1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:05,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,879 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, presented by first Light, 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. 4 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:18,600 Speaker 1: First Light, Go Farther, Stay Longer, and now your host 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 2: Hey, everyone, welcome to the Wire to Hunt Foundation's podcast, 7 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:25,279 Speaker 2: which has brought to you by first Light. I'm your host, 8 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 2: Tony Peterson, and today's episode is all about winter scouting 9 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 2: and what it really teaches. 10 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 3: Us about bluck travel. 11 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:39,519 Speaker 2: A lot of these shows come to be because I 12 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 2: talk to a lot of hunters, and of the hunters 13 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,040 Speaker 2: I talk to, there's a lot of variability and experience 14 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 2: and drive and an interest in just general knowledge. Sometimes 15 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:52,280 Speaker 2: it reminds me of what people generally don't know, or 16 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 2: reminds me that some things could use better explanations. One 17 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,240 Speaker 2: of the things that seems simple to me is winter scouting, 18 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:00,320 Speaker 2: but when I talk to most people about it, the 19 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:02,960 Speaker 2: truth is they don't even consider it or understand the 20 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 2: benefits of going out now to figure out buck travel 21 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:08,119 Speaker 2: in the fall. That's a huge mistake, and that's something 22 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 2: I'm going to talk about right now. There's a fell 23 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 2: at the gym I go to who did his time 24 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:23,520 Speaker 2: in the Navy, and now, even though he's retired from that, 25 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 2: gig still works the early shift at the pool as 26 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 2: a lifeguard. Since I see him quite a bit, we 27 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:31,120 Speaker 2: always have a little chat if he's on duty and 28 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:33,400 Speaker 2: I'm at it into the steam room after a workout. 29 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,399 Speaker 2: That's exactly what happened this morning, and he asked me 30 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 2: if I'd been off on any real adventures lately. I 31 00:01:39,319 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 2: told him the only thing I've done this month besides 32 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:43,120 Speaker 2: pheasant hunting for the first couple of days here in 33 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 2: Minnesota was a Nebraska upland trip I had to cut 34 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:48,639 Speaker 2: short when my lab hit an old barbed wire fence 35 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:50,800 Speaker 2: tucked into the grass and sent us on a mission 36 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:53,640 Speaker 2: to find an emergency event. Because of that and the 37 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 2: fact that I've spent most of the months stuck in 38 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 2: the house or watching eighth grade girls basketball in random 39 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 2: schools scattered through the Twin Cities, I'm going a little 40 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 2: stir crazy. Stir crazy enough, in fact, to impulsively plan 41 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:08,200 Speaker 2: a trip to western Minnesota to walk some public cattail 42 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 2: sleus for a few days. 43 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:11,040 Speaker 3: The mission is to figure out where. 44 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:13,079 Speaker 2: Bucks like to walk, and if I happen to find 45 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:15,760 Speaker 2: a shad antler or maybe bump into some cottontails while 46 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 2: I'm carrying my twenty gage, so be it. 47 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 3: That's two more reasons than I need to. 48 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 2: Actually go there and get away from the suburbs for 49 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:24,880 Speaker 2: a few days while trying to stave off this cabin fever. 50 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 2: When I explain this to the fell at the gym, 51 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 2: he said, you're going to go scout deer. Now, he 52 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:33,119 Speaker 2: didn't even understand the assignment. And this is someone who 53 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 2: hunts deer and has for a long time. I could 54 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:38,360 Speaker 2: see the wheels turning, and he just couldn't make the 55 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,600 Speaker 2: connection between walking some cat tail slews now and shooting 56 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 2: a buck in November. Now here's the thing about winter scouting. 