1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:05,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, presented by first Light, 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. 4 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: First Light, Go Farther, Stay Longer, and now your host 5 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:19,959 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:22,919 Speaker 2: Hey, everyone, welcome to the Wire to Hunt Foundation's podcast, 7 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 2: which is brought to you by first Light. I'm your host, 8 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 2: Tony Peterson, and today's show is all about why most 9 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:39,920 Speaker 2: people never kill Big Bucks. It's a little bit of 10 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 2: a touchy subject, but I think it's something that needs 11 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:45,239 Speaker 2: to be addressed. You know. Probably the number one thing 12 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:47,600 Speaker 2: I hear, you know, when it comes to the randos 13 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,160 Speaker 2: who reach out to me, is that they're all struggling 14 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 2: to kill Big Bucks. That's probably not a huge surprise 15 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 2: to a lot of listeners, because if he didn't struggle 16 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 2: with that, you sure wouldn't waste your time listening to 17 00:00:56,800 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 2: yours truly drone on and on on the topic of deer. 18 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:02,880 Speaker 2: So I'm gonna lay down some truth here on that topic, 19 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 2: you know, in a second. But first I have to 20 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:06,679 Speaker 2: do the part of my job I don't really like 21 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 2: very much. Meat eater has a monster huge, pretty big 22 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,720 Speaker 2: white Tail Week sale going on right now. You've heard 23 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 2: about it, you've seen it on social. But here's the thing. Normally, 24 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 2: our sales only get you some level of discount on 25 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 2: certain new products. But this one's different. It comes with 26 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 2: a tiered structure where if you spend a certain amount 27 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:28,959 Speaker 2: of dough on anything, you get a kickback on that 28 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 2: money spent. So, for example, you go spend two hundred bucks, 29 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 2: you're gonna get twenty five percent right off the top. 30 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 2: So you've got to save fifty bucks, spend four hundred bucks, 31 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:41,119 Speaker 2: maybe get yourself a new white Tail kid or something 32 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 2: you're gonna save a cool one hundred dollars on that. 33 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:46,040 Speaker 2: You can go all the way up to the eight 34 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 2: hundred dollars mark where you're gonna get two hundred dollars 35 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:52,960 Speaker 2: off of your bill if you spend eight hundred bucks, 36 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 2: it's pretty good deal. It's twenty five percent off pretty 37 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 2: much anything you want to go buy. You got to 38 00:01:57,440 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 2: go to first light dot com and you got to 39 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 2: check out there. If you want to feel like a weak, 40 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 2: total loser, don't lift a single weight in your life 41 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:16,600 Speaker 2: and then go to the gym and try to start 42 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:20,119 Speaker 2: lifting This is when the idea of who you are 43 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:24,239 Speaker 2: will meet the reality of who you actually are. It's 44 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 2: not really fun, trust me, but it's also an amazing 45 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 2: feeling to just ignore the noise and start building muscle. 46 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:34,640 Speaker 2: This is a slow process, but it's worth it. It 47 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 2: also teaches you a few things about how full of shit, 48 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 2: or at least totally disconnected from reality a lot of 49 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:44,519 Speaker 2: people are. And by people here, I mean well men. 50 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 2: When I was growing up, I heard a lot of 51 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 2: people talk about benching three hundred pounds. I don't know. 52 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:52,680 Speaker 2: That just seems to be the magic number for being strong. 53 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:55,920 Speaker 2: I guess maybe it's like the six pound mark for 54 00:02:56,040 --> 00:03:00,240 Speaker 2: bass or the one hundred and fifty inch mark on deer. 55 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 2: Either way, benching three hundred pounds is no joke. In fact, 56 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:09,240 Speaker 2: benching two hundred and twenty five pounds, which is the 57 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,919 Speaker 2: bar in two forty five's on each side, is no joke. 58 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 2: That's a lot of weight, and only about one point 59 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:19,480 Speaker 2: three million Americans can do it. That's point zero zero 60 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:22,560 Speaker 2: four percent of the population, and most of those folks 61 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 2: that fit into that category are men with a body 62 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,920 Speaker 2: weight of two hundred and twenty pounds plus. Now, the 63 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 2: path is different for everyone to build muscle, but it 64 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 2: took me about eight years of lifting to get there. 