November 3, 2025 • 34 mins
What do you do when brutal weather threatens your hunt? Gun Talk Hunt host KJ is joined by Field & Stream’s Will Brantley and outdoorsman Tom Stephenson to discuss how experienced hunters adapt to hot temps, swirling wind, heavy vegetation, and unpredictable weather.
Learn how wind direction, seasonal shifts, terrain, and even lightning play critical roles in deer movement and stand strategy. From bowhunting in the Southeast to late-season muzzleloader tactics in Kentucky and Texas, get actionable tips for becoming a better woodsman—no matter the conditions.
This Gun Talk Hunt is brought to you by Remington Ammunition, Ruger, Range Ready Studios, and ZEISS.
About Gun Talk Hunt
Gun Talk Media's Gun Talk Hunt, with Kevin “KJ” Jarnagin, pairs decades of experience with today’s latest tools and technology to help you succeed in the field. Whether it runs or flies - no matter what game you pursue - Gun Talk Hunt is a multi-platform podcast that gives today’s hunters a voice in the digital world.
For more content from Gun Talk Media, visit guntalk.com or subscribe on YouTube, Rumble, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Catch First Person Defender on the new Official FPD YouTube channel. Watch Gun Talk Nation on its new YouTube channel. Catch Gun Talk Hunt on the new dedicated YouTube Channel. Listen to all Gun Talk Podcasts with Spreaker, iHeart, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find podcasts.
Copyright ©2025 Freefire Media, LLC
Gun Talk Hunt 11.03.25
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gun-talk--6185159/support.
Learn how wind direction, seasonal shifts, terrain, and even lightning play critical roles in deer movement and stand strategy. From bowhunting in the Southeast to late-season muzzleloader tactics in Kentucky and Texas, get actionable tips for becoming a better woodsman—no matter the conditions.
This Gun Talk Hunt is brought to you by Remington Ammunition, Ruger, Range Ready Studios, and ZEISS.
About Gun Talk Hunt
Gun Talk Media's Gun Talk Hunt, with Kevin “KJ” Jarnagin, pairs decades of experience with today’s latest tools and technology to help you succeed in the field. Whether it runs or flies - no matter what game you pursue - Gun Talk Hunt is a multi-platform podcast that gives today’s hunters a voice in the digital world.
For more content from Gun Talk Media, visit guntalk.com or subscribe on YouTube, Rumble, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Catch First Person Defender on the new Official FPD YouTube channel. Watch Gun Talk Nation on its new YouTube channel. Catch Gun Talk Hunt on the new dedicated YouTube Channel. Listen to all Gun Talk Podcasts with Spreaker, iHeart, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find podcasts.
Copyright ©2025 Freefire Media, LLC
Gun Talk Hunt 11.03.25
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gun-talk--6185159/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What do you do when harsh conditions hamper your hunt?
Oh well, we're going to talk about it with Will
Brantley a Field and Stream and Tom Stevenson, amazing outdoorsman.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
All right here on Gun Talk Hunt. I'm kJ. You
found the right place. We go all over this little blue.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Orb sharing stories and tactics about chasing wild game.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Now let's get on the hunt.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
All right.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Welcome in all you gun Talk hunters. I am your host, kJ,
and man, We've got a great show today. We are
brought to you by Remington, Amo, Ruger Firearms and Range
Ready Studios. So tough hunting conditions, how do you overcome that?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Today? We've got a great lineup.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
We've got Will Brantley, Hunting Editor, the guy over at
Field and Stream and everywhere else. I mean, he writes
for a lot of different publications and he just does
his thing.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
And then we got Tom's Stevenson. And this dude is
an NRL shooter.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
He is a hunter and he is he is one
hundred and twenty eight days out as of recording. This
to getting a new lease on life out of retirement
from the military.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
But this goes all the way up.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
From Kentucky to Georgia. So welcome in, guys. I'm gonna
jump in first. Let's talk to Will Brantly. Well, you've
been at this game probably longer than you can remember,
and we're talking about tougher hunting conditions and how to
approach those. What is your approach when it comes to,
(01:36):
you know, those tougher days when you're in the field.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
Man, Yeah, thanks for having me, first of all, I
appreciate it. Always enjoy anytime I'm getting talk with good
folks about hunting and fishing, and probably especially hunting. And yeah, man, hops,
I've grown up in the woods. I think I killed
my first squirrel when I was seven years old, and
been a while ago. Now I'm uh, I'm forty two.
(02:02):
So so yeah, I have been doing this a long
time and and I've been, uh, you know, making a
living out of it, uh in some regards, since I
was nineteen and so, you know, hunted a lot of
places and and one of the things that you know
that I always like to say about, uh, you know,
about hunting, when we talk about the weather and look
(02:23):
at the weather forecast, it's like it's never just right,
you know, even when everything's perfect. I mean, the wind's
going to be wrong, or you know, you can always
kind of find some critique of the of the weather
forecast whenever you're done with it. And it doesn't matter
if you're if you're deer hunting or turkey hunting or
squirrel hunting or hunting ducks or whatever. The weather's just
part of it, and you can, uh, you know, you
(02:44):
can sit and complain about it and wait for the
perfect day and and if that happens, you're you're not
gonna be out there a whole lot.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
What's the uh, what would you say is the single
worst killer of a hunt when it comes to weather
and tough conditions? What do you when you look on
a forecast? What do you hate to see?
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Well, tell me the critter that we're talking about.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
White tail is probably the most prevalent across the United States.
So let's let's go white tail.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Okay, So if I'm talking white tails, and you know,
I write a lot about white tails, I guide a
little bit for white tails on the side, and so
for you know, a lot of years, if I'm looking
at the forecast, and then especially I will take in
a lot the morning of you know, let's say I'm
getting up to go hunt of a morning or take
hunters out to the stand in the morning. When I
(03:33):
walk outside, sometimes there's just there's just a feeling in
the air. You know, it's uh, you know, it's a
combination of the temperature, of the humidity, the pressure. And
you can walk out there on a good crisp morning
when it's you know, it's clear and it's cold, and
you know, I like a little breeze to be blowing. Man,
you can just you can just almost tell that the
deer going to move today. And by contrasting, walk out
(03:55):
there when it's warm and stale and damp and cloudy,
and you like, well, the day's gonna suck. We're probably
not gonna see anything. And so if I were to
say that there's one element with white tails above uh,
above all the others, you know, I think it's gonna
be temperature. You know, if it is if it is
(04:20):
warmer than seasonal average, you know, particularly if it's a
lot warmer than seasonal average, you know, ten to fifteen
degrees above, it gets tough. We we guided a hunt
here in Kentucky last week, and uh, and it's it
was the same as it's been awful it was. It
was hot, it was dry, uh and I knew before
(04:42):
those guys got here that it was gonna suck. And
it did. You know. We we shot a couple of dose,
but it was it was really really tough. Now as
soon as they left, we had a big cold front
come through. I went bow hunted yesterday morning in Tennessee
and had really one of the best bow hunts I've
had in a long time. I didn't kill a deer
I should have. But we'll help to get into all that.
