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 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. Hey everyone, welcome to the wire to Hunt podcast, 4 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:18,360 Speaker 1: which is brought to you by First Light. I'm your host, 5 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:22,080 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson, and today's episode is about off season scouting 6 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: and how we are really running out of time. I 7 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:37,199 Speaker 1: know last week I said I was going to get 8 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: into some episodes about choosing accessories and setting up bows, 9 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: and I will get there, but not this week. I've 10 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: had an interesting experience recently while I was pulling some 11 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 1: of the last year's stands and giving a property one 12 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,160 Speaker 1: last chance for some off season scouting, and it made 13 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:54,760 Speaker 1: me realize there's more to talk about on this topic. 14 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:56,880 Speaker 1: If you want to be a better deer hunter, this 15 00:00:56,960 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: episode might very well be the one that gets you there. 16 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:16,119 Speaker 1: I got really, really lucky about twenty years ago. At 17 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: the time, I was in college, mostly a drunken idiot, 18 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:22,240 Speaker 1: barely keeping my g p A up enough to not 19 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:24,760 Speaker 1: get kicked out of one on a state and aside 20 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:28,920 Speaker 1: from my alcohol induced extracurriculars, I was mostly just obsessed 21 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:33,080 Speaker 1: with fishing. I know, people throw that word obsession around 22 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 1: a lot, but in this case, I mean it from 23 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: ice out until bow opener. I fished. I fished tournaments. 24 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: I fished for fun. I fished bass, trout, crappys, walleyes, 25 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 1: northern as basket's catfish, everything that swims that was legal 26 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 1: to target, I fished for it. And in one of 27 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: my tournaments, which was a pro am format, meaning one 28 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: pro and one amateur fishing together, I drew a fellow 29 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 1: from Waterloo, Iowa, who traveled with a small group of 30 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: other fishermen. One of those guys was an amateur just 31 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 1: like me, and we just kind of hit it off. 32 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:08,680 Speaker 1: Eventually we started fishing a few team tournaments together, we 33 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:11,680 Speaker 1: started hunting together, and we just became really good friends. 34 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: And fast forward a couple of decades and that really 35 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: good friend bought a sweet property in southwestern Wisconsin. Remember 36 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:22,520 Speaker 1: how I said, I got lucky. He lets me hunt it, 37 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,239 Speaker 1: which is awesome, And if you want to see it, 38 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:29,360 Speaker 1: go watch our one Week in November series from last 39 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: year on YouTube, which has like five episodes where yours 40 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:36,920 Speaker 1: truly hunts that very farm for the first time. Before 41 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:40,799 Speaker 1: that shoot, we turkey hunted the property and then all summer. 42 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: We scouted the ship out of it. We walked it, 43 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 1: we glassed it, we ran cameras, and we built a 44 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 1: fall hunting plan. We hung stands, we put out blinds 45 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 1: in August, and then we hunted it during the very 46 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 1: best time of the season, the first week in November. 47 00:02:56,600 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: And I'm being honest when I say that I was very, 48 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:04,120 Speaker 1: very confident that I had that place figured out. After all, 49 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:07,520 Speaker 1: it only consists of about, I don't know, sixty acres 50 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,799 Speaker 1: of timber. And I had a great hunt there, which 51 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: included a seven and a half minute encounter with a 52 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:15,400 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty injur that I didn't get to shoot, 53 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:18,560 Speaker 1: and I ended up arrowing a decent eight point at 54 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: one o'clock in the afternoon. It was a great hunt. 55 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:25,519 Speaker 1: It was fun, But what was maybe the most enjoyable 56 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,520 Speaker 1: part of it was just the learning. The amount of 57 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:32,640 Speaker 1: deer I saw that was awesome. What they did was enlightening. 