65 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:38,400 Speaker 2: And if you watched me try to bench two twenty 66 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 2: five right now, you'd say that is a guy who 67 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 2: doesn't look like he's going to get a whole lot 68 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 2: of reps out of this deal. And trust me, you'd 69 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 2: be very right. Putting on muscle is a long, long process, 70 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 2: and it only gets longer as we age and our 71 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 2: testosterone production starts to take a nose dive. Now, there's 72 00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 2: some ways to get around this, like the obvious one, 73 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 2: which is TRT, but you could also just get your 74 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,560 Speaker 2: hands on some anabolic steroids and just jump the line 75 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 2: so speak. Anabolic steroids contain a base ingredient that is 76 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 2: a type of testosterone referred to as test e, which 77 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 2: is funny as hell given what it can do to 78 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:18,680 Speaker 2: your clackers if you take too much of it. Injecting 79 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:23,640 Speaker 2: anabolic steroids allows those testosterone molecules the chance to weasel 80 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 2: their way through your bloodstream until they reach your muscle cells, 81 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 2: where they kickstart hypertrophy, which is what you need to 82 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 2: build muscle. There are some downsides to this path, though, 83 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 2: you know, liver damage depression, hypertension, thrombosis, and a bunch 84 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 2: more bad things can happen with steroid abuse, such as life. 85 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:46,839 Speaker 2: Every path you choose has its ups and downs as 86 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:49,920 Speaker 2: positives and negatives. Now, when it comes to being a 87 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:53,799 Speaker 2: stone cold big buck killer who should just pre notch 88 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:56,120 Speaker 2: his tags before heading out because the deer don't stand 89 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 2: a chance, there are many paths to take as well. 90 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 2: If you want to flex a lot for your wife 91 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:04,640 Speaker 2: and show that you are in the elite percentage of 92 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 2: people who can bench press two hundred and twenty five pounds. 93 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:12,560 Speaker 2: If you have money or just an unbelievable spot, the 94 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 2: path to mature box is much shorter and easier to walk. 95 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:18,640 Speaker 2: If you don't have either, well, it might take you 96 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,600 Speaker 2: a long time to get there if you ever do, 97 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:25,960 Speaker 2: and most folks don't. Just like most folks who walk 98 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:29,000 Speaker 2: into the gym on New Year's Day with some fresh 99 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:32,680 Speaker 2: resolutions in their heart and some even fresher workout clothes 100 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 2: on their body, will never put up the bar with 101 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:40,360 Speaker 2: two plates on each side. Why is it this way? Well, 102 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:42,880 Speaker 2: on the surface, and I guess as far underneath as 103 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:46,839 Speaker 2: you're willing to dive. Killing a big buck isn't easy. 104 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:50,480 Speaker 2: It's much much harder than it appears. So let's start 105 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:54,400 Speaker 2: with an easy one here, the population of big bucks 106 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,040 Speaker 2: in your area. Now, I don't say mature bucks here 107 00:05:57,080 --> 00:05:58,960 Speaker 2: because I don't know what that means where you live 108 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:01,120 Speaker 2: and hunt. I'll frame it up with one of the 109 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:05,360 Speaker 2: places I hunt over there in Packerland, in the county 110 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 2: I primarily hunt. In northern Wisconsin. They did a comprehensive 111 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 2: study on FONND predation several years back. The cliff notes 112 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:14,600 Speaker 2: of the study were that ninety percent of the fawns 113 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 2: that they tracked were dead within the first eleven months 114 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:21,840 Speaker 2: of their lives. Predator prevalence, hunting pressure, a couple of 115 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:25,360 Speaker 2: real nasty deer killing winters every decade. All that stuff 116 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:28,159 Speaker 2: conspires to keep the deer numbers low. Now, while the 117 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 2: bucks over there have all the makings of giants if 118 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:33,560 Speaker 2: they can get the age on them, most just never 119 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,960 Speaker 2: do a two year old over there really gets your attention, 120 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 2: trust me. So in that case, targeting a big buck, 121 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:44,000 Speaker 2: let's say, even just your typical three year old plus 122 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:48,800 Speaker 2: type of deer, means you just don't have very many options. 