1 00:00:01,280 --> 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 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: First Light, Go Farther, Stay Longer, and now your host 5 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:19,959 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 2: Hey, everyone, welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast, 7 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 2: which is brought to you by first Light. I'm your host, 8 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 2: Tony Peterson, and today's episode is all about trying to 9 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 2: figure out what your hunting competition is doing and then 10 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 2: to do something totally different from them. I really believe 11 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 2: that one of the things that public land hunting does 12 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:45,080 Speaker 2: for a fellow teaches him how everyone else hunts. You know, 13 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 2: where the stands are going to be, where the cameras are, 14 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 2: where people park, It's all on display if you look around. 15 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 2: It's a valuable lesson into how you might want to 16 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 2: do things differently. This isn't just a public land thing, though, 17 00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 2: it applies to private land hunts as well, and actually 18 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 2: might be a little more relevant to that crowd because 19 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:04,040 Speaker 2: they might be less likely to understand why this is important. 20 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 2: I honestly think what I'm going to talk about now 21 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 2: is one of the keys to being a really successful 22 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:11,039 Speaker 2: white tail hunter no matter where you live, and it 23 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:13,200 Speaker 2: doesn't get a whole lot of love from the hunting media. 24 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 2: But I think that's unfortunate. And you're about to hear 25 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:25,600 Speaker 2: why right now. Have you ever heard of a guy 26 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 2: named Ignas Semelweiss? Probably not. He was a Hungarian doctor 27 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 2: who worked at the Vienna General Hospital for a handful 28 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 2: of years back in the mid eighteen hundreds. The thing 29 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:39,520 Speaker 2: about that hospital was that it was not only a 30 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 2: fully functioning medical facility, it was also an institution designed 31 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:49,280 Speaker 2: for teaching. Its maternity wing was so large that there 32 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 2: was a wing designated for doctors and their students and 33 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:57,840 Speaker 2: one for midwives and students. Maternal mortality at birth for 34 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 2: the midwives wards was thirty six per every thousand, meaning 35 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:04,240 Speaker 2: about three and a half percent of the mothers who 36 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 2: gave birth there didn't survive the process. But in the 37 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:11,080 Speaker 2: doctor's ward the mortality rate was just a shade under 38 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:15,679 Speaker 2: ten percent, with nearly one hundred women dying for every thousand. 39 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 2: At the time, they simply referred to this as child 40 00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:25,400 Speaker 2: bed fever, which was also actually just streptococcal infection, and 41 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:27,640 Speaker 2: it was accepted as how the whole thing was just 42 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,800 Speaker 2: meant to go down, But the difference between midwives handling 43 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:34,919 Speaker 2: the birth and doctors was stark, and Semelweis wanted to 44 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 2: figure out why. His first idea was to look at 45 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:41,800 Speaker 2: what was different between the wards, and one thing he 46 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 2: noticed was that in the doctor's ward a priest regularly 47 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 2: walked through and rang a bell as a last sacrament 48 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 2: to dying mothers. He thought, maybe the ringing of that 49 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:56,639 Speaker 2: bell caused some type of psychological response in the mother's which, well, 50 00:02:56,639 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 2: it probably, no doubt did. Hearing it often, he thought, 51 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:03,880 Speaker 2: would leave a mental scar, you know, because they knew 52 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:05,679 Speaker 2: the reason why they were hearing it. You know, it 53 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:09,120 Speaker 2: was because other mothers just like them weren't going to 54 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:13,240 Speaker 2: survive the very thing they were undertaking. But that wasn't it. 55 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 2: Some of us asked the priest to take a different 56 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 2: route and change up his strategy to see if his 57 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 2: absence would make a difference in the mortality rate, and 58 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,320 Speaker 2: it didn't work. It wasn't until eighteen forty seven that 59 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:28,600 Speaker 2: one of his colleagues slipped up during an autopsy and 60 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 2: ran a scalpel into his finger that a new idea 61 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 2: entered the arena a new way of thinking. If you will, 62 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:38,880 Speaker 2: you see that doctor developed an infection which was not 63 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 2: totally dissimilar to the infections that seemed to kill quite 64 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 2: a few mothers with a high level of frequency in 65 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 2: the doctor's ward. Now, at this point in history, a 66 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 2: few folks had proposed basic germ theory, starting way back 67 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,120 Speaker 2: in the fifteen hundreds and a few times throughout the 68 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 2: seventeen hundreds, but they were not met with positive responses 69 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 2: because it wasn't backed up by a lot of science, 70 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 2: and more importantly, just flew against the traditional ways of thinking. 