Ep. 605: Rut Fresh Radio 11/30/2022 - The Rut is OVER! (Or is it???)

powered by Vortex Optics. I'm your host Casey Smith. Tyler Jones is here as well, and we have the illustrious Mark Kenyon on the phone telling us all about his December plans. Here, Mark, how is thanks to Thanksgiving us great, got to spend some time in the family, got to get in the woods a little bit. Um, there's everything you can us for. Yeah, good man. Did you embrace gun season? Uh? Sort of? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I guess I would say I do embrace gun season. You know.

I leave some of my best spots alone, usually at the beginning of gun seasons, so that they kind of become a sanctuary. But then once the pressure lays down, I tend to sneak out for careful hunts and uh I've done that here recently. Yeah. Cool, Well enough about deer hunting. Do you'all have Thanksgiving noodles? Where are you from? Thanksgiving noodles? Yeah? Exactly. It's not a thing. It's not

a thing. So you've met Eric, right, um Eric, he spears by Thanksgiving noodles and it's literally cream of chicken soup with noodles in it. And it does not look very good. So Illinois. Yeah, yeah, they acted like it was like a northern thing. You know, everybody hands should know that, you know. Well, no, no, no, no, no, I'm pleased. I'm pleased. What is the best Thanksgiving food

in your opinion? Like the single dish that's the best. Yeah, but but you know, make it actual Thanksgiving top stuff? Oh man. Because there's three things that form like the trifecta for me, and it's hard to from the three. But fact it can be it's singularity or it's like the trinity, it's it's one is three. So speaking speaking from the gospel here, the trinity of turkey stuffing and

mass potatoes is just the thing. I mean, I will eat that three food combo for days and days, like I'll eat the main meal, and then I like to put them all on a sandwich, and then later I'll do like an open face sandwich. And then sometimes i'll do like day four or five, I'll go back to the original, just regular dinner style and that it's just the best man, just all about that Thanksgiving sandwich. Ross. Ross is a good dude. Done done deep Yeah, man, scientist,

you know he's cool like me. So did you bring a Thanksgiving sandwich to stay with you? No? But I do eat them just before heading out. The little messes. Those they call those swich Oh. Man, there's getting worse by the week. That's funny. Getting We're getting tired, man, it's getting getting late in the season. You know. So what do you have on the horizon here for next week? Mark, Well, I got two things going on. Um, you know, there's

still some of that late running action. I've actually been seeing on some of my Michigan spots, um kind of kind of light. There's definitely that transition. So I've seen the transition of a lot of deer refocusing on food. So the good food sources that are just keen in right now, which has been for me, some green food sources and like cut beans. Actually has been lighting up like all of a sudden, big groups of deer back on those food sources. So I've been heading out the

last a couple of times. I was out just before Thanksgiving for hunt, and then just after I got back from the Thanksgiving holiday, I went out for another hunt and then also glassed a couple of nights and saw one of the target bucks I've been after um out in daylight, kind of pushing dose around slash feedings. It's not like chasing like crazy, but he's still sent check in does UM. So the action is still on in Michigan here and there where you can find the pockets

of unpressured deer, which which I found here UM. And then so I'm doing I'm actually hunting that buck again tonight with my son. I've been trying to kill this deer and my son um, which would be a pretty special thing. So that's Michigan. And then I'm going to Ohio probably tomorrow. Their guns season just opened up, uh

at the beginning of this week. So I'm gonna go down there and throw a couple of hunts at my properties down at that neck of the woods, and again you know, hoping for maybe some late writing action or if nothing else, um, other gun hunters pushing stuff around and getting something that's from these sanctuary zones where I've got some really good cover that should provide security for a buck or two, I would hope, And uh, that's I'll be pinning my hopes on. Are you seeing any um,

freshly worked scrapes anywhere? I'm seeing them come back to scrapes. Yes, so definitely the scraping action went way down for the last probably three weeks on most of the cameras and places I'm walking around and stuff. But it seems to be picking back up a little bit. Well, it sounds like you had an exciting week or so coming up. We're actually trying to figure out how to see a deer while hunting in the next week. We're kind of like, it's hard to call it that, but we're kind of

in the lockdown portion of where we live. Uh it's not as pronounced uh because he's always running activity, you know, kind of throughout the fall are are just isn't as uh peak. I guess you would say, you know, the bell carver doesn't go as high. But um, overall, our dear movement is down right now. We're also having the Indian summer right now to tomorrow it's gonna be seventy five.

