EP263 How To Navigate Deer Hunting Marketing & Prioritize Your Spending

There is no shortage of companies trying to convince deer hunters that they will take more deer if they buy something. The marketing is so overt and overwhelming that you could easily think you can spend your way to success in the woods. The truth is, there are precious few things you can buy that will make any difference in the number of deer you take. On this podcast episode I help you sort through the tide of marketing so you can make informed purchase decisions.

You can break down most deer hunting gear into three main categories, needs, comforts, and novelties.

There are very few true needs for the whitetail deer hunter. I consider a need to be anything you must have to optimize your chances of success for your hunting setup. If you are hunting in a tree, you need a tree stand. If you are hunting in archery season, you need clothing that provides some level of concealment to get in close, etc. What you do not need is a $500 tree stand or a $1,000 set of super high end camouflage gear. Needs are basic boxes that need checked to hunt a certain way, and it is a short list of boxes. A $100 tree stand fills the role of a need, a $500 tree stand is merely adding comfort, it may be nice but it will not help you take more deer.

Many companies try to market comforts as needs. And it is no wonder why, they want you to feel compelled to buy their stuff. But if you recognize comforts what for they truly are, you will make much better decisions. Comforts do not really help you take more deer, they simply make hunting more comfortable. In some rare cases they can help you take more deer by virtue of enabling you to keep hunting under conditions that would have sent you home otherwise. This is worthy of mention.

Often a full set of Sitka Gear is just going to make the hunt more comfortable and ergonomic, except when extreme cold, wind, or rain would send you home and insulated GORTEX lets you stay a few more hours and get a shot at a nice buck. So in some instances, comforts can make a difference in the field. Most of the time the $2,000 rifle cannot do anything more than the $400 rifle, but it is more ergonomic and fun to shoot. However sometimes the cheap rifle scope fogs up when you need it and the high performance one does not. So, every now and then spending the money matters, but often it just makes hunting a little nicer.

Novelties include just about everything else from things that have some value to thing that are complete gimmicks. On the market there are endless calls, scents, scent blockers, scent killers, scent proof clothing, special knives, special drag ropes, special bait, special laundry detergent, and much more. These are things that sometimes may help, sometimes they do nothing, and sometimes they hurt.  Yes, it can be helpful sometimes to have grunt call, but usually it makes no difference. No, you should not wash your gear in scented detergent, but to spend double on hunting laundry detergent that is the same as the regular stuff minus the added scent is a product of sheer marketing.

No matter the gear in question, always remember the marketing will paint it in the best light possible. You have to realistically evaluate everything with a healthy dose of skepticism. Look at the functional role a piece of gear will play and critically evaluate why you think it might somehow enable you to take more deer.

Listen to this podcast episode to hear much, much more.

EP262 – 4 Ways To Hunt Deer & When To Do Each

It is easy to get stuck in one approach to deer hunting and simply stick with the strategy that has worked for you in the past. Being a well-rounded whitetail hunter is a noble cause but there are practical benefits to being proficient in different strategies. On this episode I talk about how to make the most of every hunting opportunity by looking at four different ways to hunt deer and when to do each. 

Ambush Hunting

Many whitetail deer hunting strategies can be grouped under ambush hunting. Using one method or another, you are laying in wait, as inconspicuous as possible, ready for a deer to walk into a shooting lane for you to ambush it. This is done with rifle hunting, archery, shotgun, and just about everything else. Ambush hunting can be broken down into two main types, the prepared ambush and the improvised ambush.

Prepared Ambush

This involves scouting, land management, advanced planning, and everything that goes into selecting a hunting location in advance. Whether you spend a day or a year preparing to hunt from a particular spot, it is a preselected ambush location, possibly a tree stand, ground blind, or some other type of concealment strategy, if not just leaning up against a tree. This is sometimes done well on public land, but it is most often going to be private land where you can control hunting pressure and habitat to some degree.

