1 00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:05,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, presented by first Light, 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. 4 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:18,640 Speaker 1: First Light Go Farther, Stay Longer, and now your host, 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:22,720 Speaker 2: Hey, everyone, welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast, 7 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:24,240 Speaker 2: which is brought to you by first Light. I'm your 8 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 2: house Tony Peterson, and today's episode is all about the 9 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:29,479 Speaker 2: bucks that are around right now and if they'll still 10 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:30,560 Speaker 2: be there in another. 11 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 3: Month or two. Absolutely. 12 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:36,280 Speaker 2: Now, we think we know a lot about big bucks, 13 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 2: but quite a bit of our knowledge was handed to 14 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,640 Speaker 2: us by someone else. That's secondary source type of stuff. 15 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:43,080 Speaker 2: And I talk about it all the time on here, 16 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 2: and I'm going to talk about it more here. But really, 17 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,839 Speaker 2: what this episode is really about are the big seasonal 18 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:52,240 Speaker 2: movements and excursions that all deer take from their home ranges. 19 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 3: Why that matters to you right now? 20 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 2: The hit list you build in August might be full 21 00:00:57,480 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 2: of ghosts, or it might be full of bucks that 22 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 2: will be in play all season. To figure out what 23 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 2: you're dealing with, you have to understand where, when, how far, 24 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:08,399 Speaker 2: and how often Big bucks just up and leave your neighborhood. 25 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:16,800 Speaker 2: That's what I'm going to cover right now. When I 26 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:19,480 Speaker 2: think about what I don't know about deer behavior, it 27 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,039 Speaker 2: makes me almost want to quit hunting. I think a 28 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 2: good way to frame this up is to consider one 29 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 2: of my favorite topics dogs. I recently did an episode 30 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 2: of Houndations over on the cal of the Wild feed 31 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 2: called The Dark Side of Domestic Dogs, and in it 32 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 2: I talked about the ways in which we think about 33 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:38,680 Speaker 2: our furry besties and the ways in which they can 34 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 2: surprise us by well being actual canines. Now, I know 35 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:45,120 Speaker 2: they are domestic, but that doesn't mean they are just 36 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 2: couch potatoes and lap dogs. When a house dog like 37 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 2: a lab does something odd of character like rip a 38 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:53,200 Speaker 2: new born fawn in half at the edge of your yard, 39 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 2: like exactly what happened to a woman I know the spring, 40 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:59,400 Speaker 2: it can shake up your worldview. We think we know 41 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 2: our dog. We do, and we don't. We spend every 42 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:04,280 Speaker 2: day with them, or at least a hell of a 43 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 2: lot of days every year with them. We witness their behaviors, 44 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 2: we shape their behaviors through training and conditioning well hopefully anyway, 45 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 2: and we have them all dialed in our heads, but 46 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:18,800 Speaker 2: we don't. And all it takes is one encounter with 47 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 2: a wobbly legged Bambie, or maybe one chance interaction with 48 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 2: a dog or a person they really don't like for 49 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:28,240 Speaker 2: some reason, and bam, another side of your dog becomes 50 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 2: visible to you. When you consider that, it's a little 51 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 2: easier to understand why big Bucks and often deer in 52 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,919 Speaker 2: general leave us a little perplexed or gobsmacked and well. 53 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:40,239 Speaker 3: Just a little confused. 54 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 2: But consider this also, We rarely spend time with them, 55 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:46,079 Speaker 2: and when we do, it's largely in the fall, when 56 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 2: we are trying to kill them. You know, we get 57 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:50,560 Speaker 2: pictures of them in the summer, but that is a tiny, 58 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 2: infinitesimal glimpse into their lives. We don't know them, and 59 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:57,400 Speaker 2: the folks who actually do know them don't really know 60 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:00,520 Speaker 2: them either, And by that I mean biologists and researchers. 