1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:05,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, presented by first Light, 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. 4 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:18,600 Speaker 1: First Light, Go Farther, Stay Longer, and now your host 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:22,960 Speaker 2: Hey, everyone, welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast, 7 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:24,120 Speaker 2: which is brought to you by first Light. 8 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 3: I'm your host, Tony Peterson. 9 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:28,319 Speaker 2: And today's episode is all about the lockdown phase and 10 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:30,600 Speaker 2: why it's just so dang hard to kill a buck 11 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:36,479 Speaker 2: right now. Look, if you didn't kill one yet, at 12 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 2: least you fellows who aren't way down South waiting around 13 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:41,200 Speaker 2: for this rut to show up, you have your work 14 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:43,519 Speaker 2: cutout for it. But I've come to think about this 15 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 2: deer thinging kind of in a way where I try 16 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:48,520 Speaker 2: to focus on the advantages I have and what that 17 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:51,280 Speaker 2: means to my strategy. I know this might sound dumb, 18 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 2: but I think it's important and it really matters when 19 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 2: you hit the lockdown phase, where you know the feeling 20 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 2: that things could bust open any minute is just gone, 21 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:01,800 Speaker 2: and it's now a slog to try to capture a 22 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 2: little of the rut magic before the late season shows 23 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:06,520 Speaker 2: up and brings with it a whole bunch of hunting 24 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 2: that usually isn't nearly. 25 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 3: As fun as the rut. 26 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:19,039 Speaker 2: If you could go back in time to Little Rock, Arkansas, 27 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,640 Speaker 2: on May twentieth, nineteen forty two, you might be able 28 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 2: to walk into the maternity ward in the hospital down 29 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:27,200 Speaker 2: there and see the nurses roll a newborn in who 30 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 2: would eventually go by the name of Carlos Hathcock. I'm 31 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:33,400 Speaker 2: guessing a fair amount of you had a different upbringing 32 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 2: from me, but Carlos Hathcock came up in conversations in 33 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:39,759 Speaker 2: our house quite a bit, mostly because my dad spent 34 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 2: a year and a half in Vietnam and the war 35 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 2: was a thing that you were always just aware. 36 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:44,959 Speaker 3: Of with him. 37 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 2: Hathcock, who's the subject of a book called Marine Sniper, 38 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 2: which I read when I was pretty young, and I 39 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 2: highly doubt my mom had any idea what it contained, 40 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 2: because it's pretty freaking brutal, was a sniper who had 41 00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 2: a pretty unbelievable run. Hathcock was already known for his 42 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 2: marksmanship before he entered the Marine Corps, and his reputation 43 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 2: only grew from there. He had ninety three confirmed kills 44 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 2: and from his words, quite a few more unconfirmed since 45 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 2: there was no third party to verify a lot of 46 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 2: his work, such being the nature of a sniper in 47 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 2: the jungles of Southeast Asia. Hathcock is the guy known 48 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 2: for shooting an enemy sniper through his scope the enemy scope, 49 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 2: by the way, by aiming at the reflection off the lens, 50 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,079 Speaker 2: which is the kind of thing that you probably don't 51 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 2: get away with too often in your career, because it 52 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 2: means that the business end of your enemy's gun is 53 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 2: pointed in your direction and probably pretty close to heating up. 54 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 2: He's also known for shooting a female officer with a 55 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 2: penchant for torturing American Marines. A soldier has spot her 56 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 2: identified when she squatted to take a leak at like 57 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:52,320 Speaker 2: seven hundred yards, which I guess is a pretty good 58 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 2: giveaway since not a lot of male soldiers would pee 59 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 2: that way, even if they really wanted to. Another time, 60 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:01,000 Speaker 2: he accepted a mission that he he was only informed 61 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,760 Speaker 2: about after agreeing to it, where he had