1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:05,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:10,799 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better dear hunting, and now your host, 3 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:16,279 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. Hey, everyone, welcome to the wire to Hunt 4 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:18,959 Speaker 1: Foundations podcast, which is brought to you by First Like. 5 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Tony Peterson, and today's episode is all 6 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:37,239 Speaker 1: about what shed antlers teach us about dear. This is 7 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 1: probably gonna sound like total bs, my friends, but stick 8 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,600 Speaker 1: with me. On my journey as a deer hunter, I 9 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,120 Speaker 1: spent a lot of years not really paying attention to 10 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 1: what was happening around me. Even as a youngster, I 11 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:51,520 Speaker 1: scouted a lot, and I hunted every second I could, 12 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: and I still mostly zoned out when mother Nature tried 13 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: to give me a helpful hint or three of them. 14 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 1: As I've gotten older, I've realized that just about every 15 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: d your sighting, in every piece of deer sign and yes, 16 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:07,399 Speaker 1: every shed antler has something to teach us. That last 17 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:09,880 Speaker 1: one is what this episode is all about, and I 18 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:11,760 Speaker 1: urge you to listen to it, even if you're not 19 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: a die hard shed hunt. In the spring, I set 20 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:29,199 Speaker 1: out in the dark with my wife's cousin in Toe. 21 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:32,000 Speaker 1: Our destination was a Turkey blind I had set up 22 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:34,959 Speaker 1: in the back corner of a pick cornfield. The cousin 23 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: had expressed interest in turkey hunting the previous year, probably 24 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:40,440 Speaker 1: during a holiday get together or something I don't really remember. 25 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 1: She wasn't really the kind of first timer I usually 26 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:45,959 Speaker 1: take out, considering she is a few years older than 27 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: me and it never hunted anything before. She also has 28 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: a son who has mitochondrial disease, which means that almost 29 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 1: the entirety of her life is dedicated to his care, 30 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: and it's not an easy life, my friends. In fact, 31 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: her son is who I think about when some grown 32 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 1: adult man sends me an email or social media d 33 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:10,840 Speaker 1: M about how offended by something he is that I 34 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: said on a podcast, I wrote in an article, it 35 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: makes me think about how lucky most of us are, 36 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: where we have the luxury of of letting the little 37 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: things bother us, when there are people out there really 38 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:24,919 Speaker 1: struggling to get through the day, people who are dealing 39 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:29,520 Speaker 1: with real problems. Anyway, that's a sidebar. Becky and I 40 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:32,679 Speaker 1: set up in the dark that April morning, and while 41 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: a few birds gobbled, it was just kind of a slow, cloudy, 42 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 1: drizzly morning. We only saw one hen At mid morning, 43 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:44,040 Speaker 1: I made the call to relocate to a different blind, 44 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:46,720 Speaker 1: one that is situated in the best strutting zone I've 45 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: ever found in a lifetime of turkey hunting. It's just 46 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 1: a phenomenal mid day spot. And as we lug decoys 47 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 1: and chairs and gear along the field edge, I picked 48 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 1: up a small two point shed antler. It was cool, 49 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,639 Speaker 1: but it didn't really mean. After we looked at it 50 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:03,200 Speaker 1: and checked it out a little bit, we cut across 51 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 1: an alfalfa field that was just released from a little 52 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,520 Speaker 1: snow a few weeks prior. That's when I spotted a 53 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: much more impressive set of times sticking out of the alfalfa, 54 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 1: and then I saw another. In total, Becky and I 55 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,360 Speaker 1: picked up nine sheds, including a couple of giants, in 56 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 1: an area of the size of maybe two acres. It 57 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: was just a low depression in the field, meaning the 58 00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:28,520 Speaker 1: bucks could feed there and not be harassed by anyone 59 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 1: driving by on a nearby county road. It also made 60 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:34,640 Speaker 1: me realize that the buck crop on that farm was 61 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:37,280 Speaker 1: a hell of a lot better than I thought it was. Now. 62 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: I'm not done, though, because that one in a million 63 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:43,640 Speaker 1: find of more antlers in twenty minutes than I usually 64 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: scoop up in an entire winter. It got me back 65 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:50,360 Speaker 1: out there to scout more than I ever had. I 66 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 