Ep. 27: Answering Your Questions, Part 3

for me. The small game season just ended yesterday. The last weekend of upland bird season was this weekend in Nevada, So me and my wife actually went out with a couple of friends, Mike and Dan, and we chased some chucker. It was a lot of fun, it was a lot of work. My wife did great. She shot her first checker, so that was something to really celebrate about. One thing

growing up hunting chucker. You just kind of think that bird hunting is one of the toughest time so you can do, because I think after I've done a lot of big game hunts this year, and that was probably one of the more physically demanding hunts you can do because you're walking all day, it's rough terrain, a lot of elevation gain, and it was just an awesome trip. I almost got a limit one shy and it wasn't

for lack of birds. I mean, in full disclosure, I was just not making the best shots, but I got a few birds. We walked out of there with quite a few birds between all of us, and it was a great weekend. But this week, what I'm going to

talk about is the questions that you guys have. So what I like to do is, at least once a month or so, I try to just take a break from what I want to talk about and pull out a few of the questions that you guys send me and go over those, because I think that there's a lot of tips and tactics in those questions that are for maybe something that I am missing or haven't talked about yet, maybe people need clarification, and then there's probably just a lot of stuff that's applicable for a lot

out of different people or different scenarios. So I like to just go through and answer a few questions. We'll just started off. I'm going to kind of run through bullet point questions here, a lot of the questions that you guys email in. Now, if you are listening to this, you're like, well, where did I send my questions at? You can always send them into MA via social media on my Instagram at Remy Warren or Remy at the meat eat dot com. So that's the email for this.

A lot of them here from there, and some of them I either reply to or get read on the podcast. So feel free to send your questions in Now. This first question, I think is probably will resonate with a lot of people because I do specifically a lot of my podcast based on Western big game hunting, mountain hunting, that kind of stuff. That's my bread and butter, that's

my wheelhouse. But I think a lot of the tips, I mean, I've hunted a lot of white tails in Montana and other places, and I think a lot of these tips can also be translated to white tail hunting, especially when you're talking white tail hunting in thicker cover.

So this question comes from Kel Jackson. He says, big fan, any tips for guys like me who hunt dense public lands, And then he had a little bit of a story, but he he mentioned that he lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts and has been struggling to connect with big game here in New England. He did some food plot rifle hunting where he's from an Alabama, but he'd moved and now he's been out bow hunting where he lives now about twelve times this past season and had zero shot opportunities.

So he's pretty much asking for some tips on hunting public land white tails in an area that's really thick, really dense. Now, I did do a little bit of still hunting tactics, which I think taking some of those tips works anywhere for hunting thick cover. A lot of places you hunt, it's not you. You really can't glass, you can't spot in stock in that way where still hunting is just a better form of hunting, or maybe

the only form if you don't want to sit. But if you're talking white tail hunting, here's a couple of tactics that I've used. You know, I'm sure there's a lot of people out there that have a lot more experience with white tails, But for me, I think kind of one of the true things about hunting a lot of different species is there's a lot of similarities in

the tactics from place to place. So in Montana, I've hunted some public ground areas for white tails, and what I did there was I like to do a lot of scouting in the middle of the day. Um, if I'm in a new area, and this goes for a lot of other deer that have similar habits that might be fairly patternable. White tails, I feel like, whether it's whether they're on private ground or whether they're on public land, they have routes and trails that they used to feel

safe and secure. They have patterns that they use. They have places that they like to feed and things they like to feed on. They have areas that they like to bet in. So I try to find one of those areas, whether it's a food a betting area, or a travel area, and kind of concentrate on that. So one of the places that I had in Montana is a travel area. It's in thick timber, and I've found some good game trails and a lot of sign and

I just sit up and wait. I don't really use tree stands there, but I do set up a ground blind and I'll call a lot is based on a travel route. But I think one of the tactics that I've found is a little bit more successful for white tails in areas where it's like I can't. A lot of people set up trail cams and other things, which you can definitely do, but if you're just going on public land, and you don't want to mess with all that.

