1 00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:05,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, presented by first Light, 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. 4 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:18,600 Speaker 1: First Light Go Farther, Stay Longer, and now your host 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 2: Hey everyone, welcome to the Wire to Hunt Foundation's podcast, 7 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:24,239 Speaker 2: which is brought to you by first Light. I'm your 8 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:26,280 Speaker 2: host with Tony Peterson, and in today's episode is all 9 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:29,440 Speaker 2: about the social aspect of deer hunting and why that 10 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:34,960 Speaker 2: can be detrimental to your hunting success. Absolute before I 11 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:36,159 Speaker 2: get into this one, I'm going to give you a 12 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:38,600 Speaker 2: heads up over at the mediator dot com. We have 13 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:41,680 Speaker 2: a giant season opener sale going on that ends on 14 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,159 Speaker 2: the twenty fourth of this month. If you need to 15 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 2: gear up, this is your chance. You'll find white Tail 16 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 2: staples like our Origin hoodie and pant for twenty percent off, 17 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,600 Speaker 2: and you can get thirty percent off our early season 18 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 2: Trace and Yuma collections, as well as thirty percent off 19 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 2: the Source jacket and vest, which are two items I 20 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 2: will or a lot last season. Now, I know we 21 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 2: beat you guys over the heads with these sales, but 22 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 2: this is a good one, and if you're in the 23 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 2: market for some new duds, you might as well just 24 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 2: get a good deal on them. So check it out 25 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:13,399 Speaker 2: this week at the Mediator dot com. All Right, this 26 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 2: is kind of a weird episode, but it's also a 27 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:18,039 Speaker 2: good preseason reminder of the things that can slip into 28 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:21,119 Speaker 2: our deer hunting world that hurt us when we generally 29 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:24,680 Speaker 2: view them as a neutral or positive thing. While having 30 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 2: hunting buddies and relatives involved in your hunting can certainly 31 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 2: elevate the experience, and no one would deny that the 32 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 2: deer camp culture isn't without its merits, the same thing 33 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:36,679 Speaker 2: can cause us some damage that we might not understand 34 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:39,160 Speaker 2: until it's too late, or we might understand at all. 35 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 2: Now that's no bueno, and it's what I'm going to 36 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 2: talk about right now. Humans are social critters. We just are. 37 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:54,720 Speaker 2: We evolved in small groups and have depended on one 38 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 2: another for safety for a long long time, I think 39 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 2: hundreds of thousands of years. Here. It served us well 40 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 2: enough to take over a dang near the whole world already, 41 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 2: but it also can be used against us right now 42 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:09,799 Speaker 2: in the form of algorithms, rage bait, just a general 43 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 2: understanding of our psyche that can be monetized thanks to 44 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:17,880 Speaker 2: our attention spans modern turmoil. Aside, we generally need contact 45 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:21,320 Speaker 2: with others and we need shared experiences. This is one 46 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 2: of the reasons that one of the worst punishments we 47 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 2: can dule out to one another is not only prison, 48 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:30,640 Speaker 2: but solitary confinement in prison. One fella who learned this 49 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 2: lesson in a way that very few have is named 50 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:35,920 Speaker 2: Tommy Silverstein, who was sent to jail for armed robbery 51 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 2: in nineteen seventy seven. After a lifetime of committing violent 52 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 2: crimes on the inside, he managed to kill two inmates 53 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 2: and eventually a prison guard. This behavior earned him a 54 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:50,799 Speaker 2: no human contact status, which meant that he spent eighteen 55 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 2: years in elevenworth solitary confinement. When he was moved to 56 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 2: a supermax prison in Colorado, his punishment continued and he 57 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 2: spent twenty three hours a day day and a soundproof cell, 58 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 2: with his one hour a day outside of that cell 59 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 2: spent in a slightly larger cell but with no contact 60 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:10,079 Speaker 2: with humans. So all in all, he spent thirty six 61 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 2: years in solitary confinement, which isn't even the record that's 62 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 2: held by a guy named Herman Wallace, who spent forty 63 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 2: one years in solitary and died three days after his 64 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 2: release in nineteen seventy one, which had to be a 65 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 