1 00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:05,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:08,520 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals better dear hunting, presented by First Like 3 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 1: creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. 4 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:17,640 Speaker 1: First Light, Go further, stay longer, and now your host 5 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:21,239 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. Hey, everyone, welcome to the Wire to Hunt 6 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: Foundations podcast, which brought to you by First Light. I'm 7 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: your host, Tony Peterson, and this episode is all about 8 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: how tough white tails really are. Take a look outside 9 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:45,199 Speaker 1: right now. Maybe you live in a place like I 10 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:48,199 Speaker 1: live in and it's miserable and stupid outside, and you 11 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: realize people probably shouldn't live here. Maybe you think, like 12 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 1: for some reason a lot of Wyoming residents do, that 13 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: the place you live makes you tough. The winter is 14 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 1: hard in you, and you know you and your people 15 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: and well you know the badass or he comes oozing 16 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 1: out and everything you do from flossing with a chainsaw 17 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: to cattle roping bull moose in your spare time. Sure 18 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: you're kind of tough, but not as tough as your 19 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 1: average one and a half year old six pointer. Thems 20 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 1: the breaks, my friends, and that's what this episode is 21 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:29,920 Speaker 1: actually really all about. If you head on down to 22 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:32,800 Speaker 1: the local watering hole where Garth Brooks is still playing 23 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 1: on the jukebox, and the crowd leans heavily toward long 24 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,479 Speaker 1: necks and not necessarily drinks like cosmos or chocolate martinis. 25 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:42,479 Speaker 1: You probably don't have to look too hard to find 26 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 1: some dude who thinks he's pretty tough. There's one in 27 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:49,280 Speaker 1: every bar, I guess, and I'll bet that hypothetical but 28 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:52,560 Speaker 1: also very real archetype of a person. If you were 29 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 1: to switch the dusty TV on and turn it to 30 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 1: some random UFC event, I bet you'd hear from them 31 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: stories about how the competitors weren't really that tough, and 32 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 1: your new bar friend could probably take them in a 33 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: no rules, bare knuckle brawl in the back alley amongst 34 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: the dumpsters and the cigarette butts. I'm sure the tough 35 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:11,639 Speaker 1: guy would tell you, you you know, over the drone of 36 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 1: manicured cowboy hat wearing fellows singing I don't know, dirt 37 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 1: road songs and short shorts in a life they probably 38 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:20,079 Speaker 1: never have seen. And Shirley can't see from their beachfront 39 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:24,800 Speaker 1: place in Malibu that toughness doesn't come from earning no 40 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 1: stupid belt or having a bunch of rules so that 41 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:30,880 Speaker 1: no one really gets hurt. It comes from the heart, 42 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:34,079 Speaker 1: he'd say, Or I don't know, growing up with twelve 43 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: older brothers and a drunk for a dad or whatever. 44 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,920 Speaker 1: But the truth is that's sitting on a bar stool 45 00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: in a place like Newell, South Dakota telling people how 46 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: tough you are is a far cry from stepping into 47 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:48,519 Speaker 1: that octagon improving it against someone who has trained for 48 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:50,839 Speaker 1: a decade or two on how to fold people into 49 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: neat little packages of pain and sadness, or strike them 50 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:57,959 Speaker 1: from their calves to their skull with a wild repertoire 51 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: of practice elbows, ches and kicks. It's not the same thing, 52 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 1: and everybody knows it, kind of like how when you 53 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: occasionally get a living wild animal in your hands that 54 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 1: doesn't want to be there, and you can just feel 55 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:16,840 Speaker 1: the raw power in them. Many folks have taken a 56 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: beating from turkey wings after they've dumped them with a 57 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:22,400 Speaker 1: load of fours in the spring, or a few