What I like to do is I will do a lot of my scouting in the middle of the day. The reason is because what I'm looking for is where I find the deer bedding. Now you might think, well, you want to go in and be very unobtrusive and not disturb the animals. Yes, but if it's a large section of land, you're gonna have to cover that area, and the best way to cover is just by walking

around figuring out where things are. Half the time, what I'll do is I might bump a deer up if I see the deer running, or ump a deer or here a deer run. What I'll do is I'll mark that area and then I can come back later or even then maybe set up as tree stand, set up a blind, and plan on hunting there because I feel like the deer will continue to use that betting area. It might be an area that's thicker, it's shaded for most of the day. They feel really secure there. There's

a reason that they're probably betting there. So I mean a lot of people that hunt private land probably stay out of betting areas. And once again, I'm not a white tail expert by any means, but there's just ways that I've been successful on public land for them. I've shot quite a few white tails that way. My first archery buck, I actually walked into a really thick area, spooked out a deer. I thought, okay, this is where

they're betting. Ended up hunting in there the next day, just set up waiting and shot one of my first bucks with a bow on the ground in there. So there's just a lot of different ways to hunt that. That would be probably the tactic that I do now. You might not want to try that during the middle of the season either though, because if there's a lot of people hunting, you're just gonna be blowing out. It just depends on hunter congestion and where you're at. Two.

I'm not real familiar with hunting the Northeast. I never have, so, um, that's just a tactic you might want to consider. It might it might work where you're at, but also just understanding deer movements where are they working. You know, if you've got a little bit of undulations in the hill, like pick a feature, that might be different. If everywhere is thick and there's a small opening, hunt that because

there might be better food sources. Kind of pay attention to what the deer eating and moving, and then make your plan accordingly. The next question comes from Jeff from Arizona. So he says, Hey, remy great podcast on still Hunting this week. Thanks for making a question. What do you consider perfect quiver size for wide open Arizona Muli's I have a G five six arrow quiver, but I'm wondering

if I'm touting more than I need sometimes. Yeah, So the thing about quiver and arrows, you could probably hopefully you only need one arrow. You should bring more than one arrow though, because in case something happens, you might need to make a follow up shot, or if you're in a situation where maybe you missed and you're going to continue hunt backcountry hunt, I like to bring more arrows. You never know what's going to happen. I have gone. I started out hunting with three arrows. Now I carry

seven arrows, so I've been all over the spectrum. The reason I have a seven arrow quiver, and it's not something that everybody needs, but some of the areas that I hunt, you might be able to hunt multiple animals and pack in so it's nice to have a few extra arrows. But what I do, whether it's uh like a five arrow quiver, I think is great because I generally always have a couple arrows in my quiver, at least one that has like a blunt tip on it for shooting small game or even just in the middle

of the day practicing doing what's called roving. And I kind of talked about that on the Small Game podcast. I'm kind of re saying what I've already said, but it's nice to have that arrow just in case you need it. You probably only need three arrows for hunting purposes, and my opinion, because you're gonna make a good shot on your first arrow and then you've got a couple

just in case. But it's not bad to have that five arrow quiver and maybe put a couple of extra practice tips in there, just make sure that you do something so you don't get them out in the moment and shoot at big game with them. I generally have a blunt tip in there, and I put them behind. I liked the seven arrow quiver because I could put them behind my other arrows, so then I do not get access to my practice arrows, so that's why I have that quiver, one of the main reasons. But I

think that a five arrow quiver is fine. There's no real reason. If you want a smaller quiver, go for it, go three arrow. I don't think it really makes that big of a difference. If you're noticing some problems shooting because of the weight with it, you could always add a stabilizer off the other side, like a backbar on your bow. I've done that before. But for the most part, you know the size of the quiver. It's just if that's what you've got, it probably works fine. But you

don't necessarily need five arrows of course. Okay, Pete asked. He says, just started cutting the distance. Great podcast so far. Do you have any recommendations for good entry level spotting scope for my first d I y L hunt this fall? So I would suggest for a good entry level spotting scope. You know, Vortex is a company that I work with, so I'm familiar with their products and I've used a

lot of their products. They've got three levels of optics, so they've got their diamond Back series, their Viper series, which is their mid range, and then the Razor series. Honestly, I've used the diamond Back. It's the sixty power with the sixty mill objective lens. I've used to that scope quite a bit and it's actually really good scope. It's still not cheap, but it's the best price option in there.

