1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:05,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting. Present it by 3 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,760 Speaker 1: First Light, creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, 4 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:15,880 Speaker 1: saddle or blind. First Light Go Farther, Stay Longer, and 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,239 Speaker 1: now your host, Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:21,800 Speaker 2: Hey, everybody, welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, 7 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:23,640 Speaker 2: which is brought to you by First Light. I'm your 8 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 2: host Tony Peterson. Today I'm going to talk about one 9 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:30,040 Speaker 2: of the most underrated aspects of white tail hunting, understanding 10 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 2: deer browse. Hunters talk a lot about browse, but it's 11 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 2: always kind of like impassive. I mean, how often do 12 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 2: you hear about someone who killed a big buck on 13 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 2: a browse pattern? Maybe this is a big maybe if 14 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 2: you follow some big woods buck hunters, you'll hear mention 15 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 2: a browse, But it's pretty likely to hear anyone credit 16 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:05,559 Speaker 2: brows with their buck kills in most places destination food 17 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 2: sources and food plots. But the truth is deer have 18 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:13,880 Speaker 2: a crazy diverse diet and understanding your local browse options 19 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 2: can help you kill more deer, which is what this 20 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:29,760 Speaker 2: episode is all about. While I'm not as hyped up 21 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:32,040 Speaker 2: to kill turkeys with a shotgun. As I used to be, 22 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 2: I still love it. I think I love the satisfaction 23 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 2: of calling a bird in to my decoys and arrowing 24 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,280 Speaker 2: it at seven yards like a tiny bit more. But 25 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:44,680 Speaker 2: there's no denying that a day is spent running and 26 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 2: gunning for longbeards is a day well spent. Now, this 27 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:50,960 Speaker 2: can be accomplished at any given day in the spring, 28 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 2: obviously at least when the season's open. But for me, 29 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 2: if I'm going to carry a shotgun and put my 30 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 2: back to a tree, there's a timing consideration, and I 31 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:03,680 Speaker 2: always try to get right if I can. You see, 32 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 2: many of the states I hunt for turkeys are pretty 33 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 2: far north. This means that in the early season, which 34 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 2: I guess we could probably call I don't know, all 35 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 2: of April, at least up here, just to make things 36 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 2: easier during that time, the food sources, they're real predictable. 37 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:21,560 Speaker 2: The birds are going to be out scratching in agricultural fields. 38 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,919 Speaker 2: They'll root around in the leaf litter for acorns, often 39 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 2: red oak acorns where I live, because most of the 40 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:29,680 Speaker 2: white oak acorns got eaten up a long time ago. 41 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 2: Those birds will also go digging around in the swamps 42 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 2: for some kind of early emergent plant that I have 43 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,600 Speaker 2: yet to really figure out. And actually, honestly, I don't 44 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:38,920 Speaker 2: even know if it's a plant. They might be digging 45 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 2: up snails or something for all I know. What I 46 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 2: do know is about the first week, when I'm hearing 47 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 2: toads and frogs really chirping away in the backyard pond, 48 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 2: I know I'm going to go out and watch turkeys 49 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,119 Speaker 2: work the edges of swamps. In fact, I often see 50 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 2: deer do this too, and I doubt they're eating snails. 51 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 2: Once April is in the rear view mirror, you know, 52 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:04,679 Speaker 2: then I start to get excited about the prospect of 53 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:08,080 Speaker 2: running a gun for turkeys. This is because it's usually 54 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:11,520 Speaker 2: warm enough for the plants to start butting out. There's 55 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 2: usually some really consistent insect activity at that point, and 56 00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 2: I'd think after five or six months and no fresh 57 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 2: salad and no buggy delicacies, the turkeys, you know, they're 58 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:24,480 Speaker 2: gonna split up if they were still flocked up, and 59 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 2: they're going to hit these new food sources hard. And 60 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:30,639 Speaker 2: they often go from being super visible in the fields 61 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 2: to being far less visible, which simply means that they're 62 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 