But so you know, when you have those days and
(05:04):
especially those extended stretches of you know, above average daytime
high temperatures, and you know, in September or both season
comes in first Saturday in September here in Kentucky, you
know that stretch of weather. You know that time of year.
I mean, your average daytime high is probably eighty five
degrees here in Kentucky, probably a little hotter than that
(05:24):
down where tom is. But you know, if it's ninety
five degrees during that stretch that you know, usually the
hunting is gonna get tough. And you know, same as
you get into early November, if it's you know, I
like it when it's fifty five to sixty degrees around here,
you know, during the day in early November, and if
you get those seventy to seventy five degree days, it's
(05:45):
gonna be tough. And so that to me, more so
than rain, more so than when any of that stuff.
Hot weather on the White Tail Front is the thing
that I've read the most.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Yeah, because it's funny you say that, because last week
and I was taking the boys out out on the
U season hunt and it was the same thing. And
you know, like in Oklahoma, when you you have heat,
it's bad.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
You know, the deer gonna move late.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
But when you have heat and wind, which typically you
always do in Oklahoma, Yeah, those are two that are
just killed for me because they just they just hunkered down,
They just bed down, and they just don't have to
move very early to get what they need out of
that period of time, you know, because we're not quite
we're really in that kind of before phase of like
(06:40):
even seeking phase right now, and when heat hits, I
mean it was ninety six degrees on that hunt, and
I'm sitting there hunting in shorts, which those two things
shouldn't happen, like I should not be in shorts hunting,
like unless I'm on safari.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Yeah, yeah, I mean that that it does make it tough,
you know that. I would say, like, as we're talking
about the subject of temperature, you know that the one
exception to that, you know, the one time, you know,
when I'm deer hunting, when I when I look and
I it's not necessarily that I'm hoping for a warmer
than average forecast. One thing, you know, when it just
(07:21):
you mentioned Oklahoma and it made me think of it.
So we we hunt down in Texas a lot too,
and we hunt kind of north central Texas, so you know,
a little west of Fort Worth. And what I've noticed
down there, you know, it's it's consistently a fair bit
warmer there than it is here in Kentucky, at least
during the day. That at night, it a lot of
(07:41):
times it plummets oft and it's dry out there, and
it gets it gets pretty cold at night. But what
I've noticed, you know, during deer season, particularly during the
later part of deer season out there, you know, the
rifle season runs all the way through December. A lot
of times we go out there and hunt late in
the season after we're done here in Kentucky and tennis See.
And what I've noticed is like when it gets really
(08:03):
cold out there, which sometimes it does, that actually seems
to shut those deer down. Whereas like we'll get a
cold front here in Kentucky, you know, during the rut,
even during the late season, and and if it's you know,
maybe dropping it off cold but not frigid cold, a
lot of times that'll really get the deer up on
their feet and moving. But you know they're in Texas.
(08:23):
What I found like if it gets like really below
you know, well below average and doesn't you know, doesn't
get much above that during the day, just in my
experience anyway, I'm not saying this is, you know, the
rule for Texas or whatever. I'm just saying what I've
seen sometimes that I've kind of shut those deer down.
It's almost like they go into shell shock for a
couple of days. And and I actually saw a similar
(08:46):
thing here in Kentucky late last season too. You know,
we I was hunting through the late muzzle utter season
in December and we got a stretch of you know
they called it. I guess it was one of the
polar vortex type deals, you know, and it it went
from being you know, normal December cold here, you know,
with lows and the you know, in the thirties at
(09:06):
night and highs up in the forties to it was
getting down in the you know, in the in the
high teens and really not getting out of the twenties
during the day there for a for a few days.
And you know, to watch watch outdoor TV, you think, man,
that's those are the days the deer are going to
move like crazy and they're going to pile into and boy,
I just didn't see that at all. I sat in
the box blind with a with a buddy eater going
(09:27):
and burning through the propane and and it was really
at the end of that cold front when things, you know,
it was like the first kind of south wind day,
when things started kind of thawing out a little bit,
fields started getting muddy, and I saw a lot of
deer moving that day. And so, you know, I think
that when when I talk about like warm weather, that
(09:47):
that does seem to be the rule that I would
follow through most of the season. The exception might be
into that real late season when you do get those
extreme you know, cold weather events that will also kind
of shut the down too, And so I think maybe
the takeaway there is is like deer kind of like us.
You know, they like seasonal weather. They like to be
comfortable out there. They don't want it to be too hot,
(10:09):
they don't want it to be too cold. They just
you know, and and when you the things that I'm
always looking for when you get a forecast like that,
if you get a really you know, extended stretch of
hot weather, man, it can sure suck when that's happening
during seasons. But man, if you if you see that, uh,
you know, particularly as you're getting into this time of year,
(10:30):
late October, you see that big that first big winter
cold front coming and that that front that drops it
from the nineties during the day to even highs in
the seventies during the day. You start getting those first
forty degree nights. You know, again in this part of
the world, man, that can be just magic and and
that change so it can be some of the best
days of the year to get out there. And uh.
(10:52):
And same goes for that warm up in the late season.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Yeah, and there's a definitive shift. I mean when that hits.
When that hits, it's like, man, you kind of have
that feeling like what you were talking about and stepping outside.
You know, you just have some of those mornings where
you step outside and go, yeah, this, they're.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Gonna move in this.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
There's a definitive shift when when that cold weather starts
to hit. But man, on the other opposite end of it,
I've seen them shut down on that too, Like I
you think they're gonna move on that, Like, man, this
is a really good cold front, and then it takes
them like a day to adapt when which goes back
to your sayings that they're kind of like us.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
Yeah, yeah, well and you know, and and the other
thing too, is the takeaway is like that deer will
do what they do. They have to get up and
move around a little bit every day, you know. I
always say that, you know, I do think there are
times when it it can be in your favor if
you have the time to hunt, you know, like I've
(11:49):
got all the time in the world to hunt. I
work myself. I work in the hunting business, and so
I can be I can hunt, you know, almost every
day of the season if I get ready to. And
so because I'm blessed to have that, I'm able to
watch the conditions and really cheery pick my days that
I want to go into my best spots. But at
the same time, I've killed nice bucks on days when
(12:10):
I didn't think they ought to be moving, you know,
and said the old saying, you know you can't kill
them from the couch is true.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Man.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
You want to.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
Regardless of the weather. You've got to put in the time.
And then if the season's open and you've got to
finite amount of time to hunt, or you're on a
trip or whatever, you got to go when you can go,
you know, and that you know that you just gotta
know that maybe the weather's not perfect, but they're still
out there and they're gonna move sometime.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
That's absolutely right, all right, Will Brantley, thanks for sharing
some insight on the tough hunting conditions and what you
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All Right, we're back and we're talking tough hunting conditions,
and we're gonna shift our focus down to the Southeast
where hunting conditions seems to be always very tough because
we don't deal with the same kind of weather down
here that most Midwestern hunters do, or even the Western
hunters do. It's it's we we hunt off tough conditions,
(15:16):
and no better guy to do that than Tom. Tom's
already been out in the woods. He's got you know,
he's got probably a couple of deer under his belt already.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
H So Tom, Welcome in man, thank you. I appreciate
being here that man.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
You know, you and I like have really grown to
know each other through the NRL circuit and we shot
a match together and you've you really impressed me by
your shooting skills. But then I start following your page
and I'm like, man, this guy is an absolute monster
in the woods.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
So so excited to have you on.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Let's talk tough hunting conditions because down here in the Southeast,
you start looking at, you know, really hotter days and
the vegetation just seems to hold on a little bit longer.
What's a What's a what would you consider to be
a tough hunting day?
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Right now, it's pretty tough because it's still warm out
and with the vegetation. I mean, it is mid October
and we are still fighting mosquitos, Whereas up north that's
all done right. It's they're already have cold snaps, the
deer moving and doing their thing.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Dude, I hope all mosquitoes like they die that slow death,
like just give me a good hard freeze, and I
just I know they're suffering, like and I'm okay with that, yes, sir. Oh,
But but when you talk like those hot days, Like,
how are you adjusting?
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Do you? Are you cherry picking your days?
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Kind of like what Will's doing, because I mean he
has a little bit more time than probably you or
I have to do have to hunt, and he can
cherry pick his days.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Are you kind of doing the same thing?
Speaker 3 (17:04):
No, Like Will said, so, I'm still active duty, like
you mentioned when you introduced me, so throughout the week
I work, right, so my hunts are always on the
weekends or late evenings when I get off Mike, Will
was saying, excuse me, you can't kill anything sitting on
the couch. Yeah, So I go to the woods anytime
I get the chance. The deer right now seem to
(17:28):
be early morning, late evening. You're not going to see
anything throughout the middle of the day, so it kind
of works out.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Well.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
One thing that we deal with out here, which I'm
gonna if I say anything like that, it's like the southeast,
Like that's kind of the general region in which we're
in right now.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Less whend we have to deal with.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
But when does swirl a little bit depending on where
you hunt, And that's where when I'm in the stand, Tom,
I don't know about you, but man, when me is
everything like if if, depending on what I have set up,
whether it's near a staging area or it's in like
a betting area. Let's say, like, I'm always cognizant of
(18:13):
that wind. And that's that's the one thing I really
pay more attention to because we deal with so many
hot days. Do you approach it any differently?
Speaker 3 (18:21):
I don't, So I use a couple of different apps,
hunt stand on X, all of those things, and I
try to do my best of reading the wind. And
that's going to dictate which stand I go to. Yeah,
something I've learned over the past with especially here is
get high and read the wind and you'll be fine.
(18:42):
The dough I killed the other day, she walked right
underneath me, literally underneath me. I could have jalousing a
protein bar and stand and she walked literally underneath me.
So I mean it's, uh, yeah, just read the wind.
That's a great approach to that. It's like I take.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
So, yeah, I'm looking.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
There's an app I've got I forget man, and it's
probably one of those paid apps that I haven't paid yet,
and I forget what it's called.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
But I'm gonna pull up my phone real quick. Right here.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
I'm going to tell you guys what it's called because
it's a really interesting Uh yeah, it's called Windy, and
it like all it deals with is wind, Like that's it.
So it's called windy. W I N d Y. They
do not sponsor this show, but it gives you a
very like a very detailed view of what the wind
(19:37):
is going to do, what it's projected to do, and
that's all it deals with is wind. So make sure
you check that out. I know they should probably sponsor
the show or something forgiving them a shout out, but
it's something that I pay for because I tune into
the wind because I'm kind of like you, Tom. The
weekends are really kind of my time to shine, and.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
I've got it. I've got to deal with the conditions
that I'm dealt now.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
During rifle season or a stretch when I'm going longer,
I may not hunt in the morning, or I may
I may go out at ten o'clock if the wind's
gonna be right, I may go out to ten o'clock
if that's winds starting to shift, and then hunt till
three o'clock when the wind's starting to move back in
a direction that I'm not really happy with like I
(20:26):
cherry pick my times. Even like if I'm out in
any kind of stretch of days where I have the
opportunity that I can skip and not be in the
woods on a bad wind, I'll do that, is it right? Right?
Speaker 3 (20:41):
I have done that in the past. But like time,
time is everything to us, especially with you with your
boys getting them into the woods and stuff. So like
you said, you have to cherry pick your days. I
try to definitely read weather patterns. I try to pattern
deer as well along with the weather. When are they moving,
(21:02):
when are they not moving? I think a lot of
the stuff would do Do you do you hunt from?
Hang on stands?
Speaker 2 (21:10):
Or are you wearing more? On this man?
Speaker 1 (21:12):
I kind of do it all. The only thing that
I haven't gotten into is the saddle thing. And I
know I need to because they They've got a lot
of great companies out there making saddles. And I know
you're a little bit more like you can maneuver a
little bit easier.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
I need to do that. I haven't done it yet.
I know I need to.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
But where I hunt in Oklahoma, there isn't a fricking
tree out there that is tall enough, like we're talking
about mesquite trees like that, that's like a shrub.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Compared to what you go.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
Yeah, so I am from Central Texas originally, so when
he was talking about Central Texas, I was like, yeah,
he's right here. Though. I think a lot of it.
If you can say you have swirling and prevailing winds
coming in, if you can set up what I call
backs behind you, or you set up a wind break
with trees, put trees behind you or whatever direction the
(22:06):
wind is coming, a lot of the time you'll be
successful doing that, especially if you can get high in
a tree. You can you can beat the wind by
doing that.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
That's a man at least here.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
I've had experience doing that and it works.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Or whether it's a body of water or anything like that,
like a you know, or or even a property line.
And I know, like like you start thinking about property lines,
and no, don't hunt close to property, man, if you're
on the right side of the fence, just just hunt
where it makes sense or where you're not hunting their property.
You're just hunting what makes sense for your property. But yeah,
(22:45):
and I think a lot of the setup. Let's talk
about the setup. If you've got a place where you
can go in and you can pre set up your sets,
like go out on those hot days and windy days,
like there is nothing that says you can't scout from
the stand, you know, early early season or like way
before season, like okay, like usually it's eighty six to
(23:06):
ninety five degrees out, Like, go out on a day
like that and just scout like that's okay, I've done
that before. Deer still come in. They're not spooked, you know.