Improvised Ambush

The improvised ambush involves going afield, looking for sign or a good location, and setting up to ambush deer that you believe will come through that spot. The location is not preplanned, and you are selecting it based on sign you find in the field right now. This is most often done on public land or large tracts of private land where you do not as much control over the habitat or hunting pressure.

Active Hunting

Active hunting is the other major category for hunting whitetails. This involves the hunter being on the move and trying to put yourself within firing range of a deer. There are two primary types of active hunting I discuss in this episode, still hunting and strategic location hunting. 

Still Hunting

Still hunting is a type of active hunting that involves walking through the woods slowly, trying to catch deer unaware. It takes a lot of skill to do well, and perfect conditions to do great. But this is still an effective strategy for people of all experience levels. It works particularly well when there are other hunters in the woods pushing deer around. It is most often done on public lands but may also be done on large pieces of private land.

Strategic Locations

This form of active hunting involves stealthily slipping from one high potential area or another, sneaking to a vantage point from which you hope to be able to get a shot at deer. These could be a series of locations with various draws for deer like feeding areas, water, bedding, browsing areas, etc. This is most often done on public land but it can be very effective on private land as well, if you do not overdo it and spook out the deer. 

Listen to the whole podcast episode for all the details and when to use each strategy. 

EP261 How To Scout For Black Bears – 4 Strategies

To hunt black bears you have to find them. This type of hunting is a little different than deer or turkey hunting, scouting matters ALOT more. Bears are not as prevalent as other game and just because an area looks good for bears does not mean that they live there or are anywhere close. You must put in the time to find them before the season starts to maximize you chances of success ,and on this podcast episode I am going to help you learn how to do just that! 

Scouting for black bears requires some time investment but strategy matters even more. Bears need to eat and they love to hide, so the first thing you want to do is identify potential food sources that are likely to attract bears. Keep in mind these change depending on the season and regions you are hunting. Good food today may not be good food next week.

Then you want to find these kinds of food sources within reasonable proximity to heavy dense cover that the bears can disappear in. If you can locate these two things then you have the key variables needed to justify some scouting, NOT HUNTING. These findings are not enough to warrant a hunt, they are only sufficient to justify scouting. Many of these types of areas will hold no bears. You need to go there and scout first, before you hunt.

4 Strategies for Black Bear Scouting

Bear tracks are the simplest and most straight forward sign you will find but they are not as prevalent as you might think. Bears are big heavy animals, but they have very large paws, with much more surface area than the points of a deer foot. They will only leave tracks if the ground is very soft, wet, or muddy. Bear tracks are only about 10% of the sign that you are likely to find. However, you can learn a lot about the size of a bear and how recently it was in the area based on the tracks.

Bear droppings are more prevalent. These are big animals that eat a lot and leave a lot of droppings. If bears are around, you should be able to find bear droppings for sure. With just a little bit of research you can also determine the approximate diet of the bears based on their droppings. And if you can learn what they are eating you can also determine what food sources to find and camp out around. This is a great strategic win that can really help you.

Bear activity can include tearing up berry bushes, ripping up tree bark, breaking open fallen logs, flipping over rocks, and much more, all in search of soft plants, tree bark, honey, ants, or other forms of nutrients. Bears are not subtle, and can leave a wake of disruption and destruction. If you keep your eyes open, you should easily be able to tell the relative size and recency of such activity if you come across it.

Bear bedding areas are hard to find and search because they are so dense and thick. Rather than try to get into the bedding areas, likely leaving scent that spooks the bears out of them, you should focus on identifying areas with ideal bedding spots. This are very dense, cool, dark places that the bears can retreat to and disappear. If you do stumble into a bedding area, one of the clearest signs will usually be some bear fur left behind on the ground. 

Listen to this podcast episode for much more detail and information on how to scout for black bears!

EP258 What You Need To Do RIGHT NOW To Hunt Better This Fall

Do you want to take more game home? On this episode I am going to cover the single most important thing you can do to improve your hunting success rate. In short, I am talking about practice, specifically sporting clays practice, thought trap shooting and skeet can be helpful as well. This is mainly for shotgun hunters but there is also some application for rifle hunters as well. No gear you can buy will help you more than realistic practice. Skills will always trump equipment. 