It's great clarity, the objective lens. I like the smaller objective lens for l cutting because it's just gonna be lighter. It's a as opposed to a larger scope, and you might get more light gathering. You kind of sacrifice a few things by having that smaller objective lens, but by having the larger objective lens, you're adding a little bit of weight. That Diamondback scope is really it's pretty lightweight, so I think it's it's easily packable. It's got up

to sixty power magnification. It's not maybe a scope you're gonna want to be glassing through all day, so you're gonna still use your binoculars, which I suggest anyways. I don't really suggest glassing through a spotting scope a lot, but it's perfect for verifying something at long distance, checking a few spots out long distance, looking through it when you need to, and you still can glass through at long distance, but honestly, your binoculars are more effective for

glassing over a long period of time. So I would say, if I'm picking a spotting scope for l hunting, I'm gonna go with that. I'm gonna go sixty mil objective lens, something that's got some good magnification. I would say, you know, in that twenty to sixty power range, because it's gonna give you that extra push over your binoculars. And I

think that the lightweight aspect of it is awesome. So I did an episode a few back about application Actually, if you're thinking about it, Arizona applications or do here pretty soon for Elk and Antelope, just if that's something you were going to consider, if that was one of the states that you thought might be a good one for you. But Dave asks, and I had a few people actually ask this about applying as a party, and

some people were kind of confused. So Dave asked, if I apply as a party with my friend who has more points, do I hurt his chances or do we have better odds of drawing by going in together. I have five points, he has ten. Should we put it in as a party? What would you do? So here's what I would do. If I was Dave, I would definitely put it in as a party because well, it also depends on the states. You have to first look up what are the rules in the state you're applying

for party applications. If it's a state of Colorado, it would hurt the guy with more points, because in Colorado, everybody goes in with the guy with the least amount of points. Now, if it's a state like Nevada, Montana, I would say Montana, if you're the guy applying with someone with more points, yeah, I do it if they don't mind, but it will hurt the person with more points chances because what they're gonna do is they're gonna put you in is one application. And I think this

is where some of the confusion came in. So most states, as a rule of thumb, you're applying as one application. So if you one person has more points, the other person has fewer, the average to the points and then

you go in is one application with that amount of points. Now, let's say, because I also got a question from some other people about our chances better or worse supplying as a party, because I think some people are confused where two people are in, so do they have two chances in their No, you always go in with one chance.

But really, if you think about it, your odds are insignificantly less if you both have the same amount of points applying for a party, because the only way you would get kicked out is if there are not enough tags to fill the amount of members in that party. So if you put in for an area with a tags as a party of two and you're in there, one time is one application. If your application is drawn,

both people are rewarded tags. The only time they would not be awarded tags is if you were unlucky or lucky I guess, but unlucky in the fact that you drew the last tag nine nine tags had been filled and your party drew the hundred spot, in which case there's only one tag left and there's two members in the party on that application. Therefore you're kicked out and the next person that only has that applied as an individual would get that tag. That you would never know

any of that happened. That would all be done by a computer instantaneously. So I think you have to remember if you're applying as a party, there has to be enough tags for every member in that party to receive a tag. Now, if you're applying in an area where you're playing in a party of three and there's only four tags, well you have to be pretty high up

to draw. But it might be statistically it might be a hard unit to draw, and so you'd probably have to draw it as you're as one of the first people drawn anyways, so it might not really change your actual odds of drawing. I hope that kind of answers that questions for some people. So I got another question here about some early season elk hunting. Seawan asked about elk hunting when elk are not calling or very vocal.

He had an archery tag in an area a couple of years ago and it was during August, and he felt like the two weeks that he hunted, it was just a long game of cat and mouse and nothing really responded to the calls. So any tips if you have happened to have an elk tag early season or earlier in the season. There's quite a few states like Utah, Nevada where the elk season for archery is actually pretty early end of August and then kind of goes into September. So one thing, it kind of goes back to the

application strategy. You gotta look at the season dates when you apply and understand what type of hunt it is going to be. So some times in August, depending on where you're at, the elk might start calling, might be vocal, but for the most part hunting early September, late August, the elk aren't gonna be real responsive to calls. So your strategy on that kind of hunt is going to