61 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:02,800 Speaker 2: But I should also say at least a lot of 62 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:05,959 Speaker 2: them are actually trying to figure out deer and deer behavior, 63 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:08,240 Speaker 2: and a lot of what they try to figure out 64 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 2: is where do they live? 65 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 3: Where do they go? 66 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:14,639 Speaker 2: When certain conditions come together to start to make sense 67 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:16,800 Speaker 2: of their findings. It's a good idea to brush up 68 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:21,080 Speaker 2: on a few definitions. Let's start with home range. We 69 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:24,040 Speaker 2: talk a lot about home range, and it's generally accepted 70 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 2: that a deer will have a home range of about 71 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:29,399 Speaker 2: a square mile. I've talked about this a lot on here, 72 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:33,960 Speaker 2: but that is highly variable by several hundred acres depending 73 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 2: on individual deer and where those deer happen to live 74 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 2: in just what's available to them. You know, a buck 75 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 2: who has nice food plots and thick bedding cover and 76 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 2: lots of does and plenty of brows and masks and 77 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 2: low predator numbers to deal with, he just might not 78 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 2: need to move a whole lot from one section to 79 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:50,680 Speaker 2: the next. 80 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:51,640 Speaker 3: So he won't. 81 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:55,880 Speaker 2: A deer that doesn't will And there are a whole 82 00:03:55,960 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 2: lot of variables beyond that. Any Huski biologists consider a 83 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:03,680 Speaker 2: deer's home range to be where it spends ninety five 84 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:06,200 Speaker 2: percent of its time over the course of an entire year. 85 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 2: That other five percent will come into place soon enough, 86 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 2: but for now, that's the working definition, and it just 87 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 2: kind of makes sense. But then you have core range, 88 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 2: which is what we are all looking for when it 89 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:21,120 Speaker 2: comes to big bucks. Core range is generally considered to 90 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:23,640 Speaker 2: be where a deer spends fifty percent of his time. 91 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:28,840 Speaker 2: Think preferred betting areas or some top notch feeding areas here. Now, 92 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 2: the interesting thing about this stuff are the excursions we 93 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 2: hear about what we think are outlier excursions when some 94 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 2: collar buck takes off and walks across the land and 95 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:40,640 Speaker 2: ends up twenty miles away for a few days. But 96 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 2: what we often don't factor in is that an awful 97 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:46,600 Speaker 2: lot of deer take excursions, just not the twenty mile kind, 98 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,760 Speaker 2: and why they take those excursions might surprise you. The 99 00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:55,799 Speaker 2: primary drivers research suggests, anyway, our habitat availability food and water, 100 00:04:56,480 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 2: not hunting pressure, which is important to note. It's also 101 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 2: important to note while hunting pressure doesn't seem to convince 102 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,799 Speaker 2: bucks to head to the next county, it does convince 103 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 2: them that walking around a lot during daylight is a 104 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:13,279 Speaker 2: generally bad idea. Research into this topic has yielded some 105 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:17,240 Speaker 2: interesting findings too. It's not totally uncommon to hear someone 106 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:19,880 Speaker 2: say that a buck has a certain territory, which is 107 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:23,440 Speaker 2: the wrong word. Territory is something that is defended and 108 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 2: contested to some extent. Now maybe I'm wrong here, but 109 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:30,160 Speaker 2: wolf packs in their stopping grounds are probably a decent example, 110 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:33,520 Speaker 2: but what this means for whitetail bucks is interesting, and 111 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:36,280 Speaker 2: a study out of South Carolina showed that bucks can 112 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:40,360 Speaker 2: share core areas, and often do. They share core areas 113 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:44,039 Speaker 2: that have significant overlap, even during a hunting season when 114 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:47,360 Speaker 2: they shouldn't be very tolerant of one another. They are 115 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:50,240 Speaker 2: tolerant of each other, and if you understand hierarchies and 116 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:53,159 Speaker 2: the reality of limited quality habitat and food sources, you 117 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 2: kind of understand why they have to just find some peace. 118 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:58,279 Speaker 2: The bucks figure out who is the top dog, and 119 00:05:58,279 --> 00:05:59,840 Speaker 2: then they figure out how to not get in each 120 00:05:59,839 --> 00:06:02,760 Speaker 2: other spaces all the times. It's like a middle school 121 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:05,520 Speaker 2: out there in some ways. This also flies in the 122 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 2: face of conventional thinking when it comes to the end 123 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:09,760 Speaker 2: of August in the beginning of September, when the velvet 124 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:13,040 Speaker 2: finally gets shed and the bucks theoretically should be getting 125 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,040 Speaker 2: a little ornery. When we don't see the bachelor groups 126 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 2: lazily feeding in the alfalfa anymore, we assume they split 127 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 2: up and dispersed. 