71 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:08,920 Speaker 2: It wouldn't be until after some of us figured something 72 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 2: extraordinary out that Pasteur and a few other folks would 73 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 2: really get to the bottom of the situation. But before that, 74 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 2: some of us thought that maybe the cause for the 75 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,160 Speaker 2: difference in mortality between the two wards was that the 76 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:26,960 Speaker 2: midwives never performed autopsies, but the doctors did, and they 77 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 2: were often elbowed deep in corpses and then went right 78 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 2: to the delivery room. Now that's appalling today, but at 79 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:38,279 Speaker 2: the time it was standard practice. He started mandating that 80 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:42,279 Speaker 2: doctors washed their hands real well with chlorinated lime after 81 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 2: performing autopsies, and in the following decade, that mortality rate 82 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 2: dropped to nearly the exact same level as the midwives ward. Now, 83 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:53,960 Speaker 2: a lot of this is up for debate, but it 84 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 2: seems pretty likely that he lobbied other hospitals to try 85 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 2: the same hand washing methods. But a lot of doctors 86 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:03,039 Speaker 2: weren't super receptive to the idea that they were responsible 87 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:05,680 Speaker 2: for killing a hell of a lot of women during childbirth. 88 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:09,000 Speaker 2: And Semmelweis wasn't right about everything, but he was the 89 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,479 Speaker 2: first person to question doctor hygiene and its relationship to 90 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:16,679 Speaker 2: patient health. He looked at a problem, tried to suss 91 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 2: out what was causing it, and then found a solution. 92 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:21,720 Speaker 2: Even if he didn't fully understand what he was doing, 93 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:24,720 Speaker 2: he thought about something in a different way. And if 94 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:27,720 Speaker 2: you look at the history of humans, it's the times 95 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:31,280 Speaker 2: of forced or voluntary group think on a large scale 96 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:34,719 Speaker 2: that really held us back. Not always, of course, but 97 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 2: a lot of times. The folks asking why or looking 98 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:41,480 Speaker 2: for answers by coloring way outside the lines were not 99 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,720 Speaker 2: often treated very well, but many of them directly influenced 100 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:48,200 Speaker 2: the direction of our advancements in a way that is 101 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:53,360 Speaker 2: truly unbelievable. Sometimes my friends you just have to dare 102 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:56,080 Speaker 2: to be different. This goes for a lot of endeavors, 103 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:58,840 Speaker 2: and it's pretty evident, like in music and art and 104 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:03,400 Speaker 2: business and you guessed it, Gulf Just kidding, it's deer hunting. 105 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:05,520 Speaker 2: I've said this a lot, and I believe it with 106 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 2: my heart. But if you hunt like the average hunter, 107 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 2: you will have average results. And the good news here 108 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:13,040 Speaker 2: is that there are a million different ways to do 109 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:16,560 Speaker 2: something that's just above average, something that's just a little different. 110 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 2: So let me give you an example here that I 111 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:22,960 Speaker 2: think is pretty relatable to a lot of folks. Some 112 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:25,119 Speaker 2: of my favorite states to hunt are those that allow 113 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 2: baiting on private land but not public The reasons for 114 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:32,719 Speaker 2: this are many. The first one is that baiting will 115 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:35,960 Speaker 2: be the dominant method of hunting wherever it's legal, no 116 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:38,919 Speaker 2: matter what people say about it, when they can do it, 117 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 2: they almost all do it. This is a strong motivator 118 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 2: for folks to try to find private land in those 119 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:47,719 Speaker 2: states because with it comes an easier hunting method, a 120 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:51,719 Speaker 2: reliable