00:00:01 Speaker 1: What is going on? 00:00:02 Speaker 2: Welcome to another episode of Ruff Fresh presented by Moultrie. This is Jake Hofer and today is Veterans Day. So first off, thank you for all the veterans who have served and we have a great episode here lined up. A quick gut check, strad session, recap of some big bucks hitting the dirt across the country. We have Nate all the way in Delaware. 00:00:22 Speaker 1: Who tagged a giant deer. We get a recap on a buck shot in New Jersey. 00:00:27 Speaker 2: And a recap on the rut and strategy session here in Illinois. 00:00:31 Speaker 1: We're going to go ahead and get right into it. 00:00:32 Speaker 2: Started off with Nate in Delaware. I hope you guys enjoy this week. Things are getting a little long. We're marching right through the month of November. Remember, we're going to be missing this month. We're going to be begging for it to be November 11th through the 18th again. So get out there, enjoy it. And we have some weather. We actually have a little bit of weather coming through here. Not going to give you the weather report in depth. I'm not going to tell you about the moon. You just need to be in a tree. And it's that simple. Hunt smart, hunt hard, and good luck. Here is Nate from Delaware. All right, we have Nate. from Delaware of all States who tagged, tagged a giant man. Congratulations. 00:01:12 Speaker 3: I appreciate it, bro. Thanks for having me, man. 00:01:15 Speaker 1: Absolutely. So let's just jump into it. What's the, what's the story? It's November. You tagged him November 5th. Uh, things are cooking. What happened? 00:01:24 Speaker 3: Things are cooking, man. 00:01:25 Speaker 2: Yeah. 00:01:25 Speaker 3: It's, it's crazy. 00:01:26 Speaker 4: Cause you know, like everywhere else, it's been a really warm back end of October. Um, warm start of November, uh, Over here, we actually did have a pretty hard frost. I think it was towards the end of October. It was October 24th and the 25th. We had a really hard frost. That really got these bucks moving, man. They just didn't really stop. I have a small piece of private that I hunt. When you put it all together, it's about 14 acres where I've really been concentrating my time. You know, over the past couple of years, we get big bucks on camera. I got a big buck last year, November 2nd. So I knew the timeframe where they start moving. And yeah, and then the buck I was after got him on camera about three or four different nights, but nowhere near daylight. We're talking two hours before, two hours after. So that first week of November, it was November 5th. We had a rainy morning. It was 17 and a half degrees off normal, which is crazy for that time of year. I just had a good feeling, man. So I jumped in the woods, got in there around 630. I've been starting to do this whole gray light entry. I'm starting to hear more and more people talking about entering during gray light. 00:02:49 Speaker 3: I think for my setup, it works. I'm hunting on top of a ridge. Really, it's a pinch point on a ridge. 00:02:58 Speaker 4: So I'm learning more about how Entering too early can really mess up with your thermals, your scent. I'm really big on hunting on your scent, your good wind. So that's what I did. It was a perfect wind for me. Got in there during gray light, sort of raining probably around seven o'clock. And it rained until around nine. And I just had a feeling. I was like, man, it was just warm. You know, it just smelled deery. You know, when that rain hits the ground, you can smell it, right? I don't know if you know what I'm talking about. You can just, it just smells of the scent, right? Um, and he had about nine 35, the rain finally stopped and here we came in 15 yards. I had probably about 15, 30 seconds to stand up, make the shot and it happened. And dude, I have it so quick. I called my brother right away. Um, he, he knows the deer I was after. Um, you know, it was, it was awesome, man. Just the way it worked out. 00:03:53 Speaker 3: It's November. 00:03:54 Speaker 4: I mean, you just can't beat it. You can't, anytime you're in the woods in November, you can't beat it. 00:03:59 Speaker 5: Yeah. 00:03:59 Speaker 2: Yeah. I think there's, there's a, this is what we've all been waiting for. Those, those types of magical moments. And man, we all, we all love calling, uh, whoever, whoever your first phone call is after, you know, shooting a box like that. That's really awesome. So the question for you in regard to gray light. So we're, we're in, you know, I called last week, the Superbowl episode for whitetail hunting, but this might be super Superbowl junior or maybe just as equally as exciting time, uh, depending on what part of the country you're in. But Do you have any FOMO as you go in late? Like, do you feel like you're running behind or like you have that game plan and you're like, hey, this is what I need to do. 00:04:36 Speaker 1: Yeah. Does that make sense? 