2: in the woods, and for some reason, a reason I 63 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,120 Speaker 2: can't really explain, I love setting up in the woods 64 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 2: to calling gobblers. It's so fun to hear them sound 65 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 2: off and to know they are coming, but not be 66 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 2: able to see them till they're damn near within shotgun 67 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 2: range already. Then you just catch that glimpse of a 68 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 2: fan in the brush or a you know, a redhead 69 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 2: bobbing through the woods, and oh so sweet. It's also 70 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 2: pretty damn reliable experience. In other words, the transition of 71 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 2: food sources. It's gonna happen during turkey season at some point, 72 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,280 Speaker 2: and when it does, I know that I'm gonna get 73 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:10,640 Speaker 2: out and try to shoot one in the face with 74 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 2: my twelve gage in the woods. If this sounds like 75 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:17,479 Speaker 2: something I'm making up, do yourself a favor. If you 76 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:19,600 Speaker 2: happen to shoot a bird when the woods are really 77 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:23,040 Speaker 2: greening up and you're worried about, you know, being carried 78 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:27,560 Speaker 2: off by ticks by that point, dissect his crop while 79 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:29,479 Speaker 2: the toms don't eat as much as the hens do 80 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:31,800 Speaker 2: throughout the spring, which is why I don't know. If 81 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:33,600 Speaker 2: you want to shoot a real heavyweight, like a twenty 82 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 2: eight pounder, you're going to want to do it in 83 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:39,159 Speaker 2: early spring versus later. They do still eat all season long, 84 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 2: They're not going to pass up a quick snack while 85 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:44,440 Speaker 2: they're in the midst of their lusty strutting and gobbling, 86 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:48,479 Speaker 2: you know, across the landscape looking for a girlfriend, you know. 87 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:51,160 Speaker 2: And if you do cut open their crop, you'll probably 88 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:55,719 Speaker 2: see some fresh leaves and often some kind of bugs. 89 00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:59,640 Speaker 2: Sometimes those insects will still be moving, which you'd think 90 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:01,120 Speaker 2: would have to be kind of a weird feeling for 91 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:03,360 Speaker 2: the birds, although they're probably used to it and probably 92 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:06,800 Speaker 2: like it anyway. I'll bet if you could figure out 93 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 2: how to do it, you could shoot deer in at 94 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:13,039 Speaker 2: least September and October, and you know, probably much later 95 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:17,520 Speaker 2: farther south, and you'd see all kinds of interesting plants 96 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:20,760 Speaker 2: in their stomach. I'll bet the diversity of that would 97 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:25,000 Speaker 2: rival any gobbler in the spring. In fact, this with 98 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 2: deer has been studied quite a bit to find folks 99 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:32,400 Speaker 2: at the Mississippi State University Deer Ecology and Management Lab. 100 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 2: They have studied this so of other researchers, and the 101 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 2: findings are fascinating. But for starters, it pays to understand 102 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:46,480 Speaker 2: not only what white tails eat, but why they do it. 103 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:49,279 Speaker 2: They seem to have filled an ecological hole that other 104 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 2: ungulates like elk, moose, and even cattle just didn't fill. 105 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:57,160 Speaker 2: For whatever reason, those grass grazers got a far different 106 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:02,159 Speaker 2: diet than the white tail deer, highly specialized feeders. You 107 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 2: can understand this just by looking at their long, slender 108 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:09,479 Speaker 2: snout and their tongue. This allows them to nibble on 109 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:13,679 Speaker 2: really small parts of plants, really specific parts of plants, 110 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:18,880 Speaker 2: instead of just wholesale mowing down on huge mouthfuls of grass. 111 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:24,600 Speaker 2: And they also have superactive salivary glands which produce enzymes 112 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:28,280 Speaker 2: and help them break down and deactivate certain plant compounds 113 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 2: like tannins, which are found in food sources like those 114 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:36,320 Speaker 2: red oak acorns I mentioned earlier. Their gastro intestinal track 115 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:40,960 Speaker 2: further aids them in eating foods other critters can't, allowing 116 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:44,279 Speaker 2: them to fulfill their energy requirements from a variety of plants. 