hunting method on public land in these states. And 121 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:53,480 Speaker 2: this is going to make me sound like a total prick, 122 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:55,359 Speaker 2: but I have to say it. It seems like a 123 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 2: lot of residents don't know how to find deer very 124 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 2: well or set up for them. Well, it'sneezy, sorry, Reva. 125 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 2: I don't know if this is tied to the reality 126 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 2: that baiting is so common and setting up over bait 127 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 2: piles or a feeder is kind of cut and dry, 128 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:16,640 Speaker 2: but I've noticed it in quite a few states. This 129 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:20,080 Speaker 2: means that the people who can't bait often hunt the 130 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 2: most obvious stuff on the public land. They'll be on 131 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 2: the field edges, They'll be in the spots that would 132 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 2: be great on tightly controlled private land, which does not 133 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:32,720 Speaker 2: make for great locations on heavily hunted public land. And now, 134 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,040 Speaker 2: to be totally fair, I've funded a hell of a 135 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:37,840 Speaker 2: lot of states where baiting isn't legal anywhere in any way, 136 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:40,520 Speaker 2: and the obvious spots on public land a most always 137 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 2: feature stands or blinds, or at the very least, cameras. 138 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:46,440 Speaker 2: When you do this stuff enough, not only do you 139 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:48,679 Speaker 2: notice places that are just going to draw the average 140 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:52,600 Speaker 2: hunter's attention, you often see similar things around those spots. 141 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 2: It's so common for me to find sent wix or 142 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 2: scrape drippers in these types of spots. It's pretty obvious 143 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:01,560 Speaker 2: that people are taking medio locations and try to spruce 144 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:05,000 Speaker 2: them up. And of course this isn't limited to public landowners. 145 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:08,800 Speaker 2: It's easier to take a setup that exists already and 146 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:11,200 Speaker 2: try to add something to it that might draw deer 147 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 2: in but probably won't than it is to go find 148 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:16,880 Speaker 2: where the deer are right now and hunt them. The 149 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:20,040 Speaker 2: hunters fall into two factions, and if you want average results, 150 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 2: go hunt the obvious spots and try to rely on 151 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:25,280 Speaker 2: a bottle of dope to make up for it. It 152 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:35,319 Speaker 2: won't work almost ever. If you're in a state where 153 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:37,839 Speaker 2: some level of baiting is legal, you can simply try 154 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 2: to learn natural food to be different. Believe me, if 155 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:44,240 Speaker 2: they can all wander over and get a belly of 156 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:48,079 Speaker 2: corn anytime they want to, they will also browse and 157 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:51,560 Speaker 2: hit up masts and diversify their diet way beyond a 158 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:54,679 Speaker 2: pile of the Golden secret. This will help you be 159 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:58,080 Speaker 2: even more different than most because to do this you 160 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 2: have to scout out those natural foods horses, and they'll 161 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:04,760 Speaker 2: be located mostly in the cover. They might be here 162 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 2: today and gone tomorrow, and when they are here, they'll 163 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:12,920 Speaker 2: outdraw the tastiest bait pile at least during shooting hours. Essentially, 164 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:15,600 Speaker 2: in this situation, figuring out how to just go to 165 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:18,680 Speaker 2: where the deer are now is a huge advantage over 166 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:23,000 Speaker 2: most of your competition. Let's take another example. How often 167 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:25,240 Speaker 2: do you meet hunters who do a lot of extra 168 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:29,160 Speaker 2: work when they really don't have to, Like, how often 169 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:31,200 Speaker 2: do you meet someone who will walk an extra half 170 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:33,720 Speaker 2: of a mile into stand when they can just drive 171 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 2: their truck or side by side to within a couple 172 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:40,000 Speaker 2: hundred yards. How about that's not very often. The deer 173 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:42,320 Speaker 2: can pick up on this pretty easily, and they do. 174 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:44,520 Speaker 2: When you drive your truck into the corner of the 175 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:47,240 Speaker 2: same field you're going to hunt, you're doing what almost 176 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:50,240 Speaker 2: every hunter would do. Is there a way to simply 177 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 2: park farther away and slip in with a little less impact. 