people 58 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:24,520 Speaker 1: have taken spurs to the hands or the neck or 59 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:28,520 Speaker 1: the face. Animals are strong, generally, but some animals are 60 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:32,200 Speaker 1: just tough, real tough. Not sit at the bar and 61 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:36,600 Speaker 1: not prove it tough, but tough. Anybody who's hunted squirrels 62 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:40,400 Speaker 1: knows they're tough. The cling to life aspect of squirrels 63 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 1: is real and will show itself if you hunt them enough. Rabbits, 64 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:47,760 Speaker 1: on the other hand, not that tough. They're like the 65 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: clueless city dweller who instantly gets bit by the first 66 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 1: zombies in an outbreak. Just not smart enough for a 67 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 1: long life and just not tough. Rough grouser like that too. 68 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:01,000 Speaker 1: They catch a single baby from your shatka pattern. They're 69 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: coming down. Not a rooster, though. Pheasants are tough. You 70 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 1: knocked them down, they just run and hide. Their will 71 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: to live is impressive. Take antelope not so much, not 72 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: so tough. I actually kind of don't think elk are 73 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:19,919 Speaker 1: that tough either, but I don't have enough experience to 74 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:22,279 Speaker 1: make that call, so I could be way off based 75 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 1: on that one. And of course, those white tails we 76 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:29,719 Speaker 1: love so much. They are as Mark would probably put 77 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:34,680 Speaker 1: it tough some bitches, and they are. The second year 78 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 1: I ever shot was a button buck on a late 79 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: September morning. I actually got shot him twice and had 80 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:42,000 Speaker 1: to cut his throat when we blood trailed him to 81 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 1: his bed where he was very much alive. Now, I 82 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:49,040 Speaker 1: don't know if you know much about button bucks in September, 83 00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: but they aren't very big. And I also don't know 84 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:55,440 Speaker 1: if you know anything about the old style broadheads, like 85 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:58,719 Speaker 1: bare razor heads or wikies, but they were big and 86 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:02,480 Speaker 1: covered in a lot of utting surface. And the fact 87 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:05,920 Speaker 1: that he took one through himself broadside at one down 88 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:08,039 Speaker 1: through his back and still had the grit to go 89 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:09,920 Speaker 1: and bed down and be alive when we got there 90 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 1: tells you something. And it was ugly. That was an 91 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 1: ugly encounter that stuck with me as a hunter. I 92 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:21,599 Speaker 1: did a terrible job and that left a mark, but 93 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:25,040 Speaker 1: so did that Dear's toughness. Since then, I've seen so 94 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:28,320 Speaker 1: many examples of the great deer really have and it 95 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 1: comes in many forms, but one of the most obvious 96 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:34,920 Speaker 1: is how often they have significant but healed over wounds 97 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:37,960 Speaker 1: on them. A good buddy of mine shot a buck 98 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:42,359 Speaker 1: in southern Minnesota with his muzzleloader in December. That buck, 99 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,600 Speaker 1: it was nice, dear had a normal four point side 100 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:48,479 Speaker 1: on one side, but also kind of a smaller, droopier 101 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:52,040 Speaker 1: looking messed upside, and Ben said it looked like someone 102 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:54,599 Speaker 1: had shot the buck with a shotgun slug the year before, 103 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:57,600 Speaker 1: because although it was healed up, he said the scar 104 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 1: tissue and the damage to the shoulder was in intent now. 105 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:04,479 Speaker 1: That same buck also had several time wounds in his 106 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:08,000 Speaker 1: rear quarter that were full of puss. I don't know 107 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:10,880 Speaker 1: which injury I'd pick, the shotgun blast of the shoulder 108 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:14,720 Speaker 1: or some blunt tines digging into your glutes. That neither 109 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 1: is all that appealing. If you're hunting a high pressure area, 110 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 1: you have probably shot a few deer with bullets or 111 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:24,799 Speaker 1: broadheads in them. I have. I've shot deer with muzzle 112 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:27,920 Speaker 1: loader bullets in their legs and in their backstraps. I've 