117 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 2: How big of a variety you might ask, Well, in 118 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:51,440 Speaker 2: one study of southeastern white tails, they were shown to 119 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 2: eat over four hundred species of plants. Now keep in 120 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:59,360 Speaker 2: mind that's just what they documented during the study and 121 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:02,840 Speaker 2: probably undershoots the total amount of plants that deer can eat, 122 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:08,040 Speaker 2: maybe by a lot. Of course, just because deer can 123 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,160 Speaker 2: and do eat hundreds of different kinds of plants throughout 124 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 2: the year doesn't mean they do so equally. In another study, 125 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:18,800 Speaker 2: researchers noted that they're subjects eight over one hundred and 126 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:22,000 Speaker 2: forty different species of plants, but just one third of 127 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 2: those plants made up ninety three percent of the deer's diet. 128 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 2: And this brings up an interesting thing about white tails, 129 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:31,720 Speaker 2: even if it really doesn't have any bearing on how 130 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 2: you'll hunt them better. They are constantly testing out food sources, 131 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 2: likely to figure out, you know, how palatable they are 132 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:42,440 Speaker 2: and what kind of nutritional value they offer, and this 133 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:45,239 Speaker 2: probably hits a fever pitch for deer from the months 134 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 2: of May through I don't know, maybe September or October, 135 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:53,640 Speaker 2: when the most brows is available to them. In fact, 136 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:57,400 Speaker 2: it has been shown that brows and forbes are the 137 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 2: most important forages for deer, providing over eighty percent of 138 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:05,560 Speaker 2: their diet at least until fall. So as summer progresses, 139 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:09,400 Speaker 2: their diet starts to move towards soft mass, and then 140 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 2: during the fall it ratches up to hard mass. But 141 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:15,920 Speaker 2: the brows still a very real part of their diet 142 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 2: and a huge component of their ability to stay well fed, healthy, 143 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 2: and survive the winter. Okay, so you've gotten a science lesson, 144 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:28,440 Speaker 2: a biology lesson, and some super exciting facts to what 145 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 2: your appetite. But what does this mean to you as 146 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:35,240 Speaker 2: a hunter. Well, I don't know. Basically, it means that 147 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 2: you should probably think about how brows could play into 148 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 2: your hunting strategy. Let me give you an easy example 149 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:45,440 Speaker 2: of this, forestry or logging. If you're a big woods hunter, 150 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:49,520 Speaker 2: or really you hunt anywhere where old growth forests might 151 00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 2: meet the chainsaws at some point and the sun might 152 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:54,600 Speaker 2: get to hit the forest floor in a meaningful way 153 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 2: after a couple of decades of being blocked out by 154 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:01,439 Speaker 2: the canopy. You know a couple of things. The first 155 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:05,440 Speaker 2: is that fresh clearcuts they look nothing like old growth forests. 156 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:10,079 Speaker 2: Aside from the obvious changes, like most of the big 157 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:15,360 Speaker 2: trees are gone, the ground cover just explodes. Nature is 158 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 2: a quick eraser, and this is never more clear than 159 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:20,959 Speaker 2: when you watch a section of forests that has been 160 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:25,200 Speaker 2: logged starts as suddenly mature. The variety of plant life 161 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 2: that springs up is always impressive. Often we only pay 162 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:32,600 Speaker 2: attention to fresh clearcuts when they start to grow up 163 00:09:32,679 --> 00:09:36,000 Speaker 2: just a little bit, because they provide excellent security cover 164 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:38,800 Speaker 2: for white tails. They are also the best places to 165 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:41,160 Speaker 2: find rough grouse a lot of times, if that's your thing. 166 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:44,560 Speaker 2: But it's not just the security of a thick, fresh 167 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:48,320 Speaker 2: clearcut that draws deer in. There are a couple other factors. 168 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:52,640 Speaker 2: For one, there's almost always an edge created in this scenario, 169 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:55,200 Speaker 2: and you know that I know and love to talk 170 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:59,120 Speaker 2: about how much deer love edges. But what matters here 171 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:02,760 Speaker 2: for this podcast is the brows. A section that has 172 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:05,400 Speaker 2: been recently log is going to offer brows that the 173 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:10,080 Speaker 2: deer just cannot get in older growth forests. I've spent 174 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:12,760 Speaker 2: quite a bit of my time hunting big woods deer, 175 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:15,080 Speaker 2: and I'll tell you that nothing gets me to change 176 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:18,720 Speaker 2: my plans faster than when I run across a fresh clearcut. 