1
00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:05,720
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide

2
00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:10,799
Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, and now your host,

3
00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:15,000
Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. Hey, everybody, welcome to the Wire to Hunt

4
00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,280
Speaker 1: Foundations podcast, which is brought to you by First Light.

5
00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:20,960
Speaker 1: Today's episode is all about watching the memory reel from

6
00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:39,839
Speaker 1: last season to make goals for the upcoming year. I

7
00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:43,280
Speaker 1: love bow hunting for all kinds of critters. Western bow

8
00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:46,159
Speaker 1: hunting is some of my favorite kind of hunting to do,

9
00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:48,520
Speaker 1: and while there are plenty of differences between I don't

10
00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:51,159
Speaker 1: know hunting elk and hunting white tails, the one that

11
00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:53,720
Speaker 1: I disliked the most is that a lot of western

12
00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:56,640
Speaker 1: bow hunting is not really a year round thing. Now

13
00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:59,320
Speaker 1: you've got the fitness aspect and you've got shooting, of course,

14
00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:03,279
Speaker 1: but it's far as like dedicated hunting activities. It's much

15
00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:05,520
Speaker 1: more kind of in the moment than deer hunting is.

16
00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,280
Speaker 1: Because white tails, on the other hand, that can be

17
00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:10,440
Speaker 1: like a year round obsession that allows you to do

18
00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:13,840
Speaker 1: something every week in order to be more successful this

19
00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:17,080
Speaker 1: coming season. This is something we should all acknowledge as

20
00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:19,880
Speaker 1: our season's closed and we reflect on last year and

21
00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:21,880
Speaker 1: start to think about what we want out of this year,

22
00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:37,120
Speaker 1: which is the entire crux of this week's show. For

23
00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:40,760
Speaker 1: a lot of us, the dear season is over. For others,

24
00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:44,520
Speaker 1: it's circling the drain and we'll wrap up soon enough. Now.

25
00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:47,000
Speaker 1: I know for many of you this is a sad time.

26
00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:50,680
Speaker 1: It's going to be like months, nine months, something like

27
00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:54,360
Speaker 1: that before you can hunt again. For others, it's probably

28
00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:58,120
Speaker 1: somewhat of a relief. To me, it's a lot of both.

29
00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:01,120
Speaker 1: If you're doing things correctly, you've probably put a lot

30
00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:03,640
Speaker 1: of work into your white tail season, and work is

31
00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:06,560
Speaker 1: usually not that much fun. It is rewarding, which is

32
00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:11,359
Speaker 1: super important, but fun not so much. Having a break

33
00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:14,400
Speaker 1: from that work and the early alarms, it's something that

34
00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:17,760
Speaker 1: can provide some relief. I used to feel guilty about

35
00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:20,080
Speaker 1: feeling that way, but I don't anymore. It's kind of

36
00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:21,720
Speaker 1: like what my wife wants to go off for a

37
00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:24,520
Speaker 1: girl's weekend somewhere and drink Margarite's with her friends and

38
00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:27,120
Speaker 1: have pillow fights or whatever they do. I love her

39
00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:28,960
Speaker 1: and all that jazz, but I'm not sad to see

40
00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:31,400
Speaker 1: those tail lights heading down the street, knowing I've got

41
00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:35,400
Speaker 1: a weekend to myself. With deer season, that relief that

42
00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,639
Speaker 1: it's over is mixed heavily with sadness that it is

43
00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:42,639
Speaker 1: indeed over. When you get to a certain age, you

44
00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:46,560
Speaker 1: become real cognizant of passing time. I think this might

45
00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:48,880
Speaker 1: happen to all of us, but it certainly happens when

46
00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:52,240
Speaker 1: you have kids. They're just constant reminders that time is

47
00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:55,200
Speaker 1: flying by and there's nothing you can do about it.

48
00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:58,400
Speaker 1: What that means to all of us is that the

49
00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:02,240
Speaker 1: amount of deer seasons we have left is a finite resource.

