The Upland Social

Today’s guest is Nick Martin, the creator of The Iowa Bird Chaser YouTube channel. Nick set out on a unique mission—to harvest a pheasant in all 99 counties across Iowa. Along the way, he’s sharing the journey, the challenges, and the beauty of upland hunting in the Hawkeye State. Through his channel, Nick is not only chasing birds, but also capturing the stories, landscapes, and community that make Iowa such a special place to hunt.Topics Covered:​Nick becoming a student of pheasant habitat​The spark behind his endeavor, "The Iowa Bird Chaser"​Changing things up when you can't find pheasants ​The 2025 Iowa August Roadside Survey​What's next for Nick after he harvests a pheasant in Iowa's 99 countiesConnect with Nick:https://www.instagram.com/iowa_birdchaser/?hl=enProud Sponsors:Gundog CentralHunt Redi

My guests today are Nick Sherrod and Jake Terry, the owners of Gundog Grind Coffee. But their business is more than just another coffee company—it’s a lifestyle rooted in birds, family, friends, and of course, the dogs that make every hunt memorable. Inspired by mornings in the flooded timber and long days on the prairie, they craft gourmet roasts designed to fuel hunters and outdoorsmen with rich flavor and purpose. From light to dark blends, every bag is made with carefully sourced beans and infused with the spirit of time spent in the field. But Gundog Grind’s mission goes deeper than coffee—they’re committed to giving back by supporting conservation organizations that protect the habitats and hunting traditions we all value. At its core, Gundog Grind is about bringing people together, whether around a hunting campfire or a kitchen table, to share stories, celebrate dogs, and enjoy a great cup of coffee. Topics Covered:Nick and Jake's journey into Gundog GrindWhat Gundog is doing for conservationThe generous support of the upland communityNick and Jake's travel plans for their outdoor media companyHow customer service is at the core of Gundog GrindConnect with Jakehttps://www.instagram.com/jaketerry_photo/Connect with Nickhttps://www.instagram.com/nick.sherrod/?hl=enConnect with Gundog Grindhttps://gundoggrind.com/https://www.instagram.com/gundoggrind/Proud Sponsorshttps://gundogcentral.com/https://www.huntredi.com/

Courtney Bastian’s journey into upland hunting began in 2008 when her German Wirehaired Pointer, Briar, placed a pheasant in her hands—a moment that shifted her life toward bird dogs, shotguns, and wild places. At the height of the 2020 pandemic, Courtney launched The Bird Dog Babe Podcast, building community during the challenges of the pandemic and beyond. This endeavor was then the grounds for the genesis of HerUpland, a nonprofit dedicated to creating opportunities for women and youth through hunting camps, wingshooting clinics, and mentorship. Based in Montana with her husband, William, and their children, Burke and Blayre, Courtney balances family life with a kennel of bird dogs and a small menagerie of farm animals. With a background in biology and animal science and an MBA in progress, she blends passion and professionalism to advance conservation, community, and confidence in the uplands.Topics covered:​Courtney's journey into the uplands​Her love of varied dog breeds​Launching The Bird Dog Babe Podcast that eventually led to the HerUpland movement.​The barriers women and youth face in getting into hunting.​Starting small and building confidence as a hunterConnect with Courtney:https://www.instagram.com/birddogbabe/?hl=enConnect with HerUplandhttps://herupland.org/https://www.instagram.com/herupland/?hl=enProud Sponsors:https://gundogcentral.com/https://www.huntredi.com/

Brian Krebs grew up in Minnesota, where his passion for the outdoors began with pheasant and deer hunting. After college, his pursuits expanded westward, where he fell in love with exploring new country and took up shed hunting. But his roots still lie in the pheasant fields.For more than 25 years, Brian has been dedicated to pheasant habitat conservation. Deeply involved with local Pheasants Forever chapters, he has worked to improve habitat and give back to the upland hunting community that shaped him. In addition to his conservation efforts, Brian has a lifelong passion for training dogs—whether developing a bird dog in the field or working with his shed dog, Griz on shed hunts.Today, Brian’s life reflects the same values he started with: a love for wild places, the thrill of the hunt, and a belief in leaving the land better for future generations.Topics covered:Brian's vivid memories of his first pheasantHunting Western birds vs Midwestern roostersHow hunting can be type 2 kind of funBrian's ideal pheasant hunt vs. Ryan'sHow to introduce our spouse/significant other to huntingConnect with Brian:https://www.instagram.com/getdrawnwest/Proud Sponsors:https://gundogcentral.com/https://www.huntredi.com/

