00:00:02 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt podcast, your home for deer hunting news, stories and strategies, and now your host, Mark Kenyon. Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Podcast. I'm your host, Mark Kenyon's episode number two and fifty three, and we are here today for another episode of our Rut radio mini series, in which we're chatting with hunters all across the country to get the latest on what's happening in the white tailed world, progress of the rut, and the tactics that are working right now. Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Podcast. I am your host, spent to New North and this week we are without our fearless leader, Mark Kenyon. Mark and I just couldn't put it together this week forward getting on a call. Uh, just with the holidays and as I am traveling and he's been traveling. Um, it just didn't work out. So I am going to take you guys through the intro solo. Ordinarily, one thing that Mark would ask me in the intro is if there are any themes from this week's episode. I would say this week that theme would be that we are coming back to food sources. If the RUT is a bell curve, then we are now on the other side. For most of the country, we're on the other side of the top of that bell curve. So the buck movement is going to be on the way down. But with that, you're still gonna have bucks that are very interested in doughs, and where the doughs want to be right now is going to be on that food in the evenings. So this is really exciting if you were someone who has a quality food source, or if you are a hunter prefers sitting field edges. Uh, those evenings on field edges are going to be really good right now and probably for this next week or so as we get into December. Something else from this week's Seat of Callers is that you hear a few people talk about calling right now using some rattling, grunting, etcetera. Uh. Most folks don't think of like November and think of using some different calling strategies, But that could be a good technique for getting a buck to show himself. Whether you're gun hunting or bow hunting, looking to close the distance on a specific deer or just get one to step out of the timber. That is something that you could be doing even as the best running is behind us. Now, if Mark was here, he would also compliment me and be fawning over the two deer that I just killed. Um. If you go to Instagram and check out a few of my latest posts, you'll see the buck that I just killed in South Dakota on Saturday and then the buck that I just killed in Kentucky on Wednesday. So if you head over there to at Spencer new Hearth on Instagram, you'll see why Mark was so jealous and why he did not want to join me on the podcast this week. If Mark were here, he would also be complimenting me on this week's sleight of guests and how great of a job I did covering the entire country. So for this week on the podcast, we have Todd Pregnant's from White knucle Productions in Iowa, and then in Virginia from Aero Addicts TV is Erran Lee, and then we talked to Scott Spitzley in Michigan from Dirt Nap Gear, and then from Louisiana. Bow Hunter in Louisiana is Kyler Moppert. One more thing Mark would want me to tell you guys about is the meat Eater dot Com. If you haven't been there, lately. Go check it out. It looks a little different than it did about a month ago or so. Um specifically, there's now a lot of great white tail content on there, written by myself, Mark and Pat Durkin. So if you are looking for some new reading material, the meat Eater dot com is now a great resource for that kind of thing, even for white tail hunters. That's enough for me, though, let's go to our first color. I have to say, I think this has maybe been the best intro that radio has ever had, and uh, I'd have more proxy, and so I'm going to agree for him. Before we go to our first report, though, let's pause for a word from our sponsors at white Tail Properties. This week, with white Tail Properties, we are joined by Tony Hanson, a land specialist out of Michigan, and Tony is gonna be telling us about how hunting strategy changes in pressured states like Michigan. I'd say the biggest difference is that just the availability the number of older deer is much much lower, so you don't have, you know, a bunch of them to pick from. So you've got to be pretty cure that you do have to hunt. And you know me, it's It's all about trying to manage the growing that I've got so that I do have that age structure because it's it's probably not going to be there on the neighbors. If you'd like to learn more and to see the properties that Tony currently has listed for sale, visit white Tail properties dot com. Backslash Hanson that's h A N S E N. All right and joining us. The line first is Todd Primants from White Knuckle Productions in Iowa, not Todd in Iowa. What would you say the buck activities been lately on a scale of one to ten, one to ten, probably about a five to a six. A lot of it really depends on hot dose this time year. I think a lot of times we get caught into this generalization about the rut, but the fact of the matter is when it dough comes in the heat, it really does change everything in that area. Um. And from around here we have a we do have an older age class of deer that are kind of like the dominant deer that usually this time year, if there's a doll that hot, they will shall be with a mature deer. UM. Not always, but oftentimes this is the time here where I guess the bigger, more dominant animals kind of succeed. But this is actually my favorite time of year to catch bucks because not only is the ruts still going on, so they