Upland Nation

We WILL be hunting this fall! Callers share their favorite bird hunting states and why you should go there.

Stay positive. Be optimistic. Plan ahead. We will beat this thing.
In the spirit of sportsmanship, our callers share their favorite bird hunting states ... from bird species, to terrain, to scenery, challenges, and the people who make visiting so fun.
Passions are many, and you'll hear them all in my continuing effort to stay focused on the future, when we are all free again to pursue our sport ... with our friends, family, and our dogs.
Thanks to all the callers who kept things upbeat and encouraging - personal stories about friendship, dogs, family and nostalgia that will keep us going until the leash is unclipped and we're in the field again.
You'll also get gear discounts, a chance to win a shotgun, dog-care tip, and strategies on planning your public-access hunting trips.

Bird dog podcast: "shelter in place" doesn't mean you can't have some fun with your dog! How to cope with the "new normal."

Your calls on ideas for these wacky times ... from training tips to gear, motivation to encouragement.
An update on news that affects bird hunters and dog owners, a way to help victims of the Nashville tornadoes, too.
Improve your shooting and your dog's skills ... no matter what kind of challenges you face during these trying times. Plus gear you can make, a buckaroo's tip on negotiating the most challenging aspect of public-land access ... barbed-wire gates!
Gear and dog food discounts, too!

Special Edition: Coronavirus - effects on our sport and our dogs

While everything is changing on an hourly basis, here are some things to know, now.
What should we do? Avoid? How do we protect ourselves from a virus that may have come from a Chinese live-animal market?
Is my dog food safe? Can my dog infect my family? Vice-versa?
What about my field trial - cancelled? Conventions and sportsmen's shows?
How do we protect our dogs? Are there risks in using training birds?
What about gear? Should we be worried about our new Italian shotgun now on order? What about components sourced overseas?
I've done some digging and have up-to-the-hour information from industry insiders, public health experts, and others ... in hopes of bringing a bit of sanity to a crazy issue. Hope it helps!

Bird hunting podcast covers all things PUPPY

Got a pup? Want a pup? Need a pup? Selling, buying? Or do you just need some encouragement and sympathy?
Your calls are the star of this podcast! This edition of the Upland Nation bird hunting podcast covers it all. Behavior, tricks and tips, advice from those still cleaning up after puppies. Listeners call in with questions and a ton of hard-won advice you can use today.
Reading body language, what goes through a pup's mind and how to use that knowledge, critical commands, things they should learn early, how to socialize a pup. How much and how to discipline? How much praise, and for what? Why LOVE is an important factor.
Why the most important thing you might do is ... nothing.
How trust impacts a puppy's development, long-range goals and how to reach them.
And it's all from experienced pro's and those agonizing - right now - over their first pup.
Plus, a public-access spot for your next season, an important dog-training tool, discounts and deals, and the chance to win a Pointer shotgun.

Bird hunting podcast digs deep into CRP: PF/QF's Dave Nomsen on why we fund it, how it helps us, what we can do to get more acres.

If you hunt "walk-in" land, you're likely hunting CRP ground. On this upland bird hunting podcast, I interview an expert in the subject, one of Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever’s longest tenured staff members, Dave Nomsen. Dave is the recipient of the George Bird Grinnell Memorial Award for Distinguished Service to Natural Resource Conservation, a former university professor, and a prime mover on PF/QF’s conservation initiatives.
Nomsen is now Pheasants Forever's director in South Dakota following more than two decades as the organization's vice president of government affairs.
Dave takes us to school on the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and related policy matters with acronyms like CREP, VPA-HIP and others. These federally-funded programs are paid by your tax dollars, and in many ways benefit upland hunters: new habitat, directly. Access to private ground, indirectly. CRP acres grow game birds, songbirds, pollinators, big game, and conserve soil and clean water.
Among the many questions Dave answers: Why should we taxpayers fund CRP when farmers and ranchers get the paychecks? How much are we paying, and why? How can game birds take advantage of the habitat we help fund?
Dave will bring us up to speed on the program’s status today – in the midst of a re-enrollment period. He’ll make it relevant to upland bird hunters, what we can do now to positively affect that re-enrollment and policy in general. If you’ve wondered why CRP ground can be hayed or burned, plowed or disked, he’ll explain.
CRP is a gigantic federal spending program ($2 billion) and a massive game bird factory. Is it worth the investment? You decide after this primer on the biggest conservation program that taxpayers fund.
Plus discounts on gear, a chance to win a shotgun, a public access tip (Scott’s second-favorite state for wild birds), and advice for puppy owners from your friends and Upland Nation listeners. Everything you want, nothing you don’t want.