177 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:20,720 Speaker 2: I know that it might play into my plans for 178 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:24,520 Speaker 2: ten years or more. To be honest, they're that good 179 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:28,120 Speaker 2: and that valuable to the deer. But what if you 180 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:30,840 Speaker 2: don't live in the North country, or you know some 181 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:33,559 Speaker 2: of the huge pine plantations down south, the big woods 182 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 2: swamps down there, brows can still be key. I'll give 183 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:40,560 Speaker 2: you another example. When I last drew an Iowa tag, 184 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:43,439 Speaker 2: which is about as not big woodsy type of hunting 185 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:46,840 Speaker 2: as you can get, I spent my first full day 186 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:50,440 Speaker 2: covered in deer on public land. Now, this land offered 187 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:54,640 Speaker 2: the deer more than the private land does. In addition 188 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:57,720 Speaker 2: to woods, meadows and river bottoms, it has state planted 189 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:01,719 Speaker 2: food plots and is checkerboarded between private farms that are 190 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:06,200 Speaker 2: mostly agricultural fields. If you were to draw up a 191 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:10,640 Speaker 2: perfect deer scenario type of region, this area would serve 192 00:11:10,679 --> 00:11:15,400 Speaker 2: pretty well as inspiration. Now, during my opening morning sit 193 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:17,640 Speaker 2: when I eventually hit and lost the biggest buck of 194 00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:19,000 Speaker 2: my life that I'm going to talk about a lot 195 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:23,760 Speaker 2: because it still stings, I watched several bucks and doze 196 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:26,560 Speaker 2: leave a private alfalfa field. When they got to my 197 00:11:26,679 --> 00:11:30,320 Speaker 2: side of the fence, they spent some time looking around. 198 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 2: Some of them eventually just headed off to go straight 199 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:36,320 Speaker 2: to their bedding, but others hit the edge of the 200 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:41,280 Speaker 2: meadow and they really started browsing. They'd pick and nibble 201 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:43,439 Speaker 2: their way along and then dive into the woods for 202 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 2: a while, picking and nibbling along their way there, then 203 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:50,480 Speaker 2: they'd break back out into the meadow. It was awesome 204 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:55,040 Speaker 2: and a really good lesson. The destination food source was 205 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:58,400 Speaker 2: definitely a part of their daily routine. It was far 206 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:02,680 Speaker 2: from their only source accountries. And since I could hunt 207 00:12:02,679 --> 00:12:05,960 Speaker 2: the brows, but I couldn't hunt where they were coming 208 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 2: from the destination food source, that browse and that little 209 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:12,320 Speaker 2: pattern around the meatow became even that much more important. 210 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:13,040 Speaker 1: Now. 211 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:15,240 Speaker 2: Later that evening, when I scrambled to set up to 212 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:19,079 Speaker 2: mostly observe a river bottom flat that it probably I 213 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:21,040 Speaker 2: don't know has four feet of flowing water in it 214 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:24,480 Speaker 2: right now, I watched a whole parade of dozen fawns. 215 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:28,000 Speaker 2: They all browsed their way through the river bottom, which, 216 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:30,839 Speaker 2: if you hunt river bottoms as much as I do, 217 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:34,040 Speaker 2: you know how much they loved that. I'd bet quite 218 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:35,800 Speaker 2: a bit of money that there is some sort of 219 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:40,280 Speaker 2: microhabitat situation going on in floodplains that promote certain kinds 220 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:43,640 Speaker 2: of plant growth, and that the deer know there's good 221 00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:46,280 Speaker 2: stuff to nibble on there. In fact, one of the 222 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:49,720 Speaker 2: primary plants I find in those situations are nettles, which 223 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:52,280 Speaker 2: I don't know suck to walk through, but you know 224 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:55,160 Speaker 2: what the deer eat the crap out of them somehow. 