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 --> 00:00:13,600 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 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,120 Speaker 2: Hey everyone, welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast, 7 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 2: which is brought to you by first Light. I'm your host, 8 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:27,920 Speaker 2: Tony Peterson, and today's episode is all about winter scouting 9 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 2: and shed hunting and the power of asking yourself why 10 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,000 Speaker 2: I guess I don't know. This episode comes from two 11 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 2: different places, really. The first is one of total self 12 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 2: defeat and low key self inflicted misery. The other is 13 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 2: one of wonder with the type of people who keep 14 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 2: you looking for answers and questioning what you think you know. 15 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 2: I get that that's you know, vague, but trust me, 16 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:04,400 Speaker 2: it's going somewhere. In fact, I think if you're spinning 17 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,480 Speaker 2: your wheels white tail wise, or even if you think 18 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:09,600 Speaker 2: you really have a handle on things, you're going to 19 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:11,520 Speaker 2: get something out of this one if you want to 20 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:14,200 Speaker 2: become a better deer hunter. So listen up, because here 21 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:30,400 Speaker 2: it goes. I've talked about goals a few times recently 22 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 2: on this podcast, just because I think they're important. I 23 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:35,720 Speaker 2: think that a lot of us just don't have the 24 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:39,480 Speaker 2: discipline to always or mostly always do the things we 25 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 2: need to. That's where goals come into play, because they 26 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 2: keep us accountable to ourselves and sometimes others. And that's 27 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 2: a good thing. So good that I set some lofty 28 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 2: goals for myself starting this year. In addition to kind 29 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 2: of randomly setting a goal of running eight hundred miles 30 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 2: for the year and putting on some serious muscle, I 31 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 2: decided I was going to do a no sugar thing 32 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,240 Speaker 2: for all of January. Well, to be blunt, I decided 33 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 2: I was going to do a no extra sugar thing. 34 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:10,920 Speaker 2: Not a single minem, not a Reese's peanut butter cup, 35 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 2: bowl of ice cream, forget it, little Debbie's deliciousness, No, sir. 36 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 2: It was going to be a month of working out 37 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:22,440 Speaker 2: like a fiend every day actually, and not eating any 38 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 2: junk food whatsoever. And I damn near did it. Despite 39 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 2: catching a serious case of the crud that ruined my 40 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 2: will to live and my ability to easily breathe for 41 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:36,359 Speaker 2: like a full week. I only took off one day 42 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 2: of working out and I can tell you something. If 43 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:40,840 Speaker 2: you've never worked out or it's been a long time, 44 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:44,920 Speaker 2: the feeling of progress when you get after it is 45 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,679 Speaker 2: just something else. It feels so good. I also made 46 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:51,119 Speaker 2: it until day twenty seven before I broke the old 47 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 2: sugar embargo. It was just dumb. It was just a 48 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:57,080 Speaker 2: January game night at my sister in law's, you know, 49 00:02:57,160 --> 00:02:59,240 Speaker 2: with the temptation of the kind of snacks you put 50 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:01,840 Speaker 2: out when it's time to cards against Humanity or whatever. 51 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:04,640 Speaker 2: So I broke. I had a glass of sun Kiss, 52 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 2: which I never do but is so delicious, and since 53 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:09,959 Speaker 2: I did, I also had quite a few handfuls of 54 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:13,880 Speaker 2: Monster Trail Mix, then a whole bunch of strawberry dipped pretzels. 55 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:18,800 Speaker 2: Then I asked myself, why why is it so hard 56 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:21,119 Speaker 2: to stick to a diet? Why is it so hard 57 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:23,480 Speaker 2: to lose weight at any age, let alone forty three? 58 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 2: Why is it so hard to go lift for an 59 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:29,760 Speaker 2: hour or run five miles when I know both will 60 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:33,359 Speaker 2: make me feel so good once I'm done. There are 61 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 2: academic answers tucked into those questions, like the reality that 62 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 2: actually losing a pound of body weight is generally going 63 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:43,160 Speaker 2: to come at the cost of about thirty five hundred calories. 