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 --> 00:00:08,879 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, presented by first Light, 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. 4 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:18,640 Speaker 1: First Light, Go Farther, Stay Longer, and now your host 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 2: Hey everyone, welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast, 7 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:24,120 Speaker 2: which has brought to you by first Light. I'm your host, 8 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:26,760 Speaker 2: Tony Peterson, and today's episode is all about the reality 9 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 2: of dealing with the wind and how many hunters get 10 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 2: it wrong, especially in the early season when they're just 11 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 2: getting going a tink about the primary ways you know 12 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 2: that we spook deer. You know, we might get busted 13 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:43,159 Speaker 2: looking at our phones and not really thinking about our movement. 14 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 2: Or we might you know, have a noisy ladder stand 15 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:49,559 Speaker 2: that pops and squeaks when we move, But mostly we 16 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:52,560 Speaker 2: just get winded. It's the reality of white tail hunting. 17 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 2: And if you can't figure out how to beat their noses, 18 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 2: you can't really figure out how to beat them. I 19 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 2: think it's that simple, even though it's not all that sense. 20 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 2: That's also what I'm going to talk about right now. 21 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 2: A few weeks ago, I sweated my way through northeastern 22 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:15,320 Speaker 2: Nebraska while hanging stands and putting up blinds for a 23 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,160 Speaker 2: rut hunt. A cameraman is a guy who looks like 24 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:22,200 Speaker 2: he climbs mountains, and it turns out he does. Over 25 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:24,240 Speaker 2: the last years, so my daughters and I have gotten 26 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:27,319 Speaker 2: pretty into rock climbing documentaries and the idea that we 27 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 2: too might someday, I don't know, go to a climbing 28 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:33,560 Speaker 2: gym where it's very safe and very climate controlled, and 29 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,080 Speaker 2: maybe try the kindergarten training wheels on type of climbing 30 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 2: that isn't the real thing, but would make us feel 31 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:42,280 Speaker 2: a little bit like it kind of was. So I 32 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 2: asked this guy a lot of questions, and I learned 33 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:46,200 Speaker 2: a hell of a lot about rock climbing from him. 34 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 2: One thing he explained to me was how long it 35 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 2: took to successfully climb certain routes, which meant getting all 36 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 2: the way to the top without falling. I know that 37 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:57,760 Speaker 2: sounds pretty self evident, but he explained to me how 38 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 2: often he falls, and how often a certain pitch or 39 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 2: certain route will just get under your skin and force 40 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 2: you to figure out each handhold and foothold, even if 41 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 2: it takes you ten years to master it. It was 42 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 2: super interesting and our conversation was top of mine when 43 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,320 Speaker 2: I stared up at another crooked ass tree in another 44 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:18,120 Speaker 2: spot in the Nebraska Sandhills and tried to not only 45 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:20,880 Speaker 2: envision my route up the tree, but how the hell 46 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 2: i'd find two spots big and straight enough to hang 47 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 2: a hunter stand and a camera stand. Hanging double sets 48 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 2: in that area is a weird mixture of physical acrobatics 49 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 2: and mental acrobatics. It's so easy to get wrong. And 50 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 2: the big hang up I had, besides how unfriendly the 51 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:40,079 Speaker 2: trees are in that region, was how often i'd make 52 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 2: a big concession win wise. This is something that's kind 53 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 2: of keeping me up at night because not only do 54 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:46,520 Speaker 2: I need to go down there and try to shoot 55 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 2: a big one on film, I need Steve Vanella and 56 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 2: one of his buddies to have a really good hunt 57 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,679 Speaker 2: down there too. There aren't enough setups one guy could 58 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 2: get up in the span of four or five days 59 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,000 Speaker 2: to cover all wind options in all the spots I 60 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 2: wanted to hunt. So the voice in my head that 61 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:03,520 Speaker 2: talks me through this shit would go like this, Well, 62 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:05,440 Speaker 2: if you set up here, you can hunt a perfect 63 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 2: south wind, but you're screwed. If a colt front hits 64 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:10,400 Speaker 2: and it comes out of the north, a west wind's 65 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 2: pretty rough too. Then I'd look at another tree and 66 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:15,280 Speaker 2: the voice would say, well, if you set up here, 67 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 2: you can hunt a perfect north wind, But if a 68 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:19,080 Speaker 2: warm front hits and it comes out of the south, 69 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:21,680 Speaker 2: you're screwed. A west wind is rough. 70 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: Two. 71 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 2: The thing about that region, and a hell of a 72 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 2: lot of the Midwest, is that it's all gritted out 73 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 2: in sections, or at least it was a long time ago. 74 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:33,680 Speaker 2: The roads framed out are in just like square miles, 75 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 2: with each following the cardinal directions. The fence lines on 76 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:38,760 Speaker 2: a lot of the properties, and certainly the one I 77 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 2: was on, follow those same directions. This means that the 78 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:44,680 Speaker 2: deer off I'm going to travel north, south or east west, 79 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 2: and that means that a whole lot of the wind 80 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:48,880 Speaker 2: you might get during the rut is going to favor 81 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 2: them heavily while keeping you in the danger zone. Besides 82 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 2: the reality of crooked ass trees, this is also why 83 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:57,520 Speaker 2: I went with ground blinds more than I intended to. 84 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 2: You can get a little bit bigger margin of error 85 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 2: with ground blinds and wind, and that matters when you're 86 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,680 Speaker 2: working with razor thin margins. To begin with, the way 87 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 2: that a lot of deer hunters approach this, at least 88 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:10,720 Speaker 2: if they are on private land, is to have some 89 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:13,040 Speaker 2: stands that are good for various winds and let the 90 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 2: wind direction of the day decide it for them. I 91 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,080 Speaker 2: grew up hunting this way, and I can remember pretty 92 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 2: vividly my dad turning on the weather channel on TV 93 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:23,960 Speaker 2: mind you, to check the predicted wind for the evening 94 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:27,160 Speaker 2: or the following morning. Then we decide on who would 95 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:29,839 Speaker 2: sit where based on the limited amount of stands that 96 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:33,360 Speaker 2: we had available. As you can imagine, we weren't exactly 97 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:36,159 Speaker 2: stacking up booners at that point in my life. We 98 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 2: would also go mobile sometimes, either to hang a new 99 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 2: set or just sit on the ground if we had 100 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 2: the itch or the wind was doing something funky like 101 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:46,280 Speaker 2: blowing out of the east. Now maybe I only pay 102 00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:48,359 Speaker 2: attention to this because my job depends on it, but 103 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:50,479 Speaker 2: I feel like at least fifty percent of the time 104 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:53,159 Speaker 2: I have a chance to hunt, the weather makes it really, 105 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 2: really difficult. This goes for white tails, but just about 106 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:00,440 Speaker 2: every critter out there, you know from elk and you 107 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:03,560 Speaker 2: know mule's on down de peasants. In small game, it's 108 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:06,560 Speaker 2: the nature of nature and it often sucks. But with 109 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:09,359 Speaker 2: white tails we aren't entirely hopeless when it comes to 110 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:12,280 Speaker 2: win and what our options are. For starters, you can 111 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:14,560 Speaker 2: go by yourself a big old box blind and keep 112 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,800 Speaker 2: yourself mostly out of the wind, but that's not fool proof. 113 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 2: You can buy a box blind and point an ozonics 114 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 2: unit out of the downwind facing window, and you're going 115 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:25,240 Speaker 2: to increase your margin for error by quite a bit. 116 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 2: Not everyone wants to do that though, or has the means. 