1: wanted to know why those bucks were there, and why 67 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 1: they were there in such a high concentration. It honestly 68 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: changed not only how I look at the farm, which 69 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 1: I still hunt, but how I think about it, and 70 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: how there's so much happening in the dear world that 71 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 1: I don't understand. That day was amazing, and it only 72 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,520 Speaker 1: got better when we made contact with a suicidal two 73 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: year old who was on the prowl at noon and 74 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 1: who took a face full of fours at fifteen yards, 75 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:19,960 Speaker 1: making Becky's seasons short and very very sweet. While I 76 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 1: love taking new hunters on their first successful hunts, I 77 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:27,840 Speaker 1: love getting dear lessons as well. Shed Antler's almost every 78 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:30,880 Speaker 1: one of them do that for you if you know 79 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: how to read them. But not all shed Antler lessons 80 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: are created equal. Take a big four point side you 81 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: find in a pickcorn field on your private lease. Sure 82 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:44,800 Speaker 1: there's something to be had there, but the lesson isn't 83 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: going to run too deep for starters. You probably knew 84 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 1: that deer like to eat corn especially in the winter, 85 00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:54,840 Speaker 1: and that bucks might spend all night long from December 86 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: to April in a specific field, nosing their way across 87 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:00,880 Speaker 1: it while vacuuming up every colonel a waste grain they 88 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:04,200 Speaker 1: come across. That's kind of like, I don't know, putting 89 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:06,200 Speaker 1: a trail camera on the edge of a soybean field 90 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:09,320 Speaker 1: in the summer. While the picks might be cool and exciting, 91 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:13,160 Speaker 1: it probably doesn't teach you much about overall dear behavior. 92 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:16,119 Speaker 1: That winter buck dropping his head gear in the corn. 93 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,160 Speaker 1: He's telling you mostly what you already know. But that's okay. 94 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:22,080 Speaker 1: It's a hell of a lot better than not finding 95 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:26,200 Speaker 1: a shed. Plus, he's also telling you that, up until 96 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: the moment half of his rack broke free and fell 97 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:33,000 Speaker 1: to the ground, he made it. He survived you and 98 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 1: you're hunting buddies. He survived the neighbors who are in 99 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:38,200 Speaker 1: the if it's brown, it's down category and who put 100 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:40,480 Speaker 1: on an elaborate deer drive on their farm every day 101 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:43,920 Speaker 1: of the gun season. He survived the Sunday morning church 102 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: traffic on the road that borders your property, the constant 103 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,679 Speaker 1: stream of grain trucks in the fall hauling the harvest 104 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:52,880 Speaker 1: to the river, or the co op in the nearest town. 105 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:56,840 Speaker 1: He survives the unscrupulous assholes who have no qualms about 106 00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 1: driving around at two in the morning with some bush 107 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,920 Speaker 1: latte's on their seat and a spotlight and a suppressed 108 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:05,720 Speaker 1: firearm laid over their lap. He survived e H D, 109 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:09,720 Speaker 1: C W D, coyotes and whatever else conspires to kill 110 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: deer on a daily basis. So in that way, that 111 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:17,599 Speaker 1: antler is proof of more than life. It's proof that 112 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:20,039 Speaker 1: when you think they must all be dead because it 113 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:24,040 Speaker 1: feels that way, they aren't. They never are. In fact, 114 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:26,200 Speaker 1: I read something on a hunting for him the other 115 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:29,040 Speaker 1: day where a poster said no one could come to 116 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:30,919 Speaker 1: his state and kill anything bigger than a two and 117 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:34,400 Speaker 1: a half year old because bucks never make it past 118 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:38,599 Speaker 1: that age in his state. Now I don't know this dude, 119 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 1: but I'll bet you he doesn't shed hunt very hard, 120 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 1: because if he did, he'd eventually find proof that he's wrong, 121 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:50,160 Speaker 1: probably the same way if he just some are scouted 122 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:53,080 Speaker 1: more or ran trail cameras more, he'd have to encounter 123 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:56,120 Speaker 1: the fact that he's making up things about the age 124 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:58,799 Speaker 1: of the bucks in the state. But that's not something 125 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:01,359 Speaker 1: a lot of us want to find out, But it 126 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:03,800 Speaker 1: could be out there laying in the grass or under 127 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:06,920 Speaker 1: the snow, waiting for a march thaw. Now take that 128 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: same hypothetical four point side, moving a hundred yards to 129 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:14,200 Speaker 1: a fence line, the spot where the top strand of 130 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:17,400 Speaker 1: barbed wire droops lower than any of the other sections. 