DEER NEWS September 2026: Trump’s Hunting Order, Public Access & Catalina’s Deer Debate
Deer Hunt by Big Buck Registry
Release Date: 09/27/2026
311 Venison Like an Executive Chef with Corey Fletcher | Evergreen Redux
Deer Hunt by Big Buck Registry
Originally released January 25, 2014 | Big Buck Registry Episode 031 You've spent countless hours scouting, hunting, and finally putting a deer on the ground. But what happens after the harvest? Are you getting everything you can out of that venison? In this Big Buck Registry Evergreen Redux episode, we're heading back to 2014 for one of our favorite conversations about wild-game cooking, featuring New Hampshire executive chef, culinary instructor, and fellow deer hunter Corey Fletcher. At the time of the original recording, Corey was the executive chef at Granite Restaurant and Bar in...
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DEER NEWS September 2026: Trump’s Hunting Order, Public Access & Catalina’s Deer Debate
Deer Hunt by Big Buck Registry
What does President Trump’s hunting executive order actually mean for deer hunters—and what still needs to happen before anything changes in the woods? Jay Scott Ammann, Dusty Phillips, and Jim Keller lead this September edition of Deer News with a detailed examination of “Reinvigorating America’s Hunting Heritage,” signed September 17, 2026. Featuring excerpts from the president’s Rose Garden dinner remarks, we explore public-land access, Sunday hunting, lead ammunition, habitat management, hunter education, and venison donation. We also examine the history behind these policies,...
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BONUS: President Trump’s Full Rose Garden Remarks on Hunting & Fishing — September 17, 2026
Deer Hunt by Big Buck Registry
Hear President Donald Trump’s remarks at the September 17, 2026 Rose Garden dinner with members of the hunting, fishing, and outdoor community. During the dinner, Trump discussed two executive orders addressing hunting and saltwater recreational fishing, along with public-land access, lead ammunition, habitat conservation, and other administration priorities. This bonus accompanies our September 2026 Deer News episode, where Jay Scott Ammann, Dusty Phillips, and Jim Keller examine the hunting order’s provisions, practical limits, implementation deadlines, and reactions from the hunting and...
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BONUS TRACK: No Easy Ground — Inspired by John Eberhart
Deer Hunt by Big Buck Registry
NO EASY GROUND — A BBR BONUS TRACK Mature bucks don’t live on easy ground—and consistently hunting them requires more than luck. Inspired by our recent conversation with legendary bowhunter John Eberhart, “No Easy Ground” captures the relentless scouting, careful access, scent control, patience and hard-earned lessons behind pursuing pressured mature whitetails. The song serves as a musical companion to John’s third appearance on the BBR Deer Hunt Podcast and our discussion of the three-volume Ultimate Guide to DIY Bucks series, written by John Eberhart and Greg Godfrey. Listen to...
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310 JOHN EBERHART – Ultimate Guide to DIY Bucks: Hunting Pressured Whitetails
Deer Hunt by Big Buck Registry
John Eberhart returns to the Big Buck Registry Deer Hunt Podcast for the BBR three-peat. John first joined us on Episode 209 in 2017 to discuss hunting heavily pressured bucks and his pioneering use of the tree saddle. He returned on Episode 287 in 2019, when we took a much deeper look at saddle hunting, postseason preparation, bedding areas, entry routes and hunting mature bucks on public land. Now, at 75 years old, John is back to discuss the most comprehensive work of his career: the three-volume “Ultimate Guide to DIY Bucks,” coauthored with Tethrd cofounder Greg Godfrey. John began...
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309 The Deer Butcher - Venison 101 - BBR Evergreen Series
Deer Hunt by Big Buck Registry
What makes great venison? Is it the shot? The equipment? The grinder? The seasoning? Or does it start long before any of those things? In this Big Buck Registry Revival Episode, we're revisiting one of our most practical and enduring conversations from the archives. Originally recorded in 2013, this episode features deer processor Al Gambardella, who spent years behind the cutting table helping hunters turn harvested whitetails into high-quality table fare. A lot has changed in the hunting world since this conversation first aired. Hunters today have access to better equipment, more...
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308 Ben Martin - Hunt Regs App
Deer Hunt by Big Buck Registry
Ben Martin, founder of the Hunt Regs app, joins the show to talk about how he went from a first-generation hunter to building one of the most useful tools in modern hunting. We get into the real problem hunters face with confusing regulations, how his app simplifies everything based on your exact location, and how it’s now being used by state agencies to improve poaching reporting and enforcement. 🎯 What We Cover How Ben got into hunting with no background or mentors The frustration of navigating hunting laws across different states Building the Hunt Regs app with no tech experience...