117 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:31,760 Speaker 2: Ground blinds just to pop up hub style ones, as 118 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:34,479 Speaker 2: I mentioned, can be a hedge against the win to 119 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 2: some degree. And again, if you use an ozonics unit 120 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:39,120 Speaker 2: point out out of the blind in the right direction, 121 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:42,600 Speaker 2: you can do pretty well on fooling a deer's number 122 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:45,080 Speaker 2: one defense. But that means you have to hunt out 123 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:47,280 Speaker 2: of ground blind and that isn't that much fun for 124 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:50,280 Speaker 2: a lot of folks. So what do you do? Well? 125 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:52,880 Speaker 2: You can spray down, do whatever you need to, but 126 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 2: you still need to play the win, and that's just 127 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:57,240 Speaker 2: kind of how it goes. You can also try to 128 00:05:57,240 --> 00:05:59,280 Speaker 2: figure out how to get an advantage with the win 129 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 2: how to use it in a way where the deer, 130 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:05,080 Speaker 2: you know, kind of think they have the wind in 131 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 2: their favor, but they don't. And that's a tight window 132 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 2: thing that I've talked about a lot. But once you 133 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 2: figure it out, it works really well. This is because 134 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:16,040 Speaker 2: wil ad deer's nose is nearly perfect when it comes 135 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:18,560 Speaker 2: to sniffing out big predators like you and I. It 136 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 2: doesn't work if they aren't generally directly downwind, or at 137 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:27,360 Speaker 2: least in a spot where your scent stream flows no shit. Right, Well, 138 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 2: I want to talk about this part of the equation, 139 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:31,159 Speaker 2: but not yet. Before that, I want to get into 140 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:33,599 Speaker 2: my thought process for those Nebraska setups and what that 141 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:36,400 Speaker 2: might mean for you. So let's take two of the 142 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:40,560 Speaker 2: stands I'm most excited about. They both sit on really 143 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,800 Speaker 2: good pinch points along the same river. They are both 144 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:46,599 Speaker 2: on the same bank of that river, and on paper 145 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:50,760 Speaker 2: might seem like they'd only work for the same wind directions. 146 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:53,880 Speaker 2: But because a lot of rivers don't flow perfectly straight, 147 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 2: one of the stands is ideal for a south wind. 148 00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:00,559 Speaker 2: The bucks that cruise that spot will almost inevita passed 149 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:03,679 Speaker 2: by within range of that setup and not get my wind, 150 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:05,040 Speaker 2: because they'd have to be out in the middle of 151 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:07,400 Speaker 2: the river to catch me. But if the wind isn't 152 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 2: pretty much straight out of the south, that spot is 153 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 2: going to become a real problem real fast. Now the 154 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 2: other stand set up, you know, it's maybe four hundred 155 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 2: yards downstream, so it essentially covers a lot of the 156 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 2: same deer travel because a cruising buck can cover a 157 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:24,960 Speaker 2: quarter of a mile pretty quickly during the rut. But 158 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:27,360 Speaker 2: the way that stand is set up, a south wind 159 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 2: will be a bad idea and a north wind will 160 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 2: be perfect. West for both of them is a maybe, 161 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 2: depending on how much the west favors the north or 162 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 2: the south. It's hard for me to imagine a situation 163 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:43,080 Speaker 2: where either stand would be a good choice other than 164 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 2: maybe a dead calm day, which is unlikely in Nebraska. 165 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 2: So essentially I have two setups on the same river 166 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:53,160 Speaker 2: to cover the same travel that are good for opposite winds, 167 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 2: And that's you know, how it pretty much goes. It's 168 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 2: twice the work, but also means that when the rut hits, 169 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:01,280 Speaker 2: we are highly likely to be able to hunt that 170 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 2: travel route and not have to risk it or sit 171 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 2: something out. I remember reading an article years ago, probably 172 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,520 Speaker 2: in Bowhunter magazine, from a guy who said that if 173 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 2: you found a really good spot, he'd set up four 174 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:26,200 