58 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 1: When I left that shoot and I dropped my cameraman 59 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 1: off at MSP Airport, I was more confident for this 60 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:42,360 Speaker 1: year than I was going into last year. I mean 61 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: by far. After all, how do you beat five and 62 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 1: a half days of observation, well more days of observation 63 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 1: or winter scouting. Now. I know you thought we were 64 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 1: past this stage of the year with the turkeys out 65 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:58,800 Speaker 1: there gobbling and the cropp he's moving up shallow. But 66 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: here's the thing that I've said all times, because I 67 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 1: just absolutely believe it. Time in the woods is everything. 68 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 1: The time that I recently spent in the woods, which 69 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: was divided between cutting down some trees and brush clearing 70 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,000 Speaker 1: a little kill plot and putting out blinds for turkey 71 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,160 Speaker 1: hunting with our kids, and shed hunting, and at last 72 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: winter scouting taught me something. The deer that I thought 73 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 1: I had dialed actually had me dialed, or I should 74 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:30,599 Speaker 1: put it in another way. Some of the bucks had 75 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,839 Speaker 1: me and my hunting partner dialed, along with anyone driving 76 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 1: the roads around the property, and certainly the locals who 77 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 1: like to spotlight the fields and then tell us about 78 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:42,960 Speaker 1: all the bucks they see while they are three sheets 79 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: through the wind at the local pub, which is the 80 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:47,520 Speaker 1: only place to grab a burger anywhere near there, and 81 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:53,800 Speaker 1: is a gathering of well i'll call them interesting hunters. Anyway, 82 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:58,360 Speaker 1: back to my buddies farm, which borders a gravel quarry. Now, 83 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:00,640 Speaker 1: he's got a deal with the owners where they store 84 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:03,000 Speaker 1: some rock on his land and we get to access 85 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:05,680 Speaker 1: his property through theirs. They also gave us permission to 86 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 1: hunt third ground, but that doesn't do as much good 87 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: since most of it is all rock quarry. But here's 88 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:14,599 Speaker 1: the thing. When we walk the perimeter of the actual quarry, 89 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: which we did mostly just take a look at it 90 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:19,200 Speaker 1: and maybe see if we could find a nailer, we 91 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: started finding rubs. And let me tell you, these weren't 92 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: just your run of the mill. One rub here, one 93 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:28,720 Speaker 1: rub down the ridgeline. This was the best rub line 94 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:33,400 Speaker 1: on the property by far. It told a clear story 95 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,960 Speaker 1: of a big buck or maybe bucks, betting in or 96 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:40,720 Speaker 1: around the quarry and then working up through the woods 97 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:43,360 Speaker 1: to the one part of the fields on top that 98 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:47,080 Speaker 1: just aren't visible to anyone driving the roads that border 99 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:51,880 Speaker 1: those fields. Let me put this another way, A great 100 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 1: big buck left very clear sign that he was betting 101 00:05:55,880 --> 00:06:00,359 Speaker 1: in one spot and traveling to another. He did it 102 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:03,279 Speaker 1: in such a way that he not only avoided all 103 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: of the places my buddy and I like to hunt, 104 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 1: but also in a way that kept him totally out 105 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:12,320 Speaker 1: of sight of everyone else who might be looking for him. 106 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:16,200 Speaker 1: It was a master class on big buck behavior, and 107 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:18,880 Speaker 1: the only thing that gave him away was those rubs. 108 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:22,320 Speaker 1: And honestly, it wasn't just that rub line that gave 109 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: it away. It was the sheer amount of rubs, starting 110 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:27,920 Speaker 1: at the base of the quarry and working up through 111 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 1: my buddies woods to the field edges. They were everywhere. 