113 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:29,920 Speaker 1: shot a buck one time in Minnesota that had an 114 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 1: enormous but old wound on his back. I don't know 115 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:35,480 Speaker 1: if he got hit by a grain truck or what, 116 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:38,640 Speaker 1: but a whole section of his back dipped down lower 117 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 1: than the rest. Can you imagine the amount of deer 118 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:46,520 Speaker 1: out there making a go of it on three legs. 119 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:51,159 Speaker 1: It's pretty incredible too. If some random blaze orange clad 120 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 1: asshole and his buddies walked through my living room in 121 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: a line and shot off one of my legs when 122 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 1: I tried to get away, I think I'd lay right 123 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: there in my yard and beg for a merciful second shot. Dear, 124 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:05,400 Speaker 1: are just tough. I already told his story, so I 125 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:08,240 Speaker 1: won't give it full details here. But I shot a 126 00:07:08,279 --> 00:07:10,480 Speaker 1: buck through the ribs in Texas one time. When that 127 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: buck came back to the feet or two days later, 128 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 1: I shot him again, thankfully better that time. And what 129 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 1: was crazy is I got to see how much that 130 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:23,480 Speaker 1: original wound had healed up in two days. It was incredible. 131 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:27,040 Speaker 1: The skin had fused back together, and while it would 132 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:29,240 Speaker 1: bleed a little bit when I pushed on the wound, 133 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: it wasn't like the kind of wound you'd expect from 134 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:38,400 Speaker 1: fixed blade broadhead going right through your chest. Imagine that. 135 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:41,160 Speaker 1: Imagine what it would be like to have an arrow 136 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:44,280 Speaker 1: go through your ribs, magically miss all the good stuff 137 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:46,640 Speaker 1: that keeps you out there in the mesquite, and then 138 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: being damned near fully healed a few days later. They 139 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 1: are truly incredible, and I think it's probably a little 140 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:57,160 Speaker 1: bit of genetic hardwaring and a little bit that they 141 00:07:57,160 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 1: don't have pity parties like we do. I've interviewed quite 142 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:03,840 Speaker 1: a few veterinarians in my life. Over the years, they 143 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 1: used to produce and host a podcast all about sporting dogs, 144 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 1: and for like a decade I wrote the retriever health 145 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 1: column for Wildfall magazine. And while I got a crash 146 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,120 Speaker 1: course and dog health through those years, one thing that's 147 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:19,239 Speaker 1: stuck with me was all of the injuries to dogs 148 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:22,440 Speaker 1: that have heard about from veterinarians. One fellow who's a 149 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:25,480 Speaker 1: friend of mine named Ira Macaulay has his own clinic 150 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 1: down in Missouri. I asked him what the most gnarly 151 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:32,880 Speaker 1: dog injuries are that he sees, thinking he'd talk about 152 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:35,920 Speaker 1: dogs getting shot or busting their legs up or something, 153 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:40,800 Speaker 1: but he said they all involved catfishing. And as most 154 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: of you know, dogs don't discriminate a whole lot on 155 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:47,719 Speaker 1: what they'll put in their mouths, just like toddlers now 156 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:51,440 Speaker 1: think about using cut up hot dogs or a glob 157 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:55,319 Speaker 1: of chicken liver or a bunch of stink bait for catfish. 158 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:57,720 Speaker 1: If you think a laborator retriever is gonna gobble that 159 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:00,439 Speaker 1: ship up the way you would have you bumbled into 160 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:02,400 Speaker 1: an edible in an hour later, someone set down some 161 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:04,680 Speaker 1: Reese's peanut butter cups in front of you. You're wrong. 162 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 1: The problem with eating catfish bait is that it's often 163 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 1: stuck to a treble hook, which is tied to some 164 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: pretty stout line. Iras said that he sees dogs more 165 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:18,480 Speaker 1: often than you'd imagine with a trouble hook lodged in 166 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:23,000 Speaker 1: their esophagus or deeper into their stomach, depending on where. 