64 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:46,280 Speaker 2: To put that in scary berry terms, if you want 65 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 2: to lose twenty pounds to keep it off, you're gonna 66 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:50,600 Speaker 2: have to find a way to burn about seventy thousand 67 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 2: more calories than you take in. Then you're gonna have 68 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 2: to keep up that new program or those lbs will 69 00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 2: come creeping back. That's depressing, and inherently we know the 70 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 2: answer to why it's so hard to lose weight on 71 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 2: a physical level. There's an emotional component that is moody 72 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:10,080 Speaker 2: importante as well, though That one gets personal for each 73 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 2: of us, and the answer is one that often makes 74 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 2: us wish we hadn't asked why in the first place. 75 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 2: So anyway, I was throwing a little pity party for 76 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 2: myself for being a weak, little biz natcho of a 77 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,159 Speaker 2: human when my daughters asked me if we could go 78 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:27,600 Speaker 2: shed hunting with two twelve year old girls. I don't 79 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:29,240 Speaker 2: know how many times I'll get asked to go look 80 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 2: for antlers, so I always say yes. We sued it up, 81 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 2: loaded up the dogs, and drove to a chunk of 82 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:37,760 Speaker 2: public land that has treated me sort of well over 83 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 2: the years. There are a lot of shed hunters in there. 84 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:42,560 Speaker 2: There's also a lot of deer in the winter, so 85 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:45,640 Speaker 2: it kind of levels off. Since it was the first 86 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,120 Speaker 2: trip of the season, we took a route that I've 87 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 2: walked many times and has produced a few antlers for 88 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 2: me over the years, including my first match set. It 89 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:58,040 Speaker 2: was weird walking through the woods in Minnesota in January 90 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:01,720 Speaker 2: and not seeing a single patch of snow anywhere. Felt 91 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:04,360 Speaker 2: more like early April, and I figured that might allow 92 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 2: us to find an antler or two, even though we 93 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:10,000 Speaker 2: were a little early for my taste. Anyway, We hiked alone, 94 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,240 Speaker 2: looking at fresh deer poop and walking trails while the 95 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 2: labs ran circles around us. Even the old girl who 96 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 2: will be eleven in April was getting after it. We 97 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:22,360 Speaker 2: walked through some patches of woods and through some meadows, 98 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 2: and at one point we entered a decent sized patch 99 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:27,839 Speaker 2: of old growth woods and found not only tons of 100 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:31,760 Speaker 2: evidence of turkey scratching up last falls acorns, but watched 101 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:33,720 Speaker 2: as maybe two dozen of them ran out of there 102 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:36,240 Speaker 2: in front of us. My daughters asked me a lot 103 00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:39,040 Speaker 2: of questions about animals and their behavior and made me 104 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 2: realize that the power of asking why is important. To 105 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 2: us as hunters. For starters. We checked out a monster 106 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:50,320 Speaker 2: oak tree that looks like it's mostly hollow. Why the 107 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:53,320 Speaker 2: tree is like that now, I couldn't answer, but I 108 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 2: could guess some of the critters that call that massive, 109 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:59,479 Speaker 2: hollowed out tree home. We found a pine tree with 110 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:02,560 Speaker 2: very there, symmetrical holes in it, like they were drilled 111 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 2: at specific intervals. My daughter asked me why, and my 112 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:09,039 Speaker 2: best answer was that some type of woodpecker must have 113 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:12,279 Speaker 2: a system for locating bugs beneath the bark that involves 114 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:14,760 Speaker 2: drilling holes in a line for a while and then 115 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:19,839 Speaker 2: moving up the trunk six inches and starting over, very systematic. Later, 116 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:22,039 Speaker 2: as we stood up on a ridge looking down at 117 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:24,640 Speaker 2: one of my favorite types of funnels, I asked the 118 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:27,839 Speaker 2: girls if they would