1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:05,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, presented by first Light, 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. 4 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: First Light, Go Farther, Stay Longer, and now your host 5 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:22,840 Speaker 2: Hey everyone, welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast, 7 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 2: which is brought to you by First Light. I'm your host, 8 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 2: Tony Peterson, and today's episode is all about planning an 9 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:44,840 Speaker 2: overnighter scouting trip. March is the suckiest month of the year, 10 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,560 Speaker 2: sure down South. In some places people are already hunting 11 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:51,239 Speaker 2: turkeys and catching fish, but most of us are just 12 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 2: in a holding pattern, waiting on April to get here 13 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 2: so we can have some fun. You know, this is 14 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 2: the month of white tail work. You know, I feel anyway, 15 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 2: cut down those trees, trimnose, shooting lanes, pull some stands, 16 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 2: do what needs to be done. And if you plan 17 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 2: to hunt somewhere other than your backyard or close to home, 18 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 2: it's also a good time to consider a scouting trip. 19 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 2: This is arguably the best way to spend your time 20 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:16,200 Speaker 2: right now, but it takes some planning and consideration, which 21 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:29,120 Speaker 2: is what I intend to talk about right now. I'm 22 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:31,399 Speaker 2: sure some of you listeners are in the life stage 23 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 2: where your kids are old enough to be in a 24 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 2: lot of activities, or they're into one activity that consumes 25 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 2: much of your life. I don't know where we went 26 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 2: wrong with this, but somehow a lot of society decided 27 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 2: that ten year olds in hockey are the most important 28 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 2: thing in the world, and that it must be a 29 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 2: year round commitment. That definitely doesn't mean that junior is 30 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 2: going to make it to the NHL. My daughters aren't 31 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 2: fully committed to any one activity, but boy, oh boy, 32 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 2: are they in a lot of stuff. In fact, we 33 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 2: just wrapped up a long basketball season wherever the span 34 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:10,680 Speaker 2: of three months, they played in ten weekend tournaments, Nearly 35 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 2: all of them were two day tournaments, and nearly all 36 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 2: of them were not very close to our house. It 37 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:19,360 Speaker 2: was a grind, and I don't know why I was 38 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:24,360 Speaker 2: surprised by this, but it was only their first basketball 39 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 2: league of the year. The day after that one ended, 40 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 2: they started another four week league that my wife didn't 41 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:34,360 Speaker 2: even tell me about, probably because I would have said 42 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 2: that is absolutely freaking crazy. Well, she didn't ask me, 43 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 2: which tells you everything you need to know about my marriage, 44 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:44,919 Speaker 2: in addition to an extra basketball league that ends right 45 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,639 Speaker 2: before Turkey season starts. The girls are in student Senate 46 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 2: and choir and this thing called Destination Imagination, which is 47 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 2: a stem program that encourages imagination and engineering and teamwork 48 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:00,280 Speaker 2: and is actually pretty cool and my daughter's love it. 49 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 2: But there's one part that one of my daughters hates, 50 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:09,920 Speaker 2: and that's performing. Their team of seven kids has to 51 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 2: write a skit, build a bunch of props, and eventually 52 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 2: perform it for judges and an audience. The audience is 53 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:21,919 Speaker 2: almost entirely composed of parents and grandparents, because, let's be honest, 54 00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:25,760 Speaker 2: it's not like they put on a high demand show. 55 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:29,400 Speaker 2: It's not like when Taylor Swift plays within a thousand 56 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:32,360 Speaker 2: miles of Michigan and Mark and Spencer dip into their 57 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 2: retirement accounts to buy VIP meet and greet tickets. This 58 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 2: is a little more low key than that. But that 59 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 2: doesn't matter to one of my daughters. You'd think she 60 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:45,240 Speaker 2: was about to live Mark's dream and get called up 61 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:47,760 Speaker 2: on stage to sing right next to Taylor in front 62 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 2: of I don't know one hundred thousand screaming fans. Instead 63 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 2: of seventeen people, eight of which she's directly related to. 64 00:03:55,680 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 2: Sometimes our brains can't rationalize that, and we freak out anyway. 