167 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:25,560 Speaker 1: They either have to go in through the throat or 168 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:27,760 Speaker 1: cut a new hole into the side of the dog 169 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:31,600 Speaker 1: to work on that hook. He then went on to 170 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 1: say that you wouldn't believe how fast they heal from that, 171 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 1: and he's right, I wouldn't. But dogs don't feel sorry 172 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:43,560 Speaker 1: for themselves. They have emotions just like I'm sure, dear dude, 173 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 1: but they don't have the luxury or hell probably the 174 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 1: burden of being able to think of themselves in main 175 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 1: character mode like we do. Your average lab isn't thinking 176 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:54,880 Speaker 1: about how sad it is he's missing out on a 177 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:57,680 Speaker 1: play date with another dog, or how he has a 178 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 1: big week at work and now he's hobbling around on crutches, 179 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,040 Speaker 1: or about how his stupid boss is always making him 180 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:06,760 Speaker 1: work late and never appreciates him and only really cares 181 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:08,400 Speaker 1: about the other white toil guys on the team. We 182 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:12,600 Speaker 1: have better mustaches, but questionable hunting skills. Dogs don't have 183 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:17,120 Speaker 1: that problem, and neither do Dear. They live in the moment, 184 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:20,000 Speaker 1: and they heed that call, that deep in the bones 185 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:24,440 Speaker 1: call that says you will see another sunrise, you will 186 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:28,240 Speaker 1: do what it takes to live, period and stop. Done 187 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:32,319 Speaker 1: and done, my friends. That's one of the many, many 188 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:35,959 Speaker 1: things that makes dogs so damn cool and deer so 189 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:38,880 Speaker 1: damn special. It's also something you can use to be 190 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:42,680 Speaker 1: a better hunter on a couple of different fronts. The 191 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:48,400 Speaker 1: first is the pure survival instinct. As I mentioned, if 192 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:50,680 Speaker 1: you butcher your own deer and you hunt where other 193 00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 1: people hunt, you're gonna start to see some old wounds 194 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:57,800 Speaker 1: on your deer. Imagine how many encounters a deer probably 195 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:01,680 Speaker 1: goes through in its life to suffer bullet or arrow 196 00:11:01,679 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 1: wounds and survive. That is a deer that isn't going 197 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:10,400 Speaker 1: to risk its life unnecessarily. Think about it from this perspective. 198 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:13,400 Speaker 1: Let's say you had someone from some quaint little town 199 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:15,880 Speaker 1: in Iowa where everybody knows everyone in the last murder 200 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:19,679 Speaker 1: happened in nine when the postman got caught delivering more 201 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:21,440 Speaker 1: than the mail to some dude's wife, and the old 202 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:24,400 Speaker 1: rabbit shotgun came out, and for a while the mail 203 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:26,040 Speaker 1: was a little late, and it was the talk of 204 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:30,240 Speaker 1: the county. Take that person and put them in like 205 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:32,440 Speaker 1: the south side of Chicago on the fourth of July, 206 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:36,480 Speaker 1: one's a hundred degrees out, maybe the sun setting. That 207 00:11:36,559 --> 00:11:39,120 Speaker 1: world's going to be different for them. They'll be like 208 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:41,040 Speaker 1: a year and a half old buck out there wandering 209 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:44,800 Speaker 1: around at noon during the public land. There's gonna be 210 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:48,440 Speaker 1: different survival instincts, and maybe not that sharp might get 211 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:51,480 Speaker 1: into some trouble. Now, take someone who has grown up 212 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:54,240 Speaker 1: in that city environment. Imagine how different they would travel, 213 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:57,400 Speaker 1: how they look at the world from a different view. 214 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:02,480 Speaker 1: Imagine the difference in decision make Now imagine that in 215 00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:05,800 Speaker 1: the dear world, if you'd be lucky to live for 216 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:08,560 Speaker 1: five years, and during three months of those five years, 217 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:11,760 Speaker 1: every year someone tried to kill you every day, and 218 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:14,480 Speaker 1: worse yet, got close enough to wound you a time 219 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:18,240 Speaker 1: or two, how risky do you think you'd be after that? 220 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:22,679 Speaker 1: You probably wouldn't tolerate too many close encounters with humans 221 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:27,280 Speaker 1: unless you were positive you had as many advantages as possible. 