1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:05,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:10,760 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, and now your host, 3 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:17,040 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. Hey everyone, welcome to the Wire to Hunt 4 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:19,400 Speaker 1: Foundations podcast, which is brought to you by First Light. 5 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:21,800 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Tony Peterson, and today I'm going to 6 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:36,440 Speaker 1: talk about why deer hunting is always worth it. Are 7 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:38,680 Speaker 1: any of you find listeners out there going a little 8 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:42,600 Speaker 1: cuckoo for coco puffs right now? Because I know I am. 9 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:45,600 Speaker 1: This winter started early, and it has been a real 10 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 1: bummer for months now and we're only like a halfway 11 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:52,559 Speaker 1: through it, which is pretty depressing. I don't know about you, 12 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: but I can only organize my hunting gear and tie 13 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:57,640 Speaker 1: up some swimming jigs for some spring bass, and clean 14 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 1: the shotguns and stare it on x so long before 15 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: I try to kill the boredom other ways, and one 16 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:07,320 Speaker 1: of those ways recently sparked an idea why we hunt 17 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:10,360 Speaker 1: and what we actually think about hunting, and that's what 18 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:24,759 Speaker 1: this episode is all about. If you go to Netflix 19 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:27,039 Speaker 1: and you have search around looking for something to kill 20 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:31,040 Speaker 1: some time, you might see a docuseries called Human Playground. 21 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: It's one that I recently started watching. The first episode 22 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: is all about pain. Well, actually, a lot of the 23 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:41,399 Speaker 1: episode seemed to be about pain and how we as 24 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: a species seek it out in unusual ways to show 25 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:47,400 Speaker 1: that we can handle it and that we deserve the 26 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: bliss of not being in pain afterwards. Does that make 27 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 1: any sense? Probably not. Anyway, there are arcs to the 28 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: first episode that involved a woman running a marathon in 29 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:01,559 Speaker 1: the desert, which, if it doesn't sound too terrible, means 30 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 1: it's probably been since grade school since you laced up 31 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: some running shoes. There's I don't know, like bullfighting. In 32 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:10,920 Speaker 1: the first episode, there's a bike race on super slippery 33 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:13,920 Speaker 1: cobble stones that results in a very high number of 34 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:16,920 Speaker 1: broken ribs for a bike race. And then there's a 35 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 1: woman and I recommend everyone watch her segment because it 36 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:24,960 Speaker 1: is wild. This woman uses a chainsaw to cut a 37 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,919 Speaker 1: hole in the ice of some lake and I think Finland. Then, 38 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 1: on a super cold day in the winter, she walks 39 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 1: out there in a swimsuit and dives under the ice 40 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 1: to swim around for a spell. I'm not going to 41 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: spoil anything for you, but watch it and watch how 42 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 1: it's shot. It is wild. So now now that my 43 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:46,760 Speaker 1: Netflix referral checks are probably in the mail, I hope. 44 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: I'll say that none of what I talked about so 45 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:52,720 Speaker 1: far has anything to do with this podcast, really, except 46 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: that if you keep watching those episodes in that docuseries, 47 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 1: you'll see shows dedicated to all kinds of things that 48 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,360 Speaker 1: us crazy woman's do. But the one that caught my 49 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,639 Speaker 1: attention and sparked the idea for this episode involved some 50 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: dudes who are from Mongolia, I think, and these dudes 51 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 1: get together in the winter with their trained raptors and 52 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:14,920 Speaker 1: a bunch of good buddies and proceed to put on 53 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 1: small game drives where once a bunny takes off and 54 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: exposes itself, they release their death eagles or whatever kind 55 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 1: of bird they're using, and then it's