1 00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:05,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,879 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 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:23,120 Speaker 2: Hey everyone, welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast, 7 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:25,160 Speaker 2: which is brought to you by first Light. I'm your host, 8 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 2: Tony Peterson, and today's episode is all about retraining our 9 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:30,320 Speaker 2: brains so we can make better. 10 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:31,200 Speaker 3: Deer hunting decisions. 11 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: Absolutely. 12 00:00:34,159 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 2: I know this might seem like a weird one, but 13 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 2: you know, as I get older, I feel like I'm 14 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:40,559 Speaker 2: constantly fighting a battle against what is good for me. 15 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:42,000 Speaker 3: Versus what I want. 16 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 2: A default to my mind can convince me to make 17 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 2: poor decisions and self destructive decisions, and often just stupid, 18 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 2: lazy decisions. It does this during scouting sessions and certainly 19 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:55,480 Speaker 2: actual deer hunts too. But it's also something I can 20 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 2: work on. We all can work on this, which is 21 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 2: what I'm going to talk about right now. Have you 22 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 2: ever heard of the simulation theory? You probably have, and 23 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 2: maybe you write it off as total bunk, which is 24 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:13,039 Speaker 2: an understandable reaction, But maybe you don't because life is 25 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 2: weird and it often feels like we really kind of 26 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 2: aren't in control, so you think, who freaking knows, Maybe 27 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:23,000 Speaker 2: we are living in the matrix. As we get exposure 28 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:27,399 Speaker 2: to companies working on artificial intelligence, simulation theory enters the 29 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:28,760 Speaker 2: conversation more and more. 30 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:31,280 Speaker 3: After all, artificial. 31 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 2: Intelligence could become sentient, and if it did, it could 32 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:38,720 Speaker 2: harness computational power and the unreal amount of data on 33 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:41,040 Speaker 2: humanity that we just put out there in the world 34 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:44,240 Speaker 2: in a way that could be used against us, and 35 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 2: maybe we will become flesh and blood batteries for the machine. Now, 36 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:51,240 Speaker 2: for the record, I'm not sold on the simulation theory 37 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 2: yet I think it's interesting for no other reason than 38 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 2: we are all just made up of star stuff. Yet 39 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:00,040 Speaker 2: somehow we can ponder whether we really exist as we 40 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 2: generally believe we do, or if we are stuck in 41 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 2: a living hell waiting on Keanu reeves to come along 42 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 2: and unplug us. The mind is wild, and a part 43 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 2: of the mind, or a function of the mind that 44 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 2: is fascinating to me is neuroplasticity, which is the ability 45 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 2: of the brain to change in structure or function in 46 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 2: response to an experience. Neuroplasticity can kind of be sort 47 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 2: of a prison, or it can facilitate our voluntary self containment, 48 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 2: or it can be used to literally change our reality 49 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 2: through our thoughts and actions. In a way, if we 50 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 2: can change our reality by simply thinking about it or 51 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 2: using our brains to learn new things, isn't that kind 52 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:43,960 Speaker 2: of like we control the simulation? 53 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 3: Who knows what I do? 54 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 2: Know? As someone who has struggled with addiction in my 55 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 2: life and who has spilled his guts to a few 56 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 2: therapists in the hopes that they'll tell me what I 57 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:54,519 Speaker 2: want to hear and not what I need to hear, 58 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 2: I realize that our minds are often not our friends. 