222 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:30,679 Speaker 1: If you're better than a deadfall. And see you're here 223 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:34,760 Speaker 1: hunter walking below you. It's time for concern. But the 224 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:37,839 Speaker 1: advantage is yours and you know it now. If you 225 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:39,800 Speaker 1: get up to brows and head towards the nearest south 226 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:42,920 Speaker 1: alfa field and suddenly catch movement out of your peripheral vision, 227 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:45,560 Speaker 1: then you see some dude in a tree drawing his bow, 228 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:50,000 Speaker 1: you're going to realize quickly you gave up your advantage 229 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:54,480 Speaker 1: and now it's danger time. Those experiences are going to 230 00:12:54,559 --> 00:12:58,520 Speaker 1: leave a mark. The second part of this ties into 231 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:01,800 Speaker 1: something I've said a billion times, but I'll say it again. 232 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:08,079 Speaker 1: We condition the deer to our danger. Just think about 233 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:11,240 Speaker 1: the average deer on an average hunting property that contains 234 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:15,600 Speaker 1: some agriculture. Where are those deer that live there most 235 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:18,960 Speaker 1: likely to encounter a hunter? Where are they most likely 236 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:22,160 Speaker 1: to get shot at? Where are they most likely to 237 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:25,400 Speaker 1: see a human or smell where a human has been. 238 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:28,920 Speaker 1: Where are they most likely to spot a brand new 239 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:33,000 Speaker 1: trail camera on a tree. Where are they most likely 240 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:36,680 Speaker 1: to bump into what they perceive as a concentration of danger? 241 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:41,400 Speaker 1: And then when is it most dangerous? Is it at 242 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:45,240 Speaker 1: midnight or twenty minutes before dark? What would most of 243 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,959 Speaker 1: the deer have to do to avoid that danger on 244 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:53,480 Speaker 1: any given day during the hunting season. Think about it, 245 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:55,439 Speaker 1: and now you know that, So what do you do 246 00:13:56,559 --> 00:14:02,360 Speaker 1: like everyone else? Nope, nope, nope. It pays to hunt 247 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:05,959 Speaker 1: deer to get hunted for this very reason. You'll learn 248 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:08,920 Speaker 1: how tough they are and how they get to be 249 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:12,600 Speaker 1: so tough. Now, I'm not saying don't hunt in private 250 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:14,800 Speaker 1: land or don't go hunt where others don't or can't, 251 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:16,800 Speaker 1: because that would be stupid, and I don't want to 252 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:18,560 Speaker 1: sound any more stupid than I already do on any 253 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:22,120 Speaker 1: given day. I'm just saying it's a good idea to 254 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:25,080 Speaker 1: think about things from the dearest perspective and give credit 255 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:28,120 Speaker 1: where that credit is due, Just like I said a 256 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:30,200 Speaker 1: couple of weeks ago when I talked about how we 257 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:33,720 Speaker 1: almost always sell the act of shooting a dough so 258 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: short because in some situations it can be incredibly easy. 259 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:39,640 Speaker 1: In others, though, it can be just as hard as 260 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 1: killing them ature buck. That's because in some situations, those 261 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:47,640 Speaker 1: does in those bucks are subjected to real danger on 262 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:52,160 Speaker 1: a daily basis, or at least in a concentrated fashion, 263 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:56,160 Speaker 1: for like ninety days a year. That's a lot of 264 00:14:56,200 --> 00:15:00,400 Speaker 1: looking out for yourself and enough close calls to really 265 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:03,720 Speaker 1: really leave a mark, and it's a great way to 266 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:06,320 Speaker 1: create the kind of deer that cannot only shrug off. 267 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:08,600 Speaker 1: I don't know, a non lethal hit from a rifle 268 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:11,880 Speaker 1: or a bow, but that will also structure the daylight 269 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:15,080 Speaker 1: hours of their life to stay away from those rifle 270 00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:21,120 Speaker 1: toating and bow carrying threats. I honestly love that about them, 271 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:24,240 Speaker 1: well most of the time. I don't love it when 272 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 1: I'm getting my ass kicked for weeks by the deer. 273 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:28,560 Speaker 1: And I know part of the reason they keep winning 274 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:30,920 Speaker 1: and I keep losing is because they've got a better 275 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:33,240 