October 06, 2023
By Mossy Oak
The Mossy Oak crew is proud to celebrate the 3-year anniversary of their Gamekeeper Podcast . The incredibly popular podcast reaches a vast audience from around the world with topics tailored to the hunting, fishing and outdoor community. Weekly episodes cover everything from farming for wildlife and family hunting traditions, to trapping, fishing, hunting dogs, history, wild game cooking, tips and tactics and the ongoing mystery of the southern long-tailed cat. With its broad range of topics and guests, the podcast truly keeps the listener engaged and entertained.
How Did The Gamekeeper Podcast Get Its Start? The wheels for the podcast began to turn in 2020 as the Mossy Oak team worked hard to stay connected with their friends and family during the days of COVID. “The idea for the podcast just kept getting brought up,” says Bobby Cole, host of the podcast. “We were in COVID and wanted to try and find a way to communicate our messages, so we just decided to try it.”
The team launched their first episode with special guest, Dr. Bronson Strickland, of the Mississippi State Deer Lab to discuss antler genesis and what hunters can do to help grow the healthiest deer possible. As the 2023 year comes to a close, the show is quickly closing in on its 200th episode, with recent episodes covering tales of the helicopter biologist and wrangler, venomous snakes, the Python Cowboy and primitive bows and arrows.
Favorite Episodes? Want to stump the team with a tough question? Just ask them which episode is their favorite! “I have enjoyed so many,” says Cole. “I seriously learn something each time. We have had great turkey guests, deer hunting and biology guests, Native American artifacts, fish biology, soil health and food plots. It’s really hard to pick a favorite.” Co-host of the show, Dudley Phelps, agrees that picking just one favorite episode is nearly impossible, but admits that there have been a number of shows in particular that really hit home with him.
“We want to be able to provide information and share our lifestyle with other Gamekeepers and outdoor enthusiasts as efficiently as possible, says Phelps. “We want to make a difference, so we bring on guests that are very knowledgeable about improving the landscape for all types of wildlife,” Phelps says his favorite episodes have been those that included the Hunter Chef, experts on arrowheads and artifacts, primitive bows and arrows, as well as a show centered around rare trees.
The Mission of the Gamekeeper Podcast Listen to just about any Gamekeeper podcast and you’ll quickly discover the team’s mission to educate its audience in an entertaining fashion that keeps listeners coming back week after week, regardless of the topic. “We talk about subjects that we are all interested in and care about,” says Cole. “We want to shine a light on topics, techniques and even issues that affect us all.”
The topics often come as an overflow of the conversations that take place among staff in the Mossy Oak office. “A lot of times, we’ll just be shooting the breeze in the afternoon around the office,” says Phelps. We’ll be talking about our past weekend, or what we have plans for in the future, or just telling a story, and then someone will say, ‘Man, I wish we would have recorded that.’”
Meet the Team The Gamekeeper podcast is not only loaded with great conversations and topics, but it also features one of largest, and liveliest, teams of co-hosts you’ll find among podcasts in the hunting community. The Gamekeeper podcast crew consists of Bobby Cole, Dudley Phelps, Lannie Wallace, and Mossy Oak founder, Toxey Haas. But those are just the voices you hear or faces you see if you’re watching the podcast on YouTube. The other half of the production team works behind the scenes to make the podcast the success that it’s been over the last 3 years.
“We’ve got guys like Mac Thatcher that sits in as a fact checker and ends up in the conversation as well,” says Cole. “Then we’ve got Richie Davenport on the board and Jason McKellar and Rob Kinney working behind the scenes to make things happen.”
The Perfect Podcast for the Whole Family The wide variety of topics and entertaining cast are what listeners are drawn to, but it’s the clean, classy and genuine personalities that keep their audience coming back for more. You can listen to the Gamekeeper podcast at any time, whether driving down the road, or hanging around the house, without having to worry about what your kids might hear. They’ll find it equally entertaining, yet won’t be exposed to adult language and crude humor that’s commonplace with many podcasts today. It truly is the perfect blend of education and entertainment.
As Jeff Foxworthy says in the show opener, “There’s no tellin’ what you’ll learn, but I’m gonna tell you, I bet it’s interesting.”
Be sure to check out the Gamekeeper Podcast each week at all major podcast platforms, or on the Mossy Oak Gamekeepers channel on YouTube .