112 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:35,400 Speaker 1: They spoke a whole lot of words on hunter avoidance, 113 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 1: and I feel like we listened. It also reminded me 114 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:41,599 Speaker 1: of a morning last season where I sat close to 115 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:44,240 Speaker 1: that spot and I heard a buck chasing and grunning 116 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 1: his head off at first light. I never saw him, 117 00:06:47,279 --> 00:06:49,320 Speaker 1: and I could never quite figure out where he went, 118 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 1: But now I know he skirted me, just like he 119 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:55,680 Speaker 1: probably did every time I sat that spot. And what 120 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: was more interesting than that was that those rubs were 121 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:04,599 Speaker 1: around older rubs, multigenerational rubs. When you see a fresh 122 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:07,719 Speaker 1: rub line that follows more or less the same route 123 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:11,160 Speaker 1: as older rub lines, you know that you're looking at 124 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 1: a spot, and specifically a travel route that multiple bucks 125 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: have figured out over multiple seasons. This is the kind 126 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 1: of knowledge that helps you absolutely figure out a property 127 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:27,520 Speaker 1: or as I learned every single year, come closer to 128 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:31,720 Speaker 1: figuring it out. Things change, and that means the lessons 129 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 1: of today it might not matter tomorrow, but there always 130 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:39,960 Speaker 1: worth learning anyway. Now. I don't want to sound too cocky, 131 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:41,760 Speaker 1: but I feel like it's damn near a done deal 132 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:43,560 Speaker 1: that I'm going to kill a buck in that spot 133 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:46,440 Speaker 1: this fall. I know it might not work out that way, 134 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:49,320 Speaker 1: but I promise you by midsummer I'll have a stand 135 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:51,920 Speaker 1: up in that spot to hunt it with the likeliest 136 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 1: prevailing winds of early November. Now, in the words of 137 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: an old Atlantis Morissette song, enough about me, let's talk 138 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:02,840 Speaker 1: about you for a minute. Did you do enough offseason 139 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:07,000 Speaker 1: scouting this winner? Did you do any Is there anywhere 140 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 1: you didn't go that you could walk before it gets 141 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 1: too green and too full of ticks and there's too 142 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:16,600 Speaker 1: much other exciting stuff to do. Before you answer those questions, 143 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:20,240 Speaker 1: I think, real hard, think about how I just told 144 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:25,360 Speaker 1: you that I totally, without question completely missed what could 145 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:28,280 Speaker 1: be the best big buck spot on a property I 146 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:32,640 Speaker 1: scouted for multiple days and hunted for multiple days. I 147 00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:35,040 Speaker 1: mean in that sense I shot for the moon and 148 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:37,960 Speaker 1: hit the barn with that One of my friends and 149 00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:41,640 Speaker 1: I get paid to do this stuff sort of. Now, 150 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:44,760 Speaker 1: I was only off by I don't know, a hundred yards, 151 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: but when your bow hunting and the cover is thick 152 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:49,200 Speaker 1: and the bucks are pressured, that might as well be 153 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:52,320 Speaker 1: a mile or two. Now, think long and hard about 154 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:55,520 Speaker 1: your winter scouting and how confident you are that you 155 00:08:55,679 --> 00:08:59,719 Speaker 1: know what the dear do on your hunting ground. Are 156 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:02,760 Speaker 1: you always on big box or are there long patches 157 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:06,040 Speaker 1: of no dear sightings in your season? Are you really 158 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:08,679 Speaker 1: really surprised when you see a good one? Or does 159 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:11,120 Speaker 1: it feel more like everything is just working out the 160 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:15,319 Speaker 1: way it's supposed to. I stress these questions and all 161 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:18,240 Speaker 1: of this self reflection because I know how easy it 162 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:20,679 Speaker 1: is to convince ourselves that we've done a good job. 163 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:24,080 Speaker 1: We grade our own white tail papers, and damn it, 164 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 1: we give ourselves gold stars and smiley faces written in pen. 165 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:31,160 Speaker 1: It's always a job well done, But maybe it's not. 166 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:34,960 