WEBVTT - Whitetail Warfare with Rusty Johnson 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:03.280 You're listening to the Sportsman's Nation podcast network, brought to 0:00:03.360 --> 0:00:06.960 you by Interstate Batteries. Interstate Batteries has been a proud 0:00:06.960 --> 0:00:10.680 supporter of the Sportsman's Nation since day one. So if 0:00:10.720 --> 0:00:13.960 you're looking for any type of batteries, whether it's for 0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:17.280 your truck, your car, your trail cameras, your range finder, 0:00:17.720 --> 0:00:22.840 stop into a local Interstate Batteries retail location. There are 0:00:23.000 --> 0:00:26.520 thousands upon thousands of them all over the United States. 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:30.320 Talk with a battery specialist and get the batteries that 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:34.560 you need to go on with your life. Interstate Batteries 0:00:34.800 --> 0:00:43.760 outrageously dependable. My name is Clay Nukeleman. I'm the host 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:47.720 of the Bear Hunting Magazine podcast. I'll also be your 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:51.000 host into the world of hunting the icon of the 0:00:51.080 --> 0:00:56.600 North American wilderness. Prepare. We'll talk about tactics, gear conservation. 0:00:57.160 --> 0:00:59.440 We will also bring you into some of the wildest 0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:14.920 country on the planet. Chasing their Rusty Johnson. Rusty Johnson 0:01:15.200 --> 0:01:17.840 is a longtime friend of mine and I've always had 0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:20.039 a ton of respect for him as a white tail hunter. 0:01:20.480 --> 0:01:24.040 I don't there's there's not another person that puts in 0:01:24.120 --> 0:01:28.280 more energy, that has more passion and love for bow 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:32.480 hunting whitetail deer than Rusty Johnson. So we have a 0:01:32.560 --> 0:01:35.480 really good discussion, a timely discussion because it is go 0:01:35.720 --> 0:01:39.039 time for white tails, and we have a timely discussion 0:01:39.080 --> 0:01:43.480 about all things dear hunting, his philosophies, my questions and philosophies, 0:01:43.840 --> 0:01:49.760 and uh, just a fast paced conversation that you're gonna enjoy. Hey, 0:01:49.840 --> 0:01:52.720 I've been carrying for the last week in the Arkansas 0:01:52.760 --> 0:01:56.600 musloader season, my c V A Accurate Man. I had 0:01:56.640 --> 0:02:01.000 a tough hunt. I did not shoot the gun at 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:03.920 a deer, which I regret to say. But I got 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:07.919 very familiar with this c B A Accura mountain rifle. 0:02:08.480 --> 0:02:10.720 It's got a it's got a shorter barrel, it's got 0:02:10.720 --> 0:02:14.040 a Saraco finish. 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Man, 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:46.520 You've heard me say it so many times. If you're 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:48.960 baiting bears, it makes no sense not to be using 0:03:49.000 --> 0:03:52.720 this stuff. Um. Bear baiting is for the most part 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:57.480 over even though we have I have successfully baited bear 0:03:57.560 --> 0:04:01.200 in early November here in Arkansas, and if I was 0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:05.080 going to do that, I would absolutely be using some 0:04:05.240 --> 0:04:10.440 north Woods gold Rush product, grease additive, and any any 0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:13.200 part of their product line you could use right now 0:04:13.520 --> 0:04:15.440 to make a loud scent on a bear bait to 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:19.920 attract bears. Check him out north Woods Bear Products dot net. Hey, 0:04:20.000 --> 0:04:24.000 let's get to the conversation with old Rusty Johnson, the 0:04:24.200 --> 0:04:28.520 white Tail Ninja. Rusty. They have an Instagram group called 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:38.080 white Tail Warfare, so you can check them out on Instagram. Man, Rusty, 0:04:38.120 --> 0:04:40.120 this is uh, this has probably been a long time 0:04:40.240 --> 0:04:44.680 coming having you on the podcast because you you have 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:49.760 been an influential figure in my white tail world for sure. Uh. 0:04:49.839 --> 0:04:53.160 We were just Kobe. We were just looking at that 0:04:53.240 --> 0:04:57.000 buck right there. That's the way I met Rusty Johnson 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:01.080 two thousand seven. You how long have you scored for 0:05:01.120 --> 0:05:04.679 Poping Young? So a score. Yeah. I started for Poping 0:05:04.760 --> 0:05:09.520 Young in two thousand four. I also score for buck Masters, 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:11.719 and I started with them in not teen ninety five. 0:05:11.760 --> 0:05:14.279 It was the very first year that they started the 0:05:14.480 --> 0:05:17.719 record keeping. Uh yeah, and I started with him. I 0:05:17.720 --> 0:05:19.680 was in the very first class with the Masters in 0:05:21.320 --> 0:05:23.000 I'll be done. It was in the very first class. 