be more spot in stock. You might be able to throw out some locator bugles and get some milk fired up just to kind of figure out where they are, but they might not really want to come to calls. Now you can go back and also listen to the Calling Silent Bulls episode that we did. I think it's towards the beginning, maybe episode six or seven. I'm not even sure, somewhere in there. But I think you kind of have to take that as Okay, I'm gonna alter my strategy. Yes I'm bow hunting, but it's better to

probably spot in stock. And then you may also want to consider sitting water. Sitting water is a great way to hunt elk early if you're in an area where there's limited water, but most of those most of those early hunts are in places that the elk don't necessarily have access to water everywhere. So it might be a tactic that you want to think about. And maybe I'll just touch about on this a little bit now. I think maybe later in the year I'll talk a little

bit about tactics for hunting wallows. I think a lot of people are kind of confused on on wallow hunting because people think, Oh, I'll put up a tree, stand over a wallow and hunt elk. But a lot of guys try it early because they think, oh, it's hot and the elk aren't being very vocal or aren't running very hard. Well, you might get the occasional elk coming into the wallow, but at that time I wouldn't even consider a wall It would be more of a water hole.

They're going to drink elk wallow as a sort of perfume to attract cows, assert their dominance and mark their territory. So what an elk does, what a bull elk does when he comes up to wallow is he like stands there hurinates in the wall. Then he rolls around in the mud and the mud holds all that scent on him, and it's more of a pheromone attractor to tell everything else that he's the dominant bull in the area, and he'll tear up that area. He'll cover himself in mud.

It's more of a mating display and a way to attract cows and assertains dominance over a territory and over an area. And then other bulls will come in and check that wallow to say if another bull is trying to claim cows in that area. So they'll they'll use it in a lot of different ways. One is to just as pheromones, almost like a cologne station, and then another as kind of like marking their territory and seeing what else might be in there and who else is dominant.

So while it was actually pick up as the peak of the rut picks up, but they're a great place to target when you might be hunting an area that the elk are call shy or not responding well to calls because they're locked into the rut. But it's the peak of the rut, so you could get those bulls that are have a harem of cows, they aren't going to come to maybe a lot of calling, but you might be able to ambush them at a wallow when they go to do their ritual of rolling around in

the mud and pheromony Up now. We talked a lot about some small games stuff lately, especially because a lot of the big game seasons have been over, and I just wanted to touch on some great stuff for beginning hunters and just some awesome fun ways to hone your skills and and things to do and to get you out there. I think this is a really good question

that just like hasn't been talked about very much. So Isaiah from Mountain Home says, I'm an adult onset hunter and I've learned a ridiculous amount from your podcast, so big thank you. The only successful trip I've had so far in the sense that I came home with something, was a day trip with my dog on the last day of quail season. I didn't kill any quail, but I did get a jack rabbit, and having read all the recipes on Mediator and Wild and Hole for the

old long years, I was stoked. However, I got myself all worked up thinking the meat was going to spoil if I didn't skin it right away, so I hastily skinned him and wound up getting hair and dirt and whatnot all over the meat, and just felt like it was poorly handled and it's going to be gross when I cook it. My question is this, on a mild day, say about fifty degrees with no clouds or wind in this case, is it really all that important to get small game critters cleaned up as soon as possible to

prevent spoilage? Or can they wait a while before all that, like a couple of hours when you get back home or to camp or whatever. That's a great question. So with small game for the most part, even earlier in the season, if I'm out chuck er hunting or bird hunting, I always wait to clean the animals till at least they get back to the truck. There you should have a cooler if it's hot out or some like. I always have a cooler and then some bags and everything.

So I just process them there. But I leave them whole in my vest for most of the day while I'm hunting. I've never had any birds go bad. I mean, you have to understand too, right when you shoot, say, say you just shot a rabbit, it's body temperature is going to be warmer than the ambient air temperature, so it's still after you shoot, it gonna take a little while for it to cool down because it's actually cooler outside than the animals body temperatures, so it will cool down.