lights out for 56 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:29,640 Speaker 1: Commander bun Bunt. As I watched this play out, I 57 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 1: actually set out loud to myself because I talked to 58 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: myself all the time, even though I very recently found 59 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 1: out that it is not that common or normal apparently. Anyway, 60 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: I said to old ant tone, that is a lot 61 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: of work for a rabbit. I even felt like a 62 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 1: little bit superior to those Mongolian rabbit smashers with their 63 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: really cool birds. But then I realized something. Last February 64 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:57,640 Speaker 1: I drove nearly four hours to stay in a hotel 65 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:00,800 Speaker 1: room with a couple of buddies so we to hunt rabbits, 66 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: and you know what, it was a freaking blast. We 67 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: put on a few miles logging around various chunks of 68 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 1: public land that looked like it might hold a rabbit 69 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 1: or two, and we managed to shoot eight cotton tales. 70 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: We learned quite a bit about the deer that lived 71 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:18,920 Speaker 1: down there, flushed a pile of pheasants, and fought off 72 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 1: some of the serious cabin fever that settles into your 73 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:24,279 Speaker 1: brain like a parasite. By the time February is nearly 74 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:26,800 Speaker 1: wrapped up and the old dreaded March is about to 75 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 1: come roaring in. When my buddies and I left the 76 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 1: sloes in our last hunt, cleaned our bunnies on the 77 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 1: tailgate of my truck. It was honestly the culmination of 78 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:40,000 Speaker 1: a really good day. In fact, we're going to spend 79 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:43,720 Speaker 1: another weekend bunny hunting and shed hunting and just not 80 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:45,919 Speaker 1: being in the house with our wives and kids and 81 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,200 Speaker 1: dogs while we try to stave off the boredom by 82 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:50,600 Speaker 1: walloping our daughters and Dr Mario because we just found 83 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:54,039 Speaker 1: a Nintendo that works. But that's a lot for a rabbit, 84 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:57,320 Speaker 1: right to drive that far. Hotel rooms aren't all that 85 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 1: cheap these days, and they aren't given a a fuel. 86 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 1: It's a full weekend that we could be doing other, 87 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:07,520 Speaker 1: more responsible, more adult types of things than jumping on 88 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: brush piles and taking our twenty gauges for a long 89 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:13,080 Speaker 1: walk through a lot of brush. But it's so fun 90 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:16,680 Speaker 1: and it's something to look forward to. And of course 91 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 1: it begs the question from people who might not get it, 92 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 1: who might say, all of that for a rabbit. But 93 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:27,880 Speaker 1: it's not about the rabbit, is it. I mean it 94 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,280 Speaker 1: is in some ways, because where they live, how they 95 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:33,480 Speaker 1: hide from us, whether we like eating them, all of 96 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,599 Speaker 1: that factors into the equation. But a lot of people 97 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:40,800 Speaker 1: see it simply as a transactional affair. You're going to 98 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: do all of that for a rabbit, or even a 99 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:45,599 Speaker 1: limited rabbits, which to most people might actually be worse 100 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,640 Speaker 1: than a single dead rabbit. When someone like one of 101 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 1: my in laws, for example, asked something like that, listen, 102 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,120 Speaker 1: I get it. They'd rather go to a home and 103 00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:57,320 Speaker 1: garden show or maybe a dinner theater player or some 104 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:00,479 Speaker 1: other event that would absolutely suck the soul right out 105 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:02,640 Speaker 1: of me and then stomp it around on the floor 106 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:05,040 Speaker 1: with muddy boots before taking a big, steaming dump all 107 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:07,839 Speaker 1: over it. I get it when the home and garden 108 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:10,799 Speaker 1: crowd looks at the scale and sees all the money 109 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: and effort and time and then a dead rabbit, and 110 00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 1: they don't understand the balance. But when it comes to hunters, 