00:04:39 Speaker 2: Like, I feel like I'm late. Yeah. No. 00:04:42 Speaker 4: So I'll be completely honest how I got into this. I heard people talking about it. I'm also I'm a golf course superintendent. OK, so I have a lot of natural land around me. right there where i can watch deer i can see the movements that really helps me out i think this time of the year okay so um there's many times where right like i'll get my guys going in the morning this this weather's perfect right but it's this time of year and it's it's already 6 6 30 sometimes 6 45 7 um and i just started using that time i was like you know what let me let me just start creeping in. 00:05:23 Speaker 3: During that gray light and see what happens and it just always worked. 00:05:28 Speaker 4: Even I've, I've even ran into deer while I'm doing it and I've bumped a few, but I've never had any blow. 00:05:35 Speaker 2: Right. 00:05:35 Speaker 4: So I think until I bump a big buck walking in, I'm not going to have that FOMO. 00:05:41 Speaker 1: Right. 00:05:41 Speaker 4: So I hear more and more guys talking about it, man. I think I've heard you talk about it before too. And, um, I think there's really something to it, especially where I'm hunting, right. Where I'm at the top of a Ridge and I do have thermals that are dropping. And I think that, that whole, you know, I don't think it's conspiracy anymore, but the scientific background to support that is there. Um, I don't know. I, I, once I started doing it, I'm like, there's, for me, I have not been given a reason not to. 00:06:09 Speaker 3: You know? 00:06:10 Speaker 2: Yeah. 00:06:11 Speaker 1: Now that, that makes sense. 00:06:12 Speaker 2: And so for, for folks who are, you know, listening to this, uh, maybe, maybe they took their vacation this week or maybe they're, you know, they're calling in sick, whatever the case may be 11th through the 18th. Um, You know, discussion of lockdown. I mean, I think that would be, you know, a phase that we're likely entering to some degree during lockdown. What advice do you have for someone that is maybe getting a little frustrated, maybe a little tired, maybe like, man, I don't really, do I even know how to deer hunt anymore? Like there's probably someone that said that in the last week. What do you say to them knowing it's the 11th or the 18th? And it's still November. Like what, what advice do you have? 00:06:55 Speaker 3: Did you just got to keep staking it out, man? I mean, it, I don't get me wrong. 00:07:01 Speaker 4: I love hunting pattern deer, but there's nothing like November and it can flick at any time. You know, like I have a brother that's down at deer camp in Virginia this year that I luckily skipped out on. 00:07:13 Speaker 3: Right. 00:07:14 Speaker 4: And ended up slamming a nice buck. But, you know, they're not moving the same as they are up here in Delaware. And that's only, we're only talking a two and a half hour difference. So it just all depends, man. Like I've shot and seen so many box crews, even just this morning, there was box crews and all over the course. It's November. I mean, I think everybody knows the answer to that. 00:07:37 Speaker 3: It's November. 00:07:38 Speaker 4: You got to be in the woods if you can. Use the PTO, get your honeydews done. You know, it's the time. And it's just when you're going to see those guys making those mistakes and hopefully in the right spot. 00:07:52 Speaker 2: Do you think, um, on the aggressive meter, like, you know, let's say you've been kind of tiptoeing around, uh, you know, every day you wake up, you see the calendar date change, like November 7th, November 8th, now November 9th, November 10th. And like, you can just feel the month starting to slip away. Do you think it's a fair idea if you've been hunting hard and you haven't been, you just don't feel like you're in it. Do you think it's, it's, not crazy just to call a complete audible and just like hey i'm just i'm gonna go get where i feel good again because i personally i feel like so much of november is just in between our own ears like when you think you're in it you probably have a great hunt when you don't think you're in it you probably don't have a great hunt yeah no 100 man and. 00:08:38 Speaker 4: I think you had a guest on maybe your last episode that he really he did good he's like man he's like don't hop around too much right like For me, for instance, my setup, I put in some hours. Last year, I hit my November 2nd. The year before that, the bigger buck was the end of October. I was getting towards November 5th, and I'm putting hours. I have some logs of time. I started second-guessing myself. Maybe this spot isn't it. Maybe it's more of an afternoon spot than a morning spot, but you've got to stick And that's what it comes down to, especially as least stick, stick in some food, right? Some brush berries or, um, and in November too, just hunt the does and the bucks will come. 00:09:24 Speaker 3: Right. 