131 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:21,600 Speaker 1: Drop it there. What do we know now, Well, for 132 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:25,000 Speaker 1: starters that leap across the fence, probably jarred the antler loose. 133 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: Big deal. You might think I would too, But there's 134 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:31,960 Speaker 1: more to it. Now. He's telling you where he crossed 135 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:34,760 Speaker 1: to get into the food, which tells you, to some extent, 136 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:38,600 Speaker 1: where he probably came from. This may or may not 137 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 1: be super valuable, depending on when the antler dropped and 138 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:44,840 Speaker 1: to what extent the deer in your neighborhood yard up. 139 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:47,160 Speaker 1: If he came from ten miles away to hold up 140 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 1: with dozens of other deer in a river bottom filled 141 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 1: with egg, that isn't really isn't worth that much. But 142 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 1: if he's a resident and he didn't follow a centuries 143 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 1: old migration path to get to an advantageous chunk of 144 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:01,600 Speaker 1: real estate to ride out the winter months, now you're 145 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 1: onto something certainly that but could have crossed that fence anywhere, 146 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: because after all, they are pretty good jumpers. But he 147 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: chose that spot because it's easier, and very likely it's 148 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:16,440 Speaker 1: along as chosen travel route or one of his chosen 149 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:19,280 Speaker 1: travel roads. Even if he had to loop a little 150 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 1: bit out of his way to get to that easy crossing, 151 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:25,520 Speaker 1: it's valuable into you knew where he was going to 152 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 1: eat at this time of year, but did you know 153 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 1: exactly how he'd get there? Better? Yet, is that something 154 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:35,600 Speaker 1: he'd do during the hunting season? Deer travel routes are 155 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:39,959 Speaker 1: often just that deer travel roads. They may be totally 156 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:43,840 Speaker 1: independent of season or weather, and they are often the 157 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:48,320 Speaker 1: lynchpin that holds your whole hunting plan together. So is 158 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: that antler at that crossing teaching you something about that? 159 00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 1: If so, pay attention. Now take that same antler, that 160 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:00,720 Speaker 1: hypothetical antler we've got, move it twos into the best 161 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 1: cover off of the food. That might be along a trail, 162 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:05,960 Speaker 1: or it might be smacked aub in the middle of 163 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:08,599 Speaker 1: a bed. It might just seem to be laying in 164 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:11,880 Speaker 1: the middle of the woods, not related to any type 165 00:09:11,880 --> 00:09:15,080 Speaker 1: of sign. It might mean that the buck staged there 166 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:18,200 Speaker 1: in the waning minutes of daylight as another winter night 167 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:21,080 Speaker 1: settled over the land. Do you think that's not valuable? 168 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:25,120 Speaker 1: It certainly is, my friends. I've had the good fortune 169 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 1: to spend a lot of winter afternoon sitting in various 170 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:31,480 Speaker 1: ground blinds while trying to photograph deer. It's a hobby 171 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:34,800 Speaker 1: of mine. I just absolutely love it. What I've watched 172 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: happened over and over and over again is what we 173 00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:42,680 Speaker 1: all kind of understand but often don't witness firsthand a 174 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 1: whole lot, and that is the doze coming out to 175 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:48,720 Speaker 1: feed first and the bucks hanging back in the cover. 176 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 1: We know this happens because of the order they show 177 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,280 Speaker 1: up on our cameras or the order in which we 178 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:56,600 Speaker 1: see them when we were hunting in the fall, but 179 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:59,120 Speaker 1: it's not always easy to witness, so we have to 180 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:02,239 Speaker 1: fill in the blank. With a camera on a tripod 181 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:06,079 Speaker 1: and the open viewing of winter woods, you can often 182 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:08,760 Speaker 1: watch the deer approach the food and see how the 183 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:12,440 Speaker 1: big bucks, even when their antlers are long gone stage, 184 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:15,520 Speaker 1: even a month or two beyond when they were last 185 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:18,880 Speaker 1: hunted by humans, those bucks will stage they set up 186 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:21,320 Speaker 1: to watch the first arrivals in the food to see 187 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:23,920 Speaker 1: if they set off any alarm. They use the wind, 188 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:27,319 Speaker 1: they use their ears, and they definitely use their eyes. 189 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:30,960 Speaker 1: You'll see them mill around, nibble on some brows and 190 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:33,959 Speaker 1: they just kind of wait. They're just kind of killing time. 191 