57 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 2: A lot of the folks who lead the industry in 58 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,799 Speaker 2: deer content don't have to do it. It doesn't make 59 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 2: any sense if you have a lot of land and 60 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:55,800 Speaker 2: a lot of food plots, and a lot of trail 61 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:59,520 Speaker 2: cameras and not a lot of hunting competition. So much 62 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 2: of the content that's out there is built around properties 63 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 2: where winter scouting just doesn't make very much sense. Now, 64 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:09,079 Speaker 2: I always think about stuff like this and how much 65 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 2: our individual circumstances vary. And it makes me think of 66 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,359 Speaker 2: a conversation I had with an outfitter in Texas one 67 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 2: time when I was sent down there to film a 68 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:20,240 Speaker 2: show for bow Hunter TV. The stand they put me 69 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:22,919 Speaker 2: in was over a feeder and next to a pond, 70 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 2: which is a one to two punch in Texas that 71 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:27,640 Speaker 2: will produce more deer sightings in a morning than a 72 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:29,240 Speaker 2: lot of us can round up in a couple of 73 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 2: weeks on our home ground. It's also a great way 74 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,560 Speaker 2: to shoot some pigs and just generally have a Candyland 75 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 2: style hunt. But when the outfitter picked me up after 76 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:39,960 Speaker 2: my morning sit, just out a curiosity, I asked him, 77 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:43,160 Speaker 2: why do you put that set up there? Specifically, why 78 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 2: would he run a feeder in that exact spot? And 79 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 2: he looked at me like I just asked him why 80 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 2: we just can't go around petting crocodiles in the wild, 81 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 2: or why babies wear diapers when we could just let 82 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 2: them shit on the floor, you know, something really dumb anyway, 83 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 2: and his response was, Uh, we put the feeders there 84 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 2: because that's where we want to year ago. Yeah, yeah, duh, right, 85 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 2: no winter scouting needed with that plan. But if you're 86 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 2: listening to this, you might need to winter scout, and 87 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 2: you should, but you should understand what the point is first. Now, 88 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 2: on the surface, you're supposed to go out and find 89 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 2: some buck sign, remember it, and then go back to 90 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 2: that sign next year on about Halloween and then shoot 91 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:21,040 Speaker 2: a giant. 92 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:22,040 Speaker 3: Easy peasy. 93 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 2: Now, look, finding rubs and scrapes right now to use 94 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:27,279 Speaker 2: as a jumping off point for your hunts next season 95 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:28,840 Speaker 2: is never a bad idea. 96 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 3: I do that shit a lot. 97 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 2: But I've come to realize that it's not just about 98 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:35,240 Speaker 2: finding that sweet staging area or a bedding area and 99 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:38,039 Speaker 2: a spot where the cottontails might live right now, it's 100 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:41,720 Speaker 2: about mature buck travel. Scratch that, it's actually just about 101 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 2: buck travel, because it's all kind of the same thing. Now, 102 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 2: nothing piques the interest of deer hunters more than the 103 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:49,360 Speaker 2: travel strategies of big bucks. 104 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:50,240 Speaker 3: We like to. 105 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:53,159 Speaker 2: Predict locations they might show up at, which we mostly 106 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 2: get wrong because of many reasons, and that's great. But 107 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,279 Speaker 2: learning how bucks move through the woods and fields and 108 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:02,440 Speaker 2: swamps and whatever is what kills big bucks. When I 109 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:04,200 Speaker 2: head to western Minnesota to see what I can do 110 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 2: about finding a buck. Next season, I'm just gonna walk trails. 111 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 2: I'm going to look at on x a lot and 112 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:12,080 Speaker 2: try to find the spots where the travel will allow 113 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:14,479 Speaker 2: them to stay dry when the sleus are full of water, 114 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 2: and stay hidden when the cover around them might be 115 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 2: full of hunters. This is something really any white tail 116 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:23,799 Speaker 2: hunter can do and should. It's really something you should 117 00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 2: do if you hunt someplace where the hunting is well tough. 