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307 Pittman–Robertson Act: The Hidden Engine Behind Deer Hunting - BBR Evergreen Series
Deer Hunt by Big Buck Registry
Evergreen Revival of Episode 27 (Originally released December 28, 2013) In 2013, Big Buck Registry recorded Episode 27 — a conversation that quietly became one of the most important episodes in the show’s history. In it, we interviewed certified wildlife biologist Jeff Makemson of the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, exploring a topic most hunters never think about: Where does conservation funding actually come from? The answer leads directly to the Pittman–Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 — the law that rebuilt America’s wildlife,...
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Deer News Review 2025: The Rules, the Research, and the Reality
Deer Hunt by Big Buck Registry
In this special year-end Deer News episode, the Big Buck Registry team takes a comprehensive look at the deer hunting stories that shaped 2025 across the United States. This episode moves state by state through the most consequential changes in deer hunting policy, access, and management—connecting regulation, science, enforcement, and biology into one clear picture of where deer hunting stands today. The episode begins in the Northeast, where long-running debates finally gave way to major access changes. New York legalized crossbows for deer hunting, New Hampshire expanded legal hunting...
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306 Dr. Grant Woods: Whitetail Deer Biology and Behavior – BBR Evergreen Series
Deer Hunt by Big Buck Registry
Original Air Date 2013 RE-release Date 2025 In this Evergreen Edition, host Jay Scott Ammann revisits one of the Big Buck Registry’s most informative and enduring conversations — a deep dive with wildlife biologist Dr. Grant Woods, recorded in 2013. This remastered episode brings the original clarity of Grant’s insights back to the front, exploring how science, observation, and respect for deer behavior shape ethical, effective hunting. From deer vision and scent control to rut timing, habitat work, and trail camera use, Dr. Woods explains what decades of study have...
info_outlineWhat does President Trump’s hunting executive order actually mean for deer hunters—and what still needs to happen before anything changes in the woods?
Jay Scott Ammann, Dusty Phillips, and Jim Keller lead this September edition of Deer News with a detailed examination of “Reinvigorating America’s Hunting Heritage,” signed September 17, 2026.
Featuring excerpts from the president’s Rose Garden dinner remarks, we explore public-land access, Sunday hunting, lead ammunition, habitat management, hunter education, and venison donation. We also examine the history behind these policies, reactions from hunting and conservation organizations, and the deadlines that will shape implementation.
The central distinction: an executive order directing agencies to act is not the same as every federal property immediately opening to hunting.
Also in this episode:
• Michigan EHD: Confirmed detections in four southern counties, potential local herd impacts, and comments from Michigan DNR’s Brent Rudolph about how the virus spreads.
• Massachusetts hunting changes: Expanded hunting opportunities, updated deer-lure rules, and an earlier interview with MassWildlife biologist Martin Feehan explaining deer densities and habitat pressures on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.
• Pennsylvania antlerless opportunities: Additional DMAP permits on participating state forests and parks, with forest regeneration helping guide deer management.
• Catalina Island: The legal dispute over mule deer removal, the Conservancy’s habitat-restoration rationale, and criticism from former BBR guest Robbie Kroger, heard in the documentary Killing Catalina.
Throughout the episode, we distinguish announcements from rules in effect, population management from eradication, and stakeholder arguments from established findings.
HOSTS
Jay Scott Ammann • Dusty Phillips • Jim Keller
FEATURED SOURCE AUDIO
• President Donald Trump — White House Rose Garden dinner, September 17, 2026
• Brent Rudolph — Michigan Department of Natural Resources
• Martin Feehan — CAI’s The Point
• Robbie Kroger — Killing Catalina documentary
Outside audio comes from the original source recordings. These excerpts are not new interviews conducted by Big Buck Registry for this episode.
READ MORE AND EXPLORE BBR
BBR Blog: https://bigbuckregistry.com/the-bbr-blog/
Deer News: https://bigbuckregistry.com/deernews/
Big Buck Registry: https://bigbuckregistry.com/
PRIMARY SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
Executive order:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/09/reinvigorating-americas-hunting-heritage/
White House dinner video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUV87DEi1yA
Michigan DNR — EHD information:
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/wdm/ehd
MassWildlife — Fall hunting announcements:
https://www.mass.gov/news/2026-fall-hunting-announcements
CAI — The effort to expand hunting in Massachusetts:
https://www.capeandislands.org/show/the-point/2026-02-03/the-effort-to-expand-hunting-in-massachusetts
Catalina Island Conservancy — Restoration plan:
https://catalinaconservancy.org/stories/how-were-protecting-catalina-island/
Killing Catalina documentary:
https://www.savethecatalinaislanddeer.com/documentary-killing-catalina
Before hunting, check current state regulations and the rules for the specific property, including permits, species, equipment, dates, and Sunday restrictions.
Have a deer story we should investigate? Send Big Buck Registry the location and a source link.
Stay safe, shoot straight, and see you next time in the deer woods.