1 00:00:01,240 --> 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 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 2: Hey everyone, welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast, 7 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 2: which is brought to you by first Light. 8 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 3: I'm your host, Tony. 9 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 2: Peterson, and today's episode is all about summer scouting and 10 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 2: the mistakes we almost all make. 11 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 3: This is an easy one for me. 12 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 2: I love summer scouting, and I'm acutely aware of the 13 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:41,240 Speaker 2: ways in which I've messed it up over the years. 14 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:43,600 Speaker 2: There are a couple of different ways to summer scout. 15 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,120 Speaker 2: I'm going to cover them all along with sort of 16 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:49,559 Speaker 2: the typical pitfalls that come with each. Plus I might 17 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:51,800 Speaker 2: dive into a few more issues we create for ourselves 18 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 2: with this crucial time of year and our deer strategy. 19 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 2: So buckle up, because it's time to talk white tails. 20 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 2: There is often a disconnect between what we think something 21 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 2: is and then what it actually is. We like linear 22 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:13,040 Speaker 2: connections in our brains because we just don't have the 23 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,600 Speaker 2: mental horsepower to consider the nuance of everything all the time. 24 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:19,200 Speaker 2: When it comes to summer scouting, it used to go 25 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 2: like this, Load up a day pack with a spot 26 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:24,960 Speaker 2: or in a tripod, spray down with some mosquito repellent, 27 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 2: and then go post up somewhere to watch a hayfield 28 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 2: or a beanfield or. 29 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:29,200 Speaker 3: Some other food source. 30 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:32,320 Speaker 2: Watch a bachelor group come out of the cover, make 31 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:35,280 Speaker 2: note where they feed, set up there, kill them in 32 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 2: a month or two. Easy peasy, right Quite Today summer 33 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 2: scouting goes more like this. Load up a couple of 34 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 2: trail cameras, deploy them in the usual hotspots, build that 35 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:50,600 Speaker 2: hit list from the comfort of an air conditioned house, 36 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 2: and then go kill them sometime this fall. There are 37 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 2: a lot of ways in which we screw up summer scouting, 38 00:01:56,960 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 2: and I want to get into that, you know, the 39 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 2: nitty gritty of the whole thing. But first off, there 40 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 2: is the question of frequency and intention and efficacy of 41 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 2: summer scouting. When it comes to the last one, a 42 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 2: lot of hunters focus much of their actual hunting efforts 43 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:15,079 Speaker 2: on the pre rut and the rut, and so there's 44 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,639 Speaker 2: this disconnect between July bucks and the November bucks. We're 45 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 2: hunting that keeps them from going, you know, too deep 46 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 2: in summer scouting, and why not if you live in 47 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 2: Iowa and you have a sweet property to bohunt all 48 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 2: of November, you don't really need to go scout bachelor 49 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 2: groups in July only to watch the early October open 50 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 2: or come and go and then get ready to hunt 51 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:36,120 Speaker 2: when things start getting a little feisty. 52 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 3: In the woods. 53 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:38,520 Speaker 2: Pretty easy for a lot of us in a lot 54 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:40,760 Speaker 2: of states to look at the opening dates of our 55 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 2: deer seasons and not be able to make a strong 56 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:47,080 Speaker 2: connection to summer scouting and the likelihood that it'll have 57 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 2: us tagged out in the first few days of the season. 