Ep. 504: Foundations - Should You Travel to Hunt Whitetails?

this year. So I lied last week. We're gonna get to all kinds of antler episodes in the future, but I think there's something more important to cover to think about right now, which is traveling for white tails. Now, you've undoubtedly watched lucky bastards like Mark Kenyon hunt white tails all over the country while you're stuck at home hunting the same farm you've hunted since you were twelve. You might think, Man, some guys have all the luck

and that's just not me. But it can be. You could hunt another state, I promise you, and you should because the clock is ticking on over the counter tags and nonresident opportunities, and while white tails will be the last to go on this front, it's almost inevitable at this point. So if you've got to travel, itch, scratch it. My friends. This whole episode is dedicated to traveling for white tails and white you Yes, you should do it. I grew up in a tiny town in southeastern Minnesota,

in a tiny house, dreaming tiny dreams. The idea of becoming an outdoor writer was laughable, and the idea of hunting out of state for anything was lofty. That was something rich folks did, and rich we were not. Hell I remember being super stoked to get to go to Subway once in a while, which isn't exactly the best example of fine dining. But when I was like fourteen or five, team some writer for Field and Stream the magazine did a piece on turkey hunting northern Missouri public land.

My dad read it, and then he did something I thought he'd never do. He drove down there to hunt. I was both astounded and jealous because I never thought that would happen, and if it did happen, I never thought it would happen without me. But that's exactly what happened. He didn't kill a bird, but he came home with stories of turkeys and coyotes and camping and hunting a foreign land. I wanted nothing more than to experience it,

so I saved up some money from odd jobs. I worked on local farms and the dishwasher gig I had at one of the cafes in town, and that following spring, a good buddy and I drove down there with my dad to hunt turkeys. It was a six hour drive, a cheap tag, and an absolute blast. We used paper maps to find spots, and what little turkey skills we had,

we made up four and just sheer enthusiasm for the hunt. No, none of us killed a turkey that year, but I got hooked on the prospect of extending my hunting season through opportunities in other states. It was kind of like someone showed me a world I didn't even know existed, And half of the hang up I had was right between my years. Believing you'll never do something is a great way to ensure that you, in fact, will never do that thing. Now, we hunted Missouri a few more times,

and eventually I killed a jake down there. Then I had one of those magical trips where the stars aligned and I killed two long beards with the longest, biggest spurs I've ever collected in a lifetime of turkey hunting. Both of those birds ended up wearing my tag in the same trip and it was awesome, and that was all she wrote for me as far as traveling to hunt. After that, my buddies and I started to try and find every turkey hunting opportunity we could in nearby states,

and then we started looking at pheasant hunting opportunities. We kind of looked at everything but big game, because I still had the idea that traveling to hunt deer another big game was just not going to happen. Fast forward to my college years at were knowna State university, where I met a fellow named Ben who was a traveling hunting fool. Now pay attention to this, this is important.

Ben wasn't rich. He was in college with me. He was just more motivated to go at hunt west, even though he did it mostly with a rifle, and we became good friends, which we are to this day. And way back in two thousand and I think three, he gave me some advice on putting together a rifle hunting trip for antelope in Wyoming and really taking that first step toward a big game hunt. Now, my dad and

I took that trip together. In the twelve hour drive along I nin d overnight left us exhausted and in awe of the landscape we found ourselves in when the sun rose behind us and lit the prairie. That feeling was only amplified when we first started seeing antelope from the road. It was life changing. It made me realize that even if you're broke, which I absolutely was at that time of my life, there was hunting adventure out

there waiting for me. I can't tell you how grateful I am for Ben's advice and encouragement then and for just that trip in general, because it changed the arc of my personal and professional life. And even today, I just feel insanely lucky for being shown that secret, like I knew something that other people didn't, and it made me feel like there was more to life than I ever thought possible. But it's not all unicorn and glitter,

farts and rainbows, my friends. Traveling for hunts can also really, really suck. I don't know how many flat tires I've changed in my life while on the road in the middle of nowhere, but it's a lot. I've broken down in quite a few random states, and that's not much fun. The weather that might keep you from hunting at home one evening. That's the weather that might absolutely ruin a camping trip. I've slept intense while it rained for four or five of six days at a time, and I've