59 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 2: This is a concept that came to me when I 60 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 2: heard a song by some musicians who go by the 61 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 2: name of the National and their song is called your 62 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 2: mind is not your friend. You guys know that I 63 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 2: love music and I love words, and I think the 64 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 2: challenge to being a good musician or a good writer 65 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 2: is to say the same thing but in a new way, 66 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:18,720 Speaker 2: sort of like how nearly every fiction book out there 67 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:23,040 Speaker 2: is a love story, despite it being presented not necessarily 68 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 2: in a traditional Hallmark movie type of love story. The 69 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:29,919 Speaker 2: point of the song, at least how I take it, 70 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,480 Speaker 2: is that it's hard to understand, but your imagination, your mind, 71 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:35,920 Speaker 2: they can work against you in ways that you just 72 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 2: don't see coming. You might not understand them at all. 73 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:44,160 Speaker 2: And when that happens, you're trusting a flawed system, a 74 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 2: flawed system that we are awfully biased toward. I might add, 75 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 2: it's sort of like how when you're really really hungry, 76 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:52,800 Speaker 2: you want to go right for the most calorie dense 77 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 2: foods you can find. This is an evolutionary trait that 78 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 2: hasn't caught up to our modern world of convenience and 79 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 2: process foods. Your body and your mind, of which the 80 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 2: two are a hell of a lot more closely intertwined 81 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 2: than we sometimes like to think, works against you in 82 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:13,119 Speaker 2: that moment. It makes itself unhealthy or talks itself into 83 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 2: unhealthy decisions because the operating system hasn't been updated in 84 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 2: the last couple one hundred thousand years. Sort of, But 85 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:23,599 Speaker 2: what the hell does this have to do with deer hunting? 86 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:27,160 Speaker 2: A lot we look at deer hunting in this modern 87 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:30,039 Speaker 2: age as largely in academic pursuit. I talk about this 88 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:32,480 Speaker 2: all the time, but I believe it. We don't really 89 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:34,920 Speaker 2: need to scout a whole lot thanks to trail cameras. 90 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 2: We don't really need to know how to hide very 91 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:39,599 Speaker 2: well because we can get in a portable cameo box 92 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 2: and it'll hide us very well. We don't have to 93 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 2: learn that cold fronts might mean more dear movement because 94 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:51,080 Speaker 2: that information is everywhere. We honestly don't have to do 95 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:53,479 Speaker 2: a ton of work to kill deer anymore, and I 96 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:55,920 Speaker 2: think that's why it's not as enjoyable for us now 97 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 2: as it was not that long ago. Oh maybe I'm 98 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:00,599 Speaker 2: way off based there, I don't think. 99 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:00,719 Speaker 3: So. 100 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 2: We don't really have to learn anything new with deer hunting, 101 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:07,159 Speaker 2: and when it comes to neuroplasticity and how we could 102 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 2: train our brains to think about deer hunting on a 103 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 2: deeper level, we just don't have to do it. We 104 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:17,120 Speaker 2: can kill deer fine without that, or so we think. 105 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 2: But what has all of this information done for most hunters? 106 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,720 Speaker 2: Sure we understand how to hack the herd kind of, 107 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 2: and if we have the right amount of land and 108 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 2: the right amount of control over that land, we can 109 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:31,440 Speaker 2: pretty much make the deer do what we want. Them 110 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:33,560 Speaker 2: to and we can go in and try to kill 111 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 2: them when we deem the timing to be right. But 112 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:38,360 Speaker 2: a lot of folks don't have that, and some of 113 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:40,680 Speaker 2: the folks that do still don't have a stellar track 114 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:42,640 Speaker 2: record of killing big bucks every season. 115 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:46,360 Speaker 3: Why is that? Why, with all of. 116 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 2: Our technological advantages and the sheer amount of information we 117 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 2: have on deer, isn't it easier than it is? Well, 118 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 2: let's start with a basic premise here, one that is 119 00:05:57,920 --> 00:05:59,919 Speaker 2: sort of predicated on something. I talk about a lot 120 00:05:59,920 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 2: lot doing something different in the deer hunting space. Most 121 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 2: folks have a hunting spot and they try to figure 122 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 2: that spot out. When they don't succeed, they often double 123 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 2: down on. 124 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 3: What they believe should work. 125 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 2: This is what leads us to hunting less than we 126 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 2: should because there is often a short term negative feedback loop. 127 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:22,119 Speaker 2: When we try new things, they often don't work right away, 128 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 2: but because they are new, we tend to assign more 129 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:28,279 Speaker 2: weight to that failure. We don't think about going to 130 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 2: our favorite stand and not seeing anything, because that's easy 131 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 2: to write off. It's just some anomaly where the deer 132 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,719 Speaker 2: just weren't moving, you know, full moon or whatever. But 133 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:39,600 Speaker 2: when we saddle up for the first time and go 134 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:42,200 Speaker 2: in somewhere and hang and bang, and the deer don't show. 135 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:45,800 Speaker 2: It's easier to believe that whole process is just not 136 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:49,160 Speaker 2: cracked up to what it's supposed to be. We have 137 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:51,600 Speaker 2: to try new things and learn from them, and eventually 138 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:54,400 Speaker 2: our brains will change to meet the reality of deer hunting. 