I just saw which is we had. We had really good weather in late November, but as we push into early December here, we uh we have some kind of warm weather as well, so we're kind of dealing with that. But uh, either way, the hunt must go on. Man, we have some hunting to do. So this week we actually talked to got some all over the country, right, Tyler, Yeah, we talked to actually right here in our neck of the woods, Mr Troy Waldron from Texas. Uh. We got Tony Treach on the phone to to tell us what

the deals in Colorado. I know Mark, you spent some time with him last year learning his ways. Um, we got Garrett Praul who has been up in Minnesota and oh WE'RENNI because Strickland from Mississippi giving us a report down there. So we got them from all over uh the US, and I think some of these southern states are gonna start having some good reports for us coming up. As you see some of these ruts starting to phase in and those weird stay It's like Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana,

you know, those those Gulf coast states. So pretty excited to see some bucks hitting the dirt from down there, and uh, I don't know, it kind of gives me hope for uh some late season you know, potential places that we might go as well too, So I love it. Yeah, man, I'll tell you what I do like the late season. Like, of course, the ruts sexy and it's fun. But the late season, if you have those spots, you can find those spots where they're not where they haven't been harassed NonStop,

it can be really really good. They become predictable. And if Casey doesn't die in the next hour or two, I think you guys could be in for some terrific on it this morning if he does. If he does die, then I'll still be able to hunt in play season.

There's always a silver life. I finally get the good spot, you know, but no Ick Truck episode, we can actually you know, incorporate the harst and you can give me my final goodbye, you know, well before that happens, you know, I definitely hope to hope to get out and shoot some deer. The uh the December is has been a pretty good month for me overall throughout my hunting time

for sure. So I like it. Man, if you like you you were saying this earlier, Mark, But if you can find a place that's just not super pressured or hasn't had the pressure for one reason another, where it's private,

public doesn't matter. Um, those deer can you know, they're gonna always be interested even through the end of the year in a lot of places in it and some sort of a hot doough if it if it ends up being that that's the case in your area, and then there's always just the consistency of that uh you know, especially once it gets cold, that bed to feed. So it makes things patternable for analytic guys. It works really well,

you know, so analytical guys anyway. And then there's there's this old product that like I don't know, Hunter Specialties or something made like years and years ago. I think it's called it the cough Catcher or something, and you just whenever you get a cough, you you just cough right to that thing and it eliminates the sound and it makes podcast episodes much more palatable. So next time you should have put that on your Christmas list. Add

here a little bit next time. Okay, well, we expect that you bring one of those down to Texas, you know, for Casey's Christmas present, Like thank you' blowing your grunt call and it's actually just not making any sound at all. All right, Well, let's get these guys on the phone. Thanks for joining us again this week, Mark, and I'm sure we'll be talking to you saying sounds good. All right, I'm talking to Tony treats a lot of guys know

this dude. He's a hardcore hunter. I think it's appropriate to say that he's a guy that gets after it as much as any working man out there does. Tony, what's been going on? Man? Well, yeah, but I'm about done. So yep, it's it's time to go back to the real life and actually makes some money. Yeah do you?

Uh so are you done until pretty much next fall? Well, I do still have a Colorado you're tagging in my pocket because I didn't I didn't find what I was looking forward when I was there, So I might be going back if I can convince the wife let me go for a week in December. Uh, but that that's

yet to be determined. Yeah, for sure, So Colorado I didn't know if we'd have a guy to talk about Colorado white tails this year, and we already had Heartland's uh Harland bow Hunters Mike hunt Sucker on the podcast talk about it. But I'm I came across the fact that you've been out there. I know you guys hunt quite differently most of the time, and so I wanted to get your perspective on this. Um, you know, tell us a little bit about what you're seeing this past

week out there. So I was in the Eastern Plains and uh, the rut was in full swing. Lots of bucks on lockdown, which for me and the type of hunting that we're doing with decoys in the in the Eastern Plains, Uh, it was fantastic. Um. I would imagine that, you know, if you're sitting in a tree stand, it's probably not gonna be what you want to be happening, because there's gonna be bucks. Maybe you've been pattering, they are going to disappear and just all of a sudden

