Welcome to Wired to Hunt's rut Fresh Radio, bringing you the latest reports from the whitetail woods, presented by First Light, creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. First Light Go farther, stay longer, and now your hosts Case Smith and Tyler Jones.
This is Retfresh Radio. Y'all, I'm your host k C. Smith and you probably noticed, but a cold front rolled through last week.
It was awesome.
A lot of big deer went down and there's a lot of positive reports. However, acorns or acorns, depending on where you're at in the country you're starting to fall, doesn't have a positive or negative impact on your hunt. This is Retfresh.
Let's go.
Welcome to rutfresh Radio. Everyone, brought to you by first Light Gear. I'm your host k C.
Smith.
Tyler Jones is in the building, and Mark Kenyon is on the phone.
Apparently the Boss is here. We're not sure which one that is.
Well, you said the King is in the building. I said that earlier. You said I'm in the building, so oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah yeah yeah.
Well, I mean a number of whitetail bucks have gone down so far. This yeah, yeah, congrats to all who have participated and said thing. One of these people on the phone right now or on the podcast has shot more whitetail Bucks than the other two. So doing what we do, I think that would like kind of point to Kingship, wouldn't it?
How does? How does it work?
Exactly?
Mark way In?
So I'm totally lost right now.
I'm not surprised at all.
You know.
I feel like this is like when you've got a get together with like all your friends, and your friends all have kids, and then if the kids are of a certain age, they can go all play in the other room, and so you most just let the kids play on their own indo of the room, But every once in.
A while you realize, like, oh, it's weirdly quiet over there. I need to go and peek my head in that. That's what I've been doing with the with Wired Hunt's Fresh Radio.
I let the kids go play in the room for a while, but this because like, I need to get my head back here and see what the heck Tyler and Casey are doing.
And now that I've done that, I.
Realized that I had ample cause to be concerned.
Have you ever picked your head in the door and then realize one of those kids is big and then they like wedge your head in between the door and the doorframe with the door and smash it a few times.
That's yet to happen.
Okay, just has been in the realm of possibility marks.
In the cars.
But I think I think what you're trying to say is that Tyler's killed more deer.
Than me this year, therefore he should.
Be the king of wired hunt.
Is that what?
I don't think he really won that position. But no, you can maintain it, Mark or like you have it.
Uh, lots of good things have been going on. Once we get make it past our I'm still middle school Banner.
But uh.
Yeah, you've been doing some hunting, Hullmark apparently a lot.
Yeah, yeah, and I guess that's what these shows are supposed to be about, right sometimes from the field. Yeah, and yeah, I've been out seven of the last eight days here in Michigan, and uh yeah, I have been seeing a lot, have been hunting myself and then also mentoring a couple of new hunters for four of those days. So yes, I've I've had some interesting, some interesting observations.
I can share whatever you want me to share.
I want to know how your mentor hunters did well.
We had a fun hunt. Unfortunately nobody killed a deer. They were trying to kill their first deer with bo both of them so didn't actually feel tagged. But they both had their closest call ever with the deer. So they both, you know, I think, had a really cool experience. They both learned a lot, and both came.
Or just like from being in the woods, hopefully lit it and both now we're poking fun. But I bet they were very appreciative to have you in the woods. If nothing else, you spent a lot of time in the woods, right, And are these kind of newer hunters?
Yeah, so these are two guys were who were new, brand new hunters two years ago and I was actually with both of them when they killed their very first year ever. This was a field to fork program that we host over on the back forty and so I got to mentor both of them separately back in twenty one. Both killed the first year with a gun, and then the year and a half or two years since. I've continued to stay in touch with them and try to
help them on their journey. And we went out together again last year, and then this year we came back to the Back forty and I was hopefully going to give them that final training opportunity and I was hoping we could get their first dear with the bowl now that they've started bowl hunting, but didn't quite come together, but man, it was.
Close, as well as close as you can get.
That's cool.
Well, and if you're listening and you don't know what the Back forty is, there was a series on media that will link to in the show description that kind of chronicled a little bit of the land stuff there on the Back forty for two years.
I think, right, Mark, Yeah, two years.
And then now since then that property is being used for a lot of hunts, like what you're referring to.
So pretty cool deal.
I actually saw in your story that y'all were out there on the Back forty, and I.
Was like, oh, that's cool. I kind of put it together.
You know, I should have kind of remembered that, but you know when you said that, it was like, that's pretty and apparently looking pretty nice out there.
Huh, Yeah, it really is. The habitat is looking great.
That transformation that we started back like five years ago, has been continued now by the National Deer Association. So the volunteers have been doing a great job. It looks awesome. I mean, it looks like a deer and wildlife paradise. Now what's interesting. And I'll just kind of jump right in here with a little bit an observation for you guys that might be useful for the people. You know, we had all sorts of beautiful secluded green food plots
tucked in the middle of switch grass like this. The whole farm is now like really thick prairie and switch grass like incredible cover everywhere. There's nothing that's not great cover now except for these tucked away food plots, which are then tight next to timber bedding too. So I mean, you couldn't ask for a better early season setup. And there's as far as we know, has not been anyone in there in three weeks. But despite that, almost nothing
was keying in on the green food plots. Like we saw very very very little deer activity in the food plots, and the little bit that we did see was very very late, like the last couple minutes of daylight.
What we did see, there's one camera that the NBA has out there and that camera was on.
A red oak tree and they were deer hammering the red oak acorns, and so that was kind of interesting to see that they're really key than on those acorns. And that's something that I've seen on my other spots that I personally hunt. I've got cameras on a couple of spots like that, and they can observe a couple spots like that, and same thing like my cameras that are on green plots. Not a whole lot of activity spots with acorns, a lot of deer.
So that's not a huge surprise.
Right at this time of the year, that's pretty common, but it's very exaggerated. I feel like right now, I think most people that you guys have talked to over the last couple of weeks and that I have all talked about the bumper crop of acorns across big parts of the country. And I think that's the case, Like there are a lot of acorns out there and deer are really getting after them. So you know, that's been something that I've actually last night I tried to key in on that very thing.
I said, all right, you know, it's I've got.
Plots like a hunt but I'm going to dive into the timber right next to where my target buck lives, and there's an oak flat in there that historically there's been a lot deer and and I thought I'd give it a swing in there and count on him king in on those acorns. I'd actually seen two stemi mature bucks doing that on the second day of the hunting season here in Michigan from afar.
I could see them working the edge of these oaks.
So so that's something I've been trying to do myself.
So you've been hunting quite a bit, which I didn't know that you still had that passion as much as you troutfish. What have you been seeing besides that as far as actual like bucks, you know, like, what's the what's the report there in Michigan?
Well, a lot of buck activity despite you know, last week around this time, you know, you had that hot weather across a lot of country, and I took a couple of hunts on those hot days in sort of observation type sets and ended up still seeing you know, good activity.
I can't remember if we talked.
I guess well I wasn't on last week's episode, but the night before the opener in Michigan, I observed my target buck moving in daylight when I was glassing from a hilltop, you know, by forty five mins for dark. And then two days later, like I mentioned, I was out again in an observation stand safer location because of that hot weather, but still in the game kind of set, and saw a three year old and a three maybe four year old buck both moving that last half hour aro on the oaks and then on the.
Back forty hunt.
I was just talking about, you know, late late movement despite that cold front.
I was surprised by that.
With this front that just moved through, you know over the weekend, lots and lots of big deer getting.
Shot all over the place. So I thought, you know.
In this terrific habitat in the back for it, we'd be seeing a lot of early movement, and it just didn't happen for us. But I don't know to what I said, is like, were they all in the timber on acorns. We don't have big timber and a bunch of acorns in the back forty so that could have been happening elsewhere. But we did see a mature buck two nights in a row. One of the guys had it come across in front of him at thirty six yards. It was just too long shot for him to feel comfortable.
So he did see, you know, a good buck moving in daylight. And then last night we saw that same good buck the last like sixty seconds of daylight cruising out of range. So that's a long winded way of saying, you know, both on the warm days and on the great cool, cold other days, I have been seeing decent bucks moving that last.
Hour of daylight still.
And one last thing in my long rambling observation here, I just told this whole thing about how it seems like the deer king on acorns and not king on the green. Right, So I'm going to give folks a little tea. He's a little update on my own personal saga story. So last night I'm thinking I'm getting smart. I'm like, all right, forget these plots. They're king on
the acorns. I'm going to go do that thing I just told you right, which is I'm going to punch into this transition area next to bedding where there should be acorns. I gonna hunt that spot. So I did that last night. Well, I get a update on my cell phone camera overnight like this.
This would be when would have been.
They went on like twenty four hour update.
You do it so it sends right now.
This one sends at nine to fifteen at night, so I get sent after dark, and then I get one cent at like four fifteen in the morning. I have it set on twice, but it's both overnight. I'm not sure why.
That's got kind of a random spread there.
Well, I take that back. That's how it is. The reason I get the two is that they're different cameras.
So I've got some cameras and give me an update at nine fifteen and some cameras give me an update at four fifty.
That's why this is.
Not because those are both good spotlighting times of the day I didn't want.