2: real bummer. While you can argue all day long on 66 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 2: that type of punishment and whether it's justified, some folks 67 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:32,519 Speaker 2: just prefer being alone. Most of you have probably heard 68 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 2: of Christopher Knight, the dude in Maine who just up 69 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 2: and walked into the woods one day and never looked back. 70 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 2: Knight admitted he only spoke to one person in twenty 71 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 2: seven years, and that was just a casual greeting with 72 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:47,680 Speaker 2: a hiker on a trail. Knight built himself a nice 73 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 2: little camp with stuff he stole from vacation cabins and 74 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 2: spent his free time playing Game Boy and getting hammered 75 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 2: on Pilford liquor. Imagine spending twenty seven winters in Maine 76 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:03,120 Speaker 2: in a ten with your only option to have anything, 77 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:07,920 Speaker 2: to steal whatever you could to survive. Humans are pretty wild, 78 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 2: but generally we just need each other. This is evident 79 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 2: in the hunting community in a million different ways. This 80 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 2: never going to end public land fight that raged recently 81 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 2: is a good example. While we are a small minority 82 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 2: in this country. We made a lot of noise and 83 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:25,679 Speaker 2: that's what got results. We have a history of hunting 84 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:29,240 Speaker 2: together which could be traced way way back to the 85 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:31,400 Speaker 2: point where we set out in small bands across the 86 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 2: Bearing land mass to encounter short face bears and a 87 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 2: host of other megafauna that certainly took deference to our presence. Hell, 88 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:40,479 Speaker 2: you could go a lot further back than that, but 89 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 2: instead let's go back maybe sixty years. The history of 90 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:46,279 Speaker 2: the white tail is one that has seen its ebbs 91 00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 2: and flows, but modern deer hunting has its roots pretty 92 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:52,200 Speaker 2: firmly dug in around the nineteen fifties and sixties in 93 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:55,600 Speaker 2: many states. Back then, the US didn't have a lot 94 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 2: of deer, and the primary hunting methods were either to 95 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 2: get them moving with dogs or get them moving with people. 96 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 2: I remember my dad telling me that he got pretty 97 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:06,840 Speaker 2: into bow hunting after returning home from Vietnam in the 98 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 2: late nineteen sixties, and he said that at one point 99 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 2: he saw four deer while he was hunting, and it 100 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:14,240 Speaker 2: was like seeing four sasquatches ride in the backs of 101 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:17,520 Speaker 2: four unicorns. Well he didn't say it exactly like that, 102 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 2: but you get the gist. When I started hunting in 103 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:23,360 Speaker 2: nineteen ninety two, we had more deer than they did 104 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,479 Speaker 2: thirty years before that, but it was nothing like today. 105 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 2: Seeing a deer wall hunting was a big win for us, 106 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:31,920 Speaker 2: and we mostly didn't see anything on any given sit. 107 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:34,440 Speaker 2: We also hunted with a group of guys that were 108 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:36,760 Speaker 2: all friends with my dad, and while they were all 109 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:39,839 Speaker 2: bow hunters, it was still very much like a traditional 110 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:42,200 Speaker 2: hunting camp that you would more likely find in the 111 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 2: gun hunting crowd. It wasn't the same as you know, 112 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 2: the hunting camps in the north Woods, or the groups 113 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 2: of hunters who got together every year to put together 114 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:52,359 Speaker 2: drives for a few days and fill each other's tags 115 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:55,480 Speaker 2: whenever they could, but you know, kind of similar in 116 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:57,680 Speaker 2: a way. Now. If you were to think of modern 117 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:01,039 Speaker 2: deer hunting in terms of you know, breeding retrievers for 118 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,159 Speaker 2: all kinds of upland waterfall hunting, you'd say that our 119 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:07,760 Speaker 2: lineage as hunters is one that places a high value 120 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 2: on being social around deer hunting. We were bred for 121 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:15,240 Speaker 2: it and exposed to it in our environment. We lean 122 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:17,880 Speaker 2: into it and it can be an amazing tradition and 123 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:21,120 Speaker 2: an amazing experience or it can be a total train wreck. 