00:09:24 Speaker 4: I don't know. I, for me, it's just, you got to stick it out. You got to stick out, stick to your gut, sit where you think is good. Um, cause you know, you know, the time you do, you go somewhere else that, that buck's coming right to where you were sitting. 00:09:38 Speaker 3: That's just how it works. 00:09:39 Speaker 5: Yeah. 00:09:40 Speaker 2: If there was a count, if there was a counter across, the country for white tail hunters and the word Murphy's law. And you could see like a, a chart in November. It would be Murphy's law gets said the most, uh, in the month of November. Cause it does feel like, you know, you zig, day zag and that's that's part of why 200 and that's ultimately why it's so rewarding when it comes together that's why it's so sweet and so I yeah so so let's say November 11th through the 18th weather considered you know all factors considered scale 1 to 10 10 being the best week of the year 1 being one of the worst weeks of the year where do you rank it and why. 00:10:23 Speaker 4: I'm thinking we're still at an eight or nine, man. I mean, you're still, you're still in the middle of November, right? Like for us, we've been really warm. I mean, we've been in the seventies as a high the last week. Um, you know, as the golfer superintendent, like my grass is growing, like it should be shut down right now. 00:10:40 Speaker 1: Right. 00:10:40 Speaker 3: Um, so I look at it like that too. It's supposed to cool off. 00:10:45 Speaker 4: Um, we got really cool mornings coming highs in the fifties. Um, I think this is when you're really going to start seeing the mature bucks turn on. The young bucks have been chasing like crazy right now. Um, you know, it's, it doesn't have to be the same. 00:11:00 Speaker 3: Thing every year, right? It's why it's the November rut, right? We just got to be in the woods and ready. 00:11:07 Speaker 5: Yeah. 00:11:07 Speaker 1: A hundred percent. Well, congratulations once again. Thank you for representing. Thanks for representing. 00:11:12 Speaker 5: Yeah. 00:11:12 Speaker 1: Thanks for representing Delaware. 00:11:14 Speaker 3: Uh, I want to say. 00:11:15 Speaker 4: Something because you said, you said, you said back, you said, um, I didn't think there were bucks like that in Delaware. 00:11:21 Speaker 1: I did say that. 00:11:23 Speaker 4: Any listeners out there from Delaware, shoot this guy a text or your buck. 00:11:28 Speaker 3: There's some monsters down here. You got to come out. 00:11:30 Speaker 2: All right. 00:11:31 Speaker 1: I love it. I love it. 00:11:31 Speaker 2: Well, thank you so much, Nate. If people want to find you, congratulate you. What's the best way for them to do that? 00:11:36 Speaker 3: My Instagram at Nate4Wood. 00:11:39 Speaker 4: I'm just kind of a normal dude and dad with two young girls and a wife trying to get out and hunt outdoors as much as I can. 00:11:45 Speaker 3: So I appreciate it, man. I appreciate you having me. 00:11:49 Speaker 2: Awesome. 00:11:50 Speaker 1: Congratulations once again. 00:11:50 Speaker 3: All right, Jake. Take care, bro. 00:11:53 Speaker 1: All right, next up we have Nick from New Jersey. This is special. This is special. 00:11:58 Speaker 2: Nick, you edit Rot Fresh and so much for the Meat Eater team. And so, you know, over the weekend, tell us what happened. 00:12:06 Speaker 6: Well, this I knew was going to be probably the only day I get to go out in November. So for me, I was, you know, I was thinking of moving my stand because my spot hasn't been very hot this year. Uh, but I decided, you know, I'm only getting out one day. I might as well just hunt it. So, uh, we had rain Thursday, Friday this week. Uh, and then Saturday it ended and we had a temperature drop of 10 degrees. So like, all right, this looks pretty good. So I decided to go out. I couldn't go out in the morning. I got out. Um, I was probably in the tree by one 30 and, uh, it wasn't very active, but, um, I had a couple of friends that were hunting in different locations close by, not the same property. And, uh, they'd One guy had already seen two bucks and another guy that was actually on the opposite side of where I was hunting had seen a buck moving around. So I figured, you know, it might be all right. No movement by me, but I decided to try out a doe bleat. And like 10 minutes later, I had a buck come rushing through. He stopped probably like 40 yards out, which I, you know, I wasn't comfortable shooting. So then walked off into the woods. Um, and I thought that was it. I thought he was gone. Uh, and then 10 minutes later, I hear a crashing through the brush and a doe