1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:05,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:10,799 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, and now your host, 3 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. Hey everyone, welcome to the Wire to Hunt 4 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:17,000 Speaker 1: Foundations podcast, which is brought to you by First Light. 5 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:19,360 Speaker 1: Today's episode is all about how you have to bring 6 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:21,560 Speaker 1: your A game to the woods to tag out on 7 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 1: any buzzer beater or deer. Aside from our deer hunting 8 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:39,919 Speaker 1: brothers and sisters in the Deep South, most of us 9 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: are staring down the final chapter of the season. Throughout 10 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: this podcast, I've pretty much gone week to week on 11 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:47,320 Speaker 1: how to try to stay on top of deer action 12 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: throughout the season. This show will pretty much wrap up 13 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: that style. But before we move on to shed antlers 14 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 1: and winner scouting and all that good stuff, there are 15 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:57,800 Speaker 1: still opportunities to arrow deer right now. But you better 16 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:11,319 Speaker 1: bring your A game into the woods. YEA. One of 17 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: the best things about having a ton of deer hunting 18 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: experience is that there aren't a lot of surprises. One 19 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:19,560 Speaker 1: of the worst things about having a ton of deer 20 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:23,120 Speaker 1: hunting experiences there aren't a lot of surprises. Now, I know, 21 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: markets pissed at me when I speak in riddles because 22 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:28,399 Speaker 1: he's such a straight laced fella. So I'll explain this 23 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: better by using a couple of examples of late season 24 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 1: experiences I've had. A few years ago, I set out 25 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,479 Speaker 1: for a late December muzzle er hunt with the idea 26 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 1: that it wouldn't be terribly difficult to put one more 27 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:42,560 Speaker 1: dough in the freezer. Now. I don't know about you, folks, 28 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:45,120 Speaker 1: but when I get cocky like that, mother nature tends 29 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: to knock me down a peg or two, usually pretty quickly. 30 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: And even though I had a front stuff or dialed 31 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: in and the deer scouted out, all it took was 32 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 1: crunchy snow to absolutely ruin my chances. I couldn't get 33 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,640 Speaker 1: anywhere in the woods without spooking everything. I hunted anyway, 34 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 1: And no, I didn't kill a deer. I almost saw one, though, 35 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 1: I think or maybe it was a squirrel. Another time, 36 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: more recently, I had a loan dough feeding her way 37 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:12,920 Speaker 1: in right after Christmas. It was dead, calm out, and 38 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:14,920 Speaker 1: as soon as she made her way into range, I 39 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:17,840 Speaker 1: started to draw. I had put maybe three pounds of 40 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: pressure on my bowstring when she acted as if I 41 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:23,239 Speaker 1: had blown an air horn in her ear, She swapped ends, 42 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 1: took off, and snorted a jolly little tune to the 43 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:27,679 Speaker 1: rest of the deer herd that there was some prick 44 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 1: up in the tree trying to kill them all. My 45 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: failures in both cases didn't surprise me, which brings me 46 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: full circle to my opening statement. I knew, just through 47 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: the conditions and the variables of each hunt that I 48 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 1: probably didn't have enough to work with to make a 49 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 1: successful late season hunt. Happened that crunchy snow it did 50 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:49,959 Speaker 1: me in those calm conditions on a super pressured old 51 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 1: dough forget it. In those cases, it's like I can 52 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: see into the future and I can watch myself screw up. 53 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: I'm sure a lot of you can relate. If you 54 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: hunt the late season without a badass spot to sit 55 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:04,920 Speaker 1: over some groceries and shoot them where they feed. The 56 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:09,119 Speaker 1: late season is just tough, and it gets exponentially more 57 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: difficult the more pressure the deer are. But here's the 58 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: thing I've said many times before, and I'll probably say 59 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 1: a whole bunch of times in the future. It's not impossible. 