65 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 2: Performance anxiety, or that bastard fight or flight response that 66 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 2: kicks in when we are in front of a group 67 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 2: of people isn't much fun. It's the result of glossophobia, 68 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,160 Speaker 2: which comes from some Greek words mashed together to describe 69 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:20,720 Speaker 2: the fear of public speaking. There are some theories as 70 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 2: to where this comes from, but a common one is 71 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:25,279 Speaker 2: that it wasn't that long ago in our history where 72 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 2: if we were addressing a crowd of people, we were 73 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:31,920 Speaker 2: pleading for our lives. Now, generations of people who might 74 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 2: have to make the case to not get publicly executed 75 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 2: while standing in front of a crowd would probably lead 76 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 2: to a rough response to that situation even today. I suppose, 77 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 2: as someone who spent quite a few years speaking at 78 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 2: various sports shows and deer classics, I can say that 79 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 2: there is only one way I found to alleviate the 80 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 2: hyper anxiety of public speaking, familiarity with your material. The 81 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:59,839 Speaker 2: more I rehearsed my presentations at home before any event, 82 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:02,760 Speaker 2: the easier it was to fall right into the groove 83 00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:07,200 Speaker 2: when my seminar started, but that wasn't enough. Sometimes the 84 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:10,240 Speaker 2: promoter would ask me to address like a specific topic, 85 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,159 Speaker 2: so instead of me choosing what I wanted to cover, 86 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:17,039 Speaker 2: you know, there was always some kind of ask about 87 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:20,720 Speaker 2: the material that maybe wasn't as natural to me. Now 88 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,320 Speaker 2: I could cobble together a deer calling seminar and make 89 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 2: it work, but it wasn't ever as easy as a 90 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:30,039 Speaker 2: seminar on like diy public land whitetail hunting, if that 91 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:33,920 Speaker 2: makes sense. I tried to explain this to my daughter 92 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:36,320 Speaker 2: when she was losing her shit the night before their 93 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 2: regional competition. I said, if you can't sleep, just rehearse 94 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:42,520 Speaker 2: your lines. The more you know them, the more comfortable 95 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 2: you'll be. Now, rationalizing that to a twelve year old 96 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:49,160 Speaker 2: nutcase who is chock full of her father's genes isn't easy, 97 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 2: but it was the right move. She freaked out over 98 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:56,440 Speaker 2: nothing because she had her stuff down. It's honestly that simple. 99 00:05:56,960 --> 00:05:59,400 Speaker 2: It's also one of the primary reasons to take a 100 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:03,720 Speaker 2: road for deer scouting. Now I realize a lot of 101 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:07,039 Speaker 2: people only hunt one place and they don't need to 102 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:10,280 Speaker 2: do an overnight or to scout it. You also know 103 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:12,920 Speaker 2: how I feel about hunting only one place, and how 104 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:16,039 Speaker 2: I feel about the future of traveling to hunt. I'm 105 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:18,760 Speaker 2: telling you right now, if you ever wanted to cross 106 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:22,599 Speaker 2: state lines to hunt anything, you better get on it now. 107 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:26,560 Speaker 2: These opportunities are going away, and that's only going to 108 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 2: accelerate for a while. But before you do, consider how 109 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:34,920 Speaker 2: to make a scouting trip productive. Because this is your 110 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,320 Speaker 2: dress rehearsal, at least to some extent. It's your chance 111 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:41,719 Speaker 2: to not only find good locations to set stands, but 112 00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 2: also to familiarize yourself with the process and the logistics 113 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:48,799 Speaker 2: of the travel. This is something a lot of people 114 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:51,520 Speaker 2: totally ignore when they decide to spread their wings and 115 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:54,560 Speaker 2: try to hunt somewhere that isn't their home go to property. 