Speaker 2: stands so that he could hunt any wind direction. Now 175 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 2: I don't know anyone who is going to do that, 176 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:31,240 Speaker 2: but thinking about it from that perspective, or at least 177 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:33,760 Speaker 2: of having two setups to key off the same travel 178 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:37,480 Speaker 2: or same pattern, it's not a bad idea. This is 179 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 2: also maybe the best argument out there for considering a 180 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:43,080 Speaker 2: mobile strategy. But it's not enough to just buy a 181 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 2: saddle and some lightweight sticks. You also have to have 182 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:49,720 Speaker 2: the mobile strategy mindset, which is often kind of misunderstood. 183 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 2: Let me give you an example from my last season 184 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:54,640 Speaker 2: to sort of frame this up. When I was down 185 00:08:54,679 --> 00:08:56,839 Speaker 2: to the wire in North Dakota, I figured my best 186 00:08:56,880 --> 00:08:59,360 Speaker 2: bet was to hunt a cattle tank for any whitetail 187 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:03,080 Speaker 2: buck that might come in for a drink or a 188 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:05,200 Speaker 2: bite of something a little more lush due to the 189 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 2: tanks runoff in that very, very dry land. The problem 190 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:11,840 Speaker 2: was that there was literally no good stand trees within 191 00:09:11,880 --> 00:09:14,440 Speaker 2: shooting range, and really not a whole lot of covered 192 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:17,160 Speaker 2: to set up blind it. Now, I tried to sit 193 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:19,640 Speaker 2: on the ground and cover a likely approach rout, but 194 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:21,959 Speaker 2: that didn't work very well because what I thought was 195 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 2: a likely approach rout turned out to not be the case. 196 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:27,560 Speaker 2: And while we saw a lot of deer, a hell 197 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:29,520 Speaker 2: of a lot of them saw us, and even more 198 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:32,560 Speaker 2: of them smelled us. I looked at every tree in 199 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:35,400 Speaker 2: about three acres and every spot on the ground that 200 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:37,679 Speaker 2: might allow us to play the wind and not get caught. 201 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:40,679 Speaker 2: Now I ended up sitting in a spot that really sucked, 202 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 2: and it required me to mostly lie on my back 203 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:45,319 Speaker 2: for most of the sit but it was really the 204 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 2: best option and it worked. It wasn't comfortable or overly enjoyable, 205 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:51,439 Speaker 2: but it was the only way to play the wind 206 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:54,200 Speaker 2: in that spot. And really, all the best tree standards, 207 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 2: sal gear, all the best scent killing products and all 208 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 2: that jazz just couldn't overcome the reality of having to 209 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:02,080 Speaker 2: tuck in on the ground and cross my fingers because 210 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:05,040 Speaker 2: it was just only going to work that way. And 211 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:07,800 Speaker 2: this happens to me a lot, and it might be 212 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:09,960 Speaker 2: because I'm going into more situations to set up on 213 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:12,120 Speaker 2: the fly than a lot of hunters, But there is 214 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:15,600 Speaker 2: a big time private land lesson here as well. But 215 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:19,000 Speaker 2: this goes back to the mobile mindset thing. Think about 216 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:21,480 Speaker 2: all of the data we have on weather and how 217 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:23,800 Speaker 2: you can look at your individual stand site and see 218 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:27,640 Speaker 2: exactly how the wind should be. Think about how often 219 00:10:27,679 --> 00:10:30,760 Speaker 2: you go in and realize it's not quite right. You 220 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:33,880 Speaker 2: could push it, but that might be trouble. It often is, 221 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:36,040 Speaker 2: especially if you're not hunting a place with a lot 222 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:39,760 Speaker 2: of elevation to force very specific deer movement. The flatter 223 00:10:39,840 --> 00:10:43,400 Speaker 2: it is, the harder this stuff is, generally, but a 224 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:45,000 Speaker 2: lot of people are scared to sit on the ground 225 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:47,400 Speaker 2: or call an audible in the moment, and then they 226 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:49,600 Speaker 2: push it with a setup because they reckon that being 227 00:10:49,679 --> 00:10:51,560 Speaker 2: in a tree is better than being on the ground, 228 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 2: which is kind of like how a lot of hunters 229 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 2: think that no matter what, hunting private land always trump's 230 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,920 Speaker 2: hunting public. It doesn't. And when you learn