In my experience, the average wing shooter takes home about 30% of the birds they shoot at. Some are better, some are worse. A better shotgun will not do much to improve this. Better ammo will only do so much. Better base layers, camouflage, gloves, calls, etc, will do almost nothing to help this average. The single biggest thing that will help is practice. And that just so happens to be the single most overlooked thing that hunters do and spend money on…

If you want to take more game, you need to practice more. That involves trap shooting, skeet shooting, and most importantly sporting clays shooting. All center around shooting at a clay disc out of the air, often referred to as a clay pigeon. These clay targets can be easily purchased at many big box stores for somewhere around $10 per 100. 

  • Trap Shooting involves clay targets that are launched away from the shooter at various angles to simulate a bird flushing and flying away. It gets its name from historical practice that was once done when the shooter would call “pull” and someone would pull the pin holding the trap door shut on a cage and thus allowing real birds to flush away from the cage as target practice.
  • Skeet Shooting essentially involves firing at clay targets passing or crossing in front of the shooter, similar to real birds passing by or being flushed by a dog or another party. The name “skeet” is believed to come from the Norwegian word “skyte” which means “shoot.”
  • Sporting Clays has some similarities to golf as it is a multi-position or hole course. No two courses are identical and often contain 20 positions with a total of 100 clay targets on a full course. Each position features multiple clays launched from various angles, and directions, all unique, simulating a wide range of real-world hunting situations from ducks to pheasants, grouse, doves, and many more.

Each sport is great fun and has great value. But I do believe that sporting clays provides the best hunting practice out there. And the variety of courses adds great realism and infinite shooting possibilities to simulate real hunting conditions.

Typically sporting clays courses cost between $40-$75 for a full 20 position course with 100 clay targets, plus the cost of ammunition. So realistically, you are looking at around $100 per outing. This is not cheap, but neither are the many highly marketed products that hunters pour money into every year for minimal benefit. 

I would recommend you toss $10 a paycheck into your sporting clays jar and go practice 2-3 times a year to start. The skills you gain will be valuable for a lifetime, and even if they dull some over time, picking it back up is a lot like riding a bicycle. This will do more to improve your percentage of shots fired to birds taken home than anything else you can spend money on. 

Get out there and get some practice. Listen to the full podcast episode for more!

EP256 Rabbit Hunting 101

Hunting rabbits is a fun and challenging pursuit that is great for hunters of all ages, and it provides an opportunity to hone skills that you will use for other types of hunting. On this episode I talk about how to find rabbits along with the guns, ammo, tools, strategies, and info you need to get out there and be successful in the woods.

Like hunting anything else, rabbits require certain core fundamentals:

Finding Rabbits

Scouting is the first priority. To hunt rabbits you need to find them. A nuance with rabbits is not just finding them, but finding a location where they live and are huntable. Since they are small ground animals, you need low brush and good visibility to be able to take one.

So you need to identify rabbit habitat, food sources, cover sources, and open areas for hunting. Even large hairs can easily disappear in grass or brush that is just a foot tall. Realistically you want to be able to see the ground to hunt them effectively. 

Strategies

Rabbits are primarily hunted with a few strategies like sniping, walking and spotting, walking and flushing, and with dogs.  There is no right or wrong way to do it. It depends both on your preferences and on the rabbit habitat available to you.

But contrary to popular belief, you absolutely can hunt rabbits successfully without a dog, A dog can help and make certain things easier, but unless they are well trained, they can also be a liability. 

Firearms

The ideal weapons for rabbit hunting are a shotgun or rimfire rifle. People tend to debate if it should be a 12-gauge or 20-gauge shotgun. The truth is, you can load both shotguns to similar specifications for rabbit hunting, it makes little difference. Use whatever shotgun you have handy and focus on getting ideal loads for rabbit hunting.