still got that vulnerability, so to speak, but they're also starving at that so a lot more starts transferring back to food, which actually makes it easier to hunt these big bucks. So is food something you'll focus on in the morning as well? This time of year, I kind of start ease and back from morning sets. Um. If I am going to be hunting mornings, I will only go into spots that I really believe are right next to their bedding area. Um. I'm just not a huge fan of hunting food in the mornings. I think most of the time we're hunting specific spots based on the wind. So like let's just say, for example, you're waiting for that cold front or that northwest wind to come in, so when you finally get it, I kind of would rather put all my eggs in one basket and try one good evening set on the food as opposed to trying to go in in the morning. Um, because I think a lot of times you do more damage than good, particularly this time of year where they're just not up traveling as much during daylight. So what kind of food sources do you prefer to focus on this sabby year. Well, we are fortunate here and I We've got lots of beans and corn and agriculture just kind of everywhere, So there's a lot of good food supply there. If you have standing corner beans the since the time here, they'll really start hitting it for that higher protein count. And just last week I hunted a spot that had a bunch of saving beans, and literally it had been almost dead the entire rut, but we got a little bit of snow, about two inches of snow, and it changed everything. Like within twenty four hours, pretty much every deer in the neighborhood was hitting that standing bean plot. And I think a lot of it just comes with the cold because they have to produce so much more energy to stay warm. Uh, they go to the highest benefit beneficial food sources, which are beans and corn. It fills them up, makes them feel warm, and has lots of protein. Uh, just basically allows them to produce more heat. Um. However, green food sources can still be really good too. I'll be hunting tomorrow night. I'm actually planning on going hunting green food source, but it's gonna be a little bit a little bit warmer conditions about fifty degrees. So I actually kind of like hunting my green plots when it's a little bit more mild, and then as soon as the cold, cold, whole weather comes, hunt starts coming in. That's when I really like to focus on the beans and corn. But the big thing is, you know, no matter what time of year it is, you've got to have fresh areas to move into the hunt. Um. You can't keep pounding and pounding and pounding the same spot. So UM, I kind of like to use the holidays to spend some time with my family, whether it's Thanksgiving or Christmas. Kind of let some of your areas die down a little bit, give them a break, and then kind of playing your next hunts based on the weather and the front. But then that that next series of hunts right after Thanksgiving can be absolutely fantastic. This window of the rut then where you can still find some mature bucks that just have one thing on their mind and they're harassing those doves in the food. How long do you think that last I've had really good rock hunts all the way through. Um. The end of November usually usually a brown December one is when they pretty much most of the doughs have been bred. There will still be one or two that will come in here and there, but you just won't find the bucks out track link. But all the way through. I mean, just for example, last year, I went out and filmed on a green food plot after Thanksgiving and ended up seeing one of the biggest bucks in our whole territory. And he was out in broad daylight feeding but it was an area that hadn't been hunted hard um, and so he had kind of been left alone there, so he had no reason to not be outfeeding during daylight. But through the any time in November is really good, and I've had some excellent late season rott hunts, and even just this last week, some of our team members in Illinois and different places have been out and seeing tons of actions. UM. Because I think something about this rot was weird because it was so brutally cold in early November when it usually is pretty mild. It seemed like the brought was really suppressed. So I don't know if biologically if the dose just didn't come to heat or if it delayed the coming to heat or we just didn't see the movement because of the cold. But this could be an interesting light rot. I'm kind of curious myself. I'm gonna be hunting hard in the next week as we have some fronts and snow things coming in. Um, but dude, if it's November, there is always a chance of catching a buck with a hot dog and it could be a monster and boy, they just they have no choice but to follow that hot door where she goes. Now that we're on the other side of maybe like peak running, is there any calling or decoin strategies that you'll use here at the end of November. Oh absolutely, I'm I'm always calling throughout the year. I'll just kind of raise and lower my aggression levels accordingly. But I'm a big fan of single grounds throughout the season, and like this time of year. Like, as an example, if I'm gonna go sit out on a food plot or an area in your food you know, if there's no deer around, I will not hesitate to put a single loud grunt out there. But every thirty minutes giver take and then as you get closer to prime time, I'll use. We have a tree trash or call I developed which attracts all dear, but it doesn't spook everything like rattling. UM. So I'll throw out a thrash session here and there just to see if I can peak the interest of the deer or a buck that's