comes running out and sure enough, he's chasing her. He's right behind her. And she circled like three times around my stand. I was just going crazy trying to, you know, get a shot opportunity, but they were just, you know, hauling ass. And, uh, three times around me, finally she stopped, uh, he stopped, but wasn't in range. And then, um, uh, she decided to run off. He followed and caught up with her and, uh, actually mounted her. So then I'm sitting there and he bred her. Uh, once he was done, she walked off, walked past me and he came and he was hanging out right below me and, uh, heard something, you know, off in the distance. So he walked forward and then he turned and started to walk towards her. So, uh, I drew and, uh, as he was walking, I shot, I didn't even stop him. And, uh, It was a shot right to the heart. He ran about 30 yards and tipped over. 00:14:15 Speaker 1: Oh, my gosh. 00:14:16 Speaker 2: That is like November chaos in a nutshell of like all your buddies are seeing deer and you're like, oh, man, I'm just not in it. And then was it a can call like that, man, that you flip over? It was. 00:14:29 Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah. 00:14:30 Speaker 1: Exactly. 00:14:30 Speaker 3: It was one of those. 00:14:32 Speaker 6: I wasn't even standing when he first came. That's why I was caught off guard because– I usually use it and put it in my pack because I don't want to keep it in my pocket. You know, it'll, it'll make noise sometimes. And so when I stood, when I saw him coming in, I thought maybe I spooked him or something, but he didn't run. He just, he walked off and I don't, I think he may have seen the dough in the woods and, you know, went after her. 00:14:53 Speaker 1: He figured it was her. Man, that's super, that's super cool. 00:14:57 Speaker 2: And, uh, what a way like to, to, you know, a lot of people hunt for a long time. And then I've only seen that happen once a buck actually breed a doe from the tree stand. 00:15:06 Speaker 1: It's exactly what you described. Whereas it's like ping pong and around and then bang. 00:15:10 Speaker 2: And then, uh, and then for you to connect with that deer afterwards is, uh, man, that is what everyone imagines when it comes to November. 00:15:19 Speaker 3: Um, it was great. 00:15:20 Speaker 1: What is that? 00:15:22 Speaker 2: Like, as far as just the general pulse for New Jersey and your buddies hunting in the area, like, are things just rocking and rolling right as of now? 00:15:31 Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. For sure. 00:15:32 Speaker 6: I kept hearing that from everybody, but I wasn't seeing it on my camera. I just need, I needed to get into the woods to, cause you know, all of that stuff that happened, there was only where I shot him. That was the only thing that would have been on camera. So you never know what's going on behind the scenes. 00:15:47 Speaker 2: Yeah. 00:15:47 Speaker 6: So, um, yeah, I, it, it, it seems like it's really heating up. Um, I have at least three or four guys sending me pictures like every morning of bucks on their front lawns chasing dough. And, um, yeah, like I said, uh, uh, the one guy that was sending me pictures, he had two within an hour of being in the woods passed by. They were smaller. Uh, they weren't the bigger ones, but he, uh, he ended up killing as well. Uh, my father, um, shot a buck the same night as me as well, which was cool. He, you know, I, I went and he helped me and that's cool, you know? 00:16:19 Speaker 5: Yeah. 00:16:20 Speaker 6: But, it seems like it's really heating up. Uh, the bigger ones are, are still, at least that I've had on camera have been still, uh, not on daylight. Um, but the, the younger bucks, like I shot a two and a half year old, um, at least I think, you know, uh, they, they're chasing like crazy. And, and, and a lot of the pictures that I've gotten, they've been older bucks too. 00:16:42 Speaker 1: So As far as, um, you know, the 11th through the 18th. 00:17:00 Speaker 2: So imagine, imagine you could hunt in this world where you could manage your own schedule and you could just hunt for the next seven days. 00:17:06 Speaker 1: What would you be doing? 