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:27.240 My score numbers number nine. Yeah, and uh I've done 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:31.000 a lot for them and uh enjoyed every bit of it. Yeah. 0:05:31.040 --> 0:05:33.240 Well so this is the way this. Let me tell 0:05:33.240 --> 0:05:37.520 you how Rusty so he scored that deer for me 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:39.680 back in oh seven, and that was the first big 0:05:39.760 --> 0:05:42.040 deer ever killed, Rusty. I mean I'd killed it. I 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:44.440 guess I'd killed the uh, you know, a hundred twenty 0:05:44.480 --> 0:05:46.599 five inch deer before, which for us is a big 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:52.360 deal for Arkansas bowdive inch deer Northfolk, Arkansas. I'd spend 0:05:52.400 --> 0:05:54.880 my whole season every year trying to kill a deer 0:05:54.960 --> 0:05:57.600 like that, just to set the record straight. But that 0:05:57.640 --> 0:06:00.280 deer was a hundred and sixty inch plus, dear. I 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:02.640 remember I brought it to you and your dad up 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:04.720 at uh what was the name of that sporting good 0:06:04.760 --> 0:06:09.039 story sportsman's warehouse. We used to call it the Temple. Yeah, 0:06:09.240 --> 0:06:11.359 we called it. We called it the Temple. Let's go 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:14.160 to the Temple. That was back before the internet when 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:16.880 we ordered everything online. But going to a sporting goods 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:19.160 store was like a big deal. And you have me 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:21.760 meet you up there. But anyway, we've been good buddies 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:24.679 ever since that. We've never really hunted together, but we've 0:06:25.040 --> 0:06:27.840 Every year we stay in touch about what's going on 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:31.599 in and we sport some we score some contests together. 0:06:31.760 --> 0:06:34.400 Yeah you're you know, your official score now and everything. 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:37.159 And yeah, we started doing that and I enjoy that 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:41.479 every year when yeah, that's kind of annual rendezvous. Uh, 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:43.400 when I meet up with you and your son. Rustin, 0:06:43.480 --> 0:06:46.720 who's a friend of mine too, is a good deer hunter. Um. 0:06:46.760 --> 0:06:50.880 But now, hey, Kolbe, this guy is a very good 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:54.840 deer hunter, like top level deer hunter. Really, he puts in, 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:59.279 he puts in as much effort as anybody into inside 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:01.160 the hunting seas and I do put a lot of 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:04.159 time in. Yeah, and that's I mean, that's what I 0:07:04.160 --> 0:07:06.680 want to talk to you about. So, like, the cool 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:10.559 thing about this conversation is it's gonna air tomorrow, which 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:15.200 what's today? They of October sounds right, Um, So it's 0:07:15.200 --> 0:07:17.720 gonna come out on maybe the twenty ninth of October, 0:07:17.800 --> 0:07:20.720 which is like, I mean, this is the time that 0:07:20.800 --> 0:07:24.440 we wait for all year long. Yeah, you're lucky that 0:07:24.480 --> 0:07:29.320 I'm here exactly. Yeah. Yeah, this was just to give 0:07:29.360 --> 0:07:31.640 a little context. This was totally spur of the moment. 