Speaker 1: If there's any nagging doubt, see what you can do 167 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: about getting back out there. On previous episodes, I talked 168 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:41,360 Speaker 1: about going where you don't normally go to see parts 169 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:44,679 Speaker 1: of your properties you don't normally scout or hunt. I'm 170 00:09:44,679 --> 00:09:46,480 Speaker 1: going to refine that just a little bit by saying 171 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:51,040 Speaker 1: do that that's important, but understand by how little you 172 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:55,840 Speaker 1: have to be off to be off? X marks the spot, 173 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 1: But the X is not very big a lot of times, 174 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:01,480 Speaker 1: and you might walk by it not realize that you're 175 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:04,599 Speaker 1: on the uphill side of a bunch of rubs. You know, 176 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:07,480 Speaker 1: I just miss it by a little bit. And that's 177 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:09,920 Speaker 1: what we did with this spot I keep talking about, 178 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:13,280 Speaker 1: and it caused me to miss them. No, it wasn't 179 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:16,080 Speaker 1: until I went where I didn't think the deer would 180 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:18,440 Speaker 1: be that I could see the rubs in the layout 181 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:21,280 Speaker 1: of the land and realize what was actually going on 182 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:25,760 Speaker 1: there last fall. Think about this another way, how often 183 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 1: have you been involved in a rough blood trail where 184 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:32,480 Speaker 1: you or other members of your crew walked within a 185 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:35,480 Speaker 1: few yards of a down deer and broad daylight, let 186 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:39,720 Speaker 1: alone in the dark. It's crazy how easily this can happen. 187 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:43,520 Speaker 1: And then when you see the deer, it seems impossible 188 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:47,080 Speaker 1: that anyone would miss it. Well, this happens with signed 189 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:49,480 Speaker 1: to It might be a rub, It might be a 190 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:52,560 Speaker 1: community scrape with three licking branches, or it might just 191 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:57,120 Speaker 1: be an unbelievable fence crossing. It might be obvious, or 192 00:10:57,160 --> 00:11:00,280 Speaker 1: it might just be a lone buckbed tuck into a 193 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:03,240 Speaker 1: knob halfway up a bluff that takes a trained eye 194 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:07,240 Speaker 1: to really pick out. Now here's the situation with some 195 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:11,000 Speaker 1: of this advice. If you'll notice, I didn't figure out 196 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:14,319 Speaker 1: that quarry connection until I could actually go into that 197 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:19,359 Speaker 1: quarry to poke around. That was a gift most spots 198 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 1: and most of us, we won't get that opportunity on 199 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:25,720 Speaker 1: any given property we might hunt. That doesn't mean that 200 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:27,959 Speaker 1: you can't take a look onto your neighbor's ground, though 201 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:31,560 Speaker 1: the window for this is rapidly closing, however, as the 202 00:11:31,559 --> 00:11:34,880 Speaker 1: wood's green up, like when I'm shed hunting or just 203 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:39,880 Speaker 1: winter scouting. In general, I always carry binoculars for obvious reasons, 204 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:43,400 Speaker 1: but I also use them to look at interesting objects 205 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:45,760 Speaker 1: in the woods that aren't antlers or rubs or whatever. 206 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:49,160 Speaker 1: This might be tree stands, or just a line of 207 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:51,800 Speaker 1: flagging tape, or maybe a brushed in ground blind a 208 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:55,200 Speaker 1: hunter yards across the fence on the neighbor's property. All 209 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:58,800 Speaker 1: of this intel is valuable, and it tells you more 210 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:02,080 Speaker 1: of a complete picture of a hunting pressure on neighboring properties, 211 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:04,600 Speaker 1: as well as the exact spots that people might be 212 00:12:04,679 --> 00:12:07,880 Speaker 1: hunting on that scouting trip I keep talking about. I 213 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:10,480 Speaker 1: happened to find myself in one corner my friend's property 214 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:12,840 Speaker 1: where a shared logging road runs down a ridge top 215 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:16,600 Speaker 1: onto someone else's ground. Last summer, we hung a stand 216 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:19,839 Speaker 1: where that logging road enters my buddy's food plot. It's 217 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:22,720 Speaker 1: honestly about a no brainer of a stand site, as 218 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:26,400 Speaker 1: they get. I never sat it, but he did several times, 219 