Upland bird hunting podcast focuses on dog food: controversy, fact, what's good and what's not with the founder of dogfoodadvisor.com

Grain free tempest in a teapot? Why is corn in a carnivore's food? Dr. Mike Sagman, founder of the definitive site dogfoodadvisor.com will answer all your questions. Clear, unbiased evaluations of dog food are the goal, and Mike has seen it all, rating food on his website since 2008.
What government agency monitors dog food, and what do they regulate? The problem with calcium in a puppy food, difference between meats and "meat meals." How dog food is made, why not all "byproducts" aren't bad ... what to look for on a dog food label - it's all right here.
Why all those wacky ingredients from quail eggs to blueberries? And which ingredients you should avoid at all costs. The importance of rotating feed, and how manufacturers try to pull the wool over your eyes with "ingredient splitting." What nutrients are really, truly "essential," and the dubious value of carbohydrates in dog food.
You will be a better-informed dog owner and your dog will be safer and healthier when you're done listening!
Plus product discounts, a chance to win a shotgun, one of Scott's top-three states to hunt public land and why, and a dog handling tip that could get you another chance at a wing-clipped bird ... all in this episode!

Upland bird hunting podcast: NAVHDA founding father Ed Bailey on all things dogs

There from Day One, Dr. Ed Bailey is one of the three original founder-members of the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association. In addition to his memories of that group's origins, we'll be treated to his unique insights into puppies and how to pick them, including the critical fifth week and what we should be doing then.
We'll cover behavioral problems including aggression and shyness, our biggest training mistakes and how to introduce the forced retrieve. "Reading" your dog, do's and don'ts for trainers are also covered.
Also a columnist for Gun Dog magazine, Ed is a hunter, scientist and dog trainer and what he's learned is invaluable to everyone who owns and trains dogs. We'll hit on the most common questions he answers in the column and some less-common training tips.
You'll also get a new public access hunting spot in Nebraska, discounts on gear, a chance to win a Pointer shotgun.

Bird hunting podcast: WILD FOOD! "From Field to Plate" celebrity chef Jeremiah Doughty

It's okay to drool while listening to this podcast!
In-field care, cooking tips, our biggest mistakes in the kitchen ... and indispensable tools and techniques for the clumsiest of us. That's what Jeremiah Doughty of From Field to Plate will provide - insights from a hunter and culinary adventurer ... and Lab owner.
Pluck vs. skin? Legs and thighs as the highlight of a bird on the plate. What the heck is "spatchcocking," anyway, and why should we do it?
You'll learn why most waterfowl tastes like liver, and what to do about it. How and why to undercook upland birds, easy recipes and different ways to look at wild food. What we should - and shouldn't - do in the field and kitchen to dazzle our friends and family and turn them into hunters via their stomach.
What to do with bones, fruit, pheasant legs and your smoker. Jeremiah also answers YOUR questions Paul Hagemann, Bob Wells, and Andy Upwards!
Plus, discounts on gear, advice on succeeding on public-access ground, a dog handling/hunting tip, and the chance to win a Pointer shotgun.
(Can't wait for the discounts? Get 10% off and free shipping at Dogtra with the code SLUN10; 30% off your first order at Dr. Tim's performance dog food with the code UPLANDNATION. Win that gun by signing up for the mailing list at findbirdhuntingspots.com.)