111 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:20,920 Speaker 1: I don't get it quite as much. But we do 112 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:23,080 Speaker 1: it all the time as white tail hunters, don't. We 113 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:28,560 Speaker 1: take the very casual rifle hunter who I'm gonna totally 114 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:32,600 Speaker 1: stereotype for a second here, this guy, he grew up 115 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:34,760 Speaker 1: with hunting check in the big woods up north to 116 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:37,640 Speaker 1: drive his five hours up there. The deer hunting strategy 117 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:40,720 Speaker 1: consists of checking their stands, you know, which are all 118 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:43,720 Speaker 1: wooden ladder stands we affectionately refer to as widowmakers in 119 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:46,880 Speaker 1: the industry, and then opening morning, they get up, practice 120 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 1: no scent control, ride four wheelers into the woods, sit 121 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:52,560 Speaker 1: on their stand regardless of wind or weather, crops or whatever, 122 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:55,600 Speaker 1: and they wait and cross their fingers. You know what, 123 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:58,279 Speaker 1: There's nothing wrong with that guy or that hunting style, 124 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:01,320 Speaker 1: if that's what makes him happy. But that guy would 125 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:04,040 Speaker 1: also probably roll his eyes worse than my eleven year 126 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: old daughters if you told him there are hunters who 127 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:11,120 Speaker 1: buy tractors to plant food just for deer, who plant 128 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:15,160 Speaker 1: fruit trees just four deer, who pay excavators to come 129 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: in and build them water holes just four deer. People 130 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:23,480 Speaker 1: who buy, for like five thousand dollars little houses built 131 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 1: to put right in the middle of the deer food 132 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: to shoot deer from houses that are somewhat soundproof, somewhat 133 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:33,160 Speaker 1: scent proof, and will keep him from getting spotted moving 134 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:36,840 Speaker 1: around until he opens a window and blasts and unsuspecting 135 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:40,520 Speaker 1: buck in his lungs. That first hunter, the rifle hunter, 136 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 1: would not surprise anyone to say something to the effect 137 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 1: of all of that for a deer, and that guy 138 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:50,600 Speaker 1: with the food plots in the land or whatever else. 139 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 1: He might look at the case of the die hard 140 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 1: public land hunter who scouts seventy five days a year 141 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:59,280 Speaker 1: and spends hundreds of hours every season in a saddle 142 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 1: just to kill a buck that is three years too 143 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: young in his opinion, and he might say all of 144 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 1: that for a deer, and the person who doesn't hunt 145 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,679 Speaker 1: might look at all of those hypothetical hunters and say, well, 146 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 1: you know, but it's not just for a deer, now, 147 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:21,280 Speaker 1: is it. That's the thing about this stuff. If we 148 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:23,840 Speaker 1: boil it down to the end result of deflated lungs 149 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 1: or not, it's pretty cut and dry, and it would 150 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: probably never be worth it. I mean, most of us 151 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:33,760 Speaker 1: aren't starving, and if we took our hunt budget for 152 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:36,040 Speaker 1: the year and spend it on groceries, we probably put 153 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:40,040 Speaker 1: on a few pounds. It's not about just the food totally, 154 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 1: although that's a great reason to hunt. It sad about 155 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:47,040 Speaker 1: the antlers either, although they're pretty damn cool too. It's 156 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:50,360 Speaker 1: about something else that we have a hard time understanding sometimes. 