Just see what they're doing. See what those winds do.
Take a puffer bottle of powder in with you and
see what the wind does. Where is it going, where
is it hitting? I do that a lot.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Yeah, I mean I approach deer hunting the same way
I approach waterfowl. Right, you have to judge the wind
when you waterfoul hunt too, and you scout. Right, let's
go out and actually see what's landing on the ponds
or are we hunting a river? We hunting a creek?
I do the same thing with deer honting. Am I hunting?
Am I hunting scrapes? Am I hunting a rub line?
Or am I just gonna pull the old pade? My
(23:50):
fifteen dollars on a dump a bag of corn out
you still there are still elements that you that are
real deer, probably the most skidded critter you'll ever encounter
in the woods. I mean a tree branch will make
them disappear. So yeah, I mean I approach everything that
(24:11):
you and Will have said. I do the same things.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Yeah, I mean, it's just it's and a lot of
it just takes time in the woods. And and look,
a lot of the area that I hunt in Oklahoma
gets flat. It's like I can see a ways and
so how I approach the wind out there, No matter
what the wind is, I can pretty dang near like
(24:34):
hunt any spot I want. And that that might not
be afforded to a guy who's hunting in a five
acre you know, food plot that's you know, he's got
it on seven acres, you know, he might not be
able to because your entrances and your exits matter, they
really matter.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
I'm glad you brought that up because I was writing
down some stuff when you invited me on this podcast
about Okay, what are some of the number one things
that will ruin a hunt? Your differences and exits into
the area that you're hunting, right, I try to go
the same way and leave the same way every single
time because you don't want your You are the anomaly
(25:19):
in the environment.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
That's right, Yes, yeah, you're right.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
And where you're from in Oklahoma you can probably spot
in stock you can probably do that where I live
now currently you are not spotting stalking through this jungle
we call it.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
So it is. Yeah, there's no there's no way.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
And like in your footfalls matter, and and you know,
and and the those really cool mornings where like you
can hear everything.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
Just remember that you're hearing way better than we are.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
So if that wind just wisp a little bit, and
you're sitting there eating a protein bar or whatever, a
bag of chips that your kid brings in the sand
that you told them not to a thousand times, or
it's a water bottle that they're sitting there crinkling up.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
That's for another time. They're hearing that.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
So when like I sometimes out in Oklahoma, wind is
my friend.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Like wind is great.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
I love a heavy wind, especially if I'm hunting midday
and I'm spotting and stalking. I love wind because it
masks a lot of my mistakes. Yep, so so let's
kind of lean into the like kind of what we've
got and where we're wrapping up with this, and I'll
(26:51):
let you take the floor. What if there's any gear
that like that you haven't mentioned, or a technique or
or a final thoughts that you might have, Man, I'd
love to hear them.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
I'm glad you open the floor for me. I have
a lot of thoughts on honey, as you can tell
from reading some of the Facebook posts.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Oh yeah, a lot of.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
It is just becoming a woodsman. What does that mean?
Means take your butt to the woods, Like, go into
your environment that you're going to be hunting. And in
the army, in the infantry, I've been doing that for
twenty one years. One of the first things you ever
taught is an acronym called sills. What it is stop, look, listen, smell.
(27:36):
When you enter any new environment, right, we go into
what they call a security hold. We take our helmets off,
we sit down on our butts, put security out, and
we sit there and we take in the environment in
which we are in. It's I do it deer hunting
all the time. I will start up the trail and
I will pause and I will just simply listen to
(27:59):
what is going on around me. When it comes to gear, well,
I got a lot of opinions on gear. Even if
you're just going even if you're just going to a
stand that you always go to, there's a few things
you should always have. You should always have a good
set of wet weather gear with you. I carry it
(28:20):
always in a butt pack. Here. A go to for
me is a thermoceel because of the mosquitoes. We we
will have mosquitoes until probably mid November until we get
a good heart freeze. I'm sure y'all are the same
way in Louisiana.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
What else?
Speaker 3 (28:39):
I always have a map and compass. Even if I've
been in the area a million times, I have a
map and compass with me. It's just one of those
staples of things that I take everywhere.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
We talk tough hunting conditions, and we've hit on on heat,
we've hit on wind. Know there's a lot of other
factors that we haven't hit on that that need to
be brought to light, like fog. Like you talking about
compass and just having a like having that in fog.
(29:16):
I mean that's important. Like there's a sart that we
haven't talked about.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
Right, and we could, we could do a two hour
podcast on understanding that. I know a lot of guys
who don't look at hunting the way I do, or
they just go. They don't have a plan, They're just
gonna go. Honey man, it's like, okay, well, I tend
to look at it.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
I get.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
My background in the Army always has made me look
at like risk. Right, Okay, Yes, I am going to
the same stand I went to last weekend. There's still
risk involved, right, you know, let people know where you're going.
Like I said, have that and compass. I don't know
how many times I've been you know, it's pitch black dart,
(30:06):
it's a quarter moon. I'm walking to the stand and
somehow I took a wrong turn somewhere and I've been
to this stand a hundred times. Yeah, right, Yeah, Like
I said, I have a lot of opinions on a
lot of this stuff.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Well, the good news is is that I'm definitely going
to get you back on because I value your your
opinion and I and I and I appreciate what you
do out in the woods. So I'll leave, I'll leave.
I'll kind of leave everybody with this what what Tom
and Will? I think one of the overarching themes of
this is is you can't you can't just listen to
(30:41):
a podcast or you can't just you know, read an article, uh,
to become proficient in the woods.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
And sometimes you just have to get.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
Out to the woods man, like you just have to
do it, like in order to become that woodsman, get
to the woods like. That's that's what I hear when
I hear guys like you talk like good good killers
in the woods. There they are, they're woodsmen and they
(31:12):
sit out, they look they feel the air, the barometric
pressure rising or whether it's falling like they feel it.
And you only get that by getting out more. But
do not go out in the lightning like that is
one weather queue to say, keep your putt in the
(31:34):
truck until it passes.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
So I made a note of that. What was it
a month ago those two young men were killed in Colorado,
wasn't it?
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Yep?
Speaker 1 (31:43):
And that was that's when there was another kid killed
in Louisiana just now, just recently by lightning.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
So I don't know what weather app you use. But
when I was a black hat at Herborne School, that's
an airborne instructor. We all used weather bug I don't,
I don't. I'm sure it'll work there too, But it
will tell you what the distances are of the lightning
and so. And if you set it up and you
(32:14):
have good cell service, if there is lightning within five
kilometers of you, it is going to tell you where
it is. Everything. And yes, lightning is one of those things.