116 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:58,600 Speaker 2: So let's take the travel part first. When I was 117 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 2: a young lad growing up in south eastern Minnesota, I 118 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:03,800 Speaker 2: had spots to hunt that were maybe, I don't know, 119 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:07,200 Speaker 2: five to thirty minutes away from home. Scouting and hunting 120 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:10,239 Speaker 2: could be done in a few hour timeframe. For getting 121 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:13,080 Speaker 2: something at home like a saw or whatever, not a 122 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:15,160 Speaker 2: big deal. You just go back and you get it. 123 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 2: Or if I needed some food between morning and evening sits, 124 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:22,680 Speaker 2: it was simple, go to town and eat, get back 125 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 2: out there. Of course, back then gas was like eighty 126 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:29,160 Speaker 2: nine cents a gallon, but still, if you live that 127 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:32,280 Speaker 2: close to home hunting lifestyle, you might not realize that 128 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:35,400 Speaker 2: some of the best hunting locations don't have a lot 129 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:39,800 Speaker 2: of amenities nearby. Especially when it comes to western white tails. 130 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:42,720 Speaker 2: You might realize that your chosen honey hole is fifty 131 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:46,040 Speaker 2: minutes away from anything that will sell you gas or 132 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:50,520 Speaker 2: groceries or a place to sleep. What you don't want 133 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 2: to do is buy a non resident tag somewhere, focus 134 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 2: solely on e scouting, you know, potential deer ground, and 135 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,040 Speaker 2: then show up to realize that you're a long ways 136 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 2: from some of the things you'll need to keep the 137 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:08,320 Speaker 2: hunt going. Figuring this out on a scouting trip so 138 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:10,880 Speaker 2: much easier than figuring it out on a hunting trip. 139 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:16,880 Speaker 2: And the cool part about this as well, there's no pressure. Well, 140 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 2: you'll want to get into the woods and start putting 141 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 2: on the miles so you can find some bedding areas 142 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:22,960 Speaker 2: and staging areas and food sources and I don't know, 143 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:26,680 Speaker 2: sweet pinch points. It's such a different thing than traveling 144 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 2: to actually hunt. When you do that the clock is 145 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:34,600 Speaker 2: always ticking and the pressure is vastly different. Scouting is 146 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:37,560 Speaker 2: a lazier figure it all out kind of a fair, 147 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:42,480 Speaker 2: which is a really good thing. Maybe instead of crashing 148 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:45,920 Speaker 2: at a roach motel, you want a camp great. You 149 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,520 Speaker 2: can figure out some of your gear and the logistics 150 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 2: ahead of time. You can also figure out if your 151 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:54,400 Speaker 2: chosen campground requires a reservation, how expensive it is, what 152 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:57,360 Speaker 2: amenities they offer, and whether it's a good move to 153 00:08:57,400 --> 00:09:01,679 Speaker 2: stay there when you're actually hunting. Now, this probably seems weird, 154 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 2: but I've stayed in a lot of campgrounds. Some are 155 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:10,160 Speaker 2: awesome for hunting trips, and some just planes suck. They 156 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:12,560 Speaker 2: might be noisy, or too busy, or just full of 157 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:14,480 Speaker 2: people who don't want to watch you butcher a deer 158 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:18,960 Speaker 2: on the picnic table. I want to know that before 159 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 2: I ever go hunting. So many of the things that 160 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:35,760 Speaker 2: make a traveling hunt not much fun happen when we 161 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 2: confront the disconnect between what we expected and what we 162 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:43,680 Speaker 2: actually got. What I mean by this is if you 163 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:47,560 Speaker 2: expect a nice, peaceful campsite and then get there and 164 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:50,760 Speaker 2: realize it's anything but that the quality of your hunting 165 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:53,880 Speaker 2: experience is going to drop. You know, the same goes 166 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:56,600 Speaker 2: for the actual scouting part. I don't know how many 167 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:59,160 Speaker 2: times I've e scouted my ass off only to show 168 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:02,000 Speaker 2: up somewhere and that it's just not what I expected. 