going to be off the radar and they've got that dough. Uh, you know on lockdown somewhere some goofy spot that maybe you know you're typically using because because that's what he wants to do. He wants to keep them all the himself. So for a tree stand hunters, it might have been tough hunting. Um, for us, it was. It was great, minus the fact that I just couldn't find one that I wanted. Uh, but that's just has to do more with the area I'm hunting. There was there was a

lot of activity. Uh, I would say have probably subordinate bucks. Uh, you know, through a lot of three year olds, maybe occasional four year olds that just uh we weren't the dominant buccaneer around the food sources there was. It seems like if you could find you know, the planes have been pretty darn and dry this year, and both Kansas and Colorado were just dryer than I've ever seen it. And if you didn't have food, uh, boy, it was

pretty tough. They were. They were definitely you know, congregated around areas. The few areas that had standing CRP grass um because a lot of people down there it was so dry they actually had to bail it up to feed their cattle otherwise cattle day and those few standing CRP fields and those few uh semi green alf Delpa fields were just I mean they were hubs of activity. M So would that be a situation where um, you're hunting, you know, close to that egg, but looking for those

places and glassing the stuff. It's like those little lockdown hottie holes. Yep. Yeah, I know. The hardest part for me was actually gaining permission uh to those fields they you know that the areas that that the deer were actually using. Uh, we couldn't gain access to. So every book that we even considered you know, mature and uh one that was when we wanted, we couldn't. We couldn't hunt.

But yeah, if you had, if you had access to h the few grassy areas that a few areas that held enough you know, tawna up brush to to to bet where they could bed uh and the planes there. Man, you you were having a good week. Yeah. So, um, let's talk a little bit about that decoy strategy that

you use. I think that a lot of people are intrigued by that, and I would really specifically like to talk about how you use the wind in those situations, because those are teer bucks are so smart even on lockdown, right, So how do you approach buck in that situation? So well? Like I always say, the number one rule when you're using the decoy is you just gotta be able to see where they're betting. And in a lockdown phase. That almost becomes easier in the planes because they do pick

random spots. Maybe it's out in the middle of a cut corn field, or it's up milo fielder along an open fence line that you know, some guys will typically look at it and well, that might be a good about to kick up a pheasant. But that's about it. Those are the spots where I'm finding embedded with their dough hopefully you know, maybe if you don't see them at first, but you can pick them up, wepping the better.

But once you got them in there and you got them bedded somewhere, as long as you have access you know, around them, you know, so you can't you're not limited to which direction you can come from. I do not like to come from down wind, and that, you know, for a true stand guy, that might just sound like craziness. You know, you want to always put the wind directly in your favor. But you gotta remember, when they're betted down, more than likely they're going to be facing down wind

where they can't smell. Their their weaknesses the direction they can't smell. So I like to come in degree angle from from up wind almost um, not you know, in ninety degree. If it's kind of swirling, I'll put it. If this this is all things being equal to uh, and all this goes out the window. If you've got let's say a train feature that you say, a small cooler or a draw something you can crawl up that gives you more concealment that where you can get into range.

If you have that, use that. But if you don't, and everything else is equal, I'll and And it's you know, in the planes you typically have more consistent winds out cheap that wind a bit to almost a forty five degree angle up window, um, whereas the wind is almost

blown at him, but not quite up the shoulder. They're facing almost dead away, And I can use again within range, get that decoy set up in the ground, you know, ideally not on my boat because it's always windy in the plans, And get that thing on a stake in front of me and let it do its magic once he sees it. And that's that's how I killed my Kansas buck just last week. Yeah, that's awesome, dude. Yeah, that's a good advice. I love you can tell that.

Like we're on a short scale. Uh, you know, we're on a short podcast here, and we're trying to hurry this information. But you've got so much to offer. We might have to get you back on our podcast at some point. But um, you know, at and in the next week, do you expect that lockdown face to kind of continue and the success with that style of hunting to potentially be good or uh? Are things going to change?

You know? For for a tree stand guy in in in Colorado, if you're hunting the draws, Uh, you know, I would start making a transition to to food. Um, I think you're just you're gonna you're gonna start seeing less and less um dose uh in heat and less bucks attending them and having them out in the lockdown.