So it would have been no problem if you have a bird vest. Probably if you're bird hunting, you've got a bird vest, you also have to think about you aren't keeping it in the direct sunlight. A bird vests are great, or a pack or something is great because you can put the bird in it, the rabbit in it, whatever, and it's not actually getting direct sunlight. The vest itself kind of shades it and keeps it a little bit cooler. Now, if it's really hot out, I would definitely on rabbits,

I'll just gut them right there. So I'll just cut a little slit in the belly, pull all the guts out, and go. I've even done that with upland birds early or ducks in the marsh. If I'm like I'm gonna be out there for a while it's warm, I just make sure to keep them in the shade. I may get them, but if there's a lot of flies around, I actually just don't because I don't want flies creating a mess going in making laying some eggs and all that stuff. But for the most part, just keep them

out of the shade and somewhere cool. On a day like fifty degree weather, you're you're perfectly fine. Now when you get back to the truck, especially if it's a warm day, I'll definitely process it right there when I get back. Skin it um. You can use your tailgate, maybe even have a little pitcher stations set up. We always have all of our stuff with us, whether it's like I use a lot of shears for processing small games,

so shears or knife some baggies. You don't have to get them super clean, but it's just nice to cut it up, get it clean, and then you can put it in a cooler. And that's what I do now. If you live pretty close, you could also wait till you get home. But a lot of times for most small game stuff, I will at least get it in the field if I can't, if I'm not gonna pluck it. If as the ducks or something and I'm gonna plug them at home, I like to plug them first and

then get them. But that's up to you. For the most part small game animals, especially in not super hot weather. You've got plenty of time. You should be fine. Now, I wouldn't really worry about in this In this particular one, you said, got it dirty and some hair and stuff. The meat will still be fine. Just let an air out, clean it up. When you get home. You can. You can wash it off. Just make sure you dry it

before you store it. So what I'll do is I'll wash it off in the sink under cold water, get the dirt and any hair off. You can even use a torch to singe the hair if you want, and then wash it again, and then just put it in the fridge and you should be fine. There's actually three questions here, so Jordan wrote three really good questions. I really liked some of these. They're great questions, but I

think I can answer them fairly quickly. Here. So he says on the podcast and in Solo Hunter, you leave your pack and shoes behind a lot. I know that's advantageous for being stealthy, but does it ever impede your ability or ability to make a move on an animal because you're caught between your pack and the animal. I think what he maybe means by that is you're you're thinking like, okay, I can't leave my pack here the

whole time the animals moving off. That happens a lot where I'm stalking in and then the animal moves and it's like, well, I go back and grab my pack or do I just continue restocking. It's very situational. Now. I also really take my shoes off and my pack off in situations where the animals pretty stationary, and it just it just depends on how everything's set up. Sometimes I end up stalking and not taking my pack or shoes off. If it's more of an ambush stock where

the animals moving, I'm trying to get into position. I don't have time, like I gotta be there while the animals there. Then I just prefer to say, Okay, I'm gonna sacrifice a little bit of stealth for just being mobile and not having to worry about going back. Now. A lot of times I'll what I will do is I'll have my Onyx maps ready to go, and if it's something where I might be moving a lot, I'll definitely drop a pin on where I dropped my shoes in my pack. But I've gone as far as two

miles without my stuff. Now, I do carry what I like to call a pocket water, because I sometimes will put like a small water bottle or some form of water in my pocket, and I always have my flashlight or head lamp in my pocket as well. If I dropped my pack, I want to make sure that I have a couple of things that I may need in case I go a little bit further or the stock

takes longer than I was expecting. So that's always good, but there are those times where you think, okay, it's moved, but then you have to really assess the stock and say, okay, if I continue now, am I just pushing it? Am I trying too hard? When I can just pull back, give it a minute, and reset and figure out a better way to stock. Because sometimes you get in the moment you just keep chasing, chasing, chasing, and pushing it in a way that because you're so close, you're rushing

and you aren't making the best stock possible. So in those situations, I think, Okay, I'm gonna go back, grab my shoes, grab my pack, and really think about this. Maybe there's a better way to do this. The second question was you did an episode on Fire and how to hunt burns. Do you treat log dairy is the same way? Yes, I definitely do. If you live in in big timber country like an Oregon, Washington, a lot of places in Idaho, I mean even places I would

even imagine in the northeast or other areas. They're logged areas create great habitat for elk, but also for deer because they create that new growth in that new brows. Now a clear cut might be an eyesore, but it definitely builds habitat, It bolsters populations for a lot of animals, and it's a great place to hunt. I do target clear cuts quite often, especially in heavily timbered areas. Clear Cuts are are go to for me. I treat it

just like a burn. So if you're in an area where there's not a lot of burns but there's a lot of clear cuts, that's a great place to hunt. It's a great place to start. Even areas that have been thinned where they aren't completely clear cut, but they're thinned and logged out. I found those to be really productive because they get better grass growth underneath, yet they still provide shelter and everything that animals need for good habitat,

