The Outdoor Life Podcast

Here's what traveling waterfowlers should expect these days, and why protecting breeding habitat is the most important thing hunters can do to have ducks in the future.

Guest is Lake Pickle / onX Hunt.

Hosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.

Produced by executive editor Natalie Krebs.

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

For more than a hundred years, hunters have sought out the optimal cartridge for taking elk efficiently and effectively. If you're already killing elk with a time-proven classic, you don’t need any convincing about their effectiveness — or need to change anything. But if you’re looking for the best options today, there are several modern cartridges that are quite appealing when compared to the old breed.

This episode is brought to you by Smith & Wesson.

Hosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.

Guest is senior staff writer Tyler Freel.

Produced by executive editor Natalie Krebs.

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's getting busy in the Thorofare, the farthest spot from a road in the Lower 48. But still, contributor Christine Peterson and her family were determined to dodge other fishermen and horsepackers in search of the iconic Yellowstone cutthroat.

This episode is brought to you by Bob Rich Books.

Reporting by Christine Peterson, in partnership with Re:Public Lands Media.

Hosted and produced by executive editor Natalie Krebs.

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

Public lands have (rightly) gotten plenty of attention recently . The waters of the U.S. are facing similar risks, with potentially disastrous consequences for native fish, wildlife, and the sportsmen who cherish them. Adam Schellhammer of American Rivers explains what's at stake this week for, well, everyone.

This episode is brought to you by ⁠Bob Rich Books⁠.

Public comment, closes Oct. 9: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322

EPA to Reopen Comment on Clean Water Act Rewrite That Could Leave 80 Percent of U.S. Wetlands Unprotected: https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/epa-wotus-public-comment/

Hosted and produced by executive editor Natalie Krebs.

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio.

Guest is Adam Schellhammer, Mid-Atlantic regional director for American Rivers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad Abramowski, the lead engineer behind Peak Alloy, and Josh Vickers, Federal's rifle product line manager. These guys have been working on Peak Alloy for years. They'll talk about how the technology has improved since the introduction of the 7mm Backcountry, and where it might go next.

Related: https://www.outdoorlife.com/guns/first-elk-65-plus-peak/

Hosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio.

Produced by executive editor Natalie Krebs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recently, the Trump administration directed the Interior Department to turn over more predator management to the states. Hunting and conservation editor Andrew McKean, who has been interviewing folks across the West, explains what state-led management might look like.

This episode is brought to you by ⁠Ruger.

⁠Hosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.

Guest is hunting and conservation editor Andrew McKean.

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio.

Produced by executive editor Natalie Krebs

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jake Villwock of Relentless Fly Fishing offers a jam-packed crash course in the best lures, flies, and techniques for river smallies — right now.

This episode is brought to you by ⁠Bob Rich Books⁠.

Hosted by executive gear editor Scott Einsmann.

Guest is Jake Villwock / Relentless Fly Fishing.

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

To separate bowhunting lore from fact, and gear editor Scott Einsmann spent a week shooting nine popular mechanical broadheads while testing them for durability, accuracy, wound channel size, and out-of-the-box sharpness. Here's what he found.

This episode is brought to you by Ruger.

Best Mechanical Broadhead Test: https://www.outdoorlife.com/gear/best-mechanical-broadheads/

Video: https://youtu.be/mG83E95hdSc?si=i8dULz4N5QUW8iqS

Hosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.

Guest is executive gear editor Scott Einsmann.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have ergonomics and accessories from the precision rifle world actually made modern hunting rifles more effective, or do they just get in the way? Senior staff writer Tyler Freel put old and new models to the test.

This episode is brought to you by Victorinox.

• Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed9vyRFB2Z8
• Story: https://www.outdoorlife.com/guns/new-vs-old-hunting-rifles/

Hosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.

Guest is senior staff writer Tyler Freel.

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week the US Forest Service announced plans to scrap a key conservation rule for 44 million acres of public lands. Chris Wood, the current CEO and president of Trout Unlimited, helped build the Roadless Rule when he was serving at the USFS back in 2001. He explains why the rule was born out of fiscal conservatism, why "roadless" is often a misnomer, and what the real reason is behind the rollback.

This episode is brought to you by Victorinox.

Citing Wildfire Risk, Trump Administration Proposes to Scrap Entire Roadless Rule: https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/trump-administration-proposes-to-end-roadless-rule/

Trout Unlimited report on Roadless Areas: https://www.tu.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/TU-ROADLESS-REPORT_0401_web.pdf

File your (unique) public comment through TU: https://www.tu.org/conservation/action-center/

Hosted and produced by executive editor Natalie Krebs.

