1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:05,120 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 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:23,639 Speaker 2: Hey, everyone, welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast, 7 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:25,799 Speaker 2: which is brought to you by first Light. I'm your host, 8 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 2: Tony Peterson, and this week is all about hunting where 9 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 2: the deer density is real high. Last week I covered 10 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 2: the dismal reality of hunting where very few deer live. 11 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:50,320 Speaker 2: But this week I'm going to go the opposite way. 12 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 2: I'm going to talk about the challenges of hunting areas 13 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:56,320 Speaker 2: that are simply full up with deer. Now, this is 14 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 2: a good problem to have for most hunters, but it 15 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 2: still can be a problem. That's probably for like, I 16 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:03,760 Speaker 2: don't know, the swamp hunters and the folks who spend 17 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 2: their fall looking at pine squirrels and thousands of acres 18 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 2: of timber. It's probably pretty hard for them to understand. 19 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 2: But it is true there are considerations to be made 20 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:13,800 Speaker 2: when you're dealing with lots of deer, and we often 21 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 2: don't really think how a high deer density should affect 22 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 2: our strategies. But it does. And now I'm gonna tell 23 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:31,040 Speaker 2: you why. Probably about I don't know, fifteen or sixteen 24 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:33,559 Speaker 2: years ago now, my fishing partner and I were signed 25 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:37,200 Speaker 2: up to fish a tournament that was launching out of Winona, Minnesota. 26 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 2: Since that's where I went to college. It was always 27 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 2: a fun venue. It was always fun placed fish because 28 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:47,360 Speaker 2: there are I don't know, only a few places I 29 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 2: fished more than the Mississippi River in those various pools 30 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 2: of southeastern Minnesota. The tournament was a late summer deal, 31 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 2: which usually means a couple of things. It means you 32 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:58,200 Speaker 2: usually have to weed through a lot of bass to 33 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 2: get big ones. And it means that the best spots 34 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 2: often feature schooling fish. You know, certain wing dams, sand drops. 35 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:09,239 Speaker 2: There's just certain spots that will draw both large mouth 36 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:11,360 Speaker 2: and small mouths together on the river to post up 37 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 2: and feed, you know, on what the mighty Mississippi can 38 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:17,799 Speaker 2: funnel toward their gullets. A lot of times this is 39 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 2: based around baitfish, but it sometimes involves fish in a 40 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:23,639 Speaker 2: shell bed for bass that are keyed into concentration of 41 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 2: crayfish or something else. The thing about it is you 42 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 2: want to get to a spot and milk it for 43 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 2: all of the fish that can give you, because you know, 44 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 2: in the middle of a bunch of fourteen to sixteen inches, 45 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:36,919 Speaker 2: there are going to be a few that weigh three 46 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 2: four pounds or more. Those fish are the ones that 47 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 2: put you in the money. Which is as simple as 48 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:44,800 Speaker 2: I can kind of lay this out. Well, when my 49 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 2: partner and I started pre fishing for that tournament, we 50 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 2: knew it could go a lot of ways, but also 51 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 2: that if we wanted to find bigger fish, we probably 52 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 2: needed to flip some jigs or throw some frogs. Both 53 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 2: are tactics that tend to produce big bites, especially in 54 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 2: the summer, which is always the case if you go 55 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 2: throw swimming jigs or maybe dead stick a senko. We 56 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 2: happened to stumble across a lily pad and duckweed covered 57 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 2: bay just off of the main channel one day that 58 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 2: was just loaded with big, large mouth. You know, the 59 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:18,079 Speaker 2: current sweeping past the mouth of that bay must have 60 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:20,360 Speaker 2: just funneled a ton of food in there, and the 61 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 2: greenies were in there thick. You could toss a fake 62 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:26,560 Speaker 2: current in any direction and get a blow up. When 63 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:28,600 Speaker 2: you find a spot like that before a tournament, it 64 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 2: gives you a special feeling, kind of like when you 65 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 2: go out of state to hunt white tails for the 66 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 2: first time and you're roaming around on some public land 67 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 2: and you walk into a piece of cover that is 68 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 2: littered with big rubs and fresh, stinky scrapes. You know, 69 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 2: all of a sudden, you go from wondering about the 70 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 2: future to making real plans and playing things real carefully. 