Have a plan for it, especially if you're hunting out west.
The two years I was in Colorado, what I learned
real quick about the Rocky Mountains is if you want
the weather to change, hang out for about thirty seconds.
(32:36):
It's going to change it, especially when you increase in elevation. Yeah,
and have a plan for that, right, Like, okay, what
is our plan? If we're out here in the middle
of nowhere, they dropped us off and it's lightning.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
What are we doing? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Yep, Yeah, that's a good PSA for everybody out there
that you don't mess with lightning, whether you're on the
in the woods or on the water. That's one environmental
factor that is a that's a that's called a clue,
like we don't, we don't mess with it, Like don't
get out in it like nature will tell you to
not mess around. And you know, sometimes sometimes I want
(33:15):
to cuss on this, but I know there's some kids
out there just don't mess around with it.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
I'll just say that, so it's not.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
Worth your life.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
I'll say that it's not.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
It's not.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
There's not a deer out there. There's not a duck
out there that I will trade my life for.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
Nope, no, sir, it's just not that way, all right, Tom,
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Hey, dude, I'm going to have you back on probably
very soon because I know you're still out in the
woods and you're doing doing your thing. But I really
do appreciate having y'all out here. Hey, all you gun talkers,
you know the drill, Stay out of the lightning and
keep those muscles point in a safe direction.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
And always y'all not
What do you do when harsh conditions hamper your hunt?
Oh well, we're going to talk about it with Will
Brantley a Field and Stream and Tom Stevenson, amazing outdoorsman.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
All right here on Gun Talk Hunt. I'm kJ. You
found the right place. We go all over this little blue.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Orb sharing stories and tactics about chasing wild game.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Now let's get on the hunt.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
All right.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Welcome in all you gun Talk hunters. I am your host, kJ,
and man, We've got a great show today. We are
brought to you by Remington, Amo, Ruger Firearms and Range
Ready Studios. So tough hunting conditions, how do you overcome that?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Today? We've got a great lineup.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
We've got Will Brantley, Hunting Editor, the guy over at
Field and Stream and everywhere else. I mean, he writes
for a lot of different publications and he just does
his thing.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
And then we got Tom's Stevenson. And this dude is
an NRL shooter.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
He is a hunter and he is he is one
hundred and twenty eight days out as of recording. This
to getting a new lease on life out of retirement
from the military.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
But this goes all the way up.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
From Kentucky to Georgia. So welcome in, guys. I'm gonna
jump in first. Let's talk to Will Brantly. Well, you've
been at this game probably longer than you can remember,
and we're talking about tougher hunting conditions and how to
approach those. What is your approach when it comes to,
(01:36):
you know, those tougher days when you're in the field.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
Man, Yeah, thanks for having me, first of all, I
appreciate it. Always enjoy anytime I'm getting talk with good
folks about hunting and fishing, and probably especially hunting. And yeah, man, hops,
I've grown up in the woods. I think I killed
my first squirrel when I was seven years old, and
been a while ago. Now I'm uh, I'm forty two.
(02:02):
So so yeah, I have been doing this a long
time and and I've been, uh, you know, making a
living out of it, uh in some regards, since I
was nineteen and so, you know, hunted a lot of
places and and one of the things that you know
that I always like to say about, uh, you know,
about hunting, when we talk about the weather and look
(02:23):
at the weather forecast, it's like it's never just right,
you know, even when everything's perfect. I mean, the wind's
going to be wrong, or you know, you can always
kind of find some critique of the of the weather
forecast whenever you're done with it. And it doesn't matter
if you're if you're deer hunting or turkey hunting or
squirrel hunting or hunting ducks or whatever. The weather's just
part of it, and you can, uh, you know, you
(02:44):
can sit and complain about it and wait for the
perfect day and and if that happens, you're you're not
gonna be out there a whole lot.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
What's the uh, what would you say is the single
worst killer of a hunt when it comes to weather
and tough conditions? What do you when you look on
a forecast? What do you hate to see?
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Well, tell me the critter that we're talking about.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
White tail is probably the most prevalent across the United States.
So let's let's go white tail.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Okay, So if I'm talking white tails, and you know,
I write a lot about white tails, I guide a
little bit for white tails on the side, and so
for you know, a lot of years, if I'm looking
at the forecast, and then especially I will take in
a lot the morning of you know, let's say I'm
getting up to go hunt of a morning or take
hunters out to the stand in the morning. When I
(03:33):
walk outside, sometimes there's just there's just a feeling in
the air. You know, it's uh, you know, it's a
combination of the temperature, of the humidity, the pressure. And
you can walk out there on a good crisp morning
when it's you know, it's clear and it's cold, and
you know, I like a little breeze to be blowing. Man,
you can just you can just almost tell that the
deer going to move today. And by contrasting, walk out
(03:55):
there when it's warm and stale and damp and cloudy,
and you like, well, the day's gonna suck. We're probably
not gonna see anything. And so if I were to
say that there's one element with white tails above uh,
above all the others, you know, I think it's gonna
be temperature. You know, if it is if it is
(04:20):
warmer than seasonal average, you know, particularly if it's a
lot warmer than seasonal average, you know, ten to fifteen
degrees above, it gets tough. We we guided a hunt
here in Kentucky last week, and uh, and it's it
was the same as it's been awful it was. It
was hot, it was dry, uh and I knew before
(04:42):
those guys got here that it was gonna suck. And
it did. You know. We we shot a couple of dose,
but it was it was really really tough. Now as
soon as they left, we had a big cold front
come through. I went bow hunted yesterday morning in Tennessee
and had really one of the best bow hunts I've
had in a long time. I didn't kill a deer
I should have. But we'll help to get into all that.
But so you know, when you have those days and
(05:04):
especially those extended stretches of you know, above average daytime
high temperatures, and you know, in September or both season
comes in first Saturday in September here in Kentucky, you
know that stretch of weather. You know that time of year.
I mean, your average daytime high is probably eighty five
degrees here in Kentucky, probably a little hotter than that
(05:24):
down where tom is. But you know, if it's ninety
five degrees during that stretch that you know, usually the
hunting is gonna get tough. And you know, same as
you get into early November, if it's you know, I
like it when it's fifty five to sixty degrees around here,
you know, during the day in early November, and if
you get those seventy to seventy five degree days, it's
(05:45):
gonna be tough. And so that to me, more so
than rain, more so than when any of that stuff.