Richard Westley Wong was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and is a dual Canadian-American citizen. He is a food photographer based in Minnesota, where he lives with his wife and two sons. In his free time, he enjoys spending time at the family cabin in Northern Wisconsin, fishing, training bird dogs, running hunt tests, and hunting with his three-year-old Vizsla, Trigger.Topics Covered:​Hunting with Vizslas​Storytelling through photography ​How to take better photos in the field​Wild game cooking​Wolf mindfulness in the NorthwoodsConnect with Rich:https://www.instagram.com/wisc_me_nord/Proud Sponsors:https://www.huntredi.com/https://gundogcentral.com/

Scott Kinnane grew up in Vinton, Iowa, before moving to a small farmhouse in Minnetonka, Minnesota, surrounded by hardwoods and abandoned sand pits. After raising three children in Eden Prairie, he and his wife settled in Bemidji on a 100-acre farm with a mile of Mississippi River shoreline, where they are restoring native prairie and managing their forest.Raised by a single mother with one younger sister, Scott credits the ten dogs he’s had over the years with shaping him into a better person. Now a proud grandfather of four, he finds his greatest joy in upland hunting, guided by his dogs, and in the freedom of dirt roads, prairie winds, and deep woods.Inspired by Gene Hill’s A Listening Walk, Scott hunts slowly, savoring every moment. He is passionate about mentoring—believing it’s more than a single youth hunt, but an ongoing commitment to guide, teach, and share the outdoors with those who need it, whether they ask or not.Topics covered:​The deep friendship Scott found in his dog as a child​It's possible to have more than one bird dog of a lifetime​Wildlife habitat restoration Scott is doing on his property​How to mentor people trying to get into hunting well​What the whole upland community can learn from women huntersConnect with Scott:https://www.instagram.com/scott.kinnane.8/Proud Sponsors:https://www.huntredi.com/https://gundogcentral.com/

Today on The Upland Social, we are going to take a different approach. Because the upland community is so awesome, we recently hit 1,000 followers on Instagram. To celebrate, we hosted an "Online Upland Party" where participants could discuss their plans for the upcoming fall. Join us for the party!Topics Covered:​The subtle beauty of Iowa​The varied upland game of Kansas ​Recently coming to the upland lifestyle​Hunting numerous states in the Plains and Midwest​A love for the American Woodcock​The endless opportunity in Vermont​Taking your child cross country to huntPROUD SPONSORS:https://gundogcentral.com/https://www.huntredi.com/

Jim Burris is a passionate outdoorsman who recently relocated from North Carolina to Wisconsin.  He’s hunted with bird dogs for over 25 years going back to his time grouse hunting the Appalachian hills of West Virginia with his Ryman English Setter.  Currently, he has a pudelpointer named Manu that he travels the country with hunting any upland bird they can find.  He is a lover and collector of rare upland hunting literature and fine shotguns.Jim is the founder and chairman for the Bird Dog Society, a non-profit dedicated to providing education, outreach, and events to bird dog owners to support an enriched and healthy lifestyle with their dogs.  Professionally Jim is the director of a large aquaculture research center studying the physiological processes of fish.  If there is anything that can top Jim’s passion for upland hunting it would be his passion for fishing, but it’s a close competition for his time.Topics Covered:Jim's recent move from North Carolina to Wisconsin​​The hunting style of a pudelpointer​The thrill and challenge of hunting snipe and rail​Simple methods for cooking dark meat birds​Jim's heart and mission behind The Bird Dog SocietyCheck out The Bird Dog Society:https://birddogsociety.org/Follow Jim and The Bird Dog Society on socials:https://www.instagram.com/birddogs.and.flyrods/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/birddogsociety/?hl=enProud Sponsors:https://gundogcentral.com/https://www.huntredi.com/

Today on the Upland Social, Josh Tatman joins us for some great conversation. A Wyoming resident, Josh is an avid bird hunter, dedicated outdoor writer, and a strong advocate for conservation. With a deep passion for the landscapes and wildlife of the West, he brings a wealth of experience and perspective to the field, both in the uplands and on the page. Topics covered include:​Josh’s upbringing in upland hunting​The intersection of Josh’s love for archaeology and hunting​Effective methods for sage grouse hunting​The magic of sage grouse leks in the spring​The importance of engagement locally and afar in conservation​The joys of hunting with our family membershttps://www.instagram.com/josh_tatman/?hl=en

