Explore every episode of the podcast Wildlife Investments

The opener of gun season no doubt alters deer movement, but does it make deer movement nocturnal? This is a common claim among hunters and there is certainly a lot of anecdotal evidence reported from the deer woods on the subject, but what does science say? Dr. Marcus Lashley, Dr. Bronson Strickland, and Moriah Boggess discuss a research project that measured deer activity in Mississippi before and during rifle season. The results might surprise you, but there is much to be learned and applied from this study.

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Why can't you grow big bucks on your property? High grading might be the problem and you may not even know you're doing it! Selective buck harvesting is necessary when managing for age structure and trophy potential, but it opens the door to high-grading. Dr. Bronson Strickland, Bonner Powell, and Moriah Boggess explain why antler-based harvest rules often backfire. Thankfully, they also give some simple strategies to minimize high-grading while pursuing a blend of hunter satisfaction and trophy management goals for your property.

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Quality quail habitat can also double as a big buck breeding ground, but you won't make it happen by accident. Dr. Bronson Strickland, Dr. Mark McConnell, and Bonner Powell break down where deer and bobwhite management overlap, where it doesn't, and why thermal cover might be the most overlooked factor on your property.

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Thermal drones are all the rage, but they are not a silver bullet and have serious limitations when used to develop deer population estimates. Bronson, Bonner, and Moriah discuss the strengths and weaknesses of thermal drone surveys and how Wildlife Investments uses this new technology alongside long-term datasets to fine tune deer population management.

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The best habitat in the world can't offset an overabundant deer population. Bronson, Bonner, and Moriah discuss the challenges of maintaining an adequate doe harvest and why this is such an important component of well-managed properties.

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A historical winter storm ripped across the southeast in late January 2026, leveling some forest stands and severely damaging others. This is a pivotal point for these properties, as landowners must decide how to best manage stands after this catastrophe. Dr. Brady Self, an extension forestry professor for Mississippi State University, joins Bronson, Bonner, and Moriah on this episode to discuss the damage and parameters that should factor into these management decisions.

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How many deer are on the property you hunt, or state you live in? Do we really need to know these numbers to effectively manage deer populations? Deer management is saturated with talk about deer population estimations, but seldom do you hear discussion on why we monitor populations and more importantly what information we need to do so. Bronson, Bonner, and Moriah discuss these questions and how they approach deer population monitoring effectively and realistically.

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Most recreational properties in the southeast are covered with food plots. Do these food plots add habitat value for quail, or do they just get in the way? Bronson, Moriah, and Dr. Mark McConnell discuss food plots and their value to quail at length, giving you insight into how you can improve food plot value for bobwhite.

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Looking for real-world strategies to improve wild turkey habitat on your property?  Then this episode of Wildlife Investments is for you, because Will and Marcus join the podcast to share proven turkey management success stories and give you encouragement to make improvements on your property. They share anecdotes, observations, and some laughs while discussing stories of properties they've helped improve.

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If you're wondering how to tweak management on your property for better quality turkey habitat, look no further. Drs Marcus Lashley and Will Gulsby talk with Moriah about the most common issues they see on properties and how a few simple tweaks can greatly move the needle for turkey management. From prescribed fire to food plots, brooding plots, and more, the guys discuss some clear achievable improvements you can make on your property to create better turkey hunting.

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In habitat management we talk a lot about the benefit of forest thinning on forage and cover production, but how do you accomplish this while not hindering future timber value? The short answer, is that context is important and there are always tradeoffs to consider. On this episode we're joined by Jonathon Stoll, our professional forester, to discuss the pitfalls of aggressive thinning and what you should consider when deciding between a moderate and aggressive first or second thin in loblolly pine.

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Join the guys and Dr. Will Gulsby for a fast paced discussion on various turkey management topics. Key topics include determining ideal management unit sizes, quantifying population responses to habitat work, establishing sustainable harvest rates for your property, and more.

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Herbicides are becoming an increasingly contentious subject in the habitat and food plot management world. There are many valid concerns surrounding their use, but do these concerns outweigh their value? Bronson and Moriah are joined by Luke Resop of the MSU Deer Lab to tackle this topic and discuss how they approach the herbicide issue when managing habitat for game species.

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You may have never considered how psychology might be intrinsically linked to deer management, but it is. On this podcast Bronson and Moriah discuss a psychological phenomenon called the Dunning-Kruger Effect, and specifically how this psychological bias affects all of us. From taxes, car repair, and highway driving to fine-scale deer movement, the guys discuss how they consider this bias in deer management and life.

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We're joined by Dr. Marcus Lashley today for a discussion on density dependence in deer populations, and more interestingly, when populations break from this typical relationship. We also spend time discussing challenges of habitat management in the lower coastal plain and how seeds get moved into freshly thinned, burned, or disturbed habitat units.

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We're joined by Dr. Marcus Lashley today for a discussion on density dependence in deer populations, and more interestingly, when populations break from this typical relationship. We also spend time discussing challenges of habitat management in the lower coastal plain and how seeds get moved into freshly thinned, burned, or disturbed habitat units.

Send us Fan Mail

You may have never considered how psychology might be intrinsically linked to deer management, but it is. On this podcast Bronson and Moriah discuss a psychological phenomenon called the Dunning-Kruger Effect, and specifically how this psychological bias affects all of us. From taxes, car repair, and highway driving to fine-scale deer movement, the guys discuss how they consider this bias in deer management and life.