Almost any rimfire rifle can also work. The 22 L.R. is the most common and works great, but you can use almost anything, just be mindful that you use loads that are not overpowered. Your average high velocity 22lr ammo is going be just fine. Ultra-high velocity is overkill, as are heavily loaded 22 magnum rounds. 

Ammo

The main caution for rabbit hunting is to keep from using ammo that is overpowered. It can be easy to overly damage the meat at close to mid-range. It is also easy to spend way more money than you need. Light loads are often all you need. I recommend #7.5, #7, or #6 lead shot for rabbits. Often 1 to 1 1/8 ounce of shot traveling around 1100-1200 fps. That is all you need.

For 22 L.R. I think something similar to a 40-grain hollow point traveling at 1200 fps is plenty. There are rabbits after all, not coyotes. Higher power magnum loads are fine, but only necessary if you are taking long range shots. They can cause too much damage at 10 yards, but at 100 yards, they can be just fine. Knowing where you plan to hunt can help you make the best ammo decisions.  Even subsonic bullets can be enough, here is a video I did on the subject:

Cleaning & Cooking

How you clean and cook a rabbit is less important than having a plan to do so. Spend some time watching videos and reading articles on field dressing and cooking rabbits.  This way, when you bring home your first limit of rabbits, you will have an idea of what to do next.

This little step helps keep you from wasting game because you are not sure what to do and thus never get around to doing anything. Just having a plan can do a lot to help you take the next steps well.

Listen to the podcast episode to hear much more detail about how beginners can start rabbit hunting! 

EP255 Squirrel Hunting 101

Squirrel hunt is fun, the season is long, and there are many ways to go after these little critters. On this episode I talk about how you can get started hunting squirrels. This is a beginners guide to start squirrel hunting. 

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How can you start squirrel hunting?

The first thing you should do is figure out what you are going to do with the squirrels that you take. Read, study, and think first about how to dress, skin, store, and cook your game. You do not need to spend hours doing this but have a basic plan so nothing goes to waste when you do bring your first limit of squirrels home.

How do you find squirrels to hunt?

Sometimes it seems like squirrels are everywhere when you are hunting deer, turkey, and ducks. And that is for two main reasons. Those animals tend to be drawn to things that squirrels like, so there is overlap in habitat. Second, when you sit for half a day or a whole day motionless in one spot waiting for a deer, its common to see and notice a couple squirrels, but people rarely hunt that long and patiently for squirrels. So they go to the same spots hunting squirrels and it seems like there are none there, but the truth is, they are not just hunting as patiently.

To find squirrels you most typically are looking for large mast producing trees. Acorns, chestnuts, walnuts, almost any kind of mast or nut that falls from a tree will attract squirrels. The more trees and the older the trees the better. The squirrels will then spend their days looking for food, burying food, and digging food up.

How do you hunt squirrels?

There are two main strategies. First, go into an ideal location and sit down for an hour or two and wait for squirrels to move around. You hunt with your ears first and eyes second. The other strategy is essentially still hunting, walking slowly and quietly through the woods looking for movement in the trees.

What is the best time of day to hunt squirrels?

Typically the first two hours of the day are best, and the last two hours are second best. But squirrels move all day long and its possible to hunt them at all hours. But a sunrise hunt is most ideal. However, squirrels can move even more right after a big rain storm ends, it is also easier to move quietly at this time. But you also won’t hear the squirrels much because they will make less noise on the wet ground as well.

What is the best gun to hunt squirrels with?

People typically use rimfire rifles like a .22 LR or shotguns. Either work great but I much prefer shotguns due to safety. Firing a rifle into the air is very risky. Even a .22 Long Rifle bullet can travel a quarter of a mile or more. If you hunt with a rifle make sure you are able to shoot into a hillside or other safe area.

If using a shotgun, almost any shotgun will work. Squirrels are not hard animals to take. Light loads that are #7.5 shot or #6 shot are most typical, be it with a .410, a 12 gauge or anything in between. Cheap ammo is ideal to help keep the cost down. High velocity is not needed because you are not shooting birds in the air, these are relatively stationary targets. The best advice I can give is hunt with what you practice with. 