00:17:07 Speaker 2: What would you be telling yourself either from, um, um, I think so much of this time of year, it does come down to, to mental fortitude. I know that sounds corny and lame, but I do think that's what a lot of this comes down to. But for, from that perspective, what would you be telling yourself instead of, Hey, I have to go to work every day. 00:17:22 Speaker 1: I'm going to go and hunt every day. 00:17:25 Speaker 6: Yeah, I wish I could. Well, uh, in, in our area where, uh, it's going to be around the same temperature that it's been like in the upper fifties, lower sixties. Uh, but this Thursday and Friday, it's actually going to rain again. And then Saturday is going to drop to like a high in the forties, like mid forties. So I think Saturday would probably be a great day to get out. If I still had a tag and, and I wasn't working, I would hope I would try to get out. But, uh, uh, strategy wise, I mean, just spend as much time as you can in the woods. That's, that's what I would say, because it seems like everyone that I've, that I've heard from and I've been talking to, there's no, the, the, the, the whole pattern thing is going away. It's pretty much gone now. It's, you know, it, um, there's no rhyme or reason to it. They're just, they're chasing, you know, so it's just about being there. 00:18:15 Speaker 2: Yeah. And as far as, um, for a lot of people, they more than likely, um, you know, they, they've taken this last week off for, for work. Um, or some people are still just, you know, hunting and getting after it. Now is the time where you start questioning everything, but I, you know, like to your point, you gotta be out there, you gotta still pay attention to your wind and you just gotta, lack of better words, you gotta have a little luck on your side and there's nothing wrong with having a little bit of luck and being at the right place, uh, at the right, at the, at the right time. What, um, How far was the shot? Because you sent me a picture of the heart. It was a perfect, perfect shot. 00:18:53 Speaker 6: Yeah, it was a little over 20 yards, I'd say. It was a very close shot. Like I said, he was below me, and when he walked forward, he walked out to about 20 yards, and then he had his butt towards me, so I had no shot. And then when he decided to follow the doe who was off to my right, he turned, quartered away and was walking off. So he took probably... six steps before I drew and released. So yeah, I'd say about 20, 25 yards when I shot them. 00:19:24 Speaker 2: Historically, in New Jersey, in your neck of the woods, the 11th through the 18th, have you experienced or just chatter amongst your friends? In terms of lockdown, do you think the front end of the 11th could be better, or do you think on the back end, more weather related on the 18th, closer to the 18th, would be potentially better? just off of historical data and your own gut feeling. 00:19:47 Speaker 6: Previous years, it seems like lockdown is usually towards the tail end of that. Um, right now I, I would, I would go earlier. The only thing is, uh, weather wise, there is going to be that, that break, you know, that, that drop. Um, so it's, it's hard to tell, but, uh, yeah, previous years lockdown does seem to come later than, than the beginning of this week. Um, I, I usually see them chasing, uh, this time of year. Uh, last year was the same thing. 00:20:15 Speaker 1: I only got out once. 00:20:16 Speaker 6: I actually, that's why I shot the buck I did this year. Um, he was on the younger side, but I knew I was getting out one day last year. I thought, Oh, maybe I'll get out again. I passed on a buck around the same size and I didn't get another chance to go back out. So I was kicking myself. 00:20:29 Speaker 1: So yeah. 00:20:30 Speaker 2: Yeah. 00:20:31 Speaker 1: No, that, and that's, um, there's nothing wrong with that at all. 00:20:34 Speaker 2: And I think, um, we all have to be realistic because The season goes by so fast. We like to think like, I think a lot of people fall into like, well, next week, next week, next week. The next thing, like you next week your way all the way through the entire season. Let's make this week the week. And ultimately, that's what you did. 00:20:50 Speaker 6: I have two kids now, too. It seems like every year I have less and less time. So I'm just, you know, like I said, I was going to move my stand. And then I was like, well, I'm going to move my stand and then try to hunt like December whenever I can get out next. 00:21:02 Speaker 1: I'm just going to sit. You know, it's the run. 100%. 00:21:07 Speaker 6: So I'd rather just hunt and when I can and see what goes on, but I love it. 00:21:11 Speaker 5: Okay. 00:21:11 Speaker 2: So the big question here, scale one to 10, 10 being the best week of the year, one being one of the worst weeks of the year, 11 through the 18th of November in New Jersey. 00:21:21 Speaker 1: Where do you put it? 00:21:22 Speaker 6: I'd put it at a nine. I'd say nine for sure. 00:21:24 Speaker 1: One of the first nines of the year. So I like, I like the positivity. 00:21:28 Speaker 2: Well, Nick, well, first off, thank you for everything that you do for the show and being so great. Um, I give everyone the opportunity if someone wants to track you down and say, thanks for, thanks for doing a great job. 00:21:37 Speaker 1: Where can they do that? 00:21:39 Speaker 6: Uh, if you need anything media related, you can, you can go to my website, Nick Nicholas, caramella.com and reach out to me there. 