We’re not all habitat work all the time here at NDA. We know the importance of enjoying the fruits of your labor and that’s the primary focus of the Coffee and Deer podcast. The show is hosted by NDA President and CEO Nick Pinizzotto and his long-time hunting buddy and friend Mike Groman and focuses on hunting heritage and conservation policy. Nick and Mike are typically joined by expert guests — from NDA staff to outdoor writers to policymakers — to share hunting stories and discuss important conservation issues impacting deer and deer hunting. We hope you’ll join us for a fun and informative discussion over coffee about all things deer.
Episodes
Wednesday Feb 07, 2024
Wednesday Feb 07, 2024
Did you know there are wildlife health professionals scattered across the country working day and night to keep animals and people safe from wildlife-borne diseases? These good people are truly working on the front lines of wildlife management and it’s likely most people have no idea that it’s happening.
That’s why we invited Wildlife Health Technician, Ian Gereg, to join us on this episode to talk about the wide array of things he and his colleagues work on to keep us and wildlife healthy. He works for the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (PennVet) and is part of the Pennsylvania Wildlife Futures Program.
He explains to Nick and The Doctor how he has no idea what he will encounter on a given day and shares stories of some of the craziest things that have happened to him in the field. He also talks about some of the current research he is involved with. The National Deer Association works in partnership with PennVet and the Pennsylvania Game Commission as part of the Wildlife Futures Program, particularly on chronic wasting disease and other deer management related matters.
Episode Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s
Important Links
Pennsylvania Wildlife Futures Program
Follow Nick Pinizzotto on Instagram
Follow Mike Groman on Instagram
Music by Bensound
Subscribe to the Podcast on:
About the National Deer Association
The National Deer Association (NDA) is a non-profit deer conservation group that works to ensure the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting. Thank you for subscribing to our podcast!
Support NDA’s mission by becoming a member today.
NDA has the highest ranking from Charity Navigator, an independent group that monitors non-profits for financial efficiency and effectiveness.
Learn more about deer and deer hunting in our weekly, free e-newsletter.
Follow us on our other channels: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
Wednesday Jan 24, 2024
Wednesday Jan 24, 2024
While assessing tooth replacement and tooth wear can be an effective way to age deer to a certain age, or at least get you close, there’s no more accurate way than having a tooth analyzed under a microscope using the cementum annuli technique.
Our guest in this episode is Heather Stevens, owner of Wildlife Analytical Laboratories and founder of deerage.com. She shares with Nick and The Doctor how her business got started and how she wants to make it easier and more affordable than ever for hunters to have their deer aged accurately.
She also walks through the process of having a deer aged from tooth extraction to results while offering advice on making their job easier by sending in a properly prepared sample.
Episode Sponsor: PH Outdoors
Important Links
Follow Nick Pinizzotto on Instagram
Follow Mike Groman on Instagram
Music by Bensound
Subscribe to the Podcast on:
About the National Deer Association
The National Deer Association (NDA) is a non-profit deer conservation group that works to ensure the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting. Thank you for subscribing to our podcast!
Support NDA’s mission by becoming a member today.
NDA has the highest ranking from Charity Navigator, an independent group that monitors non-profits for financial efficiency and effectiveness.
Learn more about deer and deer hunting in our weekly, free e-newsletter.
Follow us on our other channels: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
Wednesday Jan 10, 2024
Wednesday Jan 10, 2024
It wasn’t long after Ohio hunter Jason Thomas walked up on his buck of a lifetime that word started getting out that a potential new Ohio typical record may have fallen. A few weeks later a MeatEater headline read, “Ohio Hunter Kills One of World’s Biggest Whitetails,” and Outdoor Life followed with “Ohio Crossbow Hunter Stalks into Position on a Bedded 200-Class Buck.” More would follow from other sources, but one thing was certain. The whitetail hunting world was now aware of Thomas’s enormous whitetail, and he graciously joined the Coffee and Deer podcast to share his story with us.