169 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:06,440 Speaker 2: This happens a lot with walk in type properties, especially 170 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:09,319 Speaker 2: which are you know, those private land open to public 171 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:13,800 Speaker 2: hunting spots, usually through some kind of state program. Now, 172 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:18,360 Speaker 2: these properties are often cattle ranches with very little deer cover. 173 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:22,080 Speaker 2: Even though they look good on satellite imagery, what you 174 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:25,120 Speaker 2: don't see is that the oak tree covered woods is 175 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:28,959 Speaker 2: really mostly just a pasture with zero undergrowth, and you 176 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:31,760 Speaker 2: know it's covered in a high population of bovine hunt 177 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:36,160 Speaker 2: spoilers mooing and taking giant dumps on the landscape. Again, 178 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:40,640 Speaker 2: wouldn't you rather know that before you go hunting? Now? 179 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:43,960 Speaker 2: This issue goes much deeper than cole pastures in marginal 180 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:48,760 Speaker 2: deer habitat. Sometimes I'll e scout properties and think, you know, 181 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:51,520 Speaker 2: I'll just park there, walk in there, scout that spot. 182 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:54,520 Speaker 2: Then I get there and the ditch is totally washed 183 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:57,560 Speaker 2: out and there's nowhere to park, or the easy walk 184 00:10:57,679 --> 00:11:01,679 Speaker 2: is anything but that, or this is something that happens 185 00:11:01,679 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 2: a lot. I'll mark some ponds to walk in and 186 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:07,679 Speaker 2: track check them and look for suitable stand trees, only 187 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 2: to realize that the pond is way way bigger than 188 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:15,960 Speaker 2: I expected, or more often nonexistent. This happened to me 189 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:18,640 Speaker 2: in Oklahoma last year several times, and it was a 190 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 2: real pain in the ass, considering it was like eighty 191 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:24,600 Speaker 2: five degrees when I was scouting. Having the chance to 192 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:28,600 Speaker 2: ground truth your e scouting and familiarize yourself with access 193 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:32,079 Speaker 2: points is such an advantage for when you actually hunt. 194 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:35,880 Speaker 2: It's such an advantage I probably can't even really contextualize 195 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:41,319 Speaker 2: it properly. This is the differentiator between settling during a 196 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:45,320 Speaker 2: hunt in a subpar spot versus always being in a 197 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:50,280 Speaker 2: location where you have confidence. Again, that is a huge 198 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:53,320 Speaker 2: difference maker when it comes to enjoying your time and 199 00:11:53,559 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 2: actually fill in some tags. An off season scouting trip 200 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:01,160 Speaker 2: offers you something else as well, which is a good thing. 201 00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:05,600 Speaker 2: When you find something worth hunting, it allows you to 202 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:09,080 Speaker 2: make a much better plan overall because you have so 203 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:13,319 Speaker 2: much time to expand on your findings. Let me give 204 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:16,720 Speaker 2: you an example from my life recently where this happened. 205 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:20,079 Speaker 2: So last fall, I took the dogs and one of 206 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:22,800 Speaker 2: my daughters on a midday grouse hunt in northern Wisconsin. 207 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:26,520 Speaker 2: As I usually do, I ended up marking a few 208 00:12:26,559 --> 00:12:29,600 Speaker 2: big rubs we found while trying to shoot a few 209 00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:32,840 Speaker 2: grouse for dinner. I didn't think much of those waypoints 210 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:35,560 Speaker 2: that I dropped until I went back there just a 211 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:38,719 Speaker 2: couple of weeks ago. Now I'm a little embarrassed to 212 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:41,600 Speaker 2: admit this, but when I was back out there with 213 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:45,520 Speaker 2: nothing to distract me, it became very clear why the 214 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:48,640 Speaker 2: rubs were where they were. As I looked at my 215 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:52,560 Speaker 2: waypoints on on X, they were strung out on an 216 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:57,040 Speaker 2: elevation line in a property that honestly might have ten 217 00:12:57,120 --> 00:13:01,160 Speaker 2: feet of elevation difference throughout the whole thing. The one 218 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:04,800 Speaker 2: top o line that runs through it also happened to 219 