124 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:24,160 Speaker 2: In the last maybe fifteen years or so, we've seen 125 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:27,120 Speaker 2: a huge shift from large groups of hunters valuing the 126 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 2: social side above everything else to fracture groups looking to 127 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 2: produce the best possible chances to kill giants. Now that's 128 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:37,440 Speaker 2: a generality, of course, but that doesn't make it totally wrong. 129 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:41,080 Speaker 2: The old guard might suggest that we are losing our identity, 130 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:44,360 Speaker 2: as one northern Wisconsin farmer told me a few years ago, 131 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:47,280 Speaker 2: when he looked me right in the eyes and said, you, 132 00:06:47,279 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 2: young guys have no idea how to hunt deer. You 133 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:52,440 Speaker 2: need to get out and get them moving. You can't 134 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 2: just sit and wait for them, because you'll never kill them. Now, 135 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 2: I just nodded in agreement and kept on hunting doves with 136 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:01,640 Speaker 2: my pupp I know what else to say. Here's the 137 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:05,279 Speaker 2: thing about the social aspect of deer hunting. It can 138 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:08,159 Speaker 2: be awesome or it can totally pull you under. The 139 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 2: latter is what you want to avoid, obviously, and it 140 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:14,880 Speaker 2: all stems generally from ego and greed. So I guess 141 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 2: it's not so much keeping company with other hunters, but 142 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 2: exactly what other hunters you tend to keep company with. 143 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 2: I have a small group of buddies who I'll share 144 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 2: a camp with at any point, and if I think 145 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 2: about what they have in common with me, it's that 146 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 2: they are all at a place with hunting where they 147 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:32,360 Speaker 2: don't care if someone else kills a good one or 148 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 2: a dink or whatever. They are confident enough in their 149 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:38,880 Speaker 2: own skills that one will walk by them so much 150 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:40,760 Speaker 2: so at least that they don't view it as something 151 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:43,560 Speaker 2: being taken from them or a reflection on them if 152 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 2: someone else kills something where they hunt, or even not 153 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 2: where they hunt. I have a long list of friends 154 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 2: who I won't hunt with anymore, and that doesn't mean 155 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:54,880 Speaker 2: they aren't good people and good buddies, but they have 156 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 2: different priorities than I do in the woods, we just 157 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 2: don't match well. And there's nothing worse than someone who 158 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:02,520 Speaker 2: takes it a bit too seriously and will hide trail 159 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:05,560 Speaker 2: camera photos or sightings or not talk about their encounters 160 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:08,720 Speaker 2: or missus or whatever. That kind of behavior is poisonous 161 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 2: and it can make the whole group sick without anyone 162 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:13,720 Speaker 2: really pinning down what's going on. When my dad met 163 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:15,440 Speaker 2: up with that group of buddies I mentioned in the 164 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,680 Speaker 2: beginning of this episode, I wasn't quite old enough to hunt. 165 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:21,000 Speaker 2: I did get there while he was still hunting with 166 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:24,520 Speaker 2: those guys. My first experience of that group dynamic was weird. 167 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:27,080 Speaker 2: There was one fellaw who had a cabin there that 168 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:28,880 Speaker 2: a lot of us stayed at from time to time, 169 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 2: so he kind of became the default leader. He was 170 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:34,960 Speaker 2: also a one eyed lunatic who, despite being very short 171 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:37,760 Speaker 2: and very around, felt like he was the toughest dude 172 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 2: on the continent, probably because he never had to prove it. 173 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:44,440 Speaker 2: He also was dead set against shooting doze. He wouldn't 174 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:46,679 Speaker 2: allow it, and that was rough for a twelve year 175 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:49,240 Speaker 2: old who just wanted to shoot his first dear let 176 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 2: alone my dad and the rest of the dudes in 177 00:08:51,200 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 2: that crew. So that group of guys hunted only bucks, 178 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:09,280 Speaker 2: and they shot generally one year old basket racks. The antlers, 179 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 2: regardless of size, were a big status symbol. But it 180 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:15,600 Speaker 2: just created a weird dynamic because killing a young buck 181 00:09:15,679 --> 00:09:18,480 Speaker 2: then wasn't that easy either, because there just weren't that 182 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 2: many deer around, and then we weren't that good at it. 183 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 2: Literally everyone in the group wanted to be free to 184 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:25,920 Speaker 2: fill their tags as they could, but no one felt 185 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:28,280 Speaker 2: good enough about it to color outside the lines and 186 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:31,320 Speaker 2: see what happened if they did