But what I'm trying to get at here is last night and laying in bed, and I get the pictures that showed like everything that happened over the last twenty four hours. And what showed you is that while I was sitting in the acorns one hundred and ninety yards away, the Y nine was on my green food plot on the other side of the bedding area in daylight.
Hey yeah, that's cool, and I'm not This is actually not me making fun of you.
Are you saying green or grain? When you say that green green? Okay? Gotcha to attune.
To those little small and those those green plots have grains in them.
As well as other things.
So so the plots that I have been observing or have cameras on have been blends. All of my action in the back forty and the other spots of hunt have got some oats, some wheat, some clover, some brassicas, stuff like that.
I hunted brassicas on actually on a piece of public you know, one of those things that the state plants a couple of days ago.
Mark.
I mean, I know said of eight is like a better ratio than fourteen of sixteen. But I'm on fourteen of sixteen right now. So you know, I too, have done a large amount of hunting. I don't know if it means.
Anything to you know, but that's pretty good.
See, I'm tired, tell you the truth of the matter. Glad to be home. But you know, I uh hunted a just prince strictly brassica plaud It was.
It looked like purple tops and icycle radish or dicon whatever you want to call them, and the deer were hammering those things. So that's why I was interested to hear that you were seeing, you know, a little bit of lack of movement on that stuff. But I was in an area that has no oak trees to speak of, So I wonder if that has a lot to do with that.
Yeah, I think it. I think it probably does.
But there's you know, like so many things, there's always exceptions to the rule, and these things change so fast. You know, as soon as I say acorns, they go to green, and then I'll be saying, let's go to green, and then they'll be on a corner who knows what. So you know, that's part of the fun of it, right as you make the best guess, the best prediction you can, but they keep you guessing.
Yeah.
So the you mentioned that that bucket showed up with like a minute left in light the other day. Yeah, you said cruising. Did you mean like rut cruising or just just walking around getting ready to go somewhere to feed.
Yes, sorry, not rut cruising. He was just like moving on a mission. He was not feeding around. He was just on a steady gate, walking along the timber edge and actually was walking along the edge of the switch grass and the timber and then went into the timber and had no interest in the food plot that was just ten yards away from him.
Got you okay, So things can change pretty quickly. Right now.
We've seen a lot of guys that are starting to find some success. Right now, we've had a lot of a lot of the country that's been in coal fronts and that kind of thing. And every day right now, the days are getting shorter. You are a pretty smart guy. And uh, you mentioned something to me that made me feel really idiotic the other day.
Can you can you speak to that a little bit?
I didn't mean. I wasn't planning on publicly shaming you know.
I need it. I need it. It's the only way to stay humble. Mark.
Well, I've been I listened to every week of the Rough Radio podcast because this thing's great.
I thoroughly enjoy the updates.
And a couple of different weeks I heard you talking, you know, the guys.
And Dick, So you know, is the moon impacting things? Is the weather impacting things? Is the diurnal period impacting things?
And like I heard that the first time, and I just thought, oh, he must have misspoke, And then I heard again last week. I'm like, I think Tyler is confusing diurnal with photo period. Yeah, and and so I texted you to ask if that was the case, and you're like, oh, yep, So what I think you been referring to is photo period, which is the amount of
day in a twenty four hour period. And the photo period is basically the thing that is tied to the changes into stosterone levels and deer which changes at a consistent rate throughout the year every year at the same time, because that change in daylight is the same every year throughout the year, and so that is what leads to a generally consistent timing of peak breeding in most deer hears, like outside of those funky places down south.
So so that's what photo period is, and that's I know what you were referring to.
Yeah, let's say, allegedly at the end of all that alleged.
Mark, it's funny, you love you love your constants, and it's good as a deer hunter too, keen on that stuff. But it is those little weird things like that that just make you go, hmmm, what if photo period does mean that much? Like, why are they they're these little side trips or whatever. But that's what makes it fun, because these things are not predictable. Ye, you know, you just cannot just figure them out.
Yes, that is the truth. Yeah, you had a.
Question, They're toole. I was just gonna I was just gonna say, if you knew what the diurnal period was.
Well, I don't think diurnal period is a thing, Tyler. I think you made that up.
No, it's not.
Because diurnal diurnal nocturnal animals or animals that are most active at nights. Diurnal describes an animal that's most active during the day.
Yes, and crepusculary is in the middle. Is that right?
Crepuscular would be most active at the edges. So crepuscular would be animals like white tails that have peak peak activity periods at the edges of daylight.
So, uh, diurnal. There's a diurnal cycle, yes, yes, do you know what it is?
I think it's the fact that like a diurnal cycle would be something that happens like on a daily basis, like a twenty four hour type cycle.