0:07:31.720 --> 0:07:34.320 I knew something that Rusty was doing. I knew it 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:37.320 was raining, and I was like, hey, would you come 0:07:37.320 --> 0:07:40.280 over here and let's talk about white tails. Yeah. I've 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:42.960 been hunting daylight to dark pretty much every day, rain 0:07:43.120 --> 0:07:45.160 or not. And uh, I was gonna take just a 0:07:45.200 --> 0:07:47.560 little bit of a break and it was perfect time. 0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:53.040 And yeah, well right on that. Uh man, what okay, 0:07:53.360 --> 0:07:56.760 let me ask you a question. Do you I was 0:07:56.800 --> 0:07:59.120 thinking yesterday because I've got a dear story. I want 0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:03.840 to tell you, Okay, that happened on October yesterday. Do 0:08:03.880 --> 0:08:06.560 you do you remember dates really well when it comes 0:08:06.560 --> 0:08:11.600 to deer hunting? Uh? Not really, not specific dates. Okay, 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:13.920 Like with deer, Like, could you like go through a 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:17.080 catalog and say I killed that deer on that day, 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:20.040 that deer on this day, saw that deer on that 0:08:20.120 --> 0:08:22.320 that Yeah, I could probably like take you to my 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:25.000 trophy room and pointed each deer and say, hey, I 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:28.640 killed that when November the seven, that whatever. You know. 0:08:29.000 --> 0:08:31.360 I could probably do that, But as far as like 0:08:31.440 --> 0:08:34.079 seeing deer, I've either got to write it down or 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:36.360 log it in my phone or something, cause I don't 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:39.800 have that good memory. Well, I was gonna say, there's 0:08:39.800 --> 0:08:43.400 about a fourteen day window during the year that I 0:08:43.440 --> 0:08:47.840 remember dates really well, and that's from October about November 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:53.920 t fifteen days there. And I can recall like like 0:08:54.120 --> 0:08:56.880 when close hunting buddies saw a buck, like my father 0:08:56.880 --> 0:08:58.880 in law followed him real close in white to Huney. Well, 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:03.360 I remember a deer that he killed on October. I 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:09.280 remember like sightings and like anyway, well, I don't think 0:09:09.320 --> 0:09:13.199 I do. I just I think it's it's really interesting 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:16.000 to me how like you can key in under this 0:09:16.040 --> 0:09:19.120 one little little little section of the calendar and be 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:21.640 so focused on it. Here's what I Here's something I 0:09:21.679 --> 0:09:25.440 did yesterday resting was like, we're looking at some of 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:27.280 the deer that I've killed just here in the office. 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:31.000 Like those deer easy to remember. What I want to 0:09:31.040 --> 0:09:35.000 remember and learn from is the big buck encounters that 0:09:35.120 --> 0:09:38.959 I had that I didn't kill the buck, like yesterday 0:09:39.480 --> 0:09:42.320 and last night. Because I came home from this encounter 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:45.880 yesterday and I just thought, man, that was awesome. It 0:09:45.960 --> 0:09:49.160 was heartbreaking. And I know you've had some heartbreaks over 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:52.040 the years. It was heartbreaking that I didn't kill this 0:09:52.200 --> 0:09:56.920 deer and I'll tell the story, but jeez, this buck 0:09:57.040 --> 0:10:02.160 read the script. Everything was perfect. It was a beautiful day. 0:10:02.200 --> 0:10:05.840 I mean like it just Almo's just kind of like 0:10:05.920 --> 0:10:09.600 waters slipped through my hands and I I got I 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:14.280 wrote down seven let me see one, two, three, four, 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:19.160 or five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven dates of 0:10:19.320 --> 0:10:21.880 deer that have happened just like that over the years, 0:10:21.920 --> 0:10:23.800 some of them not to the day, some of them 0:10:23.840 --> 0:10:25.880 just to the year in the general time frame. But 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:28.199 I started thinking about the big buck encounters that got 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:31.520 away from me. You've followed me, because you can learn 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:34.160 just as much from those as you can the ones 0:10:34.200 --> 0:10:36.319 that are on your wall, Because like, I didn't kill 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:39.960 that deer yesterday, but he he was there ready to 0:10:39.960 --> 0:10:43.600 be killed, but not. When's your favorite time to What's 0:10:43.679 --> 0:10:47.240 