Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide
Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, and now your
Speaker 1: host Tony Peterson. Hey, everybody, welcome to the Wire to
Speaker 1: Hunt Foundations podcast, which is brought to you by First Light.
Speaker 1: I'm your host Tony Peterson, and today's episode is all
Speaker 1: about whether you should start planning a deer hunting trip
Speaker 1: this year. So I lied last week. We're gonna get
Speaker 1: to all kinds of antler episodes in the future, but
Speaker 1: I think there's something more important to cover to think
Speaker 1: about right now, which is traveling for white tails. Now,
Speaker 1: you've undoubtedly watched lucky bastards like Mark Kenyon hunt white
Speaker 1: tails all over the country while you're stuck at home
Speaker 1: hunting the same farm you've hunted since you were twelve.
Speaker 1: You might think, Man, some guys have all the luck
Speaker 1: and that's just not me. But it can be. You
Speaker 1: could hunt another state, I promise you, and you should
Speaker 1: because the clock is ticking on over the counter tags
Speaker 1: and nonresident opportunities, and while white tails will be the
Speaker 1: last to go on this front, it's almost inevitable at
Speaker 1: this point. So if you've got to travel, itch, scratch it.
Speaker 1: My friends. This whole episode is dedicated to traveling for
Speaker 1: white tails and white you Yes, you should do it.
Speaker 1: I grew up in a tiny town in southeastern Minnesota,
Speaker 1: in a tiny house, dreaming tiny dreams. The idea of
Speaker 1: becoming an outdoor writer was laughable, and the idea of
Speaker 1: hunting out of state for anything was lofty. That was
Speaker 1: something rich folks did, and rich we were not. Hell
Speaker 1: I remember being super stoked to get to go to
Speaker 1: Subway once in a while, which isn't exactly the best
Speaker 1: example of fine dining. But when I was like fourteen
Speaker 1: or five, team some writer for Field and Stream the
Speaker 1: magazine did a piece on turkey hunting northern Missouri public land.
Speaker 1: My dad read it, and then he did something I
Speaker 1: thought he'd never do. He drove down there to hunt.
Speaker 1: I was both astounded and jealous because I never thought
Speaker 1: that would happen, and if it did happen, I never
Speaker 1: thought it would happen without me. But that's exactly what happened.
Speaker 1: He didn't kill a bird, but he came home with
Speaker 1: stories of turkeys and coyotes and camping and hunting a
Speaker 1: foreign land. I wanted nothing more than to experience it,
Speaker 1: so I saved up some money from odd jobs. I
Speaker 1: worked on local farms and the dishwasher gig I had
Speaker 1: at one of the cafes in town, and that following spring,
Speaker 1: a good buddy and I drove down there with my
Speaker 1: dad to hunt turkeys. It was a six hour drive,
Speaker 1: a cheap tag, and an absolute blast. We used paper
Speaker 1: maps to find spots, and what little turkey skills we had,
Speaker 1: we made up four and just sheer enthusiasm for the hunt. No,
Speaker 1: none of us killed a turkey that year, but I
Speaker 1: got hooked on the prospect of extending my hunting season
Speaker 1: through opportunities in other states. It was kind of like
Speaker 1: someone showed me a world I didn't even know existed,
Speaker 1: And half of the hang up I had was right
Speaker 1: between my years. Believing you'll never do something is a
Speaker 1: great way to ensure that you, in fact, will never
Speaker 1: do that thing. Now, we hunted Missouri a few more times,
Speaker 1: and eventually I killed a jake down there. Then I
Speaker 1: had one of those magical trips where the stars aligned
Speaker 1: and I killed two long beards with the longest, biggest
Speaker 1: spurs I've ever collected in a lifetime of turkey hunting.
Speaker 1: Both of those birds ended up wearing my tag in
Speaker 1: the same trip and it was awesome, and that was
Speaker 1: all she wrote for me as far as traveling to hunt.
Speaker 1: After that, my buddies and I started to try and
Speaker 1: find every turkey hunting opportunity we could in nearby states,
Speaker 1: and then we started looking at pheasant hunting opportunities. We
Speaker 1: kind of looked at everything but big game, because I
Speaker 1: still had the idea that traveling to hunt deer another
Speaker 1: big game was just not going to happen. Fast forward
Speaker 1: to my college years at were knowna State university, where
Speaker 1: I met a fellow named Ben who was a traveling
Speaker 1: hunting fool. Now pay attention to this, this is important.
