Ep. 854: Rut Fresh Radio - December Deerfest

Welcome to Wired to Hunt's rut Fresh Radio, bringing you the latest reports from the White Tail 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 ca C. Smith and Tyler Jones.

The year's final month is here, But do you have the information it takes to make it in December?

To remember this is Retfresh. Let's go.

Howdy everybody, Welcome to Retfresh Radio. Brock you a first slide year.

I'm your host k C. Smith.

Tyler Jones is riding in the Captain's chair.

Captain Jones, that's him. We are headed out on it another deer hunt.

See here's a little little refresh for the ret Fresh. Texas and the South in general is a wonderful place to be for many reasons, all right, But one of the ones in particular we're gonna discuss right now is that it's December.

And we're still thinking about rutting deer. It's pretty cool, man, and I'm wearing shorts.

You are wearing shorts, which I am surprised because it's it's not that warm. Honestly, we actually have a really good cold front that just came through and it's gonna the cold temps are gonna stick, which is really exciting for us.

I mean, we're looking at mid fifties in the.

Day and low's around frost, and that's that is some good hunting weather. And honestly, I'd say anywhere in the country that's pretty good hunting weather.

I like it because if your rifle hunting, then it's good. If you're bow hunting, and you see just this nice, cool, high pressure days over and over again, a lot of times you just get them swirly little light and variables, yeah, yeah, and bow hunting in those conditions tough.

I will say, what about your shotgun hunt, dude, or straight wall hunting?

I want a shotgun hunt? How about all these I want to buck shot some deer that are running, dude.

Baddy, that would be cool. That would be cool. I've done a little bit of it. It's pretty fun.

We do, so we do.

We pig hunt that way a lot. It's just kind of the way we do it most time. As we'll drive to find these big brier thickets. And that's what some people might call pushing pushing, Yeah, pushing pigs and shooting them with shotguns and buckshot, and it is super effective and super fun. Actually have a bunch of those videos on our channel or a few of them. Yeah, if you're interested in watching.

Speaking of our channel, if you are interested in some deer hunting, we just put out a video that I would love to have you go watch. It's a it's a video where I shot a really great Texas buck during the Texas Rutt.

Tyler Jones himself rattled this deer in for me. It was awesome.

I shot it with a thirty thirty that my granddad bought for my dad's like eleventh birthday or something like that. It was, And it's just like a really cool legacy hunt. A lot of things really come together. It is a beautiful thing. So we'll link that in description below. But I think that that whole thing kind of goes to show that man, just because November is done does not mean that the deer action is done.

Well, that's right, you killed that deer on what the twelfth, twelfth?

Yeah, and I realized we were in Texas in the south, but we were pretty far north in Texas. Honestly, Like, if you look at some if you were to draw a line straight east, we probably would be hitting Missouri at some point in time on that latitudinal line.

So it's definitely not over.

And there's some second rut stuff that maybe out there that we'll ask some guys about a little bit today, because you know, we're kind of all interested in that, everybody, you know, just like the deer, we don't want to miss out on the good opportunities to be able to still get a big buck on the.

Ground, and there is a lot of them out there right now.

Tyler, Yes, just because you do, you know your way around a white tailed deer. How are you say you're a Midwest hunter right now? Are you swapping over to food yet? Are you still thinking about like buck stuff?

I hunt food a lot man, so I wouldn't be afraid to to hunt food or deer moving to food, I wouldn't necessarily be on a field edge right now. I think if I was on private, I could be for sure. But I think if I was on public, i'd probably be. I would be sitting a closer to I'd be sitting closer to dough betting probably and and

So yeah, yeah, that sounds like a pretty good plan, man.

And also like, because we had kind of warmer temperatures around the country, it would seem for the month of November. I know, I saw Mark post about it and how it's been a tough November for him, and I'm sorry, and I feel like there's some people out there that had tough Novembers. You and I particularly had great Novembers, and it kind of might just be kind of to lean towards the kind of the areas that we hunt and the deer that we hunt or whatever.

But it was great for us.