lived out of tents while blizzards raged through. Now that might sound badass, but it's not. It's stupid and it sucks, but it's part of the deal. If you're going to travel to hunt, you won't get perfect weather most likely, and if you do, you'll have more competition than you can handle. In that way, a shitty weather can be your friend if you can stomach what it does to your daily life as a hunter and possibly as a

camper if you choose that route. The food situation often sucks too, not to mention the sleep situation, and the hunting situation might be the suckiest suck of all sucks. This is the hardest part of the whole thing, and something I want to make very very clear. Everywhere you look in outdoor media, there is a constant drumbeat of travel to hunt, go by that over the countertag get out there and live your best hunting life blah blah blah. Of course, what you don't hear from those people, and

believe me, I'm including myself in this as well. Is that it's their job. They are getting paid somehow, most likely and directly, but from going on a bunch of hunts in a bunch of different states. Whether those checks come from YouTube viewable hours, podcast advertisers, hell, maybe a state game and fish agency that is paying influencers to come promote the hunting in their state. It's coming from somewhere. And if you think that isn't happening, do a little research,

because it is. If you hate that too many out of state hunters are coming to your favorite honey holes, there's a lot of factors, but influencers are one of them. Don't kid yourself for a second. And you might be thinking, we'll screw those assholes. But also this asshole i'm listening to, it's kind of saying the same thing, and that is true, and I confess to that. But I want you to

go hunt out of state. I want everyone to experience this thing, even if it's going to make the hunting harder for me and everyone else who is out there. This is because we're all on borrowed time. Both from the perspective that you've only got so many heartbeats left in that chesty yours, and partially from the perspective that as a hunter, there are a lot of things conspiring against you if you're a nonresident, which, as Randy Newberg likes to say, you definitely are in forty nine states.

I've said this dozens of times, so I'll keep it short and sweet. This isn't going to get any easier or cheaper to do. We keep making babies, and those babies grow up and need places to live, they need food to eat, They take up space. That causes the deer to live in smaller parcels of land and forces more of us onto the fewer available acres. It's zero some game, most likely, although it might not end for several decades, and that's not important. Actually that's super important.

But in the interest of this podcast, I'm going to move on. What's important to you right now is that you acknowledge that if you don't get going on this traveling white tail thing, it might never happen for you. So here's the thing. You've got to make a decision. If you think you can't afford it, maybe you're right, But what does that mean. Maybe you can't afford buying points in Iowa for three or four or five years and then shelling out the same kind of money you'd

pay for a nonresident ELK tag. Fair enough, But what about Wisconsin, where you can buy an already cheap nonresident tag for half price the first time you buy it? Or I'll put it in In other words, in a different perspective, if I take my kids my lovely bride to Olive Garden, I'll drop the same amount of coin as you would to hunt a deer for the first time in Wisconsin. That's pretty crazy. So what would you

rather have? Unlimited soup saladon breadsticks one night, or a chance at a buck and probably a couple of does while are on a sweet hunting trip. Of course, you probably don't have to camp for four or five days, just go to a mediocre chain restaurant or drive twelve hours to get there. I realized the comparison is a little thin, but you get my point. If you make up your mind at any trip is too expensive, or that all trips are too expensive, then you've already decided

that you're not the traveling type. But before that, listen to your hearts. My friends, is there something in you that is awful curious about taking an odd of state trip to hunt white tails. If so, take a long hard look at some of the states that will sell you a tag. There are plenty of them out there, and every one of them has bucks that would make

you happy. And pay attention to that, because I mean it, Every state out there has bucks that would make you happy, especially if you show up for four or five six days on your first odd of state trip. I promise you can find bucks that you're going to be tickled pink about. But you want to be a little careful about focusing too heavily on that aspect, because it will

bite you right in your camel covered ass. A lot of us make the mistake of folk a thing on where We've heard big bucks are everywhere and they are dumber than your average squirrel in other states. That's not really true anywhere anymore, and it doesn't really matter. Iowa, in all of its white tail awesomeness, won't make you a great hunter Kansas either. Buffalo County, Wisconsin, won't By County Illinois. What makes you a great hunter is the