what's your favorite three days to hunt? Favorite three days? Yeah, 0:10:47.480 --> 0:10:52.520 I'd say, um, October thirty one, Novermber one Novermber second, 0:10:52.920 --> 0:10:56.720 that's my favorite, really, and that would be specifically for 0:10:56.760 --> 0:11:03.440 northwest Arkansas places. I would say Arkansas. In Kansas, of course, 0:11:03.520 --> 0:11:06.120 I hunt Kansas law. I didn't draw this year, but 0:11:06.200 --> 0:11:08.880 I hunt Kansas almost every year, and those three days 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:12.040 right there are my favorite. The money days. Huh. I 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:15.360 mean that's that's just my favorite days. I mean I've 0:11:15.360 --> 0:11:18.240 had the most encounters. I probably killed the most dear 0:11:18.320 --> 0:11:22.400 during those three days. Um. I probably couldn't nail down 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:27.000 and tell you exactly why, but probably because it's right 0:11:27.000 --> 0:11:30.200 before they start really running around, you know, running five 0:11:30.280 --> 0:11:34.080 miles this direction, five miles that direction, because you know 0:11:34.120 --> 0:11:36.679 the days following that they really get wild. I mean 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:39.040 they go to running around and stuff and they're not 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:43.080 really there, you know, And to me, those three days 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:45.400 are my favorite. So you think you can kill there 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:50.200 that you kind of know about almost are just they're 0:11:50.200 --> 0:11:53.080 a little bit more predictable. Like is that what you're saying? 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:56.720 I think so, yeah, yeah, but that's my favorite three. 0:11:57.280 --> 0:12:01.240 I would I would have to totally agree with those dates. 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:03.240 I mean, like, especially if you're here, have you have 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:06.640 you heard people talk about the peak conception dates for 0:12:06.720 --> 0:12:09.320 northwest Arkansas? I've heard a little bit about do you 0:12:09.320 --> 0:12:12.560 remember any of that? Because I know, okay, I just 0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:14.640 before I said this, I wanted to see if you 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:18.240 had updated in Intel because there was a study that 0:12:18.320 --> 0:12:21.680 was done I don't know, ten twelve years ago maybe 0:12:21.720 --> 0:12:26.480 longer where they did a fetus study like road kill 0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:30.040 deer like pulling fetuses out, and they could track back 0:12:30.120 --> 0:12:36.200 conception and the peak conception dates in northwest Arkansas were like, uh, 0:12:36.240 --> 0:12:39.320 I want to say November the fifth through like November eight, 0:12:40.320 --> 0:12:44.480 which is sort of early, but it lines up real 0:12:44.600 --> 0:12:49.040 well with what you just said and what I would 0:12:49.120 --> 0:12:52.400 would see as well in terms of you know, from 0:12:52.440 --> 0:12:55.440 about right now through about November the sixth or seventh, 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:58.480 it's really good. Yeah. Now if you opened it up, 0:12:58.559 --> 0:13:01.240 not just pin it down to three three days, you know, 0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:03.040 it would be just what you said. Well, we go 0:13:03.120 --> 0:13:07.160 like October twenty five through you know, November the six seventh, 0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:10.280 somewhere long and there. I mean there's a pretty good 0:13:11.160 --> 0:13:13.520 gap right there that I would like to be in 0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:16.400 a tree, you know, all day and you know I 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:19.760 like to hunt all day long. I just don't like 0:13:19.840 --> 0:13:23.560 to get down. But that's that's what I would know 0:13:24.000 --> 0:13:28.840 you of as probably more than anything, Like there's characteristics 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:33.760 of guys hunting. You love sitting all day? Tell me 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:39.000 tell me your well, um, I don't, I don't know. 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:42.040 I mean the strategy, My strategy goes really deep. You know. 0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:45.320 I like to shed hunt and that right there is 0:13:45.360 --> 0:13:47.400 the key to my strategy. When I'm shed hunting, I'm 0:13:47.400 --> 0:13:51.280 picking up antlers, but I'm also looking at potential hunting spots, 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:55.400 even kneeling down a tree, because I mean, there's no 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:57.720 more proof than getting a shed in your hand that 0:13:57.800 --> 0:14:00.560 there's a big buck in that area. So I mean, 0:14:00.640 --> 0:14:02.679 he could be in a mile radius, he could be 0:14:02.720 --> 0:14:04.560 in a five mile radius. But when you picked that 0:14:04.600 --> 0:14:07.960 shut up, you know he was there. So I started 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:10.440 looking from that point. He was standing right there. So 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:13.640 I started looking from that point, and I start looking at, 0:14:13.760 --> 0:14:15.560 you know, the lay of the land, and you know, 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:18.040 you know, looking for their travel routes. And so if 0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:21.000 you can tell a whole lot, you know, like in 0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:24.520 February March, you can tell a lot about what they're doing. 0:14:25.120 --> 0:14:30.240 And that is where my strategy starts right there. So 0:14:30.280 --> 0:14:35.200 what do you tell me about what you're looking for 0:14:35.480 --> 0:14:37.800 inside of your honey? If you could still it down 0:14:37.960 --> 0:14:40.560 and even describe the train a little bit rusty, just 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:42.440 because I mean people are listen to this, you know, 0:14:42.480 --> 0:14:46.760 if they're I don't know, there's no people could be 0:14:46.840 --> 0:14:49.440 from anywhere listening to this, but like, what's northwest Arkansas? 0:14:49.480 --> 0:14:52.320 Like what are you looking at so. I mean, you know, 0:14:52.440 --> 0:14:55.480 these those aren't killed. Country bucks are really tough to hunt. 0:14:55.640 --> 0:14:57.640 I mean, I mean, if you're out there hunting, you're 0:14:57.640 --> 0:15:00.440 not gonna see twenty thirty deer. A see, you may 0:15:00.480 --> 0:15:03.120 not even see a deer on an all day hunt. 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:08.320 They are really tough. But you know, everybody talks about 0:15:08.360 --> 0:15:12.120 the traditional you know, pinch points, saddles, all that kind 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:15.480 of stuff, and you know they're good, but that's not 0:15:15.520 --> 0:15:18.560 what I'm looking for. I mean, these bucks like to 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:22.280 travel on the side of ridges. Uh. There may be 0:15:22.400 --> 0:15:24.800 a lot of ridges that come together and they travel 0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:27.240 through that where there they may not be on the top. 0:15:27.320 --> 0:15:29.600 There may be scrapes on the top. You know, a 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:31.680 lot of people like hunting scrapes, and I do hunt 0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:35.840 scrapes too, But I look off the beaten path. I mean, 0:15:36.000 --> 0:15:38.840 if you see like a really beat out trail coming 0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:41.320 around the edge of a ridge, you need to look 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:43.480 either above it or below it. There'll be a real 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:45.920 dim trail and that's where your buck is, and that 0:15:46.080 --> 0:15:49.200 may be fifty yards from the main trail. So you 0:15:49.440 --> 0:15:51.600 gotta look at things like that. I mean, it's not 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:54.280 as simple as just going out there and finding a 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:58.240 pinch point finding a saddle, although they're good, but I 0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:01.280 look for different things like trails on the side of 0:16:01.320 --> 0:16:04.520 the hill and uh a lot of times that's tough 0:16:04.560 --> 0:16:06.520 to bowl hunt. You have to, you know, put a 0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:09.240 game plan together to see how you're gonna you know, 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:12.360 intercept that dear, because it's tough to hunt on side 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:14.200 of a hill or like in the bottom and a 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:18.000 ditch or something. But I try to hunt different things 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:20.480 like that, and it's it's worked for me. What about 0:16:20.560 --> 0:16:24.080 doing like the the chase phase there up when these 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:27.680 deer moving around so much, would you not hunt these 