71 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:52,000 Speaker 2: It's so fun. Well, we were in that state of 72 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 2: nervous excitement when the tournament director waved us out in 73 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 2: the morning, and then when we pulled up to the 74 00:03:57,280 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 2: mouth of the bay and saw that none of our 75 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:02,119 Speaker 2: competitors had been us to the spot, we felt pretty good, 76 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:04,560 Speaker 2: because that's a big deal when you're working with only 77 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 2: a couple of acres of prime water. What happened over 78 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,640 Speaker 2: the next several hours can only be described as the 79 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 2: worst meltdown in the history of tournament fishing that has 80 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 2: ever happened to anyone, let alone a two man team. 81 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:19,800 Speaker 2: When I say we could not get it right, imagine 82 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:21,839 Speaker 2: I don't know, you're a young lad and you and 83 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:25,599 Speaker 2: your buddies build a sweet BMX bike jump. You finally 84 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:28,040 Speaker 2: get the courage to ride your red Huffey off of it, 85 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:30,719 Speaker 2: but instead of sticking the landing and fist pumping toward 86 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:34,200 Speaker 2: the sky, you fly off sideways and go full scorpion. 87 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 2: When you hit the ground, if you don't know what 88 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:39,039 Speaker 2: that is, that's when your face arrests your forward movement, 89 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 2: but your torso and legs keep going right over the 90 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:44,239 Speaker 2: top of you. And while you're breaking with your teeth 91 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:47,480 Speaker 2: in the gravel, a bus I don't know drives by, 92 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:49,240 Speaker 2: and it's full of all the girls from your class, 93 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:51,000 Speaker 2: and they get to see you doing your best scorp 94 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:53,600 Speaker 2: and one of the tires of the bus splashes mud 95 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 2: up on your shorts just right, so it looks like 96 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 2: you had a battle of wheels with yesterday's taco bell 97 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:02,400 Speaker 2: and lost. Then when you land, a stray dog pisses 98 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 2: on your head and you get a sliver in your 99 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:08,159 Speaker 2: eyeball or something like that. Anyway, we sucked that day 100 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:12,039 Speaker 2: on the water in a brutal, brutal way, and the 101 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:16,280 Speaker 2: problem was execution. We had so many fish to work with, 102 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:19,560 Speaker 2: we couldn't focus. We weren't paying attention to our hook 103 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:23,240 Speaker 2: sets and really trying to see the process through, which 104 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:25,919 Speaker 2: is the kiss of death. When you frog fish in 105 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:29,039 Speaker 2: the slop, it's kind of like watching someone try to 106 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 2: wing shoot a bob white quail when a whole covey 107 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:35,040 Speaker 2: gets up, they just kind of point shoot and don't 108 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 2: pick out an individual bird, and you know, mostly all 109 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 2: the birds get away. 110 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:40,680 Speaker 1: Now. 111 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 2: Sometimes it can be easy to lose your focus when 112 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 2: there's too much of a good thing to work with. Normally, 113 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:49,600 Speaker 2: a ton of big, large mouth looking to eat amphibians 114 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,039 Speaker 2: and who are also confined to a small area is 115 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 2: a good thing if you're in a fishing tournament. But 116 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:58,440 Speaker 2: humans are real good at messing stuff up even when 117 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 2: the whole situation is right for easy success. This happens 118 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:05,719 Speaker 2: to a lot of hunters who get the chance to 119 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 2: hunt around high deer densities. Generally, the higher the density, 120 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:14,000 Speaker 2: the more fun the hunting is. After all, seeing deer 121 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:16,600 Speaker 2: is usually the difference maker between a so so sit 122 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 2: and something that is truly enjoyable. The bar is low there, 123 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:24,640 Speaker 2: but it is there. But even over time seeing them 124 