157 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 1: I think those horseback Mongolians with their hooded raptors on 158 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:59,040 Speaker 1: their arm, they aren't rabbit hunting just to rabbit hunt. 159 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:02,480 Speaker 1: They're doing it because it's a tradition and it means 160 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,840 Speaker 1: something to them to engage in the whole process, not 161 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:08,520 Speaker 1: just the moment when bugs bunny flashes across the land 162 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 1: and the big feathery murder machine takes flight, but the 163 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:15,840 Speaker 1: whole build up before it, the training, all the talking 164 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:18,880 Speaker 1: with their buddies, and the planning. It's a part of it, 165 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:21,320 Speaker 1: and there's probably so much more than I'm leaving out. 166 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:25,839 Speaker 1: When my buddies and I go rabbit hunting, we'll text 167 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:28,840 Speaker 1: about it for weeks beforehand, we'll call each other, we 168 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:32,520 Speaker 1: actually eat, scout and pick spots, We build the whole 169 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:35,559 Speaker 1: thing up. Then we go and we give each other 170 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:38,920 Speaker 1: tons of ship and we work hard to push a 171 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:42,080 Speaker 1: few rabbits around, and then we relax afterwards and plan 172 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 1: for the next hunt, or the next scouting trip, or 173 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: maybe where we should apply for turkeys this spring. The 174 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:51,600 Speaker 1: thing about hunting is that if you really want to 175 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:55,200 Speaker 1: enjoy it, you figure out these things eventually. If you 176 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:59,000 Speaker 1: really don't want to enjoy it, focus too much on 177 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:02,480 Speaker 1: the end goal. If you really don't want to enjoy it, 178 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:05,320 Speaker 1: focus too much on an end goal that you can't 179 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:08,200 Speaker 1: achieve for whatever reason. Like if you bow hunt for 180 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:10,719 Speaker 1: three years on public land in Louisiana and decide it's 181 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: finally time that you move up to the mature buck 182 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:15,839 Speaker 1: League and make the declaration that it's a one fifty 183 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:19,600 Speaker 1: year bus this year. Boys, when it comes to white 184 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:22,640 Speaker 1: tails and what you'll do to be around them come fall, 185 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:25,959 Speaker 1: it pays to think about why all of the parts 186 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:28,560 Speaker 1: are worth it, and how to make sure that you 187 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:31,720 Speaker 1: enjoy all of the parts enough to keep doing them 188 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:34,240 Speaker 1: so that you get better overall and the whole thing 189 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,200 Speaker 1: becomes more a part of your life. No, no, scratch that, 190 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 1: more like a better part of your life. This is 191 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:44,959 Speaker 1: tough to do during the off season. I recently had 192 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:47,520 Speaker 1: a conversation with a good buddy of mine named Aaron Hepler, 193 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:50,800 Speaker 1: who is a die hard public land hunter from Pennsylvania. 194 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:53,679 Speaker 1: We got on the topic of bow hunting, you know, 195 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:57,000 Speaker 1: the promised land that is Iowa, and he mentioned that 196 00:10:57,040 --> 00:10:59,440 Speaker 1: he might have enough points to draw down dinner this year. 197 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:02,480 Speaker 1: I then mentioned that a great way to learn about 198 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:04,600 Speaker 1: public land in Iowa is to buy one of their 199 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:07,120 Speaker 1: last season tags and go running gun for some gobblers. 200 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:10,040 Speaker 1: I've written about this many times and put it into 201 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:13,240 Speaker 1: practice many times. But he didn't seem to need an 202 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:16,120 Speaker 1: excuse to get down there. He said he had a 203 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:18,200 Speaker 1: stretch in April where he could make the thirteen or 204 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:20,959 Speaker 1: fourteen hour drive to Iowa to walk as much ground 205 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:23,680 Speaker 1: as possible and decide if burning his points and writing 206 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:27,080 Speaker 1: the big check it's going to be worth it. Now, 207 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: a lot of people in Aaron's life would probably say 208 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:33,240 Speaker 1: all of that for a deer. But he loves scouting 209 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:36,760 Speaker 1: and he loves new ground. It's not a chore to 210 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:39,480 Speaker 1: do the offseason parts for him because he loves it. 211 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:43,040 Speaker 1: He would do a lot more for a deer because 212 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:46,960 Speaker 1: it's not just about killing a deer. To him, scouting 213 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,559 Speaker 1: trips can be fun. They should be fun, finding shed ailers, 214 00:11:50,559 --> 00:11:52,839 Speaker 1: shaking off the confines of your house to walk through 215 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:56,560 Speaker 1: the winter woods. That ship is fun. East scouting that 216 00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 1: can be fun, but not as fun as ground truth 217 