60 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: You've got options, even if you're a public land hunter, 61 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: even if you don't have a banging food source to 62 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 1: sit over now. Last week I talked about how I 63 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: go about finding deer during this time of year. That's 64 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:33,119 Speaker 1: a good start, but if you find them and don't 65 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 1: know how to hunt them, doesn't really matter. This brings 66 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: me to my first and main point, proximity. I think 67 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:42,840 Speaker 1: the biggest criticism I have when I see others tree 68 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 1: stands and blinds is that they're too close to where 69 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: the deer are expected to be. I see this when 70 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: I hunt with my buddies, and I see it all 71 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 1: of the time when I'm wandering public land or some 72 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:56,400 Speaker 1: of my private properties where other people have permission as well. 73 00:03:57,400 --> 00:03:59,840 Speaker 1: Just pictures this, Like, if there's a nice logging road 74 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 1: it's all scraped up and leads from the timber to 75 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 1: the fields, you can bet your ass there will be 76 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 1: a stand on it, and you can also bet your 77 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: ass that that stand will be about three ft from 78 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 1: the trail, pointed right in the direction where the deer 79 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:14,840 Speaker 1: will come from. Honestly, if you spend enough time hunting 80 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:17,760 Speaker 1: and scouting on public land, you start to get really 81 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 1: familiar with how most hunters hang their stands, and from 82 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:23,160 Speaker 1: what I can tell, they aren't very good at it. 83 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 1: It's not just deer hunters. I love to hunt late 84 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: season pheasants, and the amount of hunter trails pounded into 85 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:32,280 Speaker 1: the snow that lead just around the edge of the 86 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:36,479 Speaker 1: good cover it's astounding. It's so rare to see a 87 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 1: set of bootprints wade right into the thick stuff where 88 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 1: the birds actually are in the late season, and I 89 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: know those hunters are thinking that their dogs will flush 90 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:46,440 Speaker 1: or point the birds out on the edge, but most 91 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: of the time the roosters just run to the middle 92 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: and let the danger pass. We often talk about how 93 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,840 Speaker 1: predictable game animals are or should be, but we rarely 94 00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:59,680 Speaker 1: acknowledge how predictable hunters are. You can see this and 95 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: all most call your shots by looking at on X 96 00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:04,839 Speaker 1: and then walking into public land For white tails, the 97 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,480 Speaker 1: stands will be exactly where you expect them, and there 98 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:10,480 Speaker 1: will be very little effort to conceal them. It seems 99 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 1: like a lot of hunters think that as long as 100 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:15,359 Speaker 1: they are in a tree where dear travel, that's good enough. 101 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 1: But it's not, and it leads to the problem of 102 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:21,520 Speaker 1: wanting an easy close shot but also not wanting to 103 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:25,719 Speaker 1: get busted. In the early season, this is sometimes possible 104 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:30,159 Speaker 1: in December, it's usually not, and it gets worse because 105 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:32,600 Speaker 1: most of us haven't been shooting like we were in August. 106 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:35,320 Speaker 1: This tends to push us closer and closer with our 107 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:39,480 Speaker 1: anticipated shots, which spells trouble when you're working with jaded 108 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:44,599 Speaker 1: late season survivors and often very calm, very still, very 109 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: very quiet conditions. One little scratch of fleece on tree 110 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 1: bark or the slightest flexing of cold bow limbs, and 111 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:56,600 Speaker 1: it's over if you're too close. Having gone down this 112 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:59,919 Speaker 1: road a depressing amount of times, I've realized that my 113 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:03,359 Speaker 1: ideal shot distance on late season deer is like to 114 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 1: thirty yards. Deer at that range have less chance of 115 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 1: hearing me draw and less chance of their spiky senses 116 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: sending their eyes skyward until they spot me and go 117 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,520 Speaker 1: on red alert. Now this goes for tree stands situations 118 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:17,800 Speaker 1: as well as when I'm on the ground, which is 119 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,800 Speaker 1: a late season strategy I employ a lot. While I 120 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:24,159 Speaker 1: like hunting from an elevated position whenever I can, I 121 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: like shooting from the ground more, and when the leaves 122 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:29,280 Speaker 1: are down and the woods are bare, I can often 123 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 1: tuck into some cedars or a deadfall and disappear better 124 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 1: than when I'm up in a tree. The views aren't 125 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:37,200 Speaker 1: as good, of course, but the shots are less complicated, 126 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: and the cover is often the best you'll get. Plus 127 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 1: you can play the wind really well when you're on 128 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:46,840 Speaker 1: the ground. Now, infomercial guy here, But wait, there's more. 129 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:49,560 Speaker 1: Another thing that I like about being