Hot weather on the White Tail Front is the thing
that I've read the most.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Yeah, because it's funny you say that, because last week
and I was taking the boys out out on the
U season hunt and it was the same thing. And
you know, like in Oklahoma, when you you have heat,
it's bad.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
You know, the deer gonna move late.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
But when you have heat and wind, which typically you
always do in Oklahoma, Yeah, those are two that are
just killed for me because they just they just hunkered down,
They just bed down, and they just don't have to
move very early to get what they need out of
that period of time, you know, because we're not quite
we're really in that kind of before phase of like
(06:40):
even seeking phase right now, and when heat hits, I
mean it was ninety six degrees on that hunt, and
I'm sitting there hunting in shorts, which those two things
shouldn't happen, like I should not be in shorts hunting,
like unless I'm on safari.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Yeah, yeah, I mean that that it does make it tough,
you know that. I would say, like, as we're talking
about the subject of temperature, you know that the one
exception to that, you know, the one time, you know,
when I'm deer hunting, when I when I look and
I it's not necessarily that I'm hoping for a warmer
than average forecast. One thing, you know, when it just
(07:21):
you mentioned Oklahoma and it made me think of it.
So we we hunt down in Texas a lot too,
and we hunt kind of north central Texas, so you know,
a little west of Fort Worth. And what I've noticed
down there, you know, it's it's consistently a fair bit
warmer there than it is here in Kentucky, at least
during the day. That at night, it a lot of
(07:41):
times it plummets oft and it's dry out there, and
it gets it gets pretty cold at night. But what
I've noticed, you know, during deer season, particularly during the
later part of deer season out there, you know, the
rifle season runs all the way through December. A lot
of times we go out there and hunt late in
the season after we're done here in Kentucky and tennis See.
And what I've noticed is like when it gets really
(08:03):
cold out there, which sometimes it does, that actually seems
to shut those deer down. Whereas like we'll get a
cold front here in Kentucky, you know, during the rut,
even during the late season, and and if it's you know,
maybe dropping it off cold but not frigid cold, a
lot of times that'll really get the deer up on
their feet and moving. But you know they're in Texas.
(08:23):
What I found like if it gets like really below
you know, well below average and doesn't you know, doesn't
get much above that during the day, just in my
experience anyway, I'm not saying this is, you know, the
rule for Texas or whatever. I'm just saying what I've
seen sometimes that I've kind of shut those deer down.
It's almost like they go into shell shock for a
couple of days. And and I actually saw a similar
(08:46):
thing here in Kentucky late last season too. You know,
we I was hunting through the late muzzle utter season
in December and we got a stretch of you know
they called it. I guess it was one of the
polar vortex type deals, you know, and it it went
from being you know, normal December cold here, you know,
with lows and the you know, in the thirties at
(09:06):
night and highs up in the forties to it was
getting down in the you know, in the in the
high teens and really not getting out of the twenties
during the day there for a for a few days.
And you know, to watch watch outdoor TV, you think, man,
that's those are the days the deer are going to
move like crazy and they're going to pile into and boy,
I just didn't see that at all. I sat in
the box blind with a with a buddy eater going
(09:27):
and burning through the propane and and it was really
at the end of that cold front when things, you know,
it was like the first kind of south wind day,
when things started kind of thawing out a little bit,
fields started getting muddy, and I saw a lot of
deer moving that day. And so, you know, I think
that when when I talk about like warm weather, that
(09:47):
that does seem to be the rule that I would
follow through most of the season. The exception might be
into that real late season when you do get those
extreme you know, cold weather events that will also kind
of shut the down too, And so I think maybe
the takeaway there is is like deer kind of like us.
You know, they like seasonal weather. They like to be
comfortable out there. They don't want it to be too hot,
(10:09):
they don't want it to be too cold. They just
you know, and and when you the things that I'm
always looking for when you get a forecast like that,
if you get a really you know, extended stretch of
hot weather, man, it can sure suck when that's happening
during seasons. But man, if you if you see that, uh,
you know, particularly as you're getting into this time of year,
(10:30):
late October, you see that big that first big winter
cold front coming and that that front that drops it
from the nineties during the day to even highs in
the seventies during the day. You start getting those first
forty degree nights. You know, again in this part of
the world, man, that can be just magic and and
that change so it can be some of the best
days of the year to get out there. And uh.
(10:52):
And same goes for that warm up in the late season.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Yeah, and there's a definitive shift. I mean when that hits.
When that hits, it's like, man, you kind of have
that feeling like what you were talking about and stepping outside.
You know, you just have some of those mornings where
you step outside and go, yeah, this, they're.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Gonna move in this.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
There's a definitive shift when when that cold weather starts
to hit. But man, on the other opposite end of it,
I've seen them shut down on that too, Like I
you think they're gonna move on that, Like, man, this
is a really good cold front, and then it takes
them like a day to adapt when which goes back
to your sayings that they're kind of like us.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
Yeah, yeah, well and you know, and and the other
thing too, is the takeaway is like that deer will
do what they do. They have to get up and
move around a little bit every day, you know. I
always say that, you know, I do think there are
times when it it can be in your favor if
you have the time to hunt, you know, like I've
(11:49):
got all the time in the world to hunt. I
work myself. I work in the hunting business, and so
I can be I can hunt, you know, almost every
day of the season if I get ready to. And
so because I'm blessed to have that, I'm able to
watch the conditions and really cheery pick my days that
I want to go into my best spots. But at
the same time, I've killed nice bucks on days when
(12:10):
I didn't think they ought to be moving, you know,
and said the old saying, you know you can't kill
them from the couch is true.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Man.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
You want to.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
Regardless of the weather. You've got to put in the time.
And then if the season's open and you've got to
finite amount of time to hunt, or you're on a
trip or whatever, you got to go when you can go,
you know, and that you know that you just gotta
know that maybe the weather's not perfect, but they're still
out there and they're gonna move sometime.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
That's absolutely right, all right, Will Brantley, thanks for sharing
some insight on the tough hunting conditions and what you
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Speaker 2 (14:51):
Those whoo moments.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
All Right, we're back and we're talking tough hunting conditions,
and we're gonna shift our focus down to the Southeast
where hunting conditions seems to be always very tough because
we don't deal with the same kind of weather down
here that most Midwestern hunters do, or even the Western
hunters do. It's it's we we hunt off tough conditions,
(15:16):
and no better guy to do that than Tom. Tom's
already been out in the woods. He's got you know,
he's got probably a couple of deer under his belt already.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
H So Tom, Welcome in man, thank you. I appreciate
being here that man.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
You know, you and I like have really grown to
know each other through the NRL circuit and we shot
a match together and you've you really impressed me by
your shooting skills. But then I start following your page
and I'm like, man, this guy is an absolute monster
in the woods.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
So so excited to have you on.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Let's talk tough hunting conditions because down here in the Southeast,
you start looking at, you know, really hotter days and
the vegetation just seems to hold on a little bit longer.
What's a What's a what would you consider to be
a tough hunting day?