It often doesn’t work out when a hunter targets a single buck for a season. It’s hard enough to take any buck, let alone limit yourself to a particular deer that you may not even see during the season. Thomas had a history with the deer and decided he was going to do everything he could to put himself in position for a shot, and his hard work eventually paid off. This isn’t a story about a hunter who simply got lucky by being in the right spot at the right time. Thomas’s actions leading up to and during the season set the stage for an inevitable encounter, and his decision to make a bold move on that fateful day sealed the deal. This is an episode you don’t want to miss.
Episode Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s
Important Links
Follow Nick Pinizzotto on Instagram
Follow Mike Groman on Instagram
Music by Bensound
Subscribe to the Podcast on:
About the National Deer Association
The National Deer Association (NDA) is a non-profit deer conservation group that works to ensure the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting. Thank you for subscribing to our podcast!
Support NDA’s mission by becoming a member today.
NDA has the highest ranking from Charity Navigator, an independent group that monitors non-profits for financial efficiency and effectiveness.
Learn more about deer and deer hunting in our weekly, free e-newsletter.
Follow us on our other channels: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
Wednesday Dec 20, 2023
Wednesday Dec 20, 2023
The winter deer season is here! After weeks of being pursued by hunters, starting with archery equipment and eventually firearms, deer are more cautious than ever, making it even more challenging to get into shooting range.
Difficult doesn’t mean impossible though, and in this episode, Nick and The Doctor invited Mark Kenyon of MeatEater and the Wired to Hunt podcast to talk about what it takes to fill tags after the holidays.
The winter deer hunting season is unique and requires tactics you may not have used earlier in the season, as well as some thinking outside the box. You’ll hear what tactics have worked as our three veteran hunters talk about their experiences.
Also in this episode, our hosts answer an Ask NDA Anything question about button bucks. Do they shed their buttons like bucks with antlers do? Be sure to listen and find out. Note that the next episode of the NDA Coffee and Deer Podcast will be on January 10 as we take a week off over the Christmas holiday. Happy holidays everyone, and thanks for listening!
Episode Sponsor: First Lite
Important Links
Follow Nick Pinizzotto on Instagram
Follow Mike Groman on Instagram
Music by Bensound
Subscribe to the Podcast on:
About the National Deer Association
The National Deer Association (NDA) is a non-profit deer conservation group that works to ensure the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting. Thank you for subscribing to our podcast!
Support NDA’s mission by becoming a member today.
NDA has the highest ranking from Charity Navigator, an independent group that monitors non-profits for financial efficiency and effectiveness.
Learn more about deer and deer hunting in our weekly, free e-newsletter.
Follow us on our other channels: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
Wednesday Dec 06, 2023
Wednesday Dec 06, 2023
Many people watch outdoors television and dream about working in the content creation side of the industry. It’s a question we’re asked about often, so we invited videographer and photographer Dylan Lenz to the podcast to talk about what it takes to be successful in outdoors television and content creation.
Dylan’s primary project is creating content with Jeff Sturgis of Wildlife Habitat Solutions, but he also does a lot of freelance work for some of the biggest names and companies in the industry such as First Lite and MeatEater. He explains that while he loves what he does, there’s a lot of hard work, long nights, and dedication required, which is the side most people don’t see when they’re watching their favorite hunting shows on television.
Dylan also shares with Nick and The Doctor where he got his inspiration, and how he keeps his production schedule full throughout the year by venturing outside the industry. It’s an inside look into the fascinating world of outdoors and hunting industry content creation.
Also in this episode, our hosts give an update on their ongoing firearms hunting seasons, which includes one tag filled and a lot of frustration otherwise. They talk about the strategies they’re using as they try to fill their remaining tags with the season winding down.
Episode Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s
Important Links
Follow Nick Pinizzotto on Instagram
Follow Mike Groman on Instagram
Music by Bensound
Subscribe to the Podcast on:
About the National Deer Association
The National Deer Association (NDA) is a non-profit deer conservation group that works to ensure the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting. Thank you for subscribing to our podcast!
Support NDA’s mission by becoming a member today.
NDA has the highest ranking from Charity Navigator, an independent group that monitors non-profits for financial efficiency and effectiveness.
Learn more about deer and deer hunting in our weekly, free e-newsletter.