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:27,679 Speaker 2: isn't enough. Killing a big one usually becomes the goal, 125 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:29,919 Speaker 2: and that's where a lot of deer can be an 126 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,919 Speaker 2: asset or a liability. We often talk about this, but 127 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:37,279 Speaker 2: I'll start with something easy. When you know you can 128 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:40,799 Speaker 2: always see deer, it's hard not to go sit somewhere 129 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:44,880 Speaker 2: that promises just that. Oftentimes this is a field edge 130 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:49,039 Speaker 2: scenario or something that hinges on big views. You all 131 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 2: know my thoughts on that, so I'm not going to 132 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 2: repeat them. But the other thing that happens with high 133 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:56,240 Speaker 2: deer densities a lot is we create spots for the 134 00:06:56,240 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 2: deer to go too. This is like the prere strategy 135 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 2: for a lot of hunters and a dream for a 136 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:04,919 Speaker 2: lot more of them. But I think it's a double 137 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 2: edged sword. You know, of course, we all want a 138 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 2: sweet place to hunt where there are a lot of deer, 139 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:13,040 Speaker 2: and we can plan a food plot and put up 140 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 2: a box blind and never think about strategy or scouting again. 141 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:19,400 Speaker 2: You just wait for the cell camera picks to show up, 142 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:22,120 Speaker 2: go sit in a little house on stilts, and bam, 143 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:25,840 Speaker 2: done and done. That's a great way for a lot 144 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:28,480 Speaker 2: of people to struggle to kill the caliber of deer 145 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:33,440 Speaker 2: they really want, because it leads to predictable predator behavior. 146 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:36,760 Speaker 2: In this case, if you're not paying attention, we are 147 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 2: the predators. If you know you can always sit the ladder, 148 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 2: stand on the edge of the beans or corn and 149 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 2: see deer. It's hard to do something different. A lot 150 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:50,400 Speaker 2: of deer on the landscape promises that level of success 151 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 2: with that simple strategy pretty much every time, but it's 152 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 2: not so simple. In fact, that poll to the easy 153 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:01,240 Speaker 2: stuff complicates things quite a bit. This is because your 154 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 2: job is to try your hardest to not let the 155 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 2: deer know you're there. That's a pretty giant component of 156 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:10,679 Speaker 2: this whole thing, and it's really difficult when you're dealing 157 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,320 Speaker 2: with a lot of deer. It's a hard thing for 158 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 2: us to qualify or truly witness, But there seems to 159 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 2: be a ripple effect from hunter presence. It's easiest to 160 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 2: see when you get busted by a dough that blows 161 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:26,720 Speaker 2: like crazy and clears a field. The next night, you're 162 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:29,160 Speaker 2: probably going to see fewer deer out there if you 163 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 2: only have a handful of deer in the neighborhood. A 164 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:35,080 Speaker 2: mistake like this feels real heavy. It feels a bit 165 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:37,520 Speaker 2: lighter when you have a ton of deer around, but 166 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:41,720 Speaker 2: it's not. It's the opposite. The more you educate any 167 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:44,079 Speaker 2: of the deer, the more all of the deer figure 168 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:47,960 Speaker 2: you out. When non target deer are onto you, your 169 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 2: target deer become much harder to kill. The way that 170 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:54,840 Speaker 2: non target deer figures us out is that we are 171 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:59,240 Speaker 2: either sloppy, or predictable or just plain unlucky. And you know, honestly, 172 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 2: most of us cannot out all three of those on 173 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:04,760 Speaker 2: every single sit. This is where some of the people 174 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:08,160 Speaker 2: you can watch on Sportsman's channel got it right. They 175 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:11,440 Speaker 2: preach about being cautious and when you're going in and 176 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:14,640 Speaker 2: timing your sits to perfect conditions. The truth is, if 177 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:17,360 Speaker 2: you're hunting low deer densities, you don't really have a 178 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,440 Speaker 2: choice but to be aggressive. You have to find the deer, 179 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:23,079 Speaker 2: and you don't do that sitting around. But with tons 180 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:26,520 Speaker 2: of deer to hunt, you want to minimize your impact 181 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:29,280 Speaker 2: on the