What is the most important element to hunting squirrels? Safety and stealth, hands down. 

Listen to the whole podcast episode to learn how to hunt squirrels! 

EP254 Why America Needs Hunting Today More Than Ever

Hunting is more than just a hobby or a means to put food on the table, and I believe America needs it today like never before. On this episode I talk about the science, psychology, philosophy, and more about how hunting not only grounds us in the real world but also better equips us to overcome the complicated but very real problems our nation is facing as we grow more and more immersed in digital reality.

Here is the episode I mentioned in the show: Is Hunting Biblical? 

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Today we have both an experiential shift and a culture shift caused by technology and spending more and more time in the digital world. More and more of our pursuits, emotions, and relationships are being experienced digitally, in a type of synthetic reality. The way we feel and relate is very real, but the way we are interacting is unnatural to how we are wired to experience life. There are many consequences to this, and they are real consequences and real problems felt by real people.

We were created to interact tangibly. to invest ourselves in others’ lives over the process of time through sharing experiences, thoughts, feelings and more while getting real time verbal and nonverbal feedback that affirms and builds connection. When this is replaced with text messages, video messages, and avatars interacting over days and weeks instead of months and years, true problems emerge.

Our ability to process reality with proper context and safeguards is compromised. Emotional trauma, loneliness, depression, and even suicide rates are soaring in an age when we are the most connected, we’ve ever been.

We were designed to live in tangible, tactile, hands-on reality. And hunting anchors us to the real world, to nature, to a benchmark that is mostly unchanged for thousands of years. It gives us a pursuit, a challenge, and a reason to experience nature in a very focused and strategic way that is not preprogrammed with machine learning, odds, or manipulatable outcomes. 

Hunting also creates social structures and relationships based on shared experiences, time spent together afeild or fellowshipping around shared passions. Hunting also impacts our physical fitness, our diet and the quality of food we consume. It sparks creativity, inspiration and innovation.

Hunting also creates opportunities for reflection, introspection, and to simply sit and soak in beautiful moments for a day at a time. Something unheard of in the fast paced, instant gratification centered world of digital entertainment and social media relationships.

There is also no digitally induced equivalent to the to the physical and emotional high points that hunting can provide. The rush of adrenaline that causes hands to shake as you raise your rifle to take aim at a deer that has suddenly come into view after a season of waiting. The overwhelming satisfaction that flows for days, weeks, even a whole year of a big success and leaving the woods with not just a trophy but a supply of food that is untainted by the supply chain. 

In one sense hunting acts as a type of therapy, in another it provides context and perspective to help us remember what is real and what isn’t. It also forces us to exercise the most strategic parts of our mind and prompts tremendous focus around a positive and rewarding pursuit. 

Are there other ways to accomplish these same things? Yes of course. There are ways. But hunting is one way that enables us to do it all at the same time. Or at least it creates the opportunity to do so. Our nation needs hunting today like never both, amongst our youth but also in all age brackets.

Listen to the podcast episode to hear it all! 

EP253 Turkey Mounting & Trophies 101

The turkey tail mount is one of the greatest memorials of a turkey hunt, it can be done at home for virtually no cost and very minimal effort. It is the perfect beginner project. But there is a lot more you can do to make a turkey trophy, some things you can do at home and others require a professional taxidermist. On this episode I talk about most of the options available, what they cost, and what a brand-new turkey hunter with no experience can do for free. 

Support the show on Patreon.

When I take a gobbler or any turkey for that matter, after the meat, the tail fan mount is my favorite part. I think turkey tail fans are one of the most beautiful things God made in the animal kingdom. Did you know that turkeys are distance cousins of the peacock? It is no wonder they are so beautiful. No two turkey tail fans are the same, and each one tells the story of an exciting hunt that I will never forget.

Many people often mount the beard with the fan, and lots of modern mounting kits come setup for that. My favorite mounting kit that I buy season after season is the Taxidermists Woodshop Black Walnut Kit with Beard Plate. This kit is utterly beautiful, comes with everything you need, and even includes a packet of borax to help dry out the fan. There are cheaper kits out there but none I’d rather have on my wall. 