Speaker 1: Ben wasn't rich. He was in college with me. He
Speaker 1: was just more motivated to go at hunt west, even
Speaker 1: though he did it mostly with a rifle, and we
Speaker 1: became good friends, which we are to this day. And
Speaker 1: way back in two thousand and I think three, he
Speaker 1: gave me some advice on putting together a rifle hunting
Speaker 1: trip for antelope in Wyoming and really taking that first
Speaker 1: step toward a big game hunt. Now, my dad and
Speaker 1: I took that trip together. In the twelve hour drive
Speaker 1: along I nin d overnight left us exhausted and in
Speaker 1: awe of the landscape we found ourselves in when the
Speaker 1: sun rose behind us and lit the prairie. That feeling
Speaker 1: was only amplified when we first started seeing antelope from
Speaker 1: the road. It was life changing. It made me realize
Speaker 1: that even if you're broke, which I absolutely was at
Speaker 1: that time of my life, there was hunting adventure out
Speaker 1: there waiting for me. I can't tell you how grateful
Speaker 1: I am for Ben's advice and encouragement then and for
Speaker 1: just that trip in general, because it changed the arc
Speaker 1: of my personal and professional life. And even today, I
Speaker 1: just feel insanely lucky for being shown that secret, like
Speaker 1: I knew something that other people didn't, and it made
Speaker 1: me feel like there was more to life than I
Speaker 1: ever thought possible. But it's not all unicorn and glitter,
Speaker 1: farts and rainbows, my friends. Traveling for hunts can also really,
Speaker 1: really suck. I don't know how many flat tires I've
Speaker 1: changed in my life while on the road in the
Speaker 1: middle of nowhere, but it's a lot. I've broken down
Speaker 1: in quite a few random states, and that's not much fun.
Speaker 1: The weather that might keep you from hunting at home
Speaker 1: one evening. That's the weather that might absolutely ruin a
Speaker 1: camping trip. I've slept intense while it rained for four
Speaker 1: or five of six days at a time, and I've
Speaker 1: lived out of tents while blizzards raged through. Now that
Speaker 1: might sound badass, but it's not. It's stupid and it sucks,
Speaker 1: but it's part of the deal. If you're going to
Speaker 1: travel to hunt, you won't get perfect weather most likely,
Speaker 1: and if you do, you'll have more competition than you
Speaker 1: can handle. In that way, a shitty weather can be
Speaker 1: your friend if you can stomach what it does to
Speaker 1: your daily life as a hunter and possibly as a
Speaker 1: camper if you choose that route. The food situation often
Speaker 1: sucks too, not to mention the sleep situation, and the
Speaker 1: hunting situation might be the suckiest suck of all sucks.
Speaker 1: This is the hardest part of the whole thing, and
Speaker 1: something I want to make very very clear. Everywhere you
Speaker 1: look in outdoor media, there is a constant drumbeat of
Speaker 1: travel to hunt, go by that over the countertag get
Speaker 1: out there and live your best hunting life blah blah blah.
Speaker 1: Of course, what you don't hear from those people, and
Speaker 1: believe me, I'm including myself in this as well. Is
Speaker 1: that it's their job. They are getting paid somehow, most
Speaker 1: likely and directly, but from going on a bunch of
Speaker 1: hunts in a bunch of different states. Whether those checks
Speaker 1: come from YouTube viewable hours, podcast advertisers, hell, maybe a
Speaker 1: state game and fish agency that is paying influencers to
Speaker 1: come promote the hunting in their state. It's coming from somewhere.
Speaker 1: And if you think that isn't happening, do a little research,
Speaker 1: because it is. If you hate that too many out
Speaker 1: of state hunters are coming to your favorite honey holes,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of factors, but influencers are one of them.
Speaker 1: Don't kid yourself for a second. And you might be thinking,
Speaker 1: we'll screw those assholes. But also this asshole i'm listening to,
Speaker 1: it's kind of saying the same thing, and that is true,
Speaker 1: and I confess to that. But I want you to
Speaker 1: go hunt out of state. I want everyone to experience
Speaker 1: this thing, even if it's going to make the hunting
Speaker 1: harder for me and everyone else who is out there.
Speaker 1: This is because we're all on borrowed time. Both from
Speaker 1: the perspective that you've only got so many heartbeats left
Speaker 1: in that chesty yours, and partially from the perspective that
Speaker 1: as a hunter, there are a lot of things conspiring
Speaker 1: against you if you're a nonresident, which, as Randy Newberg
Speaker 1: likes to say, you definitely are in forty nine states.