that lesson, 231 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:03,640 Speaker 2: it's like a whole new world of hunting opportunities opens 232 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:06,240 Speaker 2: up before you. The best way to go about this 233 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:09,520 Speaker 2: is to be prepared. I keep a go box in 234 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:12,240 Speaker 2: my truck that has a saddle and sticks and whatever 235 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 2: I need to go mobile at any time. This is 236 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:17,559 Speaker 2: a no brainer if you have the gear, because if 237 00:11:17,559 --> 00:11:19,520 Speaker 2: you pull up into the ditch along your farm and 238 00:11:19,559 --> 00:11:21,880 Speaker 2: the wind is not what you need, you can switch 239 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:25,040 Speaker 2: gears and still be in the game. But I also 240 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:27,800 Speaker 2: keep the stuff that's necessary to sit on the ground 241 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:30,200 Speaker 2: in my go box too, And if I'm walking into 242 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:33,160 Speaker 2: some place this kind of a question mark, I generally 243 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:35,800 Speaker 2: have pruner's, a saw, and a cushion and off in 244 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:39,679 Speaker 2: a gilly suit style jacket tucked into my pack. Those 245 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:41,800 Speaker 2: few pieces of gear have saved a lot of my 246 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:44,800 Speaker 2: private land hunts and have killed me some deer. The 247 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:46,600 Speaker 2: thing about this is if you don't have an easy 248 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:49,720 Speaker 2: option to play the wind better, it probably won't try. 249 00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:52,640 Speaker 2: And this is just the best way to get busted. 250 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:54,640 Speaker 2: And if you haven't done this at least a few 251 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:57,319 Speaker 2: dozen times in your deer hunting career, keep hunting. You're 252 00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:00,560 Speaker 2: gonna get there. I'd say maybe a parallel point worth 253 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:05,040 Speaker 2: making here is to expect the wind to work against you. Now, 254 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:07,680 Speaker 2: maybe that seems crazy, but it's so often true, and 255 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:11,440 Speaker 2: it's not often super evident until you get settled into 256 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:14,240 Speaker 2: your spot and realize that the wind is just not 257 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:17,840 Speaker 2: doing what you expected. If that's the case, you have 258 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:20,040 Speaker 2: to make the call on whether it's likely to switch 259 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:23,200 Speaker 2: or likely to settle down to a non factor type 260 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 2: of level, or whether you need to just get down 261 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:29,000 Speaker 2: and go for plan be. My general rule for how 262 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:31,240 Speaker 2: to play the last one is how much faith I 263 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:33,400 Speaker 2: have in the spot, and when I think I can 264 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:35,679 Speaker 2: hunt it again. If it might not be for a 265 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:37,839 Speaker 2: couple of weeks, I might just push it because it 266 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:40,320 Speaker 2: might be worth it to just see. If I have 267 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:41,720 Speaker 2: a few days in a row to hunt and I 268 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:44,160 Speaker 2: really believe the spot could produce, I'm just not going 269 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 2: to risk blowing it out. The bad part about this 270 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 2: is that you have to see how it plays out 271 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:52,120 Speaker 2: to really know. Hell, this might be the most important 272 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:54,680 Speaker 2: thing to recognize about all of this. How does the 273 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:57,880 Speaker 2: wind in your area act? You know, it's kind of 274 00:12:57,920 --> 00:12:59,920 Speaker 2: just like what kind of deer are you really hunting? 275 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:02,480 Speaker 2: Do they look up in the trees all the time 276 00:13:02,679 --> 00:13:05,960 Speaker 2: or never? Are they jumpy as hell or as kind 277 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:09,760 Speaker 2: of oblivious? Now with the wind, in some places, it'll 278 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:12,040 Speaker 2: blow all night, just as fiercely as in the day. 279 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:15,200 Speaker 2: But in a lot of places it'll die down hard 280 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:18,040 Speaker 2: around sunset and it won't really get a lot of 281 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:22,280 Speaker 2: steam going until a few hours into the morning. You know, 282 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:25,240 Speaker 2: you've already had some shooting light pass. That North Dakota 283 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:27,880 Speaker 2: hunt I mentioned early is always an interesting one for 284 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:31,760 Speaker 2: me because the general area is almost always windy, but 285 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:34,200 Speaker 2: being tucked into a deep river valley where the sun 286 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:36,320 Speaker 2: will