to crawl 62 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 2: for four days and three nights across an essentially open 63 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,639 Speaker 2: field to make a shot. He was almost stepped on 64 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 2: by the enemy, bumped face to face with a venomous 65 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:14,960 Speaker 2: snake and had a hell of a time dealing with 66 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 2: the insects that took an interest in him. But his 67 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 2: margin for error on that mission was as close to 68 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 2: zero as you can get, and any move to swat 69 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 2: away some biting ants or back off from a pissed 70 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 2: off danger rope slithering through the grass would have been 71 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,079 Speaker 2: enough to get him busted, and the Vietcong were pretty 72 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:34,520 Speaker 2: interested in his whereabouts. In fact, he had a thirty 73 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 2: thousand dollars bounty on his head, which was a lot 74 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 2: of money at the time for them to offer up 75 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:43,640 Speaker 2: for anyone. I was obsessed with that book and the 76 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:46,280 Speaker 2: stories of Hathcock when I was growing up, but it 77 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:49,560 Speaker 2: wasn't the marksmanship that mattered to me as much. I 78 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 2: felt then wrongly, I'll add that just about anyone can 79 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 2: put the crosshairs on something and make a decent shot. 80 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 2: I know now that's wrong, because I'm a pretty bad 81 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 2: rifle shot. In general, it was his patience and just 82 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 2: dedication to the mission that blew me away, and still does. 83 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 2: The ability to wait and do nothing, and wait and 84 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 2: do nothing and wait until the moment arrives, and then 85 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:15,800 Speaker 2: you have your mind and your body work the way 86 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 2: they are supposed to in order to get the job 87 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:20,919 Speaker 2: done is just so much more impressive than hitting a 88 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 2: target that you're aiming at. One is a skill that 89 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 2: can be worked on by sending hundreds of rounds down range. 90 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 2: And it's not a skill I mean to diminish. But 91 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:32,599 Speaker 2: the patient's thing is different. And while it might be 92 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 2: a hell of a stretch to compare his achievements to 93 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:37,280 Speaker 2: shooting a buck right now, I think we can pull 94 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:39,279 Speaker 2: a lot of lessons out of life if we know, 95 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:42,440 Speaker 2: you know, kind of where to look. In fact, scratch that, 96 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:44,479 Speaker 2: I think we can learn a lot about how to 97 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 2: be better at life if we not only allow ourselves 98 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 2: to look for those lessons, but to truly put them 99 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:54,680 Speaker 2: into practice. I see this constantly at hunting, and I 100 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 2: used to think that laziness, you know, amongst the general 101 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,680 Speaker 2: hunting population, is what saved the most. 102 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:03,920 Speaker 3: Deer, But I don't know. Now. I think it's impatience. 103 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:06,640 Speaker 2: Maybe they are closer together than I think, but the 104 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:10,160 Speaker 2: truth is that patience is just what gets the job done. 105 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:12,360 Speaker 2: I also think this is part of the reason why 106 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:15,160 Speaker 2: it's so common for folks to use blinds, and especially 107 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 2: box blinds to deer hunt. Now, I know there are 108 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:21,479 Speaker 2: plenty of valid reasons to use them, but it's pretty 109 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:23,839 Speaker 2: hard to argue that the most comfortable you can be, 110 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 2: you know, it's going out to the box blind with 111 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 2: a heater and while that's running and keeping your warm, 112 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 2: and your phone is charged, and you have a bag 113 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:32,680 Speaker 2: of snacks and a good view and you can move 114 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:33,960 Speaker 2: around without worry. 115 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:35,680 Speaker 3: Just comfy. 