118 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:29,159 Speaker 2: I hear a lot of people in my home state 119 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:32,200 Speaker 2: of Minnesota and across the river in Wisconsin talk about 120 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:34,880 Speaker 2: how the North Country absolutely sucks to hunt because of 121 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:37,960 Speaker 2: the wolves, and they're not wrong. But the wolves aren't 122 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 2: going away, and neither are the deer. But they also 123 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:42,760 Speaker 2: aren't going to let you get away with hunting on 124 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 2: memories of times when the deer population was higher and 125 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:50,039 Speaker 2: the wolf population was lower. The same rules apply for 126 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 2: all the Deep South hunters, many of whom like to 127 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 2: tell me that their hunting is much harder than anything 128 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:56,960 Speaker 2: I've ever done, you know, which is tied to their 129 00:05:57,000 --> 00:05:59,440 Speaker 2: sense of pride that I actually really like until they 130 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 2: start talking either asked about hunting regions of the country 131 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 2: they've never been to, but a lot of them do 132 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 2: have really tough hunting, and a lot of people in 133 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 2: between them and myself and out east have tough hunting too. 134 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:13,320 Speaker 2: There's a lot of difficult hunting out there, and a 135 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:16,200 Speaker 2: lot of that tough hunting isn't because it would be 136 00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:18,720 Speaker 2: tough for someone who is really good to go there 137 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:21,120 Speaker 2: and fill some tags, but because they aren't really good 138 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:23,600 Speaker 2: at figuring out where bucks like to walk and then 139 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 2: getting in there to shoot them. And I don't mean 140 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 2: that as a slight, it's just reality. And I know 141 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:31,320 Speaker 2: this because I travel a lot, and I get to 142 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 2: enough places where I can't easily find where big ones 143 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:37,279 Speaker 2: like to travel because it's tough. But that gets easier 144 00:06:37,279 --> 00:06:40,120 Speaker 2: the more I get to winter scout certain places like 145 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:43,040 Speaker 2: the mostly barren land in western Minnesota that is pock 146 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:46,799 Speaker 2: marked with small woodlots and wet slews, where deer walk 147 00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:49,919 Speaker 2: in those spots now they will walk during the rut. 148 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:53,160 Speaker 2: Now not saying February travel is exactly the same as 149 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:56,840 Speaker 2: November travel, because it's generally not. But there are spots 150 00:06:56,880 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 2: you can find in February where the bucks are walking now, 151 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:03,360 Speaker 2: and those same spots are where those same bucks will 152 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:16,920 Speaker 2: travel in November. Let me give you an example that 153 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 2: I found pheasant hunting at the end of the season 154 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 2: here in Minnesota that I'm going. 155 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 3: To go walk in a couple of days. 156 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 2: In fact, it's a property A hunted for our second 157 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:27,600 Speaker 2: season of one week in November, where I had a 158 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 2: few dos living right around me, but never saw a buck. 159 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:32,520 Speaker 2: I also talked to a hunter who I was sharing 160 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:34,680 Speaker 2: the same woodlot with, which didn't. 161 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:35,400 Speaker 3: Help at that hunt. 162 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:38,280 Speaker 2: Now, that property is big, like nine hundred acres big, 163 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:41,240 Speaker 2: and it contains a couple of small woodlots, a huge 164 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 2: amount of cattails, and two different sleughs, and along a 165 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 2: meandering stream, and it's just surrounded by aggfields. So in September, 166 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:52,160 Speaker 2: some of the bucks in the neighborhood probably live on 167 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 2: the private land around that public because there's, you know, 168 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:58,160 Speaker 2: just enough cover everywhere. But when the crops start coming 169 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 2: out and the woods stind up a little bit, they 170 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:02,600 Speaker 2: likely move into that public it's just the best cover. 171 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:04,880 Speaker 3: And they certainly live there. 172 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 2: Now because it's by far the best geothermal cover they 173 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:11,800 Speaker 2: have available and they've needed it in the last few weeks. Now, 174 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:14,440 Speaker 2: that spot I found while looking to round out my 175 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 2: limited roosters. It's just a thin spine of ground that 176 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 2: connects two wooded ridges. It's long, probably like a third 177 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:24,480 Speaker 2: of a mile of that spine of land, with very 178 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,920 Speaker 2: few trees, and it's just not very visible. But the 179 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 2: trail through there was pounded, and I mean pounded. The 180 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,439 Speaker 2: plumb thickets along the edge of it were all rubbed up. 181 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 2: It was just one of those travel routes where you 182 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:38,080 Speaker 2: realize that if you could post up there for a 183 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:41,720 Speaker 2: week in the beginning of November, someone interesting is eventually 184 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 2: going to walk down the trail. The downside is that 185 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 2: from what I saw while following my lab through there, 186 00:08:47,559 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 2: you know that ambush options were very limited. 