top notch blood dog trackers, Brent Taylor and Heath Devazier from East Arkansas Wounded Game Recovery to discuss recovering your trophy and common mistakes they see hunters make.
Published 11/04/24
On this week's podcast, Alan and Matt sit down to discuss the current weather patterns, acorn crop, drought, and winds we've experienced this season. To say the least, in our respective regions, there have been some challenges to contend with. But, as we look ahead and use our woodsmanship skills, there is hope for an increase in deer activity as the pre-rut phase descends upon us rapidly.
Published 10/29/24
During this podcast we connect the dots between experiencing God's creation from a deer stand and taking it a step further acknowledging his power, divinity, his desire for a relationship with you. This is a deep conversation with our Pastor, Brad Lotz. Our prayer is that you listen to this podcast with an open heart and mind prior to spending your fall or rutcation in a deer stand.
Published 10/21/24
This week Kyle Hedges and Matt Dye bring you a discussion regarding the importance, preparation, execution, and benefits of creating soft edges throughout your property. For years the understanding of creating or softening the edge between two very distinct habitat types such as trees to a food plot edge is necessary and valuable. This would be an example of a hard edge that gets softened. However, in today's podcast, we talk about creating soft edges and corridors through herbaceous cover,...
Published 10/14/24
This week, Kyle and Frank discuss a consulting trip that they took during 2024 to North Dakota. These two consultants were assisting a landowner improve his property for whitetail deer, mule deer and numerous game bird species in a mixed prairie/ag setting. Although this exact situation may not be how you are managing, you need to listen closely for some key takeaways about habitat management, mindset of managing within the Land & Legacy Principles, and how to manage weather extremes!...
Published 10/10/24
Hold on to your seats... this podcast may make you reconsider a lot about your neighborhood when it comes to managing for older age class deer. The old phrase of "If its brown its down" was a forbidden foe of the hunters seeking to harvest more mature deer. In this podcast, we compare and contrast this method of harvesting to the neighborhood who is activiely trageting and harvesting the 3.5 to 4.5 year old age class aggressively.
It may seem as if the older age class harvesting would be the...
Published 10/01/24
This week we are joined with Pierce Young. Pierce is the Assistant Coordinator of Private Lands, with Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks, and has years of experience dealing with over 500 private hunting properties across the south. Tune in and let's find out what we should be feeding our deer to maximize their potential.
Published 09/27/24
This is a detailed guide to answering the tough question everyone asks, Can I hunt here? We always give ourselves a pass or an excuse to be in an area that has a deer sign. However, many times those locations can do more harm than good. In this podcast, you will learn how to strategically and logically work through the mental process of vetting out a high quality huntable location. Take it to the bank, if each location you have checks all the boxes, sit back and let that area work for you!
Published 09/23/24
On this week's podcast Kyle and Frank discuss ways to maximize your fall if you tag out early or just plain can't get enough farm improvements. These non-intrusive management strategies will get you ready for all the winter and spring projects ahead of you. Don't let the fall and hunting slow you down from what you need to be focused on with regard to making the farm better.
Published 09/17/24
Feed trees can play a major role in daylight activity on your property. Join us this week as Alan and Brady dive into the tactics to have success hunting over feed trees.
In this episode we break down our favorite feed trees, and talk about where to find them, when to find them, and how to hunt them. We discuss the differences between red oak vs. white oak. The timing of when certain trees can be targeted, and what to look for on your property. Having knowledge of the property, and history...
Published 09/09/24
Pond management for fish isn't that much different than managing upland habitat for wildlife. This week we are joined again by Fisheries Biologist Micah Tindall to discuss managing fish and the habitats they require.
Published 09/06/24
On this week's podcast we are trying out a new podcast style and need your feedback. We have been filming for years with the folks at Whitetail Properties and it's time we begin to break down in fine detail the nuance details of habitat management. So this week, let us know in the comments what you think about this podcast style!
Published 09/05/24
On this week's podcast, Alan and Reid Summerford take to the woods in search of a velvet whitetail. The prep work has been completed and in part 1 of this podcast you will hear all about the work they have completed to make this hunt a success before the season even opens. Oftentimes, the hard work ahead of the hunt will prove itself deadly. This pre-hunt interview calls the shots of what they suspect will happen. Let's see if their suspicions are correct in part 2!
During part 2 of the...
Published 08/29/24
On this week’s podcast we sit down the Shawn from Heartland Bowhunter. Shawn is a devoted bowhunter but now is a land manager. Shawn is passionate about trying to promote a healthy native landscape that improves the habitat and overall hunting experience. This transformation is journey didn’t happen overnight and wasn’t his due to his own interests. Many people along the way influenced and guided him to dive deep in land management.
We hope you enjoy this story and journey from Shawn. If...
Published 08/27/24
Several of us have ponds on the farms that we manage, and others may be thinking of building or stocking a new body of water. Just like your wildlife habitat, your fish need managed and so does the habitat they need to thrive. Today we are joined by Fisheries Biologist Micah Tindall with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission to discuss the in's and out's of setting up a new fish pond.
Published 08/22/24
Today, we take a deep dive into several key considerations when buying recreational land. The biggest of all is to investigate the neighborhood with intensity. Know the good and the bad! Avoid the bad areas as your best habitat management efforts maybe futile. The best way to determine the neighbor impact is to not look for a single stud buck on camera, but a well developed age structure! This says way more about the neighborhood than an outlier buck from years ago. Age structure is often...
Published 08/21/24
In this episode we discuss what creates an awesome food plot, it's not just the seed that goes in the ground, but the location, soil type, and nature of the plot that can lead to more success. We discuss the key factors that are critical to maximizing the production of a food plot.
-Prepping the soil to plant.
-What to look for in a forecast to sow the seed.
-Timing of planting.
-Planting techniques.
-Using cattle farming practices to create food plots.
-Clover Plot Maintenance
Published 08/15/24
Prescribed fire is one of our favorite tools in our management tool box. In fact, there aren't many properties that wouldn't benefit from fire, but its not always the solution by itself, sometimes its not even the correct tool to use.
Published 08/13/24
We're using some photos from recent consults to guide you through the recommendations you hear weekly to help on your farm! Enjoy how we plan to guide these landowners to manipulating the natural resources to improve these farms for whitetail deer!
Published 08/02/24
No, it’s probably not what you think.
We took a short break to catch up on life, or to “sharpen our axe” but we are back!
Join Hunter and Thomas this week as they talk about the necessary break they took from the Sawdust & Fire Podcast as well as some of the things they have going on.
Published 07/30/24
What's the highest priority work that you can do on your farm and get most of the results? Tune in!
Published 07/23/24