123 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 2: But that's the nature of hunting. Big woods deer or 124 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 2: deer in places with a ton of pressure, it's hard 125 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:59,279 Speaker 2: to kill what mostly isn't there. Now. Contrast that to 126 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 2: some of the hunts I've had in Iowa. The last 127 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:04,280 Speaker 2: time I hunted there on public land, I saw about 128 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:06,440 Speaker 2: the same amount of one hundred and twenty five inch 129 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 2: plus deer in four days of hunting in October. By 130 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:12,200 Speaker 2: the way that I've seen in all of my Northern 131 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 2: Wisconsin hunts on private and public land combined, of which 132 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:19,520 Speaker 2: I have about fourteen years of hunting with at least 133 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 2: a couple of weeks during each season, that's quite the difference. 134 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:27,160 Speaker 2: So at a very simple level, you might not kill 135 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 2: too many big bucks because there just aren't too many 136 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 2: big bucks there to kill. Now, I will say this, though, 137 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:38,000 Speaker 2: I've never hunted anywhere that didn't have some big bucks. Now. 138 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:40,320 Speaker 2: Locals have told me they aren't there, and I've seen 139 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 2: it proclaimed on social media and hunting forums over and 140 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:47,280 Speaker 2: over about certain spots, but they were wrong. In my experience, 141 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:52,840 Speaker 2: not many is far different from none. So in this way, 142 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:55,640 Speaker 2: big is all relative. But let's say we're dealing with 143 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 2: the top twenty percent of bucks in your area. The 144 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 2: other eighty percent, they're not big enough for you to 145 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 2: consider them big. And you want to get in on 146 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,720 Speaker 2: that good stuff that leads to a taxidermy bill, but 147 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:09,480 Speaker 2: you can't, and you wonder why. Well, one of the 148 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,800 Speaker 2: reasons might be that we are so good at trying 149 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:18,600 Speaker 2: to supplement real world experience with vicarious lessons or academic lessons. 150 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 2: What I mean by that, and you've heard me say 151 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:24,800 Speaker 2: this a lot because I believe it so true, is 152 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:30,640 Speaker 2: that you can't replace experience with anything. It's the number 153 00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:35,920 Speaker 2: one ingredient in woodsmanship, and woodsmanship kills big bucks. This 154 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:38,640 Speaker 2: is because people with lots of experience and a high 155 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:42,720 Speaker 2: level of woodsmanship don't need to focus on the obvious stuff. 156 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:46,080 Speaker 2: They can go deeper, and they are more in tune 157 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:50,240 Speaker 2: to the in the moment details that really matter. So 158 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:51,839 Speaker 2: let me frame this up in a way that's kind 159 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 2: of easy to understand. Let's say you read every book 160 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:59,000 Speaker 2: there is on bass fishing, you consume a thousands of 161 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:01,960 Speaker 2: hours of you know, ass fishing content on YouTube, You 162 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:05,600 Speaker 2: fill your brain with knowledge from other folks on the topic. 163 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:08,920 Speaker 2: Do you think it's possible that you could consume enough 164 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 2: content on this topic to make you a better fisherman 165 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:16,160 Speaker 2: than the top pros, meaning is there an academic way 166 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:18,200 Speaker 2: to beat the people who have tens of thousands of 167 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:22,480 Speaker 2: hours on the water. There is not. There, just isn't. 168 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:25,560 Speaker 2: You're not going to be able to read about catching 169 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:28,800 Speaker 2: smallies in a post front in June and outfish somebody 170 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:31,560 Speaker 2: who's had to figure out on the water how to 171 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:35,000 Speaker 2: catch big small mouth in cold fronts in June several 172 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 2: years in a row. It doesn't work that way. This 173 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:40,760 Speaker 2: doesn't work in deer hunting either. You have to get 174 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:43,680 Speaker 2: out there with the deer and you have to give 175 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:46,480 Speaker 2: yourself to the process of being a deer hunter who 176 00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:50,240 Speaker 2: is trying to get better. This means doing the challenging 177 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 2: stuff versus you know, not hunting. It means figuring out 178 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:57,040 Speaker 2: how to kill a buck on October eighth, when most 179 00:09:57,080 --> 00:10:00,120 Speaker 2: folks would rather stay home until the pre rut. The 180 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:03,480 Speaker 2: advice on how to kill big bucks probably mostly doesn't 181 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 2: apply to you, and it will never beat out your 182 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:10,760 Speaker 2: instincts and intuitions if you work to develop them by 183 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:14,679 Speaker 2: being in the woods solving the problem of where are 184 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:17,600 