128 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 3: They do, but they don't. 129 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 2: The change from summer to early fall coincides with different 130 00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 2: nutritional needs, which coincides often with the availability of different 131 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 2: food sources, deer often go from a protein heavy dyet 132 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:36,359 Speaker 2: to something that is more car bloated, which means the 133 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 2: alfalfa can't quite compete with the per simmons or acorns. 134 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:41,560 Speaker 2: Right about the time when the last vestiges of summer 135 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:44,200 Speaker 2: fade and the fall weather hits. So when did the 136 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:45,320 Speaker 2: deer go on excursions? 137 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:47,159 Speaker 3: Then? I'm glad you asked. 138 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,160 Speaker 2: One study out of the University of Tennessee shows that 139 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:52,840 Speaker 2: the pre rut, peak rut, and post rut are where 140 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 2: it's at excursion wise. They coller ten bucks and ten 141 00:06:56,400 --> 00:06:59,600 Speaker 2: dos to monitor their movements and figure this out. In 142 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:04,160 Speaker 2: that st seven bucks took lengthy excursions from their home ranges, 143 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:07,919 Speaker 2: but so did six dos, which might seem a little surprising. 144 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:10,760 Speaker 2: What is more surprising is that with the doze, the 145 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:13,840 Speaker 2: most active time period for excursions was during the pre rut. 146 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:16,160 Speaker 2: This study seems to lend a lot of credence to 147 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:19,120 Speaker 2: the idea that if a deer, buck or dough is 148 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:21,120 Speaker 2: going to light out for a little while, it'll be 149 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:24,400 Speaker 2: in the interest of making baby deer, but deer engage 150 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:27,600 Speaker 2: in excursions all year. A study out of Pennsylvania where 151 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:31,080 Speaker 2: They called thirteen bucks and monitored them from April to June. 152 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 2: Showed that nine of them made excursions, which averaged two 153 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:38,160 Speaker 2: point five miles, but one buck doubled that distance when 154 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 2: he took off not to muddy the water's further considered 155 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:45,000 Speaker 2: the findings of another study out of Pennsylvania that monitored 156 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:48,320 Speaker 2: home range and core range sizes throughout the seasons. This 157 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 2: one is interesting because it followed nineteen mature bucks. Their 158 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:55,200 Speaker 2: home ranges varied in size from an average of nine 159 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:57,680 Speaker 2: hundred acres in the fall to less than half of 160 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:02,559 Speaker 2: that in the summer. Just followed a similar trajectory, going 161 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 2: from about one hundred and fifteen acres down to just 162 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:07,680 Speaker 2: sixty during the summer. Now, if you're not spinning your 163 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 2: wheels quite yet, let me throw one more wrench into 164 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,120 Speaker 2: the gears. A study out of Louisiana concluded that some 165 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:14,320 Speaker 2: bucks have two home. 166 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 3: Ranges during the rut. 167 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 2: They spend some time in one, then bail and go 168 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:21,120 Speaker 2: to another one where they spend some time, then they 169 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 2: come back. So the buck that you get picks of 170 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 2: during the pre rut, who you're sure is going to 171 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:28,360 Speaker 2: run through your best pinch point spot and give you 172 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:31,480 Speaker 2: a shot might be chasing dose two miles away all 173 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 2: week and long, and while you think he didn't show 174 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:37,240 Speaker 2: because of some sort of randomness to the rut, it 175 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:39,520 Speaker 2: might not be a random at all. It might be 176 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:42,320 Speaker 2: a very specific breeding strategy when your timing was just 177 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 2: off from his. Well, there are several studies out there 178 00:08:57,040 --> 00:08:59,440 Speaker 2: that show something that might really mess with your head, 179 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:02,320 Speaker 2: which is what I mentioned earlier about hunting pressure and 180 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:05,400 Speaker 2: buck travel. Some bucks do leave an area that is 181 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 2: under heavy pressure, but most don't seem to do that. 182 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 2: They just don't move as much, and when they do, 183 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 2: they tend to concentrate their movements in dense, thick, nasty areas. 