laying nearby, um, if they're not out moving, just to try to get them up a little bit early, to get them out on the field or out in the open early. UM. But rattling this time of year, I'm just not a big fan. Now. Some guys love it, some guys love decoin and doing all those things. But for me, hunting this area year after year, chasing the same dear year after year, I found, UM, that type of aggressive, aggressive calling is is it does a little bit more damage than good. In my opinion, it can work, but I think if you're hunting the same dear, you don't want to necessarily completely educate them in the process because there's always you know, next week or next hunt or next year. So I kind of like to go a little bit more subtle. But I absolutely call all the way through the season. Uh. And deer are just generally so generally attracted to that social sound of a grunt gear making noise, rubbing and antlers thrashing trees and all those things send a calming message that hey, it's safe over here, and you basically create the next destination they want to come to going forward. Then this s next week or so. What do you think that bucket activity is going to be on a scale of one to ten in Iowa? I'm gonna say a seven coming up, because we've got a major cold front coming with some big time snow, and I think most of the Midwest is gonna get hit, or at least the upper Midwest where they're looking at. We have eight inches predicted and for us, dude, that's a lot of snow. So that's gonna push a ton of deer onto the plots. Now, whether it's a real running activity or not, mostly they'll be out there to feed and they'll be checking every other dough that's out there. All right, Todd Will, congrats on that great buck you just killed. Good luck with the rest of your season, and thanks for joining me. Hey, thank you very much, and good luck to everybody out there hunting. Be safe and enjoy the holidays. Happy. Thanks for giving everybody alright and joining us on the line. Next is Aeron Lee from Aero Addicts TV in Virginia. Now, Aaron in Virginia, what would you say the bucket activity has been lately? A skill of one to ten one ten probably be about six or seven. It's gonna start to slow down, uh, stay of the bucks are starting to catch on to the dogs running around, all the clubs running dolls around. But other than that, buck activity has been pretty good for the still hunters. That's what we do. We still hunt. Um. A lot of books have been kind of moving around more at night times, in the morning times or afternoons, but we have we do still have some activity. Um, some you know, decent bucks in the afternoon. So I will give you about six or seven and what phase of it? What would you say the deer in in Virginia right now we are I would say probably towards the end post runts. Um. They were rutting real good a week or two ago, and I have notice activity, you know, rutting kind of gone down the past week. Um. I haven't seen as many doors running around or many bucks chasing. I have seen you, but it's not as you know, as hot as it was two weeks ago, so giving those factors that were maybe on the other side of the huts. And there are a lot of dogs in the wood from from hunt clubs. Where are you focusing on to find some mature bucks on their feet? Um? Well, right now as we speak on certain as deep as you can on the property that was leasing. Um, I gotta swamp. It's stick, it's not down here, but there's a few openings. Um, we're basically planning on cassing big bucks, kind of slipping out of the native properties. Um that they wanted dogs and stuff like that, trying to get big bucks slipping um the tickets and afternoons kind of going towards the bean field. We've got a bean filled right up the road from us, actually right outside of the right on the woodline for where we hun at um, and we're kind of just seems to come out there and eat the beans, the beans around beans pretty much all we got as the fruit source where we're hunting at right now. Do you notice the change in bedding this time of year when the woods get a little bit chaotic. Yeah, they'll um if they could find a short Most short time tickets tend to be a good uh, betting ground for bucks, and those are pretty much anything around this time of year, or a little this small little thicket they've just got enough from curl up then anything real sick. I think um that they fill a lot of protection with. There's pretty good pat and grounds right now. How about the signmaking. Are you still seeing any fresh rubs or scrapes in the woods. Actually, I saw a fresh rub walking into the path, but all the other ones are from earlier this year. I have seen a couple of scrapes um with some like fresh buck tracks in it. I guess you come back and checked one, um, but nothing nothing too fresh other than that other buck blow lessow earlier this this morning. And where are you using your trail cameras is time of year they focused on some specific trails or food sources or what are you doing? We got I got a trail camera right in the corner of this bean field where we knows a good Uh. It's a hot travel path of deer use UM comes right out of the corner, right through the bean field, and it's pretty much a path that was cut through a thicket. UM, So we've placed the trail camera there. We got a couple of trail cameras throughout the woods, just around the tree stands and um, big bottoms. You know where we think hot travel is um coming out of betting areas. We've got a couple of trail cameras where we think they're betting at UM. That's pretty much it for the trail cameras going forward. Then in the next week or so, what do you think that bucket activity