139 00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 2: We have not the one we believe we have. Now, 140 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:00,680 Speaker 2: let me give you an example of this that kind 141 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 2: of might frame it all up. When my wife and 142 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:07,160 Speaker 2: I had our daughters, I knew my hunting time would 143 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 2: be greatly shortened. I also knew, since I was a 144 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:14,600 Speaker 2: freelance writer back then, primarily mostly in the bow hunting space, 145 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 2: that I still needed to go hunt a bunch of 146 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:18,640 Speaker 2: states and try to stack up a few. 147 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:19,400 Speaker 3: Bucks every season. 148 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:22,559 Speaker 2: Now, the first trip that I took that first year, 149 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:24,679 Speaker 2: you know, when we had a pair of ten months 150 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 2: olds at home, was to North Dakota. I had a 151 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:29,800 Speaker 2: couple of days to scout and a couple of days 152 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:32,080 Speaker 2: to bowhunt. I knew that my odds of filling a 153 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 2: public land buck tag on the bow opener with only 154 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:37,600 Speaker 2: a couple of days to hunt were not that great. 155 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:40,880 Speaker 3: It felt mostly like a lost cause. 156 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 2: Now for a rut hunt, maybe because there's always a 157 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:47,360 Speaker 2: chance every minute you're out there, But for a first 158 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:50,840 Speaker 2: of September type of hunt, where morning's reel tough and 159 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:54,280 Speaker 2: there was likely to be hunters all over, I just 160 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:56,760 Speaker 2: didn't believe it was going to happen. And so it 161 00:07:56,880 --> 00:07:59,480 Speaker 2: went that way until the last fifteen minutes of the 162 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,640 Speaker 2: last evening, when a decent eight pointer walked in and 163 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 2: I shot him, and the sun went down, and my 164 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 2: brain learned something new. A few days is enough time 165 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 2: if you put in the right effort. Now you might 166 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 2: be thinking that was more luck than anything, but an 167 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 2: experience like that does change how you think. And my 168 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 2: reality went from believing I wouldn't have enough time to 169 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 2: do what I needed to do to killing quite a 170 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:28,280 Speaker 2: few deer on very short trips. There was a time 171 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 2: in my deer hunting career where I could go a 172 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:33,240 Speaker 2: whole season and not kill a deer, and I promise 173 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:35,959 Speaker 2: you that there is a zero percent chance I believed 174 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:39,040 Speaker 2: it would ever be any different from me. I had 175 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:42,959 Speaker 2: learned one thing and hadn't learned the next thing to 176 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 2: challenge my worldview. So let's take another example. You've heard 177 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:49,840 Speaker 2: me talk about snort wheezing a lot, and how I 178 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 2: do it far more than most folks do, and how 179 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 2: I'm not afraid to snort wheeze well outside of the 180 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:57,960 Speaker 2: rut at deer that aren't very likely to be what 181 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:02,600 Speaker 2: we would consider dominant buck. Until you try it and 182 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:05,839 Speaker 2: see it work, you're likely to believe what your brain 183 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:09,960 Speaker 2: tells you, which is it won't work. We've been told 184 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 2: over and over what that call is, and then when 185 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 2: it should be used and what deer you should use 186 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:20,440 Speaker 2: it on. But most of that stuff's bullshit, and you 187 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:23,400 Speaker 2: can learn why. But we have to get past what 188 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:26,840 Speaker 2: we think we know, and that is really hard to do. 189 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:41,360 Speaker 2: Your mind is often not your friend, and the first 190 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:44,480 Speaker 2: step to rewiring your brain is to understand that that 191 00:09:44,679 --> 00:09:46,280 Speaker 2: is fundamentally true. 192 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:47,080 Speaker 3: Of all of us. 193 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:50,880 