herd. Playing it somewhat safe is often a 182 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:32,360 Speaker 2: better strategy. But you can go way too far with 183 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:34,560 Speaker 2: this and take it the wrong way in a real hurry, 184 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 2: because like for starters, too many deer to hunt means 185 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 2: you can hunt them in a lot of different spots, 186 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:43,640 Speaker 2: but not every location will be good for giant bucks, 187 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:45,439 Speaker 2: So maybe you have to play it safe with your 188 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 2: best stand sites, but you can still keep hunting and 189 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:53,280 Speaker 2: those fringe areas, and you know, maybe you can go 190 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 2: out in early October and hunt one of those, you know, 191 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 2: not your favorite spots. You don't want to play. It's 192 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:04,000 Speaker 2: so safe. You don't ever hunt until you feel it's perfect. 193 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:06,600 Speaker 2: It's kind of what I'm trying to say. Just go 194 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:09,040 Speaker 2: hunt some of your lesser stuff and shoot some does 195 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:11,640 Speaker 2: learn something, But don't stay out of the woods when 196 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:14,200 Speaker 2: you could hunt or you want to. Because someone who 197 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:17,240 Speaker 2: manages thousands of acres of private land says that's the move. 198 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:19,280 Speaker 2: It might be for them, but it might not be 199 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:32,800 Speaker 2: for you. It's also important to note something I talked 200 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 2: about a lot last week, which is sign. As you 201 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:38,640 Speaker 2: can probably guess you know if your parents aren't first 202 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:41,840 Speaker 2: cousins anyway, is that a lot of deer leave a 203 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:45,240 Speaker 2: lot of sign. There were some years where I hunted 204 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:48,240 Speaker 2: in southeastern Minnesota where their deer numbers were really high, 205 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:53,840 Speaker 2: and I was just amazed by how much sign was everywhere, scrapes, rubs, tracks, beds. 206 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:56,880 Speaker 2: They weren't tough to find. And this is a problem 207 00:10:56,960 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 2: because it often leads hunters to think they're around bucks 208 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 2: all the time. And so they stop scouting, they stop looking. 209 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:07,440 Speaker 2: Mostly they stick up a trail camera or three, and 210 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:10,400 Speaker 2: they call it a job well done. Well, you know 211 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:13,080 Speaker 2: how I feel about nocturnal sign, And with lots of 212 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:15,720 Speaker 2: deer in any given neighborhood, you'll have a lot of 213 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 2: sign that was created at midnight. And this does you 214 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:20,360 Speaker 2: no good other than to tell you where the deer 215 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:24,400 Speaker 2: spend their nights. But you probably already knew that with 216 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:27,040 Speaker 2: high deer densities, you have to get to the spots 217 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,320 Speaker 2: that would be most advantageous to bucks, and then use 218 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:33,440 Speaker 2: the sign in those areas to guide you. Even with 219 00:11:33,559 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 2: lower hunting pressure and higher deer numbers, a good percentage 220 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:40,480 Speaker 2: of the actionable rubs and scrapes and tracks and beds 221 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:45,000 Speaker 2: will be in places where you'll go, Man, this looks amazing, 222 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:48,240 Speaker 2: but how the hell do I hunt it? If you 223 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:50,880 Speaker 2: find a concentration of good sign in the cover and 224 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:54,839 Speaker 2: can't immediately decide what tree you'd sit, you know, or 225 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,480 Speaker 2: what route you'd access it by, you're probably onto something. 226 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:00,880 Speaker 2: And that last one is doozy when it comes to 227 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:03,319 Speaker 2: hunting around a lot of deer. If you can't get 228 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:07,360 Speaker 2: in and out somewhat stealthy, You're in real trouble. I've 229 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:10,600 Speaker 2: got permission to hunt a property in southwestern Wisconsin that 230 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 2: is pretty incredible. The downside is that the woods are 231 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:17,000 Speaker 2: real open, and the deer are likely to bed right 232 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:18,720 Speaker 2: on the edges of the fields because that's where the 233 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:22,720 Speaker 2: best brush is. The landowner often hunts the top, which 234 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:26,560 Speaker 2: is easy to access, but not easy to access undetected. 