178 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:56,679 Speaker 2: That can be all of the difference you need. What 179 00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 2: about how you get to areas where I'm sitting right now, 180 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 2: I can see an EWA non resident deer tag on 181 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 2: my desk. That tag is a ticket to good hunting. 182 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:07,320 Speaker 2: And even though I'll be on public land with a 183 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:09,560 Speaker 2: hell of a lot of resident hunters and probably a 184 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:12,800 Speaker 2: few other non residents, I have a lot of confidence. 185 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:15,360 Speaker 2: One of the spots I plan to hunt is a 186 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:18,720 Speaker 2: small meadow at the top of a bluff. It's not 187 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:21,600 Speaker 2: really all that special looking on satellite imagery or even 188 00:10:21,640 --> 00:10:25,400 Speaker 2: in person, but it is a deer magnet. It's also 189 00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:28,240 Speaker 2: maybe I don't know, four hundred yards from the nearest road, 190 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 2: but more than a mile from the nearest parking lot. 191 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:33,920 Speaker 2: The most hunters park there and never seem to make 192 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:35,440 Speaker 2: it all the way up to the top of that 193 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:38,040 Speaker 2: bluff to hunt that meadow. But I just park at 194 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 2: the bottom of the bluff and I go straight up. 195 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:42,440 Speaker 2: You know. It takes me maybe ten or fifteen minutes 196 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:45,960 Speaker 2: in the dark, but I'm right there. That hike sucks 197 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:48,840 Speaker 2: a little bit, but it doesn't suck being settled into 198 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:51,640 Speaker 2: a banging spot in Iowa well before first light while 199 00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:53,680 Speaker 2: most of my competition is setting up a half a 200 00:10:53,679 --> 00:10:58,720 Speaker 2: mile away. Let's look at this another way. Last year, 201 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:00,880 Speaker 2: I arrowed a buck on public land in North Dakota. 202 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:04,200 Speaker 2: I don't think I've ever seen so many cell cameras 203 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:07,559 Speaker 2: in one spot. They were everywhere. Part of this is 204 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:09,520 Speaker 2: probably due to how limited the cover is in that 205 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:12,520 Speaker 2: area of the state, so they're easier to see, but 206 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:14,320 Speaker 2: part of it is due to the fact that we've 207 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:16,679 Speaker 2: been led to believe a solid hunting strategy is to 208 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:20,280 Speaker 2: run cell cameras until the bucks show they are daylighting, 209 00:11:20,559 --> 00:11:22,959 Speaker 2: and that we go in and shoot them. Do you 210 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,080 Speaker 2: know where that works best? Not on public land in 211 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:28,439 Speaker 2: North Dakota, I can tell you that much. If you're 212 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:30,680 Speaker 2: waiting for cameras to tell you when to hunt and 213 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:33,840 Speaker 2: it's late October, you might be hunting the way a 214 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 2: lot of people seem to hunt these days. But that 215 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 2: doesn't make it a good idea. I saw one other 216 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:41,680 Speaker 2: hunter on that trip in that spot and I found 217 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:44,120 Speaker 2: one set of boot tracks, But I know there were 218 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:46,760 Speaker 2: other hunters thinking about going there because their cameras were 219 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:50,600 Speaker 2: saturated throughout the place. What a lot of those hunters 220 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:52,680 Speaker 2: seemed to be doing was waiting for a camera to 221 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:55,400 Speaker 2: tell them when to hunt. When it was deep into 222 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 2: the pre run and there was a massive cold front 223 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:01,440 Speaker 2: blowing across the prairie. Now, if you went back twenty 224 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:05,280 Speaker 2: years ago, there probably would have been heavy hunting pressure then, 225 00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:08,000 Speaker 2: because anyone with an ounce of common sense would look 226 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:10,560 Speaker 2: at the forecast and the calendar. I think it was 227 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:14,479 Speaker 2: probably a pretty great time to head to stand instead 228 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:17,440 Speaker 2: a lot of my competitions seem to be sitting things out, 229 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:20,640 Speaker 2: waiting for enough digital clues to justify the effort to 230 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:24,000 Speaker 2: go to the field. This ties into something I preach 231 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:27,080 Speaker 2: about way too much, but it's that if you want 232 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:29,600 Speaker 2: to be different, one of the easiest ways to do 233 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:32,560 Speaker 2: it is to stop looking for excuses to not hunt. 234 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:35,920 Speaker 2: I live by this idea on public land because it's 235 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:38,439 Speaker 2: the easiest way to do things differently for most hunters, 236 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:41,400 Speaker 2: but it's also very true on private land as well. 237 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:44,440 Speaker 2: Even if you have a place to yourself and can 238 