187 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 3: There are just very few suitable trees. 188 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:56,200 Speaker 2: And being on the ground there means being low and 189 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:59,719 Speaker 2: probably wet not ideal. So I need to figure that 190 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 2: out and I'm gonna try. I'm also going to see 191 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:05,079 Speaker 2: if there are spurs off of that trail that might 192 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:07,080 Speaker 2: allow for me to set up just off of it, 193 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:09,240 Speaker 2: or in a way where I'm not directly in their 194 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:12,000 Speaker 2: line of travel every time I hunt there. Essentially, that 195 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:15,440 Speaker 2: spine of land is one location where bucks will certainly 196 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:17,480 Speaker 2: travel during the rut. But I need to walk it 197 00:09:17,559 --> 00:09:20,480 Speaker 2: now and figure out not only how they might use it, 198 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:23,439 Speaker 2: but where I could get in and shoot them. If 199 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 2: I can hunt just walking in and seeing lots of 200 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:30,000 Speaker 2: tracks and rubs, it's great, but that doesn't put me 201 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:32,920 Speaker 2: at a huge advantage for next season. That's the thing 202 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:36,439 Speaker 2: about winter scouting. While you can get a false read now, 203 00:09:36,679 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 2: especially if you live where the winters are real and 204 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:41,600 Speaker 2: the deer going to survival mode, you could also use 205 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:43,760 Speaker 2: this time to figure out where bucks are most likely 206 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:46,079 Speaker 2: to travel during the pre rut and the rut. A 207 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:48,400 Speaker 2: simple way to think about this is to understand the 208 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:51,920 Speaker 2: value of walking a trail out now. While we off 209 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:55,079 Speaker 2: in summer scout or in season scout, and we see 210 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:57,800 Speaker 2: trails that we walk a little ways down or mostly 211 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:01,600 Speaker 2: just cross, it's not all that to walk them out when. 212 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 3: It's close to the hunting season. 213 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:05,360 Speaker 2: You're just not going to backtrack a trail off of 214 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:07,400 Speaker 2: the beanfield to where the bucks might be betting in 215 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:09,600 Speaker 2: the middle of September, because that would be a great 216 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:13,479 Speaker 2: way to ruin your chances. But in February that's exactly 217 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:16,319 Speaker 2: what you should do. This is an exercise in figuring 218 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:19,560 Speaker 2: out the why behind travel, and not just that travel 219 00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:23,960 Speaker 2: happens in certain spots. Sometimes. Think about a fence crossing. 220 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:27,240 Speaker 2: For example, You might never need to know anything more 221 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:29,520 Speaker 2: than deer like to hop across a fence in a 222 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:32,480 Speaker 2: certain spot because the barbeyre SAG's low there. 223 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:33,440 Speaker 3: That's great. 224 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:35,880 Speaker 2: But what if you find that fence crossing now and 225 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 2: you backtrack it into the cover. What if it leads 226 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 2: you to an island, a high ground in a swamp, 227 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:42,840 Speaker 2: or a little water hole tucked into the cover, or 228 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:45,400 Speaker 2: maybe just to a spot where a washout funnels them 229 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:48,880 Speaker 2: through a specific not too steep section. Now, what if 230 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:51,840 Speaker 2: that spot is good for a south wind, but the crossing, 231 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:54,520 Speaker 2: that fence crossing is only good for a west wind. 232 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:57,480 Speaker 2: Instead of being like, well, I can't hunt the crossing 233 00:10:57,480 --> 00:10:59,920 Speaker 2: because of the wind, you have a backup plan for 234 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:01,360 Speaker 2: another set of conditions. 