1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:05,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,879 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 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,079 Speaker 2: Hey everyone, welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast. 7 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 2: I'm your host, Tony Peterson, and this week I'm talking 8 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 2: about giving ourselves a reality check when it comes to 9 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 2: deer hunting in big box and how that might not 10 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:33,000 Speaker 2: always make us better deer hunters, but it certainly will 11 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 2: make our hunting for deer better. This time of year 12 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,159 Speaker 2: mostly sucks to be a deer hunter, but it's okay. 13 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 2: There are things we can do. And one of those 14 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:49,920 Speaker 2: is something that occurred to me recently while trying to 15 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:52,520 Speaker 2: plan out my hunt schedule for this fall. The different 16 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 2: deer hunts I want to do are all not based 17 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 2: around how big of a buck I think I can kill, 18 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:00,400 Speaker 2: but how realistic I need to be about six sess 19 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:02,280 Speaker 2: and what that would look like in the realm of 20 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 2: making me happy wherever I am. Now, this might, like, 21 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:07,240 Speaker 2: I don't know, sound like a weird way of justifying 22 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 2: my own brand of trophy hunting or something. But it's 23 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:11,479 Speaker 2: just a condition you get into when you hunt enough. 24 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:13,759 Speaker 2: It's also something I'm going to talk about right now. 25 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 2: Every summer I drive down to southwestern Wisconsin to fish 26 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 2: a tournament with a buddy of mine. It's a frog 27 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:29,959 Speaker 2: only deal that I've talked about before, you know, but 28 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 2: for those of you who don't know, it just means 29 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 2: you can only use spro frogs or in other words, 30 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 2: the tackle selection. You know, it's pretty simple, you know, 31 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:40,759 Speaker 2: maybe a pick a brown one or a green one, 32 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:43,120 Speaker 2: or a white one, or a yellow cerment maybe op 33 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:45,400 Speaker 2: for popping frogs, or one of their frogs that has 34 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 2: a couple of small Colorado spinner blades and not rubber legs. 35 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 2: But no matter what, it's just frogs all the way down. 36 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 2: I love that tournament because it's so simple. It's not easy. 37 00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 2: It's really tough, especially because it's a team tournament with 38 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 2: a heavy local angler. Reality, and fishing against someone on 39 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 2: their home water is always a challenge, let alone lots 40 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:08,960 Speaker 2: of someone who pair up and fish their home waters together. Now, 41 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:11,240 Speaker 2: the first year we fished it, which according to the 42 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:13,680 Speaker 2: trophy on the shelf behind me, was in twenty twenty, 43 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 2: we won, and that day we just had a really 44 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:20,280 Speaker 2: solid large mouth opportunity just like kind of stacked up 45 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:23,080 Speaker 2: in this backwater lake. It had the right duck weed 46 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 2: and deadfall combination, a little bit of current to keep 47 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 2: it from getting stagnant, and about a trillion bait fish 48 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:32,079 Speaker 2: schooled up in there. It's different down south, but here 49 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:33,840 Speaker 2: in the North Country, if you can scraunge up a 50 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:35,920 Speaker 2: whole bunch of fish that are anywhere between three and 51 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 2: four pounds, you can almost always get paid in a tournament, 52 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 2: and if it really goes well, you can take first, 53 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:44,639 Speaker 2: like we did that year. But after that year it's 54 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,639 Speaker 2: been a different story. Last year we had an area 55 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 2: with some pretty decent fish in it, but we weren't 56 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 2: the only ones to find them. We also had a 57 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 2: couple of big fish shake off, which is something that 58 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:57,120 Speaker 2: happens when you fish the slop, just like you're eventually 59 00:02:57,120 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 2: going to miss some bucks if you hunt the rut 60 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:01,679 Speaker 2: long enough. I don't care who you are. Now. In 61 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 2: a tournament like that, you start with eight hours to fish. 62 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:07,680 Speaker 2: You're constantly looking at the time and trying to factor 63 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:09,960 Speaker 2: in how to use it to the best of your abilities. 