So it might Uh, I'd say we're probably in a solid transition period because where you know, if I were if I were to go back out there hunting, if I were to be able to get permission from the wife to go out there, I'm not gonna be you know, I'm gonna be looking around the food. Yeah. Okay, so many permissions that you have to get to go hunting. Man, it's crazy to get married A yeah, no doubt. Well, uh, last question, man, will scale one to ten. What do

you predict buck movement to be like next week? Colorado Boy, that's a tough one. I would say, not as it's good, you know, it's not as good as it was this week, and not you know, even as you're as good as it was last week. I think if you're you're gradually going down, um, they'll still be a few does that might keep them keep interested? And who knows, you get one or two hot ones in the right spot and all of a sudden, every rebuccaneera could be on that

one dough. So if you don't find that one dough, you're probably looking at a four or five. But if you can find that one last dough that is coming into the late estris um, it might be literally on fire. Yeah sure, Okay, Well, great information. Thank you for hopping on the phone with Tony, and I'm sure we'll be talking to again. Sounds good. Now we've got Troy Waldron. He is a hunter in Texas, right here in the lone Star state. Troy, what's been going on? Man. Oh no,

how much. Man, it's been hunting hard every day, get out and getting out. Yeah, it's good, especially after the holiday man or during the holiday. I know a lot of guys struggled to balance that. Did you do a good job of that? Yeah? Yeah, so I got I've got land that is pretty accessible from my house, so yeah, it's not too hard to break away, even if I just have to leave for a couple of hours to come back. So it didn't put a lot of burden

on the family too much. That's cool. Well, I have seen a picture of you behind a public land stud and it just happens you have on an Element shirt, which is just the craziest thing. Congrats man on that great deer. I appreciate it, man. Yeah, so what were you doing uh to uh run across that guy? Uh? I mean a lot of my tactic is great. Yeah, Like I mean, even early season into late October, I'm in the timber trying to find, you know, scrapes that

are pretty big or a cluster of them. So that's basically what I was doing, uh yesterday morning, and what I think, in fact was doing was checking a scrape line going from one betting area to to another one to the north, because between those two betting areas was also a big long red line. So this is a little bit thicker through that open field, and I think they'd like to stay in there. But that's that's what a lot of my tactic centers around is getting near

or close to scrapes. A lot of times that's where a lot of the deer concentrated. There's trails that come together in those areas. So he came out right at first light and a good shot on I mean he ran about seven yards. So yes, sir, let's go, dude, I can ask anything more. So okay, So if you you're hunting a scrape line, Um, how's that deer working in regards to the wind? Is he working into it or is he working across it? Or what do you think? Well,

yesterday morning was working into it. So we had a north wind. It wasn't much. It was about a six long hour. But um, I mean he was not far. He didn't he didn't die much further. I mean he was in line with that scrape. So he hit screap, you walked past me. He was going to another one, and then I think he was gonna work out the field. But yeah, he would he would have been working into the scrape from the direction got you. So how are you able to keep him from getting your wind? It

was kind of off. I was to the east of him, and he was working south to north with a north wind. So you know, I know I was right up where I set up. Um that the thicker stuff was right where he was traveling along, and that's right where I shot him. So I got as close to that thicker stuff as I could get and get a shot, and he just happened to be walking there a little bit of luck, man, you know. I gotta admit it's not like I got him all figured out all the time.

But yeah, what what's like a good comfortable range on Texas Public that you're trying to get deer within ten yards? Yeah, I mean he was at thirty five. I don't know. I actually shot another buck last year at about the same distance. I gotta admit I'm not all that comfortable with it, but at this point in the game, I mean he was a nice broad shots you know, broad broadside shot, so you know I took it. My my my bo has been shooting well. But yeah, if I could get it if I had my choice ten yards

fifteen yards, it always feels better than YEA. So going forward here, as we look kind of up at this upcoming week. I know a lot of the country kind of doesn't look forward to December, but in Texas it's still usually pretty good time to hunt. What do you think the deer gonna be doing, uh, this first week

in December. Um, So, this is my theory, and I could be wrong, and other people might argue with me, but I run quite a bit of cameras and in the last ten days or so, they've been a lot of less active, and a lot of the cameras are over scrapes, um so or thicker areas like that I