184 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:19,120 Speaker 2: Intuitivity that makes sense for a prey animal. I mean, 185 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 2: think about it. Take your pick of states. Let's say Wisconsin, 186 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:25,600 Speaker 2: where there are like six hundred thousand gun hunters. That's 187 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:27,880 Speaker 2: a lot of people in the woods trying to shoot deer. 188 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 2: If bucks took off because of hunting pressure during that time, 189 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:34,440 Speaker 2: instead of holding up, they'd put themselves at risk in 190 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:37,520 Speaker 2: a major way. Running away from that type of danger 191 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:39,840 Speaker 2: when the woods are saturated with that type of danger 192 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:42,880 Speaker 2: means they're just gonna get shot at sitting tight and 193 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:44,760 Speaker 2: waiting for the pressure to fade away as a much 194 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:48,280 Speaker 2: better survival technique, and they use it well. They do 195 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:50,439 Speaker 2: this even when we assume that all of the other 196 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 2: hunters walking around and putting on their drives will get 197 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 2: them moving. They mostly don't because most hunters aren't going 198 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:58,560 Speaker 2: to wade through the swamp or step on every edge 199 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:00,320 Speaker 2: of the cattails, or do what they need to do 200 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:02,040 Speaker 2: in order to get deer to move out of the 201 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:05,040 Speaker 2: spots they use to hide from us. What is the 202 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:08,400 Speaker 2: takeaway from all this, especially in consideration of this time 203 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 2: of year. Well, maybe this is confirmation biased because I 204 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:13,400 Speaker 2: believed it for a long time, but I think it 205 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:16,280 Speaker 2: speaks to something important in our current deer hunting culture. 206 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:19,560 Speaker 2: Hitless and target bucks are a real thing, and there 207 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:21,400 Speaker 2: are a lot of properties out there where you might 208 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:23,960 Speaker 2: find a giant today and he'll still be there in 209 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:26,960 Speaker 2: the fall. But it's also a good idea to acknowledge 210 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:30,200 Speaker 2: that the hitless target buck saying works best on properties 211 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:33,280 Speaker 2: that offer really good food and habitat and some water 212 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:37,080 Speaker 2: and just the right mix of cover. This whole hunting 213 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:39,679 Speaker 2: style came from people who have access to those types 214 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:43,679 Speaker 2: of spots, they can identify individual bucks and follow them 215 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:47,160 Speaker 2: somewhat closely, and they can facilitate the ground that those 216 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:51,160 Speaker 2: bucks just won't want to leave from. Then they control 217 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:53,680 Speaker 2: the hunting pressure so that those bucks are prone to 218 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,120 Speaker 2: walking around in daylight more during the hunting season. 219 00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:58,920 Speaker 3: Case closed sort of. 220 00:10:59,559 --> 00:11:02,920 Speaker 2: A scouting is generally more directly connected to their fall 221 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,280 Speaker 2: hunting because they try hard to reduce some of the 222 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:08,880 Speaker 2: variables that might convince bucks to head somewhere else. Most 223 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:11,080 Speaker 2: of us don't have that, even if we think that 224 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:13,960 Speaker 2: we do. So let's look at this. Let's say you 225 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 2: have one hundred and sixty acres to hunt and you 226 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:18,320 Speaker 2: share it with your buddy and your cousin. That's a 227 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 2: sweet setup, and not many people would turn it down. 228 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:23,080 Speaker 2: And you guys put in some food plots, and you 229 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:25,160 Speaker 2: do some hinge cutting, have a couple of no go 230 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:27,680 Speaker 2: bedding areas, and really try to make things work for 231 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:30,720 Speaker 2: the deer. But one hundred and sixty acres is twenty 232 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:32,960 Speaker 2: five percent of a section, which means it might be 233 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:35,439 Speaker 2: twenty five percent of your target bucks home range or 234 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:38,120 Speaker 2: maybe far less. Now, what if that one hundred and 235 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:40,960 Speaker 2: sixty acres is a half fields and forty acres of 236 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:43,560 Speaker 2: it is pastured woods that the turkeys love but the 237 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 2: deer don't. Now, you might still have one hundred and 238 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:49,240 Speaker 2: sixty acres of a few bucks home ranges, but maybe 239 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:52,600 Speaker 2: forty of their core range, or maybe less, maybe none. 240 00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 2: You have a bachelor group on one of your fields 241 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 2: all summer long. Hell, maybe you have a mineral block 242 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:00,720 Speaker 2: out to draw them in and get great trick photos. 