64 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 2: You generally start out the morning you know with the 65 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:16,520 Speaker 2: idea that you're fishing to win, because well you are. 66 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 2: But as the morning progresses, you start to realize that 67 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:22,960 Speaker 2: winning is looking less realistic by the cast. Now, if 68 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 2: you have a few decent fishing alive, well that hope 69 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:28,600 Speaker 2: stays alive. But when it's fifteen inch fish after fifteen 70 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 2: inch fish, you start to acknowledge that your odds aren't 71 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 2: looking great. Oftentimes you either go swing for the fences 72 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:36,600 Speaker 2: in a big fish area, or you try to piece 73 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 2: together something that will get you a check, even if 74 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 2: it doesn't get you the first place trophy. Now I 75 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 2: can't speak for all anglers, but for me, the reality 76 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 2: of my odds of winning and what success really looks 77 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 2: like to me change almost by the hour, and sometimes 78 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:52,720 Speaker 2: almost by the cast. It's not unlike how I view 79 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:56,280 Speaker 2: deer hunting these days. I always go into the season 80 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 2: and planning to kill the biggest deer I believe to 81 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:01,080 Speaker 2: be really possible in whatever state a property I'm hunting. 82 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:03,720 Speaker 2: But that might last a week, it might last seven 83 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 2: weeks until the rut wraps up, or on some trips, 84 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:09,200 Speaker 2: it might not last the first full day of scouting 85 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 2: when I realized the deer density is super low, or 86 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 2: the weather is going to be a huge challenge, or 87 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 2: I figure out that the hunting pressure is a lot 88 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,400 Speaker 2: higher than I anticipated. This happens in weird ways too. 89 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,599 Speaker 2: They're mostly unique to my job, but also probably not 90 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 2: as different from a lot of folks as it might 91 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 2: seem at first. A couple of years ago, I drew 92 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:28,840 Speaker 2: an eye with deer tech, and I set out to 93 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:32,080 Speaker 2: kill one on public land. What I didn't see coming, 94 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 2: but that changed the whole arc of my trip, was 95 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 2: that my cameraman is just really uncomfortable with the tree 96 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:40,640 Speaker 2: stand game. Now, if your primary plan hinges on hang 97 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:42,720 Speaker 2: and bang mobile hunts to be right on top of 98 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 2: the action, and you suddenly realize it's not even a 99 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,320 Speaker 2: feasible option and you better figure out how to shoot 100 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:51,159 Speaker 2: something from the ground, that changes literally everything. The odds 101 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 2: of waiting out a one thirty plus deer drop like 102 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:58,440 Speaker 2: a headshot goose. That situation might never affect you, but 103 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 2: a couple of sick kids in lay October or November, Mike, 104 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 2: Or you might have a boss who decides ringing every 105 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:06,479 Speaker 2: last bit of your soul out to increase the quarter 106 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,479 Speaker 2: four profits is far more important than you sitting in 107 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:11,480 Speaker 2: a tree for a week during the rut, So you 108 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:13,720 Speaker 2: don't walk into that office with a hatchet and an 109 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 2: unhealthy dose of homicidal rage, where if you hear one 110 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:20,800 Speaker 2: more person mentioned margins or EBITA or scalability or total 111 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:23,560 Speaker 2: addressable market, you're going to start hacking away at the 112 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 2: C suite team. Things change, and one of the hardest 113 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:30,200 Speaker 2: parts about life is how difficult it is to accept 114 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 2: and adapt to those changes. A buddy of mine works 115 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 2: in it, and he's real successful, and we recently had 116 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:41,280 Speaker 2: a post peasant hunt conversation about social media and technology 117 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:43,920 Speaker 2: in our modern world, and we both agreed that we 118 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 2: both hate quite a bit of the technology that governs 119 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 2: our lives these days. But then he said something. He said, 120 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 2: we hate it, meaning he and I because we've already 121 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 2: aged out. It's not for us, it's for the younger generations. 122 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 2: And I thought, Hm, my dad recently drove up to 123 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:03,359 Speaker 2: the lake to fish with us, and he used a 124 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 2: paper map to navigate his way into the north Country. 