235 00:11:01,679 --> 00:11:04,360 Speaker 3: And what if you walk that spot out and you. 236 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:06,600 Speaker 2: Find that ravine crossing and you go back there to 237 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:09,800 Speaker 2: hang a camera in July after you already hung one 238 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:12,800 Speaker 2: on the fence crossing. What if those two cameras show 239 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:15,840 Speaker 2: you that the doughs always come out first, but the 240 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:18,360 Speaker 2: bucks linger back in the thick stuff. Now you have 241 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:21,600 Speaker 2: a trail big bucks use, but you start to understand 242 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:24,199 Speaker 2: the details that allow you to target them on that 243 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:27,920 Speaker 2: trail in a specific spot when they are most vulnerable, 244 00:11:28,280 --> 00:11:30,440 Speaker 2: instead of crossing your fingers and hoping they hit that 245 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:32,480 Speaker 2: low spot on the fence when you're there, you can 246 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:35,720 Speaker 2: set yourself up so much better by just walking that 247 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:38,079 Speaker 2: trail out. A lot of times, when I do this 248 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 2: kind of thing in the winter, I'll find a trail 249 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:42,640 Speaker 2: I want to walk out that will spoke out in 250 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:45,240 Speaker 2: some sort of hub back in the cover. Now you're 251 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:48,520 Speaker 2: onto something that is really interesting, and it's generally a 252 00:11:48,559 --> 00:11:50,760 Speaker 2: matter of very little effort at a time when there 253 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:52,800 Speaker 2: isn't a hell of a lot else to do. Now, 254 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 2: this strategy works really well in spots like western Minnesota 255 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:58,400 Speaker 2: because the deer generally have to go through certain areas. 256 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:00,679 Speaker 2: But what if you hunt the big woods it's pretty flat. 257 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:03,520 Speaker 2: What if you hunt an area where the terrain just 258 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:07,080 Speaker 2: isn't going to give you easy pinch points? Again, this 259 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:09,520 Speaker 2: is a situation where winter scouting is a better idea 260 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:12,160 Speaker 2: for figuring out big buck travel than just about anything 261 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:14,680 Speaker 2: else you can do. When I get the chance, even 262 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:17,160 Speaker 2: though it might not be until March, I'm heading over 263 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:19,360 Speaker 2: to northern Wisconsin to do do this on a huge 264 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:21,839 Speaker 2: chunk of public land I started hunting last season. It's 265 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:25,240 Speaker 2: almost all timber, but there are some trout streams, you know, 266 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 2: some valleys, some hills, and some interesting terrain. What I 267 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:31,600 Speaker 2: don't know really is how the bucks use that terrain 268 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:34,000 Speaker 2: in the spots I want to hunt. And what I 269 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:37,920 Speaker 2: know about low density deer in a lot of woods 270 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:41,080 Speaker 2: is that they generally have no problem staying hidden, and 271 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 2: I generally have a hell of a time finding them. 272 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:45,920 Speaker 2: But this time of year will show me where they 273 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:48,880 Speaker 2: side hill, where they might be scratching up what's left 274 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:52,280 Speaker 2: of red oak acorns, how they cross those trout streams, 275 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:55,360 Speaker 2: and where they go once they do in that situation. 276 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:59,120 Speaker 2: When I walk out trails, I'll walk a lot, and 277 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:01,840 Speaker 2: if I find something interesting, my mind always goes to 278 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:04,600 Speaker 2: the wind over there. They are in a predator dense 279 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:07,040 Speaker 2: environment and they live in thick cover. 280 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 3: Their nose is. 281 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:12,480 Speaker 2: Their safety and they use it to travel all the time. 282 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:16,320 Speaker 2: Finding a tree to get into super easy because trees 283 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:19,000 Speaker 2: are everywhere. But finding a tree that allows me to 284 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:21,439 Speaker 2: be on the trail when they travel it while thinking 285 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:24,640 Speaker 2: they can't smell danger is another thing. And This isn't 286 00:13:24,679 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 2: just a public land strategy either. If you want to 287 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:29,560 Speaker 2: learn how to kill deer on your home farm, you 288 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:32,320 Speaker 2: need to learn how they travel on it and through it. 289 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:35,880 Speaker 2: You should ask yourself why they come from the neighbor's 290 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:38,360 Speaker 2: property at this spot, or at this time of year, 291 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:40,800 Speaker 2: or what they do when they don't come into your 292 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:43,319 Speaker 2: food plot. You'll still find plenty of time to leave 293 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:45,480 Speaker 2: a bunch of rubs one hundred yards off the clover 294 00:13:45,559 --> 00:13:48,320 Speaker 2: back in the thick stuff. To be a good deer hunter, 295 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:51,160 Speaker 2: you have to understand how to go to them and 296 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:53,480 Speaker 2: not just expect them to come to you, if. 297 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:54,240 Speaker 3: That makes any sense. 