challenge and the willingness to keep learning. What's one of the best ways to do that, ding ding ding. Go hunt somewhere new, experience, new terrain. Hunt deer that live in an environment that is vastly different from your home ground. If you live in the plains and have to drive three hours to see a tree, give the big woods of some northern state a shot. You live in the swamps of Louisiana and have to worry about alligators stealing your deer before you come to the end of your

blood trail, I don't know. Head to the middle of the country and one of the flyover states and hunt around some agg and deciduous forests, a place where the local reptiles are small and relatively not very dangerous. Variety is the spice of life, and it makes deer hunting really special. It also, i'll reiterate, makes you a better hunter.

If you don't believe me, consider this example. Take someone who has access to primo ground in southern Iowa, say six acres, a well managed dirt where the opportunity to kill a booner is a sure thing every year. In that scenario, you'll have someone who does exactly that and might kill bucks well north of that one seventy mark on a consistent basis but that's the only place they hunt.

They grew up there, they devote their time there, and they filled the trophy room with those giant, genetically gifted corn fed bucks. On paper, that hunter looks like the real deal, and in a lot of ways he absolutely is. But could he do it in Pennsylvania? How about Florida? Could you even do it on public land in Iowa? Maybe? Or maybe not. Now, take some of the most badass hunters you can think of, who have proven that they

can go to multiple states and kill good bucks. Sure they might not be killing an eight inches very often, but they are killing way above average bucks in places that are orders of magnitude more difficult than a well managed property in a great state. Difficult makes us good, and challenge motivates us to get better, while hunting a well managed property can be a hell of a lot of fun, and I don't begrudge anyone for doing it. That's not the only way to find enjoyment in the

White Tail Woods. Simply seeing how deer operating in a new place that can do it. Filling a tag on a small book or a dough on public land a place you've never set foot on before, that absolutely can do it too. Just spending a weekend camp with a couple of hunting buddies, strategizing over deer, obsessing over deer. That's a great way to have fun at this stuff

and to get better. Plus, it'll force you out of your comfort zone if you're used to sitting ladder stands that have been up in specific trees since Bill Clinton was in the Oval office doing not safe for work things while he was at work. Going mobile with the saddle while ten hours from your home will do wonders for you. Broadening your horizons by doing new things is one way to keep your mental health moving in the right direction. While in the dear world, it'll make you

a better, more fulfilled hunter. It will change your perspective as a white tailed junkie in a good way and make you better and help you open up your aperture to what life has to offer. Dear wise, why would you not want that? So here's my assignment to you, or, as they say in the business these days, here's a little call to action. Ask yourself what your hunting goals are? What do you want on the next decade or two? Is there any answer there that invokes a little over

the road adventure. If so, start planning it now. After all, what else do you have to do right now? The shed season isn't really in full swing yet, but it's close, and this is not really a great time to start winner scouting for a lot of people. This is kind of the time here, this white tailed purgatory. Doesn't have

to be, though. You can still start researching hunting opportunities, and if you do, you'll have to start eat scouting or tapping into your network of distant relatives and friends of friends who might just own some deer ground in a state that might just sell you and over the countertag. Now. I'm not saying you have to go hunt anywhere, but if you have any desire to seriously start considering it now at the beginning of the year. Take some time, map out a potential plan, talk to a good buddy

or two who might join you. But keep it small and simple. The bigger the production, the bigger the headaches and drama. You know. Of course, I'll get into that stuff later, but for now, just kick it around, mull it over a little bit, let it roll across your brain for a little while. Then ask yourself in a seventies punk in British accent sort of way. Should I stay or should I go? If the answer is You're going, then we've got a lot to talk about, much of

which I'll cover next week. Is I dive way deeper into the hunt planning process. That's it for this show, My white tail loving brothers and sisters, I'm Tony Peterson and this has been the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast,

which is brought to you by First Light. As always, thank you so much for listening, and if you want more white tail advice, head on over to the meat eater dot com slash wired see a bunch of our articles, or check out our Wired to Hunt YouTube channel, where we post weekly how to videos of all kinds of white tail related topics.