00:21:46 Speaker 5: Awesome. 00:21:46 Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Congratulations once again. 00:21:48 Speaker 6: Thanks man. I appreciate it. 00:21:50 Speaker 1: Take care. 00:21:50 Speaker 2: All right. 00:21:51 Speaker 1: Next up we have read from Illinois. How's it going? Going good, man. 00:21:56 Speaker 5: How are you? 00:21:57 Speaker 3: It's going good. 00:21:58 Speaker 2: Uh, this is the first rough, fresh truck edition for me. So, uh, so I appreciate you being patient. 00:22:04 Speaker 1: You're in Illinois. It is November. 00:22:07 Speaker 2: Um, we're, we're getting to the point where I feel like a lot of people that the gas is getting not on E, but it's definitely getting below a half a tank. 00:22:16 Speaker 1: Where are you at right now? Mentally, as we, as we March through November. 00:22:22 Speaker 5: It's funny you say that. I actually, uh, kind of just had to have a reset day yesterday. Um, I've had a lot of time off work, so I've been hunting really hard every day. I haven't done a full day set yet, just kind of getting down, scouting, and then going back to the afternoon. But, yeah, I'm running pretty low, but I had to have a reset day yesterday, and I think that's kind of an important thing. Everybody needs to kind of sit back and be man enough to realize and end it. 00:22:46 Speaker 1: Yeah. 00:22:47 Speaker 2: What's the rut activity been like, in your opinion, from your observations, cameras, deer behavior, little bucks, big bucks, across the board? 00:22:56 Speaker 5: Across the board, if you find that first hot doe, I think you're going to have probably the best day of your life. I like to hunt in late October. Mainly, I usually have a deer down by now, so it's been kind of a tough year. But yeah, really, honestly, if you find that hot doe, I've seen multiple mature bucks already dogging one single doe. So all the young bucks, I think, are dogging any doe they see. But I think, honestly, for movement-wise, the big bucks are going to be moving further, trying to find that hot doe. They're not going to spend as much time just dogging Any doe they see, but. 00:23:27 Speaker 1: Mm-hmm. What's your opinion? Yesterday, I climbed into the stand. Oh, go ahead. 00:23:34 Speaker 2: Sorry. 00:23:36 Speaker 1: You're good. 00:23:37 Speaker 5: No, yesterday, I climbed into the stand, and I found a group of does bedded, like, in a creek bed already. So, they're already trying to hide from the bucks because they're getting harassed so hard. And I think, like, the weather's not supposed to be too cold, but it's not supposed to be terribly hot either. So, it's going to be that, you know, 45-degree mark for the next week here in Illinois. 00:23:51 Speaker 3: So. 00:23:52 Speaker 5: I think if you can find a pretty good water source, a lot of deer have been having their tongues out and panting and running hard. So I think if you can find a good water source, I think that'd be a good sit to in between a funnel or whatever you got. 00:24:04 Speaker 3: Mm-hmm. 00:24:05 Speaker 1: When are you going to start pulling the all-day card, all-day sit, dark to dark? 00:24:09 Speaker 5: Uh, I was actually planning on doing it today. Um, I had some work come up too, so it didn't work out. But I think tomorrow's going to be the dark to dark starting, so. 00:24:19 Speaker 2: Yeah. What, um, As far as, you know, there's this transition period to some degree, and it feels like during, at some point in November, it does feel like the woods is like kind of starts to die down, like during quote unquote peak lockdown. And I understand there's different phases and everyone has different observations. It could be vary from 40 acres to the next 40 acres. 00:24:39 Speaker 1: What is. 00:24:40 Speaker 2: If you had to think of past Illinois dates where things just kind of slow down and have some form of lockdown experience, what would you say those dates have been in your part of Illinois, you. 00:24:51 Speaker 1: Know, through that 11th through 18th period? Or do you think a non-issue, non-factor? 00:24:58 Speaker 5: I would say definitely the later end of those dates, the last few days of that dates, right before the Illinois shotgun season. It's usually the first weekend before Thanksgiving. I really see a lot of deer locked down, especially the older, big, mature deer. I think it was last year, around the 19th, I actually had the big eight I was after. I'd been hunting 14 straight days for them. And on that 14th day, I actually had them come in and lock down with the doe and ended up messing up the shot. 00:25:22 Speaker 1: But let's talk about that later. 00:25:25 Speaker 2: Yeah. 00:25:26 Speaker 1: Well, I think that's something to bring up. 00:25:28 Speaker 6: Live and learn. 