assume to be betting. So because they've been a little bit quieter, I'm assuming that they've been in lockdown and they're gonna probably you know, the bell curve is going down, and my my thought would be that books will start to break away from those and start searching more. It may not be as heavy as like you know, Pekraut or right before, but um honestly, my tactic wouldn't change

very much. I'm still gonna try to be close to betting if there's none scrapes, you know, within those betting areas are close by, I'm gonna probably be set up somewhere in there, depending on the wind and that specific spot. It would be, you know, dictating exactly what tree I just set in it in. So it sounds like you got it going on. Man, congrats in the buck. Before you get out of here, scaleing one to ten. What's the buck movement gonna be like in Texas in the

next week? Um, in my area, I'd say seven. I'm pretty optimistic. Could be pretty good. That's pretty good. I like it kind of my area. So I'm all about a seven right now. You gotta be you gotta have optimism too, Yeah. Absolutely. Man. Well, hey, dude, thanks so much for the time and congrats again on the great buck. You guys having me. I've got Garrett Praul, the d i Y sportsman here. He's been doing some hunting in Minnesota. Garrett. What's been happening, man, Oh not too much? Thanks for

having me on. Oh yeah, man, you're welcome. Uh you actually got on a pretty nice buck there in Minnesota recently in the snow. Huh yeah, yeah, it's uh, it's been a nut. I would say a great season, but I definitely can't complain. Oh, I had to shift plans a couple of times, but was able to make some stuff happen, which is always good. Yeah, that's cool man. So, uh, it's snow lock a constant for you, Minnesotna lock from late November on. It will it be white for pretty

much the rest of the season. No, not not at all. In the last couple of years, it's really hit and miss. I love having snow, but I mean there'll be times where you don't really get a lot of snow, say until January or even like February. By that time the season's out. But it can make a huge difference in hunting strategy throughout the later part of November and end of December, for sure. So do you look at that from a tracking and sign standpoint or from a dear

behavior standpoint? Which one is better? More from a sign standpoint for me, And you gotta figure two that other people are keying in on the same things that you can see. But if you don't have snow and it's still cold enough, a lot of the sign that you are seeing is is probably old. It could be recent too, but it should really tough to tell because the ground is too hard for you to oftentimes really be able to see it. And it was this, you know last week,

or was this yesterday? It just becomes much more difficult to tell. Versus if you have snow, that becomes much more clear. So what kind of what kind of things are signs or whatever have you been keying in on lately? Well, believe it or not, the buck that I shot last weekend, I was hitting a scrapeline, which sounds really odd for

late November, but it can't happen. And I would say generally more so than anything this time year, I'm trying to key in on someone's really you know, far off the the common area betting areas thickets, UM doesn't necessarily have to be far back in, but just someplace where

the deer and up and pressured as much. Because all the states that I hunt, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, I mean, they they've all now had several consecutive weeks of heavy gun pressure and that's probably the biggest factor, more so than road activity, more so than um, you know, feeding areas and that sort of thing. Do you find that the pressure from the the gun seasons actually can extend the rut, could you say, you know, like because dear so mal Us did that, they don't get all the

doze bread, so they come back into cycle. I think in some areas there's there's definitely something to that. And I will say that even between Minnesota and Wisconsin, I do see differences and sometimes we all have, you know, bigger bucking bucks moving in daylight. In Minnesota, for instance, that Thanksgiving week can be really good, and I think that's because their gun season comes in right at the

beginning of November and it gets pounded. But then some of the pressure starts to taper off and there's still seasons, but guys aren't hitting the woods is hard, and you'll get some of those those big deer cruising a little bit later in the month of November, Whereas that's the exact same time where Wisconsin's gun season comes in, and I don't see that nearly as much on Wisconsin. Sure some of that late bread activity, so you know, you you kind of keyed in on some late road activity

here with the scrapes and that kind of thing. Now, going forward in the next week, what will you change the focus or would you change the focus if you're out there and what would that be on I would say is still focused on heavy cover. I mean, if you if you find the rough sign popping up, I would definitely be on it. Because it always that first

