MyOutdoorTV is cranking up the excitement with their inaugural Live Hunt event, Squirrel Smackdown with Waddell & Friends, streaming February 18 at 3:30 p.m. ET. Hunting icon Michael Waddell—known for his bone-collecting antics on *Bone Collector* and *The Hunt*—teams up with a crew of buddies for a high-stakes squirrel tournament. This isn’t your grandpa’s static hunting show; it’s real-time action where viewers watch bushytails get smacked down, complete with trash-talking, strategy reveals, and those teachable moments on shot placement and fieldcraft. For platforms like MyOutdoorTV, this live format is a game-changer, bridging the gap between canned TV episodes and the raw unpredictability of the outdoors, much like how streaming disrupted traditional cable.
What makes this a big win for the 2A community? Squirrel hunting is the ultimate gateway drug to firearms ownership—legal in most states year-round, it requires precision with .22 rifles or shotguns, honing skills that translate directly to self-defense and bigger-game pursuits. Waddell’s crew will showcase safe handling, ethical shots, and why suppressors (hello, NFA items) are squirrel-hunting gold for hearing protection in tight timber. In an era where anti-gun zealots paint all shooting as violence, events like this normalize firearms as tools for sustenance and sport, reaching urban viewers who might never set foot in the woods otherwise. It’s subtle advocacy: every downed squirrel reinforces the Second Amendment’s roots in self-reliance and food security.
The implications ripple wider—expect this to spark a surge in youth hunting programs and .22 ammo sales, countering the narrative that guns are only for bad guys. MyOutdoorTV’s move could inspire competitors like MeatEater or Outdoor Channel to go live, democratizing access to pro-2A content and pulling in new advocates. Tune in, grab your .22, and join the smackdown; it’s not just entertainment, it’s the future of defending our hunting heritage.