hypothetically hunt there, and then to 119 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 2: explain why they would or wouldn't. They looked at the 120 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:34,039 Speaker 2: way the wetland made mostly a figure eight between two 121 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 2: ridges and said maybe it would be a good spot 122 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 2: for a deer to get a drink. You know, not 123 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 2: a bad answer, but it was a little short. So 124 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:43,839 Speaker 2: I asked them if the deer would probably like to 125 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 2: get all muddy and wet going through the swamps, or 126 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:48,320 Speaker 2: if they'd probably just like to walk the high spine 127 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:51,560 Speaker 2: between the two lowland spots, and as if it was 128 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:54,040 Speaker 2: meant to be. While we were looking at the land 129 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:56,719 Speaker 2: right there and I was explaining how deer probably go 130 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 2: through there, three little bucks got up out of their 131 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 2: beds and ran right through that funnel. They were the 132 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:04,480 Speaker 2: only antlers we saw that day, and they were all 133 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:08,839 Speaker 2: riding around on deer's foreheads. Later we looked at a 134 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:12,200 Speaker 2: huge collection of rubs just off of a meadow. We 135 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:14,640 Speaker 2: talked about why they were there and why they were 136 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:17,920 Speaker 2: facing more or less all in the same direction. The 137 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 2: answer was that the bucks were likely bedded in the 138 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 2: scrub seaters and patches of dogwood in the meadow, and 139 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 2: then staged on the edge where the brush met the 140 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 2: old growth. We later confirmed that theory with the discovery 141 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:32,840 Speaker 2: of a couple of beds tuck tight to either thick 142 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 2: seaters or dead falls, which made the girls ask why 143 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:39,560 Speaker 2: once again. Now, if you don't want to get eaten 144 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:41,920 Speaker 2: by a coyote or surprised by a hunter with a 145 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:44,120 Speaker 2: gun in his hands, a good way to do it 146 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 2: is to put some structure to your back while working 147 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:48,800 Speaker 2: the wind and using your eyes to look over the 148 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:52,720 Speaker 2: downhill approach. Now we blanked on antlers, which is what 149 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 2: we mostly always do, but it was a really good 150 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:58,320 Speaker 2: time anyway. The dogs got muddy enough to truly annoy 151 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:00,600 Speaker 2: my wife. When we got home, the girls got to 152 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,080 Speaker 2: ask their favorite questions over and over as we picked 153 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 2: apart the world of the white tail and the rest 154 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 2: of the critters that share their neighborhood. I think this 155 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:12,040 Speaker 2: is something that is crazy important to hunters, but we've 156 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 2: been led to believe that we don't need to ask 157 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:18,800 Speaker 2: why anymore. The trail cameras shows us the buck walk 158 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:22,000 Speaker 2: through three times this week. Does it really matter why 159 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:24,920 Speaker 2: he's daylighting and it's time to kill him? So that 160 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:28,280 Speaker 2: should be good enough, right. Or we sit on stand 161 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:30,800 Speaker 2: and don't see deer on one night and are snowed 162 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:34,280 Speaker 2: in with them the next night. Why why was it 163 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 2: a snooze fest before and now it's on fire? What changed? 164 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:40,920 Speaker 2: Or I don't know. We sit on October tenth just 165 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 2: because we need to go into the woods, and even 166 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 2: though we just know we won't see a big buck, 167 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:48,520 Speaker 2: we go sit anyway, and then a big buck walks through, 168 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:52,959 Speaker 2: just out arranged two hours before dark. Why this stuff 169 00:08:53,000 --> 00:09:06,000 Speaker 2: seems random but it's not. This happened to me last 170 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,600 Speaker 2: year while filming a show in Minnesota during opening week. 171 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:11,439 Speaker 2: I was posted up on a waterway between two standing 172 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:14,200 Speaker 2: cornfields in the morning when I saw a young buck 173 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,520 Speaker 2: and a doe walk through the woods. No big deal, 174 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:20,200 Speaker 2: they were just coming back from the neighbor's beanfield. That 175 