Breaking Cover

In this episode, Matt and Andy talk with Todd Marriott about his books Chukars Will Shoot Back and Pheasants With Panic Rooms which he wrote under his pen name, Reb McNally. He also recently wrote and released the book Three Days in Bama. Breaking Cover is a monthly podcast exploring the literature and culture of upland hunting. Hosted by Andy Wayment and Matt Millbauer Andy’s latest book, Idaho Grouse Fever, is available for sale here. Read more of Andy’s work on Upland Ways. Matt’s new project, The Upland Literary Review, released its first episode this month. Check out theuplandliteraryreview.com to order your copy and for information on how to submit your own work for consideration. Check out Matt’s art project, Bird Dog Portraits at birddogportraits.org. Like what you hear? Breaking Cover is listener supported and wouldn’t exist without supporters like you. Help support Breaking Cover with a monthly or one-time donation. As a monthly donor, you can submit books, authors, and topics that can help us curate a future conversation on the show. Another way to support the show and rep it: our limited run hats. Every hat sold goes straight back into keeping us on the air. Order it here. Want more? Follow us on Instagram.

In this episode Andy and Matt pull back the curtain on spooky and supernatural upland writing. They cover the following stories that you may want to read before listening, because these short stories are too short to not spoil as we discuss them. There are two stories that aren't available online. One is Rough Shooting in Sleepy Hollow by our very own Andrew Wayment which is in his book, Idaho Grouse Fever. The other is by Burton Spiller's Ghost Grouse which is his classic essay collection, Drummer in the Woods. Stories covered: The Phantom Setter A Halloween Hunting Story Mr. Detwiler: A Ghostly Grouse Hunt Tinkhamtown The Ghost of Dillon Mews A Short Ghost Story The Invincible Grouse Hunter Breaking Cover is a monthly podcast exploring the literature and culture of upland hunting. Hosted by Andy Wayment and Matt Millbauer Andy’s latest book, Idaho Grouse Fever, is available for sale here. Read more of Andy’s work on Upland Ways. Matt’s new project, The Upland Literary Review, is expecting its inaugural issue to be released in November. Check out theuplandliteraryreview.com for more information and how to submit your own work for consideration.  Check out Matt’s art project, Bird Dog Portraits at birddogportraits.org.  Like what you hear? Breaking Cover is listener supported and wouldn’t exist without supporters like you. Help support Breaking Cover with a monthly or one-time donation. As a monthly donor, you can submit books, authors, and topics that can help us curate a future conversation on the show. Another way to support the show and rep it: our limited run hats. A new Breaking Cover hat releases quarterly, made once, never restocked.  Every hat sold goes straight back into keeping us on the air. Order it here.  Want more? Follow us on Instagram.

Matt and Andy will be back soon to talk upland literature. In the meantime, here's a bonus episode which is from Matt's other podcast, Go Flush Yourself. In this episode Matt and Andy chat for the first time, this conversation actually led to Breaking Cover existing! If you enjoyed this episode, check out goflushyourself.org and subscribe anywhere you get podcasts.

This week on Breaking Cover, Andy and Matt take a look at the life and work of Ben O. Williams and everything modern upland hunters owe him. A bird hunter. A naturalist. A dog man. A photographer. A teacher. A writer. A lifelong student of birds and the landscapes they inhabit. We talk about his role in popularizing western upland hunting, his advocacy for Brittanys and pointing dogs, his extraordinary knowledge of grey partridge and other western game birds, his writing and photography, and the generations of hunters who learned to better understand birds, dogs, habitat and country through his work. Most of all, we talk about Ben’s greatest contribution: teaching upland hunters how to pay attention. The birds, the dogs, the country, the weather, the people, and all the small details that make a day afield worth remembering. Ben O. Williams has an enormous body of work and we’re still hunting in the world he helped us learn how to see. Hosted by Andy Wayment and Matt Millbauer Andy’s latest book, Idaho Grouse Fever, is available for sale here. Read more of Andy’s work on Upland Ways. Matt’s new project, The Upland Literary Review, is expecting its inaugural issue to be released in November. Check out theuplandliteraryreview.com for more information and how to submit your own work for consideration.  Check out Matt’s art project, Bird Dog Portraits at birddogportraits.org.  Like what you hear? Breaking Cover is listener supported and wouldn’t exist without supporters like you. Help support Breaking Cover with a monthly or one-time donation. As a monthly donor, you can submit books, authors, and topics that can help us curate a future conversation on the show. Another way to support the show and rep it: our limited run hats. A new Breaking Cover hat releases quarterly — made once, never restocked. The first design, the First Edition, is available now through September 30, 2026. Every hat sold goes straight back into keeping us on the air. Order it here.  Want more? Follow us on Instagram.