235 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:30,240 Speaker 2: The deer sightings on that farm drop by the night 236 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:33,160 Speaker 2: until it's a blank city there as soon as there's 237 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:36,559 Speaker 2: just a little too much pressure up on top. Now 238 00:12:36,679 --> 00:12:40,760 Speaker 2: this seems straightforward, but the thing is he has food 239 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:43,880 Speaker 2: plots and fields and box blinds and cameras all set 240 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:46,400 Speaker 2: up on top. Even when the deer tell him they 241 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:49,440 Speaker 2: are done showing their faces in broad daylight, there's a 242 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:53,040 Speaker 2: lot of gravity pulling him in to hunt those spots. 243 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:56,560 Speaker 2: This is the real danger of high deer numbers. They 244 00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:59,880 Speaker 2: convince us the hunting should be easy. Now, it certainly can, 245 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:02,400 Speaker 2: but if you don't have much land to work with, 246 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:05,079 Speaker 2: or you hunt a place with a decent amount of pressure, 247 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:07,600 Speaker 2: a lot of deer doesn't mean it's going to be easy, 248 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:09,920 Speaker 2: you know, Even though the science says it should be 249 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:12,560 Speaker 2: and the trail cameras show there are plenty around, you 250 00:13:12,679 --> 00:13:17,000 Speaker 2: still have a difficult task. It's also pretty easy to 251 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:19,720 Speaker 2: get fooled into thinking that everywhere is just as good 252 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:23,000 Speaker 2: as anywhere when it comes to higher deer numbers. You 253 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:24,920 Speaker 2: drive in and out during the summer and you see 254 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:29,559 Speaker 2: deer everywhere, everybody's farm, everybody's field. It's easy to think 255 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:31,560 Speaker 2: that one would lot is as good as the next, 256 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:34,080 Speaker 2: and that the pick beanfield should be teeming with deer 257 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:37,319 Speaker 2: every night. But high deer numbers often mean a few things, 258 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:41,840 Speaker 2: like the carrying capacity is way up due to quality 259 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:44,840 Speaker 2: food and a lack of predators and often a lack 260 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:48,320 Speaker 2: of deer killing winners. If they don't need something specific 261 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:52,000 Speaker 2: on your property to survive, they won't be there a 262 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,720 Speaker 2: whole lot of the times. If the pressure is too high, 263 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:57,280 Speaker 2: they can hop across the fence and live the good 264 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:00,560 Speaker 2: life on the neighbors and get everything they need without 265 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:04,360 Speaker 2: getting harassed. This becomes even more true when you're not 266 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:08,120 Speaker 2: hunting huge properties. Fifty or one hundred acres is great, 267 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:10,559 Speaker 2: but that's maybe one twelve to one six of a 268 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:13,040 Speaker 2: bucks home range. That means he has a lot of 269 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:16,520 Speaker 2: other places to be, and so do his girlfriends. The 270 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:19,600 Speaker 2: way to combat all of this with high deer numbers 271 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:21,880 Speaker 2: is to give yourself a lot of options. I know 272 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:25,160 Speaker 2: I've covered that a lot, but there's no situation where 273 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:27,880 Speaker 2: it's more important than when you're on limited land with 274 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:31,320 Speaker 2: lots of deer around. Sure, you could hunt the up 275 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:33,680 Speaker 2: of Michigan and set up fifty stands in a section 276 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:36,320 Speaker 2: and that might help you, but probably not as much 277 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 2: as having a few mobile setups and you know, going 278 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 2: to where the deer are right now. But with high 279 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:44,960 Speaker 2: deer numbers, being able to rotate spots and keep things 280 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 2: somewhat fresh is a huge deal. You're probably gonna spook 281 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:53,520 Speaker 2: deer no matter what. Going in coming out questionable wins, 282 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:56,960 Speaker 2: whatever it happens. But the more your presence is known 283 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:00,680 Speaker 2: in very specific spots, the more those specific sp become 284 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:04,640 Speaker 2: dead zones when you can hunt. Now Here is where 285 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:08,360 Speaker 2: I'm going to diverge greatly from a lot of conventional advice. 286 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:12,640 Speaker 2: It might seem like low impact trail camera usage is 287 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:14,840 Speaker 2: the way to dial in the right deer when there 288 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 2: are a lot of them, But being around a lot 289 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:21,640 Speaker 2: of deer gives you a really, really good opportunity to observe. 