243 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:03,840 Speaker 2: Those bucks spend every night for two months on your place, 244 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 2: and you are already eyeballing a spot on your wall 245 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:09,040 Speaker 2: for the shoulder amount that you're inevitably going to need. 246 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:12,439 Speaker 2: You know where I'm going with this. You pin your 247 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:14,640 Speaker 2: hopes on the biggest dear in the bachelor group, and 248 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:18,079 Speaker 2: then it just kind of explodes. They go hard, antlered, 249 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:20,800 Speaker 2: the mineral block goes cold, and the whole thing just 250 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:23,440 Speaker 2: kind of falls apart when you're about to start hunting. 251 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:25,520 Speaker 3: That happens, and it's okay. 252 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:28,240 Speaker 2: But then we pin our hopes on that buck, and 253 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:32,080 Speaker 2: you know, he might not spend hardly any time on 254 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:35,680 Speaker 2: your property during the entire season, we still hold hope 255 00:12:35,679 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 2: for him because he was there, and because no matter what, 256 00:12:38,679 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 2: he's going to sway through during the rut right, maybe, 257 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:45,120 Speaker 2: but maybe not. And where I'm going with this is 258 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:47,679 Speaker 2: that if you're out there right now, running cameras and 259 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:50,120 Speaker 2: glassing and building a case for why a certain buck 260 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:52,880 Speaker 2: is you're one and only this season, consider how quickly 261 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:56,360 Speaker 2: that might go totally wrong. This only becomes more true 262 00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:59,560 Speaker 2: for folks hunting smaller properties or properties with more pressure 263 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:02,800 Speaker 2: or properties it just don't have the right cover or browser, 264 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 2: food or water or dough groups or whatever that might 265 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:08,280 Speaker 2: make this seem like a lost cause. And I don't 266 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:10,920 Speaker 2: want that, because it's not. It's just a warning that 267 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:14,080 Speaker 2: instead of going full hit list on specific deer, it 268 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:16,440 Speaker 2: might be a good idea to learn about bucks generally, 269 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:19,880 Speaker 2: those core areas out there where bucks just like to 270 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:21,840 Speaker 2: spend at least fifty percent of their time during the 271 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:25,240 Speaker 2: fall hunting season, they offer something up that is valuable 272 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:28,160 Speaker 2: to all bucks. While we like to try to find 273 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:30,360 Speaker 2: one deer and sauce out as daily habits to build 274 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:32,400 Speaker 2: a pattern, a lot of us would be better off 275 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 2: scouting like fiends to find areas that bucks like to use. Now, 276 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:39,920 Speaker 2: I know that's not like a huge revelation, but think 277 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:42,880 Speaker 2: about it. What would help you become a better hunter, 278 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:46,400 Speaker 2: you know, the kind who consistently kills big bucks. Is 279 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:48,400 Speaker 2: it pinning your hopes on a deer in August that 280 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:50,880 Speaker 2: might not be in the same section as you in October? 281 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:53,680 Speaker 2: Or is it learning about the areas that bucks really 282 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:56,280 Speaker 2: really like and then figuring out how to hunt them. 283 00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:59,480 Speaker 2: You see, in all those deer studies, one of the 284 00:13:59,480 --> 00:14:01,680 Speaker 2: things that up a lot is that the bucks will 285 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:04,360 Speaker 2: go into the thick shit to avoid us. So we 286 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:06,880 Speaker 2: should figure out how to haunt the thick shit, or 287 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:09,240 Speaker 2: at least find the thick shit and then figure out 288 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:11,679 Speaker 2: what to do with it. But instead we often get 289 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:14,120 Speaker 2: a pick of a good one, which is easy to 290 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:16,640 Speaker 2: do these days. Then we try to talk ourselves into 291 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 2: hunting him like we want to haunt him, which means 292 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:21,680 Speaker 2: going out, you know, during the right pre rut and 293 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:24,000 Speaker 2: rut days with the right conditions, and then hoping he 294 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:26,560 Speaker 2: comes through. But it's a better about to really try 295 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:29,360 Speaker 2: to figure out where he or his buddies will likely 296 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:31,360 Speaker 2: go when they get sick of getting stepped on by 297 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 2: us or our friends or our cousins. Or if you 298 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:37,360 Speaker 2: haunt some places like public land just about you know, 299 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:40,800 Speaker 2: anywhere anyone who pulls into the WMA parking lot for 300 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:43,400 Speaker 2: a couple of months could mess up your plan. So 301 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 2: where do those bucks go? And