Speaker 1: I've said this dozens of times, so I'll keep it
Speaker 1: short and sweet. This isn't going to get any easier
Speaker 1: or cheaper to do. We keep making babies, and those
Speaker 1: babies grow up and need places to live, they need
Speaker 1: food to eat, They take up space. That causes the
Speaker 1: deer to live in smaller parcels of land and forces
Speaker 1: more of us onto the fewer available acres. It's zero
Speaker 1: some game, most likely, although it might not end for
Speaker 1: several decades, and that's not important. Actually that's super important.
Speaker 1: But in the interest of this podcast, I'm going to
Speaker 1: move on. What's important to you right now is that
Speaker 1: you acknowledge that if you don't get going on this
Speaker 1: traveling white tail thing, it might never happen for you.
Speaker 1: So here's the thing. You've got to make a decision.
Speaker 1: If you think you can't afford it, maybe you're right,
Speaker 1: But what does that mean. Maybe you can't afford buying
Speaker 1: points in Iowa for three or four or five years
Speaker 1: and then shelling out the same kind of money you'd
Speaker 1: pay for a nonresident ELK tag. Fair enough, But what
Speaker 1: about Wisconsin, where you can buy an already cheap nonresident
Speaker 1: tag for half price the first time you buy it?
Speaker 1: Or I'll put it in In other words, in a
Speaker 1: different perspective, if I take my kids my lovely bride
Speaker 1: to Olive Garden, I'll drop the same amount of coin
Speaker 1: as you would to hunt a deer for the first
Speaker 1: time in Wisconsin. That's pretty crazy. So what would you
Speaker 1: rather have? Unlimited soup saladon breadsticks one night, or a
Speaker 1: chance at a buck and probably a couple of does
Speaker 1: while are on a sweet hunting trip. Of course, you
Speaker 1: probably don't have to camp for four or five days,
Speaker 1: just go to a mediocre chain restaurant or drive twelve
Speaker 1: hours to get there. I realized the comparison is a
Speaker 1: little thin, but you get my point. If you make
Speaker 1: up your mind at any trip is too expensive, or
Speaker 1: that all trips are too expensive, then you've already decided
Speaker 1: that you're not the traveling type. But before that, listen
Speaker 1: to your hearts. My friends, is there something in you
Speaker 1: that is awful curious about taking an odd of state
Speaker 1: trip to hunt white tails. If so, take a long
Speaker 1: hard look at some of the states that will sell
Speaker 1: you a tag. There are plenty of them out there,
Speaker 1: and every one of them has bucks that would make
Speaker 1: you happy. And pay attention to that, because I mean it,
Speaker 1: Every state out there has bucks that would make you happy,
Speaker 1: especially if you show up for four or five six
Speaker 1: days on your first odd of state trip. I promise
Speaker 1: you can find bucks that you're going to be tickled
Speaker 1: pink about. But you want to be a little careful
Speaker 1: about focusing too heavily on that aspect, because it will
Speaker 1: bite you right in your camel covered ass. A lot
Speaker 1: of us make the mistake of folk a thing on
Speaker 1: where We've heard big bucks are everywhere and they are
Speaker 1: dumber than your average squirrel in other states. That's not
Speaker 1: really true anywhere anymore, and it doesn't really matter. Iowa,
Speaker 1: in all of its white tail awesomeness, won't make you
Speaker 1: a great hunter Kansas either. Buffalo County, Wisconsin, won't By
Speaker 1: County Illinois. What makes you a great hunter is the
Speaker 1: challenge and the willingness to keep learning. What's one of
Speaker 1: the best ways to do that, ding ding ding. Go
Speaker 1: hunt somewhere new, experience, new terrain. Hunt deer that live
Speaker 1: in an environment that is vastly different from your home ground.
Speaker 1: If you live in the plains and have to drive
Speaker 1: three hours to see a tree, give the big woods
Speaker 1: of some northern state a shot. You live in the
Speaker 1: swamps of Louisiana and have to worry about alligators stealing
Speaker 1: your deer before you come to the end of your
Speaker 1: blood trail, I don't know. Head to the middle of
Speaker 1: the country and one of the flyover states and hunt
Speaker 1: around some agg and deciduous forests, a place where the
Speaker 1: local reptiles are small and relatively not very dangerous. Variety
Speaker 1: is the spice of life, and it makes deer hunting
Speaker 1: really special. It also, i'll reiterate, makes you a better hunter.
Speaker 1: If you don't believe me, consider this example. Take someone
Speaker 1: who has access to primo ground in southern Iowa, say
Speaker 1: six acres, a well managed dirt where the opportunity to
Speaker 1: kill a booner is a sure thing every year. In
Speaker 1: that scenario, you'll have someone who does exactly that and
Speaker 1: might kill bucks well north of that one seventy mark
Speaker 1: on a consistent basis but that's the only place they hunt.