Look at you, you're smart. You're a smart guy. I'm glad to know you.
Manly, I'm gonna take these acclades and I can get them.
Yeah, Hey, I give them to you. Man.
We we're glad to have you back on, man, and to just kind of share your story, and we're sure gonna have you on several more times as much as we can. Things get really busy from this point on for all deer hunters and for you and us as well, So we'll try to try to make sure we stay in touch on this stuff and get updates from you from the field and that kind of thing going forward.
Yeah, Man, Can I give you a prediction?
I would love that.
Yeah, all right.
So I'm gonna say over the next seven days, at least in the areas that I've been looking at in forecast, we've got pretty consistent weather pattern. It's kind of stagnating now for the next two weeks at least, is what I've seen in my neck.
Of the woods. So we had that really hot weather.
We got that first big cold run. I think we had a rush of activity. A lot of people killed deer over the last three or four days. I think it's gonna stagnate a little bit with that weather. It's not gonna be bad, but we're not gonna get this huge burst of new deer activity. I think what we're gonna see is a steady increase right as photo period would tell us, as that testosterone testosterone level rises over the next week, we're going to continue seeing a little.
Bit more activity, a little more activity.
As those bucks are slowly edging towards getting that pre rut action going.
So with that being.
The case, I'm gonna give you a standard Midwest six because let's go.
I think it's gonna be I think it's gonna be decent. I think it's gonna be decent.
I wouldn't expect things to be banging yet, but I think it'll be decent.
And if you're on a deer you certainly have an opportunity.
Man, y'all are on your way to be in Canada. Man, that's a that's a good prediction for sure. I'd probably agree with you, you know, like the same. I've seen our trail cameras. They're on forty eight hour updates, but you know, just to one up you there. But they they have shown a lot of increased movement in the last few days. But then I hunted last night locally and we saw hogs and that was it. What we saw a couple of those briefly, but it was pretty
much just that. And then I my forty eight hour period ended this morning, so I saw my trail cameras this morning that there was no there was like no deer movement overnight or this morning in daylight at all, which was weird because the last few days I've had I've had day move or deer movement over the last few days quite like an increased amount and or about
the same but more daylight, you know. So anyway, it's just I think you're spot on with that prediction that things are starting to level out and become the new norm, and we need something different.
To happen, I think, yep. So, but with this cold.
Front, you know, we had a lot of deer die across the country and a lot of hunters that were experiencing really good movement. So we're gonna, we're gonna, you know, get a few of those guys on the phone right now and chat with them and see if they have the same prediction.
Tyler. Who we got this week, Well, this week.
We've got several guys from different places in the US. We've got Aaron war brittin there in Iowa. He's been doing some hunting with some of his buddies that do the hunting public stuff. We got Clay Nukelem in Arkansas, Arkansas with a W at the end, Dakota Long he's in Texas. He's a good friend of ours. And another good friend of ours Drew Robbins down in Alabama. These guys are gonna give us reports that are gonna hopefully tin anywhere you're at in the US except maybe the northeast.
Maybe we'll hook you up next next week with that one. Now on the phone, have got Aaron war Britain from the hunting public, and you've been up in the Midwest hunting all over the place Iowa, namely, how's that been looking lately?
Man? Real good?
Since this cold front.
We've had a little a little bit different scenario this year, which is not uncommon. You know, each year is a little bit different, I feel like, and you always have got to hunt situations based on whatever conditions you.
Have in the given moment. But this time.
Around, we were very very dry going into the season, so hardly any water. All the intermittent creeks are dry. The only places that deer could get water because I mean it's been you know, almost months without any sizeable rain. It's been pons er or permanent water like creeks or rivers, but all the intermittent streams are dry. And what we noticed, I mean, all the vegetation is dry, even there's not much moisture in it. And at this point in the year,
the crops have dried down. Also, deer are living real, real close to permanent water. That's been the big key that we found, you know, even hunting in that real, real hot weather during the first week of season, it was like ninety degrees and then it fell off and you know, dropped to thirty degrees in that recent cold front. And since that cold front, the buck sign is just ramped way up, Like there lots of fresh rubs, lots and lots of fresh scrapes since that cold front came around.
So we were just driving home from South Dakola this past weekend and there's a lot of harvest happened, which seems early to me. How has that drought affected the crops And do you think they're pulling stuff out earlier than normal?
I think they are, but that's probably just based on the lack of rainfall and the yields this year are poor in a lot of areas from the drought. But yeah, we're seeing the same thing. Crops are coming out for whatever reason. Though we've seen decent acorn crop. You know, it depends on.
The area that you're at.