Send us Fan Mail

Thermal drones are all the rage, but they are not a silver bullet and have serious limitations when used to develop deer population estimates. Bronson, Bonner, and Moriah discuss the strengths and weaknesses of thermal drone surveys and how Wildlife Investments uses this new technology alongside long-term datasets to fine tune deer population management.

Send us Fan Mail

The best habitat in the world can't offset an overabundant deer population. Bronson, Bonner, and Moriah discuss the challenges of maintaining an adequate doe harvest and why this is such an important component of well-managed properties.

Send us Fan Mail

Quality quail habitat can also double as a big buck breeding ground, but you won't make it happen by accident. Dr. Bronson Strickland, Dr. Mark McConnell, and Bonner Powell break down where deer and bobwhite management overlap, where it doesn't, and why thermal cover might be the most overlooked factor on your property.

Send us Fan Mail

Why can't you grow big bucks on your property? High grading might be the problem and you may not even know you're doing it! Selective buck harvesting is necessary when managing for age structure and trophy potential, but it opens the door to high-grading. Dr. Bronson Strickland, Bonner Powell, and Moriah Boggess explain why antler-based harvest rules often backfire. Thankfully, they also give some simple strategies to minimize high-grading while pursuing a blend of hunter satisfaction and trophy management goals for your property.

Send us Fan Mail

The opener of gun season no doubt alters deer movement, but does it make deer movement nocturnal? This is a common claim among hunters and there is certainly a lot of anecdotal evidence reported from the deer woods on the subject, but what does science say? Dr. Marcus Lashley, Dr. Bronson Strickland, and Moriah Boggess discuss a research project that measured deer activity in Mississippi before and during rifle season. The results might surprise you, but there is much to be learned and applied from this study.

Send us Fan Mail

Herbicides are becoming an increasingly contentious subject in the habitat and food plot management world. There are many valid concerns surrounding their use, but do these concerns outweigh their value? Bronson and Moriah are joined by Luke Resop of the MSU Deer Lab to tackle this topic and discuss how they approach the herbicide issue when managing habitat for game species.

Send us Fan Mail

Join the guys and Dr. Will Gulsby for a fast paced discussion on various turkey management topics. Key topics include determining ideal management unit sizes, quantifying population responses to habitat work, establishing sustainable harvest rates for your property, and more.

Send us Fan Mail

In habitat management we talk a lot about the benefit of forest thinning on forage and cover production, but how do you accomplish this while not hindering future timber value? The short answer, is that context is important and there are always tradeoffs to consider. On this episode we're joined by Jonathon Stoll, our professional forester, to discuss the pitfalls of aggressive thinning and what you should consider when deciding between a moderate and aggressive first or second thin in loblolly pine.

Send us Fan Mail

Looking for real-world strategies to improve wild turkey habitat on your property?  Then this episode of Wildlife Investments is for you, because Will and Marcus join the podcast to share proven turkey management success stories and give you encouragement to make improvements on your property. They share anecdotes, observations, and some laughs while discussing stories of properties they've helped improve.

Send us Fan Mail

If you're wondering how to tweak management on your property for better quality turkey habitat, look no further. Drs Marcus Lashley and Will Gulsby talk with Moriah about the most common issues they see on properties and how a few simple tweaks can greatly move the needle for turkey management. From prescribed fire to food plots, brooding plots, and more, the guys discuss some clear achievable improvements you can make on your property to create better turkey hunting.

Send us Fan Mail

Most recreational properties in the southeast are covered with food plots. Do these food plots add habitat value for quail, or do they just get in the way? Bronson, Moriah, and Dr. Mark McConnell discuss food plots and their value to quail at length, giving you insight into how you can improve food plot value for bobwhite.

Send us Fan Mail

How many deer are on the property you hunt, or state you live in? Do we really need to know these numbers to effectively manage deer populations? Deer management is saturated with talk about deer population estimations, but seldom do you hear discussion on why we monitor populations and more importantly what information we need to do so. Bronson, Bonner, and Moriah discuss these questions and how they approach deer population monitoring effectively and realistically.

Send us Fan Mail

A historical winter storm ripped across the southeast in late January 2026, leveling some forest stands and severely damaging others. This is a pivotal point for these properties, as landowners must decide how to best manage stands after this catastrophe. Dr. Brady Self, an extension forestry professor for Mississippi State University, joins Bronson, Bonner, and Moriah on this episode to discuss the damage and parameters that should factor into these management decisions.

Send us Fan Mail

Long debated in deer hunting stories, the subject of wild deer culling for genetic improvement is a debate that never dies, but there is a lot of sound research that has examined this question. This is the first of a three part series reviewing the results of genetic culling research. On this episode we're joined by Dr. Mickey Hellickson to discuss foundational deer culling research that he helped lead on the famous King Ranch looking at genetic culling via hunting in a free-range setting.

 The full study can be found below

https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/wmon.70013

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We're picking up where our last episode left off on the topic of deer culling for genetic improvement. Donnie Draeger is joining us to discuss the iconic Comanche Ranch high-fence culling study that went to even greater extremes to test whether deer herd population genetics can be improved. He and Bronson discuss the logistics of conducting a study of this scale, the results, and what contributed to the challenges they face in improving genetic quality of bucks.

You can read more on the the actual study here:  https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/wmon.70013

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Do big bucks always have big antlered offspring? How much of a buck's antler size is affected by his sire? Are spikes genetically inferior? We're diving deep into antler heritability, buck breeding values, and antler genetics in this third and final buck culling podcast. Dr. Randy DeYoung of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville is joining us and sharing lot's of information about buck antler genetics and how many variables around genetics affect culling efficacy.

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