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:48,640 Speaker 2: easily weigh out better conditions, you should not be actively 239 00:12:48,679 --> 00:12:52,360 Speaker 2: looking for reasons to not hunt. That's what ninety nine 240 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:54,640 Speaker 2: percent of the hunters in your neighborhood are going to do, 241 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:57,600 Speaker 2: and that has a ripple effect on the herd. Now, 242 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,400 Speaker 2: that might be minimal if you have let's say, I 243 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:02,960 Speaker 2: don't know half section three hundred and twenty acres to yourself, 244 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:05,000 Speaker 2: but it might be something else if you only have 245 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:08,240 Speaker 2: thirty acres to hunt. So those other people are going 246 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 2: to affect your hunting big time. So far, I've talked 247 00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:14,560 Speaker 2: about only how you can be different from other hunters, 248 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:17,360 Speaker 2: but the benefits of thinking outside of the old box. 249 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:20,840 Speaker 2: Go beyond that. We all have our own average, and 250 00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:24,199 Speaker 2: the deer figured that out pretty quickly too well. I 251 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:26,559 Speaker 2: don't know, think about how you hang your stands or 252 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 2: how much concern you have in your setups for not 253 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:31,320 Speaker 2: getting busted. If you have hunted Grandma's farm since you 254 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:33,320 Speaker 2: were in grade school and haven't hung a new stand 255 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:36,320 Speaker 2: in twelve years, the deer going to have your average 256 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:39,000 Speaker 2: pretty much dialed in. You're not going to surprise them 257 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:41,720 Speaker 2: a whole lot, and they will avoid you pretty easily. 258 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:45,040 Speaker 2: In general, Sometimes it's a matter of putting in a 259 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:47,760 Speaker 2: little extra work to have a couple more setups, and 260 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:50,240 Speaker 2: sometimes it's a matter of hanging your stands a few 261 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:53,200 Speaker 2: feet higher than usual, or maybe tucking them into some 262 00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:56,800 Speaker 2: better cover. Sometimes it's a matter of scouting hard enough 263 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:00,600 Speaker 2: to find yourself just one or two good morning setup 264 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:03,160 Speaker 2: so you could hunt in the early season when you 265 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:07,840 Speaker 2: never would have before. And honestly, most hunters still won't 266 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:12,160 Speaker 2: on any given week of September or early October. Such 267 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:15,160 Speaker 2: an easy way to be different, and it works a 268 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,400 Speaker 2: good way to look at this question is what rules 269 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:22,160 Speaker 2: you have for yourself? Do you? I don't know, never 270 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:24,400 Speaker 2: go into a certain bedding area because you think it 271 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:27,000 Speaker 2: blow all the deer out and ruin it. How do 272 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:29,560 Speaker 2: you know that to be true? Have you tried it? 273 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 2: Do you believe that the deer in your woods all 274 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:35,920 Speaker 2: go nocturnal during the lull just like everyone else? Thinking 275 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:38,200 Speaker 2: like that will keep you out of the woods just 276 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:41,160 Speaker 2: like everyone else. But what impact does it have on 277 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:44,360 Speaker 2: deer movement when most hunters stay home for a few weeks. 278 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,600 Speaker 2: There's a positive correlation there, and I think the average 279 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:51,280 Speaker 2: hunter downplays how much that could be. This is one 280 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:53,360 Speaker 2: of the reasons folks who have a lot of experience 281 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:55,960 Speaker 2: hunting a lot of different places, you know. It's why 282 00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:58,880 Speaker 2: they don't really cater their hunts around seasonal timing and 283 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:02,600 Speaker 2: weather quite the way mo most hunters would. They've learned 284 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:04,440 Speaker 2: that the deer are out there, and they have the 285 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:06,320 Speaker 2: confidence to figure out how to get close to them 286 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:09,360 Speaker 2: no matter what. They aren't taking in their deer knowledge 287 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 2: through osmosis from other folks with other experiences. Now, I'm 288 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:14,840 Speaker 2: not saying that's a bad thing, because it's good to 289 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 2: gain knowledge any way you can, as long as it's 290 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:20,320 Speaker 2: good stuff and not something that holds you back. It's 291 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:22,760 Speaker 2: got to be relatable. The more you go into the 292 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 2: woods when you can, instead of going when you believe 293 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:28,360 Speaker 2: you should, you start to understand why actively trying to 294 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:32,720 Speaker 2: think differently can really help you