0:16:27.720 --> 0:16:32.520 real generic travel areas then? Uh? Yeah, I mean when 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:35.280 they're chasing doughs and stuff, you know, the does are 0:16:35.280 --> 0:16:39.400 gonna be where food is. And when they're really chasing, 0:16:40.120 --> 0:16:42.840 I mean, I focus on food. I mean that's just 0:16:43.080 --> 0:16:46.160 that's just what I do. But I mean, I mean 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:48.240 they're gonna go They're gonna run through pinch points and 0:16:48.280 --> 0:16:51.920 stuff like that and saddles. I mean, is still down 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:57.920 what you're saying, because like like like right now, I 0:16:57.960 --> 0:16:59.640 feel like I need to be hunting it just the 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:02.400 dough you know, just like hunting where the does are 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:06.640 and the does are going into these kind of normal areas. 0:17:06.720 --> 0:17:09.399 So like, right now, are you hunting down like hunting 0:17:09.480 --> 0:17:15.280 kind of more obscure. Well, I'm right now, I'm hunting 0:17:15.320 --> 0:17:18.040 really close to a betting area, and I know the 0:17:18.080 --> 0:17:21.280 dos are beding there, and you know the place where 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:26.000 they're feeding the most, it's probably about two yards from there. 0:17:26.400 --> 0:17:29.440 But I'm hunting really really close to the betting area, 0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:33.560 almost inside a little bit of the betting area. So, 0:17:33.760 --> 0:17:35.680 I mean, they got They're not gonna stand up all 0:17:35.800 --> 0:17:38.040 day long. I mean, they gotta bed at some point, 0:17:38.600 --> 0:17:40.440 and a lot of times they'll they'll just bed down 0:17:40.440 --> 0:17:44.240 where they're eating. But I try to. I I really 0:17:44.280 --> 0:17:47.560 push the limits. I mean I don't really hunt traditionally. 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:51.560 I mean it's it's hard to explain. Really, I mean, 0:17:54.160 --> 0:17:56.880 I just kidding. But now I'm not holding out. I'm 0:17:56.920 --> 0:17:59.240 just saying that, you know, I pushed the extremes. You know. 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:01.240 I I times I hunt right in the middle of 0:18:01.280 --> 0:18:02.880 the betting area. And a lot of people say you're 0:18:02.880 --> 0:18:04.879 stupid for, you know, for just going in there and 0:18:04.880 --> 0:18:09.360 blowing deer out, But you know, and I may be stupid, 0:18:09.359 --> 0:18:13.200 I don't know. But let's describe what you like this 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:15.240 beding area that you're in. What does it look like? 0:18:15.400 --> 0:18:18.760 It's just a really high stem count. I mean, you know, 0:18:18.800 --> 0:18:22.359 you've got really open woods. Uh, and it's it's terrain 0:18:22.520 --> 0:18:25.959 driven to I use on X a lot. It's got 0:18:26.080 --> 0:18:29.439 topo on it. And you know they'll bed down on 0:18:29.480 --> 0:18:31.359 the side of ridges. It may not even be a 0:18:31.440 --> 0:18:35.680 high stem count, but they really like high steem count 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:41.360 because it makes them feel safer. Yeah, but a lot 0:18:41.359 --> 0:18:44.600 of times, uh, you know. And another thing is catching 0:18:44.640 --> 0:18:48.240 these big bucks in in the daylight and when they're chasing. 0:18:48.280 --> 0:18:51.080 I mean, they're gonna be chasing all day long, but 0:18:51.600 --> 0:18:54.560 why right before that those dates that I give you, 0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:57.879 you know they're not you know, cashman. Daylight's tough, I 0:18:57.920 --> 0:19:00.840 mean really tough. And you gotta get close to where 0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:03.960 they're bedding down to be able to catch them in 0:19:04.000 --> 0:19:07.000 that window right before they go back to bed in 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:09.280 this big timber of the country like we're hunting, though. 0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:11.760 I mean, it's hard. It's hard for me to just 0:19:11.920 --> 0:19:14.800 pin down right where they're beding though, Rusty, you know 0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:17.720 what I'm saying, Like just because it's like there's like 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:21.280 you take this terrain like right here by my house, 0:19:22.000 --> 0:19:26.720 like there's real thick stuff just like right there, and 0:19:26.760 --> 0:19:29.200 then there's some open woods, but there's also real thick 0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:32.920 stuff like five yards from here. So it's like it's 0:19:32.920 --> 0:19:35.080 hard for me to know like exactly where they're bedding 0:19:35.160 --> 0:19:38.119 lock in open woods where you've got thousands of acres 0:19:38.320 --> 0:19:42.120 and there's no like per se betting area. I used 0:19:42.119 --> 0:19:44.840 to own some property and it was just in Missouri, 0:19:44.920 --> 0:19:48.000 and it was just big timber, and when we bought it, 0:19:48.080 --> 0:19:50.240 the very first thing we did was cut. We've done 0:19:50.280 --> 0:19:53.600 some selective cut, but we also drew on the mout 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:56.480 areas where we wanted to create our betting area and 0:19:56.520 --> 0:20:00.320 we just basically clear cutted it and made a bedding area. 0:20:00.359 --> 0:20:02.399 But in this hill country and these those arcs, you 0:20:02.440 --> 0:20:04.760 can't do that. So I mean you just have to 0:20:04.760 --> 0:20:08.720 look for like specific terrain types. I mean like when 0:20:08.760 --> 0:20:10.879 I'm shed hunting, I find all kinds of bed and 0:20:10.920 --> 0:20:13.600 you would not believe the places where I find where 0:20:13.600 --> 0:20:16.440 they're bed And I mean some really steep ground, there 0:20:16.480 --> 0:20:19.720 may be a log they like laying by logs, uh, 0:20:19.800 --> 0:20:22.880 you know, blowovers, you know stuff like that. I mean 0:20:22.960 --> 0:20:25.080 I find all kinds of stuff like that, and and 0:20:25.119 --> 0:20:27.840 it gives me good ideas where to get when when 0:20:27.880 --> 0:20:32.679 deer season gets here. Any consistency, and I mean, I 0:20:32.720 --> 0:20:35.840 guess shed hunting though you're finding that these are these 0:20:36.080 --> 0:20:39.200 deer's late winter. It is bad, so maybe they could 0:20:39.280 --> 0:20:41.400 change a little bit. Do you do you find consistency? 0:20:41.680 --> 0:20:45.960 I do, because I mean, you know, basically the food 0:20:46.000 --> 0:20:49.480 that they're eating now and they're eating late winter two. Okay, 0:20:49.880 --> 0:20:52.160 I mean that's just what I found. It's pretty similar. 0:20:52.240 --> 0:20:56.840 It's per Then is there a consistent uh slope that 0:20:56.920 --> 0:21:02.040 they like would you say, out of ten times, would 0:21:02.080 --> 0:21:05.760 a buck bed on the south side five of those times? 0:21:06.960 --> 0:21:09.879 I mean, is there any consistency that you've seen? Well, 0:21:10.200 --> 0:21:13.879 I've heard people say south slope, north slope, all that, 0:21:14.119 --> 0:21:17.920 But in my my experience, I find sheds on on 0:21:17.960 --> 0:21:23.800 all of the random random couldn't kind of micro terrain feature, 0:21:23.920 --> 0:21:27.760 vegetation feature driven like so it's like it may be 0:21:27.840 --> 0:21:31.159 on the north side, but it's because there's cover and 0:21:31.240 --> 0:21:33.639 the winds. Yeah, it may have been what the wind 0:21:33.760 --> 0:21:36.480 was that day, or you know what the weather conditions 0:21:36.480 --> 0:21:38.359 were that day. I mean they may bed on the 0:21:38.359 --> 0:21:41.720 north slope or the south slope could be weather driven 0:21:41.720 --> 0:21:44.000 to I don't know how to explain it, but I 0:21:44.160 --> 0:21:47.760 just say, you know, there's fifty fifty and I found 0:21:47.760 --> 0:21:50.960 a lot of sheds. I mean, that's one of my 0:21:51.000 --> 0:21:54.800 passions is shed hunting. That's that's probably second behind bow hunting. 0:21:54.880 --> 0:22:00.960 Is think about this like off and think about these 0:22:00.960 --> 0:22:08.119 places that I hunt. And if you had to, if 0:22:08.160 --> 0:22:13.160 I told you, Rusty, go out there and sit down 0:22:13.200 --> 0:22:16.280 in a place while I where I will never find you. 0:22:17.560 --> 0:22:23.199 Like uh, because like where I hunt, and I'm learning. 0:22:23.520 --> 0:22:25.320 The older I get in, the more mature of a 0:22:25.359 --> 0:22:29.119 hunter become that I'm usually my own worst enemy, like 0:22:29.240 --> 0:22:33.560 in terms of actually executing strategy, Like on this farm 0:22:33.560 --> 0:22:37.160 I hunt over here, Um this hunt one bigger farm. 0:22:37.160 --> 0:22:40.840 It's about six acres. Man, I would do the same 0:22:40.880 --> 0:22:46.119 thing every year. Now it's produced some success, but I 0:22:46.160 --> 0:22:49.520 mean what I want more success, Yes, But like I 0:22:49.720 --> 0:22:52.240 pretty much like if you were to map over the 0:22:52.280 --> 0:22:54.719 last I've hunted his property for almost twenty years, if 0:22:54.720 --> 0:22:58.480 you were to map my movements on that property, there 0:22:58.480 --> 0:23:02.920 would be big holes where I don't go, not intentions, 0:23:02.960 --> 0:23:05.960 not like trying to preserve the place. But like I 0:23:06.000 --> 0:23:08.080 do the same thing every year, Like I hunt this 0:23:08.119 --> 0:23:10.439 stand to hunt this, then I scout here, I scout here, 0:23:10.480 --> 0:23:13.080