Mike Neiduski is the owner and operator of Ugly Dog Hunting Company, an online bird dog supply shop, providing serious gear for serious bird hunters and dog trainers. He is a NAVHDA senior judge, published writer, and spends most of his fall traveling across bird country with his wirehair, Nash and shorthair, Mack. Topics covered include:​Mike's recent venture with Ugly Dog​Creating a safe environment for dogs/people alike​Public land advocacy ​Making hunting gear affordable for all budgets​Mike's unwritten rules in the uplandsConnect with Mike's company:https://uglydoghunting.com/https://www.instagram.com/uglydoghuntingco/?hl=enConnect with Mike on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/mneiduski/?hl=en

In December 2008, 21-year-old Kyle Kamp weighed 270 pounds and experienced chest pains while opening Christmas presents. That moment sparked a major life change. Over the next year, he lost more than 140 pounds and became deeply invested in understanding nutrition and exercise.Frustrated by conflicting information online, Kyle pursued a degree in Dietetics, completed his residency, and became a Registered Dietitian in Idaho. There, he discovered how proper nutrition fuels outdoor performance, especially in the mountains he grew to love.Kyle founded V2P to cut through nutrition fads and misinformation. His goal is to deliver science-based guidance that helps people reach their physical and performance goals—especially in demanding outdoor pursuits.Topics covered include:​Kyle's transformative weight loss that led to a passion for outdoor pursuits​Well-rounded nutritional science​How extreme, overly exhausting training isn't as helpful as we think ​Proper fuel during demanding hunts​Training that prepares us for the rigors of huntingConnect with Kyle:https://www.v2pnutrition.com/https://www.instagram.com/v2pnutrition/?hl=en

Heath Seiner is a self-proclaimed average dude in constant need to escape to wide open spaces. Driven by the hunt, he is ever nudged to explore new landscapes and continuously tinkers with gear to further enable those pursuits. And now with the founding of Hunt Redi upland vests, he equips others to explore those landscapes as well.Topics covered:​The fun of variances within dog breeds​His great-grandma's influence in a love for the outdoors​The moment Heath became a "bird hunter"​The origin story and heart behind Hunt Redi upland vests​Heath's "Pave the Way" program to get youth involved in huntinghttps://www.huntredi.com/https://www.instagram.com/hunt.redi/?hl=en

Jake Bartells and his family reside in Eastern Pennsylvania with his now five French Brittanys. His story is anything but typical in the sense of his now wife, but then high school sweetheart introduced him to bird dogs. The introduction blossomed into a passion for training, testing, and hunting his dogs all over the country. He's a senior judge for the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association, a past board member of the Club de l'Epagneul breton of the US, and an avid conservationist. He considers himself quite blessed to share these passions with his family and friends, and is always excited to take on the next adventure.Topics covered include:​Getting into bird hunting in a unique way​The training method Jake has come to love​The fun in hunting overlooked, fringe places ​Jake's fondness of the French Brittany​How the uplands are his homehttps://www.instagram.com/jakebartells/

Brian Maze has spent over a decade guiding clients through memorable outdoor adventures, beginning with turkey hunting, and later diving into fly fishing. But his true passion emerged with the arrival of Miss Rebel, a German Shorthaired Pointer whose first point ignited his love for bird dogs and upland hunting.With the addition of a second dog, Miss Luna, his obsession with Ruffed Grouse hunting took root, shaping the vision behind Amaazen Outdoors. At its core, Amaazen Outdoors is about the simple joy of running bird dogs and sharing the woods with others who cherish the same experience.Brian is also a dedicated advocate for public land conservation, working with organizations like the Ruffed Grouse Society, American Woodcock Society, and Pheasants Forever to protect the wild places that fuel his passion.For Brian, it’s all about the dogs, the birds, and the land—and creating space for others to experience that same deep connection.Topics covered include:​Leaving the corporate world to have a more dog-centric life​The hidden language we can have with our dogs​Brian's transformation from a "partridge hunter" to a "grouse hunter"​Wisconsin ruffed grouse drumming survey results​The fulfillment Brian has in making memorable moments for peoplehttps://amaazen.com/https://www.instagram.com/amaazen_outdoors/#

Chris Midgette is an avid bird hunter, lifelong waterfowler, Boykin spaniel owner, a self-proclaimed bourbon snob, gas station pork rind connoisseur, and the worst duck caller east of the Mississippi. He's also an outdoor writer, whose stories are equal parts heart and humor have appeared in the Upland Almanac, Wing and Clay Magazine and more.Topics covered include:The versatility of Boykin SpanielsChris's protection of the integrity of the breedWaterfowl hunting among hundreds of toiletsAuthentic outdoor writing Taking our dogs hunting as much as we canhttps://www.thehuntingtraveller.com/https://www.instagram.com/thehuntingtraveller/?hl=en