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:37,440 Speaker 1: Sometimes when they do that, they're antlers fall off. If 192 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:40,040 Speaker 1: you find an antler in that cover, you might be 193 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:42,880 Speaker 1: onto something that bucks do not only in the winter, 194 00:10:43,679 --> 00:10:46,640 Speaker 1: but we'll do all fall. Whether you can see it 195 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:50,680 Speaker 1: in person or not. That's not nothing, and it means 196 00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:53,560 Speaker 1: there's a lot more to that antler find than just 197 00:10:53,679 --> 00:10:55,840 Speaker 1: having something cool to put in your man cave or 198 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:59,240 Speaker 1: your she shed. Now, of course, you might find an 199 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 1: antler in alone and patch a willow brush or maybe 200 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:04,200 Speaker 1: sumac or something which might seem kind of out of 201 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:07,760 Speaker 1: place or random. One of my daughters found a really 202 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:11,160 Speaker 1: big shed last spring in just such a spot near 203 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:14,920 Speaker 1: my house in central Minnesota. It was close to a highway, 204 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:18,560 Speaker 1: close to a lot of people activity, and as far 205 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:21,520 Speaker 1: as he could get from the biggest concentration of hunters 206 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:24,960 Speaker 1: on that specific property. That dude had it figured out, 207 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:27,959 Speaker 1: and I'd have never known about it until my nine 208 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:30,240 Speaker 1: year old's eyes bugged out of her head at the 209 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:34,080 Speaker 1: sight of that big antler land there. In fact, even 210 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:36,920 Speaker 1: though I can only do hunt that farm, I sat 211 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:39,800 Speaker 1: there one night in October this past season just to 212 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:43,800 Speaker 1: see and I saw several deer, but the biggest buck, 213 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 1: a really solid eight pointer, but not the previous owner 214 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:50,200 Speaker 1: of that shed, got up out of that same little 215 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:54,480 Speaker 1: patch and worked his way through a cattail slew. This lesson, 216 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:58,240 Speaker 1: and it's an important one, is that big bucks used 217 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:02,520 Speaker 1: terrain in a specific way. They use cover in a 218 00:12:02,559 --> 00:12:06,160 Speaker 1: certain way. If you find a good shed somewhere, that 219 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:09,480 Speaker 1: buck is shouting something at you about where he likes 220 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:13,720 Speaker 1: to be. Your job is to figure out why. It's 221 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:16,280 Speaker 1: also your job to try to suss out who else 222 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:19,760 Speaker 1: might use that spot and how it can be advantageous 223 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:21,800 Speaker 1: to you as a hunter for the rest of your 224 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:25,240 Speaker 1: life in the woods. Now, I know you're thinking, well, 225 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:27,839 Speaker 1: this is all well and good. If you have a 226 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:30,560 Speaker 1: spot to shed hunt that you also hunt. But what 227 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,760 Speaker 1: if you don't. What if you only hunt twenty acres 228 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:35,720 Speaker 1: of ground and you shed hunt a bunch of parks 229 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:39,320 Speaker 1: in your county. I'd say two things to that. First, 230 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:42,640 Speaker 1: why are you limiting yourself to that small parcel and 231 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:45,959 Speaker 1: only one of them find more ground to hunt private public. 232 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,200 Speaker 1: It doesn't matter. Open up your aperture a little bit. 233 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:51,319 Speaker 1: And secondly, those antlers on the ground that you can't 234 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:55,680 Speaker 1: hunt can still tell you plenty For starters, the same 235 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:58,840 Speaker 1: rules apply as far as reading the situation and trying 236 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:02,400 Speaker 1: to hypothesize why the buck was there when he dropped 237 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:06,120 Speaker 1: and how he used the terrain around him. I'll give 238 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:09,320 Speaker 1: you a real world example of this. I fully admit 239 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:12,840 Speaker 1: that I'm not a buck bed hunter. I'm slowly creeping 240 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:15,439 Speaker 1: in that direction, or at least trying to figure out 241 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:17,280 Speaker 1: how buck beds can make me a better hunter in 242 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:20,679 Speaker 1: a variety situations. It's just not my style like it 243 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:23,320 Speaker 1: is for a lot of folks out there. I'm still 244 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:26,920 Speaker 1: very interested in buck beds, and probably ten years ago 245 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:28,560 Speaker 1: I was shed hunting a piece of ground that I 246 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:31,960 Speaker 1: can't hunt. As I'll get into in the next episode 247 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:34,679 Speaker 1: in much greater detail, I was just trying to follow 248 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 1: a new route through that ground so that I wasn't 249 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:39,760 Speaker 1: looking at the same trails as I already had on 250 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:42,880 Speaker 1: earlier shed hunts. This took me up a hillside that 251 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:46,200 Speaker 1: was covered in wrist thick saplings and randomly led me 252 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:49,080 Speaker 1: to a little bench, and on that