week in December. It doesn't seem like it's ever as strong as the first week of November in terms of daylight activity, but it seems like, man, every now and then you just have that that real big one that daylights and it's like maybe it was one of your cameras or one of your spots and it was like one deer, not several deer, but if you were in the woods at that time when you were hunting that one betting area, maybe a historical sign you can you

can base that off of um, it's definitely worthwhile, but it's it's not a high odds type of a thing. You know, the moon kind of lines up well. Some would say, uh, for this first week of December where it's going to be a new moon. Is that something you look at much and would you consider that when it's time to go out. Not usually as much. I mean, certainly it's nice just from the standpoint that if you have the opposite, if you have a full moon and

you do have snow on the ground. I mean it's you think you can pretty much see clear as day all night long. Um, how much that matters or doesn't matter, I've not really been able to have put together a solid um I guess conclusion on that. I just kind of look at the GPS studies and they usually seem to say that it doesn't matter as much. But I usually try and with my job just get out in the woods as much as possible and not let that factor in as much. I'd say weather would Weather would

usually get a bigger boote for me than moon. Yeah, That's that's how it is for the working man, right, Like you gotta get in the woods anytime you can, but anytime you can have a confidence booster with that, it would be good. So you know, if the moon is a favorable then you didn't think about it. But

if it's not, don't worry about it. So, Garrett, Um, for this next week, Uh, if you had to rank what you predict but movie to be locked on a scale of one to team, what would you think it would be, I'd say, Well, with ten being as good as it could be, I'd say maybe like four or five. Okay, this time of year is always it's always tough, right, I would say, you know, first week of September is

gonna always rank higher. The run is always gonna rank higher, you know, last week October, first couple of weeks in November. But as far as as far as early December goes, I would say, not bad, um, but not bad for early Decembers in the midwest of the gun season is not as good as some of those other times a year, yeah exactly. But hey, you know you got a hunt the day you're given, right, So we appreciate the uh the report, man, and congrats on a great season up there.

I appreciate it all right now on the phone, we've got cuzz strictly and everybody knows and from Ostio because what's been going on. Man, man, it's all good. You know, we've we've had a couple of colds snaps. I tell people, you know, we don't get a lot of winner way down here. I think it was on a Thursday last year, if I'm not mistaken, but we uh are winner was one day. We uh We've had a couple of colds snap and everything's good. We got some moisture late, so

food plots came up way better than we were. We were kicking rocks there for a while. So it's it's all good, right now. That's good man. Yeah, that's the kind of same for us. I woke up this morning and, um, you know, I don't have a garage. My truck just sits out in the driveway, and so, um, I thought, oh, I just I was taking my daughter to school. I'll just you know, hit the windshield wipers and be on my way. And it was actually the water was frozen

on my windshield. And that's a that was kind of news to me. You know, I didn't know it was getting that cold at night. And uh so it's uh, it's good to be in the South this time of year, though. Man, that's a that's one of those things that people maybe from the up north don't get, is that we have beautiful weather this time of year a lot of times. And it's a it's a good thing. I have you

been seeing the same type of stuff. Yeah, you know, we've had a couple of heavy frost and uh you you get the false narrative that that runs all the snakes in And I checked the Instagram this morning, some guy in Ponatak, Mississippi, found a gigantic rattlesnake in one of his fire pots, and I'm like, they're not done yet. How you get them? Timp's over sixty or seventy, It don't matter how long it's been cold. You better watch out.

So that's right that part. So you've been hunting the Mississippi a little bit, Let's talk about what you've been seeing. I know it sounds like you had a close call yesterday. Maybe, yeah, it was awesome. You know, I don't have a giant place, but uh, several cameras out and I don't check them that often. I'm beat on not encroaching in that area and trying to because you know, you leave some cent on the ground. It's just there for a long time. Anyway.