58 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 2: Couple that with the fact that you know, most of 59 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 2: us expect hot, buggy weather for our openers, and it's 60 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,839 Speaker 2: easy to phone it in summer scouting wise. But how 61 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:01,640 Speaker 2: effective some are scouting can be is up to us, 62 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:04,839 Speaker 2: and it's very easy to believe it won't work that well. 63 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 2: And when we believe that, we don't want to put 64 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:09,720 Speaker 2: in any effort. It's kind of like if you know 65 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:11,400 Speaker 2: you'll never get a raise at work, no matter how 66 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 2: many extra projects you could tackle or overtime hours you 67 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:18,000 Speaker 2: could put in if the precedent is set that you're 68 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 2: worth x amount of money to the C suite team, 69 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 2: you'd be a sucker to suddenly put in a ton 70 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 2: of extra effort on top of your normal duties. Now, 71 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:28,080 Speaker 2: with deer, we sort of look at this as a 72 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 2: transactional thing in a similar matter, but also with deer, 73 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 2: it's often just the difference between how we perceive the 74 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:39,960 Speaker 2: benefits of summer scouting. For example, I'm really bad at maths, 75 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 2: but here is an equation that might work. When you 76 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 2: take frequency and intention of summer scouting and increase them, 77 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 2: how effective it'll be well skyrocket or at least point 78 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:56,680 Speaker 2: up into the right. On the frequency front. There's a 79 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 2: balance to be struck. Too little and you won't learn 80 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 2: anything actionable, or you'll only learn a tiny bit that 81 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 2: you need to know, which won't influence your actions the 82 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 2: right way, or could give you a false read on 83 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:12,040 Speaker 2: the deer situation. Too much, which almost no one does, 84 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 2: and you can put the deer off long before you 85 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 2: get a chance to hunt them. Now, while most hunters 86 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 2: aren't in danger of summer scouting too much, it can 87 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:22,719 Speaker 2: be done, and I know that because I've done it 88 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:25,839 Speaker 2: many times. I'm not in danger of this now because 89 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 2: where I live, in my general life schedule, but there 90 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 2: were quite a few years of my life where if 91 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:33,559 Speaker 2: I found a bachelor group somewhere that I could hunt, 92 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:38,240 Speaker 2: I couldn't not go watch them. It's like an addiction, which, 93 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:40,040 Speaker 2: if you know me, makes a hell of a lot 94 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:43,680 Speaker 2: of sense. But those relaxed, easy to find bachelor groups 95 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 2: are only relaxed and easy to find if they don't 96 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 2: know they are constantly being monitored by one of their 97 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 2: scariest predators. And by that I don't mean me specifically, 98 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 2: by the way, but humans in general, the presence of 99 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:01,599 Speaker 2: us in their world is tolerable to some extent, but 100 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 2: when you cross that line, it gets a hell of 101 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 2: a lot tougher. Most people won't cross that line, but 102 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 2: that's also highly dependent on how much pressure the deer 103 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:11,799 Speaker 2: get where you hunt, and how small of a property 104 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:15,480 Speaker 2: you're working with. On a twenty five acre parcel, it 105 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:17,719 Speaker 2: doesn't take too much to do some damage with your 106 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:22,160 Speaker 2: summer scouting, just like with your hunting frequency in the fall. Now, 107 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:24,040 Speaker 2: if you have two hundred and fifty or twenty five 108 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:27,360 Speaker 2: hundred acres to work with, that's different. If your deer 109 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:29,960 Speaker 2: only get hunted by you, then their tolerance level will 110 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 2: be higher than if you're on public land and they 111 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:35,320 Speaker 2: get hunted by you and a revolving cast of other people. 112 00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:38,960 Speaker 2: We almost all know this on a fundamental level, which 113 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:41,680 Speaker 2: is one of the reasons trail cameras have become so popular. 114 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 2: But they've also become popular because they are fun, relatively effective, 115 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:48,880 Speaker 2: and while a hell of a lot easier than any 116 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 2: other form of scouting, they literally do the scouting for 117 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:55,279 Speaker 2: us all day long, for months, without us having to 118 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:57,160 Speaker 2: do anything more than look at our phonees or walk 119 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,160 Speaker 2: into the woods to swap out an SD card. There's 120 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:02,480 Speaker 2: a thing about that. If you have a shitload of 121 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:05,240 Speaker 2: cameras out and can saturate the woods, you can learn 122 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 2: an awful lot about your deer. That's the shotgun approach 123 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:11,359 Speaker 2: that some hunters take, but that's mostly hunters who have 124 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:13,040 Speaker 2: a lot of land to work with and