A family-owned blueberry farm the size of a small company. A hunter who packs out elk, chases bucks across state lines, and still walks 13 miles a day switching irrigation valves. Eric McKay returns with the kind of farming-and-hunting conversation that makes you rethink what it takes to stay in the game.

Dan J. sits down with Eric to unpack how a 1,000-acre Michigan blueberry operation actually works - from processing 5 to 7 million pounds a year to battling frost, extreme heat, and the brutal timing of spring freezes that can wipe out a crop without killing the bushes. Eric breaks down how weather changes sugar content, why Lake Michigan helps and hurts at the same time, and what it really means to keep a multi-generation farm family-owned when bigger buyers are always circling.

We also get deep into the hunting side of Eric's life, including what keeps him coming back to southern Illinois, why his favorite Michigan window is late October, and how his western addiction started in 2012 and never really stopped. He shares what makes Colorado his favorite elk destination, why Montana tested him harder than almost any trip he's taken, and how altitude, dehydration, and sheer pack-out misery separate a fun hunt from a true grind.

You'll discover:

• How a blueberry farm processes, packages, and markets fruit at massive scale
• Why late frosts, summer heat, and rainfall can change both yield and flavor
• What deer do around blueberry farms and how hunters use that to their advantage
• Why Eric prefers specific timing windows in Michigan and southern Illinois
• What makes western public land hunting so addictive, physically brutal, and worth it

Eric also talks about hunting with his kid and wife, managing tags across multiple states, and why this season is more about family, freezer fills, and being in the woods than chasing giant score numbers. If you love whitetail strategy, western hunting stories, or the reality of making a living on the land, this one is loaded.Perfect for hunters, farmers, and anyone who wants a behind-the-scenes look at the intersection of hard work, weather, deer movement, and chasing big country.

Hunting Mature Bucks: Trail-Camera Clues, Access, and Public-Land Pressure

When a mature buck appears on camera in the middle of the night, is it a real opportunity—or just another clue to file away? Dan and returning guest Pierce dig into how they interpret trail-camera photos, plan hunts, and make decisions when a buck only shows up a few times each season.

They discuss the role of wind, thermals, access routes, and historical movement, along with why sitting a proven setup can sometimes beat constantly moving. The conversation also explores the challenges of hunting small parcels and public land, where pressure and limited access can change a carefully made plan.

Dan and Pierce share hard-earned lessons from missed opportunities, close encounters, and years of hunting. They also talk about earning landowner trust and finding a respectful path to hunting permission.

Whether you’re trying to make sense of nocturnal trail-camera activity, hunt a pressured property, or get closer to a mature buck, this episode offers grounded strategies and honest perspective from the field.

Joey Mnczunski joins Dan Johnson to share how he left a crowded family lease in southern Michigan and built a public-land hunting approach in Northern Michigan’s big woods. Over years of scouting and hunting, Joey learned to read swamps, clear-cuts, river bottoms, and changing deer pressure—and to hunt the spots rather than chase one specific buck.

Joey talks about how antler point restrictions may have affected hunting in the region, how he finds promising ground, and why he rarely hunts the same tree twice in a season. He also breaks down speed scouting by boat, locating scrape hubs along fire trails, and adjusting to deer that move into swamps as firearm season approaches.

The conversation includes the story behind Joey’s last-season buck: a once-logged autumn olive thicket regrew, the deer sign returned, and Joey set up there—leading to a close-range encounter.If you’re interested in public-land deer hunting, big woods scouting, or adapting your strategy to terrain and pressure, this episode is packed with lessons earned in the field.

Urban deer hunting gets wild fast when 10 acres can hold 15 to 20 deer. Returning guest Mike Ward joins Dan Johnson to explain how he and his organization help manage overpopulated deer in southeastern Pennsylvania, where deer move through backyards, landscaping beds, and neighborhoods.

They discuss why deer numbers rebound despite heavy harvest pressure, how township partnerships and archery-only management work, and why hunting small suburban parcels still depends on wind, access, and understanding deer and human movement. Mike also explains how donated venison supports local food banks.

Plus, hear the story of an opening-day hunt on an 8-acre property where Mike and a friend each tagged a buck—including a 10-point buck Mike hadn’t known was there. It’s a look at the realities of suburban deer management, the challenges of hunting tight parcels, and the surprising opportunities that can come with them.

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AI is already changing deer hunting faster than most hunters want to admit. Dan Johnson and returning guest Aaron Berg break down how drone recovery, public-land strategy, and early-season buck behavior are forcing hunters to rethink what is fair, what is effective, and where the line should be drawn.

Aaron shares the reality of running a deer recovery drone in the middle of hunting season, including what a recovery costs, how long he’ll search, and why some hunters are using the technology exactly as intended while others are pushing into shady territory. Dan and Aaron get into the ethics of using drones for scouting, how quickly the thermal and imaging tech can expose deer movement, and why some states are starting to get nervous about where this all leads.

Then Aaron tells the story of a wild early-season public-land hunt that ended with a hard-earned buck from a tiny pocket of white oaks surrounded by bedding cover and water. You’ll hear how he hunted a brutally specific wind, slipped in with his saddle gear, watched does and multiple bucks filter through, and finally sealed the deal after making three shots in one of the strangest deer encounters imaginable.