But the cold temperatures that December usually brings, it's almost guaranteed that we'll have some cold mixed with you know, the food sources that you're talking about is a recipe for success for sure, because those deer get on their feet, and deer a lot like humans. It seems like to me they acclimate a little bit so like if it's the first really good cold snap of the first you know, temperatures you're going to see in the teens, even if it's later in the year, then normal those deer really

I agree, I think that. I think you know.

One thing to think about here is I don't know, I haven't kept too big of a pulse on what's been going on outside of this ret fresh stuff as far as like nationwide and what people have been doing.

And then also you pair that with the fact that a lot of people have taken vacation time to go do their hunts already, So you're hunting public land or a.

Piece of private that you don't have exclusive access to.

You could have the woods potentially to yourself and there'd be a plethora of target animals.

Still lands to.

Do, for sure, those deer if you've got say you're hunting a place like we do. We have leases here in Texas, a lot of lease. It's kind of a cultural thing. And you'll lease it with mostly guys, you know. Sometimes you'll lease it with people you don't know. But even if you got like, you know, six or seven guys on a place that you know, those deer in December can the big bucks can still be killed on

Yeah, absolutely, man.

And speaking of laziness, the guys that we have on the rough fresh today are not that they're.

The guys that are still out there getting after it. Tyler, Who do we have on the go today?

Man, We've got uh, you know, one of our former own Michael Stole up in Ohio. He's uh, you know, I thought he's gonna retire once he retired from the Element, but he has been doing some deer hunting up there in Ohio, which is a good place. I think a lot of people kill eate season deer up there too, because they allow corn and things like that. Uh, And there's just so many deer right up there. So we've

On the phone, I've got Element correspondents from Ohio. Michael Stole. He's been doing some hunting up there. Man, what are you seeing in the woods, Jim Christmas.

I'm seeing a whole bunch of public land.

Tiny's that's what are you? I sure? Am? Why didn't you never thought?

I never thought i'd be the person to say I'm passing deer, But I've been passing some deer, have you? But I think I think you guys, I think you guys would agree on these passes.

Okay, I'm trying to give you art of a time. Good job. Just because you miss the spike doesn't mean you passed him.

I didn't miss Yeah, that's true.

True.

Yeah, So what I mean it's kind of later right. Ohio has a very traditional rut. But so what if you're seeing a bunch of deer, you're still on You're on something that's going on.

What are they doing.

A lot of a movement.

Is it's starting to shift back at least I feel like to bed to feed. But I've kind of been hunting it all along, just because I'm hunting like either historical, like I.

Know there's been a lot of deer in the area.

I'm just trying to.

Find the most like the highest concentration of deer and then just try not to screw the area up pretty much. I'm just trying to get a cruising buck to come through checking dose and.

Hoping not to blow the entire area up. It's so much I've done to a couple of places.

As access kind of the big thing then, I mean, that's probably got to be a big deal for public land in general, right.

Access is it's kind of something that I'm I've I think I've kind of figured something out. And the bigger terrain stuff, which I've been using a lot of creek access, which has.

Been helping a whole bunch.

I feel like, I don't know if I was crossing a bunch of trails and some of the other big.

Timber stuff is still kind of.

Foreign to me, so I don't know exactly how the deer moving and the creek kind of lets me, you know, scout my way in still hunt. Really all the above, so water access has been kind of big for me.

Are you doing that when you say creek? First of all, why aren't you saying creek? And second of.

All, is that something that has a lot of water in it or is that like just like a drainage When you.

Say that, I'm saying like you need knee highs.

To go in? Gotcha? Okay? Cool?

So not nothing like too crazy, but just enough, you know, water to wash away my scent pretty much. And I can really, I can really just walk kind of carefree through it as long as I'm staying quiet.

Got you. But you're saying exactly so, uh, do you feel like mornings and evenings are still effective?

I've shockingly enough seen I feel like usually my brain's working more in an evening type of thing, but I've been having a lot more encounters in the morning for whatever reason. I think it has something to do with the main area I've been focused on. I think it's just it kind of is harder to hunt in the evening just because it's further away from AG so in the morning it kind of gives them a second to come back into it, and I'm not, you know, walking in while they're in there.

