The MeatEater Podcast: Ep. 805 – "The Condo Butcher, Bison as Wildlife, and Other News"

Host: Steven Rinella
Air Date: December 15, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Steven Rinella and the MeatEater crew gather for a sprawling, newsy roundtable filled with stories from the field, hunting etiquette debates, wildlife policy deep dives, and their signature blend of humor and irreverent camaraderie. The gang touches on everything from funny coffee shop run-ins and rendered coon oil to the changing legal status of bison in Colorado, private land hunting disputes, the reliability of hunting mentors, and language shifts at the Sierra Club. Sprinkled throughout are memorable moments, listener emails, and some classic debates that highlight both the complexity and joy of life outdoors.

Crew Introductions & Banter

[03:36 – 08:00]

• Steven welcomes the regulars: Yanni "Latvian Lover" Chimani, Dr. Randall Williams, Brody (no nickname fits), and Corinne "Chewy."
• Lighthearted exchanges about nicknames and how they came to be. Notably, Corinne shares about her middle school nickname "Chew" due to her Chinese and Jewish heritage.

“Can we go with, like, Chewy? …That’s endearing. Yeah. You can’t call someone just Chew.”—Steven (04:33)

Field Stories: Hunting, Trapping, and Unusual Wildlife

[08:00 – 15:00]

Coffee Shop & Trapping Story

• Steven describes taking his kids to a "soft" coffee shop (as opposed to "hard" places like a gas station), and the bemusement when his daughter says they're going trapping.
• The coffee shop worker doesn’t react, missing what Steven expects to be a potentially touchy moment.

Rendering Coon Oil for Clay

• Steve discusses skinning a “rotund” raccoon, rendering three quarts of coon oil, and plans to fry something in it.
• Commentary on tolerance for odd activities in his house, and sharing coon cracklings with magpies.

"Three quarts of rendered coon oil. ...Have you tried eating it, cooking?"
"Dude, it smells. I haven’t tasted it yet. It smells totally normal." —Steven & Corinne (10:40)

Snow Goose with a Missing Beak

• They recount harvesting a snow goose missing half its upper bill but otherwise healthy.

“Man, those critters are just tough.” —Corinne (13:21)

Storytime: The Challenge of Hunting Mountain Lions with Dogs

[14:25 – 19:00]

• Yanni shares a story illustrating the difficulty of lion hunting—even with dogs. Despite returning to the same tree 24 hours later, worsening snow erased tracks and no lion was found.

"A lot of people still think that hunting with dogs is somehow easy… They don’t know what goes into it." —Yanni (14:33)

• Discussion on the low odds of recapturing the same lion: “Batting 300” (meaning roughly a 30% chance of success the next day).

Sports Talk: Wildlife vs. Mascots

[19:13 – 32:43]

• The podcast celebrates being ranked #5 in Spotify's sports podcasts and executes an animal-mascot-based NFL pick ’em, ignoring actual sports statistics.
• Entertaining debates on which animal mascots would win in real life: Rams vs. Seahawks, Falcons vs. Cardinals, Bengals vs. Dolphins.
• Commentary on how the most famous representatives of a group—like Yellowstone for bison or dolphins for marine mammals—overshadow all others.

"When people think of the politics of the animal, they only can think of what’s going on in the [Yellowstone] park. ...Everything else is lost to them. And I think dolphins are something like a black hole—an animal black hole." —Steven (32:17)

Mountain Lion Magnet—Listener Story

[33:03 – 35:20]

• Listener recounts multiple close mountain lion encounters, including nearly walking into a feeding cat, highlighting how much chance is involved in animal encounters.

Language & Pop Culture Clarifications:

[35:20 – 42:28]

The "Huckleberry" Debate

• Returning to a perennial podcast question: did Doc Holliday say “I’ll be your huckleberry” or "huckle bearer" in Tombstone? Multiple sources confirm that “huckleberry” loosely meant “I’m the right man for the job,” not “pallbearer.” Internet myths debunked.

“It essentially means I’m the right man for the job. The screenwriter took it directly from a book about Tombstone.” —Listener email (39:56)

"The Condo Butcher": Wild Game Processing in the City

[44:00 – 47:00]

• Listener in a high-end Denver apartment draws police attention after carrying elk parts in and out of his condo due to hunting logistics.
• Crew jokes about neighbors, true crime expectations, and how even non-hunters might confuse animal butchering with sinister behavior.

"I would expect him to be moving body parts out of his apartment." —Steven (45:19)
"Well, usually it'd be in a rolled up carpet, though." —Brody (46:15)

Hunting Conflict: The One-Acre Triangle Debacle

[54:18 – 74:36]

• Listener asks for advice about a contentious property situation:
  • He bought land split by a creek; neighbor has a 1.1-acre triangle only accessible across his land.
  • The neighbor’s family repeatedly crosses his property to retrieve deer, as state law grants retrieval rights, but it disrupts his own hunts.
  • Should the listener be more generous, confront his neighbors, or block access?
• The crew discusses landowner rights, hunting etiquette, legal obligations, and potential diplomatic solutions.

“In America, like, I don’t care if you have one tree... If you have an acre, your state says retrieval is okay, I don’t think you’re in the wrong if your state said retrieval is not ok without permission.” —Steven (72:15)

• Advice: Negotiate a post-dark retrieval pact, offer to buy the triangle, or learn to live with the arrangement.

Listener Plea: Breaking Into Hunting Without Mentors

[75:39 – 83:49]

• A 24-year-old Alberta listener shares his struggles as a first-generation hunter—"gatekept" by local hunters who refuse to share real advice, leading to frustration and near defeat.
• The team empathizes, provides context about how hard solo hunting can be, and encourages relationship building, volunteering, and perseverance.

"We have mentored people... very capable adults. We showed them how to hunt, we hunted with them, we were successful. They did not continue down the hunting path because it was too much of a pain in the ass." —Corinne (81:04)

• Direct appeal: If you’re an Alberta hunter or rancher willing to help, contact the MeatEater podcast to support this listener.

“If you’re from Alberta, you want to take this guy out and under your wing, send us a note.” —Steven (79:19)

Sierra Club “Implosion” & Language Sensitivity

[87:19 – 91:02]

• Steven reads from Nelly Bowles’ Friday Free Press column about the Sierra Club’s internal strife and adoption of a language "equity guide" discouraging phrases with firearm or military references.
• The team riffs on alternatives like “go for it” instead of “pull the trigger” and jokes about pronunciation.

Wildlife Policy Deep Dive: Colorado’s New Bison Rule

[91:13 – 99:13]

• Starting January 1, 2026, Colorado will treat free-ranging bison entering the state as wildlife, not livestock—unlike Montana and other states that classify all bison as livestock regardless of circumstance.
• The significance: This precedent allows for the management and possible wild establishment of bison herds (e.g., from Utah's Book Cliffs), rather than rendering them killable as stray livestock.
• Extensive context on management differences between wildlife and livestock, public land access, genetic “purity” arguments, and prospects for broader buffalo restoration efforts.

“If it walks in... on its own four feet, it’s a wild animal. Cut the tape, Phil.” —Steven (98:59)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On the “softness” of specialty coffee shops:
  “When you go into a designated coffee shop where you have to tell them what you want and then go stand around while they make it. That’s a soft place.” —Steven (07:02)

• On rendering raccoon oil:
  "Three quarts of rendered coon oil. ...Dude, it smells. I haven’t tasted it yet." —Steven (10:40)

• On wildlife resilience:
  “Man, those critters are just tough.” —Corinne (13:21)

• Debunking movie myths:
  “It essentially means I’m the right man for the job. ...But there’s no reason to believe Doc Holliday ever used it.”—Listener email re: “I’ll be your huckleberry” (39:56)

• On the importance of just asking questions:
  “The fact you’d be like, hey, is it okay if my kid… She’s like, kid’s probably fine. They at least wonder.” —Steven (74:30)

Additional Segments

Humorous Newsbits & Culture

• Tangents on Sierra Club DEI staffing, new Montana driver's licenses with eagles, and the decline of the print calendar business.
• Sweepstakes announcement: Listeners can win a trip to Bozeman, lodging, dinner, and a shopping spree.

Behind-the-Scenes Banter

• Jokes about acting skills (or lack thereof) among the crew.
• The evolution (or extinction) of business interests, from printing checks to VHS tapes.

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |------------|-----------------------------| | 03:36 – 08:00 | Crew introductions, nicknames, and opening banter | | 08:00 – 15:00 | Field stories: coffee shop, raccoon oil, wounded geese | | 14:25 – 19:00 | The realities of lion hunting with dogs | | 19:13 – 32:43 | Animal mascot NFL picks and animal “black holes” | | 33:03 – 35:20 | Mountain lion magnet: listener encounter stories | | 35:20 – 42:28 | "I'll be your huckleberry" movie phrase investigation | | 44:00 – 47:00 | "The Condo Butcher": game processing in Denver | | 54:18 – 74:36 | The 1.1-acre triangle: hunting neighbor disputes | | 75:39 – 83:49 | Alberta new hunter struggles and mentorship advice | | 87:19 – 91:02 | Sierra Club implosion and sensitive language guide | | 91:13 – 99:13 | Colorado’s new bison-as-wildlife policy | | 99:13 – End | Sweepstakes, calendars, closing banter |

Episode Tone & Takeaway

• Tone: Casual, irreverent, educational, and supportive, with frequent tangents and in-jokes.
• Theme: The complexity and humor of living as— and among—outdoorsfolk.
• Standing Out:
  • A showcase for the importance of mentorship, honesty, and adaptability in hunting and conservation.
  • Celebrates wildlife policy wins (bison as wildlife), while not shying away from neighbor disputes or institutional missteps.
  • Underscores the value of curiosity, help-seeking, and keeping things in perspective—whether gutting a coon on the roof or navigating access rights on your slice of deer woods.

For Fans:
This episode is rich in stories, laughs, and nuanced discussion—essential MeatEater for anyone who loves hunting, public land debates, or just wants to hear friends take outdoor life both seriously and lightly.