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:09,280 Speaker 2: be exactly where the rubs were. It was clear that 220 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:11,880 Speaker 2: even though the difference in elevation might not equal the 221 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:16,040 Speaker 2: height of a regulation basketball hoop, bucks traveled along it 222 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:20,839 Speaker 2: enough to leave a concentration of sign. That's a great 223 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:24,199 Speaker 2: finding and something that should not have been as much 224 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:26,560 Speaker 2: of a puzzle to me as it was. But what 225 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:28,840 Speaker 2: it also does is tell me how to keep looking 226 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:32,480 Speaker 2: for buck movement in that mostly flat mono habitat of 227 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:36,720 Speaker 2: big woods over there. My deer hunting blood runs deep 228 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:40,679 Speaker 2: in bluff country, so I'm pretty familiar with deer habits 229 00:13:40,679 --> 00:13:44,319 Speaker 2: in the hills. When I get to flat ground, I struggle, 230 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:48,760 Speaker 2: But a scouting trip helped me see something that wasn't 231 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:52,320 Speaker 2: evident at first. This is a huge advantage when I'm 232 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,439 Speaker 2: looking for more spots and some kind of pattern to 233 00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:59,480 Speaker 2: play off of. If you travel to scout, you might 234 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:03,320 Speaker 2: find something similar, and in fact probably will if you 235 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:06,480 Speaker 2: go somewhere that is a bit different from your usual haunts. 236 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:10,800 Speaker 2: Deer have definite patterns to their behavior. You know this 237 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:14,319 Speaker 2: span from Canada to Florida, but there's also a heavy 238 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:18,880 Speaker 2: bit of deviation depending on the habitat and terrain. Spending 239 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:21,280 Speaker 2: more time and places where you're not familiar with the 240 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:24,560 Speaker 2: local nuances of deer life will help you get better 241 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:29,720 Speaker 2: at reading sign and identifying quality ambush spots. Again, this 242 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:32,200 Speaker 2: is a different beast in March when you're on a 243 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:36,440 Speaker 2: long weekend trying to crush cabin fever and be somewhat productive, 244 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:40,280 Speaker 2: versus showing up in late October with an expensive tag 245 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:44,200 Speaker 2: in your pack. The benefits extend beyond that, as well, 246 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 2: let's say you're wearing a new pair of boots or 247 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:49,240 Speaker 2: trying out a new pack, or you plan to drop 248 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 2: off a couple of cell cameras to send you updates 249 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 2: on deer activity for the next several months. All of 250 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,280 Speaker 2: those pieces of gear that come together to make a 251 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:00,480 Speaker 2: hunt better or worse have the potential to an enhance 252 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:04,240 Speaker 2: your hunt or detract from it. Maybe you've got a 253 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:07,640 Speaker 2: smoking deal on some close out cameras and you think, well, 254 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:10,000 Speaker 2: one hundred dollars a pop for sell cameras is the 255 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 2: best thing going, so you load up and you take 256 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:15,000 Speaker 2: them out there with you. But then a few weeks 257 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:17,160 Speaker 2: later you realize that one of the cameras doesn't seem 258 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:19,680 Speaker 2: to be sending and he picks at all. Another is 259 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:22,320 Speaker 2: all deer butts and leaves blowing in the wind, and 260 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,800 Speaker 2: another is draining battery life, you know, like seventeen times 261 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 2: faster than it's advertised. Maybe your pack doesn't ride right 262 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:32,960 Speaker 2: on your shoulders, or your boots give you hot spots 263 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:36,880 Speaker 2: on your feet. Maybe a dress rehearsal with your gear 264 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:39,480 Speaker 2: on a low pressure scouting trip shows you a lot 265 00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:42,920 Speaker 2: about what to do or what not to do when 266 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:46,440 Speaker 2: you return to hunt in seven or eight months. I 267 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:48,880 Speaker 2: honestly think this is one of the reasons guys like 268 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:52,200 Speaker 2: Andy May are so deadly in the woods. He's not 269 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:55,840 Speaker 2: showing up to hunt after not scouting for five months, 270 00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:59,080 Speaker 2: while hoping all of his gear is just good enough. 