In this episode, Matt and Andy talk with Bret Wonnacott, author of A Millionaire’s Dream. On top of an in depth discussion of the novel, Bret also introduces his next project. You can purchase your own copy of Bret Wonnacott’s A Millionaire’s Dream here. Breaking Cover is a monthly podcast exploring the literature and culture of upland hunting.  Hosted by Andy Wayment and Matt Millbauer Andy’s latest book, Idaho Grouse Fever, is available for sale here. Read more of Andy’s work on Upland Ways. Matt’s new project, The Upland Literary Review, is expecting its inaugural issue to be released in November. Check out theuplandliteraryreview.com for more information and how to submit your own work for consideration.  Check out Matt’s art project, Bird Dog Portraits at birddogportraits.org.  Like what you hear? Breaking Cover is listener supported and wouldn’t exist without supporters like you. Help support Breaking Cover with a monthly or one-time donation. As a monthly donor, you can submit books, authors, and topics that can help us curate a future conversation on the show. Another way to support the show and rep it: our limited run hats. A new Breaking Cover hat releases quarterly — made once, never restocked. The first design, the First Edition, is available now through September 30, 2026. Every hat sold goes straight back into keeping us on the air. Order it here.  Want more? Follow us on Instagram.

Matt Millbauer and Andrew Wayment introduce Breaking Cover and explore two classic books on pheasant hunting—Pheasants of the Mind and Pheasant Hunter’s Harvest. A conversation about upland literature, sporting tradition, memorable writing, and why some books stay with us long after the season ends. Main books discussed: Pheasants of the Mind, Datus C. Proper Pheasant Hunter’s Harvest, Steve Grooms Other books mentioned: Modern Pheasant Hunting, by Steve Grooms The Education of Pretty Boy, by Havilah Babcock  Jaybirds Go to Hell on Fridays, by Havilah Babcock  I Don’t Want to Shoot an Elephant, by Havilah Babcock  Tales of Quails ‘n Such, Havilah Babcock My Health is Better in November, Havilah Babcock  Hunting and Home in the Southern Heartland, Archibald Rutledge  Bird Dog Days and Wingshooting Ways, Archibald Rutledge  Drummer in the Woods, Burton Spiller Twenty Years at the Shamrock Gun Club, James Dalton A Fall of Woodcock, Tom Huggler Grouse of North America: A Cross-Continental Hunting Guide, Tom Huggler Idaho Upland Days: Reflections on Bird Dogs, Banner Days & Other Roadside Revelations, Andrew M. Wayment Idaho Ruffed Grouse Hunting: The Heartbeat of the Woods, Andrew M. Wayment Idaho Grouse Fever: An Obsession for All Things Grouse, Andrew M. Wayment Upland Days, William G. Tapply Upland Autumn, William G. Tapply Poems mentioned: Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, Robert Frost Breaking Cover is a monthly podcast exploring the literature and culture of upland hunting. Hosted by Andy Wayment and Matt Millbauer Like what you hear? Breaking Cover is listener supported and wouldn’t exist without supporters like you. Help support Breaking Cover with a monthly or one-time donation. As a monthly donor, you can submit books, authors, and topics that can help us curate a future conversation on the show. Want more? Check us out on Instagram and Facebook.

In this short preview episode, hosts Andy Wayment and Matt Millbauer introduce a new monthly podcast exploring the literature, stories, and ideas that surround upland hunting. Each episode will dive into a book, an author, or a theme connected to the sporting life—examining the writers who have shaped our traditions and the stories that connect us to bird dogs, wild places, conservation, family, and time spent afield. This is a podcast about more than the hunt itself. It is about the words, memories, and experiences that stay with us long after we leave the field. The first full episode of Breaking Cover arrives next July 17, 2026.