the individual buck thing 302 00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:48,280 Speaker 2: is great, but it's really hard to do in an 303 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:51,360 Speaker 2: awful lot of situations. If you hunt small properties, for example, 304 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:54,600 Speaker 2: it's not hopeless, but it can be awful close. If 305 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:58,200 Speaker 2: you hunt generally pressured ground, again, it's not hopeless, but 306 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:01,120 Speaker 2: it can be awful close. I've started to lean into 307 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:03,920 Speaker 2: this style of thinking hard to last few years, and 308 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:06,200 Speaker 2: boy have I killed some bucks and had some encounters 309 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:08,800 Speaker 2: with great deer because of it. I want to find 310 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:10,920 Speaker 2: the area they are happy to use because most of 311 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:12,720 Speaker 2: us won't go in there, and then I want to 312 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:15,120 Speaker 2: figure out how to hunt it for big bucks, but 313 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:19,000 Speaker 2: not necessarily a specific big buck. This line of thinking 314 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:20,720 Speaker 2: is also a great way to take yourself to the 315 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:23,760 Speaker 2: next level of hunting, because it's not just about killing 316 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:27,760 Speaker 2: one fifties, but going from only being able to arrow 317 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:29,800 Speaker 2: a year and a half holds to bumping yourself up 318 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 2: to two and a half year olds or three and 319 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:34,840 Speaker 2: a half year olds. It's a pressure deer strategy but 320 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:38,000 Speaker 2: also just a deer strategy, and it's something that most 321 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:40,040 Speaker 2: of us need to develop. Because most of us are 322 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:43,320 Speaker 2: hunting pressure deer of some level. It's something that might 323 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:45,440 Speaker 2: not seem important now because the bucks are easy to 324 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:47,920 Speaker 2: see and easy to get pictures of, but it'll come 325 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:49,640 Speaker 2: into play for a hell of a lot of us 326 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:52,000 Speaker 2: in the next six to eight weeks or so and 327 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:54,720 Speaker 2: stay with us until the snowflies or at least the 328 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:57,720 Speaker 2: season ends. So think about that as you're naming bucks 329 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:00,200 Speaker 2: and gaining more and more confidence that Skyscraper or a 330 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:03,200 Speaker 2: Goldpost or whatever his name is, he's all but tagged 331 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:04,120 Speaker 2: and hanging in the garage. 332 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:05,200 Speaker 3: You're ready. 333 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 2: He's not, but you can try to figure out where 334 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:10,000 Speaker 2: he might end up or somebody like him might end 335 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:12,440 Speaker 2: up during the season, and set up some ambush sites 336 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:12,840 Speaker 2: for them. 337 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:13,720 Speaker 3: And according to. 338 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:15,880 Speaker 2: The research, if they don't show up, but you do 339 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:19,440 Speaker 2: your part, someone else's hit list buck might just take 340 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:21,760 Speaker 2: a little excursion to your farm in the end of 341 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:26,040 Speaker 2: October early November, and that'll be a welcome surprise. Think 342 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:27,880 Speaker 2: about that as you're out there scouting right now, and 343 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:29,320 Speaker 2: then come back next week because I'm going to talk 344 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:31,680 Speaker 2: about a few things bow hunters and crossbow hunters and 345 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:34,920 Speaker 2: rifle hunters should do while they are practicing in the 346 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:37,680 Speaker 2: off season, you know, in this preseason time right now 347 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:40,120 Speaker 2: to get ready to make a good shot when it 348 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:40,880 Speaker 2: counts to most. 349 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:43,840 Speaker 3: That's it for this episode. I'm Tony Peterson. 350 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:46,160 Speaker 2: This has been the Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast, which 351 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 2: is brought to you by First Light. 352 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:49,280 Speaker 3: Thank you so much for all of your support. 353 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:51,880 Speaker 2: If you need more hunting content, maybe you want to 354 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:54,600 Speaker 2: watch some films, maybe you need some podcasts to listen to. 355 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:56,800 Speaker 2: Maybe you want to read a few articles or find 356 00:16:56,840 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 2: a new recipe for something the media or has you covered. 357 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:04,880 Speaker 2: We drop new content literally every single day over there 358 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:08,480 Speaker 2: at that site, and the amount, the depth of content 359 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:11,320 Speaker 2: is bananas. So go check it out at the mediator 360 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:14,160 Speaker 2: dot com and as always, thanks for everything.