Speaker 2: the deer, where are the big deer? And how do 185 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:27,880 Speaker 2: I get to them? Undetected? Most people also won't kill 186 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:31,040 Speaker 2: big Bucks with any level of consistency because most people 187 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:35,560 Speaker 2: aren't very good at trying new things out. We put 188 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:38,480 Speaker 2: stands where we like stands. We sit the food plot 189 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:41,120 Speaker 2: a lot because it's easy, but we also just lay 190 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:44,880 Speaker 2: down a pattern of ourselves that the deer can figure out, 191 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:48,160 Speaker 2: and they do figure it out super quickly. But trying 192 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:51,679 Speaker 2: out new stuff, tactics, sitting different spots you know where 193 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 2: it's probably a real crap shoot, you know, that will 194 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:58,440 Speaker 2: help you kill big Bucks more often. And do you 195 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:02,480 Speaker 2: know why? Because you'll encounter deer where and when you 196 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:07,760 Speaker 2: think you shouldn't. You'll have encounters with deer when other 197 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:11,679 Speaker 2: people say you won't. You'll learn about the deer and 198 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:14,720 Speaker 2: about yourself at the same time. And how important this 199 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:18,160 Speaker 2: process is. Now, There's one thing I'm getting more and 200 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:20,800 Speaker 2: more obsessed with as I age, which is like the 201 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:25,040 Speaker 2: importance of momentum on life. If you sit the same 202 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:28,440 Speaker 2: stands over and over and you see fewer deer, your 203 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:31,240 Speaker 2: momentum is going to slow down and you're going to 204 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:34,680 Speaker 2: give into it. This is bad. Now. If you try 205 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:37,640 Speaker 2: new stuff and believe you're giving yourself a fighting chance 206 00:11:37,679 --> 00:11:40,840 Speaker 2: of meeting up with a big one. You'll mostly fail, 207 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:45,000 Speaker 2: but you'll be actively failing at something that will almost 208 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:49,400 Speaker 2: always work at some point. And when it does work, 209 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:52,360 Speaker 2: even if it's just a long distant sighting for three 210 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:56,720 Speaker 2: seconds through the woods, that's a momentum shift. It's a 211 00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 2: reinforcement thing. It makes it a hell of a lot 212 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:02,600 Speaker 2: easier to keep going, keep trying new stuff out. This 213 00:12:02,679 --> 00:12:05,280 Speaker 2: is hard to do, but as I've said, killing big 214 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:08,559 Speaker 2: deer is hard. In fact, I'm sick of telling people 215 00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:10,920 Speaker 2: how to do it, because even when we know the 216 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:13,960 Speaker 2: best ways to kill big deer, we fight with ourselves 217 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:16,920 Speaker 2: because we don't want to give the process what it needs. 218 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:21,680 Speaker 2: The easy example of this to understand anyway, is the 219 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:25,000 Speaker 2: rut hunt on a pinch point or funnel. You know, 220 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:28,320 Speaker 2: train traps are the ticket during the rut, and if 221 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:31,000 Speaker 2: you learn to look for them and identify them, you're 222 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:33,480 Speaker 2: ahead of the competition in a lot of ways, but 223 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:35,559 Speaker 2: not as much as you will be if you can 224 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:38,480 Speaker 2: just be more patient. The all day said thing has 225 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:41,400 Speaker 2: been done to death, but time on stand kills big 226 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:44,720 Speaker 2: bucks when they are looking for does most quality pinch 227 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:48,120 Speaker 2: points in funnels will see some big buck movement during 228 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:51,440 Speaker 2: prime time at some point, you know, maybe it's once 229 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:55,080 Speaker 2: every few days, and your cameras show you that. And 230 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:57,520 Speaker 2: since your cameras show you that, you can look at 231 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:00,280 Speaker 2: it one of two ways. You can look at it 232 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:03,520 Speaker 2: and say, if I put in five dark to dark 233 00:13:03,559 --> 00:13:06,480 Speaker 2: sits in a row, which is a big ask, but 234 00:13:06,559 --> 00:13:09,240 Speaker 2: if I do that in that spot, the odds are 235 00:13:09,679 --> 00:13:12,200 Speaker 2: way in my favor to have a good one come 236 00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:15,560 Speaker 2: through when I'm there. But the way we mostly look 237 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,400 Speaker 2: at it is that there's only a random good one 238 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:21,680 Speaker 2: going through every couple of days. It's not consistent enough 239 00:13:21,679 --> 00:13:25,120 Speaker 2: to justify the extra hours in the midday watching squirrels, 240 00:13:25,679 --> 00:13:28,280 Speaker 2: you know, running around and fighting off those tree stand 241 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:30,800 Speaker 2: naps that always seem to hit so hard at lunchtime. 