I was at one area the other day and there was gobs and gobs of white oak and red oak acorns on the ground and deer were smoking them. And then I went thirty minutes down the road and there was very few acorns and you know, a swath of timber that we worked through, so it's it's hit or miss, but there's definitely on acorns and that's where we've been finding lots of bucks sign and lots of first straps and stuff. Hadn't seen a lot of scraping activity until
this recent front, but been really really ramped up. Had a nice buck come by working scrapes just two nights ago.
So would you like, if you're looking into the next week, would you suggest checking scrapes out, maybe hanging cameras over them, or even hunting them on an afternoon that you get off.
Oh for sure.
I love hunting scrapes, especially during bo season, just because it puts a deer on a spot you can set up well with the you know, down wind of the scrape. In a lot of situations, you can wait for the deer to get there. You can, you know, it gives you a really good high odds chance at killing a deer. You can put yourself within twenty yards of them. You can wait for the deer to get there and start working the scrapes. You can come to full draw and
then wait for your opportunity. They don't work every time, obviously. If you're just walking along the edge of a nag field and you're finding ten to fifteen fresh scrapes there, that's pretty good ways from any sort of secure bedding area. I wouldn't fool with those. I'd put cameras over those.
But if you're finding scrapes back in the timber, you know, on a secluded oak flat or something like that, especially close to permanent water this year, I would be looking at that pretty hard here in the next few days.
If if you see a if you see a storm come through and you're in one of those dry areas right now, that that the deer using that water heavily, does that knock them off those water patterns? You feel like, are you more apt to go back to scrapes where they might be freshening stuff up or or what do you think?
A jury's still out on that one.
I don't know. I'm kind of waiting for that to happen and see. Yeah, because like I said at the at the beginning, every year is a little bit different. And I think just because it's been so dry for so long right now, there's very little like succulent greed and food sources other than natural brows because that stuff, that stuff's got deep roots and it pulls moisture from from.
Lower than a lot of you know.
Grasses or even food plot crops. So I don't know, I mean, everything is just so so dry that we've noticed that that's where all the deer are concentrated at is anywhere close to permanent water. And and when we're close to permanent water, we're finding a lot of scrapes and rubs because that's where that's obviously where the bucks are. I mean, we target those areas on a year when it's not dry, just because big bucks often will put themselves in a spot real close to permanent water.
As far as your betting area choice, will go.
But that's especially evident this year when it's really really dry and they can't because there's there's the moisture content in the brows that they're eating.
Right now is so low that they've they've.
Got to have some sort of permanent water source close by.
I mean, we sat upon the other day that was.
Real close to a parking lot on public land that gets pounded, and I think Ted saw eight or nine deer.
Man, that sounds like a good hunt early in the season.
Dude, I'm glad they already on that hard if you were looking forward to the next week, I need you, if you would, to rank what you expect the buck movement to be like on a scale of one to ten.
Oh, man, I don't know.
Depends on where you're at.
Well, Southern, I will give me that one. That's what I need to know.
Well, it even depends on where you're at in the woods. You know your situation, how tight are you to the betty? But I would say overall, it's going to be pretty good. I would if I had my choice, I'd be hunting cold fronts in October over any other time.
M hm.
So I would say seven or eight, especially if we get a really good front here later part.
Of this week.
Man, that's a pretty exciting time. Man.
That's seven or eight in southern I was about as good as it gets. So that's a good time to get out there. And I'm sure y'all will. Dude, I appreciate the report. Thanks, no problem.
Man.
On the phone, I have got meeters on Arkansas's native son, Clay Newcombe.
How are you today, sir?
I'm doing great, Casey, doing just great.
That's good man. Well, I know you've been doing a little light til hunting. In fact, we were talking mid hunt this past week. We were both giving each other some you know, a little bit of encouragement, and I wanted to see how that went for you.
Man. How has the hunting been there in Arkansas?
Man, I have got a fresh load of not great news from the white tailed nukem world down here.
I have.
I've not had a real great season so far, just man, hadn't been seeing hadn't been finding much buck sign, hadn't been getting pictures of any deer, which usually I am this time of year, getting pictures of deer over feed, sometimes getting pictures of deer over mock scrapes and different stuff, and I don't really understand.
It completely, but I have not.
I actually didn't even hunt much this last weekend because I just was.
A little just kind of waiting.
You know, I've got your spots that I don't want to bombard too much until I'm pretty confident that there's a deer there that I want to kill.
I can kill him.
And so I spent this last weekend, which was an incredible cold front, you know, October's first cold front. I know a lot of guys here that killed good deer this weekend, but I was not one of them.
So yeah, that's it's it's tough, but you know, I understand that the patient game is is good. You and I were talking about some bear hunting you've been doing up there, and you were targeting acron ridges. Do you think that the acorns are having an impact on the white tails where you're at as well?