hide behind the cliffs long before you need to 287 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:39,560 Speaker 2: climb down, means the wind often goes from one extreme 288 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:42,520 Speaker 2: to the other in a pretty short time window. That 289 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:45,360 Speaker 2: almost never happens quite the same in my home state hunts, 290 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:48,480 Speaker 2: but it's important to know because, depending on seasonal timing, 291 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:50,840 Speaker 2: I might not worry too much if the wind isn't 292 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:53,160 Speaker 2: great until the last hour, because I know most of 293 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:56,040 Speaker 2: the deer won't show up before that, so to muddy 294 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:58,800 Speaker 2: the waters even further. The truth of this matter is 295 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:00,640 Speaker 2: that you won't know how good or how bad your 296 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:02,400 Speaker 2: strategy is until you see it through. 297 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:03,160 Speaker 1: Now. 298 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:05,600 Speaker 2: The good news here, although I guess it's not really 299 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:08,000 Speaker 2: good news, is that we often see it through out 300 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:10,360 Speaker 2: of a lack of options, and that will show us 301 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:14,040 Speaker 2: at least one outcome when the wind isn't perfect. And 302 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:16,960 Speaker 2: when you do that, pay attention. If you don't see 303 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:19,800 Speaker 2: much or anything, or you do spook some deer. It's 304 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:23,320 Speaker 2: hard to argue with those data points. Next time, don't 305 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:26,560 Speaker 2: push it, try something else, and when you do, pay 306 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,720 Speaker 2: attention to how plan B shook out. Did it allow 307 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:31,520 Speaker 2: you to tuck into the standing corn, to sit in 308 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:33,520 Speaker 2: a fence row and have some action when your tree 309 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:37,000 Speaker 2: stands are totally out of play that's important? Or did 310 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:38,840 Speaker 2: it force you to throw up a mobile set somewhere 311 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:40,600 Speaker 2: else and show you some other deer movement that you 312 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:43,800 Speaker 2: didn't expect, Because that stuff is important too, and it 313 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:46,160 Speaker 2: really helps you feel less helpful when the wind is 314 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:48,760 Speaker 2: an ideal and you don't have another pre hung set 315 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:52,720 Speaker 2: to go to. I realize this might sound like advice 316 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:55,840 Speaker 2: coming from big properties where lots of setups are possible, 317 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 2: but this is in my experience at least crazy important 318 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:03,400 Speaker 2: small parcels. Not blowing out your whole thirty acres is 319 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:05,280 Speaker 2: a good thing if you want to enjoy your whole 320 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:09,120 Speaker 2: season there. Anyway, as we get into the seasons across 321 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:11,480 Speaker 2: the country, think about the win and how it will 322 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:14,800 Speaker 2: inevitably be wrong for you quite a bit, and what 323 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:18,320 Speaker 2: you're going to do about that. Then come back next 324 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:20,720 Speaker 2: week because I'm going to talk about bad habits in 325 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:22,800 Speaker 2: the white tail woods and how they cost us big 326 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:26,760 Speaker 2: Bucks all the time. That's it for this week. I'm 327 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:29,920 Speaker 2: Tony Peterson. This has been the Wire to Hunt Foundations podcast. 328 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:32,560 Speaker 2: Thank you so much for listening and for all your support. 329 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:35,680 Speaker 2: Maybe you're getting ready to drive across the country to 330 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:38,360 Speaker 2: go hunt some meal deer, antelope, or something. Maybe you 331 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 2: just need something new to listen to on your way 332 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 2: to work. Go to the mediater dot com. Check out 333 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 2: all of the podcasts we have. You can listen to 334 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:49,200 Speaker 2: a hell of a lot of hours of fresh content 335 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:52,600 Speaker 2: every single week. If you want to watch some hunts, 336 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:55,560 Speaker 2: maybe you want to read an article, maybe find a 337 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:58,360 Speaker 2: new recipe for some grouse or something this fall. Whatever 338 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:01,240 Speaker 2: the mediator dot com has you ever there as well, 339 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:03,480 Speaker 2: go check it out, and again, thank you so much 340 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:04,120 Speaker 2: for your support.