Speaker 2: At least, it's often not your friend, and we need 194 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:53,640 Speaker 2: to figure out when that is and what we can 195 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:57,360 Speaker 2: do about it. Think about it this way. Your body 196 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:00,559 Speaker 2: is capable of a fair amount of exercise and would 197 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:03,960 Speaker 2: thrive on a very healthy diet. We all know this, 198 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:06,720 Speaker 2: But then why do we dread going for a run 199 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:10,160 Speaker 2: so much, or a lot of us engaging in any 200 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:13,840 Speaker 2: exercise for the pure sake of getting healthier. We know 201 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:16,880 Speaker 2: it's objectively a good thing, but man, can we talk 202 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:21,040 Speaker 2: ourselves out of it? My elk hunting partner, Tyler, looks 203 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 2: like a male model right now. He's literally one of 204 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:26,680 Speaker 2: the most jacked people I know, and it makes me 205 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:31,360 Speaker 2: insanely jealous. But I also know what he's doing to 206 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:34,920 Speaker 2: get that in shape and how disciplined he is with 207 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:40,200 Speaker 2: his diet. It's a huge, huge commitment. He also says 208 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:43,120 Speaker 2: often that people will say to him that they just 209 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 2: don't have the same amount of time to work out 210 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:47,760 Speaker 2: as he does, and they say this without knowing a 211 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:51,480 Speaker 2: thing about his life. Their minds assume that he must 212 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:55,040 Speaker 2: have unlimited free time, or he has found a way 213 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:57,600 Speaker 2: to extend his days to twenty eight hours when the 214 00:10:57,600 --> 00:10:59,600 Speaker 2: rest of us are still stuck with the stupid twenty 215 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 2: four hour. It doesn't work that way. So how do 216 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:07,319 Speaker 2: we rewire our brains to make them our friends? Aside 217 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 2: from therapy, which is generally a good call, at least 218 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:12,920 Speaker 2: on the deer hunting front, you have to think about 219 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:14,480 Speaker 2: the ways in which you think. 220 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:15,960 Speaker 3: About your process. 221 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:19,080 Speaker 2: I'll start with an easy one. If you're being honest, 222 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:22,880 Speaker 2: with yourself. Do you think you scout enough? I know 223 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:27,240 Speaker 2: I don't. In fact, after stumbling on a little concentration 224 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:29,120 Speaker 2: of bucks on some public land in the Big Woods 225 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:32,040 Speaker 2: last year, I'm forcing myself to get over there a 226 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:34,960 Speaker 2: couple times this winter. I don't know enough about how 227 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:38,080 Speaker 2: the deer used that area anymore, and it bothers me. 228 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:39,319 Speaker 3: Now. 229 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:42,440 Speaker 2: I know I can show up, read some sign, and 230 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:45,440 Speaker 2: get in the neighborhood of them, But given that short 231 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:49,200 Speaker 2: time span for hunts I usually have, it's sometimes just 232 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:53,520 Speaker 2: not enough. Why not use February in March to go 233 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:56,439 Speaker 2: look at the land and all of last year's rubs 234 00:11:56,679 --> 00:11:59,400 Speaker 2: and learn something about what they do that I don't 235 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 2: know about. If I let it, my mind would convince 236 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:05,360 Speaker 2: me to not make the drive over there and to 237 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:08,560 Speaker 2: not go scout that ground, because it knows that I 238 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:11,520 Speaker 2: can get close enough without it, And honestly, I'm sick 239 00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:14,559 Speaker 2: of driving across the Upper Midwest and snowstorms and sleeping 240 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:17,800 Speaker 2: in hotels and on and on. The mind can spin 241 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:21,880 Speaker 2: a woeful tale to us that we are always primed 242 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:26,000 Speaker 2: to believe. But I know something else. I like scouting, 243 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:29,000 Speaker 2: especially winter scouting, which is going to be the topic 244 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 2: for next week's podcast. And I know when I just 245 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:34,959 Speaker 2: force myself to go do it, I feel better. It's 246 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:36,840 Speaker 2: so simple, but so difficult. 247 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:37,439 Speaker 3: Sometimes. 