116 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:37,960 Speaker 2: You have to do what you have to do to 117 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:40,279 Speaker 2: stay out there, which is something that is maybe the 118 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:42,920 Speaker 2: most true. When the bucks go from cruising and chasing 119 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:47,000 Speaker 2: to breeding and locking down with a receptive lady, things 120 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:49,559 Speaker 2: can get very quiet out there, but the big boys 121 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:52,760 Speaker 2: are still moving and they're still looking. They just might 122 00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:56,040 Speaker 2: not move, you know, too much, or look too much 123 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:58,679 Speaker 2: for a couple of days at a time. This also 124 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:01,680 Speaker 2: means that your cameras might go cold. That means the 125 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,720 Speaker 2: electricity in the air at sunrise might just fizzle out 126 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:06,840 Speaker 2: and die by ten in the morning. When you don't 127 00:06:06,839 --> 00:06:09,600 Speaker 2: see what you expect to see. That means that the 128 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 2: hunting is harder than it just was, and hard hunting 129 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:15,520 Speaker 2: makes a strong argument to get your ass out of 130 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 2: the tree and just go do something else. But that's 131 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:21,360 Speaker 2: not a great way to kill big bucks. I recently 132 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,239 Speaker 2: bumped into these two mentalities while hunting with our Fearless 133 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:27,640 Speaker 2: Leader and his buddy in Nebraska last week. After filling 134 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 2: my tag about four minutes into the hunt, which isn't 135 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:33,719 Speaker 2: a joke, I had the pleasure or the opportunity, since 136 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:35,960 Speaker 2: a lot of it was the opposite of pleasure to 137 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:37,880 Speaker 2: figure out how to put Steve and his buddy right 138 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 2: on top of buck action. Steve's buddy, a fellow who 139 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:44,280 Speaker 2: goes by the name Pottery Pat, was very easy to handle. 140 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:48,000 Speaker 2: He wanted to hunt, has an amazing attitude, and he 141 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 2: killed a great buck after sitting dark to dark without 142 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:53,479 Speaker 2: seeing a deer, and then sitting from sunrise until about 143 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:56,520 Speaker 2: ten am, when the first year of his trip, a 144 00:06:56,560 --> 00:07:00,679 Speaker 2: really solid nine point came cruising through piled up seventy 145 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 2: yards from his blind and it was awesome. Steve, on 146 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:06,800 Speaker 2: the other hand, is like dealing with someone who has 147 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 2: extreme ADHD, a raging cocaine addiction, and an affinity for 148 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 2: the outdoors that doesn't quite extend into the world a 149 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 2: white tail bow hunting. If you want to understand what 150 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:20,080 Speaker 2: I mean by that, consider this on November fourth, the 151 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:22,120 Speaker 2: first day of our rut hunt, when I shot one 152 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 2: of the biggest bucks in my life. By the time 153 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 2: I was tagged out, he was lacing up his boots 154 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 2: to go set some traps for coyotes. The property we 155 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 2: were hunting is a working cattle ranch that seems to 156 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:36,160 Speaker 2: have a very small amount of deer using it, like, 157 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 2: way smaller than I expected when I signed up for 158 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:41,760 Speaker 2: that job. But it had some good books and enough 159 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:44,880 Speaker 2: deer to justify the time on stand in really good spots, 160 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 2: you know, usually the kind with serious pinch points next 161 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:50,360 Speaker 2: to them, since the food game is almost non existent 162 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:53,720 Speaker 2: on that ranch. Well, Steve told me beforehand he didn't 163 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 2: want to sit blind, which is tough in a county 164 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 2: with only like nine trees. So I stuck him in 165 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,240 Speaker 2: blinds when I could and stands when I could, which 166 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:04,800 Speaker 2: was all dependent on the wind. He had a rough 167 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:07,120 Speaker 2: go of it until I put him along a river 168 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 2: and eventually in a stand that was just the kind 169 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,200 Speaker 2: of place where one eventually will come in and pose up, 170 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:16,640 Speaker 2: which happened. And I'll tell you what if you ever 171 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 2: have to guide your boss to a deer, And he's 172 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 2: the kind of guy who mostly wants to go run 173 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:24,040 Speaker 2: coyote traps. You will have a stressful week. I literally, 174 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:27,280 Speaker 2: and I'm not joking here either, almost passed out from 175 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:29,640 Speaker 2: relief when we walked up on the buck that he shot. 176 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 3: That's another story. 