Well, that's that's part of the deal is I've not really found I've yet to really find big concentrations of acorns, and usually that's the that's the bear story.
If you can find the acres, you can find the bears.
But I think some of the acorns are holding a little longer than they usually do. They're not falling. But also there are just not as many here in the places where I'm at. I've not found a lot of acres.
We're kind of seeing the same thing clay down here where we're at in East Texas. Now, as far as you know, the playing the slow game and being conservative, are you are you waiting on something in particular? Are you waiting on just stuff to show up on trail camera?
Are you work well on conditions or what?
Okay, So the specifics of my situation this year is I lost a farm that a big farm for me that I've had access to for twenty years, which has kind of locally allowed me. I didn't realize how good I had it until it was gone, and I so I lost like ninety percent of my hunting ground, and I'd relied on it so much that I just didn't have a lot of other stuff up now. I and also because I had this private I have not invested a ton in local public land hunting.
Okay, it's complicated.
Story, boys, and so, but the ten percent of the remaining private permissions that I have are small properties. So basically I woke up to this year and it's like I have a couple of very small properties that I'm hunting that I have had to be conservative, had to be conservative in because they're so small, if that answers
your question, Tyler. Yeah, so, and there's just not there's one good deer that I've got on camera in nothing fancy, I mean like one hundred and twenty five inches a year, probably, which I would I would hunt him like a Boon and Crockett and I will, but I have just not really got him on pattern. I've got him on camera two or three times, random, no pattern. And it's a
small property. So it's not like I can go, well, I know where he's bedding, or I'm going to go over on this ridge and see if I can find him over there. It's kind of like he's either on my place or he's not.
You know.
Well, And so that's why I found myself being conservative.
But losing the losing the public.
Has pushed me back to kind of my roots of local hunting, which is I did go on some public land.
It's a long story.
I do hunt public land every year in Arkansas, a long ways from my house.
Yeah, okay, that's all I'll say. I travel and hunt public.
Yeah, I would say any public U hunts way away from my house too.
It's the way.
It's definitely the thing to say, you know nowhere near you home.
Yeah. Yeah, So exactly looking.
At the weather, we we you know, the moon's kind of going away. It's gonna be kind of low. I don't know if you think about that much. But we have fairly monotonous weather coming up for like even the tea forecast. There's a little bit of a front I think this weekend, but it's you know, we're looking at a real similar stretch of days through here.
Well, that being said, and thinking about.
The acron situation and what you have to hunt, what do you think the buck movement's going to be like on a scale of one to ten over the next week.
Probably like a five.
I mean, I don't I think that the middle of October for where I'm at has never been great. It feels like to me, you know, after about the twentieth of October.
Anything could happen. I mean, you could.
Have a buck on a dough that is you know, I mean a dough in heat. It's it seems like you know that that that and that causes bucks to be moving around a lot more.
To me, the twentieth of October here.
In northwest Arkansas is time to start getting serious and to start being less conservative in terms of like, now's the time to hunt your good stuff the next ten days. I mean, I'll hunt anytime that I get a chance, and anything could happen. I was just talking to some guys today that last may not have been last year, maybe been two years ago, but on October the fourteenth, they saw a giant buck locked down on a dough. I mean, like, straight up, she was in heat, he was.
I mean, you'd have thought it was November the fourth how about that? And that was on October fourteenth.
And I think it feels like in this part of the world we're.
Seeing kind of these longer ruts. I don't know if that's anecdotal and not real, but it feels like anything could happen a little sooner. But I don't anticipate. If I was waiting for days to take off, I wouldn't take off.
Gotchafter the twentieth of October.
The quality information we need there, Sir Clay Nukem of Arkansas Buck Truck Fame, where we hunted together down in Arkansas and play on the public ground.
Clay.
We appreciate the insights, sir, and uh, I'm sure we'll be talking to you soon. Can't wait to see how your season unfolds.
Well, I've been enjoying seeing how y'all's has unfolded, and it's been good.
So good job to y'all.
On the phone, I got to the Dakota along with Cotton Creek Outdoors.
He's been doing some hunting down in Texas. What's up, dude, Hey k C.
Thanks for having me on.
Oh yeah, you're welcome. Man.
You know, actually, from where we sit, you're up in Texas because you're a little further north than US's not a whole lot, but I think that the general public doesn't realize how big the country of Texas is a monster place. Uh, it's almost like we're neighbors and we're three hours apart. So, dude, I was scrolling socially the other day and I saw a big giant buck and I saw a big old smile from you right behind him.
The other day. You shoot shot you a big one, dude, Yes, sir.