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:04,520 Speaker 1: in your East outing suspicions. Of course, it's all not 218 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:06,480 Speaker 1: as fun as that moment when a buck starts walking 219 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:08,880 Speaker 1: down the trail towards your stand. But the more build 220 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:11,600 Speaker 1: up there is, the more fun that can be too. 221 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:15,200 Speaker 1: It's fun when that happens, and it's not an accident 222 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:21,000 Speaker 1: or just an example of good fortune. That's important. So 223 00:12:21,080 --> 00:12:23,360 Speaker 1: what do you need to do to be questioned by 224 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:26,760 Speaker 1: someone else in this all that? For a dear way? 225 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:30,320 Speaker 1: Are you already there? Probably to some extent if you 226 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:32,280 Speaker 1: listen to this podcast, because I can think of a 227 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:34,800 Speaker 1: lot better ways to use your time. I mean, hell, 228 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:37,839 Speaker 1: listening to me Drone on every week. It's probably enough 229 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:39,800 Speaker 1: torture for most people to think maybe all of this 230 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:43,360 Speaker 1: for a deer really isn't worth it? Or are you 231 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:46,840 Speaker 1: not there yet but you wish you were? Then what's 232 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:51,840 Speaker 1: holding your back? What parts don't you enjoy? That's the 233 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:54,959 Speaker 1: real question, and that answer will help you figure out 234 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:57,400 Speaker 1: how to enjoy the whole thing more. And since we're 235 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:00,240 Speaker 1: in the off season now, let's talk about this because 236 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:03,880 Speaker 1: winner scouting is not that common, even though guys like 237 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:07,880 Speaker 1: me talk about it all the time. Do you not 238 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 1: really like winter scouting? Do you think instead you can 239 00:13:11,559 --> 00:13:13,240 Speaker 1: buy a couple of cell cameras and put them out 240 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:16,120 Speaker 1: in the summer to get enough intel? Do you feel 241 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:18,800 Speaker 1: that the work now is so divorced from the potential 242 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:22,640 Speaker 1: fall results that it's not worth it? Listen, I get it, 243 00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 1: I really do. The work can suck, but if it does, 244 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:30,080 Speaker 1: you might be doing some of it or most of 245 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,360 Speaker 1: it wrong. So let's say I don't know, you want 246 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:36,280 Speaker 1: to hunt some new public land, but the idea of 247 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:38,160 Speaker 1: going out and walking five miles through the snow to 248 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:41,560 Speaker 1: look for rubs just not doing it for you. Well, 249 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 1: have I mentioned rabbit hunting is pretty fun? So is 250 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:47,040 Speaker 1: squirrel hunting, and an awful lot of states have open 251 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 1: small game season. Still, when it was the last time 252 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 1: you carried around a scope twenty two or seventeen and 253 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:55,160 Speaker 1: tried to snipe a few bushy tails? All right, What 254 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:57,720 Speaker 1: if you don't want to hunt small game? Do what 255 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 1: I do. Sometimes. Sometimes when i'm east scouting, I'll find 256 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:03,520 Speaker 1: an edge on a property, or some thicket or swamp 257 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:06,520 Speaker 1: or something that just interests me, just catches my eye. 258 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:09,160 Speaker 1: I'll try to figure out where I think deer might 259 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:13,559 Speaker 1: bed specifically exactly in those areas, or where they might 260 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:17,080 Speaker 1: rub or stage or hell, where they might just have 261 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:20,880 Speaker 1: a really nice trail. Then I'll go in and check 262 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:23,480 Speaker 1: just for a couple of hours, and a lot of 263 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 1: times I'm wrong, But sometimes I get it right. Sometimes 264 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:29,000 Speaker 1: I find an oiler, or sometimes I just find a 265 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:32,040 Speaker 1: spot I might hunt this fall or three falls from now. 266 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 1: Sometimes I don't find anything but a pastured woods that 267 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:38,640 Speaker 1: wouldn't hold a mature bucket a thousand years. Maybe it's 268 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:42,520 Speaker 1: just a testament to neural hardwiring. But I like dopamine 269 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:45,800 Speaker 1: hits a lot. I've been chasing them my entire life 270 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:49,600 