Follow us on our other channels: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
Wednesday Nov 22, 2023
Wednesday Nov 22, 2023
As if the time involved in being successful in the classroom and performing at the highest level of college football isn’t demanding enough, Cade Brock and a few of his teammates are making a difference by introducing non-hunting and fishing teammates to the outdoors. They founded DGD Outdoors, eventually incorporating it as a non-profit, and now they’re making a mark on people’s lives.
DGD Outdoors is a player-run business connecting fans and athletes to the great outdoors. The organization is a collection of University of Georgia football players who enjoy the outdoors – hunting, fishing, and the conservation of wildlife. They introduce newcomers to what they know and enjoy about being true sportsmen. Their goal is to promote the importance of conservation and spread the values of being in the outdoors. Cade joins Nick and The Doctor to talk about how the program got started, and where they hope to take it from here.
Also in this episode, our hosts review their archery deer hunting seasons, and how this season has been an unprecedented struggle. It has just been one of those seasons that seemed to combine a lack of deer movement and plenty of misfortune. They discuss the factors that led to the season they’ve had and look forward to the coming firearms and winter archery seasons to find redemption.
Episode Sponsor: Vortex Optics
Important Links
Website: DGD Outdoors
Instagram: DGD Outdoors
Follow Nick Pinizzotto on Instagram
Follow Mike Groman on Instagram
Music by Bensound
Subscribe to the Podcast on:
About the National Deer Association
The National Deer Association (NDA) is a non-profit deer conservation group that works to ensure the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting. Thank you for subscribing to our podcast!
Support NDA’s mission by becoming a member today.
NDA has the highest ranking from Charity Navigator, an independent group that monitors non-profits for financial efficiency and effectiveness.
Learn more about deer and deer hunting in our weekly, free e-newsletter.
Follow us on our other channels: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
Wednesday Nov 08, 2023
Wednesday Nov 08, 2023
The National Deer Association recently teamed up with Baptist Homes & Healthcare Ministries to put on some very special Field to Fork programs for the senior residents of the Baptist Home of Arcadia Valley in Ironton, Missouri and the Baptist Home Ozark in Ozark, Missouri.
In Ironton, five “reactivated” hunters were given the opportunity to go out on the 160-acre campus property to try and harvest a deer with Mission Crossbows on opening day of Missouri’s archery season. The Ozark Senior Field to Fork event recruited a few new hunters and reactivated some former hunters.
A total of six hunters joined NDA for two days of education, crossbow shooting, and deer hunting including 93-year-old Bessie Hume, who had never deer hunted before. In this touching episode, Nick and The Doctor talk with Baptist Homes and Healthcare and Ministries’ CEO, Rodney Harrison, and NDA’s Deer Outreach Specialist, Cheyne Matzenbacher, about the impact these hunts are having on the residents there, as well as those helping them through the program.
Also in this episode, our hosts review their action in the deer woods and provide a current rut report. They filled a couple of tags over the last few days and are now focused on mature rutting bucks as we head into the most exciting time of year to be a deer hunter. Do you have a great deer story to share? If so and you have an interest in being a guest on the show, send an email to nick@deerassociation.com.
Episode Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s
Important Links
Video: A Field to Fork Story: Reactivating your Love for the Outdoors
Follow Nick Pinizzotto on Instagram
Follow Mike Groman on Instagram
Music by Bensound
Subscribe to the Podcast on:
About the National Deer Association
The National Deer Association (NDA) is a non-profit deer conservation group that works to ensure the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting. Thank you for subscribing to our podcast!
Support NDA’s mission by becoming a member today.
NDA has the highest ranking from Charity Navigator, an independent group that monitors non-profits for financial efficiency and effectiveness.
Learn more about deer and deer hunting in our weekly, free e-newsletter.
Follow us on our other channels: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
Wednesday Oct 25, 2023
Wednesday Oct 25, 2023
It’s that magical time of year in the deer woods; the rut! For most hunters, this is the time of year that the day-to-day gets set aside for some time on the stand so in this episode we’re talking with outdoor communicator and veteran whitetail hunter Josh Honeycutt about strategies that we hope can help you be successful. Josh also shares the story of his early season Kentucky bruiser, “Big 12.” This is a buck he had a lot of history with and you’ll hear the story of how he was finally able to arrange a meeting and make his shot count. This is an exciting episode during the most exciting time of year!