248 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:40,040 Speaker 2: I also know that the more I winter scout, the 249 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:42,960 Speaker 2: better I feel about deer hunting in general, and that 250 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 2: makes me want to scout more. It's a positive feedback loop. 251 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:49,920 Speaker 2: It helps with summertime camera placement, it helps with planning 252 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:53,240 Speaker 2: out potential stand sites for the whole season, and walking 253 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,240 Speaker 2: a couple thousand acres of big woods in February helps 254 00:12:56,280 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 2: me figure things out in Oklahoma or wherever I might 255 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:02,440 Speaker 2: end up. That might on paper look nothing like that 256 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:05,400 Speaker 2: big woods up north, but it is like that in 257 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:09,200 Speaker 2: some ways. So ask yourself, what does your brain tell 258 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:12,520 Speaker 2: you to do that actively works against your deer hunting 259 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:17,240 Speaker 2: success or your deer hunting enjoyment. Do you have a 260 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:19,839 Speaker 2: spot where you can almost always kill a hundred and 261 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:22,200 Speaker 2: twenty inch deer if you sit long enough during the rut, 262 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 2: but the one forty plus you really want is still 263 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 2: a very rare deer doer, talk yourself into the easy 264 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 2: route and killing the kind of deer that will just 265 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 2: eventually walk down the trail, even though you secretly want to. 266 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:36,880 Speaker 3: Level up what do you have to do to rewire 267 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:37,680 Speaker 3: your brain? There? 268 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:40,320 Speaker 2: Listen to it when it says you don't really need 269 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:43,560 Speaker 2: to scout, should stay home instead to watch the NFL playoffs. 270 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:47,360 Speaker 2: That's probably not the best way to go, right, Let's 271 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:49,960 Speaker 2: look at it another way, one in which I see 272 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:53,640 Speaker 2: a lot of folks sabotage themselves. The saddle movement came 273 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:56,040 Speaker 2: on way strong in the last ten. 274 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:57,520 Speaker 3: Years, total resurgence. 275 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:01,640 Speaker 2: It's everywhere in diehard set. Sattle hunters are a little 276 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:04,720 Speaker 2: like vegans and that they absolutely want you to know 277 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:06,800 Speaker 2: who they are as people and why they've made the 278 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:12,040 Speaker 2: choices they've made. But saddle hunting is also wildly effective 279 00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:15,200 Speaker 2: if you know how to do it. You have to 280 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:18,320 Speaker 2: be willing to learn how to use them effectively, and 281 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:20,080 Speaker 2: a hell of a lot of saddles end up on 282 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:24,240 Speaker 2: Facebook marketplace as slightly used items that just didn't do 283 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:27,200 Speaker 2: it for the owner. I'd be willing to bet a 284 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:29,960 Speaker 2: lot of those folks bought into the hype but didn't 285 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:32,320 Speaker 2: learn how to use them well enough to understand where 286 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:34,800 Speaker 2: they shine and how they can help them kill deer. 287 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 2: Because they're an amazing tool, but you don't unbox them and 288 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:42,640 Speaker 2: suddenly use them perfectly. There's a process to it, and 289 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:46,320 Speaker 2: nature is real good at throwing us curveballs. Maybe the 290 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:50,320 Speaker 2: tree you thought was super straight isn't because they often 291 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:54,200 Speaker 2: just aren't. And so your backyard saddle sessions prepping to 292 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:57,040 Speaker 2: learn how to use it maybe didn't translate very well 293 00:14:57,080 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 2: to the spots where bucks actually live. It takes time, 294 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,360 Speaker 2: i'm to rewire your brain. But if you look at 295 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:05,480 Speaker 2: this example, it would take one stubborn ass hunter to 296 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:08,960 Speaker 2: say there is zero benefit to being a competent saddle hunter. 297 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 2: It's almost a guarantee that it will be a positive addition, 298 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:17,800 Speaker 2: a complimentary addition to almost every hunter's arsenal. But will 299 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:20,560 Speaker 2: only be that good thing if it is allowed to 300 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:23,080 Speaker 2: become a good thing through a lot of trial and 301 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:26,120 Speaker 2: error and learning and confidence building. And when it comes 302 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,360 Speaker 2: to confidence, you know, the confidence to try something new. 303 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:34,080 Speaker 2: Our mind is definitely often our enemy. We take comfort 304 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:36,880 Speaker 2: and familiarity, and that's one of the reasons we go 305 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:39,840 Speaker 2: back to the box blind over and over when we 306 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:42,560 Speaker 2: know the deer are generally avoiding it at all costs, 307 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:44,960 Speaker 2: because the hunting pressure of the experience on your property 308 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:50,080 Speaker 2: is highly concentrated to that one location. Your mind might 309 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:53,720 Speaker 2: say that's a safe move because the entrance and exit 310 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:56,880 Speaker 2: routes are so well planned out and you rarely get winded, 311 00:15:56,880 --> 00:15:59,640 Speaker 2: and blah blah blah, but it mostly doesn't want to 312 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,640 Speaker 2: face the reality that the deer habit totally figured out. 313 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:06,720 Speaker 2: What we can talk ourselves into, hunting wise is bananas. 