125 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:09,640 Speaker 2: I thought about how judgmental I was of that. But 126 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:13,320 Speaker 2: that's coming for me, and it sucks to realize now, 127 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:16,839 Speaker 2: when our hunting changes, we often don't handle it well either. 128 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:20,440 Speaker 2: Here in Minnesota, we open our general gun season, you know, 129 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:24,239 Speaker 2: the Saturday of the first full weekend in November. That means, 130 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 2: on some years, our gun season opens up in the 131 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:29,800 Speaker 2: first couple days of November and never really any later 132 00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:32,800 Speaker 2: than like November ninth. The amount of bitching I do 133 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:34,840 Speaker 2: about this as well as a lot of people who 134 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:37,320 Speaker 2: would just like to bowhunt. The rut here is gross 135 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:40,960 Speaker 2: and totally fruitless. The gun crowd doesn't want to hear it, 136 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:44,320 Speaker 2: and they don't want to change the same type of 137 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:48,080 Speaker 2: thing plays out very often when anything new or different 138 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:51,960 Speaker 2: is introduced. We don't like change, even if we also 139 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:55,039 Speaker 2: don't like how things currently are. I guess it's like 140 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 2: the devil you know type of thing. But change is inevitable, 141 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 2: and so are multiple reality checks throughout our deer seasons. 142 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:05,520 Speaker 2: I know a hunter who's a really good dude but 143 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:07,920 Speaker 2: doesn't put in a whole lot of effort, who had 144 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 2: the kind of season last year that would drive a 145 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 2: lesser man to the assisted suicide clinic. This guy has 146 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:18,160 Speaker 2: a really really good deer lease and so opportunities At 147 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:21,680 Speaker 2: one forty plus bucks, you know, they just usually happen 148 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:25,080 Speaker 2: if he puts in enough time. Sometimes they happen multiple 149 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:28,160 Speaker 2: times in the same week, sometimes with deer way bigger 150 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 2: than one forty. He had some issues last year shooting 151 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:34,560 Speaker 2: a vertical bow, so he switched to a crossbow, and 152 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 2: he had some issues with that. It wasn't good, And honestly, 153 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:40,880 Speaker 2: I'd say there might be like a ten percent chance 154 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 2: that pushes him to swear off deer hunting forever. That 155 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:46,640 Speaker 2: really won't be known until this season, but I know 156 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 2: one thing about it. He set his heart on a 157 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 2: big one, had a shit ton of stuff go wrong, 158 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:56,360 Speaker 2: and had his heart broken by a couple big ones. Look, 159 00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 2: we're all free to set our standards as we please, 160 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 2: but we should also try to be realistic about who 161 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:04,119 Speaker 2: we are as hunters and what we are just willing 162 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:07,720 Speaker 2: to put in work wise, and why are specific goals 163 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 2: for whatever bucks matter. This generally requires us to confront 164 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 2: our own egos, which is very hard but important. It's 165 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:18,920 Speaker 2: also important to understand whether our decisions are based on 166 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 2: what we actually want to achieve in a season, or 167 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 2: whether we are allowing someone else to have a safe 168 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 2: for us. I very recently had a conversation with a 169 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:39,400 Speaker 2: fello at the gym whose wife had a Silence or 170 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:42,360 Speaker 2: Central shirt on. It's not that often in the suburbs 171 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:45,560 Speaker 2: I see anyone wearing a shirt that advertises suppressors. So 172 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:48,000 Speaker 2: I figured they'd probably be interesting to have a little 173 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 2: chat with, and they were, and eventually we got on 174 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:53,160 Speaker 2: a topic of bow hunting, which is pretty common in 175 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 2: my world. He mentioned that he had bought his first 176 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 2: bow last season and spent his fall hunting public land 177 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:01,840 Speaker 2: out of a saddle. He didn't kill anything, but in 178 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:04,400 Speaker 2: his words, he could have shot a couple of spikers, 179 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:07,559 Speaker 2: but he wasn't about to shoot a spiker. Now that's 180 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:10,600 Speaker 2: a perfectly reasonable take, and who am I to argue 181 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 2: with it, But I will anyway slightly or at least 182 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 