298 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 2: I think a lot of current deer hunting advice centers 299 00:13:56,760 --> 00:13:59,600 Speaker 2: on finding situations where the bucks will eventually show up. 300 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:01,400 Speaker 2: That means a lot of sits in a lot of 301 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:04,160 Speaker 2: days where they won't show up or we won't be there. 302 00:14:04,679 --> 00:14:08,000 Speaker 2: Making an honest effort to understand where they travel and 303 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:10,680 Speaker 2: why is a way to get yourself into the mindset 304 00:14:10,679 --> 00:14:13,960 Speaker 2: that you're never really out of the game, or at 305 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:16,040 Speaker 2: least you won't be out of the game nearly as 306 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 2: much as someone who has a spot or two and 307 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:21,120 Speaker 2: likes to hunt while crossing his fingers and toes. I 308 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:23,480 Speaker 2: like to try to understand why deer do what they do, 309 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:26,360 Speaker 2: and not in a general sense, but in a property 310 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:29,240 Speaker 2: specific kind of sense, because that's what I have. 311 00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:29,760 Speaker 3: To work with. 312 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:32,040 Speaker 2: And I know that even though a buck in western 313 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:34,360 Speaker 2: Minnesota isn't living in the same kind of cover as 314 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:36,840 Speaker 2: a deer in a pine desert in Georgia, they both 315 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:38,960 Speaker 2: generally want to live as long as they can and 316 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:41,880 Speaker 2: breed as many does as possible, and spend their year 317 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:45,120 Speaker 2: hydrated and not too hungry and as relaxed as possible. 318 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:47,600 Speaker 2: They do this by knowing the ground better than we 319 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:50,560 Speaker 2: ever could, because they live there and we just don't. 320 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:51,920 Speaker 3: We also walk. 321 00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:54,160 Speaker 2: Into the woods confident nothing is going to shoot us 322 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:57,200 Speaker 2: or eat us, and that means their reasons for walking 323 00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:00,320 Speaker 2: somewhere are just different from ours. They don't want us 324 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:02,280 Speaker 2: to know how they do it, But the truth is 325 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:04,960 Speaker 2: we can learn this stuff, and a really easy way 326 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:07,000 Speaker 2: to do this is by getting out now and figuring 327 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:07,720 Speaker 2: out where they. 328 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:09,640 Speaker 3: Like to walk, because they'll show you. 329 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 2: And once they do and you spend some time putting 330 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 2: in the miles, you'll realize that this isn't just a 331 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:18,520 Speaker 2: winter thing, it's a window into their habits and their 332 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:22,000 Speaker 2: thought processes on how to survive and move efficiently and 333 00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:24,720 Speaker 2: find those and not find humans who want to kill them. 334 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:27,680 Speaker 2: It's a crash course on buck behavior and you should 335 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:30,680 Speaker 2: attend if you can. You should also come back next 336 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:33,320 Speaker 2: week because I'm going to talk about e scouting and 337 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:36,000 Speaker 2: why so many of us get it wrong and kind 338 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:39,200 Speaker 2: of underutilize the tools we have available to us. Today, 339 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:43,200 Speaker 2: that's it for this week. I'm Tony Peterson. This has 340 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:46,160 Speaker 2: been the Wire to Hunt Foundations podcast, which is brought 341 00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:47,920 Speaker 2: to you by First Light. As I always, thank you 342 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:50,520 Speaker 2: so much for all of your support. If you need 343 00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:53,640 Speaker 2: some more hunting content, got a little cabin fever going 344 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:56,520 Speaker 2: on and you just need to be entertained, Maybe you're 345 00:15:56,560 --> 00:15:58,720 Speaker 2: looking for a little education, I don't know, go on 346 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:01,800 Speaker 2: over to the mediater dot com. We dropped new content 347 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:07,560 Speaker 2: literally like every day. I'm talking podcasts, films, articles, recipes, 348 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:10,880 Speaker 2: news stories on what's going on out in the world 349 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:14,400 Speaker 2: of the outdoors. Go check it out at the mediator 350 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:17,320 Speaker 2: dot com. Tons of stuff to keep you occupied this winter, 351 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:18,960 Speaker 2: and thanks again for your support.