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:29,000 Speaker 1: and early in the season he saw a pile of 220 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:31,800 Speaker 1: deer enter his plot from that logging road, so it 221 00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 1: seemed pretty cut and dry. It was working, but as 222 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:38,360 Speaker 1: the pre rut kicked in and then the rut, the 223 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:42,760 Speaker 1: deer activity on that logging road just died. I didn't 224 00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:45,319 Speaker 1: think anything of it because I wasn't hunting there anyway, 225 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:47,719 Speaker 1: And it wasn't until I was standing there looking for 226 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:50,400 Speaker 1: an antler when I looked down that logging road and 227 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:52,520 Speaker 1: saw what I thought was a ladder on one of 228 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:56,080 Speaker 1: the neighbor's trees. Through my binos, I could see bits 229 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:58,320 Speaker 1: and pieces of what looked like a new ladder stand 230 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:00,720 Speaker 1: and it was positioned, damn are right on top of 231 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:04,000 Speaker 1: that logging road. Now, why the hunter didn't move it 232 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:06,200 Speaker 1: ten or fifteen yards off one side of that ridge 233 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:08,360 Speaker 1: or the other to take advantage of the wind blowing 234 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:10,880 Speaker 1: out over two huge valleys and cutting down on the 235 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:13,800 Speaker 1: chances of getting picked off. I don't know, but what 236 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:16,920 Speaker 1: I do know is that that hunter was most likely 237 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:20,679 Speaker 1: in there intercepting many of those deer while my buddy 238 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:24,000 Speaker 1: hunted his own land just down the ridge. They wouldn't 239 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,240 Speaker 1: have been able to see each other, but the impact 240 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:29,439 Speaker 1: on the deer would have been felt by both of them. Now, 241 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:32,080 Speaker 1: it's worth noting that my buddy had a camera on 242 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:34,320 Speaker 1: the spot where the logging road dumped out into his 243 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:38,720 Speaker 1: food plot. I remember many conversations last fall where we 244 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:41,800 Speaker 1: talked about the deer activity just drying up there at 245 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:44,760 Speaker 1: least in the daylight. The bucks would be there at night, 246 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,280 Speaker 1: but that didn't do us any good. Now, I have 247 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:49,760 Speaker 1: a bad memory, so don't quote me on this, but 248 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:52,640 Speaker 1: I'll bet we talked a lot about the usual suspects 249 00:13:52,679 --> 00:13:55,960 Speaker 1: for the sudden lack of daylight deer usage there. I'll 250 00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:59,800 Speaker 1: bet we talked about the low the acorn drop, probably 251 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,840 Speaker 1: iotes and bobcats, the weather, and I'll bet we settled 252 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:07,480 Speaker 1: on some explanations that may or may not have been true. 253 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:12,280 Speaker 1: We've filled into blanks. It simply could have been that 254 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:14,600 Speaker 1: he was walking in one way and sitting there with 255 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:17,240 Speaker 1: certain winds, and someone else was coming in from the 256 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:20,880 Speaker 1: opposite direction, playing the win to his advantage. It was 257 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 1: probably a great lesson in not falling in love with 258 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:27,840 Speaker 1: any stand spot despite how good it should be, because 259 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:32,040 Speaker 1: how actually is is what really matters. Now, let me 260 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:35,120 Speaker 1: say this that hunter picked a good spot, and so 261 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:38,400 Speaker 1: did my buddy. They were both totally legal and just 262 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:41,480 Speaker 1: doing their things as hunters. But that good spot with 263 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:44,720 Speaker 1: pressure coming in from both sides, it's not really good 264 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:47,680 Speaker 1: spot anymore, or at least by mid season, when they've 265 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:51,520 Speaker 1: both presumably hunted there enough, it isn't as good as 266 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:55,160 Speaker 1: it should or could be. Now that's a weird benefit 267 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:58,680 Speaker 1: to offseason scouting that we rarely talk about. You See, 268 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:02,120 Speaker 1: we always think it's just us working against the deer, 269 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:04,520 Speaker 1: and in a lot of ways it is, especially depending 270 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:07,320 Speaker 1: on the kind of properties you get to hunt. But 271 