50
00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:05,120
Speaker 1: There might be many, or there might be a few,

51
00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:07,680
Speaker 1: and we will never know how many we are dealing

52
00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:11,079
Speaker 1: with until it's too late. If you can't tell. So far,

53
00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:14,280
Speaker 1: this isn't the most upbeat Foundations episode, but it'll get cheerier,

54
00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:17,480
Speaker 1: I promise. But for now, I want all of us

55
00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:20,519
Speaker 1: to recognize the true gift that we have with deer hunting.

56
00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,120
Speaker 1: While many folks are weekend warriors whose life wouldn't be

57
00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:26,880
Speaker 1: greatly affected if the white tail ceased to exist tomorrow,

58
00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:30,800
Speaker 1: that's probably not you. It's definitely not me. This stuff

59
00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:33,840
Speaker 1: is important to us, and there's something about being wired

60
00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:37,640
Speaker 1: for it kind of just changes your perspective it should

61
00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:40,960
Speaker 1: also prompt each of us to look at deer hunting

62
00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:43,520
Speaker 1: for what it is, for what it means to us,

63
00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:46,240
Speaker 1: and for how we can make next season even more

64
00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:49,840
Speaker 1: enjoyable than the past season was. That's what I really

65
00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:52,000
Speaker 1: want to drive home with this episode. To be honest,

66
00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:54,840
Speaker 1: this is because there's something that a lot of us

67
00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:58,320
Speaker 1: do in the immediate aftermath of the hunting season. We

68
00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:01,360
Speaker 1: think back to the successes and the failures of the season,

69
00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:04,040
Speaker 1: and we fall in love with the idea of doing

70
00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:07,480
Speaker 1: something different next year. We think things like I'm gonna

71
00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:10,600
Speaker 1: scout more, I'm gonna shoot my bowl a lot more,

72
00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:12,640
Speaker 1: I'm going to figure out what the big deal is

73
00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:15,960
Speaker 1: about tree saddle so that can be truly mobile. But

74
00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:18,680
Speaker 1: then we get sucked into seasonal depression as winner hangs

75
00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:21,880
Speaker 1: over us without a few weeks or months passed by,

76
00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:24,599
Speaker 1: and then we focus on the upcoming fishing opportunities and

77
00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:27,200
Speaker 1: maybe when the turkeys will be gobbling. In short, we

78
00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:29,880
Speaker 1: kind of just forget. It's kind of like when you

79
00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:31,520
Speaker 1: get tore up from the floor up as a younger

80
00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,480
Speaker 1: person or hell, at whatever age, and the room is

81
00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:36,839
Speaker 1: spinning and your late night taco bell splurge is threatening

82
00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:39,840
Speaker 1: to make a violent escape from your body. When you say, hey, God,

83
00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:42,240
Speaker 1: it's me again. If you can keep me from dying,

84
00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:45,640
Speaker 1: I promised to never do this again. In the following morning,

85
00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:47,440
Speaker 1: you dig in your heels even more as you pray

86
00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:49,840
Speaker 1: for a merciful death, and you say to yourself, there's

87
00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:52,920
Speaker 1: not a chance that this ship happens again. But guess what.

88
00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:57,080
Speaker 1: The misery fades and we forget and suddenly at someone's

89
00:04:57,120 --> 00:04:59,920
Speaker 1: birthday or whatever, and bam, you're hollering at your d

90
00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:02,000
Speaker 1: D in the drive through that you want extra hot

91
00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:06,359
Speaker 1: sauce with your cholupa. We are masters at falling in

92
00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:10,040
Speaker 1: love with ideas but then reverting to our old patterns

93
00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:14,159
Speaker 1: and behaviors. We do this in our relationships, We do

94
00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:17,720
Speaker 1: this with our jobs, with tequila on random Saturday nights,

95
00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:20,440
Speaker 1: we do it with fad diets and workouts, and we

96
00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:23,400
Speaker 1: definitely do it with deer hunting. When it comes to

97
00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,320
Speaker 1: the ladder, the best thing you can do is take

98
00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:29,760
Speaker 1: a deep dive in your recent deer hunting season and

99
00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:32,680
Speaker 1: make a realistic plan to change things up for the

100
00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,600
Speaker 1: coming year. Now, I'll give you a few examples from

101
00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:38,760
Speaker 1: my life where I've gone into deep reflection mode and

102
00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:41,520
Speaker 1: come out the other side of better hunter. The first

103
00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:44,440
Speaker 1: and one of the biggest things that happened to me

104
00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:48,400
Speaker 1: involved shooting. I always think back to the shots I

105
00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:51,880
Speaker 1: took throughout the season. How many worked out perfectly? I mean,

106
00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:54,400
Speaker 1: how many went right through the lungs or the heart

107
00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:58,400
Speaker 1: and did exactly what I always hope happens. How many didn't?

108
00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,120
Speaker 1: Were there any guts shots? Were there any shoulder shots?

109
00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:06,320
Speaker 1: How about flat out misses? How did any of those happen?

110
00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:10,480
Speaker 1: This exercise over the years has really forced me into

111
00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:13,880
Speaker 1: a specific spot as a white tail bull hunter. I

112
00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:18,559
Speaker 1: freaking hate missing dear and I really really hate making

113
00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:21,440
Speaker 1: bad shots on deer. I don't want it to happen,

114
00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:24,640
Speaker 1: but I know will. So every year I think about

115
00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:26,600
Speaker 1: my recent track record and I try to figure out

116
00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:30,640
Speaker 1: what went wrong. Did I rush my shots? Like last

117
00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:34,560
Speaker 1: season I missed a nice eight pointer in Wisconsin, absolutely

118
00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:38,560
Speaker 1: rushed it, no question. I know that I'm not going

119
00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:43,479
Speaker 1: to do that again, I swear, Or maybe some other time,

120
00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:45,960
Speaker 1: did I talk myself into shooting through a little bit

121
00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:49,679
Speaker 1: too much brush? Were the deer alert or farther away

122
00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:52,479
Speaker 1: than I should have been shooting? Was it just bad

123
00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:57,479
Speaker 1: marksmanship or bad shots selection. Whatever the answer is or

124
00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:01,960
Speaker 1: the answers are, I'm gonna vout to do better. This

125
00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:04,200
Speaker 1: will come in two parts, which I'll get into later

126
00:07:04,279 --> 00:07:06,880
Speaker 1: this spring, but really boils down to quality practice with

127
00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:10,400
Speaker 1: top notch equipment and shot selection, which doesn't come into

128
00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:14,400
Speaker 1: play until this season. And shooting is a important one.

129
00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:17,440
Speaker 1: This is because you can largely control it by your

130
00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,520
Speaker 1: off season actions. If I sound like I'm beating a

131
00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:22,920
Speaker 1: dead horse here, let me tell you a little bit

132
00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:24,920
Speaker 1: about the season I had in two thousand and eight.

133
00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:28,920
Speaker 1: It was my first year as a freelance writer, right

134
00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:31,240
Speaker 1: after I got fired from Peterson's Bow Hunting along with

135
00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:36,040
Speaker 1: the company's staff, so I was starving. I also felt

136
00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,320
Speaker 1: an immense pressure to kill a big bucker three to

137
00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:41,320
Speaker 1: not only have something to write about, which is how

138
00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:44,200
Speaker 1: I got paid, but to also prove that I belonged

139
00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,160
Speaker 1: in that role, because I definitely didn't believe that was true.

140
00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:50,720
Speaker 1: I started this season out on a high note, killing

141
00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,840
Speaker 1: a public land spot and stock antelope on my first

142
00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:56,640
Speaker 1: stock of the season. The shot on that speed goat

143
00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:58,720
Speaker 1: was the farthest I've ever taken on a game animal,

144
00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:01,960
Speaker 1: and about twice as are as I'm confident to shoot today.

145
00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:05,120
Speaker 1: But then I shot a lot, and I mean a lot,

146
00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:10,640
Speaker 1: and I was confident until I wasn't. Then things went south.

147
00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:13,520
Speaker 1: Then I couldn't hit a deer to save my life,

148
00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:16,960
Speaker 1: and then when I did, I hit them poorly. I

149
00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:20,440
Speaker 1: was unraveling at the seams. And the final straw was

150
00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:23,520
Speaker 1: a brute of a hundred and thirty class Northern Minnesota

151
00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:27,480
Speaker 1: buck that posed up perfectly for me, and I still

152
00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:31,000
Speaker 1: shoulder shot him after putting in a ridiculous amount of

153
00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:34,600
Speaker 1: stand time. It was my worst season ever, and it

154
00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:37,520
Speaker 1: prompted me to take a long look at my entire

155
00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:41,479
Speaker 1: bow set up, as well as my practice style, my consistency,

156
00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:46,160
Speaker 1: my overall regiment, and my attitude. I vowed after that

157
00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:50,120
Speaker 1: season to change a lot, and it largely worked to

158
00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:52,920
Speaker 1: dig me out of my shooting hole, although I definitely

159
00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:55,199
Speaker 1: fall back into it once in a while. Now, why

160
00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:58,800
Speaker 1: do I tell you this, It's just a cautionary tale.

161
00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:01,800
Speaker 1: Think about your shot on deer last season and be

162
00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:04,840
Speaker 1: really honest about them. If you feel that something needs

163
00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:08,320
Speaker 1: to change, then it does and you should plan for that.

164
00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:10,880
Speaker 1: I also try to take a deep dive in the

165
00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:14,120
Speaker 1: other moments when I was really frustrated throughout the season.

166
00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:17,600
Speaker 1: One particular memory from this past season was when I

167
00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:20,120
Speaker 1: got to a spot I absolutely love in North Dakota,

168
00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:23,600
Speaker 1: to glass a big old public river bottom after an

169
00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:26,160
Speaker 1: evening in a morning session on the spot or I

170
00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:28,400
Speaker 1: realized that those late September bucks were not going to

171
00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:33,160
Speaker 1: do what I expected. They were pressured, really pressured, and

172
00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:35,720
Speaker 1: they weren't about to go into the open during daylight hours.

173
00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:39,080
Speaker 1: The game had changed from previous years, and as much

174
00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:41,760
Speaker 1: as I tried to push a dead program, I knew

175
00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:44,640
Speaker 1: I'd have to change too. I also knew I'd have

176
00:09:44,679 --> 00:09:46,880
Speaker 1: to lower my standards if I wanted any venison for

177
00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:49,719
Speaker 1: my efforts. And while I did get one really good

178
00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:52,560
Speaker 1: opportunity at a solid buck, the only buck that I

179
00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:54,800
Speaker 1: felt I had a real chance with, I got beat

180
00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:57,960
Speaker 1: by the thermals, and this no bullshit knows. It was

181
00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:00,200
Speaker 1: frustrating to believe I only had one deer to work

182
00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:03,320
Speaker 1: with and he busted me. I ended up shooting a dough,

183
00:10:03,559 --> 00:10:05,440
Speaker 1: which at that time felt kind of like a letdown,

184
00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:08,920
Speaker 1: but now it feels like something different. I'd rather have

185
00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:12,160
Speaker 1: that experience and that meet in my freezer than not.

186
00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:16,400
Speaker 1: What that initial frustration taught me, or I should say,

187
00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:21,000
Speaker 1: reminded me of, is that hunting is always changing, at

188
00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:22,760
Speaker 1: least for those of us who don't on a thousand

189
00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:26,720
Speaker 1: acres in southern Iowa, it's always changing. While I expected

190
00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:29,560
Speaker 1: a similar hunt to years past because that's what I wanted,

191
00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:32,360
Speaker 1: it's not what I got. I did get a hell

192
00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:34,959
Speaker 1: of a lot more challenge, and I did get forced

193
00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:37,480
Speaker 1: into hunting where I didn't expect to, both of which

194
00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:39,400
Speaker 1: were actually good things, even though they didn't feel like

195
00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:42,440
Speaker 1: it at the time. But what's even better is the

196
00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:44,920
Speaker 1: deer hunting lesson about how ship is going to go wrong,

197
00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:47,280
Speaker 1: and you've got to deal with it in real time.

198
00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:50,800
Speaker 1: There's no way around it. And the more you accept that,

199
00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:53,320
Speaker 1: the easier the whole thing gets. You just got to

200
00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:56,240
Speaker 1: deal with that stuff. Think back to your last season.

201
00:10:56,920 --> 00:10:59,960
Speaker 1: What really frustrated you, was it, I don't know, bumping

202
00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:02,960
Speaker 1: into other hunters. If so, could you have worked harder

203
00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,800
Speaker 1: to get away from them? Could you have researched different

204
00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:09,560
Speaker 1: access points or employed different access options like maybe a

205
00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:12,600
Speaker 1: kayak or an ebike or something. Did you do enough

206
00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:15,120
Speaker 1: to get away from people or did you end up

207
00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:18,760
Speaker 1: only hunting weekends out of choice or necessity. Can you

208
00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:21,240
Speaker 1: start laying the ground work now at your job or

209
00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:24,640
Speaker 1: at home to remedy that for the upcoming season? Or

210
00:11:24,679 --> 00:11:26,559
Speaker 1: maybe I don't know, did you have a long string

211
00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:29,199
Speaker 1: of unproductive sits have had? This happened to me in

212
00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:32,600
Speaker 1: northern Wisconsin, and it sucks. I've gone three weeks over

213
00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:35,040
Speaker 1: there in the big woods without seeing any dear, and

214
00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:39,760
Speaker 1: now my friends leaves a mark. It's also largely avoidable

215
00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:42,080
Speaker 1: if you're willing to do some in season scouting and

216
00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:45,600
Speaker 1: keep looking for fresh activity. Did you do that or

217
00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:48,520
Speaker 1: did you default to your favorite stands because they're convenient?

218
00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:51,560
Speaker 1: Did you just kind of get sick of hunting the

219
00:11:51,559 --> 00:11:54,520
Speaker 1: same ground? That happens a lot. And the cure is

220
00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:56,760
Speaker 1: something I've preached about on here a million times, which

221
00:11:56,840 --> 00:12:00,120
Speaker 1: is find more ground. You can make that plan right now,

222
00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:03,120
Speaker 1: and if you stick to it, you'll never ever regret it.

223
00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:06,680
Speaker 1: This is the time to try when it comes to

224
00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:09,760
Speaker 1: securing new hunting spots. You gotta try to find those

225
00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:13,040
Speaker 1: spots now. If you've never hunted public land, go check

226
00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:16,600
Speaker 1: some out. It's a low risk, low reward proposition right now.

227
00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:19,240
Speaker 1: But you might turn something up. If you can't stand

228
00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:21,440
Speaker 1: that idea, and I know a lot of people can't,

229
00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:24,520
Speaker 1: you'd better start tapping your network for connections to more

230
00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:28,160
Speaker 1: deer ground, or maybe start researching some leases, however you

231
00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:30,839
Speaker 1: go about it. If your frustrations from last year stem

232
00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:33,600
Speaker 1: from not having enough ground, you know what your job

233
00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:37,480
Speaker 1: is during the next nine months. Or maybe I don't know.

234
00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:40,160
Speaker 1: Did you have some serious fomo after you checked out

235
00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:42,880
Speaker 1: Kenyan's instagram and saw him hunting all over the country

236
00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:45,040
Speaker 1: while you were stuck on your gramma's farm for the

237
00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:47,880
Speaker 1: twenty six year in a row. Could you have traveled

238
00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:51,319
Speaker 1: somewhere to hunt new deer but didn't? Was it too expensive?

239
00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:53,920
Speaker 1: Or do you just not have the time or the confidence.

240
00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:58,280
Speaker 1: All that stuff can be acknowledged and addressed now. It's

241
00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:00,560
Speaker 1: also something I plan to cover a whole bunch of

242
00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:03,040
Speaker 1: future episodes. So you want to have to curse out

243
00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:05,520
Speaker 1: that lucky bastard Mark for all those sweet hunts in

244
00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:09,719
Speaker 1: his rock star celebrity lifestyle. Of course, you don't want

245
00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:12,720
Speaker 1: to just reflect on the frustrating aspects of last season.

246
00:13:13,559 --> 00:13:16,800
Speaker 1: Humans are really good at focusing on the negatives. In fact,

247
00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:20,199
Speaker 1: it's a genetic hardware that keeps us alive or I

248
00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:22,280
Speaker 1: don't know, at least kept us alive when we climbed

249
00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:24,319
Speaker 1: out of the trees and started roaming around, eating random

250
00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:26,440
Speaker 1: roots and bugs and waiting to figure out how to

251
00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:30,079
Speaker 1: make crude tools and eventually harness fire. We know that now,

252
00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:32,560
Speaker 1: so we don't have to focus solely on the negatives.

253
00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:34,720
Speaker 1: We can make the choice to use the negatives to

254
00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:37,040
Speaker 1: guide us for next year, so hopefully there'll be few

255
00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:40,920
Speaker 1: of them. But we can and also should look in

256
00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:43,920
Speaker 1: the review mirror and think about what made us happy.

257
00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:46,280
Speaker 1: Did you kill the buck you were after, or at

258
00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:48,800
Speaker 1: least kill a buck that was of a caliber you

259
00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:53,320
Speaker 1: were interested in? If so, hell yes, good job. What

260
00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:56,120
Speaker 1: went into that success? Can you replicate it next season

261
00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:59,559
Speaker 1: or expand on it? For example, did you finally take

262
00:13:59,559 --> 00:14:02,080
Speaker 1: the plunge into mobile hunting and kill your buck that way?

263
00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:05,080
Speaker 1: Then keep at it, learn your gear better, scout more

264
00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:08,880
Speaker 1: suitable trees this winner, lean into that style. Or did

265
00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:10,960
Speaker 1: you kill your first buck from the ground or your

266
00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:14,200
Speaker 1: first buck during the lull? Whatever? What did you learn?

267
00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:17,360
Speaker 1: What did that success teach you? Did it teach you

268
00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:19,400
Speaker 1: that you love killing bucks but have no idea how

269
00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:22,640
Speaker 1: to butcher them, there's a good offseason topic to study.

270
00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:25,120
Speaker 1: Or did you not kill a buck but still have

271
00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:28,480
Speaker 1: a great season? Why were you around deer and most

272
00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:30,880
Speaker 1: or all of your sits. That's a great way to

273
00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:33,200
Speaker 1: enjoy your season, even if you end up munching on

274
00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:36,200
Speaker 1: tag soup after the time runs out, Or did you

275
00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:38,760
Speaker 1: just stumble across the time of the season, or a

276
00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:42,880
Speaker 1: hunting strategy that made you enjoy things more. That stuff happens,

277
00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:46,640
Speaker 1: and if it calls to you, listen up. There's nothing

278
00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:48,640
Speaker 1: that says you have to follow a Dan in Fault

279
00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:51,560
Speaker 1: style strategy to be a great hunter, or more importantly,

280
00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:55,000
Speaker 1: to enjoy it. But if buck beds and swamps get

281
00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:57,800
Speaker 1: you going, then by all means listen up, because guys

282
00:14:57,840 --> 00:14:59,840
Speaker 1: like Dan have a lot of solid advice to offer

283
00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:03,280
Speaker 1: in that category. But there's something else that makes you happy.

284
00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:08,000
Speaker 1: Understand that's what you can lean into for the upcoming season. Now,

285
00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,120
Speaker 1: while I'm sure a guy like Mark actually sits down

286
00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:12,760
Speaker 1: and writes his goals out, probably in a spreadsheet with

287
00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:15,400
Speaker 1: encouraging phrases and doodles on it, you don't have to

288
00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:18,280
Speaker 1: do that. You should spend a little time reflecting on

289
00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:20,840
Speaker 1: last season and thinking about not only what you feel

290
00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:23,880
Speaker 1: like you should do, but how you actually can accomplish

291
00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:27,600
Speaker 1: those things. And that's the hard part. Thinking about goals

292
00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:32,760
Speaker 1: is easy, Actually accomplishing them it's difficult. This is one

293
00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:34,920
Speaker 1: of the reasons why most folks love the idea of

294
00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:38,240
Speaker 1: eating right, or maybe running marathons, or having a well

295
00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:42,840
Speaker 1: trained hunting dog, climbing Mount Everest, whatever. But most folks

296
00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:45,800
Speaker 1: will never do any of those things because they are hard,

297
00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,000
Speaker 1: just like deer hunting is. But those things can be

298
00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:53,040
Speaker 1: fun and rewarding as hell, just like deer hunting. So

299
00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:55,520
Speaker 1: start your phone off, sit back, and do a little

300
00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:59,240
Speaker 1: old fashioned thinking, run through your past season, or hell,

301
00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:01,840
Speaker 1: your last five years if you've got them to call upon,

302
00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:04,640
Speaker 1: and start planning for the new year. This is a

303
00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:06,880
Speaker 1: good exercise and it brings up something that I want

304
00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:10,120
Speaker 1: to wrap this episode up with. You think you have time,

305
00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:13,920
Speaker 1: but you don't sure. In the space between right now

306
00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:16,200
Speaker 1: and the next bowl opener, you could grow an entire

307
00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:18,280
Speaker 1: human baby if you had the right organs and stuff.

308
00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:20,240
Speaker 1: I don't know, I'm not a doctor. That seems like

309
00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:22,480
Speaker 1: a lot of time, but if you've ever slipped one

310
00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:24,960
Speaker 1: past the goal, you know those nine months fly by.

311
00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:30,200
Speaker 1: The off season will too, and the windows in which

312
00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:32,360
Speaker 1: you really need to take advantage of different things in

313
00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:36,080
Speaker 1: the deerwoods they'll close to You'll see this in upcoming

314
00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:39,320
Speaker 1: episodes that focus on shadow antlers and hunt trip planning

315
00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:42,440
Speaker 1: and winter scouting, the ladder of which is the most

316
00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:45,280
Speaker 1: important time you can spend in a wild except maybe

317
00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:48,800
Speaker 1: maybe for the time you spend actually hunting. So I

318
00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:51,440
Speaker 1: don't say this stuff lightly, my friends, I really mean it.

319
00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:53,880
Speaker 1: There's work to be done, and while I'm giving you

320
00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:57,160
Speaker 1: a week to reminisce on past failures and successes, it's

321
00:16:57,240 --> 00:16:59,640
Speaker 1: nearly time to get back out there, to start fresh,

322
00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:03,960
Speaker 1: to start the process all over again. That's what next

323
00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:06,080
Speaker 1: week is all about, and it's going to kick off

324
00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:08,880
Speaker 1: a long list of episodes dedicated to getting you out

325
00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:12,160
Speaker 1: there doing what your competition mostly won't be doing. You'll

326
00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:14,760
Speaker 1: also be learning about the deer when most folks aren't.

327
00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,119
Speaker 1: In other words, you're going to start earning that filled

328
00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:24,119
Speaker 1: tag soon, so don't miss out on next week. That's it,

329
00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:26,159
Speaker 1: my friends, Thank you so much for listening to the

330
00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:29,120
Speaker 1: Wire to Hunt Foundations podcast. I'm your host, Tony Peterson.

331
00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:31,560
Speaker 1: If you want more, white Tail Wisdom, check out our

332
00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:35,680
Speaker 1: YouTube channel, and visit the metator dot com, slash Wired