shoot it. Dope, it 187 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:34,960 Speaker 2: wasn't fun. We still do this today, we just do 188 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:38,120 Speaker 2: it on Instagram, and it isn't fun. And what's worse 189 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:40,320 Speaker 2: is that we often feel compelled to hunt with people 190 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:43,200 Speaker 2: due to tradition or whatever. But just hunting with other 191 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:46,520 Speaker 2: people generally makes our own path less productive, or at 192 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 2: least it really can't. Now I don't mean to say 193 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:52,120 Speaker 2: that's always the case. I have one good buddy named Eric, 194 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:54,360 Speaker 2: who I talk about a lot on here, and who 195 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 2: I've hunted with for a long time, and when we 196 00:09:56,520 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 2: work together these days on the deer, deer usually died, 197 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 2: and if they don't, we have a pretty good time 198 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:05,440 Speaker 2: trying to make them die. Anyway, But there is something 199 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:07,880 Speaker 2: to be said about the solo endeavor, and it's one 200 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:10,040 Speaker 2: of the reasons that I'm such an advocate for expanding 201 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:13,240 Speaker 2: and hunting opportunities in any way possible. If you have 202 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:16,320 Speaker 2: a lease with a couple of buddies, for example, that's great, 203 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:18,960 Speaker 2: but you'll probably never leave that lease to go hunt 204 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:22,079 Speaker 2: public land down the road. You should, though, because when 205 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:24,520 Speaker 2: you free yourself from whatever rules are established on the 206 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:28,560 Speaker 2: lease ground, you free yourself to try new things. You'll 207 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:32,480 Speaker 2: free yourself from whatever pressure comes with that shared social hunt, 208 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:36,600 Speaker 2: and that is important. I've talked about this before on 209 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:41,079 Speaker 2: this podcast and on my Dog Focused Houndation's podcast that's 210 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 2: over on the Cattle the Wild Feed. But the best 211 00:10:43,679 --> 00:10:45,960 Speaker 2: thing you can do to develop a young bird dog 212 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:49,160 Speaker 2: is to hunt solo. I believe that with all my heart, 213 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:51,240 Speaker 2: even though a lot of folks still believe that hunting 214 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:52,880 Speaker 2: a young dog with an old one is the way 215 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:55,720 Speaker 2: to go. The old dogs don't take young dogs under 216 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:58,560 Speaker 2: their wings to explain where pheasants hide or grouse like defeat. 217 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:01,880 Speaker 2: They just don't. And another dog in the mix can 218 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:06,360 Speaker 2: create competition and usually does, just as other hunters in 219 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:09,760 Speaker 2: the mix and other hunters with dogs can as well. 220 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 2: The pace of a solo hunt, where the dog is 221 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:14,640 Speaker 2: to figure things out without the pressure of keeping up 222 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:19,199 Speaker 2: with anyone else, matters so much helps everyone relax. Dog 223 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:22,680 Speaker 2: and hunter slow down, which means you'll get into more 224 00:11:22,679 --> 00:11:25,960 Speaker 2: birds and take better shots. That leads to the dog 225 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:28,959 Speaker 2: having more bird contact and generally getting to figure out 226 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:32,040 Speaker 2: the wounded and dead bird thing more often, again without 227 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:34,880 Speaker 2: the pressure of maybe losing their feathered prize to some 228 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:40,440 Speaker 2: canine competition and pressure. It's kind of everything. Well it's not, 229 00:11:40,600 --> 00:11:42,360 Speaker 2: but most of us put a fair amount of pressure 230 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:45,000 Speaker 2: on ourselves to be successful in the deer woods, and 231 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:47,560 Speaker 2: then when we allow others and their views on the 232 00:11:47,559 --> 00:11:50,880 Speaker 2: whole thing into our smooth brains, it gets way more complicated. 233 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:53,880 Speaker 2: We've all seen the news stories about the dudes who 234 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:56,280 Speaker 2: have killed giants, and then we're found out to be poachers. 235 00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 2: You know, it's the same old story, and it's just 236 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:03,040 Speaker 2: greed and ego manifested in its worst forms. But that 237 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:06,440 Speaker 2: trickles down too. While your hunting buddies might not shoot 238 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:08,480 Speaker 2: one over a spotlight at night in the wrong state 239 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:10,600 Speaker 2: because it's a two hundred inch er and the temptation 240 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:13,720 Speaker 2: is too great, what about hiding trail camera photos or 241 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:16,760 Speaker 2: info on sightings are signed. There's a lot of ways 242 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:18,520 Speaker 2: this stuff can go, and it doesn't even have to 243 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:21,320 Speaker 2: be some shady shit like that. What if you just 244 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:23,640 Speaker 2: really aren't very good at this stuff yet, but you 245 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:27,400 Speaker 