225 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:58,120 Speaker 2: Maybe it's like when we eat a ghost pepper. I 226 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:01,680 Speaker 2: don't know. Another super annoying plant that deer are prone 227 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:05,360 Speaker 2: to chomping on as Multiflora rose. These thorny bitches are 228 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:09,040 Speaker 2: an invasive species that is despised by farmers and ranchers 229 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:13,679 Speaker 2: and just a healthy population of landowners overall. It's also 230 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:15,760 Speaker 2: on the menu for white tails and grows in plenty 231 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:19,120 Speaker 2: of different places, which also provides pretty dang good bedding 232 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:22,400 Speaker 2: cover in addition to brows. Now, I could list more 233 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:25,280 Speaker 2: specific type of plants that deer brows, but it doesn't 234 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:28,880 Speaker 2: matter because you guys live all over the place. And 235 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:31,080 Speaker 2: what that means is that you have to learn what 236 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:34,120 Speaker 2: is in your region, at least to some extent, and 237 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 2: then try to understand what would be valuable to the 238 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:39,920 Speaker 2: deer when you're hunting them. This is most easily, although 239 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 2: I'll admit it's not really that easy to accomplish two 240 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:46,960 Speaker 2: different ways. The first is to scout and look for 241 00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:49,280 Speaker 2: nipped off plants. I guess that is kind of easy. 242 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:51,800 Speaker 2: When the local deer are really keying in on a 243 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:55,880 Speaker 2: specific food source. It's pretty obvious. Now. If you do 244 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:57,880 Speaker 2: this now, you'll get a chance to see what the 245 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:00,440 Speaker 2: deer eat in the spring, which it might not be 246 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:02,720 Speaker 2: of much use to you for your fall hunting. But 247 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:05,520 Speaker 2: as the summer progresses and you get out to put 248 00:14:05,559 --> 00:14:07,480 Speaker 2: up some trail cameras or maybe spend some time on 249 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:10,600 Speaker 2: the spotting scope, you have the opportunity to dial in 250 00:14:10,679 --> 00:14:15,079 Speaker 2: some browse intel. Again. Oh, maybe you're hiking into a 251 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:18,640 Speaker 2: secluded spot like a pond to hang your camera, and 252 00:14:18,679 --> 00:14:20,400 Speaker 2: wherever you put it, it's going to allow you the 253 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:22,880 Speaker 2: chance to look at some greenery for signs of browsing 254 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:25,840 Speaker 2: on the way in and out. When you're glassing, you 255 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:28,160 Speaker 2: actually have a better chance to figure out what deer 256 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:31,280 Speaker 2: like to browse on. Remember when I mentioned watching those 257 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:34,800 Speaker 2: deer in Iowa browsing along a meadow, Well, when you 258 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:38,760 Speaker 2: spend time glassing summertime, deer in fields see the exact 259 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:41,680 Speaker 2: same behavior. I mean, it's crazy how often you can 260 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:44,080 Speaker 2: watch a bachelor group head out into the alfalfa or 261 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:47,560 Speaker 2: soybeans or whatever where they're going to definitely feed for 262 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:51,320 Speaker 2: a while, but often they'll start to pingpong their way 263 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:54,120 Speaker 2: back into the cover and then out of it. I 264 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:56,320 Speaker 2: watched a pile of deer do this back in twenty 265 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:59,760 Speaker 2: fifteen at the back end of a beanfield, and when 266 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 2: I snuck in there to hang a stand, I found 267 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 2: a bunch of wild grapes growing there where many of 268 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,720 Speaker 2: the bucks seemed to disappear to On the second night 269 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:10,080 Speaker 2: of the season, when the wind was right, I slipped 270 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:13,760 Speaker 2: into that stand. Two little bucks showed up first, and 271 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:15,800 Speaker 2: then they were joined by a much bigger eight pointer. 272 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:18,960 Speaker 2: While I managed to grunt him in. It also just 273 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:21,240 Speaker 2: happened to be that the two youngsters prayed it right 274 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:24,000 Speaker 2: over to me and started browsing on the field edge. 275 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:26,160 Speaker 2: I saw them eating some of those grapes, but I 276 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 2: also saw them browsing on something else that was in there. 277 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:30,520 Speaker 2: I don't know what it was, but it didn't matter. 278 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:34,080 Speaker 2: Eventually that bigger deer followed them in, and when he 279 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:36,600 Speaker 2: got to twenty yards he made my whole season awful 280 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:41,560 Speaker 2: short and awful sweet. Of course, this example involves a 281 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:45,760 Speaker 2: destination food source and soft mast and some field edge brows, 282 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 2: but that's better than focusing on just a single type 283 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:52,360 Speaker 2: of food. The more things your stand sites have going 284 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:55,600 Speaker 2: for him, the better. Like having a river crossing that 285 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:58,800 Speaker 2: is a natural funnel while also being a water source, 286 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:01,760 Speaker 2: and hell, maybe it leads up to a fence crossing, 287 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:04,320 Speaker 2: and that means that you really have three things working 288 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:07,160 Speaker 2: for you instead of one in a given spot. I 289 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:11,520 Speaker 2: like those types of setups a lot. But what if 290 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:13,960 Speaker 2: you can't pin down a specific type of brows that 291 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:17,840 Speaker 2: should be hot during a specific part of the season. Well, 292 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:19,960 Speaker 2: go back two weeks and listen to the episode I 293 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:22,480 Speaker 2: put out about where bucks like to travel. In it, 294 00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:25,200 Speaker 2: I talk a lot about security cover and how they 295 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:29,440 Speaker 2: stick to the thick stuff but also gravitate toward edges. 