2: make a case for whacking that spiker, just purely on 183 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:20,720 Speaker 2: the details I know. I can say that hunting the 184 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:23,680 Speaker 2: public land around my house is pretty tough. We have 185 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:26,560 Speaker 2: nearly four million people living here, and the hell of 186 00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:29,160 Speaker 2: a lot of them hunt. I also know that that 187 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:33,320 Speaker 2: fella has four kids, like young kids, so I'm filling 188 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 2: into blanks here a little bit, but I would assume 189 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:40,400 Speaker 2: his time is probably somewhat limited shoot a spike, don't 190 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:42,920 Speaker 2: shoot a spike, But ask yourself if you're in the 191 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:45,520 Speaker 2: kind of situation where shooting a spike might not be 192 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 2: a terrible idea. We are all on our own journeys, 193 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:51,600 Speaker 2: but I can tell you that one of the things 194 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 2: that just consistently makes me happy is when I shoot 195 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:57,440 Speaker 2: a deer through the lungs and have a short blood 196 00:09:57,440 --> 00:09:59,160 Speaker 2: trail and a whole lot of meat to put in 197 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:02,200 Speaker 2: my freezer. Other folks are out there for different reasons, 198 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:05,000 Speaker 2: and that's great, but I see this kind of thing 199 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:08,200 Speaker 2: happen so often where people and by people, I almost 200 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:11,959 Speaker 2: always mean dudes, can't reconcile the reality of their hunting 201 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,880 Speaker 2: success with who they think they are as a person. 202 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:17,600 Speaker 2: It's kind of like if you happen to find yourself 203 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:20,840 Speaker 2: doom scrolling on Reddit or some other platform and you 204 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 2: see a thread dedicated to street fights. The amount of people, 205 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:28,520 Speaker 2: and by people, I mean mostly dudes who think they 206 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:33,120 Speaker 2: can fight and then actually try is incredible. Not to 207 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:36,400 Speaker 2: be fair, alcohol is involved in nearly one of these scraps. 208 00:10:36,679 --> 00:10:39,280 Speaker 2: And if there is one thing alcohol does, it's convinced 209 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:41,920 Speaker 2: us we are something we are not, which is why 210 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:44,959 Speaker 2: getting tore up from the floor up is so damn fun, until, 211 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:48,719 Speaker 2: of course it's not. The deer hunting equivalent of this 212 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:51,320 Speaker 2: is what keeps me in business. A lot of hunters 213 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:55,520 Speaker 2: out there, and by hunters, I mean dudes can't quite 214 00:10:55,640 --> 00:10:58,360 Speaker 2: understand why some folks can kill big bucks consistently and 215 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:02,280 Speaker 2: they can't. This is the primary driver behind the sales 216 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 2: of all those deer calls and scents and lures and decoys, 217 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:07,680 Speaker 2: and you know, it's the primary reason why when baiting 218 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:11,280 Speaker 2: is legal, nearly everyone does it, and when it's illegal, 219 00:11:11,559 --> 00:11:14,760 Speaker 2: a lot of people still do it. We want the shortest, 220 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:17,880 Speaker 2: easiest route to success, and a whole lot of products 221 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:20,480 Speaker 2: promise that we want to be in the cool kids club, 222 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 2: and that club is way more fun if everyone gets 223 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:25,480 Speaker 2: to shoot one fifties and not spikers on public land. 224 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:28,600 Speaker 2: But it doesn't work that way, and the success ratios 225 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:31,080 Speaker 2: in most states show this pretty clearly. You know, up 226 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:34,679 Speaker 2: until crossbow started becoming standard in archery seasons, the success 227 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:38,000 Speaker 2: ratios in most states were reliable and just about static. 228 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:41,920 Speaker 2: Most real deviations from the norm either involved tightening up 229 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 2: tag availability or opening things up to more tags. But 230 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:48,160 Speaker 2: even then, the numbers don't change a whole lot. Usually 231 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:52,560 Speaker 2: most people just aren't very successful at tier honey. But 232 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:55,600 Speaker 2: we don't see those people on Instagram and model our 233 00:11:55,640 --> 00:12:00,200 Speaker 2: personal standards around that. That's probably a shame too, because 234 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 2: if we focused more on how hard it is for 235 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:04,720 Speaker 2: most people to kill deer, we'd probably be a lot 236 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:07,319 Speaker 2: happier to see, you know, an eighty seven inch two 237 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:10,080 Speaker 2: year old step into the field, instead of being pissed 238 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:11,840 Speaker 2: that it isn't one of our target bucks we have 239 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 2: on camera that happens to spend ninety nine percent of 240 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:16,160 Speaker 2: his time on the land, we don't get to hunt. 241 00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:18,800 Speaker 2: This is all shit I've talked about a million times. 