I got one deer that's that's pretty regular, and a hadson daylight pictures of him, which is pretty rare just because of the area I live in. And maybe it's a straight dead west wind. And I took my middle grandson, Matt. That's Cranky's older brother, Frankie. The look Cranky, the little one. He's got too big deer on his wall Matt's been a good sport, so I'm kind of wanted him to shoot this one. Anyway, it was an interesting thing. We got there and saw dear immediately and they disappeared and

it brocked on the five. Then a five point came out and a pretty nice seven point, and this deer was behind him, which tears you three running together. We're still nowhere near our run and here in my in my opinion, but anyway, the deer walked straight in towards us and then saw something over in the woods to the right and made a hard right and he went

out of my camera view. It was just wide open for Matt, and Matt's like can I seet him and said, all this wait, he'll, he'll, he'll be there, He's not going anywhere, and whatever he was looking at snorted and everybody ran all That fourteen year old looked at me within my eyes wide open, like what just happened? I said, I couldn't see it with the camera and I didn't want to move. But anyway, it was cool because that, like I said, it was three bucks together, not giants.

And then I got a text last night from a buddy of mine, David Allen and he saw five bucks together yesterday on his lease, which is twenty miles from me, and his note. At that he closed, I said, our ruts nowhere near, And I was like, well, that's a good time to talk to you guys. You know, you start you looking at Instagram and Facebook and all this, but you see these giant deer and people down here like okay, we're ready. Well, it ain't gonna happen down here.

That's not this thoroughly that for a little time yet, So in your opinion there you know, Southern deer. Some of my other friends are gonna be mad at it's but Southern deer a little different, right. You and I talked about this on off air will Ago. But uh, in a situation like last night we had that close call and that uh every you know the field feel cleared because something smelled or got weird. How bad does

that affect that buck you were thinking about trying to shoot? Well, you never know, I've gotten I've been on that farm for nineteen years and I can't tell you how many pictures, rare camp pictures. I gotta like three year old deer that never you never saw them again. They just they're vampires, they're weird. They come out at night, and there's little to no pressure on my farm, so the least little

thing I think affects them. They're all individuals, but I'm they ain't no secret that hunting bucks now and here's way harder than it is in the mid in the Midwest, because I used to film them all over and it's just a different game. I don't know why lots of hunting pressure thicker to rain you. The list goes on and on, but I am very careful not to try to spook these dear and U because they I'm telling me,

I've seen them disappear and not come back. So because let me know what you think, you know, is the next week gonna be any better as far as getting into the rut or what do you think about that? Well, it could be. You know, it was a fairly good mass crop down here, and when they're when there's a lot of acorns, I'm gonna say acorns because I know you've got some northern good ideas and uh, when there's lots of acorns, you don't really see you kind of

getting to have it hunting food. Plus we've all done that and the reason I do. It's a great place to see dear and I'm always I always got a kid in told with me. But you know, as the acorns are depleted, you could see more deer in the food plots. So I think it's when it when he

gets to December. Uh. I think the first ten days or so are always pretty slow in my place, and then the closer it gets to Christmas, the magic week in my house on my phone since I moved, there's always been Christmas the three best deer we've ever killed on that farm. Believe it or not, we're all on December and too. I'm just kind of showed up. So I don't have really high hopes until around the fifteenth

of December. You know. That's when I started thinking, Man, we need to go, we need to go, and and uh, just you gotta make yourself wait for that right wind. And I got three or four spots that I can make a perfect approach and a perfect exit without bothering anything. And I kind of saved save those for that time of a a year. Okay, Well, that's good advice, man, I appreciate you. It's coming from a guy. There's a lot

of experience in the area. Uh, last question I got for you, because on scale of one to ten, what's the buck movement gonna be like next week? Uh, I'm gonna say, I'm gonna say it's six. All right. Uh yeah, you know, if we get a good west wind, I'm going back. I'll let that place rest. When it's just a wild guest, i'd say as six. Awesome man. Well, thank you for the information. We'll be talking to you

again soon. Thank you, guys, appreciate the call. Sounds like it is still a great time of year to be in the woods. And if you need a little inspiration or you want to maybe rethink some of your tactics, you should go check out the most recent episode of the Element podcast, episode Too sixty one I Believe, where we talk about how to take yourself out of the

game to actually help you win the game. Also, Tony Peterson has a cool article over and Wired to Hunt about how to bow hunt during guns season yea, and you know Meat Eat Season eleven is out now. They're releasing episodes right now on Meetator's website, The mediator dot com. I watched the Louisy and a Spear Fishing episode. It was really cool. It's very interesting to me. It's right down the road and they're killing some cool fish and eating them and preparing them all different ways. My dude

love to eat them. Man, that's why we do these things. So remember keep it fresh. This is red fresh.