Ep. 923: Wild Horse (Mis)Management, Dr. Randall Hunts Austria, and Fishing as a Constitutional Right

August 27, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In 1928, a forest fire in Montana's Lewis and Clark Forest sent old bullets exploding from the heat. Firefighters traced the sound and found a trapper's skeleton that had lain undisturbed for perhaps half a century, alongside a rifle dated 1873 and "an old iron skillet of the type long off the market." The MeatEater crew uses that terse, fact-only dispatch as a benchmark for journalism—and as a launching point into several episodes of public-lands and wildlife policy that rarely get that kind of straight treatment.

Hunting Austria: A Self-Contained System

Randall recently returned from nine days hunting roe deer and chamois in Austria, and the contrast with American hunting culture is stark. In Austria, hunting is tied to land ownership; tag allocation is determined by property size, and if multiple small properties exist, a state-facilitated "community hunt" sets quotas. A forester manages both timber and wildlife as one system—counting board feet and deer harvests as part of the same holistic plan. "They talk about managing for different age classes with the wildlife in the same way that they're talking about managing for different age classes within the forest," Randall explains.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **Show Open & Housekeeping** - Hosts introduce the episode's lineup: Randall's Austria hunt, roadless rule updates, wild horse management, Colorado hunting rights, and more.
2 (12:11) **Hunting in Austria: Roe Deer and Gams** - Randall recounts his nine-day hunt in Austria for roe deer and chamois (called "gams" locally), describing a hunting culture radically different from the U.S.
3 (21:50) **Meat, Dogs, and the European System** - Randall explains that harvested game belongs to the estate, not the hunter, and goes to market through butchers and even vending machines.
4 (36:27) **Gun Culture & Give 'em Both Barrels** - Randall visited a gunmaker in a town with a 500-year gunsmithing tradition, where they produce only 12 hand-engraved rifles per year.
5 (43:26) **Punt Gun Auction: World Record for Conservation** - The crew sold a 140-year-old punt gun through Rock Island Auction for $117,500, far exceeding the $20,000 purchase price.
6 (54:31) **Listener Corrections & AMA Announcement** - The hosts read listener corrections on grammar and trail camera GPS, then announce an upcoming Ask Me Anything episode with Steve.
7 (67:42) **Wild Horse (Mis)Management** - Steve delivers a detailed critique of the New York Times' coverage of wild horse slaughter, arguing the real problem is the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.

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Show Notes

Steven Rinella and the MeatEater Crew discuss: Fishing with drones; hunting in Austria; Tim Walz: scourge of miners; constitutional rights to hunt and fish; roadless rule; and more!

Presented by Can-Am: maker of the best ATVs, SxS, and Utility Vehicles www.can-am.brp.com

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