Speaker 1: plan to survive than I have a better plan to 276 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:37,080 Speaker 1: make them not survive. But that's good too. Those tough 277 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:38,960 Speaker 1: bucks and those doughs out there that are kicking my 278 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:43,040 Speaker 1: ass and maybe yours, they've earned it. They've dropped at 279 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 1: the sound of a bow going off to only suffer 280 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:48,160 Speaker 1: a superficial wound to the backstraps versus a couple of 281 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:51,760 Speaker 1: deflated lungs. They've zigged and zagged at the right time 282 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:53,640 Speaker 1: as the orange clad drivers on the side of the 283 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:56,000 Speaker 1: bluff pushed their way through the brush and nearly sent 284 00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:58,880 Speaker 1: them into the lapse of the posters who likely shot 285 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:02,280 Speaker 1: off hand with a spray and pray mentality that saved 286 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:06,560 Speaker 1: the deer and taught them some real important lessons. And 287 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:08,480 Speaker 1: I guess lastly I want to sign off with this. 288 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:12,360 Speaker 1: If you recognize how tough deer are, whether just by 289 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:14,480 Speaker 1: hunting and shooting enough of them or getting in on 290 00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:18,160 Speaker 1: every butcher job you can, it really makes you appreciate 291 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 1: shot selection and gear choice. I'm not going to get 292 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:24,920 Speaker 1: into that because I've covered it a lot, but when 293 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:27,960 Speaker 1: you respect an animal that doesn't die easy, it's a 294 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,040 Speaker 1: powerful motivator to do things right. Stack the odds in 295 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:34,280 Speaker 1: your favor, to practice the way you should tune your bow, 296 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:37,640 Speaker 1: choose the right arrows that don't have to be seven 297 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:41,200 Speaker 1: grains of bad cape buffalo medicine, but should fly real 298 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:44,200 Speaker 1: straight and deliver enough energy on target to take a 299 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:47,400 Speaker 1: questionable hit and make it lethal, or to go through 300 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:49,400 Speaker 1: the range and burn through an extra box of shells, 301 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:52,400 Speaker 1: even when those shells cost twice as much as they 302 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:54,320 Speaker 1: did I don't know two years ago, and you need 303 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:57,360 Speaker 1: nearly a master degree in navigating the dark web to 304 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:02,360 Speaker 1: find them. To do our part, I guess that is 305 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:05,639 Speaker 1: what I'm saying. It really drives that home when you 306 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 1: start to understand how tough deer are and how hard 307 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:10,880 Speaker 1: they will fight to survive. Puts a little extra onus, 308 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:13,639 Speaker 1: on us to be better and to appreciate the times 309 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:15,600 Speaker 1: when it all comes together and we do our job 310 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:17,720 Speaker 1: and we watch those lights go out in five or 311 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:21,000 Speaker 1: ten seconds. The whole thing is pretty cool, and it's 312 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:23,520 Speaker 1: made possible by the white tails who are just made 313 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:28,639 Speaker 1: to live. That's it. Next week, I'm gonna have some 314 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:31,200 Speaker 1: fun on the show, and I'm gonna talk about always 315 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:34,240 Speaker 1: and never. I've touched on that topic a few times, 316 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:35,960 Speaker 1: but I've never done a deep dive into it. So 317 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:38,800 Speaker 1: that's what I'm gonna do, because always a net for 318 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:42,920 Speaker 1: beliefs really make us make some bad decisions out there 319 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:48,200 Speaker 1: in the field. That's it for this show, my white 320 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:50,320 Speaker 1: tail loving friends. I'm Tony Peterson and this has been 321 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:52,520 Speaker 1: the Wire to Hunt Foundations podcast, which has brought to 322 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:54,600 Speaker 1: you by First Light. As I always, thank you so 323 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:56,880 Speaker 1: much for your support. And if you think you need 324 00:17:56,880 --> 00:17:58,600 Speaker 1: a little bit more of a white tail fix, feel 325 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:01,320 Speaker 1: free to check out my latest article on the medior 326 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:04,120 Speaker 1: dot Com slash Wire. If you read all those, don't 327 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:06,760 Speaker 1: fret because we dropped several new pieces each week from 328 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:09,280 Speaker 1: some of the best white tail hunters in the country.