177 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:44,760 Speaker 2: The lesson in all of this was that we can 178 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:48,400 Speaker 2: fight ourselves to do what we want to do, or 179 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:50,959 Speaker 2: we can accept the mission for what it is and 180 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:53,680 Speaker 2: put in what we have to in order to be 181 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:57,640 Speaker 2: there when a buck walks through. That's about it, my friends. 182 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:00,480 Speaker 2: And even though I want all of you to buy 183 00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:03,440 Speaker 2: lots of calls and decoys and other hunting stuff, the 184 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:04,920 Speaker 2: truth is that if you want to be the kind 185 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:08,480 Speaker 2: of person who fills tags when most won't, that lesson 186 00:09:08,559 --> 00:09:11,400 Speaker 2: is just it. You have to find it in yourself 187 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:14,240 Speaker 2: to sit through the second guessing, sit through the days 188 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:16,800 Speaker 2: when the deer just don't cooperate. You have to believe 189 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:20,439 Speaker 2: in the process because it works. Now, this might sound 190 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:23,400 Speaker 2: like some kind of motivational speech type of bullshit, but 191 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:27,120 Speaker 2: it's not. I believe it big time because I've put 192 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 2: it into practice a whole bunch. In fact, as I 193 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 2: say these words, I'm mostly thinking about how the hell 194 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:33,720 Speaker 2: I'm going to get my truck loaded and head on 195 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:36,679 Speaker 2: over to northern Wisconsin to hunt the lockdown phase in 196 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:39,440 Speaker 2: a place where the wolves way out number the bucks. 197 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:42,120 Speaker 2: I probably won't see more than a couple of deer 198 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 2: in multiple days of hunting, but I believe a buck 199 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:47,720 Speaker 2: will show up eventually, and so it'll be dark to 200 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:50,800 Speaker 2: dark for as many days as I can get. That's 201 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:53,199 Speaker 2: my best shot over there, and it's the best shot 202 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:57,400 Speaker 2: in most places we hunt now. Dark to dark often sucks, 203 00:09:57,640 --> 00:09:59,960 Speaker 2: and it only gets worse when the action dies down. 204 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:04,320 Speaker 2: It's also not always a great idea. When we were 205 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 2: in Nebraska, we had a whole bunch of days when 206 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:08,000 Speaker 2: the wind would be out of the north in the 207 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:10,800 Speaker 2: morning and then out of the south in the afternoon. 208 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 2: We had to switch spots midday, which is, you know, 209 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:15,840 Speaker 2: a good excuse to get out and get a sandwich 210 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:18,480 Speaker 2: and just recharge a bit. But that's where the danger 211 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:21,080 Speaker 2: comes creeping in, because if you have to get out, 212 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:23,880 Speaker 2: why not take a little snooze, or go watch a 213 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:27,280 Speaker 2: couple quarters of football, or I don't know, staple your 214 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:30,320 Speaker 2: apple bag to the wall. Really anything more enjoyable than 215 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:34,120 Speaker 2: watching the dead Woods for hours on end. We all 216 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:36,679 Speaker 2: know this, though, the more hours you put in, the 217 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:40,559 Speaker 2: higher likelihood you'll have of an encounter. It's just simple math, 218 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:44,199 Speaker 2: but there is an intangible to it as well. The 219 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:47,640 Speaker 2: more you don't walk around, even if you have really 220 00:10:47,679 --> 00:10:51,880 Speaker 2: good access routes, the less impact you'll have on a location. 221 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:56,120 Speaker 2: And that stuff matters, my friends a lot. The more 222 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:59,000 Speaker 2: you enter and exit the woods, the more the deer 223 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,239 Speaker 2: know what you're up to. Then you have the reality 224 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:05,640 Speaker 2: of what stand to sit or whether you should go 225 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:09,120 Speaker 2: looking for a new spot. The two stands and the 226 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:12,240 Speaker 2: one blind that we killed from in Nebraska were all 227 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:16,120 Speaker 2: set up on really, really good funnels. They're the kind 228 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:18,120 Speaker 2: of spots where when the wind is good for you, 229 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 2: it's good for the bucks to go sniffing around, and 230 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:23,640 Speaker 2: when they do, they hit certain parts of the train 231 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:27,120 Speaker 2: that just force them to go down very specific trails. 