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:10,880 Speaker 1: it's also the deer working against us. Like that quarry 272 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:14,040 Speaker 1: dweller with a penchant for making rubs that I'm going 273 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:16,640 Speaker 1: to catch up to on about November five this year. 274 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:21,960 Speaker 1: But it's also us working against us and us working 275 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:25,000 Speaker 1: against other hunters. And I don't mean this in an 276 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:28,520 Speaker 1: adversarial way either. I mean that for us to have 277 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 1: a successful season as far as lots of deer encounters 278 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:35,320 Speaker 1: and hopefully a few filled tags are concerned, the more 279 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:37,680 Speaker 1: we know about what's going on in and around our 280 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:42,080 Speaker 1: hunting spots, the better decisions we can make. Honestly, this 281 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 1: is the key to all scouting. Really. We are looking 282 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 1: at filling up our database over the years, with new 283 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:50,920 Speaker 1: information coming in whenever and however we can get it. 284 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:55,600 Speaker 1: That info layers itself on older info, and depending on 285 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:58,200 Speaker 1: whether things stayed the same from year to year or 286 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:00,880 Speaker 1: things have changed for some reason, like a new hunter 287 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:03,200 Speaker 1: on a neighboring property sitting close to the fence line, 288 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:05,880 Speaker 1: we can plug in that intel and use it to 289 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:10,920 Speaker 1: our advantage. This is a process, my friends, It's ongoing, 290 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:14,160 Speaker 1: and it changes every season, and if you do it enough, 291 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:17,240 Speaker 1: really makes the case that you should take advantage of 292 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:19,880 Speaker 1: the various windows of opportunity that open up and then 293 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:23,040 Speaker 1: close in the white tilt woods. And one of those 294 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:27,160 Speaker 1: windows is closing right now, and I get it. It's 295 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:29,560 Speaker 1: easy to write off this part of the year, dear 296 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:33,400 Speaker 1: wise to do other things, but the opportunity to learn 297 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:36,800 Speaker 1: it's still out there. There's intel waiting to be discovered, 298 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:39,320 Speaker 1: and there are plenty of reasons to spend a few 299 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:41,840 Speaker 1: more days looking at every piece of property that you can. 300 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:45,360 Speaker 1: This goes for private land hunters as well as public 301 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:48,120 Speaker 1: land hunters. It goes for folks with a thousand acres 302 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:51,640 Speaker 1: to hunt and folks with twenty. The work is never finished, 303 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:54,320 Speaker 1: but that's okay. That work is what makes this thing 304 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:57,000 Speaker 1: so special and makes the rare times when it all 305 00:16:57,040 --> 00:17:01,720 Speaker 1: comes together so worth it. Get out there, look around 306 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:05,440 Speaker 1: and keep listening. Is next week. I'm kicking off a 307 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:08,480 Speaker 1: two parter on setting up hunting bows, but mostly about 308 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:11,399 Speaker 1: accessories and white hunters would choose one site over another, 309 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:13,880 Speaker 1: or why one hunter might opt for a drop away 310 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:17,240 Speaker 1: rest versus some kind of static whisker biscuit style. And 311 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 1: I know that's not as exciting as scouting and glassing 312 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:22,480 Speaker 1: and running trail cameras and things like that, but this 313 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:25,440 Speaker 1: is the detail heavy stuff that will help you kill more. 314 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:30,560 Speaker 1: Dear that's it for this week. I'm Tony Peterson that 315 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:33,040 Speaker 1: spend the wire to Hunt Foundations podcast, which is brought 316 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:36,240 Speaker 1: to you by First Light. As always, thank you for listening. 317 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:39,040 Speaker 1: We appreciate it so much. And if you need more 318 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:41,680 Speaker 1: white tail info, head on over to the meat eator 319 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:46,080 Speaker 1: dot com, slash wired or visit our Wired to Hunt 320 00:17:46,119 --> 00:17:49,840 Speaker 1: YouTube channel. In both spots you'll find tons of relevant 321 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:53,879 Speaker 1: white tail information created by Mark myself and a whole 322 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:56,399 Speaker 1: host of really talented white tail hunters.