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:23,320 Speaker 2: was an easy one to answer. But then we saw 176 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:25,560 Speaker 2: those two deer reverse course and go back the direction 177 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:30,240 Speaker 2: in which they came. Why, I didn't know. I also 178 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 2: didn't know why too much. Bigger bucks followed in their tracks, 179 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:35,440 Speaker 2: and then a spike ran down and cross right in 180 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 2: front of us. Suddenly it was a buckfest, and I 181 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:42,040 Speaker 2: couldn't tell you why, at least not until I talked 182 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:44,080 Speaker 2: to another hunter as we were loading up the truck 183 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:47,000 Speaker 2: and he told me where he was hunting, which made 184 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:50,520 Speaker 2: it all make sense. Past run ins with him have 185 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 2: shown me that he mostly tries to kill one by 186 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:55,880 Speaker 2: walking around, so he was up on top and booted 187 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 2: all those deer down. To me. Now, that's not the 188 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:00,920 Speaker 2: best way to level up as a deer, but once 189 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:02,800 Speaker 2: in a while you get an answer without having you 190 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:06,080 Speaker 2: look too hard for it. And that's possible for us 191 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:10,240 Speaker 2: right now, with the dual opportunities of shed hunting and 192 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:13,640 Speaker 2: winter scouting being really our main activities as deer hunters 193 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:16,320 Speaker 2: for the next couple of months, there is no better 194 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:19,720 Speaker 2: time to ask why and to hopefully get an answer. 195 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:22,600 Speaker 2: A good way to do this is to go out 196 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:25,960 Speaker 2: and specifically not go where you always like to go. 197 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:28,760 Speaker 2: This is even easier if you can head out on 198 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:32,320 Speaker 2: a property you aren't super familiar with, because the worst 199 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:35,600 Speaker 2: scouting we do is the scouting that confirms what we 200 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:39,440 Speaker 2: already believe about a property. That's a great way to 201 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:42,120 Speaker 2: never level up, and it holds a lot of us 202 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:46,800 Speaker 2: back far more than we'd like to admit. Instead, go 203 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:50,120 Speaker 2: somewhere that isn't on your usual routes, then try to 204 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:52,800 Speaker 2: call your shots. When you drop down a hill, or 205 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:54,760 Speaker 2: enter a valley, or just get a new view of 206 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:59,480 Speaker 2: the big woods. Stop, take a look around. What do 207 00:10:59,559 --> 00:11:03,400 Speaker 2: you say that the deer would use? Then call your shot. 208 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:06,800 Speaker 2: Should there be a scrape line on the soft edge 209 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:10,320 Speaker 2: where the hardwoods and the swamp meat. Where do you 210 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:14,360 Speaker 2: think you'll find beds or a bunch of rubs? Why 211 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:17,240 Speaker 2: would a buck bed in the spot you think you should, 212 00:11:17,559 --> 00:11:21,560 Speaker 2: and then go figure out if he actually does. Some 213 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:23,959 Speaker 2: of the best lessons I felt like I could impart 214 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:27,400 Speaker 2: on my girls during our recent shed hunt just involve 215 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:31,800 Speaker 2: soft edges in the direction of likely deer travel. It's 216 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:35,240 Speaker 2: almost just an intuition thing. But if you've been doing 217 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:37,560 Speaker 2: this stuff long enough, you can look at the cover 218 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 2: and figure out if they are going to parallel it 219 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:42,600 Speaker 2: or where there should be a trail leading into and 220 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:46,720 Speaker 2: out of it. Sometimes you get it right, of course, 221 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:49,400 Speaker 2: sometimes you get it wrong, and when you do get 222 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 2: it wrong, it's a great time to ask yourself why 223 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:56,600 Speaker 2: this happened to me. Once with the girls out there 224 00:11:56,600 --> 00:12:00,400 Speaker 2: on that meadow, my daughter's enjoyed pointing out that I 225 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:04,640 Speaker 2: had confidently stated we'd find a well used trail skirting 226 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:07,960 Speaker 2: the edge of it. But when we got there, the 227 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:11,880 Speaker 2: trail I was sure would be there wasn't. I don't 228 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:14,680 Speaker 2: know why, and as we walked around, I never really 229 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 2: got a good answer. That's an important part of this too. 230 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:22,520 Speaker 2: There is the notion that this