Speaker 1: in a variety of productive and damaging ways. One that 271 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:53,000 Speaker 1: is pretty productive is finding a great big rub or 272 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:55,360 Speaker 1: a lone bed somewhere on a new property where I've 273 00:14:55,400 --> 00:15:00,320 Speaker 1: called my shot via east scouting pre rewarding. Some times 274 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:02,800 Speaker 1: a trip to the woods right now is worth nothing 275 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:04,840 Speaker 1: more than to give you a better look at every 276 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:08,000 Speaker 1: little fold in the train, every dip on a ridge, 277 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:11,480 Speaker 1: every little up and down feature that might play into 278 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 1: a deer's life or their decision making. For some reason, 279 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:19,200 Speaker 1: I like seeing spots I hunt in all of the seasons, 280 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:22,040 Speaker 1: even though I don't really know why, But I do 281 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:24,520 Speaker 1: like seeing the land as it is now, because it's 282 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:27,640 Speaker 1: sort of like playing with a cheap code on If 283 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:30,120 Speaker 1: you want to know why bucks travel one way and 284 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 1: not another, the world might show you right now, but 285 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:37,280 Speaker 1: that window will close about the time when the turkeys 286 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:41,520 Speaker 1: start nesting. Do you enjoy that stuff? Or I don't know, 287 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:45,360 Speaker 1: do you enjoy finding antlers? Okay? How do you work 288 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:49,160 Speaker 1: that into some winter scouting. The thing about all this 289 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:52,000 Speaker 1: stuff is that if you're going to be a successful hunter, 290 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:54,360 Speaker 1: you're going to have to learn how to do the 291 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:57,840 Speaker 1: things that tell the non hunters and some of your 292 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,280 Speaker 1: fellow hunters that you'll do all of that for a deer. 293 00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:04,360 Speaker 1: You want to be the person who puts in the 294 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:07,480 Speaker 1: effort and who loves it, because then the effort is 295 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:11,320 Speaker 1: part of the process, a process that you'll love. You 296 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:13,000 Speaker 1: want to be the one who knows the secret about 297 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:15,320 Speaker 1: getting the most out of a season and how even 298 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:17,720 Speaker 1: if you can bow hunt for three months, the other 299 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:20,840 Speaker 1: nine offer you a hell of a way to get 300 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 1: your fixed too. Listen, this applies to shooting, tinkering with gear, 301 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:28,160 Speaker 1: and a pile of other aspects of the white tail 302 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:32,280 Speaker 1: process as well. It's all encompassing. If you want it 303 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:34,480 Speaker 1: to be, or if you just want it to be 304 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:37,320 Speaker 1: a little bit more dear crazy than the next guy. Whatever, 305 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:42,040 Speaker 1: that's all right too. The point is figure out a 306 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:44,560 Speaker 1: way to get people talking about you like you're just 307 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:47,560 Speaker 1: a little bit crazy, show them what you'll do for 308 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:52,520 Speaker 1: a deer, and then you know what, do it and 309 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 1: then tune in next week because I'm gonna talk about 310 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:58,479 Speaker 1: shed Antler's how to find them, why we love them, 311 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:04,520 Speaker 1: and what good they really do us as hunters. That's 312 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:06,680 Speaker 1: it for this week, my friends. I'm Tony Peterson and 313 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:09,199 Speaker 1: to spend the wire to Hunt Foundations podcast, which is 314 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:11,720 Speaker 1: brought to you by first Light. As always, thank you 315 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:13,880 Speaker 1: so much for listening, and if you want more white 316 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:16,159 Speaker 1: tail content, feel free to head over to the metator 317 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:19,320 Speaker 1: dot com slash wired for plenty of deer hunting articles 318 00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:21,400 Speaker 1: written by Mark myself and a whole bunch of other 319 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:25,960 Speaker 1: absolute slayers, And if you want go visit our wire 320 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:28,200 Speaker 1: to Hunt YouTube channel as well because we've dropped all 321 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:33,199 Speaker 1: kinds of how to content on there. And as always, again, 322 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:35,399 Speaker 1: thank you so much for listening and supporting us.