Yeah he was.
He was a really cool buck.
As my biggest deer to date and it was, uh, it was pretty I made a batch you out on him, but hey, that's part of bow hunting sometimes.
We we we recovered him though.
That's great, man, I'm glad you got him. So, uh, what tactic were you using hunting that deer?
So, uh, you know, we're we're hunting over like gravity fed protein fears out that way, so it's more of a feed feeding situation on on our side.
And then but the deer hadn't been hitting it as much.
Everything's kind of starting to change, as you guys probably have seen with cameras and that kind of stuff. It's they're they're going to the woods that I've seen or uh, they're been hitting locust trees a lot, eating those those beans, and they've just been inconsistent on fears. Uh, the bachelor groups are really starting to break up. From what I can tell, they're not you'll still see bucks together, they're not really fighting. Some of the young bucks are are
kind of sparring, but it's there. They're really not consistent on the feed anymore, at least the mature deer aren't.
Yeah.
So I actually saw a truck and pictured this morning of a deer eating a locust bean pod, which is interesting. You mentioned that do you guys have live oaks out there where you're at.
Yeah, there's a few.
It's there's not a whole bunch, but there is.
Some, Yes, sir, do they are they dropping? And are you seeing any deer hitting them?
Yeah?
So the ones we've seen.
Actually, the night I killed my buck, there was some younger deer that actually went over to uh. I guess it was a live oak, but it was kind of a low hanging one, and he stood up on his back feet and was shaking those limbs and getting that those acrons to fall the hand.
They're still over there for.
Fifteen or twenty minutes before they ever came over and to the feeder.
What are the chances that he's browsing leaves off that thing too?
Yeah, yeah, there's a very good chance of it.
Yeah.
And at first I thought he was making a scrape, and I was like, no, he's not making a scrape.
He's shaking that tree and getting acrons off of it.
Would you say that there are more deer that are eating off those acre trees, off those live oaks, or or around them, or there's more deer that are coming to protein feeders.
So I think it's it's a little mixture of both because it's a like every third day, those mature deer will come back to the feeders, but they're they're staying in the timber.
I mean, they don't have to go anywhere.
Mm hmm. Yeah. Has the cool front affected the deer movement?
Yes, yes, I've seen a lot more doze on cameras, and they're really I don't I don't think they're they're packing up quite yet, but they're they're not as consistent as they were on their like summer feeding patterns.
That's for sure.
Yeah.
So if you were looking forward, you know, the the weather for textas at least where we're at, is really monotone for like the next ten days. Is that what you're kind of seeing as well? Or do y'all have some fronts going out there further west?
Yeah, we got one front coming in I think like Friday night is what it's looking like, and then by Monday it's gonna be kind of back up in the eighties. So I think it's gonna be maybe a couple.
Of good days of some some bucks.
Like hitting you know, a food source or there. It's gonna uh and then I think it's gonna kind of just mellow out and you're gonna be kind of seeing the same younger deer for a few days and those when it warms back up. I feel like those those big bucks they'll kind of, you know, stay stagnant for a little bit.
Yeah.
So with that loom in, I suppose you got kind of like a little bit of a window there looking at the next week. If you had to rank what you thought buck movement would be like on a scale of one to ten, what would you say it is for Texas for the next week.
I would I would give it a seven.
I don't think.
I think.
I think you're gonna still see some some big some big bucks moving and a lot of younger bucks moving for sure.
How about that, man, that's a good that makes me want to go get in the woods right now. This is well not right now, but this weekend. You say that, that sounds a right all right to me.
I feel like we're.
Going to get you know, in the it's looking in the upper forties and the in the like Friday night, I think so, I think that Saturday is really going to get their the deer on their feet and then it'll kind of back off, you know as the beginning of next week starts. But I feel like it's really really going to give him a good push, I hope.
Awesome.
Man, Well, thanks, report really appreciate it and hope you have a good rest of the season.
Dude, you bet I appreciate y'all.
I got our friend Drew Robbins. He's been hunting in Alabama. What's going on, dude.
Man, Not much, brother, just trying to take advantage of this cold weather.
It's cool weather that just.
Moved in, and so we're excited about that and so hoping to get out a couple more times in the next couple of weeks and try to get something else down on the ground that's cool.
Man.
So you know, we are Southern Brethren, and around here we call them cool fronts because it ain't really cold yet. Do you say that where we're at too, well, we we call them cold fronts.
And so, but I mean, you know, y'all, are you know Texas Brethren over there?
You know, eighty from ninety to eighty.
Five is a cool look at it, you know.
So have you all been out getting after de youer pretty good already.