level up. I'll leave 295 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:35,920 Speaker 2: you with this last example. Several years ago, I drove 296 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:38,320 Speaker 2: out to South Dakota to hunt the opener, which then 297 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:42,240 Speaker 2: was late September. I scouted water, you know, because it 298 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:43,960 Speaker 2: was going to be hot as hell, and I talked 299 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:46,520 Speaker 2: to several other hunters and locals who lived in the area. 300 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:49,720 Speaker 2: Most of them talked about EHD hitting hard that year, 301 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:51,880 Speaker 2: and I know it did because I found some dead 302 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:55,120 Speaker 2: bucks around the ponds and they talked about, you know 303 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:58,320 Speaker 2: how there won't be much for movement because it was 304 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:02,280 Speaker 2: just day after day of hot beach weather. Now, I 305 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 2: ended up scrambling on opening night due to some people 306 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 2: beating me to spots, you know, which is just hunting 307 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:10,600 Speaker 2: public land in general. So I walked into a pond 308 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:13,680 Speaker 2: that was stupid close to a parking area. I had 309 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:16,000 Speaker 2: scouted it, but I didn't have much hope because it 310 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:19,040 Speaker 2: just felt it just didn't feel right to set up 311 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:21,800 Speaker 2: that close to where I figured for sure other hunters 312 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:25,800 Speaker 2: would park an opening night on public land. But I 313 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 2: got in there and I shot a thirsty buck before 314 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:32,239 Speaker 2: I was even fully set up. No, this is anecdotal, 315 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:34,560 Speaker 2: but a lot of the folks I talked to out 316 00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:37,280 Speaker 2: there seemed to believe their deer fates were decided by 317 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:40,360 Speaker 2: EHD in the weather. But the simple truth was that 318 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:43,040 Speaker 2: there were still deer out there. They hadn't been hunted 319 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:46,600 Speaker 2: for months, it was ninety degrees, and they were bound 320 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:50,720 Speaker 2: to get thirsty. So if you're set up where they're 321 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:53,400 Speaker 2: gonna get thirsty, you might just kill one when the 322 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:57,120 Speaker 2: average hunter thinks it's a lost cause. Look at what 323 00:16:57,120 --> 00:16:59,600 Speaker 2: the hunters seemed to do in your area, maybe on 324 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:02,040 Speaker 2: your operator or the piece of public you hunt, and 325 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:04,000 Speaker 2: ask yourself how you can do things just a little 326 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:07,159 Speaker 2: bit differently than look at yourself and the patterns and 327 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:10,600 Speaker 2: routines that you get into. You're just like die hard beliefs. 328 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:13,800 Speaker 2: Look at the times you could hunt, but don't try 329 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:15,880 Speaker 2: to think about what you could do differently, even if 330 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:19,000 Speaker 2: it flies in the face of conventional deer wisdom or 331 00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:22,000 Speaker 2: just something you personally believe to be an absolute truth. 332 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:26,840 Speaker 2: Sometimes when you question the norm, you fail, but sometimes 333 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:29,320 Speaker 2: you figure something out that most people won't believe is 334 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:32,640 Speaker 2: true or simply won't pursue because it doesn't seem worth 335 00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:35,800 Speaker 2: it for some reason. In either case, you're now giving 336 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:40,760 Speaker 2: the deer something they don't expect above average effort. Do 337 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:43,879 Speaker 2: that and come back next week, because I'm going to 338 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:47,679 Speaker 2: talk about how to really fine tune ground blinds and 339 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:49,960 Speaker 2: how to use them into your hunting in a way 340 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:52,240 Speaker 2: that like a lot of people, I don't think really 341 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:56,520 Speaker 2: think about. That's it for this week. I'm Tony Peterson. 342 00:17:56,560 --> 00:17:58,800 Speaker 2: This has been the Wire to Hunt Foundation's podcast, which 343 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:00,479 Speaker 2: has brought to you by first Light, which has a 344 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:04,040 Speaker 2: whole bunch of kick ass new white tail gear out 345 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 2: there that you're gonna want to go check out at 346 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:08,879 Speaker 2: FirstLight dot com. If you want more hunting content, maybe 347 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:11,280 Speaker 2: some podcasts to listen to on that family road trip 348 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:14,840 Speaker 2: or whatever, go to the Mediator dot com and you 349 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:18,760 Speaker 2: can find tons of hunting content. And as always, thank 350 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:21,480 Speaker 2: you so much for listening and for your support. Everyone 351 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:24,080 Speaker 2: here at Mediator truly appreciates it, so thank you for that.