00:25:29 Speaker 1: It was cool to see. 00:25:30 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's something important to bring up because when you log that many hours and time and then you don't execute the shot, it stinks even more because you're like, I've worked 14 days to have this opportunity and it didn't come together. Mentally, pre-shot process, what does that look like this year versus last year? Knowing, knowing, and I don't know the details of it, but like, what has that changed your, your shot process, you know, mentally as the opportunity comes in? Cause if, if you do spend enough time, you do have smart enough, hard enough, you're going to get an opportunity. Yeah. Yeah. 00:26:06 Speaker 5: Um, for me, I do a lot of self-filming too. So it's kind of one thing. It's a plus and a minus. I feel like a lot of people don't understand how you self-film. There's a lot going on, but it also kind of gives your mind something else to focus on other than that deer's rack coming in. Um, I've kind of took a step back a little bit as sort of like trying to get that perfect zoom shot on the camera, kind of just back it out a little bit and just focus more on the shot. Um, for me, I used to have a problem with hugging the shoulder too much, not shooting enough draw weight. Now, obviously I have, you know, I've gotten better, but I think a lot of people try to hug that shoulder too much. I'd rather hit a deer a little bit further back, right in the lungs, square in the lungs. And I passed up a lot of shots this year on deer. One of the hit listeners I had come in, he came in 40 yards late October, hit every scrape I had besides the one I was in front of. And I ended up passing the shot. It's probably something I probably would have taken a little bit. I was very confident, but it was also last light 40 yards. You know, he's fired up. He's walking. 00:27:01 Speaker 1: It'd be hard to stop him. 00:27:03 Speaker 5: Um, so I just really think people just need to take that extra second. You have more time than what you think you actually have. And that's been hard for me to realize and try to implement that. So I even think like in my head now when I'm target shooting and stuff, um, I like kind of paint this scenario in my head and try to get myself worked up. And like, even this year I do like a lot of different workouts. I actually started implementing shooting my bow in between sets. So like at the end of each set, I'll go and shoot my bow and that kind of gets my heart rate up. That way my mind works. you know, the first time I'm drawn back on a deer, I'm not, my heart rate's not 180 for the first time, you know? 00:27:39 Speaker 1: I think that's great. That's a great piece of advice. That's a great piece of advice. 00:27:44 Speaker 2: What is the craziest strategy you're considering over the next seven days that might work? Hmm. 00:27:51 Speaker 5: Uh, so two things I've actually been doing a lot more this year. Um, I found both on a couple of different properties. I found deer using the roads really hard, especially on public right off the road. And this year there's a couple of different steps. I probably should have sat on the road just, but it just seemed too silly in my head and, uh, daylighted. I mean, walked right past the road because nobody's gotten those places. So I really think, especially like this later half of November, uh, uh, a lot of deer are going to have deer pinned down in the middle of nowhere. So kind of get in your head. Like you don't have to necessarily be in a stand. Um, I like to get down. I like to try to make moves on deer a lot. Um, like just for example, this last week, uh, big deer showed up on camera. I ended up tearing my set down, go and trying to set up on this deer. And I got, you know, right where I thought he was going to be. And, uh, my neighbor actually texted me and said, Hey, I just shot him. So I had to go over there and help him. He's a really good guy. You know, there's a lot of hats at work and stuff. So I was really happy for him, but I think this is the biggest thing. If you see a lot of deer this time of year moving in one spot, everybody kind of says, stay still. And I just don't have the patience for that sometimes. And I think it's good if you have a good mobile set and a good system down, just tear down and move that extra 40 yards because it could make the biggest difference. So especially if you've never hunted this area before, whether it's public or a new permission piece or something, like I've been seeing a lot of deer on one new permission piece. I can't go over there because it's not on the property. but I've been seeing all these deer come into this one funnel. And I was like, if I could hunt that, I would just tear my set right down right now and get over there and make a move. And I think that's a lot of people need to do that, whether you're hunting out of a permanent set. I really think you can just get down and even go sit there on the ground. I think that's kind of an overlooked strategy. 