Nine Finger Chronicles - Deer Hunting Podcast · Dan Johnson, Sportsmen's Empire

Shed Hunting & Venting

March 20, 2026·56 min·4 clips

Dan Johnson and the boys discover a rare 'hanger' shed antler from a four-year-old buck, sparking awe.

1. Nine Finger Chronicles host Dan Johnson covers two topics: a spring break shed hunting trip with his son and a neighbor's kid, and a personal reflection on what it feels like to be a man carrying stress in today's world. 2. Dan is the solo host of Nine Finger Chronicles; no guests appear in this episode; his son and the neighbor's boy are referenced but not named. 3. The episode's core thesis is that simple, screen-free outdoor experiences still work on kids and that men frequently carry emotional weight without acknowledgment or reciprocation. 4. Dan pulled his son and a friend out of school on the last Friday before spring break and drove three and a half hours to a farm he regularly hunts, checking into a small-town motel and heading straight to the field. 5. Within the first pass of the easy ground — buffer strips along field edges — the group found three sheds and a deadhead, with both boys immediately turning the hunt into a competition tracking every shed, skull, and femur. 6. Dan intentionally let the boys 'find' most of the sheds by positioning them toward antlers he had already spotted, with his son ultimately finding seven and the neighbor's kid finding seven in two days. 7. The highlight of day two was finding a 'hanger' — an antler lodged off the ground in a bush where a four-year-old buck Dan recognized from trail camera photos had been rubbing — which he framed to the boys as a 'one of one' using football card rarity language. 8. A deadhead found on day two was a deer Dan had passed during the season because of its genetic potential as a three-year-old; the neighbor's kid claimed it and carried it like a football, covering himself in the smell, before his grandpa agreed to boil and clean it. 9. A small-town pizza dinner for the group cost 30 dollars including drinks, which Dan explicitly contrasts with the 50-dollar equivalent near his home. 10. Dan concludes the shed hunt section by reflecting that not one screen appeared for hours, the boys were moving and happy in cold weather, and the entire trip cost only gas, food, and one motel night. 11. Shifting to the personal segment, Dan says he is 45 years old and has been feeling unappreciated, partly triggered by his wife's friends going on spring break vacations — a 'keeping up with the Joneses' pressure he calls unfair and unrealistic. 12. He explicitly states he feels pressure as a man to keep everyone in the household happy while that same energy does not come back to him, and asks listeners directly whether they have felt the same. 13. Dan mentions that men rarely receive compliments from other men even for visible contributions like coaching kids or being a hands-on father, and argues they should. 14. He pivots briefly to Michigan hunting regulation debates — proposals to make it a one-buck state and shift rifle season away from the rut — as an example of emotionally driven communities resisting logical arguments. 15. Dan shares that starting a weekly Bible study in October of the previous year has been his most effective tool for managing stress, producing a calmer head and more positive baseline. 16. He reports that his wife has attended two church services with him, which he frames as unexpected and meaningful progress. 17. Dan notes he was benching nearly 405 pounds and deadlifting 460 about two years ago but has slipped from that fitness routine due to a knee injury requiring upcoming surgery and a busy schedule. 18. This May marks one year of no alcohol for both Dan and his wife; he previews a related story about THC gummies that is cut off at the transcript's end. 19. The episode tone is conversational and unscripted — moderate energy with genuine emotional vulnerability — aimed at male hunters who also think about family, faith, and personal development. 20. Best for male outdoor enthusiasts in their 30s and 40s who appreciate hunting content layered with frank, unfiltered life reflection; less suited to listeners who want pure tactics or scouting strategy.

As heard by us

A spring shed hunt opens into plainspoken hunting talk and a wider look at daily life.

The episode starts with a spring break shed-hunting trip with the host's oldest boy and moves into plainspoken talk about being a man in today's world.

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Why you'd press play

For when you want a shed-hunting story that turns into a truck-cab conversation about spring chaos and being a man in today's world.

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