stuff can be mastered, 231 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:25,760 Speaker 2: and the truth is the only ones who believe that 232 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:28,560 Speaker 2: are folks that have manipulated the land so much that 233 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:31,680 Speaker 2: they can force to dear movement in certain ways. Go 234 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:34,880 Speaker 2: ask some hardcore public land whitetail hunter if he or 235 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:37,440 Speaker 2: she thinks that you can master this stuff, and you 236 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:41,360 Speaker 2: should get an answer that goes something like, uh, Nope, 237 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:45,680 Speaker 2: not a chance. They are out there scouting, they're out 238 00:12:45,679 --> 00:12:48,640 Speaker 2: there asking why, and while they are answering their own 239 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 2: questions as often as they can, they are also finding 240 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:56,240 Speaker 2: out over and over and over again that there just 241 00:12:56,480 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 2: might not be an answer available to them for specific questions. 242 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:04,240 Speaker 2: But the good thing is that's kind of the best part, 243 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:08,320 Speaker 2: not being too stupid to answer a question on why 244 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:11,640 Speaker 2: dear do something or not, but instead conditioning yourself to 245 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:15,439 Speaker 2: just ask why. To look at a dished out scrape 246 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,480 Speaker 2: and not stop at the realization that you've found a 247 00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:21,240 Speaker 2: banging community scrape and that you should probably hang a 248 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:26,120 Speaker 2: stand by it, but instead why there is it a 249 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:29,240 Speaker 2: hub of activity? Is it the kind of place where 250 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:31,600 Speaker 2: lots of dough groups pass through and the wind is 251 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:34,360 Speaker 2: off an advantageous to bucks looking to check the latest 252 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:38,320 Speaker 2: deer census and leave their own calling card there? What 253 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:41,640 Speaker 2: about that rub, the thigh sized rub in the middle 254 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:43,439 Speaker 2: of the woods. It just sort of seems out of place. 255 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:48,000 Speaker 2: Why there, where's he coming from to work on that rub? 256 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:52,200 Speaker 2: Why that kind of tree? Are there any other rubs 257 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:55,120 Speaker 2: around that might give you a clue? If so? Good? 258 00:13:55,720 --> 00:14:00,440 Speaker 2: If not? Why? The more you ask why now in 259 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:04,720 Speaker 2: this off season here in February March, the more you'll 260 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:08,719 Speaker 2: have the right answers in hunting season. I know that 261 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 2: seems too simple, but think about it this way. The 262 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:14,640 Speaker 2: best deer hunters out there scout a lot, and they 263 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:17,560 Speaker 2: are curious. I'm not talking about the folks who have 264 00:14:17,559 --> 00:14:20,160 Speaker 2: a thousand acres of primo ground, because I don't consider 265 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:22,720 Speaker 2: them to be the best. They're very successful, and I'm 266 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:25,240 Speaker 2: happy for them. But when you're in a situation where 267 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:28,280 Speaker 2: you don't really have to scout aside from running cell cameras, 268 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:32,120 Speaker 2: a lot of the challenges is gone. In fact, if 269 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:34,200 Speaker 2: you took those people and forced them at gunpoint to 270 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 2: hunt public land for a year, I bet most of 271 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:40,320 Speaker 2: them would almost instantly realize that they needed to scout 272 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:43,760 Speaker 2: and scout hard. They'd also soon realize that it's not 273 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:45,240 Speaker 2: enough to get in the woods with the deer and 274 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:47,640 Speaker 2: try to find a few antlers. While looking for some 275 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:52,400 Speaker 2: deer heavy spots to hunt next season. They'd realize they 276 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 2: need to figure out why bucks might go here but 277 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:58,240 Speaker 2: not there, why the match set is tucked into the 278 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 2: brush in the old homestead below the main road and 279 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:04,840 Speaker 2: not way way way back on the farthest corner of 280 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:09,520 Speaker 2: the property. What this mindset does for you is allow 281 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:12,960 Speaker 2: you to confidently figure some stuff out while filtering your 282 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:15,760 Speaker 2: answer through as many factors as you can come up with. 283 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:20,720 Speaker 2: For example, that spot the girls and I found that 284 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:23,400 Speaker 2: was just loaded with rubs and was an obvious staging 285 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:26,440 Speaker 2: area close to bedding is also one of the few 286 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:30,000 Speaker 2: patches of brush in that area that is just thick, thick, thick. 