You’ll discover:

• Why drone recovery is becoming both a lifesaver and a controversy
• How fast AI-generated images can blur the line between real and fake
• The gray area around drones, property lines, and recovering wounded deer
• Why early-season white oak hunting can still produce a mature buck
• How Aaron uses wind, terrain, and bedding access to create high-odds public-land setups

Dan also pushes into the bigger question every hunter should be asking now: how much technology is too much? If you care about deer hunting ethics, public-land tactics, or simply hearing a brutally honest success story from a guy who earns every tag, this one belongs on your list.

Perfect for hunters who love real-world tactics, public-land problem solving, and honest conversations about where modern hunting is headed.

What happens when a hunting podcast turns into a hilarious, brutally honest conversation about parenting, public-land chaos, and why the best bowhunters are always one bad decision away from disaster? Dan Johnson and Pierce Nelles unpack the kind of real life that can derail a hunt in seconds - a swallowed Lego, an emergency room run, and a day that goes off the rails before the first arrow is ever shot.

Dan Johnson, host of the Nine Finger Chronicles, brings the chaos from the Johnson household, while Pierce Nelles of the Wisconsin Sportsman adds his own stories, sharp humor, and hard-earned hunting perspective. Together they bounce from family emergencies to childhood fights, from the weirdest emergency room stories imaginable to the mindset it takes to stay calm when a giant buck finally steps into range.

You'll discover:

• Why a "quick" scouting trip can turn into an all-day parenting and ER marathon
• What both hosts look for when a buck is closing the distance and panic starts to creep in
• The hardest football drills they ever survived and why those games still feel relevant in the woods
• How water levels, river bottoms, and rising temps completely change deer movement
• Why some of the best hunting intel comes from cell cams, scrape lines, and the right wind on the right stand

Pierce also shares what he's seeing on his Wisconsin and Iowa properties right now, including how rainfall and river flooding have reshuffled camera activity and why early season movement is starting to tell a bigger story. Dan breaks down the deer behavior he's watching on his own farms, plus the exact mental routine he uses when a trophy buck is about to blow up the moment.

This is the kind of episode that reminds you hunting is never just hunting. It's family, time management, busted plans, busted egos, and the occasional life lesson wrapped in a pretty funny conversation. Perfect for hunters, dads, and anyone who enjoys the unfiltered side of the outdoors.Dan Johnson hosts the Nine Finger Chronicles and shares candid stories from the field and home life. Pierce Nelles hosts the Wisconsin Sportsman podcast and brings tactical hunting insight, Midwest deer talk, and a knack for keeping the conversation entertaining.

Forward-facing sonar, brutal tournament pressure, and a 220- to 240-inch Kansas buck that got away—Chancy Walters lays it all out in this raw, funny, and unexpectedly intense conversation.

If you care about competition fishing, big whitetails, or the mindset it takes to stay dangerous when the margins are razor-thin, this episode hits hard. Chancy breaks down why today’s tournament game is so punishing, how electronics have changed bass fishing forever, and why he still thinks old-school instincts matter more than gear.

He shares:

• What separates the guys who are always near the top from the rest of the field
• Why losing one fish can wreck an entire tournament
• How forward-facing sonar changed the sport—and why he thinks it hurts the soul of fishing
• The difference between fishing for fun and fishing like it matters
• How he scouts and hunts big bucks by covering ground, glassing hard, and staying ready to move fast

Then the conversation shifts into whitetail gold. Chancy tells the wild story of the giant Kansas buck he had at 12 yards, couldn’t legally shoot, and later watched slip into legend. The conversation also covers decoy setups, satellite bucks, rut movement, knocking on doors for permission, and why he’d rather kill a dozen 170s than chase one 200.

Chancy Walters is a full-time artist known for his feather paintings, dog portraits, deer art, and custom wildlife work. He’s also a hard-charging tournament angler and whitetail hunter who lives by one rule: keep moving until the odds finally break your way.

Essential listening if you love deer-hunting strategy, tournament fishing, public-land pressure, or authentic outdoor conversations.

Some of the best deer habitat isn’t on giant farms - it’s built one pond, one apple tree, and one overlooked bedding pocket at a time. Dan Johnson and Adam Larson break down how a 35-acre Wisconsin property becomes a legit buck magnet when you combine food, cover, access, and a little obsession.

Adam shares the real-world habitat decisions behind his place in Columbia County, from a 20-by-30 pond tucked into a transition line to a 49-tree apple orchard planted for a harvest window that runs from August into October. You’ll hear why he favors semi-dwarf and standard varieties, why fencing matters for the first 5 to 7 years, and how disease-resistant apples can outperform the typical “deer tree” setup most hunters try and abandon too early.

We also get into the deer foods most hunters overlook. Adam talks pignut hickory, heavy acorn years, micro food plots, and why buckthorn and prickly ash - the “bad” stuff in habitat circles - can create the kind of nasty travel corridor mature deer love. Dan and Adam also compare notes on the September shift, with both seeing bucks redistribute as velvet comes off and crops change, sometimes to their advantage and sometimes not.

The conversation goes deeper into strategy, too. Adam explains how he hunts a property with swirling thermals, why wind and access dictate when he can actually enter the woods, and what it means to manage a small acreage that’s surrounded by neighbors who know exactly what he’s built. They also tackle CWD head-on - what it looks like in the field, how it compares to EHD, and why Adam believes the disease is real but not the herd-ending collapse many hunters were led to fear.

If you’re trying to squeeze more out of small acreage, build better deer habitat, or simply want a smarter way to think about early-season hunting, this one is packed with practical takeaways. Perfect for whitetail hunters who want less hype and more field-tested strategy.