314 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:09,920 Speaker 2: Think about the decisions you made last season, and the 315 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:13,120 Speaker 2: way you hunted the preseason, and how you set things up, 316 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:17,480 Speaker 2: your time spent e scouting, your overall enjoyment of every 317 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:19,880 Speaker 2: day that you hunted, or the times you could have 318 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:23,160 Speaker 2: hunted but you didn't. What was your thinking then, and 319 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:26,360 Speaker 2: if you're honest about it, what did that thinking give you? 320 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:30,240 Speaker 2: As far as results, we are generally pretty biased toward 321 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:33,240 Speaker 2: ourselves and think we are pretty smart people. But if 322 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:36,800 Speaker 2: that were true, we wouldn't consistently have to elevate big 323 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:39,760 Speaker 2: bucks to such crazy status because we can't kill them. 324 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 3: We wouldn't have. 325 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:43,040 Speaker 2: To find so many reasons to cling. 326 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:45,200 Speaker 3: To our failure out there. As far as. 327 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:48,320 Speaker 2: Filling tags goes, we wouldn't have to listen to guys 328 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:52,320 Speaker 2: like Mark for eight hundred episodes interview the small percentage 329 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:54,720 Speaker 2: of folks out there who really seem to have it 330 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 2: figured out, but who also still fail all the freaking time. 331 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:02,280 Speaker 2: I will say this to wrap things up. If you 332 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:04,119 Speaker 2: do listen to all eight hundred of those Wired to 333 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:07,119 Speaker 2: Hunt episodes, or follow the hunting public, or whoever you 334 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:09,159 Speaker 2: think is the top dog in the white tail space, 335 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:12,840 Speaker 2: you'll probably notice they often try new things, They often 336 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:16,399 Speaker 2: deviate from a plan or from conventional wisdom, and just 337 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:20,840 Speaker 2: often enough they kill big bucks many times on public 338 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:23,959 Speaker 2: land when it would be a safe bet generally that 339 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:26,880 Speaker 2: they were going to fail. This isn't due to them 340 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:29,720 Speaker 2: being able to scout way differently from you or some 341 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 2: product they bought that just brings the deer in. It's 342 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:36,000 Speaker 2: because they've learned to learn about deer and to question 343 00:17:36,119 --> 00:17:38,960 Speaker 2: their choices so much that they're willingly try to go 344 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:41,919 Speaker 2: against their own grain, so to speak, you know, despite 345 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:45,480 Speaker 2: their mind's insistence that there is a better, easier way, 346 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:49,520 Speaker 2: but it's just not true very often. So think about 347 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:51,520 Speaker 2: that as we dive into the heart of winter scouting 348 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:53,720 Speaker 2: season here, which is what I'm going to talk about 349 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:56,720 Speaker 2: next week, because as I said, I'm getting all fired 350 00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:59,960 Speaker 2: up to go figure out some big woods Bucks right now. 351 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:04,720 Speaker 2: That's it for this episode, I'm Tony Peterson. This has 352 00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:08,400 Speaker 2: been the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, which is brought 353 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:08,840 Speaker 2: to you by. 354 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:09,480 Speaker 3: A First Light. 355 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:12,320 Speaker 2: I know you're bored as hell right now because it's 356 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:14,000 Speaker 2: the middle of winter and it kind of sucks. And 357 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:16,280 Speaker 2: other than nice fishing or maybe shed hunting or something, 358 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:19,280 Speaker 2: there isn't a lot to do. If you are bored 359 00:18:19,359 --> 00:18:21,600 Speaker 2: and you want to live vicariously through us or maybe 360 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:25,480 Speaker 2: learn something, head over to the medeater dot com. Tons 361 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:29,720 Speaker 2: of articles, tons of recipes, every podcast you might want 362 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 2: to listen to for any drive you're gonna do. You 363 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:34,360 Speaker 2: know Clay's Bear Grease, Brent's This Country Life. The meat 364 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:38,280 Speaker 2: Eater has three drops on there. Lots of good stuff 365 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:40,959 Speaker 2: out there. You can also watch a whole bunch of 366 00:18:41,119 --> 00:18:43,080 Speaker 2: hunting shows there. You can even see one of My 367 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:46,840 Speaker 2: Little Girls hunting, you know, Wisconsin, Bear and Deer on 368 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:49,160 Speaker 2: a show that just dropped so much good stuff over 369 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:50,720 Speaker 2: there at the meadeater dot com. 370 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:51,360 Speaker 3: Go check it out.