So if you're you're worried about blowing this place out, at what point do you get aggressive and just do what you need to do to get work.

We're getting there, I mean we're I'm tonight, I'm going in for a more aggressive sit that could possibly blow it up. And that's the only reason I'm really getting more aggressive now is because I've gotten some trail camera pictures up a deer that I would one.

Shoot, and he is.

He's been decently consistent, not saying he's he's gonna get shot tonight.

But I feel pretty.

Good about getting more aggressive now that I know there's for sure a shooter in the area.

Gotcha.

So as you get more aggressive, is that because things are changing on the deer's end, or just that you're getting to the point where something needs to happen.

I feel like the clock is ticking, not.

You know, on Deer season as a whole, you can shoot deer in the in the later seasons, but I just feel like as November is winding down, it's just it's time to get you know, start throwing some hail. Mary's out and if I I burn the spot, go find a different spot that's on a more traditional bed to feed type pattern.

Yeah.

So you're saying that deer deer is still on their feet really well right now, and that it's it's going to start winding down here and being a lot more. They're gonna be a little more reclusive in December.

Yeah, that's how I feel They're just gonna keep I feel like as December goes on, I feel like they're just gonna keep getting closer and closer in on food. And then that makes your access even even more to some of these areas well.

If it makes you feeling better your frid your Saturdays are going to clear up some with.

Another you're definitely gonna have to worry about watching. Yeah, that's right. Okay.

So uh seriously, though, as we look forward to the next week, you know, you definitely have a pulse on it because you you feel like there's like a chicken time bomb here. What are you going to give buck movement on a scale of one to ten for the next week in Ohio?

If I was to say ten is the best day ever, probably six point five.

Yeah, man, I gave it a six.

That's it's just well you just being more precise, kind of like the age. We call them six, but they're actually six and a half. Yeah, I hope that's what you kill out there. Man, appreciate the report for Ohio.

Yes, sir, all right.

We've got our Florida correspondent justin Henry here, and he's been hunting there in Florida where it's the wild East Man, and there's all kinds of different ruts and all kinds of different habitats and all that kind of stuff and weather patterns and everything. Justin tell us a little bit about what's been going on in your neck of the woods in Florida and what the deer been doing.

I think they've actually been on the freaking out a little bit. We've gotten some cold weather, though we don't normally get this early in the year. Usually it's about January before it breaks forty degrees. And we've had a couple or high thirty low forty degree tempts back to back.

So man, it's been interesting, so interesting, And has that done good things to the deer movement or bad?

You know?

I think it's a fifty to fifty truthfully, especially down here in this South. I mean, uh, I think the first day or two of the cold front, I think it kind of freaks them out a little bit. Maybe on that third day, once the temperatures are a little more Uh, I don't know, maybe predictable, I guess, you know, because it warms up pretty good in the afternoon still, I mean it's sixty five seventy degrees, mornings are in the forties.

So so what uh, what would the what would be the biggest change when that stuff happens, in your opinion, into your movement.

I just think back to food. I mean, I don't think there's any different than out in the Midwest. You know, they get a little cold, they get hungry, you know, and our rut, as you said before, rut balances back and forth in between. I mean, the best is still to come up in the Panhandle of Florida. You know, they still got another couple of weeks and it'll fire up from them. But where I'm at, where pretty much we're over it, back to that bed to food pattern for the most part.

So are you hunting mostly evenings? Then are you hunting some mornings too?

Or is this kind of depend on what you got on depending on schedule.

Really, I mean, mornings are always good.

I don't ever steer away from mornings, even in any part of the year. I don't steer away from mornings, especially down here on public land, big woods.

You know, it's not that big of a deal.

Maybe on some more managed area properties it might make a bigger difference, but I don't see a difference in the mornings.

Do you have to adjust for hunting pressure on that public stuff down there?

Yeah, especially since gun season rolled in. The Orange Armies out in full, so it's it's definitely the pressure's in there. So just you know, I mean the sign is still there a little bit off and on. I mean you can still see, you know, more just left over acorns are starting to hit. Cameras are fired up on some of those old acorns that are still on the ground. So, like I said, food bed getting there tight to them and catch them in between.