not a 125 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:16,320 Speaker 2: lot of competition, because those hunters also generally have some 126 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:19,000 Speaker 2: money to work with. If you don't have that option, 127 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 2: a targeted approach to trail cameras is a better idea, 128 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:25,320 Speaker 2: especially if you use them to complement a glassing strategy 129 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:28,440 Speaker 2: or a boots on the ground strategy. This is where 130 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:31,680 Speaker 2: one of the biggest mistakes comes into play. We use 131 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:35,599 Speaker 2: one tool in the kit mostly always, but not all 132 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:38,800 Speaker 2: of them more evenly, but all of them together are 133 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:40,360 Speaker 2: what gives us the best intel. 134 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 3: Think about it this way. 135 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 2: If you want to catch a limit of walleyes this 136 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:47,000 Speaker 2: summer on whatever lake or river you live by, will 137 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 2: you go out with only slip bobbers and a couple 138 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:51,800 Speaker 2: scoops of fat head minnows? You could, and you could 139 00:06:51,839 --> 00:06:54,200 Speaker 2: catch walleyes in that setup in a hell of a 140 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 2: lot of lakes and rivers all summer long. Fish eat 141 00:06:57,279 --> 00:06:59,800 Speaker 2: fish and minnows are always on the menu. But what 142 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:01,719 Speaker 2: if there's a fish fly hatch going on and the 143 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 2: walleyes are thinking about a very seasonally limited food source, 144 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 2: or the crayfish are molting so they are nice and 145 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:10,240 Speaker 2: soft and good to eat. What if the walleyes are 146 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:13,000 Speaker 2: eating minnows like crazy, but instead of hanging around a 147 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:15,240 Speaker 2: couple of big bowlders and fifteen feet of water off 148 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 2: at some point, they are cruising the shallows, weaving in 149 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 2: and out of cabbage and other mergent vegetation. It's snacking 150 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:26,000 Speaker 2: on balls of shiners. A slow approach like a slipbubber 151 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:27,440 Speaker 2: set up just may not cut it. 152 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:29,600 Speaker 3: Most people wouldn't limit. 153 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:32,560 Speaker 2: Themselves super tightly to one sole presentation in one bait 154 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:34,960 Speaker 2: when they want a fish fry for the fourth of July, 155 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:37,520 Speaker 2: and that just makes sense. And when it comes to 156 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:41,360 Speaker 2: deer scouting, we are often very content to limit our 157 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:44,080 Speaker 2: options and then we just deal with the results later. 158 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,320 Speaker 2: I think this is where the intention part of summer 159 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:50,600 Speaker 2: scouting comes into play. What are you actually trying to 160 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:53,480 Speaker 2: learn with your efforts? If it's nothing more than some 161 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:56,040 Speaker 2: big bucks are around, and then they might be there 162 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:59,080 Speaker 2: again during the rut, that's one thing, But the rut 163 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 2: isn't so easy. And who wants to miss out on 164 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 2: the early season hunting on the off chance that things 165 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:07,119 Speaker 2: will come together later? Also, and I say this because 166 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:09,200 Speaker 2: I believe it. If you want to become a better 167 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,240 Speaker 2: hunter and kill more big bucks, you can't ignore the 168 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 2: early season. I don't care if that means the September 169 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 2: one opener where you live or a mid October opener 170 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 2: where you live. There's no denying the simple advantage of 171 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 2: deer not having been hunted for several months. I don't 172 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 2: care where you live. The dumbest deer in the woods 173 00:08:39,040 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 2: often aren't the ones that we want to find during 174 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:43,800 Speaker 2: the rut. They're the ones that we can find in 175 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 2: the first week of our season. Now, I know a 176 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:48,160 Speaker 2: lot of folks will disagree with me on that, but 177 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:49,960 Speaker 2: I also know that a lot of folks think that's 178 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 2: true about the rut, and they still don't kill mature 179 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 2: bucks done. And it's also undoubtedly true that a lot 180 00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:58,480 Speaker 2: of hunters put way more effort into their rut hunts 181 00:08:58,559 --> 00:09:00,880 Speaker 2: than the first week or so the season, So there 182 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:04,440 Speaker 2: is some sampling bias there. I know this varies a 183 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 2: lot by hunters and individual situations, but I believe it 184 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:10,000 Speaker 2: would be way easier for most of us to kill 185 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:12,840 Speaker 2: mature bucks if we put rout effort into the first 186 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:15,600 Speaker 2: week of the season, especially if that effort comes on 187 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:18,920 Speaker 2: the heels of proper summer scouting. Now here's another way 188 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 2: to look at this stuff. The more you learn about 189 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:24,160 Speaker 2: all deer, the more you can predict where they'll be 190 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:26,560 Speaker 2: when you can hunt them. So you think that the 191 00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:29,560 Speaker 2: bachelor group in July and what those deer do doesn't 192 00:09:29,559 --> 00:09:32,200 Speaker 2: relate to October hunts, for example, But what if you 193 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 2: glass those bucks from a safe distance during a heat 194 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:38,200 Speaker 2: wave and then during cold fronts throughout the summer. You'll 195 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:40,400 Speaker 2: learn a thing or two about where they enter the 196 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:43,960 Speaker 2: food during different conditions and can make an educated guess 197 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:46,600 Speaker 2: on where they might be betting, or at least how they 198 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 2: travel through the cover. You can drop a few cameras 199 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:52,400 Speaker 2: in the woods to check your work on specific trails, 200 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:56,080 Speaker 2: which is a great idea and can help you put 201 00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 2: many of the pieces together. But you say, so what, 202 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:01,920 Speaker 2: it's all change once they go hard antlerd and the 203 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 2: hunting pressure hits. That's not true, at least not entirely, 204 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:08,199 Speaker 2: and this is where a lot of people make their 205 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:11,319 Speaker 2: biggest mistakes on summer scouting. You're not going to get 206 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:13,839 Speaker 2: all the answers on deer no matter what you do. 207 00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:16,640 Speaker 2: You could glass every night for three months and run 208 00:10:16,679 --> 00:10:20,200 Speaker 2: fifty trail cameras and you'd still have an incomplete view 209 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 2: of what bucks are doing on your property. But that's 210 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:26,679 Speaker 2: not a reason to not scout. It's a reason too scout. 211 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:30,400 Speaker 2: You're looking for an edge on predicting deer movement in September, 212 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:34,600 Speaker 2: October and November, whenever you can hunt until at least 213 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 2: you'd consider the late season anyway, you want to be 214 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:39,640 Speaker 2: able to make an educated guess on where they're going 215 00:10:39,679 --> 00:10:42,959 Speaker 2: to be. And on that note, I'll say this. If 216 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:46,120 Speaker 2: you do glass, that's great. If you run some cameras, 217 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:49,760 Speaker 2: that's great. But also you need to just get out 218 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:53,000 Speaker 2: there and look around. Nothing beats boots on the ground 219 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:55,600 Speaker 2: because it puts you where the deer actually walk and 220 00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:59,000 Speaker 2: lets you take in the entirety of the situation. It's 221 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:01,840 Speaker 2: a reality check and it's the most thorough method of 222 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,640 Speaker 2: recon you can make. Now, let me frame this up 223 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:06,720 Speaker 2: the best way I can by telling you a not 224 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:12,840 Speaker 2: so secret secret about myself. I am a second guessing machine, literally, 225 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:16,920 Speaker 2: a self doubt filled fool. When I walk a field 226 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:19,320 Speaker 2: edge looking for a spot to hang a stand, I 227 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:21,720 Speaker 2: will look at one hundred and twelve different trees and 228 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:24,959 Speaker 2: consider them all, and I'll fret over every single trail 229 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:27,839 Speaker 2: that comes in the field, and I'll consider natural blinds 230 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:31,439 Speaker 2: for every wind direction. But I don't get to run 231 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:33,880 Speaker 2: through all of those options. When it's September fifteenth and 232 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:36,360 Speaker 2: the season is just oping up. I have to pick 233 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:38,840 Speaker 2: one and put my faith in it. That's a hard 234 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:42,080 Speaker 2: test for me. I need information to make that decision. 235 00:11:42,679 --> 00:11:44,920 Speaker 2: So I have to consider my access in my wind direction. 236 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:47,400 Speaker 2: I have to consider what my trail cameras have shown me, 237 00:11:47,559 --> 00:11:49,600 Speaker 2: and when my glassing has shown me. I have to 238 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:52,760 Speaker 2: ponder the tracks on the edge of the field, you know, 239 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:54,800 Speaker 2: and the ones leading into and out of the bedding 240 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 2: or staging cover. I have to make a decision with 241 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:01,080 Speaker 2: as much info as possible to try to maximize my 242 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:05,800 Speaker 2: chances of an encounter that day. Now, the reason I'm 243 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:09,440 Speaker 2: so neurotic about the choice is because the consequences of 244 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:12,320 Speaker 2: getting it wrong mean the next time I have to 245 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:16,240 Speaker 2: make that choice it'll be some order of magnitude more difficult. 246 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:20,480 Speaker 2: Most likely, my presence in that carefully scouted spot is 247 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:23,120 Speaker 2: not going to make the deer more comfortable. So there's 248 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:26,760 Speaker 2: something at stake now. I don't want this to be 249 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:29,959 Speaker 2: like overly dramatic, because we are talking about hunting rabbits 250 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,880 Speaker 2: with antlers here. It's not that important. But to me 251 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:35,199 Speaker 2: in some ways, and to you too, it kind of is. 252 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:37,920 Speaker 2: More information is always better, as long as you know 253 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:40,679 Speaker 2: how to make it coalesce into a confidence based plan. 254 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:44,439 Speaker 2: This was really hammered home to me when I started 255 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:46,960 Speaker 2: taking my daughter's deer hunting. You know, they're a limited 256 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:49,840 Speaker 2: amount of time in the field, and their limited experience 257 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:52,120 Speaker 2: being in the woods and in close proximity to white 258 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:55,079 Speaker 2: tails meant that the odds of something going wrong, or 259 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:57,439 Speaker 2: at least not enough going. 260 00:12:57,280 --> 00:12:59,320 Speaker 3: Right, they were pretty high. 261 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:02,200 Speaker 2: It helps that my daughters want to shoot any deer, 262 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:04,880 Speaker 2: which opens the aperture up quite a bit, at least 263 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:05,640 Speaker 2: more than what a lot of. 264 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:06,400 Speaker 3: Us are looking for. 265 00:13:06,640 --> 00:13:08,160 Speaker 2: But it was still a good lesson on how to 266 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:12,000 Speaker 2: approach this stuff throughout the summer. Scouting for them mattered. 267 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 2: It was important to me. I had to get it right, 268 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:17,240 Speaker 2: so it made me think about the little things. But 269 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:19,800 Speaker 2: it also made me scout whenever I could. And this 270 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 2: is the last thing I really want to touch on. 271 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:23,640 Speaker 2: In fact, I just wrote a piece about this for 272 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:25,440 Speaker 2: the Meat Eater dot com, but I think it's worth 273 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:28,360 Speaker 2: saying here too. The best way to summer scout is 274 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:30,320 Speaker 2: to think about the conditions and how they relate to 275 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:31,079 Speaker 2: your findings. 276 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:32,600 Speaker 3: This is kind of hard to do. 277 00:13:32,559 --> 00:13:34,280 Speaker 2: With trail cameras, you know, because we get a pick 278 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:36,320 Speaker 2: on our phone and think it's cool. You know, there's 279 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 2: a nice buck whatever, But we aren't out there to 280 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:41,959 Speaker 2: realize that the reason he walked by right then was 281 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,079 Speaker 2: because the wind switched to the southeast, or the mosquitoes 282 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:48,040 Speaker 2: got so bad that he decided to switch bedding areas 283 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:51,000 Speaker 2: to some grassy swale on a hilltop that catches some 284 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:53,320 Speaker 2: wind and probably isn't nearly as full of biting and 285 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:57,280 Speaker 2: buzzing insects as the wooded valley. That's more like a jungle. 286 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:01,920 Speaker 2: When we glass, we look at the forecast and we think, well, shoot, 287 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:03,880 Speaker 2: it's going to be nice and cool tonight for the 288 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:06,079 Speaker 2: first time in a week, so I'll grab the spotter 289 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:09,320 Speaker 2: and head out to watch the soybeans. That's great. But 290 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:11,520 Speaker 2: what if it's not nice and cool on opening weekend? 291 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:14,240 Speaker 2: But if it's eighty degrees and the sun is blazing away, 292 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 2: will the buck movement be the same then as it 293 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:20,720 Speaker 2: was a month earlier with vastly different conditions. Probably not. 294 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:23,360 Speaker 2: What about if it's raining a little bit, What if 295 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 2: it's prefrontal post frontel, What if it's the fifth day 296 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:28,640 Speaker 2: of a heat wave. What if you got a north 297 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:32,200 Speaker 2: wind or a south wind, whatever. The difference between scouting 298 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:36,560 Speaker 2: for fun and scouting with intention is literally between our ears. 299 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:37,840 Speaker 3: On a lot of this stuff. 300 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:41,200 Speaker 2: So not only just taking notes on when and why 301 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:43,000 Speaker 2: and what was going on when you saw the big 302 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,160 Speaker 2: one or you know you got the pick of him 303 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 2: or found that monster set of tracks on the logging 304 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:49,440 Speaker 2: road leading to the pasture with the pond in it, 305 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:52,000 Speaker 2: but also putting yourself out there when you know the 306 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:55,480 Speaker 2: weather is going to be something other than perfect. This 307 00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:58,120 Speaker 2: is the last thing, and it's honestly one of my 308 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:01,640 Speaker 2: favorite things. I love glassing. When it's raining in the 309 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:04,520 Speaker 2: summer and when it's just dead calm and a billion degrees, 310 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:06,800 Speaker 2: I know that weather is going to position deer in 311 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:10,440 Speaker 2: certain ways, and they'll show me something actionable when it 312 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:14,360 Speaker 2: gets a little uncomfortable out there. That stuff matters because 313 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:16,560 Speaker 2: you can't pick the weather on the days you can 314 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:19,840 Speaker 2: hunt usually, and if you can hunt during. 315 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:21,920 Speaker 3: The season, then you should now. 316 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 2: I also know that scouting to intentionally learn something in 317 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:27,840 Speaker 2: the summer often gives me something to use later in 318 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 2: the season if I strike out on my early season plan, 319 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:34,120 Speaker 2: which happens a lot. The buck you see approach a 320 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:36,280 Speaker 2: pond a certain way in the middle of summer, he 321 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:38,720 Speaker 2: might approach that pond in the exact same way in 322 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:41,120 Speaker 2: the end October when he started chasing a little bit 323 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:43,760 Speaker 2: and spar and he's just a little bit thirsty. Or 324 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:46,400 Speaker 2: that island of cover between the fields that only does 325 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:49,080 Speaker 2: seem to bed in during the summer. They might also 326 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:51,360 Speaker 2: bed the in the fall, and you know who might 327 00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:54,520 Speaker 2: swing in on the downwind side descent check it, or 328 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:57,320 Speaker 2: maybe cut straight through it like the deer you watched 329 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:01,520 Speaker 2: in August as they browsed around whatever it is. The 330 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:04,320 Speaker 2: more you think about what you see, or what your 331 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:06,640 Speaker 2: trail cameras show you, or the fresh tracks or the 332 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:10,240 Speaker 2: freshly browsed plants tell you, the more you understand what 333 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:13,600 Speaker 2: deer do generally, which means you can parse some of 334 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:18,520 Speaker 2: the info out and use it for specific sits. The 335 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:21,120 Speaker 2: key is to scout enough with as many tools as 336 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:23,600 Speaker 2: you can, and to do it with some level of 337 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 2: the intention and a frequency that matters. So think about 338 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:30,120 Speaker 2: that and think about coming back next week, because I'm 339 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:32,120 Speaker 2: going to talk about the hard and fast rules of 340 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:36,880 Speaker 2: deer hunting and why they are mostly bs. That's it 341 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:38,760 Speaker 2: for this week. I'm Tony Peterson. This has been the 342 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 2: Wire to Hunt Foundation's podcast, which is brought to you 343 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:44,040 Speaker 2: by First Light. Thank you so much for listening and 344 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 2: for all of your support. Everybody here at Mediator, we 345 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:49,320 Speaker 2: truly love it. We have the best audience in the world. 346 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:51,160 Speaker 2: You guys show up for us all the time, and 347 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:54,400 Speaker 2: we appreciate it like you can't even imagine. If you 348 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:56,480 Speaker 2: need some more hunting content, maybe you want to hear 349 00:16:56,480 --> 00:16:59,600 Speaker 2: some good storytelling. By Brent Reeves on This Country Life 350 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:02,560 Speaker 2: podcast asked, maybe you want to read an article about 351 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:05,120 Speaker 2: this public land debacle we have going on right now. 352 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:09,360 Speaker 2: Whatever the case may be, Dumby diator dot com has 353 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:09,800 Speaker 2: you covered. 354 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:10,520 Speaker 3: Go check it out.