The next episode is an Ask NDA Anything episode, so please send your questions to nick@deerassociation.com. We are also looking for your deer photos and stories! You might just find yourself as a guest on an upcoming show.
Episode Sponsor: Moultrie Mobile
Important Links
Follow Nick Pinizzotto on Instagram
Follow Mike Groman on Instagram
Music by Bensound
Subscribe to the Podcast on:
About the National Deer Association
The National Deer Association (NDA) is a non-profit deer conservation group that works to ensure the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting. Thank you for subscribing to our podcast!
Support NDA’s mission by becoming a member today.
NDA has the highest ranking from Charity Navigator, an independent group that monitors non-profits for financial efficiency and effectiveness.
Learn more about deer and deer hunting in our weekly, free e-newsletter.
Follow us on our other channels: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
After the excitement from the first few days of deer season wears off, many hunters get frustrated during the early part of the pre-rut for a number of reasons, ranging from lack of deer sightings to warm temperatures to the perception of an October lull.
In this episode, Nick and The Doctor share their personal tactics for filling tags during the early part of the season. They discuss the best available science that supports many of their hunting decisions, and even tackle controversial topics like whether or not the October lull is real and whether or not cold fronts have an impact on deer movement. This is a fun conversation that we hope will also help you fill some tags in the early part of the season.
This is also an Ask NDA Anything episode and the guys tackle questions about scent drippers and hunting during unseasonably warm temperatures. If you have a question, please be sure to send it to nick@deerassociation.com and it will be read on a future episode.
Episode Sponsor: First Lite
Referenced in Episode:
Cold Fronts May Get Hunters On Their Feet, But Bucks Answer A Different Call - Article
3 Studies, 3 Strikes for the October Lull - Article
How Hunting Pressure and Habitat Impacts Deer Movement with Dylan Stewart and Dr. Will Gulsby – Podcast
10 Things We Know About Mature Buck Movements – Article
The 4 Most Important Drivers of Buck Movement - Video
Important Links
Follow Nick Pinizzotto on Instagram
Follow Mike Groman on Instagram
Music by Bensound
Subscribe to the Podcast on:
About the National Deer Association
The National Deer Association (NDA) is a non-profit deer conservation group that works to ensure the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting. Thank you for subscribing to our podcast!
Support NDA’s mission by becoming a member today.
NDA has the highest ranking from Charity Navigator, an independent group that monitors non-profits for financial efficiency and effectiveness.
Learn more about deer and deer hunting in our weekly, free e-newsletter.
Follow us on our other channels: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
Wednesday Sep 27, 2023
Wednesday Sep 27, 2023
When you ask most hunters who have successfully gotten close to mature deer what their number one priority is when heading to the woods, they’ll tell you scent control and hunting in the right wind conditions. You could be hunting the best spot in the country with mature bucks everywhere, but if you don’t control your scent, it won’t matter. A whitetail’s nose is its number one line of defense so if you’re serious about consistently achieving positive results, managing scent control should be your highest priority.
To help deliver that point, Jake Ehlinger of Habitat Solutions 360 joins Nick and The Doctor to talk about his extreme scent control routine and how it can be modified to fit your personal hunting situation. Jake is a well-known successful mature buck hunter who brings a wealth of expertise in many areas ranging from hunting whitetails to managing their habitat. As we head into hunting seasons across the country, this is the perfect time to hear this conversation.
The next episode is an Ask NDA Anything show so if you have a question, please send it to nick@deerassociation.com and it will be read on a future episode.
Episode Sponsor: Wildlife Research Center
Important Links
Habitat Solutions 360 – Website
Habitat Solutions 360 - YouTube
Follow Nick Pinizzotto on Instagram
Follow Mike Groman on Instagram
Music by Bensound
Subscribe to the Podcast on:
About the National Deer Association
The National Deer Association (NDA) is a non-profit deer conservation group that works to ensure the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting. Thank you for subscribing to our podcast!
Support NDA’s mission by becoming a member today.
NDA has the highest ranking from Charity Navigator, an independent group that monitors non-profits for financial efficiency and effectiveness.
Learn more about deer and deer hunting in our weekly, free e-newsletter.
Follow us on our other channels: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube