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 --> 00:00:18,680 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 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:23,320 Speaker 2: Hey, everyone, welcome to the Foundation's podcast, which is brought 7 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 2: to you by first Light. I'm your host, Tony Peterson, 8 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 2: and today's episode is all about human behavior and why 9 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:31,800 Speaker 2: you should study it to be a better deer hunter. 10 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:36,440 Speaker 2: A couple of weeks ago and now, I spent some 11 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 2: time in Nebraska trying to call in a turkey on 12 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:41,720 Speaker 2: public land, and what I learned on that hunt just 13 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:45,559 Speaker 2: drove home something I believe about deer hunting is that 14 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:49,159 Speaker 2: if you don't understand people, you won't understand how to 15 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,280 Speaker 2: deer hunt in most places. Now, this might sound like 16 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 2: a topic that applies mostly to the public land or 17 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 2: pressure ground deer hunter, but that's not true. Human behavior 18 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 2: matters in the deer woods no matter where you hunt, 19 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:06,199 Speaker 2: which is what I'm going to talk about right now. 20 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 2: I pulled up into the ditch off of a drainage 21 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:16,319 Speaker 2: on a walk in ranch in central Nebraska, with a 22 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:19,120 Speaker 2: turkey tag in my pocket and all of the fixings 23 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 2: for a bowhunt ready to go. And while I had 24 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 2: poured over on X to try to find likely looking 25 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:29,040 Speaker 2: gobbler hotspots, you really don't know what you're getting into 26 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:32,200 Speaker 2: on a new place until you show up, especially if 27 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:34,959 Speaker 2: that place is a piece of public land six hundred 28 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:38,839 Speaker 2: miles from your house. Now, what I saw the instant 29 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,200 Speaker 2: I pulled into the ditch was five jakes beating their 30 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 2: way along a flat toward a cedar covered hillside. Now, 31 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 2: if that isn't a good sign, I don't know what is. 32 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 2: What was even better was that as soon as I 33 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 2: stepped out of the truck, I heard a tom gobble. 34 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 2: Now he lit up about five times while I scrambled 35 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 2: to get my gear in order and head in between 36 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 2: him and the jakes. I figured, you know, it would 37 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 2: be an hour long hunt and i'd be on the 38 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 2: road to Kansas to try to fill another tag. Except 39 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,200 Speaker 2: that as soon as I crossed the fence into the 40 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 2: best looking spot to climb the hill, I realized that 41 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:15,240 Speaker 2: the cover was awful sparse and awful steep. And when 42 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 2: I crested the ridge, aside from admiring a set of 43 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,160 Speaker 2: giant gobbler tracks on the tiny ridge trail that wound 44 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 2: its way from Cedar Patch to Cedar Patch. I realized 45 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 2: that I was hemmed in by roads. I don't like 46 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:30,120 Speaker 2: hunting any animals on public that might be visible from 47 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:32,400 Speaker 2: the road, but I thought maybe since it was the 48 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 2: early archery season, you know, the pressure would be low 49 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,360 Speaker 2: and I could make something happen. I wandered around for 50 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:41,679 Speaker 2: a little bit and realized that the ideal setup wasn't 51 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:44,959 Speaker 2: going to happen, and honestly, neither was a shitty one. 52 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 2: I don't know how many times I found a spot 53 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 2: I wanted to hunt but couldn't make it work. But 54 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:51,799 Speaker 2: if you added up how often that's happened while deer 55 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 2: in Turkey hunting, it might be like a billion. Dejected, 56 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 2: I walked back past my truck to set up where 57 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 2: I had originally planned to go. Now, aside from one 58 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:03,919 Speaker 2: double bearded tom that acted as if he had lost 59 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:06,920 Speaker 2: every fight he had ever got anywhere near it was 60 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 2: super dead for me. So I went looking, and not 61 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:12,800 Speaker 2: only did I find the gobbler from the first day, 62 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:15,959 Speaker 2: I found about ten other legal birds scattered throughout the 63 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,480 Speaker 2: same valley. Now that might make it sound like I 64 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 2: have some sort of secret, but the truth is they 65 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,239 Speaker 2: were all visible from the road, which means any idiot 66 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:28,360 Speaker 2: with a driver's license could find those birds, and besides 67 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 2: this idiot, a lot of other idiots did. I shouldn't 68 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:33,800 Speaker 2: say that about other hunters I've never met, but I 69 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 2: can say about myself, because I spent the whole next 70 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,960 Speaker 2: day trying to call in those birds. What happened was 71 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 2: that I had long, in depth conversations with various toms 72 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 2: and hens who decided I was better off left alone, 73 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 2: and all I had to keep me company were some 74 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 2: songbirds and about fifty thousand ticks. It was a long, 75 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:58,400 Speaker 2: long day in the blind. The plus side was that 76 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 2: one of my last days of that short hunt coincided 77 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 2: with when the shotgun season would be open, and I knew, 78 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 2: after watching truck after truck and one Subaru that made 79 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 2: a lot of laps while looking for birds, that I 80 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:14,400 Speaker 2: needed to get in somewhere where the turkeys weren't visible 81 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 2: and where I could get away from the road, because well, duh, 82 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 2: of course the visible birds are going to get messed with. 83 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 2: And you know what, I wandered around and sat through 84 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:29,840 Speaker 2: a couple of dead calling sequences before finding some real 85 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 2: turkey sign later in the day, which led me deeper 86 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 2: into a huge chunk of walk in land. Now, eventually 87 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:39,680 Speaker 2: I spotted a windmill in there, and since I'm a 88 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 2: smart guy and I was very thirsty, I thought maybe 89 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:45,600 Speaker 2: there would be some turkey activity around the only water 90 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 2: source on maybe two thousand acres of patched or ground. 91 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:52,840 Speaker 2: And there was. And it didn't take a whole lot 92 00:04:52,839 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 2: of yelping and purring and clucking before six redheads popped 93 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 2: up and wandered close to my decoys. Now, I know 94 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:02,880 Speaker 2: some hunters brown on shooting jakes, but I've also noticed 95 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:05,800 Speaker 2: that most of those guys aren't hunting cage public land birds, 96 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:09,440 Speaker 2: and even if they are, I don't care. I'm not 97 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 2: about to start trophy hunting turkeys. And I can say 98 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 2: with the utmost sincerity that I was pretty excited to 99 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:18,040 Speaker 2: see a lot of jakes rolling into my decoys, and 100 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:20,479 Speaker 2: very excited to see one of them split from the 101 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:22,040 Speaker 2: group and poke his head up in the air at 102 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:25,119 Speaker 2: twenty yards. Now, after I sent him to the happy 103 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:28,039 Speaker 2: strutting grounds in the sky, I realized I had only 104 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:31,200 Speaker 2: actually laid eyes on one turkey while hunting in about 105 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,680 Speaker 2: four days at least until that gang of Jake's wandered 106 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:40,560 Speaker 2: in because I had hunted like everyone else. I don't 107 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,040 Speaker 2: know why it's so hard for us to break away 108 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:46,200 Speaker 2: from what everyone else does to what we should do 109 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:50,240 Speaker 2: while we're hunting, but it just is. I also know 110 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:52,040 Speaker 2: that people are going to listen to this and think 111 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 2: that the hunting they have is different from me or 112 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:59,279 Speaker 2: anyone else, and maybe assume these rules don't apply. I'm 113 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:02,400 Speaker 2: telling you they probably do. And I want to frame 114 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:05,560 Speaker 2: this up with an easy one. You know, those shitty 115 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 2: out of state hunters who only road hunt and just 116 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 2: don't want to burn a calorie to kill a deer 117 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:13,920 Speaker 2: or a turkey. They exist everywhere, and if you think 118 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:16,880 Speaker 2: the residents in your state don't do that, you're being 119 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:21,120 Speaker 2: intentionally glib. I see it everywhere I hunt, and honestly 120 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 2: probably see it the most out West, where everyone is 121 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:27,440 Speaker 2: supposed to be snorting lines of mountain oops off of 122 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:30,599 Speaker 2: their ninety pound packs and engaging in almost superhero level 123 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 2: feats of strength that would make the average whitetail hunter 124 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:37,719 Speaker 2: ball like an abandoned newborn. This isn't because Western hunters 125 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:40,599 Speaker 2: are lazier than whitetail hunters. It's because they live where 126 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:43,840 Speaker 2: road hunting can be productive because of the visibility and 127 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:45,800 Speaker 2: the sheer scope of land they have to work with. 128 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:49,719 Speaker 2: There are plenty of whitetail hunters who try to spot 129 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:53,080 Speaker 2: deer from their vehicles too. It just doesn't, you know, 130 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:55,720 Speaker 2: probably work as well in quite a few places where 131 00:06:55,760 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 2: big concentrations of deer and hunters mix, the less if 132 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 2: I can tease one out of the morass. Here is this. 133 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 2: If something is visible from the road and it's not 134 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 2: on a highly managed property, then it's probably not worth hunting. Now, 135 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:15,520 Speaker 2: you can check an awful lot of spots like that 136 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:18,680 Speaker 2: and find sign, because deer will leave sign at night. 137 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:21,120 Speaker 2: But for the most part, that should be left to 138 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 2: the people who aren't in too much danger of going 139 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 2: over their bag limits on deer in any given season. 140 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:31,400 Speaker 2: Human behavior is predictable like that, and you should think 141 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 2: about it. You should use it to your advantage. Let 142 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:37,880 Speaker 2: me give you another example. Think about how often you 143 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 2: call to deer that don't come in. Now, think about 144 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:45,280 Speaker 2: that same deer living in a square mile and how 145 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 2: many hunters he's encountered who operate just like you. Maybe 146 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaker 2: you can grun him in or snort we's him in, 147 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:55,440 Speaker 2: But the odds are pretty good that unless the mood 148 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:59,640 Speaker 2: is just right, it's not gonna happen. We often think 149 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:01,960 Speaker 2: that they won't commit just because they didn't want to, 150 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:04,480 Speaker 2: but I think it's often because they get called to 151 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:08,360 Speaker 2: a lot, and that creates kind of an association between 152 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:12,679 Speaker 2: frantic grunting or rattling with danger up in a tree. 153 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 2: I think they get conditioned. Now you might think, wasn't 154 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:18,240 Speaker 2: that sort of a no harm, no foul type of situation. 155 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 2: So I grunt out a buck and he doesn't commit, 156 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:24,679 Speaker 2: Who cares? What if he spooks? What if he comes 157 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 2: in and you didn't think about it, But it's only 158 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:28,800 Speaker 2: a matter of him swinging around just a little bit 159 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:32,240 Speaker 2: so he can check the wind upon which you're sending 160 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:35,920 Speaker 2: plenty of old factory warning signs. Or what if you 161 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:38,880 Speaker 2: spook him out right? That happens a fair amount to 162 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 2: deer I call to. That doesn't stop me from calling 163 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:44,360 Speaker 2: all the time, but it stops me from calling every 164 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:46,480 Speaker 2: time I get the urge. If I see a deer 165 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:49,720 Speaker 2: do something today and he's not giving me great calling vibes, 166 00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 2: I'd rather watch him do his thing, and then move 167 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:55,560 Speaker 2: closer tomorrow or the next time I can hunt. This 168 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:58,560 Speaker 2: is a thing that's hard to resist, but it can 169 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:12,480 Speaker 2: be a good idea, beecially, if you hunt on pressure ground. Now, 170 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:15,439 Speaker 2: let's look at another way that human behavior is predictable 171 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:19,199 Speaker 2: and detrimental to our success in the deer woods, the 172 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:23,679 Speaker 2: good looking spot conundrum. We are conditioned to look for 173 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:28,680 Speaker 2: food sources and generally openings, oftentimes openings in the cover. 174 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:31,800 Speaker 2: We like to be able to see. We like to 175 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:33,680 Speaker 2: hunt where the deer could come in and grab a 176 00:09:33,679 --> 00:09:37,040 Speaker 2: bite to eat. We see dozens and dozens of giant 177 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:40,120 Speaker 2: bucks every fall that are posed up in cornfields and 178 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:44,200 Speaker 2: food plots after they get shot. All those trophy photos. 179 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:47,640 Speaker 2: Now we might not know where they bed or stage, 180 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:51,280 Speaker 2: but we can figure out where they might feed easily enough. 181 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:55,200 Speaker 2: And again, there might also be plenty of sign in 182 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:58,600 Speaker 2: the food. The trouble is, even the dullest white tail 183 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:01,400 Speaker 2: hunter out there knows that foods sources are good spots 184 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:04,920 Speaker 2: to hunt. If you hunt public land at all, where 185 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:08,800 Speaker 2: there's some sort of agg on it, you'll find blinds 186 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:13,079 Speaker 2: and stands. Cameras too. Probably you'll find evidence of hunting pressure, 187 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:15,880 Speaker 2: you'll find the same spot that everyone else can find 188 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:19,960 Speaker 2: because everyone else, uh can find it. The spot that 189 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:22,440 Speaker 2: looks like it would be amazing on private ground is 190 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:25,880 Speaker 2: often a lost cause on public land or pressure ground. 191 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:29,400 Speaker 2: It's the prevalence of sign and the type of sign 192 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:32,840 Speaker 2: that really matters. On that turkey hunt I just went on, 193 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 2: I didn't find hardly any droppings or roos, trees or 194 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:41,120 Speaker 2: flipped over cow pois or random feathers in almost every 195 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:44,400 Speaker 2: spot I looked at. But I still wasted my first 196 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:47,839 Speaker 2: day and a half hunting a good looking spot that 197 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:51,520 Speaker 2: really wasn't worth a shit. It wasn't until I started 198 00:10:51,559 --> 00:10:54,400 Speaker 2: finding some fresh turkey sign, and then a whole bunch 199 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:56,480 Speaker 2: of fresh turkey sign on the two track leading to 200 00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:59,240 Speaker 2: the water tank that I felt like I was actually 201 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:03,400 Speaker 2: in a spot that the birds were using. Currently. Deer 202 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:06,000 Speaker 2: hunting is like that, but the waters get a little 203 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:09,840 Speaker 2: muddier there because deer leave a lot of sign. A 204 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 2: spot that looks good, that's great, but without the fresh 205 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:16,240 Speaker 2: droppings and the tracks and hopefully rubs and scrapes, you 206 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:18,280 Speaker 2: might be looking at a spot that is just kind 207 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:21,280 Speaker 2: of cooled off considerably, or a spot that is only 208 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:24,240 Speaker 2: hot at night, which is often the case with pressured 209 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:28,520 Speaker 2: food sources, and those spots, because they look so dang tasty, 210 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:31,760 Speaker 2: will soak up a lot of the hunting pressure because 211 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:36,760 Speaker 2: human behavior makes it so. Human behavior is generally kind 212 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:41,560 Speaker 2: of lazy, and understanding that is huge for figuring out 213 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:46,000 Speaker 2: where deer go to avoid us. This applies to something 214 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:48,559 Speaker 2: that I think matters a lot to being a good hunter, 215 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:51,559 Speaker 2: which is just figuring out a different way to get 216 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:54,840 Speaker 2: into spots. If you only ever park in the parking 217 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:58,120 Speaker 2: areas of a WMA, you're only ever going in the 218 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:01,440 Speaker 2: way most hunters go in. If you only ever park 219 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:03,640 Speaker 2: one hundred yards into the field road on your lease 220 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:07,359 Speaker 2: because it's easiest, you're conditioning the deer to your behavior, 221 00:12:07,679 --> 00:12:10,240 Speaker 2: and that can be just as damaging as someone else's 222 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:14,680 Speaker 2: predictable behavior. This is really a simple lesson to understand, 223 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:18,439 Speaker 2: but a hard one to put into practice. That jakester 224 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:21,520 Speaker 2: I shot Nebraska. Him and his buddies came in at 225 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:24,680 Speaker 2: three in the afternoon. It was at least eighty degrees 226 00:12:24,679 --> 00:12:27,240 Speaker 2: with the sun beating down. You know who was the 227 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:29,880 Speaker 2: only one stupid enough to be out there trying to 228 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:33,800 Speaker 2: call a bird in during those conditions yours truly, at 229 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:35,720 Speaker 2: least it seemed to be in that spot, and it 230 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:39,199 Speaker 2: was a big, big spot. I had a lot of 231 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:41,560 Speaker 2: land in myself, and I found a place that had 232 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:43,760 Speaker 2: a big time draw in it, which was the water. 233 00:12:44,559 --> 00:12:46,760 Speaker 2: I promised you that most folks would have said that 234 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:49,640 Speaker 2: the birds weren't going to be overly active or callable 235 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:52,560 Speaker 2: in those conditions, and in a lot of places that 236 00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:55,200 Speaker 2: would have been true. But when you go where the 237 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:57,200 Speaker 2: turkeys want to be, they get a hell of a 238 00:12:57,200 --> 00:12:59,959 Speaker 2: lot more callable because they are not only more concentrated, 239 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:02,920 Speaker 2: but I believe this anyway, they're just more likely to 240 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:06,440 Speaker 2: respond positively when they hear birds where they expect to 241 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:09,360 Speaker 2: hear birds, kind of like how I believe that calling 242 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:11,400 Speaker 2: deer gets a hell of a lot easier when you 243 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 2: find them in the thick cover where they feel safe 244 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:16,880 Speaker 2: and probably wouldn't be surprised to bump into a few 245 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:20,839 Speaker 2: other deer. We think we have this stuff figured out 246 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:23,640 Speaker 2: because there is a template for good hunting on good 247 00:13:23,679 --> 00:13:26,960 Speaker 2: ground that has leaked through to all of us, but 248 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 2: that template doesn't really apply to most of us. I 249 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:33,400 Speaker 2: see this in one big way that I think holds 250 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 2: a lot of folks back, and that's our behavior around 251 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:40,120 Speaker 2: trail cameras. Now, look, I love trail cameras, but I 252 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:43,000 Speaker 2: don't let them tell me when bucks are daylighting, because 253 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:45,960 Speaker 2: if I did, I'd haunt a lot less than I should. 254 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:49,240 Speaker 2: This idea that we can single out our target buck 255 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:51,960 Speaker 2: and then wait for him to start slipping during daylight 256 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:56,480 Speaker 2: is great if you have the right setup. We believe 257 00:13:56,559 --> 00:13:59,080 Speaker 2: that is the move because it makes sense, and for 258 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:02,760 Speaker 2: some folks it works. But even if you are on 259 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:06,920 Speaker 2: good private ground, you have to ask yourself, what are 260 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:10,120 Speaker 2: the odds that the buck you want only moves in 261 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:13,439 Speaker 2: daylight past your cameras showing you that he is in 262 00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:17,880 Speaker 2: fact moving in daylight. He takes one other trail, or 263 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:19,920 Speaker 2: shows up in the food plot at the opposite end, 264 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:23,320 Speaker 2: or whatever, and your cameras will show you that he 265 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:27,000 Speaker 2: is definitely not moving in daylight. But that's not true 266 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:29,640 Speaker 2: and is mostly not true for most bucks on any 267 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:33,600 Speaker 2: given day. I believe that in my heart, just as 268 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:36,280 Speaker 2: I believe that a lot of hunters follow that program, 269 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 2: and not necessarily with individual deer, but deer in general 270 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:43,160 Speaker 2: or bucks in general anyway, and it keeps them from 271 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:48,080 Speaker 2: hunting that's predictable human behavior that we do to ourselves 272 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:50,720 Speaker 2: in a way, and it's a great way to often 273 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:53,400 Speaker 2: not fill your buck tag under the idea that you're 274 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:57,320 Speaker 2: actually being a really smart, calculated deer hunter. Now, if 275 00:14:57,320 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 2: you have the right spot, sure, but if you don't, 276 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:03,560 Speaker 2: then you're only setting yourself up for failure with that behavior. 277 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:06,800 Speaker 2: But we can't help ourselves. We look for the answers 278 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 2: to our dear problems and others, and we should probably 279 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:14,480 Speaker 2: look mostly inward. Now, there's another type of human behavior 280 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 2: that we should try to understand too, one that isn't 281 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 2: just general hunter behavior, and one that isn't our own 282 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:24,880 Speaker 2: set of behaviors. It's the behavior of anyone who hunts 283 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:29,320 Speaker 2: on or near where we hunt. I have a farm. 284 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:32,640 Speaker 2: I've hunted in southern Minnesota for a long long time, 285 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:34,640 Speaker 2: and I've gotten to know what some of the other 286 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:37,880 Speaker 2: hunters will do out there. Some of them hunt field 287 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:41,840 Speaker 2: edges in the mornings, which means certain fields will mostly 288 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:44,640 Speaker 2: be a lost cause after the first week of the season. 289 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:48,320 Speaker 2: Some or at least one who I wish would move 290 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:53,440 Speaker 2: far far away, only stalks around while trying to shoot one, 291 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 2: which is very hard for good hunters let alone. This 292 00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:00,920 Speaker 2: particular fella, where he goes to do that is where 293 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:04,400 Speaker 2: I mostly won't go to hunt much, especially on the 294 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:07,040 Speaker 2: weekends when he's most likely to be out. Is what 295 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:09,800 Speaker 2: he's doing is walking around and spooking a lot of 296 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 2: deer while killing very very few of them. Now, what 297 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:17,040 Speaker 2: can you learn about the other hunters on the ground 298 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:21,200 Speaker 2: you're hunting? Well? Where they park, where they hunt, how 299 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:23,760 Speaker 2: long they sit when they're likely to be out there, 300 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:27,240 Speaker 2: all of the above. All of that matters and can 301 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:30,440 Speaker 2: inform some of your decisions. Now, what about your neighbors. 302 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:33,480 Speaker 2: Do they take it pretty easy until you season and 303 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:35,720 Speaker 2: then go hard in the paint with a bunch of kids. 304 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:39,880 Speaker 2: That's valuable intel. Do they sit fence lines or walk 305 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 2: out early because they're scared of the dark. Do they 306 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:46,760 Speaker 2: cruise around on four wheelers at peak hours during daylight hours? 307 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:49,440 Speaker 2: I don't think most dear think about coyotes or wolves 308 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:51,880 Speaker 2: or anything else that might kill them quite as much 309 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 2: as they think about us. We are the threat on 310 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:58,320 Speaker 2: a large scale, and what we do is convince them 311 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,880 Speaker 2: to engage in certain behaviors to avoid us. That's not 312 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:04,880 Speaker 2: the whole game, but is a huge part of it. 313 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:10,200 Speaker 2: Our behavior directly influences their behavior, and that's why hunting 314 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:13,119 Speaker 2: public land is more difficult than hunting primo lease in 315 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:17,040 Speaker 2: Iowa with only one name on it. It's simple, but 316 00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:20,720 Speaker 2: isn't It is worth thinking about, though, because you have 317 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:23,960 Speaker 2: to ask yourself how others will influence the deer you're 318 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:27,280 Speaker 2: hunting and just what you can do about that. And 319 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:29,880 Speaker 2: then you have to ask yourself what behaviors you engage 320 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:32,880 Speaker 2: in that seem to work and the ones we believe 321 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:37,400 Speaker 2: should work but mostly don't. There are so many lessons 322 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:40,920 Speaker 2: in that last point, but self awareness kind of sucks. 323 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:43,600 Speaker 2: It is important for a lot of things in life, 324 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:46,160 Speaker 2: including being a better deer hunter, but it just isn't 325 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:49,800 Speaker 2: much fun. Getting better at deer hunting is, though, and 326 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 2: so is shooting a nice buck in his big old lungs. 327 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:55,880 Speaker 2: So think about that and think about coming back next 328 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:58,480 Speaker 2: week because I'm going to talk about botany, which is 329 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:01,199 Speaker 2: a boring ass topic, but I plan to make it 330 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:04,240 Speaker 2: exciting and promise you that it might help you kill 331 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:09,280 Speaker 2: more giant bucks or at least some fourkies. That's it 332 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:11,159 Speaker 2: for this week. I'm Tony Peterson. This has been the 333 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:13,840 Speaker 2: Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast, which is brought to you 334 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:16,600 Speaker 2: by First Flight. As always, thank you so much for listening. 335 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:19,200 Speaker 2: Your support means the world to us. You guys show 336 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:20,560 Speaker 2: up every week, every month. 337 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:21,720 Speaker 1: Huge. 338 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:24,960 Speaker 2: Without you, guys, we are nothing, so thank you for that. Now, 339 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:26,920 Speaker 2: if you want to listen to some other podcasts, maybe 340 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:28,880 Speaker 2: you want to hear some good storytelling and head over 341 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:32,360 Speaker 2: to Clay's Bear Grease or Brent's This Country Life. Check 342 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:35,560 Speaker 2: those podcasts out at the mediator dot com. While you're there, 343 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:38,160 Speaker 2: you can read all kinds of articles. I'm putting out 344 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:41,560 Speaker 2: a bunch of dog training articles right now. Maybe you 345 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:43,439 Speaker 2: need a recipe for that bird you're going to kill 346 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:45,800 Speaker 2: here this week. Whatever, go check it out at the 347 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:48,560 Speaker 2: mediator dot com and thank you for all of your support.