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Right now, it's pretty tough because it's still warm out
and with the vegetation. I mean, it is mid October
and we are still fighting mosquitos, Whereas up north that's
all done right. It's they're already have cold snaps, the
deer moving and doing their thing.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Dude, I hope all mosquitoes like they die that slow death,
like just give me a good hard freeze, and I
just I know they're suffering, like and I'm okay with that, yes, sir. Oh,
But but when you talk like those hot days, Like,
how are you adjusting?
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Do you? Are you cherry picking your days?
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Kind of like what Will's doing, because I mean he
has a little bit more time than probably you or
I have to do have to hunt, and he can
cherry pick his days.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Are you kind of doing the same thing?
Speaker 3 (17:04):
No, Like Will said, so, I'm still active duty, like
you mentioned when you introduced me, so throughout the week
I work, right, so my hunts are always on the
weekends or late evenings when I get off Mike, Will
was saying, excuse me, you can't kill anything sitting on
the couch. Yeah, So I go to the woods anytime
I get the chance. The deer right now seem to
(17:28):
be early morning, late evening. You're not going to see
anything throughout the middle of the day, so it kind
of works out.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Well.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
One thing that we deal with out here, which I'm
gonna if I say anything like that, it's like the southeast,
Like that's kind of the general region in which we're
in right now.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Less whend we have to deal with.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
But when does swirl a little bit depending on where
you hunt, And that's where when I'm in the stand, Tom,
I don't know about you, but man, when me is
everything like if if, depending on what I have set up,
whether it's near a staging area or it's in like
a betting area. Let's say, like, I'm always cognizant of
(18:13):
that wind. And that's that's the one thing I really
pay more attention to because we deal with so many
hot days. Do you approach it any differently?
Speaker 3 (18:21):
I don't, So I use a couple of different apps,
hunt stand on X, all of those things, and I
try to do my best of reading the wind. And
that's going to dictate which stand I go to. Yeah,
something I've learned over the past with especially here is
get high and read the wind and you'll be fine.
(18:42):
The dough I killed the other day, she walked right
underneath me, literally underneath me. I could have jalousing a
protein bar and stand and she walked literally underneath me.
So I mean it's, uh, yeah, just read the wind.
That's a great approach to that. It's like I take.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
So, yeah, I'm looking.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
There's an app I've got I forget man, and it's
probably one of those paid apps that I haven't paid yet,
and I forget what it's called.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
But I'm gonna pull up my phone real quick. Right here.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
I'm going to tell you guys what it's called because
it's a really interesting Uh yeah, it's called Windy, and
it like all it deals with is wind, Like that's it.
So it's called windy. W I N d Y. They
do not sponsor this show, but it gives you a
very like a very detailed view of what the wind
(19:37):
is going to do, what it's projected to do, and
that's all it deals with is wind. So make sure
you check that out. I know they should probably sponsor
the show or something forgiving them a shout out, but
it's something that I pay for because I tune into
the wind because I'm kind of like you, Tom. The
weekends are really kind of my time to shine, and.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
I've got it. I've got to deal with the conditions
that I'm dealt now.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
During rifle season or a stretch when I'm going longer,
I may not hunt in the morning, or I may
I may go out at ten o'clock if the wind's
gonna be right, I may go out to ten o'clock
if that's winds starting to shift, and then hunt till
three o'clock when the wind's starting to move back in
a direction that I'm not really happy with like I
(20:26):
cherry pick my times. Even like if I'm out in
any kind of stretch of days where I have the
opportunity that I can skip and not be in the
woods on a bad wind, I'll do that, is it right? Right?
Speaker 3 (20:41):
I have done that in the past. But like time,
time is everything to us, especially with you with your
boys getting them into the woods and stuff. So like
you said, you have to cherry pick your days. I
try to definitely read weather patterns. I try to pattern
deer as well along with the weather. When are they moving,
(21:02):
when are they not moving? I think a lot of
the stuff would do Do you do you hunt from?
Hang on stands?
Speaker 2 (21:10):
Or are you wearing more? On this man?
Speaker 1 (21:12):
I kind of do it all. The only thing that
I haven't gotten into is the saddle thing. And I
know I need to because they They've got a lot
of great companies out there making saddles. And I know
you're a little bit more like you can maneuver a
little bit easier.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
I need to do that. I haven't done it yet.
I know I need to.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
But where I hunt in Oklahoma, there isn't a fricking
tree out there that is tall enough, like we're talking
about mesquite trees like that, that's like a shrub.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Compared to what you go.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
Yeah, so I am from Central Texas originally, so when
he was talking about Central Texas, I was like, yeah,
he's right here. Though. I think a lot of it.
If you can say you have swirling and prevailing winds
coming in, if you can set up what I call
backs behind you, or you set up a wind break
with trees, put trees behind you or whatever direction the
(22:06):
wind is coming, a lot of the time you'll be
successful doing that, especially if you can get high in
a tree. You can you can beat the wind by
doing that.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
That's a man at least here.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
I've had experience doing that and it works.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Or whether it's a body of water or anything like that,
like a you know, or or even a property line.
And I know, like like you start thinking about property lines,
and no, don't hunt close to property, man, if you're
on the right side of the fence, just just hunt
where it makes sense or where you're not hunting their property.
You're just hunting what makes sense for your property. But yeah,
(22:45):
and I think a lot of the setup. Let's talk
about the setup. If you've got a place where you
can go in and you can pre set up your sets,
like go out on those hot days and windy days,
like there is nothing that says you can't scout from
the stand, you know, early early season or like way
before season, like okay, like usually it's eighty six to
(23:06):
ninety five degrees out, Like, go out on a day
like that and just scout like that's okay, I've done
that before. Deer still come in. They're not spooked, you know.
Just see what they're doing. See what those winds do.
Take a puffer bottle of powder in with you and
see what the wind does. Where is it going, where
is it hitting? I do that a lot.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Yeah, I mean I approach deer hunting the same way
I approach waterfowl. Right, you have to judge the wind
when you waterfoul hunt too, and you scout. Right, let's
go out and actually see what's landing on the ponds
or are we hunting a river? We hunting a creek?
I do the same thing with deer honting. Am I hunting?
Am I hunting scrapes? Am I hunting a rub line?