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio.

Guest is Chris Wood of Trout Unlimited.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senior staff writer and our Alaska bear man Tyler Freel explains why modern bullets have made cartridge size irrelevant for many hunting applications.

This episode is brought to you by Victorinox.

Hosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.

Produced by executive editor Natalie Krebs.

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seasoned bowunter and tracking-dog handler Shane Simpson co-created an app to connect deer hunters with blood trackers. That app also collects a mountain of data about broadheads, shot placement, recovery rates, and more. Simpson and his co-creator, bowhunter and data guru Ryan Carpenter dig through all of it — and provide some key takeaways for hunters — in this week's episode.

This episode is brought to you by Victorinox.

TRAKR App

Hosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.

Produced by executive editor Natalie Krebs.

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every so often, a state or agency considers legalizing the sale of wild venison. Catherine Appling-Pooler of the National Deer Association explains why wild venison sales are a "knee-jerk" reaction to a problem that already has a solution.

This episode is brought to you by Victorinox.

National Venison Processor Map https://deerassociation.com/deer-processors/

Commercial Venison Processor Course https://learndeerhunting.com/courses/deer-processor/

Meet the Godfather of Hawaiian Market Hunting https://www.outdoorlife.com/hunting/market-hunting-axis-deer/

Vermont's Invisible Law: Hunters Can Sell Venison https://www.themeateater.com/conservation/wildlife-management/vermonts-invisible-law-hunters-can-sell-venison

Hosted by executive editor Natalie Krebs.

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio.

Guest is Catherine Appling-Pooler, senior director of government affairs for the National Deer Association.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a former wildland firefighter and former U.S. Forest Service District Ranger for the heart of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Aaron Kania digs into forest management ahead of a historic wildfire season in Minnesota. Bonus points: This episode is recorded from a canoe.

This episode is brought to you by Victorinox.

Hosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.

Guest is Aaron Kania.

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's a hot new lure that's blowing up the bass-fishing world, along with a few new trends in fishing and fishing media at large. OL's resident bass guy, Derek Horner, gives us the rundown.

This episode is brought to you by Christensen Arms.

Hosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.

Guest is manager of audience development Derek Horner.

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump signed an executive order this week to shrink two popular Utah national monuments, this time by even more than he did in 2017. The order cuts the size of Bears Ears National Monument by 91% and Grand Staircase-Escalante by more than 90%, a reduction of about 3 million acres. In this episode Steven Bloch, legal director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, explains why he thinks the move might be unlawful and how his group plans to challenge it.

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last fall OL's senior staff writer Tyler Freel nearly died on a backcountry horseback hunt. During the ride out, he was thrown from his horse, breaking several ribs, puncturing his lung, and spleen. It's not an exaggeration to say that his life was saved by trauma surgeon Dr. Caleb Mentzer and the medical staff. In this episode, Freel interviews Mentzer about what when wrong during that unfortunate hunting trip, and how to be better prepared when disaster strikes.

Listen to the full story behind Tyler's accident: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-outdoor-life-podcast/id1560573207?i=1000741696648

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can't talk about American history without also talking about firearms. Firearms historian Ashley Hlebinsky picks some of her favorite American firearm innovations and explain how they relate to what was going on in the country at the time.

Guest is Ashley Hlebinsky https://firearmsresearchcenter.org/

Hosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.

Produced by executive editor Natalie Krebs.

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big Oaks NWR, the largest national wildlife refuge in Indiana could close to public use if the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service choses to scrap its real estate agreement. The 50,000-acre property is the second-largest parcel of public land in the state.

Full story: https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/feds-consider-closing-big-oaks-national-wildlife-refuge/

Hosted by news editor Dac Collins.

Reporting by hunting and conservation editor Andrew McKean.

Produced by executive editor Natalie Krebs.

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices

Between attempts to rollback the Roadless Rule, revise BLM grazing rules, and reevaluate Wilderness Study Areas, politicians and federal agencies appeared to launch a full-on siege of public lands last week. Conservation editor Andrew McKean explains.

Senate Republicans Advance ‘Trojan Horse’ to Erase Roadless Rule: https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/senate-committee-votes-erase-roadless-rule/

BLM Grazing Overhaul Would Give Ranchers More Grass and Perks, But Could Force Elk Off Public Range: https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/proposed-blm-grazing-rules/

Hosted by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson.

Produced by executive editor Natalie Krebs.

Edited by Mike Pedersen / Eighty Five Audio.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices