
The Shotgun Conservationist
Why Environmentalists Should Love Hunting
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $21.83
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Brant MacDuff
-
By:
-
Brant MacDuff
About this listen
At the intersection of hunting and conservation, a man shares his personal journey from staunch anti-hunter to compassionate, ethical hunter, weaving together a larger history of humans, animals, the environment, and our food systems.
The Shotgun Conservationist doesn’t teach us how to hunt, it explores why we should hunt. As public lands remain imperiled, factory farms pollute the earth and subject animals to inhumane conditions, and global uncertainty presses us all to be more self-sufficient, there has never been a better time to take up hunting. Writer, natural historian, and public speaker Brant MacDuff has done just that. An avid animal lover and raised as a non-hunter, MacDuff started his journey intending to investigate the claim that “hunting is conservation.” So convinced, he now holds a hunting license in four states and gives lectures on the positive impact it has on conservation efforts nationwide.
Armed with years of experience in the field and a deep love for the natural world, MacDuff tells the provocative, humorous, and insightful story of how he became a hunter. Along the way, listeners meet a cast of colorful characters and learn the firsthand research that helped change Brant’s mind. You may not book a hunting trip after reading The Shotgun Conservationist, but you’ll have a new perspective on and appreciation for those that do.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2023 Brant MacDuff (P)2023 Timber PressListeners also enjoyed...
-
Meat Eater
- Adventures from the Life of an American Hunter
- By: Steven Rinella
- Narrated by: Steven Rinella
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meat Eater chronicles Rinella’s lifelong relationship with nature and hunting through the lens of ten hunts, beginning when he was an aspiring mountain man at age ten and ending as a thirty-seven-year-old Brooklyn father who hunts in the remotest corners of North America.
-
-
Great book
- By Anonymous User on 02-15-25
By: Steven Rinella
-
The Upland Shooting Life
- By: George Bird Evans
- Narrated by: Justin Spencer
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
George Bird Evans is a man to whom upland shooting has been a way of life for 50 years, and his book is both a creed for shooters and a fascinating sharing of the experiences of a true specialist. It is not a book for meat hunters (although possession of the game means as much to the author as to the next man), rather it is a book, half "how-to," half anecdotal and philosophical, that reveals in rich and intimate detail the unity that makes upland shooting that triad of bird-dog-gun in which no part is complete without the others.
-
-
Well done!
- By Gene E. on 03-17-25
-
New England Grouse Shooting
- By: William Foster
- Narrated by: Justin Spencer
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New England Grouse Shooting is one of the foundations of modern grouse hunting literature. Author and famous artist William Harnden Foster is considered one of the timeless authorities on grouse shooting, and this book stands as a testament to that knowledge. From the days of market hunting and hammer shotguns to the modern era of pointing dogs and the invention of skeet shooting, this book is a must-listen for any serious ruffed grouse hunter.
-
-
nice flow and tone.
- By Curtis Hawkins on 04-15-24
By: William Foster
-
Outdoor Kids in an Inside World
- Getting Your Family Out of the House and Radically Engaged with Nature
- By: Steven Rinella
- Narrated by: Steven Rinella
- Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the era of screens and devices, the average American spends 90 percent of their time indoors, and children are no exception. Not only does this phenomenon have consequences for kids’ physical and mental health, it jeopardizes their ability to understand and engage with anything beyond the built environment. Thankfully, with the right mind-set, families can find beauty, meaning, and connection in a life lived outdoors. Here, outdoors expert Steven Rinella shares the parenting wisdom he has garnered as a father whose family has lived amid the biggest cities and wildest corners of America.
-
-
A must read for parents
- By Zak on 05-25-22
By: Steven Rinella
-
American Buffalo
- In Search of a Lost Icon
- By: Steven Rinella
- Narrated by: Steven Rinella
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Both a captivating narrative and a book of environmental and historical significance, American Buffalo tells us as much about ourselves as Americans as it does about the creature who perhaps best of all embodies the American ethos.
-
-
Phenomenal
- By Hunter Cole on 08-01-19
By: Steven Rinella
-
Where the Deer and the Antelope Play
- The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside
- By: Nick Offerman
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A humorous and rousing set of literal and figurative sojourns as well as a mission statement about comprehending, protecting, and truly experiencing the outdoors, fueled by three journeys undertaken by actor, humorist, and New York Times best-selling author Nick Offerman
-
-
By far his worst work to date.
- By Aron on 10-21-21
By: Nick Offerman
-
Meat Eater
- Adventures from the Life of an American Hunter
- By: Steven Rinella
- Narrated by: Steven Rinella
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meat Eater chronicles Rinella’s lifelong relationship with nature and hunting through the lens of ten hunts, beginning when he was an aspiring mountain man at age ten and ending as a thirty-seven-year-old Brooklyn father who hunts in the remotest corners of North America.
-
-
Great book
- By Anonymous User on 02-15-25
By: Steven Rinella
-
The Upland Shooting Life
- By: George Bird Evans
- Narrated by: Justin Spencer
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
George Bird Evans is a man to whom upland shooting has been a way of life for 50 years, and his book is both a creed for shooters and a fascinating sharing of the experiences of a true specialist. It is not a book for meat hunters (although possession of the game means as much to the author as to the next man), rather it is a book, half "how-to," half anecdotal and philosophical, that reveals in rich and intimate detail the unity that makes upland shooting that triad of bird-dog-gun in which no part is complete without the others.
-
-
Well done!
- By Gene E. on 03-17-25
-
New England Grouse Shooting
- By: William Foster
- Narrated by: Justin Spencer
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New England Grouse Shooting is one of the foundations of modern grouse hunting literature. Author and famous artist William Harnden Foster is considered one of the timeless authorities on grouse shooting, and this book stands as a testament to that knowledge. From the days of market hunting and hammer shotguns to the modern era of pointing dogs and the invention of skeet shooting, this book is a must-listen for any serious ruffed grouse hunter.
-
-
nice flow and tone.
- By Curtis Hawkins on 04-15-24
By: William Foster
-
Outdoor Kids in an Inside World
- Getting Your Family Out of the House and Radically Engaged with Nature
- By: Steven Rinella
- Narrated by: Steven Rinella
- Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the era of screens and devices, the average American spends 90 percent of their time indoors, and children are no exception. Not only does this phenomenon have consequences for kids’ physical and mental health, it jeopardizes their ability to understand and engage with anything beyond the built environment. Thankfully, with the right mind-set, families can find beauty, meaning, and connection in a life lived outdoors. Here, outdoors expert Steven Rinella shares the parenting wisdom he has garnered as a father whose family has lived amid the biggest cities and wildest corners of America.
-
-
A must read for parents
- By Zak on 05-25-22
By: Steven Rinella
-
American Buffalo
- In Search of a Lost Icon
- By: Steven Rinella
- Narrated by: Steven Rinella
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Both a captivating narrative and a book of environmental and historical significance, American Buffalo tells us as much about ourselves as Americans as it does about the creature who perhaps best of all embodies the American ethos.
-
-
Phenomenal
- By Hunter Cole on 08-01-19
By: Steven Rinella
-
Where the Deer and the Antelope Play
- The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside
- By: Nick Offerman
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A humorous and rousing set of literal and figurative sojourns as well as a mission statement about comprehending, protecting, and truly experiencing the outdoors, fueled by three journeys undertaken by actor, humorist, and New York Times best-selling author Nick Offerman
-
-
By far his worst work to date.
- By Aron on 10-21-21
By: Nick Offerman
-
Endure
- How to Work Hard, Outlast, and Keep Hammering
- By: Cameron Hanes
- Narrated by: Cameron Hanes, David Goggins, Joe Rogan
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cameron Hanes discovered his true passion for bowhunting when he was twenty. Inspired by the physical challenges of stalking elk in the Oregon wilderness—traversing mountainous terrain, braving erratic weather, and evading his quarry’s even more dangerous predators—he began an ever-evolving journey of self-improvement. To become the best bowhunter of wild elk, to the caliber he believed he could be, Cam realized he would need more than archery skills.
-
-
Garbage
- By JP Flouret on 05-22-22
By: Cameron Hanes
-
Irreversible Damage
- The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters
- By: Abigail Shrier
- Narrated by: Pamela Almand
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Teenage girls are taking courses of testosterone and disfiguring their bodies. Parents are undermined; experts are over-relied upon; dissenters in science and medicine are intimidated; free speech truckles under renewed attack; socialized medicine bears hidden consequences; and an intersectional era has arisen in which the desire to escape a dominant identity encourages individuals to take cover in victim groups. Every person who has ever had a skeptical thought about the sudden rush toward a non-binary future but been afraid to express it - this book is for you.
-
-
Some interesting points, but extremely biased
- By Bill on 08-03-20
By: Abigail Shrier
-
Scarcity Brain
- Fix Your Craving Mindset and Rewire Your Habits to Thrive with Enough
- By: Michael Easter
- Narrated by: Michael Easter
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Have you ever found yourself wondering “Why do I want more than I have?” Michael Easter, author of The Comfort Crisis and one of the world’s leading experts on behavior change, shows that the problem isn’t you. The problem is your scarcity mindset, left over from our ancient ancestors. They had to constantly seek and consume to survive because vital survival tools like food, material goods, information, and power were scarce and hard to find. But with our modern ability to easily fulfill our ancient desire for more, our hardwired “scarcity brain” is now backfiring.
-
-
Good story, annoying gimmick noises
- By Kyle P. on 10-03-23
By: Michael Easter
-
MeatEater's Campfire Stories: Close Calls
- By: Steven Rinella
- Narrated by: Steven Rinella, the Contributors
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Campfire Stories: Close Calls, Steven Rinella invites seasoned hunters, anglers, adventurers, and outdoor professionals to share their tales of perilous adventures in the natural world, from run-ins with black bears and grizzlies to bad falls and severe hypothermia.
-
-
Incredible
- By Jay Sellmer on 07-20-21
By: Steven Rinella
-
Green Hills of Africa
- By: Ernest Hemingway
- Narrated by: Josh Lucas
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
His second major venture into nonfiction (after Death in the Afternoon, 1932), Green Hills of Africa is Ernest Hemingway's lyrical journal of a month on safari in the great game country of East Africa, where he and his wife, Pauline, journeyed in December of 1933. Hemingway's well-known interest in - and fascination with - big-game hunting is magnificently captured in this evocative account of his trip.
-
-
The Pleasures of Place, People, and Persuit
- By Darwin8u on 10-25-16
By: Ernest Hemingway
-
Prepared
- A Manual for Surviving Worst-Case Scenarios
- By: Mike Glover, Jack Carr - foreword
- Narrated by: Mike Glover, Ray Porter
- Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Most people think that being prepared for catastrophe means stocking up on MREs and building a bunker in their backyard, but this approach leaves you vulnerable in the real world of car accidents, natural disasters, grid failures, and global pandemics. Prepared overturns today’s paranoid survival wisdom and teaches the foundational skills of preparedness that will not only help you build situational awareness and achieve greater mobility but that will also help you build resilient mental habits.
-
-
A bit of fear mongering
- By JOHN DAVIS on 07-13-23
By: Mike Glover, and others
-
A Sand County Almanac
- And Sketches Here and There
- By: Aldo Leopold, Barbara Kingsolver - introduction
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
First published in 1949 and praised in the New York Times Book Review as "full of beauty and vigor and bite", A Sand County Almanac combines some of the finest nature writing since Thoreau with an outspoken and highly ethical regard for America's relationship to the land.
-
-
Great in some ways; in others, wtf!
- By RG on 06-22-20
By: Aldo Leopold, and others
-
Wild New World
- The Epic Story of Animals and People in America
- By: Dan Flores
- Narrated by: Clark Cornell
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1908, near Folsom, New Mexico, a cowboy discovered the remains of a herd of extinct giant bison. By examining flint points embedded in the bones, archeologists later determined that a band of humans had killed and butchered the animals 12,450 years ago. This discovery vastly expanded America's known human history but also revealed the long-standing danger Homo sapiens presented to the continent's evolutionary richness. Distinguished scholar Dan Flores's ambitious history chronicles the epoch in which humans and animals have coexisted in the "wild new world" of North America.
-
-
Tough for me to to review
- By Kindle Customer on 11-13-22
By: Dan Flores
-
A Bold Return to Giving a Damn
- One Farm, Six Generations, and the Future of Food
- By: Will Harris
- Narrated by: Will Harris
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Raised as a fourth-generation farmer, when Will Harris inherited White Oak Pastures he was a full-time commodity cowboy who played hard and fast with every tool the system offered–chemicals, antibiotics, steroids, and more. His ancestors had built a highly profitable, conventionally run machine, but over time he found himself disgusted with the excess, cruelty, and smalltown devastation this system entailed. So he bet the farm on forging a different way of doing things. One that works with nature not against it, and bridges the quickly widening delta between consumers and their food.
-
-
Lie after lie. Complete NARCISSIST!!! Don’t waste your time
- By Roni Crone on 11-24-23
By: Will Harris
-
The Omnivore's Dilemma
- A Natural History of Four Meals
- By: Michael Pollan
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 15 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"What should we have for dinner?" To one degree or another, this simple question assails any creature faced with a wide choice of things to eat. Anthropologists call it the omnivore's dilemma. Choosing from among the countless potential foods nature offers, humans have had to learn what is safe, and what isn't. Today, as America confronts what can only be described as a national eating disorder, the omnivore's dilemma has returned with an atavistic vengeance.
-
-
Great book; didn't love the reading
- By Lily on 11-02-08
By: Michael Pollan
-
The Best Hunting Stories Ever Told
- By: Jay Cassell - editor
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 32 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Follow the trails of hunters - the original storytellers - as they interpret signs, examine tracks, and chase and catch their prey (or fail to). Listeners can curl up with the best authentic hunting fiction and non-fiction, bringing the great Mount Kenya and the prairies of the American Bison into your living room. From Theodore Roosevelt and Gene Hill to Rick Bass and Charles Dickens, remember classic hunting tales and discover new stories of hunters’ luck, camaraderie, and use of smarts on the trail.
-
-
A broad collection of hunting tales
- By Elaine on 06-21-15
-
Folks, This Ain't Normal
- A Farmer's Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World
- By: Joel Salatin
- Narrated by: Joel Salatin
- Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From farmer Joel Salatin's point of view, life in the 21st century just ain't normal. In Folks, This Ain't Normal, he discusses how far removed we are from the simple, sustainable joy that comes from living close to the land and the people we love.
-
-
Awakened me from my ingnorance
- By matthew on 05-27-12
By: Joel Salatin
What listeners say about The Shotgun Conservationist
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 01-20-24
The shotgun conservationist
Great book, I’m not a hunter nerd. I intend on hunting. I’ve always been in bivalent if not leaning to the pro hunter. This book is entertain Ing as well as extremely informative. Upon completion I am very pro hunting, but as I stated before. I have no intentions of ever going hunting. I’m much better off having read this book or I should say listen to it it’s performance was very well executed. The, content of the book is far more information than I would ever need. But I feel it’s required and better off having been exposed to it getting to know all the intricacies and revenue generated in the support of hunting. The revenue that’s generated goes into preserving wildlife and managing wildlife so hopefully both we and it can exist harmoniously.
I can’t recommend this book enough. Hope you eat it or listen to it please enjoy
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sarah Marrinan
- 06-03-23
Five stars!
We found it thought provoking and also very entertaining. The author’s narration made it extra enjoyable! We come from a hunting background but would definitely recommend to both hunters and non-hunters.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Steven W.
- 11-08-24
Hug a Hunter!
I am a hunter, so it’s hard not to get into the weeds on so many of these issues. This is a great book to help me understand how to better discuss my passion with folks who are apprehensive about hunting culture and not steeped in its nuances and complexities. This is a great playbook for hunters on how to approach a discussion with the non-hunting public in a well reasoned and high level view that will highlight our similar goals rather than our few differences. I would urge hunters, non-hunters, and especially the hunting curious to get this book a careful listen. Also, the author has a great sense of humor, which makes what could be a very dense topic entertaining and engaging.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!