Parker and that d*mn ZYN can…
It doesn’t matter if the man is on stage accepting an award at the ACMs, on stage performing, or deep in the woods hunting; Parker McCollum always has his can of nicotine patches strapped to his side. While his signature ZYN cans have become a staple of his image, with that unmistakable circular outline almost always visible in his back pocket, it turns out they nearly cost him the perfect hunt.
The 2026 CMA Album of the Year nominee recently appeared on the OutKick OutDoors ‘Open Season’ podcast for a sit-down with host Amber Harding to talk about everything from his latest acoustic project, touring with Koe Wetzel, and, of course, hunting. Unfortunately for Parker, his season has been cut a bit short as he prepares to hit the stage across the pond alongside Cody Johnson.
CoJo will hit up a handful of stops across the United Kingdom and Ireland throughout the remainder of October and November, meaning both country superstars have to put their bows down for a hot second. Luckily, before he jet-setted over to the UK, McCollum got to spend a little time out in the woods, taking to social media earlier this month to share that he shot his “biggest bow kill ever. Just an absolute stud of a deer.”
Grinning ear to ear in the trophy picture and thanking Jesus in his caption, the post racked up nearly 100K likes on Instagram alone and nods from his country music friends, including Koe Wetzel, Tucker Wetmore, Hudson Westbrook and more in the comment section. According to his conversation with Harding, though, the kill did not come without a few complications along the way (including his ZYN can nearly spoiling the whole trip).
While out in Oklahoma, McCollum shared that he hadn’t even seen a deer yet by the time evening started to roll around. He says finally a few younger bucks and several deer started showing up, along with a “mature heavy horn deer” which waltzed right underneath his stand.
Lo and behold, what was he doing when the buck was in sight underneath him? Popping open his Zyn Can.
“I was putting a Zyn in, and I was closing the can right as I saw him and he walks right directly underneath me, and he just stops as he hears that can close, the little plastic Zyn can. I’m looking down, and instantaneously I just got the feeling, and I’m like ‘Oh no, no, no, no. This is it.”
He emphasized the deer looked 10 times bigger in person than it did on camera. Thinking he was surely screwed, luckily the deer walked out 20 yards, and McCollum was able to slyly slip his can back into his coat pocket.
Adding to the stress, the deer nearly spotted McCollum once more as he was preparing to slowly move to set himself up with his bow, noting, “My heart was racing…In my mind, I’m like, ‘This is the encounter you’ve been waiting on.'”
Considering McCollum’s social media snapshots already spoiled this story for us, as you already know, he did, in fact, get a clear shot at the buck, emphasizing, “I was absolutely blown away at how much better of a deer he was on the ground than he was on camera.”
While McCollum got lucky this time around, take this as your precautionary tale to pay close attention to when you’re popping a pouch in the deer stand. Check out the full Open Season episode with McCollum below: