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 Kenyan, and this is episode number three eighty nine, and today we're back for another rut Fresh Radio episode in which we're getting from the field updates from all the country on current dear activity, dear behavior, and the tactics that are working right now. Welcome to the Wired to Hunt podcast. This is episode three eighty nine. This is rout Fresh Radio. But this is not Mark Kenyon. Mark can't join us tonight. He is out helping further track deer. But Mark did tell me to tell you that you're not gonna want to miss tomorrow's episode of the podcast. He has an update for us on is target buck Tran, but I'm not going to say any more than that. If Mark were joining me, um, we would certainly discuss how late November is still a good time to be in the woods. Mark would have something motivational for you about how you shouldn't give up and the rut is still happening, so you're just gonna have to use your imagination on what he would say, if you don't want to use your imagination, go over to the media dot com and type in how to kill a white tail buck in late November. Mark wrote that article last November, but it applies to this year as well, and it talks about how you can get it done during the second half of the rut and why some big buck hunters actually prefer this to any other part of the season. Another article is publishing tomorrow, November nineteen on the media dot Com from Tony Peterson, and that is called how to kill a white tailed buck during the second half of the Rut. In it, Tony talks about how you need to change two things to be successful this time of year. One of them is your expectations and the other is your strategy. So check out that article tomorrow afternoon and you're gonna learn whatever you would have picked up from hearing me and Mark talk about in this intro. All right now, I'm gonna get back to the regularly scheduled programming and the hunters that we talked to you this week are Bryce Lamley from Nebraska, Brett Joy from New Hampshire, Josh Rooker from Illinois, and Cadence Starns in Mississippi. These guys are full of good information and optimism, which is really key for killing a buck in late November. So let's get to our interviews. Our interviews this week are presented by Trophy Ridge. Head over to trophy ridge dot com to check out their new lineup of top of the line releases from t handles to risk releases. They have a premium option for everyone that's trophy ridge dot com. Alright, and joining us on the line first is Bryce Lamley from Nebraska. Now Bryce in Asca, what would you say the bucket activity has been lately on a scale of one to ten? Honestly, and you know, I'm usually conservative about this, but I would say a nine, and I would say it's been a nine since about November three. I averaged over uh six point I think at six point five deer per day six point five bucks per day um during that time period hunting morning and evening. But that's still a lot of bucks for me to see in an area that doesn't have much visibility at all. What would you label this phase of the run in late November in Nebraska? Um, late November. It's just seems to me like we're on the tail end of the lockdown, and uh, you know it's I think some of the bucks are just recouping their energy and laying low, and others are popping back up and still anxious for more. I still think we're going to be seeing some deer in this this time period. I like to get closer to some food sources and where do they're going to food sources and bucks are trying to cut them off. You mentioned food sources. What food sources do you think are relevant right now in the Great Plains? Well, I think obviously your corn and if there's still some beans left. Um, we've also got some mouthfouth and milet, but not in my area. I wish we had that. If the corn and beans are are harvest at and if the corn is dis under, there's not much cover out there, and so it seems to me like a lot of the feeding is done nocturnally, and so you know, the sun sets and there's nothing out in the field. Sunrises, there's nothing out in the field, but they've been there overnight. That said, you might find some interesting food sources back in the timber and one of them that I kind of found by accident near one of my really good stands this fall was a locust tree that had dropped a ton of seed pods, and every deer though and buck that came by stopped for a minute, two minutes, and sometimes even an hour to gobblowing up seed pods from those locusts. And I think, if you've got you know, it's a situation like that where maybe deer are hungry during the day but not a lot of egg type food or acorns left, they might be gravitating towards something like a locust tree, or maybe like if you do still have acorns left something like that, what do you expect to see for signmaking during the week of Thanksgiving. Well, it seems to me like that's kind of the time when maybe bucks will start coming back to the scrapes. Uh, My trail camras over scrapes didn't show much in the last couple of weeks, and I think deer were busy chasing the real thing. Um, if they did, they walked right through them. They didn't really stop and for the most part, and so I think it's kind of a time where they start revisiting scrapes. It's also a good place to maybe take inventory and if you're trying to figure out what has survived thus far. We're in the middle of our gun season here in Nebraska right now, and so I'm always curious about Thanksgiving time to try to start taking inventory and seeing which bucks made it and which bucks I still have to hunt in into late November and through the month of December. I know you've had a lot of success bow hunting from the ground. What do those setups look like during the second half of the rut? Well, I, I would say from the ground and from low tree stands. I have three stands six eight ten ft probably the majority of my stands or eight to ten ft. And um also a lot of grounds set ups too, And I think again you need to be if you're hunting from the ground, you might want to consider places that don't have a ton of dough traffic because eventually you may get picked off, or if you do, it's it's passing through, it's not loitering around. It gives you a better chance of remaining undetected. I also like, um, those areas maybe where um either where were those areas where does like to hide from bucks? And maybe that might be the heaviest cover And on one of my timbers. It's a patch of feeders that you can barely crawl through, and so I like to be down wind does something like that. So a buck cruising by might come through on the down wind side of of that cover using his nose to check what he can't hardly see. And if I'm downwind of him, I've got a chance, and he's probably not paying a whole lot of attention to me. We had an ice storm here in Nebraska that took a lot of trees and branches down, and it is totally remade the forest where I hunt, and I think that's going to offer actually some more opportunity for places to hide, um when the guys wanting to try to hunt from the ground. When you're hunting in late November, do you historically expect to see better movement in the morning or the evening. Well, it's interesting in in the November one through about November fourteen period, I was seeing a little bit better option the first two hours of morning and then the very last hour of the evening, and then of course any time in between tween. But those were the best time praises, the very first two hours, in the last hour, it seems like after the rug that doesn't really change a whole for me. I guess I look at uh seeing less daytime activity the middle of the day, and so I'm able to hunt, cut my hunts a little bit shorter. I don't have to stay out all day and that type of thing. If you have a good food source and it gets cold boats, then I think the evenings are better because then I think that they're more anxious to, you know, replenish their stores and and get out there and try to put the weight back on. And if you've got a good food source like a standing cornfield or maybe a cornfield that's not been just under or some standing beans, I think that would be a gold mine, especially in the evening going forward. Then in this next week or so, what do you think that bucke activity is going to be on a scale of one to ten in Nebraska? I still give it in nine. I'm seeing a lot of bucks showing up on social media. They're getting killed gun ambo and uh. I've always liked that Thanksgiving time prade all the way through about December tenth or twelfth or fifteen. It just seems like that the bucks that survive our gun seas and they're still active and still trying to find some more of them. All right, Bryce, great information, good luck with the rest of your season, and thanks for joining me. Oh, thank you, thank you very much, all right and joining us on the line. Next is Cadence Stars from Rugged Whitetail in Mississippi, now Caden in Mississippi. What would you say the Buck activities been lately on the scale of one to ten? Lately, I'm gonna say it's been around a four. It's been pretty pretty warm weather here in Mississippi. Um, they have been on their feet a whole lot. I have been seeing some get up kind of early. It depends on how close you are the betting. Um not seeing any on the food sources until well after dark. But I'm gonna I'm gonna put it out as a four. Uh, I just haven't there was a whole lot because of the weather. But hopefully that picks up because a little bit of a cool weather coming in. Are you still seeing bachelor groups together? Then? Yeah, I actually have. The other day I saw a few Bucks grouped together, and um, me and me and Dad both have been to you up still together. Haven't really seen them separating yet. Are you seeing any signmaking right now in Mississippi, actually seen a lot of scrapes opening up. Um, I've been seen a lot of rubs, but here in the past week, I've seen a lot of scrapes been opening up, and um, a lot of rubs getting laid down. A lot of big tracks are starting to get laid down. Two during this very early pre rut in Mississippi, are you primarily hunting evenings? Are you hunting mornings as well? I'm hunting both. I tend to scout a lot in the morning. I've got a lot of public so I've messed outing a lot of publics in the morning, and I'll hunt the evening more just because it's been kind of warm and i haven't seen them on the street a whole lot right now. But I'm gonna start hunting mornings here pretty soon. When you're scouting on public land in Mississippi in season, what sorts of things are you looking for right now? Right now? I'm I'm looking for the sign. I'm looking for fresh sign of scrapes right now, rubs and fresh rubs, looking for big tracks. I usually try to stick to the transitions and then I'll follow the sign back from there to betting. Um, if I find then a country that that there's a lot of you know, sign under might get that. But I just try to get close to betting. What does an ideal betting location look like in Mississippi? Well, it all depends on where you're at, you know, um some some places. It varies across the states that I'm trying to get out. Um. I try to get pretty close to thick areas. I said, I found the bucks that they like really thick areas or places far away from hunters, tend where they came to be. Where are your trail cameras placed right now? I've got a few cameras placed on scrapes. Um, I have a few on the trail that exiting betting. I don't really don't learn a lot of cameras, but when I do, I used to keep them on the scrapes. I try to keep them far away so I don't, you know, bump any deer out. You mentioned that you're not really focused on food sources. Yet when does that change for you? It will change as we get into January. Really, Um, I just I don't stick close to food. I found that the bucks, and it all depends on where you're at. Some places do good, but I found that the bucks don't usually come out to right at dark and you need to be close to that bedding and um. But into January, I will get closer to food and stay on food or even early season, uh like right out of the gate the first the first week in October, I'll hunt for sendage or I'll haunt the A country is chopping. Do you do any calling during this phase of the rut in Mississippi? Not really, I found dear here, they really don't react. I mean they do react a little bit to Colin. So right now I'm not doing any column. But once you get into the peak lut, I will do a little bit of column, but mostly just grunts or even a doe that's just bleep, But but nothing the rattling or anything like that. Going forward, then this sex week or so, what do you think that bucket activity is going to be on the skill of one to ten in Mississippi, I'm gonna put it on a seven. Uh. The tool of weather came in a little bit, so I'm thinking they're gonna get on the feet a little bit earlier and as we get closer to the rut. I think they're gonna start cruising around a little bit more looking for those early days. Alright, Caden, a lot of season for you to go in Mississippi. Good luck and thanks for joining me. Thank you alright and joining us on the line. Next is Josh Rooker from Advantage White Tail in Illinois. Now, Josh in Illinois, what would you say the bucket activity has been lately on a scale of one to ten. Right now, I would see on the scale one of ten, it's probably about a seven. We've seen some really good activity in some parts of the state, um Our teaching Advantage right til team actually hunts different couple parts of the state. The west central part has been a little bit slower the last week are so here um and then but the northwest corner and Joe Davis County were the other half our team hunts activity has been really good. We've been seeing a lot of deer. Majority of the bucks we've been seeing have been cruising looking for you know, these last doors of the of the rut season here um and we've been seeing all age class A box, a year and a halfs, two and a half, three and a half, four and a halfs and an older deer as well. UM. More recently, some of the more mature deer have been with those UM. So they've been a little bit difficult, uh, I guess the call apt They haven't really been responding much to calling, But most of the younger deer have been very very receptive to calling, whether it be a dobe bleat or a buck grunt or even rattling for that matter. If you were to label this phase of the rod Danny Illinois, what would you call it? I hate to use the word lockdown because it's not something we really believe in. But I will say that the most mature bucks that we've seen recently have been with those. Again, they have not been very receptive to to calling. UM. In more or less, they're to skilling those doos wherever they're going. You mentioned before that you're doing some calling right now. Do you do any decoying as well? We haven't tried decoying. UM. Actually are the stands that have produced I guess the most UM most activity recently have actually been more in the timber. We haven't had as much activity on on the edges, which is a little bit strange, a little bit different for us be compared to last year's, but I think crops and being an versus out vice versa this year also the crop reclation has affected that a little bit. Um. The majority of the deer movement we've been seeing has been in the in the thicker betting areas where bucks are cruising. You know, it's kind of decent checking looking for those those What are the hottest food sources right now in Illinois? Right now by us it's it's definitely corn um. There are a couple of fields actually NF friend that still have standard CORNU and the deer numbers in those areas are very high. Uh, you're not only using that for cover, but it's very clear that they're using, um, the head rolls that have been picked as their main food source at this point in time. As we get into late November, what do you expect to see for signmaking as we move on in the in the month of November here, UM, I anticipate that the scrape activity, um, the robs, those things to kind of decrease. Again. We're going to see a lot of the bucks checking out the major food sources, whether that's you know, acorns in your area of beans, UM, pet corn could be alfalfa depending on the specific location. I just happens to be corn here. But really in the next couple of weeks where it's going to be really focused on those food sources. That's where the doors are going to be in the box are sure to follow during the week of Thanksgiving. Where do you want to be running your trail cameras doing that? We could Thanksgiving and still cameras that are going to be light on those food source edges. UM, pretty close to our our stands, because obviously we want to see the activity directly in front of our stand Some of these food sources are rather large at times, can be m a struggle to chat at pinpoint where the deer coming out, UM, where they're betting different things of that nature because as the crops come off, those things transition throughout the year. UM. But again, really trying to get holding on those food sources on those edges where you can see a pretty large view of what's in front of the camera going forward. Then in the next week or so, what do you think that book activity is going to be On the scale of one to ten In Illinois, it's still like one to ten for the next week here. I think it's gonna be continue to be a seven. I think it's gonna be really solid. Um, it's gonna you know, the weather is looking good, shaping up to be um nice and cool. I think it's going to continue to be good in our areas and and throughout the Midwest for that matter. Um, it's a it's a good time to be in the woods and in Advantage. Wait until as a group, the more time we spend in the woods, we're really starting to lean towards this, you know, middle tip to later and November being just as good or even better than what the earlier part of November can be. Right, Josh, I like your optimism. Good luck to you and the team from Advantage Whitetail. Thanks for joining me, Thank you much, Spencer, appreciate it alright and joining us on the line. Next is Brett Joy in New Hampshire. Now Brett in New Hampshire. What would you say the bucket t has been lately? On a scale of one to ten, I would say that, Um, it's the best that's been all year. Um, the weather has been excellent. It's been very cold, which is vastly different from the week before last. Or last week, I should say, um, which was very warm, So I'd say it's pretty much in the tent. It doesn't get much better than than it is right now. Um. The bucks are moving, mature bucks are moving. Um, they're looking for the next extra stow um, and they're covering a lot of ground in daylight. So it's basically all you could ask for. The only thing we don't have is tracking snow yet. But if you're a stand hunter in the northeast, this is what you look, what you wait for, these dates, this weather. Yeah, it's it's going down. So are you seeing some midday movement right now? Yet? We are, um, not not a ton yet. I think that the next historically um, today's um, you know eight two is when we see the most midday activities. So I bet we're gonna see a lot of noon walkers in the next three or four days. Um. But I'm sure there's been some too. Just because we haven't seen it in the big Woods doesn't mean that's not happening. We're relying on camera data and you know, observation, which usually we can't see very far, and we're you know, dealing with tens of thousands acres so obviously rational data is tough and serial camera's gonna cover so much. So I'm sure it's happening. It always does, But I'm sure we'll see some of the cameras or you know, a person in the next few days. You mentioned trail cameras as we hit peak rut in the Northeast. Where do you want to be running those? Um? The only differences I may put some on major like trails, like travel areas, pinch points, funnels, uh, you know, just main travel corders. Where those deer are you know, using to get from point A to point B. I will say, though, I don't rely a ton of trail camera data this time of year, just because you know, when bucks are going from A to B, they're not moving around, they're not taking their time, and there's this less opportunity for them to walk in front of your camera. So, um, just because you're not getting pictures of the bucks you want to if you've had them in the last couple of weeks to three weeks, you can expect that they're going to be somewhere close and at any point they could cruise by you. So I wouldn't get too down if you know the picture or have a picture of the buck y're after. You know, in the last few days, um, you know, we we have been getting some good pictures. It's definitely tailed off. Then they're tailed off since you know, late October the first week in November. So they're still on scrapes, a lot of them. And those bucks are hitting scrapes kind of if they're in their way, I would say, but it's not like they're going out of their way working scrapes, making a bunch of new ones. They are to an extent, but the scraping activity is definitely declined, um And subsequently the trail camera activity is declined as well. But that doesn't mean the deer or the buck activities declined. It's actually increased. So that's just an important takeaway that I've learned over the year, especially in the Big Woods. When you're doing some in seasoned scouting in the big Woods, what are you looking for when you're trying to find buck betting and doe betting. I'd be focused definitely on doe betting. I don't think these bucks are betting much, and if they are, they're kind of betting where they end up, you know, randomly, because they're tired, you need to lay down for an hour before they go look for the next dough. So I'm focusing on doe betting. You know, that can be anything. It can be you know, a thick you know, conifer stand, It can be edges of a clear cut. It can be topography based on the mount like points on ridges. Um, that can be swamps. So looking for a concentration of does is really important. And obviously buck sign is gonna help as well. But um, if you can find rubs, that's great, scrapes all that stuff, but um really does that where it's at. And if you can find an area that you know, there's a highway between two areas that hold good you know, densities of dose, then you're gonna be in a good area. Would I would assume and have some action, But you know, staying mobiles, if you stay mobile, if you haven't found that spot in looking forward is good. Um. You know, if you bump a bunch of dough, that's probably a good area. And that one thing that I've um kind of come to realization, comes to the realization over the past few years is if you bump dose out of a you know, small area where the does live, They're not gonna leave. And just because you bump those does, that buck that may or may not be in that area doesn't know those does got bumped. He's still gonna come through and check that area. So just because you bump the dose out of there, that buck still knows those does live in that area, and he's gonna keep heat continually circling through those areas to check them. So I wouldn't be too concerned with blowing does out to find the dose. Um, and you know, the does aren't gonna really leave either. They have relatively small core areas, so if you bump them a couple of times, you're not going to just completely leave the country. So I wouldn't be too concerned about that right now. If we got a fresh blanket of snow in the Northeast within this next week, how would that change things for you on the tactical level, Yeah, Um, it would actually change things a lot. Right now, we've been sitting on you know, known areas or bucks cruise from the past few years for targeting specific animals, but um, really it's toughest targeting specific one right now. You're gonna have to hope that the one you're looking for walks through, but it could be any number of bucks. Um. But I do have a couple of deer that I've got pictures of recently, UM that I am not familiar with the years past, early even earlier in the season. I have no idea what they're doing. If they're random, I know they're in the area we're hunting, or I'm hunting them now, um where I think they may come through. But if we get snow and I am able to find a big track, that's a you know, a real fast way to get on that deer and kill him in a day rather than trying to hunt him for the rest of the season and hope that he walks by. UM with limited information on him going forward. Then, in this next week or so, what do you think that bucket TV is going to be on a scale of one to ten in New Hampshire. I think it's gonna remain in a ten for the next three or four days and may taper a bit towards the end of the week. Um, you know, maybe till an eight or nine. But I still think it's gonna be really high. Um. Peak breeding is tomorrow essentially in New Hampshire. Um, so that's great and just on the other side of peak breeding. Maybe the twenty second seven is really good, um really good action, a lot of older deer up cruising looking for does it's gonna start to taper off, you know towards the thirty a little bit. You still gonna have good activity, but just maybe not the midday all zombie mode cruising as I call it, where those deer just us searching and searching. Alright, Brett, I know you guys just killed the buck there, so I'm gonna go check out that video on the Just Hunt Club on YouTube. Good luck with the rest of your season and thanks for joining me. And that concludes this week's episode of Rutt Fresh Radio. Thanks to Bryce, Brett, Josh, and Caden for joining me, and thank you guys for listening. Like I told you earlier, head over the meat Eator dot com and read up on those articles that I mentioned, how to kill a white tail buck in late November and how to kill a white tail buck during the second half of the rut. There's some really good wisdom there from Mark Kenyon and Tony Peterson. Also, make sure you're subscribed to the white Tail Weekly newsletter comes out every single Monday, and it has exclusive content from folks like Mark Tony myself, Dylan Tramp, Pat Durkin, Danielle Pruett, and more. One Final Thing Back forty Episode two is available on meat Eator's YouTube channel right now. An episode three is going to be dropping on Sunday. Good luck to everyone listening. I will talk to you next week and until then, stay wired to Hunt h