is going to be on a scale of one to tend in Virginia for this area southeastern Virginia, buck activity probably about a seven or eight. They're still on their feet, they do looking for a nice mature buck. You're not gonna find one every single hunt. They are on their feet if you give it the time and you put some effort in, and I know the season is kind of coming not towards an end. But dogs, the dogs, the shotgun seaton just started, but we only got about another month some change left. But if you give us some time and you give us some patience, you'll you'll definitely get a nice buck. Even though it's hard with the betting area and dogs running around. The big bucks are trying to find a place, you know, just to kind of hang out at not moving around too much. With the rep coming coming towards an end. Um, I still definitely think you have a good chance of get in piecent book if you put the time, you know determination into it. Are Darren, good luck with your hunt that you're currently on. Thanks for joining me new problem alright and joining us on the line. Next is Scott Spitzley for the Dirt Nap Gear in Michigan. Scott in Michigan, what would you say the bucket activities been lately on a scale of one to ten? You know, I'd probably give it a roll of seven. Now through my observation and lack of sign I've been seeing, I think we've been pretty much well past the peak of their up for a little bit now. However, I have had some good friends of mine, uh put some great bucks down was in the last couple of days. I think they're finally getting out of that lockdown phase and looking for that next hot dough. One of them actually shot their buck after we chase a dough right under his tree. So when Michigan the gun season has been going on for about a week now, I believe what is your strategy for finding bucks that are maybe avoiding those gun hunters, you know, I try to set up close to dough bedding, UM nearer in a travel corridor on the down wind side. UM. If putting in the time in I think you could have a chance at a mature buck cruising through there looking for another hot dough. And if you do, and if you are near doe bedding and you do happen to catch one still lockdown, that could put you in the game as well, you know, depending on where the doe goes. So this time of year, the end of November, do you have a preference for morning or evening sits. I tend to focus more on evening sits just in my experience. The mornings just not a lots going on. UM. I wouldn't necessarily favor the evenings. Um, if you're in the right spot, you can you can catch them in sure buck on his feet in the morning. So don't get me wrong, UM, but if you're the type of funner that hunts over food, I would definitely favor the evening. You know, on a big cold front day with some perfect weather conditions. So what food sources specifically are you looking for right now in Michigan? UM? Where I hunt, I don't really have much availability to food sources. UM, so I'll hunt a travel cord or leading into the food. UM. But if someone did have that, I mean that access, I would definitely say to sit up your food because they're not going to be betting far from it, and they're gonna you know, try to get that that winter, you know, get built up for the winter. So you mentioned before that you know, if the right weather comes along, what is the weather that you're looking for this time of year. I'm typically looking for a huge cold front day. You know. Actually yesterday I ended up sitting most of the day. The pressure peaked up to about thirty point six. Um. Just high pressure days, cold, little wind um, sunny days. I mean, just anything that you feel that gets the deer on their feet in your area. Uh, that's that would be the right time to sit up on it. How about with calling a deco and those strategies that you'll use in late November. UM. I do typically like the rattle a little bit. You never know, if a buck you know, just got done with the dough in the area. Uh, if he hears two bucks fighting, it might pique his interest a little bit. You know, get close enough to come check it out. So, um, I don't. I don't try to blind call much. I haven't had good luck with it. If I do have a buck out of range, I'll try calling or grunting to it, um, but I don't go to to overboard with the calling going forward. Then, in the sixt week or so, what do you think that bucket a TV is going to be on a scale of one to tend in Michigan. You know, I'd probably give it about a five within the next week, you know. I hate not to feel optimistic, but I think within the next week or so their focus is going to be on the greens again, you know, before her hard winter hits, which can hurt the guys that don't have access to that. Excuse me. I can imagine the mature bucks not moving too far during daylight and betting fairly close to food, and that can all depend on the deer hurt as well. You know there are still hot dolls in the area. All right, Scott, Well, good luck with what's left of your season. Thanks for joining me. I appreciate the sponsor alright and joining us on the line. Next is Kyler Mompert from Louisiana bow Hunter in Louisiana, now Kyler in Louisiana, what would you say the buck activity has been lately on a scale of one to ten. Block activity for US so far this year has been so far this week has probably been about a seven. Um. We've got some parts of the state that is uh kind of falling into that pre rut time frame, especially in the northern part area to northwest and also the northeast parts of the state are are definitely in pre rut. Um. I think it's gonna get pretty hot and heavy here in the next two or three weeks. So, so