So those are some awesome areas the key into. And I actually saw that Onyx has a timber cuts overlay as well, just very similar to the fire overlay, so I'll probably that actually might be a good one to talk about the future is hunting some timbered logged areas, because I do hunt those a lot. It's very successful. The third question is I have no moral issues with shooting a betted animal, but I've heard and seen shots go wrong because vitals and muscles can be a little

different position when the animal is bedded verse standing. How do you treat a bedded animal to ensure a clean kill. That's a really good question. Now it's kind of a funny thing where some people think, oh, it's not ethical to shoot a bedded animal, but it's very situational. I think if you just throw blanket ethics over everything and say, oh, it's betted, so you shouldn't shoot it, that's not always the case. Sometimes you get a better shot on an

animal that's betted. It's not alert, it's not moving. It's vitals might be perfectly exposed, while in animals laying down, their vitals are moved in different positions. Sometimes the shoulder protects it. But there are shots on bedded animals that can be an extremely clean, ethical kill, and I don't think that there's any It doesn't make it give the animal any less advantage because it's it's laying down. So there's a lot of times that I've taken a shot

on an animal that's bedded. What I do do, though, is if I'm going to take a bedded shot, I really analyze it because you if you're taking a shot on an animal that's bedded, you probably have a lot more time. I'll only take a bedded shot if I have a clear line of side of the vitals, and you kind of have to understand the way that the animals laying so a mule deer. I actually just did a deer hunt this year where I shot a bedded deer with my bow in Nevada is on a ridge

reeper film. But that deer provided a perfect, clean broadside shot. I had a spot that I could aim at, and I looked at it closely with my binoculars to see where the bone structure of the shoulder was before shooting. That's something that I'll do a lot on a bedded animal, even if i'm bow hunting, I'll use my binoculars at that close range because you can actually see the ribs, you can see the shoulder, you can really see a lot of the definition by looking up close at close range.

And then I can say, okay, here's where I'm going to aim. Now if it's quartering. To me, it's really hard to make a successful or ethical quartering two betted shot, So I try to find those shots where okay, he's betted, I can maybe move and shoot quartering away or broadside. I see where is the way he's laying and where his vitals might be, and I really just pick a good spot, analyze the shot, and shoot It's it's no

different than an animal it's standing. You have to really analyze where you're gonna shoot, pick the right spot, and hit the right spot. But it can definitely be done ethically and successfully on a bedded animal for sure. That's all the questions for this week, but as always, feel free to write any questions, and if I if I didn't answer some of your questions you might have, feel

free to write him in. You can reach me at Remy at the meat eat dot com, or you can always get me on social media as well at Remy Warren. I generally try to most of the ones that I reply to you on social media. It's just easier for me. But please keep sending the emails in because those are generally the ones that get read on the podcast. If you have a question you think a lot of people might want to hear about, shoot us an email at Remy at the meat Eater dot com and I'll try

to get to as many of them as possible. Also, just keep them flowing, because it would be nice to add a couple of them to some of the other podcasts as well. I love just hearing from you guys. I've said it a million times, but I'll say it a million one times maybe well, and then a million more. This is really just to help make you better hunters. So if you have ideas on podcasts you'd like to hear things that you want to know about, I just compile all that and then I start talking about it.

So some of the stuff about the new Hunters, some of the small game stuff, it's all from everybody that listens. So I want to make sure that there's stuff out there that you're hearing. And I think some some of the things that I've been seeing a lot stuff from guys in New Zealand and Australia about some of the species there. So I think in coming episodes it's gonna be fun to maybe talk about some different species where you got the guys from over there, gotta listen to

all of the species from over here. But I think a lot of the tactics are transferable, so I'm gonna talk about some different stuff. I've got a lot of questions that I didn't talk about yet on spring Bears and and a lot of seasonal things, some applications stuff. So until next week, keep the emails rolling. See up