2: hang with some folks who are. Their success will bleed 246 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 2: into your mindset and so you might learn a lot 247 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:31,559 Speaker 2: from them. But you might also be at the stage 248 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 2: where whacking a two year old on opening day would 249 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:36,760 Speaker 2: make you real happy. But your buddies are going to 250 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 2: hold up for one forties because that's where they're at 251 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:43,400 Speaker 2: and their journey. The company we keep influences our decisions, 252 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:47,000 Speaker 2: not always in a good way. I realize something recently 253 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:49,319 Speaker 2: while dealing with a landowner who I hunt with, who 254 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:52,199 Speaker 2: by all accounts, doesn't have an impressive deer hunting resume. 255 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:55,760 Speaker 2: I'm super grateful to hunt his place, and I happily 256 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:58,560 Speaker 2: provide stands and blinds in general direction for how the 257 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:01,920 Speaker 2: whole thing should go. But that comes with some extra bs, 258 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:05,280 Speaker 2: as permission based hunting usually does. And it's just a 259 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:08,400 Speaker 2: different hunt altogether from some of my solo adventures to 260 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:11,680 Speaker 2: public land somewhere else. And while we generally get stuck 261 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:14,360 Speaker 2: in the mindset that private land always beats public land, 262 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:17,240 Speaker 2: we don't factor in the freedom of making all of 263 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:20,160 Speaker 2: our own decisions and doing our own thing at our 264 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:24,240 Speaker 2: own pace without any arbitrary rules created by someone else, 265 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:28,079 Speaker 2: you know, hunting regulations aside. Of course, now I won't 266 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:30,360 Speaker 2: turn down the chance to hunt that property because it's 267 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:33,480 Speaker 2: both convenient and well. I like hunting anywhere I can 268 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:37,520 Speaker 2: but there's an aspect of having just one other hunter 269 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:40,640 Speaker 2: in the mix, especially one who controls the land, where 270 00:13:40,679 --> 00:13:43,480 Speaker 2: the whole thing takes on a different flavor look. It's 271 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:46,679 Speaker 2: part of the game, but also makes me appreciate driving 272 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:49,080 Speaker 2: across the river and walking into thousands of acres of 273 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:52,240 Speaker 2: public land in northern Wisconsin, even if the deer population 274 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:55,240 Speaker 2: there is much lower and the hunting is generally way tougher. 275 00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:59,360 Speaker 2: There's more to this stuff than finding easy and convenient, 276 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:01,360 Speaker 2: and a lot of time times our social hunts are 277 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:04,880 Speaker 2: not all that easy or convenient, at least not as 278 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:07,480 Speaker 2: easy and convenient as we'd like them to be. I 279 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:09,760 Speaker 2: also think that we aren't meant to be as busy 280 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:12,280 Speaker 2: as we are generally in life, and that we are 281 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:16,480 Speaker 2: experiencing low grade burnout from work and life, in the kids' sports, 282 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 2: and just generally having so much shit to do. Hunting 283 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:23,600 Speaker 2: is supposed to be an escape from that stuff, but 284 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 2: the more people who become involved in it, the more 285 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:29,320 Speaker 2: it resembles the parts of life we are trying to escape. 286 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 2: Here's the crux to the whole thing, and something I've 287 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:35,040 Speaker 2: realized has been a huge benefit to my success in 288 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:37,840 Speaker 2: the field. If I don't have a lot of thoughts 289 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:40,400 Speaker 2: bumping around in my brain about other people and what 290 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:44,240 Speaker 2: they are doing or thinking. I generally hunt more relaxed. 291 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:46,880 Speaker 2: I generally hunt in a way that allows me to 292 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:50,640 Speaker 2: follow a process that I truly enjoy, and that generally 293 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:54,760 Speaker 2: means that I get more shot opportunities. Going solo has 294 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 2: made me a better hunter without question seeking out opportunities 295 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:03,520 Speaker 2: whereas just me versus the deer, even on public land 296 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:06,720 Speaker 2: where other hunters definitely factor in, has kept my freezers 297 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:10,720 Speaker 2: pretty full and made a hunting much more enjoyable. Now, 298 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:13,160 Speaker 2: that might not be your jam, or you may not 299 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:16,400 Speaker 2: have ever actually sought that out. A lot of us don't, 300 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:19,240 Speaker 2: because we get into hunting through someone else. Maybe we 301 00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:21,760 Speaker 2: are born into a traditional rifle camp, or maybe you 302 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 2: marry into it, or maybe a friend offers you an 303 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:26,560 