Yeah, Yeah, we've been out and uh it's been keenan on some uh you know, just just the traditional early season uh you know, acrons and uh we we had a really wet summer and so in our neck of the woods, it seems like we have a really good, uh bumper crop of acorns this year. And so that's what we've been keenan and on. Guys that I know have been keenan on is is that stuff right there?
So do you guys have like that kind of traditional American white oak or using You've seen a lot of different stuff dropping in your area.
Normally it's the white oaks that are that are early season, and then once you get a little bit later, uh you know, the red oaks will start dropping. And so but that's that's were mostly key on is wide oak. But that's also because we have death majority of the oaks around here.
Is that So are they deer using them right now?
Yeah?
Yeah, you're seeing that?
Yeah, Yeah, So it's it's it's one of those things.
It's a double edged sword in the sense of if you can find the one that they are about, then man, you have a really good chance of at least seeing there but also harvesting. But also since we had such a wet summer, like I said, they don't have to travel very far, and.
So we have We have quite a few of the.
Of the oaks up in our area, and so maybe in South Alabama and in South Georgia might not be as much, but we have a lot of oaks up here and so so they don't have to travel as much, which makes it a little bit more difficult. But like I said, if you can find that one and you're you're in the chips.
So we were talking to Mark Kenyon earlier and he said that the acorns are affecting the movement they're seeing on like food plots and stuff. Have you noticed any of that? Are you seeing less moving on food plots? So they still hitting the green fields and stuff like that.
Yeah, they're they're they're hitting the green fields just a little bit.
I actually set over at Greenfield opening day or opening afternoon, i should say, and I killed a dough but it's not near as.
What it was as compared to last year.
Just for example, I got a couple of cameras on some food plots that that I lease and have permission on, and then we were getting slamm last year with with thoughs, and this year it's not nearly as much.
And so because they're they're on the milk's hard right now.
So being down in the southern part of the US, you have a later rud I'm assuming, uh, at least in party estate. Does that mean that the technical early season patterns last longer as well?
Correct?
Yeah, we we're seeing down here, and I mean, you know, the the early season pattern could last into you know, uh, first of November. But it's also unique here because we also have rud activity around that time as well.
And so.
But really, once you get that first real good frost I'm talking about, like real good one, that's kind of when and at least what I've seen, the early season patterns really start to dissipate and then they start to they start to spar a little bit and start to kind of fill their oat some. And so we had a nice cool front move in this past weekend and dropped it down and it was in the low forties.
But traditionally it'll get back hot again or.
Warmer, and then we'll have another real good one in the first of November. And if that's when we really see them start to break up and really start to spar a little bit and lay down a lot more. Buck sign is when we get that first good frost.
Gotcha.
So in the next week, thinking about variables that can deal with weather or the photo period, or maybe even food sources changing or whatever it might be, maybe the moon, what do you predict the buck movement to be like on a scale of one to ten in the next week or.
So, one to ten, I would probably say a five, just uh yeah, just.
Middle middle there there the road just coming.
Off a what I would call probably like a seven, you know, of the past week that it's gonna warm up some also it's it's it's weird because the reason they're also not hitting food plots is a lot of guys don't have food plots down in the ground yet because we haven't had a whole lot of rain once the calendar hit September, so we got a ton during the summer, and then once it hit uh you know, uh September, which I know for some of the southern states that's the openers.
We didn't we didn't get a whole lot of rain here in Alabama.
So that's another reason we're not seeing a whole lot of activity on on Greenfield. So I would say, man, uh just to average five, you know, just average hunh week, gotcha.
Well, thanks for the report man. I look forward to seeing what you put down on the ground this year. And uh hope we'll be talking to you soon.
Thanks fellas, say you.
After listening to these guys, I am pumped to go deer hunting.
Man.
It's here, guys, power, it is dad. Come to your season. As we like to say around here. You can get out there and chase around with a boat back here anywhere in the country now. So it's an exciting time to be one hundred's exciting time, a good time to be live. There's a great country and Western song by Travis Tripp that had a lot to do with that at one point in time. It might be what we need to listen to in a way to stand next time.
If you need to feel inspired and you've done listen to Travis, but you want to maybe watch something, you need to go check out the latest and greatest episode of Buck Truck.
It's from Texas, a very own home state.
There was a Texas report here and Mark Kenyon, who also was in the intro today was on that hunt as well. Mark elects to make a decision on a buck in that video.
You need to go watch it and see if it was the right or wrong decision. Let us know what you think on that.
Also, the last episode of One Week in November should be live on the Meat Eater channel as well, so go check that out if you haven't. And that's what I know, guys. It's rout fresh. It is time to get out and hunt some deer. This has been rut fresh, Keep it fresh.