242 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:21,480 Speaker 2: It might not seem all that pressing right now, but 243 00:12:21,559 --> 00:12:24,080 Speaker 2: I can tell you it's always on my mind, and 244 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:25,680 Speaker 2: it flavors the way I do a lot of my 245 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:29,839 Speaker 2: off season planning. You see, we paint this picture about 246 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:33,600 Speaker 2: escouting and shed hunting and running cameras year round and 247 00:12:33,679 --> 00:12:35,560 Speaker 2: all the things we are supposed to do. Is deer 248 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:39,240 Speaker 2: hunters as a means to an end. You do this 249 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:41,920 Speaker 2: and this and this and this, you kill mister big 250 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:45,720 Speaker 2: buck guy. Very simple connections there, my friends, And to 251 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:49,319 Speaker 2: some extent it's kind of true, but for me it's different. 252 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:52,240 Speaker 2: I know the more I eScout for a trip, the 253 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:55,679 Speaker 2: more likely I am to have realistic expectations. I'm more 254 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:58,040 Speaker 2: likely to have a better plan going in. And that 255 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:00,200 Speaker 2: doesn't mean you know the plan is always going to work, 256 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:02,680 Speaker 2: but it means I'll have a better idea if I 257 00:13:02,679 --> 00:13:06,120 Speaker 2: feel it's going to produce some encounters. Changes. Everything makes 258 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:08,520 Speaker 2: me feel better, makes me work harder. And the more 259 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:10,840 Speaker 2: I scout in person and the more I run cameras, 260 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:13,040 Speaker 2: the more I can go into next season with a 261 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:16,080 Speaker 2: good idea of what I can realistically accomplish and what 262 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:20,080 Speaker 2: I can realistically expect my success to look like. Think 263 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:23,200 Speaker 2: about that for a second, because it matters. Most of 264 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:25,400 Speaker 2: us these days put out some cameras in the summer, 265 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:28,400 Speaker 2: base our goals on what they show, and then mostly 266 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:30,640 Speaker 2: get disappointed in the fact that those bucks don't play 267 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:33,439 Speaker 2: the game very well. The current model of deer hunting 268 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:35,960 Speaker 2: that is pushed from the industry on down is one 269 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:39,480 Speaker 2: of absentee scouting to build a hit list via digital means, 270 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 2: and then picking and choosing the best times to hunt, 271 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:45,400 Speaker 2: you know, in order to encounter those target deer. That 272 00:13:45,559 --> 00:13:48,200 Speaker 2: is a great and I mean a great way to 273 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:51,520 Speaker 2: disappoint yourself and discover a real disconnect between what is 274 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:55,760 Speaker 2: possible and what is plausible in your hunting look. We 275 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:58,600 Speaker 2: often focus on taking inventory of the deer herd to 276 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 2: see who's worthy of wearing our tags, but we don't 277 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:04,400 Speaker 2: take inventory of ourselves very well. And that's kind of 278 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:06,600 Speaker 2: a problem. And I'm not saying don't do the buck 279 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:08,560 Speaker 2: inventory thing if that's what blows the wind up your 280 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:12,000 Speaker 2: camo skirt. What I'm saying is, you know, think about 281 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:14,560 Speaker 2: your last season or your last ten seasons. Have you 282 00:14:14,559 --> 00:14:17,840 Speaker 2: been happy with the results generally? If yes, carry on 283 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:21,520 Speaker 2: my wayward white tailor. But if you haven't been generally happy, 284 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:24,640 Speaker 2: there's a reason, maybe lots of them. Was the one 285 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:27,480 Speaker 2: season you were pretty happy because you happened to kill 286 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:30,520 Speaker 2: a one forty, then great if that's what it takes, 287 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:33,360 Speaker 2: but only happens once a decade, you better put in 288 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:36,000 Speaker 2: a lot more work, learn about deer a lot more, 289 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:38,720 Speaker 2: or figure out how to get on a way better property. 