How much in season scouting are you having to do right now to to find deer.

I'd say not that much. I'm at least recently.

I mean I do think, I mean, I know, I said, with the colder temps that kind of freaks them out. But I do believe that with just the coolish temps, it does keep them on their feet a little bit earlier, or getting on their feet a little bit earlier in the evenings.

What what other food sources besides acrens, anything that you've seen.

Uh, there's I don't know the name of this, these bushes, but I can't I need to figure it out. There's a bush that I've noticed quite a few deer chewing on. It's more like it's almost like a vine, uh, single leaf, single leaf vine on the ground around the pine trees I've been noticing. Uh, I probably ought to do some research and figure out what that is. But just browse does it have thorns? It does have thorns, which is shocking. Okay, Okay,

Yea, yeah cool. So in the next week, do you expect anything to change? What's the weather?

You know, you have an idea what the weather is going to look like, and if that's an effect dear movement in your area.

Yeah, I mean we got another big cold front pushing in. I think I want to say Tuesday, Tuesday ish, So.

Just cold weather. I don't know if it's really going to change much of anything.

Okay, So in the next week or so, if you had to rank buck movement on a scale of one to ten, what would.

You put it at?

Probably go with a solid four and a half.

Okay, okay, not bad. It's worth being out there then.

You think absolutely anytimes it's a good time.

Sure.

Okay, Well, justin thanks so much for the report. I look forward to maybe hearing from you from a different state in the southeast at some point before the year's over with.

Sounds good, Thank you, gentlemen.

Now on the phone, I've got Mike Hunt Sucker and I can call him Mike this time around because I heard his voicemail and he introduced himself as Mike on his voicemail this a second ago. So really, yeah, yeah. So he's from Hartland bow Hunter and he's been up in Missouri. Tell us how the deer movement is looking at Missouri there, Mike, Man.

It's been pretty good this last week. Seems like a lot of deer. It seems like, at least, you know, the places I've been hunting. The rut was a little bit later, and so it seems like they're coming off a lockdown this past week and still see some running activity for sure, but definitely seeing a transition to food sources as well.

So when you say the food source transition, you would be including like mature but in that.

Yeah, absolutely, especially mature bucks that are that are run down and have been just just abusing their bodies the past, you know, six weeks.

So what kind of food sources are doing best right now?

You know, I tell everybody that corn is no matter what time of the year, Like in Missouri, we can manipulate a crop. So we leave standing corn, we can mow it whenever we want it. Uh and uh, there's just not a single thing that competes with it. But that said, standing beans are great right now. We just got about three inches of snow today here in Missouri, and so having that food above the above the snow

So you're talking about mature bucks who run down their bodies and then that in turn, you know, makes you really hunt food sources, which uh kind of sounds a lot like October type stuff. Do you shift back to kind of even evenings only at this point in the year.

Yeah, I mean definitely more key, more on the evenings, but I do have some spots that are great morning spots where you can catch them coming back off those food sources if they are kind of lingering into the daylight hours, you know, with it's really similar to the October, like you said to where those mature bucks, you know, they're starting to care about food, but they still know that they might catch you know, one of those later doughs that are that are still an asteris and so

So talk about like access and set up and all that is. I mean, I would assume with the snow, are these going to be betting closer to those food sources in all overall? Are they going to still be uh generally in the areas they've been kind of spending time in during the early run.

Yeah, they like to be closer to the food sources. And obviously we have over the years strategically placed those food sources you know near you know, known solid betting area areas that we work in, trying to improve the habitat and try to make it more attractive as well. So you know, you want those those high quality betting sources close to the food if you want to see good daylight activity, and a lot of them primarily are set up on the south wind side or of the

So are you thinking at all about any type of rut activity or are you kind of looking forward to a second rut or what's that look like?