296 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 2: If you just want to find brows without getting too specific, 297 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:36,520 Speaker 2: edge cover is probably your ticket. Where two types of 298 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:39,760 Speaker 2: habitat meet, you'll often have the chance for very specific 299 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:43,160 Speaker 2: types of greenery. This might be an old homestead and 300 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:46,200 Speaker 2: a bigger wood lot, It might just be an overgrown 301 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:49,680 Speaker 2: fence row, or it might be where a floodplain meets 302 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:53,280 Speaker 2: a little bit higher ground. These types of spots exist 303 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 2: all over the country, all over where deer live, and 304 00:16:56,920 --> 00:16:59,400 Speaker 2: it's almost a guarantee that no matter where you hunt, 305 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:03,520 Speaker 2: there is an edge pattern to work with, and often 306 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:06,879 Speaker 2: the edge pattern is good because of multiple factors. It 307 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:09,080 Speaker 2: might be a type of cover that connects bigger wood lots, 308 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:10,560 Speaker 2: or it just might be a little bit thicker than 309 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:15,119 Speaker 2: the surrounding area. It might offer ideal sized saplings to rub, 310 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:17,880 Speaker 2: or you know, just a good place to lay down 311 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:21,880 Speaker 2: some sign, or maybe it just coincides with the best 312 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:26,119 Speaker 2: safest travel routes. But no matter what, it's also very 313 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:30,760 Speaker 2: very likely to contain some brows. There's one more thing 314 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:32,560 Speaker 2: I want to say on this before I wrap it up. 315 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:36,480 Speaker 2: I've been preaching a lot about paying attention. It's just 316 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:38,920 Speaker 2: plain old good advice. But there's something else to say 317 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:42,280 Speaker 2: on it. Pay attention to what the deer brows on 318 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:45,800 Speaker 2: when you're hunting them. Take no to what the does 319 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:50,080 Speaker 2: nibble on, and the little bucks observe the deer because 320 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:51,840 Speaker 2: what they nibble on is they pass through on their 321 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:53,760 Speaker 2: way back to bed in the morning. It's going to 322 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:56,199 Speaker 2: tell you an awful lot about what they're interested in 323 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:59,720 Speaker 2: eating from year to year to year, and file that 324 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:02,800 Speaker 2: away the old memory bank. What the deer eat during 325 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:05,240 Speaker 2: a certain week in the fall this year, they may 326 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:08,600 Speaker 2: very well eat the same week next year. What a 327 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:13,040 Speaker 2: forky finds delicious tonight One hundred and forty incher might 328 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:16,320 Speaker 2: not be able to resist tomorrow. Watch them work through 329 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:18,920 Speaker 2: the woods, and pay special attention to deer that seem 330 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:21,520 Speaker 2: to concentrate on a specific, tiny little patch of woods, 331 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:25,400 Speaker 2: because it's probably some brows right there that they're really on. 332 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:31,440 Speaker 2: Whatever they are all gravitating toward to you, It's pretty 333 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:35,000 Speaker 2: important being a hunter. Don't be afraid to either go 334 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:37,040 Speaker 2: set up over it, or at least walk over and 335 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:40,200 Speaker 2: take a closer look to dig in. What you find 336 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:42,560 Speaker 2: might serve you extremely well in the next few days 337 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:48,160 Speaker 2: or the next twenty seasons. That's it for this week, 338 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:50,280 Speaker 2: my friends. I'm Tony Peterson. It's been the Wire to 339 00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:52,920 Speaker 2: Hunt Foundations podcast, which is brought to you by First Light. 340 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:55,680 Speaker 2: As always, thank you so much for listening. If you 341 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:58,480 Speaker 2: want some more white Till advice, head on over to 342 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:01,320 Speaker 2: the meadeater dot com slash why and you can see 343 00:19:01,359 --> 00:19:04,960 Speaker 2: a ton of hunting articles written by hunting experts on 344 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:09,600 Speaker 2: all kinds of things, hunting styles, tactics, strategies, understanding other 345 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:12,119 Speaker 2: food sources, all kinds of good stuff. Go check it out.