290 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:41,560 Speaker 2: Were your best seasons, not necessarily the ones where you 291 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:44,120 Speaker 2: always killed a good one, but instead where you had 292 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:47,440 Speaker 2: really cool opportunities all season long, or at least encounters, 293 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,160 Speaker 2: there's something there that should inform you how to scout, 294 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:52,080 Speaker 2: to set up, and what you should try to do 295 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:55,720 Speaker 2: once the season opens up. Were your worst seasons, the 296 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:57,840 Speaker 2: ones you held up for a target buck and pass 297 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:00,880 Speaker 2: smaller deer, then maybe it's time to be realistic about 298 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:03,480 Speaker 2: your commitment to trophy hunting and why that matters so much. 299 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:06,000 Speaker 2: I'll say this again for the folks in the back 300 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 2: of the room, nobody cares what you shoot. They don't. 301 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:11,480 Speaker 2: And if the only thing that would make you really 302 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:14,280 Speaker 2: happy this season is arrowing up open young buck in Georgia, 303 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:17,520 Speaker 2: where seeing a one point thirty is newsworthy, stick to it. 304 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:19,560 Speaker 2: But if you feel a sense of guilt or loss 305 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:21,240 Speaker 2: when you let that one hundred inch or walk during 306 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:23,840 Speaker 2: a killer morning during the rut, maybe it's time to 307 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:26,520 Speaker 2: be realistic about your hunting. I guess I want to 308 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:29,400 Speaker 2: say one last thing to frame this up. Should also 309 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:33,400 Speaker 2: allow yourself to change with your conditions. Maybe when you 310 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:35,600 Speaker 2: got out of college and didn't have a wife and 311 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:38,600 Speaker 2: kids and lots of time, you could target mature deer 312 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:42,200 Speaker 2: and kill them somewhat regularly. But if life changes and 313 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:45,520 Speaker 2: that free time disappears, there's no shame in taking a 314 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:48,800 Speaker 2: step back and realizing that time kills big bucks, and 315 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:53,080 Speaker 2: without it, well you just mostly won't target what you 316 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:56,080 Speaker 2: can realistically kill. If you need to, no one cares 317 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:58,760 Speaker 2: about it. And if that would make you happy and 318 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:01,680 Speaker 2: make your season seem like a success, that is a 319 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:04,840 Speaker 2: huge win. It's also true that for most of us, 320 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:07,880 Speaker 2: lowering our standards some would actually get us into the 321 00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:10,960 Speaker 2: woods more. I mean, think about how many times you 322 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:13,200 Speaker 2: didn't want to hunt, or you talk to someone who 323 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:15,600 Speaker 2: wasn't going to go simply because they didn't, you know, 324 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:17,720 Speaker 2: have pictures of good bucks, or didn't believe a good 325 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:20,240 Speaker 2: one would show up given the conditions. I can tell 326 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 2: you that, you know, while that might be a good 327 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:25,160 Speaker 2: decision and the interest of purely killing a big buck 328 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:27,840 Speaker 2: at some point, it's also certainly not going to make 329 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:30,640 Speaker 2: you a better hunter or make hunting a lot more enjoyable, 330 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:34,600 Speaker 2: since well you're not hunting as much. I just like 331 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:37,240 Speaker 2: to think about this tough this time of year. It's 332 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:40,160 Speaker 2: kind of like a low lift fix. It doesn't mean much, 333 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:42,640 Speaker 2: but it's something, and it's nice to sort of get 334 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:45,600 Speaker 2: your head right on this stuff because that generally pushes 335 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:48,320 Speaker 2: us in a positive direction with our hunting. I don't 336 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:51,360 Speaker 2: think that's ever bad. And plus, what else are you 337 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:54,640 Speaker 2: going to do? Right now? That's it for this week. 338 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:56,720 Speaker 2: I'm Tony Peterson. This has been the Wire to Hunt 339 00:16:56,760 --> 00:16:59,720 Speaker 2: Foundation's podcast. Thank you so much for listening and for 340 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:01,960 Speaker 2: all your support. You know, here at met eater right now, 341 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 2: all we do is talk about how did we do 342 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:05,439 Speaker 2: last year as a business, And I can tell you 343 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 2: one thing that keeps coming up. Without the audience, without 344 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:10,840 Speaker 2: you guys supporting us, we don't have a business. We 345 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:13,520 Speaker 2: don't have anything. So thank you so much for showing 346 00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:15,919 Speaker 2: up for us, for listening to this podcast. Maybe you 347 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 2: headed over and you checked out Jordan Siller's Killer Blood 348 00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:21,879 Speaker 2: Trails podcast, which is so good. He's doing such a 349 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:24,200 Speaker 2: good job with that. If not, go check it out. 350 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:26,720 Speaker 2: If you need something else to entertain you, teach you 351 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:29,199 Speaker 2: a little bit about the outdoors, whatever, Go to the 352 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:34,400 Speaker 2: meeteater dot com New films, new articles, new podcasts, new 353 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:42,720 Speaker 2: all kinds of stuff dropping every day. Thank you.