Ep. 925: Game On, Suckers! MeatEater Trivia CCXXXII

"72 pages" is the answer that matters most by the end of this episode of MeatEater Trivia — the average length of a state fishing regulations handbook, a number that determined the winner after a tense overtime. But the path to that number winds through ten rounds of questions spanning hunting, fishing, conservation, and cooking, plus a mailbag segment that sets the tone for the whole show: practical advice for a listener who inherited a .30-30 lever action and isn't sure what to do with it.

The .30-30 and the Art of Timber Sneaking

The episode opens with a mailbag question from a listener named Django, who inherited a .30-30 lever action but usually shoots at distances beyond its effective range. The trivia crew's response is unanimous and emphatic: use it to get close. Seth, who only accepted the trivia invitation after seeing this question, argues for "timber sneaking" — still-hunting in thick cover where shots are short. Brody agrees, noting that bowhunters kill game at comparable distances, so there's no reason a .30-30 can't work inside 100 yards. Randall adds a practical twist: he once needed a lever action for shooting a mountain lion out of a tree but couldn't find a good deal, so he used a 20-gauge slug gun instead. His larger point: "You never know when you might have an opportunity where it's just the perfect tool for the job." Seth offers the most pragmatic a