Speaker 1: They grew up there, they devote their time there, and
Speaker 1: they filled the trophy room with those giant, genetically gifted
Speaker 1: corn fed bucks. On paper, that hunter looks like the
Speaker 1: real deal, and in a lot of ways he absolutely is.
Speaker 1: But could he do it in Pennsylvania? How about Florida?
Speaker 1: Could you even do it on public land in Iowa? Maybe?
Speaker 1: Or maybe not. Now, take some of the most badass
Speaker 1: hunters you can think of, who have proven that they
Speaker 1: can go to multiple states and kill good bucks. Sure
Speaker 1: they might not be killing an eight inches very often,
Speaker 1: but they are killing way above average bucks in places
Speaker 1: that are orders of magnitude more difficult than a well
Speaker 1: managed property in a great state. Difficult makes us good,
Speaker 1: and challenge motivates us to get better, while hunting a
Speaker 1: well managed property can be a hell of a lot
Speaker 1: of fun, and I don't begrudge anyone for doing it.
Speaker 1: That's not the only way to find enjoyment in the
Speaker 1: White Tail Woods. Simply seeing how deer operating in a
Speaker 1: new place that can do it. Filling a tag on
Speaker 1: a small book or a dough on public land a
Speaker 1: place you've never set foot on before, that absolutely can
Speaker 1: do it too. Just spending a weekend camp with a
Speaker 1: couple of hunting buddies, strategizing over deer, obsessing over deer.
Speaker 1: That's a great way to have fun at this stuff
Speaker 1: and to get better. Plus, it'll force you out of
Speaker 1: your comfort zone if you're used to sitting ladder stands
Speaker 1: that have been up in specific trees since Bill Clinton
Speaker 1: was in the Oval office doing not safe for work
Speaker 1: things while he was at work. Going mobile with the
Speaker 1: saddle while ten hours from your home will do wonders
Speaker 1: for you. Broadening your horizons by doing new things is
Speaker 1: one way to keep your mental health moving in the
Speaker 1: right direction. While in the dear world, it'll make you
Speaker 1: a better, more fulfilled hunter. It will change your perspective
Speaker 1: as a white tailed junkie in a good way and
Speaker 1: make you better and help you open up your aperture
Speaker 1: to what life has to offer. Dear wise, why would
Speaker 1: you not want that? So here's my assignment to you, or,
Speaker 1: as they say in the business these days, here's a
Speaker 1: little call to action. Ask yourself what your hunting goals are?
Speaker 1: What do you want on the next decade or two?
Speaker 1: Is there any answer there that invokes a little over
Speaker 1: the road adventure. If so, start planning it now. After all,
Speaker 1: what else do you have to do right now? The
Speaker 1: shed season isn't really in full swing yet, but it's close,
Speaker 1: and this is not really a great time to start
Speaker 1: winner scouting for a lot of people. This is kind
Speaker 1: of the time here, this white tailed purgatory. Doesn't have
Speaker 1: to be, though. You can still start researching hunting opportunities,
Speaker 1: and if you do, you'll have to start eat scouting
Speaker 1: or tapping into your network of distant relatives and friends
Speaker 1: of friends who might just own some deer ground in
Speaker 1: a state that might just sell you and over the countertag. Now.
Speaker 1: I'm not saying you have to go hunt anywhere, but
Speaker 1: if you have any desire to seriously start considering it
Speaker 1: now at the beginning of the year. Take some time,
Speaker 1: map out a potential plan, talk to a good buddy
Speaker 1: or two who might join you. But keep it small
Speaker 1: and simple. The bigger the production, the bigger the headaches
Speaker 1: and drama. You know. Of course, I'll get into that
Speaker 1: stuff later, but for now, just kick it around, mull
Speaker 1: it over a little bit, let it roll across your
Speaker 1: brain for a little while. Then ask yourself in a
Speaker 1: seventies punk in British accent sort of way. Should I
Speaker 1: stay or should I go? If the answer is You're going,
Speaker 1: then we've got a lot to talk about, much of
Speaker 1: which I'll cover next week. Is I dive way deeper
Speaker 1: into the hunt planning process. That's it for this show,
Speaker 1: My white tail loving brothers and sisters, I'm Tony Peterson
Speaker 1: and this has been the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast,
Speaker 1: which is brought to you by First Light. As always,
Speaker 1: thank you so much for listening, and if you want
Speaker 1: more white tail advice, head on over to the meat
Speaker 1: eater dot com slash wired see a bunch of our articles,
Speaker 1: or check out our Wired to Hunt YouTube channel, where
Speaker 1: we post weekly how to videos of all kinds of
Speaker 1: white tail related topics.