232 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:31,080 Speaker 2: Look again, we all know this, but do we live it. 233 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:33,920 Speaker 2: How many of us rode out the rut hours on 234 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:36,720 Speaker 2: field edge stands or other openings on the hope that 235 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 2: we'll see something and maybe be able to call it. 236 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:43,360 Speaker 2: In this time of year, the deer know what's up, 237 00:11:43,679 --> 00:11:46,560 Speaker 2: and even on private ground, the deer have yet to 238 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:49,439 Speaker 2: be more pressure than they are right now at this 239 00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:55,120 Speaker 2: point of the season, because everyone hunts the rut, literally everyone, 240 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 2: which means that if you're sitting on a tag now, 241 00:11:57,880 --> 00:11:59,839 Speaker 2: you should be probably sitting in. 242 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:01,920 Speaker 3: The field edge. 243 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:05,840 Speaker 2: Stuff can produce, but it probably won't, and it certainly 244 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:09,400 Speaker 2: isn't likely to produce all day. You know that food 245 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:11,480 Speaker 2: plot you love to sit on won't either, because it's 246 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:12,480 Speaker 2: been hunted a lot. 247 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:13,400 Speaker 3: Now. 248 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:15,600 Speaker 2: I know, if you're hunting a bang and property that 249 00:12:15,679 --> 00:12:17,560 Speaker 2: might not be the case, but for most of us 250 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:21,400 Speaker 2: that should just be accepted as largely the truth. If 251 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:23,440 Speaker 2: you have a pinch point and the wind is right, 252 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:26,400 Speaker 2: that's about as good as you're going to get. But 253 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:29,400 Speaker 2: what if you don't. When I head to Wisconsin, That's 254 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:32,080 Speaker 2: what I'm going to be dealing with. What's worse is 255 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 2: that we are supposed to get south winds, which doesn't 256 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:35,880 Speaker 2: do me very much good for some of the stuff 257 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:37,839 Speaker 2: that I usually like to hunt. So I'm gonna have 258 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:40,119 Speaker 2: to go looking or try my best to get downwind 259 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:42,000 Speaker 2: of what I suspect our doe betting areas. 260 00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:44,199 Speaker 3: This is the thing about this stuff. 261 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:47,320 Speaker 2: What we want out of our hunts, like we see 262 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:50,640 Speaker 2: on Instagram and the hook and bullet channels is basically 263 00:12:50,679 --> 00:12:53,840 Speaker 2: a false read of most of deer hunting. That one 264 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:56,160 Speaker 2: eight walking across the field Nebraska as it might as 265 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:58,520 Speaker 2: well be a different species of deer because they aren't 266 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:01,200 Speaker 2: available to you, My friend, the deer you have to 267 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:05,440 Speaker 2: hunt have been hunted. They're exhausted from the rut, they're 268 00:13:05,559 --> 00:13:08,240 Speaker 2: weary from how much of the season has passed, and 269 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:12,480 Speaker 2: they aren't much into risk at this point. But remember 270 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:15,200 Speaker 2: when I said in the intro about recognizing advantages and 271 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 2: using them, Well, the advantage you have now is that 272 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:22,040 Speaker 2: the biggest bucks are out there, still moving. They're still 273 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:24,120 Speaker 2: trying to capture the magic of the rut, just like 274 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:28,640 Speaker 2: you are. The lockdown phase is a time of limited 275 00:13:28,679 --> 00:13:31,800 Speaker 2: resources for the deer. When it comes to finding hot dos, 276 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:35,400 Speaker 2: they have to go look for them, and sure, when 277 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:37,520 Speaker 2: they find one, they're going to sit with her for 278 00:13:37,559 --> 00:13:39,720 Speaker 2: a couple of days. But when she's had enough of 279 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:42,400 Speaker 2: his company, he's going to go look for another one. 280 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:44,920 Speaker 2: And where he is going to look for her at 281 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 2: least throughout the day is where she might be laying 282 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:51,080 Speaker 2: down with a couple of her sisters. Now, I have 283 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:54,760 Speaker 2: absolutely been floored the last several years on the caliber 284 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:57,360 Speaker 2: of bucks that walk by my cameras during the lockdown period. 