Yeah, actually, somebody who's asking me about the second rut just just the other day, and like, you know, I don't think I've ever like banked on any sort of second rud activity, Like even on these farms. You know, there's these farms that we have in Missouri. A lot of them are higher deer densities to where some of the does don't get bred for sure, And so I always see some sort of you know, a buck lockdown

So in the next week or so, do you expect that like bucks, will you know, the buck movement will be essentially very similar to what it is in the last week or is it gonna change much You're still gonna see that rut in action that's going to be very similar or is it gonna Is it gonna start to dwindle?

No, I think it'll be good. I think it'll stay good. Especially we got a cold front coming through. We've had a couple of nice, nice little cold snaps and so we had a crazy mild fall in the Midwest, and uh so getting this cold weather now is really really nice in the deer, Like I said, I've used to wandering around aimlessly during the daylight. So you'll see that morning activity die off a little bit, I feel like, But man, if we get some good cold weather, it

Cool.

So we do have a little bit of cold weather here, uh coming up in the in the next week. Uh So taking that and applying what you just talked about, what would you rank the Bug movie on a scale of one to ten for the next week in Missouri?

Man, I think it's gonna be like a nine.

It's gonna be Wow.

It's gonna be as good as I think, as good as you know Dayanaire, as good as it gets. It's not, like I said, not that crazy late seasons that, but I think it's gonna be great. You know, just a combination of you know, bucks need to need to rebuild like I was saying, but also a chance of potentially catching a dough that's still in heat.

Awesome.

Well, I look forward to some slow motion you know, arrow entering deer during a snowstorm in the next you know, year or so, So I hope.

So, Man, I'm heading out. I'm getting ready to head out now. The snow literally just stopped. And the buck I've I was hunting that I'm hunting late season is ancient, just an ancient old buck that I literally have never laid eyes on ever in my life. But he's like

Well I bet you, I bet you find a way, man, go get him and have great rest of your season.

Mike.

Yeah, thanks, thanks, guys, good catching up.

I'm talking to a very familiar guy for a lot of you hunters out there, Ronnie Couz Strickland. Ronnie, what's going on?

Man?

Well, you know, we got our first official cool snap down here. And this is of course in Mississippi. We have two seasons summer in February.

I'm telling you, hey, we get you on that.

The low last night was twenty five and oh man, it's just an awesome and we just got there with Thanksgiving and after the big spread, my oldest granddaughter, who's a senior in Mississippi State, that's how old I am, we went and sat in a ground line that I've had up for three years on food plot, seeing we could get her to get her a dough and a ten point walked out at four point fifteen and I was in absolute utter shop and she ten ringed it with a crossbow and then all three grandsons, you know,

Yeah, that's good stuff, man.

I tell you, we're here in kind of northeast Texas and we have had some decent weather as well, good cold morning temps and stuff. And I have seen so many dead deer on the road, and it seems like it's in the South and the Gulf States. It's starting to pop off a little bit. How's that cold weather affecting the deer movement for y'all.

You know, I got out my little pass this morning and I got an electric buggy I can ease around on. I don't have a ton of trail cameras, but I can get to them all with that buggy, so I don't have to get out and leave scent and all that stuff. And I saw eight or ten scrapes. I've only seen one in the last couple of weeks, So you're will aware. In Mississippi, depending on where you're at, the root can be different. Right here on my farm, I'm kind of a straight north a little bit northeast

So the four.

Biggest deer we've killed on this place since I've had it, three of them ron Christmas Eve, and uh, these these.

Bucks are just different.

And I know everybody says that, but I'm telling you the terrain, you know, is so thick, the ruts less defined if you would, and uh so that that December the fifteenth to the end of the month is uh, it's when you're gonna probably get some daylight pictures. I saw, Like I said, I was stunned when that that ten point walked that the other day. I was like, what are you kidding? But it's it's just now when you start seeing scrapes like I saw some this morning, which

So speaking of that cold weather that you're talking about, you know that twenty five is going to kill a lot of the native brows and stuff, and those deer I'd imagine they're going to be really looking for some of those green food sources. How are the food plots and how are the deer hitting them right now?