290 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:26,240 Speaker 2: This is a benefit I can't overstate. When you're on 291 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 2: stand and you see dose or scrappers do something, they 292 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 2: are telling you what big deer will do when they 293 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:34,600 Speaker 2: go through. Pay attention to them, pay attention to where 294 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:36,760 Speaker 2: they cross fences and how they approach water holes, and 295 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:38,760 Speaker 2: what they do when they're in the field and a 296 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:42,040 Speaker 2: truck goes by on the road. And while it's fun 297 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:44,840 Speaker 2: to hunt and sea lots of deer, it's also important 298 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:48,800 Speaker 2: to recognize that as an excellent education on what deer 299 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:52,160 Speaker 2: liked to do. When you're in the big woods and 300 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:54,400 Speaker 2: you watch a deer go by, it's the same lesson. 301 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 2: You just don't see very many of them, so it's 302 00:15:56,840 --> 00:16:00,200 Speaker 2: a rare treat. High deer densities that are different. You 303 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,240 Speaker 2: can watch how they travel the land, how their ears 304 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:05,640 Speaker 2: perk up when they hear another deer coming out of 305 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:08,800 Speaker 2: the woods, and who gets to claim what spots when 306 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:12,000 Speaker 2: they are feeding. That's just something a big woods hunter 307 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:14,000 Speaker 2: just won't get much of, and that's one of the 308 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:16,720 Speaker 2: main reasons why hunting lower deer densities is so much 309 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:20,880 Speaker 2: more difficult. There are far more surprises than anything, which 310 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:23,360 Speaker 2: isn't the case in places where the herd is add 311 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:26,240 Speaker 2: or near full capacity. And there's one more thing I 312 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:27,880 Speaker 2: want to talk about when it comes to hunting these 313 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:31,680 Speaker 2: types of areas. Movement. When I was growing up, we 314 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:34,320 Speaker 2: believed you could hardly move on stand. I mean we'd 315 00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:36,640 Speaker 2: scan left to right or right to left and move 316 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:40,720 Speaker 2: our heads crazy slow. We didn't stand up, stretch, or 317 00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:44,280 Speaker 2: stare at our phones. It was dreadfully boring a lot 318 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:46,800 Speaker 2: of times. But I'm sure I saw more deer then 319 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:49,880 Speaker 2: than I do now with so many distractions right at 320 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:53,200 Speaker 2: my fingertips. If you know there is a good chance 321 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:57,040 Speaker 2: for deer to be moving around, you pay attention to 322 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:02,080 Speaker 2: your movements, not just theirs, last a lot, keep looking 323 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:05,199 Speaker 2: because it's easy for a deer to catch you off guard, 324 00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:07,919 Speaker 2: especially if there's lots of deer that might catch you 325 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:13,160 Speaker 2: off guard. This only increases in possibility when there's more 326 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:16,720 Speaker 2: deer close. It's got to make sense, right, So pay 327 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:20,399 Speaker 2: attention to that. We think it's kind of licensed to 328 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:22,439 Speaker 2: go the opposite way and not pay attention as much 329 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:24,160 Speaker 2: because you're going to be covered in them. But that's 330 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:28,520 Speaker 2: not the way to go about this. Okay, that's enough, 331 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:31,960 Speaker 2: talking about deer densities. Next week, I'm going to talk 332 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:35,000 Speaker 2: about the reality of going for a buzzer beater deer 333 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:38,919 Speaker 2: and how it's not that much fun. It's usually not 334 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:42,800 Speaker 2: very easy, but it's always worth it to keep hunting 335 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:47,360 Speaker 2: until the closing bell rings. That's it for this week. 336 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:50,280 Speaker 2: I'm Tony Peterson. It's been the Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast, 337 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 2: which is brought to you by First Light. As I always, 338 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:54,960 Speaker 2: thank you so much for listening and for all your support. 339 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:58,120 Speaker 2: We truly appreciate it here at medi Eatter, so thank 340 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:00,400 Speaker 2: you for that. If you want some more were deer 341 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:02,960 Speaker 2: hunting content, if you want to read some recipes, you 342 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:06,640 Speaker 2: want to listen to Clay's podcasts, whatever, the medeater dot 343 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:14,160 Speaker 2: com has so much stuff. You know, how to videos, podcasts, articles, 344 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:17,959 Speaker 2: links to all kinds of stuff. It's it's pretty comprehensive. 345 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:20,480 Speaker 2: So if you want to get your fixed, especially as 346 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:22,160 Speaker 2: winners coming on and you're not gonna get to get 347 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:24,720 Speaker 2: out as much, the medeater dot com is a good 348 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:25,199 Speaker 2: place to go.