bench was a 253 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:52,400 Speaker 1: perfect oval in the grass. And in that oval was 254 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:55,760 Speaker 1: my first match set. Even though the buck wasn't a 255 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:58,400 Speaker 1: giant and it wasn't on land that I'd ever actually 256 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:01,880 Speaker 1: get the bow hunt, that lessons stuck with me. As 257 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:05,120 Speaker 1: I admired those antlers, I looked around. The bed was 258 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:09,120 Speaker 1: positioned in such a way that undetected approach was nearly 259 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:14,120 Speaker 1: impossible with the right wind. A buck betted right there 260 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:18,680 Speaker 1: had all of the advantages and multiple escape routes. There 261 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:21,360 Speaker 1: was no accident that a buck was using that spot 262 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:24,680 Speaker 1: to bed. Years later, I almost caught up to a 263 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,520 Speaker 1: giant on public land in northern Wisconsin in land that 264 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:32,000 Speaker 1: couldn't have looked more different. But that hundred and sixty 265 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,160 Speaker 1: inchers bed that I found when I went back there 266 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:38,000 Speaker 1: and scouted was almost a carbon copy of the one 267 00:14:38,040 --> 00:14:41,560 Speaker 1: I found while shed hunting that had too perfectly placed 268 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:46,240 Speaker 1: antlers in it two miles away. If you think back 269 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:49,080 Speaker 1: to last week and about thirty seven other episodes of 270 00:14:49,080 --> 00:14:52,760 Speaker 1: this show, I've preached the message of time in the 271 00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 1: woods being one of the biggest, if not the biggest, 272 00:14:56,400 --> 00:15:01,480 Speaker 1: contributors to success on pressure deer. I cannot stress this enough, 273 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:05,080 Speaker 1: and yes, if you're paying attention, this goes for shed hunting. 274 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:09,080 Speaker 1: To get out there and cover ground, whether you think 275 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:12,280 Speaker 1: you'll find an antler or not. If you don't, you 276 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:15,040 Speaker 1: still got some exercise, and you still spend time in 277 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:19,040 Speaker 1: the woods looking around, following your instincts, and not sitting 278 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:22,680 Speaker 1: at home watching TV or mindlessly scrolling through social media posts. 279 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:25,800 Speaker 1: If you do find an antler, and you will, if 280 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:29,120 Speaker 1: you shed hunt enough, then you've got a gift, not 281 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:32,000 Speaker 1: only in its physical form, but in the sense that 282 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:35,520 Speaker 1: the antler got there by one way and one way only. 283 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:39,320 Speaker 1: A buck walked to that very spot and dropped it. 284 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:42,760 Speaker 1: Why he went there, what he was doing there, and 285 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:45,480 Speaker 1: what it all means is up to you to figure out. 286 00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:47,840 Speaker 1: But what you come up with, not only for that 287 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:50,880 Speaker 1: individual deer, but what it means to the dear you'll 288 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:54,160 Speaker 1: encounter in the next three decades matters to you as 289 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:57,200 Speaker 1: a hunter. That's one of the main reasons I shed 290 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:00,080 Speaker 1: hunt a lot on ground that I can hunt and 291 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:02,560 Speaker 1: on ground that I'll never hunt. It's also one of 292 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:05,200 Speaker 1: the reasons why I'm always on the lookout for shed antlers, 293 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 1: even if my goal is just the winter scout or 294 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:10,280 Speaker 1: maybe hell, I'm rolling through a new state with a 295 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:14,240 Speaker 1: nonresident turkey tag in my pocket. Antler's teach us many things, 296 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 1: and they do help us actually kill deer. In the 297 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,320 Speaker 1: next episode of this podcast, that is the path I 298 00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:24,160 Speaker 1: plan to take, because while it hasn't happened a ton 299 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:26,160 Speaker 1: of times in my life, there have been a few 300 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:28,320 Speaker 1: times where I found an antler in a specific spot 301 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:31,880 Speaker 1: which has led me to scout and hunt that specific spot, 302 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 1: and a few times doing that has put big public 303 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:38,160 Speaker 1: land bucks on my wall, which tells me all I 304 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:40,880 Speaker 1: need to know about the value of shed antlers. So 305 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:42,960 Speaker 1: if you want to use sheds to become a better hunter, 306 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:48,440 Speaker 1: be sure to tune in next week. That's it for 307 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:50,920 Speaker 1: this show, My white tail loving brothers and sisters. I'm 308 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:53,320 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson and this has been the Wired to Hunt 309 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:57,040 Speaker 1: Foundations podcast, which is brought to you by First Light. 310 00:16:57,520 --> 00:16:59,640 Speaker 1: As I always, thank you so much for listening, and 311 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:02,680 Speaker 1: if you more white tail advice, head on over to 312 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:05,840 Speaker 1: the metator dot com slash wired and check out our 313 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:07,720 Speaker 1: Wired Hunt YouTube channel as well.