on the ground 130 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:52,520 Speaker 1: is that it means I'm not in the stands I've 131 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:55,360 Speaker 1: hunted all season long. Well, I don't want the deer 132 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:58,440 Speaker 1: to surprise me. I do want to surprise them, and 133 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: it's not a big shocker for them to up into 134 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:02,920 Speaker 1: a tree you've sat fourteen times this season to see 135 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:05,880 Speaker 1: the same asshole looking back. Now. I can't prove this, 136 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:08,440 Speaker 1: but I've heard some pretty compelling stories and seeing some 137 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:12,480 Speaker 1: pretty interesting things myself about how some deer seemed to 138 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:16,920 Speaker 1: almost check stands. This is especially true with old doze 139 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:20,680 Speaker 1: that don't tolerate a whole lot of bs. They often 140 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:23,240 Speaker 1: seem to know where your stands are and look up 141 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 1: to confirm that you're they're not. This might lead them 142 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:29,720 Speaker 1: to bolt or just give you a wide berth, or 143 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:32,000 Speaker 1: they might truck right on by. But stay on super 144 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:35,200 Speaker 1: KG full alert mode the entire time. All of those 145 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:37,920 Speaker 1: are bad, and to some extent can be avoided by 146 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:40,160 Speaker 1: throwing them for a loop, by getting on the ground 147 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:43,120 Speaker 1: and just hiding really well, you might be thinking, well, 148 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: this is doable. This guy should gives simple, easy to 149 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:48,880 Speaker 1: follow advice that I appreciate greatly. And while all that 150 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 1: may be true, I'm not done. Let me circle back 151 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:55,200 Speaker 1: again to my opening statement about not being surprised much. 152 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:59,239 Speaker 1: That was only partially true. Deer can surprise the best 153 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:02,160 Speaker 1: of us any given time, and they are really good 154 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:04,880 Speaker 1: at this in the late season. They move like ninjas, 155 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:07,480 Speaker 1: and the best way to have one close that you 156 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:11,200 Speaker 1: don't kill is to not be ready for it. If 157 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 1: you're too busy trying to figure out I don't know 158 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:15,840 Speaker 1: what the next meme stock will be on Wall Street bets, 159 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:18,920 Speaker 1: or you're posting a six selfie to highlight the frost 160 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: in your beard and your overall caveman badassery, you might 161 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:25,720 Speaker 1: not see the dear ghosting into range, which is bad. 162 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: If your bow is hanging up and your phone is 163 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:29,880 Speaker 1: in your hand, you've got to make a lot of 164 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:32,319 Speaker 1: movement to get into any kind of position to shoot. 165 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:36,360 Speaker 1: Movement that is silent will get you busted. Plenty, but 166 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:40,120 Speaker 1: movement is rarely silent. The goal is to see or 167 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:43,560 Speaker 1: hear the deer coming long before you want to shoot them, 168 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:47,080 Speaker 1: so you can get ready and possibly draw well ahead 169 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:50,120 Speaker 1: of their arrival. I've done this a few times on 170 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:53,200 Speaker 1: deer in Minnesota and Wisconsin that I heard or saw 171 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:55,760 Speaker 1: coming in, and it's always worked out better for me 172 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:58,280 Speaker 1: than waiting for them to get close and then drawing. 173 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:01,320 Speaker 1: I've still been picked off, but it's been too late 174 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:04,280 Speaker 1: for the deer. The issue here is that if you 175 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 1: haven't been shooting, you might not want to draw too 176 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:09,720 Speaker 1: early and try to hold steady for an extended period 177 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:12,440 Speaker 1: of time while a deer works in. Fatigue in your 178 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:16,440 Speaker 1: shoulders or your bow arm is an accuracy killer, and 179 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:18,360 Speaker 1: it's one of the things that tends to cause us 180 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:21,319 Speaker 1: to panic when we shoot again. This is no bueno. 181 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:24,959 Speaker 1: Watching the deer or hearing them as they approach will 182 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:26,720 Speaker 1: give you a chance to be ready for the shot. 183 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:30,640 Speaker 1: Of course, watching them is better than hearing them, because 184 00:09:30,679 --> 00:09:32,160 Speaker 1: you don't want to be drawn on a deer that 185 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:34,040 Speaker 1: you don't want to shoot, because then you've got to 186 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:36,960 Speaker 1: let down. But if you're out there with low standards, 187 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:39,960 Speaker 1: which you probably should be. If you're listening to this podcast, 188 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:42,720 Speaker 1: then it's a pretty safe bet that crunch, crunch, crunch, 189 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:44,839 Speaker 1: and the leaves of the snow is being made by 190 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:49,600 Speaker 1: some kind of shooter, even if