00:29:32 Speaker 2: Yeah. Do you feel that people can get away with a little bit more than maybe what they conventionally think? Like, um, I feel a lot of people almost feel that I can't go there cause I'm gonna mess this up or like, you know, this isn't exactly perfect. 00:29:46 Speaker 1: So I can't hunt it. 00:29:46 Speaker 2: I think if there's a time to break rules and quotations, um, it's the time to maybe bend them a little bit from the perspective of like, yeah, it's not perfect, but that's where they've all been. And I just have to be right once. And a lot of the bucks are walking. I mean, oftentimes they're by themselves. You just have to fool him, not a harem of does and three bucks. And then the last one is not late season. 00:30:07 Speaker 1: Like you can get away with a little bit more. Is that kind of your gut feeling? Yeah, I 100% agree. I've seen a lot of deer on public. 00:30:16 Speaker 5: I mean, I had a guy with dogs go running right through this public piece that, you know, it gets pretty hard hunted here in. 00:30:23 Speaker 6: About this week or so. 00:30:25 Speaker 5: But there was literally a mature buck that went through there an hour later. So I think a lot of people get frustrated just like watching cameras. And I've fallen victim to that quite a few times. But you need to get out there. I mean, the last few days, I don't know how many new bucks I've got on camera that I've never gotten pictures of before. And so I think this is a great time to be in the woods. You never know what's going to show up. That's why, you know, that excites people, the unknown. And it's kind of hard for some people that run a lot of cameras because I feel like, you know, they're saying, oh, I'm not seeing much. I've seen more deer this year avoid cameras than I ever have. Not intentionally, just walking right around them. And it's like, how much are you missing? 00:30:59 Speaker 1: So, yeah. 00:31:01 Speaker 2: So the big question here now read is scale one to 10, 10 being the best week of the year, one being the worst week of the year. Where do you rank the next seven days, November 11th through November 18th, where you're at? 00:31:17 Speaker 5: So historically I have a lot better luck in October. Um, usually the first week, but outside of October, I would say this is probably the next best week to kill a deer. Um, like I said, you're, Either going to avoid the lockdown towards the front of that week. Towards the end of the week, you're probably going to see a lot more lockdown. But I've had a lot of buddies getting pictures of deer that, you know, they're after that are just now starting to show up daylight. And it seems like once they're in an area, they're in there for a few days. So it might be that hot doe where they're waiting right for that hot doe to come in. So I think this would be like a 9.8 for me. 00:31:49 Speaker 2: Ooh! 00:31:51 Speaker 1: I like it. 00:31:52 Speaker 2: So we had a nine earlier, and I said that's the highest score of the year that I recall. 00:31:57 Speaker 1: And now a 9.8. 00:31:57 Speaker 2: This is the highest. This is groundbreaking. I hope you're right for everyone that's out there and still hunting hard. I hope it's a 9.8 for everybody. 00:32:08 Speaker 5: I just can't give it a full 10 because I don't have a deer down yet. 00:32:13 Speaker 1: Fair enough. It's going to happen. 00:32:14 Speaker 2: Reid, where can people follow along with everything that you have going on? 00:32:20 Speaker 5: Yeah, so you can follow my main hunting Instagram. It's just reedsmithhunt on Instagram and steelcreekoutdoors on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram too is the group I'm with. So go and check them out for some awesome hunts. 00:32:33 Speaker 2: Awesome. 00:32:33 Speaker 1: Well, good luck to you. Enjoy it. And text me when you shoot a big deer. 00:32:39 Speaker 3: Thanks, man. Appreciate it. 00:32:40 Speaker 1: Congrats to you too. All right, there you guys have it. 00:32:42 Speaker 2: I hope you guys enjoyed this week's episode of Rut Fresh presented by Moultrie. 00:32:46 Speaker 1: As I said in the beginning, good luck. Enjoy it. 00:32:50 Speaker 2: There's a lot of luck, but there's a lot of strategy. And we actually have a new Back 40 episode going live this week about what is predictable about the rut. 00:32:58 Speaker 1: So be sure to listen to that. 00:32:59 Speaker 2: And if you'd like to be on Rut Fresh, you have interest, you have a report, you're in a state that we haven't chatted with here yet this year, shoot me a message on Instagram at Jake Hofer. Have a great rest of your week. And once again, thank you to all our veterans.

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