Or am I just gonna pull the old pade? My
(23:50):
fifteen dollars on a dump a bag of corn out
you still there are still elements that you that are
real deer, probably the most skidded critter you'll ever encounter
in the woods. I mean a tree branch will make
them disappear. So yeah, I mean I approach everything that
(24:11):
you and Will have said. I do the same things.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Yeah, I mean, it's just it's and a lot of
it just takes time in the woods. And and look,
a lot of the area that I hunt in Oklahoma
gets flat. It's like I can see a ways and
so how I approach the wind out there, No matter
what the wind is, I can pretty dang near like
(24:34):
hunt any spot I want. And that that might not
be afforded to a guy who's hunting in a five
acre you know, food plot that's you know, he's got
it on seven acres, you know, he might not be
able to because your entrances and your exits matter, they
really matter.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
I'm glad you brought that up because I was writing
down some stuff when you invited me on this podcast
about Okay, what are some of the number one things
that will ruin a hunt? Your differences and exits into
the area that you're hunting, right, I try to go
the same way and leave the same way every single
time because you don't want your You are the anomaly
(25:19):
in the environment.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
That's right, Yes, yeah, you're right.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
And where you're from in Oklahoma you can probably spot
in stock you can probably do that where I live
now currently you are not spotting stalking through this jungle
we call it.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
So it is. Yeah, there's no there's no way.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
And like in your footfalls matter, and and you know,
and and the those really cool mornings where like you
can hear everything.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
Just remember that you're hearing way better than we are.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
So if that wind just wisp a little bit, and
you're sitting there eating a protein bar or whatever, a
bag of chips that your kid brings in the sand
that you told them not to a thousand times, or
it's a water bottle that they're sitting there crinkling up.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
That's for another time. They're hearing that.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
So when like I sometimes out in Oklahoma, wind is
my friend.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Like wind is great.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
I love a heavy wind, especially if I'm hunting midday
and I'm spotting and stalking. I love wind because it
masks a lot of my mistakes. Yep, so so let's
kind of lean into the like kind of what we've
got and where we're wrapping up with this, and I'll
(26:51):
let you take the floor. What if there's any gear
that like that you haven't mentioned, or a technique or
or a final thoughts that you might have, Man, I'd
love to hear them.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
I'm glad you open the floor for me. I have
a lot of thoughts on honey, as you can tell
from reading some of the Facebook posts.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Oh yeah, a lot of.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
It is just becoming a woodsman. What does that mean?
Means take your butt to the woods, Like, go into
your environment that you're going to be hunting. And in
the army, in the infantry, I've been doing that for
twenty one years. One of the first things you ever
taught is an acronym called sills. What it is stop, look, listen, smell.
(27:36):
When you enter any new environment, right, we go into
what they call a security hold. We take our helmets off,
we sit down on our butts, put security out, and
we sit there and we take in the environment in
which we are in. It's I do it deer hunting
all the time. I will start up the trail and
I will pause and I will just simply listen to
(27:59):
what is going on around me. When it comes to gear, well,
I got a lot of opinions on gear. Even if
you're just going even if you're just going to a
stand that you always go to, there's a few things
you should always have. You should always have a good
set of wet weather gear with you. I carry it
(28:20):
always in a butt pack. Here. A go to for
me is a thermoceel because of the mosquitoes. We we
will have mosquitoes until probably mid November until we get
a good heart freeze. I'm sure y'all are the same
way in Louisiana.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
What else?
Speaker 3 (28:39):
I always have a map and compass. Even if I've
been in the area a million times, I have a
map and compass with me. It's just one of those
staples of things that I take everywhere.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
We talk tough hunting conditions, and we've hit on on heat,
we've hit on wind. Know there's a lot of other
factors that we haven't hit on that that need to
be brought to light, like fog. Like you talking about
compass and just having a like having that in fog.
(29:16):
I mean that's important. Like there's a sart that we
haven't talked about.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
Right, and we could, we could do a two hour
podcast on understanding that. I know a lot of guys
who don't look at hunting the way I do, or
they just go. They don't have a plan, They're just
gonna go. Honey man, it's like, okay, well, I tend
to look at it.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
I get.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
My background in the Army always has made me look
at like risk. Right, Okay, Yes, I am going to
the same stand I went to last weekend. There's still
risk involved, right, you know, let people know where you're going.
Like I said, have that and compass. I don't know
how many times I've been you know, it's pitch black dart,
(30:06):
it's a quarter moon. I'm walking to the stand and
somehow I took a wrong turn somewhere and I've been
to this stand a hundred times. Yeah, right, Yeah, Like
I said, I have a lot of opinions on a
lot of this stuff.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Well, the good news is is that I'm definitely going
to get you back on because I value your your
opinion and I and I and I appreciate what you
do out in the woods. So I'll leave, I'll leave.
I'll kind of leave everybody with this what what Tom
and Will? I think one of the overarching themes of
this is is you can't you can't just listen to
(30:41):
a podcast or you can't just you know, read an article, uh,
to become proficient in the woods.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
And sometimes you just have to get.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
Out to the woods man, like you just have to
do it, like in order to become that woodsman, get
to the woods like. That's that's what I hear when
I hear guys like you talk like good good killers
in the woods. There they are, they're woodsmen and they
(31:12):
sit out, they look they feel the air, the barometric
pressure rising or whether it's falling like they feel it.
And you only get that by getting out more. But
do not go out in the lightning like that is
one weather queue to say, keep your putt in the
(31:34):
truck until it passes.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
So I made a note of that. What was it
a month ago those two young men were killed in Colorado,
wasn't it?
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Yep?
Speaker 1 (31:43):
And that was that's when there was another kid killed
in Louisiana just now, just recently by lightning.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
So I don't know what weather app you use. But
when I was a black hat at Herborne School, that's
an airborne instructor. We all used weather bug I don't,
I don't. I'm sure it'll work there too, But it
will tell you what the distances are of the lightning
and so. And if you set it up and you
(32:14):
have good cell service, if there is lightning within five
kilometers of you, it is going to tell you where
it is. Everything. And yes, lightning is one of those things.
Have a plan for it, especially if you're hunting out west.
The two years I was in Colorado, what I learned
real quick about the Rocky Mountains is if you want
the weather to change, hang out for about thirty seconds.
(32:36):
It's going to change it, especially when you increase in elevation. Yeah,
and have a plan for that, right, Like, okay, what
is our plan? If we're out here in the middle
of nowhere, they dropped us off and it's lightning.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
What are we doing? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Yep, Yeah, that's a good PSA for everybody out there
that you don't mess with lightning, whether you're on the
in the woods or on the water. That's one environmental
factor that is a that's a that's called a clue,
like we don't, we don't mess with it, Like don't
get out in it like nature will tell you to
not mess around. And you know, sometimes sometimes I want
(33:15):
to cuss on this, but I know there's some kids
out there just don't mess around with it.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
I'll just say that, so it's not.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
Worth your life.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
I'll say that it's not.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
It's not.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
There's not a deer out there. There's not a duck
out there that I will trade my life for.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
Nope, no, sir, it's just not that way, all right, Tom,
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Hey, dude, I'm going to have you back on probably
very soon because I know you're still out in the
woods and you're doing doing your thing. But I really
do appreciate having y'all out here. Hey, all you gun talkers,
you know the drill, Stay out of the lightning and
keep those muscles point in a safe direction.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
And always y'all not
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