Speaker 2: invite to a property that you can bow hunt with 304 00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:29,480 Speaker 2: him in a handful of other folks. Whatever. A lot 305 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:31,360 Speaker 2: of us have that type of thing as our primary 306 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 2: conduit to time in the deer woods. And it's great 307 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:36,560 Speaker 2: and you might not ever need anymore, or you might 308 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:39,600 Speaker 2: find yourself wishing you could shoot what you want or 309 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:42,440 Speaker 2: hunt whenever you damn well feel like it. You might 310 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:44,720 Speaker 2: just find that you spend more time thinking about where 311 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:46,960 Speaker 2: someone else might sit or how they might mess up 312 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:49,720 Speaker 2: your deer patterns, and just realize that you need a 313 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:53,280 Speaker 2: reprieve to do your own thing. I'm not saying you 314 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 2: need to put yourself in the equivalent of deer hunting 315 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:59,240 Speaker 2: solitary confinement, but at least consider your sphere of influence 316 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 2: when it comes to this part of your life. Is 317 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:04,960 Speaker 2: your hunting always impacted by someone else? Because if so, 318 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:08,440 Speaker 2: you just might want to seek out a solo opportunity somehow. 319 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:10,880 Speaker 2: I know that doesn't sound easy to a lot of 320 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:13,720 Speaker 2: us and might not sound productive because it'll take place 321 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:16,200 Speaker 2: on new land somewhere, but that's the wrong way to 322 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:19,680 Speaker 2: look at it. Freeing yourself from the influence of others 323 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:21,480 Speaker 2: to just do your own thing will change how you 324 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:24,000 Speaker 2: look at deer hunting. It might not make the hunting 325 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:26,960 Speaker 2: seem any easier at the start, but it will make 326 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:29,560 Speaker 2: you better at hunting, and that eventually makes all of 327 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:32,200 Speaker 2: it seem a little bit easier. It'll also help you 328 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:35,120 Speaker 2: find your lane as a hunter just a little bit better, 329 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:38,120 Speaker 2: which might mean that you're actually pretty content to still 330 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:40,800 Speaker 2: hunt around and try to arrow one, even though that 331 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:43,360 Speaker 2: would be severely frowned upon on the least that you 332 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:46,280 Speaker 2: share with your buddies. Or maybe it'll allow you to 333 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:48,920 Speaker 2: hunt late September or early October as hard as you 334 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,960 Speaker 2: please without the nagging feeling that you're supposed to leave 335 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:54,400 Speaker 2: the deer alone until the pre rut, which is a 336 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:57,240 Speaker 2: common belief that works for killing deer, but also robs 337 00:16:57,240 --> 00:16:58,720 Speaker 2: a hell of a lot of us of time in 338 00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:02,560 Speaker 2: the woods, which isn't so great sometimes, So at least 339 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:05,760 Speaker 2: consider it as we enter the immediate preseason now with 340 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:08,439 Speaker 2: all of the target practice and stand hanging and camera 341 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:11,360 Speaker 2: work that we have going on, and come back next 342 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:13,640 Speaker 2: week because I'm going to talk about a few new 343 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:16,600 Speaker 2: experiences I've had with deer recently that have forced me 344 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:19,399 Speaker 2: to think about how wrong I often am about deer 345 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:21,959 Speaker 2: and what that means for me as a hunter, and 346 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:25,640 Speaker 2: what it'll mean for you too. That's it for this week. 347 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:27,600 Speaker 2: I'm Tony Peterson. This has been the Wired to Hunt 348 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:30,080 Speaker 2: Foundations podcast, which is brought to you by First Light. 349 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:33,240 Speaker 2: Go check out our season or opener sale over at 350 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:35,160 Speaker 2: the mediater dot com. I know you heard me talk 351 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:36,560 Speaker 2: about it at the beginning. I'm going to talk about 352 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:40,000 Speaker 2: it just a little bit right now. Awesome discounts on 353 00:17:40,119 --> 00:17:43,159 Speaker 2: some of our just white tail staples, the Trace Collections, 354 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:47,160 Speaker 2: Uma Collections, some of the Source products twenty thirty percent off. 355 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:50,080 Speaker 2: Good deals. Go check them out while you're there. If 356 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 2: you need some more hunting content, you can find it. 357 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:57,959 Speaker 2: We're dropping new articles, new recipes, new films, new podcasts 358 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:01,199 Speaker 2: on the network every day of the week. You're not 359 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:02,679 Speaker 2: going to get bored. If you need to get your 360 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:04,879 Speaker 2: fixed or you need to learn something about the outdoors, 361 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:07,240 Speaker 2: the mediator dot com has you covered. Thank you.