When doing a mount, you want to make sure you have salt and/or borax on hand. I typically just use salt and lots of it. I have used borax before and I cannot tell any difference. Some people mix them, I have also done that and noticed no difference. Borax is a laundry soap booster, it helps draw moisture out of the meat and fat and bug proofs it. You can buy it cheap at the grocery store, just make sure it is 100% pure borax and no added scents. Here is a good borax you can order online.

The most common turkey mounts include:

  • Tail Fan. Everyone should do at least this every turkey they take. I have two videos at the bottom showing you how to do this, both the easy way and the hard way for you over achievers out there. This costs nothing, except for some salt and/or borax.
  • Turkey Rug. This is the tail fan and the back feathers. These look amazing on a wall. They are more of an intermediate taxidermy project though, something I tend to leave to the professionals. But it can be done at home with a little time and care.
  • Whole Turkey. If you are new hunter, you probably are not going to be able to tackle a whole turkey mount at home, especially if you want it to look good. Professional taxidermists charge between $500-$1,000 for these and they can include many different poses. I recommend new hunters stick with the free tail fan mount, but this is always an option for a great bird if you have the funds. 
  • Beard. The beard is super easy and just takes a little salt, most people mount it with a tail fan. 
  • Feet with Spurs. Some people love foot mounts, I am not a huge fan myself, but more power to you if you like them. They are also very easy to do and just require salt and time. 
  • Turkey Wings. These look pretty cool when done well and are often mounted with a tail fan to make a very impressive mount. They can be done at home and are somewhere between a tail fan and turkey rug in difficulty. 

Listen to the podcast episode to hear all the details! In addition to looking cool, a mount is great to preserve the memory of the hunt. I can look at every mount from every turkey I’ve ever taken and instantly recall the hunt, the thrill, the details, how it all came together and what a great day it was hunting gobblers. 

The Easy Way

Here is the quick and easiest to mount a fan. I use pins on cardboard instead of staples on wood but either way works. 

The Hard Way

Here is the more exact, professional taxidermist approach. This is great if you have the time, focus, and tools. I never go this far and have never had an issue.

EP252 Can You Really Get A Turkey On The Last Day Of The Season?

The end of the turkey season brings unique challenges. But you can still absolutely take a turkey, even on the last day. You will need to change your strategy and tactics, however.  On this episode I give you tips to adjust your hunting style for maximum late season turkey hunting success. 

Late season gobblers do a whole lot less gobbling than they do in the early season. But they are still out there, still interested in hens, and still huntable. You will have to break your dependence on gobbling to be able to hunt them successfully though. You will need to become more patient as well and be slower to move. The only way you will have the confidence to do these things is if you are reasonably sure there are gobblers around.

Scouting is the most important part of late season hunting. It is the only thing that will give you the confidence to sit and wait even when you do not hear anything. It gives you the mental fortitude and motivation to endure silent days and always be on guard ready to shoot at the first sign of a long beard. Late season hunting without scouting is like a role of the dice, you might get lucky but usually you will lose. 

For some hunters the late season is their favorite time of the year to be in the woods, and depending on what state you are in, that time can be more productive than others. But some like it because fewer hunters are out and because gobblers are often more lonely and more likely to come in to a call. In some states though the birds are past that point by the end of the season and the urge to mate has begun to fade and birds begin to start to flock back up into small groups. But even then, you can still hunt them.

Even post mating gobblers will come to check out a call from time to time. They are also looking for other birds to join up with. They likely will not do much gobbling, but they may still come in to take a peek. 

Regardless of where you hunt and what phase of the breading cycle your season ends during, you need to adjust your tactics for hunting quiet birds. But can absolutely still hunt them and take them home. Scout hard and hunt strong. 

Listen to the podcast episode to hear it all!

For more, check out this episode as well: How To Hunt A Turkey AFTER You Spooked It.

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