Well, food plots was just drama for me because we were in a drought, and you guys in Texas, you know all about droughts. Anyway, I saw a big rain event coming in late August, which is really early for us to plant down here. But I rolled the dice and I planted all my food plots and got four inches of rain on them. And they wow, nothing short

Look really, really good.

And I saved managed to save some of the turnips and stuff. And that's a big deal. You get, you know, you get turnips and stuff like that when they get a heavy frost. A couple of days in a row, they started getting that sugar content up. So I'm getting at Lancey to see if they're gonna start hitting it. I'm pretty excited.

That's awesome, man. So here in the next you know, a week or so, is it? Do you expect any any weather or anything to affect the deer movement and positive trajectory as we get a little bit closer to rut. I know we're still gonna be early for you if your Christmas Eve is your kind of your date.

Yeah, the extended wather for cass has has it cold the next two days and then I'm sure it'll warm up. You know where I'm at the same way in Texas, I mean Christmas Day you can be in shorts and a T shirt. It may be eighty so you never know. And these deer, yeah, I don't know. If you're ever hunted in Alabama and what they call the Black Belt, those are the most weather fickled deer on the planet. You just absolutely will not see really any buck movement

Okay, So if we're looking at the next week here, with all that in mind, if you had to rank buck movement on a scale of one to ten, what would you call.

It this coming week? Yes, sir, on my farm, I on a scale of one to ten, I put it at about a six or seven.

That's pretty good.

Sounds like it's getting close.

And my little place doesn't get a lot of pressure, so they keep I keep plenty of dose around. That's a whole nother you know podcast saying about you know, get getting your buck to dough ratio down. I believe in keeping everything here, farm sanctuary, food, water cover, and plenty of doors so they don't have to go far. So the dose come to the food plot. So I'd say I'm getting close to that seven mark.

Next week.

I'm I'm I may be a little apprehensive, but I'm I'm telling you about to get there, all.

Right, man, Well cause I appreciate it. Sounds like you got it going on, dude, and I appreciate you coming on and sharing all that information with the listeners.

Well, thank you guys, Happy Thanksgiving, task and happy Mary Christmas. I appreciate you giving me a holler and good luck on your road trips.

Yes, sir, thank you.

Still some pretty encouraging reports from around the country if you haven't tagged out yet.

Believe me, I know I say this all the time. There's like two motives for what I do. It's like deer seasons almost here and then it ain't over.

You know. There's like this thing that gradiates from the element that's called optimism, and sometimes it's you know, a little bit naive, but it's kind of fun being naive from.

Time to sure.

You know, I've forgotten how much I love Michael stole Man, funny guy. I feel bad for him with that OSU loss Man. Do you yeah I had it coming? Do you think I'm actually really glad that they did? Because my ponies were at number nine last week? And I'm interested to see where they end.

Up this week. Well, my eggies didn't even show up for the biggest game of the decade, so I know guys were there. Hey it makes all better, thanks Ty, But I do love those guys too. But yeah.

Anyways, guys, if you do need some inspiration, some optimisim maybe even some naivety, go check out the links below. We have got a really awesome hunt from last.

Year that I talked about earlier. It's gonna be linked in the stuff below.

And there is an article from Tony on how to kill a buck from a natural ground blind, which I think is pretty applicable for a lot of people.

You know, if you're running gun hunting.

One of the things about that needs to be that you need to be okay with hunting on the ground too sometimes and oftentimes natural cover is really great.

So good article. Go check out as well. Did Greg read that.

Article Maybe not yet, but I'll make sure he gets the link to the podcast he.

Does, Manny Hunting.

One this week he showed me, dude, he had like shooting windows that were the size.

Of great fruits.

Man, I'm like, oh, my goodness, that gives me anxiety, bad but I bet you Tony gives.

You a little bit more clue into that kind of stuff. Yeah, for sure. He's a really knowledgeable guy. For sure.

It's worth going and checking out, guys. I hope you guys have a great week. It's a good week to be in the woods. I think we're all getting a little bit colder weather and we're gonna have a good shot at killing deer this week, including k C and myself. We all remember this is ret fresh, Keep it fresh.