242 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:35,360 Speaker 2: So now we reinforce these thoughts, which ties right into 243 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:38,360 Speaker 2: the momentum thing, by saying, well, you know, such and 244 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:40,480 Speaker 2: such put in fifty six hours this week and he 245 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 2: didn't kill one, So what chance do I have. Well, 246 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:45,160 Speaker 2: you can put in a lot of hours and not 247 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:47,520 Speaker 2: kill a big buck, but you still have a better 248 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:49,880 Speaker 2: chance of killing one with lots of hours on stand 249 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:52,720 Speaker 2: versus fewer hours on stand. I don't know how to 250 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,600 Speaker 2: put that any other way. This is where hunting gets 251 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:58,559 Speaker 2: even wonkier. Though in the early season. If you put 252 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,040 Speaker 2: fifty six hours into a pattern in it it doesn't work. 253 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:05,080 Speaker 2: You probably put about forty eight hours too many into it. 254 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:08,080 Speaker 2: It clearly wasn't the right choice. And volume hunting a 255 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:11,360 Speaker 2: spot to the point of insanity doesn't increase your odds 256 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:15,040 Speaker 2: of success, it decreases them. During the rut, that's a 257 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:18,560 Speaker 2: different story. We often do the exact opposite of what 258 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:22,040 Speaker 2: we should by sitting the same field edge stands over 259 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:24,680 Speaker 2: and over early and then deciding that we have to 260 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:27,000 Speaker 2: be super mobile rut hunters who set up in five 261 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:30,400 Speaker 2: different trees per day when November hits. If you want 262 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:32,400 Speaker 2: to kill big Bucks, you have to play the odds 263 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 2: game a lot, and you have to try to do 264 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:39,120 Speaker 2: the stuff that's necessary to get you close. Now, another 265 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:41,680 Speaker 2: thing that keeps most of us from consistently killing big 266 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:45,200 Speaker 2: Bucks is we give our sits too much weight, like 267 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:48,840 Speaker 2: each individual sit is too important. We put too much 268 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:51,800 Speaker 2: faith that this will be the morning, you know, because 269 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:54,000 Speaker 2: the weather is perfect and the deer hunting app says 270 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:56,840 Speaker 2: they'll all be moving, and you know, the moon phase 271 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:00,560 Speaker 2: is right, and whatever else. Almost every time you believe 272 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:03,000 Speaker 2: that stuff, you're going to be proven wrong by the 273 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:06,640 Speaker 2: deer themselves. You have to hunt for one encounter, and 274 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:08,880 Speaker 2: you have to understand that most of the time your 275 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:12,240 Speaker 2: best plans will definitely not put you in bow range 276 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:14,800 Speaker 2: of a big buck. Maybe you can get really good 277 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:17,120 Speaker 2: and have one out of every twenty or thirty days 278 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:19,320 Speaker 2: in the field result in a close encounter or a 279 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:21,720 Speaker 2: big one, But the key is to understand that you 280 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:25,920 Speaker 2: can do everything right and you're almost guaranteed to still fail. 281 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:28,880 Speaker 2: But the more times you do everything right and don't 282 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:31,600 Speaker 2: see or kill a big buck brings you closer to 283 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:34,040 Speaker 2: the time when he will actually walk by a twenty 284 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:37,760 Speaker 2: yards Deer hunting is a numbers game in so many 285 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 2: different ways, and this one is important because understanding that 286 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:43,720 Speaker 2: the failure part is just fine when you did your 287 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:48,120 Speaker 2: best isn't just some kindergarten level bullshit. It's true. And 288 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:50,640 Speaker 2: those great deer hunters you look up to who seem 289 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:55,080 Speaker 2: to always kill, they mostly always fail at killing big 290 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:58,840 Speaker 2: deer when they hunt. They're just more consistent than most people, 291 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 2: so their failure rate is lower, and that's pretty tightly 292 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 2: correlated to hunting. The way they think they need to 293 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:09,240 Speaker 2: as much as they can, and they also scout a ton, 294 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:12,560 Speaker 2: So it's probably the number one reason most hunters don't 295 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:17,040 Speaker 2: kill big bucks. Scouting time in season scouting time, i 296 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:20,840 Speaker 2: should say, is as valuable, if not more valuable, than 297 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:24,600 Speaker 2: actually hunting. We have this idea that scouting in the 298 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:26,480 Speaker 2: season is a good way to bump our bucks onto 299 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:29,920 Speaker 2: the neighbors. But if you're not seeing or encountering big bucks, 300 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:33,960 Speaker 2: how could that possibly matter? Now, sure, you know your 301 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:36,840 Speaker 2: trail cameras