you're part of the state specifically, what stage of they wrote, would you say you're in there? Uh, We're We're still very early for us here. Um. I'm an area six outside of Baton Rouge and we're just starting to see a couple of scrapes and rubs nothing um, nothing too aggressive, and not a whole lot of daytime activity right now. Our rutt is really around Christmas to at the beginning of the new year, and sometimes going as as late as uh end of January early February. So your setups, what are you focusing on then? Right now? Are you doing some mornings as well as evenings. Are you looking at food sources, water bedding? Uh? What is your strategy this time of year? Yeah? For for right now, what I'm focusing on. Number one, any anytime I can get out in the woods is a is a good time to hunt, So I'll hunt morn again. E of then I'm mainly focusing on on pitch points and travel routes. Um. You know, some of our acorn trees, some of our oak trees have dropped out, but a lot of the white oaks are still dropping. Red oaks still have a lot on them, so that's always great for an afternoon hunt to get on a red oak flat and uh make sure you're playing the right wind. Um. I killed a few bucks last year on on on some oak flats that uh that produced ellen in the you could say the mid to late winter and get some good activity in the evenings. You mentioned signmaking a little bit before. Um, what is your strategy around signmaking right now? Are you just running cameras on there or is that part of your hunting as well? Um, you know this time of year, I'm running cameras. Uh. When I find a scrape, I'll try and hang a camera high and angle it down and just see what's hitting it, because you know, this is the time of year where you start getting bucks you've never seen before. UM. So every once in a while I'll hang a camera over a scrape and check it just sequence in the area and then depending on which standard is trying and hunt a little downwind of it, um, try and catch something coming in and checking it before dark. Um. But uh, you know, I had a few new bucks show up this week. UM, some of them are it's kind of confirming to me that I don't want to hunt the area because I don't have anything substantial checking. Um. But one of the cameras, I've got a nice buck that I'm gonna start targeting here as soon as as soon as he starts making some daylight appearances between now in the rut. H if you're trying to find a buck on its feet during daylight, are there any specific weather patterns or moon phases that get you excited about maybe seeing some more daytime movement? Absolutely? Uh. I always trying and hunt the back half of a rain storm, especially if it's uh, if I'm checking the checking the weather, if I see it's gonna stop raining raining about two or three o'clock, UM, or sometimes even as late as as four or five o'clock. I might go throw my rain gear on, climb up in the rain, just to be there next to the betting area when he decided to stand up and start walking. You know, will you see any kind of shift in bedding between now and maybe peek rut hitting now? Our our our betting staves about the same all year long. I mean, we're such a sick, sick state to hunt anyway that. UM, I don't. I don't generally see a whole lot of shift in bedding. Every once in a while you'll see um bed down under the oaks or in the oak flatts, and you'll push them out in the morning when you go to hunt. UM. But typically some of your thickets that you would imagine there would be a deer staying in there, there's uh, they're gonna be in there from the beginning of the season until the end. You mentioned before that you think we are even ahead of pre route right now? Does that mean you're part of say you're still seeing some bachelor groups. Maybe absolutely, Yeah, A couple of others are still seeing baschlor groups because like I said, I mean there was even um, there was a buck killed in Velvet. I want to say at the very beginning of November, UM up on the northern part of the state, kind of an intention Tinsaw Parish, there was a buck killed in killed in Velvelle on public land. And I mean, you've got buck You've got bucks in Velvet, You've got bucks that are still traveling together in groups of two to five, um, you know the the rest so long ways off, you know, going forward. Then in this next week or so, what do you think that bucket activity is going to be on a scale of one to ten in Louisiana. So for the next week, I think it's gonna say about the same. We're not gonna start heating up UM for some really good hard pushes at you know, rut movement until UM until probably the week week or two before Christmas. So we're probably two or three weeks out. So the next week I'm gonna leave it at the seventh UM and uh, you know, I would say, if you can get near some betting areas or you know, you have a travel trail where you've got some bucks walking and they're feeling pretty confident that they're not going to get pushed around or be pressured, then I would hone in on that. Alright, Kyler, good luck with the long season head, thanks for joining me, Thank you have a good day. And that concludes this week's episode of Wired to Hunt's Radio. Thanks to Todd, Aaron, Scott, and Kyler for joining me, and thank you guys for listening. As always, make sure you're following Wire to Hunt on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and follow me at Spencer New Heart and my blog rut Fresh on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as well. Good luck to everybody who is hunting over this holiday break, and until next time, stay Wired to Hunt.

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