it's just a delicious youngster. Now, 191 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 1: this close encounter should not be the first time you're 192 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:55,679 Speaker 1: at full draw during your sit I highly recommend taking 193 00:09:55,679 --> 00:09:58,160 Speaker 1: a few minutes right when you settle in or right 194 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:00,720 Speaker 1: at first light if your morning hunting, to draw an 195 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:03,480 Speaker 1: aim a few times. This will cool you into the 196 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:05,439 Speaker 1: fact that your bow might have developed a little creek 197 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:07,880 Speaker 1: due to the cold weather, or it'll tell you that 198 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:10,640 Speaker 1: your binal harness is awful close to your string. Considering 199 00:10:10,679 --> 00:10:14,000 Speaker 1: you've layered up to stave off the arctic conditions. It's 200 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:16,640 Speaker 1: a great opportunity to learn that the hood on your 201 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:19,640 Speaker 1: winter hunting jacket is a bark scraper, or that the 202 00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:22,440 Speaker 1: platform of your stand is prone to metal pops and 203 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:26,439 Speaker 1: clicks when you stand up and shift into position. Ask 204 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:28,680 Speaker 1: any hunter who has quite a few seasons under his 205 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:31,280 Speaker 1: or her belt if extra clothing it has ever saved 206 00:10:31,280 --> 00:10:33,679 Speaker 1: a deer's life in their world, and you'll probably hear 207 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:36,319 Speaker 1: a few stories. The first time this happened to me. 208 00:10:36,559 --> 00:10:38,800 Speaker 1: I was bow hunting during the last days of Minnesota's 209 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:41,760 Speaker 1: muzzle older season when I was still in high school. 210 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:45,280 Speaker 1: It was a weird afternoon with snow on the ground 211 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:49,199 Speaker 1: and pouring rain coming down. While I expected to be miserable, 212 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:51,800 Speaker 1: I didn't expect to see any deer, so I was 213 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:54,839 Speaker 1: really surprised when a basket racked eight pointer started walking 214 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:57,560 Speaker 1: down the trail right at my stand. At that time 215 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:00,200 Speaker 1: in my life, that was a big deer and a 216 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:03,160 Speaker 1: big deal, and I wanted him in the worst way. 217 00:11:03,559 --> 00:11:07,080 Speaker 1: When he got to like ten yards, I drew, aimed 218 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:09,520 Speaker 1: at him and I missed him by about four ft. 219 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 1: Since it was muzzle oder season, cold and rainy, I 220 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:16,200 Speaker 1: was wearing everything I could, and I had on a 221 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:19,440 Speaker 1: cheap orange vest that didn't fully button. But what it 222 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:23,320 Speaker 1: did do, besides theoretically keeping me from getting shot, was 223 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:25,760 Speaker 1: getting the way of my string during the shot cycle 224 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:28,920 Speaker 1: and throw my arrow way off. It was a bummer 225 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,120 Speaker 1: and something I could have easily gotten ahead of had 226 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:34,160 Speaker 1: I drawn and aimed a few times when I got 227 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:37,960 Speaker 1: into stand. As a side note here, I ran into 228 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:40,319 Speaker 1: conditions with snow on the ground on New Year's Eve, 229 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:42,960 Speaker 1: maybe I don't know, eight or ten years ago, and 230 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:45,760 Speaker 1: I had a great hunt then as well. Dear move 231 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:47,880 Speaker 1: during the rain throughout there early in the mid season 232 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:50,440 Speaker 1: like crazy, Maybe they do just as consistently in the 233 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:52,959 Speaker 1: late season as well. That's not much of a thing 234 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:55,320 Speaker 1: to rely on in the northern reaches where I live, 235 00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:58,480 Speaker 1: but I'll bet it has some validity for all you 236 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:01,360 Speaker 1: listeners who live farther south or just happen to run 237 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:05,040 Speaker 1: into one of these weird, you know, late December rainstorms. 238 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:10,040 Speaker 1: And another thing to consider is your gloves. Grippy gloves 239 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:12,280 Speaker 1: on your bow hand will cause you to torqu your bow, 240 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:15,520 Speaker 1: which is bad. A glove that interferes with your release 241 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:19,680 Speaker 1: in any way that's also bad. This is where I 242 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:22,920 Speaker 1: go full Michael Jackson mode. When I late season bow hunt. 243 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:26,200 Speaker 1: I use a slippy cloth type of glove on my 244 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:29,720 Speaker 1: bow hand and no glove on my release hand. Instead, 245 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:32,320 Speaker 1: I keep handwarmers in both pockets or in a muff, 246 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:34,559 Speaker 1: and I only bring my hands into play when it's 247 00:12:34,559 --> 00:12:37,720 Speaker 1: time to get ready. Sometimes I get really really cold 248 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:40,200 Speaker 1: hands when the deer don't follow the script and they're 249 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:43,280 Speaker 1: in close proximity. But I'll take that over making a 250 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:45,920 Speaker 1: bad shot because I'm using the wrong gloves. It's just 251 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:52,560 Speaker 1: something to consider now. All side notes, while aside details matter. 