287 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:33,920 Speaker 2: That property does get hunted, but the odds of somebody 288 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:36,800 Speaker 2: crawling in there with the bucks instead of sitting in 289 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:41,720 Speaker 2: the nice, open deciduous forest nearby pretty low. So the 290 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 2: bucks hole up where they are safe, and they leave 291 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:47,880 Speaker 2: a lot of sign there because they spend a lot 292 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:51,960 Speaker 2: of time there. Sometimes they leave to go to nearby fields. 293 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:54,960 Speaker 2: Sometimes they leave to go scuffle around for acorns if 294 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:57,880 Speaker 2: the timing is right. But what they do more than 295 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 2: anything is start in a specific couple of acres and 296 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:06,840 Speaker 2: expand outward. As they do this over and over in 297 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:09,800 Speaker 2: the fall, they leave sign that shows that they in 298 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:14,840 Speaker 2: fact did do that. A small collection of rubs in 299 00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:16,840 Speaker 2: a spot where there should be a small collection of 300 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 2: rubs asks a simple question why. There a lot of 301 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 2: walking around to fill in the blanks with some other findings, 302 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:26,960 Speaker 2: and then maybe a little time on on X looking 303 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:28,760 Speaker 2: at the lay of the land from a bird's eye view, 304 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:31,960 Speaker 2: and you suddenly realize that you found a hell of 305 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:35,720 Speaker 2: a lot cooler thing that's more actionable than just a 306 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:39,680 Speaker 2: concentration of rubs in a very specific spot. You've damn 307 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:44,200 Speaker 2: near deciphered buck movement in that specific area, all while 308 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:48,080 Speaker 2: walking around with two twelve year olds in January, while 309 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:50,960 Speaker 2: feeling sorry for yourself because sometimes you have the self 310 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:54,600 Speaker 2: control of a toddler when it comes to candy. So 311 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:57,760 Speaker 2: I guess I'll leave you with this. You know you're 312 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:00,600 Speaker 2: supposed to win or scout. You know you're probably going 313 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:04,320 Speaker 2: to go out look for some antlers. Do both, do 314 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:08,760 Speaker 2: them as much as you can, but stop often to 315 00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:13,000 Speaker 2: look around and ask yourself why. Ask why when it 316 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:17,760 Speaker 2: comes to annual Ask why when it comes to animal 317 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:19,760 Speaker 2: behavior that doesn't seem like it has anything to do 318 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:22,600 Speaker 2: with deer, like when turkeys are scratching acorns in a 319 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:26,159 Speaker 2: specific spot, although that one actually does have something to 320 00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:30,120 Speaker 2: do with deer. Anyway, ask why, then try to find 321 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:34,200 Speaker 2: the answer. If you do, great, If not, that's also great. 322 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:38,480 Speaker 2: Keep trying, keep looking, keep asking yourself why. That's what 323 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:42,520 Speaker 2: really matters, and keep coming back to this podcast so 324 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:44,760 Speaker 2: I don't have to go lasid or go sell fishing 325 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:48,800 Speaker 2: rods at Cabela's or something. That's it for this week. 326 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:50,640 Speaker 2: I'm Tony Peterson. This has been the Wire to Hunt 327 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:53,280 Speaker 2: Foundation's podcast, which is brought to you by First Light. 328 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:56,280 Speaker 2: As always, I just want to thank you so much 329 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:00,360 Speaker 2: for listening to this podcast and reading the articles put 330 00:18:00,359 --> 00:18:03,520 Speaker 2: out and checking out our video series. Your support means 331 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:05,439 Speaker 2: the world to us here at meat Eater. We are 332 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:08,560 Speaker 2: nothing without you, so thank you so much for that. Now, 333 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:10,960 Speaker 2: if you want some more content, you know where to 334 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:15,800 Speaker 2: go the meeedeater dot com articles, podcasts, video series, how 335 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:19,040 Speaker 2: to stuff, gear reviews, you name it, it's all over there. 336 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:20,760 Speaker 2: I know you got some time because we're in the 337 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:23,119 Speaker 2: middle of the winter. Go check it out, and again, 338 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:23,960 Speaker 2: thanks for everything.