271 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:03,280 Speaker 2: He's been there and done that dozens and dozens of 272 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:06,240 Speaker 2: times in that span of months, and there are very 273 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:11,120 Speaker 2: few surprises left to change his hunt for the worst. Now, 274 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:13,240 Speaker 2: there's one last thing I want to say on this topic. 275 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:16,120 Speaker 2: You might not think you need to travel to hunt 276 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:18,720 Speaker 2: because you have a good spot at home. You might 277 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:21,080 Speaker 2: not see the reason to leave your state to shoot 278 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:23,720 Speaker 2: a buck that you could shoot at home. But here's 279 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:28,480 Speaker 2: the thing. This is not just about killing deer. Taking 280 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:30,640 Speaker 2: your hunting on the road, away from the ground you 281 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:33,640 Speaker 2: know by heart. It's good for you. It's good for 282 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:35,960 Speaker 2: all of us to get into the unknown and have 283 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:39,560 Speaker 2: to rediscover how to do this stuff. It's also a 284 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:43,360 Speaker 2: great way to find more outdoor experiences to enjoy, which 285 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:47,080 Speaker 2: is kind of like compound interest. Your initial investment is 286 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:50,119 Speaker 2: just the idea of getting a tag and hunting deer somewhere. 287 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:53,680 Speaker 2: So you go scout that place in March and maybe 288 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:56,120 Speaker 2: you find a great place to hunt, or maybe you don't, 289 00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:59,200 Speaker 2: but maybe when you're scouting that area you find a 290 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:02,120 Speaker 2: whole bunch of pheathers living on public land. Or maybe 291 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:04,320 Speaker 2: you run into an area that just seems chalk full 292 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:08,120 Speaker 2: of turkeys. Maybe you cross a beautiful trout stream ten 293 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:11,640 Speaker 2: times while looking for thigh sized rubs, and you realize 294 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:13,760 Speaker 2: that it wouldn't be such a terrible idea to drive 295 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:17,200 Speaker 2: the kids out this summer to catch some fish. When 296 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:21,040 Speaker 2: you open yourself up to these possibilities, things just get 297 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:24,280 Speaker 2: more interesting. I don't know how many times I've found 298 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:27,040 Speaker 2: a reason to go somewhere for some fun in the 299 00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:30,159 Speaker 2: outdoors that started out as a deer scouting trip but 300 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:34,920 Speaker 2: then morphed into something else. And the reverse is also true. 301 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:36,919 Speaker 2: I've had some of my best deer hunts because I 302 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:40,240 Speaker 2: traveled upland birds somewhere, or because I fished a stretch 303 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:42,679 Speaker 2: of a smallmouth river that I'd never been to before. 304 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:47,600 Speaker 2: Whitetail hunters are heavily fixated on the goal of killing 305 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:52,399 Speaker 2: a big deer, but there are many many paths to 306 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:55,200 Speaker 2: take you on your way there, and there are many 307 00:17:55,240 --> 00:17:58,359 Speaker 2: ways to enjoy the world of the whitetail without taking 308 00:17:58,359 --> 00:18:00,800 Speaker 2: the most direct path from not having a dead buck 309 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:04,159 Speaker 2: to hopefully having one. Think about this stuff as we 310 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:07,560 Speaker 2: grind our way through this stupid ass month and start 311 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:10,760 Speaker 2: to think about turkey hunting, and come back next week 312 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:12,720 Speaker 2: because I'm going to talk about how to save some 313 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:15,760 Speaker 2: money on deer hunting, which is probably a good topic 314 00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:19,199 Speaker 2: to dive into considering how expensive everything seems to be. 315 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:23,560 Speaker 2: Right now, that's it. I'm Tony Peterson. This has been 316 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:26,280 Speaker 2: the Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast, which is brought to 317 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:28,560 Speaker 2: you by First Light. As always, thank you so much 318 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:31,200 Speaker 2: for your support, Thank you for listening. If you want 319 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:34,480 Speaker 2: some more white tail content or some turkey content, which 320 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:37,479 Speaker 2: is dropping like crazy right now, head on over to 321 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:41,280 Speaker 2: the meedeater dot com. You'll see all kinds of videos. 322 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:44,240 Speaker 2: You'll see all kinds of podcasts, all kinds of articles, 323 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:46,199 Speaker 2: lots of good stuff there. Go check it out.