252 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:55,000 Speaker 1: If you're not in the sweet spot to get a 253 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:58,120 Speaker 1: shot at the right least likely to be detected range, 254 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:01,800 Speaker 1: then you're in trouble. That's the reality of the stuff. 255 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:03,840 Speaker 1: And it's also something that leads me back to a 256 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:06,320 Speaker 1: point I've danced around quite a bit on this podcast, 257 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,160 Speaker 1: which is that you need to set up to kill. 258 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:12,760 Speaker 1: A lot of hunters, bow hunters and gun hunters they 259 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:17,000 Speaker 1: set up to see. This strategy isn't great during any 260 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:19,880 Speaker 1: time of the season unless you're truly doing it from 261 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:23,440 Speaker 1: an observational standpoint, sort of like a stepping stone to 262 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:26,720 Speaker 1: the next set up. In a late season, setting up 263 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:31,200 Speaker 1: to see is a great way to be seen. Set 264 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:35,040 Speaker 1: up instead to kill. This is a lot harder for 265 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:37,760 Speaker 1: folks to do than it seems. And when you're sitting 266 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:40,360 Speaker 1: at work pretending to make important spreadsheets or whatever it 267 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:43,000 Speaker 1: is that you actually do while you're listening to hunting 268 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:46,600 Speaker 1: podcasts in your cubicle, you'll think that's no problem. But 269 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:49,320 Speaker 1: we are creatures of habit and there are patterns to 270 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 1: our behavior. One of those is to default to hunting 271 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:55,960 Speaker 1: spots that allow us to see a lot fight that 272 00:13:56,880 --> 00:13:59,280 Speaker 1: and think about how hard it is to earn a 273 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:02,560 Speaker 1: late season shot. Think about how you'd want that shot 274 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:06,280 Speaker 1: to unfold. You'd want to be undetected, of course, so 275 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:08,560 Speaker 1: that you can avoid the panic of aiming at a 276 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:13,200 Speaker 1: just about to bolt deer, relaxed, unsuspecting deer at doable 277 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:17,079 Speaker 1: but not super close range. Those are the goal. This 278 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:19,560 Speaker 1: means you've got to be opened hunting from the air 279 00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:23,160 Speaker 1: or the ground, and truly cognizant of your hiding spots 280 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 1: in the conditions in which you hunt. I know this 281 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,400 Speaker 1: sounds like a lot, but I really recommend you hunt 282 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:30,640 Speaker 1: out the final days of your season, even if you've 283 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:34,000 Speaker 1: only got an analyst tag left. This is because deer season, 284 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:37,200 Speaker 1: first and foremost, is a gift, which I'll cover in 285 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:41,240 Speaker 1: greater detail next week. It's also because difficult hunting makes 286 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:44,840 Speaker 1: you better. Easy hunting doesn't. Just like when you're single. 287 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:47,680 Speaker 1: Easy can be fun, but it's not all that rewarding. 288 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,080 Speaker 1: A challenge is something that sticks with you and makes 289 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:53,480 Speaker 1: you feel better about life, and in the realm of 290 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 1: deer hunting, there are a few greater challenges than killing 291 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:58,240 Speaker 1: a late season dear of any shape or size with 292 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 1: archie tackle. While it might seem like a stretch, putting 293 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:04,840 Speaker 1: in real late season effort before the clock runs out 294 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:08,080 Speaker 1: will make you better at all of this stuff. I 295 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:10,080 Speaker 1: know that's not as exciting as buying a new call 296 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 1: or loading up on trail cameras to saturate the woods 297 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:15,800 Speaker 1: with seven surveillors, but it is one of the long 298 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:18,160 Speaker 1: game ways in which you learn not only how to 299 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:21,520 Speaker 1: understand dear better, but how better to deal with them 300 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:26,560 Speaker 1: when they're at their peak predator avoiding performance. Plus what 301 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:28,560 Speaker 1: else do you have to do right now? Ice fish? 302 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:32,560 Speaker 1: Come on, there's time for that, But until then, get 303 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:34,840 Speaker 1: into the woods because it's almost time to put the 304 00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:37,760 Speaker 1: bowl away and start scouting again, which means it's almost 305 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 1: time for like nine months of not deer hunting, So 306 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:45,560 Speaker 1: get out there. That's it for this week, my late 307 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:48,160 Speaker 1: season hunting friends. I'm Tony Peterson and this has been 308 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:51,280 Speaker 1: the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast. Be sure to visit 309 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:55,040 Speaker 1: the metator dot com slash wired to check out more 310 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:58,520 Speaker 1: whitetail content, and visit the Wired to Hunt YouTube channel 311 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:01,280 Speaker 1: as well to see the videos we drop every single week.