tell you that big deer are around, and 302 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:39,200 Speaker 2: so you can use that as an excuse to not 303 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:42,520 Speaker 2: go looking for fresh sign. That's a bad idea. Deer 304 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:46,080 Speaker 2: concentrations they shift and they move throughout the season, you know, 305 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:49,840 Speaker 2: depending on pressure and food and available cover. Big bucks 306 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:52,880 Speaker 2: move throughout the season two and they leave a lot 307 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 2: of sign when they get to new areas or start 308 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:59,160 Speaker 2: spending lots of time in very specific spots. Now, the 309 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:03,320 Speaker 2: off season stuff is important, believe me. Winter scouting, you know, 310 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:07,800 Speaker 2: it's a great way to develop good rout spots. Summer scouting, 311 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:09,960 Speaker 2: you know, it's a great way to get into the 312 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:12,280 Speaker 2: season and kill one early. But if you want to 313 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:15,040 Speaker 2: kill a big one, in October or the pre rod 314 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,359 Speaker 2: scouting right now for where the big bucks are is 315 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,159 Speaker 2: the ticket. Now. Too many of us wait for the 316 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:24,920 Speaker 2: deer to show up where we want to hunt them, 317 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:27,720 Speaker 2: instead of going to find where they are and hunting 318 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:30,480 Speaker 2: them in their spots. And when you do that, you 319 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:34,120 Speaker 2: give yourself a whole season of being in the game versus, 320 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 2: you know, trying to utilize a couple of windows of 321 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:39,680 Speaker 2: time that you and everyone else is waiting for where 322 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:41,639 Speaker 2: we kind of all deem that the deer should be 323 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:46,080 Speaker 2: the most vulnerable. The easy way to combat this stuff 324 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:48,480 Speaker 2: is to try to force yourself to use some time 325 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:51,280 Speaker 2: to go look at some spots. Let's say you have 326 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:53,159 Speaker 2: a day to hunt and you're going to do a 327 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:56,760 Speaker 2: morning sit in an afternoon sit. Find one spot to 328 00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:59,560 Speaker 2: sneak into during the midday that won't affect your other hunts. 329 00:18:00,119 --> 00:18:03,199 Speaker 2: Go look at a spot or maybe a couple sneak 330 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:05,399 Speaker 2: in like you plan to hunt, because you might need 331 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 2: to call an audible and hunt what you find. Understand though, 332 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:12,720 Speaker 2: that mostly you won't find anything good, But when you do, 333 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:15,000 Speaker 2: you'll be in a better position to kill a big 334 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:18,160 Speaker 2: buck right now then you will at any other point 335 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,240 Speaker 2: of the season and even sometimes during the rut. That's 336 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:23,600 Speaker 2: the power of in season scouting, and it's so much 337 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:28,159 Speaker 2: more important to us than sitting out and waiting for 338 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:30,520 Speaker 2: the bucks to get dumb, which is the last thing 339 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:33,280 Speaker 2: I want to talk about here. The rut is great, 340 00:18:33,359 --> 00:18:35,840 Speaker 2: it's fun. It's a leveling agent that gives each of 341 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:38,200 Speaker 2: us a better chance. But it doesn't make pressure deer 342 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:41,600 Speaker 2: super dumb. It just doesn't. If you believe that you're 343 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:44,040 Speaker 2: probably not going to kill big bucks very often. They 344 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:46,800 Speaker 2: aren't just super good at surviving for only eleven months 345 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:49,199 Speaker 2: of the year, even if they are prone to some 346 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:52,520 Speaker 2: riskier behavior during November, which they are. Got to give 347 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:56,240 Speaker 2: them the respect and the effort they deserve, and you'll 348 00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:59,080 Speaker 2: be surprised at what happens if you keep at it 349 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:03,679 Speaker 2: for a whole season. Do that, and come back tomorrow 350 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:06,159 Speaker 2: where I'm going to keep this podcast train rolling right 351 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:12,199 Speaker 2: along the tracks with another episode of Foundations. That's it 352 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:14,280 Speaker 2: for this episode. I'm Tony Peterson. This has been the 353 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:16,560 Speaker 2: Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, which is brought to you 354 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 2: by First Light. And if you like first Light and 355 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:20,600 Speaker 2: you want to add to your kid or you want 356 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:22,719 Speaker 2: to try it out for the first time. You need 357 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:24,840 Speaker 2: to go to FirstLight dot com right now because the 358 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:27,679 Speaker 2: white Tail Weeks sale is going on and there's a 359 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:31,000 Speaker 2: ton of good deals out there. 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