285 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:01,800 Speaker 2: Even though the frequency isn't super encouraging, but it is 286 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:04,360 Speaker 2: encouraging enough to believe that if you can string together 287 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:06,760 Speaker 2: a handful of days, or you can muster up the 288 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:09,520 Speaker 2: will to sit whenever you have a block of hours 289 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:12,560 Speaker 2: to work with, you have a chance to have something 290 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:16,000 Speaker 2: come through. I know it's somewhat bleak, but it's not 291 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:18,600 Speaker 2: without hope, which I guess is a pretty good way 292 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:22,040 Speaker 2: to describe hunting a lot of stuff, and especially describe 293 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:25,360 Speaker 2: bowhunting white tails. Another way to look at this is 294 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,200 Speaker 2: that the days are crazy short now, but since you 295 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:30,160 Speaker 2: know that a few bucks are likely to walk around 296 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:32,760 Speaker 2: in daylight, the odds of you being there are pretty 297 00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:35,760 Speaker 2: good since the windows so condensed. Maybe that's just a 298 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 2: mental trick, but sitting dark to dark for only like 299 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:41,800 Speaker 2: eleven hours isn't the worst thing ever. I mean, we 300 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:43,640 Speaker 2: go to work and sit for a long time, and 301 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 2: that's generally always worse than sitting in a tree stand. 302 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 2: To overcome the lockdown, you need one last ingredient. 303 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:52,359 Speaker 3: Confidence. 304 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:55,040 Speaker 2: This is a chicken or the egg thing, though, because 305 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 2: you won't get a lot of confidence if it doesn't 306 00:14:56,880 --> 00:15:00,400 Speaker 2: work out, you can cheat this somewhat with trail cameras, 307 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:02,800 Speaker 2: but the truth is you gotta get out there and 308 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:05,320 Speaker 2: you got to punch in on the clock. It can 309 00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:08,680 Speaker 2: be really rough. But man, when it's like noon and 310 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:10,880 Speaker 2: you for sure hear a deer coming and it has 311 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:13,520 Speaker 2: that slow and steady gait of a deer that probably 312 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:17,400 Speaker 2: has antlers, it's a whole different thing that might not 313 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:19,520 Speaker 2: happen until you're on your third or fourth day and 314 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:21,440 Speaker 2: you're thinking long and hard about a lot of the 315 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:24,720 Speaker 2: stuff that you could be doing that doesn't involve staring 316 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:28,720 Speaker 2: through leafless trees while contemplating taking up golfer fencing. But 317 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:31,760 Speaker 2: it will happen if you play it right. Believe that, 318 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:35,160 Speaker 2: because if you don't, you won't be out there to 319 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:37,520 Speaker 2: see it come to fruition. So get out there and 320 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:39,840 Speaker 2: grab what's left of the rut. Make the most of it, 321 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:42,600 Speaker 2: my friends, there's still time to witness a little of 322 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:45,480 Speaker 2: that November magic before the whole thing comes to a 323 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:50,080 Speaker 2: sad but slightly welcome end. Do that and come back 324 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:51,760 Speaker 2: next week, because I'm going to talk about why we 325 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:54,200 Speaker 2: fail as gun hunters and what we can do to 326 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:57,320 Speaker 2: be a little different from our blaze orange clad brothers 327 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 2: and sisters. That's it for this week. I'm Tony Peterson 328 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:03,800 Speaker 2: and this has been the Wire to Hunt Foundation's podcast. 329 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:06,080 Speaker 2: I want to thank you so much for listening and 330 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:09,320 Speaker 2: for all your support. It's been truly awesome, you know, 331 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:11,920 Speaker 2: working here at meat Eater and seeing how loyal our 332 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 2: audience is and how engaged they are. That's you, guys, 333 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:18,120 Speaker 2: So thank you for that. If you need more hunting content, 334 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:20,440 Speaker 2: or maybe you just need something to entertain yourself a 335 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:23,560 Speaker 2: little bit like a different podcast from mine, go to 336 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:27,320 Speaker 2: the meeteater dot com. Check out clay Is Beargrease podcast. 337 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:29,360 Speaker 2: Maybe listen to meet Eater Trivia and see where you 338 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:30,479 Speaker 2: stack up against. 339 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:31,320 Speaker 3: The crew whatever. 340 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:37,800 Speaker 2: Tons of new podcasts, new hunting films, short films, how 341 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:42,960 Speaker 2: to stuff, white tail, edu articles, recipes. We put up 342 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:46,680 Speaker 2: new content every single day at that site, The mediator 343 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:47,760 Speaker 2: dot com. Go check it out.